Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 86 Up to Heaven to Listen
The chubby boy was sweating profusely.

Because this is truly frightening.

The few words exchanged during a casual chat at the restaurant yesterday have reached the emperor's ears today, word for word!
If you think about it carefully, it's possible that these words reached His Majesty the Emperor's ears that very day!

Fortunately, the three of them were drinking together that day, and they probably only said that one somewhat taboo thing. The rest of the time they were mainly talking about the White Lotus Sect.

Prince Jiang knelt on the ground, his mind racing.

There are only two possibilities for how quickly the conversation reached His Majesty the Emperor's ears. The first possibility is that someone in the restaurant was listening to their conversation.

The second possibility is that Commander Shen, who came from the Yiluan Division, reported it to his superiors.

Both scenarios are highly probable, but in reality, either way, it shows that His Majesty the Emperor has already set his sights on him and Chen Qing.

Otherwise, with so many people and so many things in the world, even if the emperor had the most manpower and resources, he could not possibly be omniscient and omnipotent.

Prince Jiang took a deep breath, then lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, Chen Qing drank too much yesterday, which is why he said some things he shouldn't have. But Chen Qing doesn't mean any harm; he..."

"All right."

His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand, gesturing for him to stand up, and then said calmly, "You do have a sense of responsibility, willing to take on his burdens."

At this point, the emperor paused before continuing, "Actually, you didn't say anything wrong. Being in the imperial family is like being in a larger cage. Your family is in Bianzhou, so at most you're in prison. But here in the imperial palace, my cage is much smaller, and I have many more things to do every day."

The chubby boy bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty is the supreme ruler, there is nothing you cannot do and nowhere you cannot go, you are definitely not in any cage."

The emperor stepped forward, helped him up, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "You've been smart since you were little, but it's a pity you didn't use it for good. You just kept fooling around. No wonder your uncle sent you to study in Yingtian."

Hearing this, the chubby boy understood that everything was alright. He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "That's just how I am, my brother, there's no saving me."

At this moment, the two cousins ​​actually shared a tacit understanding.

Being in the royal family, having wisdom and ability is certainly good, but the prerequisite is being able to sit on the throne of the emperor; otherwise, it all becomes a disadvantage.

For example, the emperor didn't actually want these princes to be exceptionally capable. To the emperor, even if they bullied men and women in their fiefdoms, it was far better than them spreading their virtuous reputations.

His Majesty the Emperor sat back in the main seat, looked up at his cousin, and said, "Our dynasty has been established for over a hundred years. During this time, the regional princes have generally not been allowed to participate in politics, and they are not even allowed to easily leave their territories."

“We are brothers, so I will speak frankly.”

The emperor frowned and said, "In this way, although there is no problem with the succession of the lineage, the weight of the imperial family in the capital is still too light."

It is an undeniable fact that the current dynasty is wary of the imperial clan. In fact, most of the imperial clan members who left the capital to take up their fiefs accepted the treatment they received from the court, since they had no power to resist.

The emperor's words were quite straightforward.

There were no members of the imperial family in the capital, or rather, no members of the imperial family who held power. In other words, apart from the emperor's family, everyone else was an outsider.

The emperor could only rely on the Imperial Guards and the palace eunuchs, who were essentially his household guards and servants. And if anything happened to these people…

The chubby boy was a very clever man. Upon hearing the emperor's words, he subconsciously felt that the emperor was testing him, so he immediately lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I think there is nothing wrong with the ancestral laws. They have been in this way for more than a hundred years, and the court has not experienced any major upheavals for more than a hundred years."

"There are no problems for now."

His Majesty the Emperor stroked his chin and looked out of the hall: “What I am worried about is that there are too few members of the Jiang family in the capital. If something happens in the future, I am afraid that even the Emperor’s life will not be in his own hands.”

He shook his head and said, "Something might happen, and I could die."

The chubby boy wiped his sweat and didn't dare to speak.

This topic is still too sensitive.

Seeing his appearance, the emperor smiled and said, "Among our generation of brothers, you are considered clever. In a while, I will write to my uncle and ask you to stay in the capital for a longer period of time. Perhaps you can help me with some things."

The chubby boy is the heir apparent of the Prince of Zhou. His position in the line of succession to the throne is too low. The emperor might not feel at ease leaving other members of the royal family in the capital, but this cousin in front of him is just right.

He dared not say anything more, and could only bow his head and say, "Your subject obeys."

Having said that, he was about to continue speaking when His Majesty the Emperor took a small booklet from his sleeve and handed it to him. "In the Zhili region, religious bandits have become increasingly rampant in recent years. I saw this booklet a few days ago, so I had the Zhenfu Division investigate, but they haven't had time to find that Chen..."

The emperor pondered the name for a moment before continuing, "Before we even investigated Chen Qing, he came forward to denounce the White Lotus Sect. He's quite clever, isn't he?"

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly, "But this person is also quite bold, gossiping about the royal family behind their backs."

The chubby boy coughed and quickly said, "Brother..."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "I am not a petty person and will not pursue this matter. He followed your caravan all the way to the capital, and someone has already submitted his background to my desk."

The emperor lowered his head to drink his tea, then said calmly, "The son of Chen Huan, the prefect of Yanzhou."

"Correct."

Prince Jiang glanced cautiously at the Emperor, then lowered his head and said, "It seems he has had some conflicts with his family, and this trip to the capital..."

The emperor smiled enigmatically: "I have a pretty good idea of ​​what he's come to the capital for. I read his writings a while ago; he's quite an interesting person."

"I have already sent people from the Garrison Command to find him."

The emperor looked at his cousin and patted him on the shoulder.

"Let's wait for the Garrison Commander's reply."

…………

While the Jiang brothers were talking in the palace courtyard, Chen Qing was also invited from the Gu family's rented courtyard to a residence by someone holding a badge from the Yi Luan Si (Imperial Guard).

"Chen Qing, Chen Zizheng".

Upon entering the courtyard, Chen Qing was greeted by a middle-aged man in his mid-thirties. This man was dressed simply, without any fine clothes or luxurious attire, only in the clothes of an ordinary person.

Upon meeting him, he accurately called out Chen Qing's name and courtesy name.

Chen Qing cupped his hands in greeting and asked, "My name is Chen Qing. May I ask who you are?"

The man smiled and said, "Young Master Chen, didn't you want to report a case to the Zhenfu Division? I am from the Zhenfu Division."

He looked at Chen Qing, pointed to the chair in the room, and said with a smile, "Since you're here, Young Master Chen, please sit down and let's talk."

Chen Qing did not sit down immediately, but asked, "May I ask your honorable name, sir?"

My surname is Yan.

The man took out a waist token from his pocket, waved it in front of Chen Qing, and then continued, "Commander of the Northern Garrison."

Chen Qing was then moved.

During this time, he crammed on his knowledge of the Zhenfu Division. Although the Zhenfu Division was nominally under the Yiluan Division, it had been reporting to the emperor independently for decades and was no longer under the management of the Yiluan Division!

The person in charge of the Northern Garrison Command is the Garrison Commander, and below the Garrison Commander are the commanders of several thousand-household units!
The value of a commander of a thousand men in the Zhenfu Division was vastly different from that of a commander of a thousand men in the Yiluan Division or the commanders of thousand men in various local garrisons.

They are worlds apart!

If they coughed, even the civil officials in the outer court would tremble!
"So it was Commander Yan."

Chen Qing let out a breath and asked, "Commander Yan is looking for me, is it...?"

"For the White Lotus Sect bandits."

He got straight to the point, looked up at Chen Qing, and said calmly.

"Would the young master be willing to cooperate with our Zhenfu Division to eliminate the cult bandits?"

(End of this chapter)