Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 200 Don't you trust Uncle Yang's character?

Madam Yan escorted Madam Jiang to the second gate and did not return until her sedan chair had left the mansion.

When she returned to her room, Yan Shu was already waiting for her.

"How is it?" he asked.

Madam Yan sat opposite him: "She has her own ideas."

After she finished speaking, she recounted in detail the previous proposal made by the Jiang family.

As she spoke, Yan Shu's expression remained inscrutable. "Ying'er is Mingyi's daughter, so she's practically family. She's indeed more suitable for this task than Jia'er. An arranged marriage is fine, but we can't get around Lan Chu. We can fool the Shen family, but we can't fool Lan Chu, can we?"

“He hasn’t been informed about this matter from beginning to end. If the marriage is granted without any prior notice, there may be future problems.”

Although Lu Jie's current status is not as high as Yan Song's, he is still young and has a bright future. He will be joining the cabinet soon.

Even though the Yan family is now very powerful and deeply rooted, they still have to consider their situation after stepping down.

Even if there's no need to flatter or fawn over Lu Jie, there's no need to openly offend him.

Lu Jia is just a girl whose birth mother died many years ago and who has been wandering outside for many years. She is definitely not comparable to Lu Ying, who grew up by Lu Jie's side since childhood.

No matter what, she is still Lu Jie's biological daughter, and it's not up to others to make plans under her father's nose.

"Then let's be frank with him," Madam Yan said. "He is half a son-in-law of the Yan family. If the Shen family really threatens the Yan family, then we will definitely not let the Lu family off the hook."

"From this perspective, Lu Ying's marriage into the Shen family was not simply for her husband, but for the future of both the Lu and Yan families. She had a mission."

“If his closeness to the Yan family is genuine, then he shouldn’t have any objections. On the contrary, how loyal can he be to our Yan family?”

As she finished speaking, Madam Yan's tone became more profound.

Yan Shuding sat for a long time, and finally nodded.

……

While telling the Cheng family about Lu Jia's situation since returning to the mansion, Yang Bonong also took the opportunity to subtly inquire about Cheng Yi's situation.

Upon returning, he presented Cheng Yi's birth date and time, along with several articles he had written, to Lu Jie.

Lu Jie stared at it quietly for a long time before finally sighing.

"Forget it."

"Why?"

"If we were to get married now, why would I have cut ties with his father for the past ten years or so?"

Yang Bonong remained silent.

After a moment, he said, "Then there's nothing we can do. Apart from the Cheng family, there won't be any more suitable candidates."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Lu Rong's voice rang out from outside: "Master, Lord Yan has arrived."

The two men in the room exchanged a glance, and Yang Bonong said, "What was bound to happen has finally happened."

Lu Jieshen frowned. After a slight pause, he stood up, lifted the curtain, and went out.

Yan Shu came alone. As soon as they met, he laughed and raised a jar of wine and several paper packages in his hand: "I guessed you were in the manor, so I brought 'Qingyuebai' wine from Zuixianlou, as well as their signature braised goose. I came here specifically to mooch dinner from you!"

Lu Jie smiled and invited him into the warm pavilion: "I just came back from the yamen and was just thinking of having a drink to warm myself up when you arrived, brother!"

Yang Bonong turned to send someone to prepare wine and dishes. The two men inside had already taken their seats, and someone had already set out the bowls and plates.

Lu Jia happily returned from fishing in the garden when she encountered Yang Bonong passing by in a hurry. She crossed the yard, jumped out from behind the plum tree, and stopped him: "Uncle Yang!"

Yang Bonong was quite frightened, patting his chest and saying, "My goodness, why didn't you make a sound?" Lu Jia chuckled and said, "The fish I had sent over a couple of days ago, was it good?"

"Delicious." Yang Bonong said with seven parts doting and three parts helplessness, "The fish that the Minister's precious daughter caught herself must be as precious as the fish caught in the Jade Pool. Of course it's delicious."

Lu Jiale couldn't stop smiling. Then she peeked behind him and asked, "Who's here? Why did Father bring them to the inner courtyard?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Bonong glanced at her and said, "Lord Yan."

Lu Jia immediately composed herself: "What's he doing here?"

"do not know."

After Yang Bonong finished speaking, he suddenly glanced at him again: "Why don't you go and listen to it?"

Lu Jia really meant it!
Shen Qingzhou still has a mission with her!

She's trying to turn her treacherous father against her!
With such a good opportunity, the treacherous minister of the Yan family came to the Lu family to see the treacherous minister. Regardless of whether there was any important business, she didn't want to miss this chance to observe him up close!

She blinked and asked, "Can I go? Uncle Yang, please don't trick me. If my father finds out, he might punish me severely."

“You know this, I know this, heaven and earth know this. Don’t you trust my character?” Yang Bonong said with a sincere expression, then quietly pointed to a room on the side of the warm pavilion. “Go in from that room. There’s a door on the west wall. That door leads to the hall where the master is receiving guests. There’s no one there right now.”

Lu Jia was secretly overjoyed. He immediately shoved the fishing rod into his hand: "This is the route Uncle Yang showed me. If Father finds out, you'd better cover for me!"

Without giving her a chance to answer, she immediately lifted her skirt and went into the room.

Yang Bonong, holding his fishing rod, watched her retreating figure, raised his eyebrows and smiled, before calmly heading towards the outer courtyard.

Anyone can underestimate this girl, but neither he nor Lu Jie can.

The Yan family has made it clear that they want to make a move on Lu Jia. The Lu family may not be able to refuse, but what can they do about this girl?

Just wait and see, there's going to be some excitement at the Minister's residence.

Yang Bonong absolutely refused to believe that he could have misjudged the situation.

……

Lu Jia entered the side room and walked straight to the foot of the west wall.

The lattice doors on the entire wall were closed at the moment, but the screen covering them was extremely thin and transparent, allowing a clear view of about 70-80% of the room on the other side.

However, Lu Jie and Yan Shu were both sitting sideways to this side, making it difficult for them to notice this side.

By this time, the food and wine had been laid out, and it seemed that they had already exchanged pleasantries twice, and the two were now chatting about recent matters concerning the court.

"Yesterday, Liu Zheng from the Ministry of Revenue came to report to my father and mentioned the eldest son of the Shen family who is currently working in the Ministry of Revenue."

This is what Yan said.

He actually mentioned Shen Qingzhou, which made Lu Jia even more focused.

Lu Jie looked at the person opposite him: "How is it?"

"He said that although this young master was taciturn and did not usually concern himself with the affairs of the government, and seemed to have no interest in an official career, he was handsome and talented, and was not as weak as the rumors said."

Why do you need to talk with that lousy mouth of yours!
Qingzhou is both handsome and talented!

Lu Jia bit her lower lip, glared fiercely at Yan Shu's back, and continued to listen attentively.

Lu Jie said, "We've seen this kid from the Shen family before, why does Liu Zheng need to praise him?"

"But no matter how handsome or talented he is, he's still a sickly person and won't amount to much."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jia couldn't help but glare at her father again.