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

Chapter 857: Jin Jiashu is afraid of death
In front of Haitang, Jin Jiashu spoke with less scruples and didn't mind revealing the little tricks he had played, with a hint of pride on his face.

His "aunt" Imperial Concubine Xu hoped that he could marry a noble lady in the capital, believing that the noble lady's family background could help him gain a foothold in the capital and rise to prominence, greatly improving his shortcomings in family background. Imperial Concubine Xu herself climbed up from a humble status and did not think that this was shameful. Even if she would be laughed at for being a gigolo, she believed that her "nephew" Jin Jiashu would succeed, and the noble lady and her family would be rewarded and recognize that he was a worthy person to support. As long as a person succeeds and has power in his hands, those voices of ridicule and jokes will naturally disappear.

Jin Jiashu agreed with his "aunt's" point of view. He himself had been bullied since childhood and almost lost his life. He had no future to speak of. It was only because of his good fortune that he met a noble person that he lived a stable life, studied under a famous teacher, and passed the imperial examination. Even without the support of his "aunt", he would have a good future if he continued his imperial examination career step by step, which was incomparable to the situation when he was young at home.

All of this was achieved because he met many "noble people". Without these "noble people", he would never have the good situation he has today. He does not feel ashamed at all to rely on the help of these "noble people" and eat soft rice for the rest of his life. Of course, he will do his best to repay the kindness of the "noble people".

However, Jin Jiashu’s ideas were not exactly the same as those of Imperial Concubine Xu.

Imperial Concubine Xu believed that marriage was the best way for her nephew to gain wealth and power, and it would be a pity to give up the benefits of marriage. As long as he got wealth and power, he would not be able to marry any girl or do any thing he wanted. How could the pleasure of a moment be compared with the glory of a lifetime? Love always fades away, but wealth can be enjoyed for a lifetime and will last for generations to come.

I wonder if this idea is related to what happened to her "elder sister".

Her "eldest sister" used to be very affectionate with her husband. She even entered the palace to be a wet nurse for him. After encountering great changes in the palace, she still wanted to return to her husband. However, her husband, Jin Juren, easily gave up on her. He never confirmed her life or death. He only wanted to escape from the capital as soon as possible. After returning to his hometown, he quickly remarried and treated her son Jin Jiashu harshly. It is natural for Imperial Noble Concubine Xu to feel unfair for her elder sister when she saw that her affection was betrayed. Moreover, as a concubine in the harem, she had been with the old king for a long time. Imperial Noble Concubine Xu herself probably didn't expect any love affairs a long time ago, so naturally she didn't care about her nephew's love.

Anyway, as long as Jin Jiashu is "useful" and "sensible" and can bring benefits to the Yue family, when he succeeds, the so-called love will be obtained, and the noble ladies will naturally fall in love with him.

But in Jin Jiashu's view, whether it is marriage or career, it is a lifelong thing, and he must be willing to live a good life. He has suffered enough since he was a child, and it was only in recent years that he finally lived a decent life. He only hopes that he can continue to live comfortably and at ease for the rest of his life, without having to endure any more pain. If he does not live a happy life, what is the meaning of more wealth and power to him? He has not tasted the wonderful taste of power, but has only suffered the pain of being forced by power, and does not think there is anything good about it. He does not pursue wealth and power, but only wants a stable and happy life. As the son of a country scholar, he thinks he is ambitious enough and does not want to be successful as his "aunt" expects.

Anyway, he thought he was worthless, just the son of a juren, a small scholar, and it would take many years for him to pass the imperial examination. He was nothing now, and marrying the daughter of the Hai family, a sixth-rank official family, was already a high-ranking marriage. Since they were both going to live off each other, why didn't he choose the one he liked more?

Whether it was the Zhang family or other relatives and nobles, even if they were willing to recruit him as a son-in-law, it was because of Consort Xu and the crown prince. In fact, they didn't take him seriously at all, and would only treat him as a pawn to gain more benefits for the family in the future. Those who wanted to win him over might be hypocritical and coax him to do things for them. And those who didn't know how to look at him would probably make him angry.

But the Hai family also has connections with Lord Tao, the Zhou family, and the old students of the Wu family, but they have never looked down on him. For many years, they have always treated him like their own son or nephew and treated him with great care.

He was not a fool, how could he not tell which kind of soft rice was more delicious? He would not hesitate at all if he had to choose between a lifetime of being bullied or a lifetime of happiness. Imperial Concubine Xu could not understand the thoughts of her "nephew", she just thought that he was too young and did not understand the benefits of power and wealth.

Jin Jiashu simply used a more direct reason to convince her.

He had encountered assassinations more than once in Chang'an, and was in danger many times on the way to Beijing. After arriving in the capital, he encountered several plots even in the palace. Even though the emperor, Empress Dowager Zhou and Imperial Noble Consort Xu had arranged guards for him, these guards were not always able to stand in front of him in time every time he was in danger. Most of the time, he relied on the few self-defense skills he had learned, dealing with assassins while shouting for help, and only then did he attract reinforcements.

He couldn't guarantee that he would be so lucky every time and wait for help in time. What if one day, the reinforcements came too late, or the assassin was too powerful and killed him first?

Could he still live with many guards around him all the time?

The best way is to marry a wife who is also a warrior and always be by his side. During the day, he can bring guards with him when he studies or works, and at night when he returns home to rest, he has to rely on his powerful wife to resist the attacks of assassins.

Such a wife can save his life, which is more useful than any noble family background. If he dies, all wealth and power are empty; if he can live for a long time, even without the support of Yue family, he can still have a bright future with his own real ability, but he will just walk a little slower, which is better than dying in the middle of life!

Jin Jiashu acted so afraid of death, and it was a fact that he was saved many times by the Hai family, especially Haitang. Ma Shangyi, Chunyu and Lin Shiwei could all testify that when the assassin attacked, he escaped death thanks to the bravery of the Hai family girl. Imperial Concubine Xu had nothing to say about this. No matter how much she hoped that her "nephew" would be successful, she could not help but take his life to heart.

Jin Jiashu had been in danger many times, all because of her "aunt". She herself had been poisoned in the palace and had a narrow escape, so she had no confidence to say that her "nephew" would never be in danger again. Now Jin Jiashu had obviously lost his courage because of the many assassinations, and he only wanted to marry the daughter of the Hai family to save his life. Unless she could find a noblewoman with higher martial arts value than the daughter of the Hai family, how could she convince her "nephew" to agree to the marriage?
But how could such a noble lady be easily found? Even if there was one, she might not be interested in her "nephew" and be willing to marry a weak scholar.

After comprehensive consideration, the daughter of the Hai family turned out to be the best choice.

Noble Consort Xu had no choice but to finally give in.

(End of this chapter)