Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 109 Imperial Prison
Since coming into this world, Chen Qing has seen many evil people.

However, the villains he encountered earlier were villains relative to Chen Qing himself, such as the Gu brothers.

However, although this "Master Bai" did not show much malice towards Chen Qing, in Chen Qing's eyes, this kind of person was almost pure evil.

Admittedly, there are filthy things in this world.

In the martial arts world, there are all sorts of treachery, and in the imperial court, there is also much ugliness hidden beneath the glamorous facade. However, in Chen Qing's case, turning a healthy child into a cripple and then using that cripple to gain sympathy from others is still far too vicious.

This is even more vicious than taking a person's life outright.

Killing someone is just a matter of beheading them, but Chen Qing absolutely cannot accept someone like Bai Sanping who ruins the lives of children for a little bit of petty gain.

At this moment, looking at Bai Sanping kneeling on the ground with his face covered in blood, Chen Qing took several deep breaths before calming down a little. He sat down in a chair, looked at Yan Cong, and said, "Brother Yan."

"Seal everything in this estate and report it to His Majesty later. As for the children..."

Upon hearing this, Yan Cong sighed and said, "I just went to take a look, and there are dozens of disabled children in this manor alone."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "According to their confessions, there were also some older people who did not live here. Some settled in alleys in the capital, while others were sent to other prefectures in Zhili."

"Some of them were sold to others."

The "finished products" obtained after harvesting and breaking branches have a very high success rate in getting money from them, and these "finished products" have basically lost the ability to run away.

Such people are considered best-selling items in the business world, and many people are willing to buy them to make money for themselves.

In fact, for people like Bai Sanping who hire children to do such immoral things, their main source of income is selling those "finished products" to other people who are willing to take them over.

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing shook his head and remained silent.

In the other world, he lived in an era that was relatively too civilized, so much so that he couldn't accept the darkness of that era for a while.

After a long while, he finally spoke: "If everyone in the entire manor is taken back to the imperial prison, can the prison hold them all?"

The imperial prison of the Northern Garrison Command was also known as the Heavenly Prison.

It is a relatively high-end prison. Normally, such prisons are not open to ordinary people and are more like independent prisons run by disciplinary departments.

Yan Cong thought for a moment and then said, "These people are not worthy of being put in the imperial prison. Brother Zizheng, don't worry, I have plenty of places to put them."

There are many prisons in the capital. In addition to the Imperial Prison of the Northern Garrison Command, there is the prison of the Jingzhao Prefecture, the prison of the Ministry of Justice, and so on. Some of these people are detained by local authorities.

Chen Qing thought for a moment, then looked at Bai Sanping and the others, and said, "Since they know my identity, let's just put them in the imperial prison to prevent them from communicating with outsiders and leaking my information."

Yan Cong nodded, then moved closer to Chen Qing and said, "Brother Zizheng, after this matter is settled, you and Mr. Gu and Miss Gu should move to a different place."

Chen Qing nodded slowly: "I've got it."

As the two were talking, a young officer in the Imperial Guard strode in. He walked up to Chen Qing and said in a low voice, "Lord Yan, Brother Chen, we searched the entire estate and found fifty-seven crippled children, as well as three or four children who had been harmed and had not yet recovered."

"In addition, there were seven or eight children who escaped unharmed and were not harmed by them."

"They've all gathered in the open space outside by now."

Chen Qing nodded silently, then turned to Yan Cong and asked, "Shall we go out and take a look together?"

Yan Cong nodded, turned to look at Bai Sanping and several leaders of the White Lotus Sect, and said coldly, "Take strips of cloth and gag these people to prevent them from biting others."

The Imperial Guards below immediately bowed their heads in agreement and pounced on them like wolves and tigers.

Chen Qing and Yan Cong went into the courtyard together. Once inside, both of them fell silent.

At first glance, there were dozens, nearly a hundred children gathered in the yard. These children were all very strange; some had broken hands, and others had their hands and feet cut off!

At first glance, most of them were boys.

The reason is not hard to guess.

If it were a girl, and she fell into their hands, any girl with even a hint of beauty wouldn't be here; she would have been sent to Zaoshu Hutong or somewhere else long ago.

Even Yan Cong, a second-generation official who grew up in the Zhenfu Division, couldn't help but freeze in place when he saw this scene. After a long while, he slowly exhaled a breath of white air.

"Once that scoundrel is in prison, we'll make sure the brothers give him a good welcome."

Chen Qing's gaze also fell upon these mostly disabled children. He remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "Let them come inside; it's freezing cold." After saying this, Chen Qing paused and added, "Those who are born disabled will be taken to the city for questioning. Those who were injured by them the day after tomorrow will remain in Hejiazhuang for now, and I will take care of their arrangements later."

He looked at Yan Cong and said, "Brother Yan, what do you think?"

Those who are born with disabilities and work in this line of work are not necessarily doing so against their will; they may have ties to the White Lotus Sect and may even be accomplices.

We must find out the truth.

Yan Cong looked at Chen Qing and nodded, saying, "My father said that we will leave the situation here tonight to Brother Zizheng. Brother Zizheng can make the arrangements."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing remarked with emotion, "Lord Yan does believe me."

At this point, he looked at Yan Cong again and said with a smile, "That's truly rare."

If Chen Qing didn't know the chubby boy, he would be grateful to Yan Cong for treating him so well, given his current status as a newcomer to the Zhenfu Division. However, since he not only knew Jiang Shizi but was also familiar with him, it would be easy to deduce that this matter was not so simple.

The reason why Commander Yan valued him so much was probably not only because of Chen Qing's plan to usurp power, but also because of Prince Jiang.

As a member of the imperial clan, Prince Jiang is currently serving in the Imperial Ceremonial Office. Yan Cong is unsure how long he will stay in the office, and whether it will provoke a backlash from the civil officials.

At this time, he was still observing Jiang Shizi.

This operation against the White Lotus Sect was ostensibly a swift and decisive blow by the Zhenfu Division against the sect, but Chen Qing knew in his heart that, at its core, it was nothing more than the emperor trying to add a splendid resume to the little fat boy's resume.

The people in the imperial court are all intelligent, and each has their own thoughts, making the situation extremely complex and intertwined.

Yan Cong looked at Chen Qing and suddenly said, "My father should be in the capital right now, cracking down on the cult bandit den. Those two county officials won't be arrested until tomorrow."

"If Brother Zizheng is interested, let's go to the county government office tomorrow to arrest him."

Yan Cong said with a smile, "Go and get those officials. It's quite interesting. Those officials are usually arrogant and haughty, but as soon as they see the waist token of our Northern Garrison, their legs go weak."

"Even the governor of a province is like this. In the past, when my father arrested officials, I would occasionally go with him to watch. Every time he arrested someone, it was a good show."

Chen Qing was speechless upon hearing this.

He also knew that in this era, the Northern Garrison Command was somewhat similar to the disciplinary inspection department, and was indeed the nemesis of those officials.

However, the official rank and status of the Northern Garrison Commander were not very high. In essence, they were an extension of imperial power and there was still a significant gap between them and court officials.

"Lord Yan said that until the White Lotus Sect problem is completely resolved, I can hold a temporary post in the Zhenfu Division and will not have to report for duty."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to do these interesting things anytime soon."

"But that's okay."

Chen Qing patted Yan Cong on the shoulder and said with a smile, "There's a long road ahead. Who knows, maybe one day we brothers will become imperial envoys and go to capture those powerful regional officials."

The two chatted for a while before getting back to work. Because there were so many people in Hejiazhuang and so many things to deal with, they didn't finish until the next morning.

Chen Qing was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open. After parting ways with Yan Cong, she returned to the Gu family home in the city.

Master Gu had been waiting for him at home all night. When he saw him return, he immediately greeted him and asked, "Zizheng, has the matter been settled?"

Chen Qing shook his head: "This is just the beginning; there's a lot more to come."

He looked at Master Gu and said, "After I wake up, I will have to go to the imperial prison to interrogate them. After the interrogation, I will have to submit a report to His Majesty."

"Imperial Prison, the Imperial Prison of the Northern Garrison Command?"

Master Gu looked up at Chen Qing, his eyes gleaming.

Chen Qing hummed in agreement and said softly, "The Northern Garrison Prison."

“Originally, I shouldn’t have come back. I should have gone with Yan Cong and the others to find a place to rest. I rushed back to see Uncle Gu. Uncle Gu, you…”

What message do you want to convey?

He looked at Master Gu and said seriously.

"I'll try my best to get you to the imperial prison."

(End of this chapter)