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

Chapter 233 Young Master Ruyue

"Losing your head? Ha! I don't believe it! Did they really wipe out all of you with the surname Wen? Don't forget, there's someone among them who's your blood relative!"

"Even if you don't care about the Wen family, you should still consider your two children." Seeing that Madam Jiang was about to go crazy, Duke Wen took a deep breath and reminded her in a timely manner.

Sure enough, those words calmed Chiang Kai-shek down.

Seeing this, Wen Liang stepped forward and supported Jiang's swaying body, saying, "Mother, please don't be confused anymore. How can we discuss such a place? Mother knows better than I do about the Wen family's current situation. I think Father just made a mistake in a moment of panic. Mother, you've had a long day and should go back and rest. Tomorrow you need to copy the 'Precepts for Women.' The Buddhist hall has been prepared, and Mother can go there anytime tomorrow."

Jiang looked at her own son in disbelief, the very son who wanted to send her to the Buddhist temple.

"What do you mean?"

“Mother…” Wen Liang’s face showed a pained expression, which made Jiang Shi surrender without resistance.

Madam Jiang sighed. Even though she knew that her own son looked down on her identity, she was helpless because he was her son and her future support. She had no choice but to compromise for her son's sake.

However, Madam Jiang also had her own pride. She straightened her back and said to Duke Wen, "No, I won't go. I am still the mistress of this house. At this critical juncture, if I am confined to my quarters, it would be best if you, Duke, did not gossip about it. You should not force me."

She glanced at Wenliang and said, "I am still your mother. It's not too late for you to forget your mother after you get married. Right now, I'm more worried about your sister."

As soon as she finished speaking, the door behind her opened, and Wenrou's expression remained unchanged, as if nothing had happened.

She said to Jiang, "It's good that Mother can understand. I've just returned home and still need Mother to take care of things."

"Rou'er, I'm so glad you're alright." Madam Jiang held her daughter's hand, her eyes brimming with tears.

With a gentle yet firm gaze, she said to Madam Jiang, "My daughter will be alright, and she cannot be alright."

Seeing that Wenrou was alright, Duke Wen said, "Let's rest for today. We still need to make further plans."

"The most important thing is that my sister is alright, but I'm afraid there will be a lot of rumors going around tomorrow..."

Duke Wen thought for a moment and said, "Rou'er has just returned home and still needs to rest well. Recently, you should learn from your mother how to manage the family's affairs. It will be useful in the future. You have been serving the Empress Dowager for too long, so I'm afraid she has never taught you these things."

"Rou'er will follow Father's arrangements."

Duke Wen nodded in satisfaction and said to Madam Jiang, "Madam, you may have to work hard these days. You still need to manage the affairs of the household, and you must not forget the 'Admonitions for Women' that the Empress Dowager asked you to copy."

Jiang reluctantly agreed.

After seeing off Duke Wen and his son, Madam Jiang followed Wenrou into her room.

"Rou'er, your mother doesn't know when you'll be home, so I've been sending people to clean every day. See if there's anything you're missing, and I'll send someone to get it for you."

“Mother, this is good enough. Your daughter has everything she needs.” Wenrou walked to the bedside alone and leaned against it, lost in thought.

Seeing her daughter like this, Mrs. Jiang felt an indescribable heartache.

"Rou'er, Mother knows you're upset. Why don't you just cry it out? It'll make you feel better."

As soon as she finished speaking, tears began to silently stream down her gentle face.

"Mother, I really want to change the prince. I fell in love with him the first time you introduced me to him when I was a child. As I grew up, I wanted to be his princess. But how could he say such heartless things?"

"Sigh." Madam Jiang had been through it all; she too had had a crush on a young man when she was young, but that's all in the past.

“Good child, perhaps the prince is not the right person for you. Forget about him, and we will find someone better in the future.”

"No!" Gently pushed away Madam Jiang, who was holding her, and said, "How could there be anyone more outstanding than the Prince in this world? I have loved him for so many years, and you have always raised me as a princess. Now that our daughter is this age, how could we possibly give up on her!"

Jiang looked at the stubborn Wenrou with some surprise. She had never seen her daughter like this before. The unwillingness in her eyes made her feel a little scared.

"Well... things have come to this, what do you want to do?"

"I want to marry the King of Chu!"

"My God, do you know what you're saying? The King of Chu already has a principal wife, and he has explicitly stated that..."

"It's alright, things always change. So what if he has a principal wife? Even if she's just a concubine, I'll still stand by his side. In time, he'll naturally know who truly loves him and treats him well. Then, even if Gu Qingwan doesn't want to give up her position as principal wife, she'll have to."

Jiang was taken aback by her daughter's idea. She asked, "What if the Prince doesn't know, or what if Gu Qingwan insists on not allowing it? Wouldn't your life be ruined?"

"You won't allow it?" Wenrou's face was filled with a bloodthirsty sneer. "Mother, I've been in the palace for so many years and have seen too many scenes of women scheming against each other. Whether I can even survive is still unknown. What if Gu Qingwan's life is short?"

These words startled Jiang, and she immediately stood up.

"You bastard! Do you know what you're saying?!"

Although Madam Jiang was a merchant's daughter with little knowledge and limited vision, she was a kind person who never intended to harm anyone. Otherwise, the Duke of Wen would not have had so many concubines and maids in his harem, and all his illegitimate children, except for those who died young, were alive and well.

Wenrou was startled awake by her mother's scolding. She immediately changed her expression, as if she wasn't the one who had just taken a life. Her eyes were red, and she pleaded while hugging Jiang's waist.

"Mother, I really love the prince. If I don't take this chance, I will live with regret for the rest of my life. If I fail, I will accept my fate. Please help me this time, Mother. Only you can help me in this world."

Seeing her daughter like this, Jiang, as a mother, was naturally heartbroken. She put her arm around Wenrou's shoulder and gently patted her to comfort her.

"Sigh, even if Mother were willing to grant your wish, we need to think about it carefully. Right now..."

Chiang seemed somewhat troubled, as he couldn't take any action right now, and even if he did, it wouldn't have any effect.

"Of course I know that this matter requires careful consideration, but I will never give up!"

Jiang looked at the familiar face, but for some reason it also felt somewhat unfamiliar. For the first time, she asked herself in her heart whether her decision to send Wenrou into the palace back then was the right one.

At that time, she only thought that with the Empress Dowager around, it was a foregone conclusion that Wenrou would become the Princess Consort of Chu. With the Princess Consort of Chu as her backing, her son's position as heir apparent would be even more secure.

For many years, the position of heir has been a source of anxiety for the Jiang family. Although the Duke of Wen's mansion only has one legitimate son, Wen Liang, the Duke of Wen has quite a few illegitimate sons and daughters, and there are some outstanding illegitimate sons among them.

Sometimes, Madam Jiang resented herself for not being more ruthless and finding a way to get rid of these illegitimate sons, but her nature prevented her from doing so, which led to this situation.

Duke Wen had submitted several memorials to the emperor requesting the appointment of a crown prince, but the emperor had suppressed them and delayed in responding, which made Lady Jiang increasingly anxious.

But things had already developed to this point, and she could only grit her teeth and move forward, hoping that her daughter's intelligence could win the heart of the King of Chu, because only in this way could her son firmly sit on the position of heir apparent.

Wenrou nestled gently in her mother's arms, her mind racing: Gu Qingwan, do you think that just because you've caught the eye of the King of Chu, you'll be with him forever? We have a long future ahead of us.

Gu Qingwan sneezed several times in a row while lying in bed.

"Qingwan, what's wrong? Did you catch a cold? Should we call a doctor to take a look?" Meng Yanran asked, sitting up halfway in bed.

Gu Qingwan shook her head and said, "It's nothing. I don't think I caught a cold. Maybe someone is talking about me behind my back."

Meng Yanran nodded seriously and said, "Then someone must be talking about you. You were really shining today. Look at how our King of Chu proposed to you in front of all the civil and military officials, and even our Princess Qinghe, who is known for being difficult, was subdued by you. To be honest, if you weren't my best friend, I would be jealous and muttering a few words about you in bed."

Gu Qingwan smiled and pinched her nose, saying, "Really? Then you can crawl into bed now and mutter a few words about me."

"Never mind, never mind, I was just saying. I really don't know what to say about you. Although the King of Chu is tall and mighty, he's not the kind of person I like. Regardless of whether I'm your friend or not, I'm happy that the King of Chu has found his other half. After all, he's the God of War who risked his life for us."

"What you're saying is truly terrifying."

"As for Princess Qinghe, thanks to you, it seems I've become friends with her too. She's coming to visit us tomorrow. Actually, I quite like Princess Qinghe. We used to bicker all the time, but thinking about it now, it's still quite fun."

Gu Qingwan smiled, wrung out Baoqin's hair, helped her lie down, and then lowered the bed curtains.

"Ladies, it's getting late, you should go to sleep. I'll be keeping watch outside tonight, so please just let me know if you need anything."

"Baoqin, go back to sleep," Gu Qingwan said.

"No, Miss, please don't worry. The outer bed is also very soft. You can try it tomorrow if you don't believe me. Miss, you don't need to worry about me."

Meng Yanran pulled the blanket up and showed her big eyes, saying, "Baoqin, don't forget to remind Ruhua later that tomorrow's breakfast needs to be prepared carefully, since the princess will be coming to eat with us tomorrow."

Baoqin said, "I think Miss Yanran is just craving something sweet. I've reminded her so many times all night. When I came from the small kitchen just now, I saw that Ruhua had already started making glutinous rice with fermented rice wine. I will definitely bring Miss Yanran the fermented rice wine with osmanthus and lotus root glutinous rice that she likes to eat first thing tomorrow morning."

"Look, look, your young lady is quiet, but her four personal maids are quite talkative. Look at our Xingye, she's such a quiet person, but I like her very much, don't I, Xingye?"

Xingye, Meng Yanran's personal maid who came with her, smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it, Miss. Tonight, I'll wait outside with Sister Baoqin."

Before Gu Qingwan could speak, Meng Yanran said, "Go ahead, go ahead. I just saw that the beds outside aren't too small. You can squeeze in with Baoqin and whisper to each other."

Gu Qingwan shook her head helplessly, took the zither, trimmed the candlelight, and went out with Xingye.

The two sisters leaned against each other, and Meng Yanran was clearly too excited to sleep.

For the first time in so many years, she had a close female friend sleeping with her. You should know that her initial idea of ​​staying overnight at the Ningguo Duke's Mansion was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. When she went to tell her mother about it, she was a little uneasy, afraid that her parents would not agree.

Unexpectedly, her father thought about it and nodded in agreement. Since her father agreed, her mother naturally wouldn't refuse her request. So she waited for the Ning family to come out in her own carriage. When she saw Qingwan's figure, she ran towards her. Her mother talked with Madam Ning for a long time, making Meng Yanran worried that her mother might take her back.

"Qingwan, I only regret that I didn't meet you sooner."

"It's not too late."

"But you're getting married soon, and then I won't be able to sleep with you like we do now."

"That's not difficult at all. You can still come to see me if you miss me."

"That's different. When the King of Chu shows his icy face, I won't dare to ask you to spend the night with me. But if it really comes to that, I'm sure you won't want to leave the King and sleep with me."

"Yanran, I think you're a little itchy. If you can't sleep, how about I scratch your back?"

"No, no, I'm most ticklish."

After a moment of silence, Meng Yanran spoke in the darkness.

"Qingwan, are you scared?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"It's about getting married. After marriage, you'll face a lot of challenges, and since you're marrying into the royal family, there will only be more to deal with. There will definitely be people who don't like you."

"Don't worry, at worst we can just ignore those people. I might not like those who don't like me either."

"You're right, why should we like her if she doesn't like us?"

"Is your mother going to arrange a marriage for you?"

"I did have that plan, but my brother is still unmarried, so it's not my turn yet. I'm just worried about you. I thought you would become my sister-in-law, and I even wanted to match you with my brother. Now it seems I'm glad I didn't do that, otherwise the King of Chu would definitely come after me with his sword."

When Meng Yanran mentioned her brother Meng Jiyue, Gu Qingwan fell silent.

Meng Jiyue is just like his name suggests—a gentleman as pure as moonlight. Such a person should not be tainted by someone like her.

She was not unaware of the affection in his eyes, so Gu Qingwan had always kept her distance and never responded.