Too high to reach

Chapter 347 So-called Ability

After the banquet, King Qi and his wife returned home.

A group of people were already waiting in the front study, and they started working as soon as they got home.

Pigeons flew up and down, and messengers and various officials came and went in a constant stream.

The busy schedule highlighted the importance and tension of this trip.

An official who left from here secretly went to the Yong'an Prince's residence. At this moment, the Yong'an Prince's front study, although not as lively as the Qi Prince's residence, was still quite crowded.

The visitor was led into a small room, and shortly after, Prince Yong'an entered.

His expression was unusually cold today. "Speak!" he ordered without any formalities.

The man then recounted everything he had seen at the Prince of Qi's residence.

But these messages left Prince Yong'an somewhat confused. He stroked his chin, deep in thought: it seemed like he was going to suppress bandits, but it also seemed like there was something else going on. What was going on?
Sure enough, the news he received recently confirmed that there really was such a thing as the "King of Victory," and it was said that there were quite a few people involved and that they were quite capable of causing trouble.

But it seems to have appeared out of nowhere... everything seems suspicious.

If it doesn't work and the situation is unclear, then it should be treated more seriously.

He had money and ideas, and had long since trained a group of assassins. These people couldn't be easily exposed, so they were usually hidden away in various places.

Some people lay in wait at the places Li Jing was going to.

However, while he dared to send people to deal with Princess Yu'an, he would not confront Li Jing head-on unless absolutely necessary.

Li Jing knew little about his own background.

However, he himself did not know all the details about him.

Unable to leave Beijing, he could only keep a close watch and be prepared for anything that might go wrong, so he could quickly cut things off...

……

Zhou Dong's men stayed in the town near the villa, allowing them to deliver goods in and out of the villa.

Although we might not be able to meet the person every time, at least we've made a connection.

Anyway, there's not much we can do right now. Feng Liniang is doing well in terms of food and lodging, so there's nothing to worry about.

And he couldn't get her out!

He has official business during the day, and he also has to find time to go to the small courtyard in the suburbs, so he is quite busy all day long.

Just then, as he entered the door, a childhood friend arrived.

"Brother Dong, you didn't go out?" the man asked curiously.

"No, what's wrong?"

"I thought you were away on official business! You were at home... The prince summoned everyone for a meeting, why didn't you go?"

Zhou Dong's heart sank. "When did this happen?"

"This has happened several times already, didn't anyone tell you?" The friend didn't stand on ceremony and poured himself a cup of tea; he had just drunk some wine and was thirsty.

"Oh, I... I went out a few days ago." Zhou Dong's back was sweating.

"I knew it! You didn't know the Prince was going out?"

Zhou Dong is now a proper official, and his daily official business is not so closely related to the Qi Prince's Mansion.

However, these people were considered members of the Prince Qi's household, so returning to the mansion was like returning home.

I go there every now and then. When there's work to do, I help out; when there's nothing to do, I eat with everyone and chat for a bit.

Sometimes when I see the prince, he will ask me about official business.

When Consort Feng learned of their arrival, she would send someone to inquire about matters at home and bring back some gifts for the family.

There was a lot of interaction.

But recently, he's been going less often.

He felt scared and awkward, especially after discovering that someone seemed to be investigating him.

"Where to? Cangzhou?"

"Huh? You really didn't know? You didn't know about something this big?!" the friend exclaimed in surprise.

Zhou Dong felt his face turn red, though it wasn't really noticeable since he had dark skin. But feeling awkward, he said impatiently, "How would you know how many things I have to do every day?"

At that moment, he realized that he had been left on the periphery!
My feelings were very complicated: fear, emptiness, shame, grievance, and even some resentment.

Realizing her tone had been too harsh, she softened it slightly, saying, "I've been really busy lately. My sister-in-law wasn't feeling well the other day, so I haven't been able to go back much."

"Is that so? No wonder I didn't call you for something so important..."

"...When will Your Highness leave?"

"We're leaving early the day after tomorrow, and we don't even know how long we'll be gone! Sigh, we're leaving again. I hope it won't be like before, where we'd be gone for years... The prince is in the manor, and although we're very busy, it's quite interesting." The friend muttered to himself.

"This time they're taking Chief Meng and the others along, and also Liu Fang and Lao Yuan. Looks like this is going to be big! Heh, I'm so envious. When they get back, Liu Fang and the others will be making a name for themselves again." He looked quite longing.

“If you weren’t so busy, the Prince would definitely take you along. You’re the best at what Liu Fang does! You’re much more capable than him! Hmph…”

These words really hit Zhou Dong where it hurts...

"After all this talk, you still haven't said what the prince went to do."

"Hey, you don't know? Those who weren't involved were only given instructions at home. How could they tell us what they were doing?"

Actually, he wasn't completely unaware. But this person was quite tight-lipped, and he originally thought the prince had other plans for Zhou Dong, so he decided to come and see for himself.

Upon closer inspection, it turns out it's not that complicated after all!
So he stopped talking.

"Huh?" His friend suddenly remembered something, turned to look at him, and blinked: "It's the Fourteenth Prince's wedding today! I even spent half the day helping out, crashing the banquet, and getting some wedding money. How come Zhou Dong didn't even go?"

What happened?

But he was too embarrassed to ask again.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Dong asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. The prince told everyone to keep a close watch on the gates, follow the rules, and do what they're supposed to do. Dong-ge, um... are you alright?"

"What's wrong? Why do you ask that..." Zhou Dong tried to appear calm, but he was actually feeling guilty.

I haven't seen you much lately.

Zhou Dong's thoughts shifted, and he sighed, saying, "I feel that things in the manor have been quite complicated these past few days, and it's been difficult to handle things properly. So, I'm avoiding them."

"What do you mean?" my friend asked.

“Look… Consort Feng, we grew up together.”

"You mean this? Sigh... It really hurts to know. She's usually so thoughtful, how could she make such a big mistake?"

"Well, that's hard to say," Zhou Dong said in a subdued tone.

My friend shook his head and sighed, but didn't say anything else.

Zhou Dong was unwilling to let the conversation end, "Look, your sister-in-law came back before me. Everything she had to do was arranged by Consort Feng – the house, the servants, the firewood, the rice, the oil, and the salt."

Your sister-in-law trusted, respected, and was very grateful to her. Now, she tells me all the good things about her every day, and says she's been wronged. I heard this when I came back; she's been so good to everyone all these years. Now she's ended up like this… it's really hard for her to accept.”

Upon hearing this, his friend quickly realized what was going on and sincerely advised, "Brother Dong... what you're saying is both right and wrong. I acknowledge that Feng Liniang is very kind to everyone. But don't forget, she's doing this on behalf of the Prince."

"Take the things she arranged for you, like a courtyard and household necessities—aren't those all the prince's property? When Feng Liniang first entered the manor, she didn't even have a proper set of clothes! How could she possibly have the resources to arrange all that? Wasn't it all the prince's money?!"

"Don't say that. She has to have the will!" Zhou Dong retorted.

Her friends disagreed, saying, "It's precisely because she had the heart and was so meticulous in everything that the Prince put her in charge of the household and made her a concubine! She even gave birth to the Prince's eldest son. What a prestigious life! Did she expect to have it for nothing?!"

"If that's the case, then what did the princess do? Why does the prince value her so much?"

"Brother Dong..." his friend said incredulously, "This is the prince's private matter! How he treats his own wives and concubines is none of anyone else's business. The prince doesn't care whether you and your sister-in-law are doing well or not, does he?"

Furthermore, considering what Feng Liniang did, this punishment is quite lenient. Tens of thousands of taels of silver… If we all did that, what would the Prince's mansion be like?”

Zhou Dong felt uncomfortable from his thrusts and said guiltily, "...But didn't they all come back?"

"That's strange! Zhou Dong, you're a government official now. If you embezzled money and then returned it, you can just pretend nothing happened?"

Zhou Dong couldn't refute it, but he didn't want to listen, so he kept a sullen face.

The other person was puzzled: Zhou Dong was the smartest and most capable among them, and held a relatively high position, with a clearly better future than them. So why was he saying these things?

Oh! I understand...

He and Feng Liniang almost got together back then! Could it be that he still has feelings for her now?

This is not possible!

"Brother Dong, don't be foolish! That's the prince's family matter, it has nothing to do with you. Don't say these things again."

"...Okay. I'll stop now."

"Alright, I'm leaving now. Let's chat again sometime!"

"Stay for a couple of drinks?"

"Next time!"

It's May Day, and the weather is so nice.

I don't want to type, I want to go out and play...

The next chapter only has 100 words... What should I do?
The kids are all out playing and don't have time to read articles, right?