Too high to reach

Chapter 307 Fortunately, You Were There

After reading the letter, Li Jing said nothing.

He remained silent, with a deathly stillness in his expression.

Mo Yi felt a pang of heartache and reached out to take his hand.

The large, strong hands that were usually warm were now cold and damp. The feeling of touching them was unpleasant.

"Your Highness..." she said with regret.

Li Jing suddenly felt confused. He couldn't understand why he was experiencing all this, given his current status.
“Your Highness… Li Huan and Yu An are dark and disgusting. You will be in great pain knowing this. But that day, I suddenly felt very excited, as if Heaven had a good intention, bestowed an opportunity, and specially arranged for you to know the truth.”

Li Jing looked up at Mo Yi, her eyes red-rimmed.

"Look, it's such a coincidence! Every step was perfectly timed. And then, step by step, I kept going until I discovered the truth. A day off, or even an hour off. If I hadn't wanted to get involved, I would never have had the chance to find out."

At this moment, Li Jing only had eyes for his young wife...

Then she said, "Isn't this Heaven's pity for your loneliness?"

With just one word, tears welled up in Li Jing's eyes and slid down her cheeks...

Mo Yi took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped his face...

"Although you will experience pain as a result, isn't it also a kind of luck that gives you the opportunity to make peace with the past?"

Now, we can almost certainly conclude that the Empress Dowager, my eldest brother, and Sister Ming'an were all involved in the Empress's schemes. With this conclusion… let's trace back further: why did they do this, and how did they manage to do it?

Mo Yi shook her head slightly, gesturing and speaking as she pondered, regardless of Li Jing's current feelings.

"Granny Zhao mentioned a few things to me before. As the saying goes, those involved are often confused, and I was more of an observer."

Let me briefly summarize... at that time in the palace...

Consort Dong was endlessly favored by the Emperor. She was capricious and cruel, acting recklessly and without regard for consequences. She beat and harmed concubines and princesses, and even killed a prince. She didn't even respect her own mother, the Empress Dowager.

Li Zhen, the son of Consort Dong, was cherished by the Emperor. Even his name was chosen in this way…

"You almost crippled Li Zhen for your brother's sake, which enraged the Emperor..."

Hearing this, Li Jing nodded silently.

He would never forget the look in his father's eyes when he looked at him... it was clear that he had murderous intent.

"Furthermore: Empress Jiang and her son and daughter suffered greatly from bullying. It is said that Princess Yu'an at that time was timid and cowardly, and was often hungry and cold. Even the eunuchs and palace maids lived more comfortably than her. As for Li Huan, whether he could survive was unknown."

Empress Jiang once sought her mother's protection, but later she discovered that her mother... if it weren't for the Zhao family and her three children, she herself would probably be in grave danger.

His elder brother was only made crown prince due to special circumstances. Almost everyone believed that the emperor would eventually depose the crown prince and install Li Zhen in his place.

The Emperor is in poor health.

When Empress Dowager Qian's family encountered trouble, although the emperor treated them leniently, the Qian family's fate was tragic.

...Your Highness, these were the major premises at the time.

Empress Jiang needed a powerful patron to protect herself and secure a future for her children. Having failed to find a patron in her mother's favor, she turned to the Empress Dowager.

At this time, the Empress Dowager's maternal family was almost completely wiped out. She wasn't the Emperor's biological mother, and it's hard to guarantee that she wouldn't believe that if she were, she would have power and could have manipulated the Emperor to show mercy. Her family wouldn't have ended up like this. Therefore, she also desired power, and even wanted revenge…

When the Emperor fell ill, the Empress Dowager, who knew some kind of wise man, suggested that the Crown Prince leave the palace to pray for his recovery. It was all a scheme orchestrated by the Empress Dowager and the Empress within the palace.

Then, Empress Jiang's brother, together with that Taoist priest, took action outside.

Her elder brother and Princess Ming'an were assassinated while traveling. The Empress fell ill and was beyond cure…

The evidence clearly pointed to Consort Dong, whom the Emperor vehemently protected. But no one expected that Consort Dong and Li Zhen, whom the Emperor had openly imprisoned but secretly protected, would die. Meanwhile, all the evidence pointed to the Crown Princess, who also died, along with her unborn child. In the end… it was a lose-lose situation. Empress Jiang, Li Huan, and Princess Yu'an reaped the benefits, becoming the ultimate and biggest winners.

The Empress Dowager is feigning ignorance to avoid suspicion. The reason she's still sitting so comfortably is probably because she still has something in her hands, isn't it?

Li Jing kept his head slightly lowered, listening silently for a long time without uttering a sound.

But his hand was tightly holding Mo Yi's.

This seemingly invincible, iron-willed man, at this moment, was like a little baby. Obedient, docile, and with a hint of helplessness. He was filled with trust and attachment to the person before him.

"Your Highness, these methods are not particularly sophisticated. However, the design is very ingenious. They don't require much financial or human resources; just a few key people are enough to accomplish the goal."

Just like the deaths of Consort Dong and Li Zhen, the Empress Dowager has managed to stay in power until now; she must have her own people in the palace. She accomplished this with just a few people!
You and Granny Zhao failed to grasp the situation, perhaps because you never imagined that the Empress Dowager and Empress Jiang could join forces. It was as if Empress Jiang didn't exist in the palace. The two of them weren't close to begin with, and they didn't share any common interests! By the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late; all the witnesses and evidence had been destroyed.

The two were silent for a while.

Mo Yi added, "Princess Yu'an had an affair with another woman's husband and even caused her to miscarry. As for the Crown Prince... he always presented himself as kind and gentle. In reality, he was humble and sinister."

Their personalities are twisted, their methods are dirty, but they're very effective. It's the same as what happened before… So, it's them!

"This is a blessing from heaven. Your Highness, next, if we find evidence, we'll openly tear them to pieces. If we don't find evidence... with your abilities, you can still secretly make them wish they were dead!"

Mo Yi's face was filled with a fierce look. "Does that mean they can only harm and destroy people in secret, while we can't?"

Li Jing pulled Mo Yi close, hugging her tightly, and murmured, "My dear Yi Yi... do you know? You are a gift from heaven. The world is so treacherous it drives people crazy, but thankfully I have you..."

The two embraced tightly, listening to each other's heartbeats.

"Your Highness, there is something else..." After a long while, Mo Yi said in a low voice.

"What?" Li Jing released her.

"I originally planned to wait until Granny Zhao returned, discuss it with her, and then tell you..."

"Tell me now..." Li Jing looked at her gently.

“The cause of Princess Zhou’s death is questionable. I think it was someone else.” She paused.

"Go on..."

Mo Yi thought about it and decided to put aside the unreliable dream she had just had.

"Chuntao said that Afang had persuaded Princess Zhou to stay. For Xiangxiang's sake, she didn't intend to die right then and there. That's why she brought abortifacients and hid here. But she died."

There are several reasons. One is that the medication caused an abortion, which resulted in an accidental death. Another is that Li Huan and Yu An realized something was wrong and decided to kill each other to cover it up. And there's another one…”

Mo Yi looked at Li Jing and said, "Someone else did it."

"The first one..." Mo Yi shook her head: "I've read some casual books, and they all mention that women who die from childbirth or miscarriage usually bleed a lot... But the doctor's examination said it was an emergency, and Granny Zhao didn't mention any bleeding... I talked to Granny Wu, an old woman at the manor, and she didn't mention it either. So, it can't be this one."

Secondly, Princess Zhou was humiliated because she was drugged. She realized something was wrong as soon as she returned that day. She was filled with fear and regret, living in constant anxiety. She wouldn't bother to verify such a thing. Therefore, the Crown Prince probably doesn't know yet, so there's no question of him silencing her.

The last one... Your Highness, I suspect it's Ah Ling, the maidservant of Princess Zhou. However, there must be a significant reason why a servant would murder her master.

Chuntao said that A-Ling's mother also worked in Consort Zhou's courtyard, and she had seen... A-Ling's mother... getting very close to the people around Consort Feng.

"What did you say?" Li Jing was surprised once again.

Mo Yiping said calmly, "Chuntao ran from the clean room to the backyard and saw A-Ling returning from the front, looking nervous. Perhaps she overheard something. When Princess Zhou arrived here, she was so weak she could barely walk. She rested for two days before preparing to have an abortion."

That day, while Afang was preparing her medicine, Aling had the kitchen prepare pear soup. She went to get it herself, giving one portion each to Zhou Niangniang and Afang, but neither of them drank it. After Zhou Niangniang's accident, the pear soup was still left in the room where the medicine was being prepared. Could it be that Aling found an opportunity to add poison to the medicine again…?

Li Jing's face turned extremely ugly.

"Ah Ling was a first-class maidservant of Lady Zhou. If she harmed her mistress, she must have gained a great benefit from elsewhere. After Lady Zhou died, Ah Ling and her mother redeemed themselves and left the manor. It is said that she married a wealthy merchant and went to another place, and then there was no news of her. It's just unknown whether she really married and became a lady of the house, or whether she was silenced..."