Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 118 It's Not Easy to Get Rolled Over

"They are elders after all, you should at least show them some respect."

Madam Wei followed Madam Jiang into the house, sat down on the couch, and whispered her instructions.

Jiang turned her head, her thin lips curling into a smirk: "Mother, you're quite the good person. Have you forgotten how the eldest and second branches of the family, these so-called elders you're talking about, berated you so harshly back then?"

Wei stepped back, speechless.

Jiang looked ahead and continued to sneer: "In the Jiang family, what is there to say about seniority or rank? There is only a hierarchy based on status!"
“You didn’t leave any children for Father. After Father died, they wanted nothing more than to devour our third branch of the family alive. They even tried to pocket the little dowry money you had!”
"If it weren't for my daughter's hard work, if I hadn't found the Yan family, if I hadn't risked my reputation to please everyone in the Yan family, to grovel before the old lady, and to serve as a maid in front of Yan's sister-in-law, would you have such a respectable life today?"

"Would they allow you to sit here and advise me to be magnanimous and respectful to them?"

Wei blushed and her voice grew even softer. "That's all in the past. They haven't done anything excessive in the years since."

"Mother knows you've suffered, and knows you've had a hard time, but, but I am still a daughter-in-law of the Jiang family! In the future, I will still contribute to the Jiang family's ancestral graves!"

"If you really tear our faces apart completely, I won't be able to save my reputation either!"

Wei lowered her head and wiped away her tears.

She was already pretty, and her crying made her look even more pitiful.

Jiang, suddenly enraged, stood up abruptly. "Crying, crying, all you do is cry! Besides wiping away tears, what else have you done in your life?!"

Madam Wei couldn't help but feel wronged, and looked up to say, "Didn't I give birth to you?"

Jiang gritted her teeth, her chest heaving a few times: "I wish you had never given birth to me. This constant humiliation and disdain from childhood is unbearable!"

Upon hearing this, Wei cried even louder.

Madam Jiang sat to the side, looking dejected. After a long while, she said in a low voice, "I am now a first-rank lady, yet I am still constrained at every turn. What can't you hear from me?"

"I let you wear gold and silver, and eat delicacies every day. These are things that the eldest and second sons have never seen in their entire lives. Why do you have to go to such lengths?"

Wei's crying finally subsided.

She weakly raised her head, her eyes blurry with tears, and looked at me: "Why have you come back today?"

Madam Jiang glanced at her: "The Yan family has arranged for Qu-ge'er and Ying-jie'er to be engaged. Did you know that?"

Madam Wei said, "Isn't this a good thing? It strengthens family ties..."

As she finished speaking, she quickly glanced at Jiang's expression and stopped talking.

Fortunately, Chiang Kai-shek didn't seem to mind.

She looked down at the tea in her hand: "Qu-ge'er is not a good match. I do not approve of this marriage."

"But they're already engaged..."

“There are ways to handle an engagement,” said Madam Jiang. “I want to send Guo Lu back to Jizhou.”

"Why send him back?" Madam Wei couldn't sit still any longer. "Your cousin only has one son. Before she passed away, she repeatedly told me to take him in and raise him well. What can he do if you send him back to Jizhou?"
"Don't forget, your cousin's parents personally collected your maternal grandfather's remains!"

"Why are you in such a hurry? It's not like I don't want him to come back. I just need him to do something for me."

Madam Wei was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "What business do we have that requires sending him back to Jizhou?"

“Because it’s unreliable to keep him in the capital.” Madam Jiang’s brows furrowed. “Last time I sent him on a mission, but his letter was intercepted on the way. I suspect that someone close to him leaked the information.”

"People close to you?" Madam Wei looked at her with suspicion, glancing at her several times. "Isn't the entire Lu family under your control? Even your son-in-law listens to you on matters big and small. How could anyone leak your information?"

"If I had known, wouldn't I have arrested him immediately?"

Wei remained silent. Jiang said coldly, "Even if I didn't know, this incident should serve as a warning to me."

At this point, she put down her tea and stood up. "I just came to say hello. Guo Lu must set off back to Jizhou within three days. To the outside world, he was driven away because he angered me. Please cooperate, Mother."

"When will he be back?"

Jiang stopped at the door: "I'll be back once things are done."

"..."

……

After the Lu and Yan families successfully proposed marriage, news of their engagement followed, and then came the busy preparations of the matchmakers and betrothal gifts.

Lu Jia has been busy processing this news for the past few days.

That afternoon, he was planning to accompany the doctor to examine Yinliu's injury, and then go to the Cheng family to pay a visit and make an appearance.

Now that the marriage is arranged, the Cheng family should follow suit immediately.

Before the doctor could even finish writing the prescription, He Qu and Chang Fu rushed in together.

"Girl, Guo Lu has appeared. A few days ago, after Jiang went back to her parents' home, she reportedly scolded Guo Lu severely. Then this morning, Guo Lu left the city with large and small bags."

“We spent some money at the city gate and found out that he was going back to his hometown of Jizhou.”

"Running back to Jizhou at this time?"

Lu Jia immediately sensed something was wrong and stood up.

Jiang knew all too well how important Guo Lu was to her. Although Guo wasn't particularly talented, he was loyal to her. This marriage had just been finalized, and unlike in her previous life, he hadn't come knocking on her door. Jiang should be in a state of utter distress right now, so why would she suddenly let Guo go?
There must be a ghost!

She immediately said, "He Qu, hurry up and chase after them to see what's going on. Jizhou isn't too far from the capital. If you find anything suspicious, come back and tell me right away!"

He Qu hesitated for a moment, but quickly nodded: "I'll go right away!"

Lu Jia started walking in circles under the tree.

She knew that the Jiang family would definitely have a backup plan, based on precedents from her previous life, and she also knew that this backup plan would eventually target her.

Because apart from having Lu Jia marry in place of her, as in her previous life, the Jiang family had no other way to resolve this predicament.

But Lu Jia didn't expect her to send Guo Lu to Jizhou.

What exactly does she want to do?

"What happened?"

Shen Qingzhou's voice rang out from behind.

Lu Jia stopped under the osmanthus tree and turned around.

Shen Qingzhou was standing under the threshold, casually brushing off a few fallen leaves that had been blown by the wind.

He returned from who-knows-where; the hem of his robe was slightly dusty, and his chest was bulging, as if he were carrying something.

The setting sun shone on him from behind, making his already tall and slender figure gleam like a shining god.

Lu Jia sat down in the chair first, then looked at him and waved: "Qin Zhou".

Shen Qingzhou noticed her worry, sat down next to her, and asked across the small square table, "What's wrong?"

Lu Jia stroked the teapot, her gaze lingering on his face: "You said before that you have no family, so, have you ever been engaged?"