The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 294

Fang Hong and Shen Qing's wedding brought joy to some, but also displeasure to others.

Chen Wanyan was one of them. So many officials sent gifts to the Fang family, which naturally could not be kept from Chen Wanyan.

Chen Wanyan knew perfectly well whose face these people were there for: Zhou Chu, Zhou Hengqi, and Commander Zhou.

The more other officials fawned over Zhou Chu, the more uneasy Chen Wanyan felt. He knew very well who these people wanted Zhou Chu to be reinstated to deal with—it was none other than himself.

But he wouldn't dare let Chen Wanyan cause trouble. After all, given the precedent of Zuixianlou, Zhou Chu might actually arrest him again and imprison him in the Northern Garrison. In that case, he would lose all face.

When Chen Wanyan was penniless, he didn't care about saving face. A scholar around fifty years old had long since lost all face and didn't care about saving face anymore.

But things are different now. Chen Wanyan's status is different now. There are countless officials watching him and following him. If he loses face, he won't be able to accept it.

However, just because Chen Wanyan dared not do so did others. Those officials who wanted to curry favor with Chen Wanyan were naturally aware of the feud between Chen Wanyan and Zhou Chu. After all, quite a few people knew about the time when Chen Wanyan was arrested by the Northern Garrison Command.

Most people didn't dare to offend Zhou Chu, but there were always some opportunists who thought that Chen Wanyan was now all-powerful, and what was a mere commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard? They thought they could go and vent Chen's anger, and even if they were arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Chen would get them out.

He did what others dared not do, and he vented Chen's anger. How could Chen not value him in the future?

When there are enough benefits in front of them, there will always be people willing to take a gamble.

Zhang Jun was one of them. He was not a civil official but a military officer. He had been a playboy since childhood and had no real skills. Now, at around forty years old, he had only managed to become a centurion in the Central Military Commission.

His immediate superior was none other than Chen Wanyan.

The Central Military Command has long been a dead body; otherwise, a complete incompetent like Zhang Jun wouldn't have been able to rise to the rank of centurion.

When Chen Wanyan first took office as the Deputy Commander of the Central Army, neither Zhang Jun nor the other centurions and commanders of the Central Army Command did much to take him seriously. After all, no one knew the situation of the Central Army Command better than them.

It's no exaggeration to say that it's all talk and no action.

Zhang Jun and his ilk were essentially receiving salaries without working in the Central Military Command, and they didn't have to be on duty. Originally, they had no desire to climb the ranks because they had no hope of doing so.

During this period, Chen Wanyan's power rose suddenly like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, giving Zhang Jun, this good-for-nothing, hope to climb the ranks.

He seized every opportunity to frantically flatter Chen Wanyan, but when it came to giving gifts, he didn't have anything worthwhile to offer. After all, being in the Central Military Commission was like receiving a salary without working, with no extra income, so there was nowhere to embezzle money.

His Zhang family had almost declined by his generation. He had inherited his position as a centurion of the Five Armies Commandery from his dead father.

Who is Chen Wanyan? He doesn't act until he sees a clear benefit. With so many people eager to give him money, why would he promote a stingy military officer like Chen Wanyan?

Zhang Jun had been looking for an opportunity to do something big for Chen Wanyan. Now that Fang Hong and Shen Qing were getting married, Chen Wanyan realized that his chance had come.

He had long wanted to climb the ranks. His current position as a centurion only paid a meager annual salary, barely enough to make ends meet for his family. If there was any opportunity to rise, even if it was just a temporary transfer to a more powerful centurion position, Zhang Jun would feel it was worth it.

Zhang Jun knew that the Fang residence was now filled with Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), but he was doing it for Chen Wanyan's sake, even if it meant being arrested by the Jinyiwei.