Seeing Chen Wanrong's resolute attitude, Concubine Li was completely at a loss. She just stared straight at Chen Wanrong for a while, then turned around and left.
But when she returned to her room, there was a sound of things falling inside.
After the commotion in the room subsided, Nanny Wang told the maids waiting outside to quickly clean up the room.
The maid in charge of sweeping entered the room and saw it in a complete mess.
Not a single porcelain vase or teacup was spared. The low table on the arhat bed had fallen to the ground with one leg broken, and even the grand master's chair had toppled over.
The maid held her breath and started cleaning up gently, not daring to make a single sound.
Concubine Li sat on the empty arhat bed, gasping for breath, while Nanny Wang gently rubbed her back.
"Not willing to help is fine, but even threatening me! The matter isn't even settled yet, and they're already kicking me when I'm down. None of them are good people!"
Concubine Li's voice was sinister. At this moment, the little maid wished she were deaf.
Nanny Wang looked at the little maid warningly:
"Be quick with your hands and feet. Get out as soon as you're done!"
Hearing this, Concubine Li also glared fiercely at the little maid, then fell silent.
After the sweeping maid left, Concubine Li spoke again:
"No, I have to tell the master. I'll let him know that Chen Wanrong and her son are ganging up to bully me and A Jin. Bring me ink and paper. I'm going to write a letter."
"Auntie, the southwest is thousands of miles away from here. It'll take about a month for a letter to go there and back. Even if the Marquis wants to help the Second Young Master, it'll be too late."
Nanny Wang quickly reminded her.
Hearing this, Concubine Li let out a long sigh, clenched her fist and pounded the bed board:
"They're all so heartless. When the master comes back, I'll make them pay! No, I have to go around and seek help. If they're not willing to help, there must be others who are. A Jin is, after all, the Second Young Master of the Marquis Mansion."
Saying this, Concubine Li smoothed the hair by her temples and thought about which family she should visit to help He Jin.
Just then, the door creaked open, and He Jin entered, looking disheveled and dirty.
Concubine Li was so shocked that she stood up at once:
"Why are you back again!"
He had been caught derelicting his duty, and yet he dared to return to the mansion at this hour.
He Jin silently sat down on the grand master's chair beside him, with a gloomy face and said nothing.
Concubine Li was so anxious that she tugged at him and said:
"I'm asking you a question. What, that Yao Kangning won't give in no matter what?"
He Jin sat there motionless, his voice cold: "I didn't see him."
"Then why don't you go and find him quickly? What are you doing back here!"
Seeing that He Jin didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, Concubine Li really wanted to slap him.
"Don't bother looking. The Ministry of Personnel has ordered me to suspend my duties and await investigation."
He Jin clenched his fists tightly, trying to suppress his anger.
He had wasted so much time yesterday, but it turned out that that villain Yao Kangning had already reported the matter.
He didn't leave any room at all. How dare he!
Concubine Li was stunned for a moment, then let go of her hand and asked:
"How long will the suspension last?"
If it was just a minor punishment, a suspension of ten days or half a month would be about right.
"There's no time limit."
Concubine Li slumped back onto the arhat bed, looking dazed.
No time limit meant that he might return to his post at any time, or... he might never go back.
Thinking of this, Concubine Li flew into a rage, rushed in front of He Jin and slapped him hard:
"You finally got promoted, but you just let it slip away like this. How could you be so useless!"
He Jin was stunned by the slap. He stood up after a moment's daze and roared angrily:
"Do you think I wanted to leave my post without permission? It's just that I had nothing to do. That villain He Xun never really wanted to help me. He promised to make arrangements for me but never told me where to go. It's all his fault. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been left with nowhere to go!
If I had known this, I shouldn't have asked him for help in the first place! Now I've even lost my official position!"
After roaring, He Jin flung his sleeves, turned around, kicked open the door and left directly.
"Unfilial son, this unfilial son! Look, look!"
Concubine Li pointed at He Jin's back, her finger trembling.
Seeing this, Nanny Wang sighed and stepped forward to comfort her.
...
After He Jin left Yurongyuan, he directly left the mansion.
Being suspended from his duties was already bad enough, but Concubine Li didn't understand him and scolded him instead. Why didn't she spend that time thinking about how to help him regain his official position?
He walked all the way to Qujiang Tower. After downing several cups of wine in a row, He Jin gradually calmed down.
He stared at the wine cup in his hand, thinking about how to deal with this matter.
He remembered that when he got promoted, he had specially gone to the Jingzhao Prefecture.
He just wanted those former colleagues to see that he had been promoted.
But he had only been promoted for a short time and then was suspended from his duties. If those people in the Jingzhao Prefecture found out, they would definitely laugh at him. Where would he put his face?
He must solve this matter. As he was thinking, he remembered what Su Hele had said.
"He Xun is the elder brother. It's his duty to take care of and promote his younger brother. He should promote you. Otherwise, it's his dereliction of duty as an elder brother."
He Jin's face was slightly flushed from the alcohol, but his mind was extremely clear.
Su Hele was right. He Xun should take care of him. It was his duty as an elder brother.
Now that he had been suspended from his duties, it was definitely He Xun's dereliction of duty. He should solve this matter for him.
Thinking of this, He Jin put down the wine cup with a thud.
Coming from a humble background is not a disgrace. A real man should be able to bend and stretch.
"An Fu, go and wait at the entrance of the yamen. When the elder brother gets off work, tell him that I'm inviting him to drink at Qujiang Tower. Ask him to come as soon as possible."
He knew that He Xun didn't want to help, but he was a straightforward man. With his eloquence, he was sure to persuade He Xun to change his mind.
Moreover, he had taken the initiative to invite He Xun to drink. What else did He Xun want?
The more He Jin thought about it, the more relaxed he felt. He even hummed a little tune to himself.
He opened the window to let out the smell of alcohol in the room. Then he called the waiter over and asked him to invite two musicians to play the zither for him.
Everything was ready. He just had to wait for He Xun to get off work.
But it wasn't until the sun was setting that An Fu came back, sweating and gasping for breath. He said:
"Master, the Eldest Young Master said he won't drink."
He Jin sat up straight: "Why?"
Although they weren't close brothers, they weren't at the point of not seeing each other. Was he even unwilling to drink?
He had taken the initiative to show his goodwill, but He Xun didn't appreciate it? Or was there some other hidden reason?
An Fu shook his head:
"The Eldest Young Master didn't say why. He just said he wouldn't drink and then got into the carriage and went back to the mansion. I didn't even have time to persuade him. Knowing that you were still waiting here, I had to come back and tell you first."
He Jin's face instantly darkened. He slowly tightened his grip on the wine cup in his hand, and the veins on the back of his hand stood out.
It seemed that He Xun already knew that he had been suspended from his duties, so he refused to drink with him. That meant he didn't want to help.
Fine. They all wanted to watch him make a fool of himself.
He Jin raised his hand to throw the cup, but his hand stopped in mid-air.
He gently put down the wine cup and smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes that had been pressed out from sitting for too long.
"Let's go back to the mansion."