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

Gu Qingwan doesn't have the habit of sleeping in late, and even Xiao Jingchen's persistent nagging last night couldn't disrupt her biological clock.

"woke up?"

Gu Qingwan was not fully awake when she heard a hoarse voice from beside her, which surprised her.

Why did you wake up so early?

Xiao Jingchen pulled the blanket up for her, then reached out and pulled her closer before saying, "I always get up early and don't have the habit of sleeping in."

Gu Qingwan nodded. "Sleeping in is comfortable, but it can also make you feel tired. Getting up early allows you to do a lot of things and makes the day more fulfilling. Is Your Highness going to work?"

Xiao Jingchen buried his face in her hair and laughed. Gu Qingwan felt the heat on her ear and suddenly remembered that she had blushed a little yesterday.

"No, there are no official duties that I have to start doing first thing on the second day after my wedding. Even if I am busy, that is my brother's business. If I am not on the battlefield, I am just a leisurely prince."

"It's good to be a carefree prince, you can spend more time with me."

Don't you think your husband lacks ambition?

Gu Qingwan glanced at him with some surprise and said, "You're already a prince, why are you so ambitious? We have plenty of food and drink, and we have money in our hands. Even if we just laze around at home, it's enough to support several generations."

"My princess is indeed different from others. While others encourage their husbands to strive for success, my princess actually advises me to lie down and do nothing."

Gu Qingwan thought for a moment, then sat up and smoothed her long hair with her hand.

“That’s someone else. Now that you’ve given me a first-rank official status, apart from the Empress in the palace, I don’t think anyone can surpass me.”

"That's true. In the future, besides your mother and brother, you will need to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager. Even with the Empress, you only need to show proper courtesy and will not need to perform a grand ceremony."

Gu Qingwan naturally understood Xiao Jingchen's meaning. Since he was giving her face, she should be even more sensible.

"Your Highness, would you like to lie down a little longer? We have to go to the palace to pay our respects today, and it's still early."

"No, you're already up. It's no fun for me to be in bed alone. There's nothing to prepare for going to the palace. I just need to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

Gu Qingwan put on her inner garment and saw that Xiao Jingchen had dressed himself, so she knew he didn't like being waited on, and this was for the best.

She personally went to the wardrobe to choose clothes for him and said, "It's not that simple. Today we're going to serve tea to the Empress Dowager, and we also need to prepare gifts. I'll have to go and check them myself later to make sure they're not misplaced or mistaken. Although these are small issues, it's often the small issues that are prone to going wrong, isn't it?"

“The princess is right, and the steward is correct. Only when there is a mistress can this mansion be considered a complete family.”

Gu Qingwan opened the door and called out to the outside. Baoqin and the others rushed in with their toiletries. The two of them didn't need much help from others and washed up on their own. After they finished washing up, Ruhua and Aunt Li brought in breakfast.

Xiao Jingchen looked at the breakfast on the table; each dish was exquisite, and some of them were ones he had never seen before.

"Wanwan is such a skillful girl."

Ru Hua's hair stood on end when the prince praised her like that. Her body tensed up, and she wished the prince would never see her. She was so nervous that she walked with her hands and feet moving in unison.

"That's right. I think Ruhua's cooking skills are absolutely superb. I'll be so happy to have Ruhua helping out in the kitchen in the future."

Aunt Li seemed to know Ru Hua's restraint, and helped to set the plates and serve food to the masters.

"Aunt Li, you don't need to bother. Like the Prince, I don't like being served when I eat or sleep. You should go and eat too."

Aunt Li was somewhat surprised. Which young lady doesn't care about appearances? Yet her own princess is so easygoing.

“Your Highness, this is unacceptable! The royal family has its own rules, and Your Highness cannot set an example by breaking them.” The old nanny, who had been standing by as if no one was watching, finally spoke up.

Gu Qingwan then began to take her seriously.

This nanny was sent by the Empress Dowager from the palace, and some palace maids came with her. Gu Qingwan thought that the Empress Dowager probably wanted the nanny and the palace maids to stay and serve the prince.

"May I ask who this nanny is?"

The old woman was stout and had an arrogant look in her eyes. She looked down on this princess. Putting aside her status, even if she was married from the Ningguo Duke's mansion, she still didn't have the Ning surname. Moreover, the Gu family didn't want her. Besides, this princess had grown up outside since she was a child. What kind of manners could she possibly have?

She twisted her body and stepped forward, replying, "This servant is from the Empress Dowager's palace. I have been ordered by the Empress Dowager to come to the Prince's residence to take care of the Prince's daily life."

Gu Qingwan glanced at Xiao Jingchen and saw that he frowned slightly, clearly displeased. She knew he didn't like the arrangement either.

"Thank you for your hard work, Granny."

"It's no trouble at all. As long as His Highness is well, we'll do whatever it takes. Your Highness is new here and may not understand some things, but that's alright. I'll explain everything to you in the future..."

Hearing her nagging, the King of Chu's impatient expression worsened. Had he been too easygoing lately, allowing these people to come up to him and start nagging?

Gu Qingwan was very patient. She calmly ate breakfast with Xiao Jingchen, ignoring the nanny who was talking to her. The nanny talked on and on, and when she saw that the prince did not interrupt her, she assumed that the prince was also somewhat dissatisfied with the princess's status, so she became even more enthusiastic.

Seeing Wanwan's confident demeanor, Xiao Jingchen was curious about what she would do next. However, he had no kind attitude towards the palace maids who wanted to serve him food and were courting death. He glared at them, which frightened the maids so much that their legs went weak and they knelt on the ground.

Baoqin and the others felt really good. They didn't know what the Empress Dowager was thinking. On her son's wedding day, she sent an old woman with a group of beautiful palace maids to the palace under the guise of serving.

These women, relying on their status as palace women, have been causing trouble and finding fault with everything since yesterday.

Well, the prince can kill them all with just one glance. Let's see how these demons can cause trouble now.

Gu Qingwan knew that these people were probably brought along by the Empress Dowager yesterday, and she decided to let them stay on the spot. The Prince was so busy that he naturally overlooked this, but he didn't expect them to come and make their presence known so early in the morning.

"Don't make so many small movements while eating. If you scare the precious guest sent by the Empress Dowager, how am I supposed to explain it?" Gu Qingwan muttered, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied.

"Your Highness is right. I was being presumptuous."

Those in the palace, upon hearing this, thought there was hope. After all, the princess was a new bride and dared not offend her mother-in-law, the Empress Dowager.

However, the tone suddenly changed as Princess Gu Qingwan said, "Granny and the palace maids, go back and pack your things. We'll escort you back with the Prince later, so that it won't be unsafe for you to go back on your own and there won't be any accidents. That would be the fault of the Chu Prince's Mansion."

The group was shocked. They realized that the princess disliked them, but at least the Empress Dowager was still there to give them face. Even if she were the princess, she wouldn't dare to do that. But the princess in front of them was pretending to be ignorant.

The Empress Dowager meant for them to stay, but the Princess Consort misunderstood and thought the Empress Dowager was temporarily allowing them to stay and help out. This…

"Of course, you all worked hard too. You helped out until late last night. Go back and get some rest. Baoqin, later you can take out some red envelopes from my private funds and give them to these people. The one for the nanny should be a little bigger."

"Your Highness, what do you think of this?"

"I have no objection to the Princess's decision." The prince's attitude was clear: he supported whatever decision the Princess made, and his favoritism was undisguised.

"But Your Highness, we are..."

"I don't want to see anything unlucky on my wedding day, but that doesn't mean I'm easy to bully. If you really don't want to leave, that's fine too. Xiao Yi will take them to the military camp to reward some of the lonely soldiers."

"Your Highness, spare us! Your Highness, spare us! We dare not! We are only here on orders. We will follow the Princess back to the palace. Your Highness, spare us!"

"Humph."

Gu Qingwan was overjoyed. She had been wondering how to handle the situation with her mother-in-law without putting him in a difficult position, but now it seemed she didn't need to worry about it at all.

Speaking of the Empress Dowager... The Empress Dowager doesn't seem to be very satisfied with her daughter-in-law. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken advantage of the situation to send her into the palace on the wedding day. Isn't it because she thought the Empress Dowager would be hesitant to do anything because these people are from the palace?

But she had to respond, otherwise they would all think that she, the Princess Consort of Chu, was easy to bully, and wouldn't anyone's cat or dog be able to come to the Chu Prince's mansion in the future?

It looks like she has a tough battle ahead of her today.

The Empress Dowager was also somewhat uneasy in the palace. She had her own reasons for deliberately leaving people there yesterday. Firstly, she felt that there were not enough servants in the Prince's mansion. She had given people to him before, but the Prince of Chu had sent them back saying that he did not need to serve them.

Now that he has married a princess, she still feels that her son's harem is too small, so she selected a few beautiful women to send over. If Gu Qingwan were sensible, she should be virtuous and generous and accept and settle these women.

"Aunt, today is a joyous day." Wenrou helped the Empress Dowager with her makeup.

After the Duke of Wen took Miss Wen away last time, she stayed at home for a few days before returning to serve the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager already felt somewhat indebted to this niece, so she was happy to stay by her side and she wouldn't mistreat the child.

"I'm just wondering if your cousin will be angry about this."

That's right, it was Wenrou who suggested sending someone to the King of Chu during the wedding.

When the Empress Dowager asked how the Prince's mansion was doing, Wenrou casually replied that there were few people in the mansion, especially the maids who served the prince.

The Empress Dowager took it to heart and thought about giving her son a few servants, but she only wanted to send a few people to take care of their daily lives. She gently said, "Since you're going to send people, send a few good-looking ones. They can take care of the daily life and also serve the prince when the princess is not available."

The Empress Dowager was tempted, but she still had concerns: what if her son became unhappy again? It was only with great difficulty that the relationship between mother and son improved somewhat.

Wenrou kindly told the Empress Dowager that since the Empress Dowager was going to attend the ceremony, she could take these people with her. When she left, she could leave them behind to help. The Princess Consort was a sensible person and would naturally understand the Empress Dowager's meaning. Since the Princess Consort was willing to take on the task, it had nothing to do with the Empress Dowager.

After all, the Empress Dowager just felt sorry for her daughter-in-law and didn't want her to work too hard.

The Empress Dowager thought this was a good idea. If the King of Chu got angry, she could just say that she had only asked those people to stay and help, and that they could come back when they were done. If her son didn't say anything, then it would be even better if they stayed.

"What are you worried about, Aunt? It's all for my cousin's good. The Princess Consort is so sensible that she should know how to handle this. Please don't worry."

The Empress Dowager was finally relieved. Yes, this was all that Gu Qingwan, as a daughter-in-law, should do. A daughter-in-law should be virtuous and generous.

Wenrou helped the Empress Dowager comb her hair from behind, her eyes gleaming with cold light.

Gu Qingwan is just the beginning. Do you think marrying the prince will solve everything? Impossible. Wenrou will definitely enter the prince's mansion and the person standing by the prince's side will definitely be Wenrou.

The Chu Prince's carriage did not need to dismount to enter the palace; it went directly through the central gate and only stopped in front of the Empress Dowager's Yongshou Palace.

The King of Chu was dressed in a dark blue royal robe, while Gu Qingwan was dressed in the formal attire of a princess. They stood dignified about a fist's width behind the King of Chu. Xiao Jingchen seemed dissatisfied and directly took her hand, making Gu Qingwan stand next to him.

"Your Highness, this is against the rules."

"I am the rule, there is no need for you to compromise yourself just because you marry me."

"It's not about feeling wronged, just listen to me." Gu Qingwan didn't want to explain anything at this time. After all, no mother-in-law would want to see her son dote on his wife like that. Even if she didn't say it, she would still feel uncomfortable inside.

Xiao Jingchen ignored her and led her inside, with Baoqin and Siqi following behind the princess, each carrying a small box.

When Gu Qingwan entered, she saw that the place was packed with people. The Empress Dowager was sitting at the head of the table, with the Emperor beside her. The Empress was sitting at the lower seat, and several princesses and princes were also there. However, she did not expect that Consort Xiao would also come to join in the fun.

Standing behind Consort Xiao was none other than her beloved younger sister, Gu Hanjiao.

Gu Qingwan couldn't help but snort inwardly. She had never seen a family where concubines would join in the wedding ceremonies and family recognition. It was one thing for concubines to be involved, but for the son's concubines to come along too. It was truly laughable.

"Son, bring your new bride to pay respects to your mother!"

Xiao Jingchen took Gu Qingwan's hand and knelt before the Empress Dowager. At that moment, someone brought out the prepared hot tea and handed it to the Prince of Chu and his wife.

"The new bride greets the Queen Mother. Please have some tea, Queen Mother."

Gu Qingwan offered the tea to the Empress Dowager's head and waited with her head down for the Empress Dowager to drink it, though she was already prepared to be made difficult.

"Aunt, Rou'er said that Sister Gu must be too tired to arrive late. Please don't be angry. Look at Sister Gu's beautiful outfit, she should be in a better mood."