Visa return to shanghai

Hello, I just took a trip to Beijing and the agents booked me connecting through shanghai to Tokyo on my 3rd destination which violates the rule of one stop in China. The immigration would not let us leave the terminal and are making us fly back to Hong Kong or another country. Can we return to Hong Kong and then come back the next day to Beijing after booking another direct ticket (nonstop) to a 3 rd country and still use the 72 or 144 hour rule in Beijing?