Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 141 Unlike her younger sister, she doesn't receive all the love and attention.
Lu Jia's words were harsh.

The girl in front of me does have the air of a young lady, but upon closer examination, she grew up in a small place like Shawan and has never seen the world. Logically, she wouldn't understand any hidden meanings.

Jiang suppressed her restless thoughts and took Lu Jia's hand: "Let's go inside first."

Upon arriving at the hall, the guests and hosts took their seats. Madam Jiang instructed Su Zhixiao's wife to prepare a banquet, and then apologized to Madam Cheng: "I really didn't expect such a joyous occasion today, so I haven't had time to prepare anything. Please forgive any oversights."

Madam Cheng replied, "Jia'er is our niece, our sister's only child, so she can naturally be considered half a member of the Cheng family. It is only right that the Cheng family treats her well."

"If you want to express your gratitude, you should thank this Madam Xie generously. Without Madam Xie and the late Mr. Xie, Jia'er would most likely be gone without a trace."

Madam Jiang turned her gaze to Qiu Niang behind Lu Jia, then stood up, took her hand, and curtsied to her: "Madam Cheng is right. My wife's kindness is like giving me a second life. I must accept your bow!"

Qiu Niang hurriedly stood up: "This is unacceptable! I did not come here seeking anything in return, but since I raised the young lady, I must give an explanation to the Minister now that she is returning home. Madam, you are too kind to me."

Lu Jia pressed her down to sit: "As the saying goes, the kindness of raising is greater than the kindness of giving birth. Although my mother is my stepmother, she has treated me with utmost care since I was a child, no different from my own mother. If my own mother were alive today, wouldn't I also have to thank her?"
"Father, don't you agree?"

Minister Lu, who had been singled out by Lu Jia, took a deep breath and stretched, saying, "That makes sense."

Thus, even though Jiang was already in a difficult position, she had no choice but to go through with the ceremony.

Lu Ying, who had been watching from the sidelines for half a day, stepped forward with a smile and said, "Mother is right. Thanks to Madam Xie, our family is able to have this day of reunion."

"Compared to my mother, my sister and I are blood relatives. Apart from our father, we are the closest people to each other."

"Therefore, I should be the one to express my gratitude."

Without saying a word, she bowed down to Qiu Niang.

After finishing, she turned to Lu Jia and bowed again: "I've always heard my father and mother talk about my sister. Today I finally get to see her. Heaven has eyes after all, allowing us sisters to have a day to reunite."

This is the daughter of a high-ranking official, who stepped in to help Madam Jiang out of a predicament. It would be inappropriate to continue to pursue this matter.

Lu Jia smiled and said, "I heard that my sister recently got engaged to the third young master of the Yan family. This is a joyous occasion. Congratulations to my sister. May you and Young Master Yan fly together like a pair of lovebirds and grow old together."

Lu Ying remained calm upon hearing this, but Jiang Shi's eyes already held a hint of unease.

This method was a thorn in her side. She had originally hoped that Guo Lu would bring people back to replace Tao Tao's plan, but because of Lu Jia's sudden appearance, this plan was ruined.

She had to bring this up at this very moment!

Was she really unintentional?!
Lu Jia, having administered the acupuncture, was no longer interested in dealing with her. Madam Cheng and Qiu Niang had already begun chatting, and the others present also took the opportunity to exchange pleasantries.

Cheng Wenhui was merely there to fulfill a mission and had no patience to get close to the two Lu family sons, let alone stay for a meal.

Having given the necessary instructions, he gestured for Madam Cheng to stand up and take her leave.

Qiu Niang naturally had no intention of staying. Although she was reluctant to part with Lu Jia, she knew that she couldn't help her at all by staying by her side. On the contrary, because she was unfamiliar with the rules of these noble families, it would be easy for others to take advantage of her. So she also stood up.

Jiang tried to persuade them to stay, but ultimately failed. So, together with Lu Jie, they saw them off at the gate.

Cheng Wenhui glanced back at Lu Jia twice, then called her forward and gave her a few words of advice in front of everyone: "Come to the Cheng family anytime if you need anything. With me here, I'll always find a way to help you." Sigh, he didn't want to be so sycophantic, like he was trying to curry favor after receiving a favor; it sounded so hypocritical.

But the girl who died young was the only one left with his bloodline. It would have been fine if they hadn't been involved before, but now that she had been calling him "Uncle, Uncle" with a smile for so many days, he simply couldn't bring himself to say those cold words from before.

He's nothing like her heartless and treacherous father!

Lu Jia saw them off all the way.

Madam Cheng said to Lu Jie, "Brother-in-law, we brought Jia'er back safely for you. If anything happens to this child who has lost her mother, the Cheng family will make a fuss about it to the end."

She patted Lu Jia's hand again and got into the car.

Before leaving, Cheng Yi looked at Lu Jia intently for a while.

Seeing that Qiu Niang's eyes were red, Xie Yi was afraid that she would cry, so he quickly took her arm, bowed and said goodbye, and got into the carriage.

After they all left and returned to the quiet courtyard, Madam Jiang, under Lu Jie's watchful gaze, lovingly pulled Lu Jia away, saying, "Let's go, I'll take you to Yixia Courtyard."

……

Yixia Courtyard has been cleaned up.

Lu Jia brought Qinghe, Fuxiao, Zhimu, Yinliu, and Changfu.

Qiu Niang originally wanted He Qu and Tang Yu to come along, but Qin Zhou thought that the Xie family needed more defense and that they didn't need to go.

Lu Jia herself felt that with Yin Liu by her side, it would be enough to keep Chang Fu in the outer courtyard for easy communication and errands.

If they were to bring two more highly skilled guards, it would probably arouse the suspicion of the Jiang family, so they agreed with Qin Zhou.

Jiang led Lu Jia to the door: "Rest well first. After you've rested, I'll show you around the house."

After saying that, she immediately instructed Du Mama, who was following behind her, "Go find a few clever people to serve the young lady."

Before Granny Du could agree, Lu Jia said first, "There's no rush to add more people. The few people I have around are enough for now."

Madam Jiang slightly curled her lips, glanced at Lu Jie beside her and said, "You are the eldest daughter of the mansion, so naturally you should have the pomp and circumstance of an eldest daughter. Even Ying'er has more servants than you. If outsiders find out, won't they blame me for favoring one over the other?"

"Even if outsiders don't say it, your father would never agree to it."

Lu Jia smiled innocently: "My mother loves me so much, how could I be polite? But when we were exchanging pleasantries in the hall earlier, I asked Aunt Yang to help me find a few of the people who used to serve me. If I were to return the letter now, it would seem frivolous."

Jiang said with a serious expression, "You actually went to ask an outsider for help, but you wouldn't accept me. Do you not trust me?"

Lu Jia calmly replied: "I have heard that my mother has managed the Lu family's affairs in an orderly manner over the years, and no one from top to bottom has any objection to her. How could I not trust her?"

"But my father said that I would still be in charge of Yixia Courtyard in the future. That's why I took the liberty of entrusting it to Aunt Yang earlier."

She sighed softly again: "Speaking of which, I left home at a young age, unlike my sister who has been with her parents since she was little and has always been taught the rules. Now that I have made this mistake, I hope my parents will not blame me."