Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 65 Companions

As a member of the imperial family, the Crown Prince of Zhou spoke without any tone of request. Although his tone was calm and even somewhat amiable, it clearly carried a hint of command.

Chen Qing stood there, stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, coughed, turned to the side and gestured for them to enter, and said with a smile, "Young Prince, County Magistrate, my humble abode is just ahead. We can't talk outside now that we're at our doorstep. If you don't mind, please come in and have a seat."

Upon hearing this, the young prince first frowned, then said, "Don't worry, my family isn't short of money. Inviting you over won't shorten your fee, nor will it steal your business. You have bookstores in Deqing, and we have bookstores in Bianzhou too. We'll print your books in Bianzhou."

"The money you are entitled to is still yours."

Chen Qing still had a smile on his face: "Young Prince, we can't just ask me to leave my hometown and go to a faraway place with you after only meeting for the first time and exchanging a few words, can we?"

"I am not married yet."

The Prince of Zhou smiled and said, "That's easy. I'll arrange a marriage for you when we get to Bianzhou."

At this point, he stroked his chin and said, "I have two older sisters, about your age, but unfortunately my father is too old-fashioned and would most likely not agree to it."

"That's alright. My family knows most of the big and small families in Bianzhou."

The young prince smiled and said, "I guarantee you'll find a beautiful wife."

Chen Qing sighed and was about to speak when the Prince of Zhou saw his expression and said nothing more, "Alright then, since you're already here, please have a seat at my place."

Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief and, together with Magistrate Hong, invited the young prince to his own courtyard.

Upon reaching the gate, Prince Zhou entered the courtyard first, followed by Chen Qing and Magistrate Hong. The eldest son of the Chen family walked side by side with Magistrate Hong, lowering his voice slightly: "Your Excellency, you are being extremely unfair."

Magistrate Hong had only been in office for a short time, and his skin wasn't thick enough yet. Hearing this, he was a little embarrassed and said with a wry smile, "I can't do anything about it."

Magistrate Hong looked around and whispered, "I have already informed Yingtian Prefecture and Huzhou Prefecture. It is unlikely that this young prince will stay away from Yingtian forever. We can just deal with it and it will pass."

"As for next year..."

Magistrate Hong lowered his voice: "The Zhou Prince's Mansion may be effective in Bianzhou Prefecture, but it may not be so effective in the Jiangnan area. Just deal with it, and as long as you don't go to Bianzhou again, there shouldn't be any major problems."

The two chatted for a while and soon arrived in the courtyard. Chen Qing coughed and bowed to the Prince of Zhou, saying, "My humble abode is simple and unadorned; please do not take offense, Your Highness."

The chubby boy, dressed in fine clothes, looked around with his hands behind his back, and nodded seriously: "Indeed, it's rudimentary."

Chen Qing's expression froze.

He never expected to receive such a reply for such polite words, and to make matters worse, he couldn't find a reason to refute it and couldn't say a word.

Upon seeing Chen Qing's appearance, Prince Jiang couldn't help but laugh. He stepped forward, tugged at Chen Qing's sleeve, and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, there's no need to trouble yourself to pour me any tea. Quickly take me to see your manuscript that hasn't been published yet."

Just as Chen Qing was about to lead him to the inner room, Prince Jiang suddenly turned his head and saw the wooden stakes placed in the courtyard. He was a little curious, so he walked over to the stakes in a few steps, circled them once, and then looked at Chen Qing.

There was a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Chen Qing, do you really practice martial arts? Then is everything you wrote in your book true?"

After saying that, he frowned and said, "No, I asked the guards around me who practice martial arts, and they all said that what you wrote was fake."

He returned to Chen Qing, looking at him with shining eyes: "I can't tell which of you is telling the truth. Why don't you fight these guards around me and see?"

Young Master Chen quickly waved his hand: "It's just a story, not to be taken seriously. How could I possibly be a match for the guards of the Prince's mansion?"

Upon hearing this, the young prince lost interest and sighed, "I thought there really was some kind of internal skill. If there really was, I wouldn't be this damned prince anymore. I would find a famous master and go off to be a chivalrous knight."

Chen Qing walked to the desk in the inner room, took out a portion of the manuscript that had not yet been printed, handed it to Prince Jiang, and then said with a smile, "If one is exceptionally talented, and with diligent study and practice, it is still possible to become a match for a hundred men."

"As for internal martial arts, they are mostly fictional stories."

He received no response to his words, because after taking the manuscript, the Crown Prince of Zhou had already sat down in a chair and started flipping through it.

Chen Qing did not disturb him, but left the inner room to pour tea for Magistrate Hong and several guards from the Prince Zhou's mansion.

After everyone had drunk their hot water, Chen Qing pulled Magistrate Hong to the pavilion in the courtyard and said helplessly, "Your Excellency, you're the one who brought this person here, so you need to give me some advice." Magistrate Hong coughed and said, "Didn't I just say? Just deal with him for now, and everything will be fine once we get through this."

He looked at Chen Qing and continued, "This position as a staff member in the Prince's mansion is actually quite good for an ordinary scholar who has failed the imperial examinations, but it is still a bit beneath you, Young Master Chen. I can tell from the stories you write that you are quite talented. If you can concentrate on the imperial examinations, you will surely achieve something in the future."

"We must never seek a living in the Prince's mansion."

Chen Qing glanced at him and sighed, "Your Excellency is just spouting empty words."

"This time, the county magistrate owes me a huge favor."

This week, Prince Wang was essentially recruited by Magistrate Hong. If Magistrate Hong hadn't sent the leaked manuscript to Yingtian to curry favor, Prince Jiang might not have come to Deqing.

Magistrate Hong knew this too. Upon hearing this, he touched his nose and sighed, "I owe you a huge favor."

Chen Qing nodded and walked into the inner room, where he poured tea for Prince Jiang.

Prince Jiang was reading a book when he took the tea without thinking. After taking a sip and swallowing it, he looked up at Chen Qing and exclaimed, "Eh!"

"Your home may be simple, but this tea is quite good."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing smiled but did not respond.

This tea was delivered by Xiaoyue, but it was actually mostly Miss Gu who took Master Gu's fine tea and brought it to Chen Qing.

Because this martial arts novel is essentially a copy of a book rather than a written one, and the Xia Ji was published almost every two weeks, Chen Qing actually had quite a few manuscripts saved up. It took Jiang Shizi more than half an hour to finish reading all of Chen Qing's manuscripts.

He had just reached the part about the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms when he abruptly stopped. The Prince of Zhou looked up at Chen Qing with wide eyes and exclaimed, "What's next?!"

"That's all."

Chen Qing coughed and said, "No more for now."

Prince Jiang took a deep breath to calm himself down. He suddenly stood up, walked up to Chen Qing, grabbed Chen Qing's sleeve, and said, "Deqing is a small place with no appeal. Come with me to Yingtian!"

"Once we arrive in Yingtian, you can stay with me and write to me every day. Next year, I will take you back to Bianzhou."

Chen Qing silently pulled away from Prince Jiang's sleeve, then sighed: "Young Prince, it's not that I don't want to go to Prince Zhou's residence, nor that I don't want to go to Yingtian, it's just that I still have many things to do in Deqing."

Prince Jiang frowned: "What is it you want to say?"

“I used to have a fiancée in Deqing, but the engagement was broken off recently.”

“My future father-in-law has now gone to the capital. I want to go to the capital in a few months to find him and continue this marriage.”

"I'll go to Bianzhou to find the young prince when I've settled down and started a family."

"Are you going to the capital?"

Prince Jiang stroked his chin and asked, "When?"

"End of the year."

Chen Qing answered honestly.

Upon hearing this, Prince Jiang's eyes lit up.

"I should also go to Beijing to visit my grandmother at the end of the year."

"I'll take you to the capital then."

After saying that, he looked at Chen Qing.