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

Chapter 666: Current Situation of the Second Branch of the Jin Family
Of course, it is impossible that Haijiao knows nothing about the current Chang'an prefect.

He had long inquired about Prefect Xin's origin and background, and even knew that when Prefect Xin passed the imperial examination, the chief examiner was neither Sun Ge Lao nor his followers, but a prestigious university scholar who was not involved in the political struggles in the court. The teacher in the provincial examination also had no connection with the Sun faction. Therefore, Prefect Xin's teacher and official background were "clean" enough, no wonder he was valued by the emperor, promoted repeatedly in the past ten years, and was safely placed in the position of Chang'an prefect.

Xin Zhifu himself had a good reputation and was talented. He was very cautious in his post as the prefect of Chang'an and never made any mistakes. Compared with his predecessor Huang Zhifu, he might have a cold relationship with the Zhenguogong Mansion, but he got along well with the Shaanxi Dusi and never deliberately made things difficult for the local military and political leaders. The atmosphere in the officialdom of Shaanxi was generally harmonious.

Why would such a person need to tamper with the list of provincial examinations? Doesn't he care about his own reputation?
If he really wanted to suppress Jin Jiashu, a young scholar, he could have expressed his opinion during the examination. According to what Haitang heard from her grandmother Ma, Jin Jiashu's original grades were not outstanding, and his position on the list was also at the bottom, which showed that his essay still had many shortcomings. It would not be difficult for Prefect Xin to find a reason to demote him and kick him out of the list. Other examiners would only focus on the essays of the top-ranked scholars, so how could they care about the ranking of a scholar with average grades? But Prefect Xin had to wait until the envelopes were opened and the names were revealed before making any moves, and he did it in front of so many examiners present. Isn't it too shameless?
Haijiao couldn't understand what Governor Xin meant.

However, the wife of Prefect Xin was an old friend of the Qianqing Palace, and both husband and wife were considered the emperor's confidants. He would not have a problem with Jin Jiashu for no reason. Could it be the emperor's order?
Haijiao and his younger sister Haitang looked at each other and frowned. "Has something happened in the palace? I remember the news I heard before. Concubine Xu was still very favored by the emperor. When the emperor was seriously ill that year, he insisted on ordering the eighth prince to go out to study, and arranged several prestigious Hanlin scholars to be his teachers. It was almost like telling the world who he preferred as the crown prince, right? After the emperor recovered from his illness, this matter did not change. The court should have a clear idea of ​​the crown prince. The emperor even demoted Concubine Sun from a concubine to a concubine, ranking below Concubine Xu. But later, Concubine Sun cried and begged for repentance in front of the emperor, and was almost dying of illness. The emperor restored her status as a concubine for the sake of the past. But Concubine Sun's condition later improved, and the emperor became much colder towards her, and only favored Concubine Xu. Logically speaking, the emperor should have no dissatisfaction with Concubine Xu, right? Why did he prevent Xiao Jin from passing the imperial examination?"

It took Jin Jiashu only four or five years to pass the examination and take part in the provincial examination. Hai Jiao saw how hard he worked. He couldn't help but feel angry when he thought of his good friend who studied hard and hoped to reunite with his family in Beijing, but was blocked by the imperial power.

Haitang thought for a moment and whispered, "Maybe it's because the emperor is not dissatisfied with Concubine Xu? He just doesn't want Jin Jiashu to come to the capital? Although outsiders think that Jin Jiashu is Concubine Xu's nephew, you and I know the truth. Jin Jiashu can also be regarded as a handle for Concubine Xu. Maybe the emperor doesn't want any changes to happen before the position of crown prince is settled?"

Hai Jiao raised his eyebrows, pursed his lips and said, "Although this makes sense, at this point, who else can make a fuss about the true relationship between Xiao Jin and Concubine Xu and implicate the Eighth Prince?!"

In the past few years, Jin Jiashu has been staying in Chang'an City quietly. Except for occasionally going out of the city with his friends to ride horses and enjoy the spring, he hardly even left the city gate. Ma Shangyi was responsible for taking care of his household expenses. She was very restrained in spreading information privately, only claiming that he was a relative of a certain lady in the palace. Not many people even knew that he had a relationship with Concubine Xu. Some people even misunderstood that he was a younger relative of the Zhou family. The one who was related to him was Empress Dowager Zhou, not to mention those who knew the truth. How could other people in Chang'an City know something that even the Zhenguo Mansion didn't know?

During the years that Guard Lin had been at the Jin family, he had been busy besides guarding Jin Jiashu and teaching him riding and archery. He went to Yunyang Prefecture and Shuzhong once a year to make sure that nothing had happened to the survivors of the second branch of the Jin family.

Among them, Jin Miao's ex-wife remarried a wealthy businessman as a concubine soon after entering Shu. The latter had a marriage relationship with a local official. In order not to alert the enemy, Guard Lin confirmed that she and her two daughters knew nothing about the past of the Jin family, so he gave up the idea of ​​assassination and only arranged for people to follow them from a distance. He went to Shuzhong only once at the turn of spring and summer this year. As for Jin Wu, he became a live-in son-in-law for the butcher's daughter, but within a year, his identity as the descendant of a criminal was exposed. He did not make a name for himself in school, and his salary was immediately reduced. He was scolded by his future father-in-law to do dirty and heavy work, and he was always beaten. He couldn't stand it, so he looked for an opportunity to escape privately, but he was discovered halfway and was caught and beaten. Since then, he has been honest and is still working as a handyman in the butcher's house. As for the son-in-law, there is no need to mention it. The butcher's daughter has chosen another marriage and will be married this year. Guard Lin is preparing to go to Yunyang again before winter comes to confirm the latest situation.

This was the situation of the members of the second branch of the Jin family who were living outside, and naturally nothing went wrong for those who returned to their hometown in Zunhua Prefecture.

Three years ago, after carrying the coffin back to her hometown, Aunt Jin fell seriously ill due to the fatigue of the journey. After struggling for more than half a year, she still could not survive the winter of that year. No one doubted her death. Her funeral was handled by the Jin family. Now even the ancestral house, ancestral property and cemetery of Jin Jiashu's branch have been handed over to the Jin family for management. Jin Jiashu and the elders of his family have correspondence every year, and everything is going well.

After the Hu siblings followed Aunt Jin back to their hometown that year, they returned to live in the Hu family. Although their father knew that he would not have other children, he still could not forgive them for being instigated by the Jin Liu sisters to falsely accuse him, and he would beat and scold them from time to time. The people of the Hu family did not stop them, and they all regarded the Hu siblings as a thorn in their eyes. Hu Yingyuan was resentful, and was promoted by an old man from the Cining Palace who had left the palace and returned to his hometown to live in honor. He was arranged to be a clerk in his own business. He simply moved out of the house with his sister and rented a house outside. Their father's condition worsened and he died the year before last. The two brothers and sisters went back to see him off, and did not fight with the Hu family for any property. Instead, they completely drew a line with the Hu family and lived their own lives.

Now the public opinion in Zunhua Prefecture no longer said that the Hu brothers and sisters were hard-hearted and unfilial. Instead, they talked about the Hu family trying to sow discord between Mr. Hu and his children in order to fight for the inheritance, and deliberately throwing dirty water on the Hu brothers and sisters. The Hu family's reputation became worse, but the image of Hu Yingyuan and his sister improved greatly. At the beginning of this year, Hu Yingyuan sent a letter to Chang'an, in which he mentioned that his sister had already arranged a marriage with the godson of another old person in the Cining Palace. The man's family was well-off and the marriage would be completed next year.

No one mentioned that Hu Yuzhi had ever had an engagement with Jin Wu.

The most likely person to know about this is Jin Dagu, who has been dead for several years. Liu Dainiang's two children are living under the noses of the old people in the Cining Palace. The second old lady Jin, Jin Xin, Jin Liu and Jin Miao, who knew about Concubine Xu's past, have all turned into bones. Who else can pose a threat to Concubine Xu now?

Is it necessary for the emperor to be so wary of Jin Jiashu?

(End of this chapter)