Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 188 Crouching Tiger
"what?"

Lu Jia was immersed in the excitement of catching her husband cheating when he suddenly changed the subject and couldn't help but be stunned.

"Why do you suddenly ask this?"

Shen Qingzhou said, "I just remembered that you dreamed that you and...that person were escaping for your lives. As the adopted daughter of the Yan family, Jiang was able to command the guards of the Yan family, which shows that Jiang does have some prestige in the Yan family."

"I was just asking casually."

He never asked Lu Jia this question.

But he himself minded it.

If he hadn't felt guilty for not being able to get her out of there, he wouldn't have gone to Shawan to look for her after waking up.

“You mean that person?” Lu Jia said, “He did his best, so of course I have no complaints.”

"Have you ever wondered what kind of person he is?"

“How could I possibly guess?” Lu Jia glanced at him. “He’s wearing a mask, so I can’t see anything. But his kung fu is amazing.”

"Is it."

Shen Qingzhou's lips curled up imperceptibly.

He then asked, "So what do you remember?"

“That left a deep impression on me,” Lu Jia said, resting her chin on her hand. “He was very skilled in martial arts, tall, and had a great physique.” After all, she had touched him. “I couldn’t see his face, but his jawline was sharp and defined, so I guessed he was quite handsome.”

Shen Qingzhou fixed his gaze on her face: "Then what do you think of him compared to me?"

Lu Jia was abruptly pulled back to reality by the smell of jealousy that wafted to her nose. Her gaze swept over his face twice before she lowered her hand and said, "Of course, he can't compare to you. That guy has a good physique and good kung fu, but he's incredibly pretentious. You know, when he goes out to kill someone, he acts like he's afraid people won't know how rich he is. He wears a pure silver mask and a cloak, unlike you."

Shen Qingzhou was speechless for a moment.

Lu Jia leaned closer and asked, "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Shen Qingzhou sat down for a moment. Then he stood up and said, "Then I'll go back and take care of my business."

After saying that, he walked to the threshold, paused, and then quickly returned: "Then it's a deal. Once I've found some leads, I'll find you to go together! You can't break your promise!"

"How could that be!" Lu Jia patted his chest confidently. "Don't you trust me as a person?"

Shen Qingzhou gave a slight smile: "That's good."

After saying that, he left.

Lu Jia couldn't help but see him off to the door. Only when she saw his carriage drive into the street did she turn her gaze away, take a deep breath, clap her hands, and call for Changfu to bring the carriage back to the Lu residence.

Just as Lu Jia and Shen Qingzhou were plotting, after returning home, Mu Shi recounted her entire experience of visiting the Jiang family that day to Yang Bonong.

When Lu Jia stepped into the house, Yang Bolong was in Lu Jie's study talking about all of this.

"Ah Yun said that the young lady is not the same as before, no, she is someone who is now very impressive! Today, she was bullied by the second branch of the Jiang family, but she was not impatient or irritable. She turned the tables and slapped them in the face. In the end, the other party could only flee in defeat."

Lu Jie said, "I told you before, this girl is really not someone to mess with."

Yang Bonong laughed again, "It was only later that she suddenly wanted to borrow her in-laws' mirror to do her hair, which was quite unexpected. But nothing went wrong the whole time, so it might really have just been an accident." Lu Jie paused, then looked up and said, "That's not right. She didn't personally deliver gifts to any of the many families, but only went to the Jiang family, which is abnormal."

"She suddenly ran into someone's house again... What was in the old lady's house?"

Yang Bonong frowned: "It's nothing. Ayun said that the young lady just mentioned that the old lady has a lot of calligraphy and paintings in her room. It seems that the old lady is also a person of refined taste."

"She has a lot of calligraphy and paintings in her room?" Lu Jie raised an eyebrow, slowly stood up, and after pacing a couple of steps, he asked, "How many is 'a lot'?"

"It's roughly the same as a scholar's room."

Lu Jie's eyes flickered, and after taking a few more slow steps, he stopped: "How did it go when I asked you to inquire about Liang Jun in prison a couple of days ago?"

Yang Bonong then pulled out a file from the pile of files on the table: "This is Liang Jun's case file, which was delivered this morning. I was just about to report to you, sir, that when Yang Chengfang had his accident, we did not find any direct connection between him and Liang Jun."

"Later, when Liang Jun was brought to justice, a fabricated charge was forcibly attached to him, saying that he had offended a relative of the Yan family. This was a sincere act of revenge against the Yan family for Yang Chengfang's conviction."

"Later, they repeatedly tried to find fault with Liang Jun, but they couldn't find anything important. So they didn't even have a reason to behead him, and just kept him in prison."

"How long was the sentence given by the Ministry of Justice?"

“Twenty years,” Yang Bonong sighed. “He’s already been imprisoned for thirteen years.”

Lu Jie's gaze deepened: "He's a tough nut to crack."

Yang Bonong nodded: "Indeed, they are men of unyielding integrity."

Lu Jie turned around: "Have Lu Rong prepare the sedan chair."

……

In the west warm pavilion of the Yan family, Yan Shu was grinding ink while watching Yan Song paint: "Father, your crouching tiger painting is becoming more and more spirited."

Yan Song lowered his head and finished filling in the color for the tiger's tail before picking up his brush and straightening up: "A reclining tiger is more difficult to paint than a roaring tiger. A reclining tiger must not lose the majesty of the king of beasts. Every stroke must be carefully considered."

“Father is right,” Yan Shu said. “It is often these crouching beasts that are more worthy of our respect. Unlike our Yan family, who are always at the forefront for the Emperor, we have become the targets of the court officials.”

Yan Song put down his pen, his gaze lingering on the painting for a moment before he put his hands behind his back and said, "It has been almost a year since Shen Bo returned in triumph. Apart from the apparent discord between the two sons, the legitimate and the illegitimate, the Shen family has remained peaceful. Have the upright officials in the court really not tried to persuade them? Is it really true that their family has had little contact with the upright officials?"

"The last time Shen Bo socialized with civil officials was more than a month ago. Several censors from the Censorate invited Shen Bo to tea under the pretext of sorting out the old military pay accounts. However, apart from the military pay accounts, Shen Bo did not engage in any other conversation with them."

"This person is indeed unpredictable."

Yan Song walked to the window and said slowly, "If we can't defeat him, then we should try to win him over. Otherwise, once the tiger is awakened, no one will know who he will bite."

Yan Shu frowned: "The Shen family was previously controlled by the eldest son, and its defenses were very tight, and it seems that they are still so today. Shen Bo should not be underestimated, and neither should the sickly eldest son of the Shen family."

Yan Song looked at him: "I've heard he's been sick for many years, what's really going on?"

Yan Shu said deeply, "After he fell into the water last time, he didn't recover for a long time, so all the people who were supposed to help him were replaced. We'll just have to take it one step at a time."

"To this day, we still know nothing about the situation inside the Shen family mansion. Is there really no way to resolve this?"

Yan Song walked back with his hands behind his back. "Is the eldest son of the Shen family married?"

(Continuing to ask for monthly votes)