Too high to reach

Chapter 177 Pre-Wedding Preparations
"I just had a talk with the Prince. It seems that Yi Yi will be getting married at the end of the year."

When Mo Ruhai returned home, he calmly delivered the news.

The family was more shocked than happy.

There have been too many happy events lately, and in the excitement of the crowd, people have become concerned about saving face, so all the tea, sugar, and wine banquets are of a high standard.

If they're in a good mood, they'll even hire a car to take their guests.

They received quite a few gifts, but not much silver; they mostly received items.

In addition, when Mo Wen gets married and Mo Da passes the imperial examination and has a son, they all need to give some money.

In an instant, the flowers were all gone.

Now, let alone a proper wedding for Mo Yi, it would be good enough if the wedding banquet could even be held properly.

Besides, even if you have the money, it takes time to prepare a dowry! How can you possibly do it in two or three months?
But... everyone looked at Mo Ruhai...

This is wrong!

Shouldn't he be actively against Moe getting married so soon?
Shouldn't he be the one most worried about Mo Yi not having a dowry?

Even Mo Rushan and Mo Rusong were so worried that they planned to write to the Song family and ask them to come up with a solution...

Why is it that this man, who dotes on his daughter the most, calmly strokes his beard, looking as if to say: This is very good, I am very satisfied?!

Faced with his brothers' doubts and worries, as well as the unease of Zhuang and Wang.

Mo Ruhai calmly said, "The Prince Qi's mansion has everything, and it's all for the royal family. Even if we buy things for Yiyi and bring them over, they'll just end up gathering dust in the storeroom. It's better to bring more silver and property... so we can have more money on hand and buy whatever we need whenever we want."

He's gone mad again... Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

……

The news finally reached Consort Feng.

The dowry list had been prepared in the front study, and someone copied it down and delivered it to her...

Seeing the thin envelope, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself, thinking of Princess Zhou's thick dowry book: she really was poor.

When I pulled it out, there was indeed just a piece of paper with only a few dozen lines of small writing on it.

Hmph, if I were her, I'd put out separate sheets of paper for the chamber pot and toilet paper to make up the numbers...

"The Rare Treasures Pavilion..." Consort Feng squinted at the sight, not quite understanding what it meant at first.

Qizhenlou!
Her eyes widened immediately.

Good heavens, the prince actually gave the Qizhen Pavilion to her?!
How can this be?

Looking closer, the address... that's it, that's it.

She knew about the Rare Treasures Pavilion...

Back when she was still working for Granny Zhao, she had seen Empress Zhao's dowry list. But she had only glimpsed it while organizing things. There were too many items to remember them all, but she did remember this list and had seen it with Granny Zhao.

The original shop wasn't as big as it is now.

Later, they bought the land next door and rebuilt it.

This shop is now quite famous in the capital!

The shopkeeper is Granny Zhao's younger brother...

A couple of years ago, she had considered arranging for her cousin-in-law's brother to join the family, hoping to test the waters with the prince. However, the prince told her to speak to Granny Zhao instead!

But how could she say it?
I was quite angry at the time.

At this moment, her heart was churning even more.

What exactly is going on with the prince?

What does he owe this woman?

Such a good business, why not leave it for Shao-ge'er? Instead, it's given as a dowry to such an ordinary woman?

The husband not only gave so much in betrothal gifts, but also had to provide a dowry? He gave everything just to welcome her into the family, why?

Consort Feng closed her eyes and took a long time to process what was happening before opening them again.

And... what is this?
mine?!

……

In the front study, Mr. Yang, an advisor, was enthusiastically flattering Li Jing.

"Your Highness, all the formalities have been completed. One mine, one piece of land, the two are finally connected. Your Highness is truly brilliant! You have done an excellent job."

Li Jing even revealed a slight smile.

That day, he angered the emperor by provoking him, and then took out the register of his private property and let him choose.

Although Li Jing had been thinking about it for a long time, this kind of thing is not something you can get just by thinking about it.

He mentioned Mo Yi and her dowry, deliberately saying that they would get married in two years, just to make the emperor unhappy.

Unexpectedly, in the heat of the moment... the Emperor actually handed the pot handle to him!
It was pure luck, so why be polite?
He took the mineral catalog directly. He flipped through it, pointing to several large mines that the Emperor clearly wouldn't grant him…

Thus, he received a cold glare and a disdainful snort from the emperor. In the end, he reluctantly, helplessly, and casually chose this place.

This is an old copper mine that has been mined for many years.

The main mine has been almost completely mined out, leaving only some corners and auxiliary mines.

The Emperor knew exactly what was in his pocket, and seeing Li Jing choose it to leave, he secretly chuckled...

But what he didn't know was that Li Jing had a capable subordinate who had discovered a new mineral source a few years ago, right near the mine entrance.

The two mines are very close to each other. If they are discovered, they will be merged with the old mine and become the emperor's private property, going directly into his pocket.

Applying for mining permits independently is harder than climbing to the sky.

Without knowing the truth, the emperor gave it to Mo Yi.

Li Jing bought the new mine as wasteland and merged it with the old mine without anyone noticing...

"Your Highness, you have indeed married an exceptionally good princess. Otherwise, normally the Emperor would only bestow treasures like calligraphy, paintings, and jewelry. Giving property is far too difficult! I'm afraid Your Highness is the first person to do so!"

……

Overwhelmed with emotion, the Emperor gave the property to Li Jing's future wife.

Although he considered it an old mine that was basically empty...

But these are not inanimate objects like jewelry, famous paintings, antiques, medicinal herbs, or clothing, which can only be displayed or used.

This is the Emperor's private property; it can generate silver!

And it's a mine!
So, the palace was bombed.

I have no idea how everyone found out...

"Your Majesty..." Consort Dong, with tears streaming down her face, dragged her fifteenth prince along to demand property.

Before anything even happened, the princes all arrived, loitering in front of the palace, each hoping to get a share of the family fortune from their father.

Even the Crown Prince came, ostensibly to share the Emperor's burdens, but in reality, he maintained his usual noble and magnanimous demeanor, patiently offering advice to everyone. "Seventh Brother is so old, still unmarried, and has been away on campaigns for years..."

Originally, the Emperor, after being persuaded by his favorite concubine, softened his heart and wanted Liu Su to produce his list of properties...

As a result, in the blink of an eye, a crowd of people appeared in front of the hall...

"..." Did they think I wanted to separate the family?

Enraged, he slammed his fist on the table, and everyone scattered like birds and beasts.

In the end, Consort Dong only managed to extort a painting from her son before leaving.

……

The wedding date was set, and they also acquired a mine.

The prince seemed to really like the strangely shaped leather bag that Mo Yi had made.

When he was happy, Granny Zhao was happy, so she tried to trouble Mo Yi as little as possible and personally oversaw those trivial matters.

Even if Mo Yi didn't have to do these things, she wouldn't have time to take care of the shop anymore.

Being a royal wife means dealing with all sorts of rules and etiquette every day, which is quite different from marrying into an ordinary family.

There was really no other way, so the shop could only be officially opened after the wedding.

A few days before the wedding, everyone arrived. Dressed in their wedding attire, they went through the ceremony again and again, getting quite tired.

The Mo family couldn't get involved, but they still learned a lot from the experience.

Mo Wen also came back to help. After the incident, her relationship with Mo Yi became much closer.

Occasionally, Xu Ke would show up with her.

The young couple is quite pleasing to the eye. Mo Wen, standing beside Xu Ke, also exudes a certain charm befitting a young woman.

Their relationship had indeed improved considerably, but it wasn't as sweet and loving as that of a typical newlywed couple.

One reason is that Xu Ke didn't truly like her from the bottom of his heart. He just felt that she was bright and generous, and favored by his elders. But that was all; it wasn't enough to make him fall in love.

Another reason is that he was genuinely afraid of Princess Yu'an, who caused him too much trouble.

To this day, he still insists that he never shared a room with Mo Wen.

However, with the presence of Mo Wen in his life, and the allure of her flower-like body, his infatuation with the princess and the thrill of their affair were no longer as intense as before.

It was during this period that he focused on his official duties, and the princess expected the same, which is why she didn't notice...

Happy Chinese New Year to all my friends!

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Wishing everyone happiness and good health.

Just one chapter today.

Has everyone gained weight? I didn't actually eat much, but I'm still chubby...