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

After the irritability and anxiety of the past few days, Gu Changfeng no longer feels any sense of crisis. He is the kind of person who forgets the pain once the wound heals.

The Prime Minister sent someone to check the list at the academy gate early in the morning. Naturally, his mother called him to the courtyard to wait together. He thought that coming early wouldn't be a problem, but he didn't expect that his little cousin would come today. He should have come earlier.

"What are you doing? You seem distracted." Wang Ruyan paced anxiously back and forth in the room, watching Gu Changfeng staring blankly at the pastry in his hand, looking at it from left to right but not taking a bite, seemingly lost in thought.

"Feng'er, don't be nervous. No matter what, I've asked your teachers. With your literary talent, even if you don't get into the top three, you won't fail the exam."

"Oh, Mother, I wasn't nervous." Gu Changfeng thought about it for a long time after returning home. He felt that although things didn't go according to plan, judging from the fact that he hadn't submitted a blank paper, it wouldn't be too far off. Besides, he thought he was still a talented young master.

"Yes, yes, my wind is naturally fine; it's Mother who's nervous."

Xue Niang helped her sit down and brought her a cup of cool tea, saying, "Madam, please sit for a while. You'll know the result soon enough."

"Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva protect us!" Wang Ruyan murmured, and in doing so, she brought the Prime Minister to mind.

"Why are you back so early, sir?" Wang Ruyan quickly got up to greet him.

Gu Changfeng was so frightened that he stood timidly to the side, not daring to utter a sound.

Gu Ziming glanced at Gu Changfeng, unusually not getting angry. He hadn't taken off his official robes yet, having just returned from court. He gave his hat to Wang Ruyan and went to the inner room to change. By the time he finished changing and sat down in the main seat to drink tea, no servant had returned to report.

"I was just checking the results, why haven't they come back yet?"

"There must be too many people." Wang Ruyan was also anxious, but this was the only explanation she could come up with.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the servant who had gone to check the list returned, panting, and knelt down on the ground as soon as he entered.

"Greetings to the master and madam."

"You're back! How did it go? Tell me quickly!" Wang Ruyan asked anxiously.

The messenger had his head down, large beads of sweat dripping from his forehead, and his eyes kept glancing towards Gu Changfeng.

Gu Ziming could tell from this that the results were not ideal, and anger instantly welled up inside him.

"The lady asked you to speak, what are you doing looking around like that!"

"Yes, yes, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong. I went to the academy gate early this morning and waited until the results were posted. I looked at the results many times from beginning to end, but..."

"Just what?"

"I just didn't see the young master's name." After saying that, the servant lowered his head even further, not daring to even breathe. He had thought this was a good job and that he would definitely be rewarded by the master and mistress when he returned, but now he could only suffer the consequences himself.

"What!" Wang Ruyan screamed, startling Gu Ziming into frowning and Gu Changfeng into shuddering.

"You must be mistaken! Someone, someone go and check me again!"

"Yes, yes, I'll go again right away."

Upon hearing this, the messenger hurriedly ran out, preparing to send someone to check again. However, Gu Ziming calmly took a sip of cold tea, the anger in his heart known only to himself.

"If I didn't see it, then he failed the exam. Haha, the eldest son of the Prime Minister didn't even make the list."

"Father...Father..." Gu Changfeng was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, his lips pale and he dared not speak.

“Master, the servant must have made a mistake. Go and check again. There must be our son among them. If all else fails…” Wang Ruyan was also anxious. “If all else fails, there’s still his elder sister. Let Qingwan try.”

"Hmph, now you remember Qingwan." Gu Ziming sneered, finding the kneeling figure even more displeasing.

Gu Ziming kept drinking herbal tea to suppress his anger. He was giving Gu Changfeng another chance and waiting for the messenger to reply.

Instead of receiving a reply, a servant informed them that someone from the Jingzhao government had arrived.

Gu Ziming frowned and asked, "What brings people from the Jingzhao government here? They say they're here to see me?"

“Replying to your question, sir, it’s not…” The gatekeeper glanced at Gu Changfeng and said, “Someone from the yamen came and said… that they want to invite our young master to the yamen.”

Gu Ziming frowned. "You wretched child! What mischief have you been up to while I was away?!"

"No, Father, absolutely not! I haven't stepped out of the manor gates at all these days! Please, Father, understand!"

Gu Changfeng was completely baffled. He had been staying indoors for the past two days, and this was truly an unexpected disaster.

Wang Ruyan immediately knelt on the ground and hugged her son, saying, "Master, Feng'er has indeed stayed at home these past two days and hasn't gone out. I wonder if the Jingzhao Prefecture has made a mistake?"

The messenger hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up: "Master, the yamen officials are waiting in the front yard, and quite a few people are slowly gathering outside the mansion. Should we...?"

Having been in officialdom for so long, Gu Ziming naturally had his own strategies. He stood up, flicked his sleeves, and without even glancing at Gu Changfeng kneeling on the ground, said as he walked, "Since Lord Zhao has invited you to the Jingzhao Prefecture, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and go!"

Wang Ruyan was somewhat stunned, not expecting her husband to hand over his son so easily. She asked, "What about you, sir? Did you go with him?"

"Lord Zhao didn't invite me. He's an impartial official, and he wouldn't come to my residence to summon me for no reason. Go ahead, I'll go after I finish dealing with my business."

As soon as Gu Changfeng was taken away, Wang Ruyan couldn't even bother to plead with Gu Ziming anymore, because she didn't know what had happened. Seeing that everyone in the courtyard had left, Wang Ruyan felt that there was no use in being anxious, so she simply took Xue Niang and went to the Jingzhao Prefecture herself.

Gu Ziming had his own plans. He needed to send someone to investigate what had happened. Going there now would only put him in a passive position. As the prime minister, he couldn't possibly submit to someone of lower rank than him.

It wouldn't be too late for him to take action once he found out what mistake that rebellious son had made. There was also the immediate problem of his son failing the academy entrance exam, and he still needed to find a way to ask Qingwan whether the Ning family had agreed to his request.

"Go and invite the young lady over."

"Reporting to Master, the eldest young lady has gone to the Duke of Ningguo's residence," Ba Quan explained.

Gu Ziming nodded, somewhat relieved. He assumed that Gu Qingwan had gone to the Ning family because of Gu Changfeng's admission to the academy, and now it was up to Gu Changfeng to see what the situation was.

Gu Changfeng was taken to the Jingzhao Prefecture by the officials without knowing why. The place was already crowded with people, who all made way for the defendant when they saw that he had arrived.

Lord Zhao, the Prefect of Jingzhao, sat upright at his desk, dressed in his official robes.

"Is the person who came Gu Changfeng?"

Although Gu Changfeng was somewhat startled, he was, after all, the prime minister's only son, and had been pampered since childhood, so he was somewhat arrogant.

"What did you call me here for?" Gu Changfeng stood arrogantly in the lobby with his hands behind his back.

Lord Zhao slammed his gavel down: "Insolence! Don't you know where you are? This place is not for you to run wild. Kneel down right now!"

"Heh, you want me to kneel down? On what grounds? Do you even know who my father is? You dare make me kneel?"

"No matter who your father is, even if you're a member of the royal family, if you come here as a defendant, you have to kneel down according to procedure. If you can't kneel down, then I don't mind sending someone to help Young Master Gu!"

As he spoke, he gave a look, and someone next to him kicked Gu Changfeng in the back of the knee. Gu Changfeng fell to his knees with a loud thud, making everyone present feel a sharp pain in their knees.

Gu Changfeng was also wincing in pain. Just then, Wang Ruyan arrived. Seeing her son being treated so roughly, she immediately became indignant, stepped forward, hugged Gu Changfeng, and shouted.

"Is Lord Zhao abusing his power to extract a confession through torture?!"

“Madam Gu, I am reluctant to be harsh on you because you are a member of the Prime Minister’s family, but this is a routine interrogation in the court. Please be mindful of your status and demeanor.”

These words worked quite well. Wang Ruyan noticed that everyone around her was laughing at her. Although she still felt sorry for her son, for the sake of her image and dignity, she quickly took Xue Niang's hand and stood aside.

"I'm sorry, Lord Zhao. I only love my son dearly, but I don't know what mistake he has made that warrants such treatment from you."

"Please don't worry, Madam. The interrogation is underway. You'll know what's going on soon."

After explaining, Lord Zhao addressed the woman kneeling below the court, saying, "Woman, you have brought Gu Changfeng from the Prime Minister's residence with you today. Recite your complaint again, without any falsehoods or concealment, or I will punish you with a beating!"

Wang Ruyan was not given the privilege of being seated and could only stand awkwardly to the side and watch.

"Yes." The woman beside her knelt up. "This humble woman would not dare to deceive you, sir."

Gu Changfeng recognized the voice and looked up to see that it was Sun Xiucai's mother. He was so frightened that he immediately collapsed to the ground. What was this old woman doing running to the Jingzhao Prefecture to accuse him of?

"Today, I, a humble woman, am suing Gu Changfeng, the eldest son of the Prime Minister's household, for deceiving my son, passing off his writings as my own, and concealing the truth from everyone!"

The crowd erupted in uproar upon hearing this.

"My God, this isn't just plagiarism, they're taking someone else's work and claiming it as their own, have they no shame?"

"Hey, don't say that. Doesn't he have a sister at home who loves to plagiarize?"

If you don't mention it, you won't remember it. But once you do, everyone will think of Gu Hanjiao, the talented woman who was famous throughout the capital. Back then, it was revealed that her classic works were plagiarized from other people's works. If she hadn't become the second daughter-in-law of the royal family, there would still be a lot of discussion about her.

"Yes, we haven't seen Miss Gu attending any poetry gatherings or tea parties lately."

"How could she possibly have the face to run out again? She should just stay at home and wait to get married."

"Isn't her brother out there continuing to plagiarize?"

Hearing the crowd's comments, Wang Ruyan was immediately furious.

"Outrageous! You unruly commoners dare to slander the future princess without even distinguishing right from wrong! Who ordered you to do this?!"

Wang Ruyan was so angry that she wanted to tear these people's mouths apart and gag them, for not only had they slandered her son, but they had also slandered her daughter.

It was obvious that her daughter was framed. Jiao'er had explained to her that those people were jealous of her talent and the Third Prince's affection for her, so they set up this scheme.

"Silence! If you make any more noise, I will punish you with twenty strokes of the cane and throw you out for disturbing the peace!"

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent and watched what would happen next in the court.

Gu Changfeng was covered in cold sweat and kept shouting at the side.

"Nonsense! Nonsense! I don't know you at all, let alone your son, Scholar Sun!"