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

Zhu Xiaoyan's expression froze, and she couldn't help but clench the blanket around her. If she could, she would kill that person right now.

"What's wrong, Xiaoxiao? The young master is so busy outside, but he came to visit you as soon as he got back. It's clear that he still cares about you. Listen to your mother, it's okay to be a little temperamental, but you still need to make long-term plans. Right now, your most important thing is to take good care of your health and give birth to a legitimate son for the Marquis's mansion as soon as possible. Although Lu Yan is a bit away from home, the backyard is still clean and there's no mess around, which is good."

Although Princess Zirui was angry, Zhu Xiaoyan had miscarried and her condition was getting worse, but Lu Yan was still not sending her any messages. This was probably because his family's power was not as great as before, which was why the Yi'an Marquis's Mansion was neglecting him.

But despite her anger, that was indeed the truth, and she had nothing more to say. Now she had returned to the capital with her family fortune, hoping to support Xiaoyan in the future.

"Mother, I know what you're saying, but I still need to rest and recuperate a bit more. Also, how are things going at the Prince's residence?"

"Everything is almost done. We can move in in a couple of days. Princess Chu has been very helpful, sending all the necessary household items. There's nothing to worry about. Why don't you come back with me today, Qian'er? You've been bothering us too much at the Marquis's residence these past few days."

Zhu Qian'er was so engrossed in the news of the prince's arrival that she didn't hear what her stepmother and elder sister were talking about.

She finally managed to persuade her stepmother to let her go to the Marquis's mansion to accompany her sister. Her original purpose was to get close to the heir, but for some reason, the heir hadn't been home for a while. She finally waited for the heir to return, but her clothes were very ordinary, and it seemed too late to go back and tidy up now.

"Qian'er?"

"what?"

Princess Zirui said with displeasure, "What are you thinking about? I've called you several times."

"Mother, I'm sorry, Mother. I didn't sleep well last night, so I was a little distracted," Zhu Qian'er explained softly.

"This isn't really our home. Pack up and come back with me in a bit. You'll be able to get a good night's sleep when we're home."

"No!" Zhu Qian'er screamed as if a cat had stepped on her tail, startling Princess Zirui.

Zhu Xiaoyan, however, looked at Zhu Qian'er thoughtfully.

Just then, Lu Yan walked in.

"Xiaoyan, how are you feeling?" The greeting came before she even got close.

"Your Highness is back. Cough cough cough, I feel much better." She said, getting up to greet him.

"Don't move. You're not feeling well, you should rest properly." After saying that, Lu Yan greeted Princess Zirui, who was sitting to the side: "This son-in-law greets Mother-in-law. I didn't know Mother-in-law was here. The people in the manor are not good at etiquette and have neglected Mother-in-law."

Princess Zirui, for her daughter's sake, was unwilling to cause trouble. She said, "It's enough that you know how to care for Xiaoyan. I'm an old woman, what haven't I seen? I know what's being neglected or not. Luckily, I'm a tolerant person, otherwise, according to the rules of the palace, hmph..."

"Yes, yes, I know I was wrong. How about I treat my mother-in-law to a proper meal today?"

"No need. I only came to see Xiaoyan today. Seeing that Xiaoyan is alright, I will visit her again in the future. As for entertaining her, there is no need. I have already asked the Emperor to renovate the Prince's Mansion. In a couple of days, when it is completed, I will invite the ladies of the various families to come and sit down. Princess Chu will also be there."

Lu Yan didn't show it on his face, but he was very unhappy inside. This old woman was saying that although she was not as good as before, the royal family still had to give her, the princess, some face and make him more respectful.

"Yes, yes, I didn't know about the renovation of the Prince's Mansion. I've been busy at the camp in the suburbs of the capital these past few days and only just had a chance to come back."

"Mother, please don't blame the young master. He's busy."

Princess Zirui sighed and said, "The Marquis is not at home now, so the young master is the pillar of the family. So be it, as long as you treat Xiaoyan well."

"Greetings to the Prince." Zhu Qian'er was captivated the moment she saw Lu Yan. She was prepared to wait for the Prince to notice her, but Lu Yan didn't speak to her for a long time. Instead, he kept talking to Princess Zirui, so she couldn't help but speak up.

Lu Yan then noticed that there was a young girl standing behind Princess Zirui. At first, he thought she was a maidservant of Princess Zirui, but now that she was taking the initiative to greet him, it was clear that she was no ordinary person.

Lu Yan pretended not to know and looked at Zhu Xiaoyan, "And this is..."

"Oh. I forgot to introduce you to my husband, this is my younger sister, Zhu Qian'er."

"So you're my wife's younger sister. I'm honored to meet you here. How come I've never seen you before?"

"Your Highness is too kind. Qian'er has never visited you before, so you have never met her."

Seeing the adoration in Zhu Qian'er's eyes, Lu Yan, being a worldly-wise man, could easily see the meaning behind her gaze. He couldn't help but feel a sense of contempt for Zhu Qian'er, but since Princess Zirui was still there, he couldn't show it.

"What's the big deal? This time we've finally made it to the capital, so your sister-in-law should spend more time with your sister. That way, your sister won't be too lonely."

Just as Zhu Qian'er was about to rejoice, Zhu Xiaoyan couldn't help but cough a few times.

"Cough cough cough, Mother, you've been here long enough today. Hurry up and take my sister back."

Zhu Qian'er didn't want to leave. "Sister, I'd like to stay by your side a little longer and keep you company."

"Why are you accompanying me? I have the young master by my side, that's enough. You've worked hard these days, go back and rest well. In a couple of days, Mother will be hosting a banquet for the ladies of various families, and I'll need your help then."

Zhu Qian'er twisted the handkerchief in her hand with some dissatisfaction. This banquet was very important to her, as it was an occasion for the ladies of various families to formally get to know her. If she wanted to win a good marriage in the future, she had to perform well.

But now she was a little reluctant. How could such an outstanding person as the Crown Prince be given to her sickly older sister? If only she could take his place.

“Xiaoyan is right. I will take Qian’er back now. Your Highness, the banquet at the Prince’s Mansion will be held in a couple of days. We hope that you will do us the honor of attending. Xiaoyan, if you feel better, you should go out and about. Don’t stay cooped up at the mansion all the time.”

"Xiaoyan understands, and will bring Su Xi along."

Upon hearing Zhu Xiaoyan mention Su Xi, Lu Yan couldn't help but look at her. A voice in his mind seemed to say that Zhu Xiaoyan knew something.

“Su Xi?” Princess Zirui asked, frowning.

"Mother probably doesn't know that Su Xi is the Crown Prince's cousin. Now that she is pregnant with the Crown Prince's child, the household is in a state of great joy."

Princess Zirui was taken aback. Just now she had praised the young master for his clean backyard, and now a pregnant cousin suddenly appeared. She said, "Who do we have here? I always thought the young master was living with you alone. Well, now that someone is bearing children for the young master, you, as his legal wife, should do the same. I hope the young master will bring the Lady of the Marquis and my cousin with him."

"Mother-in-law, Su Xi is currently pregnant..."

Zhu Xiaoyan secretly tightened her grip on her mother's hand. Princess Zirui naturally noticed this. She didn't know why her daughter was doing this, but she would definitely find a way to fulfill her daughter's request.

"No problem. If it really doesn't work out, I'll ask Princess Chu to lend me her carriage so I can come to your residence to pick up my cousin."

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant."

"Alright, alright, it's settled then. I'll be going now."

Although Zhu Qian'er was unwilling, after weighing the pros and cons, she decided to go back with Princess Zirui for the time being. As for the heir of the Marquis of Yi'an, she would deal with him later.

After seeing Princess Zirui and Zhu Qian'er off, the gentle look on Lu Yan's face vanished, replaced by indifference and disgust.

"What exactly do you mean?!"

"What, is the young master unable to keep up the act? What could I possibly mean? I just get along well with my cousin Su Xi. She used to come to my place every day to talk to me, and we have a very good relationship. Now that my mother is hosting a banquet at home, I naturally want to bring my cousin Su Xi along to take a look. Is there a problem with that?" Zhu Xiaoyan raised her head and looked at Lu Yan stubbornly.

Lu Yan felt something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. No one would know if Su Xi's pregnancy was fake, so Zhu Xiaoyan would be even less likely to know.

"Hmph, you'd better know your place. You'd better behave as the Crown Prince's consort, and I'll give you all the respect you deserve. If you don't know your place..."

"Cough cough cough, I don't have much time left to live. I've come to terms with it. Rather than worrying about those unsavory things, I'd rather live out my last days well. I hope the young master and his wife can grant my request."

Zhu Xiaoyan was right. Although she had improved a lot since receiving treatment from the Princess of Chu, only she knew that she had a heart ailment that could not be cured. It was just a pity for her unborn child.

Lu Yan frowned. What did Zhu Xiaoyan mean by that? Did she already know that Xiao Chen was secretly drugging her and that she was going to die soon?

Little Chen is so tight-lipped, how did Zhu Xiaoyan find out? Could it be that someone told Zhu Xiaoyan?

Thinking of this, Lu Yan turned and left, unwilling to linger with Zhu Xiaoyan for even a moment longer. From that moment on, once the unspoken understanding between them was broken, the two of them could no longer be honest with each other.

Lu Yan was angered by Zhu Xiaoyan and left. She finally couldn't help but lean against the pillow and cough desperately. Her maid, Green Robe, came forward to help her pat her back and soothe her.

"Your Highness, Princess Consort..."

"It's alright. I'm already at my limit. How can I let those people get away with this?"

"Young lady, as long as you take the medicine prescribed by the Princess of Chu properly, you will definitely get better."

Zhu Xiaoyan shook her head and said, "It's beyond repair. Princess Chu was able to cure the poison those people used, but she can't soothe the hatred in my heart. By the way, Green Robe, I asked you to go talk to Cuiying these past few days. Did you go?"

“I went there. At first, Cuiying was not easy to talk to, but later she couldn’t resist me going there every day and often bringing her some things. It was a book that the Crown Princess asked me to bring over last time. Sister Cuiying liked it very much. She said that her brother had been looking for this book for a long time and said that he would return it to me after he copied it.”

"That's fine then. You don't need to say anything more. Just interact normally like this. What do you think of Cuiying?"

After thinking for a while, Green Robe said, "I originally thought that it wouldn't be good for Cuiying to be by Madam's side, but after getting to know her recently, I feel that Cuiying is quite helpless. It's all fate. Who told her to follow such a mistress?"

Zhu Xiaoyan thought for a moment and said, "Go and send a message to the people at the Chu Prince's residence. Tell them that I need the Princess's help to have someone keep an eye on Cuiying. If Cuiying really encounters any misfortune, I hope the Princess can save her."

Gu Qingwan couldn't help but laugh when she received Zhu Xiaoyan's request. This Crown Princess wasn't as harmless as she seemed on the surface; she had already begun to fight back.

"Your Highness, should we send someone..."

"Let's have someone keep an eye on her. If this maid named Cuiying really encounters any misfortune, we can step in and rescue her. She'll be very useful in the future."

Lu Yan quickly relayed the news to Madam Chen, informing her that the trip to the estate would be postponed for a few days, as Princess Zirui was hosting a banquet in a couple of days and she would be needed to attend.

Ms. Chen thought about it for a while.

Not many people know about the poisoning of Zhu Xiaoyan. The poison was obtained by Lu Yan from outside. Since only men from outside the inner courtyard could enter, there is only one possibility: something went wrong in the inner courtyard.

She believed that her courtyard was well-managed and would not give Zhu Xiaoyan any opportunity to plant spies. Moreover, she believed that only one person could have been involved in poisoning Zhu Xiaoyan, and that was Cuiying, who was by her side.

Watching Cuiying direct the servants to move things in the distance, she called over the little maid who was making tea and asked, "Who has your sister Cuiying been talking to lately?"

"Replying to Madam, Sister Cuiying usually serves by your side and rarely goes back."

"Isn't there anything special about it?"

The little maid thought for a moment and said, "The green-clad girl next to the Crown Princess has been frequently visiting Sister Cuiying these past few days, but it's only because she wants Sister Cuiying to teach her needlework techniques so she can make a forehead band for the Crown Princess. Sister Cuiying's embroidery skills are the best, and no matter how much the little maid begs, Sister Cuiying doesn't seem to agree."

Madam Chen immediately understood. "Alright, don't tell anyone about what I asked you. You may leave now."

"Yes."

Madam Chen stared at Cuiying's figure for a long time. Cuiying was the one who had been by her side the longest, but she was not one of the dowry maids. The previous maids had been dealt with long ago. Cuiying knew too many things. Could it be that she already had ulterior motives?

No, at this critical juncture, she wouldn't allow any threat to exist. Cuiying had served her for so long; she deserved a good future.