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

On the afternoon of the second day, two palace maids arrived at the Gu residence, where Gu Ziming and Wang Ruyan personally greeted them at the entrance.

"We, your servants, greet Your Excellency the Prime Minister and Your Excellency's wife." Two palace maids, dressed in understated but impeccably elegant attire, appeared to be over forty years old. Their hair was neatly combed, and their expressions were stern yet their manners were impeccable as they greeted Gu Ziming.

"You two have worked hard, please come in."

“Thank you, Your Excellency. We servants have to serve our mistress and get our waist tokens before we can leave the palace. We are a little late, please forgive us.” One of the nannies, who was tall, had sharp eyes, and exuded an air of authority, said.

"Hehehe, it's alright, it's alright. It's more important that you are here. I'm about to go out anyway, so please take good care of the palace maids for me."

"Master, don't worry."

Wang Ruyan was wearing a deep purple turtleneck dress today. Normally, wearing a turtleneck on such a hot day would seem out of place, but there was no way around it; Gu Ziming had been too ruthless yesterday, and the finger marks on her neck were particularly obvious. The palace maids had seen it all; the tall one remained expressionless, but the shorter, slightly plump one gave Wang Ruyan a suggestive look, making her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Hehe, please come in, ladies. Let's talk as we walk. May I ask how we should address you?"

The tall, slender nanny said, “Madam, you’re too kind. We are just servants, only here to serve the Second Miss for two days on imperial orders. Madam, there’s no need to be so polite. People in the palace politely address their servants as Granny Xin, and this is Granny Liu.”

"So it's Granny Xin and Granny Liu. You two have worked so hard serving the masters in the palace. It's an honor for the Prime Minister's residence to be able to come and guide my daughter amidst your busy schedules. Please come in, Grannies. The guest rooms are all ready."

Upon hearing this, Granny Xin stopped in her tracks.

"Why are you two not leaving?" Wang Ruyan asked, turning around in surprise.

“Madam, we think it would be too much trouble for your household to go to such lengths. We two have a mission to perform, and we dare not forget to serve the Second Miss at any moment. If we fail to do so properly, our reputation may be ruined in the future. So please take us directly to the Second Miss’s residence, and we will stay with her.”

While Gu Hanjiao was tidying up her room, Wang Ruyan walked in with two nannies, her expression complicated.

"Mother, this..."

"Hehehe, Jiao'er, don't be busy. Come and greet the two nannies. These are Nanny Xin and Nanny Liu, who were sent by the palace to teach you etiquette."

"Greetings to the Second Miss." The two matrons greeted her first.

Gu Hanjiao was still in a daze. Shouldn't she have checked in today and started teaching tomorrow? Why was she brought here? Gu Hanjiao was a lady from a prominent family, so she naturally had the demeanor of one. She just nodded and didn't actually bow to the palace servants. In her eyes, even if they came from the palace, they were still servants.

Granny Xin was a little unhappy, but Granny Liu, with her round face, quickly changed her expression and said very smoothly, "I have long heard that the Second Miss is the most beautiful woman in the capital. Seeing her today, I can confirm that she lives up to her reputation."

"You flatter me, Mother. You must be tired from your long journey. Please take you there and get some rest. We'll have a feast for you tonight to welcome you back."

"This..." Wang Ruyan looked at the two women with some difficulty, not knowing how to explain it to her daughter, because she had heard the two nannies talk about their itinerary over the past few days, and she was also in a dilemma.

Gu Hanjiao was initially confused, but she later understood that the two nannies would be living and eating with her for the next ten days, and one of them would even be watching her while she slept at night.

"Granny, I don't understand, why do you have to stay here and watch over us at night?"

"Second Miss, you will be a royal consort in the future, so your sleeping posture must be elegant. You can't sleep like a girl from a humble family. What if you sleep in an unseemly way and accidentally crush the Third Prince?" Granny Xin explained expressionlessly while sitting on the embroidered stool by the bed.

Gu Hanjiao was speechless. Angrily, she lay down on the bed, pulled the blanket over her head, turned to face the wall, and stopped talking.

"Second Miss, what you are doing is wrong. There should be no other noise when you get into bed. You should sleep in an elegant posture, facing upwards, not with your back to your husband. The blanket should cover your waist and abdomen, not your head. So, please do it again, Second Miss."

Gu Hanjiao suppressed her temper, got out of bed and got back into bed.

"Second Miss, what you are doing is wrong. You should sit on the edge of the bed, take off your shoes, and arrange them neatly with the toes pointing outwards."

Gu Hanjiao got out of bed again, put on her shoes, took a deep breath, walked back to the bedside, sat down, and took off her shoes. Before her feet were even on the bed, just as they were raised in mid-air, she heard Granny Xin speak again.

"Second Miss, how come you've even forgotten how to sit? In my opinion, you've forgotten everything we learned today."

"Granny, I'm just a little tired, not that I forgot. I'll be fine after I rest well tomorrow morning."

"That won't do. As a royal wife, there are many arduous tasks. If in the future, the Second Miss becomes tired from managing the household affairs or attending royal banquets and forgets her etiquette and manners, wouldn't she become a laughing stock if others saw her like that?"

Gu Hanjiao couldn't help but roll her eyes. Who would go to her and the Third Prince's bedroom in the middle of the night to watch her sleep?

"Second Miss, please watch your expression. If you really have forgotten, then you shouldn't sleep. Let's go through the day's lessons again."

"Learn it again?" Gu Hanjiao stared at Granny Xin in disbelief, as if the inhuman torture she had endured during the day was still vivid in her mind.

"Yes, Second Miss. We only have ten days. We will be learning something different every day. So please study hard so that we can all have an easier time."

"No need, no need, I can do it. I haven't forgotten, Granny, look." Gu Hanjiao quickly put on her shoes, stood up, and prepared to get back into bed.

"Second Miss, even if you're in a hurry, you can't bend down to put on your shoes so hastily. Your collar will come undone, which is not the manners of a lady from a respectable family. So you'll have to do it again in a bit."

Gu Hanjiao was almost in tears. She had been taught by Granny Xin for most of the night about getting into bed. Finally, she got into bed, lay in the right position, and covered herself with the blanket. Granny Xin's mouth finally stopped opening, and Gu Hanjiao could finally relax a little.

Gu Hanjiao was exhausted and seemed to fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Before she could even enter a deep sleep, Granny Xin woke her up again.

Gu Hanjiao was grumpy when she woke up. Her sweet sleep was interrupted, and she sat up with a displeased expression, staring at Granny Xin with a gloomy face.

"Second Miss, you shouldn't grind your teeth or smack your lips while sleeping. Please go to sleep again..."

Before Granny Xin could finish speaking, Gu Hanjiao picked up a pillow and threw it at her head. Granny Xin was an experienced nanny who had seen many princesses in the palace with tempers worse than hers. For example, the Second Princess, whoever interrupted her sleep, would often have vase thrown at her.

Granny Xin calmly caught the pillow, placed it back in its original position, stood up, and took a few steps back. "Please, Second Miss, sleep again."

Gu Hanjiao was also anxious and unwilling to cooperate. No matter what Granny Xin said, Gu Hanjiao simply ignored her.

Granny Xin smiled and said, "Second Miss, it seems you are not very satisfied with the two of us. It's not good that things are like this on the first day. Tomorrow morning, we will go back and report to the Imperial Concubine so that you can have someone else teach you."

Hearing what Granny Xin said, Chunlu and Qiushuang, who were serving nearby, became a little anxious. Qiushuang quickly stepped forward, squatted down by the bed, and whispered in Gu Hanjiao's ear, "Miss, this is not the time for you to throw a tantrum. This afternoon, I inquired a little and found out that these two nannies were personally selected and sent by the Imperial Concubine with the approval of Her Majesty the Empress. You cannot go against the Imperial Concubine's wishes."

Hearing that it was the Imperial Concubine's idea, Gu Hanjiao gritted her teeth until they hurt. The Imperial Concubine said on the surface that she would treat her like a daughter, but she was actually making things difficult for her behind her back. Are all mothers-in-law like this throughout history?

Granny Xin also heard a few words from Qiu Shuang and a very sarcastic smile appeared on her lips, but only for a moment. She explained, "Second Miss, please don't think we are being harsh. Even the Second Princess in the palace was raised by us. Although Second Miss's reputation is not very good, the Imperial Concubine still has high expectations for you. I hope Second Miss will not let the Imperial Concubine down. Let's begin now."

Gu Hanjiao had no choice but to grit her teeth and endure it. It was easy to drive away Granny Xin and the others, but Consort Yu would definitely send others, and things might be even worse than they were now. Although she knew that Consort Yu was making things difficult for her, she couldn't say anything.

That night, the Qingfeng Xiaozhu where Gu Hanjiao stayed was kept lit, and the words "Second Miss, please start over" could be heard from inside the room until the rooster crowed at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), when Granny Xin yawned wearily.

Gu Hanjiao was exhausted from sleeping and waking up intermittently throughout the night. When she saw that Granny Xin was also yawning from sleepiness, she suddenly felt that hope had arrived.

"Granny is tired. Why don't we stop here for tonight? Granny, you should go back and rest."

Granny Xin nodded, seeing that it was about time, and prepared to let Gu Hanjiao go. "Thank you for your concern, Second Miss. It's getting late, I'll leave after you fall asleep."

Upon hearing that there was hope, Gu Hanjiao, filled with excitement, carefully and perfectly completed each step. Once in bed, she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, waiting for Granny Xin to leave. What a joke! If she really fell asleep and did something wrong, Granny Xin would definitely wake her up again, and that would be too unpleasant.

Seeing Gu Hanjiao's eyelashes trembling, Granny Xin couldn't help but smile to herself. She didn't say anything and went back to sleep.

Gu Hanjiao squinted through a crack, her body indeed not daring to move. Seeing this, Chunlu quickly stepped forward and whispered to Gu Hanjiao, "Miss, the person has left, you should rest well."

Gu Hanjiao let out a sigh of relief, finally able to get some sleep. Qiushuang dimmed the candlelight a bit and left with Chunlu. Although she could finally sleep, Gu Hanjiao tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Thinking about what had happened during the day, she realized she had never suffered so much in either of her two lifetimes.

After tossing and turning, Gu Hanjiao finally fell asleep, but she felt like she had only been asleep for a short while when Granny Liu stood at her bedside and said, "Second Miss, it's time for you to get up..."