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

Chapter 618 Returning Home
Jin Jiashu personally escorted the three uncles and nephews of the Hai family to the gate.

He looked at the expressions of the three people and knew in his heart that they must be hiding some secret and did not intend to tell him.

He winked at Hai Jiao and said, "Tomorrow is a day off. My husband said he would take Wu Ke out to visit friends. I have a day off and plan to relax at home. If you have nothing to do, why don't you come and talk to me? A lot of things have happened at home recently and I want to have a good chat with you."

Haijiao looked at his second uncle and sister hesitantly, and whispered, "Let's talk about it tomorrow. The end-of-year exam is about to begin, and I have to concentrate on preparing for the exam. I may not be able to squeeze out much free time."

Jin Jiashu smiled and said, "If you are busy preparing for the exam and don't have time, I will come to find you. Anyway, I can still study at your place, so I won't disturb you."

Haijiao had no way of refusing and had to agree casually.

He said goodbye to Jin Jiashu again, and the three uncles and nephews turned around and left the Jin family.

While walking in the dim alley, Hai Jiao could not help turning his head several times to peek at his second uncle Hai Changan's expression. In the dim light of the lanterns on the neighbor's door, he found that his second uncle's face was calm, as if nothing had happened.

What did the second uncle say to Ma Shangyi just now? And what was Ma Shangyi's reaction?
Haijiao wanted to ask, but he was outside and was afraid that there might be eavesdroppers, so he didn't dare to speak until he walked to the door of his house.

Sister Haitang stepped past him and spoke first: "Uncle, why did you suddenly do this today? My brother and I will not ask. You must have your own ideas. It's just that grandma has been worried about you. If she knew you were so reckless, she would be scared. When you get home later, you can either tell grandma the truth and tell her that Ma Shangyi has no complaints about you and does not intend to embarrass you; or... you can tell the whole family that you were just in a bad mood, so you went out for a walk nearby, and seeing that it was getting late, you hurried back to eat, and met my brother and me at the door. Don't say a word about anything else."

Haijiao blinked, looking stunned: How did my younger sister know that Ma Shangyi had no complaints against Second Uncle and did not intend to embarrass him? If I lied, wouldn't I be afraid that when my grandmother saw Ma Shangyi later, she would tell the truth?
Hai Changan just smiled when he heard this: "Don't worry, I know how to tell mom, you two youngsters don't need to worry about it."

He stretched out his hands, patted his nephews and nieces on the back of their heads, and went straight up the steps to knock on the door.

When the uncle and nephew returned to the second courtyard, Mrs. Hu was standing in front of the door waiting. When she saw her husband returning safely, she was immediately relieved and her eyes became red.

Hai Changan whispered to her to comfort her, and said, "Come inside and have dinner first. After dinner, I still have to go see mother."

Mrs. Hu wiped away her tears and smiled shyly at Haijiao Haitang. She turned around, lifted the cotton curtain and went back to the house, calling Grape to bring the hot food from the stove. The couple could finally eat their late dinner.

Haitang Haijiao said goodbye to his second uncle and went back to the main courtyard. Haijiao asked his younger sister anxiously, "What does Ma Shangyi mean tonight? Is she really not going to embarrass my second uncle?"

Haitang whispered, "She and Second Uncle both looked very calm. But there were traces of kowtows on Second Uncle's forehead, perhaps he was paying homage to Ma Shangyi. He was not the real culprit, his attitude was sincere, and he had a relationship with our family, so why would Ma Shangyi embarrass him?"

Hai Jiao thought about it and felt relieved. He smiled and said, "Then I feel relieved. If I had known that Second Uncle could have achieved this result if he went there in person, why would Grandma have been so anxious here and almost asked Second Uncle to go back to his hometown in Zhili in the middle of winter?"

Before Haijiao's smile faded, he saw his grandmother Ma standing in front of the upper room door with a gloomy face. Aunt Cui was beating the cotton curtain beside him and winking at the two siblings.

Haijiao suddenly remembered that he and his sister had left the table temporarily on the pretext that the food had not been served yet. But they had been gone for nearly two quarters of an hour, and the food might have been cold. They did not say hello to their grandmother before leaving home. She did not know what was going on, and she was so angry!
Haijiao laughed dryly and shrank his neck: "Grandma, why are you standing at the door? It's windy outside, you might catch a cold, you should go back to the house."

Ma sneered twice: "So you also know that it's easy to catch a cold when it's windy outside? Then where did you and your sister go? You didn't even have time to eat?!"

Haijiao was hesitant, but Haitang looked like nothing had happened. She went forward and hugged Ma's arm affectionately, then leaned close to her ear and said, "Grandma, don't be angry. My brother and I just went to see our second uncle. We wanted to tell him not to rush to ask for leave from the Wei School and to pack his luggage, but to at least wait until he gets through the year-end exam. But our second uncle actually went out, which scared my brother and me..."

Although Ma was angry with her grandchildren, she was still worried about her adopted son Hai Changan. Her attention was diverted by her granddaughter's words. When Haitang helped her back to the room to sit down on the kang while talking in a low voice, how could she remember being angry? She was only worried: "How can your second uncle be so bold?! Ma Ma really didn't blame him?!"

Haitang repeated the reason she had just told her brother to her grandmother: "If Ma Shangyi wants to hate someone, she should hate the direct branch of the Chang family. She has been staying in the Cining Palace for many years, serving the Empress Dowager. Although the Empress Dowager has been sealed in the palace for many years and has not dealt with outsiders in order to protect the Seventh Prince and the survivors of the Wu family, as the Empress Dowager, if she wanted to attack the maternal family of the royal princes, the emperor would have no reason to stop her. Therefore, if the Empress Dowager wanted to retaliate against the Chang family, she would have found an opportunity to attack the direct brothers and nephews of Concubine Chang Gui. Why would she have to let her confidants run to Chang'an, two thousand miles away, to vent her anger on the descendants of the Chang family's side branch?"

Ma listened and said, "That makes sense. But it's not easy for the Empress Dowager in the capital. Don't think that she will be powerful just because she is the Empress Dowager. The Emperor is not her biological son, and he doesn't respect her. Even Concubine Sun dares to show disrespect to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager has to hide it from everyone and protect the Seventh Prince and the Wu family. She must be very bitter in her heart, so how can she care about revenge on any cats and dogs? Concubine Chang Gui died early, so she didn't have to live under the Empress Dowager's control. Except for this treacherous concubine, no one else is under the control of the Empress Dowager! Even if the Empress Dowager wants to vent her anger on the Chang family, what can she do if the Emperor doesn't agree?"

Seeing that his grandmother had calmed down, Haijiao was brave enough to speak: "When my grandson and my younger sister arrived at the Jin family, my second uncle had already been chatting with Ma Shangyi for quite a while, and I don't know what they talked about. I didn't have time to ask my second uncle in detail just now, and seeing my second aunt waiting for my second uncle anxiously, she didn't even have time to eat and was so anxious that she was about to cry, so I didn't dare to say more and let my second uncle go back to the house first. After my second uncle has finished his meal, he will come to explain the whole story to grandma. Don't worry, hurry up and eat first."

Ma said hurriedly, "Your second uncle should appease your second aunt first. He is already so old, and even his son has started to study and practice martial arts, but he still does such a reckless thing without telling his family, making his wife worry for no reason. It is really wrong! I will say a good word to your second aunt later, so that she won't be angry with your second uncle. It's too hard for her to deal with such a bold and reckless man!"

The storm was temporarily resolved. Haijiao looked up and exchanged glances with his younger sister Haitang, and they both breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)