Contentment with modest wealth

Are you satisfied with Chapter 82?

He Qing returned to his study and relit the oil lamp. The person behind him pulled off his mask, revealing a face still showing traces of astonishment.

"Has Mr. Guo seen it clearly?"

The latter turned around and closed the door, his expression still complex under the light.

When did she arrive in Shawan?

He Qing was stunned and said, "Ten years ago, I came back with the Xie family couple."

These details had clearly been reported to him in the letter, so why was he asking again? He Qing was unsure, so he asked again, "Does Master Guo mean that we've found the right person?"

The visitor did not answer, but stood silently for a moment before giving him a strange look.

He Qing suddenly shuddered, as if late autumn had arrived early.

……

There was no stray cat on the wall at all.

It was the sound of a person's breath.

He Qu could not have misheard; although the breath was faint, it was very clear in the still night.

However, Tang Yu went to Tanzhou Prefecture with Shen Qingzhou, leaving Lu Jia with only him by her side. He had no choice but to stay with her.

After Shen Qingzhou brought Tang Yu home, Lu Jia was still sitting under the lamp in the main room. Before she could speak, He Qu came in and gave Shen Qingzhou a wink.

Before Lu Jia could even get her hands on the cup of tea, Shen Qingzhou had already stepped outside the threshold.

“Young master, when we accompanied the young lady home earlier, someone was following us.”

He Qu lowered his voice.

"What kind of person are you? Do you see?"

“No,” He Qu shook his head. “The other party did not show up or make any noise, so I pretended not to notice.”

Shen Qingzhou frowned, and after a moment instructed: "Be careful of your whereabouts. When you go out, try to be a little discreet."

Although Lu Jia had offended some people, they weren't anyone of any significant importance. On the contrary, Lu Jia himself, having previously resided in the county government office, might have given himself away. Besides, the Zhang family had seen him before; who knew if he was being watched?
In short, we absolutely cannot let Lu Jia be implicated.

He Qu and Tang Yu didn't need to say anything more; they understood and left on their own.

When Shen Qingzhou returned to the room, Lu Jia had already set out the late-night snacks on the table.

"What are you whispering about?" she asked.

"It's getting dark early now, you'd better be back before nightfall. It's not safe."

Shen Qingzhou started eating sweet rice wine with egg.

Lu Jia filled a bowl with glutinous rice balls for herself and sat down: "Has something happened?"

"No." Shen Qingzhou ate a couple of bites in silence, then said, "I was lucky today. I happened to run into a group of maids and servants released by the Prince Ji's mansion. I inquired about a few of them, and they all came from respectable but poor families. The young ones were going to get married soon, and when I asked, they said they were willing to find another master."

"Tomorrow I'll take you to Tanzhou to see if there are any you like, and then we can buy a few."

"Prince Ji's Mansion?"

Lu Jia had just lowered her head when she heard this, she immediately raised it: "Those were all trained according to the rules of the palace, how could I afford to hire them?"

“It’s not expensive,” Shen Qingzhou glanced at him. “The few I asked only charge two taels of silver a month, and they provide food and lodging.”

"So cheap?" Lu Jia, who had initially thought it was impossible, became somewhat interested. "What kind? How many are there?"

Those who come from the Prince's Mansion are first and foremost excellent at handling official duties and know the rules, which saves the trouble of training them.

Furthermore, the imperial family of this dynasty is subject to many restrictions. They neither hold power nor have contact with court officials, so they are almost completely unrelated to the bureaucrats.

In particular, the Prince Ji's mansion is located in Tanzhou, thousands of miles away from the capital, and is several levels removed from the current emperor. Even if they wanted to do something, the imperial power and politics would not be in their hands. Therefore, the people released from their mansion would naturally not have any connection with the court.

If we can get them, then we're the chosen ones!

Shen Qingzhou held the bowl, picking up a few strands of fermented radish with her chopsticks: "I don't know what kind of person he is, you'll find out when you go tomorrow." Hearing this, Lu Jia spent the entire evening filled with anticipation. She put aside her original plan to deal with the news brought back by the boatman, as getting more manpower was the most important thing right now.

After getting ready early in the morning, Lu Jia urged Shen Qingzhou to go out.

After entering the city, the carriage took them directly to a teahouse.

Lu Jia asked in confusion, "Aren't they at the Prince's residence?"

Shen Qingzhou got out of the car: "Yesterday I slipped some money to the person in charge of the Prince's mansion and asked him to leave the person here for now—let's go upstairs."

There weren't many people in the teahouse at the time. Upstairs, there was a very spacious private room, divided in two by a beaded curtain. On one side was a large eight-immortal table for drinking tea, and on the other side, it looked like there were screens, soft couches, and a zither stand.

Tang Yu lifted the curtain, letting Lu Jia enter first, then Shen Qingzhou, and finally He Qu before leaving herself.

Before Lu Jia could even take a good look around the room, the half-closed door was pushed open again. Tang Yu stood inside first, followed by several men of varying ages. The one in front, dressed in brocade robes, was in his early twenties with a stern expression, and the one behind him appeared to be his subordinates.

After them came two maids and two old women, each with their eyes fixed straight ahead and their movements light and agile.

After the young man in brocade entered, he bowed to the inside of the beaded curtain. It is unclear what Tang Yu said to him, but the man then summoned the maids and servants to come forward.

Standing under the curtain, Lu Jia saw that the four maids and servants were well-dressed and when they bowed in unison, their movements were so synchronized that they were like four puppets being manipulated by bare hands. Their manners were even more refined than those of some young ladies from official families.

When Lu Jia returned to the capital in her previous life, the first predicament she faced was being treated like a country bumpkin. Even the servants that Madam Jiang had assigned to her side openly and secretly ostracized her.

Lu Jia is now very familiar with the rules and ways of the powerful and wealthy, and she will not show any fear. But if she has a few people like these around her, does Jiang Shi still have a reason to put people around her under the pretext of teaching her manners?
"Are you satisfied?" Shen Qingzhou asked.

More than just satisfied.
I'm absolutely thrilled!

Lu Jia stepped out from behind the curtain: "What are your names?"

The four women half-raised their heads, glancing at her first. The old woman on the far left curtsied: "This servant is Qinghe, who has been a head maid in the Prince's mansion for twenty years. This is Baiyin, Granny Bai, who is skilled in cooking. Our maid, Fuxiao, is outstanding in tailoring and embroidery. The other one is Zhimu, who can write and is also quite adept at combing hair."

"We, your servants, greet you, young lady."

Lu Jia was overjoyed. The manager, cook, tailor, and hairdresser were all there!

The maids named Fuxiao and Zhimu even brought up several embroidered items and calligraphy and paintings.

Lu Jia examined the embroidery carefully. The stitches were even and the colors pleasing to the eye. The seams were fine and dense, making it a superior piece. Zhi Mu's calligraphy and paintings included a piece of tiny regular script, a piece of running script, and a small spring scene. While not exceptionally skillful, her work was certainly worthy of a female tutor in a wealthy family.

Lu Jia was both happy and worried.

She was delighted that Shen Qingzhou had found such outstanding candidates for her when she was worried about not having anyone. However, she was worried that such outstanding candidates might not be willing to settle down in a merchant's house.

She thought for a moment and asked, "Where are you from? What's your family situation like?"

Granny Qing glanced at the others, then they all lifted their skirts and knelt down: "Replying to Miss, both Granny Bai and I are from Shanxi. We have been away from home for many years, and there is no one left in our families. Even if we have relatives, we don't know them. Fuxiao is from Jiangning, and Zhimu is from Luoyang. They also come from poor backgrounds."

"Don't those two old women have any children?"

Qinghe sighed, "We were widowed when we were young, and we never had the heart for it again. I do have a son who is still in the Prince's mansion."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jia turned to look at Shen Qingzhou.

Shen Qingzhou had just raised his fan when the man in brocade leaned down: "Qinghe's son signed a death contract in the Prince's mansion. If you want to take him away, you'll need to... you'll need to pay a sum of money..."

Lu Jia was already satisfied with these four, and naturally couldn't bear to separate Qinghe from her mother, but she wasn't sure if the Prince's Mansion would ask for an exorbitant amount, so she tentatively asked, "How much?"

The man in brocade robes looked at Shen Qingzhou and tremblingly held up one finger: "One, one hundred taels?"

"One hundred taels?"

"Too expensive? Then fifty taels it is!" The man gritted his teeth and held up five fingers. "If that's not enough, then twenty taels it is!"

"..."

What kind of clearance sale is this?!
The young men raised in the Prince's mansion, and even those with indentures, could easily be priced at one or two hundred taels of silver. That's not too much, is it?

Is Prince Ji planning to flee?
But it would be foolish not to take advantage of a good deal.

Lu Jia swiftly pulled out a twenty-tael silver note: "I need the person right now!"

(End of this chapter)