Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 151 Figure it out
"master."

On the second floor of Manxianglou, a servant from the Li family led the way into a private room and bowed deeply to Li Kejian.

"Just now, the people I arranged to keep watch in front of Chen Qing's residence sent me to inform you that they saw... they saw Chen Qing with Miss Gu walking around the gate."

The servant paused for a moment before bowing his head and saying, "Wear the Qilin robe."

Upon hearing the last four words, Li Kejian's wine glass froze in mid-air. He abruptly turned his head to look at his servant and asked, "You're not mistaken?"

The servant bowed his head and said, "Master, if we were in a foreign land, we might mistake the qilin robe for a real one, but in the capital..."

In the capital city, there is no shortage of officials. If you were to walk down the street, it might be an exaggeration to say that out of ten people, five would be officials. However, it is not uncommon for one out of ten people to be an official.

As for bestowed robes, python robes are rarely seen, but robes with unicorns and flying fish are quite common. Those sons of officials who received bestowed robes would wear them and strut around the streets to show off.

Upon hearing this, Li Kejian waved his hand, signaling his servant to leave.

After the servant left, he looked up again and saw that Chen Huan, who was sitting opposite him, had a somber expression.

Li Kejian lowered his head, took a sip of wine, and then slowly said, "Brother Zhaoming's son is only twenty years old, isn't he?"

Chen Huan said quietly, "I was twenty last year, and I'm twenty-one this year."

"That's really impressive."

Li Kejian sighed, “I’ve been in this capital for over a decade. I’ve seen street vendors and high-ranking officials. Even the sons of ministers, dukes, marquises, and earls, if they received this imperial robe, would wear it out to show it off, even if they were in their thirties or forties.”

"Your son, although we don't know when he received the imperial robes, when I sent people to investigate him, they couldn't find anything about him, which means he..."

"It's very likely that it was never worn even once."

Chen Huan took a deep breath and clenched his fist: "This unfilial son, he deliberately dressed up for me this time!"

The fact that Chen Qing had the emperor's bestowed robes indicates that he was highly regarded by the emperor when he was in the Zhenfu Division, and that he had most likely met the emperor. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable for a newcomer who had only been in the Zhenfu Division for two months to be promoted to a centurion and receive such a unicorn robe.

Of the roughly fifty centurions in the Zhenfu Division, probably only five or six could obtain this Qilin robe!

If Chen Qing held significant influence in the emperor's eyes, or even just a little, then Chen Huan's previous actions were digging his own grave for his political future!

Even more critically, if Chen Qing truly held sway over the emperor, the emperor might very well send someone to investigate this so-called case of rebellion. It would then be easy to find out that Chen Huan had once asked Chen Qing to marry into the Gu family.

Then the crime of favoring a concubine over one's wife was directly pinned on his head!
The more Chen Huan thought about it, the uglier his face became. Before long, his face turned pale and his forehead was covered in sweat.

Li Kejian noticed that something was wrong with Chen Huan, and he whispered, "Brother Zhaoming, Brother Zhaoming, don't overthink it."

"Perhaps...perhaps Chen Qing wasn't dressed up for you, but for the cabinet elders. You...you..."

Chen Huanquan ignored him, simply lowering his head, his face turning as white as paper.

A man like him, even if he gave away all his wealth, wouldn't experience such a strong emotional fluctuation. But now, his political life is at risk of ending...

This Mr. Chen, who had passed the imperial examinations twice, was on the verge of a breakdown!
Seeing that something was wrong, Li Kejian stood up and shouted, "Someone come here! Someone come here!"

"Help Master Chen back to his residence! Help Master Chen back to his residence!"

…………

At the same time, news of Chen Qing wearing the Qilin robe began to spread rapidly throughout the capital. Soon, several Grand Secretaries and ministers of various ministries received the news.

And so, things began to change subtly.

Originally, Chen Qing was secretly investigating Yang Xiangong, but his own father reported him and he lost his job. Then, by a twist of fate, his secret investigation of Yang Xiangong was exposed. The whole thing is quite easy to understand.

But now, things have become more complicated.

They had to start figuring out what the young emperor's attitude was, and they had to figure out what Chen Qing's role was in this whole affair.

In other words, was this whole affair orchestrated by His Majesty the Emperor?

With things having progressed to this point, is it Minister Yang's position that is unstable, or Minister Xie's position?

Just as undercurrents were surging once again in the capital, in the Imperial Study of the palace, Prime Minister Wang Han stood calmly before His Majesty the Emperor.

The emperor picked up his brush and wrote four large characters, then looked at Wang Han and said with a smile, "Teacher, take a look and see if my calligraphy has improved?"

Prime Minister Wang stepped forward, examined it carefully, and then said with a smile, "Your Majesty's calligraphy is becoming more and more spirited."

The emperor put down his brush, washed his hands, and finally looked at Wang Han, saying, "Teacher, you've heard about what happened in the capital today, haven't you? What do you think?" "Chen Qing is indeed quite capable. Even changing his clothes at home can cause a stir in the court and the public."

Wang Han lowered his head slightly, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Was Chen Qing wearing the Qilin robe at His Majesty's behest?"

The emperor shook his head slightly: "I haven't seen him for some time, so how can I give instructions?"

Minister Wang frowned and said, "That Chen Qing is somewhat overstepping his bounds. He pushed the situation to this point without His Majesty's consent. Now, even if His Majesty wants to let this matter go easily, it will probably not be so easy."

The emperor raised an eyebrow and nodded, saying, "That's somewhat true, but the charge can't be pinned on that guy."

The emperor said calmly, "That unicorn robe was indeed bestowed upon him by me. Even when he was dismissed from his post, I did not take back this bestowed robe. Moreover, I heard that he did not parade it around the city, but only walked around his doorstep."

“Even if we bring him to justice, he will have something to say.”

The emperor narrowed his eyes and laughed, "Being dismissed from his post and wearing the clothes I bestowed upon him at home is not against the law. After all, no one has allowed so many people to watch him."

Wang Xiangong said in a low voice, "That's precisely where Chen Qing's cunning lies. Although he gave him a strong push, no one could find any fault with him. That kind of person..."

"He's really being a bit arrogant."

The emperor seemed to be deep in thought, then said, "What the teacher said is right. I'll have to have someone give him a talking-to later."

"However, his push was very useful."

The emperor tapped the table and said softly, "Now, Yang Yuanfu and Xie Guan are both caught up in it."

Given the current situation, if the emperor were to re-examine and release him, the charges Chen Qing had listed, even if insufficient to convict him, would be enough to force him to resign.

As for Xie Xianggong, as long as we break through Chen Huan, we can still find a handle against him and expel Xie Guan from the cabinet.

The emperor looked at Prime Minister Wang before him and asked, "Teacher, are you ready to become the Grand Secretary?"

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Wang pondered for a moment, then lowered his head and said with a wry smile, "Your Majesty, this old minister... fears that my abilities are insufficient."

Wang Han's foundation is too shallow.

Before the emperor assumed personal rule, he was merely a tutor who taught the emperor, and did not hold any real power in the court. In other words, he did not have many students or former officials.

Three years ago, after the emperor assumed personal rule, he was forcibly promoted to the cabinet, but the fundamental issues have never been resolved.

The current Prime Minister Wang is perfectly capable of being a prime minister, but if he were to take charge of the cabinet, he would likely be overwhelmed and in disarray.

The emperor stroked his chin and said, "Then let's wait a little longer. This time, let's seize the opportunity to capture Yang and Xie, and each of them will have a major weakness."

Minister Wang bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, it's easy to find fault with Lord Yuanfu. We can have the Zhenfu Division verify each of the charges listed by Chen Qing, then hold back and do nothing. That's all we need to do with Minister Xie's incriminating evidence..."

The emperor tapped the table lightly and said, "Don't ask about this teacher; I'll handle it."

At this point, the emperor paused, then continued, "Next year in the spring, let the teacher be the chief examiner. Then, I will temporarily select another chief examiner."

Prime Minister Wang bowed deeply: "This old minister obeys your command."

After saying this, he sighed again: "This old minister is incompetent and has held Your Majesty back."

The emperor waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing to worry about.

"The cabinet is a matter of national importance and must be handled with utmost care. This time, it has been quite good."

After the emperor had a private conversation with Prime Minister Wang, he summoned Tang Can, the commander of the Zhenfu Division. Upon entering the palace, Tang Can knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your subject Tang Can pays his respects to Your Majesty."

The emperor raised his hand and said, "I'm giving your Zhenfu Division a task: investigate and verify each of the crimes Chen Qing listed concerning Minister Yang as quickly as possible."

Tang Can bowed his head and said, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

The emperor sat in his seat, narrowed his eyes slightly, and continued, "Furthermore, bring two people to the palace to see me tomorrow."

"Be more ruthless."

The emperor said calmly, "Let's scare them a bit, then I can ask them questions."

Without hesitation, Commander Tang bowed his head and said, "Your subject understands!"

(End of this chapter)