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

“You know I am the Princess Consort of Chu, so why can’t I do this? Actually, I could just freeze you directly in the inner palace. I’m sure you’re familiar with that place.”

When Granny Cheng heard that she was going to the inner palace, her whole body trembled uncontrollably. What kind of place was the inner palace? It was the place where palace servants went when they made mistakes.

The methods there are far more insidious than those in the Ministry of Justice prison. Once you're in there, no matter how powerful your background is, they'll skin you alive.

Moreover, she's not exactly a clean person.

Granny Cheng thought for a moment that she couldn't let Princess Chu send her to the inner palace for no reason. Although she had the support of the Imperial Concubine, who knew if the Imperial Concubine would abandon her to save the king at that time? It was better to seek the Imperial Concubine's protection now than to wait until then.

"Your Highness, a lowly palace servant like me would never dare to have such audacity. I have the Noble Consort behind me. If you have any objections, you can go to the Noble Consort. There is no need to make things difficult for someone as lowly as me. Even if you really want to punish me, you should inform the Noble Consort first. Aren't you afraid that the Empress will blame you for overstepping your bounds if you do this?"

To protect herself, Granny Cheng was willing to say anything to outsiders, completely disregarding the Empress and the Imperial Concubine. As long as she could be saved, that was all she cared about. What she feared most now was that the Princess Consort of Chu would send her to the inner palace without a second thought, leaving her utterly helpless.

"What a fine servant! One minute she's calling herself the Empress, the next she's calling herself a Noble Consort. How can you so easily manipulate the noble ladies in the palace?" Gu Qingwan laughed in exasperation.

Seeing that Princess Chu really didn't care about anything, Granny Cheng spotted Princess Chang Le with her sharp eyes.

"Princess! Princess! I am your servant, how can you allow others to humiliate me like this?"

"Aunt, perhaps you should just leave Chang Le alone..."

Although Chang Le is young, aren't all children who grow up in the palace precocious? Otherwise, she would probably have been devoured long ago, leaving not even bones behind.

"Good child, don't be afraid. If the Chu Prince's Mansion wants to protect you, it can still do so."

Gu Qingwan's words made Chang Le's eyes widen. If it was just the Princess Consort of Chu's wishful thinking, Chang Le might have some peace for a while. But if the Chu Prince's Mansion got involved, Chang Le's future days would be much more difficult.

"You insolent servant, how come the princess can eat but you can't?"

Granny Cheng opened her mouth as if to refute something, but seeing the fierce-looking Siqi beside her, she immediately dared not utter a sound.

“Your Highness…” At this moment, Baoqin, who had gone to find charcoal, returned. She looked at Gu Qingwan with some difficulty.

"What's wrong? Just tell me."

"Your Highness, I have searched everywhere but have not been able to find any charcoal to keep warm."

Gu Qingwan looked at Granny Cheng again. Granny Cheng was afraid that Gu Qingwan would take her anger out on her again because of this, so she anxiously defended herself, "This young lady is talking nonsense. There is a pile of charcoal outside in that corner!"

“The maids did see the pile of charcoal outside, but it wasn’t the silver charcoal used by nobles. It was ordinary black charcoal, which would produce a lot of smoke when it burned. Even servants wouldn’t use that kind of charcoal. Besides, it had been left there unattended and had become damp. If we took it and used it directly, it would probably choke the masters.”

Gu Qingwan was somewhat shocked. The charcoal was allocated in fixed amounts by each palace, and it was not fair. The higher the rank, the better the charcoal and the more it received.

Since Chang Le was a princess and a member of the royal family, she should not have any shortages of food or charcoal. Therefore, it must have been the servants who embezzled.

Gu Qingwan's face was very pale. What the adults did was their business, but the child was innocent, and no matter what, the child should not be allowed to suffer.

Especially Chang Le, seeing the way Chang Le is living now, she couldn't help but think of her past life. Although Princess Chang Le in her past life didn't have a good life, she was still very optimistic.

At that time, she had been locked up in the cold palace, but there was this little person who secretly brought her food.

After sending food for a while, the little girl was never seen again. Later, the palace servants said that it was because Gu Hanjiao found out that Chang Le had sent her food, and under Gu Hanjiao's arrangement, Chang Le was married off to a distant place. Since then, there has been no news about Chang Le.

It's all because of her that she suffered such unfair treatment at such a young age.

Although Chang Le's mother was intelligent, she died young. Before she died, she tried every means to bring Chang Le to the Empress's side. In the end, the Empress and An Qing did not disappoint her sincere wishes, and the Empress and An Qing took good care of her.

But how long can this care last?

"Chang Le, it's so cold, don't you even light a fire in your palace?"

"Chang Le wanted to use charcoal for warmth, but it produces a lot of smoke, which I don't like."

"Not everyone gets their own silver charcoal. What about yours?"

"The nanny said that I have very little charcoal to begin with, so it would be better to save it up and use it when my eldest sister or other distinguished guests come. That way, it won't be impolite."

Gu Qingwan sighed softly in her heart, no longer wanting to ask the old man below, but instead quietly asked Chang Le.

"Chang Le, why didn't you tell your mother or Princess Anqing about this?"

"Mother has recently suffered a headache, and Chang Le doesn't want to distract her. Eldest sister has also been very busy lately, and Chang Le hasn't seen her for a long time."

"Princess! How dare you speak such nonsense in front of the Princess Consort of Chu at such a young age!"

"Siqi, Granny Cheng has committed insubordination. Slap her."

Siqi rolled up her sleeves and slapped Granny Cheng a few times.

Siqi is a woman skilled in martial arts. She has the skills to make herself feel no pain while inflicting excruciating pain on her opponent.

As expected, Granny Cheng was in so much pain that she rolled on the ground clutching her face, but somehow she didn't even get a scratch on her mouth.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry, I'm not very good at slapping people. If you think I did it wrong, please give me some pointers."

"Ouch, ouch, you! You!" Granny Cheng felt like her cheeks were about to be slapped to pieces, but she also realized that now was not the time for her to be arrogant.

"Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me! I will never dare to do it again! I will never dare to do it again!"

Gu Qingwan took off her cloak and gently wrapped it around Princess Chang Le, tying the sash for her while giving her instructions.

"It is indeed not appropriate for me to interfere too much in palace affairs. How about this, Siqi, you take some people and deliver this old man, this food, and this basket of damp charcoal to the Empress. Explain the whole story clearly. Then go to the Empress Dowager and tell her that the Prince is not at home and I am feeling quite lonely. I will bring Chang Le to the Prince's residence for a couple of days and then send her back."

"Yes!"