Too high to reach

Chapter 178 How to give it?
Although the dowry has been arranged.

But Mo Rushan discussed with his two younger brothers, "We can't just let the girl get married without giving her a single thread! People will laugh at the Mo family for decades to come."

Even Mo Rusong deeply agreed, since the prince was a novelty now, so he wasn't picky.

When the bride becomes an old bride... what man wouldn't care about his dowry?
So the three brothers picked and chose the presentable gifts from their relatives and friends, along with the betrothal gifts from the Prince of Qi's mansion.

She scraped together another thousand taels of silver, plus the two thousand taels the Wang family had insisted on giving her, making a total of three thousand taels, which she gave to Mo Yi as a dowry. Seeing that Mo Ruhai didn't consult her on anything, Madam Wang simply stopped caring!

But Mo Yi only accepted the betrothal gifts from the royal palace and refused everything else.

She said gently, "I appreciate the elders' kindness. It is precisely because Your Highness knows about the Mo family's situation that you have thought of everything for me. Soon, it will be my second brother's turn to be engaged. He is the only son of the eldest branch, so the betrothal gifts cannot be too unreasonable. Please leave all of these to my second brother!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Rushan was so excited that he couldn't speak for a long time.

"Brother, why don't we listen to Yi Yi? She knows what she's doing." After saying this, Mo Ruhai couldn't help but think of Mo Wen: For some reason, his wife had been adding to her dowry, to the point that even his eldest daughter-in-law couldn't stand it and was unhappy.

Mo Wen, however, wasn't as thorough as Yi Yi. She kept and took away everything that was given to her, both openly and secretly...

“Yi Yi has told me many times that she has brothers and sisters. She can’t let her family suffer because of her dowry. What a sensible girl…” He glanced at Wang Shi out of the corner of his eye.

I thought to myself: Since you said you wouldn't care, then I really don't need you to care!

You might as well treat Yi Yi badly for the rest of her life, instead of giving her a sweet treat before she leaves, lest she find out about your kindness.

Unlike her eldest daughter's wedding, where she personally attended to every detail, Wang Shi had no say in anything concerning Mo Yi. How could she bear this? She had intended to use the dowry as leverage to force the father and daughter to beg her, but to her surprise, they didn't need her at all.

He sat there, silent, his face extremely pale.

On the day of the wedding, the Wang family members all came dressed in their finest attire.

Even the old man had specially oiled his beard.

Wang Xiujuan and her husband also came, and they were both very sincere. But when she looked at her sister, who was also adorned with jewels, although she was smiling, she felt a faintness in her expression, without the slightest bit of the excitement that Mowen had shown when she got married.

I wonder what this little sister is up to this time!
He whispered to her, "Mo Yi is gone, and Mo Ruhai needs comforting right now. You two are old, you have a grandson, and your children are so outstanding, so don't keep things so tense. Take this opportunity to coax him..."

"Hmph! Do you think I care?" Madam Wang rolled her eyes. "Can't you see how smug he is right now? With a prince as his son-in-law, does he need me to coax him?!"

"You know he has a prince as his son-in-law, shouldn't you lower your stance a bit?"

“Then isn’t that son-in-law mine?” Wang Shi was not convinced.

"Who is Mo Yi closest to?" Wang Xiujuan pressed.

"Have I ever lacked her food or clothing?" Madam Wang suddenly became agitated again. "Why does everyone think I've mistreated her? As for the dowry, she didn't want it, she didn't like it. It's not that I, as her mother, wouldn't give it to her."

Wang Xiujuan was speechless. "Listen to what you're saying!"

"Hmph!" Wang Shi curled her lip. "What does it have to do with me that she's living a better life? Mo Ruhai said that the small business he and his daughter run is only for Mo Yi, and no one else is allowed to get involved... Doesn't he think about Mo Da and Mo Bao? They're his own sons! Doesn't he care about them at all? Who will offer incense for them when they die?"

"Shut up!" Wang Xiujuan snapped. "What day is it today? How can you be so outspoken? I'm only just realizing how annoying you are! I'm giving you advice out of kindness! If you don't want to listen, then forget it!" With that, she turned to leave.

But Wang grabbed her arm, saying mysteriously and unwillingly, "Sister, have you seen Mo Yi's dowry list? I was terrified! The Prince actually gave that girl so much... Qizhenlou! I even went there once..."

Nothing was bought. Now it belongs to Mo Yi. Her dowry... what if..."

Wang Xiujuan covered Wang's mouth.

"What if what? Can't I call you my great-aunt?" Wang Xiujuan retorted angrily.

"Um... Sister! Listen to me! I still don't understand how the transfer was done. Has the house and land title been transferred? Does it include the goods inside? How is the handover done? Have the money and goods been accounted for? Should Mo Yi's own people manage things from now on? These are all issues!"
What could a little girl like her know? She didn't even tell me… Mo Ruhai, on the other hand, doesn't care about any of this, he just wants to control the little shop! Qizhenlou already belongs to Mo Yi, why would she want that little shop? She's deliberately trying to annoy me!”

Wang became increasingly angry as she spoke.

"What, you're still thinking about going to Qizhenlou?" Wang Xiujuan glared at her resentfully.

He was thinking about what to do with this girl... The previous ones were one thing, but they still caused trouble in the Mo family.

But if she continues to spout nonsense in front of the prince without any regard for the consequences, she'll really get into trouble.

"No! How could that be? I was just thinking..." Wang denied it. But inwardly she resented Mo Yi: That girl, she's so shrewd. She won't even think of her family when good things happen in the future.

At this moment, she completely forgot all the benefits she had gained from Mo Yi...

Just then, Mo Wen and his wife's car arrived at the door.

A small, inconspicuous car was parked at the bend in the road. The curtain was slightly lifted, revealing a pair of startlingly bright eyes staring at it.

Xu Ke got off first, and then he turned around and helped Mo Wen behind him.

Dressed in elegant black robes and adorned with beautiful accessories, she stepped out of the carriage with a smile. Seeing her husband supporting her, her face flushed slightly.

Inside the door, Mo Fan, dressed neatly, came out to greet Xu Ke, and then the two of them went inside chatting and laughing, with Mo Wen quietly following behind them...

Princess Yu'an, inside the carriage, witnessed everything. Her hand, which was lifting the curtain, clenched tightly, and she trembled with hatred. So, he's come after all!

He was still supporting her...

She closed her eyes, and at that moment, she felt a little shaken: was her obsession with the East truly meaningful?

Two years ago, when he first got together with Xu Ke, he was very attentive and said that he wanted to be with her forever.

But at that time, I didn't want to at all.

Because: she couldn't kill Dongfang, but she didn't want to let him go just like that!
So, I just wanted to wait until... the day when I could do whatever I wanted with him.

However, when Xu Ke got engaged and married, she found that she couldn't live without him.

The thought of him and Mo Wen being intimate in bed drove her crazy with jealousy.

Xu Ke never mentioned the possibility of a future for the two of them again...

Now, seeing them in public as husband and wife, it hurts like my heart has been cut open.

Although his infatuation with Xu Ke is different from his obsession with Dongfang, it seems to run deep in his bones...

"Excuse me, could you please move aside? My daughter is getting married today, and the bridal sedan chair will be here soon! Thank you so much!" The gatekeeper of the Mo family gave Princess Yu'an's carriage a tip.

Princess Yu'an was filled with rage and had nowhere to vent it; she even wanted to order the guards driving the carriage to attack someone...

Then the gatekeeper said, "The one who has come to marry my daughter is none other than His Highness Prince Qi!"

The smugness in his voice...

"Let's go!" Princess Yu'an whispered the order.

Sure enough, not long after, Li Jing, dressed in his wedding attire, rode his big black horse to personally fetch his bride.

Sometimes, for royal weddings, the groom doesn't necessarily have to attend in person; he can simply follow the procession.

The fact that he came in person means he really likes the bride!
A crowd immediately poured out of the doorway, firecrackers went off, and laughter filled the air.

Only then did Mo Ruhai belatedly realize that Mo Yi was getting married and leaving. The thought of not seeing his daughter's smiling face or enjoying her care every day when he came home from now on broke his heart.

Her eyes were red for a while, then red again.

Most of the Mohists were seeing Li Jing for the first time. Then, the initial excitement of welcoming him faded, and they became quiet and respectful.

There are no procedures like making things difficult for the groom, asking him to write poems or demanding money from him.

Moreover, the pressure was so great that everyone wanted him to take the person away quickly so they could continue having fun.

But the prince was quite generous, preparing all sorts of celebratory money.

Moreover, it's all gold...

The first to lose their composure were the children... their eyes lit up when they got their hands on it...

Wang's shrewd and calculating demeanor when talking to her sister was gone; she lowered her head, remained silent, and hid behind her husband.

Mo Ruhai's eyes welled up with tears: "Your Highness, Mo Yi is a good girl. I hope you will treat her well!"

Mo Rushan stood beside him, ready to stop his second brother from speaking nonsense. And it turned out alright… After saying that, the foolish second brother started wiping away tears.

Li Jing nodded: "Don't worry!"

Does that count as agreeing?
They came to fetch her at noon. The bridal sedan chair swayed gently as it was carried into the Prince's mansion in a grand procession. After a series of elaborate rituals, they bowed to each other and entered the bridal chamber.

After sitting on the wedding bed, it was already evening.

Li Jing lifted the veil, and the red candles burned brightly, illuminating Mo Yi's meticulously painted face.

She was no longer the gentle, pretty girl she used to be; instead, she had become fresh and radiant...

Li Jing's heart tightened... He stared at her silently.

Mo Yi, however, was still clueless, her eyes filled with shyness but mostly curiosity.

They looked at each other for a moment, then smiled gently.

"There are still guests ahead, I have to go and entertain them. You... wait for me to come back."

Li Jing asked the stepmother-type author: What happened to the wedding night we were supposed to have?

(End of this chapter)