Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 96 My own brother's maternal uncle

When Lu Jia got downstairs, she stood at the door and looked back. Sure enough, two people from the Lu family came out with her.

She pretended to go to the outhouse, then slipped away and hid in a corner where the shop assistant who had taken her money was already waiting.

She ripped off all the clothes belonging to the shopkeeper, threw him a silver coin, and then left through the back door.

Seeing the girl selling flowers at the door, she gave her some money and borrowed her headscarf to tie a knot on her head.

Just then, a carriage arrived. She climbed on, and as people came and went on the street, she watched as the servants of the Lu family brushed past the carriage before she lowered the curtain.

Back at the inn, He Qu had just returned and was talking to Qing He.

Upon seeing her, He Qu clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Oh my, girl! I'm so lucky! I just stepped out today and found a three-courtyard house for rent in Yanzi Hutong in the south of the city! It's all furnished and the owner has cleaned it up perfectly. We can just pack our bags and move in!"

Lu Jia stopped in her tracks: "How much?"

"They only charge three taels of silver a month!"

"So cheap?" Lu Jia glanced at him. "Is there some kind of scam? Has someone died there? Or is it haunted?"

He Qu was so speechless by her that he almost couldn't continue acting.

He followed her inside: "I've inquired. No one has died here, and there's been no ghost story. It's just that the owner had a Taoist priest calculate that the house is only suitable for female tenants born in the Year of the Snake. You happen to be born in the Year of the Snake, and he's not short of money, so I'll help you negotiate the price down!"

Lu Jia believes that cheap goods are rarely of good quality, and there's probably something else fishy going on.

But does she even have a choice now?
Previously, Yang Bonong had sent Lu family servants out to follow her. Although she managed to shake them off, it was hard to say that with their skills, they wouldn't follow the trail and continue searching for her.

Having confirmed that there were no problems with her biological father, it was not yet time for her to expose herself. Now that she had a place to go, it would be safer to move there first.

She then added, "In that case, let's check out and move in right away. By the way, has Qin Zhou returned?"

"came back!"

As they were talking, Shen Qingzhou's voice came from the stairs.

"That's great!" Lu Jia said, picking up her bundle. "He Qu has already found a place to stay. We'll move in right away!"

Shen Qingzhou asked, "So urgent?"

"There's no time to say more, let's go!"

The bags were all ready-made, and while they were talking, Lu Jia had already packed everything up with Qinghe Fuxiao's help.

The Yanzi Hutong area in the southern part of the city is surprisingly quiet, far away from all sorts of people. The doors and windows in the hutong are clean and tidy, and the location is indeed quite nice.

He Qu pushed open the courtyard door and saw that the inside was also clean and tidy. There were even some chrysanthemums planted in the remaining flower bed against the wall, which were very bright and dazzling.

The front yard was naturally given to Qin Zhou and his group to stay in.

After entering the second gate, there was a small flower garden in the courtyard, with several rooms on the left and right, just enough to accommodate Lu Jia and Qinghe Fuxiao.

Lu Jia was preoccupied with her own thoughts. After putting down her baggage, she sent Qinghe to take out some money and go with He Qu to pay the rent and sign the lease agreement.

Then he asked Fuxiao to buy some pots, pans, and bowls, and to brew some tea.

He called Shen Qingzhou over and had her sit down in the hall. "My business is done. Where were you just now?"

Shen Qingzhou said, "I went to the backyard for a walk and saw your father entertaining guests there. There were many of them, so I didn't dare to go in. Later, I saw you come out, so I came back."

Lu Jia nodded: "There is an official in the Censorate named Cheng Wenhui. After Tang Yu returns, have him inquire whether he has recently reported to the Ministry of Personnel. Also, I am not in a position to appear in public today, so please help me find out about the Cheng family."

Upon hearing "Cheng family," Shen Qingzhou glanced at her and asked, "You know him?"

“Of course I know him.” Lu Jia glanced at him. “He’s my uncle. My own maternal uncle!”

Shen Qingzhou: ……

On the way from Shawan to Beijing, Shen Qingzhou had heard Lu Jia mention some of her relatives, but she never mentioned her mother's side of the family.

Shen Qingzhou, who had always only considered the Yan family as her primary target, naturally never thought of paying attention to who Lu Jie's deceased first wife's family was.

Lu Jia's life in the Yan family in her previous life was so miserable, and she was blatantly harmed by Jiang Shi. No matter how you look at it, she was a lonely and miserable woman.

Since his mother's family is still there, logically speaking, besides his father, the person who should stand up to protect him the most is his uncle.

But the Cheng family never left a trace in his life from beginning to end!

At this point, it's quite surprising that someone would suddenly mention an uncle who is an imperial censor in the Censorate.
But what was even more surprising was that she seemed to know a great deal about everything in the capital, including Cheng Wenhui's report on her work...

"If I hadn't been ordered to assassinate by the Jiang family, I wouldn't have even thought of the Cheng family. In the end, I had no other choice."

Lu Jia's gaze was sharp.

"My uncle and my father have never gotten along since childhood. My mother is a niece from a collateral branch of my grandmother's family, which means that my uncle and my father are actually distant cousins."

"It just so happens that both of them studied with my grandfather from a young age. My father was probably better than my uncle, and his knowledge of classics and history was praised by people. Therefore, whenever my uncle couldn't recite a book from a young age, he would be beaten by my maternal grandfather."

"Later, the two of them passed the imperial examination in the same year. In the year my father was appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, I don't know how he became enemies with my uncle. From that year on, my uncle never had any contact with our Lu family again."

“I was young at the time and didn’t understand these things. Besides, I had never been wronged in the Lu family. My maternal grandmother and grandfather were no longer alive, and my uncle didn’t come to find me, so naturally I wouldn’t think of going to them.”

That is why, after returning to the Lu family in her previous life, she lost the opportunity to re-establish contact with the Cheng family.

After all, more than a decade has passed, and the biological father and uncle still have a grudge. How difficult would it be to rekindle this family bond?
"Besides them, I have no other reliable forces to rely on. He is my maternal uncle, and in terms of blood ties, he is the closest person to me besides my father."

“They are my mother’s family, and it is perfectly reasonable for them to stand closely with my mother’s family.”

"And I certainly cannot go back to the Lu family alone."

If she were to storm into the Lu family alone again, as she had in her previous life, and fight a lone battle under the rule of the Jiang family once more, then all her preparations would be in vain.

After listening, Shen Qingzhou frowned and said, "But few censors are easily swayed. The Cheng family has been in officialdom for a long time, so they must be quite cunning as well."

"The Cheng family may not be reliable either."

“It’s all about interests.” Lu Jia glanced at him. “I sent you to inquire so that this unreliable thing could become reliable.”

(End of this chapter)