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

Chapter 808 Old Friend
Ma looked at her daughter-in-law Hu with a confused look on her face.

Junior sister? Whose junior sister? Her junior sister? What junior sister? When did she become a disciple?

Before Ma could figure out what was going on, Haitang outside the house had already reacted.

Madam Mei!
Ma Shangyi suspected that Mei Niangzi, the teacher of Ma Shi when she was learning embroidery in Shanhaiguan, was her sister in Kunning Palace, Ma Yumei, who was banished from the palace because of palace fighting. All the circumstances matched at that time. Mei Niangzi should have died shortly after Ma Shi left Yongping Prefecture with her husband, leaving behind an adopted daughter, whose whereabouts are now unknown. Ma Shangyi also asked her old sisters who were still in Zhili to look for this adopted daughter, but there were always clues, but she could not find the person.

Now... there is finally news about this adopted daughter?
If she is Ma's "junior sister", then it can only be Mei Madam's adopted daughter.

Ma, who was in the room, was a little slower. She also remembered her teacher, Madam Mei, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh! It's the child that Madam Mei adopted later! I remember she seemed... seemed... to be called Xiaodie, right?" She widened her eyes and looked at Madam Hu in disbelief, "What the niece-in-law means is... she found Xiaodie? Baozhu has been able to live a stable life in Yongping City all these years. Is it because Xiaodie protected him?!"

Mrs. Hu also thought this was too coincidental. She was shocked when she read the letter.

Before Ma married into the Hai family and left Yongping, Mei brought her adopted daughter to visit her students several times. She wanted to find a reliable husband for her child because she knew she was in poor health and was afraid that her adopted daughter would have no one to rely on after her death. She originally lived in the Shanhaiguan area and was not familiar with Yongping Prefecture. If she wanted to find a family for her adopted daughter in Yongping, she had to rely on the relationship of her student Ma. She seemed to have considered the relatives of the Hai family, but after careful observation, she gave up the idea and looked for other promising young men instead.

In the letter Hai Chang'an wrote to his wife, Mrs. Hu, there was news he heard from Cui Dazhuang, as well as rumors he had heard from other fellow townsmen from Yongping Prefecture. He learned that Madam Mei met an old friend before her death, and although she did not find a suitable marriage for her adopted daughter Cai Xiaodie, she successfully found a trustworthy person to raise her.

After Mei Niangzi died, Cai Xiaodie lived with this old friend of her adoptive mother. Later, with the help of this elder, she married a famous Confucian scholar in Zhili as his second wife. Although this Confucian scholar never served as an official, he had many students all over the world. Many of his students passed the imperial examinations and became officials in the court. Therefore, he was very prestigious in the Yongping Prefecture. Even local officials and even high-ranking officials in the court had to show respect to him. As his wife, Cai Xiaodie was naturally very respected, and ordinary wealthy families did not dare to offend him.

When Fang was in trouble, she had repeatedly sought help from the Hai family's former relatives and friends. However, Hai Dongling had a perverse personality and had almost lost all the connections passed down by his ancestors. After separating from his brother Hai Xiya, he forced the latter, who inherited the Hai family's military connections, to leave in disguise, and the Hai family completely lost all contact with the military and guard posts. When Hai Dingkun inherited the family business, he was in poor health, introverted and weak, and was unable to regain the family connections of the past, so that when Fang came to ask for help, there were very few people willing to pay attention to her.

In desperation, Fang had to turn to her step-mother-in-law and step-grandmother-in-law.

Although Hai Dongling's wife's family was relatively well-off, they did not dare to offend the Jiang family's official connections and were unwilling to lend a helping hand. At most, they just temporarily took in Hai Baozhu and his mother for a few days when they first arrived in Yongping Prefecture.

The step-grandmother was Hai Xiya's late mother, Xie. Her family was far away in the south, and the most promising younger generation in the family was Xie Wenzai, who had once won the third place in the imperial examination. At that time, he was exiled and had not been pardoned, so there was no way to talk about it. However, Xie had received the embroidery teacher of her daughter-in-law Ma before her death. The latter's adopted daughter married a very prestigious Confucian scholar in Yongping City. After Fang accidentally discovered this, she shamelessly went to ask for help. It was also Fang's luck that Cai Xiaodie still remembered that when she followed her adoptive mother to visit the Hai family many years later, she met her in her teenage years and felt very sympathetic to her experience. Cai Xiaodie could not help with other things, but if Fang placed Hai Baozhu and his mother in Yongping Prefecture, when Hai Baozhu grew up and wanted to study, she could still find a good teacher for him, and she would directly look for someone among the direct disciples of her husband's family.

As a disciple of the most famous Confucian scholar in Yongping Prefecture, Hai Baozhu's safety in the city is guaranteed. If the Jiang family dares to kidnap or injure people openly, neither the literati circle in Yongping Prefecture nor the officials in the government office will let them go easily.

The Jiang family probably asked someone and found out who was protecting Hai Baozhu. If they couldn't guarantee more benefits, they wouldn't dare to provoke Cai Xiaodie's husband's family easily. This is why Hai Baozhu has been able to live peacefully in Yongping Prefecture until now.

Mrs. Hu said to Mrs. Ma, "After all, Granny Cai's husband is not an official, so this is all he can do. Baozhu's life is relatively stable now, but if he wants to be safe, of course it is better to leave Yongping Prefecture. But he is not a helpless person now, and if he wants to leave, he must ask for the consent of his teacher. My husband said that he is at a critical time in his studies, and if he is not sure that he can continue to study with a good teacher after changing places, his teacher will not let him go. If I really tell my teacher about his family's situation, maybe I can get his consent, but my husband and Baoshun are a little hesitant, and think it is better not to tell too much about these things to outsiders..."

Hai Baozhu's stepmother Fang did remarry her enemy. Hai Chang'an and Hai Jiao didn't think there was anything wrong with it. They just felt sorry for her for the years of grievances she had suffered. But it was hard to say whether the Confucian scholars in Yongping Prefecture would think so. It was unknown what Fang had told Cai Xiaodie before, and whether Cai Xiaodie had mentioned the details to her husband and his students. But Hai Chang'an, for the sake of Fang and Hai Baozhu's future, did not intend to publicize their experience.

As a result, Hai Baozhu could not leave Yongping Prefecture for the time being. Unless he passed the examination and became a scholar, he could go to the Shuntian County Examination in the name of taking the exam, but that day was still far away. He was still just a student.

Mrs. Hu said, "My husband said that Baozhu is under the protection of his master and is safe for the time being. It is best to find a way to move my sister-in-law and Baozhu out first. We cannot let them continue to be trapped in the Jiang family. We have to consider their safety when doing anything. But my sister-in-law refused to leave, saying that she was afraid that if the Jiang family knew that someone from the second branch of the Hai family had come to Beijing, they would do something bad behind her back. My husband and Baoshun wanted to persuade my sister-in-law, but they were afraid that if they made a big fuss, the Jiang family would become suspicious..."

Ma raised her hand to stop Hu from continuing: "I know what's going on. Don't worry, I have a way."

Mrs. Hu was stunned: "What solution did you come up with, mother?"

Ma snorted twice, "What a pity, it's not a coincidence. But when Xiao Jin next door arrives in the capital, he will definitely find a way to find Bao Shun. When the time comes, let Bao Shun ask Xiao Jin to pass a message to Sister Ma, asking Sister Ma to help us!"

In the past, she didn't know where Cai Xiaodie was. She knew that Ma Shangyi had been looking for the daughter of an old friend, but she never found her. She wanted to help but she didn't know where to start. But now, she accidentally learned about Cai Xiaodie's whereabouts from her niece Fang, who had lost contact for many years, and naturally she had to tell Ma Shangyi the good news. Ma Shangyi still had old sisters in Zhili, and she could borrow the power of the Cining Palace. Why would she be afraid of a small Jiang family? As long as the old people in the Cining Palace that Ma Shangyi was familiar with got involved, would she still be afraid of not being able to protect Fang and the two children Haizhu and Haizhu? !
If the Jiang family really had that ability, they would have swallowed up the Hai family long ago. How could it have dragged on for so many years and still not achieved their goal?
(End of this chapter)