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

Chapter 152 No More Love
"Yunchu, you just said that the prince forced you to cancel the engagement many times. What is going on? Why didn't I hear any news about it?" Cao Lingru looked at her angry daughter with a worried look in her eyes.

Ji Yun couldn't hide it any longer and had to tell the whole story.

Cao Lingru was furious after hearing this, "You should have told me about this child earlier." She smoothed Ji Yunchu's frown with heartache.

"Your father was still alive at that time. If you had told me earlier, I would have gone to the palace to ask the Queen to help you get married earlier. If your father was still alive at that time, the Queen would have definitely given him some face."

Ji Yunchu was in a state of grievance. How could she know that the Emperor would kill the Duke after Shen Jing and Ji Anyu got married?

If she had known that the emperor could not be trusted, she should not have agreed to board the pirate ship. Now that she can't get off, she can only swallow the bitterness.

"Mom, I'm sorry, I'm useless." Ji Yunchu leaned on Cao Lingru's shoulder with tears in her eyes.

Cao Lingru patted Ji Yunchu's back with concern, "Thinking about it this way, Ji Qinqin saw through the prince's mind and took the opportunity to hang out with him. I wonder why they are suddenly together."

Cao Lingru looked out the window helplessly. She didn't bother to hide it from Ji Yunchu, so she told Ji Yunchu her plan.

"The last time I went to the palace to meet the Queen, she said she would consider letting you and the Crown Prince get married in Rexiaoli, but up until now the Queen has not given me a definite answer, and now there's news that the Crown Prince and Princess Zhaohui are having an affair."

At this moment, Ji Yunchu felt extremely regretful that she should not have harmed the Duke. Without the Duke, the Duke's Mansion was getting worse day by day. The day before yesterday, she even ran into the servants secretly discussing how to run away.

Ji Yunchu was completely panicked, "Mother, what should we do?"

Cao Lingru's chest suddenly felt itchy. She took out a handkerchief and skillfully covered her mouth with it to cough, not noticing that Ji Yunchu turned her head away in disgust.

"Ahem..." Cao Lingru patted her chest to calm down, and looked at Ji Yunchu lovingly, "Mother, let's go to the palace now and ask the Queen to help you and the Crown Prince."

Ji Yunchu felt that the Queen would not agree if she was in mourning, and the Crown Prince did not like her. It would be useless for Cao Lingru to enter the palace at this time. She did not want to disappoint Cao Lingru, so she nodded obediently.

"My daughter is waiting for you at the Duke's Mansion."

Seeing that Ji Yunchu was well-behaved and sensible, Cao Lingru secretly cursed the prince for not only not understanding her daughter's kindness, but also taking advantage of his power to bully her daughter and betraying her.

As soon as she left, Ji Yunchu's face turned cold.

The emperor kept saying that he would let her marry the prince in three years. Ji Yunchu always felt that the emperor was just looking for an excuse to deliberately shirk her. It should not be difficult for the emperor to issue an imperial decree to grant the marriage to appease her heart, but the emperor just ignored her.

Ji Yunchu's eyes were filled with resentment. She couldn't wait any longer. She simply couldn't afford to wait for three years.

If she waited any longer, she would become an old maid that everyone in the capital laughed at. By then, the Duke's Mansion would no longer be prestigious, so who would marry her? She could get nothing, and her life was even worse than Ji Anyu's.

She looked at the handkerchief dropped by Cao Lingru, her mind turning.

Cao Lingru went to the palace to ask for an audience with the Queen but was met with cold treatment along the way. She couldn't help but feel that people had left her and she was ignored. She lamented that she used to be the wife of a duke who was flattered by everyone, but now even a little palace maid could look at her coldly.

"Madam, the weather is getting colder. I see that you are not feeling well. You should go back."

Cao Lingru gathered her sleeves tightly and asked, "Where's the Queen?"

"The Queen is busy and has no time to summon you."

"That's fine. I'll wait here for the Queen to finish her work."

"You... why can't you understand what I'm saying?" The maid who delivered the message looked impatient. The Duke's wife was too stubborn. The Queen obviously didn't want to see her and insisted on waiting. "Duke's wife, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Even if you wait all night, it will be in vain."

Cao Lingru said nothing, her haggard face staring at the door, hoping that the Queen would see her because of their past friendship.

In the palace, the Queen heard from the palace maid that the Duke's wife had not left yet. She looked at the palace gate helplessly and sighed.

"Why is she doing this?" Kong Wanhan took a sip of her warm tea. "The Crown Prince acted recklessly in Prince Qi's mansion. Did the Emperor say anything?"

Aunt Mei held the teacup respectfully and said, "She didn't say anything. Her expression was normal and there was no emotion in her eyes."

"It seems that the Emperor does not object to the Crown Prince's action. I think he might also want to change the Crown Prince's consort, but he is not taking any action..."

Kong Wanhan leaned on the Arhat couch, thinking, and suddenly smiled.

"The Emperor is so cunning that it's annoying! He calculated that the Crown Prince would lose control and take the initiative. Well, let the Crown Prince handle this marriage. I want to see how the Crown Prince will end it."

"The Duke's wife." Madam Mei couldn't bear it. "The Duke's wife loves her daughter very much. If you ignore her this time, I'm afraid it will hurt her feelings. After all, you and her were once close friends."

"Ling Ru is smart. She was loved by the Duke in the first half of her life. She was immersed in the honeypot and forgot that living with the king is like living with a tiger. Now that the Duke has passed away, she must feel that the world is cold and indifferent, and she is powerless."

Kong Wanhan's eyes were blurred. "It's better to hurt her than to anger the emperor. My brother has a hard time in the border area with tigers in front and wolves behind. Since the emperor doesn't want the prince to marry Ji Yunchu, why should I bother to make things difficult for him?"

After a moment, Kong Wanhan supported her forehead, recalling the past experiences with the Duke's wife in the boudoir, and she stroked the cloak on her body.

"Madame Mei, please take the cloak in the box to the wife of the Duke, and let her go back to enjoy her old age. Her children and grandchildren will have their own blessings."

"Yes."

Cao Lingru had been looking forward to seeing Nanny Mei for a long time. She was delighted and mistakenly thought that the Queen was willing to see her. Unexpectedly, Nanny Mei handed her a familiar cloak with a cold expression.

"This cloak..." Cao Lingru was inexplicably nervous. She looked at Nanny Mei as if she was confirming something. Until Nanny Mei nodded seriously, Cao Lingru collapsed to the ground.

"Ah Han is so heartless."

Cao Lingru's fingers, which were holding the cloak tightly, turned white and trembled. She and Kong Wanhan had a very good relationship before they got married. The cloak in her hand was made by her herself. When Kong Wanhan was about to enter the palace, she gave the cloak to her and tied it on her herself, wishing her a triumphant return.

Now Kong Wanhan returned the cloak to her, telling her that there was no love between them anymore, and the marriage between the prince and Ji Yunchu was called off, so she could put her mind to it and make plans early.

Nanny Mei looked helplessly at Cao Lingru, who was crying and laughing in front of her, and said, "The Queen Mother said that you are not in good health. It is time for you to go back and enjoy your old age. Your children and grandchildren will have their own blessings." She signaled with her eyes to the palace maid to help Cao Lingru get into the carriage.

When Yuan Niang saw Cao Lingru crying, she hurriedly took Cao Lingru from the palace maid.

Cao Lingru cried all the way, and when she arrived at the Duke's Mansion, her eyes were red and swollen.

"Yuan Niang, Ah Han no longer cares about me. I have loved her for so many years, but she just says she doesn't want me anymore. My Yunchu was delayed for many years by her son, but she didn't even say a word of apology. She even returned the cloak to me and told me not to interfere in the marriage between the prince and Yunchu. How could she be like this..."

Cao Lingru kicked her legs, rarely showing a girlish attitude, as if she had gone back to the time before she got married and accused her best friend of abandoning her.

Yuan Niang didn't know how to comfort Cao Lingru. Now Kong Wanhan was no longer a girl from the Kong family, but the queen who was high above everyone else and the mother of a country.

(End of this chapter)