Too high to reach

Chapter 358 Cold Sweat in the Palms
The pregnant woman in my family had an accident on the street.

Lord Xu reported it to the Emperor.

His tone was calm, stating the facts and explaining the reasons. He also presented the compensation plan for the people.

Regardless of the truth, since the princess claims she was "offended," the Xu family will accept it!

He was humble in his attitude and offered generous apologies.

But who is the emperor?
He immediately knew that Princess Yu'an was the one causing trouble.

Even if the other party did "collide" with her, it was a pregnant woman from the household of a high-ranking official who had knocked herself unconscious.

As a princess of a country, how could she not have any tolerance for others?
Why are you making such a scene in front of so many affected people?
As for the Xu family: they are honest, rigorous, and low-key in their academic pursuits; they are not the kind of family that causes trouble.

So the Emperor comforted Lord Xu and ordered the Vice Director of the Imperial Medical Academy, who was most skilled in treating women's diseases, to go to the Xu family to examine Mo Wen.

He used to treat Princess Yu'an well. But ever since Princess Yu'an met Dongfang during the martial arts competition, she has been humiliated in front of everyone.

He was very displeased.

Later, Yu'an was assassinated and injured. In her shock and anger, the emperor treated her better.

Now she's angry again, and she's summoned the Empress. She said a few words to Yu'an, not too harshly, just that she's "too petty" and "far inferior to Ming'an."

But these words were the most hurtful to the Empress.

She had been feeling uneasy lately. Things were going wrong with the Crown Prince's affairs. Yesterday, an official he had promoted and given important responsibilities got into trouble.

And just a couple of days ago, the businesses I own also ran into trouble.

Although it won't fundamentally change things, resulting in the loss of both connections and money, who can stand this kind of situation in the long run?
When I'm in a bad mood, I lose my usual calm and composure, and I had two outbursts when I got back.

Empress Dowager Qian must have found out.

These days, when the Empress Dowager has nothing to do, she calls over the wives and daughters of some ministers to chat and gossip, and she is keen on playing matchmaker.

She lacked power in the previous dynasty, but she collected a lot of unofficial information.

Several couples were successfully paired up, and both families were very satisfied. She then bestowed the marriage upon them, a great honor indeed.

This reputation has certainly been established.

People come almost every day... Sometimes, she even invites a few concubines to join in the fun. In reality, she just wants to call her Consort Xiao Dong, and the others are just there to make up the numbers.

The Empress watched coldly, scoffing repeatedly.

The crown prince was also frustrated; these blows, coming from all directions, seemed rather inexplicable.

In addition, he had a lot of official duties and was busy all day long.

The Emperor is going to send him to Jinzhou for disaster relief again.

Normally, disaster relief would be considered a good thing. Along the way, one could relax, cultivate relationships, and collect money. A trip like this, while not necessarily filthy rich, would certainly bring back a considerable sum.

But now, things aren't going well: Li Jing is away from court, and the Emperor is ill and listless. If something unexpected happens, they'll lose their advantage!
But he couldn't not go, so he could only sigh at his bad luck and didn't even have time to think about who was messing with him.

Mo Yuan has been quite idle lately and hasn't been able to leave the house. Fortunately, the Crown Prince hasn't bothered her either.

When he had nothing to do, he would go to the Crown Princess's room to chat.

Aside from the Crown Princess, the maids and servants in that household didn't particularly like her: it was only natural for concubines and secondary wives to respect and fawn over their mistresses. In some families, they even had to serve the mistress herself. But there weren't many like her, so attentive and never acting like an outsider.

Therefore, everyone treated her with indifference, but Mo Yuan, being thick-skinned, pretended not to notice.

She spends all day wandering around the yard, and everyone's gotten used to it.

That day, she first went to visit the Crown Princess, and then went to visit Xiao Shuan'er.

Xiao Shuan'er is usually only there during the day, but the Crown Prince only stays in this small study at night. Sometimes, he even sleeps here.

If she went any further, Mo Yuan wouldn't be able to get there.

Despite her burning anxiety, it wasn't easy for Mo Yuan to find out what she wanted to know. She'd been wandering around for days, and hadn't heard a single serious story.

She came again, carrying a small box. She told everyone she met that it was a snack made for the Crown Prince. Actually, it was made by a maid in her courtyard. She didn't know how, and wouldn't make them...

What a coincidence!

The Crown Prince was fiddling with something in his small study; his private stash of money was kept in a secret room.

Mo Yuan greeted Xiao Shuan, tiptoed over, listened to the sounds inside, and raised her hand to knock on the door...

Suddenly someone inside said, "My lord, Wang Xi requests an audience!"

"Let him in!" the crown prince replied immediately.

"master!"

"explain."

"Yesterday, the Empress Dowager summoned the Qian family to the palace again. This time, before they went, the Qian family's carriage took a detour through Fangjia Hutong to pick up someone. When I inquired, I learned that the person's surname was Li, and he came from Wen County in southern Sichuan."

After arriving in the capital, he mostly tidied up his house, rarely went out, and didn't interact with his neighbors. He only knew a little about them because he encountered a fellow villager while shopping, and they recognized him from his accent. This villager sometimes did business with the neighbors, so they knew a thing or two about him. They heard that this man was there to pave the way. Next spring, his brother-in-law would be going to the capital to take the imperial examination.

“Southern Sichuan…” the Crown Prince murmured, “That matches up! It seems that the item is in Southern Sichuan!” His voice became excited.

"Sir, how about we arrest him and interrogate him?"

"No! If we touch him, that person in the palace will find out. If they run away, where will we find them?"

The Crown Prince stroked his chin and thought for a while. "You all prepare to depart at any time... I will go to the palace first to inform the Empress Dowager."

"But sir, southern Sichuan is so vast, and this man is even my sister's husband. We don't even know his wife's surname. It'll be hard to find him!"

"Fool! That man's surname must be Qian! The old woman is counting on him to bring glory to the family. So she won't change her surname! As for the place... I'll have someone from the Ministry of Personnel check where he's served. They can just find out by checking!"

He let out a clear, long sigh. "If this matter is resolved, then I will be free of any obstacles. Continue to keep an eye on that person, but don't alert him..."

"Yes." The man left.

Mo Yuan overheard the gist of the story, and before the other person could finish speaking, she slipped away and walked right up to Xiao Shuan.

The door behind him opened, and the Crown Prince walked out.

"Mo Yuan! What are you doing here?" The Crown Prince walked over in a few steps, looking at her warily.

Mo Yuan was shocked, her hair standing on end. She turned around, smiling as she raised the small box in her hand, "I said I was bringing some food for His Highness, but this bastard wouldn't let me in!" She pointed at Xiao Shuan and cursed.

Xiao Shuan'er clenched his fists tightly, lowered his head, and dared not speak.

The crown prince narrowed his eyes. "How long have you been here?"

"We've been here for quite a while, and we've been at an impasse with him for ages!" Mo Yuan glared at Xiao Shuan.

"Answer me!" The Crown Prince unleashed his imposing aura.

Xiao Shuan immediately knelt down, "Reporting to Your Highness, the Consort has arrived and wants to go in directly. This servant said that she must ask for your permission before she can enter... but the Consort will not listen, and there has indeed been a stalemate for a while."

"Hmm..." The Crown Prince glared coldly at Xiao Shuan. He turned to Mo Yuan, "What are you carrying?"

"These are snacks made in Yuanyuan's courtyard. I just sent one to the Empress, and this one... hehe, actually I just wanted to see if the Master was here..." She had calmed down and said coquettishly.

The crown prince laughed, "Just leave it here, I'll eat it later."

"Where are you going, sir?"

"Go and see your Crown Princess!"

"Yuanyuan, shall I go with you? Master, I heard you're going out. Can Yuanyuan come along?"

Seeing Mo Yuan's carefree attitude, the Crown Prince was relieved. "I'm going to do disaster relief and important business. What would it look like to bring you along?"

“Yuanyuan can dress up as a little eunuch… You know, Yuanyuan has never been anywhere in her life…”

The two of them chatted and laughed as they headed towards the Crown Princess's courtyard.

However, Mo Yuan, who was smiling sweetly, wiped the cold sweat from her palms on her skirt...