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

Chapter 762 Secret Message
Ma and Hu took Hai Jiao's letter and started reading it again, discussing his experiences and gains and losses with Hai Chang'an, uncle and nephew, in the capital.

In general, they were quite satisfied with what they had done in the capital. Although Hai Jiao might be involved in trouble, they all agreed when they thought that he could help General Gu.

Compared with the unknown dignitaries in the capital, of course General Gu is more important! General Gu is one of us!

Ma also thought of the Gu family members who had just arrived in Chang'an: "I remember hearing a few days ago that Madam Gu had returned home and was planning to spend the New Year in Chang'an and go to Shanhaiguan after the beginning of spring. She should have settled down in the past few days, right? She has also finished cleaning the house. We should take the time to send her a note and ask her when she is free to meet guests, so that we can go to her house to say hello."

Mrs. Hu said hurriedly, "Mother, please set a date. Just take Tangtang with you. I will leave the house to my wife."

Hai Chang'an and his wife have never participated in the Hai family's external social activities. This is an old rule that was established more than ten years ago.

But today Ma didn't want to follow the old rules: "You should go with me, but Tangtang doesn't have to go. The Gu family also has several boys who are older. If I take Tangtang with me, what if people misunderstand me? But you can take Xiao Shitou with me to visit. Now Chang'an is a centurion in the imperial army and has an official status. There is nothing to be taboo about. Even the emperor has praised him, and he has drawn a clear line with the people of the Chang family. You can go out and meet people openly. While you are still in Chang'an, you will meet acquaintances when you go out, so get used to it first. When you enter the capital in the future, you will inevitably have to interact with the families of your colleagues in Chang'an. How can you stay at home all the time?"

Mrs. Hu opened her eyes wide, a little excited, her eyes instantly turned red, and she stammered: "Mother, I...can I do it?"

"Why not?" Ma looked at her with an encouraging smile, "You usually hang out with relatives and friends, so you know the etiquette. Madam Gu is also familiar with our family, so even if you are a little late, she won't bother you. That's why I told you to get used to it in Chang'an first. If there is anything you don't understand, learn it quickly. It's better than making a fool of yourself in the capital. The Chang family will definitely jump out and make comments by then, don't you feel annoyed?!"

Mrs. Hu was almost breathless when she thought about that scene. If she brought shame to her husband and was laughed at by the Chang family because she was not used to socializing with others, she might as well die!

That's right, Chang'an is the place she is most familiar with. In the past, she basically didn't interact with outsiders except for her relatives and friends from her natal family, but this can't continue. Her husband Hai Chang'an has officially become an official, and he is still serving in a place like the capital. As his wife, she can't avoid socializing with people. No matter how inexperienced she was in the past, she must get familiar with it as soon as possible now, and she must not let others see her husband's funny life!
Mrs. Hu mustered up her courage and humbly asked her mother-in-law for advice on etiquette when visiting guests, and also asked about the preferences of the Gu family. Although she had known the Gu family for many years, she had never dealt with them face to face, so she was somewhat unsure.

Ma also patiently taught her and told her various taboos. Haitang also helped to fill in the gaps and told her second aunt Hu some rules for visiting. She would visit wealthy families such as the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and the third branch of the Zhou family several times a year, and was also a frequent guest at various banquets. She also followed her cousin Xie Wenzai to visit some scholarly families in Chang'an. In terms of communication, she was more experienced than her second aunt, and she was young and careful. She could make up for any omissions of her grandmother Ma. Ma also actively let her granddaughter participate, and the discussion between the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren was lively.

In the evening, Hai Xiya came back and was relieved to learn that his grandson had written home to report that he was safe.

He read the letter carefully himself and noticed some strange handwriting on it. He said nothing. When his wife asked someone to serve dinner, he called his granddaughter over and said, "Tangtang, is what your brother wrote in the letter the coded letter you discussed?"

Haitang nodded: "It is the coded letter. Before you came back, I secretly copied the codes and took them back to the house to find the code book and translated them." She took out the translated contents of the secret letter from her sleeve and showed it to her grandfather. Of course, this was an abridged version. There was also a part related to Jin Jiashu, which Haitang withheld in advance.

Hai Xiya did not suspect anything. He took the secret letter and read it carefully. He found that his grandson had also mentioned the emperor's situation in the letter.

Hai Chang'an had seen the emperor before, although the time was not long, but he also saw the current emperor face to face. In a quick glance, he found that he was obviously sick, very haggard, and lacked energy. His short time in front of the emperor was not because the emperor did not pay enough attention to him, a rebel of the Chang family, but because the emperor could not hold on for much longer. When he left the Qianqing Palace, he turned around and looked. The people who were waiting in line behind him to see the emperor had been waiting outside the palace gate for a long time, but were not allowed to enter the palace. It was obvious that the emperor needed time to rest in order to recover some energy and not show too obvious sickness in front of others.

It can be seen that the rumors that the emperor was seriously ill and was anxious to determine the crown prince and win supporters for the new emperor were not groundless.

However, although the emperor was in such a bad condition, he still insisted on receiving foreign officials every day and did not dare to take a rest. This was enough to show his predicament.

Hai Chang'an joined the Banner Guards and guarded the palace gates every day. He also worked in front of the Qianqing Palace and heard many private discussions among court officials. It is said that Sun Ge Lao and his followers have repeatedly asked the emperor to take good care of his health, recuperate and treat his illness, and leave government affairs to the cabinet, but the emperor always turned a deaf ear to them.

The emperor repeatedly asked the cabinet to approve the decree to officially make the eighth prince the crown prince, but the cabinet always had reasons to stop it. Even if Tao Yue stood on the side of the emperor, he could not convince other cabinet members who supported Sun to change their minds.

Prince Ji is still colluding in the court, trying to bring up the matter of returning to the royal family. I don't know what method he used, but he actually won over a few supporters. The Sun family also turned a blind eye to his actions. They didn't express their support, but they didn't stop him either. Instead, they helped him from time to time, making it difficult for people to figure out their true intentions and what they wanted to do.

However, the relationship between Prince Ji and his wife is still not good, and Prince Ji still has no legitimate son. The illegitimate son born to his concubine is said to be still thin and sickly, and it is unknown whether he can be raised.

The atmosphere in the capital was not very good, and it always made people feel that a storm was about to come. Hai Jiao reminded his grandfather in the letter that if he was to take up a post in Beijing next year, he had better be mentally prepared. No matter what others said, they should just follow Tao Ge Lao and not get too close to the Zhou family.

Of course, they have to inform the Zhou family in advance and obtain their understanding.

Hai Jiao thought there was no problem with this matter. Now that Tao Ge Lao was in Beijing, he had little contact with Cheng En Hou Mansion and General Zhou Si. If the Hai family had not known for a long time that Tao Yue and Zhenguo Gong had a tacit understanding, they would probably really believe that their relationship was mediocre!
After reading the contents of the secret letter, Hai Xiya sighed and said nothing. He then handed the letter back to Haitang and asked, "Besides this, your brother didn't mention anything else? I saw that his coded letter contained quite a lot, but after translating it, there is only this much?"

(End of this chapter)