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

Chapter 763 Rumors
Haijiao's coded letter was indeed quite long.

He not only wrote the code at the end of some of the letters, but also on the back of the letters, in very small characters. Ma and Hu had already discovered it, but they didn't take it seriously. Even if there were any secrets hidden in these strange handwritings, someone would study them. If they couldn't understand it, they didn't need to care. Haitang took the letter away and copied it, and they didn't say a word.

The secret letter presented to Hai Xiya has been excerpted by Haitang. It is all things that grandfather can and should know. As for the rest, most of them are related to Jin Jiashu, and some are private words that Haijiao wants to tell his sister. Haitang does not intend to share this part with grandfather.

Therefore, she told Hai Xiya very calmly: "There is another part of the content, which is written to Brother Jin. Brother Jin asked you to take a letter to the Queen in the palace. You delivered the letter to the Queen's people outside the palace. You need to tell Brother Jin and tell him some news about Queen Xu. I plan to show the letter to Brother Jin when he comes. If he has no objection, I will tell you."

Upon hearing this, Hai Xiya said, "If that's the case, then forget it. If Brother Jin wants to discuss something with me, he will come to me on his own, and there's no need for you to be the middleman. You don't have to ask him these questions, just let him make his own decision."

Hai Xiya had been in the officialdom for decades, and he was always very sensible, and never took the initiative to explore other people's secrets. Besides, the correspondence between Jin Jiashu and Concubine Xu had nothing to do with the Northwest Frontier Army, so there was no need for him to inquire.

But he couldn't help but feel strange: "Ma Shangyi and Lin Shiwei were ordered to come to Chang'an to take care of Brother Jin. His letters should have been delivered to the capital by people sent from the capital. Why did your brother do it? The letter was sent to Madam Xu's people outside the palace, and it was not delivered through Cheng'en Marquis Mansion. Could it be that there is something that needs to be concealed from the Queen Mother and contacted with Madam Xu? Your brother actually dared to take charge of such a thing, and he was not afraid that if the letter got into trouble on the way, he would not be able to explain to Brother Jin!"

Haitang said hurriedly, "It shouldn't be a secret, but brother had to ride a horse to the capital at a high speed, probably faster than the messenger sent from the capital. Brother Jin felt it was a pity to waste such a good opportunity, so he asked brother for help. He asked brother to deliver the letter to Madam Xu's people outside the palace. It's not so much to avoid the Queen Mother and the Zhou family, but rather to let brother show his face in front of Madam Xu and leave his name. If brother encounters any trouble in the future, he will have more places to turn to in the capital."

This makes sense. But Hai Xiya was not very willing to deal with nobles like the empress and the prince in the palace. With the family background of the Hai family, their grandparents were not worthy of such nobles. Although they had heard about nobles a lot because of knowing Jin Jiashu, when they saved Jin Jiashu and took care of this helpless young neighbor over the years, they did not expect to get any rewards from him, so naturally they did not want to have too much contact with nobles in the palace. If people misunderstood that they had the intention of currying favor with him, it would be a waste of their family's good intentions towards Jin Jiashu.

Hai Xiya will retire in a few years, and he does not expect any great development in his official career. His grandson will also take the military examination route to enter the officialdom, and there are two other ways, the Zhou family and General Tu Rong, and he can even regard himself as a friend, disciple and junior in front of Tao Yue. He thinks that his family's future is bright enough, and there is really no need to rely on the help of his in-laws. Just like this, he maintains a friendly relationship with Jin Jiashu, just like ordinary neighbors, and it is good for both of them.

Hai Xiya did not continue to ask about the secret letter, but just told his granddaughter: "Don't put it off any longer. I'm afraid that Brother Jin is also anxious to know the news in Beijing. Send someone to deliver the letter to him after dinner, and don't put it off until tomorrow."

Haitang responded quickly. After dinner, Ma took her husband to discuss the new house that her children and grandchildren had purchased in the capital. The money to buy the house was slightly higher than her original budget. Hai Chang'an and Hai Jiao only had a few hundred taels of silver left. They had no problem living, but if they wanted to decorate the new house well, they would definitely have to tighten their budget. Not to mention, both of them had just arrived in Beijing, one had just started working, and the other would take the military examination next year. If they passed the examination, they would have to seek an official position, and there would be many places to spend money! Ma was worried that the children were living in poverty in the capital, and wanted to discuss with her husband whether they should send two more people to the capital and send more money over?
Hai Xiya also thought that this matter needed to be carefully planned, and the couple closed the door to discuss it secretly. Hu returned to the second courtyard early and told her son Xiao Shitou about his father's recent situation. Hai Changan only asked his nephew to explain his experience in the letter home, but he never wrote a letter himself. Hu was a little worried, but she had to speak for her husband in front of her son to avoid any complaints from the child.

Haitang directly asked Dunzi to go to the Jin family and give Jin Jiashu a letter. After a while, Jin Jiashu followed Dunzi over.

The two talked in the living room in the front yard. Haitang only brought Xiangcao over, who served tea and then stood guard at the door. Her younger brother Dunzi was waiting in the corridor, ready to lock the door after Jin Jiashu left.

Haitang told Jin Jiashu part of the contents of Haijiao's letter, and then handed him the translated secret letter: "That's basically it. They bought a house in the capital, and my second uncle successfully joined the Banner Guard. Everything is going well in our family, and you haven't encountered any trouble on your side. On the third day after my brother arrived in the capital, he went to see that eunuch Pu as soon as he moved into the inn. He treated him very kindly, and he must have known about his relationship with you for a long time. Eunuch Pu immediately delivered your letter to Madam Xu to the palace. When my brother went to see him the next day, he was not at home. The children he adopted said that he was out on business. When my brother saw him again on the third day, he made it clear that the letter had been delivered to Madam Xu, and that someone would be sent to deliver the reply later, so that my brother didn't have to worry about it. I think it should be more convenient for the palace to send a letter to Chang'an than for my brother to find someone to deliver the letter, so my brother didn't ask someone to bring you Madam Xu's reply."

Jin Jiashu didn't care about it. He just wanted to hide it from others and express his feelings and ambitions to his "aunt" alone, without expecting her to respond immediately. Maybe she was still angry at the moment, and if there was a letter from her in the next few days, she would probably scold him for being ungrateful, right?
Jin Jiashu smiled and looked down at the translated secret letter. Haijiao wrote about his visit to Eunuch Park in great detail, including where he lived, how many people he adopted, what skills and expertise those people had, and whether they were filial to Eunuch Park. Jin Jiashu felt as if he had met these people in person.

Hai Jiao also collected some rumors about the Eighth Prince and Consort Xu in the capital, as well as news about Empress Dowager Zhou, the Seventh Prince, Elder Sun, Consort Sun, and even Sun's followers and the old students of Wumen. Although they were all very fragmentary and of little use, they at least allowed Jin Jiashu to know more clearly what kind of environment his biological mother and half brother were in now.

The Eighth Prince's position as crown prince is stable, as it has been tacitly agreed upon by the Emperor and his courtiers, and the only thing missing is a ceremony to establish the crown prince. But it is not stable, as there are many uncertainties. Without a formal procedure, there will inevitably be variables.

There weren't many rumors about Concubine Xu in the capital, at least her reputation in the outside world was better than Concubine Sun's. But that didn't mean she could really rest easy.

In the family circle of the imperial guards, there has been a rumor that Concubine Sun has mastered extraordinary poison techniques and has been secretly murdering concubines and heirs in the harem for many years. Who knows when Concubine Xu will fall for it?

(End of this chapter)