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

Chapter 1049 Reward
Ma comforted Fang, and when she stopped crying, she pulled her into the upper room of the main courtyard and sat down to talk in detail about how she went to the palace to meet the empress dowager. She also called Hai Baozhu who was traveling with her, and sent someone to the small courtyard of the eldest house to call Hai Baozhu and Aunt Qiu.

Haitang did not follow, but walked to the side of the car and looked inside the carriage for a few seconds.

Twelve rolls of plain satin and twelve rolls of plain silk, both of which were suitable for a widow of Fang's age. In addition, there were four rolls of bright red brocade, which were most likely prepared for Fang's beloved daughter Hai Baozhu, who was about to get married. As for the seven or eight boxes, there was a complete set of gold-inlaid jade jewelry, a set of three things made of blue and white porcelain, a pair of red jade double happiness mandarin duck pendants with festive meanings, a pair of red gold inlaid with a hundred treasures, and a set of silver inlaid red coral wine vessels - the latter items were obviously festive in color, and they were probably also intended for Hai Baozhu as a dowry to wear at the wedding. The last two small boxes were locked, and Haitang only opened the larger one, and found a scroll inside, framed with royal blue brocade, and exuding a faint scent of ink.

Whose calligraphy is this? Could it be that Empress Dowager Xu gave Fang a piece of calligraphy? This pair of bracelets is more meaningful than the gold and silver jewelry and silks and satins she gave to Fang.

Haitang just closed the box, held it in her hand, and turned to ask her brother Haijiao: "Did you have a smooth trip to the palace today? Did Brother Jin tell the Queen Mother about my cousin's matter?"

Haijiao nodded: "Except Xiao Jin, there is no one else. Today is going well. Although everyone thinks that the other lady is the one that the Queen Mother really wants to show favor to, I think my cousin is also very valued, no less than the other lady. As long as you get the benefits, nothing else matters. Someone is more eye-catching, and even if there is any criticism, it will be directed at her. My cousin just gets some peace and quiet, and can prepare for her daughter's marriage with peace of mind."

Today, he followed Fang and Hai Baozhu and his mother into the palace, and even escorted them to the palace of Empress Dowager Xu in Shoukang Palace. He was also summoned by Empress Dowager Xu to the palace for questioning, and personally experienced today's summons. He watched carefully from beginning to end. Although Empress Dowager Xu spoke to the stepmother of the young general of the imperial guards for a longer time, asked more detailed questions, and directly issued an imperial decree to grant her an imperial edict, Fang was treated similarly, and even received a more important reward - the calligraphy of "Benevolence, Filial Piety, Kindness and Righteousness" written by Empress Dowager Zhou.

Queen Mother Xu praised Fang for sacrificing her reputation to protect the family business and life under the persecution of the powerful, which is "benevolence"; doing her best to protect the family assets left by her parents-in-law and preserve the bloodline of her husband's family, which is "filial piety"; sending the only child left by her late husband away safely, and supporting the mother and son, and protecting her daughter under the oppression of the Jiang family, ensuring that the two children of her late husband were alive and grew up safely, which is "kindness"; she did so many things and finally returned to her ex-husband's family, but she never coveted wealth and power, but handed the family business intact to the illegitimate son, and left with her daughter, which is "righteousness". Queen Mother Xu believed that Fang had done so many things for her ex-husband's family, which was something that ordinary women could not do, and she deserved the admiration of the world. The ignorant clansmen only used her reputation to accuse her of benevolence, filial piety and righteousness, which was really short-sighted and even ungrateful.

Queen Mother Xu personally admonished Hai Baozhu to remember the kindness of his stepmother for life, and that his descendants must never forget it. No matter how ignorant clansmen slandered him, he must not do anything ungrateful. He must support his stepmother for life and ensure her safety in her old age. He must also be friendly to his elder sister and support each other.

Hai Baozhu respectfully accepted the imperial decree and kowtowed to Empress Dowager Xu willingly to express his gratitude. He felt that he no longer had to worry about being blamed by the clan elders for wanting to be filial to his stepmother.

This is the Queen Mother's order, who dares to disobey? !

Haijiao smiled and said to Haitang: "On the way out of the palace, Baozhu kept chattering, saying that he wanted to take his cousin back to his hometown to worship the ancestors, and asked all the people in the clan to come and see the calligraphy and rewards of the Empress Dowager, so as to save them from talking nonsense. He also said that he wanted Baozhu to go back with him. The clan rules require that every daughter who gets married must give a dowry. In the past few years, the clan was in such a difficult situation, but my cousin never asked the married girls to suffer grievances. Moreover, now that 80% of the clan's property has been returned, the situation is much better than in the early years, and Baozhu's share cannot be missing. He also wants to take back the gold, pearls and jade ornaments handed down from the elders of the clan and give them to my cousin. There are many things in them that can add to Baozhu's dowry!" Hai Baozhu was probably too excited, so that everyone in the carriage thought he was too noisy. Finally, Fang spoke up and rejected his proposal.

There is no problem with returning home, and worshipping ancestors is also possible, but there is no need to stay for a long time, and there is no need to mention taking charge of the ancestral property of the eldest house. Fang did not intend to refuse Hai Baozhu's dowry for her eldest sister, but she did not want to return to live in the Hai family, and she did not want to get involved in the property of the eldest house. She had lived a quiet life in the capital for half a year and was very satisfied with her current life and did not want to make any changes. The reason why she agreed to return home to worship ancestors and meet the Hai family again was just to clear her name and avoid damaging the reputation of her deceased parents, parents-in-law, and husband.

Hai Baozhu was a little depressed, but he soon cheered up again. His stepmother could live wherever she wanted and live with whomever she wanted, without having to listen to his opinion. As long as his stepmother and eldest sister were happy, he would do whatever he wanted. Anyway, the clan members could no longer say bad things about his stepmother, nor could they stop him from being filial to her. With his stepmother around, he no longer had to be controlled by the clan elders. This made everyone happy, and everything else was unimportant and not worth mentioning.

Haijiao couldn't help but smile when he talked about the situation at that time: "I just found out today that Baozhu could be so lively. I thought he had become a pedant at such a young age, and acted very steady all day long. But this is also a good thing, my cousin's troubles are finally solved. As for whether the elders are truly convinced and stop talking behind my back, we don't care. As long as they don't make things difficult for my cousin in person, who cares what they think in their hearts?"

Haitang listened and nodded, "That's right. And the calligraphy that my cousin got was written by the Empress Dowager herself, which makes it even more special..." The reputation of Empress Dowager Zhou is unquestionable, unlike Empress Dowager Xu who had to face the risk of marrying a second time. Fang had the Empress Dowager's handwriting in her hand, so even if the late emperor were still alive, no one would question her character.

And was it possible that Empress Dowager Xu had this intention in asking the Empress Dowager for her calligraphy instead of writing one herself?
Haitang looked down at the box containing the calligraphy in her hand, then looked at her brother and lowered her voice: "Why do I feel that... the courtesy shown by the Empress Dowager to that imperial lady is just a cover, and the one she really wants to reward is my cousin?" Otherwise, why would she specially prepare such a calligraphy? In comparison, the imperial decree and canonization of that imperial lady seemed a little ordinary.

Hai Jiao felt the same way. "That lady didn't have calligraphy, but the rest of the rewards were the same as my cousin's. She also got a gold-inlaid white jade ornament, and a white jade bamboo pendant. To be honest, if the court officials knew about this, they would definitely discuss it in private, questioning whether she was worthy of the purity of the white jade. Anyway, if there was any criticism in the court or the public, it would definitely be directed at that lady. My cousin was able to get away with it and have peace of mind. But these things have nothing to do with our family, so we can just watch the show."

He paused and said, "It's good for my cousin to avoid the limelight by going back to her hometown to worship her ancestors. Anyway, by the time Baozhu gets married, it will be three months later, and the rumors will have died down long ago, and no one will mention this matter anymore. But Baozhu is a little weak to accompany my cousin back to her hometown. I want to send someone to catch up with the two elders who went back to their hometown first, and ask them to wait for a while and go with my cousin and Baozhu, so that I can protect them."

The two old students had more extensive knowledge than the villagers, so they naturally understood the significance of the empress dowager's reward and knew what to say in front of their clansmen.