Too high to reach

Chapter 298 The Ladder to the Clouds
Consort Tian pulled Mo Yuan into her own courtyard.

The servants carried the food and dishes into her main room.

They busied themselves with having the maids fetch water and helping Mo Yuan and Zhou Jiu with their simple washing and grooming.

Generally speaking, women would carry a change of clothes when they went out, just in case something like this happened.

The maidservant that Mo Yuan brought along would also make preparations.

However, as soon as she saw the clothes that Consort Tian had her maid bring out, she gave her own maid, Chunhua, a wink.

Chunhua already knew her master quite well, so she smiled knowingly and didn't take anything out.

The concubine Tian took out a light gray and white silk gauze dress, with silver threads embellishing the gray gauze. It was much prettier than the one she had prepared herself.

"Sister Tian...this is such a beautiful dress. You haven't even worn it yet after you finished making it. I feel so bad taking it!" Mo Yuan said, feigning politeness.

Consort Tian picked up the dress and held it up against her. "You look much better in it than I do. Now that I see you like this, I feel so ashamed of myself. I'm too embarrassed to wear it again. Ah Jiu's outfit..." She turned to look at her, "...is an apple green one. I think you have too many green clothes! Change into something simpler...tsk tsk, as they say, light or heavy makeup always suits you...please do me the honor of wearing it!"

"Thank you very much."

"Change into your new clothes, and we'll talk more over dinner."

The maids helped Mo Yuan change her clothes. Consort Tian then went to rummage through the wardrobe herself. "Back in my hometown, it's unbearably hot in the summer. We have to change clothes several times a day. So, except when we go out to visit guests, we all wear fine linen clothes. They're comfortable to wear and easy to wash. If we wore silk like this, it would be ruined in a couple of days, even if it didn't wear out. Yuan Yuan, where is your hometown?"

“I’ve never been to my hometown, I have no recollection of it at all. My father was born in Beijing. If it weren’t for the fact that he still had some businesses there, he would never have gone back…”

As she spoke, Mo Yuan changed her clothes.

Consort Tian continued flipping through the pages: "I've never worn this one either... It's hot in the summer, and there aren't many activities, so I really don't have a chance to wear nice clothes."

Zhou Jiu needed to change his clothes, but Mo Yuan said, "I need to use the restroom...you wrap up this dirty thing." She instructed her maid.

He turned and went to the clean room.

After leaving the clean room, turn right in the corridor to the place where you changed clothes, and turn left to reach Consort Tian's study.

For a while, there was no one in the corridor or study. You could hear Consort Tian and Ajiu talking and laughing, and Qianqian showing off something.

She smiled and was about to go inside when suddenly... my hometown?

My hometown is in Pingzhou, isn't it? Is Consort Tian... waiting for a letter from my hometown?
A flash of inspiration struck him. He suddenly remembered his mother saying that something had happened back home, that the Song family had returned, and that they had even been summoned by the prince.

That certainly isn't just a matter for our own little plot of land, is it?

Then I thought... Consort Tian was also in charge of the prince's affairs.

Hmm? What does the letter say?
Hearing the cheerful laughter from inside, a thought flashed through her mind. She entered the study with light, quick steps and picked up the letter hidden under the paperweight. The letter wasn't long. She glanced at it quickly, her heart pounding, "It really is..."

He squinted and quickly put the letter back in its place.

He hurriedly withdrew.

As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Xiangxiang coming out of the dressing room and looking at her.

Mo Yuan was startled.

Feeling her face burning, she said, "Oh, so the changing room is to the right. No wonder it wasn't right... Xiangxiang, let me tell you, the other day at the West Suburbs Camp, I saw that guy named Dongfang, his children, each riding a little pony. Oh my, it was so funny. The little girl was only three years old, and she was riding one! And that horse was this tall and this big..."

She gestured...

Princess Wenxiu, being a young girl, didn't think anything was amiss about her coming out of the study. She was immediately captivated by the pony, "Is it a foal? Or a horse that never grows up?"

"The two of them are riding ponies, and the two of them are riding horses that will never grow up. I'll ask your dad to get you one to play with later."

She acted as if she were one of the family and pulled Li Xiangling back with her.

Li Xiangling struggled for a moment, but Mo Yuan held on tightly, and she couldn't break free...

The group ate in Consort Tian's room. "Do you think I'm to blame for what happened today?" Mo Yuan asked matter-of-factly.

Consort Tian and Zhou Jiu both shook their heads, "It's not your fault!"

"You said it yourselves! If the princess scolds me later, you'll have to be my witnesses..."

Consort Tian laughed heartily, "So you do have someone you're afraid of!"

"Oh, don't even mention it..." Mo Yuan laughed, "I'm the older sister, so I have to give in to her..."

Several people laughed.

After finishing her meal, she decided to leave and head home. However, at the gate, she encountered Mo Yi, who was also returning home.

"Why are you here again?" Mo Yi asked as usual.

"How dare you say that! I had something to discuss with you, but you weren't here when I arrived, so I said I'd wait, and then..."

She embellished the story, saying, "I've never spoken to her before, so how could I have offended her? Do you understand? This is clearly aimed at you."

Mo Yi shook her head: "You guys are so idle..." What can you do besides get angry over such trivial matters?

She was about to go inside when Mo Yuan pulled her back again. "Look at her today, she even brought Miss Zhou Jiu along. With Jiu's temper, she probably suffers some grievances without saying a word!"
And then there's Xiangxiang… one has a good temper, and the other is too young. They'll just suffer for nothing. Even though you don't manage the household, you can't ignore these things. Otherwise, the Prince will resent you.

"That Feng, she's obsessed with getting rid of you so she can become the official wife herself. With my eyesight, do you think her little schemes can fool me?" She then looked at Mo Yi with disdain: "You shouldn't underestimate her! Your every need is controlled by her. See Concubine Zhang? You'd better watch your step!"

Hearing this, Mo Yi's heart sank. What she said wasn't entirely unfounded!
After Mo Yuan finished speaking, she turned around, got into the car, and drove away.

But instead of returning to the manor, she went straight to her parents' home. "Mother, where is my father?"

When Liu saw her return, she was very happy. "These clothes are so beautiful, and they must be so cool! Humph, I wonder where he's run off to again!"

"Mother, please have someone look for him quickly, and tell them I have something to ask him."

Liu immediately arranged for people to go out and search.

Then, the mother and daughter talked about the Crown Prince's residence, "Consort Zhang is finished in an instant. We've finally gotten our revenge!"

Lady Liu was unaware that her daughter had suffered at the hands of Consort Zhang; she was only concerned about the position of consort. "You should try to please the Crown Prince properly. With your abilities, the position of consort is more than you deserve!"

"I think so too, but it's not easy! The Zhang family is working for the Crown Prince!"

"Sigh, your father is useless..."

After a while, Mo Rusong returned.

He was dressed smartly and was listening to music and drinking with people on the street ahead.

"Dad, do you just drink all day long?"

“Daughter, your father has nothing to do! Why don’t you come up with something for your father to do?” Mo Rusong complained.

“You don’t even have the status of a scholar, and you’ve never done anything. Even if we found you a job, could you handle it? If you can’t do a good job, it would be even more shameful to find a bad one.”

Mo Yuan also had her own plans. She knew that the Emperor had a custom of bestowing titles and honors upon the families of his wives.

Although becoming empress is a bit difficult, becoming a concubine should be within my reach, right?

When the time comes, I'll ask my father to be granted the title of Earl of Cheng'en... that would sound quite nice.

It's pretty much the same as Zhang Debao's family... Just thinking about Zhang Debao made me feel sad, so I quickly shook my head.
"Isn't it good that you're like this now? If you're so eager, go and learn from your uncle. I can't help much right now, just wait and see... Father, I have a question for you, what did the Song family say when they came back? What did the Prince want him to do?"

Mo Rusong then recounted to Mo Yuan everything he had encountered before and the information the Song family had uncovered.

Mo Yuan smiled, her eyes sparkling...