Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 154 A Powerful Young Man
The emperor was actually slightly dissatisfied with the course of this incident.

Because in this process, the more crucial stages were basically driven by Chen Qing, and had little to do with His Majesty the Emperor.

He was simply going with the flow.

But it is clear that His Majesty the Emperor is quite satisfied with the outcome of this matter. Although he was not able to completely turn the cabinet into his own cabinet in one fell swoop, he has basically grasped the key to the two cabinet ministers.

When his teacher has enough power to control the cabinet, he won't even need to personally use these two weaknesses to turn against him. He can simply send someone to give a hint, and the cabinet can be replaced immediately.

Moreover, after this incident, His Majesty the Emperor had enough confidence to proceed to the next step.

But the next step is His Majesty's true objective.

That was what he had just told Chen Qing: to have the Zhenfu Division conduct a search in the capital, according to the list he had given them.

Chen Qing held the plaque in his hand and looked down at it. He saw that it was a plaque made of pure gold, with cloud patterns engraved on one side and only the character "令" (command) engraved in seal script on the other side. It was very simple.

This thing is not a public instrument of the imperial court, nor can it represent the emperor's authority in the court; it is merely the emperor's private token.

If someone were to take this thing to the imperial court and give orders to this or that, the officials in the outer court could simply refuse to listen to it.

Of course, although they lacked the attributes of public office, most officials in the court would still give His Majesty the Emperor some face.

Moreover, this thing might not be very useful in the outer court, but it will definitely be useful in the Yiluan Division and Zhenfu Division, even more so than an imperial edict issued by the emperor.

Chen Qing examined the gold medal for a while, pondered for a moment, and then lowered his head to ask, "Among the people Your Majesty wants to investigate, are any cabinet ministers?"

The Emperor said calmly, "I have already sent Tang Can to investigate the cabinet. You don't need to worry about it. Go home and rest for a few days. In a few days, I will send Jiang Chu to find you and have him deliver the first batch of names to you."

The emperor paused for a moment, then continued, "From now on, Jiang Chu will mainly be in charge, and you will be in charge of the work."

"If you handle this matter well, I will not treat you unfairly."

The emperor remained calm: "Say no more, and I'll earn you a flying fish robe to wear."

The flying fish robe is almost the highest-ranking formal attire in the entire Yiluan Division.

Within the entire Yiluan Division, only a few commanders might be bestowed with a python robe by the emperor. In the absence of a python robe, the highest-ranking robe bestowed upon the entire Yiluan Division is the flying fish robe.

Wearing a qilin robe and walking around the capital, people might suspect you're someone's son. But if you can wear a flying fish robe on an imperial mission, no matter where you go or what rank of official you meet, most people will address you as "Your Excellency."

In reality, when meeting an official, one is one level higher!
Nowadays, countless people in the Yiluan Division wear flying fish robes, but in the Zhenfu Division, only about three or four people have been granted the privilege of wearing flying fish robes.

If Chen Qing were to actually wear the flying fish robe, even if he didn't become a commander of a thousand, his status in the Zhenfu Division would be almost the same as that of a commander of a thousand.

Young Master Chen, with a serious expression, said solemnly, "Serving His Majesty is my duty; I dare not ask for anything more..."

The emperor glanced at him and said with a smile, "It's always the same few sentences over and over again. Alright, you may go now."

His Majesty the Emperor stretched his body and said, "It's almost noon, so I won't keep you for lunch."

"If there is anything, have Jiang Chu or Tang Can report to me."

Chen Qing also didn't want to stay with the emperor. Hearing this, he breathed a sigh of relief and immediately bowed his head, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave."

It was already noon when Chen Qing walked out of the Imperial Study. He let out a long breath. When he arrived at the palace gate, he saw that the two chief officers of the Zhenfu Division were waiting for him there.

Seeing Chen Qing emerge from the palace, Tang Can and Yan Hu went to greet him with smiles on their faces: "Zizheng has finally come out."

Chen Qing clasped his hands in a salute: "Lord Zhen, Lord Yan."

With a broad smile, Tang Can stepped forward, tugged at Chen Qing's sleeve, and said with a laugh, "We're all brothers, why be so polite?"

Chen Qing glanced at his two superiors, both in their forties, and said, "I wouldn't dare. Xiao Yan and I are like brothers. By seniority, you two are my elders."

At this point, the two superiors of the Zhenfu Division obviously already knew that he had actually returned to the Zhenfu Division, so Chen Qing no longer hid it and naturally changed his address to refer to himself as his subordinate.

Tang Can glanced at Yan Hu, then said with a smile, "We're all brothers in our Zhenfu Division, each of us should treat each other as brothers."

Yan Qianhu coughed and smiled, "That's right, let's each do our own thing."

Chen Qing was led by his two superiors to a restaurant not far from the palace. After going up to the second floor, Tang Can looked at Chen Qing and blinked, "Brother Chen, show it to your old brother."

Chen Qing smiled wryly and said, "As the commander of the Zhenfu Division, what hasn't he seen?"

Tang Can shook his head and said seriously, "Brother, you don't know, during the late emperor's reign, in order to facilitate action, there were quite a few people in our Zhenfu Division and Yiluan Division who carried the emperor's golden token. However, although the current emperor is young, he is a steady person."

"Since taking office, not a single sign has been issued yet."

Tang Can smiled and said, "Including the eight years that the previous Grand Secretaries served as regents, the Imperial Guard and the Garrison Command have not seen the Emperor's gold token for more than ten years."

Yan Hu, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement: "I haven't seen him for many years either."

Chen Qing hesitated for a moment, then took out the plaque from his pocket and handed it to the two men: "Lord Zhen, take a look."

Upon seeing the plaque, Tang Can and Yan Hu exchanged a glance but didn't reach out to take it. Their enthusiasm only intensified. Tang Can laughed and said, "Take it, take it. Otherwise, we old brothers would have to kneel and kowtow." Chen Qing then realized that these two wanted to confirm whether he had actually received the plaque.

However, this is only natural. If you don't have some cunning, you won't last long working in the Zhenfu Division.

After Chen Qing put the plaque back into his pocket, Tang Can patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Brother Chen is truly favored by the Emperor. He has only been away from the Zhenfu Division for a few days, but he has already returned. As long as he continues to work in our Zhenfu Division, he will definitely have a bright future."

Tang Zhenfu poured Chen Qing a cup of wine and smiled, "In a few years, Brother Chen, you might become the commander of our Yiluan Division."

Chen Qing smiled and said, "If that day ever comes, the Marquis will probably be in the position of commander for many years."

Tang Can smiled broadly at these words.

Yan Hu patted his chest and said, "If you need anything in the future, Zizheng, just have Yan Cong pass on a message, and I will definitely do as you say."

At this point, Yan Hu picked up his wine glass.

"Come, drink this cup to the brim!"

At this moment, the three most important people in the Zhenfu Division raised their glasses together and clinked them together.

"Drink this cup to the full!"

…………

The fact that Chen Qing and his son were summoned to the palace together caught the attention of many people in the court and the public. Everyone began to frantically inquire about the reasons why His Majesty the Emperor summoned the Chen family to the palace, as well as the details of the incident.

However, basically no useful information came out.

Just when everyone thought that this series of events might suddenly erupt, His Majesty the Emperor remained remarkably calm, as if nothing had happened, and continued doing what he was supposed to do.

In this treacherous environment, Xie Xiangong began to take over the work of the Grand Secretary.

However, this Grand Secretary, who was a top scholar in the imperial examination, felt that something was wrong with everything after only a few days in office.

He sent someone to invite Chen Huan to his residence for a chat, but Chen Huan declined, citing serious illness. Xie Xiangong even sent someone to visit Chen Huan's family and indeed saw Chen Huan lying in bed, quite seriously ill.

That evening, Xie, who was off duty in the cabinet, finally could not contain himself any longer. He took a sedan chair and went all the way to Yang's residence to request an audience with Yang.

As a cabinet minister and the top scholar in the imperial examination, Xie was easily invited into the Yang family. In the Yang family's study, he met Yang Yuanfu, who was at home on sick leave.

Upon seeing Yang Yuanfu, Xie Xianggong bowed and said with a wry smile, "When will you be able to return to the cabinet, Yuanfu? Without your leadership, I can hardly hold on any longer."

Yang Yuanfu raised his eyes, looked at Xie Guan, and said in a daze, "Ji Heng, how many years have we been colleagues? We've been in the cabinet for over ten years, haven't we?"

"There are only the two of us here, so there's no point in talking about these empty words."

After a moment of silence, Xie Xiangong said, "I don't quite understand the current situation anymore. Please enlighten me, Yuanfu Gong."

Minister Yang said calmly, "No matter what the situation is, I am prepared to go to the imperial prison."

"will not."

Xie Xianggong said out loud: "No one else will be imprisoned, not Yuanfu Gong."

Yang Yuanfu lowered his head and sipped his tea, saying calmly, "Even if I don't go to the imperial prison, I'll be packing my bags and going back to my hometown. Make way for Ji Heng."

Master Xie shook his head again. He looked at Master Yang and said slowly, "The matter that Chen Qing caused is still unresolved. Master Yuanfu will not leave the capital until this matter is over."

The charges against the Yang family that Chen Qing listed must be thoroughly resolved by Prime Minister Yang while he is still the Grand Secretary.

Whether the outcome is good or bad, at least things should have a resolution.

Otherwise, if this drags on and the matter erupts after he steps down, the entire Yang family could very well be doomed.

Upon hearing this, Minister Yang narrowed his eyes and remained silent. After a while, he looked at Xie Guan and said, "Chen Huan went to the palace the day before yesterday, didn't he?"

"I don't know what you and Chen Huan discussed in private, Ji Heng, but Ji Heng, guess what? With the Zhenfu Division and His Majesty's methods, can Chen Huan withstand it?"

Master Xie frowned deeply and remained silent.

Yuanfu Gong continued to sip his tea with his head down: "Neither of us can leave the capital now. Let's just wait for the outcome."

At this point, he looked at Xie Guan and suddenly smiled: "Ji Heng's student is just average, but his grand-disciple is extraordinary."

"This capital city..."

"Master Yang said softly."

"A remarkable young man has arrived."

(End of this chapter)