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

Mother Qin's face changed and she slapped him: "How dare you! If you resign, I will no longer recognize you as my son!"

Qin Yunhe felt a little aggrieved and helpless: "Mother..."

"I'm not old or 70 years old, so I don't need you to resign from your official position to support me.

"My family is looking forward to having a promising descendant to bring honor to the family. You passed the imperial examination and became an official. Why are you resigning for such a small matter?"

"But...but I can't always let Fourth Brother fulfill my filial duties for me. What about Fourth Brother's own future?"

"I don't need your fourth brother to give up his fame and serve me. If your brother passes the next exam, he will become an official, and I won't need him to accompany me. I'm fine now. I can eat and drink. I only have a few meals a day. You can find someone to cook for me when the time comes."

I really need to hire a servant for my mother.

I mentioned wanting to hire her before, but his mother refused to agree. It seems like she's going to be scared this time.

"Okay, I'll find a cook and a personal servant for you."

Qin Yunhe hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mother, do you want Yuru to come back and serve you?"

Mother Qin waved her hand: "No need, your fourth sister-in-law and Yunniang will come to eat and talk with me every day, that's enough, don't let her come back."

"Mom, Yuru has always respected you and been very filial. When she heard that you were sick, she said she wanted to come back. I was anxious to come back to check on the situation, so I didn't let her come back with you..."

Mother Qin muttered in a bad mood: "I know, I'm the child who grew up under my care, don't I know..."

Qin's mother knew what her son was thinking. He was simply still somewhat dissatisfied with his daughter-in-law in the past few years and was worried that he still had some grudges against her.

"Then why don't you want her back?"

"Why is the child so young running around? Besides, I'm worried about you being alone over there without a woman to take care of you. As long as you two are doing well over there, that's enough. Don't worry about the family. Your fourth sister-in-law and Yunniang are enough. What do you have to worry about?

Don't stay at home any longer, go back to work."

Qin Yunhe still felt a little depressed, but there was nothing he could do.

Less than two months later, Zhuzi came back again, and his wife thought she had seen it wrong.

"Why are you back so soon? Isn't the government office busy?"

"Wasn't it that Mrs. Qin was ill before? When the master heard about it, he rushed back in a hurry."

"Mrs. Qin is ill? Why haven't I heard about it?"

"It happened in the first month of the year. I think I got sick right after I got back. Didn't you hear about it at home?"

"How could I have heard that? Our mother's cough has been a bit severe these days, Xiaoliu had diarrhea after you went back, and Xiaosi got into fights with others while playing and was called in several times. How could I take care of other things?"

Zhuzi's wife seemed to recall something as she spoke: "Ah... I remember now. I went back to ask Yunniang to come back. She said she was going to give acupuncture to Aunt Qin and would come back after that. I thought Aunt Qin had a headache..."

At noon, Qin Yunhe had lunch with his mother and then went to find Zhuzi, asking him to find out if there were any reliable cooks and maids nearby.

He himself was planning to go to the county town to visit his teacher.

It has been more than a year since I went home to visit my teacher during the Chinese New Year last year. Now that I am back, I naturally have to go and see my teacher.

After not being here for more than a year, Qin Yunhe felt a little strange standing in front of his teacher's house. After raising his hand and knocking on the door, he couldn't help but look around carefully, and then he regained a sense of familiarity.

The door was opened, and a strange servant looked at Qin Yunhe curiously, and said with a bow, "May I know who you are, sir, and what can I do for you?"

Qin Yunhe was stunned for a moment before he said, "I am Mr. Gu's disciple Qin Wen. I am here to visit you. I wonder if you are at home."

Before, in addition to the maid who cleaned the house, there were only Bisong and a cook in Mr. Gu's house. I think it was because Gu Zhi's children came back and were too busy to handle the work, so he added more servants.

The servant obviously knew the name Qin Yunhe gave. He immediately smiled and said, "So it's Mr. Qin. The master and Brother Bisong often talk about him. Mr. Qin, please come in with me."

Qin Yunhe walked in and couldn't help asking, "What are the teacher and Brother Bisong busy with?"

"The teacher is teaching a few young masters, and Brother Bisong is decocting medicine for the teacher."

"Decoction? The master is sick?" Qin Yunhe's heart tightened again, and he suddenly remembered that the master was much older than his mother.

"The weather has been fluctuating recently, sometimes warm and sometimes cold, and you caught a cold. But he's almost well now, so don't worry."

Having said that, Qin Yunhe still couldn't help feeling worried.

The two men walked to the inner courtyard, and the servant said again: "Sir, please wait a moment. I will go and report to the master."

Qin Yunhe stood in the yard waiting, and soon Mr. Gu hurried out from the side room.

"Why?" Mr. Gu saw a smile on his disciple's face: "Why are you back at this time?"

Qin Yunhe knelt down and kowtowed solemnly: "Disciple Qin Wen greets you, Master."

Mr. Gu came over to help him up and couldn't help looking him up and down: "Haha, I haven't seen you for more than a year. I thought I would see you again during the Chinese New Year."

As he said that, Mr. Gu pulled him into the study.

I don’t know if it was an illusion because we haven’t seen each other for a long time, or because I heard that the teacher was sick, but when Qin Yunhe looked at his teacher carefully, he always felt that the teacher seemed to have a few more white hairs, and he couldn’t help feeling sad.

"How is the master? I heard from the servants that he has caught a cold."

"Oh, I had a cold a few days ago, but now I am fine."

As the two were talking, Bisong came in with medicine. As soon as she saw Qin Yunhe, she was immediately surprised: "Mr. Qin, why are you back?"

Bisong was so happy after putting down the medicine: "Sir, you were still talking about when we would see each other again a few days ago."

Qin Yunhe felt a little guilty again: "I'm sorry for making you worry. Because the child is too young to travel, I couldn't come back to visit you during the New Year."

Mr. Gu smiled and was obviously happy for Qin Yunhe: "I heard from your senior brother that they are twins, very cute."

"Why did you come back this time?"

"Sir, please drink the medicine first." Qin Yunhe looked at the bowl of medicine, fearing that it would get cold soon.

"It's okay, just continue." Mr. Gu picked up the medicine bowl.

"My mother had an acute illness last month. I just happened to learn about it yesterday and rushed back in a hurry."

Mr. Gu paused holding the medicine bowl and asked with concern, "How was your mother's illness? How is she now?"

"He's basically recovered now. I asked my brother, and he just said it wasn't serious. It's just..." Qin Yunhe sighed unconsciously.

Mr. Gu knew his disciple's temper and comforted him, "As people age, they tend to feel uncomfortable here and there. It's a blessing to be able to recover. Don't blame yourself too much."

Qin Yunhe nodded: "Sir, you should also take care of yourself, otherwise my brother and I will be worried when you are away."

"Don't worry about me. I've always been in good health. This time it was just a sudden change of temperature, so it's nothing serious. Did you ask for leave since you came back so quickly this time?"

"Yes, the prefect has given his permission."

Mr. Gu nodded: "I heard from your senior brother that Governor Qi is quite lenient towards his subordinates."

Thinking that he would be leaving home soon, Qin Yunhe felt even more worried.

"Sir, Senior Brother has asked you to go to the capital city many times, why are you unwilling? If you are in the capital city, Senior Brother and I will have less worries, and I can also receive your guidance from time to time. Isn't it the best of both worlds?"

Mr. Gu said, "The fallen leaves return to their roots. When you grow old, you still feel most comfortable living in your hometown. You and Minqian don't have to worry too much about home. I am in good health and have always had Bisong by my side to take good care of me. It's no worse than being with you."

Bisong also said: "Don't worry, Mr. Qin, I'm in good health and I will take good care of you."