Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 128 Taking Connections

Last time, when Chen Qing came to see this Vice Minister Zhao, he did not gain his trust. The two only exchanged a few words before Chen Qing left.

However, after his last visit to Zhifang Hutong, Chen Qing obtained this token from Miss Zhao in order to gain the trust of Vice Minister Zhao.

Lord Zhao, with his hair disheveled, turned around to look at Chen Qing, then took the sachet from Chen Qing's hand and fell into silence.

He knew that his family had fallen on hard times, and the original Zhao family mansion had been ransacked. In other words, no matter what Zhao family items the visitors brought out, they were not credible.

Because the Zhenfu Division had many ways to seize things from the Zhao family.

But even if they raid homes and steal things, it's unlikely they'd be able to snatch a worthless sachet.

Zhao, the Vice Minister, recognized it as something his daughter carried close to her body.

The former Vice Minister of Rites was lost in thought for a while before handing the sachet back to Chen Qing. He looked at Chen Qing and asked, "Your name is Chen Qing, right?"

"Yes."

Chen Qing remained calm: "Chen Qing, Chen Zizheng."

Vice Minister Zhao sat cross-legged on the withered grass, looked at Chen Qing, and asked, "What job do you hold in the Zhenfu Division?"

"Not long ago, he was just an ordinary captain, but he has made some contributions recently and is now a centurion in the Zhenfu Division."

"Hundred households."

Vice Minister Zhao clicked his tongue and looked at Chen Qing: "You've been promoted quite quickly."

"Did you come to the capital from Huzhou with Gu Shao?"

"Yes."

Chen Qing looked at Vice Minister Zhao, thought for a moment, and said in a low voice, "To be honest, Uncle Gu came to the capital in the middle of last year, while I arrived at the end of last year."

He thought for a moment and continued, "Uncle Gu came to the capital because of Lord Zhao, and we came to the capital because of Uncle Gu."

"Because we learned that Lord Zhao was imprisoned in the Imperial Prison, we began to try to contact the Zhenfu Division. By a twist of fate, I ended up in the Zhenfu Division and became a Zhenfu Division employee."

Zhao Shilang looked at Chen Qing and said slowly, "You speak the capital dialect very well, without a trace of Wu accent."

Chen Qing said with a smile, "I come from an official family, so it's not surprising that I can speak Mandarin."

"A family of officials..."

Zhao, the Vice Minister, glanced around, then suddenly remembered something. He looked at Chen Qing and said, "You are Chen Zhaoming..."

"Correct."

Chen Qing nodded and said, "It is indeed my father."

Chen Qing knew that this Vice Minister Zhao knew his father. According to Uncle Gu, Zhao was the one who acted as the middleman, which allowed Uncle Gu to meet his father.

Vice Minister Zhao asked with a strange expression, "You are Chen Huan's son, how come you've entered the Zhenfu Division?"

Chen Qing smiled and said, "Lord Zhao, everyone has their own path, and there is no rule in the court that says I can't enter the Zhenfu Division."

Vice Minister Zhao nodded.

That makes sense.

He glanced outside, then finally sighed: "You saw my family, didn't you? How are they doing?"

"Not very good."

Chen Qing gave Zhao Shilang a brief account of the situation in Zhifang Hutong. Just as he was about to continue, Yan Qianhu's voice came from not far away. Chen Qing stood up and said in a low voice, "Lord Zhao, I will come to see you again tomorrow or the day after. You can take your time to consider the matter of your son and daughter."

Vice Minister Zhao glanced at Chen Qing and nodded silently.

"I know."

After leaving the cell, Chen Qing locked the cell door, threw the key to the jailer, patted the jailer on the shoulder, and strode towards Commander Yan.

As Chen Qing approached, he indeed saw Commander Yan talking to Mu Xianniang. Only after Chen Qing got closer did Commander Yan turn to look at Chen Qing and ask with a smile, "Where did Zizheng go?"

Chen Qing said with a smile, "I was just taking a stroll. What brings you here, Lord Yan?"

"Come and take a look."

After saying this, Commander Yan glanced at Bai Sanping lying on the grass and frowned, saying, "This fellow is utterly useless, defecating and urinating everywhere, making our prison stink."

"Let's not stay here."

Commander Yan smiled and said, "I've found two capable attendants for Miss Mu, a man and a woman, who are already waiting outside. Let's go and take a look together."

Chen Qing glanced at Mu Xianniang, then nodded slightly: "Alright, sir, please lead the way."

...The next day, at Ningmen Gate in the southwest of the capital.

Two carriages slowly drove from Ningmen into the capital. After entering the capital, two young boys poked their heads out of the second carriage.

The two boys looked left and right, but finally couldn't resist and called for the carriage to stop. They jumped off and looked around the capital city.

After a while, a middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman got off the carriage at the front.

The middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back, surveying the vast city before him, his heart filled with a myriad of emotions.

After passing the imperial examination and being appointed to a vacancy, he left the capital more than ten years ago. During those ten years, he worked his way up from county magistrate to prefect, experiencing many ups and downs.

Not long ago, he finally received a document from the Ministry of Personnel, ordering him to go to the capital to await imperial summons.

This shows that after so many years as a local official, he has finally made it to the top!
In order to get to the capital as soon as possible, he set off early and came to the capital without even waiting for the successor to take office.

The woman standing next to the middle-aged man was also looking around the capital city. She smiled and said, "The atmosphere of this capital city is different from that of Yanzhou and Huzhou. It's much more grand."

After saying this, she turned to look at the middle-aged man and asked, "Sir, where shall we stay tonight? At the Ministry of Personnel's guild hall?"

This middle-aged man, who came from Yanzhou, was none other than Chen Qing's father, Chen Huan.

Beside Chen Huan was his concubine, Lady Li.

At this moment, Chen Huan was pondering what he should do after entering the capital. Upon hearing Madam Li's voice, he frowned slightly and said, "There are still one or two months before the time to report to the Ministry of Personnel. It's too early to go to the Ministry of Personnel now."

"Let's find an inn to stay in for the next few days, and then find a brokerage firm and a courtyard to stay in."

At this point, Chen Huan looked up and saw a large crowd of people not far ahead, jostling and blocking the way completely.

Every now and then, gasps of surprise could be heard.

Upon seeing this, Chen Huan frowned. He turned to look at his two sons and said, "Sanlang, go ahead and ask what's going on."

Chen Che, the third son of the Chen family, responded and quickly stepped forward, asking in somewhat broken Mandarin what had happened ahead.

He asked several people before he finally got the gist of it. He quickly ran back and bowed to his father, saying, "Father, that's Caishikou ahead. It seems the Zhenfu Division has arrested a group of White Lotus rebels and is publicly executing them there today."

"The bandit leader was sentenced to death by a thousand cuts, and these people are watching him being executed."

Upon hearing this, Chen Huan first frowned, then shook his head and said, "These ignorant people only know how to watch this kind of spectacle."

Seeing that they couldn't get through, Chen Huan and his family had no choice but to take another route. It wasn't until the afternoon that they entered Zhengyang Gate, which marked their entry into the northern part of the capital.

That is, the inner city.

After entering the northern part of the city, the family spent another half an hour finding an inn to stay in. After settling in, Chen Huan called his second son, Chen Cheng, to him and instructed him, "Don't slack off on your studies. Once you pass the provincial examination this year, I will find you a good academy in the capital so you can focus on your studies."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "If you do well in the imperial examination, I'll try to find a way to get you into the Imperial Academy next year."

Of the three sons in the Chen family, only the second son, Chen Cheng, achieved some academic success, so Chen Huan cared most about this second son.

He paused for a moment, then added, "Also, don't go around forming poetry societies or participating in poetry gatherings every few days. At your age, studying is the most important thing."

"I'll work hard these next few years and try to pass the provincial examination."

Chen Erlang bowed his head respectfully and said, "Your son obeys."

Chen Huan nodded, then said to his third brother, Chen Che, "The capital is not like Yanzhou. You've caused a lot of trouble in Yanzhou in the past six months. Behave yourself in the capital. If you cause trouble again, no one can protect you."

Chen Che quickly lowered his head: "Father, rest assured, your son will definitely behave himself."

Chen Huan then waved his hand, signaling his two sons to go back to their rooms.

After her two sons left, Madam Li looked at the inn and said with some disdain, "The inns in the capital are too expensive. A room like this costs so much for one night."

At this point, she looked at Chen Huan and sighed, "According to the Ministry of Personnel, there are still one or two months left. I'm afraid I'll have to stay here for one or two months. If I had known, I would have stayed in Yanzhou a little longer."

"The master came in too much of a hurry."

"What do you know?"

Chen Huan had just taken off his shoes and put his feet into the hot water. He closed his eyes slightly and said, "I've heard that the Ministry of Personnel has transferred seven or eight prefects to the capital this time. With so many people coming to the capital together, if they want to get a good job, they naturally have to come to the capital in advance to make connections."

Madam Li's gaze shifted as she looked at Chen Huan, a hint of surprise in her eyes: "Sir, you've found a way?"

Chen Huan opened his eyes: "My tutor during the provincial examination has now risen to a high position. After I settle down in a few days, I will go and send him my visiting card."

"To pay a visit."

At this point, a rare look of tension appeared on Mr. Chen's face.

"I wonder if my mentor would be willing to see me."

(End of this chapter)