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

Chapter 21: Questioning in the Ancestral Hall
Cao Lingru caught Ji Anyu's lonely look and turned away with a guilty look.

She and her father-in-law already knew yesterday that the Duke had been assassinated. It was useless to tell the younger generations, so they simply didn't mention it at all.

She was so emotional that she forgot about the assassination for a moment.

Ji Xiuxu understood that Ji Anyu had a bad impression of the Duke's Mansion, especially the grudge against Ji Yunchu.

Ji Anyu's statement that he came back in a hurry was just an excuse. In fact, he had never intended to prepare any gifts for the people in the Duke's Mansion.

Ji Xiuxu couldn't bear to blame Ji Anyu for being rude.

After all, no one could accept that a good girl was instigated to marry an inhumane fool.

Ji Xiuxu touched the letter in his arms and sighed.

"Dad, let's open the ancestral hall."

Ji Chengting was slightly stunned. There was no rush to trace one's ancestry.

When he saw his son's serious expression, he immediately realized that something important must have happened.

"Go prepare your things. Everyone else, please leave."

The servants all thought that the Duke valued the newly returned daughter, but they didn't know that the Duke didn't want the family's disgrace to be made public.

Ji Yunchu was confused and puzzled. When her eyes met Ji Xiuxu's deep eyes, she suddenly became frightened.

"Don't be afraid, Yunchu, mother is here."

Cao Lingru also noticed that there was something wrong with the Duke's eyes when he looked at Ji Yunchu, so she immediately hugged Ji Yunchu and stroked her back.

Ji Chengting was old and had seen a lot, so he could tell at a glance that the matter was related to Ji Yunchu.

"Xiu Xu, what happened?"

The next second, Ji Xiuxu took out the banknote and letter and handed them to Ji Chengting. He glanced at Ji Yunchu and said sternly.

"Ji Yunchu, kneel down!"

Ji Yunchu walked into the hall trembling with fear. Her wet nurse Guixiang quickly grabbed the cushion and threw it at Ji Yunchu's feet to prevent him from getting hurt by kneeling.

Ji Xiuxu pretended not to see such a trivial matter. The most important thing right now was to give Ji Anyu an explanation.

"You are so brave!"

After reading the letter, Ji Chengting was furious and threw the letter at Ji Yunchu.

"Ji Yunchu, my mansion has treated you well, but you are so cruel and vicious that you are harming my granddaughter."

Ji Yunchi picked up the letter, read ten lines at a glance, and was also angry.

"Mother, look, this is the daughter you always favor!" After saying that, he stuffed the letter into Cao Lingru's hands.

Ever since he was old enough to understand, he felt that Ji Yunchu was not a good person.

The prince did not come to the Duke's Mansion to propose marriage, and the emperor did not issue an edict to grant the marriage.

Ji Yunchu was alone in a room with the prince. Who would believe her if she said nothing happened?

As a result, he was laughed at behind the back by his classmates in the academy.

It was obvious that he got into the Royal Academy based on his talent, not nepotism!
Cao Lingru read the letter with trembling hands and looked at the trembling Ji Yunchu in disbelief.

"Yunchu, who forced you to write the letter? Tell my mother and she will help you kill her."

Ji Yunchi's eyes widened. The evidence was right in front of him, so why did his mother still believe Ji Yunchu?

"Mom, you are so confused! The person Ji Yunchu killed is my elder sister, your biological daughter!"

"Shut up! I raised Yunchu, how could I not know what she is like? If you are free, go back to the study and study."

Ji Yunchi choked. He was young and energetic, and he caught a glimpse of Ji Yunchu's aggrieved and innocent face.

New and old grudges piled up together, making me so angry that I almost died.

"It's you, bad woman, who harmed my sister. I'm going to beat you to death!" He pretended to kick Ji Yunchu.

Ji Anyu felt warm in her heart, but was afraid that Ji Yunchi would get into trouble, so she immediately hugged Ji Yunchi's waist.

"Yun Chi, you will take the imperial examination in the future, so you must not hurt anyone, lest you leave any evidence against them."

Ji Yunchi came to his senses instantly. He was sad that his sister was forced into such a dirty marriage. Ji Chengting stroked his pale beard with satisfaction.

As expected of his granddaughter, she is sober and sensible.

Yun Chi is still young and doesn't understand court affairs. Ji Yunchu might be the future queen, so nothing should be excessive.

"Your sister is right. Your father and I will take care of the family affairs. You should go and review your studies first."

Ji Yunchi lowered his head in disappointment.

It was because of the indulgence of his grandfather and father that Ji Yunchu became more and more rampant under the protection of his mother and kept testing the bottom line.

My sister's matter will eventually come to nothing.

He secretly blamed himself for being young and having made no achievements, and for having to rely on the Duke's Mansion in many things.

Ji Yunchi stepped over the threshold and turned his head to look at Ji Yunchu, just in time to catch the smug look on Ji Yunchu's lips. He turned around angrily and went to the study.

When Ji Yunchu saw everyone's attention turned to her again, she shrank her shoulders pitifully.

"Mother, I am innocent."

"Don't be afraid. Just tell me who ordered you to do it and I will make the decision for you."

Cao Lingru hugged Ji Yunchu tightly, trying to give Ji Yunchu strength.

Ji Yunchu pressed her face against Cao Lingru's lower abdomen.

What a picture of deep love between mother and daughter, as if someone had bullied them.

Ji Anyu snorted coldly, "Sister, you keep saying you are wronged, but you have forgotten your own identity. You are the daughter of the Duke's Mansion. Who can force you to write a letter in person? Could it be a royal relative?"

Ji Yunchu was speechless. She wanted to push all the blame onto the maid, but Ji Anyu stopped her and she was unable to explain herself for a while.

"Yunchu, you really..." Cao Lingru looked at her with complicated eyes.

"Silly child, didn't mother tell you that even though you and I are not related by blood, you will always be my daughter."

Even though Ji Anyu had died once, he felt a sharp pain in his heart when he heard his mother's words again.

Ji Chengting couldn't bear to see his granddaughter standing alone, and looked at Cao Lingru eagerly.

The mother and daughter just recognized each other at the door, but now it seems like a complete joke.

"Enough!" Ji Chengting slammed the table in dissatisfaction.

"Dad, Yunchu was just confused for a moment. She was just too afraid of losing us, so she acted stupidly." Cao Lingru argued.

"It's you who are confused! If you have any conscience, you should turn around and take a good look at your biological daughter. In your eyes, can the bloodline of my mansion be trampled on by outsiders?"

Cao Lingru knew that he was in the wrong, so he lowered his head and kept silent, not daring to turn around to look at Ji Anyu.

"Why are you still holding her? You did something wrong, so you should be punished! Give her 20 strokes of the cane and kneel in the ancestral hall for two days."

Ji Chengting puffed his beard and glared. Seeing the way Cao Lingru was protecting Ji Yunchu, he knew that Cao Lingru was not convinced.

Cao Lingru reluctantly let go of Ji Yunchu, and she just took a step forward.

Ji Yunchu fainted immediately.

Cao Lingru was shocked: "Yunchu! My son, what's wrong with you?"

"Dad, husband, Yunchu is weak and can't stand the punishment. We are all family, is there anything that can't be discussed calmly?" She pleaded with tears streaming down her face.

She saw that Ji Chengting was unmoved, and the Duke was following Ji Chengting's instructions.

Knowing that he couldn't convince them, he quickly said to Ji Anyu.

"Anyu, aren't you okay now? Now that you're back at the Duke's Mansion, the past is just a thing of the past. Please forgive Yunchu, okay?"

Ji Anyu looked at Cao Lingru disappointedly, lowered his head, turned his handkerchief and said nothing.

Cao Lingru became extremely anxious. "Anyu, I beg you, I will grant you whatever you want."

Ji Anyu wanted to get back the dowry that her grandmother left her before she passed away, but she had just returned to the Duke's Mansion and could not rush into anything.

(End of this chapter)