Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 133 See You Again in Prison
The reason Chen Qing was able to achieve such rapid promotion and gain the emperor's favor in such a short time was mainly because he accurately grasped the emperor's thoughts and dared to bet everything on it.

Now, after the last debate, the civil officials of the outer court have basically nothing to say about the matter of Prince Jiang Chu remaining in the Yiluan Division. No matter how much they oppose it in their hearts, after the debate in the Imperial Study last time, the prime ministers no longer have any reason to talk about this matter.

At most, it would just mean that a few officials from the Censorate would submit memorials to the emperor occasionally, bothering him.

The emperor could deal with these officials of the Censorate if he wanted to, or completely ignore them if he didn't.

Therefore, although the previous exchange in the Imperial Study has no apparent follow-up, in reality, the Emperor can be said to have won a minor victory.

However, after the emperor won, he did not make a fuss about it, and the prime ministers, after suffering losses, also pretended that nothing had happened.

In this situation, from Chen Qing's perspective, the struggle between imperial power and ministerial power has already begun its second round.

This new round wasn't even started by Chen Qing.

Chen Qing's current position is too low, and the Zhenfu Division does not have the function of providing advice and suggestions.

In other words, unless the emperor asks, it is not convenient for either the Zhenfu Division or the Yiluan Division to bring up anything on their own initiative, otherwise it would be considered guessing the emperor's intentions and would be a taboo.

But in this new round, the emperor has taken the initiative to bring it up.

Previously in the palace, the emperor told Chen Qing in front of Jiang Chu that once Chen Qing had set up this centurion office, he would have Chen Qing begin to investigate the officials in the capital.

The emperor has spoken, which is tantamount to giving an order to the Zhenfu Division, or rather, to the centurion's office under the Zhenfu Division where Chen Qing works.

Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable for Chen Qing to make some "preparations" for this job of supervising officials in the capital.

In this action, Chen Qing's freedom lies in deciding which official should begin the preparatory work.

Chen Qing set his sights on Yang Yuanfu because he was certain that this Grand Secretary was also the Emperor's target.

This is where Chen Qing "gambled".

Seeing the chubby boy's somewhat exasperated appearance, Chen Qing remained calm. He led the chubby boy to a stone bench and sat down, then said with a smile, "Young Master, I don't think I'm betting anything."

"I did send people to investigate Minister Yang, but they were all from the Imperial Guards of the Zhenfu Division, which are the emperor's personal troops. Moreover, it was a secret investigation, without alerting the Yang family."

"If Your Majesty or the Crown Prince feel that this matter is inappropriate, then I will stop here and pretend that nothing has happened."

“Even if I’m this careful, Lord Yang will still be able to detect that the Garrison Command is investigating him.”

Chen Qing raised an eyebrow: "In that case, the Zhenfu Division should indeed investigate Minister Yang."

The chubby boy stared straight at Chen Qing: "You dare say you don't have the slightest bit of opportunistic thinking?"

Chen Qing smiled and said, "If the young master doesn't believe me, then starting tomorrow, I'll have them all come back, and I won't investigate anymore."

Jiang Chu looked at Chen Qing with suspicion. After a while, he snorted and said, "Have you not considered that if His Majesty sides with Minister Yang, your reckless behavior will not only ruin your own future, but also drag me and the Yan family into it!"

Chen Qing frowned, then sighed: "If that's really what you think, Your Highness, I'll submit my resignation tomorrow."

Jiang Chu snorted but didn't reply. After a while, he said in a low voice, "You guessed right again, kid."

"but."

The chubby boy lowered his voice and whispered, "However, you're still too small. What good would it do if you won the bet? Even if His Majesty shares your thoughts, would you be capable of challenging Yang Yuanfu?"

"If you're not careful, you'll be completely destroyed!"

Chen Qing laughed and said, "At most, I'll just be kicked out of the capital. I'm a member of the Emperor's personal guard. If I get killed in the capital, that would be a real problem."

Chen Qing was absolutely right about this. He was not only a centurion of the Zhenfu Division, but also the emperor's personal guard, and was bestowed with a qilin robe by the emperor himself.

If someone were to die mysteriously in the capital simply because they investigated Yang Yuanfu, then frankly speaking, the emperor wouldn't need to be emperor anymore.

They lost everything, both inside and out.

What's the point of arguing?
"Moreover."

“If I really get completely defeated, they probably won’t let my family go either. At that point, my father probably won’t even be able to stay as a county magistrate.”

"What if someone raids and destroys the Chen family's property in Huzhou?"

Chen Qing said with a smile, "I've finally gotten my revenge after all these years."

Upon hearing this, Prince Jiang was dumbfounded. After a long while, he gave Chen Qing a thumbs-up and a "you win" look.

After a while, the chubby boy looked left and right before saying mysteriously, "My brother told me, 'Go and tell that guy Chen Qing to watch out for me.'"

"That's what they said."

At this point, he frowned and said, "At first, I thought my brother was warning you, but just now I realized that he might be telling you to be careful in your actions."

Chen Qing blinked and asked, "Did the Crown Prince just read out His Majesty's edict?"

"There are no outsiders here."

The chubby boy rolled his eyes: "If you think it's inappropriate, then kneel down and kowtow to me again."

He stood up, patted Chen Qing on the shoulder, and sighed: "No matter what, you have to take it easy. Being ambitious is not a bad thing, but you can't be too hasty."

"Anyway, you're still young."

Chen Qing nodded and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Your Highness, I'm not in a hurry."

The chubby boy thought for a moment and then said, "I went to the palace to see my grandmother today and got up too early. I need to go back and catch up on my sleep. Tomorrow, let's go out for a drink and have a good chat."

Chen Qing said "okay," got up, and escorted Prince Jiang all the way out of the Zhenfu Division gate. Then, with his hands behind his back, he returned to his own centurion's office.

At this moment, he was in a very good mood.

Because, in Young Master Chen's plan, as long as this matter reaches the ears of the emperor, regardless of whether it can be accomplished or not, it will already be considered a great success for him.

As for whether or not he could bring down that Minister Yang, Chen Qing didn't care much about it, nor did it matter much.

In the Royal Secret Service, achievements are secondary; the most important thing is still four words.

Jane is in the emperor's heart!
After returning to the Hundred Household Office, Chen Qing took the sick subordinate to his own residence, where Master Gu took his pulse.

After taking the pulse, Master Gu thought for a moment and wrote a prescription. The captain took the prescription and thanked Chen Qing and Master Gu repeatedly.

After he left, Chen Qing looked at Master Gu and was about to speak when Master Gu let out a long sigh.

Chen Qing asked, "What's wrong with Uncle Gu?"

"I haven't practiced medicine for many years."

Master Gu sighed and said, "Now that I've taken your pulse, I'm not entirely sure anymore. The prescription I just gave you is also too conservative."

Chen Qing shook his head and said, "That's alright. It's almost noon now, and the Zhenfu Division prison is the least crowded at this time. Let's go to the Zhenfu Division prison now."

Old Master Gu slung his medicine chest over his shoulder, his breathing becoming somewhat rapid.

"Let's go...let's go."

Despite Chen Qing's considerable sincerity during their several meetings, Vice Minister Zhao remained wary of him.

This is not surprising. After all, he was once a big figure in the imperial court, so it's normal for him to have more thoughts. It's impossible for him to completely believe Chen Qing just because of Chen Qing's one-sided story.

However, Chen Qing still hoped to resolve the matter satisfactorily, so he took a certain risk and prepared to bring Master Gu into the Zhenfu Division prison to personally visit Vice Minister Zhao.

The two acted swiftly, and soon Master Gu followed Chen Qing into the Zhenfu Division's prison.

As soon as Chen Qing entered, several jailers came up to him, bowing respectfully. Chen Qing exchanged a few words with them and easily obtained the key to Zhao Shilang's cell.

During this time, he had become quite familiar with these prison guards, who, from beginning to end, only believed that Chen Qing had received some benefits from the Zhao family and was delivering some things to Zhao Shilang.

This is not anything too surprising.

Soon, Chen Qing opened the cell door, turned to look at Master Gu, and said softly, "Uncle Gu, I'll keep watch outside for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

"If anyone asks later, just say you came to see Vice Minister Zhao for his medical treatment."

Master Gu nodded, bent down and entered the cell, half-squatting down. Looking at Minister Zhao's back, he couldn't help but burst into tears: "Brother."

Zhao Shilang turned around abruptly. Although he had a full beard and looked disheveled, one could still see the shock on his face.

"Chenglong..."

"How did you get in?"

(End of this chapter)