Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 113 The Busy Butler

The return journey was unexpectedly smooth, both when leaving Tongzhou and when entering the capital.

There were too many strange things happening, and Lu Jia was too lazy to express her doubts anymore.

Back home, he first helped Yinliu out of the car, where Qinghe and Fuxiao came out to greet him. He handed her over to the astonished and bewildered women, and then told Changfu to quickly fetch a doctor.

He Quxian carried the large pile of documents that Yin Liu had snatched to Shen Qingzhou's courtyard.

Before Lu Jia arrived, the two quickly cleaned up the mess. Most of the documents were useless, except for the stack of travel document stubs, which still had some value.

"Take these back to Song En first, and come back to me after the rest of you have found the whereabouts of the grain ships."

Shen Qingzhou picked out the useless ones and gave them to He Qu.

Taking advantage of the commotion caused by Yin Liu boarding the ship, Shen Qingzhou's men also took the opportunity to follow the grain ship.

The Yan family is not to be trifled with. Whether we can find any leverage this time is still unknown, but we must do our utmost whenever we have the chance.

He Qu had just stepped out the door when Lu Jia came in. Pointing to the document in his hand, she asked, "Where are you taking this?"

"Oh, Steward Qin said these are all useless items. Keeping them might cause trouble in the future, so he instructed me to destroy them."

Lu Jia casually flipped through them and, sure enough, found they were just some useless forms. She handed them back to him and went into the room: "Where are those stubs?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the pile of papers on the table. Half of the papers bore Liu Xin's stamp, and there were at least forty or fifty of them.

These facts do prove that the number of ships passing through Liu Xin's hands tonight is very unusual, but given the price Yin Liu paid, if Lu Jia had known she would go, she certainly wouldn't have approved it.

Unless it is crucial evidence, there is absolutely no need for sacrifices that result in loss of life.

"What do you plan to do with these things?"

Shen Qingzhou poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her.

Their original plan was to investigate the situation at the dock, prioritizing safety. Finding out anything suspicious about the grain ships would be considered their objective achieved.

Then they found an inn in Tongzhou City to stay in.

As a result, not only did they not stay, they didn't even have dinner or drink water.

"I want to secretly send this to the Grand Commandant's residence."

Shen Qingzhou's hand holding the teapot suddenly stopped in mid-air.

Should we send it to his house?

He turned his head and met Lu Jia's bright, shining eyes. "You, how did you get in?"

"Of course I won't go!"

Lu Jia crossed her arms. "He Qu has already broken into the Lu residence, so it's not impossible for him to break into the Grand Commandant's residence as well."

Shen Qingzhou remained silent.

He Qu's father was Shen Bo's close attendant, and He Qu had been practicing martial arts at the Shen family since he was five years old. It was practically his own home, so of course he had no problem.

But isn't she a little too confident in He Qu, unaware of the situation?
"This is not very important evidence, and it is not enough to prove anything. The Grand Commandant may not take it to heart."

Last time I went to the Lu family, at least I had her guidance, and the Grand Commandant's mansion was much more heavily guarded than the Lu family's.

Logically speaking, He Qu should not have been able to accomplish this mission.

Their behavior when leaving and entering the city was already strange, as they were trying to escape danger as quickly as possible. Shen Qingzhou didn't want to add any more suspicion to herself.

Lu Jia was also very perceptive; she would choose to ignore occasional suspicious points. But if there were too many suspicious points, she certainly wouldn't let them go. "Whether we take it to heart is a matter for later. As the Minister of War, if these things are useless to Grand Commandant Shen, then they will be even more useless to us."

At this point, Lu Jia shrugged. "You should know that I don't want to get involved in court affairs. But if I can see the Yan family suffer, I'll be happy."

"You probably don't want me to really end up like that in your dream, do you?"

She blinked her bright eyes and leaned her face close to Shen Qingzhou's nose.

Shen Qingzhou paused for a moment, then turned her face away: "I understand."

Lu Jia withdrew with satisfaction, picked up the paper and pen beside him, and wrote a few lines: "That batch of confiscated grain must be temporarily stored at the Yan family's estate. I've written that down as well. Later, have He Qu deliver these stubs to the Grand Commandant's mansion."

"I don't believe the Grand Commandant would remain indifferent; at the very least, he would send someone to find out the truth."

“You should send it over as soon as possible. The Yan family father and son are always cautious. I’m worried that they will move as soon as they receive the news, or at least come up with a countermeasure immediately.”

"It won't work if you're too late."

Shen Qingzhou wholeheartedly agreed with this point.

Although Yinliu managed to retrieve these stubs for them, she also alerted the enemy.

What will happen next? It's really hard to say.

Shen Qingzhou took the note: "It's getting late, you should go back to your room first. He Qu hasn't returned yet, I'll go this time. I need to think about how to proceed first."

Lu Jia didn't dawdle; she finished the water he poured for her and then went out.

Shen Qingzhou closed the courtyard gate, then the room door, then the front window, and then silently jumped out through the back window.

No one was more suitable than him to deliver the goods to the Grand Commandant's residence.

Since there's no time to lose, it's best to go immediately.

Lu Jia returned to her room, slowly turned up the oil lamp a little, and then sat down by the window.

Not long after, footsteps could be heard in the courtyard. Soon, Qinghe pushed open the door with her lips tightly pursed, glanced at Lu Jia, and then turned around and closed the door.

"Butler Qin has gone out."

Lu Jia looked up.

Qinghe walked over and continued, "Just as you expected, Miss, he did indeed sneak out through the back window. I saw it with my own eyes, and the direction he went was indeed the same as the direction of the Grand Commandant's mansion."

Before going to find Shen Qingzhou, Lu Jia first sent Qinghe to wait quietly in the alley opposite the back courtyard wall.

There's no way around it; some things are simply impossible to pretend to be blind to.

Qinghe doesn't know martial arts, so she naturally can't catch up. But there are only a few people in the whole house. He Qu has already gone out. The only one who can jump over the wall with such superb skills is Qin Zhou.

Lu Jia already knew that Qin Zhou knew martial arts, so she asked them to handle this matter.

But just now when she suggested sending the things to the Grand Commandant's mansion, Qin Zhou could have simply said he would send them over immediately, but he made an excuse to think about it, and then secretly left.
Did he secretly travel again?

The housekeeper she hired is really busy.

Why did she feel that he had more things to do on this trip to Beijing than she did?
Under the lamplight, Lu Jia sat silently for a while, then suddenly looked up and surveyed the house and the courtyard.

She stood up: "Tomorrow, have Changfu go to the gates of the left and right streets to inquire about who owns this house. I want to see him."

Then she looked at Qinghe and said, "Don't let Steward Qin and He Qu know. Do it quietly."

Qinghe agreed.