The Eldest Daughter Returns: Imperial Uncle, I'm Pregnant!

Xiao Yuheng's expression was not good.

He never expected that his uncle would come forward to present betrothal gifts for him today. Back then, only the Crown Prince had received such treatment; even the Second Prince had never received such treatment. He felt that it was because his father valued him that his uncle had come, since his uncle would never have taken on such a matter on his own initiative.

But... it's only been a few days since Madam Gu used the late Madam's dowry to celebrate her birthday, how come she hasn't learned her lesson and has caused such a mess again?

Even if the late madam's dowry was used, it should have been kept hidden. Why is it being openly displayed like this?

Xiao Yuheng really couldn't understand what the Prime Minister's wife's brain was made of, and Gu Hanjiao, did she have no idea how serious this matter was?

"Second Young Master, this is, after all, a family matter of the Gu family. Why don't you refrain from interfering?" Lord Song noticed that the Third Prince's expression was growing increasingly grim, and people around him were starting to notice the growing murmurs.

“I cannot agree with what you are saying, sir. This is indeed a family matter of the Gu family, but it involves my aunt’s belongings. As her nephew, how can I ignore them?” Ning Chengze said to Lord Song with a straight face.

"This..." Lord Song approached Ning Chengze and said, "You yourself said that these are the late Madam's belongings. The late Madam's daughters have not said anything, so they are probably willing to settle this privately."

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Gu realized that Qingwan hadn't said anything, indicating she still cared about the reputation of the Prime Minister's residence. Gu Ziming quickly called Gu Qingwan to his side and said, "I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter, but..."

"Thank you, Father. Shishu, take Mother's dowry list and take a look. Pick out our things and don't take anything that isn't ours."

Gu Qingwan interrupted Gu Ziming, looking at him with great admiration: "Father is so understanding and righteous. I misunderstood you before. I thought you didn't like me."

"You!" Gu Ziming was speechless for a moment after hearing Gu Qingwan's out-of-context reply.

"Gu Qingwan, don't be so ungrateful! How dare you come and ruin my sister's place! Don't you even know where you are?" Gu Changfeng arrogantly came out to support Gu Hanjiao. In his eyes, Gu Qingwan was a pitiful wretch whom the Gu family didn't want, not even qualified to carry his shoes.

"Young Master Gu, it's a good thing I came along, otherwise you might have bullied my sister even more. What? Young Master Gu wants to practice with someone? Chengze is ready to oblige."

Gu Changfeng dared not go against Ning Chengze. He knew that although Ning Chengze did not have a noble title, he was still a veteran of the battlefield and could easily defeat him. Gu Changfeng was so frightened that he quickly took two steps back behind Gu Ziming.

Xiao Yuheng glanced at his uncle's displeased expression and stepped forward to say to Gu Qingwan, "Miss Gu, today is a special day for me, and I hope that you will be lenient."

"Third Prince, you're wrong. How can you say that Qingwan is being lenient? Father ordered the gift list to be checked, and it was Young Master Gu who said he wanted to hit me. It shouldn't be a young lady who should be lenient."

"Miss Gu, I know you have a grievance. Let's sit down and talk it over properly after everyone leaves. Let's leave it at that for now and not miss the auspicious time. I will appreciate it."

"Your Highness is too kind. I can't say how much I've been wronged. It's just a matter of looking at my mother's dowry. I'm sure Madam Gu wouldn't do anything to embarrass Your Highness."

"Qingwan! Be more sensible, and your father will not mistreat you." Gu Ziming knew in his heart that Gu Qingwan was the key to solving the problem, so he lowered his voice and said.

“Father, my maternal grandmother and grandfather were very angry about what happened last time. Madam even wore the earrings from my mother’s dowry when she went there that day. My grandmother didn’t make a scene then, which was already a great honor for the Gu family. Today, the Ning family has also come. I’m afraid I’m powerless to do anything about it.”

Seeing that Gu Qingwan was unyielding, Prime Minister Gu's eyes turned red with anger. He went up to slap Gu Qingwan, but as soon as he raised his hand, it became stuck in mid-air. Gu Ziming turned his head and saw that it was the Prince of Chu who had grabbed his arm.

"What? Are you going to resort to violence in front of me? Everyone says that Miss Gu is not on the Prime Minister's side, and now it seems that it is indeed true."

"Your Highness... no, no, I always treat the children equally..." Prime Minister Gu endured the pain in his wrist, his fear preventing him from saying more. After all, this was the Prince of Chu, and who knew if he might be unhappy and end his life in an instant.

"Hmph." The King of Chu released his grip, took the handkerchief handed to him by Xiao Yi, wiped his hands, and sat there without saying another word.

"Sister, please be merciful. There were so many people watching today, so the servants must have made a mistake. Since it's a mistake, let's leave it at that for now. We can have Mother make up for it later, okay?" Gu Hanjiao pleaded with Gu Qingwan in a very soft voice, her eyes filled with tears.

Seeing Gu Qingwan's uncompromising and aggressive manner, Xiao Yuheng dared not retaliate because his uncle was present. The officials in charge of etiquette, seeing that the prince had not said anything, also dared not say anything more. After all, this was a family matter, so they all lowered their heads and kept quiet, waiting for the prince to speak.

Those who were further away didn't know what was going on, but they noticed that something seemed off, so they started talking about it.

"Father, let's not go to any more trouble. Before it gets out, let me check all of Mother's dowry. I'll take what's mine and leave nothing that's not mine. Otherwise, when Uncle and Aunt come over, things might not end well."

“That’s right, my sister is kind-hearted and persuaded my father not to come along, otherwise…” Ning Chengze added from the side, fanning himself with his fan.

Thinking of his brother-in-law, Gu Ziming felt like his head was about to explode. Ning Xiulan really beat him up every time he saw him, and he had to avoid him even when he went to court. Luckily, he was away from home most of the year, otherwise he would have been laughed at.

"Your younger sister will be a prince's consort in the future, so naturally she won't covet these things from her older sister. I'm doing this for your own good, so that no one will say that you took advantage of my absence to seize my land, shops, and dowry."

“How could I!” Gu Hanjiao immediately retorted.

"Of course my sister wouldn't do that."

"Prime Minister Gu."

Gu Ziming heard the King of Chu calling him and quickly responded, "Your Highness."

"I think we should deal with today's matter as soon as possible. If we can't figure out the auspicious time and it has already passed, then I will bring the Third Prince here another day. You must know that our royal family cannot be criticized by others."

"Your Highness, please rest assured. Please take a seat and have some more tea with the Third Prince. I will take care of my family matters immediately."

Gu Ziming understood what the Prince of Chu meant. If today's matter could not be resolved amicably, then the marriage with the Third Prince would have to be postponed. After all, there were still many days left, and the Ministry of Rites could carefully select a son later. However, this would affect his daughter's reputation.

The Third Prince had been in a bad mood, and even his usual gentle and refined image was crumbling. He couldn't understand why it was so difficult for him to marry a princess.

Thinking back to how his affair with Gu Hanjiao was discovered in the Second Prince's residence, and how Gu Hanjiao's reputation was gradually destroyed, Xiao Yuheng felt powerless. He thought about how the image he had maintained for so long had been ruined by Gu Hanjiao in such a short time, and how people outside were pitying him, the Third Prince, for marrying such a princess.

Having no other choice, Gu Ziming could only nod and allow the Ning family to handle the dowry.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ruyan suddenly felt dizzy and almost couldn't stand up while holding onto Xue Niang's hand.

"Madam! Madam! Madam has fainted!" As soon as Xue Niang shouted, the people around started to stir. Gu Ziming didn't want the matter to become public knowledge, so he asked Gu Hanjiao to take her mother back to rest and come over after everything was arranged.

The housekeeper and Gu Qingwan's four maids, who were waiting at the door, came over and began to check the dowry list given by Gu Qingwan one by one.

As Gu Hanjiao was leaving, she looked at the long dowry list and secretly twisted her handkerchief tightly. The dowry list that she and her mother had been looking for had indeed been taken away by Gu Qingwan.

There was nothing wrong with the first few boxes of things; they were all items that the family had prepared for the weddings of their children. Some things were picked out from the ones sent by Old Madam Gu. Most of the things that Wang Ruyan prepared were also picked out, leaving only some large, impractical items that were obviously just for show.

When Gu Ziming saw that Madam Ning's capable maid, Fang Mama, had come over, his face turned as black as ink.

“Miss, we’ve checked everything. We’ve picked out everything that belongs to the aunt, but…”

"what happened?"

"There are still many things that don't match up; quite a few things are missing."

"This... Father, what do you think?"

"Gu Qingwan, is it really necessary? If you insist, don't blame your father for disregarding our father-daughter relationship!" Gu Ziming thought to himself, how come I used to think this eldest daughter was a good person? She's clearly raised by the Ning family, she's truly my nemesis!

"Please forgive me, Father, the Prince is still waiting inside."

"Go! Someone take Madam Fang to the storeroom!"

After waiting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Madam Fang returned. She shook her head and said with some difficulty, "There are quite a few in the storeroom. It seems that perhaps the servants really made a mistake. This old servant sent people to move them out one by one, but there are still many missing and they don't match up. There are also some property deeds. I will have to trouble Your Excellency to have them sorted out again..."

Gu Ziming clenched his fists, his eyes practically spitting fire: "Where's the stuff?"

"This servant...this servant didn't know, sir. The madam has always held the keys to the storeroom," the steward hurriedly knelt down to apologize.

At this moment, the King of Chu sent Xiao Yi out to ask how things were progressing.

Gu Ziming took a deep breath and said to Gu Qingwan and Ning Chengze, "What's missing, I will find a way to make up for it in the future."

"What if we can't fix it?" Ning Chengze asked nonchalantly.

"Let it go," Gu Qingwan said somewhat awkwardly. "If we can't find it, it must have been used at home. Qingwan has never lived at home, so let's just consider it a gift to Father and Grandmother."

"My God, is the Prime Minister's mansion starving? They're even using Aunt's dowry to make ends meet?" Ning Chengze asked exaggeratedly.

Gu Ziming suppressed his anger, took a deep breath, and said, "If it can't be made up, I'll return the equivalent amount of silver to the Ning family!"

"That's excellent. Everyone says the Prime Minister is the most reasonable person, but there has to be a deadline. What if the Prime Minister drags his feet and doesn't give it to us? How long will we have to wait?"

"Young Master Ning, it's wise to be lenient! One month—the Prime Minister's residence will surely understand this matter within a month! Is that enough?"

“Excellent, excellent! My grandfather and father will surely be satisfied. I was unruly today, and I hope the Prime Minister will forgive me. This guard is also here to bear witness for both our families.”

Xiao Yi, being quite sensible, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I will certainly convey this to Your Highness."

Gu Qingwan nodded: "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness, and thank you for your trouble, Brother Guard. Mama Fang, please clean up. My sister's good time will continue in a little while."

Seeing Ning Chengze nod, Madam Fang didn't say anything more. After paying her respects to Prime Minister Gu, she prepared to leave with her things.

At this moment, Gu Ziming thought that if so many things were to be carried out of the mansion, people outside would definitely know what was going on. He thought that if he could keep them for a while, it would be good to make a good impression. So he said, "The dowry is very heavy. Even the maids, including Fang Mama, can't carry it. Why don't I personally deliver it to the Duke's mansion tomorrow?"

"No need for Your Excellency to trouble yourself with that. I've never seen such a scene before, and it frightened me, so I sent someone to inform my father. There should be my family's guards outside right now. Your Excellency is busy, so we can handle our own affairs," Ning Chengze added.

"Very well, very well indeed, then I won't see you off any further!" Gu Ziming said angrily, then turned and left.