Too high to reach

Chapter 390 Let's Apologize
"Your Highness?!" Mo Yi exclaimed, her voice tinged with surprise and delight.

Let everyone calm down.

Li Jing, he's back?

The Emperor blushed slightly, looking at his son who had returned from afar with a mixture of surprise and understanding.

The man was dark-skinned and thin, his complexion not very good, but his aura was different. His domineering presence was tempered with composure… he seemed to have overcome a difficult journey, but achieved a satisfactory outcome… The Emperor felt uneasy…

Why couldn't that "ox" deal with him...? The Empress was both anxious and afraid. If he was alright, what had he been doing during his long disappearance?
This is bad! What do we do now?
The Empress Dowager's momentary lapse in attention was quickly followed by her return to normal. Princess Yu'an sighed inwardly at her bad luck, but she couldn't back down now. She straightened her back and coldly stared at Li Jing.

Everyone's thoughts flashed by in an instant. Mo Yi staggered and lunged towards Li Jing.

"Your Majesty!"

Li Jing wasn't one to show his emotions openly, especially not in public. But looking at his young wife, who had endured and done so much while he was away, and now, after being frightened and wronged, she rushed towards him with joy and her already showing baby bump…

A feeling of tenderness and affection welled up from his heart. He quickly stepped forward, reached out his hands, and embraced her.

The scene was so poignant and breathtaking... it almost made one feel embarrassed to look at it.

Mo Yi held her husband, smelling the familiar scent, feeling his warm and strong chest, and listening to his powerful heartbeat.

“You’re finally back…” she murmured softly.

"How are you? Are you injured?" Li Jing asked with a peculiar emotion.

Looking at his son, whom he hadn't heard from in a long time... the emperor wanted to have a sip of tea, or stroke his chin, or at least find something to keep him occupied and calm, but in the end he just sat there without moving...

Ostensibly it's about suppressing bandits, but what they've been up to behind the scenes is still not fully known! But the Emperor is aware of the chaos over there.

Now that he's back, he must have... accomplished something remarkable.

Then, just then, we, the elders and those in power, were "bullying" his pregnant wife.

That's not good...

Looking at the various expressions on the faces of the people around him, the Emperor coughed softly. He then noticed that the two were still together…

In front of so many people, is it really necessary?! He coughed forcefully again!

"Seventh Prince!" the Emperor said, displeased.

"Are you alright?!" Li Jing asked again with concern.

Mo Yi released him, raised her hand, and showed him the fingers that had just been broken...

"...Ahem," the Emperor was speechless and embarrassed, secretly blaming Mo Yi: So clueless...

Perhaps the Empress Dowager was also nervous, for she casually asked, "Who is this big, dark-skinned guy?"

In the past, when she asked this question, those around her would always smile and make excuses for her. But in this kind of situation, the servants accompanying her dared not utter a sound.

The Empress and the Princess had no intention of covering for her. Consort Liang lowered her head, wiping away her tears and pretending not to hear.

So, the Empress Dowager was left standing here.

After a light laugh, Li Jing said, "Just now, Your Majesty was clear-headed and spoke logically, even knowing how to use torture to extract confessions! How come you've become confused again now? Your timing is just right."

"Huh?! What did you say?" The Empress Dowager continued to play dumb.

"Li Jing...don't be presumptuous!" the Emperor reprimanded him weakly.

Releasing Mo Yi, Li Jing bowed to her and said, "I have some questions for you in a moment..." Then he handed her to Hongyan beside him. He stood there for a moment, looking around at the group of people, and everyone felt a wave of pressure.

Then, he lightly tucked his robes, walked up to the Emperor, and knelt on one knee. “Father, I have completed my mission and returned to the court. When I entered the palace, I delivered a brief report on this trip to your study.”

"Good. How did things go?" The Emperor's expression softened. "It's said you fell into the river and haven't been heard from since. That was several months ago. Why didn't you send a message back?"

"The situation is somewhat complicated. This is official business, and I will report back to you in detail later. Father, let's resolve this matter first?"

"...Alright. Today, the process was somewhat dangerous, but nothing serious happened. Just ask around and find out the truth..." The Emperor decided to back down.

"Let your son ask your daughter-in-law first." "...Go ahead."

Li Jing turned back, helped Mo Yi walk outside, and then turned back to the others and said, "Please wait a moment, I'll be right back."

Everyone stared at each other, wide-eyed: "So they're not letting us leave?!"
The emperor was so angry that his beard stood on end.

The couple walked hand in hand to the outer corridor of the palace. "Your Highness! Why haven't we heard from you for so long? Granny Zhao said you were definitely alright, but I was really worried..." Mo Yi's tears flowed freely.

“The situation over there is more complicated than I imagined. We transferred Zhao’s army there from over a thousand miles away, but the time was short and the situation is unclear. In addition, we are short-handed and worried that our messages would be intercepted and our whereabouts would be revealed. I will tell you about these things later. I know more about what’s going on at home.” He smiled bitterly, “I never thought that things at home would be so complicated and dangerous… It makes my heart tremble.”

He held onto Mo Yi, feeling a lingering fear.

"Let's put all that aside for now! Yi Yi, let me ask you, there's a piece of paper in your study with a drawing of a pink diamond on it, and the word 'Ming' is engraved on it. Where did you see that thing?"

He looked at Mo Yi, excited and nervous, waiting for her answer without even taking a breath.

Mo Yi thought for a moment, "You must be referring to Princess Yu'an. She took it home and had me weave a net, and afterwards I drew it..." Before she could finish speaking, she saw the expression on Li Jing's face: ferocious, furious, filled with boundless hatred, his teeth clenched, like a tiger poised to pounce and tear its prey apart.

"Your Highness?! What's wrong?" Mo Yi was startled and quickly shook him gently.

Li Jing closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down. Her voice trembled as she said, "I'll tell you later."

"Your Highness, today I had an argument with the princess..." Mo Yi briefly explained.

As soon as the two of them left, the Empress knew things wouldn't end well today. She immediately said, "Your Majesty, you saw what happened just now. Mo Yi couldn't explain herself and even protected her maid, showing complete panic. Therefore, Yu An must have been the one to fall into the water." Tears streamed down her face.

"But look at Li Jing, she acts like she doesn't care about the truth and is making all the decisions! You know her personality, she doesn't respect anyone. She acts like the whole world owes her something!"

The Empress's chest heaved as she wiped away tears with her handkerchief, her voice filled with grievance and helplessness. "For so long, even you haven't heard from him. I have no idea what merit he has achieved..."

But... Your Majesty, if he insists on supporting Mo Yi... I beg Your Majesty, please protect Yu An! This poor child, she's getting married in a few days..."

Outside the door, Mo Yi whispered to Li Jing, "Princess Yu'an is very likely pregnant. I just tricked her into letting the imperial physician take her pulse. Then I subtly guided the physician to reveal the truth, but the princess resolutely refused. In a moment, you'll need to think of a way to get rid of this shameful secret..."

“No.” Li Jing gripped her hand tightly. “Don’t rush… Her matter can’t be as simple as just a scandal. Let’s talk about it later…”

It seems there's quite a bit to say "later." Mo Yi nodded, "I'll do whatever you say."

Sure enough, Li Jing pulled Mo Yi back, carefully pressed her down into a chair, and then stood in the middle of the hall. He gave off an air of, "Come at me with whatever you want, I've got the princess under my protection."

The Emperor found it extremely displeasing.

"Are you saying that my princess pushed you into the water?" Li Jing asked, pointing directly at Princess Yu'an.

"It's not that I'm saying this, it's just the truth!" Princess Yu'an, having nowhere else to retreat, said firmly, "Li Jing, we are all Father's children, don't even think about riding on my head!"

"But my queen says that you yourself were dissatisfied with the marriage and didn't want to marry General Niu, who is as strong as an ox. That's why you tried to kill yourself. Then, you even tried to frame and humiliate her while I was in a precarious situation! You wanted to cause her to miscarry. How do you explain that?"

"Father!" Princess Yu'an interrupted him, "Look at what he and Mo Yi are saying! They were almost finished investigating just now! He came here and immediately started protecting her without even knowing the facts, and even slandered me. Father, if I didn't want to marry, I could have refused. Why would I do this? This is completely illogical!"

They'll stop at nothing to harm their daughter! Father, you must do justice for your daughter! I almost didn't get to see you again!

Princess Yu'an ignored Li Jing and directly asked the Emperor to make a decision for her.

But what she didn't know was that ever since Li Jing returned, the Emperor no longer wanted to deal with the matter and wanted to smooth things over and let it go.

He has a headache...

"Alright, alright! It's not a big deal. We're all siblings, why make such a fuss? Do you have any royal demeanor? You are supported by the whole country, so you should have the bearing of an emperor!"

Regardless, your sister-in-law is pregnant, so just go along with her. Alright, apologize to your seventh sister-in-law, and that'll be the end of it.

"..." Empress.

"..." Princess Yu'an.

"..." Empress Dowager.

"The wedding is just around the corner, so you'd better be careful this time and don't cause any more trouble," the Emperor added...

(End of this chapter)