Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 141 Reckless
Chen Qing sent Yan Cong to the Gu family, only instructing him to ask his cheap old man to leave.

This passage, however, was added by Yan Cong himself.

However, he wasn't wrong. If we disregard the religious bandits captured during this period, those who could be imprisoned in the Zhenfu Division were at least fourth-rank officials in the capital.

Although both are fourth-rank officials, they are worlds apart.

For example, even if the same person is a fourth-rank official in one of the Six Ministries, if it is an official in an important department like the Ministry of Personnel, such as the Department of Performance Evaluation, even if the official is a fifth-rank official, they might not be willing to exchange him for a second-rank position like a provincial governor!
When officials from the capital were transferred to local positions, they were usually promoted two or three ranks in the same location.

As for local officials being transferred to positions in the capital, these were all exceptional promotions. Normally, a local official would rise from prefect to provincial-level official, and if things went smoothly, he would be transferred to the capital and enter the core of power after serving several terms in the province and having special opportunities.

People like Chen Huan, who were summoned to the capital by the Ministry of Personnel as prefects, were only selected by the Ministry of Personnel and it did not necessarily mean that they would be transferred to Beijing as officials.

Of the seven or eight prefects, if more than two were able to remain in their posts, they were already considered lucky.

In fact, the main driving force behind the Ministry of Personnel's arrangement was His Majesty the Emperor. His Majesty needed some fresh blood to enter the capital and fill some vacancies; otherwise, Chen Huan and others wouldn't even be qualified to enter the capital.

In comparison, local prefects were far inferior to officials in the capital.

Even a newcomer like Yan Cong in the Zhenfu Division had seen far more officials than Chen Huan.

Watching Chen Huan's carriage disappear into the distance, Yan Cong turned to Master Gu, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said with a smile, "Master, I haven't slept for a day and a night, and I must go home to rest. If there's anything else, just send someone to the Zhenfu Division to find me."

He paused, then continued, "If it's inconvenient for Brother Zizheng to come forward, I can handle some matters on his behalf."

Although Yan Cong did not know the specifics of Chen Qing's family situation, he was certainly shrewd as he worked in the Zhenfu Division. He had already figured out that Chen Qing must be at odds with his father.

In such situations, it is sometimes inconvenient for Chen Qing to step forward, but it would be most appropriate for Yan Cong to do so.

Although Yan Cong was only a flag officer in the Zhenfu Division, his father was a commander of a thousand men in the Zhenfu Division, second only to the Zhenfu Envoy Tang Can.

Although Commander Yan's rank was not very high, as long as he held this position, officials of all ranks in the capital would be wary of him. Even high-ranking officials of the Six Ministries would probably greet Commander Yan politely.

The phrase "Young Master Yan" can be a joke, or it can be something more serious.

That's more than enough to deal with Chen Huan.

Master Gu forced a smile and said, "Thank you very much, Lord Yan."

As he spoke, he looked in the direction Chen Huan had left and sighed slightly: "But Brother Zhaoming must not be very happy after hearing what Lord Xiaoyan just said."

Yan Cong said, "It's alright, I'll take care of anything that happens."

Young Master Yan rubbed his eyes, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Master Gu, and turned to leave.

He had only taken a few steps when Miss Gu, who was walking slowly to the door, called out to him, "Young Master Yan, the eldest son is working hard at the Zhenfu Division. Could we bring him some food?"

Yan Cong thought for a moment and said, "Then let's do it tomorrow. I'll come here again early tomorrow morning. Whoever wants to go into the Zhenfu Division, I'll take you in."

Gu Pan gave Yan Cong a curtsy.

"Thank you, Master Xiaoyan."

Yan Cong clasped his hands in a fist salute, his expression calm: "Miss Gu is too kind."

With that, he turned and strode away.

After Yan Cong left, Master Gu turned back to look at Gu Pan and said with a wry smile, "Chen Zhaoming is not very magnanimous. He held a grudge last time in Deqing, and he lost face again today. I'm afraid he will keep it in mind."

At this point, Master Gu sighed softly: "I'm afraid he will make things difficult for you and Zizheng's marriage."

Miss Gu wasn't worried. She said softly, "Father, Dalang will have a way."

Master Gu still frowned: "No matter what other methods there are, Chen Zhaoming is still his biological father."

Miss Gu said softly, "When we first arrived in the capital, we were all completely clueless. But didn't Dalang manage to forge his own path?"

"Moreover."

Miss Gu scoffed, "If we really can't get past that, we can just get married on our own and wait until our daughter enters the Chen family."

"We also need to settle accounts with their families for the past mistreatment of Dalang."

…………

The following morning, in the Zhenfu Division's office.

By this time, Chen Qing had already compiled most of the confessions of the main culprits, and he had also basically prepared the draft of the report to his superiors, just waiting to transcribe it again.

At this moment, he was looking through a piece of intelligence that a secret agent had just delivered to his desk.

After receiving Chen Qing's orders, the imperial guards did not stay in the capital. Instead, they returned to Yang Xiangong's hometown to investigate the situation of Yang Xiangong's clan in the local area.

The documents delivered to Chen Qing at this moment were truly shocking.

"Two hundred thousand mu, two hundred thousand mu..." Chen Qing shook his head, put the document in his hand aside, and exhaled a breath of stale air: "There really is a golden house in books."

Yang Xiangong had a good reputation in the court and among the people, and he also wrote many excellent articles, earning him the title of the literary master of the world.

Over the years, Prime Minister Yang has been known for his loyalty and integrity in the court and among the people. Especially since he became the Grand Secretary, he has never accepted any gifts from his students or former officials. No matter who it is, as long as they bring gifts to Prime Minister Yang's door, they will be driven out of the Prime Minister's residence.

He was hailed as a wise and virtuous prime minister by both the court and the public.

Chen Qing stared at the document in his hand for a long while before muttering to himself.

"What I can find out, His Majesty and the court cannot possibly not find out."

"It's not exactly a secret."

Chen Qing put the documents in his hand aside and looked up at the outside.

"The reason why Minister Yang has a good reputation in the court is probably not because he hides it well, but because most officials in the court are like that."

"Large-scale consolidation of collective land."

Chen Qing used a brush to highlight the key points on this document.

He also understood that every dynasty, from its middle to late stages, would experience a situation of large-scale resource annexation.

This is essentially an inevitable process in the development of a dynasty.

However, seeing these detailed figures is still quite alarming.

Just as he was pondering how to write this down, there was a knock on the door: "Brother Zizheng, Miss Gu has come to see you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing put the documents on the table into the drawer, then got up and walked to the door. He opened the door and, sure enough, saw Yan Cong leading Gu Pan and Xiao Yue, standing at the door of his office.

Young Master Chen first looked at Yan Cong, then at Miss Gu, and asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

"This is not a place for a girl."

The Zhenfu Division is too tainted with bloodshed.

Among the official uniforms of the Zhenfu Division, there is a set with a leather apron, which is specifically used for interrogation.

Why use leather?

To avoid getting blood on your body.

Even excluding the White Lotus Religion case handled by Chen Qing this time, the Zhenfu Division is never short of interrogation duties on a regular basis.

The reason why there weren't many officials imprisoned in the Zhenfu Division's jail wasn't because the Zhenfu Division handled few cases, but mainly because the vast majority of people couldn't survive in the imperial prison.

Even if they survived, they were quickly investigated and reported by the Zhenfu Division, and then executed directly.

As a royal intelligence agency, this place is stained with blood and is hardly a good place to go.

Miss Gu was carrying a food box. She looked up at Chen Qing and said softly, "I was worried that Da Lang wouldn't eat well here, so Xiao Yue and I made some food for him."

Chen Qing stepped aside, gesturing for the master and servant to go into his office first. Then he looked at Yan Cong and said, "I've almost finished organizing the statements. The report will be ready soon. Brother Yan, could you take it to Lord Yan?"

Yan Cong nodded and said "okay" with a smile.

"I won't disturb Brother Zizheng's meal. I'll come back here to get it later."

Chen Qing smiled and said, "Want to eat something together?"

"I've already eaten, I've already eaten."

Yan Cong quickly waved his hand and walked away with a smile.

Chen Qing, accompanied by the two women, arrived at his office. After Gu Pan and the other woman sat down, Chen Qing asked, "He didn't cause any trouble yesterday, did he?"

"No."

Gu Pan shook her head: "I just really need to see you, Da Lang."

Chen Qing hummed in agreement and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"He recklessly pushed himself to the front, and he's putting in so much effort."

He snorted and curled his lip.

"Reading has ruined my brain."

(End of this chapter)