Too high to reach

Chapter 397 Riding a Tiger and Being Difficult to Dismount
The crowd watched as if it were a real-life version of Beauty and the Beast.

They whispered amongst themselves, their laughter echoing throughout.

Upon hearing this, they were all stunned into silence.

In an instant, all around fell silent.

Only Madam Xu, whose usual gentle and composed demeanor and demure smile were nowhere to be seen, let out a loud and abrupt laugh.

Immediately afterward, a laugh came from above, and everyone turned to look: it was the bewitching Dongfang, laughing in a mesmerizing way.

"Wow……"

"This is too much..."

"It's not in vain!"

I've seen bride kidnapping before, but this is fighting this wild beast for a princess!

Several sounds were coming from different directions, and everyone was too busy to keep up, so they kept turning their heads back and forth, whispering among themselves.

Finally, all eyes were fixed on the man who had spoken…

Wow! Whose young man is this? He's so handsome!

He appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old, with hair as black as charcoal and skin as white as snow. His expression and physique carried a sense of disillusionment and devastation, evoking an overwhelming feeling of pity.

And at this moment, he was also dressed in a red groom's robe.

"Oh ho, so they really are here to steal the groom's place...tsk tsk!"

The man's two bright eyes were gazing intently at the princess.

"He actually looks a bit like a groom..." someone joked.

The contrast between General Niu and his lover is too stark.

"My God, they're kidnapping the princess! That's incredibly audacious!"

Such a thing could never happen to General Niu. My intuition tells me this man is here to cause trouble.

But he didn't know: when the emperor was right there, surrounded by nobles... how should one handle such a situation?

If this happened in his hometown... drag him out immediately, chop him into pieces, and feed him to the dogs!

After weighing his options, he frowned slightly, his leopard-like eyes fixed on the man, exuding an overwhelming aura of power.

He paused slightly, but didn't stop, continuing upwards. He gently tugged at the red silk, but the force of his pull... Princess Yu'an couldn't help but feel a slight tug.

Princess Yu'an was also in a daze... Who? Dares to do this?
I don't know what she was thinking. When I first heard her say that, I was momentarily confused and thought Xu Ke had come back. Because among all the people she knew, only Xu Ke could easily be there today.

My heart skipped a beat.

But then I realized how absurd this was... Has this started?
She calmed down and continued walking uphill.

Immediately, someone went up to "Tanlang," seemingly to arrest him.

Unexpectedly, he had someone protecting him, and when the two sides clashed, neither could get to the side!
The East is laughing again...

"Princess!"

Tanlang adopted an even more poignant posture and poured out more emotion, saying, "Although I cannot compare to General Niu in terms of rank, power, or wealth, my sincere heart for you is as clear as heaven and earth!"

He touched his chest.

"Your Highness, please lift the veil and take a look! She is a golden branch and jade leaf, with captivating beauty. How could she be defiled by such an ugly and smelly pig..."

"You're asking for death!" General Niu roared.

He came from a warlord background. In his own little territory, he was more powerful than the emperor.

Even the emperor must adhere to propriety, righteousness, benevolence, trustworthiness, and the law! While in power, he must care about the officials who speak out; after death, he must care about his posthumous reputation.

The Niu family, who rose to power through arson, murder, and looting, also followed this tradition. They were quick to draw their swords at the slightest provocation…

Despite his ugly appearance and foul odor, no one had ever dared to speak to him like that since birth. Unable to bear it any longer, she dropped the red silk, and with those long legs... she was upon him in two steps, reaching out to grab the man in red.

Even such a "young master" is like a chick in front of him; he could crush a whole bunch of them with just two fingers.

But he couldn't grab it... because someone was blocking his way, and even after a couple of attempts, he still couldn't gain the upper hand...

If it were an ordinary woman, she would be both ashamed and angry in such a situation, and would wish she could die immediately.

But Princess Yu'an was no ordinary woman. She gently lifted her veil... and saw the man in red... who was indeed one of her male lovers. He originally came from a good family, but later his family committed a crime, and because he and his sisters were all beautiful, they were all ruined and forced into prostitution.

Why is he here?

How dare he? !
“Princess…please take Tanlang with you!” Tanlang looked at her with deep emotion.

Inside the palace, the Emperor, Empress Dowager, Empress, and Crown Prince were all sitting and waiting for the newlyweds to come in and pay their respects.

The place where they got off the sedan chair was some distance from the main hall, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

The young eunuch hurried in and whispered something in the emperor's ear.

The emperor frowned and gave an order.

Princess Yu'an asked coldly, "Who brought you in? And who's backing you up? Li Jing?"

People nearby heard the name of the King of Qi.

From this center, the news spread out in waves...

Immediately, the news spread throughout the palace and beyond.

Originally, "there were no rules of conduct for the first three days of marriage." But now, it's so lively, it's almost out of control...

The Empress's maids also found out the news, and even the Crown Prince next to her knew about it... Mother and son exchanged a glance, looking quite composed.

Outside, the princess was still asking, "Do you think Li Jing can save your whole family from this disaster? Why don't you consider that this might be a death warrant for your entire clan?" She was calm and arrogant.

She showed no trace of girlishness.

When General Niu saw this, he was filled with emotion again... This is how his wife should be.

"But...Your Highness..."

"Alright! Go back... Even if you're not going to live, at least think about the rest of your family!"

Unexpectedly, the man in red had already gone all out; nine generations of his family were fine with it! This living hell was worse than death; he'd rather fight to the death and see if there was any chance of survival…

"But Princess, you are pregnant with Tanlang's child!"

"Wow!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"My God, this is too..."

"This is amazing..."

Princess Yu'an and General Niu were both dumbfounded!
The princess was a second-time bride, and General Niu had never imagined he would marry a virgin. He had also heard the storyteller say that princesses often kept male lovers.

So when the man in red came to cause trouble, although he was angry, he could figure out that he could just kill him to vent his anger.

He wouldn't blame the princess for this.

But... the child?
...He and the others looked toward the princess's abdomen.

Princess Yu'an's face turned pale. How did they find out? They hadn't even consulted the imperial physician to keep it a secret. They'd kept it from everyone around her!
"Nonsense! Shut up... Guards!" Although she knew the visitors meant no harm, she couldn't let him continue.

General Niu, however, suddenly felt the urge to retreat.

He has the nature of a wolf. A few days ago, when negotiating with the Crown Prince, he mentioned that after marrying the princess, he would take her back to his hometown.

He couldn't leave any leverage in the capital; he was taking precautions against such a move.

If the princess becomes pregnant and gives birth, the child will be a legitimate descendant of the Niu family. Giving birth locally would be fine. But in the capital, it would cause considerable trouble.

Even if the princess didn't give birth, you could just find any boy and say he was her son, and he would still be considered a legitimate son of the Niu family!

In the end, all those family fortunes will become someone else's wedding dress!
He was a shrew, but he never expected that the child was already in his belly.

This bitch!

What should we do now?
Riding a tiger is difficult.

"Princess, wouldn't it be better for us to be together and raise this child together?" Tanlang said affectionately. "You are a princess, already the most noble person in the world. Why marry such a person and make yourself miserable? Why make our child call him 'father'?"

"Shut up!" Princess Yu'an screamed. If she wasn't even his, how could he know?

"That's it for today," she said, stepping forward...

(End of this chapter)