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

The next day, urged by the Prime Minister's wife, Gu Hanjiao impatiently chose a pink dress instead of her favorite white one, and headed to the Third Prince's residence with the desserts she had created.

Just as she reached the door, she bumped into her father, the Prime Minister, who was returning from court. Gu Ziming looked at his daughter, who was dressed as a flower, and her beautiful face was a sight to behold.

"Jiao'er, where are you going?" Gu Ziming stopped and asked.

"Greetings to Father." Gu Hanjiao gave a proper curtsy before slowly saying, "I'm going to the Third Prince's residence to check on his injuries."

Hearing this, Gu Ziming frowned. He glanced at the door behind Gu Hanjiao and said, "Are you going alone?"

Gu Hanjiao was a little confused and looked back suspiciously, saying, "Chunlu and Qiushuang accompanied our daughter; she wasn't going alone."

Gu Ziming thought for a moment and then instructed Ba Quan beside him, "Go in and invite the eldest young lady out. Tell her to quickly tidy herself up and go visit the Third Prince in my place."

"Yes."

Watching Ba Quan leave, Gu Hanjiao asked in surprise, "Father, why did I take my sister to see the Third Prince?"

“Although you are engaged to the Third Prince, you are not yet married. I am worried that if you go alone, there will be some bad rumors outside that will affect your reputation. If you bring your sister with you, the two sisters will be together and will be in my name, so there will be no problem.”

Gu Hanjiao didn't want to go with Gu Qingwan, especially after witnessing the Third Prince's affection for Gu Qingwan that day, which made her even more reluctant.

"Then you can bring your brother along. Your brother has always admired the Third Prince. I think there will be a lot to talk about with him. Your brother can also get guidance from the Third Prince. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation? Besides, your brother is a man. Bringing him along will shut up the gossip from outsiders."

Gu Ziming naturally had his own plans. He shook his head and said, "Your brother is going to take an exam and needs to study at home. He can't accompany you for a day or two. Your sister is a woman and doesn't have much to do at home, so it's most appropriate for her to go with you."

"But, father..."

"Don't say any more. I don't care if you two sisters have any disagreements at home, but when you're outside, you're a team. You should know that the daughters of the Gu family share the same fate, and I think you understand this principle."

Hearing Gu Ziming's serious advice, Gu Hanjiao, being sensible, quickly agreed: "Of course I understand what Father is saying. I will get along well with my sister. I suppose my sister is of marriageable age, so it would be good for her to go out more."

"That's the right way to think. But you don't need to worry about your sister's marriage. Just take care of yourself. Don't linger too long on this trip. Go early and come back early."

As the father and daughter were talking, Gu Qingwan didn't linger long before coming out of the courtyard.

"Greetings to father."

Gu Ziming looked at his eldest daughter. Even though it was already summer, she was still dressed in rather heavy clothes, which made her look like she hadn't fully recovered from her illness. However, this did not detract from her beautiful face.

"Yes, you're feeling much better now."

"Thanks to Father, your daughter has recovered completely."

Gu Ziming frowned: "Didn't I tell Ba Quan to tell you to dress up a little? Look at you, how can you be dressed so casually?"

Gu Hanjiao also looked over and saw that Gu Qingwan was wearing clothes that were relatively new, but it was obvious at a glance that she had worn them many times, and the style was also an old style. Seeing Gu Qingwan's poor appearance, Gu Hanjiao suddenly felt superior again.

"Father, please don't be angry. I saw that Steward Ba came in a hurry, so I didn't change my clothes. This outfit was prepared for Qingwan by the lady of the manor. It's a new outfit that I haven't worn many times, so it's still very comfortable to wear." Gu Qingwan touched her dress somewhat awkwardly.

Hearing that this was done by his wife, who was not presentable, Gu Ziming's face turned somewhat unpleasant. He knew that Wang Ruyan did not like Gu Qingwan very much, but she was his eldest daughter, and even if he did not like her, he could not allow others to treat her so poorly.

"Later, I will have Ba Quan buy you some decent clothes. Be careful when you go out in the future. This is not the countryside or the border. Don't embarrass the Gu family."

Upon seeing this, Gu Hanjiao's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stepped forward to take Gu Qingwan's hand and said.

"Father misunderstands. The things Mother bought for my sister were not the best, but they were certainly not bad either. When those huge boxes of clothes were moved into my sister's room, I was so envious. I suppose my sister only chose this one piece out of so many clothes because it was really comfortable to wear. Father, you're a grown man, how could you understand the clothes of us daughters?"

Gu Qingwan smiled without any discomfort. She naturally understood that Gu Hanjiao was implying that she had dressed like this on purpose to sow discord in front of her father. However, Gu Qingwan didn't care because Gu Ziming needed her right now.

As expected, Gu Ziming had no objections to the two sisters' close relationship. He smiled and tapped Gu Hanjiao's nose, saying, "You talk too much."

He spoke to Gu Hanjiao with a doting tone, but remained somewhat distant towards Gu Qingwan, saying, "If you're comfortable, wear it at home. Wouldn't people laugh at you if you wore it outside? Let it go this time. Hurry up and go visit the Third Prince with your sister. You haven't seen much of the world, so you should listen to your sister more."

"It's Father, but I didn't prepare any gift. Will I be impolite...?"

"No need. I just want you to stay with Jiao'er. You don't need to do anything. Go on, I have important matters to attend to. Go and come back as soon as possible."

With that, Gu Ziming went inside, leaving Ba Quan to wait at the door.

Seeing her father leave, Gu Hanjiao let go of Gu Qingwan's hand and said, "Sister, you have some tricks up your sleeve. I didn't expect that even when you're so sick, Father would still remember you. Aren't you afraid of passing on your illness to the Third Prince?"

"It's all thanks to my younger sister. If you don't like it, I'll go back now."

Speechless at Gu Qingwan's words, Gu Hanjiao sized her up and said, "What are you saying, sister? It's naturally best to have you by my side, and it's Father's order. Are you going to disobey me?"

"Then I'll have to trouble you, little sister." Gu Qingwan still had an easygoing demeanor.

"Hmph!" Gu Hanjiao just didn't like Gu Qingwan's nonchalant attitude. She was clearly a child without parents, yet she pretended to be high and mighty for whoever she was trying to impress.

Gu Hanjiao boarded her carriage without a second thought. She always considered herself the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion, so her entourage was naturally quite grand. The carriage itself was extremely luxurious, yet perfectly proportioned without overstepping any bounds, leaving no room for criticism while ensuring her own comfort.

The maids below, Spring Dew and Autumn Frost, were somewhat at a loss. Now that the eldest and second young ladies were going together, and there was only one carriage, they, as servants, could not go up.

Just as I was hesitating, I heard Gu Hanjiao speak from inside the carriage.

"Spring dew and autumn frost, please sit down. I'm a little uncomfortable without anyone to serve me."

As she spoke, Gu Hanjiao opened the curtains and said to Gu Qingwan with a smile, "Sister, you won't blame me, will you? I've been served by these two since I was little. If you sit in the carriage, they'll have to go to another carriage. I'm too embarrassed to ask you to do that."

Gu Qingwan smiled and shook her head, saying nonchalantly, "It's okay, I'll just take the other car."

“But right now, my sister has only prepared this one carriage for her trip, and it’s getting late, so we have to leave early. What should we do…” Gu Hanjiao looked troubled.

“Replying to Miss, we have servants’ carriages in our manor, which are all readily available,” Chunlu said as she stepped forward.

"Outrageous!" Gu Hanjiao shouted. "How can you let the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion ride in a servant's carriage! If word gets out, people will laugh their heads off."

"Please forgive me, Miss; it was my ignorance..."

Gu Qingwan looked at Gu Hanjiao's behavior with some disdain, but she didn't retaliate. After all, her father had just left, but Ba Quan was still watching outside. Judging from his silence, he clearly wanted to help Gu Hanjiao suppress her.

However, given his status, how could he possibly ride in a servant's carriage? That would be an insult to the Ningguo Duke's mansion.

"Miss, otherwise..." Siqi couldn't stand it anymore. Our young lady already has her own carriage, who cares about hers? She was about to say that she would go and drive the carriage over herself when Gu Qingwan stopped her.

"It's okay, my sister doesn't need to change her habits because of me."

"But sister, then you'll have to make do with the servants' carriage. Steward Ba, please bring the carriage over." Gu Hanjiao said somewhat apologetically.

"Then there's no need to trouble Steward Ba, there's something ready-made."

Gu Qingwan led Siqi toward the Prime Minister's carriage that had been parked at the door.

Seeing Gu Qingwan about to get into her father's carriage, Gu Hanjiao became a little uneasy. How could she let that bitch ride in her father's carriage? Wouldn't that put her in a superior position?

"Sister! That's Father's carriage!"

“I know it belongs to Father, but we can’t prepare a decent carriage right now. My sister is in a hurry to get going. Father’s carriage is right at the door, so let’s not waste any time and go quickly.” With that, Gu Qingwan got into the carriage.

"Manager Ba..."

Seeing the eldest young lady so calm and composed, Ba Quan couldn't help but feel a little admiration. The second young lady was making things difficult for her so obviously, but the eldest young lady didn't care at all. This was the proper demeanor of a legitimate daughter.

"Steward Ba, isn't it overstepping her bounds that my sister rode in Father's carriage?"

"In reply to Miss, the Prime Minister rode in another carriage prepared by the manor today. The Prime Minister's carriage is currently undergoing maintenance, so it seems that Miss can ride in it as well."

After hearing this, Gu Qingwan smiled and said to Ba Quan, "Thank you very much, Steward Ba."

Seeing that Gu Hanjiao was about to say something, Steward Ba said to her instead, "Second Miss, you shouldn't cause any more trouble here. Master said that you should go and come back as soon as possible. You should leave quickly and not lose sight of the bigger picture."

Feeling that Ba Quan had somewhat embarrassed her, Gu Hanjiao angrily flung open the curtain in her hand and hid inside the carriage. Although Ba Quan was a servant, he was indeed a person of importance and a favorite of her father, someone she couldn't afford to offend.

"It's getting late, ladies. You should set off soon. I'll have the carriage carrying the gifts follow you later. You can walk ahead without worry."

Gu Hanjiao's face turned gloomy, and Chunlu and Qiushuang didn't dare to breathe loudly when they saw this.

On the other hand, Siqi clapped her hands happily and said, "That's exactly what we want to do to make her angry! What a piece of trash!"

"You should just shut up."

"This servant just can't stand her smug, petty face."

Gu Qingwan shook her head, looked at the carriage and saw that there was nothing special about it. Most men's carriages were simple and the same. However, Gu Ziming was a scholar, and there were some books on the carriage. Gu Qingwan picked them up to pass the time.

As the weather got hotter and hotter, Gu Qingwan became even more reluctant to go out. She spent her days holed up in her room reading books. Occasionally, the prince would come over for a meal, and if he didn't come, Xiao Yi would bring her some trinkets.

While busy embroidering her wedding dress, Gu Hanjiao also had to run to the Third Prince's place, so she had no time to bother him. Meanwhile, her good-for-nothing brother, Gu Changfeng, was under strict supervision by the Prime Minister because he had to take the exam.

So Gu Qingwan lived a leisurely life. Today, for some reason, Ba Quan came to ask her to go out and visit the Third Prince with Gu Hanjiao.

This couldn't possibly have been Gu Hanjiao's idea; it must have been the Prime Minister's idea on a whim. Gu Qingwan didn't delay and went out with Siqi and Ba Quan.

Before leaving, Ba Quan hesitated and advised Gu Qingwan whether she should change her clothes.

Gu Qingwan glanced down at her outfit, which was decent enough without being impolite. Besides, she wasn't the main character today, so there was no need to steal Gu Hanjiao's thunder. The weather was a bit muggy, and Gu Qingwan didn't want any conflict with Gu Hanjiao, so she simply ignored her.

"Miss, why did Master decide to have you go to the Third Prince's residence with the Second Miss?" Siqi asked with some confusion.

"Who knows? Maybe they want me to help our innocent second young lady."

"Help her? Why would you help her, Miss?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Gu Qingwan gave off an air of "you don't understand, but I know it in my heart," which made Siqi incredibly curious, like she was being scratched by a cat.