Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 244 Are you secretly pleased?
Amidst the shock and unease brought on by the scenes unfolding before him, Lu Jie walked up to Jiang Shi with a furious expression: "In the past, I thought that although you came from a humble background, you were still a person of integrity and good character, so I once thought of living a down-to-earth life with you."

"I never imagined you would be such a shameless person who, knowing full well that your birth mother was promiscuous, not only felt no shame but also profited from it!"
"I could tolerate this because we have been husband and wife for many years, but I never imagined that you would be so shameless and so vicious!"
“You have repeatedly plotted to harm my daughter. If I were to allow you to remain in my Lu family today, wouldn’t I be unworthy of being a father?”
"—Lu Rong, bring me pen and ink! I am now going to expel her from the court. Afterwards, go and inform the Shuntian Prefecture to have the officials take her away. Now that the witnesses and testimonies are all complete, let them convict her according to the law!"

Jiang was horrified: "Lu Jie, are you going to kill me?"

If she is expelled from the family, she will no longer be a member of the Lu family; if she is sent to the government for trial, she will surely be sentenced to death!
"It's not that he wanted to kill you, it's your own fault!" Madam Cheng cursed angrily. "You are utterly depraved, worse than a beast. If we can't kill you, surely the law can? You can't even tolerate a five-year-old child, you should pay with your life!"

"But she's not dead, is she?" Madam Jiang's face trembled as she pointed at Lu Jia in Madam Cheng's arms. "She's still alive and well, isn't she? Why should I pay with my life!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jia burst into tears: "As expected, she was not satisfied that I didn't die. Just because I'm still alive, she doesn't deserve to be held accountable!"
"If my mother in the afterlife knew of my plight, she should take me with her!"

Cheng Wenhui became furious: "You surnamed Lu! Do you have any guts at all?!"

Lu Jie accepted the paper and pen handed to him by Lu Rong with a dark expression.

Jiang's eyes widened as she searched the crowd. Suddenly, she spotted Lu Ying, whose face was deathly pale. She immediately cried out, "Ying'er! Are you going to watch your mother die? If I die, there will be no one left to protect you in this world!"

"Shut up!" Second Madam Zhou shouted angrily. "She is a young lady of the Lu family. Her surname is Lu. Her status, position, and honor are all given by the Lu family. What does it have to do with you, you poisonous woman?"
"Even if she never had you as her mother, she would still have a noble status when she goes out into the world! You must stop interfering with her!"

"—Ying-jie, come here!"

Lu Ying came out as soon as she heard the news, but the situation developed in ways that exceeded her imagination and were completely beyond her control. When she saw the Jiang family, whom everyone was trying to kill, she bit her lower lip until it bled.

"Ying'er!"

Jiang was howling again.

Lu Ying gritted her teeth, squeezed through the crowd, and knelt before Lu Jie: "Father, I know that the evidence is conclusive and Mother's crimes are unforgivable, but she is still my mother. Please, Father, for my sake, spare her from being sent to the yamen. My wedding is imminent, and if my mother were to suffer a calamity, I would have no reason to happily marry!"

"Ying'er!"

Third Madam Wu came over to pull her up, but she couldn't.

Lu Jie put down his pen and said in a deep voice, "Lu Ying, if you still want to be the second young lady of the Lu family, then from now on, recognize your place!"

"Father……"

"Second Miss!" Yang Bonong stepped forward. "The whole city now knows what Madam has done. The eldest young lady is the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shen family, whom the Emperor has bestowed upon her. If the Lu family can still tolerate her, then their family traditions will have no integrity whatsoever."

"The Shen family is currently receiving immense imperial favor. Leaving aside their attitude towards this, how do you expect the Lu family to explain themselves to the Emperor?"

"If the Emperor holds us accountable, then all the thousands of people in the Lu family will be implicated, and the Second Miss will also suffer."

"Furthermore, if you act unfairly, sir, the Lu family will be seen as having improper family values ​​and being unable to distinguish right from wrong, which will be of no benefit to the Second Miss's reputation. Second Miss, you should leave now!"

Jiang shouted angrily, "Yang Bonong, shut up!" Then she looked at Lu Jie with bloodshot eyes and said, "I am the daughter of the Yan family. If you want to divorce me, you have to let me see the Yan family first! You have to ask them if they agree!"

"Lu Jie! My father is still alive. He is the Grand Secretary, the most powerful man in the entire court. You dare to treat me like this? Unless you don't want your future!"

Her voice was hoarse, filled with a hysterical intensity.

He then turned to Lu Ying and said, "Go to the Yan family and tell them to send someone! Tell them that if they dare not come, they shouldn't blame me!"

Jiang was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Tears welled in Lu Jia's eyes as she looked up. She glanced at the furious crowd around her, then looked at Lu Jie.

Madam Cheng patted her back: "Don't be afraid." Lu Jia said: "Although she is hateful, what she said makes sense. If the Lu family ignores her and punishes her, the Yan family will hold us accountable, and the Lu family will be in the wrong."

Lu Jie turned around and looked at her.

Yang Bonong said, "Miss, please reconsider..."

Lu Jia stood up: "Today, the Lu family has already lost enough face because of her and me. If we send her to the government office, it will only make the Lu family more ridiculed."

"Although she is unkind, the Yan family has treated us well and has also helped my father. It would be unreasonable to tell them."

"What does father think?"

Lu Jie turned his wooden face away, and after a long while, he said, "I think that makes sense."

Lu Ying, standing beside them, stared at them, her lower lip already bleeding from being bitten.

……

Yang Bonong followed Lu Jie to the study, then turned around and locked the door: "What does Miss mean by this?"

"How would I know?" Lu Jie suddenly turned around behind the screen. "I don't even know how she found out that the Jiang family had even considered making a fake!"

"And she actually managed to find everyone!"
"This girl defies my expectations every time!"

Yang Bonong glanced at him for a moment as he gritted his teeth and pounded the table, then grinned: "You must be feeling pretty good right now, sir?"

Lu Jie glanced sideways and scoffed.

Yang Bonong clasped his hands together: "Miss, you seem to have some idea behind letting the Yan family come over?"

Lu Jie sighed, walked around twice with a long face, and said, "Ignore her. Just let her do whatever she wants, so she won't turn around and criticize me again."

Yang Bonong smiled and said, "Yes."

……

When Su Zhixiao and his wife arrived at the Yan residence, they couldn't even get through the second gate.

Madam Yan glanced at the setting sun outside and asked the guard in front of her, "Can we succeed before dark?"

“Extremely difficult.” The guard shook his head. “Two days ago, before Madam Lu returned to the manor, we were ordered to scout out the defenses of the Lu manor. Perhaps because of the frequent accidents, the Lu manor has recently added a batch of manpower. We have to be extremely careful when breaking into the manor at night, and it is even more difficult during the day.”

Madam Yan slammed the cup shut and looked at the servant beside her: "Where are the people we planted in the Lu residence earlier?"

"After the aunt relinquished her power over managing the household affairs a while ago, Lord Lu found the people he brought from the Jiang family to be an eyesore and transferred them out of the mansion long ago."

Madam Yan frowned deeply: "The Minister is so busy, how can he still concern himself with matters of the inner quarters?"

The servant hesitated: "Perhaps because their young lady is not yet capable of managing things, Lord Lu should at least lend a hand."

Madam Yan took a deep breath and stood up: "Does this mean that I have no choice but to go this time?"

The guards and servants looked at each other and lowered their heads.

Madam Yan gritted her teeth: "Tell Su Zhixiao that I'm busy right now, and I'll go later tonight!"