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

Gu Hanjiao never missed a banquet, big or small, in the capital, and she was always the best. Countless young men in the capital were fond of her. Madam Shen had heard from somewhere that the Second Prince's Consort was going to hold a flower-viewing banquet. Her aunt would probably come to tell her the news soon.

In her previous life, Gu Qingwan returned later than this time, so she didn't attend the flower-viewing banquet. However, she heard that Gu Hanjiao won first place at this flower-viewing banquet, becoming the center of attention and gaining the favor of the Third Prince. It was because of this opportunity that things changed, but there was no further development.

Since the Imperial Concubine did not summon Gu Hanjiao later, perhaps the Imperial Concubine had other considerations or there was something that Gu Qingwan did not know.

Even if she didn't know, it wouldn't matter. In this life, she would definitely help Gu Hanjiao gain the attention of the Imperial Concubine. Wasn't it a pity that she couldn't marry Xiao Yuheng earlier? As her older sister, she must fulfill her wishes.

"Qingwan." As she spoke, Madam Ning led her maid to Gu Qingwan's courtyard.

"Aunt, what brings you here?" Gu Qingwan quickly stood up to greet her aunt.

“It’s almost the end of the month again, and the subordinates are coming to report their accounts, so I’ve been quite busy. I haven’t had time to look after you, so I took some time to come and see if you’re missing anything.” Madam Ning looked around Gu Qingwan’s room, sighing inwardly.

Qingwan's room was still as simple and unadorned as it had been when she was a child. She rarely bothered with the flowers, plants, and ornaments that young ladies usually liked. While other girls' boudoirs were filled with calligraphy and paintings by famous people, her daughter had a sword hanging on the wall. The sword gleamed with silver light and looked quite frightening. This sword was a black iron sword that her uncle had commissioned to be made as a birthday gift for her. Thinking of her husband, Madam Ning couldn't help but spit in her heart. He couldn't even give a gift properly and didn't understand romance at all.

At that moment, Prince Ning, far away on the border, couldn't help but sneeze loudly. His personal guards ran up and asked, "General, have you caught a cold? Should we call the army doctor to take a look?"

"It's alright, we'll just make sure you drink some hot water when we get back. Don't slack off and use the training as an excuse!"

Madam Ning then began to grumble, "Qingwan, your room is too spacious. Should your aunt help you decorate it a bit more?"

“Aunt, there’s no room to step if you decorate any further. I think it’s enough. Look, there’s a study, an embroidery table, and a zither. Everything you taught us is here. You can rest assured. Please sit down and rest.” Gu Qingwan said, pulling Madam Ning’s hand to sit on the soft couch.

"You're our only girl, sigh, I don't know how to spoil you enough." Madam Ning sighed and patted Gu Qingwan's hand. "I raised you single-handedly, but your unreliable uncle probably raised you like a boy, and the result..."

"Pfft, things didn't go as planned, and I'm still like a boy?"

"No, that's not it. In terms of manners and etiquette, you are in no way inferior to those noble ladies in the capital. It's just that you don't like to go out. You're not young anymore, you should go out more often," Madam Ning said earnestly.

"Does your aunt think I'll never get married?" Gu Qingwan feigned sadness.

"Nonsense, there are very few people who are good enough for our Qingwan, how could it be that you can't get married?" Madam Ning pinched Gu Qingwan's nose, which made the maids next to her laugh.

"Ruhua, go and bring some snacks for your aunt to try."

"No need to bother, I just came to see you and I'm leaving. I still have a lot of things to do." Madam Ning called out to Ru Hua, who was about to leave. "I almost forgot the important matter. I came to ask you what you plan to do with your mother's dowry?"

Gu Qingwan smoothed out her silk skirt and sat down at the tea table to begin arranging the tea ceremony. "Ruhua, go to the small kitchen and put some fresh new dishes in the food box. Your aunt will take them with her later."

"Yes, ma'am."

When Baoqin saw that her mistress wanted to talk to the madam, she consciously summoned Siqi and Shishu to go out together. Madam Ning's maid Mingyue also went out and closed the door behind her.

Gu Qingwan slowly fiddled with the teacup. "Auntie, you don't need to worry about Mother's dowry. When I came to the Ning family back then, I brought it all back with me."

"What! You mean..."

"Yes, the dowry list is with me."

She was only five years old when she fell into the water, but she was reborn with the mind of a 25-year-old adult. She knew who saved her, but she really didn't know who pushed her into the water.

Back then, she could tell that her maternal grandmother felt sorry for her, so she begged her grandmother to take her away. Madam Ning had originally intended to take Gu Qingwan away, but she was afraid that Gu Qingwan would refuse. Unexpectedly, the child took the initiative to beg for her. So, Madam Ning and the Duke discussed it and went to the Emperor to complain, saying that they had protected their country all their lives, but in the end, they ended up losing their daughter in their old age. In the end, they were able to take Gu Qingwan away as they wished.

Gu Qingwan observed three years of mourning for her mother at the Prime Minister's residence. During this time, while everyone else was busy, Gu Qingwan directly found the location of her mother's dowry. In fact, her mother had long ago told Gu Qingwan the location of the land deeds, house deeds, and servants' indentures. After finding them, Gu Qingwan simply put them on her person and took them with her.

"My goodness, you were only eight years old at the time, how could you have such thoughts?" Madam Ning asked, quite surprised.

“Aunt, in a family like that, if I hadn’t been smarter, I might have lost my life.” Gu Qingwan handed the teacup in her hand to Madam Ning.

"Yes, yes." Madam Ning nodded somewhat absentmindedly.

"Since the dowry list is with you, why are there still matters concerning the estate?"

“Aunt, you may not know this, but what I took was my mother’s dowry that she had kept hidden away, the kind that was never made public. And now the Gu family is using the income that my mother used to make public to supplement the family’s expenses.”

"What? The Prime Minister's mansion is actually using his wife's dowry to supplement their household expenses? Have they no shame?" Madam Ning was immediately angered upon hearing this.

"Yes, I really feel sorry for my mother."

Before becoming prime minister, Prime Minister Gu was always keen on cultivating interpersonal relationships, giving gifts to this person, hosting banquets for that person, or helping this person's retainer to win over that person's students. There were many places where money was spent. In addition, his mother had never had a good life when she raised her son. Now that her son had money, power and status, she became even more extravagant.

The Prime Minister's household also had many concubines and maids, and he had many relatives who would come to ask for money one day and another the next. In fact, the Prime Minister's household had a lot of daily expenses, and the Prime Minister's meager salary was simply not enough to support such a large family.

"What are you going to do?"

“Since they are Mother’s things, we must take them all back. We can’t let them get away with it. So Wanwan has decided to take the dowry list and go out this afternoon to check on Mother’s shops in the capital and take them all back. As for the things in the mansion, I’ll have to trouble my aunt to take some time to go back with me to take stock of Mother’s dowry.”

"That's no problem, but we still need to inform your maternal grandmother. We can't let them get away with this. Alright, I'm relieved now that you have a plan. Take more people with you when you go out this afternoon."

"Don't worry, Aunt."

"I'll go talk to my mother right away and discuss a plan. We absolutely can't let that whole family get away with this!"

Ru Hua had already packed the food and handed it to Mingyue. Gu Qingwan looked at Madam Ning, who came and went in a hurry, and felt a warmth in her heart. In the long years since she lost her mother, it was her aunt who made up for the lack of maternal love. Such a gentle and intelligent woman was forced to commit suicide in the end. The air around Gu Qingwan suddenly turned cold. She vowed in her heart that she would never let the tragedy of her past life repeat itself!