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

Wang Ruyan's expression froze. She only thought that since the Xu family had come, her children should make an appearance. How could she possibly inform Gu Qingwan? She thought that with her and her husband by her side, they wouldn't call the children over. She didn't expect that Madam Xu hadn't forgotten Gu Qingwan.

The last time Gu Qingwan brought her aunt back was because she encountered Madam Xu's carriage breaking down on the way. However, Gu Hanjiao was very suspicious that it was such a coincidence that the carriage broke down on Gu Qingwan's only route, causing Gu Qingwan to take a detour to Ronghua Lane. At that time, she sent people to investigate, but the result was just as everyone had heard.

Although Gu Hanjiao was suspicious, she had no way to prove that Aunt Rou's entry into the mansion was related to Gu Qingwan.

"Hehe, Madam Xu, please sit for a moment. I have already sent someone to invite Miss, but Jiao'er and Changfeng have already arrived, but Miss has not yet come. Perhaps the courtyard is too far away and has caused a delay. I will send someone to check again."

Wherever Wang Ruyan went, she would always praise her daughter. This was a way of telling Madam Xu that Gu Qingwan was a person who did not know manners. She had sent someone to invite her long ago, but she had not come yet. She hoped that Gu Qingwan would leave a bad impression on Madam Xu.

Xue Niang hurried to Youlan Courtyard to find Gu Qingwan, but found no one there. She asked around and learned that Gu Qingwan had gone to the Old Madam's place. Xue Niang wiped the sweat from her forehead and rushed to the Old Madam's courtyard under the sun. Just as she arrived at the gate, she saw Gu Qingwan holding the Third Miss's hand and walking outside.

"Oh, Miss, I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Isn't this Xue Niang from Madam's side? What is it? What does Madam want with me?" Gu Qingwan asked with a smile.

"Madam Xu is here. She specifically asked to see Miss. Miss, please go over there quickly."

"Madam Xu has arrived?" Gu Qingwan looked down at her clothes and said, "Then please allow me to go back to the courtyard to change my clothes before receiving guests."

Xue Niang quickly stopped Gu Qingwan, "Miss, this is fine. You don't need to go back to change your clothes. Please come with me quickly." If Gu Qingwan were to go back to change her clothes and keep Madam Xu waiting for too long, the master would definitely blame his wife for not doing her job well.

Xue Niang didn't care that Gu Qingwan was still holding Gu Hanqing's hand, and quickly had Baoqin and Siqi hold umbrellas and follow her to the front yard.

It was hot outside, but Gu Qingwan didn't feel too bad. However, Gu Hanqing's face was flushed and she was sweating. She felt better after entering the house, and Gu Qingwan greeted Gu Hanqing.

"Qingwan is late. I pay my respects to my father and greet Lord Xu and Madam Xu." Gu Qingwan never brings Wang Ruyan along when she pays her respects, because just as Wang Ruyan herself said, no matter what position she holds now, in Gu Qingwan's eyes she is just a concubine who has drunk the concubine's tea with Ning Jingxian. As the eldest daughter of the legitimate wife, Gu Qingwan naturally would not pay her respects to a concubine.

As expected, Wang Ruyan's expression was not good. She thought that her daughter would speak up for her against Gu Qingwan, but this time Gu Hanjiao did not make things difficult for Gu Qingwan in front of everyone. There was no other reason than that Gu Hanjiao was afraid of offending Gu Qingwan and then she would go back on her word and not let her live in Youlan Courtyard, which would be terrible.

"Come, come, it's not late, it's not late. I came too suddenly. It must be hot outside. I heard from Madam that you live far away. It's so hot, yet I still made you come all this way. Come over here and cool off." Madam Xu didn't mind at all and quickly pulled Gu Qingwan's hand to a cool place, having a maid fan her from behind.

Wang Ruyan was a little unhappy to see Madam Xu ignoring her like this, not even showing the same enthusiasm to her own daughter. Did Madam Xu even know how to read the situation? It was obvious that Jiao'er was the future princess consort, so it was the proper thing to do to curry favor with Jiao'er. Why was she dragging Gu Qingwan, that motherless woman, along?

Gu Hanjiao wasn't very happy inside, but she didn't show it on the surface.

"Madam, you're too kind," Gu Qingwan said.

"There's no need to be so polite," Madam Xu said, taking Gu Qingwan's hand and slipping a gold bracelet inlaid with gemstones onto Gu Qingwan's wrist.

"Madam, this..."

"Take it, take it. I didn't know what you liked before I came, so I didn't bring anything nice. I came here to thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have been stranded on the street by the heavy rain that day. If you don't accept this little thing, I'll have someone send something else when I get back."

Gu Qingwan looked at Madam Xu holding her hand with a bit of helplessness and said, "Then Qingwan thanks Madam for her gift."

"Yes, yes, that's a good child. You can't refuse a gift from an elder, so please take it."

Seeing Madam Xu's enthusiasm for Gu Qingwan, Wang Ruyan could only relieve her discomfort by drinking more tea. Compared to Gu Qingwan's gold bracelet inlaid with gemstones, Gu Hanjiao's hairpin seemed particularly stingy and unpresentable. If Gu Hanjiao hadn't been so patient, she would have thrown the hairpin away long ago.

"Mother, Madam, I'm not feeling well and would like to go back to rest," Gu Hanjiao said.

"What's wrong? Miss was perfectly fine just now, why is she suddenly feeling unwell?" Madam Xu asked.

“It’s probably because it’s too hot. My daughter has been suffering from the summer heat, and with the wedding approaching, she’s been making clothes and shoes for the Third Prince in her room these days. Although we don’t need to prepare the quilt cover, we still have to embroider the mandarin ducks on the pillowcases ourselves to show our sincerity, so…” Wang Ruyan explained to her daughter with heartache.

Madam Xu nodded. "Then Miss, you should go back and rest. Young ladies are the weakest. Although there are some things you need to do yourself, we are a family that can afford to find some good embroiderers to help you in the mansion."

"Thank you, Madam. I will remember this."

After Gu Hanjiao took her leave, Lord Xu was still squinting and drinking tea in anger when he turned around and saw a little boy with a flushed face and two little pigtails standing at the door. He immediately became interested and waved to him, "Hey kid, come here!"

Gu Hanqing was called upon and hesitated before looking at his elder sister. Gu Qingwan nodded, signaling him to come over. Gu Hanqing then walked step by step toward Lord Xu.

"Lord Xu is calling you, why aren't you going? What are you dawdling about?" Gu Ziming said sternly.

Upon hearing his father scolding him, Gu Hanqing immediately quickened his pace, ran to Lord Xu, and bowed deeply: "Greetings, Your Excellency."

Lord Xu squinted, stroked his beard, and asked, "Can you read?"

"I recognize one or two," Gu Hanqing answered timidly in a low voice.

“Then let’s hear you recite the Three Character Classic.”

Gu Hanqing glanced at his elder sister with an unnatural look. Seeing his elder sister smile at him encouragingly, Gu Hanqing stood there and obediently recited the Three Character Classic.

Lord Xu was very satisfied. After reciting one, Lord Xu said, "Recite another one from the Hundred Family Surnames for me."

As Gu Hanqing recited the text more and more fluently, Lord Xu became interested and tested him on other subjects, but the results always made Grand Tutor Xu extremely satisfied.

"This little child is well-trained by Lord Gu. I like him very much. Why don't you make him my page?"

"This..." Gu Ziming hesitated. He was happy that his child was being praised, especially Qing'er's performance, which surprised him even more. When did his daughter, whom he had never cared about, become so outstanding? "She's just a little girl, how could she be worthy of such praise from Grand Tutor Xu?"

Wang Ruyan narrowed her eyes. When did this little illegitimate daughter become so outstanding? Aunt Li really has some clever methods. But then again, Aunt Li is literate, so it's only natural that she can educate the child.

Grand Tutor Xu smiled and stroked his beard, thinking to himself: What a pity to waste such a promising talent.

Madam Xu saw through her husband's thoughts and said, "My husband really does things on a whim. What kind of behavior is it to take someone else's child away? Lord Gu doesn't know, but my husband and I have no children of our own, which is a great worry for us. So when you see other people's cute children, you can't help but want to take them home."

"Hehe, Madam, don't be too anxious. Things about children can't be rushed. Find a doctor to take a look; perhaps there's still a chance," Wang Ruyan comforted her.

"Oh, Madam Gu, please stop making fun of me. I'm already this old, what can I possibly give birth to?"

In fact, who in the capital city doesn't envy Madam Xu? Even though she can't have children, Grand Tutor Xu only has one concubine in his harem. He has never taken on many concubines because Madam Xu can't have children. Moreover, although Grand Tutor Xu is very rigid and difficult to get along with outside, he is a man who dares not contradict his wife.

"Alright, sir, look how frightened this child. How about this?" With that, Madam Xu took a token from her waist and handed it to Gu Qingwan. "Child, take this token from our household and bring your little sister to visit us often."

“How could that be!” Wang Ruyan refused. “The child is carrying your family’s waist token. What if he loses it and someone with malicious intent picks it up? Wouldn’t that be a huge problem?”

"No way, I believe Qingwan will keep it safe. That way, Qingwan can keep me company and talk to me more often, right, sir?" Madam Xu asked.

Grand Tutor Xu nodded and said, "Madam, you can make the decision. I don't concern myself with such matters."

"Thank you for your kind words, Madam. However, you are right. It is indeed inappropriate for Qingwan to carry such a valuable item on her person. If someone with malicious intent were to take it, it would be disastrous. Madam Xu, you should take it back. If you would like Qingwan to keep you company for a chat, you can simply send someone to fetch her."

After thinking about it, Madam Xu realized that Gu Qingwan wasn't having an easy time in this family, so she stopped insisting.

Afterwards, Madam Xu followed Wang Ruyan to the old lady's courtyard to pay her respects, and then bid farewell to Lord Xu before leaving. However, something else happened when they were saying goodbye at the gate.

The people sent by Wang Ruyan to find Master Huang successfully found him, and Master Huang agreed to come to the mansion. As they passed by the gate, they saw the Xu family and the Prime Minister and his wife. Master Huang stepped forward and said to Prime Minister Gu, "My lord, a great calamity will soon befall us. You must report this to His Majesty!"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Gu Ziming glared and shouted angrily.