Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 94 The Task Given by the Young Master
"The Ministry of Revenue fabricated a pretext called the 'late payment tax,' which involved extracting a sum of money from the tax revenue collected from river transport over the past three years to cover up the problem."

Shen Qingzhou examined it carefully twice: "They're quite clever. After years of fighting in the Northwest, the national treasury is already depleted. Now that silver has fallen from the sky to fill the gap, how could the Emperor refuse such a gift?"

"Exactly. It is said that the Japanese pirates have been harassing the southeast coast again, which will eventually cost money. His Majesty must know where this money came from, but the Yan family's money came at just the right time, so it is not convenient to make a big fuss again."

Shen Qingzhou raised his wide robe sleeves: "The Yan family has embezzled countless amounts of money in river transport over the years. At the time, the emperor insisted on using the Shen family, but the Yan family refused. In the end, the Shen family still took command and pacified the Northwest, making countless contributions. Of course, the Yan family was panicked."

"If the Shen family wanted revenge, the extensive river transport network would be the most obvious target. That's why they immediately submitted a memorial to rectify the waterways after the army's triumphant return, hoping to clean up their mess as quickly as possible."

"Originally, Zhou Sheng didn't rely on the Liu and Yan families to back him up, and when he committed the act of destroying the dike and flooding the fields, the Yan family would only have to pay some money. But Zhou Sheng was caught red-handed, so it was no longer a matter of money. Behind him was the Liu family, the Vice Minister of Works. No matter how cunning the various families in the court are, there is one thing they must never cross: they must not do anything that openly harms the people."

"If it's done, then we have to find a way to smooth things over and leave no loose ends."

"If they do it, they'll give others grounds to criticize them. They have no choice but to execute them. Otherwise, the Emperor will have to bear the blame for harming the people. How could the Emperor possibly bear such a crime?"

“What you say is very true, young master.” Song En cupped his hands. “Fortunately, you arrived in time, and Lord Guo cooperated well. Otherwise, Zhou Sheng would have destroyed the dike and flooded the fields, killing two birds with one stone and doing the Yan family a great favor.”

Shen Qingzhou said, "Zhou Sheng is still in Tanzhou, and Guo Yi has probably already gone to Dongting. You should write a letter to him; it's time to escort Zhou Sheng to the capital. Even if this case is put on hold for now, we can't let them silence us. It's more appropriate for us to guard him ourselves."

Song En paused slightly: "So, Young Master won't be leaving the capital again?"

Shen Qingzhou considered Lu Jia's plan and figured it wouldn't be something that could be accomplished in a short time, so he said, "No."

Lu Jia invited her to the capital, and although he was only half-heartedly helping her, wasn't he also fulfilling his own wishes?
There are many affairs in the capital, and it's not feasible to leave them all to Song En; he really should come back.

“That’s excellent.” Song En nodded. He glanced behind him and said, “Lu Jie is hosting a banquet for Gao Hong of the Directorate of Ceremonial today, presumably for matters concerning river transport. Should we go and find out more?”

Shen Qingzhou handed the document back to him: "Have you forgotten what the Embroidered Uniform Guard does? They're meeting openly here; there's no way Gao Hong could be here with the Emperor's decree."

Song Enshen agreed.

Shen Qingzhou then looked towards the door: "However, you could ask the waiter at the door to bring a can of tea to the person across the table. Just say it was a rare coincidence that you ran into the Minister, and consider it a small token of my appreciation."

Song En couldn't hide his surprise: "Young Master has never done this before."

Having served under the Shen family for twelve years, when has their young master ever stopped acting like a celestial being, detached from worldly affairs? In private, he harbors deep hatred for the Yan faction. Lu Jie, as the Yan family's number one supporter, actually takes the initiative to get close to him?
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Shen Qingzhou didn't say much, but simply raised his head and pointed to the shadow pressed against the door: "Go, let her go."

……

Lu Jia stood there for a while, lost in thought, before realizing that in that short time, the upstairs was already full of servants.

At this moment, approaching Lu Jie was an extremely difficult task.

Of course, she could have gone there herself, but that would have gone against her original intention.

The door behind her creaked open, and Lu Jia quickly snapped back to reality and stood up straight.

Song En handed the tea leaves to her: "Young Master has ordered that this jar of tea be delivered to the other side of the street and given to Minister Lu in person. Go and do it."

Lu Jia was flattered: "Let me go?"

Song En couldn't help but laugh at her reaction: "What, you don't want to go?" "Of course I want to go!"

Lu Jia never expected that the aloof and noble Young Master Shen in the room would abandon his close friends and instead ask her to make this trip. This was a golden opportunity that had fallen from the sky. She was just worried about not having a chance to get close to him. Wouldn't she be a fool not to take this opportunity?
"Do you know how to speak?" Song En asked again, afraid that she might make a mistake.

Lu Jia cleared her throat and repeated the words, not only fluently but also clearly understanding Shen Qingzhou's meaning, so Song En let her go.

Lu Jia reached into a crack in the wall halfway through her journey, smeared some ash on her eyebrows and eyes, and walked to the door. Soft voices could be heard coming from inside the room.

The servants shouted at them, "What are you doing here?"

Inside the room, Lu Jie and Gao Hong had finished their pleasantries and got down to business.

"...It's truly unexpected that such a blunder would suddenly occur in Tanzhou Prefecture! Fortunately, the Court of Judicial Review intervened; if it had been submitted directly to the Emperor, there would likely have been a bloodbath!"

Gao Hong sighed and said, "I heard that this Lord Guo was recommended by the Minister. After this incident, you must have heard a lot of gossip, right?"

Lu Jie shook his head with a wry smile: "It's my own fault. I thought the Guo family was a respectable family and had even lectured the Emperor. I thought I'd do them a favor, not to make friends, but to have one less enemy in the future."

"Who knew that Guo Yi was such a hothead?"

"Zhou Sheng was incompetent and left a handle against him, so he was arrested. But Guo Yi, on the other hand, made it public and launched a large-scale investigation into officials in Tanzhou!"

As he spoke, he pushed a form over: "Thanks to your courageous words in the cabinet, Father-in-law. This is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you will accept it. Everything is prepared in the backyard, ready for your convenience at any time."

Gao Hong glanced at the list and said, "Sir, you are too kind. I feel ashamed."

After saying that, he took out two pieces of paper from his pocket: "For the fasting ceremony on the fifteenth of this month, His Majesty still needs a few poems that suit his taste. Your Excellency's literary talent has always pleased His Majesty. We are counting on you for this matter."

"How could I dare not comply?" Lu Jie finished reading the contents of the paper, put it into his pocket, but then took out another document. "Coincidentally, I also have a request to make."

The two had exchanged words for several rounds.

Gao Hongdao said, "Sir, please speak frankly."

Lu Jie tapped the paper lightly: "This is the report on my duties submitted to the Ministry of Personnel by Cheng Wenhui, the Censor of the Censorate. Last month, the Ministry of Personnel opened up a vacancy for a Vice Minister, and Lord Cheng has been eyeing this position for a long time."

"As Eunuch Gao also knows, Lord Cheng and I are longtime enemies..."

“My lord,” Lu Jie had just finished speaking when someone at the door interrupted him, “Young Master Shen from across the street has sent over a can of tea.”

The two people in the conversation turned their faces at the same time.

"Oh?"

Lu Jie's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at the dark-skinned young waiter at the door.

(End of this chapter)