Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 264 Raising a Nemesis

"Young Madam," Qinghe arrived at the door when the atmosphere inside was harmonious. She glanced at the room and then walked in with a smile. She bowed to Madam Yan and then said to Lu Jia, "The Second Master and Second Madam have been entrusted by the Minister to prepare return gifts for the Grand Commandant and Young Master Shen. Please go as soon as you are done."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jia stood up apologetically and said to Madam Yan, "Second Aunt, I'm afraid you can't make a decision either. I'll have to excuse myself for a while."

Madam Yan said, "Go quickly. Don't delay things." She added, "Our eldest young mistress should also see them off."

Jin smiled and agreed, then affectionately took Lu Jia's arm and led her out of the garden, only returning after watching her leave.

“Mother,” Jin said, her smile fading as she stood solemnly beside Madam Yan, “is this Lu Jia truly worthy of our trust?”

"Of course we can't trust her completely, but her life and fortune are closely tied to the Lu family. If she's smart, she'll know what to do. If she's not, who can care about her life or death?"

That's what she said, but as Madam Yan accepted the pills that Lu Jia had given her, her expression gradually became complicated.

Since Yan Liang stepped in and swiftly resolved the Jiang family matter, the turmoil caused by Wei family has finally subsided. As a result of the Emperor's reprimands of Yan Song and Lu Jie, she and Yan Shu were forced to restrain their words and actions. Especially for her, with Cheng Wenhui lurking nearby, ready to seize upon the possibility of assassinating the "Minister's wife" as grounds for accusation, she hadn't made any public moves in the past two months and had barely even met with guests.

Jiang was a titled lady bestowed by the emperor. If the claim of her assassination is true, it would be tantamount to the perpetrator openly assassinating an official, a direct challenge to imperial authority. No matter how powerful the Yan family was, how could they dare to defy the emperor? It wasn't that the Yan family was afraid of trouble; it was simply that Yan Song had risen from nothing to his current position entirely through imperial favor. Cheng Wenhui's slander had struck at their Achilles' heel.

Even if the emperor did not severely punish the Yan family for this, he would certainly impose a crime in order to maintain the dignity of the emperor.

Since it was Madam Yan who did the work, wouldn't she still have to bear the consequences?

Of course, as soon as Jiang died, Lu Jie immediately issued a letter of divorce, stripping Jiang of her status as "the wife of a minister." This was a good thing for Madam Yan, as Cheng Wenhui could no longer cause any trouble.

But whether it was Wei, who had been Yan Song's mistress for decades, or Jiang, whom the Yan family had forced upon Lu Jie, it was Lu Jie who was implicated from beginning to end. If the Yan family didn't keep quiet now, were they trying to force Lu Jie to break off all ties?

Therefore, what else could she do but shut herself off from visitors and keep a low profile?
This trip was her first time going out in nearly two months.

She had no choice but to go out.

Ultimately, Lu Jia's marriage to Shen Qingzhou was arranged by her and Yan Shu.

Did she send such a wild girl to the Grand Commandant's mansion to enjoy a life of luxury? Now that she's there, of course we have to remind her to make a difference as soon as possible.

However, Jin's question also stirred up Yan's thoughts.

"Have you heard back about the matter I asked you to handle a while ago?" She put the medicine away and looked at Madam Jin.

Jin said, "I have asked. Su Zhixiao knows about the new guards recruited by the Lu family. Lord Lu has given him instructions."

Madam Yan frowned: "He actually knew?"

The "he" here refers to Lu Jie.

Although the storm had subsided, the undercurrents persisted. For the past two months, Madam Yan had repeatedly pondered the events of that night, but several things seemed suspicious. First, where did those highly skilled guards watching over Madam Jiang come from? And when did they arrive?

Jiang has already lost power and is a woman, so why is the Lu family guarding her so closely?

Secondly, where did the sword that pierced Chiang Kai-shek come from?
Why do the Lu family guards claim they didn't throw it?

Thirdly, although she was confident and had planned her way into the Jiang family's courtyard, given that the Lu family had so many guards there, why did her plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain work so smoothly?

To say that none of this was done by human intervention would be self-deception.

Who arranged all of this?
Lu Jie could certainly do it, but if it were him, why did he say he didn't believe it when Jiang was about to confess what she had done to Cheng? Why did he stop it all?
Besides him, Lu Ying was clearly capable as well. This girl wasn't stupid; Jiang Shi had caused her to fall from grace and become a burden to her. Given her final act against Jiang Shi, it wasn't surprising that she could do this. But if it were her, she wouldn't have needed to wait for Yan Liang to come knocking on her door later.

That leaves only Lu Jia.

But she was just a wild girl raised by a small businessman!
She had no education, no connections, and no power in the capital. Although the Cheng family was a powerful force, how dare they set such a trap for the Yan family and for Madam Yan? Did they have the ability to clean up the mess? If they did, would they have waited until now? In other words, if it really was the Cheng family, they wouldn't have shown up at the scene that night.

In short, logically it shouldn't have been Lu Jia, but among the three Lu family members, the Yan family knew the least about Lu Jia's background. Furthermore, wasn't that farce ultimately what Jiang wanted to reveal? The person involved was none other than Lu Jia's biological mother!

Therefore, if she had to choose one, Madam Yan would prefer Lu Jia.

At the time, Lu Jia was in charge of the Lu family's household affairs, so it wouldn't have been difficult for her to set a trap if she wanted to.

Unexpectedly, those guards were actually assigned to Su Zhixiao by Lu Jie himself...

So, does Lu Jia have any suspicion of being a suspect?
After pondering for a moment, Madam Yan said, "Go and check where these guards came from. If they are innocent, then fine. If there is anything unusual, then report back to me."

Lu Jia Wu Yao is the best.

If so, then all that effort she put into getting Lu Jia into the Shen family, if she turns out to be someone who digs a pit for her, wouldn't she have just raised an enemy for herself?!
……

Lu Jia walked out of the garden and looked back at the garden gate.

The place where Lu Jie used to teach her to read and play when she was little, and where her mother used to rest and stroll, is now filled with members of the Yan family who supported Jiang, the woman who murdered her, and who also secretly killed her mother. With no one in charge of the inner quarters of the Lu mansion, it seems that the Yan family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are even more unscrupulous here.

For nearly two months before the wedding, the Yan family remained inactive. How could they possibly hold back now that the family is returning to their parents' home?

Lu Jia had anticipated being summoned and reprimanded in person.

"I remember the Liu family got into trouble a while ago. How's it going?"

She looked away and continued walking forward.

Qinghe accompanied her down the steps: "I heard that Madam Liu moved to a Taoist temple to cultivate her mind. She's been there for two months now. Wasn't Liu Zheng originally trying to use the opportunity to drag Jiang down as a scapegoat when he couldn't find the actor's backer, after he detained Guo Lu? But when Jiang got into trouble, he couldn't cover for her anymore. After dragging it out for a while, the court found out and ordered her to suspend her from her post for three months to reflect on her mistakes. It'll be another half a month before she can come out."