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

Chapter 262 Bridal Chamber Flowers and Candles

Logically speaking, Gu Ziming is Gu Qingwan's biological father, which is also the actual father-in-law of the Prince of Chu. However, this Gu Ziming is courting death and insists on expelling Gu Qingwan from the family. Even if Gu Qingwan made this request, as long as he is not mentally unstable, he would not easily give up on this daughter.

But Gu Ziming is someone who doesn't play by the rules.

Now things are really messed up; his eldest daughter has become the Princess Consort of Chu, putting him in an awkward position as her father.

Gu Qingwan was married into the Ning family. She bid farewell to the ancestors of the Ning family and the entire family of the Duke of Ning. The Prince of Chu even recognized the Ning family as the maternal family of his wife. Apart from the fact that the wife still had the surname Gu, she was basically a daughter of the Ning family.

The Ning family was truly heartless, refusing to invite Gu Ziming to escort the bride. Gu Ziming had harmed the family's daughter, so they dared not go to the Ningguo Duke's mansion. However, they were unwilling to give up such a good diplomatic opportunity, so they went to the Chu Prince's mansion instead.

As expected, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor came over. Everyone openly praised Prime Minister Gu for his understanding of the bigger picture, but secretly they all mocked him for trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice instead.

Take back then, for example. You were a poor scholar who insisted on seducing the eldest daughter of the old Duke. Ning Jingxian was a simple-minded woman, and with just a few tricks, she was forced to marry him. Those who are older will know what happened back then.

You've already married her, so you should treat her well. But instead, you had a mistress who got pregnant and brought her back to the mansion. You ignored your first wife and eldest daughter, which led to your wife's early death.

That wasn't all; he even treated his concubine like a treasure and promoted her to the position of principal wife. This was utterly disgraceful to the officials and nobles in the capital, and even though Gu Ziming held a high position, they still looked down on him from the bottom of their hearts.

However, Gu Ziming didn't care about any of that. He was now the father-in-law of the Third Prince and also the father-in-law of the Prince of Chu. As long as Gu Qingwan still bore the surname Gu, he would find a way to reclaim his daughter.

Gu Qingwan settled into her new room, where some of the young ladies and wives of the royal family came to keep her company.

The eldest princess, the eldest princess, the second princess, the third princess, and other princesses and noblewomen, the crown princess, the second prince's wife, and some collateral branches—if you count carefully, the Xiao family has quite a few branches, but because there is the direct line, they dare not stand out.

Now the Emperor has used swift and decisive measures, directly placing Xiao Jingchen in charge of the Xiao family. Xiao Jingchen is even more feared, and those in the family who are not obedient and still want to cause trouble have been thrown into the military camp by the Prince of Chu.

With the clan leader getting married, Gu Qingwan is now the matriarch. Regardless of seniority, Gu Qingwan's status is undeniably high.

"Your Majesty, you've truly amazed us today. We only knew you were beautiful, but you must be tired," the Crown Princess chatted casually from the side.

"The Empress Dowager was originally going to come, but since the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are both here, the palace can't be without someone in charge, so she didn't come. The Empress Dowager asked me to explain to my aunt."

"It's alright. Her Majesty the Empress is quite busy, and the affairs of the inner palace still require her attention. We should understand."

The Second Prince's wife's eyes flickered, and she said with a charming smile, "The Empress Dowager is a very busy person. We rarely see her, let alone at times like this. If we're talking about who's more attentive, it's Consort Yu. Look at the coral tree in that courtyard, it was sent by Consort Yu."

Gu Qingwan nodded. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

The Second Prince's wife was speechless. Someone went to great lengths to curry favor with you, and you just dismissed them with three words?

It's not surprising that the Second Prince's wife was trying to curry favor with Consort Yu on behalf of Gu Qingwan. The main reason is that her own son, the Third Prince, hasn't married yet. Even though her daughter has passed away, it's already a good thing that the Second Princess isn't trying to stir up trouble.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the second princess, who was courting death, spoke up.

"Ha, Imperial Aunt? Given her status, wouldn't it be a disgrace to the royal family if she didn't dress more formally? I never imagined that my Imperial Uncle, with his illustrious reputation, would have such a stain on his name. I really don't know what Father was thinking..."

"Changping! How did your mother teach you? What about your manners?" The Grand Princess, who had just entered the room, overheard these words.

She was originally accompanying the Empress Dowager, and had just arrived a little late because she and the Imperial Son-in-Law had gone to escort the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's carriage back to the palace. She didn't expect to hear Changping say such things as soon as she entered the door.

"Great-aunt..."

"How can you say such things when you are a royal princess? It seems that Consort Yu has not been teaching you properly in the palace. I have to send someone to ask. If the palace is not teaching you well, it is not impossible for this old woman to teach you personally!"

Gu Qingwan was the person she took a liking to at first sight, and she was also the apple of the Prince of Chu's eye. She was extremely protective of her own and absolutely could not let the bride suffer a loss on the very first day.

Gu Qingwan knew that the Grand Princess was trying to save face for her, and she couldn't be ungrateful, so she just sat on the wedding bed without saying a word.

“Grandmother, please calm down. It is Anqing’s fault for not educating my sister properly. Anqing will definitely go back and relearn the palace rules and etiquette with my sister.”

Seeing that it was the emperor's legitimate daughter who was pleading for her, the eldest princess felt somewhat better.

"Never mind, it has nothing to do with you. Today is a special day for your royal uncle and aunt, so I won't blame you juniors."

The Crown Princess seized the opportunity, picked up Princess Chang Le who was huddled to the side, and teased her, "Little Chang Le, look, isn't our aunt pretty?"

Chang Le has chubby cheeks and two little pigtails on her head, with red ribbons tied with bells on them. They jingle and tinkle when she moves, which is very cute.

"So beautiful! Chang Le will be just as beautiful when she grows up! And she'll be taller than her aunt."

It made everyone burst into laughter.

"Okay, our little Chang Le must be even prettier than her aunt." Gu Qingwan said, touching Chang Le's little pigtails. She thought it would be nice to have such a cute daughter in the future.

Chang Le had a very good impression of Gu Qingwan, and she leaned into Gu Qingwan's arms, unwilling to get out.

“Look at this child. If you want to be taller than your aunt, you’d better eat well,” said the Grand Princess. “However, Qingwan is considered tall among girls in our capital. If it weren’t for Chen’er’s height, she would be quite tall.”

"It's good that you've grown taller! It's good that you've grown taller! Chang Le, you must grow taller!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

"Oh my, what a clever little thing." The Crown Princess couldn't stop smiling. "Grand Aunt, let's go to the front and take a seat. Let my Imperial Aunt rest. She's been working hard all day."

"Yes, yes, the Crown Princess is so insightful. Marriage is a real hardship for a woman. Qingwan, you should rest well. We'll be leaving now so as not to disturb you."

The Second Prince's wife pursed her lips and didn't dare to speak. The Second Princess had been suppressed for standing up for herself, so how could she dare to do anything else?

"I want to be with Auntie, Auntie smells so good." Chang Le was a little unhappy.

Gu Qingwan smiled and stroked her hair, saying, "Changle said she wanted to grow taller, but she still needs to eat well. Go and eat with your sister, and come visit your auntie again later."

Can I still come?

Seeing Gu Qingwan nod, Chang Le happily took the eldest princess's hand and left with the others.

Baoqin and the others were very considerate in seeing their princess out. Only after everyone had left did Gu Qingwan begin to look around their bedroom.

This bedroom is really big. Besides the place where she and the King of Chu slept, there was a small living room for eating, and next to it there was a small study and a side room for using the toilet and taking a bath.

These were all renovated by Xiao Jingchen for Gu Qingwan. Although this was his main courtyard before, he mostly lived in the study to avoid the trouble of traveling back and forth.

“Your Highness, our courtyard is really big, but there are not many people.” Ru Hua said, “Is Miss hungry? I will go and find her something to eat.”

"This is nothing. Tomorrow I'll show you around." Siqi had come here with Gu Qingwan many times, so she naturally knew just how big the Prince's mansion was.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Baoqin returned from outside, accompanied by Aunt Li.

"Your Highness, this is a meal sent from the Prince's residence." Baoqin didn't know how to address this person, but judging from their attire, they were no ordinary servant.

"This is Aunt Li, she serves the prince his meals. You should all treat her with respect from now on," Gu Qing'an introduced.

"Yes."

"Oh, Your Highness, you're too kind. This old woman is not so noble. I can tell that Your Highness's maids are all extraordinary. Your Highness knows that there are few people around, but now that Your Highness has arrived, it will be more lively with more people."

"Aunt Li is right."

"Your Highness must be hungry. These are some snacks that His Highness asked me to prepare. Please have some to tide you over. If there's anything Your Highness would like to eat, just tell the kitchen. The small kitchen has its own. I've heard that Miss Ruhua is a good cook, so you can ask her to prepare some for you."

Gu Qingwan thought for a moment and shook her head, saying, "Now that there are only the two masters in the palace, the Prince and I, we don't need the small kitchen. Aunt Li, please don't be shy. Ruhua is indeed very good at cooking. However, the Prince has also praised Aunt Li's skills. Ruhua should learn from Aunt Li in the future."

"This servant understands. I hope Aunt Li will not look down on Ruhua for being clumsy in the future."

Aunt Li smiled broadly and nodded hurriedly: "Your Highness, please rest after you've eaten. The Prince will be going to be up ahead for quite a while."

Having received the princess's approval, Aunt Li completed her task and returned home.

"Baoqin, please help me change my clothes. This phoenix crown is so heavy, I can hardly lift my head."

"Coming right away, Your Highness, please be careful," Ruhua said.

"Everyone else complains that their phoenix crowns aren't magnificent enough, but our princess complains that they're too heavy."

"Look at all this glittering jewelry. Don't you know your princess's status? People might even say that your princess is a nouveau riche."

“That’s the most beautiful nouveau riche!” Siqi said, bustling around busily.

As expected, the phoenix crown was removed, leaving a red mark on Gu Qingwan's forehead.

"Shishu, you and Siqi don't need to bother with this. I have Baoqin and Ruhua here. You two go and pack up my dowry, count it all and put it in the storeroom. Siqi knows where the storeroom is, you can have Siqi take you there."

"What about the lock and stuff?"

“If we brought our own, we’ll use ours; if we didn’t, we’ll use the ones from the Prince’s mansion. Just be careful with the storerooms. The one on the left is the Prince’s, and the one on the right is ours. There might be some things inside, so be careful when moving them in. Have Ning Yi and Ning Er help us. It’s chaotic tonight, so be careful that someone doesn’t put anything they shouldn’t in there.”

It wasn't that Gu Qingwan was being petty and judging others by her own standards, but the Chu Prince's Mansion was currently in a precarious position. There were too many people who wanted to bring it down. Although the Chu Prince's Mansion and the Emperor were said to be very close, serving the Emperor was like walking on thin ice. Who knew what might arouse the Emperor's suspicion? So it was best to be careful in everything.

After giving her instructions, Gu Qingwan had Baoqin help her wash up and change her clothes. Ruhua brought some food from the main kitchen and ate a few bites of the snacks that Aunt Li had brought earlier. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day, so it wasn't that she wasn't hungry, but rather that she had been too hungry to have any appetite.

At this moment, the King of Chu, drunk, was helped back by Xiao Yi.

Gu Qingwan noticed that Xiao Jingchen's eyes were sparkling, completely different from his usual cold demeanor, and she couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

"you're drunk?"

"No."

"Oh."

The servants inside the house all felt that their master's conversation was so awkward that they didn't know whether to leave or not.

As if Gu Qingwan could see their predicament, she said, "You may leave now. From now on, when I am with the Prince, you will not need to serve me or stand guard at the door."

"But Princess..."

"Whatever the Princess says goes, you may all leave." Since the King of Chu completely agreed with the Princess's decision, there was no reason for them, the servants, to hesitate any longer.

After everyone left, Xiao Jingchen stepped forward and cupped Gu Qingwan's cheeks in his hands, looking at her for a while. Gu Qingwan also patiently let him examine her.

"Wanwan is so beautiful. If I had known you were so beautiful, I would have gone back to my room before lifting the veil. It's such a waste for those outsiders."

Xiao Jingchen frowned, seemingly annoyed, and complained to Gu Qingwan.

"Since they are outsiders, why should Your Highness take them to heart?"

"Yes, Wanwan is right! Wanwan, don't call me Your Highness, it's too formal and doesn't sound good."

"You are a prince, so what should I call you? Should I call you Chenchen?"

Xiao Jingchen stood up and thought for a moment, "No, it feels like calling him my son."

Gu Qingwan's cheeks flushed slightly. She punched him lightly, then remained silent for a while before finally giving in to Xiao Jingchen's persistent pestering. She slowly called out, "Jingchen."

Xiao Jingchen's eyes lit up. As a prince, he was of very high status, and few people would call him by his name. Even his enemies called him the Prince of Chu. His mother would call him Chen'er, but he had never heard anyone else call him by his name.

Now that Gu Qingwan is calling his name, he feels that only when he is with her can he find himself again and be himself.

Touched, Xiao Jingchen gently picked up Gu Qingwan, walked to the table, drank the wine, and went straight to bed.

The bed curtains fell, the red canopy fluttered, and soft whispers and sobs filled the air.

This night is destined to be a sleepless one.