After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1012 Chapter Chapter Moving into a new house
Haijiao is now more confident than before.

Since he had made great contributions in saving the emperor, his position within the Jinyiwei had changed greatly. Now he was about to marry the nephew of the current empress dowager. Everyone in the Jinyiwei knew that he had a strong background, extensive connections, and a bright future, so they dared not offend him easily. If there was no obvious conflict of interest, everyone was willing to provide convenience for him.

Whether he was recruiting people for himself within the Jinyiwei or getting close to some colleagues he was not familiar with before, no one would deliberately make trouble for him. He was always sensible in his actions. He never treated people arrogantly or rudely just because he had powerful connections behind him. He was always polite to people and would not force them to do anything against the rules. He was willing to give people convenience without affecting fairness and his own interests, and would not compete with others for credit. His behavior made people feel warm and comfortable, whether as subordinates or colleagues, which made him even more popular.

Many people also discussed privately that compared with the Sun family, who were the in-laws of the former Jinyiwei, Hai Baihu was impeccable in terms of background, ability and character. He was truly amiable and friendly. Being able to work under him or work with him was like being blessed in the previous life!

If Sun Yongbai, the former relative, heard these words, he would not know what he felt. But now he had died silently in the imperial prison, and he did not even know how badly his family, wife and children were betrayed by the allies he personally chose after he sent them to Datong. It was even more impossible for him to know about these things after his death.

Haijiao's connections in the capital were slowly and smoothly being built up. He could sense that the people around him were full of goodwill towards him, and it seemed that within just one month, he was surrounded by good people. But he did not get carried away by this. He had lived two lives, and had experienced everything. Naturally, he would not be naive enough to think that he had really become everyone's darling. He always remained calm, and his attitude towards others was always neither humble nor arrogant. He was always serious and cautious in his work, and no one could find any fault with him. Not to mention his colleagues and subordinates, the upper echelons of the Jinyiwei could not help but look up to him when they saw him like this, and thought that he was a person who could be cultivated.

Perhaps it was because Haijiao's style of doing things was recognized by more and more people, but Eunuch Xin, who had been somewhat indifferent to him, became much closer to him. When he had nothing to do, he was willing to give him some advice on the ways of the world or teach him some tricks in torture and interrogation.

Hai Jiao noticed this and was secretly delighted. He also took the initiative to get close to Eunuch Xin. Taking the opportunity to send a New Year gift to Ma Shangyi on behalf of his grandmother Ma, he also went to Jin Jiashu's new mansion and mentioned Eunuch Xin in front of Ma Shangyi, as well as Qiao Fu and Hai Baozhu's marriage. Although Ma Shangyi was busy sorting out the personnel of the Jin family's new mansion, she had already made an appointment with old friends to spend the New Year together in Jiyuan, and now she keeps in touch with old friends in Jiyuan every day. Through her, Jiyuan and Hai Jiao had initial contact.

Haijiao was willing, and Jiyuan was also happy to meet the nephew of Empress Dowager Xu and the close friend of Tao Gelao, and the two sides quickly formed a friendship. Haijiao also specially asked his younger sister Haitang to prepare a New Year gift and send it to Jiyuan alone. This is not a favor between the Hai family, but his personal gift, and it is also what his younger sister will have after getting married. At present, the two sides have just contacted, but Haitang has already obtained a list, which lists all the famous stores in Beijing that sell wedding supplies. More than 30% of them are owned by Jiyuan’s owner or the adopted sons and daughters of his old friends. They are all willing to give Haitang a discount, and the goods are good, which makes Haitang very satisfied.

Although her wedding date has not yet arrived, the dowry has already begun to be prepared, and her cousin Hai Baozhu is even more anxious. She provided the list to her grandmother Ma and her cousin Fang. There are also weddings of Zhou, Wu and other acquaintances and relatives in the future. It is not certain when she will be able to bring a large order to the wedding supplies store of Jiyuan. The shopkeepers of those shops are very active in vying for this business. In view of the fact that Shopkeeper Xiao Feng is the matchmaker for the remarriage between the Qiao and Hai families, they offer Hai Baozhu and Fang a lower discount. This saves Fang a lot of money, but the quality of the goods is not compromised, which makes her even happier.

While Fang and Ma were busy preparing dowries for Hai Baozhu and Haitang, Jin Jiashu quietly returned to his home. This time, he officially moved into the mansion that Empress Dowager Xu had just awarded him.

As the New Year was approaching, Jin Jiashu listened to Ma Shangyi's advice and stopped insisting on moving back to the rented courtyard, considering the convenience of New Year's Eve sacrifices and New Year's visit to the palace. Even Widow Lu and Lu Gawa, who had originally stayed in the rented courtyard, moved into the mansion. All the luggage in the courtyard was moved to the mansion, but the lease of the courtyard had not yet expired, so Jin Jiashu left the newly purchased furniture and basic daily necessities, keeping it ready for move-in at any time, and arranged a servant to guard the door and sweep the house, just in case.

In the new house, Jin Jiashu enshrined the imperial edict and the empress dowager's decree in the main hall of the front yard. He also set up a small Buddhist temple to enshrine the tablets of his parents, brothers, and ancestors, which was also meant to facilitate New Year's sacrifices.

Although he was still not used to the life in this house, the male and female servants in the house had improved their speech and behavior after Ma Shangyi's adjustment and teaching. The things that made him feel uncomfortable before almost disappeared. Even the room he lived in was arranged according to the layout of the old house in Chang'an, making him feel comfortable and familiar, and not feeling constrained at all. In addition, Ma Shangyi arranged his food and daily life, and he gradually felt at ease living in the mansion.

Two days after he left the palace, he went to the Hai family on the pretext of asking his teacher for advice on his lessons.

This is how he explained to Haitang in private: "Sister Hai advised me last time not to confront my aunt and to speak softly to please her. After I went back, I thought about it carefully and felt that it made sense. My aunt kindly gave me the house, and even if I am not used to it, I have to pretend to be happy and move in with my luggage. In the future, when I have a separate house, I can move out on the pretext of wanting to study in peace. But before the separate house is built, I can't let the palace misunderstand that I dislike the mansion, because that would make me seem too ungrateful. Even if my aunt loves me and the new emperor treats me very closely, if people think that I am disrespectful to the royal family, the palace will not tolerate me. Since I have come this far and almost lost my life, why should I be stupid because of a little obsession and ruin the good situation that I have worked so hard to earn?"

He himself didn't care about wealth and glory. But he had already made an engagement with Sister Hai, so he had to think about their future safety and happiness. Why would he bother to upset the nobles in the palace and cause criticism from the outside world? That would only do harm to him, his future wife, and his future. He shouldn't be so willful.

Haitang had no objection to this, and only asked him in a gentle voice: "How is Brother Jin living in the mansion now? Are the servants still being disrespectful to you?"

Jin Jiashu smiled and shook his head, "How is that possible? With Mammy's help, there can be no hidden dangers left in the mansion. Those spies sent by the palace have been sent back. I don't care where they go or what they do in the future, just don't come to my house to cause trouble. After this group of people left, the remaining people didn't know the inside story and thought I had driven away all the troublemakers. The palace was willing to support me, and they all thought I was a powerful person with monstrous power. They no longer dared to neglect me and became much more honest in their words and deeds!"