Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 165 You're Still the Best!

Shen Qingzhou naturally knew the reason behind Lu Jia's words: "You went to see him?"

Lu Jia nodded emphatically, sat down, picked up the warm teapot next to him, poured two cups of tea, drank one cup himself first, and then said, "I really didn't expect this! He, a high-ranking official, does things so unethically. If he wanted to arrest someone, couldn't he have found a way himself? He actually stole my achievements without saying a word."

"I worked hard all night, and in the end, all my spoils were gone. Can you believe it?!"

gas.

Of course I'm angry.

Shen Qingzhou sat down opposite her: "What did he reply to you?"

Lu Jia then repeated Lu Jie's words to him. "I really can't argue with him. He's a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Rites. His verbal skills are... wow! I couldn't out-argue him even if there were ten of me!"

She finished the remaining half-cup of water.

Shen Qingzhou wasn't very happy either.

Lu Jie is in his fifties, how could he hold a grudge against a child?

He said, "If you really want that old woman, I'll help you find her later."

He must have been capable to become the Minister of Rites, but the places where he could hide people were probably limited to the capital city, so he could easily find them if he wanted to.

If he makes her angry over something like this, then he, as her fiancé, is incompetent.

After listening, Lu Jia thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "By the way, do you think my father is a little strange?"

How could it not be strange? It's absolutely bizarre! He asked, "Which aspect are you referring to?"

Lu Jia frowned and remained silent for a while: "Before entering the manor, I thought he would just abandon me after a moment of excitement. So before agreeing to go back, I tried to get him to give me a few promises."

"Unexpectedly, whether it was that day when Granny Du targeted Fuxiao, or yesterday's incident with Madam Jiang, he always intervened at crucial moments without hesitation."

"Even if he wanted to smooth things over, I would have had ways to deal with it, but his attitude was so—and the key point is that he even reprimanded the Jiang family in front of me, which I never dared to imagine before."

Shen Qingzhou swirled the cup: "No matter how powerful Jiang is, she is just an adopted daughter of the Yan family, while your father is a Jinshi who passed the imperial examination on his own merit. He should be the head of the family with absolute authority."

"Even if he wanted to maintain his relationship with the Yan family through the Chiang family, he didn't need to abandon all his stances."

"Therefore, his relationship with the Chiang family may not be as unbalanced as you see it."

“I understand the logic. What I’m asking is why in my past life—I mean, in that dream I had—he handed me over to the Jiang family and then let them do as they pleased?”

Well, Lu Jia admits that after returning to the manor in her previous life, she still had some reservations about Lu Jie's decision to hand her over to Madam Jiang.

If punishing Granny Du that day only made Lu Jia think that Lu Jie was a trustworthy person, then this morning, after publicly reprimanding Madam Jiang, he also granted Lu Jia the power to assist in managing the household affairs, which was really too far off track.

Lu Jia always felt that the Lu Jie she saw after returning to the manor in this life was different from the Lu Jie of her previous life.

Shen Qingzhou couldn't say for sure about this either.

His relationship with his own father was just so-so, and he himself had never been a father, so his advice was really limited.

Lu Jia continued, "He intercepted Granny Du, not for Jiang Shi. But if it wasn't for her, then why did he intercept her? Was it for me?"

As she finished speaking, she gave a light sneer. Shen Qingzhou said, "Judging from his actions and what he told you, it was indeed because of you."

Lu Jia shrugged, pulled back, and stood far away: "I don't believe he's that kind."

After she finished speaking, she bit her lip, and then said, "But he kept saying that Granny Du's words didn't carry enough weight and that she couldn't be used by me. I always felt like he was implying something to me."

"Of course I know that dealing with the Jiang family is not enough with just that old woman Du. Besides, I have only just returned and haven't even settled down yet. How could I possibly start something serious right away?"
"After suffering two losses in a row, the Chiang family will surely realize this immediately and won't leave any loopholes so easily again."

"I know all of that."

"He and Jiang have been married for over ten years, which is much longer than my mother has been together, and much longer than my father and I have been together. Logically, he shouldn't be helping me."

"He said I hadn't done anything wrong, and he even reminded me to think it over. What do you think he was really up to?"

She stared intently at the threshold.

She remembered every word Lu Jie said in the study earlier very clearly, and she could clearly feel that Lu Jie was intentionally hinting at something to her.

He repeatedly asked whether Granny Du was of sufficient importance, but who was?

While Lu Jia remained silent, Shen Qingzhou also kept quiet. Firstly, he had no good insights at the moment, and secondly, he didn't want to disturb her.

She kept asking questions, but it seemed more like she was talking to herself.

He only turned his gaze back when he heard Li Chang and the others talking in the front yard: "Don't think about things that don't have answers yet."

Lu Jia listlessly rested her chin on her hand and sighed, "I was angry too."

"Don't be angry," Shen Qingzhou pulled a piece of paper out of his sleeve. "If you knew there was a shop in a good location that you could buy and run, wouldn't you feel better?"

Lu Jia looked up: "Huh?"

Shen Qingzhou pushed the paper over: "Didn't you plan to let Yi Ge'er and the others continue doing business in the capital?"
“There’s a three-room shop on the main street inside the South Gate that’s for sale. It used to be a grain shop. I was thinking that the grain shops in Shawan are still open, so we can transport the grain from Shawan to the capital and open our own shop to sell it. That would be convenient.”

"Look at it."

Qiu Niang and the others have been in the capital for seven or eight days. They have finished most of their work and now it's time to think about making a living.

Xie Yi's studies couldn't be neglected, but Qiu Niang couldn't stay still. Besides, the Li Daoshi family had all come, so everyone had to find something to do.

Lu Jia remembered that the Xie family had previously run a rice shop in the capital, so she had discussed with Qiu Niang the possibility of taking over a suitable shop and running it.

Besides, didn't Liu Xiyu also go to Beijing?

She stayed in Tongzhou for several days and heard that the negotiations with the business she had approached were not going smoothly. Qiu Niang had previously said that she would arrive in the next couple of days.

That's perfect, let's all discuss it together.

We'll always go back to Shawan; it's everyone's hometown. But until these malignant tumors are eradicated, we can still do other business.

At the beginning of the year, the Yan family proposed to rectify river transport. Although it was out of personal motives, they had to do the work on the surface. Now, the north-south navigation capacity has improved somewhat.

Lu Jia was surprised that Qin Zhou had already taken care of the shop for her because she had been delayed by the Lu family's affairs and hadn't had time to look for one!
That's certainly something to be happy about!

She straightened her back: "You're so much better than me!"