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

Chapter 1033 Family Banquet
That night, Hai Xiya held a family banquet in the main hall of the front yard of his house and entertained two old students from the same clan. As for the other members of the Hai clan who came to the capital, he had no intention of paying any attention to them.

Hai Xiya hosted the banquet, and his adopted son Hai Chang'an and grandson Hai Jiao were at the table. Chang Baoyan and Xiao Shitou were the youngest and were in charge of pouring wine. Three of the four people were officials, and they surrounded the two old students, scaring them so much that they dared not breathe. It was not until halfway through the banquet that they saw that Hai Xiya was a fifth-rank official and was always kind and polite to them. He also talked about the interactions between the three of them in their youth, and then they gradually relaxed and developed a bit of brotherhood.

They thought of Hai Dongling who was very arrogant when he was alive. Although he had no official position, he always regarded himself as the descendant of a sixth-rank military officer. He looked down on the whole clan because he was the head of the clan. Even though the two of them were already students, because they did not even pass the examination for the title of scholar, Hai Dongling treated them as ordinary, which made them feel humiliated from time to time. If it were not for this resentment that always existed in their hearts, they would not be so easily coaxed by their brothers, persuaded to stand up for each other, and help each other to embarrass the eldest son's wife Fang and the younger generation Hai Baozhu...

Now, they were entertained by Haixiya and saw that he had an extraordinary bearing and knowledge, which was far from the arrogant and incompetent Haidongling. They were more convinced of him.

One of them thought, "No wonder Hai Dongling is so wary of this brother who is also born of the first wife. Although he is not as good as him in that he was born from the first wife's womb, he is a hundred times better than him. Whether it is temperament, talent, or bearing, everything is better than him. He is also a legitimate son and quickly gained a foothold in the army. Unlike him, he didn't even keep his father's connections. If he hadn't occupied the position of the eldest legitimate son, how could he have sat on the throne of the clan leader? He was afraid of being outdone by this brother, so he forced him to flee to the northwest, right? But even if he forced him to leave, he couldn't keep the family business. On the contrary, this brother who was forced to leave made it in the northwest and is now a fifth-rank official, which is better than his father. If Hai Dongling knew that he forced his brother to leave, but it helped his future, he would be so angry that he would come back to life!"

Another person thought: "People who have experienced life outside are indeed different in their knowledge and behavior. Living in the countryside for a long time can certainly make one live a comfortable life, but it is also easy to become a frog in the well. The clan only thinks about the wealth of the eldest branch, hoping to get a share of it, which gives rise to greed and makes them behave more and more evil. But Hai Xiya is the direct descendant of the eldest branch, but he has never thought of plotting against the eldest branch's property. Instead, he takes good care of it. This is because he has been an official outside for many years and has confidence in his heart. People with broad knowledge are more open-minded and behave more uprightly. Although I am just a student and I am afraid that I will not be able to pass the imperial examination in this life, there are still some smart and clever children and grandchildren who are expected to surpass me. I need to do my best to support them in their studies and let them go out to broaden their horizons. I can't let them become frogs in the well like the clan members, who can only see the little profits of the clan..."

The two old students had their own thoughts, but they were all coaxed into submission by Hai Jiao, and completely turned their backs on the ideas of the other elders, and instead stood on the side of the first and second houses. They all recognized that Fang had made contributions to the Hai family, and even if she was married for the second time, it was an act of filial piety and should not be criticized; they also agreed that Hai Baozhu should continue to regard Fang as his legal mother and treat her as the mistress of the first house, but whether she was willing to return to her hometown was up to her.

They expressed their blessings for Hai Baozhu's marriage, promised to give her some dowry, praised Hai Baozhu for his filial piety to his stepmother and biological mother, discussed with him the topic and examiner candidates for next year's provincial examination, and learned from him that there was an inconspicuous little bookstore in Yongping Prefecture, which sold essays by famous talented scholars from all over the country in the past two or three decades, as well as many articles that were on the list of provincial and metropolitan examinations in previous years. They could learn from them, and the books were not expensive. As long as they said Hai Baozhu's name when they entered the store, the owner would show them the books.

The two old students who had lost confidence in the imperial examination suddenly felt a little hopeful again, thinking that if they tried harder, would they still have a chance to pass the examination and obtain the title of scholar? They did not expect to move up further, but having the title of scholar was better than being a student!

At one moment, the old students had the idea of ​​taking the imperial examination again. At another moment, they were coaxed by Haijiao into becoming dissatisfied with their brothers, thinking that they were making things difficult for the orphans and widows of the eldest house out of selfish motives. At another moment, they were amazed at the current official position and power of the second house. At another moment, they were surprised to learn that the second house was about to marry a royal relative.

Before the banquet started, Haitang followed her grandmother Ma to the front yard to greet the two elders of the clan. However, the two old students only thought that she was beautiful and graceful, and she was a lady from a noble family, and she was well-educated. After praising her, they did not think much about it. At most, they just wondered in their hearts, "I wonder what good marriage such a good girl can find in the capital." Now they learned that Haitang was about to marry the nephew of the current empress dowager, and it was a marriage granted by the emperor. They were so shocked that they couldn't speak. When they came to their senses, they kept praising Haitang and chanted a few sour poems with piled-up words. They only regretted that they were not talented enough to praise her more.

When the news reached the main courtyard at the back, Haitang was speechless. Ma and Hu couldn't help but laugh secretly, but Fang and Hai Baozhu felt that Haitang was so outstanding that she deserved any praise from the elders.

Fang had no intention of attending the banquet tonight, but Ma still persuaded her to come. Anyway, men and women were seated separately, and the men were drinking and eating in the front yard, chatting and talking about everything, and they had no idea what was going on with the women in the backyard. The two old students came to Beijing alone, without their families, which saved Ma a lot of trouble. She held a banquet at home tonight, mainly to calm her niece Fang and her great-niece Hai Baozhu. Only Hu and Haitang were present at the banquet, and there were no outsiders present. Fang could relax and enjoy the food and wine without worrying about anyone from the clan coming out to embarrass her.

Haitang said to Fang, "Don't worry, cousin. After today, the elders will fall apart and will no longer work together to bring bad luck to you and the Baozhu brothers. The two elders in the front yard will also speak well of you when they return home. Although they are not the direct descendants of the clan and their temperaments are not strong, they are all Tongshengs and are responsible for enlightening the young people in the clan. They are quite prestigious. As long as they stand on your side, no matter what bad words others say, it will be in vain. If the elders who came today had not won the support of these two, it would not be so easy for them to manipulate the opinions of the entire clan and slander you in every possible way."

Fang smiled bitterly, "With my great-aunt coming out to clear my name, and my son-in-law Qiao coming with the Jinyiwei to intimidate me, I naturally won't worry about my clan members daring to come to my house to embarrass me again. But my clan members have been saying bad things about me for more than a year. They have already determined that I am a shameless slut who covets wealth and abandons my husband's family. How can they change their minds just because the two elders change their words and say good things about me? At most, they are just afraid of the power of the second house, and pretend to be friendly on the surface, but in fact, they still despise my second marriage behind my back. However, I am also satisfied with this result. As long as they don't go to Beijing to make trouble, ruin the reputation of my mother and daughter, and affect Baozhu's marriage, the rest... I don't care."

Hai Baozhu's eyes turned red. She held her mother's hand and whispered, "Don't worry, mother. Qiao Lang knows the inside story. He never cares about other people's criticism. As long as he is on our side, it doesn't matter what others say."

Fang hugged her daughter and cried silently. Seeing this, Ma couldn't help but sigh.

Haitang frowned slightly, thinking that this matter should be solved in a way. The tribe members' opinions were not important, the key was Fang's mental state... Was she showing signs of depression?