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

Ning Yi first applied the mashed medicinal paste to Xiao Jia's neck, ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. After that, Ning Er fanned out smoke from the lit herbs.

At this moment, Gu Qingwan took the black iron dagger, found a good position on the top of the helmet, placed the prepared raw meat, aimed the dagger at the spot, and forcefully plunged the black iron dagger into the helmet.

It's difficult to gauge the right depth. If it goes too deep, it might injure Xiao Jia. If he's injured, the Gu worms might burrow directly into his brain. If it doesn't go deep enough, it won't be of any use.

This was the first time Gu Qingwan had done something like this, so she was very unsure of herself. One wrong move and Xiao Jia's life would be lost.

Everyone held their breath and waited for a while. They saw something wriggling inside the piece of raw meat. Gu Qingwan was overjoyed. She used a dagger to pick up the piece of raw meat and threw it directly into a large bowl filled with high-proof liquor. Ning Yi quickly picked up another plate, covered the bowl, and threw it into the tobacco that had been lit earlier.

Ning Er quickly handed over a second piece of raw meat. Actually, it didn't matter whether there was a second piece or not. The main thing was that Gu Qingwan was worried that the contents hadn't been cleaned properly. After waiting for a while, the meat showed no reaction, and Gu Qingwan finally felt relieved.

She found the previous incision by inserting the dagger into the raw meat, and slowly pushed it in. The sound of the dagger rubbing against the metal was extremely harsh, and Xiao Jia seemed to be unable to bear it any longer, clenching her fists tightly.

Xiao Jingchen noticed that Gu Qingwan seemed a little uncomfortable, probably because she was afraid of hurting Xiao Jia. So he took the initiative to hold her hand and used some of his internal energy. Sure enough, this time it was much smoother than before.

Not long after, some green liquid began to leak from the gaps in the helmet.

"Quickly, bring a basin. Don't touch these liquids; they're poisonous."

Seeing this, Xiao Yi quickly brought over the basin. After the liquid had mostly drained, Xiao Jingchen signaled Gu Qingwan to let go, and he himself gently twisted the dagger, splitting the helmet in two.

Xiao Yi stepped forward with a handkerchief to help Xiao Jia completely remove the helmet.

Xiao Jia was still a little disoriented at first, and it took him a while to recover. Everyone looked in Xiao Jia's direction and saw that his face was covered in bruises. It seemed that the person who hit him was careful not to leave any wounds on his face. His beard was already very long, his cheekbones had become very high, and the skin on his lips had peeled off in several layers.

"Xiao Yi, get some water for Xiao Jia. I know you're thirsty, but you can't drink it too fast. Can you do that?"

Xiao Jia nodded. Although he was very thirsty, his reason was still able to control his body. You have to know that to become Xiao Jingchen's bodyguard, his willpower was definitely not just talk.

Xiao Jia took the teacup and drank it sip by sip. Although he tried his best to control himself, the cup of tea was soon empty. At this moment, Gu Qingwan gave him a pill.

"Eat up. Xiao Yi and the others have already eaten. It will help you recover your strength."

Xiao Jia put it in his mouth without any hesitation.

"Miss, what should we do with this?" Ning Yi pointed to the basin in the corner.

Gu Qingwan gestured for Ning Yi to open the lid. The once clear white wine had turned into a light green liquid, with some red, thread-like worms floating on top. Those were probably the corpses of the Gu worms.

Gu Qingwan breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, Ning Yi, go and dispose of these things in a moment. Just burn them. The person carrying the Gu Mother will definitely sense what we did today, so Your Highness should not stay here any longer. Let's rest for a while and then head back."

Xiao Jingchen agreed with Gu Qingwan's words. Their arrival had already attracted the attention of the people here, not to mention that Xiao Wu and Xiao Xu were still impersonating them for Prefect Zhao. He wondered how they were doing now.

"Xiao Jia, you will all return to the capital with me."

"Master... what should we do here?"

"We've already alerted them. Staying here will only increase the danger for you; you won't find out anything else. I'm sure the people here will find the capital soon. Let's go back and make our plans later."

"Yes!"

"Xiao Bing, Xiao Ding, you two go find Xiao Wu and the others and tell them they can evacuate. They can decide how to evacuate. The king and the young lady will go first, and you can follow later."

"As ordered!"

After they finished eating, Ning Yi and Ning Er bought several more horses and two carriages to prepare for their return to the capital. Gu Qingwan saw that Achen and Xiaoxi had also packed their things neatly, so she took them back with her.

Inside a mansion.

"puff!"

"High Priest, why are you coughing up blood!"

The high priest wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth and looked meaningfully at the doors and windows. "The person we captured earlier actually broke my Gu worms and even killed them. The ancient mother inside me is feeling a bit agitated."

"What! Who is he that he could break your Gu worm!"

"Hehehe, this is interesting, very interesting indeed. There are very few people in this world who can break my Gu worms... I want to see just who has such ability!"

They traveled slowly, as Gu Qingwan and Xiao Jingchen wanted to take advantage of the good weather to enjoy the scenery. They pretended to be a couple traveling together. Xiao Jia was the most seriously injured, mainly due to internal injuries that required rest, so he stayed in a carriage with Achen, while Ning Yi drove the carriage from the outside.

Gu Qingwan, along with Siqi and Xiaoxi, sat in a carriage. Ning Er was driving outside, while Xiao Yi rode a horse just like the prince. The group was having a great time.

When passing by Cangshan, seeing that Lord Xu had stabilized the disaster situation there, Xiao Jingchen did not linger and headed directly towards the capital. Along the way, there were still many disaster victims, and he thought that these disaster victims might have reached the capital.

Unexpectedly, the disaster victims all stayed in Pingtongzhou, which is some distance from the capital, and they were just about to settle down here.

"Sir, are you here for a meal or a quick bite? Our shop has everything you need, and all the facilities are complete. You won't find a place as good as ours anywhere else in Tongzhou." The waiter could tell from Xiao Jingchen's extraordinary demeanor that he must be a wealthy and influential person, especially with so many servants with him. Such a patron had to be served well.

Xiao Jingchen looked around for a moment, then stepped forward to the carriage and extended his hand to Gu Qingwan, who was about to get off. "Madam, what do you think of this place?"

Gu Qingwan felt a little embarrassed by being addressed as "Madam." Xiao Jingchen was usually not good with words, so why did he have so much to say in front of her?

"Ahem, this will do."

"Alright, please come in, distinguished guests!" the waiter called out hurriedly.

Xiao Yi went in first, walked over to the innkeeper, and gave him two ingots. "Innkeeper, three guest rooms."

"Oh, unfortunately, there's only one room left in the 'Heaven' tier. How about I get you two 'Earth' tier rooms?"

Xiao Yi was overjoyed. This was practically God helping their master and the princess to connect and express their feelings. He quickly made the decision.

When Xiao Yi saw the shopkeeper collecting money, he sighed inwardly. They had lost almost all their travel money on this trip. Xiao Bing and Xiao Wu hadn't returned, so the prince was now penniless, living entirely on the princess's money, but the prince was perfectly content with it.

The princess was indeed remarkable. When she ran out of money, she sent Ning Yi and Ning Er into the city. When they returned, they had money. Later, she secretly asked Siqi, who said that her young lady owned properties in the city, so she had no worries about food and drink.

Xiao Yi suddenly felt as if his master had found a powerful patron. His master never asked about money matters; the steward handled everything. Sometimes, they, the secret guards, had to protect their master and run errands to ensure the family didn't run out of food. Just thinking about it brought tears to his eyes.

The prince owns so many properties that it's impossible to count them all. If the princess were to come, she would surely turn the prince's mansion into the wealthiest one. Xiao Yi thought to herself that if that were to happen, the Yu family might have to relinquish their position as the richest family.

Gu Qingwan and Xiao Jingchen entered the room, and Gu Qingwan found the environment to be quite nice.

"Master, Madam, this is the only room left. Would you two please make do for now?" Xiao Yi explained like a lackey. Si Qi, standing next to him, couldn't help but roll her eyes at Xiao Yi's obvious expression.

Although Xiao Jingchen often climbed over the wall to her boudoir in the middle of the night, she still felt somewhat embarrassed living together so openly. Xiao Jingchen noticed Gu Qingwan's concerns and patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry too much. Today is the Qixi Festival. We'll go out to see the lanterns tonight."

Gu Qingwan thought to herself, "It's so fast. If I count the days, my second sister should be getting married by the time we return to the capital."

Gu Qingwan hadn't expected time to pass so quickly. She wondered what was happening in the capital now. There were still many things waiting for them when they got back, so she decided to take this opportunity to relax and enjoy some time just for the two of them.

Thinking of this, Gu Qingwan stopped being coy and said, "Let's leave it at that. My lord is of noble birth and cannot be wronged."

"Yes, yes, Madam, please go in and rest first. I'll go order the food and bring it in shortly."

"Sure, you guys can get a private room downstairs and have a proper meal together. Order whatever you want, there's plenty of money. Today is the Qixi Festival, so we're giving you a day off to rest and go out and have some fun tonight."

"Is it true, Miss?" Siqi was so excited she almost jumped up. The tense atmosphere of the past few days had left everyone feeling exhausted, and they could finally have a proper vacation and rest.

"Yes, go and get ready."