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

Chapter 893 Who is he?
When Ma heard this, she immediately became interested: "What kind of person is he? Whose child is he? Is he married?"

Haijiao looked at his grandmother helplessly, "How would I know about this? It was all arranged by Ma Shangyi's old friends. I only met them once when I went to pick them up. How could I have the nerve to ask so much about a stranger I just met? My cousin and Baozhu traveled with them for several days, so they should know more, but they didn't tell me in detail afterwards."

Ma couldn't help but feel very disappointed: "You silly child! Since they were arranged by your Ma's acquaintance, they must be guards of the Cining Palace, all respectable people. If you get to know a few more of them, won't your network of contacts be wider in the future? Didn't you say that they are all good-looking and smart? Why don't you ask a few more questions and make friends with them?!"

Haijiao was speechless. After thinking for a while, he said to his grandmother, "Grandma, you also know that Ma Ma has retired from the palace for many years. She helped us rescue my cousin and Baozhu and her daughter by asking several of her old friends who lived in Zunhua Prefecture. They were all people like her who had worked in the Cining Palace but had retired and returned home. How could such people order the current palace guards around?
"Anyway, as far as I know, when I went to the city gate to pick up my cousin and her family, the person who spoke to me had no official position. He claimed to be a businessman who opened a business in Zunhua Prefecture. His adoptive father and Mama were old friends for many years. I saw that he spoke gently and politely, and I suspected that his adoptive father was a eunuch from the palace. I was afraid that there was something inconsiderate in his words and he might have offended someone accidentally. Therefore, I didn't dare to ask more questions. I just greeted them, thanked them, and took my cousin and her family away. As for the thank-you gift, I later sent it to Mama. I think she will know how to distribute it and to whom to send it."

Ma was speechless after hearing this. What her grandson said made a lot of sense. Ma Ma was an old female official who had retired from the palace. Although she could still communicate with the nobles in the palace and had many dealings with the imperial guards, the latter were not under her jurisdiction. Instead, they happened to be ordered by the emperor to go to Chang'an to protect Jin Jiashu. Although the imperial guards were very polite to Ma Ma, they would not obey her orders in everything. I think her old friends who were also old people in the Cining Palace were the same. In this way, the person who was asked by Ma Ma to send Fang's mother and daughter to the capital could not be a member of the imperial army, nor would he have an official position. Otherwise, there would be no need to claim that he was just a businessman in front of Hai Jiao.

It was common for retired palace maids to adopt a few adopted sons and daughters for their retirement. If they brought them up from childhood, they would naturally raise a few outstanding people. Hai Jiao thought that the man who contacted him was the adopted son of a father-in-law, and there was a reason for that. But if the boy that Hai Baozhu liked was really of such a background, then it would be difficult to find a marriage.

The adopted son of the father-in-law may have extensive connections and a rich family background, but his background is not really respectable. Even if the Hai family is in decline, they were once a prominent family in Yongping Prefecture, and their descendants have been officials for generations. How can they marry such a person?
If the other party holds an official position and has a decent reputation, then this marriage can still be considered. But if the other party has nothing and is just a businessman, then it is too...

Ma was very confused, and Haitang hurriedly reminded her: "Grandma, what my brother said was only the person who contacted him that day, which may not be the person that Sister Baozhu loves. There are others in their team going to Beijing!"

Ma came to her senses and asked her grandson, "Besides this father-in-law's adopted son, who else did you see that day?"

Haijiao showed helplessness on his face. He was about to answer, but he seemed to suddenly think of something. He paused, rolled his eyes, and continued, "The one who impressed me the most that day was the adopted son of the eunuch. The rest of them... in fact, there were also heroic and upright people, but we didn't talk much in a hurry, so I don't know much about them. However, those people all looked obedient to the adopted son of the eunuch who was in the lead. I think they are all his subordinates. If you can't even accept the adopted son of the eunuch, how can you possibly look down on his subordinates?"

Ma was speechless and a little discouraged: "Who does Baozhu like? Why can't you tell us properly? Don't tell us that he is a married man, or someone's subordinate or guard. If he is just a merchant family, as long as your cousin doesn't mind, you can get married. Although it doesn't sound decent, as long as the other party is a decent person who can treat Baozhu well, it's fine. But if the status is too low, even if we are willing to help, Baozhu will suffer if she marries him. Your cousin loves her child and would rather she stay at home and be supported by her brothers than to see her marry and live a hard life..."

Haitang comforted her and said, "Don't worry, grandma. Since my cousin has told us clearly that she won't show him to Sister Baozhu for the time being, she must have known the truth. Let's wait patiently for her news. Sooner or later, she will ask Sister Baozhu about the identity of that person, and then we can think of a way..."

Ma frowned and said nothing. Aunt Cui brought people to serve the food, but she also had no appetite. The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren hurriedly had a dinner. After the meal, Haitang winked at Haijiao, and the brother and sister bowed and left. Haitang then led her brother to their own yard.

Haijiao asked her, "Sister, do you want to ask me about the things in the capital, or do you want to know who Baozhu's lover might be?"

Haitang said, "Just now, grandma asked about the group that escorted my cousin and her daughter to Beijing. Besides the leader, who else was there? Brother, your expression was not right at that time. What did you hide?"

Hai Jiao smiled bitterly: "It's just a little bit different, but you noticed it, little sister? It seems that my Qi cultivation skills are still far from perfect, and I need to practice hard for a few more years."

Is this the way to go?

Haitang asked hurriedly, "What's going on? Did you really hide something from someone and not tell grandma?!"

Haijiao smiled faintly, "It's nothing, there is indeed another person, he looks to be in his early twenties, dressed like an ordinary guard, handsome, and rather taciturn. I have never met him, but my cousin and Baozhu were sitting in the carriage, and before they left with me, they thanked the man through the curtain. My cousin called him 'Brother Qiao', so either his last name is Qiao or there is a 'Qiao' in his name. He was very polite when he returned the gift, but from the tone of his voice, he was no stranger to my cousin, and I guess we had a lot of dealings in those days."

The more Haitang listened, the more she felt that this person had a connection: "Since there is such a person, and he seems to be familiar with my cousin and Sister Baozhu, why didn't you mention it in front of grandma just now?"

Haijiao smiled bitterly again: "This man speaks Mandarin, is polite and courteous, and his words and deeds are not like those of an ordinary guard. He is familiar with my cousin's mother and daughter. I thanked him when I met them, but he was evasive. The adopted son of the father-in-law also stood in front of him and dealt with me on his behalf. This is a problem. I always felt that he looked familiar and kind, but I couldn't remember when I had seen him. Thinking back on it, I wondered if he was also a spy of the Jinyiwei?

"After I rejoined the Jinyiwei in this life, I heard that when the people under me were doing business in Zhili, they would sometimes rely on the help of the old people in the Cining Palace. It is not surprising that the old people in the Cining Palace would bring one or two Jinyiwei spies with them when they wanted to send people to Beijing. He might be a colleague I met in my previous life, but I was not familiar with him, so I just felt that he looked familiar. But in this case..."

No matter how outstanding the secret agents of the Imperial Guards are, they are still people who cannot be seen in public. If Hai Baozhu wants to marry such a person, she might as well marry a businessman!