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

Chapter 603 Night Guest
As it got dark early that day, Hai Xiya felt hungry before his grandson came home, so he moved up his meal time. Therefore, it was just getting dark after dinner.

Hai Xiya felt that he had plenty of time, so he simply went to sit with his cousin Xie Wenzai. He had just had two in-depth talks with his grandson Haijiao, and had many thoughts in his mind, which he wanted to talk about with his cousin.

After he left, Ma was a little uneasy. Seeing this, Haitang asked, "What's wrong, grandma? Are you worried that brother hasn't come back yet? Don't worry, he can always find a place to eat. Even if he doesn't eat, the kitchen has left a meal, which is heated on the stove in his room. He can eat it when he comes back, and he won't be hungry."

"I don't worry about that." Ma was certainly not worried that her grandson would go hungry. It was still early before curfew, and all the food shops, tea shops, and snack shops on the street were open. Her grandson had plenty of money, so why was he worried that he couldn't find something to eat? She was thinking about what her husband had just said, and felt that she had not considered it carefully before, so she wanted to find someone to discuss it with.

Haitang recalled the few words she had heard when she came to the main courtyard just now, and vaguely guessed that Haijiao might have said something to her grandfather, which made her grandfather persuade her grandmother to give up the idea of ​​choosing a partner for them in Chang'an. If that was the case, she would not say much now, and had to let her grandmother figure it out herself.

So Haitang stood up and said, "If grandma is alright, I'll take my leave. I'll go to the yard to digest the food, and then I'll go to the study to do my homework."

Ma said casually, "Be careful, it's windy outside. You can walk around the house to digest your food. Don't read too late. Homework is not a big deal. Your Grandpa Cao and Grandpa Lu are busy helping your cousin teach students. How can they take care of you? Just learn some talents to entertain yourself and kill time. Now that you have some free time, you might as well finish Ma's dress first, so as not to delay it for too long and worry about it when preparing for the New Year."

Haitang smiled and said, "It's the same to make clothes during the day. It's too much strain on the eyes at night. I just go to the study to read a book and practice calligraphy. I've finished my homework long ago."

Ma said no more and let her granddaughter go. She hesitated for a long time and went out to check the sky. Then she called Madam Cui over and said, "Go to the Jin family and ask if Madam Ma is free right now. I want to go over and discuss something with her."

Aunt Cui was puzzled and asked, "What's the matter? Can't you tell me tomorrow? It's dark now, and they might be eating!"

Ma said, "If it's not convenient for her, then forget it. If she is free, I want to see her tonight. If I don't come up with a result today, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep at night."

Mammy Cui had no choice but to run errands for her. After a while, she came back and said, "Mammy Ma is busy right now. Please ask Madam to come back in half an hour."

Ma immediately decided, "Okay, then ask the kitchen to put some freshly made snacks in a box and bring it over as a souvenir. It won't be nice to come empty-handed."

In response, Nanny Cui went to the kitchen first, then returned to the upper room of the main courtyard to prepare clothes and cloak for Ma to wear when she went out.

Ma asked her casually, "Is Mammy having dinner now? That's why she asked me to go back half an hour later?"

Madam Cui answered casually, "No, they had dinner early today, and the young man from the Jin family had already finished eating and went back to his room. When I went over, Madam Ma was meeting guests. I guess she had something important to discuss, so she asked Madam to go over half an hour later."

Ma couldn't help but be curious: "It's already dark now, why is she meeting guests at this time? Who is so tactless to choose this time to come?"

"He doesn't look like a serious guest." Madam Cui paused. "He looks unfamiliar. He has never dealt with our family. He is not the shopkeeper Ding who came to pick up the two children from the Hu family that day. God knows where he came from? He spoke very respectfully in front of Madam Ma. Maybe he is a junior from her mother's family? He looks tough. Maybe he was from the army."

If the Ma family discussed family matters, outsiders would not ask too many questions. Ma shut up and turned her attention to the clothes that Madam Cui had brought out.

When the time was almost up, she put on her coat and cloak for going out, and even put on a windproof hat. She helped Aunt Cui out of the house, and happened to meet her grandson Haijiao who was returning home in the front yard.

Seeing Haijiao sweating profusely, she hurriedly asked, "Where have you been? You just came back after dark and you are sweating all over again! Go back to the house and ask someone to boil more hot water for you. Take a hot bath and drink a bowl of ginger soup. Don't take it lightly. It will be troublesome if you catch a cold!" Haijiao smiled and agreed, and then asked, "Where did you go, grandma? It's dark now."

Ma refused to tell the truth to her grandson and just answered casually: "I'm going to visit the neighbor's house and will be back soon. You should go back to your house!"

Haijiao responded and ran to the inner courtyard. Ma was worried, so she asked Mammy Cui to go to the kitchen and tell her to boil water for Haijiao. Then the master and servant supported each other and went out.

Haijiao returned to the main courtyard and saw his younger sister Haitang walking out of the study. He waved to her to go back to the room and said, "I have been busy for most of the day and I am sweating all over. I need to take a shower first and then have dinner. You go back to the study and do your work. I will come to talk to you when I am done."

Haitang went back to the west wing study room and continued to practice calligraphy. Soon, Cui Dazhuang's footsteps and voices could be heard from outside the window as he brought a bucket of hot water to Haijiao. After a while, he left and the door of the east wing was closed. Soon, the sound of scooping water could be heard from inside the room.

Haitang knew that it was her brother who had started to take a bath, so she ignored him and concentrated on practicing the hairpin-flowered small calligraphy.

After a while, someone knocked on the door.

Haitang was puzzled and looked up and said "please come in". Unexpectedly, the person who came in was not Shiliu or any maid in the family, but Jin Jiashu.

Haitang couldn't help but show a surprised expression: "Brother Jin, why are you here?"

Jin Jiashu's eyes were filled with anxiety, but facing Haitang, he still tried his best to maintain a calm expression: "I came to talk to Brother Hai... Is he available now?"

"Brother is washing up in the room, so it may not be convenient right now." Haitang looked at him curiously, "Brother Jin, is there something urgent that you want to talk to him about? Please sit down and wait for a moment. I'll go and urge him." As she said that, she stood up and poured him tea.

Jin Jiashu sat down across from the table on the kang with an uneasy mind: "Sister Hai, stop busying yourself. I just came from home. I'm not thirsty, so I don't need tea..." After a pause, he continued, "I saw Grandma Hai coming to talk to Madam Ma, so I gave them the place and came to chat with Brother Hai. Actually, there's nothing important..."

He didn't look like he had nothing important to do. But he was a man with secrets, so how could Haitang expose him if she was fine? So she pretended to believe him, stopped asking questions, and just put the warm tea next to him.

Haitang planned to go to the east wing to tell Haijiao so that Jin Jiashu wouldn't have to wait too long. But she had just turned around and taken two steps when Jin Jiashu suddenly stood up and said, "Forget it, Sister Hai, don't go tell Brother Hai. I don't have anything to do anyway, so it doesn't matter if I wait here a little longer. I heard from Grandma Hai that Brother Hai was sweating all over today. If he doesn't take a hot bath, he might catch a cold if the wind blows."

Haitang turned around and looked at him: "Brother Jin, what's wrong with you today? You look weird."

Jin Jiashu laughed dryly twice and slowly sat back down: "I'm fine... nothing happened."

He had calmed down. When he first heard the conversation between Ma Shangyi and the strange man, he was really shocked and wanted to rush into the house to stop them. But reason tripped his feet and he didn't dare to act impulsively. After the strange man left and Mrs. Hai came to talk to Ma Shangyi, he found an excuse to run to his good friend Hai Jiao to confide his inner resentment to him.

But now that it has been delayed for a long time, he has calmed down a lot.

What could he say to Haijiao? Haijiao didn't know his secret at all, so why would he drag his friend into it? Wasn't the lesson from the second branch of the Jin family enough?
(End of this chapter)