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

Chapter 804 Letter to Ma

Haitang put away the letter with mixed feelings.

Haijiao's letter brought both good news and bad news, which made me happy at one time and worried at another. Thinking back carefully, I am afraid that I was more worried than happy. Because happiness is only temporary, and there are still many variables in the future, but worries are right in front of us and may have far-reaching impacts at any time.

But no matter how worried Haitang was, there was nothing she could do at the moment.

When Haijiao wrote the letter, Jin Jiashu had already set out for Beijing. When Haijiao's letter was delivered home, Jin Jiashu must have arrived in Beijing, and even entered the palace and met the emperor and Concubine Xu. If the emperor was more efficient, perhaps Jin Jiashu would have completed his task of testifying for Concubine Xu and refuting the lies of Jin Wu and Concubine Sun, and could have retreated to the side and watched the fight between the emperor and Sun Ge Lao.

If the emperor thought Concubine Xu was too troublesome and decided to let her "die of illness" to eliminate future troubles, and to kill Jin Jiashu, who knew about the incident, he might have done it now. Haitang is far away in Chang'an, is it useful to worry?
At this time, she could only trust Jin Jiashu, believing that this young man would be smart enough to discover the dangerous situation between himself and his "aunt" Concubine Xu Xianfei in time, and find a way to resolve it in time to win a glimmer of hope for herself. If he couldn't do this, she could only suppress her worries in her heart, calmly accept his bad news, and then choose another decent marriage partner for herself after arriving in the capital.

Haitang thought, her luck has always been good, so she shouldn't be this unlucky, right?

She carefully put away the letter from her brother Haijiao, and then looked at other letters, including those to her grandfather Haixiya, grandmother Ma, cousin Xiaoshitou, and even to her great-uncle Xie Wenzai. It seemed that the messenger Haijiao had found was really reliable, as he could write so many letters home without worrying that the messenger would lose any of them.

However, under all the letters, there was another letter, also addressed to his great-uncle Xie Wenzai, but the handwriting was not from his brother Haijiao, it looked strange, and the handwriting was not good-looking, it was just neat. Looking closely at the signature on the envelope, it was "Xie Zhong". Haitang immediately understood that this was Xie Zhong, the former servant of his great-uncle Xie Wenzai who had stayed in Yongping Prefecture to guard the grave of his great-grandmother Xie. He had finally contacted a member of the Hai family who knew the whereabouts of his former master Xie Wenzai, and this was a letter to Xie Wenzai.

Haitang sighed secretly, took out the letter, went out and called Dunzi, asking him to deliver the letter to his cousin next door.

She also kept the remaining letters personally until her grandmother Ma came back from the third branch of the Zhou family. Then she delivered the letters to the upper room and handed them to her grandmother personally.

Ma was overjoyed: "Finally your brother has sent a letter! I have been waiting for so long, I am almost impatient. How long has it been since he last sent a letter? I don't believe that he can't find a caravan in the capital willing to deliver the letter! Just spend a little more money."

While complaining about her grandson, she opened the letter written to her by Haijiao and read it with great joy. After finishing it, she started reading it again from the beginning, wanting to read it more carefully the second time.

Haitang specially helped her light the oil lamp brighter, and moved a second lamp to her so that she could read the letter more clearly. Ma was in a good mood from beginning to end when reading the letter. When she read it for the second time, she would discuss with Haitang from time to time and tell her what interesting news was in the letter, such as the Zeng family siblings and Ma Lusheng and his wife were making trouble on the road, and they were sent away by Zhou Shigong one after another when they arrived in the capital, and the Chang family was getting worse and worse, and they shamelessly came to Hai Changan for help, but were kicked away by the latter without any hesitation. As for the Jiang family in Yongping’s hometown, it’s not necessary to mention that they were involved in the Shanhaiwei case and were about to get into trouble.

Ma said in a good mood, "Your great uncle finally knows what kind of people he has spoiled! He only knows how to pick on your great aunt, and thinks your great aunt is not kind enough to the Zeng brothers and sisters. How is it now? In the past, when he was in Chang'an, the Zeng brothers and sisters did not bother him, and he only picked on your great aunt, so your great uncle could still pretend to be a good elder and talk without any pain in his waist. Now that the Zeng brothers and sisters are bothering him, he can't pretend to be a kind elder, and he still turns against them as usual! Now he doesn't say that your great aunt is not kind. Well, your great aunt should continue to be kind, and let the Zeng brothers and sisters drag your great uncle's feet more, and then he will get his retribution in this life!"

Although Ma was very happy about the misfortune, she felt a little ashamed when she saw the trouble caused by Ma Lusheng and his wife: "It really disgraces our Ma family! This is your aunt's beloved son! He can't even make a living in Chang'an, so how can he find a good job in the capital? Do you really think that people in the capital are stupid?!"

After scolding, she couldn't help but worry again: "How can I tell my elder brother and sister-in-law about this? I'm afraid they won't believe it. They just think that my elder sister is unwilling to help her nephew, and they won't feel sorry for how much hardship my elder sister has suffered on the road because of Ma Lusheng!"

Haitang helped to give some advice: "Grandma, why do you have to go into so much detail? Just give a general idea. Brother doesn't live in the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion. He just knew that my aunt and uncle had arrived in the capital, so he rushed over to pay his respects and visit them. It's normal that he doesn't know the details. Since my aunt is ill, she naturally has no time to arrange for Uncle Lu Sheng's future. My uncle hasn't even reported to the government office yet, so it's even more impossible for him to find a job for Uncle Lu Sheng. As for Uncle Lu Sheng's future, maybe my brother will mention it in his next letter. Let my aunt wait patiently.

"Besides, my brother has written back, so why wouldn't Uncle Lu Sheng send a letter home to report his safety? There are many caravans heading to Chang'an, and it doesn't cost much to ask a caravan to bring back a message. With Uncle Lu Sheng's filial piety, it is impossible that he didn't have any news. His letter would only be more detailed, wouldn't it be better than my brother's occasional mention in the letter? Anyway, my aunt has rented a house for my nephew outside to make him live more spacious and comfortable, and he doesn't have to live under someone else's roof. My brother has also paid the rent. As relatives, they are already kind enough, and my uncle and aunt really have no reason to ask for more."

Ma clasped her hands together and smiled, "That makes sense. I'll tell your aunt and grandmother that! If she wants to know how her precious son is doing in the capital, she can just read the letter Ma Lusheng wrote to her. If Ma Lusheng is reluctant to spend even this little money and makes his parents worry at home in vain, then this unfilial son is unworthy!"

However, when talking about the fate of the Hai clan members in Yongping's hometown over the years, Ma fell silent: "I really didn't know that they were living such a miserable life now, but they still dared to look down on our family and refused to write a reply. If you really feel embarrassed, then don't accept our family's favor? They received our benefits, but refused to report their safety, causing my husband and I to worry about them. Did we owe them in our previous life?!"

Haitang soothed her softly, "Grandma, don't be angry. I suspect there is something going on here. It seems like there are some things that my brother can't say in the letter. Let's write to the capital and ask him in detail."

Ma calmed down a bit, "That's fine. But now we have a house in the capital, and the caravans travel between the two places frequently, so it's more convenient for us to write to your brother than before. Go get some writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and I'll write to him right away. And ask someone to bring him some freshly made Chinese toon sauce! Spring is here, how can we miss this at home?!"

(End of this chapter)