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

Chapter 703 Retreating to Advance
In this world, almost all the people who were once familiar with Jin Xu, Jin Juren's original wife and Jin Jiashu's biological mother, have died.

Among the surviving members of the Jin family, Jin Miao's ex-wife was married to the second branch of the Jin family after they returned to their hometown in Zunhua Prefecture from the capital. She might have met Jin Xu, but the contact was limited; Jin Wu was still a baby at the time, and even if he had seen his aunt Jin Xu, he might not remember what she looked like. Even if he said he remembered, few people would believe him; the same went for Hu Yingyuan; Jin Jiashu and Hu Yuzhi were still in their infancy, not to mention.

As for other relatives, friends and neighbors from other hometowns, many people recognize Jin Xu, but how familiar can they be? What they know is that she is the wife of Jin Juren, a young woman from a gentry family, the daughter of Xu Xiucai, a poor girl who lost both her parents and was almost divorced. She is thin, beautiful, and has studied for a few years. But now Concubine Xu is a trusted palace maid of the Empress Dowager Cining Palace, and a favorite concubine of the emperor. She is beautiful, dignified, graceful, and well-educated. Even if someone thinks that the two of them look a bit alike, who dares to conclude that they must be the same person? And now the emperor claims that Concubine Xu is the biological sister of Jin Xu with the same father and mother. It is normal for them to look alike, and it is not surprising even if they are born exactly the same, so it is even more impossible for anyone to question it.

The emperor forged a full set of identity documents for Concubine Xu, including the household registration information left in her hometown of Zunhua Prefecture, the record of her parents' report to the government when she was "kidnapped", the "testimonies" of several so-called neighbors in her hometown, and the rumors that had been spreading in the areas around the old houses of the Jin and Xu families for years. At least in Zunhua Prefecture, no one would question Concubine Xu's identity.

As for those who had seen Jin Juren's first wife in the capital, since the Jin family rented a house on the same street as the Wu family, when the Wu family's house was on fire, the Sun family's followers checked all the residents on the street, and anyone who had close relations with the Wu family was attacked. Now the residents of the entire street have changed one or two groups, and even if the old neighbors are still alive, they will not remember what Jin Xu looked like.

The Marquis Cheng'en Mansion even supplemented the information of the maids sent to the Cining Palace that day, even including which boy they bought Concubine Xu from, who she had lived in the same house with, and which maid taught her the rules and etiquette... everything was done in detail and thoroughly, ensuring that no one would be able to find any loopholes - the boy and the kidnapper who handled it were both dead, and there was no evidence. Anyway, the maids of the Marquis Cheng'en Mansion insisted that Concubine Xu was one of the little girls bought by the Marquis Cheng'en Mansion and sent to the palace to serve Empress Dowager Zhou. The other palace maids who entered the palace "at the same time" also said the same thing. Who could say she was not?
Both Ma Shangyi and Jin Jiashu are now very sure that Concubine Xu's identity is no longer a problem, and no one will use the fact that she was married to question the Eighth Prince's qualifications for succession.

In the past few years, Concubine Sun had actually tried to expose Concubine Xu's background in the palace, but she had no substantial evidence and no support from the emperor, so she could only make a fuss at best. She used to always frame other concubines and throw dirty water on them, but now she has suffered a backlash and no one believes anything she says.

Lu Zhaoyi once wanted to believe it, but now she is in danger herself. She has to make sure she can survive under Concubine Sun first, and she has no time to slander others.

Therefore, Ma Shangyi was not actually worried that Concubine Xu's remarried identity would be revealed. However, if the Sun family knew that the wife of Jin Juren buried in the capital was not Jin Xu, but another woman of unknown identity, they would inevitably make trouble out of nothing and make a fuss, such as claiming that Jin Xu did not leave the palace, but stayed in the palace as a palace maid in the Cining Palace, and the Jin family found a corpse and buried it as Jin Juren's wife, and so on...

Even if this incident does not cause much harm to Concubine Xu, it is still a trouble.

Ma Shangyi was worried that if Lord Sun spread this matter and questioned Concubine Xu's origin, even if there was no evidence in the end, it might affect the reputation of Concubine Xu and the Eighth Prince. And now that the emperor was seriously ill, it was time to issue an edict to formally decide on the crown prince. If something unexpected happened, it might cause the Eighth Prince to fail to succeed to the throne smoothly...

Guard Lin frowned upon hearing this: "Indeed, once the court officials question Madam Xu's identity, even if the emperor orders a thorough investigation of the truth and clears Madam Xu's name, it will still take time, and the most difficult thing to say right now is time..."

Jin Jiashu turned his head to the left to look at Ma Shangyi, then turned his head to the right to look at Guard Lin: "Why did Lord Sun bring this matter to the court? Could he possibly stop the Eighth Prince from becoming the crown prince and push someone else to the throne?" Ma Shangyi and Guard Lin were stunned and turned to look at him at the same time.

Jin Jiashu recalled what the Hai brothers and sisters had said to him a few days ago, and his thoughts became clearer in his mind: "He doesn't need to make a big deal out of it. Even if he does, it won't change the fact that the Eighth Prince will become the crown prince. Now, the Eighth Prince is getting older, and he has shown intelligence after going out to study, and he is healthy and kind. Compared with the weak and sickly Seventh Prince, and the Prince of Ji who has not been able to return to his family and has a rift with the Sun family, he is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate for the crown prince. Elder Sun must support a crown prince, otherwise there is no way to continue the wealth of the Sun family.

"Among the heirs, he has a deep blood feud with the Seventh Prince, and Prince Ji has said that he will take revenge on the Sun family once he gains power. He has no other choice except the Eighth Prince. If he now stops the Eighth Prince from becoming the heir, it will not benefit him at all, and it will not change anything. It will also directly offend the future new emperor. With Elder Sun's shrewdness, why would he do such a thankless task? He is old and may not live for many years, but he still has children and grandchildren, and he must always think about future generations."

This sounded reasonable. Ma Shangyi and Guard Lin both nodded. However, Guard Lin was still puzzled: "If that's the case, then he wouldn't have to find Jin Wu to cause trouble for Madam Xu, right?"

"No... that's still possible." Ma Shangyi seemed to be thinking about something. "It's not that the Sun family and Madam Xu don't have old grudges, but they are not big grudges. On the surface, Madam Xu's brother-in-law died at the hands of the Sun family, and her nephew almost lost his life. This is also a big grudge. If the Sun family wants to keep their wealth under the new emperor, they must at least resolve this hatred. Using the true relationship between Madam Xu and Shu Ge'er to threaten Madam Xu and stop mentioning this grudge, the Sun family is capable of doing such a thing."

But Jin Jiashu disagreed: "Why should the Sun family use this matter to make a deal with my aunt? Wouldn't it be better to confront the emperor directly? He doesn't need to produce any clear evidence, just control Jin Wu and ask Jin Wu to say something specious as the orphan of the second branch of the Jin family. As long as he hits some truths, it will be enough to make the emperor worried. The emperor now only wants to ensure that the eighth prince is the crown prince and does not want to cause trouble. He is very likely to accept the Sun family's proposal. The Sun family does not need to care about my aunt's thoughts at all. As long as they ensure that Sun Ge Lao can continue to be in power in the cabinet, even if he retires, the Sun family will have new people who can continue to govern the cabinet. That's enough."

First, they would use the so-called leverage over Concubine Xu to scare the emperor, and then, by retreating, tell the emperor that the Sun family was willing to pretend to know nothing, in exchange for the emperor's decree appointing Lord Sun as the regent, and then promoting one or two of the Sun family's descendants to the cabinet to take over... Perhaps they would also persuade the emperor to deprive the Empress Dowager Zhou and Concubine Xu of the qualifications to rule the country behind the scenes after the new monarch ascends the throne, and let the cabinet directly control the overall situation.

In this way, even if the new king has a bad relationship with the Sun family, he is just a puppet. Before he takes power, the Sun family still has the final say in the court. Even if he takes power in the future, as long as he can't find any evidence against the Sun family, he still can't do anything to the Sun family. The Sun family can continue to be rich and powerful, and then arrange for their daughters to enter the palace to be the queen or concubine of the new king, and then give birth to a crown prince to inherit the throne...

Who did the Sun family need to be afraid of at that time?

(End of this chapter)