Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 395 Something's getting increasingly wrong!

Yan Liang left home in the evening, just as Lu Ying returned from the mourning hall. The two met again in the alleyway.

Lu Ying hesitated for a moment, then greeted him, "Shall we go out?"

Yan Liang nodded: "I've made an appointment with your father."

Lu Ying's expression flickered slightly.

"What's wrong? Are you nervous?" he asked.

Lu Ying walked past him: "What does this have to do with me?"

Yan Liang grabbed her hand, pulled her back, then turned around, bent down and whispered in her ear: "If we have a child, would you prefer it to be a boy or a girl?"

Lu Ying stumbled and straightened up, leaning against the wall.

"I hope it's a boy."

He finished speaking in her ear, then brushed her clothes aside and walked down into the courtyard.

Lu Ying, who remained where she was, turned pale and reached out her right hand several times before finally managing to grab onto a pillar.

The servant who followed behind had served Yan Liang since childhood. He kept glancing at Yan Liang as he walked, and finally said as Yan Liang got into the carriage, "Young master, gossip is a fearsome thing."

Inside the carriage, Yan Liang propped his forehead with one hand, looked down, and chuckled: "Is there anyone clean left in our Yan family?"

The servants shut their mouths.

……

When Granny Li caught up, Lu Ying was still standing there, and it took several calls for her to get a response.

"Grandma, what's wrong?"

“He arranged to meet with my father. He also said, he also said he would have a child with me!” Lu Ying gripped Li Mama’s hand tightly. “Why did he suddenly say that? He had never said anything like that before. Is he trying to scare me?”

"Was his visit to his father related to this matter?!"

After hearing this, Granny Li was also at a loss. Seeing servants approaching from a distance, she quickly helped Lu Ying up: "Let's go back to the room first!"

Lu Ying couldn't wait to get back to her room: "Quickly send someone to keep an eye on him, go and see what he's up to!"

"Alright, I'll go right away!..."

……

Lu Jie ate dinner at the yamen (government office) when he received Yan Liang's invitation. He thought about it for a while and then put it aside. After finishing all his work, he went out and glanced at the water clock; it was exactly 7 PM.

The sedan chair moved at a leisurely pace, and when it arrived at the gate of the mansion, a carriage blocked its way: "Lord Lu."

The man who spoke stepped down from the carriage, dressed in fine clothes and quite elegant. He approached the sedan chair and bowed respectfully: "My eldest son has been waiting for you at his private residence for a long time and has specially ordered me to come and welcome you, sir."

"I have been working on cases for several days and am quite exhausted. How about we meet again another day?"

The visitor smiled and said, "Knowing that you have had a long journey, my young master has specially prepared tea and wine. It would be a great pity if you did not attend."

A line of guards who had been following the carriage slowly approached him from behind, forming a row that blocked his path.

Lu Jie smiled as he leaned on the sedan chair pole: "Young Master's sincerity is truly hard to refuse. Then please lead the way, sir?"

The arriving guests were Yan Shu's advisors. After Yan Shu's death, these advisors all went to Yan Liang's side. Lu Jie glanced at Lu Rong standing under the gate of the mansion from afar and then ordered the sedan chair bearers to turn around.

Lu Rong watched the sedan chair leave, then headed towards the Grand Commandant's residence.

……

"As the young mistress expected, Yan Liang has indeed been making frequent moves these past two days. Yesterday afternoon, he first went to see the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and chatted until late at night before returning home. Then, early this morning, he sent a letter to the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. In the afternoon, he personally went to the residence of Hu Wei, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and did not return until midday."

"Of the three judicial departments, he had not personally visited the censor of the Censorate. But just before dark, Hu Wei went to the residence of Censor Luo Jin."

After Lu Jia finished dinner, Tang Yu told her the information she had gathered from her inquiries.

“His search for people from the three judicial departments seems to indicate a intention to take this to court.” Lu Jia was somewhat puzzled. “But this isn’t his usual style of doing things.”

Yan Liang appears to be a refined gentleman, but having grown up witnessing deceit and treachery, he is extremely ruthless. Once he determines that someone is guilty, he doesn't care what the authorities do!
If he was looking for the people from the Three Judicial Offices because of Lu Ying's murder of Madam Yan, he wouldn't have needed to go through such a roundabout way.

“This is strange!” Tang Yu said, taking a step forward. “Just now, about a quarter of an hour ago, Hu Wei left in a carriage. He was wearing official robes, but he went to the Yan family’s private residence in the West Market!”
"What's even more coincidental is that when I arrived there, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Imperial Censor Luo Jin arrived one after the other, both wearing official robes!"

"They went to a private residence while wearing official robes?"

This is even more suspicious!
Lu Jia stood up. Just as she was about to send him away, another voice came from the doorway:

"Sister, Lu Rong is here!"

Xie Yi and Li Chang quickly led someone in. Lu Jia recognized him as Lu Rong, who was in a hurry. He bowed and said, "Reporting to the eldest aunt, Yan Liang just forcibly took the lord away. The lord sent me to inform you!"

"Where did he go?!"

"The Yan family's private residence in the West Market!"

"There it is again!"

Lu Jia blurted out, then hurriedly asked the guards below, "Is the eldest young master still at the yamen? Go and invite him back!"

Since Shen Bo left the capital, Shen Qingzhou has needed to keep a close eye on the court. Recently, Madam Yan was killed, which has put the Yan family in a difficult position and created an opportunity for Lu Jie. Shen Qingzhou took the opportunity to make a move against the cabinet.

In order to win over the remaining henchmen, Yan Song went to great lengths to find room for maneuver in the investigation of these thirteen officials. After the list came out a while ago, Shen Qingzhou thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of these thirteen people.

Last time, he set fire to the Li family's house, which allowed Lu Jie to solve the case smoothly. In the past few days, he also lit a few embers behind the houses of other families.

When Lu Jia sent someone to the yamen to find him, he had already finished making arrangements and was just stepping out of the yamen.

When he arrived at the mansion, Lu Jia was pacing back and forth on the porch. When she saw him, she lifted her skirt and walked over: "Father was intercepted by Yan Liang and taken to his private residence in the West Market. Moreover, Yan Liang also hired people from the Three Judicial Offices. I have never been to that private residence, but I know that there is something strange about it. Yan Shu used to choose that place when dealing with dissidents!"

Shen Qingzhou waved to his bodyguards, who then led her into the study: "Where is the house located?"

Lu Jia stopped in front of the map of the capital city hanging on the wall and quickly found the place: "This is it!"

Shen Qingzhou, who had just picked up the mask, looked at it intently and then put it down again: "This house is surrounded by nobles and dignitaries, so sneaking in would be quite risky."

Just as Lu Jia was about to speak, he added, "But it's not impossible for him to meet me."

Lu Jia shut her mouth and gave him a slight glare.

He laughed and said, "No need to rush. Go and get my everyday clothes, and have someone prepare my horse."

"Also, send word to Tang Yu to quickly gather thirty guards and wait for us outside the mansion gate in a quarter of an hour."