Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 287 Elder Brother and Younger Sister

The emperor wanted to quell the war along the southeast coast, he wanted military pay, he wanted money.

Cheng Wenhui used the Su family as a front, accusing the Liu family of forcibly occupying fertile land. This was a pretense, as was targeting the Liu family. The real purpose was to uncover the truth by interrogating Zhou Sheng and seizing control of the Tanzhou water transport, ultimately pointing the finger at the Yan family.

The emperor had his suspicions, but he didn't want to harm the Yan family. He also wanted to put pressure on them, so he asked for money at this juncture.

In this way, the Yan family had no choice but to satisfy the emperor's desires.

However, there are some rules to follow when it comes to satisfying them. Although hundreds of thousands of taels of silver are no problem, we can't just take them out of the Yan family's private account without thinking.
Moreover, if we really did that, wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting that the Yan family had such a sum of money of dubious origin?

Therefore, this matter had to be discussed with the Ministry of Revenue. Only through the Ministry of Revenue could this transaction be conducted openly and legitimately, and only then could this matter of relieving the emperor's worries and solving his problems become truly justifiable.

Over the years, the Yan family has long since firmly controlled several relevant departments, but just yesterday Yan Shu went to the Lu residence, and the Ministry of Revenue is now in Lu Jie's hands!
Yan Liang rushed to the Ministry of Works, seemingly for no apparent reason. If he could obtain leverage over Lu Jie, things would be much easier; but what if he failed—

"Father!"

Yan Shu stood in the open pavilion for an unknown amount of time before Yan Liang arrived, panting, waving several sheets of paper in his hand: "These were just found in the office of Wei Ting, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. They are evidence of his private correspondence with Cheng Wenhui!"
"Besides this, there's also Wei Ting's pass to the Ministry of Works' warehouse yesterday!"

"Wei Ting?!"

Upon hearing the name, Yan Shu's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he swiftly snatched the paper from the other man's hand.

“That’s right!” Yan Liang had been running all the way here and was still panting. “First, the guards discovered that Wei Ting went alone to an alley near the Cheng family early this morning, and at the same time he entered, Cheng Wenhui was also seen in that alley!”
"After receiving the news, I rushed to the Ministry of Works and found this in Wei Ting's office. I just compared this letter with Cheng Wenhui's handwriting in past official documents, and it is indeed his handwriting without a doubt!"
"Father, so far, Lu Jie has not left any significant evidence, but Wei Ting is full of suspicious points!"

"You mean Lu Jie is innocent, and the missing files announced yesterday were stolen by Wei Tingshou and given to Cheng Wenhui?"

“It’s obvious!” Yan Liang pointed to the letter Cheng Wenhui wrote to Wei Ting. “If it wasn’t him, why would Cheng Wenhui’s handwritten letter be under his bed?”
"Cheng Wenhui is just a scholar, at most a sharp-tongued minor censor. Could he possibly have the ability to write a letter and slip it under Wei Ting's pillow?"

Yan Shu frowned as he examined the letter, gradually gritting his teeth.

After the incident at the Liu family yesterday, Lu Jie suddenly went to the Ministry of Works with his personal guards. Yan Shu still felt that his purpose was not simple.

But now there is so much evidence against Wei Ting that it is impossible to ignore it.

Cheng Wenhui had regarded the Yan family as a thorn in his side for many years. Yan Shu knew his capabilities. If someone saw him and Wei Ting appear in the alley at the same time, it could be considered a coincidence, or someone deliberately lured them into a trap.

That pass wasn't anything special. As the Vice Minister of Works, even if he had been to the warehouse yesterday, it didn't necessarily mean he was there to steal the files.

But this handwritten letter from Cheng Wenhui is truly inexplicable!

We must find a suspect between Wei Ting and Lu Jie, and naturally Wei Ting is the one with more problems!

"This is troublesome." He slowly folded the letter, put it behind his back, and placed it behind his back.

"What does Father mean?" "Your grandfather ordered me to work with the Ministry of Revenue to resolve the issue of military pay for Hu Yucheng's side. Since Wei Ting is colluding with Cheng Wenhui, I don't know how to handle things with the Lu family."

Yan Liang paused for a moment, then sighed deeply: "The Shen family is indeed despicable. Hu Yucheng merely gave them a military report, and Shen Bo took the opportunity to propose allocating military funds. If it weren't for him, the Emperor wouldn't have put pressure on the Yan family."

“Who can argue with that?” Yan Shu slammed his fist on the railing. “But now is not the time to talk about these things. If we can’t resolve this matter quickly, we will inevitably be unable to shake off the entanglements with Tanzhou Prefecture.”

"So, what does Father intend to do?"

Yan Shu frowned deeply: "If all else fails, I'll go and apologize in person."

Yan Liang frowned slightly: "Given Uncle Lu's temperament, could he possibly..."

But before he could finish speaking, he nodded.

Although Lu Jie had been very respectful to the Yan family in the past, that was because the Yan family had been very kind to him. After Yan Shu's impolite behavior yesterday, could he, who came from a prestigious family, really still be able to downplay the matter as he had in the past?
But at this critical juncture, we have no choice but to try anything, even if it seems hopeless.

"There are steps ahead, Third Grandma, be careful..."

As Yan Liang stepped out of the main courtyard, he heard the soft whispers of a maid coming from the small garden near the Baoping Gate on the east side.

He stopped and turned his head to look. He saw several people walking gracefully from behind the fragrant rose bushes. The one leading them was Lu Ying.

The two maids behind her, one carrying a flower basket filled with roses and the other holding a tray with a handkerchief and tea, took a pair of scissors from the tray and handed them to Lu Ying when she stopped in front of the flowers.

"These flowers are beautiful, big, and fresh. They're perfect for making rose petal ointment." Yingzi put down the flower basket and picked out the most vibrant few branches, placing them in front of Lu Ying.

Lu Ying gave a soft "hmm" and cut the flower.

As she straightened up, the cobblestones beneath her feet suddenly rolled, causing her to sway. Fortunately, someone nearby reached out and caught her.

"Who put this stone here...Young Master?"

Lu Ying looked closely at the person in front of her and was surprised.

“These flowerbeds are frequented by women, so they really should be leveled.” Yan Liang withdrew his hand, turned his head slightly, and waved his hand behind him. “As Third Madam instructed, remove all these stones.”

The people behind immediately agreed and withdrew.

Lu Ying withdrew her gaze from them and curled her lips into a smile: "I was just making a casual complaint, there's no need to make such a fuss. My third grandmother doesn't deserve such respect."

"Third sister-in-law, are you implying that the family hasn't taken good care of us? If Uncle Lu finds out, won't he blame my third brother and me for neglecting our duties?"

Lu Ying bit her lower lip: "What you're saying makes even less sense. You're my elder brother-in-law. Even if my father wants to blame the Yan family, he should blame the Third Young Master, not you, the eldest young master."