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

"Alas, how could I forget? It feels like yesterday, only so much time has passed. Looking back, only Sisters Jingxian and Shulan were willing to be close to me and didn't care about my status at the time..."

Upon hearing that the Empress no longer used the term "this palace," Xu Mama knew that the Empress had calmed down.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the affection from back then is still there, so why do you now treat Princess Chu so differently... You have expressed your dissatisfaction with Princess Chu to the Emperor and Empress Dowager many times. If this continues, it may not be good for you. Also, if the Prince finds out that you have a problem with his Princess, what will happen to our Crown Prince...?"

"How could I!" The Empress was somewhat anxious to explain, but upon reflection, she realized that she was indeed angry with Gu Qingwan.

"That child is indeed a good child, but I originally wanted her to be the Crown Prince's concubine, and I told her about this idea. She refused me at the time. Who would have thought that she would turn around and climb up the high branch of the Chu Prince's Mansion? It can be seen that she is not as good as Sister Jingxian. She has completely inherited the blood of that scoundrel Gu Ziming."

"My Lady..." Xu Mama had never imagined that the crux of the matter was actually in this place.

"Your Highness, you know very well that the Prince of Chu personally took a liking to the Princess Consort. You must not say such things again, otherwise it will be very detrimental to our Crown Prince. If someone with ulterior motives hears this and adds fuel to the fire by saying that our Crown Prince has feelings for his aunt, do you think the Prince of Chu will still help us then?"

"No way, I didn't say that." The Empress was startled. Was the matter that serious?

"Your Majesty, you are the head of the six palaces and the mother of the nation. That's why the Princess Consort of Chu sent that lowly maid to you instead of handing her over to the Empress Dowager. Moreover, you must handle this matter properly. From what that maid said, this old nanny mistreated Princess Chang Le. You must deal with this matter well."

The Empress couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

"This harem is a cannibalistic place. Children who have lost their mothers don't fare well. Before, Chang Le had An Qing to take care of her, and the child was well-behaved and sweet-talking, so I was willing to look after her a little. But now you can see that the Crown Princess's belly hasn't shown any signs of pregnancy, and the Third Prince's concubine's child is about to be born. And then there's An Qing. If we don't find her a good marriage soon, she'll be the next one to be sent for a political marriage."

Xu Mama stepped forward and massaged the Empress's temples to relieve her headache.

“This servant understands Your Highness’s difficulties, but since this matter has already occurred, it must be dealt with properly. Right now, we can’t let this Granny Cheng live. It just so happens that she is on Consort Yu’s side. While Consort Yu is preoccupied with her own problems, it’s not a loss for us to lose this little soldier.”

The Empress was furious when she thought that this Granny Cheng dared to mistreat the princess under her name, when in fact she was someone close to Consort Yu.

"Initially, I thought she seemed honest and reliable in taking care of Anqing. After Consort Xin left, to put the Emperor at ease, I placed her with Chang Le. I just didn't expect... Send her to the inner palace and let the people there interrogate her properly. Give me an answer tomorrow. As for Chang Le... let's see what the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's attitude is."

Once you enter the inner palace, the palace servants have plenty of ways to get you to talk. The Empress's most important task now is to clear herself of any suspicion.

The Empress knew in her heart that Consort Yu was trying to harm her. Her main purpose was to smear the Crown Prince. If she was found guilty of mistreating the princess, she, as the legitimate mother, would lose her reputation, and the Crown Prince would have no good reputation left.

The fact that Gu Qingwan sent him here shows that she also wanted to protect the Crown Prince. Oh well, since there's no fate between them, there's no point in forcing it. Let it be.

The other side naturally learned of the news as well. Regardless of what others said, the Empress Dowager knew her daughter-in-law quite well.

"The Empress is just not clear-headed enough. She is kind-hearted but lacks discernment. Let the Empress handle this matter herself. As for Chang Le, she can go to the Chu Prince's residence for a short stay if she wants, but she shouldn't stay too long."

Having received the Empress Dowager's decree, Granny Chang immediately relayed the Empress Dowager's message to the Empress's side without lingering.

The Empress Dowager's biggest concern was her two sons; the rest were dispensable to her, especially when it came to offspring. As long as there were sons who could carry on the royal family line, that was enough.

As the saying goes, the dragon has nine sons, each different from the other. Although she is now the Empress Dowager, she cannot take care of all the emperor's princes and princesses.

Furthermore, in order to prevent these children from having any inappropriate thoughts, the Empress Dowager never got too close to any of the princes or princesses, lest they develop any improper ideas. Even though the Emperor was in his prime, these children should be honest and well-behaved.

"The Empress Dowager is the kind-hearted one. If someone dares to bully the royal offspring, they should be beaten to death. The Princess Consort of Chu is so indecisive. I wonder what kind of state she has managed the Prince's mansion in."

After saying that, Wenrou realized that it was somewhat inappropriate.

"Hehe, Aunt, Rou'er is just a little worried about my cousin-in-law..."

The Empress Dowager didn't expose her, but just nodded, watching Wenrou make the bed for her, and then waited for Wenrou to come over and help her remove her hairpins and change her clothes before patting the back of her hand.

"Don't bother with your work. After you put the copy of 'Precepts for Women' that your mother made and the Buddhist scriptures in the small shrine, you can rest."

"Yes, Rou'er remembers."

Because the Empress Dowager always had the habit of resting in the afternoon, Wenrou quietly left after helping her to bed.

She, accompanied by her maid Xiaoxin and carrying a food basket, wandered around the Wanshou Palace, eventually ending up in the small Buddhist hall where Consort Chun was imprisoned.

When the two old women guarding the gate saw Wenrou approaching, they recognized her and quickly went up to greet her.

"This servant greets Miss Wen."

With a gentle smile on her face, she said, "Thank you both for your hard work, Granny. The Empress Dowager ordered me to bring some food to the noble lady and to check on how her repentance is going. I hope you two can do me a favor. Oh, and I also brought some warm wine and snacks for you. It's freezing cold here, so please take a rest."

Xiao Xin was a quick-witted maid. She stepped forward with her basket and grabbed the two gatekeepers.

"You two have worked hard. Xiao Xin has prepared a lot of food and wine. Let's go to the small warm room next door and have some to warm ourselves up."

One of them frowned and said, "We are both on duty. If we get drunk and cause trouble, it will be terrible."

Xiaoxin looked at Wenrou, only to see her shake her head.

Xiao Xin said, "What the old lady said makes sense. But this is all fruit wine. If you really can't drink it, then you can eat some warm food. My young lady went in on the Empress Dowager's orders to offer the scriptures copied by my lady to the Buddha, so that she can absorb some of the Buddha's energy and pray for the soldiers of Daqing on the border."

Both of the old women had been in the palace for a long time and knew about Wenrou's feelings for the Prince of Chu. They subconsciously assumed that this was a copy made by Miss Wen to pray for the Prince of Chu, but she was afraid that the Princess of Chu would be unhappy, so she used the name of the lady.

"Oh, it's just a short meal, it won't be a problem. Let's go. Besides, we can see what's going on through the crack in the door, so the person inside probably won't dare to run away."

"That's fine."

The two nannies followed Xiaoxin to the greenhouse, leaving this place to Wenrou.