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

Chapter 898 Confused
Amidst the chaos and war, the Hai family sent away Hai Xiya, Hai Chang'an and Hai Jiao, three men who had to go to work.

Then everyone went back to his own courtyard.

Little Stone was used to getting up early, and after being awakened by the bell, he was no longer sleepy, so he simply practiced martial arts in the middle of the yard. Mrs. Hu was not in good spirits, and wanted to go back to her room to catch up on some sleep, but she was thinking about the plain clothes her husband would wear when he went to mourn, as well as the mourning clothes she and her son would wear, so she could only force herself to be energetic, called the maids and servants, rummaged through the boxes and cabinets to find the black and white plain clothes, and started sewing in the room.

Haitang also followed her grandmother Ma and went back to the house to look for fabrics to make plain clothes. Ma didn't sleep well last night and got up too early in the middle of the night. She was very sleepy at this moment, nodding her head, and even her mind was a little unclear. Haitang persuaded her to go back to sleep. As for the plain clothes, with Aunt Cui, Dazhuang's wife and Mother Li around, there was nothing to worry about.

Haitang returned to her own courtyard, intending to practice internal skills for a while to replenish her energy. Xiangcao heard the noise and hurriedly opened the door and came out. She had changed her clothes and even combed her hair. Shiliu followed her, also dressed properly. Although she still looked tired, she was ready to work.

Although Haitang sent them back to sleep, the bells still rang continuously. According to the court rules, it was estimated that they would ring 30,000 times. There was a temple near Hai's house, and how could they rest if the bells kept ringing? Therefore, Xiangcao and Shiliu simply got up.

Seeing this, Haitang sent them to the main courtyard to help Aunt Cui, Dazhuang's wife and Li's mother hurry up to make plain clothes. She took the opportunity to practice internal skills for a full hour without telling anyone. After dawn, she stopped, already full of energy, not showing any signs of lack of sleep.

She took out a set of plain clothes she had made last year from her suitcase. She had them made when she was in Chang'an to attend a funeral at an acquaintance's home. The style was naturally not in line with the fashion in the capital, but at a time like this, few people would complain about it.

She changed into plain clothes and did not wear any jewelry, except for a pair of thin silver hoop earrings, then walked to the upper room in the main courtyard.

Ma had just woken up at this time, and was still a little tired. She was eating breakfast lazily. Seeing her granddaughter coming, she perked up a little: "Are you here? Come quickly for breakfast. It's just home-cooked vegetarian noodle soup with mushrooms. The kitchen can't make anything good in a hurry, so just eat it. The family bought a lot of rice, flour and vegetables yesterday, which can be dealt with for a while, but the chicken, duck, fish and meat are inedible, and the eggs are also terrible. It's a waste of money."

Aunt Cui was helping Haitang with the chopsticks while she smiled and comforted Ma, saying, "We bought food for all three meals yesterday. The kitchen wanted something new, so we didn't dare to buy too much meat to store at home. There isn't much food these days, so the waste is limited. Madam, just rest assured."

Ma sighed again, "We finally finished the journey and settled down. I had planned to make delicious soups and dishes for a few days to nourish my family, but I didn't expect that we have to observe the national mourning period and can't eat any meat. It's almost snowing, and I don't know how my family will survive this winter just by relying on plain rice, noodles and vegetables without any oil or water."

Haitang smiled and said, "Don't worry, grandma. Although according to the court's rules, we need to be vegetarian for at least a hundred days, we don't have to eat meat to supplement our nutrition. If you are worried about grandpa's health, please ask a doctor to diagnose you two and prescribe some tonic medicine for a while. There is no taboo in taking medicine, right?"

Ma sighed, "That's the only way. Fortunately, our family has enough money to buy medicine. I'll ask people to buy more tofu and bean skin. If they don't have any, we can just buy beans. Don't leave out the various wild delicacies, as well as Chinese yam, red dates..." She listed many medicinal food ingredients with tonic effects, intending to use them as daily ingredients to cook for her family.

Haitang smiled and lowered her head to eat noodles. After she finished eating, she reminded Ma: "Our grandfather, second uncle and brother all have low official positions, so I guess grandma and second aunt don't have to go to the palace to mourn. But aunt has an imperial decree, so I'm afraid she will have to suffer this hardship. I don't know how she is now. Do you want to send someone to check on her?" Ma was reminded by her words: "Yes, my eldest sister has a third-rank imperial decree, and I don't know if she has been promoted after coming to Beijing. During the national mourning period, those with imperial decrees of the third rank and above have to go to the palace to mourn. If she leaves, I don't know who can take care of the family affairs. Although the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion will definitely help, but..." After all, she is the only relative from Zhou Ma's natal family who is in the capital, so she has to send someone to ask.

In addition to Ma Zhou's and Fang's, she would also send people to take a look. However, Fang's mother and daughter were not considered official wives, so apart from wearing plain clothes and eating vegetarian food, there was nothing else they needed to pay attention to. It was much simpler than the people in the second house. Hai Baozhu only needed to continue recuperating with peace of mind. Fang didn't go out much anyway, so as long as she didn't go to the temple for the next few days, there was nothing else to ask.

After finishing her noodles, Ma sent Aunt Cui to go to Fang's place, and asked Ma Changnian and his wife to take Shi Liu to visit Zhou Ma. If the latter's family was short of manpower, Ma Changnian's wife would stay with their daughter. Ma Changnian would come back to report the news and could continue to listen to the orders of his old master.

As for the Hai family, they were busy making mourning clothes for everyone all day long, even Xie Wenzai and Lu Bainian were not left out.

But Xie Wenzai's mood was very complicated. He became a victim of political struggle in his prime, and his future was ruined. When he regained his freedom, half of his life had passed and he had become an old man with gray hair.

He once deeply resented Emperor Deguang.

Although on the surface, the Wumen were hated by their political enemy Sun Ge Lao and his relatives, friends, disciples and followers, but Xie Wenzai knew very well that the culprit for this situation was actually Emperor Deguang. Since the news of his serious illness came out, Xie Wenzai had been waiting for the news of his death. But when the news of his death really came, he couldn't help but feel a little confused.

What will the future be like? Will the situation really get better from now on as he and his friends expect? Xinjun is still a teenager. Is he really as gentle and intelligent as the legend says? Can he do better than his father?
Xie Wenzai sat blankly in front of the central hall of the west wing in the front yard, looking at the white space in the courtyard in front of him, and fell into deep thought.

Lu Bainian stood by the window, looking at his friend sitting there in a daze, and sighed.

As a fellow wanderer, he could naturally empathize with his friend Xie Wenzai's thoughts. Moreover, Xie Wenzai's future was at least a smooth one, but he could not see his own future clearly.

He has been busy these two days. While packing his luggage at home, he has also sent people to deliver letters to old friends to inquire about the news of his family.

It turned out that the Lu family had ignored him for so many years because they had completely turned to the Sun family and became the running dogs of Lord Sun. The Sun family was now in decline, so how could the running dogs of the family have a good life? They themselves had a dirty background and were already having a headache in order to protect themselves, so how could they care about him, a discarded child who had been exiled to the frontier for many years, did not plan to return to the court after being pardoned, and had no power?

Cao Gengyun can still be reunited with his family, and Xie Wenzai has his cousin's family and students to rely on. Only Lu Bainian is probably destined to be a lonely man and spend the rest of his life in solitude.