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

Chapter 579 Thoughts
That night, Jin Jiashu went to Hai's house under the pretext of looking for Haijiao to discuss how to do the homework assigned by his teacher Xie Wenzai. He met Haijiao and Haitang in the west wing study and told them what he had talked about with Ma Shangyi today.

He did not mention the real purpose of the palace sending people to stay in Zunhua Prefecture, nor did he say how Nanny Tian deceived the Jin family. He only said that there happened to be several old maids and eunuchs from the Cining Palace who returned to their hometown in Zhili and lived in Zunhua Prefecture. They took the opportunity to contact his family members and arranged family affairs for him so that he did not have to worry about the ancestral tombs in his hometown.

Since Nanny Tian also had someone look after the graves of the two elders of the Xu family, it was very reasonable for Concubine Xu to arrange for a retired palace maid to do this as a "younger daughter", and it would not make people doubt her identity at all. Even if she was "taking the opportunity" to look after the ancestral graves of her "in-laws" Jin family, it could be explained as her doing something for her "sister" who died early and her "nephew" who was unfortunately stranded in a foreign land.

Haijiao and Haitang looked at each other. They knew the truth very well, but they did not show any strange expression, as if they truly believed what Jin Jiashu said.

Hai Jiao simply skipped over Nanny Tian's actions and said, "So your aunt was really thoughtful. She not only sent people to sweep the graves of her own parents, but also your family's ancestral graves. But how early did this start? I haven't heard about it before."

Haijiao tried to hint to Jin Jiashu that if the ancestral tomb of the eldest branch of the Jin family needed to be taken care of because Jin Juren died in Chang'an at the end of last year, then the tomb of the ancestors of the Xu family had existed for many years. When Concubine Xu met her long-lost "sister" in the palace, she should have known the news of her parents' death. It is impossible that she did not express anything for so many years, but only remembered to send people to sweep the tomb and worship this year? This lie must be made up, and no one can find the flaw.

Jin Jiashu immediately realized what he meant and said hurriedly, "In fact, my aunt had already sent people to sweep the graves of my grandparents when she asked the emperor to reward our family. It was just that she had just been appointed as a concubine not long ago, and Concubine Sun was still the only one in power in the palace. She didn't dare to make it public, so the people she sent didn't alarm anyone. After leaving our house, they went directly to the graves of the ancestors of the Xu family and quietly burned incense and worshiped. After that, my aunt would send people back every Qingming and Mid-Autumn Festival, but she never told our family. The messenger sent by the palace to sweep the graves was the one who came to our house last year to remind my father to come to Chang'an to avoid disaster."

The lie was well-made and matched every aspect.

Haijiao asked Jin Jiashu again, "In the past, you were the only one left in the eldest branch of the Jin family. People from the second branch didn't come to visit and were disliked. You could make decisions on your own. Even if there was a Mammy at home, she wouldn't make decisions for you on matters related to the Jin family. You were the only one in charge, and your life was easy. But now there are more relatives of the Jin family, and they know that your aunt is the queen in the palace. They can't wait to cling to you. Will they really let you live a comfortable life in Chang'an? Won't they make decisions for you under the banner of caring and taking care of you?"

Jin Jiashu thought for a moment and said, "According to Mammy Ma, although the Jin family's main family is also very concerned about my affairs, they once mentioned that they would take me back to my hometown in Zunhua Prefecture and move directly into the ancestral home of the main family to live. They said that their family would take good care of me and would urge me to study hard and pass the imperial examination as soon as possible. But Mammy Tian declined them, saying that my aunt had entrusted me to the Zhenguogong Mansion, which is the natal family of the Empress Dowager. How could the main family of the Jin family dare to say anything? They dare not interfere in my affairs, but they will probably send people to visit me during the holidays to let the people in the palace know that they have always cared about me and are definitely not as cold and heartless as the second branch. They never cared about me before, but my father didn't want the main family to interfere in the affairs of the branch."

This was a pretty neat way of passing the buck. After all, Jin Juren was already dead, and he was indeed too neglectful and cold to his eldest son when he was alive, so he could take the blame.

Hai Jiao showed a relieved expression: "If that's the case, it's not bad. I used to worry that you were alone without the support of your family and friends. It would be fine if you were taken care of by the Empress in the palace after entering the capital, but you would be too lonely when living in Chang'an. Although the Zhenguo Mansion will take care of you, and you have Ma Shangyi, Lin Shiwei and others around you, the Zhenguo Mansion also has to manage the northwest border troops. Once the border is unstable, they will have to go to war. After all, the people from the palace are not your relatives, and they are bound to be negligent.

"When our family is in Chang'an, we can still look after you. What will you do when our family leaves Chang'an? Zhou Yijun will also go to the border town next year or the year after. By then, who will be your reliable friend who can help you when you encounter difficulties? Now that you have the support of your clan, I can rest assured. At worst, you can go back to your family in the future. With your aunt around, who dares to bully you?"

Jin Jiashu smiled bitterly. How could he possibly go back to live with the Jin family? Not to mention that his real relationship with Concubine Xu was a thunderbolt, the emperor's will alone was a hurdle that he couldn't get over. He felt that the emperor was not happy for him to be too close to the capital, otherwise he wouldn't have said that he would have to wait for him to go to the capital to take the imperial examination before reuniting with his "aunt". Students who can go to the capital to take the imperial examination all have the title of Juren. Can that be obtained casually? For a young man like him who had delayed his studies when he was young and only studied seriously with a teacher in his teens, if he didn't have some talent, I'm afraid he would never have the hope of passing the imperial examination in this life. Wouldn't that mean he would never be able to go to the capital for the rest of his life? !

Why should he go to such lengths to reunite with his family? Even if he needed to avoid the Sun family or other uninformed court officials, he would need to find a reasonable reason to go to the capital. But when the eighth prince ascended the throne and sat firmly on the throne, he wouldn't have to avoid anyone, right? If he didn't expect to win a place in the court and didn't pursue high-ranking officials, there was no need to wait until he had the title of a juren before going to the capital!

Therefore, he did not have to think about returning to his hometown in Zunhua Prefecture to live and study with his family. Zunhua Prefecture was too close to the capital, so he should stay in Chang'an to study. If he could not pass the imperial examination in a short time, he would have to wait until the throne in the capital was replaced by a new owner, the eighth prince became the new emperor, and his "aunt" became the empress dowager, so that he would not have to worry about rumors, and then he could plan to reunite with his family in the capital.

Jin Jiashu lowered his eyes and inadvertently changed the subject: "Grandpa Hai is still in good health, his job is going smoothly, and he is favored by senior officials in the court. Doesn't he want to make further progress? It would be a pity if he retired so early and returned home."

Hai Jiao smiled and said, "My grandfather and grandmother have already discussed these matters and have made up their minds. It is not my turn as a grandson to have a say. Anyway, I have confidence in my ability. Even if I return to Zhili to fill the vacancy in the army, I will not lose to others!"

Jin Jiashu smiled and said nothing, but there was a hint of reluctance between his brows.

Haitang then interjected, "Don't worry, Brother Jin. Maybe your path to the imperial examination will go smoothly, and by the time my grandfather retires, you will have already passed the imperial examination. When we return to our hometown, you can go to the capital to take the exam, and maybe we can accompany you! Yongping Prefecture is only about 400 miles away from the capital, much closer than Chang'an. If you have time, you can come and see us!"

But it’s more than four hundred miles away, and it’s not that close!

This thought flashed through Jin Jiashu's mind, and he pursed his lips even tighter.

Mr. Hai wants to go back to his hometown to retire, and outsiders can't say much, but Hai Jiao is still young, why can't he go to Beijing to take up a post? A military post in Beijing is not only more respectable, but it is also easier to get promoted, right?

Jin Jiashu looked up at Haitang and thought that it would be more logical for Haijiao to work as an official in the capital and bring his grandparents and sister to live in the capital with him.

(End of this chapter)