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

"That's even better! This princess will come and see what Miss Gu is capable of!"

"Qinghe is not allowed to be disrespectful in front of His Majesty!" the Empress rebuked from above.

The Emperor glanced at the Prince of Chu and said with a smile, "It's alright, it's alright. In previous years, we were just composing poems and painting, which was rather boring. This year, Qinghe and Miss Gu have such an interest, so I am quite fortunate to have their sights set on us. However, let's stop here. What does the Prince of Chu think?"

"Your subject has no objection."

Xiao Jingchen wasn't worried about Gu Qingwan at all. He knew that Gu Qingwan's martial arts skills were probably on par with his own, and dealing with Qinghe would be a piece of cake for her. He just hoped that Qinghe wouldn't be beaten to tears.

"Haha, let's begin then."

"Qingwan..." Madam Ning, Han, held her hand with some concern, and Gu Qingwan patted it gently.

"Aunt, don't worry, you have to trust Qingwan."

"It's not that your aunt doesn't believe you, but... sigh, never mind, go easy on her. Princess Qinghe is just a child..."

"Don't worry, Aunt, Qingwan knows what she's doing."

With the Emperor's permission, Princess Qinghe took out the long whip from her waist and, without saying a word, aimed it directly at Gu Qingwan's face.

Gu Hanjiao was extremely excited. She shouted in her heart: Slap her face! Slap her face!

Gu Qingwan remained completely calm, simply turning her toes and taking a step back. The distance of that step was just right, ensuring that the whip couldn't touch her while still making it look dangerous to outsiders.

As expected, the women present screamed in surprise.

Princess Qinghe continued to focus on offense, while Gu Qingwan only defended and dodged without any intention of attacking.

Those who didn't understand thought that Princess Qinghe had the upper hand, leaving Gu Qingwan with no chance to fight back.

However, anyone with a basic understanding of martial arts could see that Gu Qingwan's seemingly evasive and chaotic footwork actually contained a pattern within the disorder, something only someone with a certain level of martial arts skill could do.

"Oh my god, sister, be careful! If that whip hits your face, you'll be disfigured!"

Gu Hanjiao covered her mouth and worriedly reminded Gu Qingwan on the field. However, her reminder only alerted Princess Qinghe as well, who then immediately took her whip and lashed it at Gu Qingwan's face.

Gu Qingwan's face turned cold. In just a few steps, she lured Princess Qinghe's whip to a suitable position, and with a swift dodge, the whip struck Gu Hanjiao's table squarely.

The table in front of Gu Hanjiao was smashed, and the wine and dishes on the table were all spilled onto Gu Hanjiao's skirt.

"Ah!" The unlucky Gu Hanjiao clutched her face; she was just a hair's breadth away from being struck by Princess Qinghe's whip.

Princess Qinghe was getting impatient with Gu Qingwan's dog-walking defense. "Gu Qingwan, if you're so capable, then don't hide. As the wife of the God of War of my Great Qing Dynasty, hiding like this is quite a feat!"

Gu Qingwan nodded seriously, "What the princess says is true. It seems the princess is tired too."

As she spoke, Gu Qingwan raised her hand and grabbed one end of Princess Qinghe's long whip. Then, she straightened her arm and wrapped the whip around her arm. In an instant, she was in front of Princess Qinghe.

Before she could react, Gu Qingwan tapped her elbow and wrist. Qinghe felt a numbness in her arm and immediately lost all strength. She didn't even know when Gu Qingwan had taken the long whip from her hand.

That transition was so fast! Just a moment ago, Miss Gu was hiding and dodging, and now...

The Empress stood up nervously and asked, "Qinghe, are you alright? Gu Qingwan, how dare you!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Princess Qinghe, who had been silent, came to her senses with a complicated expression. She said to the Empress, "Your Majesty, Qinghe is fine. It was just that Qinghe was not as skilled as her opponent. Qinghe lost."

The Emperor, quite unusually, raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "Oh my, to make our Princess Qinghe willingly admit defeat, I've truly seen something new today. Tomorrow I must write a letter to the Prince of Yunnan to say something. Finally, someone has managed to subdue his daughter, hahahaha."

Gu Qingwan calmly took the long whip off her arm, carefully arranged it, and presented it to Princess Qinghe. She said with a slight apology, "I apologize, Princess. Please forgive me if I have offended you."

Everyone was watching Princess Qinghe's reaction, especially Gu Hanjiao, who no longer cared about her dirty skirt and let Hongxiu fix it for her. She was also watching to see if Qinghe would suddenly make trouble.

You should know that Princess Qinghe is the only daughter of the King of Yunnan. She was pampered and spoiled growing up, and she was known as the Little Tyrant in the capital. Basically, no one dared to mess with this little princess.

Regardless of whether this little princess is right or wrong, the Emperor and Empress will turn a blind eye and choose to support Princess Qinghe, since her parents are far away in Yunnan guarding the southern gate of Daqing.

Time passed slowly, until the King of Chu's teacup made a sound when it was placed on the table, at which point Princess Qinghe raised her hand to take the long whip from Gu Qingwan's hand.

Gu Qingwan smiled, bowed to the person in the superior position, and was about to return to her seat when Princess Qinghe followed her there for some reason. She then said to Gu Hanjiao, "You go away, this princess will sit here!"

Everyone was looking at Gu Hanjiao, who suddenly felt insulted. She said incredulously, "Princess, it was my sister who angered you. Why are you taking it out on me?"

"Who said Gu Qingwan made me angry? This princess is going to sit here, is that not allowed!"

Gu Hanjiao looked around, especially noticing that the Third Prince Xiao Yuheng shook his head at her. Hongxiu had obviously seen it too, and she quickly tugged at Gu Hanjiao's sleeve and whispered something.

"Miss, your clothes are dirty. Let's go change quickly."

Gu Hanjiao knew she couldn't clash with Princess Qinghe at this moment, but she hadn't yet shown her poems, and she was somewhat unwilling. However, seeing the threatening look in the Third Prince's eyes, she had no choice but to agree.

Consort Yu, seated in the superior position, nodded to Gu Hanjiao and said, "Jiao'er, your clothes are dirty. Go to my palace and change quickly."

Gu Hanjiao nodded apologetically and left with red eyes, making the young men present feel even more sorry for her, thinking that Princess Qinghe was simply a tigress.

He thought to himself that even if Princess Qinghe had a powerful background, he couldn't marry her, otherwise he would be beaten every day. Just thinking about that kind of life made him shudder.

The emperor didn't linger for long; he drank the last cup of wine.

"It's still early, so let's leave the rest to the young people. You old folks can join in the fun. The Empress Dowager has matters to attend to, and the Empress will preside over things here. I and the Prince of Chu will go there, and the Duke of Wen should come along too. Oh? Where is Madam Wen?"

"Your Majesty, my wife has gone to the Empress Dowager's palace," Duke Wen replied, his back straight and neither humble nor arrogant.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

After seeing the Emperor off, everyone continued reciting poems. Before long, under the Empress's guidance, a series of newly composed poems and songs were presented.

The Empress was very pleased. She picked up the paper that was presented to her and looked at it from left to right. When she saw something interesting, she couldn't help but analyze it with the person next to her.

"As expected, heroes emerge from among the young. Look at these poems; they are far superior to those we wrote in our youth. Although His Majesty is no longer here, I will present the top three works to him. Moreover, I will still reward the first-place winner. Therefore, everyone must do their utmost."

Gu Han walked angrily through the palace. She hadn't expected things to turn out this way. The Princess Qinghe she knew was not an easy person to get along with; she had a fiery temper and wouldn't hold back when she got into a fight.

Originally, I thought that Gu Qingwan had offended Princess Qinghe this time, and she wouldn't gain anything regardless of whether she won or lost.

If she wins against Princess Qinghe, she will surely be resented by the princess and disliked by the Empress. If she loses, she will lose face for the Prince of Chu, and she will never be able to hold her head high again. The Emperor and Empress will also look down on such a royal daughter-in-law.

But unexpectedly, Princess Qinghe acted so unpredictably, driving her away and sitting next to Gu Qingwan herself. What was going on?

Gu Hanjiao grew angrier the more she thought about it. Hongxiu didn't dare to say anything and just followed closely behind, watching her sulk without trying to persuade her. She just wanted to prevent this little darling from causing any more trouble.

"Miss, let's go to the Imperial Concubine's palace and change our clothes," Hongxiu suggested.

"Change what? Humph, doesn't Miss Hongxiu know that you didn't tell me to bring any clothes when I came here?"

Hongxiu was speechless. Indeed, she hadn't let Gu Hanjiao's maid accompany her, partly because she felt that Gu Hanjiao was not good enough for her Third Prince and looked down on her. She never expected that she would actually need to change clothes. Where in the palace could she find clothes that fit Gu Hanjiao perfectly?

"Miss, are you sure you didn't bring anything with you?" Hongxiu asked cautiously.

Gu Hanjiao didn't make things difficult for Hongxiu. She said, "How could I not bring it? Even though I've fallen on hard times, I was once raised by the palace matrons. I'm a lady from a respectable family and I won't tolerate being bullied."

Hongxiu remained silent, knowing that Gu Hanjiao was giving her a warning. Hongxiu quickly knelt down and said, "Please punish me, Miss."

Gu Hanjiao didn't say anything, letting Hongxiu kneel on the cobblestone path for a while. Seeing that someone was about to come, Gu Hanjiao knew that it was about time and she couldn't cause trouble in the palace.

"There's a hidden compartment under the carriage seat, and there's a set of clothes inside."

"This maid will first escort Miss to Her Highness's palace, and then go fetch her clothes..."

"No need, let's go to the carriage. I'll trouble you to take me back yourself."

"But Miss, the banquet is not over yet."

Gu Hanjiao curled her lips in disdain. The Emperor had already left, so what difference did it make whether the banquet ended or not? Besides, the events that were supposed to take place were almost over.

The Emperor and the Prince of Chu left together, along with the Duke of Wen. It must be news from the Empress Dowager's palace. That Miss Wen is indeed formidable; she used the Empress Dowager as her trump card right away. So, it's still uncertain whether Gu Qingwan will be able to become the Princess Consort of Chu.

As for whether Hongxiu was willing or not, she didn't care at all. Now she just wanted to go back because she had thought of another way to make money, and she was eager to go back and implement it.

Seeing that Gu Hanjiao completely ignored her, Hongxiu thought it was a good thing that Gu Hanjiao had gone back, at least she wouldn't cause trouble for her master. Hongxiu found a young eunuch, gave him some silver and asked him to pass on a message to the Third Prince, then set off to chase after Gu Hanjiao.

Inside the main hall, the palace servants quickly cleaned up the mess, and everyone resumed their conversation, though the atmosphere at the Ning family's banquet was somewhat awkward.

Princess Qinghe sat in the seat that Gu Hanjiao had just occupied, her lips pursed, and her expression was not very happy. Gu Qingwan, who was sitting next to her, looked at Princess Qinghe with some amusement.

Gu Qingwan naturally knew about Princess Qinghe. Princess Qinghe was the only daughter of the King of Yunnan. The King of Yunnan and his wife had a deep affection for each other. Although they had no sons, the King of Yunnan still did not take any concubines, which made many wives envious.

Logically speaking, the Yunnan King and his wife, who had only one precious daughter, doted on Princess Qinghe immensely. In fact, they truly did. The couple did not restrain the princess much, especially the princess, who taught the young princess martial arts from a young age.

During that period, the Princess of Yunnan kept a low profile in the capital. She rarely attended banquets, and only when summoned by the Empress Dowager or the Empress would she bring the young princess to the palace. Otherwise, she spent her time in the Prince's residence.

Later, when Princess Qinghe was about to be enthroned, the King of Yunnan was assassinated and seriously wounded. Upon learning this, the Queen of Yunnan immediately wrote a letter and sent someone to have her trusted confidant bring the young princess to the palace, while she herself rode out of the city that very night with light luggage.

Afterwards, the emperor looked down at the empress leading the little princess who knew nothing. Although he was a little angry, he couldn't bring himself to get angry.

No one knows what the letter actually said, but the Emperor did not blame the Princess of Yunnan for it. He unprecedentedly granted the little princess a title, which is now the Princess of Qinghe, and ordered the Empress to take her under her wing and personally teach her.

Gu Qingwan used the act of drinking tea to cover the amused smile on her lips. The reason why the Emperor was able to let the Princess of Yunnan leave so easily was simply because he held their only son in his hands. If the Princess of Qinghe had a younger brother, would the Emperor let them reunite like this?

Throughout history, no emperor has been able to escape the suspicion in his heart.

Just as her maternal grandfather's family was almost wiped out on the battlefield, the emperor still did not believe in the Ning family's loyalty. Only by keeping the people they cared about by his side could he sleep soundly.

After thinking for a while, she glanced at Princess Qinghe, who was still throwing a tantrum, and took out a purse, took out a few candies, and handed them to her.

"What is this!" Princess Qinghe glared angrily at the slender hand in front of her.

"Zongzi candy".

Princess Qinghe pouted, "I'm not a child anymore, why are you trying to coax me with candy!"