Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 34 Let's Try

Chen Qing befriended Magistrate Hong not simply because of his power and influence.

More importantly, Magistrate Hong put in a lot of effort in this matter, and he didn't put on too much of an official's airs, at least not in front of Chen Qing. So, in Chen Qing's eyes, he was a person worth befriending.

Moreover, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) at this age can be said to have a bright future. Even high-ranking officials in the capital would go to the list of successful candidates to find a son-in-law, betting their political capital.

At this time, Magistrate Hong was still weak. If Chen Qing could establish some relationship with him, even if it wasn't a gamble, it would naturally be beneficial for the future.

After spending some time in the county magistrate's study, Chen Qing took his leave and returned to the Gu family compound to rest.

For the next ten days or so, Chen Qing's life returned to normal. He would occasionally go to Mr. Yang's house in the morning to learn martial arts, and in the afternoon he would spend most of his time in his room, either reading books or writing short stories for Mr. Yang.

Miss Gu, on Chen Qing's advice, would visit Anrentang from time to time.

During this period, Miss Gu followed the plan given to her by Chen Qing and played the good cop. In the past ten days, she had brought back five or six of the Gu family members who had been fired by Chen Qing. In a short time, the influence of this seventh daughter of the Gu family within the Gu family could be said to have increased dramatically.

However, Chen Qing no longer pays much attention to these things.

That afternoon, Chen Qing returned to the Gu family compound as usual, carrying a book he had just bought from a bookstore. Not long after he returned to the courtyard, as he was flipping through the book under the pavilion, Xiao Yue, dressed in a light blue dress, walked in angrily.

At this point, Chen Qing had been at the Gu family for over a month. In that month, he had only met Miss Gu about five times, but he had met Xiaoyue every single day.

After a while, the two of them became quite familiar with each other.

Seeing that Xiaoyue's expression was not good, Chen Qing put down his book and said with a smile, "Who made our Miss Xiaoyue unhappy?"

After saying that, Chen Qing glanced at her attire and continued with a smile, "You've changed into new clothes today, that's quite rare."

Normally, Xiaoyue wears coarse cloth servant's clothes most of the time, but today she is wearing a silk dress, and at first glance, she no longer looks like a servant.

In the entire Deqing County, there are probably not many families that can afford such clothing. Only the Gu family, the wealthiest family in the country, would allow their servants to wear such clothes.

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyue turned around in front of Chen Qing and then said rather proudly, "This is a reward from Miss for my good work last year. It's a dress that Miss used to wear."

Chen Qing clapped his hands and exclaimed, "That's really good!"

Xiaoyue was even happier after he praised her a few times, but she quickly came to her senses and said angrily, "Someone came to tell me yesterday that the gentleman you often listen to has a beautiful daughter!"

"I went to see it this morning!"

Xiaoyue looked at Chen Qing and felt a little aggrieved: "That little girl is indeed beautiful!"

Back then, Chen Qing was certain that Mr. Yang had some martial arts skills, not only because Mr. Yang was able to travel the martial arts world, but also because Mr. Yang's daughter, who was about ten years old, was quite beautiful.

The fact that Mr. Yang can still navigate the world with such a daughter and remain unharmed shows that he must have some skill.

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing was speechless and said, "You've been secretly following me?"

"I…"

Xiaoyue turned her head away: "It's not like I wanted to follow you."

She was indeed in the wrong, and after stammering a few words, she couldn't explain herself clearly. She could only look at Chen Qing and grit her teeth slightly: "Young master, you will be marrying the young lady this autumn!"

Chen Qing was speechless for a moment before asking, "Does that matter?"

"Of course it matters."

Xiaoyue looked around and whispered, "Miss is shy and embarrassed to tell you. If she knew about this, she would definitely be unhappy."

As she spoke, Xiaoyue circled around in front of Chen Qing again, then stared straight at him.

Young Master Chen lowered his head and sipped his tea, a silent smile playing on his lips.

He knew that Xiaoyue was showing him that she looked good in her new clothes, no less so than Miss Yang outside.

Looking at this teenage girl, Chen Qing couldn't muster any evil thoughts; he only felt that she was pure and lovely.

Young Master Chen paused for a moment before saying, "These past few days, Mr. Yang and I have finalized a book, which will begin tomorrow or the day after. If you and your young lady have nothing to do, you can go and listen to it."

Xiaoyue's eyes sparkled as she looked at Chen Qing: "Young Master, did you make this up?"

Chen Qing thought for a moment, then honestly replied, "I've heard of it before; I copied it down."

Xiaoyue said "Oh," and then asked, "What's your name?"

"The Romance of the Western Chamber".

Xiaoyue blinked: "What were you talking about?"

Chen Qing smiled and said, "It tells the story of a young master and lady who are mutually in love."

"ah!"

Xiaoyue exclaimed in surprise, then looked at Chen Qing seriously, and suddenly said with a smile, "Then I must take Miss to listen, but I don't know if the teahouse is open to young ladies." "Yes, it is."

Chen Qing replied, "The first floor is not very convenient. Many people use foul language. You can take your young lady up to the second floor to listen. This expense is negligible for the Gu family."

Xiaoyue made a note of it, blinked, and asked, "So, young master, are you going tomorrow?"

"We should go and listen."

Chen Qing said with a smile, "Let's go and see how it goes."

"Then I'll go tell Miss right away."

After saying this, she turned and jogged back to the embroidery tower. Just as she reached the courtyard gate, she suddenly saw a familiar figure walking towards her. Xiaoyue looked up and was startled. She quickly bowed and greeted him: "Master!"

Xiaoyue swallowed hard: "You're back!"

The visitor was none other than Master Gu.

Master Gu looked at Xiaoyue and nodded, saying, "You're back."

He stroked his beard and said, "Go tell Pan'er that I'll be going to see her in a little while."

Xiaoyue quickly agreed and turned away.

Master Gu then stepped into Chen Qing's courtyard.

At this moment, Chen Qing had also heard the commotion outside. He walked to the courtyard gate, cupped his hands and bowed to Master Gu who was walking in, saying, "Uncle."

Master Gu waved his hand and pulled Chen Qing into the courtyard.

"Speak from inside."

Master Gu and Chen Qing entered the room together. After they sat down, Chen Qing poured Master Gu a cup of tea and asked, "Uncle, did your trip go smoothly?"

Master Gu tilted his head back, took a sip of tea, remained silent for a moment, and then shook his head slightly.

Clearly, his trip did not go smoothly.

After taking a sip of tea, he looked at Chen Qing and said, "I just went to the shop. I've already heard about what's been happening in Deqing lately from Lao Lu."

Master Gu looked at Chen Qing and said, "Overall, my nephew handled things very well."

He looked at Chen Qing, paused, and continued, "There's just one thing that doesn't seem right. I heard that you took money from the shop to give as gifts to Magistrate Hong?"

"Yes."

Chen Qing nodded: "I owe Magistrate Hong a favor, so I have to go and express my gratitude."

Master Gu asked, "How much did you send?"

"They're all writing implements and the like, totaling a little over a hundred taels of silver."

Master Gu shook his head and said, "Too little, too little."

He took another sip of tea and continued, "At least five hundred to a thousand taels would be fair."

After saying that, Master Gu said quietly, "Tomorrow, I will personally go to see the county magistrate and express my gratitude. My dear nephew, you don't need to worry about it."

Chen Qing nodded, indicating that he understood.

Master Gu stood up, put his hands behind his back, and said, "I have read the letter your family sent me. If I reply, I estimate that someone from the Chen family will come over in a few days."

Chen Qing opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Master Gu: "It's good that they're coming. Now that your family is here, our two families can discuss the specifics of the marriage."

"Let's discuss this: will you take a son-in-law or marry into the family?"

As Mr. Gu paced around the room, talking to Chen Qing, he suddenly noticed several books and an unfinished article when he reached Chen Qing's desk.

Master Gu stopped, put his hands behind his back, and looked at the contents of the desk. He paused for a moment, then murmured, "The Book of Documents, Current Affairs..."

He turned to look at Chen Qing, frowning, and asked, "Nephew, are you preparing for the imperial examinations?"

Chen Qing also stood up and walked to his desk. He was silent for a moment before speaking.

"Since I had nothing else to do, I thought I'd give it another try."

He smiled bitterly.

"See if you're really cut out for this."

(End of this chapter)