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

Gu Qingwan was somewhat surprised. Given her father's personality, he wouldn't have been so proactive in returning the item, let alone offering her additional compensation. This was simply illogical.

Did Father say anything when he came in person?

"The Prime Minister didn't say anything, but he did mention the Third Miss, and also said that the Second Miss's studies have ended, and the Eldest Miss can go back anytime she wants."

"I don't want to go back. Miss is so comfortable here. Let's stay at home for a few more days." Ru Hua didn't want to go back at all. It was inconvenient in every way there. She was much more comfortable without the Duke's Mansion.

"Ruhua, don't cause trouble for the young lady." Baoqin tapped Ruhua's head, but Ruhua didn't care and stuck out her tongue, continuing to help the young lady with the knot.

"Shishu, are there any defective products mixed in here?" Gu Qingwan asked.

"In reply to Miss, that was also my thought when I first saw the gift list. I personally checked each item with my own people, and there was indeed no problem."

"No problem? That's the biggest problem."

First of all, the fact that the Gu family used her mother's dowry is not a small matter. Even if it were converted into silver, it would still hurt Gu Ziming's health. They couldn't just hand it over willingly.

Gu Qingwan led Shishu to the storeroom and looked around. Sure enough, she found a clue in one place: a box full of goldware. But in a very hidden place inside the goldware, Gu Qingwan found the character "jade".

This is the symbol of the Yu family. Gu Qingwan looked through the other boxes and found that they also had the character "Yu". She was thoughtful. The Gu family had things from the Yu family, which were some of the things in Gu Hanjiao's betrothal gifts. Could it be that Gu Hanjiao had handed over all these things to her?

However, she had seen Gu Hanjiao's betrothal gifts, but she hadn't seen these things at the time. Given Gu Hanjiao's arrogant personality, she would definitely have brought out the best things to show off to her. If they weren't there that day, then they were never there. But now they're here. Could it be that Xiao Yuheng gave these to Gu Ziming on his behalf?

What does Xiao Yuheng mean? Ever since he was injured by her last time, he has been very sensible and hasn't bothered Gu Qingwan. Instead, he sent someone to ask what he had eaten. This time, he actually colluded with Gu Ziming, which must be something bad.

"Shishu, how's the investigation into the Gu family's ice matter that I asked you to do last time?"

"Replying to Miss, Ning Er and the others have been staking out for a while and finally found an opportunity to follow them. This ice is indeed Prime Minister Gu's property, but they seem to have run into a problem recently. They are missing something, making it difficult for them to manufacture the ice."

"Something? What's missing?"

"This maid hasn't found out yet, but since it's missing, she'll definitely search everywhere. I believe we'll find out soon."

Gu Qingwan nodded. She hadn't expected that Gu Ziming, a scholar, would know how to make ice. Ice was a scarce commodity, and its value would increase several times over in the summer. What, now that her mother's dowry was gone, had Gu Ziming, a scholar who regarded money as dirt, started to think about ways to make money?

"Shishu, when you go out later, send someone to investigate whether Prime Minister Gu has been in contact with the Third Prince recently. If so, try to find out what kind of deal they have made."

"Miss, are we overthinking this? Perhaps the Prime Minister really made a lot of money selling ice and decided to compensate you on a whim. Besides, the Yu family is the largest imperial merchant family in our area. Maybe the Prime Minister bought these things from a shop owned by the Yu family?" Shi Shu couldn't understand how her young lady's dowry could have anything to do with the Third Prince.

"What you said makes sense, but I still feel like something's not right. You should send someone to check it out. If there's nothing wrong, that's great. But if there really is something, we must be prepared."

Shi Shu felt that what her mistress said made a lot of sense. If there was a knot in her heart, she had to untie it, otherwise she would be unable to eat or sleep. This would only drain her mental energy and would have no value whatsoever.

After Shi Shu left, Gu Qingwan stared at the pile of things for a long time, recalling the dream Xiao Yuheng had told her that day. When Gu Qingwan heard it, she was shocked and a little scared. For a moment, she suspected that Xiao Yuheng had memories of his past life, but it was only for a moment. Judging from Xiao Yuheng's appearance, it really was just a dream.

But this dream was too real. He could even describe the mark on her waist. She had previously guessed that Xiao Huan had betrayed her to Gu Changfeng, and that Gu Changfeng had told Xiao Yuheng. But now it seemed that wasn't the case; Xiao Yuheng had remembered it himself.

However, if we interpret it this way, we fall into a vicious cycle. If Xiao Yuheng remembered this life on his own, how did he know about the previous life?

Before Gu Qingwan could figure it out, Siqi strode in, carrying a pigeon with bright red fingerprints on its wing. Gu Qingwan's heart skipped a beat, and before Siqi could speak, she quickly stepped forward, picked up the pigeon, and examined the bamboo tube on its leg.

Upon opening it, it read: "Master is in trouble, come to his rescue immediately!"

"What's wrong, Miss?" Siqi wanted to go forward to see, but then felt it was inappropriate.

"Siqi, come and see if this is Xiaoyi's handwriting?"

Siqi didn't dare to hesitate when she heard Xiaoyi's name. She quickly took it and glanced at it, immediately recognizing it as Xiaoyi's. Xiaoyi was always hasty and careless in his actions, so his handwriting was always messy and illegible. Xiaoyi had once written love letters to Siqi, but Siqi mercilessly mocked him, saying that Xiaoyi's handwriting looked like a dog's scribbles. Despite this, Siqi still kept every single letter carefully.

Seeing Siqi's expression, Gu Qingwan knew that it was indeed Xiao Yi's handwriting. Xiao Yi had actually used a carrier pigeon to ask for help, which meant that the prince was really in trouble at the moment.

Gu Qingwan stood in the storeroom for a while, then closed the wooden box closest to her, sat down without saying a word. Siqi knew that her mistress was thinking about something. Although she was anxious and worried about Xiao Yi, she knew that she must not disturb her mistress's thoughts at this time.

The warehouse was filled with a quiet, even suffocating, atmosphere. The pigeon in Gu Qingwan's hand cooed twice, pulling her back to reality.

"Siqi, it seems there's a big problem. Go tell Ningyi and Ninger to prepare. We'll leave after I report to my grandfather."

"Miss, will the old master agree to let you go on this adventure?" Siqi was a little worried. If the old duke did not allow her to go, what would happen to the prince and Xiao Yi?

"You don't need to worry about that. Go back now and take all the medicine powder and hidden weapons you can carry. Even someone as skilled as the prince was ambushed, which means the other party has ill intentions, so we must not be careless."

"Don't worry, Miss, I will definitely bring the most poisonous medicine!"

"Go ahead, we'll meet in the yard in a bit."

Turning the subject, Siqi went back to prepare, while Gu Qingwan rushed to her maternal grandfather's courtyard without daring to waste a moment.

Upon arriving in the courtyard, she happened to see her maternal grandfather watering the flowers. Seeing Gu Qingwan, the old Duke greeted her with a smile, "Little Qingwan is here! Come and see if the flowers your grandfather has planted are beautiful."

"Grandfather, Qingwan has something to tell you."

It was rare to hear Gu Qingwan speak to him with such a serious expression. The old Duke looked her up and down, took the handkerchief Gu Qingwan handed him and wiped his hands, "Then let's go to the study."

In the study.

"What? You mean the King of Chu is in trouble?" the old Duke asked, somewhat surprised. "And how did you know that?"

"It was Xiao Yi, the prince's personal guard, who sent a message to Qingwan by carrier pigeon. Grandfather, Qingwan wants to go and rescue the prince. Please grant her permission."

The old Duke stared at the note Gu Qingwan handed him for a while. His first impression was that the handwriting was so ugly, it was a disgrace to the prince. But perhaps it was really a critical moment, otherwise it wouldn't have been written so carelessly.

"Qingwan, your maternal grandfather is asking you a question. You must answer seriously: what is going on between you and the prince, and why did the prince's guards ask for your help in a critical moment?"

Gu Qingwan knew that now was not the time to hide it. After a moment's thought, she knelt on the ground and said, "Grandfather, your granddaughter and the Prince of Chu have known each other for a long time, and we often have contact."

"You two have been in contact? You don't go out much, so how do you two keep in touch?"

A blush crept onto Gu Qingwan's face. "That's right, that's right, the Prince of Chu often comes to see me..."

"What!" What kind of person was the old Duke? What kind of scene hadn't he seen? Climbing over someone's wall was one of the old Duke's specialties back in the day. Seeing his granddaughter's expression, he knew everything. "This kid, I thought he was a gentleman, but I didn't expect him to be full of evil. He dared to climb over my Ning family's wall right under my nose. I'll chop him to death with a big knife!"

“Grandfather! Even if we want to use that knife to kill the prince, he has to be in the capital. He is in a critical moment right now, and Qingwan cannot just sit idly by.”

The old Duke stood in front of the bookshelf with his hands behind his back and thought for a while. "Didn't the prince go to the south to manage the floods? How could he have met with disaster? Even if it's true, I can go to the palace to report to the emperor and ask him to send people to rescue him."

Gu Qingwan knew that if she didn't tell her grandfather everything, he wouldn't allow her to go. Of course, she could go regardless of the consequences, but that would hurt her grandparents' feelings, and she didn't want to do that.

“Grandfather, you are wise. The Prince’s trip to the south to inspect the floods was just a pretext. The Emperor’s real purpose was to send the Prince to the Western Hills to investigate the matter of the garrison.”

"Gathering troops? How did you know that?" This is no small matter. Gathering troops is a sign of rebellion. No one in the world would gather troops just to farm.

"When Qingwan returned from the border, she encountered a caravan secretly transporting weapons out. The prince caught them and followed the trail to Xishan. The trail went cold there because it was very heavily guarded and people were very wary of strangers. The prince sent many people there, but they all returned empty-handed. Now that there is a disaster in Xishan, the prince has a reason to go there."

"You mean the Emperor also knows about this? Stationing troops here could lead to the extermination of an entire clan! Who on earth is so audacious!"

"His Majesty should know about this. Also, Grandfather, do you remember when Grandmother wrote to you saying that Qingwan and her men found weapons in the cellar of Mother's dowry estate?"

The old Duke paused, and memories gradually surfaced in his mind. The matter could be considered a big deal or a small deal. Later, the King of Chu wrote to him, telling him that he had found a way to secretly transport the weapons away. This matter could be considered a big deal or a small deal for the Ning family.

Having weapons hidden away, especially in the capital, would raise suspicions of treason if reported. The Ning family would be in a difficult position to explain themselves, especially since they still have military merits. There are many who would be envious and try to drag the Ning family down with them.

It seems that the King of Chu's care for the Ning family at that time was not without reason. The biggest reason might be his granddaughter. It's just unknown when these two children started having an affair. Xiao Jingchen is a person of high status and power in the royal family. Is it good or bad that Qingwan is involved with him?

"Your maternal grandfather asked you, what do you mean by the King of Chu? Why do you insist on taking this dangerous trip yourself?"

The old Duke naturally knew about the matter in Xishan. Back when he returned to meet the Emperor, the Emperor and the Prince of Chu had told him some things. The dangers there were far more unpredictable than he had imagined. Moreover, the Prince had come to him before his departure and discussed it with him for an afternoon. He was surprised because he did not expect that Gu Qingwan, who lived in a secluded mansion, would also know about it.

The King of Chu was no weakling in martial arts. If the King of Chu was in danger, then Gu Qingwan's chances of survival would be slim. In his heart, the old Duke did not want Gu Qingwan to go.

"Grandfather, Qingwan has already secretly pledged her life to the Prince. No matter what happens, Qingwan will not regret it. Moreover, you know Qingwan's martial arts skills best. If I were to fight the Prince, Qingwan might not necessarily lose. Please grant Qingwan's wish." After saying this, Gu Qingwan kowtowed three times.

Gu Qingwan was raised by the old Duke, who knew her best. For her to be so reckless, it seemed she had made up her mind. In the old Duke's heart, no man in the capital was good enough for her, including his grandson. But Qingwan was going to get married eventually. If she couldn't find a suitable person to marry his grandson, it would be a good outcome. At least with him watching over her, Qingwan wouldn't suffer any injustice.

But if it were the King of Chu, it would be barely acceptable.

The old Duke sighed and stepped forward to help Gu Qingwan up. "I know you. Go if you want to. Remember not to be reckless. Preserving your life is the most important thing. Your grandmother and I have already lost your mother. We finally got over the pain of losing our daughter in our old age, and now we've lost you. We're getting old, and we might not be able to bear it."

"Grandfather!" Gu Qingwan burst into tears and threw herself into the old Duke's arms, sobbing, "Qingwan will definitely come back safely!"

The old Duke didn't speak, but simply patted the back of Gu Qingwan's head with his rough hand. "Children grow up, and you have to let go. You can't keep them forever."