Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 362 This in-law is really cunning

“That makes sense!” Shen Bo walked around twice with his hands behind his back. “But this is a life-saving measure for the Yan family, and Yan Song will definitely have precautions. Even if we send someone, it may not be foolproof.”

Lu Jie said, "With the Grand Commandant's plan, how can we not succeed?"

Shen Bo stroked his beard and smiled: "Even if I could make the arrangements, I would still need Brother Lu's help."

"How do you say this?"

“Hu Yucheng is no ordinary person. Not only does the Yan family need him, but he also needs the Yan family. Even if we can intercept all the letters from the Yan family, he may still actively contact them. Therefore, sending someone to intercept them cannot guarantee that it will be foolproof.”

Lu Jie paused slightly: "Then what good plan does Your Excellency have?"

Shen Bo walked under the lamp: "If this is the only option left, then I have to go myself!"

Lu Jie was surprised: "Officials in the capital are not allowed to leave without an imperial edict. Besides, Brother Shen holds an important position and will be gone for a long time. How can you go?"

"To achieve our goal, we have to target him directly. But no one else would be as effective as me."

"Brother Shen, as the Minister of War, you have the power to mobilize troops and are a master strategist. You are also adept at understanding the thoughts of military generals like Hu Yucheng. I know that you are the most likely to succeed. But you have been away from the capital for so long. What if you are discovered?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Bo picked up their drinks, raised his eyebrows, and handed one to him: "It wasn't possible before, but from today onwards, don't you, the resourceful Brother Lu, cover for me?"

Lu Jie: ...

Under the lamplight, his eyes were as deep as a still pool, yet as bright as the morning star.

After looking at him for a moment, Lu Jie gulped down his wine and snorted, "I see now, isn't that last sentence the real purpose of Brother Shen's trip?"

Shen Bo smiled, raised his glass, and drank the wine in one gulp.

……

"This Grand Commandant Shen, no one ever told me he was so cunning!"

After seeing the guests off, Lu Jie complained all the way into his room, his gloom as heavy as the night.

"Do you think this kind of thing is so easy to cover up? The Grand Commandant, the Minister of War who is busy with countless affairs of state, to get him out of the capital under the Emperor's nose for so long without being discovered, does he really think I'm a god!"

Yang Bonong followed behind, suppressing a laugh, until he sat down and glared at him. Then he handed over a letter in his hand: "Jia'er had Mr. Yi send a letter along with her. It was originally meant to be presented to you in person, but you weren't in a good mood, so you asked me to pass it on."

As he spoke, he pointed and said, "Don't be angry, we're still in-laws. Come and take a look."

Lu Jie tore up the letter, glanced at it twice, and became even more depressed. He tossed the letter back to Yang Bonong, saying, "She's like water spilled from a cup—once married, she's gone! She's only concerned about her father-in-law."

When Yang Bonong saw the letter, he was struck by Lu Jia's instructions to Lu Jie to treat Grand Commandant Shen well, and his reminder to carefully listen to Grand Commandant Shen's opinions. His own father had just been given a hot potato by Shen Bo; these words were sure to hit a nerve!
Yang Bonong finished reading it with a smile, then turned it over and said, "There's more to it!"

Lu Jie took it back, and upon looking at it, the frustration on his face turned into seriousness: "This girl is meticulous."

"how?"

"She told me to keep an eye on Lu Ying."

"What are your plans, sir?" Lu Jie folded the letter: "Let's protect Grand Commandant Shen first."

"But didn't the master say this matter is difficult to handle?"

"It's difficult, not impossible." Lu Jie reached out and flicked the lamp wick a little brighter. "Isn't Feng Chuo in prison? Send a letter to Qingzhou and ask him to find out what's going on in the palace. Tell me by noon tomorrow."

"I should also go and visit the cabinet."

……

Since the father-in-law and son-in-law worked in the same government office, it wasn't difficult for them to meet. Shortly after breakfast the next day, Shen Qingzhou went to Lu Jie's office under the pretext of delivering official documents.

"Eunuch Li said that after the Emperor dismissed His Highness the Crown Prince and his father yesterday, he summoned the imperial physician. Fortunately, there was nothing seriously wrong; after taking the medicine, he got up again during the night. Eunuch Li was summoned and questioned about many things related to Yan Shu's case."

"It is unclear what the Emperor's attitude is at the moment, but Gao Hong was put on duty early this morning, and then the eunuchs went to the cabinet several times. It is said that the Emperor wanted to see the memorials that the cabinet was reviewing."

In recent years, all the memorials submitted to the emperor have passed through the cabinet before reaching the emperor's palace, meaning that the information the emperor receives has been screened by the cabinet.

The key was that the emperor was also very suspicious, so the Jinyiwei (Imperial Bodyguard) became an extremely important agency.

Lu Jie pondered for a moment: "Have any approvals been completed?"

"I heard that one or two of them were released. But what kind of petitions they were is still unknown."

Lu Jie nodded upon hearing this, sat for a moment, then stood up, picked up the several folded documents that had been prepared beforehand, and went out.

These past few days, Yan Song naturally couldn't go to the cabinet to handle affairs. The cabinet office, which was usually peaceful, was now bustling with officials from various departments and errand runners, running around from room to room.

"Hurry, hurry! The Emperor is waiting, find him quickly!" The voice of Chen Qi, Gao Hong's eunuch, urged Lu Jie as he stepped into the inner hall. Upon seeing Lu Jie, Chen Qi immediately forced a smile: "Minister Lu, you've arrived too?"

Lu Jie said, "It is currently the autumn harvest season, and there are a pile of reports on the canal transport waiting to be submitted. Which Grand Secretary is in charge now?"

As he spoke, he looked around the room.

Since Yan Song came to power, those he recommended to the cabinet have all been his allies, rendering the cabinet virtually useless.

Now that someone has suddenly run into trouble, how can these people possibly know what to do? To put it another way, if things can still be as orderly as before, wouldn't that mean that having or not having strict orders is not a problem?
So it took a while before someone came out and said, "The memorials from the Ministry of Revenue have always been handled and approved by Grand Secretary Feng. Now that he is no longer here, we have to wait for the Emperor's instructions before they can be processed."

Lu Jie then stuffed the memorial back into his bosom: "The matter of the grain transport cannot be delayed. It seems I have no choice but to go to the palace to petition the Emperor."

After saying that, he nodded to Chen Qi, glanced at the folded book in his hand, and walked out.

Inside the palace, Gao Hong was serving the emperor medicine. On the imperial desk was a pile of memorials, and next to it was a long table, also with memorials and paper and pens.

"At the beginning of the year, Hu Yucheng requested 200,000 taels of silver to build ships, but after half a year, he could only scrape together 80,000 taels. The construction of the imperial mausoleum requires the purchase of bricks, stones, and nanmu wood, and there is still a shortage of 130,000 taels. Tens of thousands of taels of military pay are also allocated to the Northwest every year, and the allocation due this year has not yet arrived."

As Gao Hong spoke, he handed the cooled medicine to the emperor. “The Yan family sent 800,000 taels of silver last night to make amends for Yan Shu’s crimes. Yan Song said that he would sell his property and land within half a month to raise the money for Your Majesty.”

The emperor drank his medicine with his head slightly lowered, and Gao Hong could not see his expression from his angle.