Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 301 Uninvited Guest

The old women had no choice but to crawl on their knees to Jin's feet, crying, "Grandma, save me!..."

The Taoist priest from Baiyun Temple also frowned at Madam Jin: "My senior brother is still serving the emperor in the palace. I beg you, young mistress, to do me the honor and explain the reason!"

Amidst the cacophony of voices, the room descended into chaos, and Jin Shi, surrounded by three parties, became the target of everyone's ire!

In this three-on-one situation, none of the parties were in a respectable position. Only Lu Jia sat upright above, watching everything unfold. Not only was she unharmed, but she also showed a hint of grievance on her face.

This entanglement will eventually come to an end. Either the Jin family will admit defeat, or Lu Jia will eventually sue her until she admits defeat. In any case, if the Jin family dares to have this idea, they can forget about escaping!
The crowd of onlookers grew denser, including many officials' families.

"What's going on?!" A sudden commotion erupted in the crowd, and a voice filled with anger rang out abruptly. Immediately afterward, a person appeared in front of them.

Hearing the sound, Jin, who was caught in the trap, suddenly stopped and turned around. Yan Liang, who had come with his entourage, looked at her with a cold expression.

"...Young Master!"

Everyone present fell silent, and the two old women kneeling on the ground didn't even dare to breathe loudly!
Yan Liang looked around at everyone, and when he saw Lu Jia sitting in the room, he took two steps back and bowed deeply: "A few lowly servants in the manor were blind and could not keep their mouths shut, which accidentally implicated the young mistress. I apologize to the young mistress."

"Please, young mistress, have mercy and allow me to take these two lowly servants back and deal with them. I will give you a satisfactory answer before sunset."

Upon his appearance, Lu Jia also sat up abruptly.

As the eldest grandson of the Yan family, this fellow was personally raised by Yan Song and his wife from a young age. He had long inherited the hypocrisy of the Yan family, being able to bend and stretch, and speaking sweet words while harboring daggers. In terms of knowledge, temperament, and shrewdness, he was far superior to Jin Shi, a low-ranking official's wife who lived in the inner quarters.

She stood up: "Does the young master mean that he has admitted that the two of them were responsible for what happened today?"

Yan Liang said, "I can't believe it, and the Yan family can't tolerate such behavior either. But since we can't get a fair judgment, I have to take responsibility regardless of whether it's true or not. We can't damage the young mistress's reputation, and we can't harm the harmony between the Yan family and the Grand Commandant's family. Don't you agree?"

What a convenient excuse! He's taking the blame whether it's true or not. He's getting a good deal but acting innocent, putting on a show of being wronged and compromising!

Wouldn't this force Lu Jia to become that arrogant and domineering person instead?

Lu Jia smiled: "Since Young Master Yan has such good intentions, what else can I say? Please go ahead."

Yan Liang nodded, bowed again, and said with a smile, "Thank you for gracing me with your presence, young mistress."

After saying that, he turned around, his face instantly darkening: "Bring them all away! Back to the manor!"

The crowd immediately parted to make way, and the Yan family members left in a hurry, even the disheveled Jin Shi followed them away.

The Taoist priest from Baiyun Temple apologized to Lu Jia, saying, "Young Madam, please move to the backyard so we can serve you tea and express our apologies."

"No need." Lu Jia glanced at them, then looked at Xie San, who was like a frightened bird, waved to the guards, and walked out.

As Yan Liang and his party left the Taoist temple, the steward who had come with them immediately rode up to catch up with him at the front.

"Could there be a trap behind the fact that this young mistress of the Shen family agreed so easily?"

Yan Liang continued without stopping: "Besides what Xie San's family said, what other evidence is there? Without evidence, what can she 'bluff' about? What leverage does he have on his own?"

Shen Bo hated this marriage so much that he hadn't met with Lu Jie privately even once.

Even if the deed is done, and they become family after the emperor's bestowal of marriage, with her maternal father like Lu Jie and the ties to the Yan family, how could the Shen family father and son possibly accept her in the short term?
As long as the Shen family father and son don't become her backers, even if Lu Jia sees Jin Shi instructing Xie San with her own eyes, she won't be able to stir up any trouble.

What angered him was something else!
His gaze swept over the carriage carrying Lady Jin behind him, and his expression grew even colder.

When Yan Liang appeared, Lu Jia knew that a direct confrontation was not an option.

A good man does not suffer immediate losses.

The journey back to the manor was uneventful. Upon entering the front courtyard, she first sent someone to inquire about Shen Bo's whereabouts. He Qu, who had already heard news of the White Moon Temple, was already waiting to greet her.
"Is the young mistress alright?" "She's fine," Lu Jia replied hastily, then asked, "Is the eldest young master at home?"

"Yan Shu is really capable. In just two or three days, he has submitted a document on how to raise military funds to the palace. After reading it, the emperor praised him and summoned him to the palace."

"The eldest son also went to meet with Mr. Yang because of this."

Lu Jiaxin paused. She had been in a hurry to come back and meet Shen Qingzhou, but she didn't expect that, not only would she hear the news that the Yan family was popular, but even Shen Qingzhou had gone out!

She frowned and looked towards the main house again: "Is the Grand Commandant here?"

"The Grand Commandant is here. He hasn't left his house all day."

Lu Jia quickly asked, "What is he doing? Has he received any guests?"

"No guests. They are checking the second young master's homework."

"That's excellent."

Lu Jia immediately beckoned him closer and quietly gave him a few instructions.

He Qu left quickly.

Lu Jia stayed where she was and looked around. She saw that there was no one nearby, and the servants a little further away were not looking in her direction. She quickly bent down, smeared some dirt on her body, and then messed up her hair.

Fu Xiao was stunned: "What's wrong, young mistress?"

Lu Jia casually grabbed a few handfuls of her hair: "Don't ask so many questions. Do you have any rouge on you?"

Although Fuxiao didn't understand why, she quickly took out a small piece of rouge from her purse.

Lu Jia took it, skillfully dug out a finger, and forcefully poked it around her eye socket.

Qiu Niang had never mistreated her since she was a child, so her skin was naturally delicate. During her time back in the capital, she had gained some weight, and her plumper face turned red in several places when Qiu Niang rubbed it like that.

In the eastern garden, Grand Commandant Shen held a book behind his back, listening to Shen Zhui recite the text while pacing absentmindedly.

Shen Zhui recited several volumes of texts without a single stumble. He eagerly awaited his father's praise, but after a long while, he still hadn't received a response. He took two steps forward to look, only to see Grand Commandant Shen with his back to him, frowning as he stared at the flower bushes, showing no sign of joy whatsoever!

"Father!"

His sudden shout startled Shen Bo.

The latter turned around, paused for a moment, and then said, "Finished reciting? Not bad."

Shen Zhui huffed, "You weren't listening at all!"

Shen Bo said somewhat apologetically, "I heard it all, and it is indeed very good. Mr. Zhang also praised you the other day, saying that you have been doing very well in your studies recently."

At this point, he picked up the homework that was placed beside him, "These characters are indeed written very well..."

"Grand Commandant!"

Before the words of praise could be finished, a guard walked over from the garden gate in the distance, looked at the father and son, and hesitated to speak.

"What is it?" Shen Bo asked, waiting to sit down.

The guard bowed and said, "The young mistress went to Baiyun Temple to offer incense this morning, but for some reason, she came back crying just now."

“Crying?” Shen Bo, who hadn’t even sat down yet, paused for a moment in mid-air upon hearing this, then stood up again. “Who did this?”