Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 95 My Employer Is Waiting for Me

Lu Jia stood calmly at the door, waiting to be summoned.

After a while, they heard a few words being said in hushed tones inside the room. Yang Bonong walked to the door and said, "Since you are here on Young Master Shen's orders, please come in."

Mr. Yang was a confidant of Lu Jie. In his previous life, whenever he saw Lu Jia, he was quite amiable. If they met on the road, he would make sure to say a few words to her, even if he had nothing else to say.

His presence here told Lu Jia that today's tea party was unusual.

Upon reaching Lu Jie, she bowed her head and presented the tea directly: "Young Master Shen specially instructed me to deliver this jar of tea to the Minister to express my delight at our unexpected encounter."

Lu Jie accepted the tea and dismissed Yang Bonong, saying, "Give him two silver ingots. Then go and tell Young Master Shen that I thank him for his hospitality."

Yang Bonong agreed and had someone bring over the silver ingots.

Lu Jia thanked her and extended her hands.

A silver bracelet on her wrist shimmered brightly with her movements.

Lu Jie's teacup trembled slightly, splashing water onto half of his sleeve. Yang Bonong, who was about to hand over the silver ingot, also pulled back as his arm was suddenly grabbed. Yang Bonong turned around in surprise to see that Lu Jie had put down the teacup, stood up, and was holding the waiter's wrist! ...

"grown ups!"

Yang Bonong was quite shocked. Although his master was known for his womanizing ways, he had never done anything impolite, and besides—besides, this was just a waiter!
Lu Jie stared intently at the bracelet: "Where did this bracelet come from?"

"In reply to your question, sir, this bracelet was made by my mother in our hometown based on the design given to her by the shopkeeper."

Lu Jia, who had been hanging her head, raised it at this moment.

Lu Jie's cold gaze moved upwards and landed on her face. Then he shuddered and took a half step back after letting go of her hand.
"Your mother? Who is your mother?"

Lu Jia smiled slowly: "My mother is just a merchant's wife from the south, not worth your concern, sir."

"Where is your hometown?"

"My hometown is in Shawan County, Tanzhou Prefecture."

Whether it was the name Tanzhou, which had just been mentioned, that shocked Lu Jie, or something else, Lu Jie held his breath and stared at her, standing motionless as if frozen in place.

Yang Bonong was quite worried: "My lord?" As he spoke, he silently shifted his gaze back, indicating that Gao Hong was behind Lu Jie.

Lu Jie's facial muscles twitched, and his gaze finally returned to its lively state.

He said, "Take him downstairs and wait there. I have some questions for her later."

"Please forgive me, sir. I must return to report to Young Master Shen and cannot linger any longer."

Lu Jia bowed deeply and lowered his head.

“Young Master Shen is not usually easy to get along with, and the Shen family is currently enjoying great influence. If you have something to say, sir, perhaps we should discuss it later,” Yang Bonong leaned closer and reminded him again.

Lu Jie glanced at the person opposite him, put his hands behind his back, and took a deep breath.

……

Lu Jia walked out of the room and retraced her steps towards Shen Qingzhou's private room.

Her heart was pounding, but the result made her steps light!

Lu Jia's upper face resembles her father's, and her lower face resembles her mother's. She is from the Cheng family, and her full name is Cheng Yunzhao.

She had never seen what her mother looked like, or perhaps she had forgotten.

She was so young then, only two years old, that all we know is that she died from a boil.

Lu Jia's impressions of her mother all came from Lu Jie and the accounts of those around her. Since everyone spoke highly of her, she concluded that her mother was likely a shrewd and capable woman. Lu Jia naturally believed this, after all, her mother came from the Cheng family, which had produced officials for generations, and had married a talented young man who had passed the imperial examination at a young age. Even if the living people exaggerated, her mother herself must have been quite remarkable.

She had tried it in front of the mirror before, applying ash to her eyebrows and eyes. If you looked closely, her features still resembled Lu Jie's, but if you didn't look closely, she wouldn't notice it.

If a person's eyebrows and eyes lose their distinctive features, the lower half of their face will also not stand out when viewed alone.

Now that we've taken the first step back to Beijing, how could we not be prepared?

So in addition to preparing this face, she also specially prepared a bracelet that had been made in Shawan in advance, based on her mother's belongings.

If this father still cherishes the memory of having such a daughter, he would surely be moved upon seeing this.
Unexpectedly, this test had an even better effect than Lu Jia had imagined!
In her past life, when she found the Lu family, in front of everyone, even if his feelings for his biological father had faded, he would still put on a show and pretend to have some blood ties. Therefore, Lu Jia was still unsure of what he really thought of her.

Today, with no one of the relevant people present and Lu Jia not revealing her identity as a daughter, Lu Jie's reaction seemed even more intense than during their last meeting! ...

This is strange.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be like that.

But one thing is certain: she achieved her goal.

So, in his previous life, Lu Jia gave Qiu Niang and her son a silver shop, and later covered up their secret communication, which was indeed out of maternal affection, and there is no doubt about it!
"came back?"

Song En stood at the door, watching her hurrying towards them from the opposite side with her head down.

Lu Jia suddenly stopped and swallowed: "Yes, the Minister said that he appreciates your kindness, young master."

Song En nodded, took out a small piece of silver: "This is a reward for you. Do your job well." After saying that, he went back inside.

Lu Jia let out a long sigh, casually tucked the meager sum into her sleeve, then calmed herself down and subconsciously looked across at the other side.

Yang Bonong was also watching this side.

That's nothing to worry about. Given Lu Jie's previous reaction, it's impossible for him not to pay attention to me. But once I'm out of this door, I'm confident I can get rid of him. There's nothing to worry about.

She thought again of the situation at Lu Jie's place today—

Lu Jia recognized the man who had been sitting opposite Lu Jie earlier; he was the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, a major lackey who colluded with Yan Song of the Grand Secretariat. In two or three years, he would replace Li Quan, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, as the new Grand Eunuch.

I already felt that it was unusual for Lu Jie to bring Yang Bonong out today. The fact that Gao Hong was also here further indicated that it was not a good thing.

However, these things are irrelevant to her. Given her current situation, the further away she is from these matters, the safer she will be.

She should be concerned about something else.

It was something closely related to her next plan, and it was also the most important part of her first step.

Thinking of this, she glanced left and right, then aimed at the Shen family's entourage on the other side, clutching her stomach: "I don't feel well..."

Shen Qingzhou had just finished drinking a cup of tea when the guard knocked on the door and came in: "Mr. Song, the waiter outside is complaining of a stomachache and requests that someone else be sent downstairs."

Song En raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

On the other side, Shen Qingzhou put down the cup. "Let her go."

Song En turned around, and Shen Qingzhou had already stood up: "I should go too."

Song En asked hesitantly, "Where is the young master going?"

Shen Qingzhou glanced at him: "My employer is still waiting for me. Have someone bring the sedan chair over and send me out first."

Song En's mouth dropped open: "'Employer'?!"

(End of this chapter)