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

Chapter 468

Elevating the Lu family is tantamount to elevating Zhou Chu.

Upon hearing this, and sensing Jiang's gentle tone, Yang Ran felt less nervous.

"To be honest, Wenxin and I practically grew up together, wearing open-crotch pants. When Wenxin came to the capital, I was heartbroken for quite a while."

Jiajing said half-jokingly.

"Mother, this is the weighing instrument. Don't you often mention the name of the weighing instrument?"

Jiajing pointed to Zhou Chu, who was standing to the side, and introduced him.

"Hengqi, I'll call you that too. You're practically a member of the Lu family, and you're as close as brothers with Wenfu and Wenxin."

Jiang looked at Zhou Chu with a smile on her face.

Jiang was very clever; he only talked about family matters and not national affairs. Everyone knew what Zhou Chu had done, so there was no need for Jiang to praise him again.

"Your Majesty flatters me too much."

Zhou Chu was flattered and surprised.

"It's hardly an honor. By the way, do you have a woman you admire? If so, tell me, and I'll put in a good word for you."

"It's a joke," Chiang said.

Everyone smiled upon hearing this.

"Yes, Hengqi, Wenxin is about the same age as you and me. Now Wenxin is already married, why haven't you made any moves yet?"

Jiajing looked at the weighing scale and teased.

"Your Majesty knows that I have no time. Besides, my elder brother is not even married yet, so I am not in a hurry."

As Zhou Chu spoke, he looked at Lu Bing standing to the side.

Lu Bing, who was just watching the show, was caught off guard when he was suddenly called out.

"What do I have to do with this?"

Lu Bing looked completely bewildered.

"Don't even mention it. I had portraits of all the women in the capital sent to Wenfu for him to choose from, but he didn't find a single one he liked."

Jiajing looked at Lu Bing with a hint of disappointment.

"Your Majesty's safety is my only concern right now; I have no time to think about such things."

Lu Bing said with some helplessness.

"Don't use me as a cover. I'm not in any danger right now. You're going to get married eventually."

Jiajing said with dissatisfaction.

Seeing that the trouble had been successfully diverted, Zhou Chu stood aside and watched the show with amusement.

As for the others in the courtyard, those with official titles or positions bowed respectfully, while the common people knelt on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

"Alright, let's go inside quickly so as not to disturb the guests."

Seeing that most of the guests in the courtyard were kneeling, Madam Jiang couldn't bear to see them kneeling forever, so she spoke up to remind them.

Upon hearing this, Lu Song and his wife breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly led Jiajing and Madam Jiang into the inner courtyard.

Emperor Jiajing and Lady Jiang naturally had to be seated at a separate table, not in the inner hall, otherwise how could those people in the inner hall eat in peace?

The arrangement in the inner quarters was most appropriate. This table was very particular, with Lu Song and his wife, Lu Bing, and Zhou Chu accompanying them, while Jiajing, the Empress Dowager, and Empress Zhang were seated among them.

Originally, Lu Song and his wife, along with Lu Bing, were supposed to be greeting the guests, but since the Emperor, Empress, and even the Empress Dowager were all there, their first priority was to keep them company.

Empress Zhang was originally Consort Zhang. After the previous Empress Chen was deposed, she was made Empress by Emperor Jiajing. In order to show his favor to Zhang, Jiajing promoted Zhang's father, Zhang Ji, to the position of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhang Ji, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was a very special figure in the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard system. Even Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, deliberately ignored his existence, neither provoking nor touching him.

The other members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard dared not offend the Empress's biological father.

However, Zhang Ji learned from Chen Wanyan's lesson and treated Zhou Chu with utmost respect, never daring to overstep his bounds. He would report everything that happened, and Zhou Chu would generally turn a blind eye as long as Zhang Ji's reports were not too outrageous.

The two got along peacefully.

The Emperor Jiajing's arrangement was not to place someone in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but because Zhang Ji had no official rank. If he wanted to be promoted, he would either be granted a title or be placed in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

With Chen Wanyan as a cautionary tale, Jiajing would naturally no longer grant titles to officials at will, and could only assign them to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.