Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 98 The Long-Lost Niece
There was a frost this morning, and the chrysanthemums in the pots by the wall have all wilted.

Mrs. Cheng was dismayed by the sight and rolled up her sleeves to tidy it up herself.

Cheng Wenhui, who was about to go to the yamen, saw this and said, "These things can be done by servants. Your back is not good, why bother to do it yourself?"

"I heard that Madam Chen likes these golden chrysanthemums, so I specially asked someone to reserve a few pots, just waiting for Madam Chen to have some free time in the next couple of days to send them over. How can I possibly send them over like this?"

"Why worry about this?" Cheng Wenhui said dismissively. "This time, it was Censor-in-Chief Feng who strongly recommended me. Censor-in-Chief Feng and Grand Secretary Chen are from the same hometown. This time, we are sure to win. You don't need to do any of this."

Madam Cheng looked puzzled: "Will it really work this time? I'm still not sure."

"If this doesn't work, it'll be an injustice!" Cheng Wenhui said, whipping out her sleeves. "Who can't I, Cheng, do better than?!"

Mrs. Cheng sighed.

"Mother, mother!"

Just then, a young man's voice came in. The second son, Cheng Yan, rushed in, shouting, "Mother, Father, a girl has come outside! She says she's here on Aunt's orders!"

"'aunt'?!"

The Cheng couple exclaimed in surprise, then looked at each other as if they had seen a ghost, and blurted out, "Your aunt has been dead for more than ten years, what kind of aunt do you still have?!"

"What happened?"

At this moment, Cheng Yi, the eldest son from the next courtyard, heard the noise and came over with a book in his hand.

"I don't know!" Cheng Yan said, looking at them. "I don't recognize that girl either, but she looks somewhat familiar!"

Cheng Wenhui only had one younger sister who died more than ten years ago, and she had also lost contact with her sister's husband's family for more than ten years. When she heard that someone was coming to look for her in her sister's name, she instinctively felt that they were trying to swindle her, and immediately wanted to send them away.

Upon hearing that the person looked somewhat familiar, he was stunned again.

Madam Cheng asked, "Where is he?"

……

Lu Jia only brought Qinghe with her this time. She originally wanted to bring Shen Qingzhou as well, but he refused to come, so she gave up.

At this moment, she stood in the front yard of the Cheng family, looking around the yard, trying to rummage through her memory for any trace of her childhood.

Unfortunately, there was really nothing to report. She had never come often before, and after her mother died, she stopped coming altogether.

"you are?"

A questioning voice came from the other side of the screen wall, and a large group of people came out. Lu Jia recognized Cheng Wenhui at a glance, and the woman standing next to him was undoubtedly his aunt, Cheng Ningshi.

Lu Jia led Qinghe forward, then lifted her skirt and bowed: "Uncle and Aunt, please accept this bow from your niece."

The moment she kowtowed, Cheng Wenhui in front of her was so startled that she almost fell backward and was knocked to the ground!

Mrs. Cheng, standing nearby, was also dumbfounded, her breath caught in her throat, unsure whether to help her husband or help Lu Jia on the ground!
"What's going on? What happened?"

The Cheng brothers were better off; although they were still a bit dazed, they quickly helped their father up.

Cheng Wenhui was even more stunned than if she had been struck by lightning!

His sister has been dead for more than ten years, so how come a niece has suddenly appeared?

Didn't he just say he was there to deliver a message to his sister?
Sending a message is already outrageous!
How could his sister, who is already in the underworld, send him a niece?!
Even if he did—his only niece has been missing for ten years, hasn't she? She was only five years old when she disappeared, and she had no ability to survive. There has been no news of her since, so she is most likely dead!

She turned out to be her niece?!

These days, scammers really dare to make up stories!
Who else would you cheat but him?
Why doesn't she just say that his ancestor has returned?

Wouldn't that allow them to scam even more people?!
"You, you get up!" he pointed at Lu Jia.

"Thank you uncle!"

Lu Jia called out sweetly and stood up lightly.

Cheng Wenhui was so angry that she choked.

His grandmother was calling her so warmly; surely she wouldn't be able to get rid of her without at least a hundred or eighty taels of silver today?!

He took a deep breath: "Little brat, you're so young and already learning bad habits! Where did you come from? Go back to where you came from right now! Considering your young age, this official website will let you off the hook and not report you to the authorities!"

"Uncle!" Lu Jia brushed the bangs off her forehead and leaned closer. "Don't you think I look familiar? Look at my eyebrows and eyes, then look at my nose and mouth. You've seen me before when I was little, is it that hard to recognize me?"

The moment her face came close, Cheng Wenhui jumped back.

When Madam Cheng looked at it from the side, her heart skipped a beat, and she was once again dumbfounded: "This, this..."

She didn't say what it was.

After all, she was the wife of the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief. No matter how surprised she was, how could she speak so recklessly?
But in her heart, she was in turmoil. This face, the upper half of it looked just like their brother-in-law, and the lower half looked exactly like their sister!

They had seen this face ten years ago!
Although it was a smaller version, the mold was still there!

This is their niece!

It's Lu Jia, the niece who was lost by that treacherous Lu Jie!

Cheng Wenhui was stunned at this moment. Even if he couldn't remember his brother-in-law, that scoundrel, he couldn't possibly forget his sister.

That face really made him panic!

“Uncle, Aunt, if you still don’t believe me, why don’t you take a look at this?”

Lu Jia took the jade pendant out of her sleeve.

Madam Cheng's expression changed completely upon seeing the jade!
This is Lu Jia's jade; she's seen it before!
She grabbed her husband's arm: "It's her! It really is her!..."

……

A moment later, Lu Jia led Qinghe to sit down in the main hall of the Cheng family.

The four members of the Cheng family sat opposite her, quite a distance away, each of them standing ramrod straight, their eyes scrutinizing her as if facing a formidable enemy.

"How is this going?"

Holding the jade piece, Cheng Wenhui's face was still showing shock: "Back then, you weren't—"

Lu Jia glanced at the servants at the door: "How could I, your niece, not answer your questions? It's just that I came here today without telling anyone, especially the Lu family."

Cheng Wenhui understood, waved away all the servants, and then pondered, "You mean, your father doesn't know you've returned?"

“Exactly.” Lu Jia sighed. “I haven’t told anyone. The only people I trust most now are my uncle and aunt, because you are my mother’s blood relative.”

"So after returning to Beijing, I came here."

The Cheng couple looked at each other with furrowed brows.

The Cheng brothers sitting next to her exchanged glances and silently observed Lu Jia.

Madam Cheng spoke up: "Then tell me, how did you get lost back then?"

(End of this chapter)