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

Chapter 290

Not only Yang Yiqing, but Xia Yan also received a reply, and the two even met at the entrance of the Zhou residence.

"Your Excellency, it seems that Lord Zhou replied to both of us at the same time."

Xia Yan saw Yang Yiqing and immediately understood, then smiled.

At this moment, at the entrance of the Zhou residence, the two men addressed Zhou Chu differently. As expected of a seasoned cunning old fox who had long been in officialdom, he could speak to people in a way that suited them.

"My lords, please follow me."

Chunlan looked at the two of them and said.

In the past, Chunlan would never have dared to imagine that a Grand Secretary and a Minister of Rites would be following behind her. However, Chunlan is no longer the same person she used to be, so she naturally wouldn't show any fear.

The two quickly followed Chunlan to the main hall of the Zhou residence, where they saw a group of courtesans playing the zither and dancing. Yang Yiqing, being of a certain age, could only admire them from afar. Xia Yan, however, found the cheongsams worn by these courtesans incredibly alluring.

However, both of them had important matters to attend to, so they were not blinded by beauty.

"Lord Zhou, how can you still sit still?"

Xia Yan said with a look of disappointment.

"Why can't I sit still? His Majesty told me to rest. Life is so comfortable now. Sisi, pour wine for the two gentlemen."

Zhou Chu glanced at Liu Sisi and said.

Liu Sisi naturally knew the identities of the two people in front of her. Chunlan had already informed them. She never expected that the identities of those who had come to the Zhou residence these past few days were more terrifying than the last. Even the Grand Secretary and the Minister of Rites had come. Liu Sisi hurriedly lowered her head to pour wine.

Although she was the most beautiful courtesan in the brothel, she dared not show any arrogance in front of powerful figures like Zhou Chu and Yang Yiqing.

Xia Yan was speechless after being confronted by Zhou Chu's words, and didn't know what to say.

“Weighing instruments, the court needs you, and the people of the Ming Dynasty need you too.”

Yang Yiqing took a sip of wine and said.

"Your Excellency is exaggerating. The Ming Dynasty can do without anyone. I am not that important."

Zhou Chu smiled and drank a glass of wine, but did not respond.

"Isn't this the situation that the Grand Secretary and Lord Xia wanted to see? I remember very clearly that Lord Xia had been impeaching me for the past six months."

Zhou Chu looked at Xia Yan and said.

“Lord Zhou, I was ignorant back then, and I will punish myself with three cups of wine.”

As Xia Yan spoke, he picked up the wine pot on the table, poured himself a drink, and downed three cups in a row.

"Lord Xia, anyone who didn't know better would think you came to my house to gamble on wine. My Chenwang wine is currently in high demand and short supply in the capital. Although it's not as expensive as those top-tier wines, it's still very pricey. This is the first time I've heard of someone punishing themselves by drinking my wine."

Zhou Chu showed no respect for Xia Yan and his words were merciless.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yan's face immediately turned red, whether from holding it in or from being drunk, it was hard to tell.

"It was my fault, but Lord Zhou's Chenwang wine is indeed delicious. I thought that even the top wines were no better than this."

Xia Yan, with her thick skin, immediately realized what Zhou Chu was saying and instead subtly flattered him.

In reality, it was just flattery. Those top-tier wines, not to mention the complexity of their brewing process, have extremely high requirements for storage conditions and time.

Each jar of that wine is one less available, and each jar of top-quality wine is extremely expensive. Although Chen Wang Niang is delicious, it is quite different from these wines.

When Zhou Chu was ransacking homes in Jiangnan, he found a lot of famous wines. Some of them were given to Tang Bohu, and Zhou Chu also specially sent one or two jars to Wang Yangming. Most of the rest were given to Jiajing, and the few remaining ones were carefully stored away by Zhou Chu.

Different wines have different requirements for storage location. It would be difficult to store the famous wines confiscated in Jiangnan in the capital. It's not that they can't be stored, but the air humidity is different, which will affect the taste of the wine.

Zhou Chu's wines were all stored in the Zhou family's cellar in Suzhou Prefecture. Whenever he wanted to drink them, someone would naturally deliver them.

Xia Yan didn't mention a word about paying to accompany someone for drinks.

Zhou Chu naturally wouldn't let him off so easily.

"Since Lord Xia has said that my wine is no worse than those famous wines, then Lord Xia should pay the price of famous wines. Otherwise, how can it be called self-punishment?"

Zhou Chu drank another cup while talking.

Yang Yiqing, mature and composed, sat on the stool without any hurry. Originally, he and Xia Yan were not on the same side, but now that he saw Zhou Chu was about to embarrass Xia Yan, he was naturally happy to watch the show.

Xia Yan looked pained upon hearing this. Any jar of famous wine was extremely expensive, equivalent to two or three meals at Zuixianlou. Although he had been to Zuixianlou quite often, he had never spent his own money there.

Xia Yan may be rich, but being ripped off by Zhou Chu like this still made him wince. At this moment, Xia Yan regretted saying that Chen Wang Niang was no worse than famous wines.

This week, the weighing equipment really took advantage of the situation. However, Xia Yan also knew that since he was here today, he had to make a fool of himself, otherwise Zhou Chu would not be able to vent his anger.

After all, Xia Yan had been impeaching Zhou Chu, so Zhou Chu was unlikely to give him a friendly look. Anyone in a high position must have official authority, which may not be always present, but everyone who offends him must pay the price.

You should know that every person in a high position has countless eyes watching them. If everyone could impeach and offend them without any consequences, then they would basically have nothing to do and would face countless impeachments from officials every day.

The reason why a big shot is a big shot is because of the intimidating power he possesses, which makes people think twice before doing anything to him.

Xia Yan understood this principle, and with a pained expression, he took out several silver notes from his pocket and placed them on the table.

Zhou Chu didn't care about the money, and Xia Yan didn't really care that much either, but this money wasn't just money; it was also about face.

Upon seeing the silver note, Zhou Chu solemnly put it away.

"Lord Xia is indeed very wealthy and powerful."

Xia Yan naturally wouldn't get angry about these things. Since he had already lost face, so be it. It would be unwise to offend Zhou Chu after losing face.

"Lord Zhou, you flatter me. This money is what I've saved up for countless years. These three bottles of Chenwang wine have really cost me dearly."

Xia Yan said with a pained expression.

If you're going to put on a good show, you need to give Zhou Chu enough emotional value. If Zhou Chu is satisfied, then everything will be fine.

"Your Excellency, back then you and those officials flattered me to the point of self-destruction, wasn't it all to make His Majesty suspicious of me? Now that you've achieved your goal, why are you here with me again?"

After dealing with Xia Yan, Zhou Chu looked at Yang Yiqing.

Having learned from Xia Yan's experience, Yang Yiqing knew that Zhou Chu wouldn't let him off so easily. However, Yang Yiqing was much more shameless than Xia Yan, and his expression remained unchanged.

"Commander Zhou, you are mistaken. My original intention was good. I sincerely believed that Lord Zhou was a pillar of our Ming Dynasty. It was just that the people below me changed their tune and failed to keep things in check."

Yang Yiqing would naturally not admit to the matter of being praised to death.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu smiled calmly and did not pursue the matter further.

"May I ask what brings you two gentlemen here?"

Since old man Yang Yiqing wouldn't admit it, I'll just continue to play along with them; I'm not in a hurry anyway.

Sure enough, Yang Yiqing looked helpless when he heard this. He never expected that this young man would be so difficult to deal with.