Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 401 How bad could it get?

There were many carriages and sedan chairs coming and going in the vicinity, and the alleys were wider than usual. Outside the Yan family's private residence, there was an open space where twenty or thirty people could easily gather.

When the guards arrived at the Cheng family's residence and explained their purpose, Cheng Wenhui, still half asleep, immediately set to work without even putting on her shoes properly. In less than a quarter of an hour, she had already summoned the people from the Censorate.

At the same time, Shen Qingzhou personally came forward and invited the Minister of Justice and the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review.

Neither of them had clearly taken sides in the court. Shen Qingzhou, under the pretext of asking them to handle an urgent case, had two sedan chairs from the Grand Commandant's residence carried over. After the censor from the Censorate arrived, the two of them also arrived.

The guards had set up a case in advance in the open space in front of the gate. The three judicial departments brought their own constables and yamen runners. After the two ends of the alley were blocked, there were no outsiders.

This piece of land has been transformed into a courthouse without a roof.

Yan Liang stepped outside and saw that all the people and things were ready. This setup was several levels higher than the "court" he had previously set up in his private residence.

The lanterns held high on all four sides illuminated the open space brightly, making the patterns on everyone's official and clerk's uniforms clearly visible.

The person standing under the lamp was dressed in red, with her hair tied up high, and her eyes sparkled with confidence.

Yan Liang recognized that this was Lu Jia, who had been taken out of the Lu family by the Jiang family and raised in a small merchant family in Tanzhou, thousands of miles away!
“She is my eldest daughter.” Lu Jie stopped beside him and gave an unnecessarily enthusiastic introduction.

Yan Liang glanced at him and stepped down the stairs: "What are you doing?"

Lu Jia turned around and looked at her face: "You've come at the right time. I heard that you are now in charge of the Yan family affairs. I have an important matter to ask you to handle."

"what's up?"

Lu Jia composed herself and glanced behind her: "The other day, my two aunts went to the Yan family to pay their respects and found that my sister had many more wounds on her body."

"However, the Yan family has been vague about this matter and has never been able to give a reasonable explanation."

"I remember that my younger sister also attended my homecoming banquet despite being injured."

"Young Master Yan came to propose marriage on behalf of your younger brother, and he made many promises in front of our Lu family. However, after the Yan family went to great lengths to secure this marriage, they did not treat her well."

"Young Master Yan, why don't you give us an explanation?"

Yan Liang glanced at the second and third wives of the Lu family behind her: "I thought something extraordinary had happened."

He raised his sleeve and waved it, and two chairs were brought out behind him. He chose one, lifted his robe and sat down, coldly saying, "So what if it's as you say? Once you enter the Yan family, you are a member of the Yan family. Even if you have been slightly punished, you must have made mistakes. Are the elders in the family not allowed to punish you?"

"So, what did she do wrong, and what mistakes did she make?"

Yan Liang glanced at the courtroom before him: "You want to take the Yan family to court over something as trivial as the inner quarters? Is this all the cunning the young mistress of the Grand Commandant's mansion has to offer?"

He had other plans regarding Lu Ying, so naturally he couldn't just reveal them to her.

“If there is indeed a mistake, it should be dealt with accordingly. But if the Yan family is being unreasonable and harsh, then our Lu family will have to come up with a new explanation.”

As Lu Jia spoke, she waved her hand behind her, and two guards led a group of women forward. They were dressed in various styles, but all were young and beautiful, with frivolous manners, clearly belonging to the type who used their looks to please men. Yan Liang didn't think Lu Jia had any special abilities, and when his cold gaze met their faces, he immediately froze.

“These women are the mistresses your third young master keeps outside the home, and they are only a part of them. And here I have all their testimonies; without exception, they confess that Yan Qu is a beastly scoundrel in bed. I suppose you wouldn't want me to hand these over to the adults, would you?”

Yan Liang stood up.

Lu Jia continued, "As long as we connect the times when Yan Qu stayed overnight as they confessed, it can be proven that in the past six months since the marriage, Yan Qu has spent very few days with his wife."

"He has not fulfilled his responsibilities as a husband at all!"

"On the contrary, I spend my days and nights with these people."

"How can someone as despicable as him be qualified to be my sister's husband, or to be the son-in-law of the Lu family?"

At this point, she also threw this thick stack of confessions at him.

Yan Liang had no choice but to catch it, his eyes already flashing with the sharpness of a blade.

Yan Liang had just arrested and interrogated these people one by one a few days ago, so how could he not recognize them?
However, Yan Qu kept them in a very private manner, and outsiders were unaware of it. After interrogating them, he strictly forbade outsiders to approach.

So how did Lu Jia find out?
How did she, who had no prior connection with the Yan family, find them?
He looked at the woman, his disdain vanishing, and with barely concealed surprise and doubt, he opened the confessions.

That's right, what's written above matches the results of his interrogation that day perfectly.

She really did review it!
Finding these people, arresting them, and interrogating them one by one—this is definitely not something that can be done in one night!
So, she was prepared all along!

He turned and walked back to her: "Did she tell you?"

“It’s not just your Yan family who have brains in this world,” Lu Jia said. “Is my eldest aunt from the Lu family some kind of blind and mindless person? Do you have to wait for someone else to tell me about such trivial matters? My sister has been beaten several times, and neither my father nor I have stepped forward. Do you all think that the Lu family members are all dead?”

She glared at him, then turned to Lu Jie and asked, "My sister has been treated so cruelly in her husband's family. As her elder sister, I find it unbearable to be indignant. I would like to ask the gentlemen present to make a judgment and allow her to sever her relationship with Young Master Yan. What do you think, Father?"

Lu Jie nodded: "That's how it should be."

Lu Jia reached behind Qinghe and took two sheets of paper from her. She looked at the officials of the Three Judicial Offices and said, "Since Young Master Yan has no doubts about his brother's character, and my father has spoken, this marriage with the Yan family is hereby called off. I have prepared the divorce papers, and I would appreciate it if you gentlemen could help me affix your seals."

"I've got the stamp, now I'm going to pick them up!"

"Wait!"

Yan Liang suddenly snatched the two papers, and after reading them, he faced Lu Jie and said, "I have already explained the advantages and disadvantages of the current situation to Lord Lu."

"Have you thought this through? Your daughter's outrageous behavior is tantamount to breaking ties with the Yan family. She didn't grow up in the capital and doesn't know how deep the friendship between the Lu and Yan families is. But you, Lord Lu, should know that."

"Over the years, our two families have worked side by side for the Emperor. If things really continue like this, you may not be able to bear the consequences!"

"Even the worst consequences couldn't be worse than this." Lu Jie also stepped down from the stairs. "Now the evidence of Yan Qu's immoral and depraved character is right in front of us. He is clearly unrighteous, untrustworthy, and immoral, unworthy of being a husband to my daughter! And you, a person without any official position, not only show no shame in front of me, an official of the court and the Minister of Revenue, but also act aggressively! Being so despised by you, how much worse can things get?"