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

Chapter 748 Sincere love
When Haitang walked out of the west wing study, Xiangcao was waiting by the door.

She didn't know when she came, probably intending to be a demonstration tool for Haitang to teach Jin Jiashu martial arts, but when she arrived, she found the two of them talking in the west wing study, so she consciously stood guard at the door. She was a little particular about where she stood, with one foot inside the room, so that if someone said that Haitang and Jin Jiashu were chatting privately in the room, she could claim that she was there. But in fact, she couldn't hear what the people in the room were saying at the door, unless Haitang or Jin Jiashu raised their voices.

As soon as Haitang saw Xiangcao's position, she guessed her intention. Then, looking at her expression, she knew that she knew nothing about the conversation between her and Jin Jiashu, so she smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Have you been waiting for a long time?"

Vanilla shook her head repeatedly and looked at Jin Jiashu behind Haitang with some curiosity.

She had been a tool for so long, and Jin Jiashu came to the Hai family almost every day. Of course, she knew who this Young Master Jin was. She even heard other servants mention that he was the nephew of the Empress in the palace and had a cousin who was a prince. Therefore, the maids in charge of the family all came from the palace and served the Empress Dowager. With such an identity, he was absolutely a nobleman in the capital. Logically, he would only marry the daughters of the rich and powerful families. He seemed to be very close to his daughter. Could he be serious? Could he just be teasing his daughter?
I heard that the Hai family had saved the life of this young master Jin more than once, and his cousin Mr. Xie was also his teacher. I don't think he would be so abominable as to repay kindness with enmity and ruin the innocence of his benefactor's granddaughter. But...if he really has feelings for his daughter, why doesn't he just ask for her marriage? He and his daughter are both of marriageable age, wouldn't it be a happy ending if they get married sooner?
Many thoughts flashed through Vanilla's mind, but she didn't say a word. No matter what, she just listened to what the girl wanted to do, and there was absolutely no reason to hinder the girl, otherwise it would be repaying kindness with enmity, and it might be even more excessive than Master Jin!

Xiangcao followed Haitang silently to the second courtyard to practice self-defense with Jin Jiashu again. Today, Xiao Shitou went to the small training ground to practice horse riding. He was not at home and took Qiu Baisheng with him. However, Xiangcao called her younger brother Dunzi along. Although he is young, he is a country boy who has been running around in the mountains since he was a child. He still has some physical strength. Although he looks thin now, he can bear the work of a tool man after having a full meal these days. He can also learn a few skills. If he is bullied in the future, he will have some resistance.

Today's self-defense course ended successfully. Afterwards, Haitang and Jin Jiashu went to see Ma, and Ma indeed asked about what they had talked about in the west wing study.

Jin Jiashu said vaguely: "Mammy has been worried about Wu Ke's marriage these days. I wanted to find out something, but she refused to elaborate and just told me not to worry. I had no choice but to ask Sister Hai. She is good friends with Miss Wu and may know something about it. Wu Ke has been worried about his marriage these days, and I am worried about him too."

Ma believed it as soon as she heard it, and said hurriedly: "You are good classmates. You are concerned about the marriage of the Wu family's son. It is with good intentions. But there are many things behind this matter that are not easy to say. You'd better not ask about it, and give the Wu family's son some face. If there is any definite news, I will tell you later." As she spoke, she winked at Haitang.

Haitang was very tactful and kept silent. After sending Jin Jiashu away, she told Ma: "Brother Jin knows more news than us, but we are not sure whether it is true or not. I will naturally not reveal to him the private words Wu Qiong told me in the letter, so just rest assured, grandma."

Ma sighed, "This matter has nothing to do with the young man from the Wu family. He was implicated innocently. It wasn't that he wanted to marry the daughter of Prefect Xin, but Prefect Xin took a fancy to him and proposed to him. Who knew that he hadn't settled the matter with the family that had discussed the marriage before? Things have come to this point. If the marriage between Miss Xin and the young man from the Wu family cannot be completed, I'm afraid their reputation will be ruined. Prefect Xin usually looks like a dignified gentleman, how could he be so careless in his children's marriage?!"

Haitang smiled and said, "It's okay. Magistrate Xin only came to Chang'an to serve as the magistrate for a few years. He will return to the capital after his term is over. What happened in Chang'an may not be reported back, so it will not affect Miss Xin's reputation."

"How could it not have an impact? A daughter's reputation is very important!" Ma glanced at her granddaughter, "Do you think that the atmosphere in Chang'an doesn't care about these things? There is no family that doesn't care about studying and becoming an official! It's just that you seldom go out, and you haven't seen the power of those gossiping women!" Haitang didn't care whether her grandmother was taking the opportunity to criticize her, and immediately changed the subject: "What Brother Jin said just now was not entirely true. In fact, he not only asked me about the Wu family's marriage proposal, but also wanted to know if my brother had any letters back. He said that my brother should have settled down in Beijing by now, and I don't know how he is doing."

This immediately attracted Ma's attention: "Isn't it? He and your second uncle should have settled down by now. I wonder if they have bought a house. Are houses in the capital expensive? Is the money they brought enough to spend?"

Next, the topic of the grandfather and grandson revolved around the experiences of Hai Jiao and Hai Chang'an in Beijing. Soon, even the second aunt Hu joined the discussion. No one mentioned Jin Jiashu again, let alone Wu Ke's marriage. When Hai Xiya came back from the government office in the evening, Ma even began to suggest to him that he should pay more attention to the letters from Beijing, so that his son and grandson would not get into trouble and write home for help, but the messenger could not find the door and delayed his work.

Not to mention how Hai Xiya comforted his old wife, ever since Jin Jiashu got advice from Haitang, he began to improve his relationship with Wu Ke, using the excuse that the other party's marriage proposal was not going well.

He confessed to Wu Ke that when he first learned that the other party had been favored by Prefect Xin, he had also told the other party about the benefits of this marriage, but he did not expect that the Xin family was so unreliable. But in order not to offend the Chang'an prefect, Wu Ke could not directly say that he was looking for another girl. A good marriage was delayed, and he did not know what the future would be. Jin Jiashu confessed to Wu Ke that he should not have said so much.

Wu Ke just wanted to smile bitterly when he heard this. In fact, he was also very active in wanting to get married. People around him only praised the advantages of the Xin family. Who would be so tactful as to say that this marriage was not good? Now that the marriage proposal was not going well, he also felt the Xin family's dishonesty. He knew that he was too eager, which led to the current deep quagmire and it was difficult to get out. How could such a thing be blamed on his classmates? At that time, it was clearly because he was so happy that the teachers and classmates would say good things to him.

Wu Ke whispered, "How could this be your fault? It was clearly me who was blinded by power and thought it was a piece of cake, which led to this result. Whether the marriage can be concluded in the end or not, it is all my own fault. I have no complaints, good or bad, and I definitely don't have the reason to vent my anger on innocent people. It's just... the teachers may not know it yet. They are all happy for me, and I don't want them to worry..."

Jin Jiashu immediately said: "Don't worry, I won't say anything. I won't even tell Tianyou."

Wu Ke smiled gratefully at Jin Jiashu, feeling that their friendship as classmates over the years was not comparable to the so-called friends he had made privately in Chang'an City, so he was willing to tell him a few words from his heart: "In fact, I was not in a hurry to get married, but my sister is getting older, and the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo has been interested in finding a boyfriend for her. As her brother, I always wanted to move out and start my own business before she got married, so that she could see me having a family and a career, and she wouldn't have to worry about me when she got married. I didn't expect things to be so unsuccessful..."

(End of this chapter)