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

Chapter 669 Sweet
The black shadow "floated" to the thatched pavilion in front of Jin Jiashu's stunned eyes. With the dim light of the lantern hanging at the back garden gate, he could see clearly that the black shadow was actually Haijiao's sister Haitang!
Haitang was dressed casually, wearing a dark grass-colored jacket, a short ochre-colored square-necked vest, and a dark green skirt. She wore no jewelry on her head or body, only a dark red ribbon wrapped around her hair and a simple bow tied at the back of her head. Her outfit was not conspicuous at all in the dim environment. Without the light, she would be no different from a black shadow. No one knew how she climbed over the wall. There was no sound at all. She walked over lightly and quickly, as if she was floating on the grass, with a strange aura. If Haijiao had not been sitting calmly beside him, Jin Jiashu would have really wanted to scream and run away.

Now that he saw clearly that it was Haitang, he felt that he was blind and timid. He was so scared that he didn't think that who else could come over the wall in the corner of the back garden except Haimei who lived on the other side of the wall?

Sister Hai is a martial artist. When he lived in Hai's house, he had seen her jumping on the wall before. What was there to be afraid of now? If she didn't care about him, Sister Hai would only need to inform her brother about her throwing stones. Would she have to come here in person? She climbed over the wall because she didn't want to pass through the front gate and alarm the elders and servants of the two families? After all, they were both grown up, not like a few years ago when they were young and restrained in their interactions...

Thinking of this, Jin Jiashu immediately put away his frightened expression, stood up, and saluted properly: "It turns out that Sister Hai is here. I am really sorry to trouble you for such a small matter for me..."

"Brother Jin, why should you be polite to us? It's obvious that you really treat us as outsiders." Haitang smiled and handed over the oil paper bag in her hand. "I heard that you haven't eaten since you came back from the teahouse today. Aren't you hungry? Dinner will take some time. You can eat this first. It's fresh out of the pot and is still hot."

Jin Jiashu subconsciously took the oil paper package with both hands, and immediately felt his hands warm, and a sweet fragrance hit him. Originally, he had no appetite at all, and he didn't notice that his hands and feet were cold, and his mind and eyes were full of thoughts about his future. Now when he smelled this sweet fragrance, he realized that he had been hungry for a long time, and his stomach immediately started to growl.

Jin Jiashu's face immediately turned red. He felt that the sound of his stomach growling must have been heard by the Hai brothers and sisters. He shyly glanced at their reactions, but they looked as if they had heard nothing. Hai Jiao leaned against the pillar of the thatched pavilion and gave the wooden bench he was sitting on to his sister, and asked her casually: "Isn't it enough to bring only food? Do you have anything to drink? Otherwise, what if Xiao Jin chokes?"

Haitang sat down on the wooden bench and took out a small silver pot from the invisible pocket on the side of her vest. This was originally used by Haixiya to store medicinal wine, which was prepared for drinking on the road to drive away the cold and warm the body when going on business trips in cold weather. But now it was cleaned and Haitang used it to fill it with freshly brewed milk tea mixed with ginger juice. It was also hot, fragrant, sweet, and a little spicy, and was most suitable for drinking in autumn and winter.

Haitang stuffed the small silver pot into Jin Jiashu's arms: "Drink it while it's hot. If you have anything to say, wait until you finish eating. Even the strongest man can't not eat! If you have something sad, tell us and we can help you share it. What's the point of torturing yourself? If you get sick, will the problem be solved? Will the troubles no longer exist?"

Jin Jiashu blushed and lowered her head to open the oil paper package. Inside were four tiny corn steamed buns, each only three fingers wide and two inches high. They didn't look big, but they were enough to fill her stomach as a snack before dinner.

Ever since the emperor personally named the new grain "corn", this grain has been planted more and more in the north in recent years, and Shaanxi has had a bumper harvest for three consecutive years. The northwestern border troops no longer have to ask the court for help every year, and can ensure self-sufficiency of 70% to 80% of the military food. By purchasing the remaining 20% ​​to 30% from Shu, there is no need to worry about the soldiers guarding the border going hungry.

Nowadays, no matter whether they are rich or poor, they like to eat this kind of food as a supplement to their staple food, or even as their staple food. Some people just boil corn cobs in water to eat; some people grind them into powder and make various kinds of pasta. Some families have a wide variety of corn snacks, and some rich families are famous for entertaining guests with "corn snack banquets".

The Hai family usually uses corn to make food. They like to grind it into flour to make pasta and pastries. They grind it finer than other families, so the pastries they make are more delicate and delicious. Their corn steamed buns are always mixed with glutinous rice flour and brown sugar, and sometimes they put some milk or red dates in them. They are sweeter, softer and more delicious than other families. Jin Jiashu often goes to the Hai family and loves to eat their corn steamed buns. Unexpectedly, Haitang sent him food and directly packed this. Jin Jiashu felt warm in his heart and his nose couldn't help but feel sour. He was afraid that he would cry on the spot, so he lowered his head and ate the corn steamed buns quietly with ginger milk tea. When the milk tea in the small silver pot was finished and the corn steamed buns in the oil paper were finished, he felt warm all over, and he had strength all over his body. He exuded a sweet breath and his face was full of smiles.

Haitang put the oil paper bag and the small silver pot back in place. Except for the fragrance, there was no trace left. Then she asked Jin Jiashu: "Brother Jin, what happened to your county examination results? Today, my grandmother came to your house to chat with Mama, and saw Chunyu coming to tell Mama the news. Mama got angry at that time and said that someone had tampered with your county examination results. When my grandmother came home, she was about to go out to find someone to inquire. She didn't come home until the evening. Did she find out the inside story?"

Jin Jiashu nodded. With the concern of his good friend and a full stomach, he was now completely calm and could calmly explain the whole thing.

He told Ma Shangyi what she had told him. Except for not mentioning the true relationship between Concubine Xu and him, he told her everything, word for word, even Ma Shangyi's hint that "the emperor is seriously ill" and "will not wait long".

Haitang and Haijiao, siblings, looked at each other and knew what was going on.

Ma Shangyi probably got a lot of confidential information from Empress Dowager Zhou. Their estimates were still very accurate. Many people were surprised that the emperor had lasted for so many years, but for them, this was something they had known for a long time and was not surprised.

In his previous life, Emperor Deguang lived for several more years, which was beyond many people's expectations. However, he did not die of an unexpected illness at that time, but he was exhausted and could not hold on any longer. Therefore, even if many things have changed in this life, and even the Queen Mother and the Seventh Prince have lived safely and healthily to this day, the death date of Emperor Deguang should not change much.

Almost...it will be the middle of next year.

Once he dies, the eighth prince will succeed to the throne, Queen Mother Zhou will become the Grand Queen Mother, and Concubine Xu will become Queen Mother Xu. The obstacles standing in the way of Jin Jiashu will disappear without a trace.

(End of this chapter)