Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 87 A Great Divination from the Sky

Qiu Niang set up a brazier overnight to burn paper money for her ancestors. Since she couldn't rely on the ancestors of the Zhang family, she prayed to the ancestors of the Xie family for eight generations. She kept muttering to herself until the middle of the night, just to ask everyone to bless Lu Jia with safety.

Lu Jia went to the silversmith's shop early in the morning and had a few pieces of jewelry made on the spot. When she returned to her room, Lu Jia was still yawning in front of the mirror.

Lu Jia took the comb from Zhi Mu's hand and combed Qiu Niang's hair. "Mother, I'm going back to the capital."

Qiu Niang's drowsy gaze snapped back to focus, and after a moment she asked, "When?"

"Get your travel permit and then leave."

Qiu Niang paused for a moment, then said "Oh".

Lu Jia gently combed her hair, which was already streaked with silver, and recounted the whole story of the danger she had encountered the previous night.

“I will repay Mother’s kindness in raising me in the future. I will hand over the silver shop and account books to Mother later. Let’s leave it like this for now. In a few years, Yi’er and Li Chang will definitely be of great use. At that time, Mother, you can hand them over to Yi’er…”

While Qiu Niang was rambling on and on, she didn't say much. Lu Jia assumed that she was reluctant to part with him, so she didn't press the matter. After finishing her hair, she pretended that nothing had happened and walked out.

It was getting dark, and she should be off to work at the yamen. She turned and stepped into Shen Qingzhou's courtyard, waving to him as he lay on the recliner under the tree.

"Let's go."

Shen Qingzhou looked up: "Where to?"

"Go to the government office to get a travel permit!"

Shen Qingzhou thought for a moment: "I was thinking about it last night. For an ordinary citizen like you to go to the capital for no reason, it might be difficult to obtain a travel permit."

It was only last night, when he picked up his travel permit to look at it, that he remembered that the travel permits for entering the capital were not like those in other places, and the inspection was particularly strict.

"I have a solution! Just come with me."

How could Lu Jia not know that travel permits were difficult to obtain?
But she was determined to do it; no matter how difficult it was, she had to forge ahead, right?

Shen Qingzhou had no reason not to follow.

The two arrived at the county government office by carriage. Instead of going through the main gate to handle matters, Lu Jia took out a wad of money and handed it to the yamen runner at the gate, muttering something under his breath.

The constable initially looked troubled, but upon seeing the heavy handful of copper coins, his expression immediately changed. He went inside, then quickly returned and waved for them to come in.

Lu Jia looked pleased and turned to signal Shen Qingzhou to follow.

Shen Qingzhou had no idea what he was up to, and walked in with some skepticism. But the more she walked, the more familiar she became with the path, and the courtyard where she finally stopped was even more familiar to her!

"Miss Xie, Lord Guo invites you in."

The guards at the door stared at the two of them, master and servant, as if someone had grabbed them by the throat, their eyes wide and mouths crooked, unable to utter a single word!

Shen Qingzhou glanced at him and followed Lu Jia inside at a leisurely pace.

"Lord Guo, how have you been?"

Lu Jia, being the outgoing person she is, started shouting as soon as she stepped through the door.

Guo Yi looked up from behind the mountain of files, then walked around the desk and shuffled over to Lu Jia: "Oh, Miss Xie, it's been so long! Come, come, sit here!"

Guo Yi wasn't one to make friends easily, but this young girl in front of him was the new master of two renowned guards from the Grand Commandant's mansion. How could he not be attentive?

"Serve tea! Serve tea!" He had just sat down when another figure entered through the door. He assumed it was a servant waiting for orders and loudly made the arrangements.

When he saw that the man was standing still, his face fell and he looked up. Just a moment ago he was about to scold him, but the next moment he jumped up like a radish that had been pulled out of the ground!
"This humble servant, Qin Zhou, greets Your Excellency, the Imperial Envoy."

Shen Qingzhou spoke politely, but he didn't actually bend down, and his eyes kept darting around.

Lu Jia gave him a wink, signaling him to tone down his江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) manners and be more polite to the officials.

But the official standing to the side was also as if someone had grabbed his throat, his breath hanging in his throat, pointing at Qin Zhou and unable to move!
Lu Jia asked blankly, "Lord Guo, what's wrong?"

"He, he—"

Guo Yi stared at his steward, Qin, and tried several times to utter a complete sentence: "What is he doing here?"

“Oh,” Lu Jia turned to look at Shen Qingzhou, “This is my steward, his surname is Qin, and his name is Qin Zhou. Since I am going to the capital to visit relatives, my entourage must also go with me. However, the county government will likely make things difficult for me. So please be lenient and help me get a travel permit to let me through, since I helped you catch the corrupt official.”

This imperial envoy is so strange. Every time I see him, he seems a bit dim-witted.

Is he really the old scholar's grandson?
Well, in the spirit of protecting the old scholar's reputation, she will definitely inquire about it properly once she arrives in the capital.

"He even has the surname Qin now?"

Guo Yi's mouth opened even wider.

This arrogant eldest son of the Grand Commandant's mansion, who claimed to be here in Tanzhou Prefecture to secretly investigate shady dealings in river transport, ended up recognizing a master here!

During those days, he was always elusive, never in a hurry. It turns out that he met the girl here!

Okay! Let him go then. He's not getting any younger, but he really kept it a secret!
And this is supposed to be my partner in investigating the case? They haven't revealed a single word to me!
No wonder he suddenly said that he couldn't stay in the county government office anymore, and I actually believed it. When we parted, I was full of worry, afraid that he might encounter some accident outside and I wouldn't be able to explain myself when I got back.

So it turns out he found a better place to stay. With such a beautiful and intelligent young lady around every day, Young Master Shen must be having a great time these days.

"Housekeeper"?! What kind of housekeeper are you talking about? Are you trying to become the head of the household?!

No wonder He Qu and Tang Yu have become the Xie family's guards. Isn't that right? Even their leader has become someone else's butler. How could they, as his attendants, not follow suit?
That's not all; he even changed his surname so he could become someone's butler!

Guo Yi was trembling all over.

Last time, he stayed up for a day and a night to catch Zhou Sheng. He finally managed to get to the bedside, but Zhou Sheng dragged him up and started the case right away. As a result, he only found out about this big gossip today!

"Master Guo?"

Seeing that he was acting increasingly strangely, Lu Jia couldn't help but remind him.

Guo Yi withdrew his hand, took a few deep breaths, and cleared his throat a few times before being forced to calm down under the glares that Shen Qingzhou was intentionally or unintentionally shooting at him.

"Get a travel permit," he said, looking at Lu Jia. "Do you still have relatives in the capital?"

"Yes, I am on my mother's orders to go to the capital to visit a distant relative."

Lu Jia opened her mouth in a fawning manner.

Guo Yi gritted his teeth subtly, then glanced at Shen Qingzhou with a hint of resentment in his eyes.

For such a trivial matter as going to the capital, would she even need to come to me? Just look behind her, isn't there a powerful figure standing right there?
No wonder He Qu came to relay his message last night, saying that we don't need to worry about him anymore, hmph!

(End of this chapter)