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

Gu Qingwan was very familiar with Youlan Courtyard. Every corner here bore traces of her mother holding her little hand as they walked through it. Gu Qingwan could almost hear her mother's gentle voice still echoing in her ears, making her unable to hold back her tears.

Gu Qingwan, accompanied by three maids, wandered around the courtyard until they reached the northernmost part of the courtyard, where a wall covered with plants appeared to be the back wall.

Gu Qingwan ordered her people to clear away the plants, revealing a door. She then instructed Siqi to open it. This was the back door of Youlan Courtyard, a secret most people wouldn't know about. Her mother had built this door for her. Opening the north door led to a dead end, and around the corner was a bustling main street in the capital. When Gu Qingwan was little, she loved eating wontons and candied hawthorns from outside, so her mother would send people out through this door to buy them.

“From now on, let’s use this gate for coming and going. It’s more convenient. Baoqin, go find Ning Er to come and have some people tidy up this place. Ruhua, you can go back to the Duke’s mansion. Take whatever you want with you. You can come and go from here.”

"But miss, if the door is open and there are only a few of us, won't it be unsafe?"

"Silly Ruhua, isn't there Ning Er too? See that gatekeeper over there? Ning Er will live there from now on, and he can guard the North Gate for us."

"That's right, with Ning Er around, not even a stray dog ​​should dare to try to get in."

Everyone laughed when they heard this. They figured if Ning Er knew, he would definitely pull Ru Hua's hair again until Ru Hua agreed to make him a few bowls of fish soup.

Gu Qingwan had almost finished tidying up, but there were still some finishing touches that required the help of several head maids. Gu Qingwan didn't ask any further questions. Ru Hua didn't want to make Gu Qingwan suffer in terms of food, so she volunteered to return to the Duke's Mansion. Upon hearing this, Madam Ning immediately arranged for some maids and servants to accompany Gu Qingwan, along with a large cart of ingredients, and they entered Youlan Courtyard with Ru Hua.

"You mean a bunch of maids and servants came to the secluded courtyard? Who arranged for them to go there without my and my mother's consent?" Gu Hanjiao asked, looking at the account book in her hand.

"It seems that the young lady brought it herself, and I noticed that she was cooking for herself in her own courtyard."

"Hmph." Gu Hanjiao sneered, put down the account book in her hand and said, "Let her be. It saves us some living expenses."

"What if the master finds out? Won't he blame the madam and young lady?"

"It's alright, you can put the people we arranged in later. Whether she wants them or not is up to her." Gu Hanjiao has a lot of things to do right now. Before getting married, she still needs to save some money. As the saying goes, only economically independent women have a voice. She can't be a rose that depends on anyone.

"By the way, where is Mother?"

"This servant doesn't know. Since Xue Niang returned, Madam has locked herself in her room and hasn't come out. She's probably resting," Qiu Shuang said.

Gu Hanjiao thought that her mother was tired and it was good that she rested. This way, she could have more control over the household affairs and there were many ways for her to seek personal gain. Most importantly, her father had also bought her a rouge shop. Her recent research on skincare products had also yielded some results. Once the shop was renovated and opened on an auspicious day, she was determined to make the beauty industry a success.

In the following days, the Prime Minister's residence enjoyed a rare period of peace and harmony. Gu Qingwan had things to do every day after returning home and was never idle. Gu Hanjiao was too busy with her own affairs to think about causing trouble for Gu Qingwan. Wang Ruyan was even more anxious and wanted to find out what was going on in Ronghua Lane. Her people had only followed Gu Ziming into Ronghua Lane but did not know which household he had entered. Wang Ruyan was so anxious that she wished she could find out immediately.

"Xue Niang, how are our people doing? Have they found a specific family yet?"

"Madam, please calm down. We're not following too closely, and the master is surrounded by guards and servants. What if we're discovered..."

"Useless, utterly useless at a crucial moment." Wang Ruyan had recently developed blisters on her lips from worry. "How can I not be anxious? What if..."

“Madam, you should calm down now and prepare for the worst. What will you do if we find it? You can’t just stay at home and sulk after we find it; that would be pointless,” Xue Niang suggested.

"A solution?" Wang Ruyan finally calmed down. Yes, what should she do if she was really sure that her master was keeping a mistress? Should she bring her back or secretly sell her off?

"What do you think I should do?" Whenever Wang Ruyan was at a loss, she would ask Xue Niang beside her. Over the years, Xue Niang's advice had calmed her down considerably.

"In my opinion, Madam, why don't you prepare a room? If you find one, we can bring it over while Master is away. Once it's in our household, Madam can do whatever she wants with it."

Wang Ruyan's eyes lit up. Yes, now that she was on her turf, she could do whatever she wanted. Thinking of this, Wang Ruyan felt a little better and sat down to drink the cooling tea that Xue Niang had given her.

"There is another important matter at hand. Madam should arrange a marriage for the eldest young lady as soon as possible. Isn't that what we originally wanted to bring her back? Moreover, I heard from the master that a governess from the palace will be coming soon. Madam should prepare to entertain her as soon as possible. We can't hold the young lady back."

Wang Ruyan understood. The most urgent matter right now was Jiao'er's wedding; everything else could wait. The dowry wasn't fully prepared yet, but it was still necessary to be prepared for any eventuality. What if Gu Qingwan couldn't provide a single penny? They couldn't just wait around like that. Realizing the crux of the matter, Wang Ruyan felt somewhat better.

The King of Chu and the Duke of Ningguo were ordered to go out and inspect the rotation of troops stationed in the capital. Since they would be staying in the military camp these days, they needed to sort out the rotation. After all, the troops stationed in the capital were the last line of defense in the city, and they could not afford to be negligent or lax.

In previous years, he had never paid attention to the affairs here. This time, however, the King of Chu was really angry. The soldiers here were lazy and often engaged in fighting and forming cliques. They were like a pile of loose sand. How could such an army become the last line of defense in the capital? How could he feel at ease going to the front line to fight without any worries?

It seemed he would have to stay here for a few more days. For the King of Chu, it didn't matter much; it was all the same wherever he was. But things were different now. He had something on his mind. His subordinates reported that Wanwan had returned to the Prime Minister's residence these past two days. He wondered how she was doing and whether she had been bullied. He wanted to go back and support his Wanwan.

Surely the old lady and madam of the Prime Minister's mansion would make her establish rules? Thinking of this, the prince's gaze turned somewhat cold.

When Xiao Yi saw his master staring blankly at the sachet given to him by Miss Gu, he knew that his master must be thinking about Miss Gu again and was probably worried about whether she had been wronged or something. Xiao Yi didn't understand. Judging from Miss Gu's superb lightness skill, her martial arts skills must be quite good. There couldn't possibly be any noble lady in the capital who could beat Miss Gu. He didn't know what there was to worry about.

"What are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and get things done so we can return to the capital." The King of Chu was full of impatience and wanted to assign more tasks to Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi's head was about to explode when he heard this. The prince had been tormenting him a lot lately, and now he could fall asleep as soon as he hit the bed. Xiao Yi said that for his own life and to share his master's burdens, as a subordinate, he must offer advice and suggestions to his master.

“Master, the military camp isn’t actually that far from the capital. You’re quite skilled in martial arts, so going back tonight won’t be a problem,” Xiao Yi suggested.

"Nonsense." The King of Chu frowned. "If there's nothing wrong, why would I go back for no reason? Wouldn't that invite criticism?"

Xiao Yi's eyes darted around, and he quickly said in a sycophantic tone, "How can there be nothing wrong? Your Highness is of noble status, and it is not safe for you to be out and about. It is my dereliction of duty that Your Highness did not bring the Green Steel Shadow this time."

The King of Chu stared at Xiao Yi for a while, then nodded seriously: "You're right. Without Qing Gangying by my side, I really feel a little uneasy. Anyway, with the Duke of Ningguo here tonight, nothing serious should happen."

"Your Majesty is wise. The Prince's safety is a matter of utmost importance and cannot be taken lightly. I believe the Duke will be able to understand." Xiao Yi displayed his sycophantic style to the fullest.

Just as Xiao Yi was secretly congratulating himself, a soldier came in from outside the tent to announce his arrival.

"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager has sent people to deliver gifts to our camp."

The King of Chu was puzzled as to why his mother was sending gifts to the camp at this time to reward the army.

"Since it was sent by the Empress Dowager, we should accept it."

"But Your Highness, the girl who delivered the gift said she can only do so after seeing Your Highness, so she's still waiting outside."

"Miss?" The King of Chu frowned upon hearing that there was no "Miss." He couldn't believe it wasn't what he thought—that his mother was playing matchmaker again, introducing him to potential partners.

"Alright, let's go out and have a look."

When the King of Chu arrived outside the military camp, he saw a caravan of carriages in the distance. The carriages carried live sheep and pork, as well as several carts of wine jars. A luxurious carriage followed beside the caravan, with two beautiful maids by its side.