Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 76 Fellow travelers

Chen Qing had been waiting for this Prince Jiang in Niluo Lane for two whole days. After hearing his voice, Chen Qing put on his coat and went to the courtyard gate, where he opened it.

As soon as the courtyard gate was opened, the chubby boy, wearing a fur cloak, ignored Chen Qing and walked straight into the house.

"Do you have any newly written manuscripts? Let me take a look!"

Chen Qing led him to his desk, showed him the manuscript that had not yet been printed, and then said with a smile, "Young Prince, we agreed last time that you wouldn't casually reveal my identity as Deqing Xiaoxiaosheng. Who did you bring with you?"

The chubby boy, who was engrossed in his book, looked up at Chen Qing upon hearing this and rolled his eyes at him: "Deqing is such a tiny place. I bet the people from that bookstore come looking for you every few days. If they really want to investigate, who can they hide it from?"

"Besides, the people I brought you are all talented individuals I've befriended over two years in Yingtian. Don't be ungrateful!"

After saying this, he closed the manuscript, stuffed it into his pocket, and then smiled at Chen Qing, saying, "Those guys are still waiting outside. Let's go see them first, and I'll take a closer look later."

Dragged along by him, Chen Qing quickly arrived at the entrance of Mud Snail Alley. Several carriages were parked at the entrance. In front of the first carriage stood a scholar of about twenty years old with an ordinary appearance. Prince Jiang pulled Chen Qing to the scholar and introduced him to Chen Qing: "This is Zhang Xun, Zhang Dezun."

The chubby boy said with a smile, "This year's top scorer in the provincial examination in Yingtian."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing took a serious look at the ordinary-looking young man, cupped his hands, and said with a smile, "So it's the top scholar in person. My apologies for my disrespect."

Prince Jiang then pointed to Chen Qing and said, "This is Chen Qing, Chen Zizheng."

The top scholar also bowed to Chen Qing.

"Greetings, Brother Zizheng."

After bowing, he looked up at Chen Qing with eager eyes: "Brother Zizheng, are you Deqing Xiaoxiaosheng?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing touched his nose, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

He had chosen this pen name simply because he thought it was funny, but now that someone was calling it out to his face, it felt a little awkward. He coughed and forced a smile: "That's me."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xun bowed to Chen Qing and said, "Brother Zizheng, you are truly a man of great talent!"

"These past few months, I have been reading Brother Zizheng's great works and I am very fond of them."

At this point, he glanced at Prince Jiang beside him and said with a smile, "I only recently learned that the chivalrous stories in Yingtian all originated from you, Prince. Fortunately, I have met you a few times, so I shamelessly followed you to see Brother Zizheng."

The chubby boy next to him shook his head and said, "Zhang Dezun and I have the same teacher. It's a pity that my teacher could produce a top scholar in the provincial examination, but couldn't teach a stupid student like me."

Chen Qing was speechless upon hearing this.

It turns out that these two people are classmates.

However, it is not surprising. Yingtian was the secondary capital and secondary capital of the Great Qi Dynasty. Before it was moved to the north, although it did not leave behind a complete administrative team, it did leave behind some government offices.

For example, Yingtian had an Imperial Academy.

Both of them were probably studying at the Imperial Academy in Yingtian.

This top scholar, who went to the capital with them, was naturally going to participate in the imperial examination next spring.

However, to Chen Qing's surprise, the learned Zhang Jieyuan was also interested in these martial arts novels, which was quite unexpected.

However, looking at the expression of this top scholar, although he was enthusiastic, he was also somewhat polite. It is true that he likes this new subject matter, but his enthusiasm for him is mostly due to the sake of Prince Jiang.

Chen Qing cupped his hands and said, "That storybook was something I heard when I was a child. Now, when I recall those old stories, I simply transcribe them. It cannot be considered my work."

The chubby boy rolled his eyes at him, then pulled Chen Qing along, pointed to a middle-aged man in a scholar's robe not far away, and said, "This is Master Han, a famous scholar in Yingtian City. He is skilled in both calligraphy and painting. He has business in the capital this time, so I'm taking him along to look after him."

In this era, or rather, in an era where law enforcement is difficult, public security is often not very good. Most people travel in groups when going on long trips, and those who dare to go out alone usually have some skills.

For a convoy like the one carrying the chubby guy heading to Beijing, being able to hitch a ride on it guarantees a safe arrival in the capital. Of course, people who know him will try to hitch a ride with him.

Chen Qing stepped forward, cupped his hands, and smiled, "Greetings, Master Han." The middle-aged man had a flowing beard. He stroked his beard, glanced at Chen Qing, and gave a faint "hmm."

This was the reaction Chen Qing had expected, and it was the reaction a scholar of this era should have. Chen Qing wasn't angry; he simply glanced at Master Han, memorized his appearance, and then turned to find Prince Jiang.

Prince Jiang pulled Chen Qing along and brought him to a middle-aged man. This time it was an acquaintance. Chen Qing stepped forward and said with a smile, "Commander Shen, we meet again."

"Is Commander Shen escorting the young prince to the capital this time?"

Shen Qianhu, who was riding on horseback, quickly dismounted upon seeing Chen Qing, clasped his hands in a salute to Chen Qing, and then said with a smile, "I suppose so. It was just a job that I, Shen, asked for myself. I also have some things to take care of on my trip to the capital."

The chubby boy next to Chen Qing patted him on the shoulder and chuckled, "Thanks to you these past few months, Commander Shen has been eating his fill. This trip to the capital is a good opportunity for him to digest a bit."

Chen Qing was taken aback for a moment before realizing what the chubby boy was talking about.

In the past two months, Chen Qing has sent a portion of the Chronicles of Heroes to Prince Jiang and Commander Shen in each issue. Prince Jiang received more copies, while Commander Shen received fewer, but still received four or five hundred copies each issue.

This stuff is currently very popular in the Jiangnan region, and it's not just selling well in Yingtian. Therefore, it's quite easy to sell, and Commander Shen has made a lot of money from these chivalrous books.

What should I do after I make money?
Naturally, I should go and visit my superiors to network and get some support.

In addition to maintaining order in Yingtian, the Yiluan Division in Yingtian also had the responsibility of keeping an eye on several provinces in Jiangnan for His Majesty the Emperor. It could be said that the power was not great, but the responsibility was by no means small. Commander Shen was a hereditary commander. Having been in the position for a long time, he had finally "saved" some money and wanted to make some connections with the Yiluan Division in the capital.

Chen Qing's gaze shifted, and he carefully examined this Commander Shen.

If he succeeds in making the move, my chances of getting in touch with the imperial prison will increase even further!

After introducing everyone, the chubby boy invited them into Chen Qing's house. Chen Qing, being very considerate, immediately arranged for people to prepare a banquet.

After the feast was prepared, Chen Qing walked to the front door and noticed that one of the carriages outside remained unoccupied. He turned to the chubby boy and asked, "Young Master, who is in this carriage? Shall we invite them down to have some food and drinks together?"

The chubby boy glanced at the carriage, then shook his head slightly and said with a smile, "You don't need to worry about that. I'll have someone send some food over later so she can eat in the carriage."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing asked with some curiosity, "Young Prince, what's inside?"

"The women on the Qinhuai River are very famous."

The chubby boy said with a smile, "I heard that at its peak, an ordinary person couldn't even get a glimpse of it for a thousand taels of silver."

Chen Qing clicked his tongue and said with a smile, "Then the young prince is truly clever; he took such a woman directly from Yingtian."

"I don't have that ability."

The chubby boy pouted: "It's an elder in the capital who asked me to deliver it to him. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered with this trouble. It would have slowed me down a bit."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing stroked his chin.

If the chubby boy says he's an elder, then we can be sure he's not the emperor.

Because he knew that the current emperor should be the cousin of the Zhou king's heir apparent.

As Chen Qing was pondering, the chubby boy turned to look at him and asked, "By the way, Chen Qing, when are you planning to set off?"

"That depends on the young master. If the young master can get a good rest today, we can leave tomorrow."

"it is good."

The chubby boy clapped his hands and made a decision.

"Then let's head north tomorrow, first thing tomorrow morning!"

(End of this chapter)