Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

On the way back, local magistrates, county magistrates and others would occasionally visit.

With the instructions from Master Han, Qin Yunhe's response was appropriate and comprehensive.

After a few days, Qin Yunhe entered the territory of Xihe and returned to his hometown.

When he arrived in Pingle County, it was already past Shenzheng. He hurriedly entered the city gate and stayed at the post station.

After sitting in the carriage for a whole day, Qin Yunhe was exhausted all over. The weather was hot and he didn't even feel like eating. He lay on the bed and felt drowsy and almost fell asleep.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

Qin Yunhe was just about to fall asleep when there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it——" Qin Yunhe opened his eyes and took a moment to calm down before frowning and getting up to open the door.

"Master Qin, I greet you."

As soon as the door was opened, a servant with a smile on his face was standing outside, nodding and bowing to Qin Yunhe.

"What's the matter?"

"Sir Qin, our county magistrate has learned that you have arrived in our county and would like to invite you to a gathering at Huiming Tower tomorrow to show our hospitality as a host."

As he spoke, he handed over an invitation.

It was not the first time that he had encountered banquets on the road. Qin Yunhe casually took the invitation and glanced at it. The person written on it was Zhao Youwei, the magistrate of Pingle County.

Qin Yunhe said: "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Zhao. I will go there on time tomorrow."

The servant was delighted again when he heard this: "Okay, I will go and report to my master right away and wait for your arrival."

After saying this, he bowed again and left.

Qin Yunhe didn't take it seriously, turned around and went back to the house.

After a while, there was another knock on the door.

Qin Yunhe opened the door puzzledly, but it was the postmaster of the post station standing outside the door with a smile on his face.

"Master Qin, the weather is hot, and the magistrate sent some ice to cool you down."

Qin Yunhe looked at the postman behind the postmaster, who was holding a copper basin half filled with ice.

Qin Yun was shocked. He had never used ice in summer, but he knew that a basin of ice was not cheap in summer, so he didn't dare to ask for it.

"No, please thank Lord Zhao for his kindness. I feel fine and not too hot."

The postmaster refused to leave, looking embarrassed: "Sir Qin, this is an order from the Lord. If I can't deliver this ice to your room, I will be derelict in my duty."

Qin Yunhe saw that the postmaster was in a difficult situation. He couldn't go to the magistrate in person to refuse the basin of ice. Finally, he had no choice but to agree to let the postmaster send the ice into the house.

It was almost July now, and the heat was unbearable. The ice basin was placed at the bedside, and Qin Yunhe really felt much cooler. He fell asleep again in a daze, and slept until almost noon the next day.

I got up, washed up, and had some breakfast.

County Magistrate Zhao had made an appointment with him at the beginning of noon, and sent a carriage to pick him up at the end of the 4th hour.

Huiminglou should be the best restaurant here. It is larger than Qingyunlou in Fuyu County and has three floors.

Qin Yunhe was invited to the second floor, and in front of a private room, a man dressed as a county magistrate came out to greet him.

"Oh, Lord Qin is finally here. I am sorry for not welcoming you from afar."

Qin Yunhe quickly returned the greeting: "This colleague is polite."

The county magistrate quickly extended his hand and said, "Master Qin, please come in—"

When Qin Yunhe entered the private room, there were already two people sitting inside. One of them was the county magistrate, and several people stood up.

"Master Qin is here. I have heard of you for a long time."

Qin Yunhe quickly returned the greeting: "My lords, I have been waiting for a long time. I am ashamed."

"Master Qin, please take a seat."

As they spoke, several people were about to offer Qin Yunhe the seat upstairs. Qin Yunhe was terrified and quickly refused.

"Sir Qin is a distinguished guest and a superior, so he should take the seat of honor."

Qin Yunhe naturally couldn't take others' politeness seriously. Although he was an official, he was only a seventh-rank official and had not yet taken office.

"No, please take a seat, Lord Zhao."

The two men refused for a while, but finally let Lord Zhao sit down.

The people in the room greeted Qin Yunhe one by one, except for County Magistrate Zhao, the other two were the county magistrate and the chief clerk.

The three of them were very enthusiastic and kept toasting Qin Yunhe.

They also talked about their respective scientific expeditions, which were full of bitterness and sorrow, and they were moved to tears and joy when they talked about the touching parts.

Qin Yunhe only felt that these people were eloquent and witty, as if he had met them too late.

But Qin Yunhe felt that this regret of meeting each other too late was a little strange, and he couldn't help but be wary.

The group drank until the afternoon before dispersing. Qin Yunhe was sent back to the post station and slept until the evening.

This delay slowed the journey home by another day.

Qin Yunhe was eager to go home, so he delayed for a day and regretted accepting the invitation very much.

When he got up early the next day, he unexpectedly found that the magistrate came with the county magistrate and the chief clerk to see him off, and they also presented congratulatory gifts.

Qin Yunhe quickly refused.

It would be difficult for him to refuse the congratulations from Feng Baochu, Han Zhushi and others in the capital who were acquainted with him, but it would be inappropriate for him to accept them since he did not know them.

At this time, several people had already called Qin Yunhe brothers. Seeing that he did not accept it, they pretended to be angry and said, "Brother Qin! You are too polite.

We all hit it off right away. You are about to take up your new post, so isn't it only natural for us to offer you congratulations? Don't refuse."

"And if Lord Qin wins the second place and returns home, it will be a glory for the village, and we will be proud of it. If you don't accept us, we will be sad."

Although Qin Yunhe knew that he might receive congratulatory gifts when he returned home, he was indeed a little hesitant about the gifts sent by this stranger.

But then he thought that insisting on refusing would be inappropriate. After all, when he took office in the future, the prosecutor and the county magistrate would often have contacts, and maintaining the relationship would be very important.

Finally, Qin Yunhe accepted it after several people insisted.

After leaving the post station and going out of the city gate, Qin Yunhe opened the gift and found that County Magistrate Zhao had given 15 taels of silver, with the county magistrate and the chief clerk each giving 5 taels of silver.

In other words, these three people alone gave him twenty-five taels.

The travel expenses given by the court were only thirty taels.

Qin Yunhe frowned slightly.

Forget it, let’s go home quickly.

Before setting off again, Qin Yunhe deliberately adjusted his route to avoid entering the city as much as possible.

Although I still inevitably received visits from local officials and some congratulatory gifts, I was fortunate to have managed my time well and didn't waste too much time.

After another four or five days, we finally returned to Fuyu County.

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I have been trying to avoid mentioning provinces, fearing that some readers would check whether there is such a prefecture or county in reality, and then find that they cannot avoid it.

Well, I can only make one up (*/w＼*)