Too high to reach

Chapter 203 The Game of Prey
Princess Yu'an only learned about her Crown Prince brother's "good deed" today after entering the palace.

He was overjoyed and eager to speak with the Crown Prince.

However, he was busy entertaining his mother and had no free time.

Finally, after the Emperor finished speaking, everyone could watch the dance and chat freely.

She quickly ran over, saying, "Brother, I need to talk to you!"

He pulled the prince aside to hide in a corner, saying, "Such a joyous occasion, why didn't you send someone to tell me?"

The crown prince smiled mysteriously, "What use would a woman like you have to know these things?"

"What are you saying?!" Princess Yu'an's eyes widened in anger. "Isn't my brother's happy occasion also my happy occasion?"

"Alright! It's yours..." The Crown Prince stopped teasing her. "Father just told me yesterday. After talking with Mother, he went home and then summoned a bunch of people to discuss it. Everyone was so excited that they didn't go to sleep until late at night. How could they have thought about you!"

Yu'an's anger turned to joy, "This is truly a joyous occasion. Father is clearly paving the way for you, oh, is it because of his health..."

"Don't talk nonsense..." The crown prince looked at her reproachfully.

"Brother... could you arrange some work for Xu Ke? He's been wanting to do this for a while!"

The Crown Prince glanced sideways at Princess Yu'an, "What? Are you trying to find a way to help him again? You actually believe it..."

Princess Yu'an blushed, a rare occurrence for her: "What do you mean, true or false... He came to me for help."

"That's a strange thing to say! You beg me? Can you do that?" The crown prince rolled his eyes at her.

"He knows I have an older brother who is the crown prince!" Princess Yu'an flattered the crown prince with her slanted eyes.

A smug smile appeared on the prince's face again.

"Brother! Father has given you all the power. It's a piece of cake to transfer someone from the Imperial Guard!"

"You make it sound so easy... How many people are eyeing this opportunity to gain attention? Besides, this great chance to build connections needs to be balanced, you know? Everyone and every place needs to have an explanation!"

Princess Yu'an knew that was indeed the case, but... "When Xu Ke mentioned having this idea earlier, I said I'd ask my brother later. He said that if the Crown Prince wasn't in charge, it would be difficult for him to get involved..."

Back then, we never imagined that Father would actually entrust this matter to you. What a coincidence! Brother... I'm begging you..."

"But what good does this do me, besides making you a little happier?"

"Look at what you're saying, brother... Don't you want the Xu family's followers?" Princess Yu'an tempted.

The Crown Prince sneered, "Of course I want it! But Xu Ke doesn't represent the Xu family. We might consider it if it were the eldest son of the Xu family… but Xu Ke is far from qualified!"

"That depends on how deeply he's involved..." Princess Yu'an's face turned cold, filled with certainty and calculation. "When it comes to a life-or-death decision for the entire family, no matter how cunning the old fox Xu is, he won't have a choice!"

The crown prince looked at his sister with satisfaction, "You do have some ability... I'll take a look later! Just don't get your hopes up too high."

"Thank you, brother! Don't worry, Xu Ke and I have discussed this: given his position in the Xu family, if he wants a bright future quickly, he has to take big risks! He understands all of this. Brother... Xu Ke is quite capable. If he really makes a great contribution to you in the future... you'll have to give him a big reward."

"If he really did a great job, what does it matter if he gets a big reward?" the crown prince replied calmly.

Then he turned to look at his sister carefully, "But... sister: it's fine if you're only after his looks. You can offer him some benefits to do things for you. But whatever it is, feelings or loyalty... you must not get involved again. Haven't you suffered enough? You haven't even left that wolf's den yet, so don't set your sights on the tiger's lair."

"Don't worry! Xu Keke isn't Dongfang... I can handle him!" Princess Yu'an said, her eyelids lowered. "Since you care about him so much, why not just end things with Dongfang and marry him properly? With the Emperor and Empress's blessing from the Xu family, how could it not work?"

"But how can we get to the bottom of things with Dongfang?" Princess Yu'an's eyes darkened. "When I was filled with hatred, I did try to find a way. But I couldn't do anything about him. If this continues, it will only drag down my mother and brother, and that would be a huge loss!"

Besides, even though I've waited so many years... I'm not going to be sitting alone. I have my own fun, so what's there to be afraid of? Let's just wait and see... and see who outlasts whom in the end.”

The Crown Prince shook his head, helpless. "You! Can women be treated the same as men? If Father weren't in poor health, he could still have sixteen-year-old concubines to keep him company. But what about women? In two more years, you won't be able to have children..."

"Enough!" Princess Yu'an snapped, she didn't want to hear that.

"Then I won't say anything more. You understand on your own. Now, you also need to keep your affair with Xu Ke a secret, lest you make a fool of yourself. Even now, Father Emperor doesn't dote on us siblings that much. It's not yet time for you to do whatever you want..." the Crown Prince said seriously.

Princess Yu'an was angry for a while, then laughed: "Xu Ke's wife is the elder sister of Princess Qi. It's quite satisfying to torment and humiliate them in a roundabout way."

“Hmm…that’s true.” The Crown Prince then looked at Mo Yi, who was talking to Consort Liang, and stroked his chin. “You know, this Princess Qi…at first glance, she looks like an ordinary woman, but the more you look at her, the more beautiful she becomes…how is that possible?” He squinted, concealing his emotions.

Princess Yu'an chuckled, "How about... I find a chance for my brother to get a closer look and examine it more closely?"

The crown prince laughed heartily, "Although I really want to... but now, I'm afraid it's not the right time!" He was very regretful.

"We'll see!" Princess Yu'an's eyes gleamed, her intentions unknown.

Then, the brother and sister looked at each other, their eyes filled with the excitement of discovering prey...

……

Mo Yi sat next to Consort Liang, listening to her speak softly while silently surveying the scene.

Consort Liang spoke softly and slowly, but she kept going...

Moreover, she knows quite a lot.

Mo Yi was somewhat puzzled. Her impression of Consort Liang was that she was honest, dutiful, and quiet. She didn't concern herself with anything, never competed or fought for anything, and seemed to know nothing when asked... But she never expected that Consort Liang had actually "heard" quite a lot of things... She was quite well-informed about gossip.

The two of them started sweeping from one end of the main hall, and Consort Liang could say a few words about anyone that Mo Yi was interested in.

I guess she and Mo Yuan have a lot to talk about...

"Judging from the way the Crown Prince and Princess Yu'an look... are they siblings very close?" Mo Yi looked at Princess Yu'an, who was speaking to the Crown Prince with a variety of expressions. Sometimes she was happy, sometimes annoyed, and sometimes she even seemed to be trying to please him.

The crown prince looked at her with a smile, his emotions stable, and it was clear that the two had a close relationship.

"Yes." Consort Liang turned her head to look, then looked away. "In the palace, there are too many conflicts of interest and it's too complicated. Even among compatriots, there aren't many who can truly get along well. The Empress gets along very well with her son and daughter."

"This lady... is extremely capable in her work!"

For so many years, she remained completely silent, yet she hindered her own and Xiao Shisi's future...

Others didn't seem to find it strange at all.

I have to admit...

The matter isn't finished yet, so I'll just post one chapter today, just like yesterday.