Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 347 She's not because of me
Upon hearing that Lu Ying had come looking for her, Madam Cheng took her leave before the rain intensified.

Qinghe was instructing the maids to clear the dishes when she saw Lu Jia enter alone. She smiled and said, "Second Miss has finally arrived?"

Lu Jia nodded. "Prepare the carriage; I need to return to the Lu residence."

Qinghe agreed and went downstairs, but when she returned, she asked again, "Is the Second Miss trustworthy?"

Lu Jia knew that she had stayed outside the tea room the whole time and knew all the conversations inside, so she said directly, "I didn't know at other times, but I can believe it now."

It was extremely difficult for Lu Ying to take the initiative to come to his door.

After failing to persuade Lu Ying at Baiyun Temple, Lu Jia knew that getting Lu Ying to leave the Yan family would not be an easy task. Moreover, focusing on her own interests was Lu Ying's instinct, and if he acted too hastily, he might end up being used by her instead.

However, in dealing with the Jin family, Lu Jia still left room for her sister, naturally wanting to leave room for a future possibility.

Finally, tonight, Lu Ying witnessed the decline of the Yan family with her own eyes and came to their door.

That's definitely a good thing!

How to deal with this sister with her complicated thoughts is something Lu Jia has been figuring out as she goes along.

However, Lu Jia was also confident that no matter what the circumstances, Lu Ying would always choose the path that was most beneficial to her.

Given the Yan family's current situation, even if Lu Ying wanted to stay, her future would be more difficult than she imagined!
"That's good." Qinghe sighed, "Otherwise, things will be difficult for everyone in the future."

Lu Jia said slowly, "She had a smooth life from childhood to adulthood, and the downfall of the Jiang family was the biggest blow to her."

Even if Lu Ying didn't witness the things the Yan family did firsthand, she must have heard about them from Jiang Shi.

But she still went to the Yan family without hesitation—Lu Jie did indeed intend to send her to the Yan family for a marriage alliance, but Lu Ying herself did not resist. Even when Yan Liang ordered her to kill her own mother, she did not want to turn back.

She may not have intentionally gone along with the corrupt practices, but rather, having grown up in such an environment, she genuinely accepted the Yan family's rules.

Choosing to go to the Yan family meant accepting their rules, believing that fighting her way out of the Yan family was much better than marrying into another ordinary family—even another powerful family—and becoming a ready-made noble young mistress. This was because the Yan family's power was attractive enough, and also because the Yan family's rules of conduct were a world that Lu Ying was familiar with.

Only a familiar world can make people feel safe enough.

Crawling towards the Yan family's direction was Lu Ying's instinct for survival.

But Lu Ying would certainly not admit it; Lu Jia guessed that she hadn't even thought about it.

Having been raised by the Jiang family and Lu Jie, who always hid her true self, she would feel alienated from the set of beliefs accepted by outsiders.

Fortunately, she now has the opportunity to see things clearly.

……

The carriage entered through the back gate of the Lu residence. Lights were still on in the main courtyard, and people were moving around.

Lu Jie and Yang Bonong had already drunk countless pots of tea in the study.

It has been a day and a night since the Yan family affair began, and everything that needed to be said has been said, yet no one is sleepy.

Lu Jia removed his straw hat at the door, and Yang Bonong then moved to the next room.

From the moment she appeared, Lu Jie had been staring at her.

Lu Jia sat down in the spot where Yang Bonong had been, poured herself a cup of tea, and looked across the table at me: "Lu Ying came to see me just now. She said that the Yan family is already on guard against her."

Lu Jie showed no surprise: "Beware of her? You're wary of me, aren't you?" Lu Jia smiled: "Coincidentally, Lu Ying thought the same thing. That's why she voiced all her resentment towards you."

Lu Jie lowered his eyes: "The Yan family has not come to see me yet. When your Uncle Yang and I were here just now, we already had some suspicions. Usually at this time, even if I can't plead for them, they will at least ask me to come and discuss countermeasures."

He looked up again: "What else did she say?"

Lu Jia's gaze remained fixed on his face: "She said she didn't know if Father had considered her fate afterward when he set up the scheme against the Yan family? — Did you consider it?"

Lu Jie paused.

Lu Jia snorted and glanced at him, spilled the tea in her cup, and picked up the wine pot next to her to fill it up.

Just when Lu Jie thought he wouldn't say anything, he said, "Since she came to see you at this time, you must have learned something from her. What else did she say?"

Lu Jia slammed the wine pot down and said, "Yan Song urgently summoned the accountant for a lecture, and he also gave Yan Liang a letter. All of this was done in secret from Lu Ying."

"Looking for the accountant is naturally to raise funds. The court is in dire need of money, and if we give enough, the emperor might not be able to resist. Yan Song has served the emperor for so many years, he must be able to figure out the emperor's thoughts pretty well."

"We finally managed to send Yan Shu to prison. If he escapes punishment, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?"

In her previous life, the Yan family had already reached such a desperate situation through the cooperation of various parties. Yan Song even sacrificed his life to save the Yan family. The Yan family's methods were unimaginable. This time, she and Shen Qingzhou were determined to get a result by convicting Yan Shu in the military pay case.

"The military pay amounted to 300,000 taels of silver. The amount that the Yan family has embezzled over the years is more than ten or twenty times that amount. They can afford to pay this sum. If I'm not mistaken, Yan Song has probably already smoothed things over, and it's time to pay money to get convicted."

"What should I do?"

Lu Jie got up and paced under the lamp, pondering: "We've already come this far, of course we can't just let things slide!"

He paused for a moment, then called out towards the door, "Lu Rong, let Bo Nong in!"

Upon receiving the order, Lu Rong immediately went next door to relay the message.

Lu Jia couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you just give Lu Ying some reassurance and let her know that you, her father, still love and care for her? If she can make up her mind to come back, it will be a good thing for us!"

"Those who are meant to leave can't be kept, and those who are meant to stay can't leave. You should know that she came to see you not really because of me, but because of herself."

"So when it's time to make a decision, she will naturally do so!"

As Lu Jie spoke, he glanced at her, then took out a key from his waist and handed it to Yang Bonong, who had just entered: "Go and retrieve the contents of that jujube wood box immediately, go with Jia'er to the Grand Commandant's residence, and then go with Qingzhou to see the Grand Commandant."

"This matter requires the Grand Commandant's intervention."

"The Yan family wants to ransom Yan Shu, we absolutely cannot let them succeed, we must get there first!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Bonong immediately became serious: "And what about the sir?"

"I still have to go to the Yan family; the show must go on."

After saying that, Lu Jie picked up a cloak and sent Lu Jia away as well: "It's going to rain heavily soon, you should leave quickly!"

"I haven't finished speaking yet..."

"Stop talking, just keep it to yourself."

By the time the sound reached them, Lu Jie had already walked away.