Reborn to be without his father but with his son, the prince shouted, "I'm not dead!"

Chapter 132: A Self-Torture Scheme

Cao Lingru's eyes went dark and it took her a while before she managed to get up.

"Yuan Niang, let Deng Huajie bring the maid in, and the others stay outside."

Cao Lingru grabbed Yuan Niang's wrist and said, "Also, this matter must not be spread to the ears of the prince. Tell the servants to keep their mouths shut, otherwise he will be beaten to death."

"I understand, Yuan Niang, I'll do it right away."

When Deng Huajie entered the room and saw Cao Lingru wearing a middle shirt and an outer coat, she smiled charmingly.

"Sister-in-law, I am sorry to disturb your rest. I don't want to disturb you, but the private transaction is a big deal. Now that I know about it, I must tell you. For the sake of the Duke's Mansion, sister-in-law, you can't be soft-hearted."

Cao Lingru gritted his teeth and glared at Deng Huajie, then glanced at Yuemei and said.

"Don't talk nonsense. Yunchu is the Crown Princess. Do you want to destroy her? To pave the way for your daughter?"

Deng Huajie's eyes flickered slightly with guilt.

"Sister-in-law, you have wronged me. We are all from the Duke's Mansion and are in the same boat. If your daughter has a bad reputation, it will also affect Qinqin."

Cao Lingru sneered, "Then why did you come here to make trouble in the middle of the night? Do you want everyone to know?"

Deng Huajie slapped her mouth as if in regret.

"Look at me, I'm old and confused. Didn't you just ask Yuan Niang to shut up the servants? In my opinion, Yunchu is having an affair with a man outside. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince finds out, the Duke's Mansion will be ruined. Sister-in-law, you should quickly break up with Yunchu and drive her back to the farm as soon as possible."

Cao Lingru slammed the table in anger.

"What nonsense are you talking about! Yunchu is my daughter. Whether the Duke's Mansion can prosper depends on her. Do you want to destroy the road that the Duke has worked so hard to pave? Or do you think Ji Qinqin can become the Crown Princess? She is already a concubine. Don't dream!"

Deng Huajie frowned and pushed Yuemei.

"Madam Guogong is confused. How could the prince tolerate Ji Yunchu having an affair with a man outside her family? Yuemei, please talk to Madam Guogong and find out whether the eldest lady is having an affair with a man outside her family?"

Yuemei was sweating profusely and said tremblingly.

"Miss Wei of Nanhou Mansion liked the sachet made by the eldest lady, so she sent someone to ask the eldest lady to make a sachet today. The eldest lady gave her own sachet to Miss Wei. When the second lady saw me handing the sachet to the servant of Nanhou Mansion, she misunderstood."

"Yuemei!" Deng Huajie was so angry that she slapped Yuemei's mouth.

"You just said that the eldest lady was having an affair with a man outside the family, but now you dare to lie to the Duke's wife. Are you itching for trouble?"

Cao Lingru's expression relaxed and she looked at Yuemei with relief. This maid did not disappoint her.

"It turned out to be a misunderstanding, Yuemei, you should go back to your room and rest."

Yuemei looked at the Second Wife who seemed to want to eat her, and ran out in a panic.

When Cao Lingru saw Deng Huajie chasing Yuemei with murderous eyes, she smiled smugly.

"Although the Duke is gone, I am still the Duke's wife. Even if the Emperor does not allow the Duke's position to be hereditary, I am still the head of the Duke's Mansion! Hua Jie, you should go back."

Deng Huajie had a cold face and stared at Cao Lingru with anger.

"Sister-in-law, don't blame me for not reminding you. Ji Yunchu is not a good person! Who would give away a lady's sachet so casually? Just keep pampering Ji Yunchu. One day, you will be ruined by Ji Yunchu!"

After Deng Huajie left, Cao Lingru sat there alone.

When Yuan Niang entered the room and saw Cao Lingru's thin body, she felt sorry for her and helped her lie down on the bed.

"Madam, you have become much thinner recently because of the Duke's matter. Miss is under the protection of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so you can rest assured and take good care of yourself."

"Cough cough cough..." Cao Lingru looked sick.

"When the Duke was ill, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince often came to the Duke's Mansion to visit him. Now that the Duke has passed away, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince only asked Ji Qinqin to express his condolences. I'm worried that this marriage may not be possible."

"Madam, don't think too much. The Crown Prince didn't come because he was under house arrest by the Emperor. Besides, the Queen sent you ginseng to recuperate. It's obvious that she wants you to rest assured that the Crown Prince and the eldest lady will definitely get married."

Cao Lingru closed her eyes weakly. "My health has been getting worse day by day. I don't know if I can hold on for three years. Tomorrow I will go to the palace in person to ask for an audience with the Empress. If the Empress asks the Emperor to grant a marriage between the Crown Prince and Yunchu, I will be able to rest assured."

……

The next morning, Ji Yunchu learned that Deng Huajie wanted to harm her, and she was so angry that she smashed the bowl in her hand, and the meat porridge in the bowl splashed everywhere.

"That vicious woman is just trying to make things difficult for me!"

Yuemei picked up the broken bowl with trepidation.

Ji Yunchu glanced at Yuemei with disdain, "You are the eldest maid by my side, how can you be so useless?"

At this moment, she missed Guixiang a little. If Guixiang was still alive, what happened yesterday would definitely not have happened.

Yuemei closed her mouth and cried in grievance.

Ji Yunchu said angrily, "Cry, cry, cry! All you do is cry! Get out of here after you've dealt with this. I feel sick just by looking at your sad face."

Yuemei lowered her head and ran out holding the broken bowl.

Ji Yunchu took another bowl of meat porridge from the big basin. She stirred it a few times and suddenly an idea came to her mind.

Cao Lingru packed up and prepared to go to the palace. She was worried that what happened last night would affect Ji Yunchu, so she asked about Yuan Niang.

"Did Yunchu cry?"

"No." Yuan Niang smiled kindly, "The eldest lady didn't take it to heart. She just told the servants to prepare the carriage, saying that she wanted to go to Nanhou Mansion to visit Miss Wei."

Cao Lingru put her worries aside.

"That's good. Don't tell Yunchu that I went to the palace to ask for the imperial decree to grant marriage, so that Yunchu won't be looking forward to it. If the queen doesn't agree, Yunchu will be sad again."

"Yes, the old slave understands."

When the Queen learned that the Duchess's wife wanted to see her, she thought about it for a moment and understood the Duchess's purpose in seeing her.

"Alas, what a bad fate! Tell someone to bring out the flowers for the Duke's wife to see, and prepare some tea and snacks."

When Cao Lingru saw that the Queen Mother was willing to see her, she was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.

As soon as the queen appeared, she opened her mouth anxiously, "Your Majesty, Yunchu is not young anymore, you see..."

Kong Wanhan interrupted Cao Lingru calmly.

"Madam, I heard that you were in a bad mood, so I specially ordered someone to bring out the flowers I like for you to enjoy. What do you think of these flowers?"

Cao Lingru had no mood to appreciate the flowers, but when she heard that the Queen had moved them out specifically for her, she did not dare to embarrass the Queen.

"These flowers are so well cared for. I guess a lot of effort was put into it."

Kong Wanhan raised the corner of her mouth elegantly and pulled Cao Lingru to sit down to drink tea and appreciate the flowers.

As soon as Cao Lingru mentioned Ji Yunchu, Kong Wanhan started to change the subject and ignored Cao Lingru's words.

The Queen's actions made Cao Lingru exhausted. She was restless and forced herself to follow the Queen to drink tea and appreciate the flowers.

At this time, Ji Yunchu went to Nanhou Mansion.

When Wei Luoyan heard that Ji Yunchu came to visit him, he couldn't help but be overjoyed.

"Shuda, is there anything wrong with my appearance?"

"Sir, I think you might as well take this opportunity to use a self-torture trick. When Miss Ji sees you injured, she might pity you and be attracted to you."

(End of this chapter)