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

Chapter 768 Enlightenment
Ma Shangyi felt very complicated when she left the Hai family.

She had long known that Jin Jiashu was very close to the Hai family, not only because of his friendship with Hai Jiao and his admiration for Hai Tang, but also because he respected Hai Xiya and the Ma couple. She used to think that it was because the Hai family had saved his life, taken him in, and helped him. Now, she thought that it must be because the Hai family treated him sincerely that he would repay them with sincerity.

In contrast, although Madam Xu missed her son, she had been separated from him since he was still in his infancy and had never seen him again; as the nanny who was responsible for taking care of Jin Jiashu's daily life and diet, she valued the Empress Dowager the most, followed by the relatives of the Zhou and Ma families, and then Madam Xu, and the old friends from the Cining Palace. Jin Jiashu was ranked after them. Even if she asked herself that she took good care of Jin Jiashu's life, in his opinion, her sincerity was discounted. Isn't it reasonable that he doesn't get close to himself, has doubts about his biological mother, and wants to live with the Hai family?
Who doesn’t want the people around them to be genuinely kind to them?

Ma Shangyi sighed and thought that it would be better for her not to worry too much. No matter what selfish thoughts she had, the most important thing at the moment was to quickly make Jin Jiashu dispel his suspicion of Empress Xu and to make Empress Xu understand Jin Jiashu's concerns.

Who are the Zhang family? How could Empress Xu be angry with her own son for them? She only wanted her son to live a good life. If she knew that he was unwilling to marry a declining in-law family, would she still force him to marry a girl he didn't want to marry? Empress Xu wanted to compensate her son and pave a bright future for him. How could she force him to follow her arrangements even though she knew Jin Jiashu was unwilling?
This mother and son are too far apart, have too little contact, and don't understand each other's temperament and preferences, which is why all these misunderstandings arise. Since it's a misunderstanding, just talk it out.

The Queen Mother also hopes that Concubine Xu and her eldest son can live in harmony, so she must be willing to persuade Concubine Xu, right?
Ma Shangyi made up her mind and wrote a letter to the Cining Palace when she returned. Jin Jiashu had made up his mind, so she should just go along with him. Anyway, when the new emperor ascends the throne, Empress Xu will be the Holy Mother Empress Dowager. Could it be that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor can't guarantee Jin Jiashu a bright future, and he must rely on the help of the Zhang family? If the Zhang family had this ability, why would they be forced to retreat step by step by the Sun family, and even a bastard from the Sun family's side branch dare to show off in front of his family's direct descendants? !

Haitang didn't know how Ma Shangyi wrote the letter. She only knew that when Jin Jiashu came home the next day, he was in a very good mood, and it was obvious that things were going well.

He returned the booklet to Haitang, saying that he had memorized all the contents. In addition, he took the opportunity to borrow the books from Teacher Xie Wenzai's collection, and asked Ma Shangyi for more knowledge on detoxification and prevention, saying that he had found the relevant content from the miscellaneous books in the collection.

Ma Shangyi was reluctant to teach him these things, but seeing that his questions were more about detoxification rather than poisoning techniques, she softened her heart when she thought that he just wanted to protect himself, and slowly taught him more knowledge about detoxification in the palace. However, she was, after all, a female official who served the Empress Dowager closely, not a professional in charge of medical and poison care, and her knowledge of toxicology was limited. In addition to the secret medicine hidden in the palace that could not be disclosed to outsiders, she had basically told Jin Jiashu everything she knew.

She believed that Jin Jiashu's mastery of this knowledge was enough to protect himself in the capital. Where in the world are there so many magical poisons? It is even more impossible for the royal nobles and ministers of Da Chu to use poison to plot against people all day long. Even if Jin Jiashu wanted to enter the palace, he would not stay there for long. As for other times, there are the old people in the palace protecting him. Who can poison him?
Ma Shangyi didn't want Jin Jiashu to be distracted by learning these miscellaneous subjects, so she told him to just study hard and learn horse riding and archery with Guard Lin in his spare time. If he was really summoned to Beijing, with the Imperial Guards and people from the Cining Palace accompanying him for protection, who would dare to harm him? !
Of course, if the person who wanted to kill him was the emperor, then no matter how much he learned, it would be useless. He would not be able to escape.

Jin Jiashu didn't say much after hearing what Ma Shangyi said. He just seemed to be obedient and went back to study. However, he knew in his heart that if he was really summoned to Beijing, he would have to travel in a hurry. No matter when it was, in the winter or in the spring after the New Year, Ma Shangyi, who was too old, would not be able to go with him. After arriving in the capital, who would come to take care of his food and daily life and monitor him? Is he as reliable as Ma Shangyi?
It is too foolish to entrust your life and property to others.

Jin Jiashu recalled the several times when he was in danger and escaped from the Hai family. He felt deeply that only if he was strong enough could he truly protect himself. Jin Jiashu began to study literature and practice martial arts. He no longer went out to visit friends and socialize, but every two or three days, he would definitely go to the Hai family to sit, talk with the Hai family, have a meal, and find an opportunity to chat with Hai's sister.

He came to the Hai family more often this winter than before, and even Mrs. Hu noticed something was wrong. She whispered to her son privately, "Why does your brother from the Jin family come to our house every other day? When your brother was at home, he came often, and they were very close. They would hang out together every day. But now that your brother has gone to the capital, he still comes often, even more frequently than before. It's a bit too strange."

Little Shitou actually knew what was going on, but he wouldn't tell his mother the truth: "What's so strange about this? Big Brother Jin is close to our family. In the past, when Big Brother was at home, he would usually go to his place to talk and play, so Mom would think he came home less often. Now that Big Brother is not here, no one goes to see him. He is much older than Mammy Ma and Guard Lin, and they can't even talk to each other. He is bored to death studying all day. Apart from coming to our house to have some fun, where else can he go? He can't go to play with his cousin, Grandpa Cao, Grandpa Lu, and then be questioned by the grandfathers, right?!"

Mrs. Hu thought about it and said no more. She just lectured her son: "What's wrong with your homework? Uncle Xie told me that the essay you handed in yesterday was so badly written that it was unreadable! This is not an eight-part essay for the imperial examination. It's just about writing about the astronomy and geography of a certain place, analyzing the terrain, and how to set up a camp. Didn't you say you learned well in class? How come you made a fool of yourself when you did your homework?!"

Little Stone turned his eyes away with a guilty conscience: "I... I don't have any experience, right? I can't compare to my elder brother who is extremely talented and can learn all kinds of military tactics in one go. I'm still young and need to learn slowly..."

Let's not talk about how Xiao Shitou coaxed his mother, and whether Mrs. Hu would find something to hold against her son. At this time, in the upper room of the main courtyard, Mrs. Ma had just received a letter and was telling her granddaughter Haitang: "I sent a letter to the Gu family's old house this morning. Mrs. Gu said that if I'm free tomorrow, I'll take your second aunt and brother over to have a chat. You stay at home and take care of the door. If there's anything, send someone to the government office to find your grandfather and ask the kitchen to prepare lunch. We don't expect to have lunch at the Gu family's."

Haitang agreed and reminded her grandmother, "Grandma, Madam Gu and her family will be leaving for Shanhaiguan next spring. Please remember to remind them and ask them to take care of the people back home. I don't know what happened back home these years. Grandpa wrote back but never got a reply. I'm afraid something has happened."

Ma nodded and curled her lips: "With the behavior of their eldest branch, it is normal for something to happen. There are many smart people in the world. Anyone who is like them is a fool, right?!"

(End of this chapter)