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

Chapter 1042 Knowing
"And then? What did my brother tell him?"

After listening to Haijiao's account of his experience at Jin Jiashu's house, Haitang couldn't help but ask.

"What else can I say?" Hai Jiao spread his hands. "He wants to give money to King Kang and Wu Ke, and wants to match them with Ji Yuan. Can I say no? What reason do I have to stop him? You can't be worried that he won't be able to support his wife and children if he doesn't have enough money, right? Anyway, our family will prepare a generous dowry for you, my little sister. Even if he has no money, you will not be cold or hungry. Just let him do it. But when you officially enter the family and take over the power of household expenses, you'd better not let him push the money away.

"To be honest, both Prince Kang and Wu Ke grew up in the Cining Palace. How familiar are they with the old palace maids and eunuchs there? Since Ma Ma didn't think of trying to match Prince Kang and Wu Ke up with Jiyuan, but came directly to him, she must have her reasons. The old lady won't harm him, so he should just listen to her. Why bother making trouble?"

Haitang pursed her lips, wondering why Ma Shangyi hadn't thought of finding the cousins, Prince Kang and Wu Ke, to support Jiyuan. If for no other reason, it would be easy to violate taboos.

Empress Dowager Zhou hid Prince Kang and Wu Ke in the Cining Palace and raised them. Naturally, she was very kind to these two cousins.

But the old servants of Cining Palace hardly ever served Wu Ke. When he was young, he grew up with his aunt, Madam Gui. Every day, only fixed servants would bring them water and necessities, but they had to take care of their own daily affairs. Later, he became the companion of Prince Kang and became his attendant. The old servants of Cining Palace and the retired servants from other palaces did not have any deep feelings for him.

As for Prince Kang, his identity was secret. When he was young, he was mainly taken care of by Empress Dowager Xu and Liuhua, an old lady from Kunning Palace. After the latter died and the former became a virtuous concubine, the Empress Dowager sent other palace servants to serve him, and these people have now followed him out of the palace to open a residence. In other words, the old palace servants in Jiyuan, including Ma Shangyi, did not have much contact with him, let alone any deep friendship.

The old palace servants had limited friendship with him, so if they wanted to get his protection, they had to use the name of the Empress Dowager. But if the Empress Dowager did not allow this, it would be too taboo, just like a former slave asking a relative's son to help her for the sake of her former master, which would consume the favor of her former master, the Empress Dowager. Ma Shangyi would never dare to act on her own, and others might not have the confidence to let the Empress Dowager cover for them. In this case, why would Ma Shangyi take the risk? It would be better to go directly to Jin Jiashu, who was a new noble among the relatives, had a bright future, and was willing to listen to her advice, which would save trouble and effort.

Haitang didn't know how to explain to her brother for a moment. There are some rules in the palace that are not easy to break. After hesitating for a long time, she didn't say it out loud. She just said, "Jiyuan is naturally happy to get close to King Kang, and Wu Ke can be considered a good match, but is this really not a big deal? Will the palace object when they know about it?"

Haijiao sighed, "I was worried too. Wu Ke is fine, the Empress Dowager will always protect him, and the new emperor is very polite to him, but Prince Kang's identity is much more sensitive. Now he seldom shows up outside, and he just concentrates on recuperating and spending his days leisurely in the palace. If he has contacts with outsiders, or a force like Jiyuan who has extensive friends and deep connections, I am afraid that the palace will be suspicious, which is not a good thing. However, Xiao Jin thinks this matter is not a big deal. He has lived in the palace for a few months and feels that the new emperor and Prince Kang have a very good brotherly relationship, and the new emperor never suspects this brother. If the Empress Dowager and Queen Dowager Xu knew that Prince Kang was willing to interact with the outside world and could get more money to spend, they would only be happy, not angry." Jin Jiashu was so confident that he promised to discuss it with Mammy first and then take formal action. Haijiao couldn't say anything more. He still felt it was a pity. In his opinion, if King Kang was short of money, the palace would provide it; if Wu Ke was short of money, the Zhou family would be there to back him up, and his fiancée Zhang Yingfeng would also bring a generous dowry; but Jin Jiashu was really alone and helpless. Even with Queen Mother Xu and the new emperor as his backers, these two masters could not give him the royal money to spend. He would have to build a separate courtyard, prepare for the wedding, and prepare for the imperial examination. He would have to study hard at home for at least a few years, and there were many places to spend money. He had no other major income except for the land rent. How could he not spend money frugally? It was rare to have a legitimate and safe way to make money, but he had to push it to others. It really made people wonder what to say.

Hai Jiao was born in the Hai family. He was used to his grandfather doing business and making money outside of his public office. He believed that it was a good idea to make money legally and compliantly. Naturally, he disagreed with Jin Jiashu's decision.

Haitang didn't really care: "It's okay, he never cared much about money. I will manage his accounts in the future and won't let him be short of money." As for the dividend from Jiyuan, it would be great to get it, but it would be no big deal if she lost it.

She was more concerned about another thing: "The Wu family is short of money, and Wu Ke is getting stuck in a rut at this time. What will the Zhou family think? Will the delay in the reconstruction of the Wu Mansion affect the school of my cousin uncle and others?" If the Wu family waits until Xie Wenzai and the three elders Cao and Lu move into the new house and start recruiting students and teaching before starting the reconstruction project, the noise and dust will be too annoying. It would be better not to affect their daily life and health.

Hai Jiao could only sigh, "Wu Ke would always get stuck in a rut. Now that he's out of trouble, he doesn't need to hide his whereabouts anymore. He's also been awarded the title of Marquis of Cheng'en. His situation is a hundred times better than before. Even the Marquis of Cheng'en and his wife and General Zhou's family are much more cautious when talking to him, so as not to hurt his dignity. However, he was taught by the Empress Dowager in the palace, and after going to Chang'an, he grew up under the eyes of the Zhou family, and studied with his uncles. There's no need to question his upbringing and character. He's not an ungrateful person, and the Zhou family won't worry about that."

Anyway, he had received the earl's salary in the spring, so he had money to work with. Now that it was almost the end of the year, it was impossible to do any construction, so the reconstruction of the Wu Mansion could be postponed.

Hai Jiao said: "Grandpa Cao went to persuade Wu Ke today. He still respects teachers. I think he should change his mind and get married before his sister gets married, so that the new daughter-in-law can help Wu Qiong prepare for the wedding. But if you want him to return to his ancestral home to get married, I'm afraid it's too late."

Even if the construction started in the spring, the size of the main house of the Wu Mansion was so large that even if it was just to repair the abandoned house without rebuilding it from the ground up, it would take several months. How could it be completed in time? If they wanted to finish the work as soon as possible, they would have to spend several times more money and hire two or three times more people to work day and night, which was something the Wu family, which was currently in financial difficulties, could not do. However, the wedding date of Prince Kang and Wu Qiong had been set long ago and could not be changed. Wu Qiong might have to get married in the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion.

Haitang recalled that when Wu Qiong was in Chang'an, she was depressed because she had been living under someone else's roof for many years. She longed to live in her own home for a while before getting married. She realized her wish in Chang'an and lived with her cousin in a small house registered under Wu Ke's name next to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. Her mood improved greatly. But now that she has finally returned to the capital and got her own home back, does she still have to continue living under someone else's roof and even be unable to leave her real home?