Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 229 Let's get some stuff out first.

After saying what she needed to say to Lu Ying, Lu Jia came out.

As she had told Lu Ying before, they hadn't spent much time together, so talking about sisterly affection was really hypocritical. In her previous life, Lu Jia was a loner, and having this younger sister was practically the same as not having one. Besides, after she was harmed by the Jiang family, Lu Ying never offered her any help or showed any intention of settling things right.

Lu Jia had no idea what Lu Ying was thinking at that time.

But given the current situation, Lu Jia has no reason to feel the need to save her.

Everyone has his own life.

Of course, if one insists that Lu Jia had the intention of pulling her out of the mire, then Lu Jia wouldn't object.

That night, Lu Jia went to Zhaoyang Pavilion to find her, and she pulled him into the room. At that moment, Lu Jia believed that her feelings were pure.

Lu Ying will be getting married in a little over a month; she's not young anymore.

Moreover, based on her previous conversation with the Jiang family, she is a smart person and doesn't need Lu Jia to tell her what choice to make.

But Lu Jia simply didn't want Lu Ying to get involved at this time.

If we can persuade them to return, why not?

After returning to the manor and sitting for only a short while, Qinghe came in and said that the Second Miss had returned. After returning, she went straight to her room.

Lu Jia asked Fu Xiao to go to the kitchen to prepare some soup and send it to Zhaoyang Pavilion, and then put the matter aside for the time being.

However, she also sent Changfu to ask, "Is there any progress on the matter I asked Young Master Shen to handle before the New Year?"

Since being imprisoned, Jiang has been quite well-behaved, neither requesting to see Lu Jie nor asking to be released.

She's so calm and collected; it's unlike her usual self!

Doesn't this further illustrate that the words Jiang spoke to Yan Shu and his wife before leaving Wei's private residence that night did indeed have a hidden meaning?
Moreover, Lu Ying mentioned in the Taoist temple that Jiang had "bargaining chips." What were those chips?
What powerful assets does she have left to turn things around?

Who has the ability to help her turn things around under these circumstances?

……

After learning that Shen Qingzhou and Lu Jia had met in Tanzhou Prefecture, Shen Bo never came to look for Shen Qingzhou again, nor did he express any further opinions on the marriage.

Shen Zhui obviously didn't know much either. That day, besides revealing that Qingzhou got along well with that girl from the Lu family, he didn't say anything about the girl's true nature. But Shen Bo also knew that since Shen Qingzhou had approved of her, he had no choice but to acknowledge her as his own.

So, not wanting to waste any more words, he simply told Yi Cheng to proceed with the wedding according to the usual protocol for marrying the eldest daughter-in-law. If they wanted it to be even more elaborate, that was fine with him too.

No longer needing to personally handle every aspect of the wedding, Shen Qingzhou faced a different set of troubles.

First, Lu Jie became his immediate superior, and he had to face this treacherous father-in-law in the yamen every day.

The reason Shen Qingzhou chose to become a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue instead of taking a higher official position was naturally to investigate the Yan family's accounts. In his previous life, he had never been to the Ministry of Revenue, so it was not until several years later that he dealt a heavy blow to the Yan family.

Lu Jie's sudden intervention has undoubtedly hindered his actions, meaning he must not reveal the slightest flaw from now on.

Secondly, with Lu Jie in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, the money and accounts are all in their hands, making it easier for the Yan faction to deceive the emperor and poison the country. Crucially, the task Lu Jia entrusted to him hasn't been completed yet. The Yan family is cautious and not as easily persuaded as previous encounters. He Qu has been watching day and night, searching for an opportunity, but hasn't been able to achieve anything without alerting them. Otherwise, he could have immediately launched a flanking attack and dealt a blow to the Yan family from another angle.

On the day of the Flower Festival, the steward brought over two pots of orchids. Shen Qingzhou was wondering if Lu Jia would like them when Tang Yu came in: "Young Master, before the New Year, Liu Zheng went to the Ministry of Revenue to see Minister Lu, apparently to ask for money. It is said that the reason is to use a sum of money for river transport to deal with the spring tidings from the south. The amount is not small, three million!"

Looking at the three fingers he held up, Shen Qingzhou straightened up from above the orchid.

"Liu Zheng is already sitting in Minister Lu's office again." Tang Yu glanced towards the door, his eyes full of resentment: "With Lu Jie in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, the court's money is practically in the pocket of Yan's faction!"

……

Lu Jie's office.

Liu Zheng pounded his fist against his palm: "Spring comes earlier in the south than in the north. After the first month of the lunar calendar, it's the busy farming season. The Ministry of Works is waiting for the money to get things done!"

Lu Jie said, "Why didn't you come sooner? I had already raised half of it, but Hu Yucheng wrote again a couple of days ago, saying that he wanted to win over the pirates' relatives and get a lot of money. So I did my best to help him out."

How could you—

Lu Jie pressed him down: "If you're in such a hurry, why don't you bring over all the accounts from your Ministry of Works? I'll do the math for you and see if we can save a few expenses in other accounts to tide us over?"

Liu Zheng choked.

How could the Ministry of Works possibly be presentable with such a mess of accounts?

The documents submitted to the Ministry of Revenue each year were all embellished and fabricated, a fact everyone tacitly acknowledged.

Although Lu Jie was one of their own, if he really wanted to check the accounts, it would be like tearing off his underpants. How could Liu Zheng dare to be so reckless?

"The money has already been spent, and even if we look, we can't save any more. Sir, you should think of a way to raise the silver as soon as possible, otherwise I really won't be able to explain to Grand Secretary Yan later."

Liu Zheng cupped his hands, and the address "Grand Secretary Yan" carried a hint of threat.

"Why don't you make a detailed account?" Lu Jie said. "Three million taels is no small amount. You need to list out where it will be used and whether it is absolutely necessary. That way, when I hand it over to the Emperor, I'll have something to say."

"Otherwise, with your mere words, you'd claim three million taels. Those who know you're working for the Emperor will think you're colluding with me, but those who don't might think I'm in cahoots with you. If that gets back to the Grand Secretary, I'm afraid I'll be in trouble too. What do you say?"

"But this..."

“Lord Liu,” Lu Jie said, his expression hardening, “I have only just taken office at the Ministry of Revenue, and there is a member of the Shen family next door. You don’t think that I run this Ministry of Revenue by myself, do you? Even if I can give you the money, I’ll ask for it at the right time, don’t I?”

Liu Zheng was speechless.

After sending him away, Lu Jie also returned to his residence.

"Do you have any ideas on how to keep Liu Zheng occupied for a month or two?"

Yang Bonong thought for a moment and said, "There is one, but the method is a bit tricky. I heard that for the marriage of the Second Miss and the Third Young Master Yan, Madam Liu, who is also Madam Yan's cousin, was betrothed by the Yan family as a wife of the whole family. The Liu family values ​​this honor very much, so Madam Liu started practicing all the procedures after the New Year. After all, if something goes wrong at the Yan family's big celebration, the Liu family can't afford to bear the consequences."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jie turned back with his hands behind his back and asked, "Then what are we waiting for?"
"Her!"

The next chapter is about to begin. I'm not satisfied with the content of the next chapter, so I'll just post one chapter today.