Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 150 Qilin Robe

Da Shi Yong Fang, Man Xiang Lou.

Chen Huan picked up his wine glass, clinked it with the middle-aged man sitting opposite him, and the two drank it down in one gulp.

The middle-aged man sitting opposite him put down his wine glass, looked at Chen Huan, and sighed: "Brother Zhaoming, you were too impulsive in this matter."

"Now that things have come to this, we're in a bit of a bind."

Chen Huan was silent for a moment before speaking, "I did misunderstand, but Master Xie was nearby at the time and forced me to write it, so I had no choice."

Chen Huan was not stupid, but because of his personality, or rather his lust for power, he naturally couldn't muster any resistance when facing those in power.

"And at that time, I thought..."

Chen Huan stopped there and didn't continue.

At that time, he thought that Minister Yang might fall from grace, or at least make His Majesty the Emperor very unhappy.

With Yang Xiangong gone, Xie Xiangong will take charge of the cabinet. Even if he offends the emperor temporarily, he can still become an upright official in the future, based on his reputation in the official circles.

After all... the emperor couldn't do whatever he wanted most of the time.

In the imperial court, there are countless officials who are disliked by the emperor but still thrive in their positions. All they need to do is maintain good relations with a few senior officials and avoid causing any major incidents to remain in office.

To Chen Huan's surprise, thanks to Chen Qing's prior arrangements, the emperor did not fly into a rage at Prime Minister Yang for this matter, nor did he dismiss Yang Yuanfu on the spot.

They didn't even publicly break off relations.

Now that Prime Minister Yang is ill at home and Prime Minister Xie is temporarily in charge of the cabinet, everything seems to be going smoothly, but Chen Huan is in a rather awkward position.

Nobody paid any attention to him.

These past two days, he tried to see Minister Xie, but Minister Xie was busy with cabinet affairs and had no time to see him. He only sent someone to tell him to wait for news.

But given Chen Huan's personality, how could he possibly settle down with peace of mind?
That's why this conversation at Manxianglou took place.

"Brother Li."

Chen Huan said quietly, "You have to help me with this."

Sitting opposite Chen Huan was Li Kejian, Madam Li's elder brother.

He was about the same age as Chen Huan and had been in the capital for many years. The Chen family had risen to prominence under his and his father's leadership.

However, Li Kejian was not an official.

The reason he rose to prominence in the capital was that the Li family had gotten in touch with a high-ranking eunuch in the inner court. This eunuch was in charge of a significant portion of the palace's procurement, and the Li family took on the task of procuring goods outside the palace for him, essentially becoming half-royal merchants.

This business might not seem like a big deal to those high-ranking officials, but for the Li family, it was incredibly profitable, with a substantial amount of cash coming in every year.

However, precisely because the Li family's business was relatively dishonest, Chen Huan did not contact the Li family immediately after arriving in the capital, nor did he stay at their home.

It wasn't until this incident that he remembered the Li family, who were "imperial merchants" in the capital.

Li Kejian reached out and poured Chen Huan a cup of tea, then said with a smile, "Brother Zhaoming, don't be impatient. Now that Prime Minister Xie has taken charge of the cabinet, this is undoubtedly good news for you. Besides, the selection process at the Ministry of Personnel hasn't even started yet, so why are you in such a hurry?"

Chen Huan nodded silently and sighed.

"His Majesty's attitude is ambiguous, and we don't know how it will turn out later."

"rest assured."

Li Kejian said solemnly, "I've also inquired about Chen Qing's matter these past few days. He only joined the Zhenfu Division two months ago."

"Although I don't know why he became a centurion, in the two months that have passed, His Majesty probably hasn't even seen him. His Majesty shouldn't dislike Brother Zhaoming, a scholar who passed the imperial examination twice, just because of Chen Qing."

"Besides, with Prime Minister Xie in court, what does Brother Zhaoming have to fear?"

Li Kejian said with a smile, "At most, he will lie low for a while. Now that Prime Minister Xie has just taken charge of the cabinet, it is the time to win people's hearts. If he does not promote Brother Zhaoming, it would be too disheartening."

Hearing Li Kejian say this, Chen Huan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The two clinked glasses again, and Chen Huan said in a low voice, "It would be best if I could stay in the capital. But I don't have any connections in the capital, so I can only ask Brother Li to help me find out more information."

“If I achieve something in the future, I will definitely not treat Brother Li unfairly.”

"rest assured."

Li Kejian said with a smile, "We've already sent people to keep an eye on Chen Qing's residence."

"Moreover, at this moment, it's not just us who are watching Chen Qing; I'm afraid several forces in the capital are also keeping an eye on him."

At this point, Li Kejian sighed and said, "I must say, Brother Zhaoming, your son is truly remarkable. Despite being a commoner without any official rank, he has captured the attention of the entire capital in just a few months since arriving in the city."

Upon hearing this, Chen Huan frowned and said, "Chen Qing... is probably just a pawn used by His Majesty to manipulate the situation. Now that things have escalated, what use is he anymore?"

"I don't know then," Li Kejian said in a low voice. "However, at this moment, many people are watching him, mostly trying to discern His Majesty's attitude from Chen Qing."

"If Chen Qing really becomes a nobody, then it means that Master Yang will not fall."

"If Chen Qing is secretly summoned to the palace during this period, then..."

"Master Yang is not very safe now."

"And that's it."

Li Kejian stroked his beard and said, "Master Xie, at this moment you might want something to happen to Chen Qing."

“If anything happens to Chen Qing, His Majesty’s face will be completely lost, and even if Prime Minister Yang doesn’t fall, he can forget about returning to the cabinet.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Huan frowned.

"With everyone watching, who would dare to touch him?"

"Nobody dares to do it now."

Li Kejian said, "It might be ten days, half a month, or one or two months later, or that's uncertain."

"Brother Zhaoming has just arrived in the capital and may not yet understand. As the saying goes, 'the darkest place is under the lamp.' This capital is precisely the darkest place. For the position of Grand Secretary, it is worth making a big fuss."

Chen Huan frowned, deep in thought.

…………

Meanwhile, in the courtyard where Chen Qing lived, the eldest son of the Chen family was playing Gomoku with Miss Gu. He was quite good at Gomoku. The two played three rounds, and each time Miss Gu couldn't resist until the middle of the game and had to resign.

After making three moves and securing a four-in-a-row, Chen Qing looked at Gu Pan and said with a smile, "I told you, Pan'er, you can beat me at Go, but not at five-in-a-row."

Gu Pan frowned and turned her head away: "You don't even know how to give way to others."

Chen Qing stood up, reached out and touched Gu Pan's hair, and said with a smile, "It's just for fun, what's with the rules?"

"Nothing much is happening today, Pan'er, wait here for me for a while, I have something good to show you."

Gu Pan nodded obediently and waited where she was.

Chen Qing turned around and went back into the house. After a while, he pushed open the door and smiled at Gu Pan, saying, "Pan'er, look."

"Isn't it impressive?"

Looking up, Gu Pan saw that Chen Qing had changed into a cross-collar dress with an apricot-yellow background, the lower half of which was pleated, and the upper half was embroidered with a qilin pattern.

Chen Qing was already quite tall, and this outfit was tailor-made for him, making him look very dashing as soon as he put it on.

An air of nobility emanates from it.

Gu Pan was stunned for a while before standing up, looking Chen Qing up and down, and blinking: "Where did you get these clothes, Da Lang..."

"This color..."

She was a little unsure: "Can I wear it?"

Chen Qing was not a person who liked to show off, and after obtaining this Qilin robe, he almost never wore it.

Even after returning to his residence, he never wore it, and even the Gu family father and daughter were unaware of this outfit.

Chen Qing stepped forward and said with a smile, "It was bestowed by His Majesty, so why can't I wear it? If I were to attend court, this is exactly what I should wear."

Gu Pan looked Chen Qing up and down, her eyes full of delight. After a while, she sighed softly, "This dress is impressive, but I should have worn it sooner. Now, I'll just have to wear it at home."

After saying that, Miss Gu smiled again: "But it's fine to wear it at home. From now on, Dalang will only wear it for me to see."

“There are countless imperial robes bestowed upon people in this capital city.”

Chen Qing shook his head and said with a smile, "When I wore it before, not many people looked at it, but now that I'm wearing it, a lot more people are looking at it."

"And it's perfect to wear at this time of year."

He stood in front of Miss Gu and said with a smile, "I've never worn clothes like this before, Pan'er, please help me tidy them up."

Gu Pan didn't know what he was going to do, but she still helped him straighten his clothes. After he was dressed, Chen Qing took Miss Gu's hand and walked all the way to his front door. They strolled around the area near the front door.

After walking around, Chen Qing pulled Miss Gu back into the courtyard and then chuckled mischievously.

"Now, another fire has been added."

He pulled Miss Gu along and laughed heartily.

"Many people will probably have trouble sleeping tonight."

(End of this chapter)