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

Chapter 676: Early Preparation
Jin Jiashu had been in the back garden for quite a long time. Even though Ma Shangyi didn't want to disturb him, after finishing writing a letter, eating dinner, and talking to Guard Lin in the front yard for a while, she couldn't sit still anymore, so she sent Chunyu to the back garden to inquire and remind Jin Jiashu that he should go back to his room for dinner.

Before the spring rain approached the entrance to the back garden, Haitang and Haijiao had already heard the noise.

Haitang quickly stood up and hid in the shadows in the corner of the yard. She was wearing dark clothes and kept quiet. If someone didn't know she was there in advance, it would be impossible to detect her presence in the dim lighting conditions in the backyard.

Haijiao gave Jin Jiashu a look. Jin Jiashu was slightly stunned, but quickly reacted. The two continued their conversation as if nothing had happened, but the topic was no longer the slightly taboo power struggle, but returned to Jin Jiashu's future plans.

When Chunyu entered the garden, she heard their conversation. Seeing that Jin Jiashu had regained his composure, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "Master, Master Hai, you have been chatting for so long that you didn't even have time to eat? The kitchen has prepared hot and fragrant chicken noodle soup. You two should go back to the room and have some. Master, even if you have no appetite, don't let Master Hai go hungry with you!"

Jin Jiashu took the opportunity to invite Haijiao, but how could Haijiao agree? He stood up and said, "My dinner is ready at home, I will go back now. Xiaojin, don't think too much, go back quickly to eat and have a good sleep. Get up early tomorrow and forget all the unpleasant things. The next provincial examination is still three years away, and you want to enter the prefectural school to compete with others in talent and learning. There are still many things to do, so you must cheer up!"

Jin Jiashu responded and wanted to stand up to see the guest off, but his legs were numb from sitting for too long, and he staggered as soon as he stood up.

Haijiao hurriedly helped him up and said, "Forget it, forget it. We are so familiar with each other, do we still need to be polite? I will just go by myself. You sit here and relax, then go back to the house."

Chunyu quickly took on the task of seeing the guests off and led Haijiao out. Jin Jiashu sat in his original position. After a while, he heard no movement around him, and then he turned around to look at the corner.

Haitang walked out from the shadows and smiled at him: "Brother Jin, is your leg okay? Do you need me to stay with you for a while?"

Jin Jiashu actually wanted to say "need", but considering that she had climbed over the wall secretly and had been talking to him in the back garden for such a long time, the Hai family might have already discovered that she was missing, so he said insincerely, "You and your sister have been with me for such a long time. Brother Hai has already returned home, how can I have the nerve to bother you again? You should go back earlier, and come to my house to play when you are free in the future." After a pause, he continued, "Thank you for comforting me today. If you encounter any troubles in the future that you cannot tell others, just come to me. I will do my best to share your worries."

Haitang smiled and said, "Then I'll thank you first."

She bowed to Jin Jiashu and was about to walk towards the wall between the two houses. Jin Jiashu suddenly called her: "Sister Hai... Brother Hai and I just talked about the future. I wonder what you...what plans do you have for your future?"

Haitang turned around and blinked: "My plan? What do you mean?"

Jin Jiashu stammered, "Sister Hai has reached the age of marriage, Grandpa Hai and Grandma Hai must be discussing your marriage, right? I wonder what you think? I... I also know a lot of young talents in Chang'an..."

Haitang smiled, "Brother Jin, don't worry about this. I'm not in a hurry to get married. I'm living a good life now, so I don't want to leave home. Besides, my grandfather may go back to his hometown at any time. If I marry in Chang'an, won't I be separated from my family by thousands of miles in the future? Because of this, Grandpa and Grandma haven't found a partner for me yet. My familiar relatives and friends haven't mentioned this either. Hasn't Brother Jin heard about it from Mama?" Jin Jiashu felt guilty, so how could he dare to ask Ma Shangyi openly? He hesitated, and Haitang couldn't guess what he wanted to say for a while. She only knew that he must have his own ideas, but it was really late now. Haijiao had already returned home, and dinner was about to start. She couldn't let her family find out that she was not in the room, so she said decisively, "Brother Jin, if you are okay, I'll leave first. Grandma may have discovered that I'm missing. If I delay for too long, I won't be able to explain myself later."

Jin Jiashu suddenly didn't dare to keep her any longer. He could only watch her float up to the top of the wall like a black cloud, and disappear on the other side of the wall in an instant.

After a while, the maid came to call Haitang to the main courtyard for dinner, and then the lights in the backyard of the Hai family dimmed, leaving only a lantern hanging under the eaves. Jin Jiashu listened to the noise from the neighbor's house, couldn't help but sighed, and then cheered up again.

He still has a lot to do, so he doesn't need to rush for other things, just take his time...

He first went back to the house to wash his hands and face with hot water, had some chicken noodle soup, and then went to the front yard to find Guard Lin.

He asked Guard Lin, "Uncle Lin, are you going to Yunyang Prefecture again this year? You haven't been there for more than a year since last summer, right?"

Guard Lin nodded and said, "I am going to Yunyang in winter. The situation there has been very calm. Jin Wu has been controlled by the butcher and it is difficult for him to go out. Nothing will go wrong. You just rest assured."

Jin Jiashu thought to himself that he had always been at ease, and he was never the one who was most worried about Jin Wu. But of course he would not say this to Guard Lin in person, and only said: "Can you please go there earlier this year? I always have some bad premonitions in my heart, and I am afraid that Yunyang Prefecture will change. Jin Wu is not the kind of person who will obediently accept his fate. If he has a way to survive, he will naturally not cause trouble. But if that butcher forces him into a desperate situation, no one knows what he will do. I think... if you find him there, it would be good to bring him back to Chang'an. When he comes back, I will find a place for him to stay, let him live in hiding under our noses, and we won't be afraid that he will do anything."

Guard Lin showed hesitation. This was not in line with the order from above...

"Brother, did you find anything?" Ma Shangyi came to the outside of Guard Lin's room without knowing when, and happened to hear Jin Jiashu's words in full. "Could it be that Brother Hai heard some news and told you just now?"

Jin Jiashu said hurriedly, "Brother Hai didn't say anything. I thought of it myself." He paused. "The situation in the capital is unclear now. Elder Sun has been stopping the emperor from issuing an order to appoint the eighth prince as the crown prince, as if he is afraid that the eighth prince will become the crown prince and will be detrimental to the Sun family in the future. He is now at the end of his rope. Who knows, he might be desperate and come up with some crooked ways to attack Madam Xu and the eighth prince. The people in my hometown in Zunhua Prefecture are watched by several maids and eunuchs, so nothing can go wrong. There are also people watching over us in Shuzhong. Only Yunyang Prefecture is something we rarely pay attention to on weekdays and we only go there once a year.

"What if the Sun family finds Jin Wu, secretly takes him away, and instigates him to go to Beijing and talk nonsense in front of others? If we fail to detect it in time and the Sun family succeeds, wouldn't it be troublesome? You know, as early as the year my father got into trouble, the Sun family had already contacted the second branch of the Jin family. They know the details of the second branch of the Jin family. In the past few years, they have also sent spies to Chang'an. What if someone finds out the whereabouts of Jin Wu and comes to our house... He is not living a good life now, and maybe he is holding a grudge against our family! We should be prepared early."

Upon hearing this, Ma Shangyi and Guard Lin frowned, looked at each other, and their expressions became serious.

(End of this chapter)