Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 380 Dog Cave
As Lu Jie's threat to the Yan family escalated, Lu Ying's position within the Yan family became even more precarious. At this point, they not only had to guard against the Yan family harming Lu Ying, but also against the Yan family using her to threaten Lu Jie.

Furthermore, Lu Jia's confidence in Lu Ying is not entirely guaranteed, especially given the clear positions held by both sides. The Yan family might put pressure on her, and she might not remain unmoved.

In short, as long as Lu Ying still bears the surname Lu, it's impossible for her to be completely without scruples as a member of the Lu family.

"It's alright." Shen Qingzhou tore up the note Lu Jie gave him and threw it away, looking at Lu Jia meaningfully. "I've been to the Yan family before. Even if it's heavily guarded, I still have a chance to take you inside."

Lu Jia nodded: "That's exactly what I was thinking. I just don't know if it would be convenient for you to take me with you?"

In their past lives, Shen Qingzhou led He Qu and the others to the Yan family to plan their extermination. Lu Jia had been the "young mistress" of the Yan family for five years. If there were any other people who could sneak into the Yan family's residence without the help of the guards, it would be the two of them.

"Let's go check it out after nightfall." After saying that, Shen Qingzhou called Shen Zhui, who was behind him, over and instructed him, "You continue to keep watch. I'll come find you tonight."

Shen Zhui walked away happily.

As Lu Jia watched his retreating figure, she suddenly asked Shen Qingzhou, "Do you and your father really intend to never tell him about his background?"

Shen Qingzhou remained silent, then turned around and said, "Anyway, it has nothing to do with me."

Lu Jia shrugged, looked through the doorway at Shen Zhui who had walked away, and then turned and went back to her room.

……

Lu Ying never expected that, despite taking all the necessary precautions before meeting Lu Jia, Yan Liang would still find out.

That night, she was so frightened that she almost broke out in a cold sweat, and she couldn't calm down for a long time after returning to her room.

Yan Liang's leniency in dealing with the Jin family almost made her overlook the fact that this eldest grandson, who had been regarded as the next generation successor of the Yan family since childhood, was not so easily fooled.

These past two days, how could she dare not restrain herself and do what she was supposed to do? She also dared not inquire about what was happening outside.

But yesterday evening, Yan Song returned to the manor with a long face, and when he saw her, he even gave her a displeased look.

She couldn't help but ask the servants who accompanied her on the trip in private. Only then did she learn that Lu Jie, who had been neglected by the Yan family, had actually gained face in front of the emperor these past few days and had bypassed the cabinet controlled by Yan Song to directly investigate major cases in the court!
After a restless night, news came at noon today that Lu Jie had been directly appointed by the emperor as the imperial envoy to handle the case!
It's not a big deal that Lu Jie is advancing in rank, but he is doing so while slapping the Yan family in the face. If her own father is so disrespectful to her husband's family, how can her husband's family possibly give her any respect?
Lu Ying did not leave the hospital for half a day after learning the news.

But what is meant to be will be. In the evening, Yan Qu returned. As soon as he entered the door, he pushed the table and smashed the chairs. Lu Ying could not afford to offend him, so she decided to avoid him. Taking advantage of the fact that Madam Yan sent someone from inside the house to say that they wanted to eat bird's nest that night, she went out to get busy.

Once in the kitchen, he preferred to personally tend the stove rather than go anywhere else.

As darkness fell, Granny Li came in, opened her mouth as if to speak, but then hesitated.

Lu Ying guessed that it was Madam Yan who was urging her, so she lowered her head, packed up the bird's nest, and planned to call someone to deliver it to the main room.

Just then, someone rushed in from outside. After recognizing who was inside, he strode up to Lu Ying and asked, "Madam asked me to stew bird's nest this afternoon. Why hasn't Third Madam finished preparing it yet?"

Lu Ying glanced at her, then slowly handed the prepared stew pot to Granny Li. A maidservant reached out, saying, "This servant will take it over."

Lu Ying reached out to stop her, saying, "No need." She then instructed Li Mama, "You take it over there."

With Lu Jie's arrival, the entire Yan family regarded Lu Jie as a thorn in their side. Madam Yan, who had long disliked her, must have been holding back for a long time.

The person who came was someone close to Madam Yan. If he tried to frame her with some underhanded tricks on the way, Lu Ying might as well just die!
Sure enough, after sending Granny Li away, Lu Ying turned around and saw a flash of hatred in the maid's eyes.

She could only pretend not to see it, told someone to clean up the kitchen, and then turned around and went back to the third room.

Yan Qu had indeed gone out. He asked Ying Zi, who said that Yan Liang had sent her out to do some business and guessed that she probably wouldn't be back tonight. Even if she did, she was unlikely to come into the house. Only then did Ying Zi breathe a sigh of relief and sit down on the soft couch.

The moment her body touched the edge of the bed, Yingzi rushed in again: "Grandma! Madam punished Li Mama! She said the bird's nest she delivered spilled, and Madam made her kneel in the courtyard!"

Lu Ying paused for a moment, stood up, gritted her teeth, and walked towards the door.

Yingzi grabbed her arm: "Madam is forcing you to go over there!"

Lu Ying stopped, biting her lower lip until it bled.

But she only paused for a moment before finally walking over there.

Lu Ying knew, of course, that Madam Yan was forcing her to show herself so that she could be manipulated, but Granny Li was the most trusted person by her side. If Granny Li were to be harmed, her future would be even more difficult. She had no choice but to make this trip.

"Grandma!" Yingzi caught up with her and said in a low voice, "As for the eldest young lady, I think she sincerely wants to help you get out of your predicament. Why don't you try to contact her?"

"How naive!" Lu Ying also suppressed her voice, "This house is guarded three layers deep. If I try to contact them, I'm afraid I'll be captured by Yan Liang before I even get a response!"

Doesn't Lu Ying want to?
Of course she wants to!

Even a fool could see that since the emperor made an example of Yan Shu, the Yan family had been on an unstoppable downward spiral. On the other hand, Grand Commandant Shen had already made his move, and Lu Jie was rising in rank. With such a father, who would want to stay in this hellhole?
But she also had to make sure she was still alive before she left!

If Lu Jia didn't have a foolproof plan to get her out safely, she wouldn't have acted rashly and put herself in a passive position first!
Contacting Lu Jia under these circumstances would be tantamount to courting death!

As Lu Ying walked through the covered corridor toward the main house, Lu Jia had already followed Shen Qingzhou to a low door in the northeast corner.

Shen Zhui and his guards lured away the dogs inside the wall from a distance of about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters). Then, Shen Qingzhou gently pushed the low door, took out a brand-new, shiny key, reached inside, and opened the door.

Lu Jia exclaimed in surprise: "Could this be the route you took to sneak in in your past life? — So you used the dog hole?!"

"A true man doesn't concern himself with trifles!" Shen Qingzhou scooped her up and tucked her under his body, then expertly bent down and went through the dog hole.

Several huge serpentine dogs were kept under the back gate of the Yan residence. To allow them to come and go, a gate that was half a person high had to be prepared!