Too high to reach

Chapter 206 High Branches Are Hard to Climb
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Li Jing accompanied Mo Yi back to her parents' home.

Consort Tian's parents were not in the capital; today, her younger brother brought his family to visit her at the Prince's residence. Therefore, young Qianqian was unable to go out with the couple.

Consort Feng said that relatives from her side would also come to visit Shao-ge'er. Actually, she just didn't want Shao-ge'er to go to the Mo family.

Li Jing planned to take Xiangxiang with her, since this was her maternal family's home.

But Mo Yi knew that Xiangxiang was sensitive and a little proud. The Mo family would definitely be a huge, chaotic place today. She wouldn't feel comfortable there, and with a sullen face, everyone would feel awkward.

"Xiangxiang, do you want your father to go to the Mo family, or do you want to go back to the Zhou family to play with Aunt Jiu?" Mo Yi asked quietly.

"I want to go see Aunt Jiu!" Li Xiangling said without hesitation, then asked, "But what about Father..."

"I'll go talk to him."

After speaking with Li Jing, he was a little dissatisfied, "She has never been to the Mo family, this is not in accordance with the rules."

But Mo Yi nudged him and said softly, "There will definitely be a lot of people at my house today, and it's a small place. Xiangxiang isn't familiar with the Mo family, and she'll definitely be nervous if she goes there and gets surrounded by everyone. Let's choose a day that isn't a holiday and take her there again so she can get used to it. Let's drop Xiangxiang off at the Zhou family's house first, and then pick her up later."

Li Jing said calmly, "Whatever you want."

The Mo family was indeed bustling with activity; even the great-aunt from Tongzhou had brought her whole family. It was quite a large family, including her grandchildren.

In the past, when we received New Year's gifts from the Mohists, we would reciprocate with them.

This year is completely different; her family has become wealthy!

I just had a private chat with Ms. Wang for a while... We're both glad we didn't do anything foolish back then.

At this moment, Xu Ke and Mo Wen arrived.

When Wang saw the seemingly perfect couple, she couldn't stop smiling.

She said to Mo Ruhai, "Master, you chat with your son-in-law first, I'd like to have a word with Wenwen."

He grabbed the ink-patterned object and dragged it back into his room. "Oh my, the Xu family sent so many New Year's gifts the other day! The food and household items were all top-quality. They were so kind! Our return gifts were really not enough. Your uncle even added couplets."

She helped Mo Wen sit down, looking her up and down. "Tsk, this hair ornament is so beautiful! It must be incredibly expensive. The clothes are pretty too... Oh, my daughter!" She wanted to ask her daughter why there was still no news about her pregnancy, but she didn't dare...

“Uncle’s calligraphy is indeed excellent!” Mo Wen sat comfortably and took a sip of tea. “It’s the same calligraphy that’s pasted up in Great-Grandma’s and Grandma’s courtyards. As for the New Year’s goods, my husband personally had them added…” A gentle smile appeared on her face.

"Your son-in-law is so good to you! How are things going, everything is alright?"

"Don't worry, your daughter is doing well."

Wang looked at Mo Wen, who remained as radiant and composed as ever. Only… the slight arrogance she once possessed seemed to have diminished somewhat. But being a married woman was certainly different from being a maiden in her boudoir.

"Your mother's knowledge is limited, and I don't know what to teach you. But in this household, your mother-in-law and son are the most important. In my opinion, Xu Ke is a person who cares about face and follows the rules. As long as you are favored by both of your mothers-in-law, he won't treat you badly!"

"Yes," Mo Wen replied softly, but in her heart she was thinking: Why would my mother say such things? Did she see something?

Looking back on these days... her relationship with Xu Ke wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either.

Logically speaking... newlyweds, even if their feelings are not exactly sweet and harmonious, shouldn't a normal young man's sex life be passionate and frequent?
But he...

After consummating their marriage, they didn't do much sex...

It only happens once in a while, depending on some particular mood.

One day, for some reason, I suddenly had an intense urge to do that, so I moved closer to him...

And he, surprisingly, silently hid away.

She rejected herself!

I was so embarrassed at the time, I wished I could disappear into the crack of the bed.

She couldn't control her emotions at all, and not wanting to cry or make a scene in front of him, she got out of bed and went to the inner room.

She sat in front of the bath stool, holding her face in her hands, for a long time, wearing only a single layer of clothing.

Her whole body was ice-cold when Xu Ke came over, looking at her with extremely cold eyes.

He said, "I'm very tired and need to rest. If we're disturbing each other, I'll just set up a bed in the study." Mo Wen immediately thought of her parents and was so shocked that she almost collapsed to the ground. Tears streamed down her face as she asked him in despair, "You...you want to separate from me?"

Perhaps because she looked so pitiful, Xu Ke sighed, "I really need to rest. There's still a whole day to go. Today... I won't say anything more. Go to sleep." With that, he turned and left.

Mo Wen quickly wiped away her tears and followed Xu Ke out; Xu Ke was already lying down.

That night, Mo Wen didn't sleep, she didn't even dare to turn over... Was she going to follow in her parents' footsteps?
But... when my father did things that didn't please my mother, she would have a big fight with him, and that's how we five were born!

But I can only lie here, not even daring to cry.

So, is it really that hard to climb such a high branch?

Xu Ke left early the next morning. She, however, lived in constant fear and anxiety…

But when Xu Ke returned home that evening, he gave her a very expensive hair ornament, the one in her hair.

He said sincerely, "Yesterday, I was in a bad mood and shouldn't have treated you that way. Please don't blame me, my wife."

Although he did make amends.

Although, the two of them had sex afterward.

Although he remained as gentle and generous as ever towards me...

But the underlying premise is that she doesn't interfere, doesn't talk much, and doesn't make demands.

This made Mo Wen even more apprehensive, and she became even more determined to cling to Old Madam Xu's coattails.

He began to learn Buddhist rituals, chanting and copying scriptures from Madam Xu.

Seeing that she was so young yet so composed, Madam Xu was very pleased and was willing to teach her.

After the Buddhist rituals were completed, I would tell her about human relationships, court politics, and household management.

Expensive items are given away casually.

This angered and jealous her two sisters-in-law, who wanted to cause her trouble, but were stopped by Madam Xu.

"Both mothers-in-law treat their daughter very well. The daughter has learned a lot from being with the old ladies. She has also developed some new ideas about her dowry. Mother, it seems that Mo Yi is actually better than her daughter in this regard."

Fortunately, I had asked her for the account books beforehand. When the old lady mentioned this, she was particularly pleased to see that her daughter knew so much about it. She even said that after studying for a while longer, she would let me see the properties under her name!

"Amitabha!" Madam Wang smiled, revealing a full set of teeth. "The old lady is truly a living Bodhisattva! Daughter! You've got it all! Let me tell you, don't be fooled by men's pretentious act... in reality, they're all opportunistic! What they like most are women who can bring them benefits!"

"Good Wenwen, that old lady has quite a lot of businesses. Here's a little something for you, and Xu Ke won't dare to underestimate you!"

“He won’t look down on his daughter…” Mo Wen smiled: He will only ignore me.

"Mother, aren't you and Father going to the Xu family tomorrow? Mo Yi and the Prince are going."

"Mother really wants to go! But, these in-laws aren't as close as regular relatives. Your father said: 'Just be polite and courteous on a regular basis; there's no need to be too overly friendly.' He's worried that too much contact might lead to something impolite, which could directly affect you, and that would be counterproductive. We're planning to go to the Liang family tomorrow. We've made an appointment with your aunt..."

"Are we going to the Marquis of Jing'an's residence?"

"No, we're going to the Liang family. We're all commoners, and we're nervous about going to the Marquis's mansion to see those noble ladies. We'll go when Liang You holds his investiture banquet."

As the mother and daughter were talking, the old woman called from outside: "Madam, the Prince has returned with our Princess!"

"Hey, Wenwen, come quick!" Wang Shi pulled Mo Wen out the door.

"Don't be fooled by men's pretentious act... they're all materialistic too! What they like most are women who can bring them benefits!"

Anyone else feel the same way?

"In-laws, it's better to keep in touch with ordinary relatives. Your father said: 'Just be polite and considerate on a regular basis, there's no need to be too overly enthusiastic.' The problem is that if we have too much contact, we might say or do something impolite, which would directly affect you, and then it would be a loss."

Anyone else feel the same way?

Oh dears, I've already uttered such profound truths, the next chapter will probably be late...

Hehe, I really can't write it out because my head is full of mush.