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

Chapter 901 Strange
After thinking about it carefully, Xie Wenzai also felt that Jin Jiashu's behavior was very problematic.

If he was worried about his family's coffin, he should have sent someone to check it out after it was delivered to the temple, or he should have gone there in person to handle the relevant matters. He did nothing at the time, but the next day, when the emperor passed away and the palace was in a state of chaos, he sent messages to his acquaintances outside the palace, expressing his concern for his family's coffin, and even specially sent back the Hai family servants and Xie Wenzai's long-servant who were stranded in the temple, as if the Hai family's manpower problem was more important than the succession of the throne.

It's not like Jin Jiashu would do such a thing of not distinguishing between the important and the unimportant.

But if the coffins of his family members were just an excuse, and Jin Jiashu's real purpose was to contact acquaintances outside the palace, and the so-called going to the temple to take over the coffins of his family members was just a cover-up, then it could be completely explained away.

But in this case, what message did Jin Jiashu want to convey outside the palace? Who did he want to convey the message to?

If even he, the nephew of Imperial Concubine Xu and cousin of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, could send a message outside the palace for a less urgent matter, why didn't other people in the palace take action?
Is there any intention behind Jin Jiashu's actions from Empress Dowager Zhou, Imperial Concubine Xu or even the Crown Prince?
Xie Wenzai thought of a lot at that moment.

Is there something fishy going on in the palace? Is it Concubine Sun and her family? Is it some restless princes in the royal family? Is it the Seventh Prince and the old man from Wu Clan behind him? Or is it that the Emperor is causing trouble again before his death?
Xie Wenzai first ruled out the Seventh Prince and the old man from Wumen. The Seventh Prince had been through many disasters, and even if he had ambitions, he was held back by his broken body. If he had been dissatisfied with the Eighth Prince's appointment as the crown prince, Queen Mother Zhou and Imperial Noble Consort Xu would not have trusted him so much and allowed him to stay with the Eighth Prince all day, eating and sleeping together. No matter what, he was still a young man who had not yet reached adulthood. He had grown up under the eyes of Queen Mother Zhou and Imperial Noble Consort Xu since he was a child. Even the palace servants who served him were the confidants arranged by these two nobles. Even if he was cunning, he could not hide it from the people around him at the beginning.

Since he had not shown any abnormal behavior and was friendly enough to the Eighth Prince, there was no reason for him to defect at this critical moment. After all, he had no chance of winning. Both Emperor Deguang and the cabinet ministers had already tacitly accepted the Eighth Prince as the new emperor. Who would support the weak and sickly Seventh Prince to take the throne? Rather than taking the risk of doing something that was doomed to fail, he might as well be a prince and enjoy wealth and honor!

As for the old people of Wumen, Xie Wenzai didn't think they would do such a thing. Even if some of them had supported the Seventh Prince in the past, after the decree of establishing a crown prince was issued, the ceremony of establishing a crown prince was completed, and the crown prince, the Eighth Prince, had already offered sacrifices to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, they would not have persuaded the Seventh Prince to participate in the fight for the throne, because the crown prince was now the orthodox one. Based on Xie Wenzai's understanding of these old friends, they would not do such a thing as overthrowing the orthodoxy. He had been in Beijing for two days and had contacted the old friends of the old people of Wumen. They did not show any abnormality and were still enthusiastically planning the major events to be done after the new monarch ascended the throne. Have they ever shown any signs of planning to cause trouble?

After ruling out the Seventh Prince and the old man from Wumen, Xie Wenzai was no longer sure. Whether it was the Sun family, the close relatives of the Ji Palace, or Emperor Deguang himself, there was a possibility that something bad would happen and cause trouble for everyone. Without accurate information, how could he make a decision easily?

Seeing Xie Wenzai lost in thought, Haitang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that they have returned to the capital, with his uncle Xie Wenzai's connections in the capital, as long as he thinks something has happened in the palace, he will find someone to get information. Haitang is counting on this, so she specifically pointed out the strange behavior of Jin Jiashu in front of him.

In fact, there is another most important reason why she judged that Jin Jiashu's behavior was different: if Jin Jiashu really sent a letter outside the palace for private matters, how could he not bring one to her? The person he sent also made a handover with the Hai family servants, so it couldn't be easier for him to send a letter to her. Even if he didn't have time to describe the details in the letter, how difficult would it be to report that he was safe in a secret code? He didn't even send her this message of safety, which shows that he didn't send someone out of the palace for private matters.

If it was for official business, then what was it? With so many people in the palace, did he, a relative of the Eighth Route Army, need to come forward?
If it was because no one else could come forward and only he, a marginal figure, could take action, then it meant that what was happening in the palace right now might be very risky...

Xie Wenzai looked up at Haitang and said, "If Jiashu wanted to pass a message to someone outside the palace, who do you think he would pass it to?"

Haitang blinked, "Lord Tao should have gone to the palace early this morning, right? Apart from him, Brother Jin didn't recognize many important figures on the civil service side. As for the royal family, Brother Jin's relationship with them was even more distant. Only on the military side, Brother Jin was close to the Zhou family, so he could still talk." Xie Wenzai smiled slightly. The highest-ranking members of the Zhou family in the capital were the Cheng'en Marquis family. In addition, there were General Zhou Si, who served in the Imperial Guards, and Kang Wenshu, the husband of Zhou Wenjun, who was one of the direct imperial guards guarding the suburbs. But in terms of relationship with the palace, the latter two were not as good as the Cheng'en Marquis family, and their roots in the capital were still shallow, so it was not as convenient as the Cheng'en Marquis Mansion to do things.

When necessary, Marquis Cheng'en can contact many people.

Xie Wenzai said, "I'll go find Wang Defa to ask for details. You go find someone who's tight-lipped. I'll send someone to Cheng'en Marquis's mansion to say hello and find out if Jiashu has contacted their family."

Haitang responded and watched as her cousin uncle Xie Wenzai called Wang Defa over again to ask questions. After listening to a few words, she turned around and went to find someone to deliver the letter.

The male servants in the house are all pretty good, but if we want them to be familiar with the roads and absolutely loyal to the Hai family, there are not many people who can be used.

Haitang thought about it and suddenly remembered that when her brother Haijiao sent a soldier of the Imperial Guard to bring Zhang Lurong home, he brought a letter, which was accepted by her grandmother Ma. But later, the whole family was busy packing luggage for Haixiya, Haichang'an and Haijiao, and they didn't pay attention to it for a while, and they didn't know whether their grandmother had read the letter.

Haitang quickly turned around and headed straight for the main courtyard. As soon as she entered the room, she saw her grandmother Ma, Aunt Cui, Mama Li, and Shi Liu, sitting around the big kang cutting fabric to make new plain clothes. When Ma saw her coming, she looked up and asked, "What took you so long? I saw you talking to your cousin, what were you talking about for so long?"

Haitang replied casually, "Nothing, my cousin was worried that Lord Tao had encountered something in the palace, so he whispered a few words to me." She saw her brother's unopened letter placed on the small cabinet at the end of the kang, and hurriedly picked up the letter.

"You said you weren't worried before, but you're still worried in the end. You're just being stubborn!" Ma whispered to her uncle-in-law. When she saw the letter in her granddaughter's hand, she immediately realized what was going on. She couldn't help but raise her hand and knock on her head, "How could I forget? Your brother even sent someone to bring back a letter."

Haitang opened the letter and read it, then casually told her grandmother: "My brother said in the letter that he is doing well in the government office. Because he has a good relationship with the nephew of Consort Xu and is valued by Lord Tao, he was arranged by the superior to guard the palace. The bedding and utensils are ready, but the clothes to wear during the mourning period are limited. I want my family to send a few more sets, preferably ones that are easy to move around in, not those wide-sleeved robes. I also need two pairs of cold-proof and moisture-proof leather boots, four pairs of plain white cotton socks, and a bag of ginger candy to drive away the cold."

Ma said with an annoyed look, "I didn't read the letter and sent the things to him. There were enough clothes and socks, but the leather boots and ginger candies were left behind!"

Haitang said, "It's okay. We'll prepare it later and ask Zhang Lurong to deliver it." As she spoke, she put the letter away and put it in her sleeve. She didn't tell her grandmother that the last few lines of the letter introduced Zhang Lurong.

This person is reliable and tight-lipped. He can be sent to do things that are not easy for outsiders to know, such as finding out about Brother Qiao's identity...