Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 35 is inspiring!

During this period, Chen Qing did indeed buy a lot of books to read, including the Book of Documents and policy essays.

He even bought a collection of books to read.

The so-called collections are articles written by predecessors who have passed the exams. They can be roughly understood as perfect essays. Chen Qing wanted to see what the content and answers of the exams in this era were.

Of course, the core objective is still to see if there is a way out.

Master Gu rummaged through the things on Chen Qing's desk, then returned to Chen Qing. He stroked his chin and looked at Chen Qing: "Nephew, if you aspire to study, the Gu family can support your education expenses."

Chen Qing was silent for a while, then shook his head and sighed: "It will probably be very difficult."

During this time, Chen Qing has accumulated many memories, and some things from the past have gradually become clearer.

His father was a child prodigy, passing the imperial examination at the age of fourteen and becoming a Jinshi at the age of twenty-four. After taking office, although his career was somewhat bumpy, he has now become a prefect, which is by no means a minor official.

However, the original young master Chen had never passed the county examination until he was fifteen years old, and did not have the status of a student, so his father did not like him very much.

His beloved mother passed away three years ago, leaving him with no one to rely on in the Chen family. Coupled with his weak personality, this led him to the point where he had no choice but to leave home.

Now, Chen Qing is naturally much smarter than before, but the other young master Chen has a very poor foundation and has not received education in this era. When he tries to study for the imperial examinations, he is completely clueless.

Upon hearing this, Master Gu looked at Chen Qing and gently comforted him, saying, "There are so many scholars in the world, and only two or three hundred people become Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in three years. Even Juren (successful candidates in the provincial imperial examinations) are few and far between. Some people study hard all their lives but may not even become Shengyuan (students). It's better not to take the path of examinations."

As he spoke, he thought for a moment and said with a smile, "My family was quite well-off in our hometown when my father was the generation, so we could afford to send one of our children to school. It was my eldest brother who went to school. He studied his whole life and barely passed the prefectural examination, but he still didn't become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination)."

"Later, I made some money doing business."

Master Gu lowered his head and took a sip of tea before continuing, "After making some money, I thought that if someone in the family could become an official, the Gu family business could be stabilized. Starting thirteen years ago, I hired a tutor to open the Gu Family Private School. Anyone who passed the county examination would receive a monthly allowance to support their studies. It has been more than ten years now."

Master Gu chuckled self-deprecatingly: "All I've managed to raise is one or two scholars."

He looked at Chen Qing and sighed, "Their studies are not necessarily as good as Pan'er's."

Speaking of Miss Gu, Mr. Gu looked at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "By the way, my dear nephew, have you met Pan'er yet?"

"Yes."

Chen Qing didn't hide anything and said, "That day, Gu Shouyi's son died, and Gu Shouzhu brought people here to make trouble. In the rush, I met with Miss. Later, because of this case, we met a few more times."

Master Gu stroked his beard and said with a smile, "I heard from Old Lu that Pan'er has already started to take care of things at the shop."

Looking at Chen Qing, Master Gu said, "Also, my dear nephew, you made the decision to dismiss some members of the Gu family. That was an excellent decision."

He narrowed his eyes and snorted, "Over the years, I've been too embarrassed to ask for a job, but they think it's a secure job and can't tell who gave them this opportunity."

Chen Qing smiled but didn't reply.

Master Gu looked at Chen Qing with a smile on his face: "Nephew, you have done all you can. Now that I am back, I will handle the rest properly."

At this point, he stood up and looked at Chen Qing: "I just read the letter from the Chen family in the prefectural city. The Chen family means that they want to come and finalize the specifics of the marriage. What do you think, my dear nephew?"

Chen Qing said calmly, "Uncle, you can decide."

Master Gu stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Very well, then I will reply to the Chen family today. Don't worry, my dear nephew."

As Mr. Gu rose to leave, he said with a smile, "I am very satisfied with this son-in-law of yours."

After saying that, he left with his hands behind his back. Chen Qing got up, saw him off, and escorted him all the way to the outside of the courtyard before returning to his own room.

After returning to his room, Chen Qing went to his desk, flipped through the collection of books, and frowned.

"I need to find a way to advance my career as soon as possible."

He recalled Magistrate Hong's imposing manner and sighed softly.

"Otherwise, when you see your cheap old man again, you probably won't even have the right to speak."

...On the other side, Master Gu first went to see his daughter and briefly communicated with her about what had happened during this period. After chatting for a while, Master Gu stood up and said, "My dear daughter, we can talk about the rest in detail tonight. I'm going to the county government office now to meet with Magistrate Hong."

At this point, he looked at his daughter and asked, "You've met Chen Qing, what do you think of him?"

Miss Gu sighed softly, "Young Master Chen is certainly a good man, but I always feel that he..."

"Neither too close nor too distant."

Mr. Gu seemed to be thinking about something, and then said quietly, "When he first came to Deqing, he was quite settled. I guess he wanted to live a peaceful life back then. But he has experienced a lot in Deqing recently, so he has more thoughts now."

"It's alright."

Master Gu said calmly, "In a few days, the Chen family from the prefectural city will be here. He has suffered a great injustice in the Chen family. As long as my daughter is willing, we will speak up for him in front of the Chen family."

“From now on, he will naturally side with our family.”

Miss Gu looked up at her father and asked, "They are an official family, how can we possibly handle them?"

“We cannot afford to offend families of officials.”

Master Gu said with a smile, "But Chen Qing is also a member of their family, and his status is even higher."

"rest assured."

Master Gu stood up and left, saying, "I will make the arrangements."

After parting ways with his daughter, he left the Gu family compound with his entourage. When he arrived near the county government office, he turned to his old servant Gu Chang and said, "Chang, go and tell those two beasts to wait for me at the entrance of the county jail."

Gu Chang had been serving Master Gu for almost twenty years, and even took Master Gu's surname. So he naturally knew what Master Gu was talking about. He immediately nodded and said, "Yes, I'll go right away."

After saying that, he turned around and went to find Gu Shouye and Gu Shoucheng.

Master Gu walked alone to the county government office, and soon the yamen runners informed him that he had successfully met with Magistrate Hong.

It was already afternoon. Magistrate Hong had finished his official business and was still in the backyard teaching his son to read. When he saw Master Gu coming from afar, the magistrate took a few steps forward to greet him with a big smile.

"Brother Gu is finally back. Your trip has caused quite a stir in your Gu family."

Master Gu sighed, bowed his head and addressed the county magistrate with a cupped hand, then said with a wry smile, "My family is unfortunate; I've made a fool of myself in front of the county magistrate."

Magistrate Hong led Master Gu to his study, where the two sat facing each other. Master Gu took out a piece of calligraphy from his sleeve and unfolded it in front of Magistrate Hong. He smiled and said, "I went out to discuss business, but the deal didn't go through. I unexpectedly obtained this item, so I brought it back to present to you, Magistrate."

Magistrate Hong took it, looked at the inscription, and then his expression changed slightly: "Is this a genuine work by Master Du?"

Du Gong was a founding hero of this dynasty and one of the most important civil officials during the founding period. His calligraphy was highly sought after by the literati of this dynasty.

This Mr. Du wrote many official documents throughout his life, but due to the limitations of his position, very few of them were formally inscribed and reprinted.

The document before us now not only has a signature but also a personal seal.

It must be quite valuable.

Master Gu rolled up the scroll and handed it to Magistrate Hong, saying with a smile, "I'm just a rough man and don't recognize these things. A scholar like you, Magistrate, is a perfect match for this."

After accepting the money, Magistrate Hong hesitated for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "Brother, I cannot accept it."

Master Gu smiled and said, "Your Excellency, I am not asking you for any favors, nor am I going to do anything reckless. Besides, it is just a scholar's writings, and it cannot be put up for price."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Hong was taken aback at first, then sighed and said, "Brother, what you said is exactly the same as what your son-in-law said."

Upon hearing Magistrate Hong mention Chen Qing, Master Gu was about to speak when the magistrate reached out and poured him a cup of tea, saying with a smile, "That young master Chen is quite a good person."

Mr. Gu accepted the tea with both hands and nodded.

"I noticed that, too."

(End of this chapter)