Too high to reach

Chapter 342 Abandoned
Princess Yu'an was so angry that she trembled.

He didn't go to the back to see the Crown Princess, but got directly into the carriage.

She was breathing rapidly, filled with resentment, and wiping away her tears with a handkerchief.

They came to see him out of kindness, but he had this ulterior motive!

Useless thing, gets flustered at the slightest trouble.

I am his only younger sister. To help him gain connections and make money, she is forced to marry a rough, widower... How is this any different from selling me?

How could someone so incompetent become emperor?

How did Li Jing protect her elder brother back then?

He was almost killed by his father, the emperor, for beating Li Zhen!
And what about you? It's ridiculous that you think you've done so much for me!

She still vividly remembered searching for the Crown Prince at the western outskirts camp, encountering those men with a foul odor at his palace… all tall and burly, behaving rudely. One mouth, a mouthful of broken, yellow teeth…

The way he looks at people...

If it weren't for the Crown Prince's sake, they would have been beaten to death!

No, could this be the Empress Dowager's idea?
In a moment, she was filled with a mix of excitement, anger, and sorrow... She had suffered so much, yet her mother still blamed her for disgracing the Crown Prince, showing no pity whatsoever...

Indeed, no one in this world can be relied upon.

Those wounds initially caused her excruciating pain. Later, when the wounds healed, they were intensely itchy, and scratching them only aggravated the pain.

She twisted and turned, but it didn't help.

She was furious. Looking at her personal maid sitting quietly in front of her, she shouted, "Stop the car!"

The car stopped.

"You two get out of here."

The two maids, already used to the princess's eccentricities, quickly got out of the carriage.

She quickly stood up, lifted her skirt, wrapped her hand in a handkerchief, and gently scratched the wound.

It took a while before I felt a little better.

This, however, stirred something else within her, reminding her of Xu Ke…

Let's not even talk about how beautiful and youthful she is. With that kind of background, wouldn't she be able to have any man she wants just by snapping her fingers?
Why did I have to go through all this?
He angrily called to the guard driving the carriage and gave him an address.

She's going to find Xu Ke!

Without calling for any maids, the carriage rumbled away. The two maids couldn't catch up, but if they didn't serve the carriage closely, they wouldn't survive if something else happened. They chased after it, crying as they went.

The carriage traveled for a while and then stopped. Princess Yu'an lifted the curtain and saw that they had arrived at Xu Ke's duty station.

She told the guard, "You! Go in and find Xu Ke directly. Tell him I'm waiting for him here. If he doesn't come out, I'll go in! Then everyone will know about him and me!"

It's full of threats.

The guard driving the carriage was the same one who had accompanied her to the western suburban camp last time; he knew best about their affair.

They were only responsible for relaying messages, not for thinking. Once they got off the carriage, they went inside.

He came out a short while later, looking puzzled.

"your Highness?"

Princess Yu'an lifted the curtain. "What, he still won't come out?"

Unable to contain his anger, he prepared to get out of the car and rush inside.

"Your Highness, the people inside say that Lord Xu resigned from his post three days ago."

"What did you say?" Princess Yu'an was taken aback. "He resigned from his official post?"

"Yes. He submitted his resignation and left. He never came back."

Princess Yu'an was momentarily stunned, for she knew that Xu Ke was extremely obsessed with his future.

His elder brother, the Crown Prince, helped him enter officialdom, and he himself was quite capable, making every step well. In such a short time, he has already surpassed others by several years!

He had just taken this position, and he actually resigned?

why?
She stood frozen in the car.

……

Granny Zhao was telling Mo Yi about the investigation into Zhou Dong.

“These days, things have been quite normal. He goes about his work, goes home, and meets up with colleagues and old friends. Judging from what Feng Liniang did, Zhou Dong wasn’t in the capital at the time, nor did he have the ability. So, it shouldn’t have been his problem. But since his wife returned to the capital, Feng Liniang has been taking extra care of her. The courtyard she lives in now costs only half the market price. Moreover, the servants say that his wife always speaks up for Feng Liniang, saying that she was wronged. Zhou Dong has never stopped her.”

"Another strange thing is that after Zhou Dong returned, he rented a courtyard in the suburbs and settled a few teenagers there. I heard from the people around that they studied literature and martial arts with their master every day. But after Feng Liniang's accident, the courtyard became empty."

"Where did the boy come from?"

"Some of them were bought."

Mo Yi frowned slightly: "These all require money. Zhou Dong is an orphan with no family fortune. He worked his way up from the bottom, and his salary has to support his family. Even if the prince is lenient with him, it's not easy for him to live the life he has now. How can he arrange these things? Feng Liniang gave him the money, right?"

"I asked Feng Liniang's brother-in-law, and he only said that he introduced someone to help buy a house, and that he didn't know anything else. His wife knows Zhou Dong's wife, but they don't know Zhou Dong..."

“Heh…” Mo Yi laughed, “If it’s just these things… the childhood friendship, Feng Liniang’s kindness to Zhou Dong’s family, and Zhou Dong helping the Prince’s concubine train people… in two years, Li Shaofeng will be able to use them. It’s not too outrageous.” Mo Yi shook her head.

“Your Highness, you are mistaken. Zhou Dong is the Prince’s man; he can only do as the Prince orders,” said Granny Zhao.

That night, Li Jing returned to her room; it was already very late.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" He saw his young wife still sitting under the lamp waiting.

"I've been waiting for you... I wanted to tell you about Zhou Dong." She helped Li Jing change her clothes and shoes, and prepared her to wash up.

"What's wrong with him?" Li Jing asked, puzzled.

Mo Yi then told Li Jing some of the information that Granny Zhao had found out.

After listening, Li Jing snorted coldly, "I didn't expect him to be such a fool, not even knowing who he's on! My concubine, my son—without my permission, he's training people for them? It's utterly absurd!"

“I’m worried there’s something else going on.”

Li Jing sighed, "You know, the court is starting to become turbulent, which is full of opportunities. Originally, these people had been with me for many years and had all been tempered. Zhou Dong was one of the most outstanding among them, bold yet meticulous, and methodical in his work. It was the time for him to establish his career. He has ruined his own life. Originally..." He shook his head and didn't say anything more.

Zhou Dong was abandoned without his knowledge.

"Your Highness, has something important happened again?" Mo Yi asked, blinking.

"how do you know?"

"I've done some calculations..."

Li Jing put his arm around her and said, "There are a lot of important things to do. I need to go out in a few days."

"Cangzhou?"

"No. Liu Yue investigated the Prince of Yong'an and found some clues. The matter is not simple, and I have to go in person."

"Oh." Mo Yi accompanied Li Jing inside to wash up, helping him prepare hot water and get towels, her movements very practiced.

"The situation over there is the same as back home; there's land, mines, and temples. Basically, it's all about generating income and supporting people. That's incredible!"

"So, regarding the matter back home, he's the one in charge from above?"

"There's no explicit involvement, but... in any case, the money is key. Once we understand where it's going, it'll be easy to investigate. There are people investigating and doing all this. And I need to prepare to go over there..."

Seeing his expression, Mo Yi asked, "Isn't this quite dangerous?"

Li Jing turned to look at her, "That place was established earlier than your hometown, and it's larger and more organized. So, there are dangers there. It can lurk in the shadows, or it can easily stir up a huge storm. This isn't just about vying for power and profit; it's also about the safety of the court and the stability of the people."

"Since you've been away from the capital for so long, you'll probably have to mobilize a lot of troops. How will you explain this to the Emperor?"

After Li Jing finished washing up, she put her arm around Mo Yi and returned to the bedroom. "It's already in progress..."

……

Zhou Dong was a shrewd person and had already realized that someone was following him.

So he stayed put for so many days, not going anywhere.

We have already made contact with Feng Liniang.

In her letter, Feng Liniang only expressed regret that the incident happened so suddenly that she hadn't had time to do many things, leaving her in a very passive position.

She asked him to take care of Shao Ge'er, and also to help her find out news about the Prince's Mansion and to write to her whenever possible.

She also taught him how to speak well of her step by step when he met the prince, and how to move her from the mountain villa to a villa closer to the capital.

Finally, tell him that as long as he is patient and waits for the right opportunity, she will definitely have a chance to turn things around.

Even after all this, you can still remain so calm!
Looking at his wife, who nags about trivial matters all day long, he couldn't help but feel a deep admiration and respect for Feng Liniang...

Haha, I don't even know what I wrote, it got automatically deleted. Tsk tsk.

I've forgotten how I wrote it before, so I can't change it.