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

Chapter 661 Looking to the future
Geng Zehuai's daughter and grandson are in a rather troublesome situation now.

Geng Zehuai's son-in-law was named Zhang. He was from a prominent family in Datong, but he was the third son rather than the eldest son or any important heir to the family. He had an elder brother with a stable position and a younger brother who was loved by everyone. He was not very talented and was not very impressive, but he had a good face and looked elegant, which made him very suitable for dealing with outsiders. He managed the family affairs for many years and often went to the capital or Jiangnan.

However, although he seemed to be a prominent figure in the family to outsiders, he actually had a lower status than his brothers. It was precisely because he was not valued that his family arranged for him to marry Geng Zehuai, the daughter of the county magistrate.

Geng Zehuai gave birth to this little daughter in his middle age, so he doted on her and raised her since she was a child. After she got married, she and her husband were not affectionate, but they were still harmonious. It was just that it was difficult to have children. After more than ten years of marriage, she only had one son. Her body was not very healthy and she was sick every year. Her husband was very dissatisfied with this and took several concubines, but they only gave birth to a concubine daughter. No matter how much medicine he took, it seemed that he had no fate to have children. Since his only son was born to his wife, he and his wife had lived in peace for these years.

But starting last year, things started to change.

Son-in-law Zhang met a daughter of an official in the capital by chance. Although she was from a branch of a wealthy family, she was very much loved by the elders of the direct branch. Because of bad luck, she lost her husband and became a widow less than a year after her marriage. She had only one posthumous child, which was given to her husband's family to raise, and she went back to her parents' home with her dowry to live. She was only in her twenties now, and she didn't want to live a secluded life. Her family also supported her to remarry, but it was difficult to find an outstanding partner of equal status in the capital, so she wanted to find a partner outside the capital. She met son-in-law Zhang by chance and fell in love with him at first sight. Son-in-law Zhang was delighted that he had the hope of marrying into a wealthy family, and the other party was a beautiful widow who had given birth to a child and had a generous dowry. He wanted to ask for marriage immediately, but he had a wife and son at home, so he felt that they were in the way.

Zhang's son-in-law began to torture his wife and children, deducting their food, clothing and daily expenses, and deliberately preventing his son from seeing a doctor and taking medicine. Some of his practices were even considered excessive by his parents, brothers and sisters-in-law. But he used the marriage in the capital as a bargaining chip, and the Zhang family began to turn a blind eye. Everyone in the Zhang family now wanted to marry into that noble family. Even the sisters-in-law who had once gotten along well with Geng Zehuai's daughter had changed their attitudes, causing her to be isolated and helpless in the Zhang family. She was worried all day long, worried that one day when she opened her eyes, her son would be harmed by her husband.

Zhuang Minyi worriedly told everyone about her aunt's difficult situation, saying, "My aunt also came to ask my father and mother for help, but my mother listened to my uncle and advised her to take the initiative to file for a divorce so that she could give up her position and save her son's life. But the Zhang family refused to let her take her cousin away, and she was worried that if her cousin stayed in the Zhang family, he would be harmed sooner or later, so she was reluctant to file for a divorce. Because she was worried that her uncle-in-law would tamper with his daily diet, my aunt took her cousin Zhang to the manor at the foot of Puzhao Temple to stay and recuperate temporarily. The abbot of Puzhao Temple is a skilled doctor and can also help her cousin Zhang recover."

Just because Geng moved out with her son, Zhuang Minyi fled the city with her father's servants without having time to contact her, so he had to reluctantly leave her and her son behind.

Zhuang Minyi felt very guilty about this: "My uncle became more and more arrogant because the Zhang family climbed up the ladder. He was determined to make plans for his cousin Zhang. He suffered a loss at my hands, and I'm afraid he won't let my cousin Zhang and my cousin go."

As soon as she saw her grandfather and her great-uncle, she immediately told them about her aunt's situation and asked them to send someone to pick up Geng's mother and son as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Zhuang Shitong and Geng Zehuai both had responsibilities to fulfill, and even if they had a New Year holiday, they could not easily leave their jurisdiction. Even if they could send a servant, they didn't know if they could successfully pick up the people.

After all, the Zhang family's goal was to make Geng give up the throne, preferably die with her son, so that Zhang's son-in-law could marry the newly widowed daughter of a wealthy family in the capital. If Geng simply divorced her husband and left behind a legitimate eldest son, or if the mother and son drew a clear line with the Zhang family and left the Zhang family, there was no guarantee that the daughter of a wealthy family would be satisfied - if she had children with Zhang's son-in-law in the future, how could she be willing to let her own flesh and blood be inferior to others and let the son of the original wife take over the status of the legitimate eldest son?

Geng Zehuai was very worried about the situation of his daughter and grandson, so he could only ask Xie Wenzai and others for help. Although Xie Wenzai and his men were not officials, and their official positions in Haixiya were not high, they had powerful people in the Northwest Frontier Army behind them, including the Zhenguogong Mansion and the Shaanxi Commander-in-Chief. No matter which side was willing to send someone to help, Geng's mother and son would be able to escape from danger quickly.

However, the New Year is coming soon. The roads in the north are icy and difficult to travel. If there is no serious matter at this time, who would have the face to ask the soldiers of the Northwest Frontier Army to go to Datong to rescue people?
Even Xie Wenzai couldn't help but feel puzzled for a moment.

At this time, Hai Jiao suddenly remembered something: "Is General Tang in Taiyuan now? He will rush back to Chang'an after the New Year to send his eldest daughter to marry? If we can ask him for help, I wonder if he would be willing to send someone to pick up Aunt Geng and her son? If Aunt Geng and her son can come to Chang'an with General Tang and his party, I don't think the Zhang family will dare to stop them."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Shitong, his grandson, and Geng Zehuai immediately turned their eyes to him: "Are you serious?!" Haijiao nodded: "Of course it's true." He told them the news about the Tang family that he had heard, and Zhuang Shitong immediately felt confident: "I didn't know that the Tang family would marry off their daughter after the New Year. Now that I know this news, I can go to their door and beg them. I will write a letter to General Tang right now, and I believe he will not refuse my request."

Geng Zehuai asked hesitantly, "Is this feasible? Are you sure you can convince General Tang?"

Zhuang Shitong smiled and said, "If it were someone else, I wouldn't dare to guarantee it, but General Tang will definitely agree to it." He didn't say what kind of friendship he had with General Tang. He didn't even know that the Tang family was going to marry off their daughter after the New Year, which showed that his relationship with the Tang family was not that close. But since he said so, everyone had no choice but to believe him.

Chang'an is not close to Taiyuan, and Taiyuan is 500 miles away from Datong. The messenger would have to spend a lot of time on the road. Zhuang Shitong did not dare to delay, and immediately apologized to everyone, and went back to his study to write the letter.

Zhuang Minyi was still a little confused at first, but now she understood that the problem she was worried about had been solved after Haijiao's suggestion. She opened her beautiful eyes and looked at Haijiao, her eyes full of gratitude: "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I really don't know how to rescue my aunt and cousin!"

Haijiao's face flushed red. But he did not avoid Zhuang Minyi's gaze. Instead, he looked at her deeply and returned the greeting: "You are welcome, sister Zhuang. Grandpa Zhuang patiently taught me knowledge, and I have always hoped to have the opportunity to repay him. If this suggestion can help him, it will be my good fortune."

Zhuang Minyi felt his gaze burning, and her face became hot. But she didn't think much about it, just happy that her aunt and cousin were likely to escape. "No matter what, I still want to thank you."

The two of them looked at each other and saluted each other. The elders around them all looked on with smiles, and the atmosphere was relaxed.

Only Haitang knew what happened at this moment.

She couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth and smile.

It seemed that her brother and Zhuang Minyi had a good start in life. She seemed to be able to look forward to a better future for them.

　Next we're going to skip a few years.

　　(End of this chapter)