After receiving the gift of 100,000 taels of silver from Zhou Chong, Gu Dayong no longer had any complaints about Zhou Chong, and at the same time he had a higher opinion of Zhou Chong, no wonder the other party was in charge of nearly half of the smuggling business along the southern coast at a young age, and this boldness alone was not comparable to ordinary people.

Gu Dayong did not go back to the palace directly in the carriage, but went to other places to do some things, and when he returned to the palace after finishing his work, it was already dusk, and the palace gate was about to close.

As one of the highest-ranking eunuchs in the palace, Gu Dayong is relatively low-key, and many eunuchs like to buy courtyards and servants outside the palace after they get out of the palace, and even marry a few wives and concubines like ordinary people, as if doing so can make the eunuchs regain a little dignity as men. However, Gu Dayong has always lived in the palace, never bought a yard outside, let alone married a concubine, and Emperor Zhengde often needs him to serve with him, and Gu Dayong has no time to leave.

The courtyard where Gu Dayong lives is not far from the palace of Emperor Zhengde, although the courtyard is not big, but it is very exquisite, in addition to Gu Dayong, there are a few little eunuchs who serve him, usually when Gu Dayong has nothing to do, he also likes to train those little eunuchs, and those who perform well will even be sent to the inner study hall by him to study, so that in the future, when these little eunuchs grow up, they will become a good helper for Gu Dayong.

Gu Dayong ran outside the palace for a day, and he was already feeling very tired, so he planned to go back to his place to rest well, but unfortunately as soon as he came back, the little eunuch who served him came to report: Zhang Yong, the eunuch of the master of ceremonies and the palm seal, came to visit.

Zhang Yong's time can be described as a spring breeze. Since the last time he killed Liu Jin with Yang Yiqing. brought his prestige to its peak. Not only did the people have a high evaluation of him as a eunuch, but the court also rewarded him with many rewards, such as his elder brother and younger brother were named Tai'an Bo and Anding Bo respectively because of his relationship, and he himself also received countless rewards, especially when he took over Liu Jin's position and became the palm seal eunuch of the celebrant eunuch, and also served as the palm seal eunuch of the imperial horse eunuch. The celebrant supervisor is in charge of the government, and the imperial horse supervisor is in charge of the martial arts, so it can be said that all the civil and military power in the inner court is in his hands, and Liu Jin, who is in charge of power, is not as good as him.

However, although Zhang Yong's power in his hands is great, he is not as authoritarian as Liu Jin, and he has been in charge of the imperial horse eunuch before, and he has more dealings with martial artists, and his personality is also affected, not as cautious as ordinary eunuchs, and usually when government affairs are busy. He will also let go of the power in his hands, unlike Liu Jin, who grasps all the big and small things with one hand. Moreover, Zhang Yong also got along well with several ministers of the imperial court. The tacit understanding between the inner court and the outer court also brought a new wind to the Ming court, and the decrees were also much more accessible.

However, although Zhang Yong is proud, he also has his own troubles, although he is a eunuch, but he is a different kind of eunuch, other eunuchs are very greedy for money, but Zhang Yong does not attach much importance to money, but Zhang Yong also has his own greedy things, that is, name, he wants to be a eunuch who spreads history, which is one of the reasons why he chose to kill Liu Jin before.

After Liu Jin's death, Zhang Yong had no opponents in the inner court, and the ministers of the court were also very respectful to him, but Zhang Yong had a greater desire in his heart, that is, he wanted to be a eunuch, if he could do this, then he would go further than his predecessors Zheng He and Liu Yongcheng, and become the first eunuch to be enthroned in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

Speaking of Zhang Yong's merits are indeed not small, and he is familiar with martial affairs, if he is not a eunuch, it is not impossible to be a concubine, but unfortunately he is a eunuch, a minister next to the Son of Heaven, so although he revealed to the cabinet that he wanted to be a waiter, but was considered by the cabinet ministers to be uncourteous, so it was not passed, which made Zhang Yong very disappointed, and at the same time made his confidence suffer a big blow, and this time was much more low-key.

Originally, Zhang Yong's mood had just improved today, but he didn't expect that there would be trouble coming to the door again, and in the morning, Gu Da used the people around him to tie his righteous son Zhang Rui to the palace, saying that he would let him deal with it himself. At the beginning, when Zhang Yong saw Zhang Rui's embarrassed appearance with red and swollen cheeks, he was also a little angry in his heart, after all, no matter how Zhang Rui was his own person, Gu Dayong did not give him the slightest face, but when Wang Gui, the little eunuch sent by Gu Dayong, told the story of the incident, and especially emphasized that it was Zhou Chong who Zhang Rui offended, which made Zhang Yong calm down all of a sudden.

Speaking of Zhou Chong, Zhang Yong naturally knows very well, and the Journey to the West written by Zhou Chong before was given to Zhengde through his hand. In addition, Zhang Yong also knew that His Majesty the Emperor also attached great importance to Zhou Chong, not only because he exempted Wang Lun from his sin, but also personally gave Zhou Chong a marriage, which even Zhang Yong was very envious of.

In addition, what made Zhang Yong puzzled was that His Majesty the Emperor didn't seem to have any contact with Zhou Chong, and even the two hadn't met at all, but this did not prevent His Majesty the Emperor from attaching importance to Zhou Chong, and even Zhang Yong had an intuition, he felt that Zhou Chong must have some secret that he didn't know, and this secret was only known to a few people such as Gu Dayong and Qian Ning in addition to His Majesty the Emperor.

Everyone in the world knows that there are eight most favored eunuchs around Emperor Zhengde, that is, the eight tigers in other people's mouths. However, the relationship between the Eight Tigers and Emperor Zhengde is also far and near, don't look at Liu Jin and Zhang Yong who are in charge of the ceremonial supervisor before and after, they have great power in their hands, and they are also deeply trusted by Emperor Zhengde, but really speaking, Gu Dayong is the closest eunuch to Emperor Zhengde, and many of Emperor Zhengde's confidential things are only known to Gu Dayong, which Zhang Yong and Liu Jin cannot compare with him.

It is precisely because of this that Zhang Yong's heart couldn't help but sink when he learned that Zhang Rui had offended Zhou Chong, and at that moment he asked Zhang Rui to beat Zhang Rui in front of the little eunuch Wang Gui, and temporarily imprisoned him, and then waited until Gu Dayong returned to the palace, and then immediately came to visit, wanting to inquire about Zhou Chong from Gu Dayong.

Gu Dayong was not too surprised by Zhang Yong's visit, and he also came out to greet him in person, and after the two of them sat down in the living room and let the left and right retreat, Zhang Yong said impatiently: "Father-in-law Gu, Zhang Rui, this kid has no eyes, and he offended people who shouldn't be offended, but Zhang saw that he was really a talent, so he couldn't bear to punish him too heavily, I don't know what Father-in-law Gu think?" ”

Zhang Yong's personality is more like a straightforward martial artist, he will say whatever he wants, and he generally doesn't like to detour much, so he goes straight to the point as soon as he comes up.

Gu Dayong has long been familiar with Zhang Yong's straight temper, but he did not answer Zhang Yong's question directly, but said with a smile: "Father-in-law Zhang doesn't have to worry, it's just time to eat now, I've been running outside for a day, and I'm already hungry, so it's better for me to let people prepare wine and food, let's talk while eating, speaking of the two of us haven't sat down to drink together for many years since we ascended the throne from His Majesty." ”

Hearing Gu Dayong's words, Zhang Yong was also a little helpless, but the guest was as he pleased, and he still had something to ask for, so he could only let Zhang Yong arrange it, and when the wine and food were put on the table, he absentmindedly drank a few glasses with Gu Dayong, and couldn't help but speak again: "Father-in-law Gu, can you give me a clear word, what is the origin of that Zhou Gongzi, and why does His Majesty value it so much?" ”

When Zhang Yong heard this, he put down his wine glass and shook his head, and said with a light smile: "Father-in-law Zhang, with our friendship for many years, I won't hide ordinary things from you, but I must not tell anyone about Zhou Gongzi, and I also advise you not to inquire about Zhou Gongzi in private, otherwise the consequences may be very serious!" ”

"Serious? How serious is it? Zhang Yong couldn't help but feel a little angry when he heard that Gu Dayong was reluctant to speak, and he didn't even let himself inquire, after all, with his current identity, Zhang Yong didn't believe that there was anything he couldn't know.

Seeing Zhang Yong's disbelieving expression, I saw Gu Da take a mouthful of food into his mouth slowly, and a strange smile suddenly appeared on his white fat face and said: "It doesn't matter if Gonggong Zhang doesn't believe my words, but you should also know about Liu Jin, he was originally instructed by His Majesty to seize power with Xie Qian's ministers, and later His Majesty handed over the government to him to take care of, in all fairness, although Liu Jin was a little arrogant and domineering, but he also reformed some of the ills of the court, so after the most His Majesty, he didn't want to rectify Liu Jin so quickly, I also didn't want to kill him, but unfortunately Liu Jin did something wrong! ”

Hearing Gu Dayong suddenly mention Liu Jin, Zhang Yong was still puzzled at first, but when he heard the most shocking expression, he couldn't help but show a shocked expression on his face, and at the same time exclaimed: "I see, is it ...... Is it ......?"

didn't wait for Zhang Yong to say the next words, only to see Gu Dayong smile strangely again: "Gonggong Zhang's guess is right, Liu Jin would not have fallen so quickly, and even His Majesty might spare his life, but he just sent someone to investigate Zhou Gongzi, and even wanted to send someone to arrest Zhou Gongzi, so Liu Jin fell ahead of schedule, and he couldn't even save his life!" ”

"Boom~" Zhang Yong only felt like a thunder in his head, and the whole person stayed there motionless, when he joined forces with Yang Yiqing to get rid of Liu Jin, he did receive the instructions of Emperor Zhengde, but he didn't expect that Liu Jin's death would have such a tortuous inside story.

However, when Zhang Yong woke up from the shock, he was even more curious about Zhou Chong's identity, who was Zhou Chong who could make His Majesty the Emperor even change his plan to get rid of Liu Jin for him? (To be continued......)