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

Chapter 566 The Current Situation of the Second Branch of the Jin Family

Haijiao went to the Dusi Yamen, and it was almost the second watch before he returned home with his grandfather Hai Xiya.

Ma naturally kept complaining that they came back too late. She didn't think anything of her grandson, but she thought that her husband insisted on working overtime, which delayed him for too long, so that her grandson came back so late. The only thing worth praising was that the two of them went home together, instead of walking separately at night, which was safer.

Hai Xiya ate the ginseng soup that his wife had prepared for him, and said with a smile: "You have wronged me tonight. I was indeed busy until very late, but Bao Shun was not idle either. He wandered around the government office and got to know so many people. He is more familiar with them than I am. If I hadn't come to look for him, I would have been home a quarter of an hour earlier!"

Ma didn't believe him. "After all, isn't it because the master has been dawdling in the government office for too long? If it wasn't to kill time, why would the child run around? If the master had told him the time to go home in advance, he would have gone back to find you in time and would never have asked the master to bother looking for him. If the master doesn't want this to happen again, he can go home earlier in the future. Otherwise, he can bring Baoshun with him to help you, so that you can finish the work at hand earlier. Didn't Baoshun often help the master in Suzhou before?"

Hai Xiya sighed, "I also want Bao Shun to practice more, but now the Dusi Yamen is run by Tu Tongzhi, who is very strict and never allows irrelevant people to interfere in the Yamen affairs. Bao Shun is still young, even if I say he is my assistant, Tu Tongzhi will not believe it. Anyway, the work on my hands is almost done, and I will be able to have some free time after sending him to the capital in two days. In this case, why should I meddle in other matters?"

Ma couldn't help complaining after hearing this: "This Tu Tongzhi used to look like a kind and easy-going person, but why is he so rigid in his actions in the government office and doesn't know how to adapt at all? Baoshun is not an outsider. When he was in Suzhou, he helped you. General Zhou San and General Gu both praised him. Now he is just a little bit older, otherwise he would be ten times better than your subordinates when he really does the work. How can you just say he is an outsider and forbid him to help your grandfather?"

Hai Xiya smiled and drank the last mouthful of ginseng soup: "Okay, what's the big deal? The child is very hard-working now, studying literature and martial arts day and night. I see that he has lost weight, so let him rest more. When he grows up, are you still worried that he will have nothing to do?"

After hearing this, Ma stopped talking, ordered someone to bring hot water, and helped her husband wash up.

Haijiao and Haitang had already left the main courtyard and entered the door halfway through their conversation.

They did not go back to their rooms directly, but went to the west wing study under the pretext of reviewing before bed.

Haijiao told Haitang: "Where exactly did Guard Lin go? The imperial guards from the capital kept their mouths shut and refused to reveal it. I didn't dare to ask further, for fear that they would find out something, so I just chatted with them. One of them leaked that one of them's wife's hometown was in Yunxi, and she hadn't been back to see her parents for many years after getting married. A few days ago, this man wrote back to ask for leave, hoping to spare a few days to visit his wife's hometown and visit his father-in-law and mother-in-law. For this reason, he and his colleagues traveled separately and planned to return to Chang'an a few days later. I guess Guard Lin should be back soon. And he should be not far from Yunxi now, so his men are planning to ask for leave and go to Yunxi to visit their relatives."

Yunxi...

Haitang thought for a moment and said, "That place is pretty close to Yunyang, right? Did the people from the second branch of the Jin family really go there?"

Haijiao sighed, "If they hadn't finished their work, no one would dare to ask for leave to visit relatives. But since this person dared to ask for leave, it proves that the work has been completed. It's not that they haven't arrived in Yunyang yet, but they have returned from Yunyang, passed by Yunxi, and are heading towards Chang'an!" Haitang raised her eyebrows, "I remember my brother asked around and found out that Jin Xin's family went to Yunyang. I wonder how Guard Lin completed his work in Yunyang?"

Haijiao smiled and said, "Anyway, there are a lot of bandits in that place, and it's not uncommon for a few people to die. If we do it cleanly, I'm afraid even the government won't be suspicious. I just don't know if they have wiped out the entire area. Will they leave behind one or two children who will be unable to make a living and come back to Xiaojin for help."

"The people from the second branch of the Jin family shouldn't dare, right?" Haitang said, "It's not like they don't have people in Chang'an City now, but we don't usually see them knocking on Big Brother Jin's door. I think they've become more sensible and know not to ask for trouble."

Hai Jiao said, "If they came before, Xiao Jin might have been soft-hearted. But now that the Jin family has Ma Shangyi in charge, even if Xiao Jin is soft-hearted, Ma Shangyi will not allow strangers to come and disturb him while he is studying. It will be a hundred times more difficult for the people from the second branch of the Jin family to gain any benefits from Xiao Jin, so it's better to dream!"

Haitang thought for a moment and said, "I remember Jin Miao was sentenced to exile. I wonder if Guard Lin and the others will take action against him?"

Hai Jiao thought that they would, but it was not necessarily Guard Lin who did it: "There are many hardships on the road to exile. It is common for prisoners to die on the way because their bodies cannot bear it. The escorting officials can do it easily. Why do we have to let the people from the palace travel thousands of miles? That would be too laborious and would easily arouse suspicion. You know, the road to the border town in the west is usually very desolate. Ordinary people and merchants rarely go there. If there are a few more cavalry soldiers, the guards along the way will not ignore it. If there is a better and more covert way to silence people, why bother?"

Haitang nodded and lowered her voice again: "What about the remaining second old lady of the Jin family? And the eldest aunt Jin, they seem to have been abandoned by their family, but they also know a lot of old things. Doesn't Ma Shangyi plan to do anything?"

Haijiao also answered her in a low voice: "I heard Xiao Jin mention it the other day. It was said that the second old lady of Jin was very ill in prison. Aunt Jin went to take care of her every day and was almost sick from exhaustion. However, in order to support herself, she had to squeeze out time to work and earn money. She couldn't even spare time for blind dates, let alone get married. Aunt Jin also asked Xiao Jin to lend a hand, because she was stopped by Ma Shangyi when she went to the door, so she had to go to Zhou Xiaojian to beg. Zhou Xiaojian passed the message to Xiao Jin, and Xiao Jin couldn't help much. He only gave her ten taels of silver as a relief.

"With these ten taels of silver, Aunt Jin can finally take a breath and no longer have to work hard for a living. But the lease of the house she rented is about to expire. Because she rejected the blind date proposed by the landlord, the landlord holds a grudge and has made it clear that he will not rent the house to her again. She also has to consider her future housing problem. There are still many things to worry about, which cannot be solved by ten taels of silver. I heard that Mrs. Jin is just biding her time. Once she dies, money will be needed for her funeral. What should Aunt Jin do then?"

Really? That sounds pretty good.

Haitang said hurriedly, "Brother Jin was able to forgive past grudges and help Aunt Jin with money. If outsiders knew about this, they would definitely praise him for his generosity. But I don't know if he needs help with the funeral arrangements after Second Old Lady Jin dies? Does he need to wear mourning? What about Aunt Jin's arrangements? I hope Brother Jin's reputation won't be affected because of them."

Haijiao seemed to be thinking about something: "Little sister, what you said is right. We should think about it in advance. I have to remind Xiao Jin later not to damage his reputation for a few enemies. He will take the imperial examination in the future!"

(End of this chapter)