Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 206 What a convenient time to die!

While Chen Ji was setting up a stall on the street, Lu Jia and Shen Qingzhou were warming themselves by a fire behind Baiyun Temple.

When Lu Jia explained the reason for tonight's actions, Shen Qingzhou, who was on the other side of the brazier, was stunned.

"You mean, the Yan family wants to match us up?"

Shen Qingzhou had anticipated that the Yan family would become restless, but he never expected them to come up with such an idea.

"They think I'm a gift from heaven, something they can use, so why not make the most of me!"

Lu Jia sneered repeatedly, banging the fire tongs against the floor tiles beside the stove. That old bastard family! They harmed her in her past life, and they're trying to harm her again in this one!

The firelight flickered on Shen Qingzhou's face, making his expression appear uncertain.

"Who came looking for your father?"

"Yan Shu!"

Shen Qingzhou pondered: "Old Yan is getting old, and he probably wants to live a peaceful old age. In the past year, he has even reduced his actions against the upright officials."

"But Yan Shu's situation is different. The Emperor has a relationship of loyalty and respect with the old scoundrel Yan, but not with Yan Shu. When the old scoundrel Yan was alive, the Yan family could still be kept safe."

"Once the old scoundrel Yan dies, and given that the Crown Prince will eventually succeed to the throne, Yan Shu, who will not be able to enter the cabinet and wield power, will face a great crisis."

"So he will do everything he can to avoid sitting idly by and waiting to die."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "It seems that the Yan family's current situation in front of the Emperor is perhaps more delicate than we imagined."

Having held sway in the imperial court for many years, what storms hasn't the Yan family weathered?

Yan Shu came up with the idea of ​​arranging a marriage between the Lu and Yan families, which was a significant move.

“If they want to go through official channels, their chances of success are slim, and my father certainly won’t agree. If they want to get things done without getting involved, they’ll probably try to get things done through the palace.”

At this point, Shen Qingzhou's expression had turned extremely cold. Yan Shu had set his sights on Lu Jia. If the two of them hadn't known each other before, Lu Jia would have been killed by the father and son once she was exposed.

They never cared about Lu Jia's life from the beginning.

She is a young lady from the Lu family and the daughter of Lu Jie's ex-wife, and has no connection whatsoever with the Yan family.

If this matter is accomplished, the Yan family will benefit.

If it fails, the Yan family will not suffer any loss.

His fiancée, Shen Qingzhou, was treated so cheaply by them!

"In the palace?" Lu Jia asked. "You mean an imperial marriage?"

“This is the most effective way for them,” Shen Qingzhou said. “And once the marriage is arranged, it cannot be changed. However, if they really want to arrange it, I will not object.”

Lu Jia disagreed: "How could your father agree to that?"

"Even if you agree, what if he targets me in the future, and you openly protect me? Wouldn't that deepen the conflict between you and your son?"

The Yan family's terrible idea was indeed a lucky accident, but it was based on scheming against the Shen family, and Shen Bo wouldn't be willing to accept it. Even if the Yan family had a plan to make the marriage go through, Shen Bo wouldn't respect himself.

What will Shen Qingzhou do then?
Should he help her or not? If he does, it will cause conflict between him and his father.

Shen Qingzhou lost his father's love at a young age, and he still carries such a heavy burden in his heart, something that Lu Jia could never give him.

Even if she couldn't help him win them back, she couldn't push them away. "Actually..."

"Young master, Master Chen has returned."

Just as Shen Qingzhou was about to continue speaking, He Qu lifted the curtain, and Chen Ji walked in, enveloped in a cold wind.

"It's done!"

Chen Ji, beaming with pride, pulled a paper crane from his pocket and handed it to them. "I told you, with my seasoned skills, there was no way I couldn't have done it!"

The two of them immediately stood up.

Lu Jia took the paper crane first, opened it, quickly read the writing on it, then slowed down to read it carefully again. She then snorted coldly and raised her head: "Just as I expected! The Wei mother and daughter's trickery was hidden here!"

When Lu Jia first realized that Wei's lover might be Yan the old scoundrel, he thought about the benefits Jiang had received from the Yan family and wondered if this poisonous woman might be the illegitimate child of Yan and Wei.
Because the Jiang family held a very high position in the Yan family!

Without Old Thief Yan's permission, she could never have done this in the Yan family!
Of all Yan Laozei's many disciples, only the daughter of the Jiang family became his adopted daughter, and he even helped her marry into the Lu family!

If it were only because of Wei's affair with him, it wouldn't have been enough to sustain her to this point.

If Wei hadn't given birth to Yan Laozei's child, she wouldn't have been able to keep Yan Laozei's attention for so many years, giving him so many valuable things!

The birth date and time of the old scoundrel Yan were clearly written on this piece of paper. Having been the granddaughter-in-law of the Yan family for five years, she naturally knew the birth date of the head of the Yan family very well.

In addition, when she escaped from the Yan family in her previous life, it was the day of the old scoundrel Yan's funeral. At the mourning hall, her birth date and time had to be written down!

So how could she not know that the person Wei wrote about was Yan Song?

Lu Jia asked, "Was this written by her own hand?"

"I saw what she wrote with my own eyes, and not a single word is fake!"

Chen Ji looked serious.

"Then thank you, Daoist Master!" Lu Jia smiled and clasped his hands in a traditional Daoist salute. "I have an uncle who is also a Daoist. I'll introduce you to him another day!"

This old Taoist priest seems to be a straightforward person; he might get along well with Taoist Li.

Shen Qingzhou thought for a moment and said, "Since Jiang had a child out of wedlock, it seems that Wei had already been having an affair with the old scoundrel before she married into the Jiang family."

"The reasons why she married into the Jiang family and did not have any more children after the Jiang family are probably worth considering."

Lu Jia turned around: "Who says otherwise? And coincidentally, Jiang was still young when her father died."

The two exchanged a glance, and a tacit understanding was instantly reached.

Shen Qingzhou turned to He Qu and said, "Go and investigate immediately how Jiang's father died. If he died of illness, find all the doctors who treated him back then. In particular, ask the Jiang family about this past."

If Wei and Yan had already been having an affair before their marriage, then it would be perfectly normal for Yan to place Wei near his student in order to cover up their affair and maintain long-term contact!

Now we need to see if there are any other shady dealings involved.

He Qu said he was leaving.

Lu Jia then turned to Chen Ji: "What did the Daoist say to the Wei family at the end?"

"Since I do not know what instructions you two may give, I have told her to come and find me first thing tomorrow morning."

"Excellent!" Lu Jia clapped his hands. "Daoist Master has been a great help this time. I will definitely repay you handsomely later!"
"When she arrives tomorrow morning, you must tell her to do it this way and that..."