After talking with his cousin Xie Wenzai, Hai Xiya returned to the main courtyard with a heavy heart.
Although Magistrate Huang is now on the side of the Northwest Frontier Army and is willing to report the bad things done by the Sun family to the emperor impartially, which makes him deeply encouraged, but when he thinks about the outcome of the matter, it is likely that the emperor will protect the Sun family and allow the real culprits to escape their crimes. , his mood couldn't get better.
The Sun family's actions have gone too far. If they are not careful, they may provoke civil strife in the northwest frontier army at any time and shake the stability of the frontier. It is impossible for the emperor not to know the seriousness, but if he refuses to deal with the Sun family, the most likely thing is to introduce a few scapegoats, pick up the matter high and put it down gently. Maybe afterward, Magistrate Huang would unknowingly reveal some secrets, and Jian, the future prime minister and assistant minister in the emperor's heart, would be reduced to a minister whom the emperor hated. From then on, his official career would be in trouble and the future would be cut off.
Just like his cousin Xie Wenzai back then.
Doesn't the emperor know that Xie Wenzai just helped the master draft a memorial and didn't even help with the idea? He is very innocent? However, the emperor favored the Sun family and could not deal with the highly respected father-in-law, so he could only vent his anger on a few pawns. The king's words cut off the talented Xie Tanhua's future. Now it is not unusual to sacrifice a few local officials. Magistrate Huang has not yet entered the central government. Even if he enters the capital in the future, he will start from Dali Temple. He is not yet an irreplaceable important minister.
Hai Xiya sighed, but it was difficult to express his feelings in front of his cousin, for fear of hurting him, so he could only keep it to himself, feeling secretly worried.
But no matter how many worries he had in his heart, he never forgot that he still had important tasks to complete. It has been a while since dinner. He has also visited his cousin and returned home to greet his wife. It is time to go to his grandson's room to start today's accounting work.
But when he walked into the east wing where his grandson lived, he couldn't help but be surprised.
The room has been reorganized, and the account books, tools, kang table, etc. are all arranged neatly on the kang. It only takes up half of the kang space, and the remaining half of the kang can still be used for sleeping normally. The brazier was placed far away from the kang, and wooden buckets and ladles filled with water were placed in the corner of the room, obviously to prevent water from leaking out. A large pot of hot water is boiling on the stove near the door, and there are tea sets and a basket of pasta beside it. Apparently, even the tea and supper that the grandparents and grandchildren need when working at night are ready and can be carried. It is thorough and meticulous.
But who can tell him why his granddaughter Haitang is also in the house? He was still sitting by the kang, flipping through the account books page by page, as if he was checking something.
Hai Xiya couldn't help but asked: "Why is Tangtang here?"
Haitang raised her head, smiled, jumped off the kang, and stepped forward to salute her grandfather: "Grandpa, I'm here to help you and your brother. Whether it's serving tea and pouring water, making fire and steaming cakes, grinding ink and washing pens, or passing things around, copying You can call on me to write texts, or to help you find things. My brother said that the situation is urgent now. You need to hurry up to check the account books and find the evidence of Du Boqin as soon as possible. Some trivial things take up too much time. I need a helper to do odd jobs. I have nothing to do at home anyway, so I volunteered!"
Hai Jiao said to his grandfather calmly: "Grandpa, my little sister also knows everything that my grandson knows. On weekdays, grandma also asks her to help with the detailed accounts at home. She can calculate quickly and well, and is also skilled in the abacus. , even if it’s just helping with odd jobs, it’s okay. We really can’t delay it any longer!”
He repeated the story about Hai Changan discovering Du Boqin's soldiers nearby, and said: "It was Zhu Accountant who saved our family today, but no one knows when Du Boqin will suspect grandpa. Let's speed up the progress. It’s good, and it saves you a long night and too many dreams.”
Hai Xiya blinked, feeling a little confused. He remembered that his grandson was actually the one he hired to help him, but why now that his grandson's chores were handed over to his granddaughter, his grandson was doing serious business with him instead? It is obviously his task to check the account books!
But when he thought of what his second son Hai Chang'an discovered today and the gossip Du Sili heard, Hai Xiya shut his mouth again. The situation was indeed urgent, but he couldn't take leave.
The large-scale trial planting of new grains in Shaanxi will begin next spring. He must make all the preparations before the government seals the deal years ago. Now he is the only chief officer in charge of this matter in Shaanxi Dusi. If he takes leave, no one will do the work. Then how can he explain to Master Tao Yuetao in Beijing?
But he couldn't refuse the commission from the Duke of Zhen, so he had to work overtime day and night. Since he could only squeeze out a few hours of work in the evening every day, the progress of the audit was naturally not fast. If he was unable to concentrate on checking the accounts and delayed the important affairs of the Zhenguo Government, he would also feel uneasy.
So... since his grandson wants to share his worries and his granddaughter also volunteers to help, he... doesn't seem to have to refuse, right? Anyway, these two children are smart and sensible and will not leak secrets...
Hai Xiya walked to the kang, took off her shoes and got on the kang. She looked down and saw that the kang table had been replaced. She couldn't help but wonder: "The original kang table is a new one. Why did it change when it was so good?"
Haitang blinked and looked towards Haijiao. Hai Jiao suppressed a smile and replied: "Although this kang table is a bit old, the tabletop is wider, which is suitable for grandpa and me to share."
Hai Xiya thought it was reasonable, so he asked no more questions, and just whispered to the two children: "Since you are filial, grandpa accepts your kindness. But in this room, no matter what you see, you are not allowed to Let's leak a word!" He turned to his granddaughter, "Don't mention it to your grandma, just pretend you don't know anything."
Haitang blinked and responded obediently: "I'm just here to serve my grandfather and brother's pen and ink, and help serve tea and grind ink. I don't know anything else."
Hai Xiya laughed when he heard this: "Then go and cook a bowl of strong tea for grandpa! I'm afraid I'll have to stay up very late tonight."
Haitang responded and went to the stove and started making tea obediently without mentioning anything about checking the account books earlier.
Hai Xiya and Hai Jiao's ancestors and grandsons divided their labors and began to work hard. Haitang stayed nearby obediently, bringing them some tea from time to time, grinding ink, cutting lamps, adding lamp oil, or adding firewood to the stove and so on. In her free time, she would sit quietly by the stove and do her own thing without any movement. When the night got late, she would steam and heat the basket of bread and buns prepared in the kitchen, urging them to have a midnight snack.
Mrs. Ma was already used to her husband staying up late at work. Before going to bed, she came over to take a look and asked her granddaughter outside the window. Knowing that there were people taking care of her grandson and grandson in the house, she went back to the house to rest with peace of mind. But she didn't forget to remind her granddaughter in a low voice: "Don't stay up too late, or you won't be energetic when you wake up tomorrow."
Haitang replied in a low voice: "I'm not afraid. At worst, I will just catch up on my sleep during the day tomorrow. Anyway, I am idle at home now, and it is more important to take good care of my grandpa and brother."
Ma thought about it and said, "In that case, you can sleep for an extra hour tomorrow morning and don't have to come to my room for breakfast. I will send you the grapes and put them on the stove to heat. When will you Get up and eat whenever you want. I have someone to help you here, so just go about your business and be energetic enough so that you can help your grandpa and big brother!"
Haitang responded, sent her grandmother away, and sat back by the stove, reading by the bright firelight.
After a while, her brother Hai Jiao called her: "Little sister, come here and help me! I remember that the account book of the bow and arrow workshop in the 28th year of Deguang's life was placed by the kang just now. Why is it missing now?"
Haitang hurriedly walked over and helped him look through the two large stacks of account books beside the kang.
Hai Xiya's head was heavy with calculations. He raised his head and only glanced at it. Without saying anything, he lowered his head again and began to calculate the abacus.
(End of chapter)
