Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 319 Let's Regulate Your Backyard
Madam Yan's smile vanished instantly.

Lu Jia smiled again: "What my sister-in-law did this time not only hurt the Madam's true feelings for me, but also caused the Yan family to suffer a great loss. She can't be allowed to live with us, no matter what. But I don't know why the Madam keeps inviting me over to apologize while letting her live a good life as the eldest young mistress, neither dying nor getting a divorce. What does this mean?"

A chill ran down Madam Yan's face.

Lu Jia glanced at Lu Ying, who had returned and was standing outside the door, and said, "I'm fine, but I've never been loved by my father since I was a child. I was treated like a burden and sent to the Shen family, where I was always on guard. My husband is nowhere to be seen all day long. He suffered humiliation at the Taoist temple, and it was only because my father-in-law was forced to retaliate once that he had to save face."

"I'm just a worthless person, and I'm used to it."

"As for my younger sister, she's the apple of her parents' eye back home, never suffering any hardship. Others may not know the details of the Third Young Master's situation, but you and I do. Father, to maintain the Yan family's reputation, still sent his precious daughter to marry into the family—that's already more than enough. Last time, my husband slapped me so badly at my homecoming banquet that my family didn't argue much. Now, she's being schemed against by her sister-in-law—what kind of behavior is that?"
"Does this mean that just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can bully Miss Lu?"
"Madam is both your aunt and your mother-in-law. This eldest sister-in-law Jin has offended three people in a row, and you won't even give her a fair chance. You not only condone and protect your eldest daughter-in-law's schemes against your second daughter-in-law, but also allow her to cause trouble and embarrass herself outside, which has led to her offending the Shen family and getting into trouble. What kind of apology are you offering me?"

"What kind of relationship have you formed with the Lu family?"
"The Yan family is targeting Prefect Li, and they need to confirm his crimes. What reason do they have for repeatedly condoning the eldest branch of the family's bullying of Ying'er?"

These were all questions. Madam Yan gripped the armrests tightly with both hands, looked at Lu Ying and then back at her: "The scheming of the sister-in-law?"

Lu Jia sighed, "Even now, Madam is still pretending to be confused! Don't you know that Jin's conspiracy at Baiyun Temple was originally aimed at Ying'er? Or are you simply biased towards Jin and have no intention of standing up for Ying'er?"

Madam Yan looked at Lu Ying in shock.

The day Jin confessed her crime, Shen Zhui came to collect the debt. Then Yan Shu was demoted because of the Shen family's lawsuit. The whole family had to shut themselves away and confess their crimes. They had no time to deal with the Baiyun Temple matter.

"Why don't you say anything?!" Madam Yan stood up.

Lu Ying quickly bowed and went inside.

She naturally knew that Madam Yan had set a trap for Lu Jia today, and secretly she was worried for Lu Jia, unable to imagine how Lu Jia would handle this situation. The Yan family's dealings in officialdom were naturally bloody; even a small portion of their resources used in the inner quarters would be enough to leave corpses strewn everywhere. Madam Yan's revelation of the Li family's affairs clearly indicated that she had no intention of giving Lu Jia any face. Under such circumstances, even if Lu Jia managed to leave the Yan family alive today, she wouldn't escape their grasp.

She never expected that Lu Jia would bring up the topic of herself!
Once inside the house, she glanced at Lu Jia, then bit her lip and knelt before Madam Yan: "I didn't have any real evidence at the time, and I didn't dare to ask my sister-in-law for witnesses, so I dared not speak."

Madam Yan's face turned cold for a moment, then she waved her sleeve and sat down: "You go back first."

Lu Jia replied, “My sister is from a respectable family and is easily embarrassed. She doesn’t dare to utter a word when she’s wronged. I grew up in the marketplace and only know the principle that if someone treats me with respect, I will treat them with even greater respect.”

“If Madam is truly unaware of the situation, then the culprit should be punished immediately. My sister has always been steady and has only been married for half a year. She shouldn’t be able to hinder the eldest branch of the family. What is her true intention in taking action without any reason?”
"If you intend to continue to smooth things over, then that can only be described as intentional indulgence." Madam Yan said with a stern face, "Young Madam has overstepped her bounds!"

Lu Jia smiled and picked up her teacup: "I've never been well-mannered since I was a child, and I don't know how to say nice things. Perhaps I've offended you. But my father only has two daughters, and if both of them are trampled underfoot by your eldest young mistress, how can he associate with you? What would he gain? Even if I'm not important, Ying'er is still a member of the Yan family. In the future, we'll have to rely on her to accompany the Third Young Master until he grows old, won't we?"

"Madam is a sensible woman. Friendships between two parties must be based on mutual benefit. If you can't even keep things fair, won't you get splashed sooner or later?"

As she spoke, the gilded and painted teacup in her hand tilted, and half a cup of tea spilled out.

Madam Yan's facial muscles twitched.

The girl before me exudes a sharp, cold, and fearless aura, yet she spent the most crucial ten years of her life in a small town like Shawan, in a modestly wealthy family. She should indeed be rude, shallow, timid, and humble. Anyone who had just turned to that booklet would have broken out in a cold sweat, let alone an ignorant country girl like her! And yet, not only was she not afraid, she even dared to challenge me?

She gritted her teeth and said, "So it turns out we were mistaken!"

"Madam, what are you saying? The Shen family is a den of dragons and tigers to me. I, Lu Jia, am not capable enough to do anything but risk my life to disappoint you both. Any courage I have is forced upon me. In other words, if I were a stupid and weak person, I would not be able to fulfill your expectations, would I?"

Madam Yan narrowed her eyes: "Are you trying to checkmate me?"

“Not so.” Lu Jia looked at Lu Ying. “As long as my sister is a member of the Yan family, and as long as the Lu family and the Yan family remain closely bound together, I will not be on the same side as the Yan family. Without the Lu family as my backing, why would the Shen family accept me? And why would I be able to establish myself in the Shen family? In that case, how could I dare to oppose Madam?”
"How my wife treats me is not up to me."

“I’m only worried about you, Madam. I’ve been thinking about this for the past few days. Not only did Jin turn her back on her own family, but she also targeted Ying’er, who married into the Lu family. You should really investigate her intentions. I’ve also heard a lot of talk about the Yan family lately. The Yan family is currently using my father, but Jin is so ruthless in betraying them. I wonder if the Jin family has some ulterior motive?”

At this point, she turned to Madam Yan and said, "You mean, could it be that the Jin family has been bribed? But it's strange, the Jin family doesn't hold high official positions, they're only fifth-rank officials now, what's so special about them that they'd be worth using?"

These words were spoken lightly, but they sounded like thunder to Madam Yan!

She slowly raised her head, her gaze never leaving Lu Jia's face: "What do you mean by that?"

Lu Jia sat up straight: "What could I possibly mean? I'm just reminding you, Madam, that while external enemies are important, internal troubles must also be guarded against. If you can get me into the Shen family, the Shen family might just be able to do something to the Yan family?"
"Anyway, Jin failed to harm Ying'er at Baiyun Temple, and now she's trying to harm me. Her actions, which cause pain to her loved ones and joy to her enemies, seem very strange. What do you think?"