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

"I think this is inappropriate. Originally, this matter had nothing to do with my Yongyi Marquis's mansion, but Miss Gu insisted on dragging my ignorant granddaughter into it. My Yongyi Marquis's mansion values ​​family tradition the most. If it weren't for the Emperor's imperial decree, I'm afraid it would be difficult to silence the gossip outside," Old Madam Meng stood up and replied humbly and confidently.

“Madam Meng is right. Our Qingwan was dragged into this for no reason. Although we are sisters, this unexpected disaster is too sudden and unexpected.” Madam Ning quickly joined Madam Meng on the same side to fight for their respective interests.

"Madam Meng and Madam Ning, please have a seat. You are right. It is all Yuheng's fault that Miss Meng and Miss Gu were frightened. I will send someone to the mansion later to deliver some gifts to Madam Meng and Miss Meng to calm their nerves. I also heard that Miss Gu just returned. I have some fun things here. I hope Miss Gu will not find them offensive."

"I thank Your Highness, but it's not necessary. The Marquis's family has not done anything to deserve such a reward."

"The Ning family is grateful for Your Highness's kindness. Qingwan has been living away from home since she was a child, and she cannot afford such expensive things."

"Madam, Madam, what are you saying? I've long heard that Miss Meng is both talented and beautiful. This is the first time I've met her, so giving her a small gift is nothing."

When Gu Hanjiao heard Consort Yu's flattery of the Yongyi Marquis's mansion and her praise of Meng Yanran, she knew that Consort Yu's previous guess must be correct. Consort Yu had taken a liking to the legitimate daughter of the Yongyi Marquis's mansion, and her actions were correct. If it weren't for the mishap, she would have already... But why was Gu Qingwan, that wild girl, involved as well? Was Consort Yu so greedy?

"You can talk about your gift later!" The Emperor strode in as he spoke. He had heard Consort Yu's words as soon as he reached the door. He was already furious when he heard about this, as it had made the royal family a laughing stock. As soon as he entered, he heard that Consort Yu wanted to give a gift.

"Greetings to the Emperor, long live the Emperor!"

"Everyone get up!"

Gu Qingwan looked up and saw that the figure beside the Emperor was none other than Prince Chu, Xiao Jingchen. The Emperor strode over to the Empress, helped her up, and the Empress gave him her seat, taking a seat next to him. The Emperor then pointed to an empty seat, gesturing for Xiao Jingchen to sit there.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty." Xiao Jingchen clasped his hands and bowed slightly to the Empress.

"Oh, the Prince of Chu has arrived too. Please sit down. Your Majesty, the court is so busy that I shouldn't have bothered you. However, since it involves the families of important officials, I was afraid that I might not have handled things properly, so I sent someone to invite Your Majesty. I hope I haven't delayed Your Majesty's business."

"The Empress has done a very thoughtful job. It is best for me to handle this matter."

The palace maids came in one after another to serve tea. Gu Qingwan glanced at Xiao Jingchen inadvertently. Xiao Jingchen seemed a little angry. When he looked at Gu Qingwan, he still couldn't control his anger. Gu Qingwan didn't know why Xiao Jingchen was angry. Was it because he felt embarrassed that she was involved?

Actually, Xiao Jingchen was wronged. At the time, he was discussing border defense with the Emperor in the Emperor's study when a palace servant came to report the widely circulated news outside, so he came with the Emperor.

On the way, he hurriedly asked the servant who reported the incident. Xiao Jingchen was furious that someone would be so reckless as to try to associate themselves with Gu Qingwan. It seemed that he needed to raise Gu Qingwan's status as soon as possible so that no one would bully or associate themselves with her anymore.

When Gu Hanjiao heard that the Prince of Chu was present, she quietly raised her head to look at him. Although the Prince of Chu was the Emperor's younger brother, he was not as old as she had imagined, nor was he as fierce as the legends suggested. However, the unpleasant expression on his face made him seem difficult to get along with.

When Consort Yu saw that the Emperor had arrived, she dared not say anything more. She quickly found a seat and sat down, which was better than being kicked out. In case anything happened, she could help her son.

"Alright, tell me what happened. You've made a complete fool of yourself!" The Emperor asked, sitting down.

"Your Majesty, please grant justice for my daughter and me!" Madam Gu knelt down beside her daughter, tears streaming down her face, pleading with the Emperor to make a decision.

"In that case, Miss Gu, please begin."

When Gu Hanjiao heard that the Emperor had asked her to explain first, she realized that she had the initiative. Gu Hanjiao quickly pinched her thigh, her eyes red, and stepped forward to kowtow.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace." Gu Hanjiao sobbed as she expressed her gratitude.

“At that time, I ran away from the banquet and walked alone, feeling sad. At that moment, I saw my sister and Miss Meng walk into the small pavilion together. I thought my sister and Miss Meng were close, so I didn’t think much of it. But after a while, I saw my sister come out alone, acting suspiciously. I hadn’t seen Miss Meng for a long time, so I was worried. Just then, the Third Prince happened to pass by, so I invited him to come with me.”

When Consort Yu heard that Gu Hanjiao was trying to defend her son, she felt relieved.

When Xiao Jingchen heard Gu Qingwan mentioned, he gave Gu Hanjiao a sharp, cold look that sent a chill down her spine.

"Oh?" The Emperor asked with interest, "Third Prince, you were mentioned, is that really the case?"

Xiao Yuheng remained silent, but this was indeed the best explanation. Otherwise, how could he say that Gu Hanjiao had sent someone to invite him over? That would ruin Gu Hanjiao's reputation, and he still couldn't bear to part with her.

"Yes, Father. There was some trouble with the male guests. I came out to find my second brother to take charge of the situation, and I happened to meet Miss Gu not far from the small pavilion in the garden."

"Hmm." The Emperor nodded. "Since Miss Meng and Miss Gu have been mentioned, why don't you two share your thoughts?"

"Greetings to His Majesty." Gu Qingwan and Meng Yanran stepped forward and bowed.

“Miss Gu must have mistaken me for someone else. It’s true that I’m on good terms with Miss Gu, and we did leave together. But we’re not good at composing poems, so we found it boring and went to admire the flowers instead. We didn’t go to the pavilion that Miss Gu mentioned. During that time, Miss Gu was with me the whole time. We were never separated. We each have our own maids to testify to that,” Meng Yanran explained.

“Perhaps I misread it, but someone did go in, and Miss Meng said there were maids to testify. Your respective maids will inevitably side with their masters,” Gu Hanjiao retorted. “Sister, why aren’t you saying anything? We can’t just let Miss Meng explain alone, can we?”

“Miss Meng is right. We have been together and have testified for each other. If we have to find other witnesses, perhaps we can ask the servants in the Second Prince’s residence. Maybe one of them has seen us. After all, the Prince’s residence is not small. There are many guests today, and there must be people coming and going to serve us.” Gu Qingwan originally wanted to be a spectator, but her younger sister couldn’t stand her being idle.

"Since Miss Meng and Miss Gu can vouch for each other, then there shouldn't be any problem," the Empress said.

"Your Majesty, this statement is somewhat inappropriate. To say that there is no problem in this way is probably not suitable."

"What does Consort Yu want? Does she really want to arrest all the maids and servants in the Second Prince's residence and interrogate them?"

"I……"

"Alright. The Empress is right. This matter originally had nothing to do with Miss Meng and Miss Gu. They were just summoned for routine questioning." The Emperor interrupted Consort Yu.

When Gu Hanjiao heard that the Emperor was trying to exclude Gu Qingwan and the others, she secretly resented him, thinking that the Emperor must be considering the Ning family and the Yongyi Marquis's mansion, otherwise he wouldn't be so biased.

"Second brother, you and your wife shouldn't hide behind the scenes anymore. You're too big to hide. Just speak openly."

At this moment, everyone looked at the Second Prince, because he was the key to this matter. Only when the Second Prince explained things clearly could this scandalous incident be classified. Therefore, everyone paid attention to the Second Prince's every breath.

The second prince was already nervous in front of his father, the emperor, but now that everyone was looking at him, he became even more nervous. His mouth trembled and he couldn't even utter a complete sentence.