Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 122 Chen Da Enters the Palace
above the hall.

The emperor had just had the eunuch announce the verdict against the White Lotus rebels. After reading it, His Majesty the emperor on the dragon throne looked at the cabinet ministers, especially at his teacher Wang Han. Although his face was expressionless, his eyes were filled with high spirits.

"Master Yang."

He looked at the Grand Secretary and said, "Before I assumed power, the capital and the provinces of Zhili had been plagued by religious bandits. The court had repeatedly tried to suppress them, but to no avail, and the local governments had been helpless. Now, Prime Minister Yang has come to the rescue?"

The emperor slowly said, "Even the county officials under the jurisdiction of the Jingzhao Prefecture have accepted bribes from the religious bandits!"

"Jingzhao Prefecture".

He only uttered these three words, and the Prefect of Jingzhao stepped forward tremblingly, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed, saying, "Your subject failed in his duty, and I deserve to die."

The emperor glanced at him and said expressionlessly, "Yes, I did not find out that you took the money. You can only be guilty of negligence, which is not a capital offense."

"You shall be demoted to the position of magistrate of Daxing County."

The Prefect of Jingzhao knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly in gratitude.

All eyes in the court were on the unfortunate Prefect of the Capital. Everyone knew that His Majesty the Emperor was using this as an excuse to add his own people to important positions.

This time, the pretext was perfectly reasonable, and no one in the court could say anything.

The prime ministers all remained calm.

A new emperor brings a new court; it's only a matter of time. In fact, the current emperor has been quite patient, having ruled for over three years before finally placing his own people in such important positions as the Jingzhao Prefecture.

This shows that the former Prefect of the Capital did a very good job; for at least three years, the young emperor did not find any fault with him.

After dealing with the Prefect of Jingzhao, the Emperor turned his gaze to several cabinet ministers and said calmly, "Prime Minister Yang, at the last court meeting, the cabinet strongly advised me not to appoint members of the imperial family to official positions. Now, this case of the White Lotus Rebellion was handled personally by my brother Jiang Chu. He has only been in the capital for a month or two, and he has already dealt with this long-standing problem of the White Lotus Rebellion."

Yang Yuanfu sighed and said, "Your Majesty, it is true that Prince Zhou has not been in the capital for long, but he has been working in the Imperial Guard for even shorter time. At most, it has only been ten days to half a month."

"Does Your Majesty mean that the suppression of the White Lotus Cult by the Zhenfu Division this time was all thanks to the Prince of Zhou's heir?"

The emperor remained calm and said, "Although Jiang Chu has only been in the Yi Luan Division for a short time, I assigned him this task before the new year, and he has been conducting investigations both openly and secretly during this period."

Upon hearing this, Minister Yang turned to look at the chubby young man, Jiang Chu, who was in the court, and asked with a smile, "Young Master Jiang, is that so?"

The chubby boy's back was already covered in sweat.

He didn't want to stand here at all. If the emperor hadn't insisted that he come today, he would still be fast asleep in his room.

Now things are really messed up. He hasn't been standing here for very long, and not only has he offended and killed a former Prefect of the Capital, but now he's afraid even the Prime Minister of the Cabinet will be against him!

However, at this point, no matter how difficult it is, we cannot lose face for His Majesty the Emperor. The chubby boy gritted his teeth and said, "That's right. His Majesty assigned these tasks before the New Year. Since then, I have been busy with the White Lotus Sect."

Upon hearing this, Minister Yang remained silent, but exchanged glances with the other cabinet ministers beside him.

They all knew perfectly well that His Majesty the Emperor and this young man from the Prince of Zhou's residence were conspiring to lie, but they couldn't expose them directly because this was the imperial court, and no one here could disrespect His Majesty the Emperor.

If anyone doesn't give His Majesty the Emperor face, this court "game" can't really continue.

Finally, Prime Minister Yang's gaze fell on Prime Minister Wang Han. The white-haired Wang Han took a deep breath, stepped forward, bowed to the emperor, and then looked at Jiang Chu with a smile on his face.

"Young Master Jiang, I would like to ask, how did you conduct your investigation, both overt and covert?"

The chubby boy turned his head, glared at the Imperial Tutor, then took a deep breath and said calmly, "My lord, although I am not a big shot, I am still a member of the imperial family. Naturally, I cannot investigate personally. Firstly, it is somewhat dangerous, and secondly, it is easy for others to recognize me."

"So, I brought a good friend from Deqing, Huzhou to the capital. This good friend came to the capital with me. He was entrusted by me to infiltrate the White Lotus Sect. He pretended to be friendly with the bandits and eventually helped the Zhenfu Division wipe out several bandit dens in one fell swoop."

The chubby boy looked serious and said, "My lord, everything I've said is true. You can send people to investigate as you please. If they find even a single lie, I'll tie myself up, get into the donkey cart, and have it take me back to Bianzhou Prefecture without you even saying a word."

His answer was so reasonable and well-founded that even Prime Minister Wang was stunned. After thinking for a moment, the old man asked, "Then where is the young master's good friend?"

The emperor on the throne coughed and said calmly, "I have exceptionally admitted him to the Zhenfu Division. If my teacher wishes to see him, I will have him come to the palace in a moment so that he can be seen." Wang Han then turned to look at Yang Yuanfu, whose expression was calm, but he nodded slightly.

Then Prime Minister Wang lowered his head and said, "After the court session ends, this old minister would really like to meet this young hero."

"it is good."

The emperor raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Send someone to tell the Garrison Command to have Chen Qing come into the palace and wait outside the hall until I have finished discussing matters with my ministers."

"Bring him to the Imperial Study to see me."

These words were spoken to the eunuch, who immediately bowed his head and replied, "Yes," before scurrying out of the main hall with small, quick steps.

His Majesty the Emperor looked at the assembled officials and said, “Let’s continue the discussion. Last year the Ministry of Personnel conducted performance evaluations, and there should be many changes this year. The Ministry of Personnel should give their opinions.”

The Minister of Personnel stepped forward, bowed, and said, "I have already submitted the specific list to His Majesty. The Ministry of Personnel has already arranged for some of the prefects who have performed outstandingly in the evaluation to come to the capital to await imperial summons."

The emperor grunted in agreement: "We'll discuss the vacancies for officials of the third rank and above in a bit, and let everyone hear the candidates."

The Minister of Personnel bowed respectfully and said, "Your subject obeys."

…………

The court assembly lasted for another morning. When it was almost noon, the emperor did not rush to adjourn the assembly, but instead announced a break and ordered the imperial chefs to start preparing meals for the ministers.

The emperor himself summoned the chubby boy to the back hall and invited him to dine with him.

Of course, the emperor ate alone; although the two ate together, they did not sit at the same table.

"Chen Qing should have already entered the palace."

The emperor said something, then looked at Jiang Chu and frowned, saying, "Those old men are quite frightening. Ordinary people can't even speak properly when they see them. Can this Chen Qing be trusted?"

Without hesitation, the chubby boy smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Chen Qing is quick-witted and won't cause any trouble. I'll find some free time later to meet with him and give him a heads-up."

"it is good."

The emperor nodded and said, "After the court session ends, go out and find Chen Qing. In about half an hour, bring him to the Imperial Study to see me."

The chubby boy nodded repeatedly.

Soon, the two brothers finished their meal, and His Majesty the Emperor rested for a short while before returning to the front hall to continue presiding over the court assembly.

By the afternoon, there wasn't much left to discuss, and the emperor wanted to end the meeting, so the afternoon court session was adjourned shortly afterward.

When the officials dispersed, the chubby boy also took advantage of the chaos to leave the court. He went outside the palace, looked left and right, but did not see Chen Qing.

After wandering around for quite a while, they finally found Chen Qing, who was looking around the palace, led by a eunuch.

The chubby boy stepped forward and patted Chen Qing hard on the shoulder: "Big Brother Chen!"

Chen Qing was startled and turned to look at Prince Jiang, saying with a wry smile, "Your Highness startled me."

Without saying a word, the chubby boy pulled Chen Qing to a secluded spot and whispered, "I didn't intend for you to get involved this much, but those old guys are so aggressive that even His Majesty has to give them face."

"In a moment, I will take you to the Imperial Study to see His Majesty and several prime ministers. Don't panic, don't be flustered."

Prince Jiang took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Say what you need to say, and don't be afraid."

Chen Qing had indeed only been in the palace for a short time. After listening to the little fat boy's words, he thought for a moment, then lowered his head slightly and spoke calmly.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will definitely not embarrass you or His Majesty."

(End of this chapter)