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

Chapter 747 Another Road
Jin Jiashu looked at Haitang in surprise and was speechless for a long time.

Seeing this, Haitang simply turned her head away: "Perhaps you will feel that my advice is not upright enough and goes against the noble intentions of scholars, but you have fallen into such a situation now. If you don't want to be manipulated by others and don't want to be stuck in your life, you must sacrifice something. You can choose to sacrifice your marriage, listen to Concubine Xu's arrangement, and go to the capital to marry the noble lady; you can also choose to sacrifice your own nobleness, work hard to manage the connections you can get in touch with, turn other people's connections into your own, increase your weight in front of Concubine Xu, and convince her that even if you don't become the son-in-law of the Zhang family, you can still gain a foothold in the capital. This is my suggestion, but if you feel you don't want to do it, then just pretend you didn't hear what I said and just do what you want."

Jin Jiashu paused and said, "I am not a noble and upright person, and I don't want to be manipulated by others. Sister Hai said these things to me because she was thinking about me. How could I not know what is good for me? But...if I really manage the connections between Teacher Xie and the Hai family to become my own, will...will it have any bad effects on you?"

Haitang sneered, "What bad influence can there be? If our family wanted to rely on the little kindness we had shown to Wumen Gusheng in the past to ask for a return, my grandfather would not have retired almost to become a sixth-rank official, and would not have to wait until next year when there was a vacancy in the Ministry of Revenue before he was transferred to the capital. As for my brother, he wants to be a military officer, so he can't rely on the help of Wumen Gusheng. He doesn't seek a job in Chang'an, but takes the imperial examination, and he can't rely on the help of the Zhou family either. The only people he has now are General Tu and General Zhou Si, who can help him with a little help, but he still has to take the military examination by himself. At most, after the examination, he can ask these two generals to find him a good position in the capital. In this way, most of our family members can't use their own connections. If you can use them, maybe you can help my brother. In the future, when he enters the officialdom, he will have a reliable friend who can take care of him."

As for his great-uncle Xie Wenzai, he and the two elders Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian are all old men. Their best years were lost in exile, and now they have no intention of returning to the throne to see the emperor who ruined their lives. Although Tao Ge Lao has been persuading them to come out of retirement, they want to come back only after the new emperor ascends the throne. It is purely to be able to show their ambitions before the end of their lives, so as not to waste their lives, but it has nothing to do with fame and fortune. But by then, they will not be officials for many years. If there are disciples among their disciples who can inherit their mantle and realize their political ideals, why would they not support them?

Xie Wenzai's disciples are actually the disciples of Cao and Lu. Among the three disciples, Wu Ke's future is limited. Once he is conferred a title, he can no longer take the imperial examination, let alone enter the cabinet and become a prime minister; Geng Tianyou is born with deficiencies and is timid. Whether he can make achievements in the imperial examination is still unknown. All in all, Jin Jiashu is the most promising. Although he is a relative by marriage, he is the nephew of the future empress dowager, so the relative by marriage is not strong. With Tao Yue as a role model, he can completely copy Tao Yue's lessons and move forward along Tao Yue's path. The future is promising.

With such a hope, Jin Jiashu is not a fool. As long as he is willing, the three teachers Xie, Cao, and Lu will only support him and there is absolutely no reason to oppose him. And considering the friendship between Tao Yue and Xie Wenzai, if Xie Wenzai wants to recommend a disciple, how can Tao Yue not take care of him and promote him?

Tao Yue is now in power in the court. He has the favor of the emperor and a good reputation. His reputation is a hundred times better than that of Sun Ge Lao. People don't care much about his family background. When they talk about him, they think he is a leader of the clean stream and a pillar of the literati. If he is willing to take care of Jin Jiashu, he only needs to say a word. Ten Zhang families can't compare! What kind of marriage alliance does Jin Jiashu need? Is he afraid that the literati will not despise his family background?
Haitang directly explained these things to Jin Jiashu, saying: "Tao Ge Lao is actually very short of people. Even if he has Wumen Gusheng and the literati as his allies, he came to power too late. In the first thirty years, the Sun family was extremely powerful, and most of the officials who entered the court and occupied high positions were corrupt officials with the Sun family. Even if many people now begin to distance themselves from the Sun family, it is also a move to seek benefits and avoid harm, not out of integrity. The only people Tao Ge Lao can use are the clean officials of the same age as himself, but there is a lack of successors. If you can stand firmly on his side, instead of speaking for Madam Xu because of kinship, they will definitely be happy to see that their side has added new strength!"

Jin Jiashu pursed his lips and asked: "Will Elder Tao go against Empress Xu's position?"

Haitang gave him a deep look and said, "Do you think that without the Sun family and the treacherous ministers, there will be no conflicts between the Queen Mother and the Cabinet?"

Jin Jiashu took a deep breath and said with a smile, "But that's all for the future. At least for now, they will unite and confront the Sun family together."

It was normal for him to have conflicts with his "aunt" Concubine Xu Xianfei, and for the cabinet to have conflicts with the mother of the new emperor. However, his "aunt" had few family members who held her back, and the only "nephew" was him, Jin Jiashu. As long as he was not confused and always knew what he should do, it was unlikely that his "aunt" would have conflicts with the cabinet because of her family members. As for the conflict between the new emperor and the cabinet... that had nothing to do with him. He was just a small figure and could not get involved in such a big thing.

Jin Jiashu has quickly sorted out his thoughts. It turns out that he has other options, not just relying on his "aunt" and being a puppet in her hands. It was the right decision to study under Teacher Xie. And this decision was made because of the relationship between Teacher Xie and the Hai family. It can be seen that the Hai family is really his benefactor. If he hadn't met the Hai family, he would never have the situation he has today, let alone a bright future!
He straightened his clothes, bowed deeply to Haitang very solemnly and said, "Thank you, sister Hai, for your advice today. If it weren't for you, I would still be at a loss and don't know what to do! Now I know what I should do, and I will definitely not let you down in the future! Please wait and see, sister Hai!"

Haitang raised her eyebrows, accepted his greeting, and smiled, "Let's not talk here. I've been in the west wing study for so long, and grandma will teach me a lesson later."

Jin Jiashu responded and said with a smile, "I was asking Sister Hai about the things in Beijing. If Grandma Hai is offended, I will explain it to her and will not let her misunderstand Sister Hai."

Haitang whispered, "Don't tell her too much, or she'll worry." She shouldn't have known so many things, let alone given Jin Jiashu advice on his future. If Ma knew about it, without her brother Haijiao standing in the way, she might get suspicious.

Jin Jiashu would not refuse: "Don't worry, Sister Hai, how could I let Grandma Hai worry about these trivial matters?"

Haitang cleared her throat and turned to look outside the door. "My second uncle and brother should have settled down in the capital by now, right? I wonder if they have bought a suitable house? General Tu is going to take over the Imperial Guard when he returns. I don't know if the disturbances in the capital will affect him. I hope my second uncle and brother will not be implicated..."

(End of this chapter)