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

"What? Gu Qingwan went to Aunt Li's courtyard?" Gu Hanjiao asked, putting down what she was holding.

“That’s right. The young lady wandered around the manor aimlessly at first, and somehow she ran into Aunt Li and went to sit in her courtyard for a while, but she came out not long after.” Chunlu said.

"Did you go and find out? What did you do and say there?" Gu Hanjiao was a little puzzled. She didn't understand why Gu Qingwan went to a concubine's room. Even if she wasn't favored, there was no need for a legitimate daughter to go and chat with a concubine.

"I went to inquire, and it seems that she just sat there for a while, rested, and drank some tea. When she was about to leave, her aunt complained that she was poor. The young lady couldn't refuse and impatiently asked the servants around her to give her a bag of loose silver at the courtyard gate. She left looking quite unhappy."

Gu Hanjiao smiled. This Aunt Li was indeed a low-class person. It was also because her mother controlled the household too strictly that her father's concubines and maids did not have a good life. However, it was hard to say how bad it was. It was just that their allowances were deducted. If they didn't ask, they wouldn't be paid. If they asked, they would be paid later. In short, there was nothing that could make them happy.

In truth, Gu Hanjiao felt that her mother had gone too far. Having a helper was better than fighting alone. Besides, that Aunt Li was a law-abiding woman who only had one concubine's daughter who couldn't have children in the future, so she posed no threat at all. Yet her mother was always worried and would cause trouble for that mother and daughter whenever she was in a bad mood.

It's likely that Aunt Li couldn't make ends meet with her young concubine's daughter, and seeing that Gu Qingwan was back, she figured she could try to appeal to her emotions and make some money off her.

"It's alright. Aunt Li is probably just using Gu Qingwan's mother as an excuse to gain sympathy and ask for some living expenses. There's no need to pay attention to it." Gu Hanjiao didn't seem to care. "By the way, how's Mother doing? Why is it taking so long?"

Spring Dew and Autumn Frost exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

Wang Ruyan went to the old lady's Fulu Courtyard. At first, the old lady refused to see her, but after thinking about it, she called her in.

"Why are you here at this time? Qingwan has made all the arrangements?" the old lady asked with her eyes closed.

"Replying to Mother, Miss didn't bring anything with her, so she's relatively easy to settle in." Wang Ruyan deliberately mentioned that Gu Qingwan returned empty-handed, not even bringing anything back when her grandmother was sick.

"Hmph, what else do you want to tell me?" Old Madam Gu asked cryptically.

Wang Ruyan didn't understand what the old lady meant, but she did have something to do there, so she could only explain her purpose to the old lady first: "Yes, Mother, as soon as the eldest young lady returned, she occupied Youlan Courtyard. My daughter... is about to become the prince's consort. Mother knows this... It's not a good thing. I hope Mother can step forward and persuade the eldest young lady."

When Madam Gu heard this, she didn't even lift her eyelids, and just snorted, "Hmph, what did the master say?"

Wang Ruyan choked, and after a long while, she said, "Master has agreed, so I came to see Mother, hoping that Mother..."

"Since Master has agreed, what use is it for you to come to me? Do you think I would go against Master's decision? Are you trying to cause discord between my son and me? What are you up to?!"

“Mother, you have misunderstood your daughter-in-law. I would never have thought that way. It was Jiao’er who said that the palace’s governess was coming in a couple of days and that it would be undignified for her to stay in another courtyard.”

"Decent? What kind of decentness do you want? Is your decentness about stealing other people's things?"

“Mother, what do you mean? When has your daughter-in-law ever taken anything from others? Although I come from a humble background, I would never do such a despicable thing as taking other people’s things,” Wang Ruyan quickly stood up to defend herself.

"You know in your heart whether it's true or not." Old Madam Gu was somewhat mindful of Wang Ruyan's status as the Third Prince's wife's mother, so she didn't make things too difficult for her. "As for Youlan Courtyard, you know what's going on. That originally belonged to Qingwan's mother. What can I, an old woman, say? Let the master do what he wants. What can I, an old woman half buried in the ground, do?"

Wang Ruyan left the Fulu Courtyard feeling humiliated, thinking to herself, "Oh well, let Jiao'er move out. We'll figure something out later. Maybe Gu Qingwan won't stay in the mansion permanently anyway."

Wang Ruyan opened her eyes after leaving the old lady, and had the magpie tap her other leg, saying, "You still dare to deceive me? You've already arranged all the tonics that the young lady sent?"

Magpie nodded: "Don't worry, Madam. The eldest young lady sent a whole cartload of tonics to you. I heard from outside that you originally didn't like the things the eldest young lady sent and had them returned, but the eldest young lady thought that you could use them. Luckily, our people are at the side gate, so we had them sent in."

"It's not that she doesn't like it; she probably just wants to keep it all to herself. But that child is kind-hearted and good-looking; it's just a pity that she has bad luck."

It turns out that Gu Qingwan did this intentionally. After Siqi sent the carriage away, she deliberately instructed the driver to circle around the Prime Minister's residence. They happened to run into the old lady's people. After being questioned three times, the maidservant quickly went to the old lady's place. The old lady then sent someone to pack up all the things, so Wang Ruyan was unaware of it.

However, in the eyes of the narrow-minded old lady, Wang Ruyan was simply trying to seize her son's property and her belongings. The old lady looked down on Wang Ruyan and was only thinking about having more children for her son, and how to get Wang Ruyan removed from her position so that her son, the prime minister, could marry a lady from a prominent family.

Seeing Wang Ruyan's expression after returning, Gu Hanjiao knew that her mother had probably not handled things well. She didn't say anything and took Chunlu and Qiushuang to the courtyard that her mother had prepared for Gu Qingwan.

This courtyard originally belonged to Aunt Han. Because Aunt Han was quite favored, this courtyard was considered relatively large. Gu Hanjiao felt furious when she saw the courtyard in front of her.

"Miss, shall we go in?" Chunlu asked.

Gu Hanjiao glared at her: "No, let's go, let's go stay in Mother's courtyard!"

Gu Hanjiao had no desire to live in a place that a concubine had once lived in. Originally, this place was chosen by Gu Hanjiao and her mother for Gu Qingwan, mainly to disgust Gu Qingwan. Besides, Gu Qingwan was getting old, and living in a place that a concubine had once lived in was simply an implication that Gu Qingwan would also become a concubine in the future. Even if it got out, it wouldn't matter. This courtyard was considered a large courtyard in the mansion, and it was quite exquisite. It couldn't be considered that the mistress was mistreating the original wife's daughter.

Unexpectedly, this was prepared for her. Gu Han was furious and led her people to the main courtyard.

"Jiao'er? What happened to you..." Wang Ruyan bumped into Gu Hanjiao, who was turning back towards the main courtyard, and asked in surprise.

Gu Hanjiao took a deep breath and said, "Mother, I want to stay in your courtyard."

"Well...wouldn't it be inconvenient if your father came back?"

“My father hasn’t come back recently either. Besides, I’m getting married soon and want to stay with my mother. I hope my mother can grant my wish,” Gu Hanjiao said.

Wang Ruyan's face was somewhat unpleasant. Her daughter was right; the master was indeed no longer coming to her side. However, having her daughter bring it up in public made her, as a mother, feel a little embarrassed.

"Then, then come on over. The main courtyard is large and the servants take good care of it. You can choose whichever room you like and stay there. After Gu Qingwan leaves, you can still get married from Youlan Courtyard."

"Daughter, I really don't understand why we went through all that trouble to bring Gu Qingwan home. Did we just want to make ourselves suffer?"

"My dear child," Wang Ruyan looked around, "Don't worry, my dear child, I will definitely find a way to make up for the grievances you suffered today!"

Gu Hanjiao knew this wasn't the time to throw a tantrum, so she softened her tone and said, "Mother is still the best to me, but it would be better to deal with this matter sooner rather than later. If the Third Prince comes back, he will probably be unhappy."

Wang Ruyan patted Gu Hanjiao's hand and said, "Mother will understand. Why don't you stay in my courtyard first? It's a good opportunity for Mother to talk to you about some things before your marriage."

Gu Hanjiao followed Wang Ruyan back to the main courtyard with a shy and delicate demeanor.

Gu Qingwan led Siqi around the mansion for a while, and when she felt it was about time, she returned to Youlan Courtyard. After returning, she and Ruhua were tidying up the old zither and painting, but no one came forward to help them. After all, the servants dared not help without the lady's permission, since they would still have to make a living under the lady's care in the future.

Gu Qingwan wasn't in a hurry. Looking at the plants and trees here, she felt that they still had some traces of the past, but they also seemed to have changed. She entered the master bedroom, where the decorations and furnishings hadn't changed much. Her mother had always been a talented woman, and she had her own unique taste in decorating rooms. Gu Hanjiao thought that this style suited her temperament very well, so she begged her father to give her Youlan Courtyard.

“Miss, we have already tidied up the room. A lot of the items on the register are missing, but that’s not a big deal. The important thing is that no one has brought us the bedding and pillows. There are also some places that need cleaning. Your servant and Ruhua are a bit too busy.”

"Hmm...it is indeed a bit tricky. Since we can't sleep for the time being, and it's getting late, let's have dinner in Grandmother's courtyard. We'll come over after Madam has finished getting ready. If she's not ready tonight, we can squeeze in with Grandmother, which will make us seem closer."

The group exchanged glances and laughed. It was Miss's idea after all. After briefly looking around the courtyard, the mistress and her servants headed towards the old lady's courtyard.

As expected, just as Old Madam Gu was about to rest, she heard that Gu Qingwan had come to her place to beg for money. In addition, the old lady had been disturbed several times that day. Considering the cart of tonics, she suppressed her displeasure and let Gu Qingwan go first. After Gu Qingwan left, she started to get angry. She had Xique call Wang Ruyan over and gave her a good scolding. She was no different from a shrew from the streets. The old lady got more and more into scolding and almost lost control. It was only later that Gu Hanjiao brought her medicine and saved her mother.

Gu Qingwan didn't have to wait long after returning to Youlan Courtyard. Magpie, who was by the old lady's side, brought food, clothing and other necessities with her, saying that Gu Qingwan should make do for the night. Gu Qingwan did not make things difficult for Magpie and her people.

Wang Ruyan was so angry she was practically fuming. She'd been inexplicably scolded by the old lady again. "That Gu Qingwan is here specifically to bring me bad luck! She's only been back for less than a day, and look at how unlucky I am! I've been scalded by the old lady with boiling water, scolded by the old lady, and scolded by the master! Even my precious child is suffering because of her. It's infuriating!"

However, the matter did not end there. Xue Niang walked in from outside with a heavy expression. Seeing that Wang Ruyan was furious, she didn't know how to say the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Wang Ruyan saw Xue Niang and took a few deep breaths before saying, "What is it? Tell me."

“Madam…Master…did indeed go to Ronghua Lane.”

"what!"