Contentment with modest wealth

Is Chapter 42 substantial enough?
Lu Jia stayed on the Hongtai until it got dark before going home.

Shen Qingzhou was already waiting for her. Since they hadn't been able to eat the stewed meat last time, Qiu Niang had cut the finest pork hock and stewed it until tender. This young master Qin was a benefactor to their family; not only had he saved Lu Jia, but he had also helped them in many ways. Qiu Niang knew what was good for him, and besides, he was a pitiful child without parents, so they had to make sure he ate well.

As soon as Lu Jia entered the room, she saw Shen Qingzhou eating the longan and red date soup that Qiu Niang had served him to fill his stomach.

People in Shawan like to use these to replenish their qi, but it's a bit strange for a grown man to eat these.

She leaned closer and said, "Your life is getting better and better."

Shen Qingzhou: "Thanks to you."

Lu Jia chuckled and dragged over a stool: "Are you free these next few days?"

This person is elusive and rarely seen. Lu Jia asked him how to contact him, but he wouldn't say, so Lu Jia didn't press him further.

Fortunately, she ran into him again in Shitan Town last time—though "run into" might not be entirely accurate—in any case, Lu Jia had told him when they parted that he should come to find her once the grain from the Hongtai ship had been harvested.

News of the Hongtai was easy to find out, and sure enough, he arrived as promised.

Moreover, they arrived very promptly, which made her, the employer, very satisfied.

"available."

They've already said they're going to hire him, so even if he's not available, he has to make time, right?
Shen Qingzhou looked over through the soup bowl: "Although the Zhang family is scheming and doesn't really know how to manage a family, the family property is in their hands. It won't be easy for an outsider like you to take it away legitimately."

Ever since she learned of this idea, Shen Qingzhou had considered it for her. Either she had money and could use some means to suppress the Zhang family, or she had power and could use both soft and hard tactics, which the Zhang family, with their strength, would naturally be unable to withstand. Alternatively, since she was a member of the Zhang family, she could find some leverage to bring down the three Zhang brothers, and then take over the family fortune—that would still make sense.

She has nothing now, yet she wants to swallow it all.

"I know it won't be easy. So I never intended to do it legitimately."

Lu Jia beckoned to him, gesturing for him to come closer.

Shen Qingzhou stared at her for a while before finally putting down the bowl and moving closer.

The girl's breath rustled in his ear like feathers in the wind.

He listened intently, his muscles tense, then looked him up and down and said, "That's a good idea. I can tell you put a lot of thought into it."

Lu Jia gave a wicked smile.

Shen Qingzhou continued, "But the reason Zhang Laosan believes I'm a wealthy man is because I have some financial resources. Now that you're serious, how can you be sure they'll let me lead them by the nose?"

He succeeded last time because he revealed He Qu's waist badge.

Even a guard in the Grand Commandant's mansion is someone that ordinary people wouldn't dare to mess with, let alone a pure merchant family like the Zhang family.

Now that Lu Jia is trying to frame their entire family, that's quite something.

If Shen Qingzhou were to further elevate his status, he would naturally be invincible.

Not to mention the small Zhang family, there is no one in the entire Tanzhou that he cannot control.

Even if it's a member of the imperial clan who has been enfeoffed here, it's not impossible for him to get something from the Prince's residence if he wants to.

But he can't do that.

Firstly, it's unnecessary to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut; secondly, he never intended to reveal his identity.

Naturally, he could also secretly use the power of the government to put pressure on the Zhang family, making them voluntarily hand over their family fortune to fulfill Lu Jia's wish.

But doing it this way just doesn't feel right.

Besides, even if he could do that, all he would get in the end would be Lu Jia's relentless suspicion.

no need.

Therefore, Shen Qingzhou was destined to be Qin Zhou.

"Why don't you wait a little longer?" Shen Qingzhou said after thinking it over. Once he and Guo Yi had figured out the shady dealings at the Shawan Rice Market, he wasn't incapable of using his power to get it done for her.

After all, he had already left Shawan by then, so even if she guessed that he wasn't really a poor boy, it wouldn't have much of an impact.

“I can’t wait, and I can’t afford to wait. People like Zhang Qi and the He family are just too cunning to guard against. I have to make my move now.”

If he hadn't happened to show up last time, Lu Jia would most likely have fallen into He's trap. She couldn't let that happen again.

Besides, since the Zhang family doesn't acknowledge the Xie family's kindness, it's not unreasonable for her to take some money from the Zhang family.

“Of course, your concerns are very reasonable. So I was prepared as well.” Lu Jia took something out of her sleeve and pushed it in front of him: “Take this.”

This is a jade pendant engraved with patterns, a jade pendant of excellent quality.

Shen Qingzhou glanced at it twice, and the more she looked, the more familiar the patterns seemed.

"what is this?"

Lu Jia said casually, "Lu Jie, the Minister of Rites, has a jade pendant. Is the Lu family enough to back you up?"

Shen Qingzhou: ……

Her father?!
"To be precise, this is a piece of jade that Lu Jie kept with him for a long time when he was young."

Lu Jia stroked the patterns on the jade, turned it over, and looked up at him: "The back of the jade is engraved with the character 'Lu', and the patterns on it are also used by generations of the Lu family."

"If I'm not mistaken, the Tanzhou government and its subordinate counties should already have rubbings of this jade."

"By possessing this jade, you possess the identity of the Lu family."

“The Zhang family has close ties with the government. Once you show it to Zhang Qi, he will definitely try to verify its authenticity.”

"The Lu family is headed by the Minister of Rites, and is also the adopted son-in-law of Yan Song, the governor of the capital. I think there are very few families in the world with more influence than the Lu family, right?"

As dusk fell, Lu Jia's gaze deepened.

Shen Qingzhou's gaze remained fixed on her face.

This was truly unexpected.

In order to deal with the Zhang family, she even took out her own father's jade!
She is Lu Jie's biological daughter, so it's not surprising that she has his jade pendant.

But she had been living away from home for many years, and suddenly she mentioned the Lu family and her father!

So that means she already knows about her background.

Shen Qingzhou had previously assumed that Lu Jia was unaware of how miserable her life was in the Xie family.

Otherwise, as the eldest daughter of a first-rank minister of the court, she would not have had to live such a difficult life in the Zhang family.

Even Zhang Qiuniang and her son could have sought help from the Lu family based on their gratitude for raising her.

Of course, Shen Qingzhou also knew that Lu Jia would eventually go back and would accept her family's arrangement to marry Yan Qu, so he never thought of revealing his background to her.

So she already knew.

Shen Qingzhou picked up the jade; it was still warm, just like her body temperature when he fled with her six years later.

With the Lu family's jade, that's more than enough!
Who in the world doesn't know that, besides the Yan family, Lu Jie is the second most notorious traitor?!

Let alone Lu Jie, even a distant relative of the Lu family would be enough to make them run rampant in Shawan County.

He felt he should ask, "Why do you have the Lu family's jade?"

(End of this chapter)