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

Li Song remained silent, unsure of what had led the Princess of Chu to discover his identity.

"Li Song, who is your master?!"

This time he fell silent; he didn't say anything.

"Xiao Bing, there's no need to be so polite. Since this young man is so tough, let him taste what the punishment wine of the Chu Prince's Mansion tastes like."

That night, Li Song couldn't resist Xiao Bing's hospitality and confessed everything.

“Your Highness, he vomited it all up. His mistress is Consort Gu of the Third Prince’s residence. The reason he didn’t get into trouble is because he delivered the first batch of finished products to Consort Gu that day.”

"Have you found out where the item is?"

"We found out. It's located in an estate under Consort Gu's name. Should I send someone there?"

"This matter is of utmost importance. Xiao Bing, take your men and go there immediately. Remember, do not use any open flames. If it explodes, the devastated land in the west of the city will be the next victim."

"Please instruct us, Master, what should we do?"

"Once you find it, pour plenty of water on it, preferably until it's completely submerged. Make sure it's well disguised and doesn't give anything away. I want to see what those people are really up to!"

"By the way, tell the prince about this, but don't let the prince put himself in danger."

"My subordinate understands!"

Gu Qingwan didn't sleep well all night. She was worried about Xiao Jingchen, and also about Xiao Bing and the others who went to find the Thunderbolt, until Xiao Bing came to report the news.

"Your Highness, the matter has been handled as you instructed. There are three large boxes in total, and each box contains five thunderbolts, but..."

Gu Qingwan's right eyelid twitched, and she asked, "Just what?"

"But one of the boxes had four pieces for some reason, as if someone had taken them."

"Have you asked Li Song?"

"When my subordinates asked earlier, Li Song said he sent fifteen coins, so could it be that someone found and took one before we did?"

If someone found them before them, why didn't they take them all, instead of just one? Gu Qingwan couldn't understand it at all.

"The prince is back!"

Gu Qingwan was pleasantly surprised. The prince had been spending the night in the camp for the past two days, so why did he suddenly return tonight?

"Your Highness, is the matter settled?"

Xiao Jingchen stood in front of Gu Qingwan without saying a word, just staring straight at her. Before Gu Qingwan could ask what had happened, Xiao Jingchen suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fell directly onto Gu Qingwan.

"Your Highness!" Gu Qingwan caught the fallen Xiao Jingchen, trying her best to calm herself down. "Steward, make the arrangements. Tell them that His Highness is too tired these past two days and has fallen asleep. No one is allowed to come to the backyard to disturb him."

"Your Highness, rest assured, everyone in this garden is one of our own. This old servant guarantees that not a single word will leak out."

"Xiao Yi, go and arrange the guards of the Prince's mansion. Keep the guards loose inside but tight outside, so that no one notices anything unusual about the mansion."

That night, the lights in the main courtyard of the Chu Prince's mansion never went out. Four maids, including the Chu Prince's confidants, stayed at the mansion. The servants had no idea what had happened, only that the prince hadn't slept for the past two days and was extremely tired.

"Your Highness, the Prince's pulse is too disordered."

Gu Qingwan took out silver needles and heated them over a fire for a while before concentrating on applying acupuncture to Xiao Jingchen. Applying acupuncture is not something that can be done simply; one must find the acupoints accurately and use internal energy, and the timing must be perfect.

After she finished administering the acupuncture, her clothes were as if they had been pulled out of the water. Baoqin, who was standing next to her, quickly took a clean outer garment and put it on the princess.

"The prince must have encountered something this time that made him use his internal energy to resist. The Gu worms in his body have awakened. This time I used acupuncture to force them to fall asleep again, but it didn't last long."

Upon hearing this, Doctor Xue knew that the situation had reached a critical point.

"Your Highness, has the Gu King not yet woken up?"

Gu Qingwan shook her head, judging from the way things were going, she wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

"Why don't we wake up the Gu King? Why doesn't the Princess take a silver needle and prick it?" Xiao Yi suggested from the side.

For some reason, the people around Xiao Yi were looking at him like he was an idiot, and Xiao Yi felt a little uncomfortable.

Siqi stepped forward and couldn't help but scold, "Do you think everyone is like you, who can be cured with just one prick!"

Doctor Xue explained, "The Gu King is now in a cocoon, which is a matter of life and death for it. It is currently in the hands of the Queen and is not in any danger. If it were outside, it could be devoured by other animals or its own kind at any time. At this time, the Gu King is the most vulnerable and has no ability to fight back."

Xiao Yi was somewhat dejected, glancing at the prince who was still lying in bed.

"Is there really no other way?"

Gu Qingwan regained her senses and asked Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi.

"Is there anything amiss with Your Highness today?"

Xiao Jia thought for a moment and said, "It's nothing. He was busy with everyone during the day, but after dark the prince became a little irritable. Later, I don't know why, the prince just stood there and didn't move. I called him for a long time, and then the prince asked me to take him directly to the princess. That's all."

"By the way, His Highness also instructed his subordinates to go around and check if anyone was playing the xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument).

"Playing the xun?"

What? Is that person causing trouble again? Who is it? And what exactly is the Gu worm inside Xiao Jingchen's body?

"Your Highness, the Gu worms in His Highness's body are unusual, but as of now, apart from being somewhat drowsy and unable to use his internal energy, His Highness doesn't seem to have any other symptoms. So what's going on with this Xun sound?" Doctor Xue asked, puzzled.

"I thought so too before, and didn't consider this Gu worm to be very powerful, but now it seems that's not the case."

"Does Your Highness know what this is?" Doctor Xue asked.

"The Heart-to-Heart Gu"

"What!" Doctor Xue was startled.

"What is this?" Everyone was curious.

"This is the most powerful type of Gu worm in the Southern Frontier."

Siqi couldn't help but ask, "How does it compare to our Gu King?"

Doctor Xue replied, "It's either you or me."

The crowd fell silent. If there were such domineering things, the world of Gu worms must not be so peaceful, and there must be a lot of fighting for them.

"However, this kind of Gu worm is as rare as the Gu King. It is said that this Gu worm was made by the most capable Holy Maiden of the Southern Frontier. The Holy Maiden of the Southern Frontier must sever all emotions and love throughout her life."

"But she fell in love with a man, but he betrayed her. So the saintess set a trap by locking herself in a Gu pit and feeding the Gu worms with her own flesh and blood, giving birth to a pair called the Heart-to-Heart Gu. As long as the man takes the Heart-to-Heart Gu, he will surely obey the saintess."