Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 114 Exceptional Promotion!

At times like these, there's no room for tenderness.

Mu Xianniang's fate was already decided when the imperial court decided to take action against the White Lotus Sect. In fact, if it weren't for Chen Qing's mediation and his proposal of the usurpation plan, Mu Xianniang would have been imprisoned and interrogated by now, even if she hadn't died.

Where would you find the conditions for recuperation that you have now?
Chen Qing's attitude was also very clear at this moment. He could give up the credit for reforming the White Lotus Sect, but he could not take responsibility for releasing Mu Xianniang. Otherwise, even if the court did not pursue his crimes, the Duke of Wei's mansion and Prince Jiang would make trouble for him.

Without cooperation, there is only one way out: death.

Mu Xianniang had recovered somewhat by now, but her face was still a little pale. She lay on the bed, looking at Chen Qing, her voice completely weak.

"Young Master Chen, how would you like to cooperate?"

"It's very simple."

Chen Qing already had a plan in mind regarding the cooperation. He looked at Mu Xianniang and said calmly, "The White Lotus Sect was suddenly besieged by the imperial court, and you were lucky enough to escape from the siege."

"After escaping, you began to gather the remnants of the White Lotus sect in Jingzhao Prefecture and Zhili Province, and regrouped them."

Upon hearing this, Mu Xianniang looked coldly at Chen Qing: "After gathering them all, will you wipe them all out in one fell swoop?"

Chen Qing shook his head: "There are too many people in Zhili who believe in the White Lotus Sect. They can't be killed off. What I... or rather the court needs Miss Mu to do is to reorganize the White Lotus Sect's doctrines and lead the White Lotus Sect to reform itself. At least... we can't keep talking about Maitreya descending to earth."

Upon hearing this, Mu Xianniang frowned and then looked at Chen Qing.

Chen Qing was also looking at her, and then continued, "Don't worry, this matter won't be made too obvious. The White Lotus Sect will still exist in the future, but it will become more peaceful."

At this point, Chen Qing got up, walked to the door and closed it before sitting back down beside Mu Xianniang's bed. He slowly said, "When the imperial court was still doing alright, the White Lotus Sect was always thinking about rebellion and using all sorts of despicable means to amass wealth. That was a genuine evil cult, and everyone wanted to get rid of you."

Mu Xianniang looked at him and sneered, "Does that mean that when the imperial court is in trouble, Young Master Chen will agree to the White Lotus Sect's actions?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing looked at her quietly without replying.

But at this point, silence spoke volumes.

Mu Xianniang took a deep breath, and her gaze towards Chen Qing sharpened: "Young Master Chen, you too are filled with traitorous thoughts!"

Chen Qing narrowed his eyes and said softly, "Say what you will, I won't admit it."

Mu Xianniang sneered: "You're talking to me here now, aren't you afraid I'll just be insincere with you?"

"Or are you going to do what Bai Sanping did, and find some leverage over me?"

Chen Qing shook his head and said calmly, "I'm not the same as Chang Si. He's too stupid and his methods are too despicable."

“During Miss Mu’s process of taking control of the White Lotus Sect, the Zhenfu Division will send a few people to your side, firstly as your helpers, and secondly to increase mutual trust between the two sides.”

“As long as Miss Mu cooperates with us, they will be your subordinates. If Miss Mu were to turn against you one day, they wouldn’t necessarily have to report you. At that time, the information they have would be enough for the imperial court to suppress the White Lotus Sect again.”

"Furthermore, there is one more thing I must remind Miss Mu of."

Chen Qing sighed softly: "To be honest, I haven't been with the Zhenfu Division for long, and I'm still just an ordinary captain in the Zhenfu Division. I don't have any other identity, and I don't know what the Zhenfu Division is doing now, but I can guess."

"Now that the Zhenfu Division knows Miss Mu's identity, they will most likely write to the Yiluan Division of Yingtian, asking them to investigate Miss Mu's background in detail."

“If Miss Mu cooperates with the Zhenfu Division, the Zhenfu Division will naturally stop. Otherwise, if the conflict escalates, the situation will be beyond my control as a captain of the Zhenfu Division.”

Mu Xianniang's face suddenly turned pale. She looked at Chen Qing and said in a hoarse voice, "What does the White Lotus Sect's affairs in the North have to do with us in the South? I had no involvement in the despicable things Bai Sanping did!"

Chen Qing shook his head and sighed, "I can understand and empathize with what Miss Mu is saying to me, but do you think the imperial court and the Zhenfu Division would divide the White Lotus Sect into the North and South?"

Before Mu Xianniang could answer the question, Chen Qing gave his answer: "I think it's probably not the case."

At this point, he looked at Mu Xianniang's face, which had changed drastically, stood up, and said with a soft laugh, "I was right after all. There are probably more than just your generation of Mu Xianniang on the Qinhuai River."

"Perhaps after you leave the Qinhuai River, before long, another Mu Xianniang will emerge from the Qinhuai River?"

Lying on the bed, Mu Xianniang looked coldly at Chen Qing: "Does Young Master Chen think that all the patrons on the Qinhuai River are fools?"

"Can't they tell if they look the same?" Chen Qing raised an eyebrow: "That means only your family is the Mu Xianniang from the Qinhuai River."

Mu Xianniang closed her eyes and stopped answering Chen Qing's questions.

Chen Qing also got up and walked outside.

"This kind of thing is indeed difficult to decide in a short time. I won't disturb your rest any longer, but you don't have much time. I will come back to ask you again tomorrow."

Just as he was about to walk outside, Mu Xianniang, who was lying on the bed, called out to him.

"I agreed."

Mu Xianniang looked pale as she gazed at Chen Qing and said, "But there's one thing I don't understand."

Her voice was hoarse: "How can I gain control of the White Lotus Sect in the North?"

"This is the easiest thing to do."

Chen Qing smiled and said, "I will find a way to create momentum for you. Furthermore, if any competitors emerge in Jingzhao Prefecture or Zhili Province, the Zhenfu Division will help you eliminate them all."

"With the cooperation of the Zhenfu Division, Miss Mu can at least have everything go smoothly in this area, if not get everything she wants. In time, you, the White Lotus Saint Mother, will truly be the White Lotus Saint Mother."

Mu Xianniang watched Chen Qing's retreating figure.

"I originally thought that Young Master Chen wanted to cooperate with me so that he could use me to capture Master Yang."

"This is not urgent."

Chen Qing walked out with his hands behind his back: "Of course we should arrest him, but if Miss Mu gains power, whether or not we arrest him then won't really matter."

…………

Inside the emperor's sleeping quarters in the imperial palace.

His Majesty the Emperor flipped through the documents in his hands.

Among these documents were those submitted by Chen Qing, several important officials from the Zhenfu Division, and of course, those submitted by Zhou Shizi Jiang Chu.

After reading it once, the emperor closed the memorial and concluded: "The Zhenfu Division handled this matter quite well, and it has finally dealt a heavy blow to those increasingly rampant religious bandits."

After saying this, he looked at Yan Hu, the commander of the Zhenfu Division, and said calmly.

"Yan Hu, didn't you always love to take credit? Why are you giving all the credit to Jiang Chu this time?"

Commander Yan bowed respectfully and said, “Your Majesty, this matter was overseen and coordinated by the Crown Prince. It has little to do with me. Even if I wanted to claim credit, there is no way I could do so.”

His Majesty the Emperor narrowed his eyes, scanning over the officials of the Imperial Guard, before finally fixing his gaze on Jiang Chu. He looked at the chubby boy and said with a smile, "You've been lazy and mischievous since you were little, but this time you've finally done something serious. I'm sure your uncle will be happy for you when he finds out."

Prince Jiang sighed deeply and said with his head down, "If Father finds out, I will be content unless he beats me to death."

It was fortunate that no foreign officials were present, otherwise His Majesty the Emperor would have been embarrassed.

Even so, the emperor frowned and muttered, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Seeing the emperor's expression change, the chubby boy immediately chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, I only talked about this matter and didn't do anything of great merit. If I had to name a merit, it would be Chen Qing from Huzhou, who came to the capital with me. He really did a lot this time."

The emperor stroked his chin and nodded slowly: "I saw it too. Although Chen Qing comes from a scholarly family, he has shown both courage and resourcefulness this time."

As he spoke, he glanced at the officials of the Yiluan Division and said calmly, "Most importantly, he dares to exert himself and is willing to do so."

At this point, the emperor looked at the garrison commander of the Garrison Command, Yan Hu, and then at Jiang Chu, the Prince of Zhou, who was not very willing to put in any effort. Suddenly, he said, "I am prepared to promote him to the position of centurion of the Garrison Command, making an exception for him."

Do you have any objections?

(End of this chapter)