I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 173 Testing the Waters with a Title
Looking at the Emperor, Empress Dowager Gu said, "The policy of marriage alliance is imperative. That Princess Qi Ning is quite thoughtful, willing to consider the overall situation and send Princess Tong Yang back to Lin'an. I request Your Majesty to issue an edict to confer the title of Princess Jin Fu on Princess Qi Ning. As for that girl from the Ye family, she shall be conferred the title of Princess Jing He and enter the northern border for marriage alliance with the honor of a princess."

Once the Yongning Prince's Mansion falls into internal strife, she will have no worries about ascending the throne.

Slowly straightening up, Empress Dowager Gu took the initiative to help the emperor up, feigning concern and advising, "As the ruler of a country, how can you abandon your duties so easily? You should go back early and focus on handling state affairs."

Having said that, he ordered his men to escort the emperor out of the Cining Palace.

Zhou Fuhai had already seen that the Empress Dowager intended to rule from behind the throne, and worriedly said, "Empress Dowager, if you only want to rule from behind the throne, the Duke of Rong and his son and the entire Gu family will surely support you. But if you send Princess Jinghe to the northern border for a marriage alliance, I'm afraid the young master will not comply."

"How could I not know his intentions? Every single thing that brat did in Yuezhou this time was for that girl from the Ye family."

With a long sigh, Empress Dowager Gu raised an eyebrow and said, "That's precisely why we should send that girl away from Lin'an. How can such a femme fatale be kept by his side? After I pass away, the Gu family will still have to rely on this brat. How can we let him be held back by a woman?"

After thinking for a moment, Empress Dowager Gu immediately instructed: "Since the Emperor is sensible and intends to voluntarily relinquish power, you shall draft an imperial edict for me and send it to the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, and announce to the world that my nephew Gu Tingchen has rendered meritorious service in stabilizing the situation in Yuezhou, and shall be granted the title of Prince of Dao'an."

Zhou Fuhai pondered for a moment and nodded: "This way we can appease the young master and also see who dares to disrespect the Empress Dowager."

Empress Dowager Gu smiled with relief: "Go ahead. When you return from the Rongguo Duke's mansion, remember to invite Princess Jinghe to the palace. She is carrying the safety of the Great Ye Dynasty on her way to the northern border. I must comfort her and make sure she does not disappoint my good intentions."

"Yes," Zhou Fuhai replied immediately and left.

Inside the Cuiweitang courtyard, Ye Wanshu ordered people to tidy up the entire yard before accompanying Gu Qingmian and Gu Tingji, the siblings, to have a peaceful meal inside.

After today's commotion, she figured Gu Tingchen probably wouldn't be in the mood to join in anymore. Having enjoyed a brief moment of peace, she planned to have dinner and then take the two siblings for a stroll on Chang Le Street. Just as she had the dishes set out, she saw Xingtao walk in with a dark expression.

“Miss, the man from Biqingzhai said he wants to see you,” Xingtao said, pouting.

"Jiang Yueling," Ye Wanshu said, her face darkening. "I won't see her."

No sooner had the words left her lips than a shrill voice rang out: "Miss, your trip to Yuezhou has certainly increased your spending."

The three siblings looked over at the sound and saw Jiang Yueling leading her maid in.

“Miss, now that you are engaged to Prince Yongning, shouldn’t you return the eldest son to me?” Jiang Yueling said with dissatisfaction.

Ye Wanshu rubbed her temples speechlessly: "Jiang Yueling, you've come to the wrong place. I have nothing to do with him anymore."

Gu Qingmian sneered, "You can't even control your own man, and you want to make things difficult for my cousin just because you feel neglected? Do you really think everyone in the Duke's mansion treats you like a princess?"

“Third Miss, your eldest brother disappeared when your cousin left the Duke’s mansion, and I also heard that someone saw the eldest young master in Yuezhou.” Jiang Yueling said aggrievedly, “It was clearly your cousin who instigated the eldest young master to run away from home, how can you favor her, Third Miss?”

“My brother has his own legs, what business is it of my cousin where he goes?” Gu Qingmian retorted angrily, “Get out of Cuiweitang immediately, or I don’t have the same good temper as my cousin.”

"Third Miss, I am now your elder sister-in-law, how can you be so rude?" Jiang Yueling frowned in anger, touched her lower abdomen and began to groan in pain.

She secretly gave the maid beside her a look, and the maid, supporting her, began to exclaim incessantly, "Miss, have you had a miscarriage?"

Ye Wanshu felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this, and silently glanced at her slightly protruding belly, realizing that something was wrong.

Unexpectedly, after leaving Lin'an for only a few months, this person was already pregnant, and it was unknown which of the brothers was the father.

If something were to happen to her in the courtyard, it would probably cause me more trouble. Just then, Gu Tingzhou walked in from outside.

Seeing the scene inside, he glanced at Jiang Yueling with displeasure: "What are you doing in your cousin's yard again?"

Upon seeing him, Jiang Yueling was overjoyed and excitedly grabbed his arm, saying, "Young Master, you're finally back! I've missed you so much!"

Gu Tingzhou subconsciously shook her off, looked at Ye Wanshu, and asked with warm concern, "Wanwan, why did you come back to Lin'an?"

Ye Wanshu remained silent with a cold expression.

Gu Tingzhou hurriedly explained, "When I heard that you had left Yuhua Town in Yuzhou, I rushed back without stopping."

Seeing him fawning over that little bitch from the Ye family while completely ignoring her, Jiang Yueling felt furious and secretly gave the maid a wink.

The maid hurriedly said, "Young Master, ever since you left, Miss Jiang has lost her appetite and has become quite thin. She is carrying your child."

Only after hearing that Jiang Yueling was pregnant did Gu Tingzhou look at her properly.

Seeing her protruding belly, and recalling the drunken night, Gu Tingzhou couldn't help but frown: "Now that you're pregnant, why are you still running around everywhere?"

"I was just worried about the safety of the eldest young master," Jiang Yueling said, feeling wronged. "Who knew that when I just came to ask Miss Biao about it, she, the third young master, and the fourth young master were so hostile towards me."

Gu Tingzhou suddenly found himself in a dilemma.

“Wanwan, it’s all my fault. If you have any complaints, you can take them out on your cousin.” Gu Tingzhou closed his eyes. “After all, Yue Ling and the child in her belly are innocent.”

"What exactly is Big Brother trying to say?" Gu Qingmian said, "We didn't provoke her, she's the one who insisted on coming to cause trouble for my cousin..."

"Qingmian, you don't need to explain," Ye Wanshu said coldly. "Gu Tingzhou, I never intended to make things difficult for her. I'll say it again: please stay away from me in the future."

Gu Tingzhou felt a sharp pain in his heart: "Wanwan, I know that everything I have done before has made you extremely disappointed in me. I don't ask for your forgiveness, but with my second brother in this state, you can no longer stay by his side. I'm worried that he will hurt you."

“Young Master, why do you have to make yourself so humble?” Jiang Yueling was even more dissatisfied with his bowing and scraping attitude: “Even if you are no longer the heir of the Duke’s mansion, you are still the eldest son of the Duke’s mansion. No one dares to look down on you.”

She glanced at Ye Wanshu with resentment and sneered, "She's just a princess in name only, but she really thinks she's something."

"Who said she only has the title of princess?"

Gu Tingchen led Zhou Fuhai over, and upon hearing Jiang Yueling's words, his face darkened.

"Zhou Fuhai, quickly proclaim the imperial decree," Gu Tingchen solemnly ordered.

Zhou Fuhai was somewhat afraid of this second young master, and only read out the imperial edict that Ye Wanshu was granted the title of Princess Jinghe, but never dared to mention the matter of marriage alliance.

"My cousin has actually been granted the title of princess by a different surname this time, and it was the Empress Dowager who personally sent someone to issue the decree." Gu Tingji said with a smile, "Cousin, you are the first princess of this dynasty. From now on, no woman in the entire Lin'an City will be as noble as you."

"I must hurry and tell Mother this news," Gu Qingmian said happily.

Just as everyone was happy about this, Jiang Yueling suddenly asked, "I would like to ask Eunuch Zhou, why did the Empress Dowager bestow the title of princess upon my cousin without any reason?"