Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 53 The Steps to Advancement
The Gu family has been a wealthy family in Deqing for more than ten years. However, the Gu family mansion is a newly built house that was only four or five years old. Since it is a newly built house, Master Gu naturally had his eye on it.

There were silver vaults for storing money, granaries for storing grain, and even underground secret chambers built to guard against unforeseen events, serving as temporary refuges in case of sudden unrest.

Theoretically speaking, Chen Qing could hide here for a few days until Chen Huan leaves without much of a problem, since Chen Huan is still an official and cannot leave his territory for long.

Otherwise, it would be dereliction of duty.

Chen Qing looked around the basement, paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Uncle Gu, there's nothing wrong with me hiding here, but..."

"That's a bit too pathetic."

Master Gu sighed: "That man is your father. This is the natural order of things. There will never be a time when he can get away with it. As the old saying goes, 'If you are beaten lightly, you will be beaten more severely.' If you avoid him now, you won't be at a disadvantage."

Master Gu patted Chen Qing on the shoulder and continued, "If you achieve something in the future, your father will naturally regret what he did today."

Seeing that Chen Qing's expression was not good, Master Gu patted him on the back again and said, "If you go out and fight him now, you will lose regardless of whether you win or lose."

Chen Qing slowly exhaled: "Uncle, on what charge did the county government arrest me?"

"The government is arresting people."

Master Gu looked at Chen Qing and asked, "Do I need a reason?"

"All right."

Master Gu said, "The county officials might be here soon. I'll go out and see what's going on. I'll have Xiaoyue bring you food these next few days."

"remember."

Master Gu said earnestly, "Youthful impetuosity is useless at this time. You can't compete with him for the present; you have to compete for the future."

Chen Qing sighed, "Uncle really thinks highly of me."

Master Gu was unaware that Chen Qing possessed a soul from another world. Judging from the current situation, Chen Qing's future would likely be far less promising than that of his father, Chen Huan, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations through the proper channels.

Master Gu stopped and looked back at Chen Qing, shaking his head and saying, "The future is not necessarily about who gets the highest official position."

"As long as you live a better life after leaving your father, he will naturally regret it when he gets older."

After saying this, Mr. Gu turned and left with his hands behind his back.

Clearly, he did not believe that Chen Qing could surpass his father in "career".

If you don't take the exam, this is still too difficult.

Chen Qing glanced at Master Gu and suddenly said, "Uncle Gu, if you go to the capital later, I'll go with you."

Master Gu turned to look at Chen Qing and asked, "What about Anrentang in Deqing?"

Chen Qing said calmly, "The Gu family's business has grown so large that I believe its roots are not in Deqing, nor necessarily in Huzhou Prefecture."

"If all else fails, we can just open another Anrentang in the capital. When Uncle goes to the capital on business, having a business there will provide some support."

Mr. Gu frowned and thought seriously for a moment.

"You mean, take Pan'er to the capital as well?"

Master Gu shook his head: "That won't do."

Chen Qing remained silent and did not speak.

He knew that the reason why the richest man in Deqing had been making such careful plans was mainly to ensure that his daughter could still live a stable, peaceful, and relatively comfortable life after leaving him.

Therefore, Master Gu naturally did not want Gu Pan to leave the peaceful place of Deqing and go to the vortex of the capital.

Seeing that Chen Qing remained silent, Master Gu thought for a moment and then said, "After your father has left, we can discuss this matter in detail."

Chen Qing nodded and simply said "okay".

Only then did Master Gu leave the basement.

Chen Qing found a box containing silver and sat down. By the dim light, he pondered what he should do in the future.

Originally, he didn't have any grand ambitions; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to Deqing some time ago.

However, given the current situation, if you want to hold your head high in this world, or rather, if you don't want to be bullied, you must strive to climb higher.

Chen Qing had to start thinking about his future.

He sat there alone for an unknown amount of time when the basement door was slowly pushed open. Chen Qing heard the noise, looked up, and saw Miss Gu and Xiao Yue standing at the basement entrance.

Xiaoyue pushed open the door and said to Miss Gu, "Miss, please go in. I'll keep watch outside."

Miss Gu nodded and carefully entered the basement. Chen Qing stood up to greet her and sighed, "Miss Pan'er, what brings you here?"

Gu Pan, carrying food in her hands, said, "I've come to bring food to the young master."

After saying that, she paused and then said, "Young master's father has returned, and he has brought Magistrate Hong with him, along with several county yamen runners."

“My father is talking to them right now.” Chen Qing nodded silently.

"Thanks to Uncle Gu."

Miss Gu placed the food box on the table, turned to look at Chen Qing, and sighed softly: "I am the only daughter in my family, and I can't imagine what kind of life you have been living all these years."

"I always felt that parents love their children."

Looking at Chen Qing's appearance, she shook her head and said, "Now it seems that's not always the case."

Chen Qing looked up at Miss Gu, then lowered his head again: "When my mother was still alive, I was doing quite well."

“I think my father is like this now, mostly because he was an official.”

Chen Qing chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Maybe everyone becomes like this after becoming an official."

Miss Gu chatted with Chen Qing for a few more minutes about the Chen family. After a few words, she looked at Chen Qing and suddenly asked, "Young Master, my father told you before that he was going to the capital."

When does he plan to go?

Chen Qing looked up at Gu Pan, thought for a moment, and then replied, "Uncle Gu originally planned to go to the capital to handle some business after our marriage. Now that the marriage has fallen through, I don't know if he will still go to the capital, or when he will go."

Gu Pan bit her lip lightly: "I'm worried and want to go with my father. Does the young master have any way to help me?"

Chen Qing suddenly looked up at Gu Pan, then looked around and asked in confusion, "Miss Pan'er, were you eavesdropping on my conversation with Uncle Gu?"

"No."

Gu Pan shook her head: "This basement is airtight, no one can hear anything."

She looked at Chen Qing and asked, "What did you and my father talk about, young master?"

Chen Qing shook his head.

We chatted for a few minutes.

He paused for a moment, then continued, "If you want to go to the capital, you need to use these remaining months to show Uncle Gu that Miss Pan'er has the ability to establish herself in the capital."

He looked up at Gu Pan.

"I also want to go to the capital."

Hearing this, Gu Pan was a little shy, but still asked, "Is it because of my father, or because of…?"

She still couldn't bring herself to say the word "I".

"All."

Chen Qing smiled at Miss Gu: "There are also some other reasons."

If you stay in Huzhou for your whole life, you'll be trampled underfoot by your father, who was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

Only in the capital city could one find other ways to advance one's career.

The salted fish turns over!

…………

The main hall of the Gu family.

Master Gu personally poured tea for Chen Huan and Hong Jing, then looked at Chen Huan and sighed.

“Brother Zhaoming, I’ve already said it. Chen Qing is no longer in charge of the family. After arguing with you, he packed his things and left. Many people in my family witnessed this.”

"After all these years of friendship, you still don't trust me?"

Chen Huan's face was grim as he asked, "How long has it been? Did he just disappear like that?"

Magistrate Hong, who was standing to the side, coughed and said, "Deqing is not a large city. I have already sent people to look for it. Mr. Zhaoming, you may wait a few days. Once it is found, I will immediately send it to Huzhou City."

"I can't wait much longer."

Chen Zhaoming lowered his head and drank his tea.

"In four or five days at most, I will set off to return to the territory."

He looked up at Gu Shao.

“Brother Chenglong, Chen Qing is my eldest son. You asked me to take him back to Huzhou so that you can discipline him properly. I will not harm him.”

At this moment, Master Gu was also drinking tea with his head down. Upon hearing this, he put down his teacup, looked at Chen Huan, and their eyes met. Master Gu remained calm and shook his head slightly.

"I really don't know where he went."

(End of this chapter)