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

Chapter 897 Death Knell
Hai Xiya had just arrived in the capital for less than two days. Before he was sure what official position he would soon hold, he did not dare to order an official uniform for himself in advance.

After all, it took nearly two months to travel more than 2,000 miles from Chang'an to the capital, and the personnel appointments and dismissals of the Ministry of Revenue could change at any time. He could not be sure that he would be able to take the position of Langzhong of the Shaanxi Qingli Division just because he had the support of the cabinet minister.

However, there are shops in the capital that specialize in making official uniforms. As long as you have a letter of appointment, you can buy or order them at any time. Hai Xiya himself has a normal body shape, so even if the clothes are not tailor-made, they will fit well. He originally planned to buy a set of ready-made official uniforms on the way home after reporting to the Ministry of Revenue. Even if there are no new ones, second-hand spring and autumn clothes can be used for a few days. He just needs to ask his family to prepare new winter official uniforms before the snow falls. However, when he reported today, he was first invited to dinner by his new colleagues, and then he went to visit Tao Ge's old home with his cousin, so he forgot about the official uniform for a while. Now he fell asleep, and his wife Ma, who didn't know the situation in the capital, was at a loss.

Fortunately, the careful and thoughtful grandson Haijiao took timely action to solve the problem.

Hai Jiao had been in Beijing, keeping an eye on the position of Langzhong in the Shaanxi Qingli Division of the Ministry of Revenue. Knowing that it had been vacant, Hai Jiao went to the tailor shop to place an order early. He knew his grandfather's body size, so the clothes he made would naturally fit him. He had brought the official uniform home two days ago, but he was busy yesterday and forgot to mention it. His grandfather entered the Ministry of Revenue earlier than he expected. After hearing his grandmother's complaints, he immediately sent the new official uniform over.

Ma touched her official uniform and finally felt relieved. She praised her grandson, saying, "Well done! You are more meticulous now. As expected, people who become officials will make great progress after being trained. You are no longer the child who only knows to call grandma when you encounter anything at home. Grandma can rest assured that you are so capable. Even if your grandfather retires in the future, you will be able to support our family."

Hai Jiao smiled embarrassedly: "It's just a small matter... In fact, I also asked the tailor shop to make new clothes for Grandma and my sister, and my second uncle also ordered new clothes for my second aunt and Xiao Shitou. They are all prepared for you to wear when you go out to visit old friends in the capital. But the tailor shop has too much work, so the work is a bit slow. I'm afraid it will take another three or four days to finish it."

Ma said angrily, "How much money do you have? You're buying a house, renovating it, and even ordering clothes for us. What are you wasting that money on? Do we need a few nice clothes to wear?"

Haitang had a vague idea of ​​the reason, and helped her brother explain, "Grandma, the customs in the capital are different from those in Chang'an. Didn't you see it when you went to your cousin's place today? Your cousin has only been in the capital for a few months, and she rarely goes out on weekdays, but the styles and patterns of the clothes she wears are different from ours, and the difference is quite big. I think by the time the popular styles in the capital spread to Chang'an, several months had passed, and they were already out of fashion. My brother ordered clothes for us in the capital in advance because he was afraid that when we went out to visit guests, we would be laughed at if we wore old clothes that were not popular in the capital."

Ma finally understood and said with a smile, "Before I left Chang'an, I specifically asked Xiao Jin about the popular clothing styles in the capital, and had someone make new clothes according to them. I didn't expect that in less than two months, those new clothes were already out of style. If I had known this, I would have saved the money and found someone to make them when I arrived in the capital." She then asked her grandson how much it cost to make the clothes.
The Hai family was only a fifth or sixth rank official family, not outstanding in the capital. Even if the Hai family might visit a high-ranking official, they would not need to wear fancy clothes and ornaments. Therefore, Hai Jiao made clothes for his family according to the specifications of ordinary low- and middle-rank officials' families. The cost was not much, and it was purely for temporary use. When the Hai family settled down in the capital, there would be a needleworker in the family who would tailor clothes for the owner.

Haijiao reported a low number, and then said, "After Xiao Jin came to Beijing, he stayed in the palace and went to study at the Tao Family Academy. How many women from official families did he meet? The palace has its own regulations on clothing, and the women from scholarly and noble families don't care about fashion, so he has limited information on this aspect. Grandma, don't blame him, his lack of knowledge may not be a bad thing."

This is quite true. If Jin Jiashu knew everything about the fashion trends of women in the capital, Ma would be worried.

The grandparents looked at each other and said nothing. However, Haitang, standing aside, had already seen through the implication of her grandmother and brother's words, so she smiled slightly and also played dumb.

Haijiao went back to his room to wash up. Ma took her granddaughter and personally ironed her husband's new official uniform flat and put it on the screen, ready for him to wear it the next morning. She also discussed with her granddaughter what breakfast to make the next morning. Although takeout is very convenient, the stove in the kitchen at home is lit, so it is better to cook it yourself, which is more suitable for the taste of the family. Ma always felt that there were many things to do, but in order not to affect her husband's early rise the next day, she went to bed early. Haitang returned to her own yard, packed her luggage, washed up and rested as usual, preparing to welcome the second morning in the capital.

Unexpectedly, before dawn, she was awakened by a loud bell.

She sat up from the bed in a daze, and heard the bells ringing continuously throughout the city. As she listened, she came to her senses, got out of bed immediately, put on her clothes, tied her hair casually, put on a windproof cloak, lit the lantern, and walked out the door.

Mother Li and Vanilla, who were also woken up, also came out of the room, wearing pajamas, with messy hair, and looking flustered.

After all, they are also from the capital, and they know better than others what the continuous bell sounds mean.

Haitang said, "Mother Li, please go back to your room, get dressed, and go to the upper room in the main courtyard to do the errands. My grandma may need help. Xiangcao, go back to your room to rest first. There will be many things for you to do after daybreak." Seeing that Shiliu was a little late and came out of the house with a sleepy face, she sent him back to the room, "Go back to sleep quickly. After daybreak, maybe grandma will send you to help my aunt's house."

Pomegranate responded blankly, not yet realizing what was happening.

Haitang went to the upper room of the main courtyard with a lantern. Haixiya and Ma had already gotten up, and even Haijiao from the east wing came over in a cotton-padded jacket and was talking to Grandfather.

Hai Xiya's face was solemn. He was no longer drunk, and his brows were tightly knitted: "This is the death knell for the emperor's death! When I met Tao Ge Lao yesterday, although he didn't say much, from what he said, the emperor's condition should be relatively stable, and it's not like he would suddenly... What on earth happened?!"

Haitang had experienced a national mourning in her previous life, so she was calmer than him and knew what her family should do at this time: "Grandpa, our family is just a small family. What happened in the palace will be taken care of by the bigwigs, so don't worry too much. You and brother should quickly wash and change your clothes. You are an official, so you need to wear plain clothes to go to the government office to check the situation, and you may even have to go to the palace to mourn. The same goes for your brother. The Jinyiwei probably also has an emergency guard mission, so you should not wear colorful official clothes, and even take off the red silk rope on your official hat. Grandma, let's quickly prepare breakfast for grandpa and brother, as well as dry food and water to take with them. After sending them away, we won't be able to continue sleeping, and we have to rummage through the luggage and find plain clothes to wear in mourning!"

Ma was startled and stood up quickly: "Then hurry up, don't waste time!"