"The Emperor only approved my memorial this morning. But an incident happened this afternoon. Fortunately, it didn't turn into a major disaster. I've already gone back into the palace to report all this to the Emperor. As for how to handle it, it depends on the Emperor's mood."
After returning to the Listening-to-the-Wind Courtyard, He Xun voluntarily told Su Nansheng about the follow - up.
However, Su Nansheng was too lazy to care about other things. She only said,
"Will the Emperor blame you?"
She didn't expect He Xun to release all those people. In her opinion, one or two of the ringleaders should have been kept as an example.
He Xun smiled, "Considering how much I flattered him, he probably won't."
He showed such concern and care for the people. Even if the Emperor wanted to blame him, he had to consider He Xun's reputation among the common people.
After all, the common people were now vying to sing praises of the Emperor for his love for the people and dedication to state affairs.
Su Nansheng shook her head with a smile. He Xun had learned these tricks quite quickly.
"However, others may not be as lucky as me. When the Emperor learned that some people had forcibly driven away the refugees and that some refugees had been falsely accused and thrown into prison, his face darkened."
Su Nansheng's eyes flickered. She whispered,
"Your men arrived in time. If they had been a step slower, He Jin might have been beaten up."
Her tone was calm, showing no hint of joy or anger. But He Xun could tell that Su Nansheng wasn't really praising him.
He Xun stared at Su Nansheng for a while and asked,
"Do you hate him so much?"
Su Nansheng wanted to lie and say she didn't, but the words died on her lips. She just lowered her head to drink tea and didn't answer.
She didn't need to answer. He Xun already understood. He said,
"He acts recklessly and abuses his power. He really deserves some lessons. But if those refugees had really hurt him, it would have been difficult to release them."
The wound on He Jin's forehead could be barely covered. He could just say that it might have been an accidental injury caused by a city guard.
But if those refugees had been allowed to chase and hurt He Jin, the nature of this incident would have changed.
Su Nansheng sighed silently. Although it made sense, she still felt it was a pity.
Seeing her constantly lowering her head and saying nothing, He Xun rubbed the teacup and asked,
"How come you were so coincidentally there when the refugee riot happened again today?"
He received a message from the Flying Fish Messenger saying that there might be a riot at the city gate.
Without hesitation, he led his troops there immediately to suppress the riot. It wasn't that he was absolutely sure that this would happen. He just knew what the result would be if unarmed civilians clashed with armed city guards.
Even if there was only a one - percent chance, this must not happen.
And that one - percent chance really happened. Fortunately, he had arrived in time.
But now, thinking about all the previous incidents carefully, whether it was the matter of Shao Tan, the matter of Miss Cui, or today's incident at the city gate, Su Nansheng's premonitions were all too accurate.
Was there some hidden story that he didn't know about?
Hearing this, Su Nansheng tightened her grip on the teacup. The word "again" was used very cleverly.
Fortunately, she had thought of an excuse a few days in advance. Although it wasn't very clever, it would do.
Su Nansheng looked up, looking calm and composed,
"I was originally going to choose some jewelry. When I saw the refugees gathering at the city gate, I naturally had to pay attention. They had eaten up hundreds of taels of my silver."
"Then how did you know they would cause trouble?"
He Xun didn't give up easily.
"I didn't know. But I'm always a cautious person. It's better to be prepared. So I just said there might be trouble and thought you should go and have a look. Even if nothing happened, it didn't matter. Who knew you would bring so many people there."
Su Nansheng's eyes were clear, looking innocent.
He Xun was momentarily at a loss for words. Bi Tao had indeed said that there might be trouble. It was his principle of being cautious that made him bring people there.
Before he could figure out how to respond, he heard Su Nansheng say,
"I received a letter from Ming Zhu saying that Xichuan is a place full of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. They want to stay there for a while longer."
He Xun was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, "Don't listen to that girl."
He had also received a letter from his uncle saying that it had been raining continuously in Xichuan. The water level had been rising all day and had almost exceeded the highest level.
Fortunately, he had made preparations in advance, dredging the river channels and strengthening the dams, so there was no flood that would destroy the fields.
Now that the rain had stopped and the water had receded in Xichuan, everything was fine. They would be returning soon.
One said they would stay longer, and the other said they would return soon. It was obvious that Ming Zhu just didn't want to come back and was talking nonsense.
Seeing that He Xun was no longer entangled in the previous matter, Su Nansheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued,
"Bi Tao said you were very imposing."
He Xun raised his eyebrows,
"Only she thinks I'm imposing?"
Su Nansheng lowered her eyes and whispered, "I agree with her."
He Xun leaned closer, "Huh?"
His meaning was obvious, but Su Nansheng just couldn't say it. She stammered for a long time and finally gave up,
"I said it's getting late. I'm going to rest."
After saying that, regardless of He Xun, who was still waiting for her praise, she got up and went into the inner room on her own.
He Xun curled his lips and followed her in.
...
"What on earth happened? How did you hurt your head?"
When Li Yiniang saw He Jin come in with his head bandaged, her face was full of distress. She planned to call the doctor from the Liu Mansion again.
However, He Jin didn't agree. He told her about He Xun's decision not to punish the refugees today.
"He even took all the responsibility on himself. He has such a big mouth. Isn't he afraid of implicating our Marquis Mansion?"
Even now when he mentioned it, He Jin was still burning with anger.
In front of so many people, He Xun called him He Sihu and embarrassed him. He didn't care about their brotherly affection at all.
Only He Xun was self - righteously impartial and upright. He was just trying to curry favor with the public.
Li Yiniang was also full of anger. She gritted her teeth and said,
"The eldest branch has always been so arrogant and doesn't put us in their eyes. That's why I've always wanted you to outshine them."
Chen Wanrong was like this, and so was He Xun. They were really detestable.
"I've worked so hard for this, but I'm afraid it won't work this time."
After his anger subsided, He Jin was a little worried.
He had just gone to the Jingzhao Prefecture to find Du Wenbai but didn't see him. So he went to the Du Mansion, but the gatekeeper said that their master hadn't come back yet.
He waited for a long time but still didn't see Du Wenbai. Although he didn't know if it was really because of some business, he just didn't see the person.
Not being able to see the person at this time was not a good sign.
Moreover, with He Xun interfering, he was afraid He Xun was involved in this.
However, Li Yiniang didn't care,
"What does this have to do with you? It was your superior who ordered you to do this. Could you have defied the order?"
He Jin suddenly looked up,
"This... I'm afraid it's not good."
Although it was because of the face of the Anshun Marquis Mansion, Du Wenbai still wanted to promote him. If he were to shirk all the responsibilities now, it wouldn't be the act of a gentleman.
"Humph. You can't even see the man, and you're still talking about whether it's good or not."
Li Yiniang didn't look at He Jin. She just lowered her head and stared at her fingers, whispering,
"Everyone for themselves, or the devil take the hindmost."