Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 195 Why Help Me?
There was only one old woman keeping watch in the house.

There might be other servants, but on such a cold night, with the master absent and nothing of great value, they certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to stand outside.

With Shen Qingzhou's skills, entering and leaving such a small courtyard was no problem at all.

They arrived at the backyard without any obstacles and finally found some movement. The main house was dark, but there were voices coming from the side rooms on both sides, indicating that the servants were there.

Avoiding the light, the two climbed through the window from the shadows and entered—before them was an ordinary bedroom, complete with brocade curtains and embroidered quilts. The window screens and hanging drapes were of high quality, and even the furniture was exquisite.

But apart from that, as Shen Qingzhou said, there wasn't much of value in the room. However, the two paintings and calligraphy hanging on the wall, and the pot of green bamboo under the window, still showed a similarity to Wei's room.

Lu Jia went straight to the bed, carefully examining the materials used for the brocade curtains, bedding, and pillows, and nodded emphatically: "They are the same as the things in Wei's bedroom!"

Then she turned to the wardrobe on the side. There were some clothes in the wardrobe, mostly women's, but there was also a fan cover, which was clearly a man's item.

Shen Qingzhou held up a luminous pearl and brought it closer for her to examine.

"Can you see any clues in this fan cover?"

Lu Jia frowned: "It's quite ordinary."

In fact, she couldn't even tell whether these personal items belonged to Yan the old scoundrel. She was several generations removed from him, so how could she possibly distinguish them?

She handed the things to Shen Qingzhou and then looked around.

But even after looking at several items on the display shelf, I didn't find anything interesting.

Lu Jia stood by the window, lost in thought. Just then, a loud shout came from the side room next door, which was lit up. It seemed that an old woman was calling someone to go to the kitchen to get some hot soup.

Hearing this, she looked at Shen Qingzhou: "It's terribly cold outside. Let's not waste our time. Let's go grab someone and ask them!"

Shen Qingzhou said, "Good idea."

Then he clapped his hands lightly twice.

At that moment, two people flew down from the roof beam like swallows. Without even saying hello, they silently pushed open the window and headed towards the room with the lamp lit!
Lu Jia was dumbfounded. As the daughter of a civil official, she had never seen such a scene before.

Thinking about this, the question that had been lingering in my mind resurfaced: "Why have you been helping me all this time?"

Shen Qingzhou stuffed the luminous pearl back into his purse and glanced at her in the darkness: "Because we are engaged."

"What about before we got engaged?"

"Before, it was because you were someone I knew."

Old friend? !
What kind of argument is this?

Lu Jia was stunned. When did the two of them become old friends?

At this moment, the window opened again, and the "swallow" that had previously darted out had brought someone back. After the person behind came in, the two of them closed the window in perfect coordination, threw the person they had brought to the ground, and then floated back to the beam.

Lu Jia was at a loss for words to express her astonishment. Meanwhile, Shen Qingzhou grabbed her wrist with one hand, lifted her up from the ground with the other, said "Get out," and immediately led her out through the window they had just entered through.

The alley remained quiet and deserted.

Shen Qingzhou led Lu Jia to a nearby alley before stopping.

The person who was dragged out was blindfolded and gagged, but her panicked panting could still be heard along the way.

Without saying a word, Lu Jia first ripped the cloth out of her mouth, and then asked, "How long have you been following the Third Madam of the Jiang family?"

This is a maid.

If she wasn't mistaken, it should be the maid who had been sent to the kitchen by the old woman to make hot soup earlier.

She was trembling so much that she couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Lu Jia grabbed her chin, pulled a hairpin from her hair, and held it against her throat: "If you can't answer by counting to three, I'll cut your throat!"

Her bold actions drew Shen Qingzhou's piercing gaze. On the same snowy night, and in the same two-person battle, her courage and decisiveness were equally admirable.

The maid was afraid of death after all. She struggled to steady her breathing and stammered, "...Three, three years! I've been with you for three years!"

Lu Jia glanced at Shen Qingzhou, who responded by raising an eyebrow.

It's now confirmed that the house we just saw was the private residence where Madam Wei used to meet her lover.

Lu Jia's hairpin was still pressed against the maid's neck: "Who is her lover?"

The maidservant immediately shivered, and even the pressure that was pressed tightly against her skin couldn't be suppressed while she was standing.

"I don't know, I don't know!..."

"You don't know, or you don't dare to say it?"

"I dare not speak!" the maid's voice was hoarse. "Even if you kill me, I still dare not speak!"

Lu Jia looked at her for a moment, then pulled her hand back slightly. She continued, "If you don't dare to say it, I won't force you. But you do know that he usually comes here every few days, right?"

She paused, then her tone hardened: "If you still don't talk, don't blame me for being ruthless! I'll make sure you die a gruesome death, so that even your family won't be able to find you to collect your body!"

The maid swallowed hard, and after a long while, she finally managed to utter, "He only comes once a month, sometimes it takes two months, it's unpredictable..."

When was the last time you came here?

"Half, it's been half a month."

Is it night or daytime?

"It's daytime!"

"How did he send a message before he came?"

"...They never send word beforehand, they just come whenever they want!" The maid paused for a moment, then took two long breaths.

She was taut like a bow, as if she could break at any moment.

Lu Jia looked at her for a moment, then released her hand: "How does he treat your wife?"

The maid bit her lip upon hearing this, "It's hard to say."

"Tell me."

The maid said, "When he comes, he usually just writes or paints, and sometimes he leaves after sitting for half a day. Sometimes when Madam comes, he doesn't even see her."

"He also doesn't want us to serve him closely. Apart from his wife, none of us have ever seen him in person!"

Lu Jia stood up and then stuffed the cloth she had pulled out back into her mouth.

“Since the paintings were done indoors, there must be some left behind!” She looked at Shen Qingzhou. “Let’s go look for them quickly!”

She suddenly became obsessed with finding out if this adulterer was indeed the old scoundrel Yan!

Shen Qingzhou pressed down on her shoulder: "I'll go, you wait for me here."

After saying that, he looked at the walls on both sides, and then took the maid and went back the way he came.

Upon arriving at the former residence, he handed the man over to the shadow guards hiding in the shadows, then took the smoky brown brocade robe from He Qu, who came to greet him, and draped it over his shoulders.

"There's a high chance that there's Yan Laozei's handwriting in the house. You must find it!"

He Qu climbed over the wall and entered.

Shen Qingzhou picked up the mask, looked at it, and then put it on her face.