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

Chapter 852 Suspicion
After listening to this, Haitang also understood Haijiao's difficulties.

He had received favors from Fang in his previous life, so he naturally hoped that she could live a good life in this life. Now Fang had gotten rid of the Jiang family and could pursue a happy life with her daughter in the second half of her life, but if she continued to be entangled with the Hai family and let the new people she knew know her past, her happiness would naturally be greatly reduced. Hai Jiao didn't want her to suffer this, but Hai Baozhu and the mother and son of the Qiu family really wanted to respect Fang, and they didn't have any evil intentions in their hearts. It seemed too straightforward to tell them that if they continued to live with Fang, it would only drag her down, which would easily hurt people's hearts.

Even if Hai Jiao told Qiu the truth, and Qiu voluntarily returned to Yongping Mansion for Fang's sake and never disturbed Fang's mother and daughter again, it would be impossible for Hai Baozhu to really break off relations with his stepmother.

He was a scholar who would take the imperial examination and become an official in the future. If people knew that he did not take care of his stepmother who had been so kind to him, countless people would stab him in the back.

His life story soon became no longer a secret. Fang's remarriage was known to everyone in Jianghaitun, and even her divorce from the Jiang family was once big news. Unless Fang faked her death, changed her name, and completely cut off ties with the past, there would always be people who knew what Hai Baozhu's stepmother had done, where she was now, and what his relationship with her was. If he wanted to go far in his official career, he would not take the initiative to distance himself from his stepmother, let alone cut off contact. Even if it was for Fang's sake, he would at most not publicize Fang's news to the outside world, but he would not evade the etiquette and responsibilities that he should perform in private.

It may be more difficult than expected for Fang and Hai Baozhu to completely cut off their past experiences.

Haitang discussed this with Ma: "We need to think about this matter carefully. I think it is not a good idea to let Aunt Qiu and Hai Baozhu distance themselves from their cousin. This will have a negative impact on Baozhu's reputation. Moreover, if they really respect their cousin, it would be too hurtful to say that they are harmful to her by being close to her. Moreover, I understand that my cousin wants to cut off contact with the Hai family in order to let Sister Baozhu find a good marriage. But what kind of marriage can be considered a good one?

"Does she want to hide the fact that she remarried from her future in-laws, so that the family won't dislike Sister Baozhu because of it? But if the family dislikes Sister Baozhu because they know those past events, then Sister Baozhu may not have a good life after marrying. This kind of thing can be hidden for a while, but not forever. When the truth is revealed in the future, Sister Baozhu will be trapped in her husband's family and it will be difficult for her to get out! It's better to make it clear from the beginning. The family needs to be open-minded and sincerely welcome Sister Baozhu after knowing the truth, so that she can get married."

Ma thought it made sense, "Yes, we are all family, how can we really sever our relationship? Now Baozhu wants to get married, and your cousin is afraid that people will know about her remarriage, so she deliberately hides her background. But when Baozhu passes the imperial examination and becomes an official in the future, can't his sister recognize him as a brother? Can't she interact with his brother? Won't the in-laws know what happened in the past by then? If that family will despise him, even if Baozhu's brother becomes an official, they will still despise him. There is no need for us to let the child take this risk. It is better to find a family that will not despise him from the beginning, so that there will be less embarrassment when the in-laws interact with each other in the future!"

Of course, Fang had just arrived in the capital, was unfamiliar with the place, and was a widow herself, so even if she wanted to find a kind and generous family for her daughter, she had no way to do so. This was where the second wife had to step in.

Ma said, "Let me handle this matter. When we get to the capital, we will first meet your sister Baozhu. Although this is our first time in the capital, we still have many acquaintances. Even if those officials are not as powerful as the Hai family, they still have relatives and friends. I will ask someone to find out if there are any wealthy families with good family traditions, honest behavior, and promising children. We have finally used our connections to rescue your cousin and sister Baozhu, so how can we not arrange a good life for them? If Baozhu doesn't marry well, your cousin will be sad, and we won't have worked in vain?!"

If that happens, when they die and go to the underworld, they will be mocked and ridiculed by Hai Dongling and his son! She can't stand that!

Ma made up her mind and immediately asked her granddaughter to fetch paper and pen: "I will write a reply to your brother and ask him to persuade your cousin not to rush to show the child to her and wait until I return. Anyway, they have just arrived in the capital and need time to get used to it. It won't be too late to talk about other things after they are settled."

Haitang smiled and took out the four treasures of the study, saying, "I'm afraid my cousin will be worried. Sister Baozhu is older than me."

Ma sneered, "She is less than a year older, so she is not an old maid yet. You can wait another year or two. When your cousin was in the Jiang family, she could withstand the pressure from the Jiang family and refused to marry Baozhu to the Jiang family's playboy. Now she can hold on for two more years and find a good marriage for Baozhu. What's so difficult about it? When we arrive in the capital, I will focus on finding a good match for your sister Baozhu. I guarantee that they will be satisfied!" Haitang ground ink for her grandmother and watched her write a reply. She wrote two large pages of paper, all of which advised her niece not to rush to find a good match for the child and to treat Hai Baozhu's lifelong event with caution. As she wrote, Ma couldn't remember what details were written in Haijiao's letter, so she read it again and replied to her grandson based on the content of the letter, giving him advice on what reasons to use to persuade Fang.

Haitang took the opportunity to read the letter her brother wrote to her grandmother.

Ma had basically revealed the contents of the letter before, except for some trivial details, including the location and layout of the new house he bought for Fang and her daughter, how much money he spent, what furniture he had, what flowers he planted, the cost of hiring servants... and so on.

Compared with the Hai family's house, that house is farther away from the commercial district and is considered a relatively secluded neighborhood. There is a temple nearby, as well as nunneries, Taoist temples, and residences. Most of them are well-off families who mainly engage in business, and there are not many scholarly families.

In this way, the atmosphere in the neighborhood will be more lively and open-minded, and people will not be oppressed by the rules and regulations of etiquette everywhere.

Fang also liked this new residence very much, but more because it was close to temples and monasteries, which made it convenient for her to burn incense and worship Buddha on a daily basis.

After leaving the Jiang family and the sad place of Yongping Prefecture, her life has become much calmer now, and she has also gained an interest in worshipping Buddha. Not only does she often go to the temple near her home to burn incense, she also has a small Buddhist temple at home. She paid for all the related supplies out of her own pocket, and did not let the second wife spend a penny.

When she was at home, she often prayed for her daughter in front of the Buddha. She also often took her daughter to copy and recite scriptures, and there was a hint of atonement in her words.

Although Haijiao felt that she had not committed any sins that needed to be redeemed, since she insisted on doing so and could find spiritual peace by worshiping Buddha, he did not say much.

Haijiao just felt that Baozhu's marriage must not go wrong, otherwise Fang would be so sad that she might get stuck in a rut and do something heartbreaking.

Haitang put down her brother's letter and pursed her lips.

Fang was able to stay in the Jiang family for so many years and always maintain her original intention. She must be a woman of great willpower. How could she become troubled after escaping danger and regaining peace?
Did someone say something to her? Or did those white-eyed wolf tribe members of the Hai family start to go crazy again?

(End of this chapter)