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

Chapter 590 Strengthening the Impression
Two days later, the Hu brothers and sisters arrived in Chang'an with the imperial guards under Guard Lin.

Guard Lin went personally to pick up the people and took them to the Jin family. The rest of the people went directly back to the Dusi Yamen to report, and would not come to the Jin family to attract the attention of the neighbors.

On this day, Haitang happened to come to the Jin family as a guest with her grandmother Ma.

Recently, Ma and Ma Shangyi have been in frequent contact, and their relationship has been getting better and better. Originally, Ma was close to several neighbors in this alley, and the wife of the Wang family had the best relationship with her. However, the Wang family was worried about the unsuccessful marriage of their youngest son, and the women in the family had not visited the Hai family for a long time. Ma didn't want to disturb them when they were doing business, and Ma Shangyi happened to be interested in making friends, so she interacted with Ma Shangyi more. After a few visits, they seemed to have become good friends. Either you come to my house to chat about family matters today, or I go to your house tomorrow to bring some fruits and snacks. There is a lot of communication, and it is very warm.

Haitang naturally didn't always go with Ma to the Jin family. The Jin family had several young men and teenagers, and Ma was now strict with her granddaughter's rules, so she wouldn't take Haitang to other families for no reason. But if Ma Shangyi asked her to go, or if Ma had confirmed in advance that Jin Jiashu, Lin Shiwei, and their servants were not at home, she would take her granddaughter with her so that Ma Shangyi could teach her granddaughter about etiquette and rules.

Of course, Ma Shangyi could not find any fault with Haitang every time. Although Haitang did not show her level 10 court etiquette in front of her, even if she was just pretending to be an ordinary little girl, she was very polite and looked very suitable for her status. Ma Shangyi did not think there was anything wrong with her, and she only praised her. Sometimes she taught her some things that a granddaughter of a seventh-rank official should not know, and Haitang learned quickly, which made her more satisfied.

As for Haitang herself, she followed her grandmother to the Jin family to deal with Ma Shangyi, of course not to learn any rules and etiquette, but more to understand Ma Shangyi's style of behavior. Her brother Haijiao has made up his mind to hold on to Jin Jiashu's thigh and pursue his career in Beijing, so how can she not keep a close eye on Ma Shangyi beside Jin Jiashu to prevent her brother's favorite thigh from being calculated by others?

When the Hu siblings arrived at the Jin family, Haitang was accompanying her grandmother Ma, and was talking to Ma Shangyi about the customs of wintering in Chang'an. Generally speaking, the customs were the same as those of decades ago, except for a few new details, which Ma Shangyi didn't know. Now she found it very interesting, and she remembered them all firmly, and would follow them this winter.

As they were talking, Chunyu came in to report that Guard Lin had brought the Hu brothers and sisters in. Ma Shangyi's expression did not change at all, and she said calmly: "Take them downstairs to clean up, change them into clean clothes, and give them something to eat. When Mr. Xie is done with get out of class, ask the Lu family to tell my brother to come back and see him. After we meet, I will take them away."

The spring rain went away as expected.

Ma had heard about the rumors a long time ago, and guessed what was going on after hearing them: "These Hu brothers and sisters who came here are the ones adopted by the second branch of the Jin family, right? It is said that their biological mother is the biological sister of Jin Liu and Jin Xiaoge's stepmother, and their biological father was beaten to death. Then Jin Liu sent their biological father to the government prison, took them home, and swallowed up the property of the Hu family?"

Ma Shangyi nodded and lowered her voice and said, "Later, the second branch of the Jin family was involved in an incident. The prefect of Chang'an Prefecture sent a letter to Zunhua Prefecture to report the case. Zunhua Prefecture happened to have a new prefect who had never dealt with the second branch of the Jin family. After a careful investigation, he found that there was no evidence that the master of the Hu family killed his wife. It was all said by the second branch of the Jin family, and they bribed the former prefect's advisor, so they convicted him. They also found a witness who saw Mrs. Hu leave home and run to the two sisters' husbands' homes for help. After asking the younger brother-in-law to come out, she chased after the big man who went to Beijing. My brother-in-law and his family went there. Although her whereabouts were unknown afterwards, it at least proved that she was not beaten to death at home. Many people also proved that Mr. Hu had never left home, so the claim of murdering his wife was not true, so he was sentenced to an unjust case and released. Although most of the property taken away by the second branch of the Jin family is now unknown, at least the family still has land and houses, and life can still be lived. "Ma said a Buddhist saying: "This second branch of the Jin family is really hateful! Not only did they cheat the first branch, but they also didn't let go of the relatives. Anyone who has a relationship with their family is really unlucky for eight lifetimes!"

"Who said it wasn't true?" Ma Shangyi lowered her head and pretended to wipe her tears. "Back then, Shu Ge'er's biological mother was also forced by her in-laws to enter the palace to be a wet nurse. Unfortunately, she encountered the fire in Kunning Palace. Fortunately, Empress Xu was in the palace at the time and recognized her sister, otherwise Shu Ge'er's biological mother would have died in the fire. But even though Empress Xu tried every means to send her sister out of the palace, her sister still died inexplicably. The people of the second branch of the Jin family insisted that she died of an acute illness. Now Jin Juren is also dead, and there is no cure for his death. God knows what happened?

"Poor Shu Ge'er lost his mother at such a young age. It took our Empress Xu several years to learn about her elder sister's death. She thought her sister had successfully left the palace and reunited with her family! If Empress Xu had not been made a concubine and the emperor had not issued an edict to reward her relatives from her natal family, who would have known this sad news? Empress Xu regretted it in her heart and said that if she had known this would happen, she would have kept her sister in the palace as a palace maid. Even if flesh and blood were separated, it was better than losing her life in confusion..."

Ma Shangyi's words sounded like the truth, and Ma probably really believed it. She couldn't help but show sympathy on her face: "What a sin! The second branch of the Jin family is so cruel and ruthless! They forced people to serve in the palace, and then when something happened, they were afraid that the people who had been in the palace would implicate them. It's also unlucky for Xiao Jin to have such relatives. But Jin Juren, as a husband and a father, is too irresponsible. If he wanted to protect his wife and children, how could Xiao Jin's mother die? Xiao Jin wouldn't have suffered so much over the years!"

The two old ladies sighed and sympathized with Jin Jiashu and his mother's miserable lives. Haitang took some effort to show the same expression, otherwise she was really afraid that she would reveal a flaw if she didn't manage her expression properly.

After sighing, Ma Shangyi lowered her head to wipe away the tears on her face, and said a few words about Concubine Xu missing her relatives in the palace, which once again strengthened Ma's impression of the "real" relationship between Jin Jiashu and Concubine Xu. Ma did not doubt it at all, and said: "Now that Xiao Jin is taken care of by you, his food, clothing, housing and transportation are all very well, and Concubine Xu in the palace can also rest assured. I heard from Uncle Xie that Xiao Jin is very talented in studying, even if he started late, his progress is not worse than others. If he works hard like this, he will win the first prize in the imperial examination in a few years. When the time comes, Xiao Jin will go to Beijing to take the exam and meet Concubine Xu's relatives."

Ma Shangyi smiled: "I just hope it will be as you said."

As they were talking, Jin Jiashu came back with Lu Ga Wa, and Chunyu also took the Hu brothers and sisters to wash up, eat some simple hot food, and then arranged for them to meet Jin Jiashu in the front yard.

Haitang sat with Ma in the backyard, not knowing what was going on in the front yard. She looked at Ma Shangyi and saw her stand up slowly. She apologized to Ma and said, "I'll go to the front and take a look. I'll be back soon. Please sit down. The kitchen made pancakes with new grain today. I think they are good. You can also try the cooking skills of our cook." Then she ordered someone to bring a plate of steaming corn pancakes.
The Ma family's grandparents were left in the backyard. Haitang could only watch Ma Shangyi leave, feeling a little itchy in her heart, curious about what would happen when Jin Jiashu met the Hu brothers and sisters?
(End of this chapter)