Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 135 The Prime Minister and the Prefect

Upon hearing this, Xie Guan did not rush to reply, but instead gave Yang Xiangong a deep look.

Chen Qing, of course he remembered.

That day in the Imperial Study, Chen Qing, as a lowly official of the Zhenfu Division, confronted several prime ministers without fear. This alone was enough to leave a deep impression on these prime ministers.

Master Xie also sent people to investigate Chen Qing.

Hearing Yang Yuanfu say this, he thought for a moment, then put down his teacup and said with a smile, "Master Yuanfu, Chen Qing is just a young lad. Even if he's bold, he wouldn't do something like this on his own."

After thinking for a moment, Minister Xie asked, "Was it His Majesty who instructed the Prince of Zhou's heir...?"

"do not know."

Yang Yuanfu sighed: "If it is His Majesty's doing, then there is no point. A new emperor brings a new court. If His Majesty wants me to step down, it is only a matter of a word."

"If the emperor and his ministers distrust each other to this extent, then I, as their advisor, have truly failed in my duty."

Minister Xie smiled and said, "Yuanfu's achievements over the past ten years are evident to everyone in the court and among the people. How could he have neglected his duties?"

While it cannot be said that every high-ranking official in the imperial court is a genius, those who can enter the cabinet and remain in power for a period of time are unlikely to be fools.

Even if they weren't necessarily capable officials, they were at least perfectly competent in interpersonal relationships.

He knew perfectly well that Yang Yuanfu's words were just polite formalities.

As a prime minister who had been in charge of political affairs for more than ten years, Yang Xianggong had no ambition or possibility of becoming a powerful minister, but naturally, he wanted to stay in the position of prime minister for as long as possible.

Even if one cannot remain in that position for long, ideally, one should leave behind a sufficiently substantial political legacy before stepping down.

This way, he could ensure that he would retain his honor after retiring, and also allow his children and grandchildren to continue to enjoy the benefits that power brings.

This is by no means something that can be resolved with a single word from the emperor.

Xie Xiangong paused for a moment before continuing, "However, there is something strange about Chen Qing's matter. Since Yuanfu Gong has given the order, I will take some time in the next day or two to meet with Chen Huan and ask him about the situation at home."

Minister Yang nodded and said with a smile, "This matter is indeed a matter, but Ji Heng doesn't need to take it too seriously. If His Majesty wants to move against the cabinet, after I step down, Ji Heng, you will still be safe and sound."

Xie Xiangong shook his head slightly and said seriously, "Yuanfu Gong is the backbone of us. Over the years, it is all thanks to Yuanfu Gong leading us that the cabinet has been able to barely handle state affairs. If Yuanfu Gong were not in the cabinet, we would probably all be like headless flies."

At this point, Master Xie raised a cup of wine and toasted Master Yang, saying, "This cup of wine is for Master Yuanfu."

After the two clinked their glasses, Xie continued, “I can’t say what others in the cabinet think, but in my opinion, His Majesty is still young and needs experienced and wise advisors like Yuanfu to assist him.”

Upon hearing this, Minister Yang looked around and his expression changed: "Ji Heng, you can't say such things carelessly. The Emperor of Great Qi has always been born holy and sacred. How can there be any talk of being young or not?"

Throughout history, the emperor has been the ruler of a secular regime on the surface, but in reality, since the concept of the unity of heaven and man was established, politics and religion have become one. The emperor is a secular monarch, while the Son of Heaven is the son of heaven.

Since it was accompanied by divine authority, theoretically speaking, the emperor was a born saint, and should be wise and powerful regardless of age.

To say that the emperor was young is to deny that fact, and in a sense, to deny the sanctity of imperial power.

This is taboo. Given Yang Xiangong's cautious nature, he naturally had to bring it up. If he didn't correct Xie Guan, then both prime ministers would be committing a taboo at the same time.

As a prime minister, Xie Xiangong was naturally aware of the intricacies of the matter. The reason he took the initiative to say something that seemed like a "mistake" was actually to show his loyalty to Yuanfu Gong in front of him.

Having been in charge of the cabinet for over a decade, all the cabinet ministers were subordinates of this Lord Yuanfu. Newly appointed cabinet ministers would address Lord Yang as "subordinate" with utmost respect.

At this point, the two discussed some sensitive topics, and Xie naturally had to take the initiative to make a mistake and show his loyalty to Yang.

The words of these prime ministers sounded ordinary, but much of the strategic maneuvering was already implied.

Master Xie quickly said, "I was in a hurry and misspoke."

The two prime ministers clinked their wine glasses again and drank a few cups of wine. Then, Prime Minister Xie got up to take his leave and said, "Lord Yuanfu, I can't hold my liquor, so I'll head back first. Tomorrow afternoon, after I finish my shift at the Grand Secretariat, I'll go and ask Chen Huan for clarification. I'll report to Lord Yuanfu as soon as possible."

Yang Xiangong stood up and said with a smile, "I'll see Ji Heng off."

"I wouldn't dare." Master Xie waved his hands repeatedly, not wanting Master Yang to see him off. In the end, it was a young master from the Yang family who escorted Master Xie all the way out.

After Xie Xiangong left, Yang Yuanfu sat in his original seat and pondered for a long time before returning to his study. There, a middle-aged man was waiting. Upon seeing him, the man immediately stood up and said respectfully, "Your Excellency."

This middle-aged man, surnamed Pang, was ostensibly a tutor in the Yang family, teaching the grandchildren of Prime Minister Yang. However, he was actually a staff member in the Prime Minister's residence and was highly regarded by Prime Minister Yang.

In the household, everyone refers to him as Mr. Pang.

Yang Yuanfu gestured for him to sit down. Then, he briefly recounted his conversation with Xie Xiangong, took a sip of tea, and said, "Now it seems that Chen Qing was probably not instructed by Xie Guan. If he had used such a method in secret, it wouldn't have been so crude and obvious."

Chen Qing is the son of Chen Huan, and Chen Huan is practically a disciple of Master Xie. The two can easily be linked together.

If we consider the relationships between civil officials in this era, once Chen Huan officially becomes Xie Xianggong's disciple, Chen Qing and Xie Xianggong can even be considered grandfather and grandson in a certain sense!
This inevitably aroused Yang Xiangong's suspicion.

In fact, after learning about the relationship between Chen Huan and Chen Qing, Xie immediately went to the cabinet to find Yang to explain the matter, because he was worried that the Grand Secretary might have some misunderstanding.

Mr. Pang nodded and said, "Your Excellency, although Prime Minister Xie is ambitious, this matter should have nothing to do with him. Your Excellency should just wait for his reply tomorrow or the day after."

The tutor paused for a moment, then continued, "However, within the cabinet, while Prime Minister Wang outwardly sides with the Minister of State, in reality..."

"I know."

Yuanfu lowered his head to drink his tea, then chuckled and said, "This imperial tutor is quite the actor."

As he spoke, the candlelight on the desk flickered in the wind, and Yang Xiangong's eyes also darted around.

"I wonder, after I retire, will the position of Grand Secretary belong to Imperial Tutor Wang or Scholar Xie..."

…………

The following afternoon, before the sun had set, Chen Huan arrived at the Xie family's residence in Baofu Lane, Mingzhaofang. Upon reaching the Xie family's gate, he carefully handed over his visiting card to the gatekeeper, even bowing his head slightly.

"My mentor has summoned me."

This morning, a servant from the Xie family went to Chen Huan's residence, found Chen Huan, and said that Master Xie was going to see him tonight.

This greatly excited Chen Huan.

It has been almost half a month since he sent his visiting card to Master Xie!

For half a month, there was still no news. Even Chen Huan himself felt that his master would never see him again.

After all, a mentorship is not the same as a professional mentorship; it is more of a politically disguised form of factionalism or alliance.

Like being from the same hometown, born in the same year, or studying together, it's a kind of political faction, and there's never much closeness between them.

During this time, Chen Huan had given up the idea of ​​meeting Xie Xiangong and began to actively contact his fellow townsmen and classmates from that year in the capital.

These past few days, he had been trying to visit a senior official in the Ministry of Personnel, and had even sent out visiting cards several times, but he still hadn't been able to meet the official.

Now that Master Xie wants to see him, it is an extremely joyous occasion for him!
The Grand Secretary!
Not to mention comparing him to the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he is even better than the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. If his mentor is willing to help him, Chen Zhaoming may very well become one of the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers in the future!

He couldn't help but be excited about such a good thing.

The doorman took Chen Huan's visiting card, glanced at it, opened the side door, and forced a smile at Chen Huan.

"So it's Master Chen who has arrived."

He stepped aside and bowed, saying, "Master Chen instructed me before he left today that he would like to invite Master Chen in quickly."

The doorman smiled and said, "I'll show you the way."

Chen Huan took a deep breath, his face flushed, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Good work."

(End of this chapter)