Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 172 The Second Young Master!
Lu Jia's initial attempt was unsuccessful, and although she was somewhat disappointed, she was not discouraged.

The most convenient way to deal with the Liang family's situation is, of course, to ask Lu Jie for help.

As long as he's willing to help, there's no way this matter can't be resolved.

The Yan family's real target back then was Grand Secretary Yang Chengfang. Liang Jun was only implicated by Yang Chengfang. There were countless officials like the Liang family who were falsely accused. If Lu Jie had been willing to step in, the Yan family wouldn't have been so relentless.

But the problem lies precisely in whether Lu Jie is willing to help with this? Is he willing to ask the Yan family for face on her behalf, as their daughter?

Lu Jia felt she should give it a try.

As expected, he really refused.

"You're back, young lady?" Qinghe greeted her as she stepped into the courtyard. "You've worked hard all day; you should rest early."

"The master has granted the young lady the authority to assist in managing the household affairs. According to custom, she should be in the main house to handle affairs first thing tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jia's thoughts immediately returned from the Liang family. As she sat down to eat, someone outside called "Miss" again; it was Yin Liu who entered.

“Young lady, I think I’ve found out something about the matter you asked me to inquire about.”

Yin Liu's eyes shone brightly as she excitedly approached Lu Jia as soon as she entered the room. Before Lu Jia could even speak, she said impatiently, "I spent time in the busiest teahouses in the city and asked a few old waiters. I heard that in the capital, any young man as tall as that person today comes from a military family."

Of course!

Think about it, with those thick muscles, could that kid be the son of a scholar-official family?

Lu Jia immediately stopped eating: "Then which general's mansion does he belong to?"

“Don’t rush,” Yinliu said. “I’m thinking that there are so many military families in the capital. If we go to find them one by one, how long will it take?”
"So we followed his leads and slowly inquired around, eventually narrowing it down to three families: the Li family of General Zhaoyi's Mansion, the Lin family of Duke Yi, and the Shen family of Grand Commandant's Mansion. All of these families had two sons."

"The Shen family?"

Lu Jia's head suddenly twitched. The only time she had any connection with the Shen family was during the Xiaerlou incident.

“That’s right!” Yin Liu nodded. “Of these three families, the second young master of the Shen family is the most suitable for today’s person. Because Grand Commandant Shen only returned to the capital in January, and the second young master of Shen he brought back with him is said to have grown up on the border since childhood and has never returned to the capital.”

"In other words, not only does Young Master Shen know martial arts, but he also doesn't speak with a Beijing accent. In other words, he looks about 80 or 90 percent like the person we met today!"

Lu Jia immediately asked, "How did you pinpoint the Shen family?!"

“Everyone in the capital knows this!” Yin Liu couldn’t help but raise her chin. “The Grand Commandant’s office holds a high position and wields great power. It is currently the only powerful minister in the court with the strength to rival the Yan family.”

"Grand Commandant Shen shares the same views as His Majesty on foreign wars, and His Majesty relies heavily on him in border defense. This is already common knowledge throughout the capital!"

How could Lu Jia not know how high the Shen family's status is now?

Under Lu Jie's management, the Lu family quickly rose to the ranks of first-rate civil officials, but above Lu Jie stood the Yan family. Among military officials, if the Shen family didn't claim to be number one, no one else would!
However, Shen Bo never got involved in the political infighting. He didn't join the cabinet, nor did he stand up for anyone. He only focused on studying its maps!
Therefore, for two generations, the Shen family had never come into Lu Jia's sight.

Even He Ping, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had a life-or-death relationship with the emperor, did not need Qingjing to win over any side. In Lu Jia's eyes, the He family was more familiar than the Shen family! The eldest son of the Shen family was physically weak and arrogant, and rarely showed himself in public.

As for the second son of the Shen family, it is indeed said that he was brought back from the border. Outsiders say that he is the illegitimate son of Shen Bosheng, who has been away from home for many years.

What kind of person is this second young master? There are few rumors about him outside, because in his previous life, it was said that the inner quarters of the Shen family were quite turbulent. Although the eldest son of the Shen family was weak, he was ruthless and managed to keep this second young master in the inner quarters, never letting him go to the court to hold any official position.

As a result, Lu Jia, who had been the young mistress of the Yan family for three years, had never seen the two brothers even once!

But Yin Liu said that the boy who had appeared around them several times was the illegitimate son of the Shen family!

If this young man is the second young master of the Shen family, then their eldest young master—

"Qin Zhou!"

A thunderbolt suddenly exploded in Lu Jia's head.

The eldest son of the Shen family, who is physically disabled and weak...

When they first met, Qin Zhou was incredibly thin and pale; he had collapsed at Lu Jia's feet, exhausted, after helping her chase away some thugs!

Lu Jia's face turned pale instantly.

Is Qin Zhou the legendary, otherworldly eldest son of the Shen family?
"Miss!" Yin Liu quickly helped her sit down, regretting that she had revealed too much. "It's still uncertain whether he is the second young master of the Shen family or not. It might just be a coincidence!"

Seeing her daughter's expression, Yin Liu knew that she had the same thought as her!
She had known Qin Zhou for as long as Lu Jia had, but she already knew everything about this young master Qin, especially how they met, from Xie Yi and Li Chang.

Today, that boy already has so many characteristics that fit the Second Young Master Shen. In addition, the eldest young master of the Shen family is frail and sickly, and the boy has secretly followed He Qu and Qin Zhou twice. Isn't the answer obvious?
But if that's really the case, wouldn't Qin Zhou, no, Young Master Shen, have deceived the girl?
“I know,” Yin Liu was panicking when Lu Jia murmured again, “So it was him…”

"Last time at Xia'er Tower, it wasn't a coincidence at all. He deliberately had someone around him ask me to go upstairs to serve tea so that I could get closer to my father!"

Yinliu was surprised.

Lu Jia sat calmly under the lamplight, but her eyes shone even brighter than the lamplight itself.

"Since he is Young Master Shen, Guo Yi is naturally going to Tanzhou with him. That's why Guo Yi suddenly became so dumbfounded when he saw He Qutang Yu at the Tanzhou government office."

All the oddities that had flashed before but were deliberately suppressed by Lu Jia were now brought to the surface.

She muttered to herself, and Qinghe and the others who gathered around after hearing the commotion, even though they hadn't experienced what she was talking about, already understood the reason.

Just as Qinghe was about to say something, Lu Jia continued, "The Song family, which we speculated about before, is also quite powerful and may be able to gain considerable influence at the Prince Ji's residence."

"But the Shen family is even stronger than the Song family, so it will be even easier for them to accomplish this."

"So whatever I want to do goes incredibly smoothly."

"With the eldest son of the Grand Commandant's family secretly backing me up, how could I possibly not succeed?"
"He was originally from a noble family, so pretending to be a nobleman to swindle some money from the Zhang family is not a difficult task for him!"