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

The night was deep, and moonlight, like water, spilled into the backyard of the Third Prince's residence. The shadows of the trees swayed, and a gentle breeze brought a touch of coolness. Li Qianyu sat alone by the window, a letter clutched in her hand, her fingertips trembling slightly, her face as pale as paper. The handwriting on the letter was clear yet cold, each word like a sharp blade piercing her heart.

"Take the mother and keep the child..." she murmured softly, her voice hoarse and broken, her eyes filled with disbelief and despair.

She had never imagined that her beloved husband would be so cruel to her and their unborn child for another woman. Her fingers unconsciously traced the slight bulge in her belly, where her and the Third Prince's child was growing—her only support and hope in this deep palace.

"Why...why did you do this to me?" Her voice choked, and tears silently streamed down her face, dripping onto the letter and blurring the ink.

She knew that Gu Hanjiao was the Third Prince's beloved, someone she could never replace. But she never imagined that the Third Prince would sacrifice her and their child's lives for Gu Hanjiao. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart, the pain almost unbearable.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?" The princess's personal wet nurse pushed open the door and saw that she was pale, so she quickly stepped forward to support her.

Li Qianyu raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, her voice trembling: "Granny, he...he wants to kill me, and our child..."

Upon hearing this, the old woman's face changed drastically, and she immediately knelt down: "Your Highness, please don't frighten me, this... how could this be?"

Li Qianyu handed her the letter, her voice weak and desperate: "Read it yourself."

The old woman took the letter, glanced at it hastily, and her face instantly turned deathly pale: "Your Highness, what... what should we do? The Third Prince... how could he be so heartless?"

Li Qianyu closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks, her voice a low murmur: "I thought that as long as I behaved myself, he wouldn't harm me. But I was wrong. He'd do anything for Gu Hanjiao..."

The old woman gripped her hand tightly, her voice firm: "Your Highness, you cannot sit idly by and wait to die! We must find a way to save your life and the young master's!"

Li Qianyu opened her eyes, a resolute glint in them: "Yes, I can't die, and my child can't die either. I can't let him succeed!"

She took a deep breath, suppressing the fear and despair in her heart, and her voice gradually calmed down: "Granny, you are my wet nurse, you watched me grow up, you must help me!"

“Miss, why are you being so formal? If I may say something presumptuous, I have watched you grow up. You are like my child. I would give my life for you. Should I go back and inform the master and madam now?”

Li Qianyu calmed down and shook her head, saying, "No need. Let's not do anything now, lest he find out that we already know their plan. If he gets desperate and does something rash, we'll suffer the consequences."

"Are you just going to wait like this? You're about to give birth!"

"Wait a little longer, all we can do now is wait a little longer." Li Qianyu hugged her belly tightly and murmured softly, seemingly comforting the baby inside her, or perhaps comforting herself.

"How long are we going to have to wait?"

“Wait until…” A glint flashed in Li Qianyu’s eyes, “Wait until the time is right, and perhaps someone can save my son and me.”

As Gu Qingwan had considered, the Empress Dowager was unwilling to go to the Chu Prince's residence with Gu Qingwan. Now that one of her two sons was ill and the other was still away on a military expedition, she should take on the responsibilities of the Empress Dowager and work with the Empress to support the harem.

Since the Empress Dowager did not wish for anything, Gu Qingwan would not force her. She went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager on time. The Empress Dowager had been poisoned, but fortunately it was discovered early, and with Gu Qingwan's intervention, she was not seriously injured.

The morning sunlight filtered through the thin clouds, illuminating the vermilion gates of the Chu Prince's mansion. The stone lions before the gates stood silently, as if guarding this solemn residence. Gu Qingwan sat in the flower hall, holding a book in her hands, her brows slightly furrowed, seemingly deep in thought. Suddenly, a maidservant rushed in, looking somewhat flustered.

"Your Highness, the Third Prince's Consort has arrived," the maidservant reported in a low voice, her tone tinged with unease.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingwan raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering, "What is the Third Prince's Consort doing at the Prince's residence at this time?" She put down the book in her hand, stood up, straightened her clothes, and strode towards the front hall.

Upon entering the front hall, they saw the Third Prince's Consort standing at the doorway, her face pale, fine beads of sweat on her forehead, her hands tightly clutching a handkerchief, her knuckles white. Although her clothes were neat, her steps were unsteady, clearly she was forcing herself to stand.

"Third Prince's Consort, what's wrong with you..." Gu Qingwan quickly stepped forward, took her arm, and felt that it was ice cold to the touch.

The Third Prince's wife raised her head, a hint of panic and pain flashing in her eyes, her voice weak but firm: "Princess Consort of Chu, I... I'm afraid I'm going into labor."

Gu Qingwan was startled and immediately understood her purpose. She quickly calmed down and turned to the maid, instructing, "Quickly prepare a carriage to send the Third Prince's Consort back."

The Third Prince's wife gripped Gu Qingwan's hand tightly, her voice trembling, "I...I can't go back to the manor. He...he wants to take the mother and leave the child behind. I can't let him succeed..."

Gu Qingwan's heart skipped a beat, and a hint of anger and pity flashed in her eyes. However, even so, Gu Qingwan still could not leave Li Qianyu here. Li Qianyu wanted to become Xiao Yuheng's princess consort. She had gone all out for Xiao Yuheng and was even willing to abandon her family. If she had any ideas now, even if Gu Qingwan could get away, it would inevitably cause some trouble.

“This is the Chu Prince’s residence. You’re probably not safe here…” Gu Qingwan had other things to do. She and Xiao Yuheng had reached a point of no return, so how could she possibly help Xiao Yuheng’s child, even though the child was innocent?

Li Qianyu saw the rejection in Princess Chu's eyes, so she quickly grasped Gu Qingwan's hand and said through the pain, "Your Highness, this is Qianyu's sincerity. I hope Your Highness can help Qianyu again this time."

The wet feeling in her hand made Gu Qingwan frown. She looked down and saw a dark green jade pendant. However, the pattern on the jade pendant was exactly the same as the pattern on the black iron masks she had seen when she went to Xishan to rescue the King of Chu.

Shock flashed in Gu Qingwan's eyes, "You actually!"

Li Qianyu breathed a sigh of relief. She knew she didn't have many bargaining chips, and this was the only thing she could offer the Princess Consort of Chu as leverage after all this planning. It seemed this was the right thing to do. "Your Highness, you should have realized it's the token of the Third Prince's private soldiers. With this..."

"Quickly go and fetch a midwife, prepare hot water and clean cloths, and send someone to fetch the imperial physician!"

The maidservant responded and left. Gu Qingwan helped the Third Prince's wife slowly walk towards the inner room, gently comforting her as they walked: "Don't be afraid, you'll be safe here. I'll take care of everything."

Upon entering the inner room, Gu Qingwan helped the Third Prince's Consort to bed and personally wiped the sweat from her forehead. The Third Prince's Consort's breathing became increasingly rapid, and waves of pain washed over her. Her face grew paler, but she endured the pain without making a sound, fearing to cause unnecessary trouble.

The midwife arrived quickly. This was Qiu Po, Gu Qingwan's confidante and Hua Chun's wife, who was also skilled in treating women's ailments. She began to deliver the baby for the Third Prince's wife. Gu Qingwan stood aside, holding the Third Prince's wife's hand tightly, and whispered encouragement: "Hang in there, the baby will be out soon, and you and your child will be safe."

Upon receiving the news, Li Xinhan and his wife rushed to the Chu Prince's residence. Li Xinhan was covered in sweat, and upon seeing the Chu Princess, he immediately knelt down to pay his respects.

"Greetings to Her Highness the Princess."

“Lord Li, please rise. The Third Prince’s Consort came to the Prince’s residence as a guest and suddenly went into labor. It’s too late to send her back to the Prince’s residence, so I took the liberty of letting her give birth here.”

Li Xinhan quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Thank you so much for your great kindness, Your Highness. If it weren't for you, my daughter might have given birth on the way. Your Highness didn't mind that childbirth is unlucky and kept my daughter. I am deeply grateful."

Gu Qingwan knew he was a loyal subject, and she didn't intend to make things difficult for him. However, she couldn't bear to tell the couple that their son-in-law was planning to leave his mother behind.

Time ticked by, and the Third Prince's wife's breathing grew increasingly rapid, sweat dripping from her forehead like rain. Finally, a loud cry of a newborn baby broke the tense atmosphere.

"It's a young lady!" Granny Qiu handed the wrapped baby to the Third Prince's wife.

"Amitabha, God bless, it's good that my son is alright, it's good that he's alright. Your Highness, may I go and see the Crown Princess?" Madam Li's eyes were full of worry.

After receiving a look from Gu Qingwan, Granny Qiu handed the child to Madam Li and said, "The child is very big, and there was almost a difficult delivery. Fortunately, I, Granny Qiu, was there. Otherwise, the noble person inside would have faced great danger."

"What nonsense are you spouting, you old hag!" When Madam Li heard this person saying some discouraging things, she immediately forgot that she was in the Chu Prince's mansion and glared at him, scolding him.

Li Xinhan quickly grabbed his wife's arm. This was the Chu Prince's residence. The fact that this old woman Qiu could speak so humbly and arrogantly could only mean that she was the princess's person.

"Go and see Qianyu."

Li Xinhan and Princess Chu naturally had nothing to say to each other. He saw Princess Chu sitting in the main seat drinking tea, and he didn't know what to say, so he could only drink tea as well. But when he looked around, he suddenly remembered that he and his wife had arrived, but why hadn't he seen the Third Prince Xiao Yuheng? Could it be that he hadn't arrived yet?

Li Xinhan suppressed his anger and asked softly, "Your Highness, why hasn't the Third Prince arrived yet?"

Gu Qingwan didn't even lift her eyelids, and said, "It's my fault for not telling the Third Prince, but he should know in a little while."

Li Xinhan's eyelids twitched. He had managed to get to his current position, so it was clear that he was not an easy person to get along with. He immediately understood the key to the matter: why his daughter, knowing that she was about to give birth, still went to the Chu Prince's residence to urinate. The relationship between the Third Prince and the Chu Prince was not so friendly. The Chu Prince's residence had always been very friendly to the Crown Prince's side.

Gu Qingwan didn't want to beat around the bush, so she said directly, "This is the Chu Prince's residence, and we should properly entertain Lord Li and his family. However, the Prince is not at home, and there are no men in the house who can entertain you. A tightly packed carriage has already been prepared outside the door. This is the only thing I, the Princess Consort, can do for Qianyu. Lord Li, you should take her away quickly before anyone comes from over there."

Although Li Xinhan was full of doubts, he knew that Princess Chu wouldn't say anything more to him at this moment.

He secretly made a decision in his heart that this matter must be related to Xiao Yuheng, so he sent the people with him in to find the madam and the young lady and decided to take them back directly.

With the help of Granny Qiu, Li Qianyu did not suffer much during this childbirth. Upon hearing that Princess Chu wanted them to leave immediately, the maid Tingyu, who had come with them, was unhappy and was about to say something when she was stopped by the nanny beside her.

"Miss..." she called out softly with concern.

"This..." Madam Li was also a little unhappy, but this was, after all, the Chu Prince's residence. It was already a great kindness for the Chu Princess to tolerate a woman giving birth in the residence. Now that the prince was away on a campaign, there was nothing to criticize. Moreover, the princess had thoughtfully prepared a carriage.

"Mother, don't hesitate any longer. Let's go back quickly before Xiao Yuheng arrives."

"Why? Wouldn't it be best if the Third Prince came? After all, you are his princess consort. Even if you don't want to go back to the prince's residence to recuperate after childbirth, you can come to our house after he arrives."