Too high to reach

Chapter 391 Not a Waste of Time
Supporting his wife, Li Jing and Mo Yi boarded the carriage to return to the mansion.

In the carriage, Li Jing gently embraced Mo Yi. The anger, hatred, and impulse to strangle the Empress and Princess on the spot had all subsided.

There was only a faint warmth... After returning it, he actually felt a sense of "completeness".

The dawn is breaking; we must not act rashly.

“Your Highness, Mo Yi was too reckless today… At the time, I don’t know why, I couldn’t control my temper. I looked around and saw no one was around. So I pushed her without thinking about the consequences… Not only did I almost lose my beloved, but I’m afraid I myself will be in danger.”

"What's done is done, as long as we didn't suffer any losses." Li Jing picked up Mo Yi's fingers and examined them closely.

"My hand is fine, I was just having fun..." Mo Yi said, feeling embarrassed.

“Your Majesty, there is no need to blame yourself.” Hongyan’s emotions had remained quite stable, and she said with a smile, “Seeing Princess Yu’an looking like a drowned ghost, I’ll accept the punishment.”

“Your beauty has been frightened, so go back and reward her properly!” Li Jing said gently to Mo Yi.

A blessing in disguise, the beautiful woman was overjoyed: "Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"You!" Mo Yi shook her head and laughed, then said to Li Jing, "How did you suddenly appear? It's like a heavenly soldier... Your Highness, how are you so amazing? And how could it be such a coincidence? Even now, I still can't believe it!"

She looked Li Jing up and down, and even reached out to pinch his arm.

Seeing his wife's flattering words and the gleam in her eyes when she looked at him, Li Jing chuckled contentedly.

A woman's inner thoughts: The prince's expressions are quite varied in front of the princess.

“I’ve done most of what I needed to do over there. I’ll leave someone to finish up and then head back. I’m worried about you because you’re pregnant.” Li Jing said softly, “I originally planned to go back to the manor to see you first, change my clothes, and then go to the palace to see Father. When I got home, I found out you had gone to the palace. I was thinking of whether I could come back with you later.”

"This time... I brought quite a few things, some of which were for you. I had them carried in and put in your study. But the silly boy carrying them was clumsy and knocked things off your shelf. I heard the noise and went to check, and stepped on two pieces of paper. So I picked them up..."

Thinking back to that thrilling moment... When I looked at the first picture, I was wondering: What is this drawing? Then I looked at the next one!
“At that moment, my scalp tingled. Because the thing you drew belonged to my sister Ming’an. She always wore it around her neck, and the character ‘Ming’ on it was something I had scratched with a porcelain carving tool when I was little… She was so angry back then, she chased after me and hit me…”

Recalling the warmth of that time, Li Jing smiled, "But after she passed away, her things disappeared. I never imagined... that one day they would appear in your painting. I was anxious and rushed to the palace. So, we just happened to meet... Don't you think we're destined for each other?"

The beautiful woman blushed upon hearing this...

"Your Highness! We're home!" came a shout from outside.

"Your Majesty!"

"Welcome home, Your Highness!"

There was an uproar outside...

Upon getting out of the car, they saw a large crowd gathered at the entrance. The news of the prince's safe return had brought all the relevant people there.

Li Jing got out of the car, turned around to personally greet Mo Yi, and asked Hong Yan to help her inside first.

Then, he briefly informed everyone that he was safe. He added that he had some matters to arrange in the next few days and that everyone should be ready to follow orders at any time... Some of the more astute people immediately thought: The prince has returned, but hasn't mentioned when to hold a celebration banquet, yet he says he has other matters to attend to... How strange!
Mo Yi walked inside, and Zhao Mama followed. Mo Yi then told her about her experience in the palace. Seeing Zhao Mama frown, she quickly added, "The way she spoke was truly hateful! I was so angry that I couldn't suppress it."

"Well, you have to consider the timing. You're pregnant, and the prince isn't here..."

"Okay, okay..." Mo Yi quickly replied.

Hongyan quickly learned from Granny Zhao how the Empress pushed the person, and then vividly described Princess Yu'an's appearance at the time... Upon hearing this, Granny Zhao also laughed.

Everyone dispersed, leaving only the important advisors, deputies, Mo Yi, and Granny Zhao.

Li Jing gave a brief account of his trip.

...This battle was not easy, with several dangerous and unexpected incidents.

"Assassination attempts came wave after wave, like a persistent leech. Yong'an really had quite a few of these assassins on hand... Several times, we were truly facing direct danger. Some of the men we brought from the manor were killed or wounded." In fact, he himself was also injured.

Granny Zhao looked sorrowful. Among the dead and injured were people she knew, and she had already gathered people to handle the funeral arrangements.

"Then, just as things were coming to a close, before we could even catch our breath, we were met with several waves of attacks from the Niu family. There were also the Niu family's allies, Yong'an's assassins and his elite troops. We were attacked from multiple sides, and the situation was extremely dangerous."

“Especially those assassins, they strike unexpectedly…” Li Jing shook his head with a wry smile, “They’re impossible to defend against! I had no choice but to switch from open to covert operations. This left them confused and unsure of where to attack.”

"It was a complete mess... but the final result was quite good! The Niu family was broken up, and they suffered considerable losses. So this time, the marriage between the Niu family and Yu'an is especially important."

Li Jing smiled again, "We didn't work for nothing after all! Not only us, Madam Liang's family also did a great job and benefited greatly, eating their fill..."

Mo Yi chuckled as she listened, and Li Jing reached out to pinch her cheek... He thought to himself: Why do you laugh so happily whenever the name Liang is mentioned?
His intimate gesture made Granny Zhao blush. She coughed and reminded her, "We're still here!"

"We got quite a lot. Some of it was taken back by Zhao's army, and some was settled locally. The stuff sent to the capital will arrive gradually. Although the risks this time were considerable, the gains were even greater. We recruited quite a few people, all of whom had been trained in Yong'an for several years. They were of good quality and well-equipped. They were really not bad..." Thinking about it now, he was still feeling incredibly pleased.

“But will these people be loyal?” Moy asked.

"It might not be easy to subdue the leaders above. But the people below... all they want is to make a living. After we take them in, we'll give them military status. That's better than the current situation where they're neither soldiers nor bandits nor farmers. We can arrange these people in a mixed way, so it won't be a big problem."

They chatted happily here.

The atmosphere in the palace was not so harmonious.

The Empress, not having time to say anything more to Yu'an, told her to go back and rest. "Now you understand the importance of the marriage alliance with the Niu family, don't you?"

Princess Yu'an was exhausted and felt terrible. She couldn't even speak. When she got home, she collapsed onto the bed and couldn't get up.

A while later, the Crown Prince received the message.

He sat down, his face grim. "That bastard, he's really lucky to be alive!"

"Your Highness, things have come to this point, we need to change our approach... If we continue like this, it's all over! There's no going back to being a wealthy and idle person. We can only move forward..." the Empress murmured.

She was speaking to the Crown Prince, and also trying to convince herself...

Let me explain a few points.

The relationship between the prince and Mo Yi wasn't one of one pointing fingers at the other; rather, they did a lot for each other. We love sweet romance stories, but this isn't one of them. Moreover, most marriages in reality require complementarity. In fact, women often do more of the practical work… This isn't to say it's wrong or bad. It's just that: that's how it is.

2. Mo Yi is not a perfect female lead. She doesn't have any special abilities. She can be weak, suffer losses, be deceived, and make mistakes. And don't underestimate a woman's hormones... they are very difficult to manage.

3. The saying "one prospers, all prosper; one suffers, all suffer" is not without reason. If someone belittles your family members in front of you, they are essentially slapping you in the face!
4... What else was there? I forgot.

(End of this chapter)