Chapter 57

At that moment, Wang Chengen also walked before Zhu Youjian with a solemn expression and reported.

"Your Majesty, the hundred officials have returned again, all clamoring to see Your Majesty."

Zhu Youjian rubbed a patch on his dragon robe, let out a cold snort, and said.

"I know."

"Father-in-law of the state, ignore them; let us play our chess."

Zhou Kui, trembling all over, looked at Zhu Youjian, fell to his knees with a "thud," and wailed.

"Your, Your Majesty, I, I surrender, I surrender!"

Instead, Zhu Youjian stared coldly at Zhou Kui and said in a low voice.

"You surrendered, so you can stop playing?!"

"I am the Emperor!"

"I say the game is not finished, then this game is not finished! Get up and place your stone!"

In an instant, overwhelming pressure came rushing toward him.

For the first time, genuine fear arose on Zhou Kui's face toward this "son-in-law" before him.

Finally, Zhou Kui had no choice but to struggle to his feet from the ground.

At that moment, outside the Longzong Gate of the Qianqing Palace.

The Grand Secretariat ministers, the Five Military Commission commanders, and the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers had already gathered.

Wang Chengen stared fiercely at Hong Chengchou and the others outside the door and roared.

"The Son of Heaven is playing chess within the palace; why do you make noise?!"

At this moment, Hong Chengchou's eyes were bloodshot; he stared fiercely at Wang Chengen and said sternly.

"We wish to impeach the Marquis of Retainer, Zhou Kui, to death; you eunuch, do you intend to imitate that Wei eunuch?!"

Hong Chengchou immediately placed the big hat of "Wei eunuch" squarely on Wang Chengen's head.

Since Zhu Youjian purged the eunuch faction.

"Wei eunuch" blocking the path of speech had already become the greatest political correctness in the court.

Once these words were spoken.

Wang Chengen immediately lost his temper.

He allowed Hong Chengchou and the others to surge into the Qianqing Palace and see the father-in-law and son-in-law pair playing chess within the palace...

54, Zhu Youjian: Hold this sword, kill me!

The moment the hundred officials saw Zhou Kui.

In an instant, their defenses broke.

"Zhou Kui, you scoundrel! Where have you taken my coffin board?!"

"Your Majesty, this man Zhou Kui has misled the hundred officials; I submit a memorial requesting Zhou Kui be executed like Jie to serve as a warning to others!"

"..."

Amidst the cursing of the hundred officials, Zhu Youjian, with a gloomy face, slowly raised his head.

From between his teeth, he squeezed out two words.

"Insolence!"

No sooner had the words left his lips.

Immediately, a large troop of Embroidered Uniform Guard and Eastern Depot agents surged out from behind the hall, surrounding the hundred officials before them.

Seeing the gleaming Spring Embroidery Swords in the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The hundred officials in the Qianqing Palace finally realized what they had done.

In an instant, the hundred officials knelt down in a mass.

"We deserve ten thousand deaths..."

Everyone knelt on the ground, daring not to raise their heads.

Zhu Youjian casually tossed aside the chess piece in his hand, slowly stood up, stared at Hong Chengchou, the leader of the hundred officials, and asked.

"Grand Secretary Hong, leading the hundred officials to storm the palace today, what is your purpose?"

Sweat trickled down Hong Chengchou's forehead; he gritted his teeth and shouted.

"I submit to Your Majesty: the Father-in-law of the state, Zhou Kui, recently deceived the hundred officials in the capital, falsely claiming there was business in the southeast yielding one percent monthly profit."

"We, suffering from years of unpaid salary, fell for Zhou Kui's scheme."

"That was our coffin capital for our livelihood!"

"Please, Your Majesty, act as our master!"

Zhu Youjian casually glanced at Zhou Kui beside him and said.

"That is the Father-in-law of the state's matter; why do you come here to make trouble?"

"Do you want me to bear the reputation of being unfilial?!"

In the hearts of all civil and military officials, ten thousand horses galloped.

How does this sound as if it has nothing to do with you?

Where did the silver in the private treasury come from?!

Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou immediately fell to his knees and said sternly.

"We absolutely have no such thought! We merely request Your Majesty to step forward and demand an explanation for us!"

Zhu Youjian, unexpectedly, put on the appearance of a rogue.

He shrugged his shoulders and said carelessly.

"In that case, if the Father-in-law of the state returns the silver to you, is that not enough?"

As soon as Zhu Youjian spoke these words.

Before Hong Hong Chengchou could open his mouth.

Zhou Kui, standing nearby, felt as if he had been electrocuted and instantly fell to his knees on the ground.

His face filled with terror, he stammered at Zhu Youjian.

"Your Majesty, I, I... have no money left!"

You young man are not being fair!

You spent the silver.

Now you want me to repay it.

Even if you sell me, I am not worth that much money!

Even Hong Hong Chengchou, standing nearby, could no longer bear to watch.

He gritted his teeth, looked at Zhu Youjian, and shouted loudly.

"Your Majesty! I, we..."

"That silver was borrowed from relatives and friends by us, who risked our very faces to do so!"

"With silver suddenly appearing in the Inner Treasury, I suspect the Imperial Father-in-Law may have colluded with the Inner Court. I beg Your Majesty to issue an edict immediately to recover these funds!"

"Otherwise, I, we truly do not know what face we could show our hometown elders, nor how we could possibly serve the Great Ming!"

The dagger was revealed when the map was fully unrolled!

A ruthless expression suddenly appeared on Hong Hong Chengchou's face.

Hong Hong Chengchou no longer hoped to recover it all.

Hong Hong Chengchou had grown too weary to pretend.

Whatever could be recovered, would be recovered.

And the hundred officials behind Hong Hong Chengchou remained silent.

Each one knelt down behind Hong Hong Chengchou.

This was their entire fortune.

If it were truly lost.

That would be more painful than killing them.

Hearing Hong Hong Chengchou's words, Zhu Youjian felt relieved instead.

If it were in the past.

Zhu Youjian at this moment would likely have been at a complete loss.

Pity, but the Great Ancestral Emperor from several hundred years ago had already arranged the following script for Zhu Youjian.