Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 148 Two People Claiming Illness
His Majesty the Emperor frowned deeply.

"Lord Yuanfu has served as a Grand Secretary for two dynasties and is a pillar of the nation. I have only recently assumed personal rule, how can Lord Yuanfu return to his hometown?"

"Besides, in the final analysis, this matter is Chen Qing's fault. What he writes can not necessarily be taken seriously."

The emperor looked at Minister Yang kneeling on the ground and said, "Besides, the contents of this document at most involve members of the Yang clan, and have nothing to do with Minister Yang. It is certainly not enough to warrant Minister Yang's retirement."

At this point, the emperor coughed and stood up abruptly: "This matter need not be discussed at the grand court assembly. The assembly is adjourned for today."

The emperor descended the imperial steps, glared fiercely at Prince Jiang, and said in a deep voice, "Jiang Chu, seal these documents away for now, and forbid anyone from seeing them again."

Jiang Chu quickly lowered his head and replied, "Yes."

The emperor then left the hall with his hands behind his back and without looking back.

Normally, after the emperor leaves the court, the court would become lively, and the ministers would usually gather with their acquaintances and chat for a while. However, at this time, the entire court remained silent.

Imperial Tutor Wang Han walked up to Prime Minister Yang, helped him up, then looked up at the crowd, frowned, and said, "Disperse."

The officials then dispersed one after another. Prince Jiang personally picked up the documents, intending to find a place to store them, but was stopped by Prime Minister Yang, who had already stood up.

"Sir, please stay."

Jiang Chu stopped and turned around, forcing a smile: "Lord Yuanfu, this matter has nothing to do with me."

"I'm only on temporary assignment at the Imperial Ceremonial Office..."

Minister Yang said slowly, "Thank you, Your Highness. May I take another look at these documents? I will write them down and submit them to His Majesty, requesting that His Majesty order the officials of the Three Judicial Offices to investigate them one by one."

At this point, the old man paused, then added, "The Yiluan Division can also be investigated one by one."

Yang Xiangong said expressionlessly, "If my rebellious sons had really done these things, the young master could immediately throw them into the imperial prison."

"As for the farmland in my hometown, it is mostly ancestral property. The Zhenfu Division can investigate it. If even one acre of land was forcibly seized, the Zhenfu Division can directly confiscate the property. I will not interfere!"

The benefits of being a high-ranking official in the imperial court go far beyond the power they hold on the surface. More importantly, it is the influence that this power and status bring.

For example, the influence of Yang Xiangong.

He held the position of Grand Secretary in the capital for many years, so his family would naturally become a prominent family, and their influence would naturally grow.

Then it will begin to expand rapidly.

His hometown has 200,000 mu of farmland. If we really had to investigate acre by acre, let alone whether the Zhenfu Division would have enough manpower, even if the imperial court used all the manpower and resources it could mobilize, it would probably take a very long time.

Is there really a lot of extortion and plunder involved?
I'm afraid not necessarily.

Yang Xiangong's position was enough to make people willingly offer land to him. As long as all the procedures were legal and legitimate, even if it was 1.2 million mu of land, the imperial court could not say anything.

As for the other charges, there is no concrete evidence yet.

Even if everything is verified, it will be a blow to the Yang family, but it may not be enough to bring down Yang himself.

Therefore, none of these charges matter.

The crucial point is that Chen Qing, a centurion of the Zhenfu Division, had just begun investigating the Yang family when, not long after, his own father filed a complaint against him, causing him to lose his job!

This is where Minister Yang truly suffered a loss at this grand court assembly!

This matter was witnessed and remembered by almost all the court officials.

Unfortunately, this is a loss that needs to be swallowed. Since the loss has already been suffered, it is necessary to thoroughly understand what Chen Qing wrote down, otherwise the loss will only become greater.

"it is good."

Prince Jiang thought for a moment, then coughed and said, "I'll sort it out and send it to the Grand Secretary later."

He looked around and sensed something was off. Clutching the documents, he turned and ran.

After Prince Jiang left, Minister Yang stood up, looked around, and finally said quietly, "Let's go back to the cabinet first."

He turned his gaze to Xie Xiangong.

"Bring Chen Huan along too."

The senior ministers nodded and agreed, then escorted Minister Yang back to the cabinet office.

Upon arriving at the cabinet, Minister Yang invited Xie Guan to his private quarters, looked up at Xie Guan, and sighed, "Ji Heng, Ji Heng."

"We've been colleagues for years, how could things have come to this?"

Minister Xie looked somewhat alarmed and bowed his head slightly, saying, "Your Excellency, I had no idea that Chen Qing would keep these things in his official residence..."

"All right."

Minister Yang could naturally see that the fear on Minister Xie's face was feigned. He frowned and asked, "Who asked Chen Huan to report his son to His Majesty?" Minister Xie calmed down and replied, "Your Excellency, this Chen Huan is my student. The other day, he came to my house and talked about his son Chen Qing. Chen Qing did indeed disobey Chen Huan when he was in Huzhou."

"The magistrate of Deqing County in Huzhou can testify to this matter."

At this point, Minister Xie continued, "Furthermore, Chen Qing previously... behaved inappropriately in the Imperial Study. I also heard from the Grand Secretary that Chen Qing is investigating the cabinet ministers, therefore..."

"So they tacitly allowed Chen Huan to impeach Chen Qing."

"His intention was also for the sake of the Grand Secretary, the entire cabinet, and the political situation. I never expected the situation to turn out this way."

At this point, Minister Xie took a deep breath and bowed his head, saying, "I did not expect that Chen Qing only investigated the Yang family and had not yet had time to investigate the other cabinet ministers."

Previously, when Yang Yuanfu spoke to Xie Guan about Chen Qing, he told Xie Guan that Chen Qing was investigating the entire cabinet, and Xie Guan still maintained this statement.

Even Master Yang couldn't find fault with him.

"At this time, the Grand Secretary's situation is not very good."

Xie Guan lowered his head and said, "These can all be attributed to my fault. Otherwise, I would have gone to Chen Huan and asked him to apologize to His Majesty, withdraw the memorial accusing Chen Qing, and reinstate Chen Qing..."

Minister Yang said coldly, "Today is the grand court assembly, and all officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital are present. In front of so many officials and His Majesty, do you expect Chen Huan to go back on his word?"

"If that's really the case, let's not even talk about whether Chen Huan is deceiving the emperor."

Minister Yang narrowed his eyes: "I'm afraid my situation is about to get even worse?"

Xie Xiangong wiped away non-existent sweat from his forehead and bowed his head, saying, "Your Excellency is right. I...I misunderstood."

Minister Yang stared intently at the respectful subordinate before him. He remained silent for a long time before slowly sighing, "Truly worthy of being a top scholar."

"Ji Heng, you..."

At this point, Master Yang shook his head and did not continue.

With a serious expression, Minister Xie bowed his head and said, "I know that Your Excellency will think this matter over carefully. If Your Excellency does not trust me, I will submit my resignation and retire immediately!"

"You're over fifty, what are you talking about, retiring?"

Minister Yang narrowed his eyes, looked down at his desk, and said, "I want some peace and quiet. Minister Xie, you may leave now."

Minister Xie bowed deeply: "This humble official takes his leave."

After he left, Master Yang stood up, walked around his study with his hands behind his back, and then muttered to himself, "One Chen Qing has caused quite a stir."

"Keep arguing, keep arguing, in the end, it's not necessarily Xie Jiheng who will benefit."

Having said that, Minister Yang returned to his desk, remained silent for a long time, then stood up, put his hands behind his back, and left the cabinet.

Several cabinet ministers followed behind him, all asking, "Where are you going, Grand Secretary?"

Without turning his head, Master Yang walked out with his hands behind his back.

"I am ill."

"Appealing for medical treatment."

………………

Royal palace, royal garden.

His Majesty the Emperor walked ahead with his hands behind his back, followed by Prince Jiang. Behind the two brothers were Tang Can, the Commander of the Garrison, and Yan Hu, a Thousand-Household Commander.

His Majesty the Emperor spoke with Prince Jiang for a while, then turned to look at Yan Hu and asked casually, "Has Chen Qing not gone to the Zhenfu Division these past few days?"

"Yes, Chen Qing has fallen ill. I haven't seen him for several days."

The emperor nodded first, then asked, "What do you think of this matter?"

Yan Hu lowered his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, Chen Qing is quite capable, especially in the case of the religious bandits, which he handled from beginning to end. I believe that the so-called filial impiety should be investigated in more detail."

"Then send someone to Huzhou to investigate."

"Let Yan Cong temporarily lead Chen Qing's centurion office as a trial centurion."

The emperor said calmly, "The case of the cult bandits is of great importance, concerning the safety of the capital. Since Chen Qing handled it from beginning to end, let Chen Qing serve as an advisor to Yan Cong."

"If there's anything, have Yan Cong ask him."

Yan Hu understood immediately and bowed his head deeply.

"My minister obeys."

(End of this chapter)