Four Fiends of Earthly Destruction

Li Chen Zhou looked at their expressions and asked, "What's wrong? Is it troublesome? Which gang are they from?"

The White Cat said with a solemn expression, "They are Earth-ranked assassins from the Listening Rain Pavilion, known as the 'Four Fiends of Earthly Destruction'."

Knowing who was behind the attack, Li Chen Zhou didn't care who they were: "Do you know how to contact the Listening Rain Pavilion?"

The White Cat nodded and replied, "Yes, I do."

"Contact them and issue a mission for the Four Fiends of Earthly Destruction to assassinate me. They can name their price."

As soon as Li Chen Zhou said this, everyone was shocked. The Bookworm next to him was even more astonished. He was very familiar with the Listening Rain Pavilion, as someone whose mind was filled with documents. He quickly said, "Lord, this…"

Li Chen Zhou raised his hand to interrupt: "It's just a small case. I don't have much time to waste on it."

The White Cat cupped his fist and said, "Yes, this subordinate will take care of it."

Seeing the White Cat leave, Qian Shisan cautiously asked, "Lord, do you think there's nothing for me to do now? Can I…"

The only response he got was two words: "Stay."

Li Chen Zhou then asked, "Since he's Chen Chang's cousin, his background shouldn't be too clean, right?"

The Bookworm nodded: "We found some account books. According to the investigation, he provided half of Chen Chang's goods."

"Then don't wait. Confiscate everything. Submit 30%, give 20% to the higher-ups, let the brothers keep 20%, and exchange the rest for silver notes for me."

Li Chen Zhou sat at the entrance of the Chen Residence's main hall, leisurely basking in the sun, waiting for the others to ransack the house. After a while, a Brocade Guard sat next to Li Chen Zhou and began to whisper in his ear.

Li Chen Zhou slightly opened his eyes and glanced at Qian Shisan.

Seeing Li Chen Zhou look at him, Qian Shisan lowered his head guiltily.

At this time, the Brocade Guard in charge of the ransacking came over. "Lord, the Chen family's property has been inventoried and is all here."

Li Chen Zhou looked at the gold, silver, jewelry, and silver notes spread on the ground and replied, "Okay, tell the brothers they've worked hard. Pack everything up and let's head back."

The culprit had been found, and the Chen family had been ransacked. Li Chen Zhou was too lazy to stay any longer.

So he turned around and returned to the Brocade Guard's headquarters.

As soon as Li Chen Zhou arrived at the entrance of the Brocade Guard's headquarters, the guards quickly reported in a low voice, "Lord Li, you'd better not go back right now."

"What's wrong?" Li Chen Zhou asked in confusion.

"People from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Rites are here. They're inside. You should leave quickly, be careful not to be seen."

"Oh, what are they here for? And what does it have to do with me?" Li Chen Zhou said dismissively.

The guard at the door lowered his voice and said, "I heard it's for the Emerald Cloud Tower's manager, and the three departments have jointly submitted a memorial to the Emperor, accusing Lord Wei."

Li Chen Zhou smiled with interest: "Heh, that's interesting."

Li Chen Zhou didn't take the guard's warning to heart at all and strode through the gate.

As soon as he entered, he was noticed by the people from the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Rites, who were causing a commotion in the Brocade Guard. The people from the three departments immediately surrounded him.

One of them, with a big belly, stepped forward and said, "Li Chen Zhou, you are simply lawless! Relying on your identity as a Brocade Guard, you oppress the people, extort their wealth, and force confessions. Do you know your crime?"

Another also said, "If you know what's good for you, quickly release the manager of the Emerald Cloud Tower. Otherwise, we will definitely impeach you before His Majesty."

Li Chen Zhou frowned: "And who might you be?"

That person thought Li Chen Zhou was admitting defeat, and raised his nose higher than his eyes: "I am Zhou Zheng, a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

Li Chen Zhou asked, "Then does Lord Zhou know that the owner of the Emerald Cloud Tower is from the Heavenly Desire Palace?"

Zhou Zheng replied disdainfully, "So what? The Heavenly Desire Palace is not on the imperial court's wanted list. They have a legal identity."

Li Chen Zhou's eyes turned cold: "Does Lord Zhou also know that the owner of the Emerald Cloud Tower is harboring the Eight-Faced Buddha, a major criminal of the imperial court?"

Zhou Zheng continued to argue.

"The Emerald Cloud Tower opens its doors for business and inevitably fails to recognize people clearly, allowing some villains to take advantage of the situation. It's not appropriate to arrest people for such a small matter, right?"

Li Chen Zhou took out the Emerald Cloud Tower owner's confession and slapped it in front of Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng sneered.

"Lord Li, are you joking with me? Do you think I don't know that the Brocade Guard is best at forcing confessions?"

Li Chen Zhou realized that he couldn't reason with people who spent their days in the officialdom.

So he ignored everyone and turned to leave.

Zhou Zheng straightened his clothes and sneered, "Hmph, little brat, you think you can fight me?" He looked at Li Chen Zhou with a face full of disdain.

Li Chen Zhou went straight to the Brocade Guard's Archives Department.

"Are there any cases related to Zhou Zheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue? Bring them all to me."

The director of the Archives Department knew there would be a good show when he heard Li Chen Zhou's question, and quickly replied, "Yes, yes, yes, this is about his nephew's bribery, this is about his nephew's encroachment on good farmland…"

In a short while, the files on Zhou Zheng were piled up on the desk.

With the Emperor deliberately balancing power, you can say that the Brocade Guard's power is not as great as before, but you can't say that the Brocade Guard's intelligence system is poor.

Hearing the Archives Department director's answer, Li Chen Zhou turned his head and glanced at Zhou Zheng playfully, then opened his mouth and said, "Black Dog."

"Your subordinate is here."

"Bring the person the supervisor mentioned earlier back to the Brocade Guard for a cup of tea. While you're at it, investigate whether they've been involved in any other illegal or disciplinary violations. Investigate thoroughly to see who's backing them." As he spoke, he stared at Zhou Zheng with a face full of provocation.

"Your subordinate will take care of it immediately." Black Dog led a small team and turned to apprehend the person.

Hearing this, Zhou Zheng was so angry that his face turned pale, and cold sweat couldn't help but flow from his forehead.

"Li Chen Zhou, you're abusing your power for personal revenge! I will definitely report you to His Majesty!" Zhou Zheng's chest heaved with anger.

"Whatever, go ahead and go. I just don't know if your own backside is clean. You'd better pray that I don't actually find anything on you."

After speaking, he provocatively glanced at him.

Zhou Zheng, enraged, flicked his sleeves and left, seemingly preparing to go back and find someone to back him up.

Then, Li Chen Zhou turned his gaze to the people from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue.

"Do the two of you gentlemen have anything else?"

The two officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites immediately shook their heads and left in a panic.

Watching the backs of the two as they departed, Li Chen Zhou couldn't help but sigh. "To go against the Brocade Guard, you must be out of your mind."