Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 412 Why Not Fight Your Way Out!
The coffin in the mourning hall was empty, making it seem strangely desolate.

When Yan Qu rushed in, the Taoist priests were sitting on either side of the coffin, performing their routine chanting for the deceased. Yan Liang sat behind a white banner to the side, writing a eulogy for Madam Yan. The illegitimate children knelt on the ground, taking turns offering incense according to their seniority.

"Big brother!"

Yan Qu bypassed them and went straight behind the prayer flags. His face was covered in a thin layer of sweat in the late autumn air, and he was still breathing heavily: "The people we sent out have returned. They... they failed!"

Yan Liang gazed intently at his brush, his regular script neat and elegant, executed without hesitation or pause.

"Brother!" Yan Qu snatched the pen from his hand. "They've returned from Hangzhou, but they didn't see Hu Yucheng! Hu Yucheng led his troops out to sea! He can't help us anymore!"

Yan Liang looked up, his gaze lingering on the man's face for a moment, then put his pen back and continued writing: "Whenever you only have one hope left, that hope will always have a 50% chance of disappointing you. Shouldn't failure be expected?"

Yan Qu stared blankly at him, then glanced back at the room full of people, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Did you already foresee this? Did you already know?"

Yan Liang kept his eyes down until he finished writing the last sentence before putting down his pen.

"Does Lu Jie not know about the relationship between the Hu family and the Yan family? The more his grandfather values ​​Hu Yucheng, the more Lu Jie and his family will want to sever this relationship."

"While we were busy with our own tasks, they had plenty of time, energy, and manpower to go south and obstruct us."

“How could they possibly do that?” Yan Qu clenched his fists. “How could they possibly command Hu Yucheng? He’s a high-ranking general who commands a large army on the frontier!”

“Lu Jie can’t give orders, but isn’t there Shen Bo?” Yan Liang looked at him.

Yan Qu was stunned: "Shen Bo, didn't he go on an inspection tour to the Northwest?"

After saying that, his expression changed, and he blurted out, "You mean, he pretended to go on an inspection tour of the Northwest from the capital, but actually changed his route and went to the Southeast to command Hu Yucheng?"

Yan Liang gazed at the prayer flags floating before him: "Apart from the Emperor, the only people in the world who can still command Hu Yucheng are the Yan family and Shen Bo."

"Since Lu Jie and the others have already decided to stop them, they will naturally be determined to win. Under such circumstances, if Shen Bo doesn't go personally, who else can do it?"

Yan Qu, his face pale, took a half step back: "They are so insidious! They actually beat us to it?"

At this point, he suddenly looked up again: "This is a capital offense! This is deceiving the emperor! Shen Bo is a high-ranking official in the capital and a minister in charge of the Ministry of War. How dare he change his route to go south without authorization? Isn't this a ready-made crime?"

"We must take him to the Emperor!"

"late."

Yan Liang stood up. "By the time you find out about this, he will have already left Hangzhou and returned to his original route."

"The Northwest was originally his territory, and at least half of the people there were his subordinates. Wouldn't it be easy for him to cover for them?"
"Besides, we don't have the resources to find fault with him."

He looked at Yan Qu and said, "Hu Yucheng's hopes have been dashed, and now we are in dire straits."

"The cabinet's case is due in just two days, and it is destined that it will not be handled satisfactorily."

"In that case, the Emperor will surely punish him."

"We have personally investigated and dealt with thirteen officials, lost thirteen helpers, and also lost the hearts of a group of people."

"Now that the case is not handled satisfactorily, if the Emperor makes some further rulings, even if the Yan family is not executed or their property confiscated, it will be equivalent to having their feet and hands chopped off."

"You're saying that a person without hands or feet, whose very survival is in question, is trying to file a lawsuit against someone with no evidence at a time like this? What good will it do?" Yan Qu was speechless.

Yan Liang walked past him and went outside.

A servant approached, his face also showing panic: "Young Master, the Old Master... he requests your presence."

Having seen the same expression so many times recently, it was hardly surprising. Yan Liang merely glanced at him before heading towards the main room.

The concubines and stewardesses who had been brought up to take charge of the main room stood inside the door. Everyone was silent, and even the parrots and thrushes hanging under the eaves of the east and west wing rooms were much quieter.

Yan Liang walked directly through the courtyard and gradually heard the soft sobbing of several concubine's daughters, accompanied by the low scolding of their aunt.

Inside the room, Yan Song and the old lady sat at the head of the table, both silent. The old lady, who had been a powerful figure in her husband's family all her life, now had a hunched back, as if she had decayed overnight.

"The eldest young master has arrived."

Upon hearing the announcement, everyone hurriedly made way.

The concubines and their daughters, in a state of panic, knelt down and bowed.

Yan Liang walked straight up to Yan Song and bowed.

Yan Song got up and pointed to the study. The grandfather and grandson left the courtyard one after the other.

"You already know?" Yan Song slowly sat down, supporting himself on the table.

Yan Liang nodded: "The third brother just told me."

“The situation is hopeless…” Yan Song sighed, taking out several travel permits and registration documents from the drawer: “These are for the southeast. I have someone come up with new names for you, Rong Ge’er, and Shan Jie’er. Tomorrow at dawn, you can take them out of the city under the pretext of inspecting the estate.”

“Those who serve you will meet you along the way and eventually join you on your journey south.”

"We have farms and shops in several small coastal towns in Jiangnan, and we also have enough savings in our bank accounts to support you and your family."

"If anything changes, there are several merchants in Hangzhou who frequently travel by sea and have received our family's help before. As long as you find them, they will take you onto the ship. Once you're overseas, no one will be able to help you!"

"grandfather!"

Yan Liang raised his bloodshot eyes.

Yan Song then took out another box: "The names and addresses of the merchants are all inside, as well as the Yan family genealogy. Wherever you go in the future, you must continue our lineage. In this way, I will not have failed my ancestors."

“Grandfather!” Yan Liang knelt down with a thud. “We are far from being at our wits' end, why do you have to do this?”
"As a descendant of the Yan family, how can I abandon my grandparents and live a life of ignominy in times of crisis?"

"It will be too late when we reach the end of our rope!" Tears welled up in Yan Song's eyes. "Who could have predicted your father's sudden death?"

"The day after tomorrow is my deadline to report to the Emperor, and the palace is waiting for me!"

“Once a crime is committed, the Shen and Lu families will surely take the opportunity to kick us while we're down! Must we wait until then to act hastily?”
"You are a clear-headed man, not a pedantic person, so don't make a foolish mistake at this time!"

"Grandfather is making his grandson an unfilial, unkind, and unjust person!" Yan Liang gripped his wrist tightly, his eyes flashing with sharp light: "Grandson has admired his grandfather since childhood. In my heart, you are a first-class man. How come the Yan family has been forced to this point, yet you have backed down instead?"

"I have never heard of a city being saved by retreating during a battle. Rather than exhausting myself trying to find a way out for my grandson's two children, I would rather that my grandfather, while he still has the strength, follow my grandson's advice and make a firm decision to fight his way out!"