Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 102 Eliminating the Traitors Begins with Eliminating the Stepmother

The letter that He Qu brought back was placed on the table under the tree.

The letter was addressed to Fang Wei, the magistrate of Shawan County.

In the name of the Lu family, they clearly reversed what the Zhang family had done to the Xie family's orphans and widows.

In Jiang's writings, the Zhang family is portrayed as innocent and tragic, while the Xie family mother and son, along with Lu Jia, are depicted as shameless villains who seized the Zhang family's wealth.

The letter stated that if Shawan County did not severely punish Fang Wei for this case, then Fang Wei would be failing in his duties and abusing his power as a local official.

Lu Jia watched it three times and couldn't help but laugh.

"She really didn't disappoint me. She's already made her second move so quickly. This is enough to show that ten years ago, she really didn't want me to live!"

"What happened to the messenger they sent?" After laughing, Lu Jia looked at He Qu.

He Chuandao: "I don't know... I got it by accident. It was an anonymous letter from someone who probably knew that we had been harmed by Guo Lu and kindly reminded us."

In fact, the person who intercepted the letter didn't know what it was; they just recognized it as coming from the Lu family and did it on a whim.

Unexpectedly, this letter was still directed at Lu Jia!

After receiving the news from Song En, he naturally sent it over here immediately.

Lu Jia pondered, "Although we intercepted the letter, their actions won't stop. The Jiang family will still send people. Once they discover I'm not in Tanzhou, they will definitely target Mother and the others."

"We must not give them the chance to harm Mother and Yige!"
"Where is Tang Yu?"

She looked up and searched the courtyard for any trace of Tang Yu.

He Qu quickly whistled.

Tang Yu rushed in from outside: "What are your orders, Miss?"

"Go find Granny Qing immediately and get some travel money. Set off for Shawan to protect your mother and the others. Once you arrive, hire a few skilled guards. Stay with them at all times and do not let anyone succeed. Until I have new arrangements for you."

Tang Yu glanced at Shen Qingzhou and immediately nodded: "I'll go right away!"

After he left, Shen Qingzhou said, "If they want to make a move, it's impossible to guard against. Being thousands of miles away, they can't put out a fire from afar."

Lu Jia said in a deep breath, "Perhaps Mother is right, we still need to bring them to the capital first."

The business in Shawan certainly cannot be abandoned, but if the Jiang family is to make a move, it will definitely involve taking lives. Therefore, the business can be put aside for now. With Qiu Niang and the others by our side, it is at least better than being unable to reach them from afar.

Jiang, a mere woman confined to the inner quarters, could extend her reach so far, directly manipulating the government offices in Shawan, thousands of miles away. She could so blatantly distort the truth to satisfy her sinister purposes, using the government as a tool for her to commit atrocities at will. This demonstrates the profound poison they have inflicted upon the world.

Fortunately, Lu Jia was already wary of her and had the ability to protect herself. If it were someone else, wouldn't a wrongful conviction have been convincingly fabricated under her manipulation?
As an adopted daughter of the Yan family and the wife of the Minister of Rites, Jiang's power extends beyond the inner quarters. Like the Liu family and Zhou Sheng, she is fearless and emboldened.

“The suffering people in Shawan belong to this category of people who are persecuted by those in power.”

Under the gleaming setting sun, Shen Qingzhou's gaze was as deep as ink. "Even though we captured Su Mingxing and temporarily changed the plight of the hungry farmers in Shawan, Zhou Sheng then went so far as to flood the fields and destroy the dikes in order to cover up his crimes."

"It is the common people who suffer. Driven by self-interest, few people care about their lives and deaths."

"We don't know if, after Zhou Sheng, there will be even more shameless people or more outrageous cases. Even Fang Wei, who would rush to the front lines regardless of danger when a flood comes, how much of his integrity is likely to remain steadfast when such a letter falls into his hands."

If the season is cold, even sunshine cannot warm the earth.

Lu Jia picked up the letter again.

"With such high profits in the rice market, without eliminating the treacherous faction, no matter how prosperous the Shawan rice market, which is backed by the Xiangjiang River, becomes, it will not benefit the surrounding people."

"Profiting from the Xiangjiang River and the docks is one thing, and manipulating the government by abusing power is another."

"Since Jiang is acting as a bully by taking advantage of the tiger's power and becoming his accomplice, even if I have no personal grudge against her, she can still be considered a scourge to Shawan."

She raised her head and looked at He Qu, who was still standing in front of her: "I'm asking you to deliver this letter to Lu Jie, the Minister of Rites. Do you dare to go?"

He Qu was stunned.

Although neither Shen Qingzhou nor Lu Jia had personally explained Lu Jia's background to him, after overhearing these things today, he was already able to guess.

But that was the residence of the Minister of Rites, and even with his status as a guard of the Grand Commandant's mansion, it would still be difficult for him to accomplish this task.

“I’ll show you the way, just do as I say.” Lu Jia handed him the letter. “I know you are very skilled in martial arts, and you also have some abilities that I don’t know about. I think it won’t be difficult for you to climb over the wall of the Minister’s mansion.”

“My father would sit in his study for a while every morning, and there would be no one in the study after 9 pm the night before.”

“You can’t go into the study, of course, but you should be able to find a way to drop this letter in through the window.”

After saying that, she dipped her finger in water and drew a direction on the table: "If you enter through this side gate of the Lu residence, you will definitely find an opportunity."

He Qu also glanced at Shen Qingzhou. Then he immediately memorized the route, put the letter in his pocket, and left.

Shen Qingzhou said, "The Jiang family sent the letter in the name of the Lu family. Your father will be very confused when he finds out, and he will definitely send someone to Shawan to find out the truth."

"In this way, Chiang Kai-shek will most likely have to explain himself, so you made the right move."

"However, after your father receives the letter, he will send someone to Shawan. The journey alone will take at least twenty days. After investigating the facts, it will take at least ten days. The return trip will take almost a month, so it will be about two months."

"Two months is just right," Lu Jia sneered. "I'm prepared for persistent effort."

If once doesn't work, try twice; if twice doesn't work, try three times.

"The Cheng family will definitely come looking for me within half a month at the latest. I've calculated that I'll be returning to the Lu residence within a month at the latest."

"Let's use this letter as an arrow today, and when it flies back in two months, it will be ready to serve its purpose."

Shen Qingzhou nodded, then looked at his fist: "Are you sure you don't need me to help?"

"Of course not." Lu Jia patted his shoulder. "It's always more satisfying to take revenge yourself."

Shen Qingzhou lowered his fist and looked at her: "But what I find strange is that you've been away from home for ten years, so why do you still know your father's habits so well?"

"And why are you so confident that you can let He Qu in through the side gate of the Lu family, which you haven't stepped into for ten years?"

(End of this chapter)