Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 155 Leaving Vertically
In court infighting, the key is to fight without breaking apart.

Although in reality, the two Grand Secretaries and the Second Grand Secretary were irreconcilable enemies, even to the point of being at each other's throats, the long-standing tacit understanding among civil officials still allowed them to sit together and chat as if nothing were wrong.

But both of them knew that they could never go back to the past.

Xie Guan's ambition to become Grand Secretary has been fully revealed, and from now on, the two of them can at most maintain a basic semblance of civility on the surface.

"Chen Qing."

Xie Xiangong stroked his beard, and all the events of the past few days flashed through his mind like lightning. After a while, he seemed to understand some of the key points.

“Yuanfu’s insight is indeed more astute than mine.”

Xie Xiangong murmured, "This Chen Qing is indeed consistent throughout. I had not taken him seriously before."

Minister Yang said calmly, "His ambitions are not small. If he is given an important position in the future, he will surely become a powerful tool in the emperor's hands."

Xie Xiangong seemed to be deep in thought, and asked, "Is it a private tool or a public tool?"

Minister Yang said calmly, "The Zhenfu Division is naturally a private institution."

The prime minister of two dynasties stood up, pondered for a moment, and continued, "As for whether he can become a public servant in the future, it depends on whether he can break free from the confines of the Imperial Ceremonial Office."

At this moment, Minister Yang had already discerned Chen Qing's future position.

In the future, Chen Qing will most likely become a sharp blade extended from imperial power. In other words, in terms of power attributes, this young man surnamed Chen will probably stand on the opposite side from these civil officials.

Xie Xiangong's eyes flickered, but he did not reply. After a while, he lowered his head slightly and said, "I have come here not only to ask for your advice, but also to ask you to return to the cabinet and take charge of the central government."

"The central government cannot function without Yuanfu Gong."

Minister Yang said slowly, "Isn't it good that Ji Heng is in charge of the cabinet?"

Minister Xie shook his head: "If Lord Yuanfu does not return to the cabinet, I will have no choice but to ask for leave."

Xie Guan did want to compete for the position of Grand Secretary, but the prerequisite for doing so was that Prime Minister Yang had already fallen from power. Now, His Majesty the Emperor's attitude was ambiguous, and Prime Minister Yang was merely staying at home on sick leave.

In this situation, if Xie Guan did not express his opinion and simply took over the cabinet, it would be rather unseemly, and later the court officials would suspect him of all the recent turmoil.

Simply put, this position of prime minister... wasn't obtained in a respectable way.

As the top scholar in the imperial examination, Xie Xiang naturally could not accept such an undignified situation.

Master Yang sighed: "I am indeed ill."

"Ji Heng, please do me the favor and take my place for a while."

Xie Xiang frowned slightly.

Minister Yang stood up and said, "The affairs of the cabinet are not difficult to handle. Just consult with Minister Wang on everything."

"Prime Minister Wang..."

Master Xie frowned again, but then relaxed and slowly said.

"I understand."

………………

Da Shi Yong Fang, Chen Residence.

After Chen Qing got the job, since he didn't have to go to the Zhenfu Division to report for duty, he still stayed at home. Sometimes he would talk to Gu Pan and hug her, and sometimes he would stay in his room, writing and drawing.

Unlike before, these past two days, the Zhenfu Division has been sending people to deliver a stack of documents every morning and evening, which eventually end up piling up on Chen Qing's desk.

These are some documents and materials concerning the White Lotus Sect, important officials in the capital, and some matters that Chen Qing needs to handle.

In other words, apart from not being directly responsible for the daily affairs of his centurion's office, Young Master Chen still had to handle everything else himself.

This counts as working from home.

The most important information here is actually about important officials in the capital. Some of this intelligence was accumulated by the Zhenfu Division in the past, while the rest was recently discovered.

In the study, Chen Qing sorted through the intelligence reports, then put the organized documents into a drawer. He closed his eyes and reviewed the information he had seen that day in his mind.

The emperor assigned him new tasks, so all these things would be useful in the future, and he had to memorize them as much as possible, or at least have a deep understanding of them.

It's not that Chen Qing is a workaholic, but when he's on a mission for the emperor, especially one as espionage as this, there's no room for him to slack off.

If you do a regular job poorly, you might just get a scolding. But if you do this kind of job poorly, you could end up in prison!
Moreover, Chen Qing was well aware that this was the most important period for his career advancement, and he had to seize this opportunity and devote himself to it wholeheartedly.

Otherwise, if you miss this opportunity, the road ahead will be even more difficult. Most people are like this; they have several such opportunities in their lives, and as long as they give it their all, they may be able to achieve upward social mobility!
Of course, it's also possible to fail.

Just as Chen Qing was organizing the documents, Miss Gu knocked on the door, pushed it open, and came in. She brought Chen Qing a bowl of hot soup, placed it on the table, and sighed softly, "Even at home, Da Lang isn't much more relaxed than before. Why does he still keep himself locked in his study?"

Chen Qing reached out and pulled Miss Gu into his arms, saying with a smile, "If I were to have some free time, we probably wouldn't be able to stay in the capital any longer. The matter of Vice Minister Zhao hasn't been resolved yet, has it?"

These past few days, the two have been spending every day together, and Gu Pan has gotten used to being held in his arms. She simply patted the restless large hand on her chest and shook her head slightly, saying, "As for Uncle Zhao's matter, Da Lang should just do his best. It's not really Da Lang's responsibility."

Chen Qing smiled and said, "After all, it's a worry for Uncle Gu. If this matter isn't resolved properly, Uncle Gu will always be bothered by it."

"Once this matter is settled, let Uncle Gu go back to Deqing and earn money for us to spend."

Anrentang in Deqing is a very big business, even for Chen Qing now, it is a considerable business, and this business cannot be given up easily.

After all, a solid economic foundation is essential for Chen Qing to accomplish anything.

Ideally, he would have his future father-in-law, Mr. Gu, make a steady stream of money for him.

Miss Gu turned her head and glared at Chen Qing.

"They're not even married yet, and they're already eyeing my dad's money!"

Chen Qing slipped his hand inside her clothes and chuckled softly, "Then let Uncle Gu go and make money. I won't spend it; it's all for you, Pan'er."

Miss Gu's face was flushed, and she almost collapsed in Chen Qing's arms. Looking at her red face, Chen Qing couldn't help but kiss her. Their lips met, and Miss Gu murmured softly.

"Don't…"

She hugged Chen Qing and shook her head slightly, saying, "Xiao Yue is right outside, in broad daylight..."

Chen Qing took a deep breath and said softly, "Then let's hug for a while..."

Gu Pan nodded gently, lightly pecked Chen Qing's lips, and was about to speak when Xiao Yue's voice came from outside: "Young Master, Miss."

"Young Master Jiang has arrived and wishes to see the young master..."

Miss Gu exclaimed "Ah!" and hurriedly stood up, straightening her clothes. She said in a flustered manner, "I know. Go tell the young master that the eldest son will go there immediately."

Xiaoyue responded and turned away.

Chen Qing sat in the chair, looking somewhat disheveled. He looked down and said with a wry smile, "Going immediately is probably not an option."

The young couple were in a flurry of activity, and after a while, Chen Qing changed into some looser clothes before finally arriving at their main hall.

By this time, the chubby boy was already sitting in the main seat and had drunk half a pot of tea.

Seeing Chen Qing approach, the chubby boy looked at him suspiciously: "Where have you been? Why are you so late?"

Chen Qing bowed respectfully and said with a smile, "My stomach hurt, so I was delayed for a while."

The chubby boy glanced at Chen Qing again, but didn't dwell on it. Instead, he continued, "I came from the palace."

Chen Qing nodded, roughly understanding what the young master meant. He thought for a moment and then asked, "Does Your Majesty have a target?"

"Ah."

Jiang Chu nodded, then sighed: "Now look what's happened. Not only am I stuck in the capital, but you handled this matter, you took the credit, and I'm the one who gets the credit."

"If I offend too many people later, I don't know if I'll be able to leave the capital standing up."

Chen Qing poured him a cup of tea and said with a smile, "I can't guarantee anything else, but as long as I'm still in the capital, I guarantee that the young master will be able to leave the capital standing up."

Is that what I meant?

The chubby boy glared at Chen Qing with annoyance.

Chen Qing put down the teapot and asked, "Did the young master bring the list?"

"His Majesty hasn't finished compiling the list yet. I'm here today to only ask you to investigate one person and see how well you do it."

Chen Qing asked, "Who is it?"

The chubby boy took a sip of tea and said slowly.

"The Prefect of the Capital".

(End of this chapter)