Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 669: Muddy as a Roll
"Mud can't hold up a wall!"

Zhu Youjian cursed.

He now gets angry whenever he hears the name Zhou Kui, and realizes how difficult it is to deal with this kind of reckless gangster.

As the commander-in-chief of the Jinwu Guard, who only held an honorary title, Zhou Kui had no chance to participate in the discussion of the reform of the guard post, and he was not among those who signed the commitment.

Logically he should not know about this, but someone deliberately told him the news and asked him to come forward to protect some people.

Zhou Kui didn't know how serious this matter was, or he wouldn't care even if he knew -

After all, as the prince's maternal grandfather, the emperor had to give him the title for the prince's sake.

Otherwise, the ministers would think that the emperor did not like the prince, which would lead to disputes over the throne in the court.

It can be said that Zhou Kui is now fearless and is like a tough guy, using the methods he learned when he was in the underworld on Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian was so angry about this that when Duke of England Zhang Weixian mentioned this name, he cursed directly:
"I have shown my favor to the Zhou family time and again, but Zhou Kui is not satisfied. He is not a qualified royal relative."

"Prince of England, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

"Should we strip him of his position and the title he is about to be conferred?"

Duke of England Zhang Weixian certainly did not want to wade into this muddy water, and replied:
"I am confused. I don't know how to deal with someone like Governor Zhou who didn't sign the letter of commitment?"

"Your Majesty, please make the decision yourself, or let the ministers discuss it."

Zhu Youjian frowned upon hearing this. At one moment he wanted to punish Zhou Kui directly, but at another moment he wanted to hand him over to the ministers for trial and set a precedent for such matters.

In the end, he still didn't make a decision on the spot. He delayed and said:

"Zhou Kui is the Queen's father and the Crown Prince's maternal grandfather, so he should be included in the discussion of marriage."

"But those who secretly inquire about and leak secrets must also be severely punished, otherwise how can the confidentiality system be implemented?"

"We must dig out the person who told Zhou Kui, and let the Royal Guards and the National Assembly's Etiquette and Law Committee formulate a confidentiality law so that confidentiality work will have a law to follow and trials will be conducted according to the law."

Zhu Youjian's subtext was that he would not punish Zhou Kui severely. However, he did not make the decision directly, apparently wanting the court officials to step forward and be the evildoer who punished Zhou Kui.

Duke of England Zhang Weixian saw through this, but he didn't want to be the bad guy. After all, behind Zhou Kui was the queen, the current prince, and the future emperor.

If he spoke at this time, it might sow trouble for the Zhang family. He had already made contributions in the reform of the guards, and he didn't want to add more to it.

Most other nobles were of the same opinion, and the Jinyiwei and other inner court offices did not dare to speak publicly on the matter.

So Zhou Kui's matter was delayed like this, and no decision was made immediately.
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Although Queen Zhou never interfered in state affairs in the harem, someone would pass the news to her after the meeting.

Hearing that her father was involved in all that mess again, she got so angry that her eyes turned red and she burst into tears.

She had already been heartbroken once, and she could never have expected that even though she was favored by the emperor, recognized by all officials, and protected by etiquette and laws, her position as empress and her son's position as crown prince would be shaken. The cause came from her father at home.

She gnashed her teeth with hatred and summoned the female officials outside the palace and scolded them:
"Why didn't you tell me about the Zhou family earlier?"

"What exactly is father trying to achieve by speaking for those hereditary officials?"

The female official knelt down hurriedly and responded:

"The reform of the guards is confidential, and I have not received any information about it before."

"The father-in-law probably accepted the money, so he was involved in this matter."

"He often said in the palace that the emperor was stingy with his rewards of gold and silver, and that he should find ways to earn more money." "Otherwise, wearing ragged clothes would damage the prince's reputation and make people think that the emperor did not value the prince's in-laws."

Only Zhou Kui could come up with such a perverse theory. Empress Zhou continued to rebuke:
"Didn't I send money home after the last share incident?"

"Could it be spent so quickly? What on earth did he do?"

The head female official was mainly responsible for this matter and reported Zhou Kui's movements in detail.

I heard that my father not only spent huge amounts of money on delicious food and fine clothes, but also often stayed overnight and gambled in the red-light district with a group of old playboys.

Queen Zhou simply didn't want to hear about this. She had never expected that her father would be so miserable when he was old and rich.

But no matter what, he was still her father. If the emperor dealt with his father when the crown prince was newly appointed, it would make the crown prince's position and her own status unstable.

So she could only arrange people to go to Zhou Mansion to warn, while waiting for the emperor's condolences in this haggard look.
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After dealing with state affairs, Zhu Youjian quickly went to Kunning Palace where the queen lived under the attention of all parties in the palace.

However, although he disliked Zhou Kuidao in his heart, he had to respect Queen Zhou, the virtuous queen.

Queen Zhou, who did not interfere in government affairs, was a good helper to him. What was even more rare was that she had a clear understanding of the Zhou family's affairs and would not blindly protect them just because of blood ties.

Empress Zhang of Emperor Xiaozong is a counterexample. As the last favored empress who gave birth to a legitimate son, her indulgence of the brothers Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling created the most domineering foreign relatives in the Ming Dynasty.

In comparison, Empress Zhou was much better. Except for her inability to control her father Zhou Kui, everyone else in the Zhou Mansion was well-behaved by her.

What Zhu Youjian intended to do was to eliminate this hidden danger for the Queen and the Crown Prince, and prevent Zhou Kui's reckless behavior from affecting them in the future.

The concubines who paid attention to these things in the palace knew that the emperor went to Kunning Palace, so they naturally knew that the queen had not fallen out of favor. The emperor's favor for the queen was still the same as before.

Empress Zhou was naturally relieved. However, she did not dare to take advantage of the emperor's favor and asked the emperor to spare her father Zhou Kui.

She held back her sadness and bowed to the emperor, saying solemnly:

"I already know about the Zhou family's affairs. Your Majesty, please handle them impartially and don't worry about me."

Tears couldn't help but flow from both eyes.

Obviously she also knew how great a shock it would be if the emperor dealt with Zhou Kui.

But if nothing is done about it, I'm afraid Zhou Kui will do even more lawless things in the future.

If she didn't want Zhang Heling and his brothers to be executed, she needed the emperor to keep warning her father.

How could Zhu Youjian have the patience to keep competing with Zhou Kui? If it weren't for the queen, he would have thrown Zhou Kui out far away.

Now he only hopes that his ministers will understand his intention and step forward to be the evil one who deals with Zhou Kui.

As for the impact on the Queen and the Crown Prince, he also had his own way. He smiled and helped the Queen up and said:
"Don't worry about it, I will handle it properly."

"The most important thing now is that you get pregnant as soon as possible and spread the news."

"This way, people outside will naturally stop having wild thoughts and know the status of you and the Crown Prince in my heart."

He carried the queen to the bed and continued to try to make a baby with her.

Queen Zhou naturally tried her best to please him, hoping to get pregnant again and resolve the impact of her father Zhou Kui's mistake.

(End of this chapter)