Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 127 What to do?
The imperial robes bestowed by the Great Qi dynasty were divided into four grades.

The Qilin robe is the fourth rank, which is the lowest rank.
The highest rank was the python robe, the second rank was the flying fish robe, and the third rank was the bullfighting robe.

Even the lowest grade of Qilin robe was not something ordinary people could obtain. Only meritorious officials of the fourth or fifth rank could be granted Qilin robe.

In the Yiluan Division, the standards were much lower, but only those with more than a hundred households and who had made meritorious contributions were eligible to be granted such clothing.

Judging solely from the scale of this reward, it wasn't particularly remarkable. However, considering the timing and the person who bestowed it, it was highly unusual.

It should be noted that Chen Qing was promoted to the rank of centurion in just a few days!
Even disregarding the time he was appointed as a centurion, it hasn't actually been that long since he officially joined the Zhenfu Division; it's been less than a month.

In less than a month, he went from being a nobody to an unofficial member of the Zhenfu Division, and was directly awarded the Qilin robe. This was truly an immense favor!

This is unprecedented in the imperial court for decades.

For this reason, the two superiors of the Garrison Command, Garrison Commander Tang Can and Commander Yan Cong, attached great importance to it. Garrison Commander Tang even personally brought the imperial edict from the palace and came to deliver it to Chen Qing.

It should be noted that these two are both high-ranking officials of the Zhenfu Division who have been granted the privilege of wearing flying fish robes, making them far more prestigious than Chen Qing, a newcomer to the Zhenfu Division.

Chen Qing bowed his head and thanked the emperor in a proper manner, then accepted the imperial edict with both hands.

Tang Can glanced at Yan Hu beside him, and the two exchanged a look. Then Tang Can personally helped Chen Qing up and said with a smile, "When Brother Chen first entered the Zhenfu Division, I felt that Brother Chen would definitely have a bright future."

"And now, it has indeed come to pass."

The garrison commander, who was respectfully addressed as the Grand Marquis, smiled broadly and helped Chen Qing up. He then said with a smile, "These bestowed robes are usually made by the Ministry of Works, with the Imperial Sewing Bureau providing the fabric. Someone from the Sewing Bureau will come to take your measurements shortly."

"His Majesty personally issued the imperial edict. I estimate it will take five or six days to produce it for you, Brother Chen."

Chen Qing bowed his head repeatedly, saying, "This subordinate is unworthy of such praise."

"It wasn't me who gave it to you."

Tang Can said with a smile, "This is a gift from His Majesty. You can't refuse it even if you want to. But Brother Chen is truly enviable."

“No one in our Zhenfu Division has received such imperial favor as Brother Chen. You have only been in the Zhenfu Division for a short time, yet you have already received two personal favors from His Majesty.”

The first time was when Chen Qing was promoted to the rank of centurion, which was an exception to the usual rules. At that time, Governor Tang did not take it seriously and therefore did not show up.

This time, however, he had no choice but to step in, because the Emperor's treatment of Chen Qing was far too special.

Chen Qing said solemnly, "It was the two superiors who gave me this opportunity..."

Before he could finish speaking, Tang Can interrupted him. The garrison commander looked at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "Brother Chen, to be honest, I'm very curious about what happened to you after you entered the palace yesterday."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"of course can."

Chen Qing said with a serious expression, "If the superior asks, I will naturally answer to the best of my knowledge."

"What happened yesterday is a long story, so I'll keep it short. Yesterday in the Imperial Study, I had an argument with several of the cabinet ministers..."

"puff!"

Before he could finish speaking, Tang Can spat out the mouthful of tea he had just drunk.

Yan Hu, who was standing to the side, was also dumbfounded.

Chen Qingqing cleared his throat, about to continue speaking, when Tang Zhenfu waved his hands repeatedly, forcing a smile on his face: "Brother Chen, this involves His Majesty, so it should be kept confidential. Please don't say anything more."

"We'll just pretend we know nothing."

Tang Can handed the imperial edict to Chen Qing, patted Chen Qing on the shoulder, and coughed in a pretentious manner: "Brother Chen probably has things to do, so I won't keep you any longer. If you encounter any problems in the Zhenfu Division in the future, you can come to me."

"Or we could go find Commander Yan."

Chen Qing clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your subordinate obeys."

Tang Zhenfu personally escorted Chen Qing and Yan Hu out of his official residence. After seeing them off for a long distance, the Zhenfu Envoy returned to his desk and took out a pure gold Bi'an from the drawer.

He held it in his hand and looked at it, feeling extremely conflicted.

"Do we really have to send it back?"

Tang Zhenfu thought about it for a long time, but in the end he couldn't bear to part with it, so he put it back in his drawer and muttered to himself.

"Young man, you're really bold..."

This year is the eleventh year of the Jingyuan era, but the emperor has only been in power for three years.

In other words, for the first eight years, the civil service and the Empress Dowager were in charge of affairs.

During these eight years, whether it was the Yiluan Division, the Zhenfu Division, or the eunuch group in the palace, they were all severely suppressed by the civil official group.

Eight years is enough time for people like Tang Can and Yan Hu to develop some fear of the civil service. However, the establishment of the new emperor's authority still needs time to be verified.

After leaving Tang Zhenfu's official residence, Yan Hu wiped the sweat from his forehead. He remained silent for a while before looking at Chen Qing and exclaiming, "I must say, Zizheng, you are truly bold."

"However, you did seize a very good opportunity."

Yan Qianhu looked up at the sky, then looked back at Chen Qing and said in a low voice, "Zizheng, my son is working under you. Please bear with him in the future."

Chen Qing knew what Commander Yan was talking about. He smiled and said, "Lord Yan, there's no need to worry."

"Isn't it clear who's the right arm and who's the right leg in this imperial court?"

Yan Hu thought for a moment and shook his head slightly.

"If it were really that clear, the situation wouldn't be like this now."

The emperor was somewhat soft-hearted, a fact that even Chen Qing, who had only recently entered the court, could see.

Yan Hu and Tang Can, as members of the emperor's personal guard, could certainly see it too.

Being soft-hearted means that if things don't go smoothly, the emperor is likely to compromise, and someone like Chen Qing might become the price the emperor pays for that compromise.

Chen Qing wasn't too worried about that. The young emperor, at least for now, seemed to have some perseverance.

"Rest assured, Lord Yan, I will not implicate your son in any way."

Yan Hu turned to look at Chen Qing and smiled, "If there's anything good, Zizheng should take him with him."

“His mind isn’t as quick-witted as yours, Zizheng.”

…………

The Zhenfu Division prison.

With his hands behind his back, Chen Qing led Mu Xianniang in. After walking around for a while, he took Mu Xianniang to the place where Bai Sanping and other "key members" of the White Lotus Sect were imprisoned.

At this point, there was only one day left before Bai Sanping was executed by the imperial court.

This former leader of the White Lotus Church, who used to be very successful in the capital area, is now cowering in a corner of the prison cell, his back to the cell door, trembling.

If you get close, you can smell a foul odor.

He was so frightened yesterday when it was announced that he would be executed by slow slicing that he lost control of his bladder, and now he is defecating and urinating indiscriminately.

What's even more cruel is that they were preparing to take him to be executed yesterday, but they missed the deadline, allowing him to live for two more days. These two days were even more agonizing for him.

Near Bai Sanping were Liu Mama and others from Zaoshu Hutong. These people were also crying and wailing, constantly shouting that they were wronged.

Some people cried and wailed, claiming that they knew nothing about the White Lotus Sect and had been deceived by Bai Sanping into following him.

But at this moment, all crying and wailing are of no use.

Chen Qing put his hands behind his back, looked at the people, then turned to look at Mu Xianniang behind him and asked, "What are your thoughts, Miss Mu?"

Wearing a bamboo hat, Mu Xianniang gritted her teeth softly beneath it: "I don't know."

Chen Qing turned to look at her and said with a smile, "Then you can look around here as you like. I'm going to meet an acquaintance and I'll come back to find you in a bit."

Having said that, he left Mu Xianniang there, determined his direction, and headed towards the cell where Zhao Shilang was being held.

As he drew closer, several jailers from the Zhenfu Division prison stepped forward, clasped their hands in salute to him, and said, "Commander Chen."

Chen Qing smiled and said, "May I have a few words with Vice Minister Zhao?"

"Of course, of course."

The jailer lowered his head, turned to the side, and smiled, saying, "Please, go ahead."

After saying this, the jailer handed the key to Chen Qing and sensibly walked away, no longer approaching.

Chen Qing stepped forward, opened the cell door, and then took out a sachet from his pocket and handed it to Vice Minister Zhao.

"Lord Zhao, your son and daughter asked me to come and visit you."

"They wanted to know how the adults were doing, and..."

At this point, Chen Qing sighed slightly.

"What should they do next?"

(End of this chapter)