Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 102 Impolite

The royal family guarded against the rise of members of the imperial clan to power, especially avoiding their control of the military, naturally because they feared that members of the imperial clan would rebel and cause the imperial power to fall into the wrong hands.

Now that the current emperor has a prince and a brother, Jiang Chu, as the current emperor's cousin, has virtually no chance of succeeding to the throne.

Moreover, he is the heir apparent of the Zhou king, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will naturally inherit the Zhou king's title and become a regional vassal king.

In other words, there was really no great benefit to him serving the emperor in the capital; on the contrary, it added a lot of risks.

Chen Qing poured him a cup of wine and said with a smile, "Your Highness, don't overthink it. I think that since His Majesty has entrusted you with this task, he will definitely give you some benefits in the future. Otherwise, even if the court officials don't object, without tangible benefits, the imperial family might not be willing to serve the emperor."

Judging from the current situation, the young emperor who is currently on the throne has been preparing to do some things since he assumed power three years ago.

At least for now, he is still an emperor who is ambitious and pursues change.

In fact, most emperors who ascended the throne as teenagers were like this in their youth: ambitious and eager to make a name for themselves.

For example, the current emperor is already pursuing some institutional changes.

"benefit?"

The chubby boy shook his head and said, "What benefits could His Majesty possibly give me?"

Chen Qing smiled and said, "Your Highness, if the precedent of members of the imperial family not holding official positions can be changed, then the precedent of hereditary succession in various vassal states may also be changed."

The chubby boy was worried, but Chen Qing was in a pretty good mood because before this, he didn't actually have any reliable backers in the Yi Luan Si system.

The only one he could rely on was Yan Cong, who was the son of an official in the Northern Garrison.

However, Yan Cong himself was not an official, so his connections were not strong enough.

Now, Prince Jiang has inexplicably become one of his superiors. Although he is not a superior in the true sense, if he does a good job, it is not impossible for Prince Jiang to take over the Yiluan Division system in the future.

At that time, I might be able to get a piece of the action and rise to prominence within the Yi Luan Si system.

The chubby boy glared at Chen Qing.

"It has been a hereditary system for over a hundred years. How can it be changed so easily? You can only say this to me. If you mention this to other members of the Jiang family, they will definitely slap you a few times."

Chen Qing remained calm and said with a smile, "Whether I change it or not is not up to me. I was just saying it casually. Why are you hitting me?"

"Nothing."

Chen Qing looked at Prince Jiang and said with a smile, "Even if we don't give you any benefits in terms of the succession of the title, it would be good if we could give you more fiefdoms in the future."

"Moreover."

Chen Qing said softly, "I suspect that His Majesty is using the heir apparent to serve in the capital to shut some people up. After all, the heir apparent will eventually inherit the title of Prince of Zhou and cannot stay in the capital to serve indefinitely. Therefore, those civil officials are unlikely to hold a grudge against the heir apparent."

“In the future, if this becomes a precedent, His Majesty can select some of the more idle members of the royal family to serve, such as the Crown Prince’s younger brother or the Crown Prince’s future sons.”

The chubby boy touched his chin, his eyes darting around.

After a long while, he looked at Chen Qing and said with emotion, "The more I listen to what you're saying, the more I think it makes sense."

The chubby boy's expression turned strange: "Perhaps that's what my elder brother is thinking."

As he spoke, he looked at Chen Qing and said, "If His Majesty really thinks this way, and finds out about our conversation today, he will definitely throw you into the imperial prison and ask you for the crime of trying to guess His Majesty's intentions!"

Chen Qing smiled wryly and said, "It was only when the young master asked that I casually mentioned it. Does the young master intend to report me?"

The chubby boy chuckled: "They might really report you. If your guess is the same as His Majesty's, and His Majesty finds out, he might even promote you out of turn."

Chen Qing shook his head: "It's better not to. If we're not careful, we might really be accused of trying to guess the emperor's will."

He said softly, "Now that I've entered the Zhenfu Division, as long as I handle things well, His Majesty will see me sooner or later. There's no need to rush."

Upon hearing this, the chubby boy chuckled softly, "Alright then, if Your Majesty wants to employ me, I'll serve in the capital for a few years. Before I return to Bianzhou, I'll definitely use my position to find you a good job!"

Chen Qing stood up, his face serious, and raised his glass in a toast.

"Thank you for your guidance, sir!"

Upon seeing this, the chubby boy couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll definitely help you out, I'll definitely help you out!"

…………

The drinking session with the chubby boy lasted for more than half an hour before the chubby boy left the Gu family accompanied by Yan Cong. Chen Qing was also about 30-40% drunk, and since it was already late afternoon, he took off his coat, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep fully clothed.

He slept straight through the night, and when Chen Qing groggily opened his eyes, he saw that candles had been lit in his room sometime during the night.

He was still half asleep and it took him a while to become slightly more awake. When he finally opened his eyes, he could see that someone was sitting at his desk, looking through the manuscripts on it.

Chen Qing immediately came to his senses. He struggled to open his eyes and saw clearly that it was a woman dressed in a Taoist robe sitting at a desk.

Although it was still winter, the Taoist robe was quite thin, and in the candlelight, one could even vaguely see the woman's excellent figure. Chen Qing had already recognized who the woman was. Before he could speak, the woman turned around and quietly looked at him.

"Young Master Chen, you're awake."

Chen Qing propped himself up with both hands and sat on the edge of the bed.

"How did Miss Mu know I was awake?"

"The breathing sounds are different."

Mu Xianniang sat in the chair, looked at Chen Qing, and said, "This room is very quiet. You can't hear any breathing sounds."

Chen Qing nodded and asked, "How did you get in?"

Mu Xianniang said calmly, "This is just an ordinary house. It would be very easy for me to come in. Not only is it easy for me to come in, but it would also be no problem for those people from the White Lotus Sect to come in."

Chen Qing rubbed his forehead and fully woke up.

Indeed, the courtyard that Master Gu rented, although it occupied a considerable area, had absolutely no security whatsoever. Even Yan Cong could easily climb over the wall to get in, so naturally others could as well.

Mu Xianniang waved the manuscript in her hand and said, "Yesterday, the people from the Northern Sect showed me the first volume of the Maitreya's Path to Enlightenment Sutra written by Young Master Chen. I just flipped through it, and Young Master Chen has almost finished the second volume. His speed is much faster than that of The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

She said softly, "Young master is very attentive."

Chen Qing sighed and said, "There's no other way. They've got a hold of me, so I have no choice but to do my best."

Mu Xianniang looked at Chen Qing for a long while before shaking her head and saying, "Young master, you are not honest; not a word of truth comes out of your mouth."

Chen Qing put on his coat and said with a smile, "Miss Mu, you sneaked into my room late at night, a lone man and a lone woman. You think you'd behave yourself?"

"I am a woman of the night."

Mu Xianniang said calmly, "I don't care about these things. If you don't mind my age, I'm happy to serve you in bed."

Without hesitation, Young Master Chen shrank further into the bed, lifted the blanket, and patted the bed.

Seeing this, Mu Xianniang froze on the spot, but did not move. She said helplessly, "This is still the Gu family home. Aren't you afraid that your fiancée will find out, young master?"

"You come and go without a trace, what do I have to fear?"

Chen Qing said with a smile, "Look, I dare not, but the young lady doesn't."

Mu Xianniang lowered her eyes and didn't reply. Instead, she looked at the manuscript in her hand, then at Chen Qing, and said in a low voice, "Young Master Chen, something is wrong with you. There's something strange about you."

“You write chivalrous tales to make money, but the progress is very slow. You write stories for the Holy Sect and don’t earn a penny, yet you are so dedicated to it.”

Chen Qing smiled and said, "Is it a mistake to be so attentive or to do things for the Holy Church?"

"You were coerced by Bai Sanping."

Mu Xianniang stared at Chen Qing.

Chen Qing shrugged: "Precisely because I was coerced, I have to take it seriously. What if Hall Master Bai turns against me? Wouldn't I be ruined immediately?"

Mu Xianniang frowned as she looked at Chen Qing. She felt that something was wrong, but with her intelligence, she couldn't see any flaws. So she took the manuscript and said, "I'm going to see Master Yang tomorrow. I'll take these manuscripts with me to show him."

After saying that, she stood up and walked outside.

Chen Qing stood up and said with a smile, "It's cold outside, shall I find you a coat?"

Without looking back, Mu Xianniang disappeared into the night.

Chen Qing silently closed the door, then sat back down on the bed, slightly lost in thought.

Just now, this woman deliberately brought up Master Yang, most likely to test Chen Qing, but Chen Qing didn't fall for it.

He does need to cooperate with Mu Xianniang, but not before he takes action, but after he takes action.

Because he was unsure which side Mu Xianniang would side with after he confessed, he insisted on eliminating the enemy first and then negotiating.

Thinking of this, Chen Qing muttered to himself.

"Bai Sanping... could that be his real name?"

"Probably not."

Young Master Chen returned to his desk and looked at his messy table.

"That's so rude."