Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 328 They still haven't severed ties?
The Empress Dowager tucked the letter into her sleeve and asked, "I heard that your father recently sued the Yan family and won. The Yan family has suffered a silent loss, and things are bound to get turbulent in the court from now on."

"You've been lying low for so many years, and now you're probably in the spotlight for many people. Are you ready?"

Shen Qingzhou said slowly, "Since the day my mother passed away, I have been preparing every single day. Even if the road ahead is full of thorns, I cannot turn back."

The Dowager sighed, "Yan Song is already seventy-one. Although he is still robust, he can only last for another ten years at most. In fact, it would not be impossible for us to wait a little longer and then make our move when the opportunity arises."

“I thought so too, but time waits for no one.” Shen Qingzhou gazed wistfully at the flowers in the twilight. “The Yan family will have their own plans. Besides, perhaps no one understands the Emperor’s thoughts better than them. Rather than waiting, we should seize the opportunity and strike decisively.”

They had already failed once in their previous life. As it turns out, it's better to take the initiative and control the situation than to leave the outcome to time.

The Dowager looked at him with admiration in her eyes: "You and your father are quite alike."

Shen Qingzhou paused, then looked down at the ground: "I don't think so."

The Empress Dowager's smile deepened.

She put down her teacup: "The palace gates are about to be locked; you should go out now."

Shen Qingzhou rose, bowed, and withdrew from the Imperial Garden.

As he stepped out of the many covered walkways, his pace gradually slowed.

The last time he saw his father was when he went to the study after learning that the Yan family had been demoted.

Several days passed in a flash, and the father and son had no contact whatsoever.

This has been the norm for them over the past year or two.

The Grand Commandant's mansion is so large that one could easily go a year or two without meeting if one wanted to. In the past, Shen Qingzhou would never have cared about such details.

However, on that same day, Yi Zhe sent over files related to the military pay case, almost immediately after Mr. Chong's letter.

Mr. Chong appeared after his mother passed away, and his letters became scarce after his father returned to Beijing. Moreover, he refused to show his face. All of this coincided with the time when the army was in the Northwest. So who exactly was he?

He gazed at the palaces outlined in the twilight ahead, then suddenly turned around and walked back towards the Empress Dowager's palace!
The only person who knew Mr. Chong's identity was the Dowager Consort. He had been deliberately ignoring it all these days, but now, in this instant, he suddenly wanted to know the truth.

"Master Shen?"

Just as I stepped across the threshold, a soft gasp of surprise came from the side.

Shen Qingzhou turned her head, then straightened up and bowed deeply: "Eunuch Li!"

Li Quan walked up to him, looking him over with gentle eyes: "Where are you going, young master?"

"I came to pay my respects to the Dowager Consort just now, but then I remembered that I had left something with her, so I went to retrieve it."

"What a coincidence?" Li Quan said with a smile. "I'm also on my way to the Empress Dowager's palace to deliver the baby's first gifts. Shall we go together?"

If we go together, how can I easily say what's on my mind?

Shen Qingzhou stepped aside: "It's nothing important. It's getting late, so I'll come back another time to bother the Dowager. Please take care, Eunuch."

He descended the steps, the earlier impulse gone.

Li Quan's gaze lingered on his retreating figure for a long time before he went to the Empress Dowager's palace.

...When Shen Qingzhou left the palace, He Ping was in the Qianqing Palace.

“There’s no path, which means we can’t find out what’s down there.” The emperor leaned back on the couch, bending one leg, and patted his knee lightly. “Three hundred thousand taels of silver is no small sum, and this matter wasn’t a secret back then. Could it be that no one in the martial arts world is interested in it? If they had been there, there should be some traces.”

"It's not that no one has tried to explore it. For a period of time after the incident, many people came down the mountain, all inquiring about the pool at the bottom of the cliff. But the following month, a flash flood occurred due to a heavy rain, and the mountain collapsed. Local hunters said that the pool was mostly submerged. In short, even those of us who have been walking in the mountains for many years have not been able to find it."

The emperor stepped off his bed and paced along the hall: "So, what are your plans next?"

"Although Jin Huai is dead, the Jin family is still alive, and I still intend to look for the Jin family."

The emperor paced around for the third time before stopping and giving a soft "hmm".

He Ping returned to the Embroidered Uniform Guard late at night, where several deputy commanders who were still waiting greeted him: "May I ask if His Majesty has issued any instructions?"

He Ping took a sip of water, frowned, and gazed at the night view outside the window: "Let's find an opportunity to meet Jin Yun."

The deputy commanders exchanged glances: "The Jin family is related to the Grand Secretary's mansion by marriage. Even if they know, they probably won't speak up so easily."

"That's right. The Jin family married their eldest daughter to the eldest son of the Yan family in the same year the incident occurred. Putting everything else aside, the fact that the Yan family chose to arrange the marriage at that time shows how much they valued the Jin family."

“We’ve all seen too much of the power dynamics behind the scenes. Right now, we don’t have any leverage over the Jin family, and we can’t just resort to torture right away. The Jin family can just say they don’t know and that’s it.”

"If we forcibly delve deeper, and accidentally touch upon something we shouldn't, we'll be purged in return, and it's hard to say what the Emperor's attitude will be then."

"Although 300,000 taels is a lot, it may not be able to win against the right and left arms."

One person spoke after another, until everyone fell silent.

"Hey, you guys are still here."

Just then, another man entered, a deputy commander on duty that night. He greeted He Ping first, then asked, "What are you and your brothers discussing, sir?"

His colleagues then explained the situation.

The man suddenly realized, "So that's what it was about." He looked at everyone and said, "Something just happened in the Jin family. The young lady who married into the Yan family was sent back to her parents' home by Madam Yan today. Didn't you all know?"

The group exchanged glances: "We've been waiting for you to leave the palace since nightfall, and we haven't heard anything about it. Why is that?"

The man then said, "Jin Yun's son, Jin Ziyao, was cornered in the back room of the gambling den by the Yan family early this morning. Among them were Song En from the Grand Commandant's Mansion and General Wu from the Dragon and Tiger General's Mansion."

"I heard that there were quite a few important documents on the spot when they were cornered. When Madam Yan heard about it, she flew into a rage, and even Young Master Yan couldn't stop her..."

"The Jin family and Song En?" Before he could finish speaking, everyone was already surprised. "We know that the Jin family was sued recently and the Wu family came forward to plead for leniency. This time, even the Shen family has gotten involved. Are they really involved with the Wu family?"

The deputy commander later said, "In short, they were cornered. It's said that very few outsiders know about the back room of that gambling den. If it weren't for something real, why would Song and Wu have gone there?"

One of the deputy commanders closest to He Ping said, "That's strange. The Jin family offended the Yan family, so why did Madam Yan only send them back? Doesn't that mean she's severing ties with the Jin family?"

"...That's right, this isn't how the Yan family behaves!"

The group gradually fell silent and all looked at He Ping.

He Ping walked a few steps under the lamp, then suddenly stopped: "Go and investigate the Jin family's situation, and report back to me before dawn!"

"Yes!"