Contentment with modest wealth

Mr. Chong, Chapter 313

“Your Excellency’s concerns are quite valid.” Yi Zhe nodded. “Lu Jie is adept at sweet talk and is skilled at understanding the Emperor’s thoughts. The Emperor’s trust in him is growing day by day.”

"Although Jiang died, the Lu and Yan families became in-laws through their children's marriage, which strengthened their relationship even further."

"With Lu Jie's assistance, the Yan family is like a tiger with wings."

Grand Commandant Shen said slowly, "Who says otherwise? Earlier in the main hall, after I revealed the inside story of Jin Huai's death by poisoning, His Majesty even asked Lu Jie for his opinion."

"What did Lord Lu say?"

“He didn’t say.” Shen Bo glanced at him, his gaze deep. “He avoided the Emperor’s words and played dumb.” After a brief silence, he said, “From this, it seems that Lu Jie is indeed a shrewd man. He knows exactly what I’m doing.”

Yi Zhe pondered: "Today's matter originated from the Jin family and our eldest young mistress, so Lu Jie is caught in the middle and it is indeed not appropriate for him to express his opinion clearly."

"If it's inconvenient for him to express his opinion, then why did he follow me into the palace?" Shen Bo raised an eyebrow at him again.

Yi Zhe was stumped by the question. He could only reply, "Then, in your opinion, Grand Commandant, what is his meaning?"

Shen Bo frowned and shook his head: "I don't know." After a pause, he added: "I don't know either the father or the daughter."

He had long heard of the remarkable feats of the daughter-in-law whom Yan Jiaqiang had forced into the marriage at the Shawan Wharf. After returning to the capital, she quickly defeated her wicked stepmother, proving that she was not one to submit to injustice.

Furthermore, the way Baiyun Temple behaved today is enough to prove that as long as this girl doesn't want to, no one can force her to do things her way.

With a daughter like this, one can see just how cunning her treacherous father is.

Since neither of them are easy to deal with, why do these two have to follow the orders of the Yan family?

Isn't Lu Jie's background as a member of an official family enough to make him proud?

Why did they marry a woman surnamed Jiang first, and then later marry their daughter into the Yan family as well? ...

Shen Bo admitted that he was starting to have more and more misunderstandings about his in-laws.

Yi Zhe sighed softly: "No matter what, now that we've taken this step, we can't let it just end like this."

"I have already sent a message to the Northwest as you instructed. We should receive a reply in a few days. In short, we will definitely have enough time before the Yan family reacts."

Shen Bo picked up the tea that had gone cold in front of him, thought for a moment, and then put it down: "You can leave this to Yu'er."

"Is the Grand Commandant no longer going to intervene?"

"It's better not to show up," Shen Bo said slowly. "Since the Emperor has already issued an edict to demote me, my task is already complete."

Yi Zhe paused for a moment, then picked up the copy of the memorial that had been placed on the table earlier, understanding: "Your subordinate understands."

……

Lu Jia followed Shen Qingzhou to the study intending to thank Grand Commandant Shen as well, but Shen Qingzhou didn't say anything useful, just commented on the tea and came out! This left Lu Jia with no chance to participate at all.

After holding it in for two days, the couple were having dinner under the lamp that night when she couldn't help but complain, "Even though it was for the sake of the Shen family's reputation, it did help me vent my anger. Why can't you say a nice word?"

Shen Qingzhou kept her head down and ate her food, saying, "We're family, what's there to talk about?"

"Wouldn't that make me feel so embarrassed?"

"It's alright, don't worry," Shen Qingzhou said as she picked out the fish bones for her.

Lu Jia rolled her eyes, put down her chopsticks, got up, went into the inner room, and brought out a brand new pair of shoes.

"I made this for my father according to the measurements the embroiderer gave me. It's a token of my gratitude. Please take it to him for me tomorrow." Shen Qingzhou looked displeased: "Why don't you go yourself?" Making a grown man do such a mushy thing.

“I’m the daughter-in-law, it’s inappropriate for me to send these things over. You go! If you don’t finish the task, you won’t have any food tomorrow.”

Shen Qingzhou was speechless.

He Qu poked half his head in.

Shen Qingzhou said, "What are you looking at?"

He Qu then waved the letter in his hand: "Young Master! A letter has arrived from Mr. Chong!"

Shen Qingzhou paused, then immediately put down her chopsticks and got up, not even having time to put on her shoes, and went barefoot to the door.

Lu Jia, worried that he might catch a cold, quickly grabbed his shoes and chased after him, asking, "Who is it that's causing you such a rush?"

"It's Mr. Chong!"

Shen Qingzhou didn't have time to say more and quickly untied the wires.

"And who is Mr. Chong?"

She had met all the guests at Bibo Pavilion, but had never heard of this person before.

He Qu, standing beside her, explained: "Mr. Chong was a visionary gentleman recommended to the young master by the Dowager Consort after the death of the madam. She felt sorry for the young master, who was so young but had to shoulder the responsibility of the entire household. During that time, he was going through a very difficult period. So she recommended him to the young master."

“Since the young master was eight years old, Mr. Chong has been in contact with him through letters, helping him to sort out the affairs of the court and guiding him to deal with various difficulties. In short, without Mr. Chong’s guidance over the years, the young master would definitely have had a much more difficult journey.”

Lu Jia suddenly realized, and looked at Shen Qingzhou again. He saw that Shen Qingzhou's face was solemn, but his eyes were filled with undisguised enthusiasm. Sure enough, the owner of this letter was extremely important to him.

So they became curious: "Where is this Mr. Chong? Why don't we bring him to live in our mansion?"

He Qu sighed: "Nobody knows where he is. The young master once asked the Dowager Consort, who initially said that he had important matters to attend to and was too busy to be there. Later, she said that he was like a dragon, appearing and disappearing without a trace, and that he did not want to come to the Grand Commandant's mansion to live such a restrictive life."

"Young master had no choice but to let him be."

"But since the Grand Commandant's triumphant return, Mr. Chong's letters have become less and less frequent. The last time he wrote was when you were in Tanzhou Prefecture."

"Later, the young master sent many letters, but there was no reply. We were all very worried that something might have happened to him."

"Now that the letter has finally arrived, I can finally put my mind at ease."

Lu Jia thought of the oppression Shen Qingzhou faced from the Yan family when Madam Shen passed away. At such a young age, he had to grit his teeth and learn how to grow up from these flat letters. It was really not easy.

All of this should have been the responsibility of Grand Commandant Shen, who was the father!

Thinking back to how she had previously complained that he hadn't been polite enough to Commander Shen, she felt a pang of heartache.

This guy never says anything and just shoulders everything himself!

She bent down to put his shoes on, then leaned closer and asked, "What did the gentleman say in his letter?"

Shen Qingzhou reached out and stroked her hair, then said gently, "I don't know how you heard about what happened the other day, but you managed to get your hands on a crucial document from eight years ago concerning the Northwest military pay scandal, and sent it to me. This document is extremely useful!"

Lu Jia was stunned: "A major case involving military funds? What does this have to do with what happened recently?"

“The officer who escorted this batch of military pay and grain back then was Jin’s grandfather.” Shen Qingzhou looked at the thick document in his hand, frowned and handed it to her. “The 300,000 taels of military pay were all lost in the hands of Jin Huai.”