Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 113 Court Eagle Dog
Yan Qianhu's choice was actually quite correct.

He was already a commander of a thousand men in the Garrison Command. The next step up would be the Garrison Commander. Once he reached the level of Garrison Commander, he would have essentially reached the end of his career in the ranks of "Royal Secret Service".

If you were to rise further from the position of Garrison Commander, you wouldn't even be able to exchange it for a position like Assistant Commander of the Imperial Guard. You'd need to reach the position of Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard to be considered a true promotion.

He was nearing the end of his career in the Royal Secret Service, and the Zhenfu Division held immense power. He was actually quite happy with his position as a commander in the Zhenfu Division.

Since he already holds a high position, there is naturally no need for him to get involved in such low-return, unnecessary political risks.

Commander Yan, or rather the entire Zhenfu Division and Yiluan Division's high-ranking officials, probably all shared the same attitude towards Prince Jiang: to keep their distance.

They did whatever the emperor asked them to do, and after they finished, they reported back to their respective authorities. They were absolutely not to be "tied" to this young prince in any way.

This choice was quite wise. If Chen Qing were in Yan Qianhu's position, he would most likely have done the same. However, now, Chen Qing is just an ordinary captain who has just entered the Zhenfu Division, not even a small fry.

If nothing unexpected happens, after the White Lotus Sect case is over, Chen Qing will most likely be promoted to a junior officer in the Zhenfu Division for his merits, at most a senior officer!

After that, unless there are special circumstances, I will probably stay in this position for many, many years.

In this situation, Chen Qing could only rely on the Yan family father and son. However, the official positions of the father and son were not very high. Relying on them, it was certainly possible to climb the ranks, but it would be quite slow.

Therefore, the political risks associated with the chubby boy also brought a political opportunity to Chen Qing!
He was quite happy to be politically aligned with this crown prince of Zhou.

Anyway, he's just a tiny nobody now.

If he wins the bet, he might be able to rise a significant distance within the Zhenfu Division in a short period of time. If he loses, at worst he'll be dismissed from the Zhenfu Division. He hasn't committed any crime, and those civil officials won't necessarily take his life.

So, that night, Chen Qing and the chubby boy stayed in a room in the Zhenfu Division for the entire night.

That night, Chen Qing first wrote a detailed report to His Majesty the Emperor, and at the same time helped the little fat boy draft a document.

After that, he spent half the night telling the chubby boy everything about the White Lotus Sect, down to the smallest detail. Only after he was sure the chubby boy had remembered it all did the two of them sleep on makeshift beds on the floor in the room.

The next morning, Chen Qing opened his eyes because the charcoal fire in the stove had gone out. He searched his eyes and barely managed to sit up. He saw that three of the four stoves in the room had gone out. He then got up, picked up the charcoal tongs, and took out a few pieces of charcoal from the still dimly burning stoves. He put them in the other three stoves and then added charcoal to each stove.

Once all four stoves were heated up again, Chen Qing was no longer sleepy. After stretching, he stood up.

At this time, the chubby boy was still fast asleep. Chen Qing shook him to wake him up and said, "Young Master, I'm going to submit a report to Commander Yan."

"Wake up, it's time to go to the palace soon."

Last night, he told Chen Qing that he would go to the palace today to meet His Majesty and submit his memorial in person.

After hearing Chen Qing's words, the chubby boy opened his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, "Being a janitor is really damn miserable."

Chen Qing tidied his hair, checked the time, and said with a smile, "I'll go find Commander Yan first, and then come back to find the young master later."

After saying that, Chen Qing pushed open the door and went out. Since it was already morning, he quickly found Commander Yan in the Zhenfu Division and handed over the report he had written.

Commander Yan only offered a few words of encouragement to Chen Qing and didn't say much more. Chen Qing exchanged a few polite words with him and then returned to the previous room to find Prince Jiang.

Just then, the chubby boy got up, and Chen Qing took him out of the Zhenfu Division and had breakfast at a street stall.

After paying, Chen Qing smiled at the chubby boy and said, "Young Master, there might still be cult members watching me, so I won't keep you company any longer."

The chubby boy wiped his mouth, turned his head to look in the direction of the imperial city, and sighed: "I'll go back and change my clothes. It's time to go to the palace."

At this point, he said with a bitter face, "If my old man knew what I was doing in the capital, he would probably be furious."

Chen Qing said with a sigh, "The Crown Prince's position in the capital is essentially for the Jiang family's benefit. If Prince Zhou knew this, he might praise the Crown Prince a few times."

"Come on, you've never even met him."

The chubby boy shook his head and said, "From childhood to adulthood, I've never seen him praise me more than a few times. He's always been fierce and menacing."

"There aren't many fathers like that in the world."

At this point, the chubby boy suddenly remembered Chen Qing's ordeal. He coughed and smiled awkwardly, "Then let's stay here and part ways. I'll come find you after I've dealt with them."

"correct."

Prince Jiang blinked and asked in a low voice, "Then, what do you plan to do about Mu Ziran?"

He brought Mu Xianniang into the capital, and if something happened to her, he might be implicated, so naturally he had to ask her about it.

Chen Qing chuckled softly, "Your Highness, rest assured, there are only two possibilities regarding that Miss Mu."

"One option is to be incorporated into the imperial court, and the other is... to die from severe injuries."

"No matter which one it is, the Crown Prince will not be involved."

"Okay." The chubby boy gave Chen Qing a thumbs up and said with a smile, "You're the one who speaks the most pleasantly. It's just a pity you're already engaged, otherwise I would definitely introduce my two older sisters to you."

That was just a joke.

Chen Qing didn't take it seriously. After smiling, he parted ways with the chubby boy in front of the imperial city and headed towards the Gu family.

The chubby boy, on the other hand, headed towards the Zong Mansion to change his clothes before entering the palace to meet the Emperor.

Although the city of this era was not small, it was not particularly large. Chen Qing strolled around the capital city while hurrying back to his residence, and he arrived back before noon.

In the front yard, Master Gu was already waiting for Chen Qing. Knowing that Chen Qing was coming back, he immediately came forward, looked Chen Qing up and down, and said with some excitement, "Zizheng is finally back."

He looked at Chen Qing with a questioning gaze.

Chen Qing was also looking at him, and said softly with a smile, "Uncle Gu, I have fulfilled my mission and I have met Minister Zhao."

Master Gu looked excited. He pulled Chen Qing aside and asked, "How is Brother Zhao?"

"Fortunately."

Chen Qing honestly replied, "His Majesty instructed the Zhenfu Division that while they dare not treat him too well, they also dare not treat him too badly."

"At least he's alright, just looks a bit disheveled."

Master Gu asked again, "What...what did he say?"

Chen Qing shook his head: "When we first met, Vice Minister Zhao didn't fully believe me, so he didn't say much to me. He knew that Uncle Gu had arrived in the capital, but he only said that..."

"I am grateful for Uncle Gu's kindness."

Upon hearing this, Master Gu sighed deeply, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

Chen Qing smiled and said, "Uncle Gu, don't worry. Now that I know where he is, it will be much easier for me to see him in the future."

The two chatted about Vice Minister Zhao's matter, then Chen Qing looked at Master Gu and whispered, "Uncle Gu, has that Miss Mu woken up yet?"

"woke up."

Master Gu came to his senses and immediately replied, "This Miss Mu is very robust. An ordinary strong man might not be able to withstand such an injury, but she only slept for a day and a night before she woke up."

"The fever has subsided quite a bit now. As long as it doesn't get infected by wind and cold, and doesn't damage the stem, it will gradually recover."

"However, that crossbow bolt must have injured her bone."

Looking at Chen Qing, Master Gu said, "I reckon he'll need to rest for a while before he can move around again."

Chen Qing nodded and said, "I'll go check on her."

Soon, Chen Qing arrived at the room where Mu Xianniang was being settled. Miss Gu was no longer in the room; only Xiao Yue was there to watch over her.

Chen Qing greeted Xiao Yue, gesturing for her to go out first. Xiao Yue looked at Mu Xianniang, then at Chen Qing, and finally at Master Gu before obediently tiptoeing out.

Master Gu didn't stay either, and followed Xiaoyue away.

Chen Qing moved a stool and sat down beside Mu Xianniang's bed. Looking at Mu Xianniang, who was lying on her bed with her eyes open and not speaking, Chen Qing coughed softly.

“Miss Mu, you’ve been given a second chance at life. If you cooperate with me, you’ll not only be safe and sound, but you might also have a bright future.”

Mu Xianniang looked at Chen Qing.

"Like you, a lackey of the imperial court?"

Chen Qing pursed his lips: "Don't talk about that, plenty of people want to be one but can't."

"Besides, even if you wanted to join the Zhenfu Division, there's no way you could get in. At best, you'd be considered an unofficial staff member."

Mu Xianniang glared fiercely at Chen Qing.

Chen Qing didn't back down and glared at her back.

"If you don't cooperate..."

Young Master Chen showed no mercy.

"He was too badly injured to be cured."

(End of this chapter)