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

Chapter 1054 Thanks
Jin Jiashu organized his words in his mind and told Haitang: "In the past, there was a high-ranking official in the Sun faction. He was promoted to the position of vice minister and almost entered the cabinet. Now he has no hope of entering the cabinet, but he did not do anything wrong on the surface. He has a prominent family background and many disciples. He is quite famous in the local area, so the new emperor and the cabinet are reluctant to take action against him. He is also a bit savvy. He distanced himself from the Sun family early on and behaved himself for nearly a year. He also got closer to a cabinet elder. Therefore, although it is difficult for him to get promoted, he is still far from being in decline. Many of the Sun faction members who are lingering on are now attached to him."

If this gentleman could have been tactful and honest, the new emperor and the cabinet would have tolerated him. It was just that he was unlucky. He was honest, but his children and grandchildren were not up to par. His eldest son passed the imperial examination at a young age, and when he was sent to the local area to improve his qualifications, he went to Funing County to serve as the county magistrate. Funing County was next to Shanhaiwei, and when the Shanhaiwei corruption case broke out, he was also involved. Although he was not the main culprit, he did embezzle money, and was entangled with the criminal officials of Shanhaiwei, and he also accepted the money and concubines sent by them. Those who bribed him did not have a good end, and they were beheaded this autumn. He barely saved his life with his family background and connections, and was able to spend money to redeem his sins after being sentenced to exile, but his future was cut off and could never be saved.

The Minister was helpless at first. At that time, Lord Sun had obviously lost the favor of the Emperor. Even if he spread rumors and slandered Concubine Xu in an attempt to shake the Eighth Prince's succession rights, he would only end up in failure. The decline was obvious to everyone. The Minister naturally put his own protection first. After all, the eldest son's life was saved, so he could think of other things later.

Now that the situation has stabilized, he feels that he doesn't have to worry anymore, so he starts taking small actions.

His second son fell off a horse a few days ago and became disabled, so only the illegitimate son could support the family. He was dissatisfied, and his wife could not stand it. She persuaded him day and night to find a way to overturn the case of his eldest son. He actually made a mistake and felt that his position was stable. Even if he dared not make big moves in the capital, he could let go of his hands and feet in the local area. So he reached out to Yongping Prefecture and bribed a witness related to the case of his eldest son, trying to push the crime onto others and clear the eldest son...

Jin Jiashu told Haitang: "The palace has actually been keeping an eye on these remnants of the Sun faction, guarding against them secretly causing trouble, so the palace knew immediately when the minister made any move. The new emperor was very impatient, and Tao Ge Lao also felt that it was outrageous, but some people in the cabinet thought it was just a small matter and not worth mentioning, so they reminded the minister and told him to give up the idea. He used to have a good reputation and political achievements. Considering the face of an old minister, giving him some dignity can also make the court less turbulent and avoid gossip. There are quite a lot of people in the cabinet who agree with this. Tao Ge Lao can't just go his own way. It's not easy to issue an order before the new emperor takes power. However, the Queen Mother feels that this man has been honest for less than a year, but he can't help but get restless. He doesn't seem like a good minister who abides by the law. I'm afraid he will commit the same mistake again in the future. This time he was let off lightly, who knows what kind of disaster he will cause next time? He must be given a good warning so that he knows to be afraid."

Haitang raised her eyebrows: "I understand this, but what does this have to do with my cousin?"

Jin Jiashu lowered his voice and said, "The witness he bribed was surnamed Jiang. I heard that he was from a branch of a large family in Yongping Prefecture. The whole family was involved in the case. The main culprit has been surrendered, and his family members and children have been demoted to official slaves. However, there were a few branch members who were not deeply involved in the case and saved their lives. The witness also knew a lot of secrets of local officials and gentry. The minister protected him and secretly brought him to be a slave in his own house. He was also able to use this witness to control the officials and wealthy families in Yongping Prefecture. When I heard others report this to the Empress Dowager and the new emperor in the palace, I felt it sounded familiar. I listened carefully and the more I listened, the more I felt that the man might be from the Jiang family, a large family in Jianghaitun, your hometown. Isn't that just a branch of Cousin Fang's ex-husband's family?

"This man knows a lot of things. Maybe he knows that Cousin Fang once provided evidence of his family's crimes to the government. If he really gets close to the powerful officials and makes contributions, who knows if he will retaliate against Cousin Fang and your Hai family? I thought that this hidden danger must not be left! So I immediately told the Queen Mother about Cousin Fang. The Queen Mother felt that rewarding Cousin Fang would also let the Jiang family know that some cases cannot be overturned. If the minister is still ignorant and insists on deceiving the emperor and bending the law, then we can't blame the new emperor for disregarding the dignity of the old ministers!"

Haitang understood. To be honest, if Queen Mother Xu wanted to suppress the Sun family's followers from causing trouble again, and she targeted the surviving branch of the Jiang family, that would be very reasonable, but if she said that this was why she looked at Fang differently, that would be too far-fetched. Haitang would rather believe that Queen Mother Xu wanted to punish the minister, but all her praise and help to Fang should be because of the latter's "remarrying for justice". It's just that people who don't know her background may believe that her purpose is to punish the Sun party.

However, none of this matters, as long as the result is beneficial to Fang and Hai families. What is the real purpose of Queen Mother Xu, and why should others find out the truth? Haitang thought that Jin Jiashu told her this specifically, perhaps just to reassure her and make her believe that Queen Mother Xu would look at Fang differently, mainly out of public interest, nothing else. Haitang pretended not to be suspicious and sighed, "So that's it! My cousin is also lucky to have encountered this good opportunity, otherwise I don't know how many people in the clan would be angry with her!"

She stopped, turned around and looked at Jin Jiashu with a smile, and bowed solemnly: "No matter what the Queen Mother's original intention was, it was Brother Jin's credit that solved the dilemma of the eldest house. I also want to thank you solemnly."

Jin Jiashu hurriedly supported her, "Sister Hai, don't do this! Why are you so polite to me?" He blushed slightly, "I have just said in front of Grandma Hai that you and I will be husband and wife soon, and husband and wife are one. Your business is my business. I know that you are worried about the fate of the eldest house, how can I bear to watch you continue to be sad? If I really can't do anything, it's fine. Since I can help and it will also benefit the palace, how can I stand idly by? Sister Hai, don't thank me anymore. If you say too many polite words, you will be alienated from me. I don't want to be alienated from you."

Haitang thought she was not thin-skinned, but her face turned red when she heard that. She managed to keep calm and said with a red face, "I don't want to be estranged from Brother Jin. I just want you to know how grateful I am. I just don't know how I should thank you."

Jin Jiashu grinned, "Really, you don't have to be polite... If you really want to give me a thank-you gift, just make me a purse. I can wear it when I go out during the New Year. Even if I can't see you all the time, seeing the purse you made with your own hands is like seeing you."

The purse was just a small matter. Haitang agreed immediately.

Jin Jiashu was immediately overjoyed: "Then... when will my sister be ready? When I come back next time, will it be ready?"

Haitang blinked and said, "Thank you, uncle, for telling me not to come again for the time being..."

Jin Jiashu said calmly: "Of course I remember the teacher's teachings in my heart. But it's New Year's Day, and I know where the teachers live. I can't not go to their homes to wish them a happy new year..."