Too high to reach

Chapter 239 As a Princess
Mo Yi did not personally greet the Wang family members.

Instead, he sat and drank tea with Mrs. Liang, chatting.

"The adoption has been completed, the family tree has been changed, and now... Liang You is Madam's son," Mrs. Liang said gently.

Although she understood and supported the matter, it still hurt her to say those words.

“I’m doing this so that Brother Liangyou can rightfully inherit the title,” Mo Yi comforted softly. “Brother Liangyou has always been very filial to you, and he won’t forget you. The Lady of the Marquis is a woman of great wisdom; she won’t be bothered by things like who the Marquis’s mother is… such petty squabbles in the inner quarters. So, you can rest assured.”

Mrs. Liang nodded: "I understand. The Liang family had a dispute before and had little contact for many years. This incident has brought all the families together. Apart from two people of bad character who came to the Marquis's mansion with Liang You, the others have all been properly arranged. As a result, the Liang family is even more prosperous. The Marquis's wife is indeed as wise as Her Majesty said."

"Brother Liang You is of good character, calm and capable. He will surely lead the Liang family to greater heights."

"Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness. The banquet for the succession of the title will be held on the second day of the second lunar month. We invite Your Highness and Your Highness to attend the ceremony together."

"If Your Highness has time, I will go. I will definitely go."

Mrs. Liang smiled, then her smile faded: "His wedding... is on February 18th."

"Hmm." Mo Yi's smile also faded slightly.

There are gains and losses; it seems no one can escape them. That county princess is not worthy of Liang You! And he can't get rid of her...

He sighed inwardly, but couldn't bring himself to say it.

“That day, I went to the Marquis’s residence to take a look. They hadn’t made any preparations for the wedding…” Mrs. Liang felt uneasy.

That was her eldest son, a major life event, yet she handled it so hastily.

“I prepared a lot of things for Liang You’s wedding before, things that I had been looking for for many years, but You-ge’er wouldn’t let me take them with me…” Mrs. Liang said with great regret.

Mo Yi patted her hand: "This marriage was forced upon us by higher-ups. Madam's original plans and ideas are no longer valid. We still have to rush to marry her into the family. We have no idea how she feels! You don't need to worry about it. Save all the good things for Xin Xin and her brothers."

"That's what Xin Xin's father said too, but... why is it that You Ge'er is doing so well, but his marriage is going so wrong?" She looked at the shop that Mo Yi owned.

Even with the prince's support, she still needs to be capable herself. This girl is smart and has a good temperament. Her son likes her. She's close to her, and Xin Xin likes her too. What a wonderful daughter-in-law...

Life is full of disappointments... Thinking of this, Mrs. Liang's eyes reddened.

"There are some things you can't understand. You should just focus on taking care of Uncle Liang and your younger siblings!"

Mrs. Liang smiled again, "Your Majesty is right."

After the initial excitement subsided, even when Mo Yi went to the shop, unless someone important came, she would stay upstairs with the inventory list, considering the next batch of goods.

A lot of new and interesting materials were delivered from outside, and we had to listen to the delivery people explain the features of these things.

Finally, you need to come up with a mental picture of what you can do.

Back home, there were still some stones to process.

I'm so busy every day that I can't even eat on time.

In the evening, after taking a bath, she collapsed onto the bed and needed the maids to massage her to recover. Fortunately, one of the four maids that Zhao Mama had given her was skilled in massage.

That day, Li Jing returned. He had said he would be gone for five or six days, but he didn't come back until eight or nine days later.

"How's the big business going?" he asked with a smile when he saw Mo Yi.

Now, Mo Yi was quite pleased with herself. She recounted the situation of the past few days, saying, "Luckily, we were well prepared. Even so, we still ran out of a lot of stock! These days, I haven't been able to manage the shop's affairs. I have to think of new designs for the next batch of goods."

Li Shi surveyed the messy study...

He sat down behind the desk and picked up the things Mo Yi had made, the drawings.

Finally, she shook her head. "This can't go on! You're a princess, not a craftswoman. Even a craftswoman can't run a shop all by herself. How tiring would that be?"
Besides, as a princess, you have responsibilities. You need to attend to social obligations outside. And then there are my subordinates… As a princess, you also need to be concerned about their family affairs. Currently, Consort Feng handles the family matters, but sooner or later they will be in your hands. There's also the estate left by the Empress Dowager… and… me. You also need to take care of those things…”

Mo Yi sat there blankly, her face turning red from Li Jing's words. "Your Highness is right... I didn't think things through."

"Your strength lies in your thinking. Have Granny Zhao find you a few reliable people, talk to them, and see if they can keep up with you. Then we can make further plans."

"I understand..." After the initial excitement, the shop indeed stabilized as Zhao Mama had predicted. It wasn't as bustling as it had been a few days ago, but it was still much better than expected.

Once the situation stabilized, he calculated the manpower he needed and then conveyed the prince's intentions to Granny Zhao.

Granny Zhao completely agreed, "I've thought so for a long time... You can't be too focused on this shop. There's so much else to do. You must never forget that you are the Princess."

On the first day of the second lunar month, as the princess, Mo Yi had to go to the palace to pay her respects.

"You don't need to worry. For now, no matter what, they won't make things difficult for you openly."

In the morning, Li Jing saw Mo Yi getting dressed to go to the palace and offered her a few words of comfort.

"I know, please don't worry."

At the entrance to the Empress's courtyard, she encountered the Fourth Princess and the Ninth Princess.

The other princesses, some of whom were unwell and others who were pregnant, did not come.

The three met and exchanged only a polite greeting. The other two whispered something, ignoring Mo Yi.

Mo Yi wasn't embarrassed and silently walked inside.

A lady-in-waiting from the Empress's side came out and said, "Please wait a moment, Your Majesties. The Empress is speaking with the Crown Princess."

Mo Yi looked around and wondered why the female official Ning from before was nowhere to be seen.
The group stood in the courtyard for a while before the female official invited them inside.

The Empress seemed to be in low spirits today, her expression indifferent. She said a few polite words and then dismissed them, saying, "Go and see the Empress Dowager."

The Crown Princess walked with Mo Yi. "I heard your shop is very popular."

Mo Yi smiled and said, "At first, it was mostly sisters I knew who went, and it was quite lively when we got together. You should go and have a look when you have some free time."

"When I was still a young lady, I was quite enthusiastic about these things. But now, there are endless things to do and people to see every day. Even going out requires a large entourage. It's hard to find a moment of leisure."

These words made Mo Yi a little embarrassed. It seemed that the prince was right...

Upon arriving at the entrance of the Empress Dowager's palace, the nannies who came out to greet them immediately smiled and invited them inside.

The Empress Dowager, dressed in magnificent robes, was watering her flowers with a small watering can.

Seeing them come in, he quickly put down the kettle.

"Hey, what brings you all here today?"

"Grandmother, the granddaughters-in-law gathered at the Empress Dowager's place before coming together to pay their respects to you," the Crown Princess said with a smile.

"Please sit down, please sit down. Is there something to arrange with the Empress?"

The Crown Princess said, "She only told us to take good care of the master at home, and nothing else. Grandmother, the weather is getting warmer, but the spring rains haven't fallen yet, so it's a bit dry. Please drink more warm water."

“You’re the best. You know how to care for your grandmother. Hmm… this…” The Empress Dowager looked at Mo Yi, “She, who is she?”

Mo Yi was pointed at and quickly stood up.

“Grandmother, this is Qilang’s wife. They just got married before the New Year,” the Crown Princess said on her behalf.

"Grandmother, my maiden name is Mo," Mo Yi said shyly.

"Oh, oh, oh. Seventh Brother's wife, I remember now! Oh dear, what a terrible memory I have! You all shouldn't always come on the first day of the month; come and keep this old woman company whenever you have free time!"

"Yes," several people responded.

"Grandmother, please don't find us annoying. Hmm, where's Miss Xiangqing? Why haven't we seen her today?" The Fourth Princess Consort loved gossip. She guessed that the Empress Dowager had a plan in mind for keeping this grandniece in the palace.

"Xiang Qing, that girl... said she has class today."

"Oh, where do you have classes?" the Fourth Princess continued to ask.

There were no princesses of marriageable age in the palace, so there weren't many classes scheduled. Where could they take classes then?
When Mo Yi saw the Empress Dowager, although she was still smiling, there was a fleeting hint of impatience in her eyes.