The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Wang Zhi nodded and continued flipping through the sign-in book to call out names, but after a while a voice rang out from the crowd.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness. I will now take my leave."

An official bowed in the direction of the Qianqing Palace and then hurriedly left.

This official's actions seemed to trigger a chain reaction, with other officials leaving one after another to return to their respective offices.

As the officials left, the remaining officials' expressions changed, their emotions complex. Wang Zhi did not try to stop them.

He knew very well that the civil service group was never monolithic, and that dealing with these people could not be done by simply confronting them; he had to win some over, subdue others, and then strike at the rest. Only in this way could he deal with them.

After only a short while, only a few dozen officials remained in the room.

The officials present were all from the same faction as the three Grand Secretaries, Liu, Xie, and Li.

Wang Zhi looked at the dozens of officials.

"It seems that you gentlemen will not give up until you reach the Yellow River."

Without wasting any words, Wang Zhi opened the sign-in book and was about to call out names. The remaining people's expressions changed, and they looked at the three elders.

"Lord Wang, please wait."

Li Ge Lao, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"This minister, the Grand Secretary, and Minister Xie wish to request an audience with His Majesty."

Wang Zhi said casually, "Your Majesty has caught a cold today and is not in a position to see anyone."

After listening to what the other party said, the three elders fell silent, and after a moment they turned and left.

Seeing that the Grand Secretary had left, the remaining dozens of officials realized that their kneeling remonstrance had been a complete failure, and that there was no point in keeping them around; they would only suffer the same fate as He Zhen earlier. So they turned and left as well.

Seeing that Wang Zhi had easily defused the coup attempt, Zhu Houzhao, who was in the distance, burst into laughter.

"Brother Jiang, what do you think of Wang Zhi?"

Compared to Gu Dayong's performance during the previous kneeling remonstrance by the assembled officials, Zhu Houzhao was very satisfied with Wang Zhi's performance.

"good."

Jiang Ning nodded and turned to leave.

He had already finished watching the play, but he still had a book to read.

After Jiang Ning left, Zhu Houzhao had not yet left. He looked calmly at Wang Zhishen in the distance, and after a moment he suddenly spoke.

"Liu Daban, you have found Wang Zhi for me. He is very capable, and I like him very much. What reward do you want?"

Liu Jin stood to the side, showing great respect.

"It is my honor to serve my master. I dare not mention the word 'reward.' Moreover, Eunuch Wang was left to you by the late emperor. I only happened to recommend him to you. Even without me, you would have employed him."

Zhu Houzhao remained silent, his expression calm, lost in thought. After a moment...

"You were too high-profile recently, which offended many people who are secretly holding a grudge against you. It's good that you've stepped down now. Be more low-key. With Wang Zhi handling things, you can just focus on serving me. Don't worry about anything else. I'm doing this for your own good."

Zhu Houzhao said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin showed neither joy nor sorrow, and quickly replied, "Being able to serve by your side is a blessing that I could never attain in ten lifetimes. In this life, it is enough for me to serve you well; I don't want anything else."

Zhu Houzhao glanced at him.

"However, I won't keep you waiting too long. You can rest for a while and let Gu Dayong continue as the head of the Eastern Depot for a while longer. This position is still yours."

Liu Jin bowed and said.

"I will follow Master's arrangements."

……

Since the failed kneeling remonstrance that day, the officials have realized Wang Zhi's abilities and know that they cannot bring him down by doing so, so they have temporarily stopped. However, the memorials impeaching Wang Zhi have not stopped and continue to fly into the palace like snowflakes every day.

However, while they did not take any action for the time being, Wang Zhi did not stop. On the contrary, Wang Zhi arrested people more and more frequently, and dozens of officials were imprisoned in just a few days.

Zhu Houzhao, on the other hand, did not remain inactive. He followed the path of his grandfather, Emperor Xianzong, and began to appoint a large number of officials to the imperial court.

Unlike regular officials, those appointed by imperial decree were not selected or recommended by the Ministry of Personnel. Instead, they were directly appointed by the emperor. In short, those appointed by imperial decree were the emperor's people and stood in opposition to the regular civil service group.

It can be said that officials who were selected through normal means were very at odds with those who were appointed by the emperor and rose through the ranks; the two sides were natural enemies.

Emperor Xianzong once appointed a large number of officials to fight against the officials in the court, and finally succeeded in controlling the court. Zhu Houzhao also began to follow the same path.

While frequently appointing officials willing to pledge allegiance to the emperor, Zhu Houzhao also dispatched a large number of eunuchs.

Zhu Houzhao appointed a eunuch named Wang Yong as the city patrolman and commander of the nine gates. He also appointed his chief eunuch Zhang Yong and other eunuchs to command the 3,000-5,000 Shenji Battalion. At the same time, he sent other eunuchs to supervise the twelve regiments and sent garrison eunuchs to every battalion of the Beijing army, so as to effectively control the army through the eunuchs.

Leaving aside Wang Zhi's actions, Zhu Houzhao's drastic move aroused dissatisfaction among many officials, but they no longer dared to come to Zuoshun Gate to remonstrate.

However, this did not mean they had no way out. A few days later, officials began to claim illness and not go to their offices, and this phenomenon became more and more common. In one day, more than half of the officials in the capital claimed illness and took leave.

Faced with this counterattack from the civil officials, Zhu Houzhao summoned Wang Zhi. Wang Zhi told Zhu Houzhao that he had a solution. That afternoon, Wang Zhi, along with imperial physicians and people from the Western Depot, went to the homes of various officials who had claimed to be sick and asked for leave to examine their pulses. If any were found to be false, they were immediately imprisoned. Within two days of the officials claiming to be sick, nearly a hundred officials were found to be in the wrong and imprisoned. These officials were all treated for the crime of deceiving the emperor and were demoted to commoners by Zhu Houzhao.

This was the first time such a major action had been taken since the Hongzhi reign, but it also made officials no longer dare to feign illness and avoid going to the government office.

Currently, Zhu Houzhao has gained the upper hand in the struggle between himself and the civil officials.

But not long after, something suddenly happened in the palace.

Zhu Houzhao was assassinated.

Chapter 670: Writing a Letter

"Take the body away."

Zhu Houzhao looked at the three corpses on the ground with a somewhat grim expression and gestured to his men to deal with the scene.

Watching the guards and eunuchs carry away the body and clean up the bloodstains on the ground, Zhu Houzhao calmed himself down, turned to look at Jiang Ning beside him, smiled slightly, and said.

"It seems they've become extremely angry."

During lunch today, three men suddenly appeared in the palace, shouting "Dog Emperor!" and rushing towards Zhu Houzhao with daggers. This sudden situation caused a commotion. The three men were eventually captured by Lingling Gong, but before they could be interrogated, they bit into the poison in their mouths and died, which led to the scene we see today.

Although he didn't know who was behind the three assassins, Zhu Houzhao already knew who was behind them.

It seems that his and Wang Zhi's recent actions have provoked a backlash from the civil official group, and these three assassins who do not know martial arts are a warning to Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Lingling Gong.

"Lingling Gong, you have done well. I will reward you with one hundred taels of gold."

Lingling bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand, then looked at Jiang Ning.

"Brother Jiang, I still need to ask you to stay a little longer. These people have already started to fight to the death."

They've even gone so far as to attempt an assassination; who knows what other crazy things might happen next? With Jiang Ning gone, Zhu Houzhao feels uncertain.

"Ok."

Jiang Ning nodded.

It's already January, and he's been staying in the capital for several months. Staying a little longer wouldn't be a big deal. He just doesn't know how his master, mistress, and fellow disciples are doing now.

“Brother Jiang, you’ve been out for so long without sending any news back to Mount Hua. I’m afraid your master and mistress must be worried about you.”

Zhu Houzhao then spoke.

"Why don't you write a letter back to let him know you're safe, so that Mr. Yue won't worry?"

Jiang Ning was taken aback. He usually went down the mountain and only returned every six months or a year, and he never wrote a letter back. He only wrote a letter when the Beggars' Sect branch rescued those children. He hadn't thought of these things.

However, after hearing Zhu Houzhao say this, Jiang Ning also had a change of heart.

"Alright."

It would be good to write a letter to let them know that I'm safe. Thinking of Yue Buqun's full head of white hair, Jiang Ning thought that he would write a letter back every now and then after going down the mountain, so as not to worry his master and mistress.

"hey-hey."

Zhu Houzhao laughed at this moment and leaned closer, saying, "Brother Jiang, it would be even better if you could mention what I said last time in your letter this time."

Jiang Ning glanced at him upon hearing this.

Jiang Ning knew that Zhu Houzhao meant to ask if anyone in the palace was willing to come to the capital to protect him.

So that's what Zhu Houzhao was thinking.

"Ok."

Jiang Ning nodded.

Zhu Houzhao smiled.

……

Mount Hua.

"It's been months already, why hasn't Ning'er come back yet?"

Ning Zhongze sat down next to Yue Buqun, knitting clothes as she spoke.

"Didn't you say Ning'er went to treat a friend's illness? Why is the treatment taking so long?"

At this moment, Yue Buqun was reading a book. When he heard his wife say this, he laughed and said, "Perhaps Ning'er's friend wants him to stay a little longer."

Yue Buqun kept Jiang Ning's trip to the capital to rescue the emperor a secret, even from Ning Zhongze; the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

Ning Zhongze said worriedly, "I'm afraid Ning'er will encounter people from the Demonic Sect on her way back."

Ning Zhongze was still terrified after being ambushed and nearly killed in Jiangning last time.

Upon hearing his wife's words, Yue Buqun put down his book and pondered for a moment.

"You're right, I'm just afraid Ning'er might be attacked."

Yue Buqun said to his wife, "Let's wait a few more days and see. If there is still no news of Ning'er, I will go out and look for her myself."

After making his promise to his wife, Yue Buqun looked at the clothes Ning Zhongze was weaving and asked in surprise, "Who are you embroidering clothes for?"

"For Shan'er."

A smile appeared on Ning Zhongze's face when clothes were mentioned.