Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 331 What remarkable background does he have?

Jin suddenly stopped. Who could possibly be interested in 300,000 taels of silver? Wasn't it obvious?

She suddenly stepped forward: "Does Father mean to admit that the military funds were indeed misappropriated, rather than sunk beneath that hundred-foot cliff?!"

Jin Yun choked, then pushed her away and started to walk out.

Jin grabbed his sleeve and said in a hoarse voice, "So that sum of money really is in the Yan family, I guessed right, didn't I?"

"Shut up!" Jin Yun hissed angrily, then strode to the closed doors and windows to look inside before returning, gritting his teeth and saying, "What do you want to do? Do you want to drag the whole family into a fire pit?"

Jin bit her lower lip until it bled: "So this is why the Jin family gained favor with the Yan family after my grandfather and second uncle died. So this is why I was able to marry into the Yan family?"

"Otherwise what? Do you really think there's some amazing way to avoid disaster, that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Yan family should become our young lady?" Jin Yun asked sharply. "The Jin family is far inferior to the Yan family. Think about the difference in your background compared to Madam Lu. Originally, someone like Miss Lu was worthy of becoming the young mistress of the Yan family. If it weren't for the Jin family's efforts, why would the Yan family have given you this special position?"

"How did the Jin family accumulate such a wealth over the years with such smooth sailing? You don't really think it's only because you became the eldest daughter-in-law of the Yan family, do you?!"

As Jin Yun's voice fell, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Jin's eyes welled up with tears: "Since you had this leverage, why didn't you say so sooner? Why did you make me suffer the humiliation of being expelled today?"

Jin Yun looked away: "Don't be delusional. Do you think you can control the Yan family just because you have something on them? They did you a favor by marrying you off to the eldest son and making our two families related by marriage, not a condition for exchange. We simply don't have the ability to go against them. Over the years, the Jin family has long been corrupt. Exposing them would be tantamount to sending ourselves to our deaths."

"They're all going to divorce me, and you're just going to stand by and do nothing?"

Jin's eyes were red. She had thought that the two families were of vastly different power. Over the years, she had been very considerate and attentive to Madam Yan, doing whatever she was told. She was exhausted and her back ached. She had not been able to conceive again for five years after giving birth to two sons. She was also afraid that her position would be lost after Lu Ying married into the family, and that Lu Ying would take away her power to manage the household affairs sooner or later. That's why she resorted to this desperate measure to ruin Lu Ying's reputation and use Yan Qu to trample her into the mud. But it turned out that this was not the case at all!
The Jin family had such a huge handle on the Yan family!

Her parents, however, remained silent and allowed her to be tormented by her in-laws!
Jin Yun looked at her and sighed: "Where is there a daughter-in-law who doesn't get tormented? Haven't you received a lot of benefits in the Yan family? In a few years, when your mother-in-law gets old, won't you still be the one calling the shots in this huge Yan mansion?"

Seeing that she was still unconvinced, he had to soften his voice again: "I know you have brought a lot of benefits to your family and have made great contributions. When you go back to your family, you will naturally still be the high and mighty eldest aunt. You can stay as long as you want."

Jin laughed sarcastically: "What if I can never go back?"

Jin Yun was stunned.

Jin gritted her teeth, left him behind, and went out the door.

Jin Yun chased after him, shouting, "Where are you going?!"

Jin stopped: "Go and serve your mother-in-law!"

"..."

……

Madam Yan usually handles daily affairs in the study every morning, but today was an exception. Just as Lu Ying arrived at the main room as ordered, Madam Yan suddenly left her and hurriedly went to Yan Shu's study.

At this moment, the steward came to report from outside, so Lu Ying had no choice but to pick it up first.

Meanwhile, Yan Liang was also in the study. The father and son seemed to have been talking for a while, and both looked very serious.

As soon as Madam Yan entered, she asked, "When did you receive this news?"

“The men we sent to the Northwest returned last night,” Yan Liang replied.

"So what exactly is the situation with Shen Zhui?"

"Sixteen years ago, the birth mother of the second young master Shen went to the Northwest pregnant with him. She gave birth to him a few months later and then died."

"She's not from Northwest China?"

“No.” Yan Liang replied and then looked at Yan Shu. “In fact, after this woman found Grand Commandant Shen, she stayed in the commander’s tent. She didn’t see many of the second young master Shen’s birth mother. The few people who had seen her were also close to Grand Commandant Shen. It took a lot of effort to find out this information.”

"The Shen family went to the Northwest sixteen years ago, and she only went after them because she was pregnant. The timing doesn't add up!" Madam Yan's eyes narrowed instantly. "Could there be another story about Shen Zhui's background?"

Yan Liang nodded: "Most likely." Madam Yan looked suspicious: "Who could it be?"

“The difficulty lies precisely here,” Yan Shu said. “Before Shen Bo brought this child back, almost no one in the capital knew about this matter.”

"On the contrary, after they returned, rumors of discord between Shen Yu and Shen Zhui emerged. In other words, Shen Bo kept Shen Zhui's true parentage a secret, even from his own biological son. Why would he do that?"

Yan Liang said, "In other words, what extraordinary background does this Shen Zhui have that requires him to be so low-key?"

Madam Yan, who had just sat down, stood up again: "Shen Bo only has one son, so it's bound to affect the interests of his family!"

The mother and son both turned their gazes toward Yan Shu.

Yan Shu slowly took a deep breath and said, "Go and investigate who was close to the Shen family sixteen years ago?"

Yan Liang nodded.

After he left, Madam Yan asked again, "Besides this, does Shen Bo have no other leverage over him?"

"I've already asked Gao Hong to let me know as soon as there's any news. Even if there isn't, we should still wait for the right opportunity to act."

Madam Yan turned to the side, her eyes flashing: "It's time to make a move."

……

Lu Ying was handling some matters in the outer room when she noticed that Madam Yan had not returned for quite some time, and she couldn't help but feel a little distracted.

The maid walked up to her and said, "Young Mistress is back."

She just hummed in response.

It wasn't until Madam Jin walked up to her and looked up to see her clearly that Lu Ying finally calmed down.

"Why are you here alone?"

Jin stared at her coldly.

Lu Ying stood up: "You went back to your parents' home, how come you didn't even care about etiquette? How could you just come in without your mother's permission?"

Jin scoffed, "You're making a mountain out of a molehill. As long as I'm here, it's none of your business to make decisions!"

Lu Ying looked at her for a while, then sat back down and continued with her work.

Jin stepped forward: "Where is Mother?"

Lu Ying ignored her.

She glanced at the servants still far away outside the door and said further, "You wretched woman! I've ended up in this state all because of you! Just you wait and see, I'll make you regret this sooner or later!"

Lu Ying looked up and suddenly smiled.

Jin frowned: "What are you laughing at?"

"nothing."

Lu Ying pulled a silk handkerchief from her sleeve.

An object then fell to the ground and rolled right between the two of them.

Madam Jin looked down, her expression suddenly changed, and she quickly picked it up. Then she asked sternly, "How did you get this? How did you get his jade pendant?!"

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