You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 68 Who is behind Zhao Gao?

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhou Chen has been feeling uneasy these past few days.

I always feel like something bad is going to happen.

Could it be that I'm seeing things because I read the reports about the severe drought in the four northern prefectures?
Zhou Chen put down the memorial in his hand and rubbed his temples.

In the past two days, the matter involving Empress Wu Ying, General Wu Jin, and others has come to an end, and everything has returned to normal.

It's unclear whether it was because the Ministry of Revenue was short of funds or something else, but the memorials reporting the severe drought in the four northern prefectures had been piling up for a long time.

But now that the Ministry of Revenue has money, all these memorials about the severe drought in the north have been sent to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, waiting for Zhou Chen to review them.

Zhou Chen has been dealing with a lot of urgent memorials sent from various prefectures in the four northern states these past two days.

In every case, the local authorities were unable to provide disaster relief and needed the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds for disaster relief and rescue.

"These court officials seem to be unable to bear seeing the Ministry of Revenue's treasury have money."

"The recent confiscation of property has filled the Ministry of Revenue's coffers, and now everyone is eyeing the Ministry of Revenue's national treasury."

Zhou Chen sighed inwardly.

Zhou Chen was not naive enough to believe that the officials who sent him these previously accumulated petitions for help regarding the severe drought in the north were genuinely concerned with disaster relief and helping the people.

If it were truly for disaster relief and helping the people, such memorials wouldn't have been piling up for so long.

Clearly, these court officials had ulterior motives; they were all eyeing the considerable sum of silver that would be confiscated and sent to the Ministry of Revenue.

Also.

He traveled thousands of miles to become an official, all for the sake of wealth.

Isn't this exactly what Zhou Chen wanted to achieve?
At this moment, Cao Zhengchun entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"emperor."

"This old servant has already found out who is behind Zhao Gao."

Cao Zhengchun came to Zhou Chen's side and said softly.

"Oh!"

Zhou Chen was taken aback, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

"who is it?"

Zhou Chen was quite curious about the mastermind behind this scheme, who dared to plot against even Empress Wu Ying and the emperor himself, and who wanted to reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

Zhou Chen was eager to see who was so bold as to let Zhao Gao poison the Grand Tutor to death in the imperial prison, and even make him, the emperor, take the blame.

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

Cao Zhengchun handed two slips of paper to Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen took the note.

The two slips of paper contained only a few words.

Zhou Chen glanced at it, a glint of light flashing in his eyes; "So it was him."

Zhou Chen's expression didn't change much, and he didn't seem particularly surprised by the answer on the note.

indeed.

Zhou Chen was not surprised by the answer on the note.

To be precise, Zhou Chen had already compiled a list of people he suspected behind Zhao Gao.

Coincidentally, the answer on the note was one of the names on the list.

Therefore, Zhou Chen was not particularly surprised by the result Cao Zhengchun found.

Zhou Chen put down the two slips of paper in his hand and smiled; "None of my brothers are easy to deal with."

"They all have their eyes on the chair I sit on."

"Especially my fourth brother, the late emperor bestowed upon him the title of 'King of Leisure,' but he is not leisurely at all. He still harbors thoughts about these things, which is a disgrace to the late emperor's good intentions."

Zhou Chen said with a hint of sarcasm.

It's often said that Zhou Qian, the Carefree King, was given the title because he loved a carefree life, but now it seems that this claim is somewhat exaggerated.

Indeed, the answer on the note was none other than the carefree Prince Zhou Qian.

The carefree King Zhou Qian was actually the man behind Zhao Gao.

Cao Zhengchun, standing to the side, listened to Zhou Chen's words in silence, his head bowed. Such matters concerning the royal family were not something a mere eunuch like him could interfere with.

All he had to do was pretend to be deaf and dumb and wait for Zhou Chen's orders. If Zhou Chen told him to arrest someone, he would arrest someone.

Zhou Chen ordered him to kill, and he killed.

This is the true significance of his existence as the head of the Eastern Depot.

As for other matters, those are not things he, as the head of the Eastern Depot, should worry about.

After putting down the two slips of paper, Zhou Chen tapped his fingers rhythmically on the dragon table and fell silent.

No one knows what Zhou Chen is thinking.
The atmosphere in the Hall of Mental Cultivation suddenly became somewhat somber.

A few minutes later, Zhou Chen stopped tapping on the dragon table and said, "Immediately issue an edict to the Eighth Prince to come to the palace and see me in the Hall of Mental Cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Cao Zhengchun, who was standing nearby, immediately bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Then, Cao Zhengchun waved his hand, signaling one of the palace eunuchs to immediately leave the palace to deliver the imperial decree.

……

"Your Majesty, I have come to pay my respects."

Half an hour later, the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian entered the palace and arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where he directly performed the rites of a subject to a ruler for Zhou Chen.

Regardless of Zhou Xian's status in the royal family, the proper etiquette between ruler and subject could not be disregarded.

Even though the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian was Emperor Zhou Chen's uncle, it didn't matter.

The Eighth Prince, Zhou Xian, understood this very clearly.

Zhou Chen looked at the Eighth Prince, Zhou Xian.

The Eighth Prince Zhou Xian looked much older than before, and he no longer had the vigorous demeanor he once possessed.

It seems that Zhou Junxian's death was a great blow to the Eighth Prince.

Zhou Chen sighed inwardly and waved his hand at the Eighth Prince, "Eighth Imperial Uncle, no need for such formalities."

"I summoned the Eighth Imperial Uncle today because there is something I want to ask him."

As Zhou Chen spoke, he glanced at Cao Zhengchun.

Cao Zhengchun immediately understood and delivered the two slips of paper to Zhou Xian, the Eighth Prince.

"Eighth Imperial Uncle, please take a look at this first!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xian, the Eighth Prince, took the note from Cao Zhengchun's hand.

To be honest, the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian was somewhat curious as to why Zhou Chen was in such a hurry to summon him to the palace. Was there something important going on?

Filled with doubt and curiosity, the Eighth Prince glanced at the contents of the two slips of paper.

These few words made Zhou Xian, the Eighth Prince, tremble involuntarily, and the note almost fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty, is this true?"

"This is no small matter, especially since it involves a prince of the Great Zhou royal family."

The Eighth Prince, Zhou Xian, looked up at Zhou Chen on the dragon throne.

There was one thing the Eighth Prince didn't dare say: this involved not only ordinary royal princes, but also direct bloodline princes who were brothers with Zhou Chen.

Without solid evidence, this could cause serious problems.

Meeting the gaze of the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian, Zhou Chen said noncommittally, "Eighth Imperial Uncle, do you think I would joke about such a thing?"

"I am also puzzled. Has the Great Zhou royal family rotted to such an extent?"

"With such rebellious individuals appearing one after another, is it because I have lost my virtue, or is it because members of the royal family are dissatisfied with me as emperor and want to overthrow me?"

"Eighth Imperial Uncle, you are in charge of the Imperial Clan Court. Tell me, are the members of the royal family getting arrogant, or do they think I am no longer capable of wielding a sword?"

Zhou Chen stared coldly at the Eighth Prince, Zhou Xian.

Although Zhou Chen's tone was calm, it sounded like thunder to the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian.

The Eighth Prince, Zhou Xian, knelt on the ground with a thud; "Your Majesty, I am guilty. I have failed in my duty to manage the Imperial Clan Court."

The Eighth Prince Zhou Xian knew that this was not a request for advice, but an inquiry, questioning how he, the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian, had taken charge of the Imperial Clan Court.

With such treacherous individuals appearing time and again within the royal family, is he, the head of the Imperial Clan Court, just sitting around doing nothing?
"Eighth Imperial Uncle, what I want to hear is not guilt."

"If the Eighth Prince is unable to handle matters concerning the royal family, then I do not recommend handing them over to the Eastern Depot."

"If the Eastern Depot can handle the affairs of the Empress and her relatives well, I believe that the affairs of the Imperial Family will not be difficult for the Eastern Depot either."

Zhou Chen looked at the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian and spoke slowly and deliberately.

(End of this chapter)