Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 318 No one who goes against the Yan family will have a good ending!
Qiu Niang and Liu Xiyu's business partnership is going very smoothly, and Xie Yi has gradually taken over the management of the household. News from Shawan is no longer being sent directly to Lu Jia.

It's rare to receive letters from her these days.

The letter was torn open, revealing an invitation inside. Upon opening it further, the signature read: Madam Yan!

Good heavens! The post says that a special banquet for admiring lotus flowers has been prepared, and Lu Jia is invited to the residence so that he can apologize to her in person for the recent dispute between the two families.

Isn't this just a blatant case of a weasel paying respects to a chicken?

She refused to believe that after being so disrespectful to Madam Jin last time, which led to Yan Shu and his son being implicated and demoted, Madam Yan would still be seething with hatred towards her.
Although Lu Jia was also thinking about how to strike back, at this critical juncture, she was caught in a dilemma: to accept the attack or not to.

If they accept the offer, knowing full well that the other party has ill intentions, they'll inevitably encounter trouble. If they don't accept, do they think the Yan family will back down? Won't they come up with other ideas?
You can hide from the first day of the month, but you can't hide from the fifteenth.

Lu Jia walked around with the invitation a few times, then said, "Go and reply. Tell them that you are very grateful for Madam's kindness and that I will definitely be there tomorrow."

Even if the Yan family is bold, they wouldn't dare to keep her confined to her residence. Their doors have been tightly shut lately, and no news has come out. She can't even contact Lu Ying, so it's probably best for her to go.

The next morning, after breakfast, she went to the Yan residence with Qinghe Yinliu and several guards led by Tang Yu.

As soon as she arrived at the entrance of their alley, she saw the servants of the Yan family, who had been waiting there, rushing towards the mansion from afar.

When her sedan chair arrived at the gate of the mansion, the gate opened, and Madam Yan, accompanied by Lu Ying, came out to greet her with beaming smiles.

"Welcome, Lady of the Heir Apparent."

Lu Jia's face was also full of smiles: "Madam is an elder, why are you so polite? It makes me feel ashamed."

Her gaze swept across Lu Ying's face, and Lu Ying stepped forward and called out, "Sister."

Madam Yan took Lu Jia's arm and walked into the mansion: "Although I am a generation older, how can my status be as noble as yours? Yet, this etiquette is flawless."

Lu Jia smiled and didn't delve into the matter further. She looked around at every blade of grass and every tree, which was exactly the same as the cage that had imprisoned her for five years in her memory. Since her rebirth, this was the first time she had stepped into this threshold. With each step she took, all the hardships and setbacks she had suffered here involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

The smiling woman in front of her was secretly plotting to eat her.

"It's a day off today, so the old master and old lady are not at home. They've gone to the estate to enjoy the cool air. So you don't need to bother going to the main house. It's cool in the garden, so let's go sit in the Sandalwood Pavilion there."

Madam Yan led him into the back garden.

Upon hearing the name "Sandalwood Pavilion," Lu Jia glanced at her subconsciously.

That place was where Yan Shu usually entertained guests. She had been there for five years and had never stepped into it once. Today, in order to see her, he had specially opened up the place where the men usually received guests.
After passing through the tree-lined path, they arrived at the Sandalwood Pavilion. Lu Ying led her people to push open the courtyard gate, where they found an exquisite little courtyard. Several maids were already busy inside, and a faint aroma of tea wafted from the open side room.

After letting Lu Jia into the house, Lu Ying was instructed to prepare tea and food, while Madam Yan stood at the door and gave instructions to other servants.

As the surroundings gradually quieted down, Lu Jia looked around the room and found it to be the place where Yan Shu usually stayed. There were many books and paintings in the room, some of which were by famous people, while others had no known origins.

Lu Jia sat down in the guest seat, a picture book lying beside her. She casually put it down, and her brows twitched involuntarily.

This is a register of people who have committed serious crimes in the past twenty years of this dynasty. There are men and women, old and young, and some families. The ink on each painting is still very fresh, and the bloodstains drawn with vermilion are shocking.

She closed the booklet and put it back in its place. When she looked up, she saw Madam Yan walking slowly towards her.

She smiled faintly: "Were you frightened?"

Lu Jia turned her gaze toward her.

She took the booklet in her hand and turned the pages one by one: "Do you know who these people are?"

Lu Jia shook her head.

"These are all treacherous officials that our Yan family has eliminated for the court." Yan Fu raised his eyebrows at her: "Our old master has served the emperor for decades. Many people say that Grand Secretary Yan is getting old and the Yan family has no successor in the cabinet. The day of losing power is not far away. But even so, just last year, Li Jun, the prefect of Jiangning who was personally promoted by the emperor, still fell into the old master's hands because of his crimes."

"You should know that all the male members of the Li family were executed, right?"

At this point, Madam Yan suddenly laughed again: "I almost forgot, you were busy fighting against the Jiang family all that time, how would you know about things at court?"

Lu Jia sat there, seemingly lost in thought.

"Do you know what crime the Li family committed?" Madam Yan sat down, elegantly picked up her cup, and all the maids and servants had already left. Her calm voice echoed clearly in the room.

"The old lady's nephew did some business in Jingzhou City, but the Li family found something wrong with him and he actually wanted to report them."

"Our master specifically wrote to him asking him to show leniency, but he refused. Relying on the emperor's trust in him, he submitted several memorials to the capital in succession."

“Our Yan family has devoted ourselves to the court and the emperor. We have worked hard even if we have not made any great contributions. How come we have no face at all?”

"No one is perfect. Who in the world is a true saint? If you really want to find fault with someone, how could you not find one?"
"The Li family colluded with officials and businessmen to force women into prostitution; the evidence against them is irrefutable!"

Madam Yan gave a low sneer, lightly dusted off her sleeves, turned to the page with the latest ink stain, and looked at Lu Jia: "This is the consequence of his arrogance."

"Everyone who goes against power comes to a bad end."

Lu Jia gazed at the ground, slowly calming her breathing.

Madam Yan put the tea down, and as it approached the table, the cup made a thud.

Then she laughed again, tossing the booklet aside: "Look at me, once I start talking, I can't stop. Where were we?"
"That's right, it's been three or four months since you went to the Shen family. How have you been? You must have gained quite a bit of knowledge and experience."

Lu Jia also picked up her cup, paused, and said, "Why haven't I seen my sister-in-law today?"

Madam Yan asked, "Why bring her up?"

Lu Jia looked at her and smiled: "I must reply to Madam, it has a very large connection with Sister-in-law Jin."

"I wonder what punishment Sister Jin received for causing Lord Yan's demotion last time?"
"According to the rules that Madam just mentioned, those who go against the Yan family will never have a good ending. So, Sister-in-law Jin will probably be forced to hang herself this time, right?"