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

Chapter 1055 Persuasion
Jin Jiashu still has some cleverness in him.

Haitang smiled and sent him out of the house, then turned around and didn't mention a word about what he had just revealed in front of the elders.

She actually wanted to see him more often, so why should she expose his plan in advance, thus depriving them of the chance to meet each other?
Nearing evening, Hai Xiya and Hai Chang'an returned home respectively. Half an hour later, Haijiao also returned.

It was already dark by this time. Mrs. Ma complained that her grandson came home too late and ordered people to serve dinner quickly. The family hurriedly finished their dinner and went back to the yard to rest. However, Haitang followed her brother Haijiao to his temporary residence in the front yard.

Haijiao smiled and invited Xiaomei into the house for tea, saying, "I just came back home and heard that Xiaojin was here today. If I had known he was coming, I would have swapped shifts with someone else. I still have something to ask Xiaojin."

Haitang asked curiously, "What does my brother want to ask him? Is it about Jiyuan's shares? Or is it about my cousin?"

She told her brother what Jin Jiashu had said today about the "inside story" of Empress Dowager Xu rewarding Fang, and said, "It sounds like this is probably just an excuse to fool outsiders who don't know the truth. As for Empress Dowager Xu's preferential treatment of Madam Yu, it's probably to help the new emperor win over the newly promoted generals of the imperial guards, right? Anyway, they all sound like legitimate reasons, and people won't doubt Empress Dowager Xu's true intentions. Brother Jin tried hard to make me believe that all this was just a coincidence, that my cousin was lucky, and that it was his intention for our family's affairs. Naturally, I wouldn't reveal my true intentions and let him know that I actually knew Empress Dowager Xu's intentions very well."

Haijiao nodded: "That's good. No matter what excuse the Queen Mother uses, this matter is beneficial to our family and the other cousin, and that's enough. We don't know anything, so we just listen to what Xiao Jin says."

This matter passed just like that, and Haijiao talked about the reason why he came back late today: "After leaving the palace, I went to Jiyuan and talked to Shopkeeper Xiao Feng for a while. His caravan has a shop in Yongping Prefecture, and many of the guys are from Yongping Prefecture, and they are preparing to go back to their hometown to celebrate the New Year. They will travel together, with complete vehicles and horses, and they are familiar with the resting places along the way. I plan to let the people from the eldest house go with them. First, they are familiar with each other, and maybe Cousin Qiao can also accompany them, so that there will be more people to take care of them on the road; second, they have to travel on this trade route more than ten times a year, and they are very familiar with it. Traveling with them can save a lot of worries, save time and effort. Besides, Jianghaitun also has its own products. If we can catch the eyes of Shopkeeper Xiao Feng, the villagers can sell their local products to the caravan every year, and we can also get more income. If the clansmen can get benefits, they will naturally listen to our second and eldest houses more."

Because Shopkeeper Xiao Feng's caravan has connections with the first and second branches of the Hai family.

Haitang felt that her brother's consideration was very thorough and thoughtful. "That's good. If my cousin and sister Baozhu really let them go back with the tribe, I'm really worried that they will suffer on the way. Although Baozhu is here, he is young and innocent, so he may not be able to help in many cases." She also mentioned her grandmother Ma's complaints to her brother, "The elders are urging Grandpa to return home to worship the ancestors. Grandma said that Grandpa seems to be a little moved and wants to leave for home after the New Year's Eve. If that's the case, it's really worrying for him to travel so far in this cold weather."

Haijiao frowned: "Really? I'll go and persuade Grandpa later. This kind of thing is not a joke."

Since they didn't know what their grandfather Hai Xiya's final decision was, the brother and sister couldn't continue the discussion. But they knew in their hearts that if Hai Xiya really decided to return home before the New Year, they would not be able to stop him. Hai Xiya had been away from home for more than 30 years and had not been able to go back to worship his parents. How could he not miss them in his heart? If he really couldn't spare the time, it would be fine. But he had a long vacation during the New Year, and it didn't violate any taboos to move around in Zhili. He had enough reasons to return home. All factors such as weather, route, time, etc. were not reasons for him to change his mind. All the grandchildren could do was to obey. Haijiao sighed and changed the subject: "I heard some news when I was in Jiyuan. Xiao Jin came here today, and I believe he also talked to you? Did he mention that he wanted to give the dividends of Jiyuan to King Kang and Wu Ke?"

Haitang nodded: "Yes. But he just said a few words and told me about this matter. He didn't seem to take it to heart. He just said that it was because Wu Ke needed the dividend more, and he already had enough money to spend."

Hai Jiao smiled and said, "He probably doesn't know that my brother and I each borrowed 3,000 taels from the Wu family. Now Wu Ke has 6,000 taels of silver in his hand, so he is not as short of money as he thought. But he didn't talk to Wu Ke directly about this matter, but went to find Prince Kang. Prince Kang accepted his kindness and has already negotiated with Jiyuan. Two shares, one for Prince Kang's Mansion and one for Earl Cheng'en's Mansion, will be sent every quarter. As for Wu Ke, His Royal Highness Prince Kang should have mentioned it to him."

Haitang was a little surprised: "Is it handled so quickly? I think Brother Jin went to see King Kang the other day?"

Jin Jiashu did go to see Prince Kang the day before, but Prince Kang acted very decisively and contacted Jiyuan on the same day.

In fact, it’s not that Ma Shangyi and the others didn’t think about finding Prince Kang as a backer, but when the adopted sons and daughters of Eunuch Ji began to open shops and do business in the capital, Prince Kang was still living in seclusion in the Cining Palace and didn’t dare to disclose his identity. When he was recognized by the previous emperor and publicly appeared in front of people as the seventh prince, the old eunuchs and old palace servants who had already left the palace had no chance to see him. Ma Shangyi occasionally returned to the palace to pay her respects to her old master, but she only moved around the Cining Palace, and at most went to the Queen Mother Xu’s bedroom. It was impossible for her to cross most of the palace to visit the seventh prince who was temporarily living in the East Palace. When the seventh prince was named Prince Kang and left the palace to open his mansion, he lived in seclusion and refused to see visitors. Prince Kang did this to avoid seeing those old people from Wumen who thought he should inherit the throne, but he also inadvertently blocked other old friends.

If Jin Jiashu had not come to mention it specifically, Prince Kang would not have known that the old palace servants who had taken care of him in the Cining Palace in the past were now living in Jiyuan.

King Kang didn't care much about money and originally didn't intend to accept the dividends from Jiyuan, but he was happy to be a backer for his old friend. It was Jin Jiashu who persuaded him: "Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about the future of the princess."

King Kang was born with a deficiency, and he himself did not know how many years he could live. He had no intention of marrying, fearing that he would bring trouble to others, but he was unexpectedly arranged by the late emperor to marry his cousin Wu Qiong. With the marriage order, the marriage between the two became a foregone conclusion, and even if he died before the marriage was completed, Wu Qiong could not marry anyone else.

King Kang had no romantic feelings for Wu Qiong, but he did have pity for her. He could not bear to see his cousin lose her husband and live a lonely life. He could not guarantee that he could give Wu Qiong a child, but there was still a way for her to adopt a child from the royal family. However, Wu Qiong's natal family was weak, and she only had one cousin left. Her maternal family, the Gui family, would only be a hindrance, and she had no one to rely on. If he died in the future, Wu Qiong would have to live a hard life with her adopted son. So he left more property and assets, so that his wife could live a more relaxed life.