Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 168 A Search That Never Ends!
This abacus is made of solid wood!

Although Shen Zhui was strong and robust, the force of the blow still hurt him badly. Before he could even recover, the words "He's not a good person" that he heard immediately infuriated him!
He didn't do anything, so why isn't he a good person?

He yelled, "Shut up!"

"girl!"

"Second son!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yin Liu and the page appeared at the same time, each protecting their master behind them—it might be more accurate to say that the page was separated from him. After arriving, he quickly pulled Shen Zhui's arm and walked back: "Look what you've done! If the young master finds out, you'll be in big trouble!"

Seeing that something was wrong, Yinliu quickly said, "Miss, let's go!"

Lu Jia nodded and ran with him towards the street corner. After running a few steps, seeing that Shen Zhui had already been dragged away by the pageboy, she thought for a moment and then ran back, saying to the scholar who was still standing there, holding the abacus, trying to catch his breath:

"Thank you for the reminder, young master."

The scholar composed himself, put down his abacus, and shook his head, saying, "It's nothing. I received gifts from the young lady and that gentleman earlier, and when I saw some bad people trying to cause trouble, I had no choice but to intervene."

Lu Jia nodded and looked him over. She noticed that his forehead was covered in sweat, suggesting that his previous actions had probably taken away half of his courage.

Then he asked, "What is your surname, sir? You look like a scholar, yet you're making a living on the streets. I wonder if you've encountered some difficulties?"

The scholar cupped his hands and said, "My surname is Liang. My family suffered a disaster several years ago, which caused our family to fall into poverty. At present, we can barely make ends meet with our own two hands."

When Lu Jia heard his surname was "Liang," her heart skipped a beat. "What's your full name?"

The scholar looked up with a hint of bewilderment in his eyes, but he still answered, "My surname is Liang, the Liang of pillar, and my given name is Mi."

Lu Jia was suddenly moved, and quickly looked him over a few times before asking, "The former Censor-in-Chief Liang Jun, who is still in prison, who is he to you?"

Liang Mi's expression shattered: "My ancestor was indeed Censor Liang in the Dali Temple prison! May I ask who you are, young lady?"

Lu Jia took a deep breath: "It's like finding a needle in a haystack! So you are Young Master Liang, Liang Mi!..."

This was the Liang family she had asked the boatman to find when she was in Shawan!
She immediately looked around: "Young Master Liang, do you have any impression of the Xie family of Tanzhou?"

Liang Mi was already moved when she pressed him about his identity. Hearing "the Xie family of Tanzhou," he was touched again: "They are the benefactors of my Liang family! How about it?"

Lu Jia smiled and said, "Come with me!"

……

When his adoptive father, Xie Zhang, was alive, he always worried about the fate of the Liang family's descendants.

After she passed away, Qiu Niang continued to worry about them, but at the time she was willing but unable to help.

She eventually managed to find out about the Liang siblings through the boatman she asked, but they had no fixed address, and she couldn't find them again after arriving in the capital.

Back then, Liang Jun was able to study and enter officialdom because of Master Xie, and Master Xie, in turn, expanded his business to the capital and became a truly wealthy merchant because of Liang Jun.

Later, Liang Jun was implicated because his teacher, Yang Tingfang, was targeted by the Yan faction and ended up with his house confiscated and his head cut off. As a result, Master Xie spent all his family's wealth to rescue him and moved the whole family south.

Even now, several shops belonging to the Xie family are occupied by Yan's henchmen!

How could Qiu Niang, who had personally experienced all of this, forget it? And how could she not hate it?

The bond between the two families is so deep that it's impossible for the Xie family to let go of it.

To everyone's surprise, the person they had been searching for suddenly appeared right in front of them!
He temporarily put aside his previous encounter with Shen Zhui and his mind was filled with memories of the Liang and Xie families.

On the way back to Yanzi Hutong, Lu Jia rode in a carriage, but Liang Mi could not ride with her, so they could not talk on the way. Lu Jia could only urge Changfu to speed up.

Eager to get home, she rushed into the house, shouting, "Mother, look who's here?!" Qiu Niang and Aunt Li, who were discussing planting vegetables in the empty backyard, came out at the sound of her voice: "Who's here?"

As soon as she stepped out of the house, she saw a young man in front of her, besides Lu Jia, wearing clothes patched upon patched. His silhouette looked rather familiar...

Liang Jun was imprisoned only a decade or so ago. Qiu Niang was still young. How could she not remember the outlines of the Liang family?!

"It's...Aman?!"

Upon hearing her cry out, Liang Mi's eyes immediately reddened, and she bowed deeply, saying, "Aman greets Aunt!"

Qiu Niang lifted him up.

After looking her up and down, she exclaimed instantly, "...It really is you! You were only seven years old when we left the capital!"

Liang Mi nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "Aunt, how have you been?"

...Lu Jia brought Liang Mi here, firstly to reassure Qiu Niang, and secondly to verify the truth.

Seeing that Qiu Niang had already verified the person's identity, he felt relieved and quickly had tea served.

Looking at Liang Mi from the side, Lu Jia saw that she looked haggard and much older than her actual age, and thought that she must have had a hard time these past few years.

She then asked him, "I heard that Young Master Liang has a younger sister? How is she?"

Liang Mi nodded: "My younger sister, Liang Xing, is currently working in an embroidery workshop in the south of the city."

"And what about your grandfather? How is he doing now?"

In her previous life, after Lu Jia returned to the capital, she visited Liang Jun in prison as a member of the Xie family. That was in February. Now it is winter, and the situation may not be the same.

“My grandfather…” Liang Mi said in a low voice, “My grandfather has been staying in a dark prison cell for many years. His knees are red and swollen. A few days ago, my sister and I pooled some money and bought some medicine to visit him. In the end, we felt that his health had deteriorated a lot over the past year.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Jia exchanged a glance with Qiu Niang. Then she said, "I'll have Granny Bai go and get some medicine."

Liang Mi opened her mouth as if to decline, but gritted her teeth and stopped herself, saying, "The Xie family has already shown our Liang family immense kindness, and I feel indebted to them. Aunt, you have just arrived in the capital; is there anything you need me to do that I can do?"

Qiu Niang glanced at Lu Jia: "You're absolutely right. I've been away from the capital for so long, and I'm completely unfamiliar with it. I'd love to have someone familiar by my side to look after me. Would it be convenient for you and your sister to move in and keep each other company?"

Liang Mi was stunned.

Qiu Niang smiled and said, "My place is quite spacious. My son Xie Yi is a few years younger than you and is also studying. Your presence will give him someone to talk to. If you don't like living here and want to move out, I won't stop you."

Liang Mi lowered her head, and after a moment gritted her teeth and said, "My aunt treats me so well, if I were to refuse again, I would be being unreasonable."

“That’s exactly right,” Qiu Niang nodded.

He then summoned the servants and ordered them to clean the house.

After giving her instructions, she hesitated and asked, "How...did your parents pass away?"

Liang Mi clenched her fists: "My father died while working for my grandfather. My mother... my mother's body was eventually found in the City God Temple."

At this point, the grief and indignation in his eyes could no longer be concealed.

Lu Jia and Qiu Niang, both women, guessed what was going on when they saw this.

Both of them dug their fingernails deep into their palms.

The infighting in the imperial court has even dragged down the families to this extent. Shouldn't the Yan family father and son be torn to pieces?