"You're coming to blame me? Do you know what your good wife has done?"
"Of course I know. A Le was just misled and accidentally offended Princess Huici. Why do you have to keep hounding her, Aunt Li?"
He Jin suppressed his anger as he confronted Aunt Li.
As soon as he got back, the serving maid told him that Su Hele had been slapped by Aunt Li and was punished to kneel in the ancestral shrine and reflect behind closed doors.
His anger immediately got out of control. He turned around and headed straight for the Yurong Courtyard.
He just wanted to ask Aunt Li why she had to pick on Su Hele. Why didn't she discipline Su Nansheng when she was so arrogant?
"Humph, keep hounding her? Nanny Wang, tell him how Princess Huai scolded me."
Aunt Li was in a good mood because she had successfully taught Su Hele a lesson. Even when facing He Jin's interrogation, she wasn't as angry as before.
He Jin calmed down as Nanny Wang told the story. In the end, he just said coldly:
"I don't believe it. There must be some misunderstanding."
Seeing this, Aunt Li motioned for the serving maids around to leave.
When only He Jin was left in the room, Aunt Li whispered:
"Whether you believe it or not doesn't really matter. What matters is that both Princess Huici and Princess Huai believe it. If they mention this to Prince Huai, you might leave an impression of poor household management on him."
Hearing this, He Jin frowned:
"Prince Huai will make his own judgment. How could he believe the one - sided words of those women?"
Aunt Li sneered, "So you don't believe Su Hele's one - sided words?"
He Jin's expression froze. Then he frowned and said, "It's different."
Seeing this, Aunt Li didn't want to argue with him about this anymore. Instead, she changed the topic and said:
"You know that He Xun is now concurrently serving as a censor, right? The emperor won't let him go back to the northern border and only gave him a low - ranking official position. It's obvious that the emperor is wary of him."
If the title of the General Who Guards the North is not used on the battlefield, it's just an empty title. And a censor is just a seventh - rank petty official, not worth fearing.
A hint of a smile finally appeared on He Jin's face:
"My colleagues have been discussing this in private. Of course I know. But their thoughts are different from yours. They think that although the position of censor is low, it can supervise and restrain all officials. It's a small - ranked but powerful position. It means the emperor is backing He Xun up."
Aunt Li's previously proud expression instantly froze:
"Clearly it's out of wariness. How can it be backing him up?"
"The General Who Guards the North is already a third - rank official. Now that the northern border is stable and there are no battles, it's not appropriate for the emperor to promote He Xun further. But the emperor is afraid that He Xun will feel aggrieved if he is idle in the capital, so he gave him a job to supervise all officials."
If they got serious, a censor wouldn't even put a prince in their eyes.
Moreover, He Xun had the Anshun Marquis Mansion backing him up, so he naturally wasn't afraid of anyone. So what his colleagues said made sense.
In short, everyone had their own opinions about the emperor's arrangement, and there was no consensus.
He Jin rubbed his fingers, and his face turned gloomy again.
For a moment, the room was silent. All they could hear was the continuous chirping of cicadas outside.
"So what do you think?"
Aunt Li was at a loss and could only ask He Jin's opinion.
He Jin shook his head, "The emperor's will is hard to fathom."
Moreover, the situation in the court was changing rapidly. Even if they could accurately guess the emperor's thoughts, who could guarantee that the emperor wouldn't change his mind the next moment?
Aunt Li rolled her eyes. Finally, she slapped the table hard:
"At least for now, his official position is lower than yours on the surface. You have to seize this opportunity and show everyone your capabilities."
In the past, one of them was a military general and the other a court official. Naturally, they couldn't be compared.
Now that they were both civil officials, she didn't believe that He Jin would lose to a military man.
"So the most important thing now is to maintain your good official reputation. You can't let Su Hele continue to cause trouble outside. Those rumors before your marriage can't be mentioned again."
Saying this, Aunt Li gave He Jin a meaningful look.
He Jin's face turned solemn. He instantly remembered the strange looks his colleagues had given him before.
Although Su Hele was the most affected by the rumor about the secret meeting, he also had a lot of pressure. He had to always be on guard against those with ulterior motives who might take advantage of this.
The reason why he was so eager to propose marriage was partly because of this consideration.
Seeing He Jin's face change, Aunt Li's lips curled up into a smile. She said:
"No matter how polite, elegant and noble Su Hele is, she has offended Princess Huici after all. If I don't teach her a good lesson, what will Princess Huai think? And what will Prince Huai think?"
Hearing this, the anger in He Jin's heart gradually subsided.
Whether she was misled or not, Su Hele had ultimately offended Princess Huici. Now that she was punished by Aunt Li, it could be regarded as an explanation to Princess Huai.
Thinking of this, He Jin poured a cup of tea for Aunt Li and presented it with both hands:
"Aunt, I was too impulsive just now. Please don't be angry."
"How could I be angry with you? I'm just afraid that you'll be deceived and it will affect your official career."
Aunt Li took the teacup and said seriously.
He Jin lowered his head and thought for a while. When he looked up again, there was a confident smile on his face:
"It's just a misunderstanding between women. In a couple of days, I'll go to Prince Huai's Mansion with generous gifts to apologize."
It was indeed unfair for A Le to be punished, but at least it had helped him establish a connection with Prince Huai. This punishment wasn't in vain.
...
In the front hall of the Jingzhao Prefecture, He Xun stood with his hands behind his back in front of the veranda window, watching the yamen runners leave in groups.
"Didn't you say you were going to catch the spy?"
Su Nansheng sat on a round pear - wood chair not far away, her voice full of doubt.
Just now, Ning Weizhi announced that they would send troops again to encircle and suppress the bandits on Qilin Mountain and set off immediately.
But the spy was still among those yamen runners. If they set off to suppress the bandits now, wouldn't they return empty - handed again?
He Xun looked at the empty yard in front of him with a solemn expression:
"The arrest is already in progress. If there is one."
He hoped that he had been overly suspicious and misunderstood those yamen runners. But if there really wasn't an insider, it would be really tricky to deal with those bandits.
How did they always manage to escape from the encirclement and suppression?
Did they arrange lookouts at the foot of the mountain?
As he was thinking, he saw Fei Yu bow to him with a solemn face. Behind him was Ning Weizhi with an ashen face.
He Xun sighed silently. There really was a spy.
"The spy has been caught. Do you want to go and have a look?"
He Xun turned to look at Su Nansheng, whose eyes were vacant.
"Of course."
Su Nansheng stood up abruptly. This time, she must find out who the spy was.
He Xun slowly walked up to Su Nansheng and held out his hand to her.
Su Nansheng lowered her eyes and looked at his big hand with a few calluses. She frowned slightly, then slowly placed her hand on He Xun's palm, but quickly withdrew it.
"This is the government office. Isn't it a bit inappropriate?"
Su Nansheng's smile was gentle and generous.
He Xun helplessly rubbed the bridge of his nose and said in a deep voice, "The sachet!"