Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 116 Commander Chen!
Chen Qing had spent considerable effort learning about the history of that other world.

After arriving in this world, he actually spent a lot of time learning about its history.

Moreover, because of the different way of thinking, Chen Qing can break out of the logic of ruler and subject, father and son, and look at these emperors.

As a result, Chen Qing had many emperors as models for reference.

With the exception of a few bad apples, most emperors are relatively "good" when they first ascend the throne or take personal control of the government.

At least, the starting point was good; it's just that because everyone's vision, knowledge, abilities, and methods are different, the things they do vary greatly.

The reason is quite simple. In the era of hereditary monarchy, the emperor was the state. Most young emperors wanted to govern the country well. Of course, the starting point for these young emperors to govern the country well was not to seek the well-being of the people.

Rather, it was to ensure the long-term continuation of their rule.

The current young Emperor Jingyuan is a typical example of a young emperor.

They have ideas, drive, and are full of fighting spirit.

This state of affairs usually lasts for about ten years. As the emperor gets older and his energy gradually declines, or as he encounters setbacks and suffers losses, his high morale will naturally dissipate.

They might either give up and become incompetent or tyrannical rulers.

However, what the current emperor will become in the future is not very important to Chen Qing. What is important is that he has grasped the young emperor's mindset and taken advantage of this momentum to take a big step forward.

A centurion of the Zhenfu Division.

Chen Qing's eyes flickered.

As long as I can hold onto this position, in a few months, when I see that cheap old man again, I'll scare him half to death!

Various thoughts flashed through Chen Qing's mind, but he quickly calmed down, got up and left the room, letting the guards from the Zhou Prince's Mansion come in and help the drunken little fat man back to rest.

Chen Qing also quickly returned to his residence to rest.

The next morning, Chen Qing went to find Master Gu and talked about moving.

The place they are living in now is a remote part of the capital, and the house is quite ordinary. Anyone with a bit of agility can easily climb over it.

At this time, although the White Lotus Sect had been severely cracked down on, there must still be remnants, and their family was no longer safe.

As soon as Chen Qing mentioned moving, Master Gu smiled and looked at Chen Qing: "Zizheng, please wait a moment."

He turned and left, returning to his bedroom. A short while later, he retrieved a box and handed it to Chen Qing.

"Zizheng, look."

Chen Qing took the box, opened it, and saw that it contained a house deed and a land deed.

Chen Qing stared at Master Gu in astonishment.

Master Gu stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Zizheng, don't forget, although I now run a bookstore business in the capital, when I came to the capital last year, my original intention was not to do business."

Chen Qing then understood.

When Master Gu came to the capital, he brought almost all of the working capital of the Gu family's Anrentang, in order to find a way to bring Zhao Shilang's family out of the capital.

Master Gu said with a smile, "Now that Zizheng has been able to see my brother, I have gradually seen hope, so this money no longer needs to be spent on those gentlemen."

“A while ago, Zizheng told me about moving, so I spent a few days running around the capital and happened to come across this mansion.”

Master Gu chuckled self-deprecatingly: "If this were the early years of the dynasty, a merchant like me wouldn't even have been qualified to buy a house like this."

In the early years of the founding of the Jiang Qi dynasty, the control over merchants was quite strict. Merchants' sons were not allowed to engage in business, and even wearing silk and satin was forbidden. However, these rules have gradually loosened over the past century.

The rules are still there, but nobody cares about them anymore.

Chen Qing looked at it carefully, then muttered, "Da Shi Yong Fang Shi Bei Hutong".

Chen Qing was stunned: "The Yi Luan Division is located in the Da Shi Yong Ward, right by the gate of the Imperial City!"

"Correct."

Master Gu exclaimed, "This place is incredibly valuable; a two-courtyard house like this is worth over ten thousand taels of silver."

Chen Qing clicked his tongue and said with a smile, "How many copies of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' would I need to buy in the capital to afford this?"

Master Gu said with a smile, "We'll prepare to move there tomorrow. After my brother's matter is settled, I'll see your father one last time and then return to Deqing. At that time, this house will be left to you and Pan'er."

"Consider this my dowry for Pan'er."

Chen Qing said with a smile, "Uncle Gu's preparations were really timely."

He stepped forward and coughed lightly: "Uncle Gu, if nothing unexpected happens, I'll be promoted to centurion by the Zhenfu Division in the next few days." Chen Qing smiled and said: "Once I get to know the people in the Zhenfu Division well, I might be able to take you, Uncle Gu, to see Minister Zhao in the Imperial Prison."

Upon hearing this, Master Gu was stunned for a moment, then looked at Chen Qing and exclaimed, "Zizheng, you've taken a very far step."

"Won't the foundation be shaky?"

Chen Qing shook his head: "If we're talking about a weak foundation, the entire Zhenfu Division is governed by a system where the lower ranks control the upper ranks, so there's no solid foundation in the entire Zhenfu Division."

"Uncle Gu, don't worry about that. Whether my foundation is solid or not depends on my own abilities."

The highest-ranking officer in the Zhenfu Division was only a Zhenfu Envoy of the fourth rank, and he was a fourth-rank military officer. Theoretically, his status was far inferior to that of the civil officials.

But even in such a government office, it was commonplace to produce officials of the first or second rank. Even the heads of the Six Ministries would secretly swallow hard when they saw the three words "Northern Garrison Command".

This government office had no foundation whatsoever; it was entirely built upon the branches of imperial power.

The future father-in-law and son-in-law chatted for a few minutes before starting to move to Da Shi Yong Fang.

Fortunately, none of them stayed in the capital for too long. Even Master Gu, who stayed the longest, never intended to settle down in the capital, so none of them had much stuff.

Two days later, everyone had moved into their new home in Da Shi Yong Fang, located at the foot of the imperial city.

This is a two-story house. Compared to the Gu Family Courtyard in Deqing, it is rather modest in size, but in Beijing, where land is extremely valuable, it can be considered a mansion.

Only high-ranking officials in the imperial court could afford to live in a house with more than three courtyards.

Moreover, Da Shi Yong Fang was already considered a relatively wealthy area in the capital, and many court officials lived there. It was much safer than living outside the outer city.

Chen Qing even went out to measure the distance between the new house and the Yiluan Division office.

Only two hundred steps!

Putting aside everything else, the commute time to the Zhenfu Division has already been greatly reduced.

The day after moving, Chen Qing strolled around Da Shi Yong Fang to familiarize himself with the surroundings. He hadn't been on the street long when a loud, energetic voice called out to him.

"Chen Zizheng!"

Chen Qing immediately turned around and saw Yan Qianhu, dressed in plain clothes, quietly watching him from the doorway of a shop not far away on the street.

Chen Qing looked around before stepping forward, cupping his hands in greeting, and saying with a smile, "What brings Lord Yan here?"

Commander Yan looked at Chen Qing and shook his head: "Come with me."

This is Da Shi Yong Fang, which is very close to the Zhenfu Division. He led Chen Qing and quickly went around to the Zhenfu Division through the back gate. After entering the Zhenfu Division, Commander Yan led Chen Qing to his own residence.

After sitting down in the public housing, Yan Hu looked at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "Congratulations on moving."

After saying this, Commander Yan couldn't help but look at Chen Qing again and sighed, "Zizheng is really lucky. I've lived in the capital for most of my life and still haven't been able to settle down in Da Shi Yong Fang."

Chen Qing smiled and said, "That's not a house I bought."

Yan Qianhu looked up at Chen Qing and continued, "Zizheng, there's something about you that I admire."

He shook his head and said with admiration, "You are so good at keeping your composure."

"If I'm not mistaken, Prince Zhou told you about your upcoming promotion a few days ago, didn't he?"

Chen Qing said solemnly, "As a subordinate serving in the Zhenfu Division, I naturally follow the instructions of the Zhenfu Division. I only listen to what the young master says."

Commander Yan took out a document from his robes and placed it on the table: "Imperial Edict of the Son of Heaven."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing was stunned and didn't know how to react. After a few breaths, he realized that he should probably kneel down. Just as he was about to kneel down, Commander Yan waved his hand and said, "Never mind, it's His Majesty's appointment document."

"There are no outsiders here, you can take it."

Commander Yan smiled and said, "Originally, an imperial edict should have been issued to you, but considering the cultists, your matter could not be made too public, so His Majesty appointed you by document."

At this point, he looked at Chen Qing and said seriously, "From now on, Zizheng will be a centurion in our Zhenfu Division. I'll give you two months to finalize the personnel for your centurion post."

"As for the duties you'll be assigned to this centurion post, I've already thought them out for you."

Yan Qianhu stood up, put his hands behind his back, looked at Chen Qing, and said solemnly.

“Commander Chen, you don’t need to come to the Zhenfu Division to report for duty anymore, but you will be in charge of this centurion’s office to handle the follow-up of the White Lotus Sect bandit case.”

Yan Qianhu looked at Chen Qing and said slowly.

"Try your best to implement the method of usurping someone else's place."

(End of this chapter)