Li Yiniang's words brought He Jin back to his senses.
Yes, he had the Anshun Marquis Mansion as his backing. What did he have to fear?
With this thought in mind, He Jin let out a long breath, drank the tea handed over by Nanny Wang, and told Li Yiniang about the trouble he was in.
Without a transfer order from the Ministry of Personnel, He Jin had always been in a state of waiting for assignment.
At first, he was a bit indignant, but as time went by, he got used to this idle and carefree life.
Every day, he would just show up for roll - call and then stroll around the yamen to kill time, enjoying his leisure.
Sometimes when he was extremely bored, he would secretly slip out of the yamen to drink. At first, he was very careful not to be discovered and would only be out for a short time.
But after a few times, he found that no one really cared about him. So he became bolder and stayed out longer.
It was extremely cold today and he was bored, so he slipped out again.
But when he got back, he noticed that his colleagues were looking at him in a strange way, even with a hint of schadenfreude.
He Jin immediately sensed something was wrong. He spent some silver to learn from the tea - serving page that Yao Kangning, the vice - minister of the Ministry of Revenue, had come looking for him.
As the end of the year was approaching, the Ministry of Revenue planned to conduct a household registration check. Since He Jin had once served as a registrar and was familiar with the household registration in the capital, they wanted him to go to the Ministry of Revenue to help for a while.
However, Yao Kangning searched for He Jin but couldn't find him. Coincidentally, he also had something to discuss with other colleagues, so he waited for He Jin by the way.
But by the time Yao Kangning finished his discussion with his colleagues, He Jin still hadn't returned. He had already waited there for half an hour, so Yao Kangning left with a dark face.
"I went to look for Yao Kangning later, but I didn't see him. If he pursues this matter, my previous sneaking out of the yamen will surely be exposed. What should I do?"
As he spoke, He Jin began to panic again.
Li Yiniang slapped the rosewood table hard and scolded:
"Do you know how difficult it was to get that ungrateful He Xun to agree to help you get a connection? And yet you went out drinking and having fun. How could you be so stupid!"
"Of course I didn't want things to turn out this way. It's just that I had nowhere to go! I admit I was wrong, but the thing has already happened. Why are you scolding me now? You should help me think of a way to deal with it quickly." He Jin said irritably.
"You're still not satisfied? Since it was Yao Kangning who found out you were absent without permission, you should go and apologize to him. Why did you come back to me?"
"I've already said I looked for him but couldn't find him!"
"Then wait for him at the yamen gate. If you can't find him there, wait for him at his mansion gate. He has to go back home, doesn't he?"
Li Yiniang was so angry that she was trembling all over. How could she have given birth to such a stupid son.
He Jin was stunned for a moment, then sighed and walked away quickly.
He was so used to discussing things with Li Yiniang that whenever something went wrong, he would come to her first.
This was really a bad thing, a terrible thing!
Seeing him leave, Li Yiniang was so angry that she smashed several teacups. There wasn't a single thing that went smoothly all day.
After her anger subsided, she ordered Nanny Wang to quickly select some valuable gifts and catch up with He Jin.
That Vice - Minister Yao wouldn't let He Jin off easily. He probably wanted some benefits.
After all the commotion, Li Yiniang slumped back into the rosewood chair, full of hope that He Jin would bring back good news.
After sitting there restlessly for two hours, He Jin came back looking dejected, followed by Anfu who was carrying the visiting gifts.
Li Yiniang's heart sank to the bottom:
"Yao Kangning wouldn't let you off."
He Jin shook his head:
"I didn't even see him. They said he had gone to a suburban county to check the household registration and wouldn't be back today."
"He's a vice - minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Why would he need to go there himself..."
Li Yiniang stopped halfway through her sentence because she understood what Yao Kangning meant.
This was just an excuse for Yao Kangning not to see He Jin.
Li Yiniang propped her head up, feeling weak all over.
He Jin had been running around all morning and was very tired. He sat down on a chair beside him with a long face, saying indignantly:
"What bad luck! When I was on duty every day, the Ministry of Revenue didn't ask me to help. But they come looking for me at this time."
Li Yiniang gave He Jin a fierce glare but didn't say anything.
After a long while, she said:
"If there's really no other way, you can go to He Xun and ask him to put in a good word for you. With his current influence, Yao Kangning won't bother with you."
She was just trying to find a way for He Jin, but unexpectedly, He Jin suddenly stood up, furious:
"I'm not going to him. He'd be happy to see me make a fool of myself. There's no way he'd help me."
"Do you think I want you to go to He Xun? It's because there's no other way! Then tell me what we should do!"
Li Yiniang was choked by He Jin's words and became even angrier. Her voice was shrill.
Hearing this, He Jin's face became even more ugly. He frowned and said:
"I'll go and look for Yao Kangning again tomorrow. If being nice doesn't work, I'll be tough. He has to give my father some face. Moreover..."
Moreover, He Xun was in the limelight now. He didn't believe that Yao Kangning wouldn't give the Anshun Marquis Mansion any face at all. As long as Yao Kangning was willing to let him off and not pursue this matter, there would be no shortage of benefits for him in the future.
...
Although He Jin sounded very confident, Li Yiniang still felt a bit uneasy.
So early the next morning, she came to pay respects to Chen Wanrong and took the opportunity to tell her about what had happened yesterday. She also said that she hoped He Xun could put in a good word for He Jin.
"A Jin was just feeling stuffy for a moment, so he went out to get some fresh air. It's not a big deal. Why don't we just let it go."
Li Yiniang accompanied her words with a smile. Her attitude was much more sincere than yesterday.
Chen Wanrong had a cold face and a solemn expression.
"Yao, the vice - minister, will decide how to handle this matter. There's no need for others to interfere."
She really underestimated He Jin. He could even cause trouble in an idle position.
But on the other hand, it was lucky that it was an idle position. Otherwise, it would be a disaster rather than just a small problem.
Seeing that she didn't want to get involved in this matter, Li Yiniang got a bit anxious and said:
"Madam, although A Jin is not your biological son and is just a concubine's son, he has called you mother for so many years. How could you stand by and watch him suffer?"
Chen Wanrong sneered. Was this woman accusing her of being harsh to the concubine's son?
"He should really be glad he's not my biological son. If he were, and had done such a stupid thing, I would have broken his legs first so that he could never be absent without permission again."
Li Yiniang stared at her with wide eyes, full of surprise:
"How could you be so heartless!"
"So you'd better not pin your hopes on me. I won't interfere, and I won't let A Xun interfere either. And you'd better stop thinking about Nan Sheng. Otherwise, I don't mind letting the minister of the Ministry of Personnel know about this."
Chen Wanrong's words blocked all of Li Yiniang's retreats.
Heartless?
She was just not heartless enough, which was why she had allowed the second branch of the family to act so wantonly.
If it weren't for the fear that He Jin would cause trouble for the marquis mansion, he wouldn't even have this idle position. And yet he was still so unruly.
The punishment for being absent without permission could be light or heavy. It could be as light as a salary deduction or as heavy as imprisonment.
That Vice - Minister Yao had better be an impartial person and lock He Jin up in jail.