Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 366 Confrontation
Lu Jia received the news that Grand Commandant Shen was about to be ordered to tour the Northwest that afternoon.

At that time, she had just heard from the people sent back by Shen Zhui about the news they had obtained from staking out the Yan family over the past two days when He Qu came over to deliver a message and also conveyed Mr. Yi's words, asking her to immediately help prepare the carriages, horses, and provisions for this trip.

She had already learned from Yang Bonong about the matter that Grand Commandant Shen and Lu Jie discussed last night. She knew that her father-in-law had asked her own father to find a way to cover for him to go to the southeast to find Hu Yucheng, but she thought it would take another two or three days. She didn't expect Lu Jie to get it done so quickly! What she didn't expect was that the emperor agreed so quickly!

This trip involves sending money, so you can imagine how readily the Yan family is paying this time after their previous failure.

She quickly got the stewards together and started making arrangements. They even prepared a box, filled it with rain gear, and stuffed it inside. Just then, Shen Zhui rushed in: "Sister Lu! The palace has sent an imperial decree to the Yan family!"

Lu Jia's hand trembled: "What imperial decree?"

"The Emperor ordered the Yan family to investigate thirteen official households, including the Du and Yang families! It's said that everyone in them is a lackey of the Yan family!"

Lu Jia paused: "The Emperor ordered them to fight like dogs?!"

Shen Zhui paused for a moment, then scratched his head: "That makes sense." He continued, "Many people from the Yan family came just now, all under the pretext of mourning Yan Shu, to enter Yan Song's study, most likely to deal with this matter!"

“Of course we should deal with it!” Lu Jia sneered. “But what’s the use of dealing with it? The palace already sees them as a thorn in their side. What other way can they do but obey orders? I didn’t expect they would actually wait for this day. This is quite a show!”

Having come from a past life, she anticipated that the emperor wouldn't kill Yan Song after killing Yan Shu. However, in her past life, Yan Song committed suicide by crashing into the palace hall, and the emperor subsequently pardoned the Yan family. This time, after killing Yan Shu, the emperor both needed Yan Song and was forcing him to do this...

She thought for a moment and asked, "Did my father visit the Yan family again later?"

"No! The Minister has not shown up again!"

Lu Jia glanced at him: "Don't be so polite in the future. Just call him Lord Lu at most."

Shen Zhui was baffled and followed her retreating figure, asking, "Why?"

They had only gone halfway when they heard footsteps behind them, and Shen Qingzhou's voice rang out: "Just do what I tell you to do. Why are you asking so many questions?"

Shen Zhui turned around, and Shen Qingzhou was already standing in front of him, frowning and looking at him with disdain: "Look at you, haven't you changed your clothes for days?"

Shen Zhui retorted, "I squat by the wall every day, what clean clothes could I possibly have?"

"Can't you be a little cleaner when you're squatting by the wall? What kind of appearance would that make you look?"

Shen Zhui was scolded without any explanation and dared not talk back. After holding it in for a long time, he blurted out, "You are more like my father than my father is!" Then he ran out like the wind.

Shen Qingzhou stood there, speechless with anger.

Lu Jia chuckled through the window: "That sounds so familiar."

Shen Qingzhou walked over, pinched her ear, and then came in from the doorway: "Have someone fetch my sword. I need to go out right away."

Seeing that he didn't seem to have time to waste, Lu Jia dismissed him and followed him over: "What is it?"

"This morning, His Highness the Crown Prince sent word that Imperial Physician Sheng had gone missing. The youngest son of the Sheng family told him that on his way to the palace early this morning, Imperial Physician Sheng's carriage was knocked over in the crowd, and then the servants discovered that he was missing!"
"His disappearance was so bizarre, it must have been the work of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I need to hurry and find He Ping to see what happened." As he spoke, Tang Yu had already taken out his sword, which Shen Qingzhou took. He nodded to Lu Jia and said, "Don't wait for me tonight. They did things so cleverly, they probably don't want to be noticed. He Ping might not come out at this time, so I'll have to go through the trouble of investigating other things."

After saying that, he took He Qu out.

Tang Yu walked in: "Young Madam, who exactly is the Embroidered Uniform Guard after arresting Imperial Physician Sheng?"

“I don’t know.” Lu Jia frowned. “I don’t know if it’s the Shen family or the Crown Prince.”

That day, His Highness and Imperial Physician Sheng played a crucial role. If they were indeed arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it would naturally be on the Emperor's orders. And whether it's targeting the Shen family or the Crown Prince, it's clearly not good news.

She said, "Go prepare the car, and come with me to my parents' home."

……

Grand Commandant Shen also received the imperial decree ordering him to proceed to the Northwest immediately. Lu Jie learned of this through a note slipped under the gate by a guard from the Grand Commandant's residence. The note also included the message: "The Yan family has received the imperial decree; it is not advisable to meet them now. Someone will come to deliver the message later."

Lu Jie stared at the note in silence for a long time before finally letting out a soft sigh.

After Lu Jia entered, he glanced at the paper and said, "It seems I guessed right. The Emperor ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest Physician Sheng and issued an edict to the Yan family because he is wary of us."

Lu Jie put down the paper and said, "I saw Gao Hong before I entered the palace. He looked distressed and was clutching his chest as if he was in pain. I guess he was reprimanded by the Emperor, and quite severely at that."

"Ever since Li Quan fell out of favor with the Emperor over the matter of choosing an heir, Gao Hong has become increasingly favored and has never been treated like this before. This must mean that the Emperor has discovered his collusion with the Yan family and then confronted him."

Lu Jia said, "The Grand Commandant has military achievements and holds great power, so it is really hard for him not to be noticed when he makes his appearance this time. This is why he has refused to take sides before. Once the Emperor has his eye on him, he will be unable to clear his name of suspicion."

At this point, she paused and said, "Imperial Physician Sheng has been arrested. I wonder if he is in any danger?!"

“There shouldn’t be any major problems.” Lu Jie pondered. “The Embroidered Uniform Guard operates with method. The Yan family is already showing signs of decline, so He Ping has no reason to waver. He’s only doing this because of the Emperor’s decree.”

Lu Jia relaxed slightly upon hearing this.

"My lord," Yang Bonong said as he entered, "We have received news from the Yan family. Yan Song has just sent a memorial to the palace, ordering an investigation into those thirteen households!"

"Yan Liang has already sent the batch of silver they raised to the palace."

Lu Jia paused and looked at Lu Jie: "I heard that the Emperor gave him half a month to investigate. Once he agreed, no matter what the outcome is, he at least has a 15-day deadline. The political situation is changing rapidly right now. Once the 15 days are up, it's hard to say what will happen."

"Although the Grand Commandant has dealt with Hu Yucheng's situation, Yan Song still holds great power in the court, which makes people uneasy."

Lu Jie looked at the three memorials in front of him that had been annotated with the emperor's vermilion ink, his raised eyes as deep and unfathomable as an abyss: "Therefore, I must find a way to seize power! Only by having enough power in my hands can I command the censors to resist me."

At this point, he said to Lu Jia, "Go back now, and remember not to come over for a while."

Lu Jia choked silently.