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

Chapter 273 Xiao Yuheng's Self-Importance

As soon as Gu Hanjiao entered the door, a broken teacup hit her head, startling her so much that she immediately pulled her foot back from the threshold.

"You still dare to hide!" Xiao Yuheng roared in exasperation.

Gu Hanjiao was stunned, wondering why the Third Prince had suddenly become so short-tempered. Could it be that Li Qianyu had said something to him that made the Third Prince misunderstand her?

Gu Hanjiao clutched her handkerchief, her eyes reddening, and said in a pitiful voice, "Brother Heng, what's wrong? What did I do wrong to make you so angry... Did the Princess Consort misunderstand me...?"

Xiao Yuheng was still somewhat confused about what Gu Hanjiao was talking about. "What does this have to do with the Crown Princess? What are you saying again!"

Gu Hanjiao was even more confused. If Li Qianyu hadn't said anything bad about her, then why was Xiao Yuheng angry?

Li Qianyu realized that these two people were from completely different worlds, so she quickly explained, "Sister Gu, a lot of people have come to the gate, saying they want to see you."

"See me? What do you want with me?"

Xiao Yuheng had washed the herbs off his face, revealing his true appearance. The redness and swelling were gone, but there were still some scratches on his face that affected his appearance.

"Isn't this all your doing? Your cosmetics products have caused problems. The people at yesterday's wedding banquet who had pimples on their faces were all using your products. Plus, they drank alcohol, which irritated their skin. Why do you think they would want to see you!"

"What!" Gu Hanjiao covered her mouth in surprise, "There's a problem with the cosmetics store!"

"Stop pretending! Quickly come up with a solution for this prince!"

Gu Hanjiao thought for a moment, then touched her belly and said aggrievedly, "Brother Heng, Caizhuangge is my first shop. How could I possibly let it go wrong? Now... sigh."

"You won't let it cause any problems? Then tell me how your face masks and skincare products have problems! Even the ones I use have issues! You better explain this to me!"

Laiwang brought the face mask he had used to Gu Hanjiao. Gu Hanjiao took one out, looked at it, and then put it back.

"Brother Heng has really wronged Jiao'er. The makeup pavilion was taken back by the Imperial Concubine long ago, and it has nothing to do with Jiao'er."

"You still dare to blame your mother! Do you think I don't know that my mother only owns a portion of the shares in Caizhuang Pavilion and just enjoys the dividends? You are the real owner!"

"Really, no, I..." Gu Hanjiao was about to bring out Consort Yu's tray when the palace maid came in.

"Third Prince, Princess Consort, someone from the palace is urging you. The time is almost up. You two ladies should get up and go to the palace quickly. The Emperor, the Empress, and the Consort are all waiting."

Li Qianyu hadn't forgotten that today was the second day of her marriage and she was supposed to go to the palace to pay her respects, but given the current situation, she couldn't bring it up herself.

Even the palace maids who were assigned to collect the red handkerchiefs were at a loss for words. The Third Prince was getting married, but he had fainted. So how were they supposed to collect the red handkerchiefs for the wedding night?

If she doesn't accept the money, she won't be able to complete the task, but where will she get the money?

Unfortunately, the Prince's residence was not peaceful this morning, with a large crowd blocking the entrance. Fortunately, the Third Prince had woken up and was able to take his wife to the palace to pay their respects. As long as they could go, she could at least give the Empress an explanation.

Xiao Yuheng patted his forehead. "Look, I forgot something so important! Someone, quickly help this prince change his clothes! Qianyu, you should get ready too."

"Then I will change my clothes and go to the palace with the Third Prince. But what about Sister Gu and the common people outside the gate?" Li Qianyu was a little troubled. If she left without paying attention to anything, it would be her fault as the princess consort if something went wrong.

However, Gu Hanjiao unusually considered Li Qianyu's feelings this time.

"Third Prince and Princess, please go to the palace to pay your respects. Leave this place to me."

Li Qianyu was also taken aback, "But Sister Gu is pregnant, it wouldn't be good if she were to be disturbed, it would be better to..."

"Let's go with Consort Gu's suggestion. Since it was your Makeup Pavilion that caused this trouble, you have to take responsibility. Have someone call Consort Yu over to stay by Consort Gu's side and look after her."

Gu Hanjiao was still his beloved, and although he was a little angry, he couldn't bear to see her suffer. With Yu Xinqiu by his side, even if problems arose, Yu Xinqiu would still consider the bigger picture for the sake of the Prince's residence.

Laiwang said, "The people who were with Consort Yu just now said that Consort Yu also used the products from the cosmetics store, and now her face is red and swollen, and she can't go out."

Everyone was stunned. They didn't expect that Consort Yu, who was in charge of the household affairs, would also fall. This made Li Qianyu feel like a pie had fallen from the sky, while Gu Hanjiao's mind started to wander. Did she have a chance?

"That's perfect. Let Consort Yu get some rest. She's been working hard for the household for a while now. Laiwang, take the people around the Crown Princess to Consort Yu and hand over the account books and the keys to the storeroom. Let her rest properly."

Li Qianyu was secretly delighted. She had originally been thinking about how to successfully take control of the Zhongkui (a government agency), since without it, her position as the princess consort would be somewhat unstable.

Now, it all came so easily. At this moment, Li Qianyu looked at Gu Hanjiao with a mixture of affection and gratitude. If it weren't for the problem with Gu Hanjiao's dowry shop, she wouldn't have gotten away with it so easily.

"Then, Madam Liu, why don't you go with Laiwang later and bring the bird's nest soup from my dowry to the concubine as well? Be polite when you speak to her."

"The servant knows."

Gu Hanjiao was completely dumbfounded. How could this feel like she was doing all the work for someone else? Although her goal was to become Consort Yu, she never expected that power would fall into Li Qianyu's hands.

And what's with Li Qianyu's expression? Don't make her look so disgusting, okay?

No one paid attention to what Gu Hanjiao was thinking. The Third Prince dressed up and took Li Qianyu to the palace to pay their respects.

Although Gu Hanjiao was angry, she still had to finish what she was doing. She took Chunlu Qiushuang and headed to the gate of the mansion. Since the gate was blocked by the common people, Xiao Yuheng had left through the side gate earlier.

Everyone watched as a pregnant lady walked out of the mansion. Naturally, some of these people recognized Gu Hanjiao.

"Consort Gu is out! Consort Gu is out!"

"Consort Gu, your cosmetics shop has run into trouble. You owe us justice! Pay up!"

Gu Hanjiao held her belly, looking gentle and tender. She appeared much thinner than before, which made many people who came to seek justice feel reluctant to make things difficult for this woman who was about to become a mother.

"I understand everyone's feelings. I, Gu Hanjiao, founded Caizhuangge. Without everyone's support, Caizhuangge would not be where it is today. However, Caizhuangge is no longer the Caizhuangge it used to be."

"What does Consort Gu mean by that?!"

"As everyone knows, my family fell into poverty back then. In order to save my father, I gave the Makeup Pavilion to the Imperial Concubine. Now, I don't even have the right to know about the Makeup Pavilion, let alone the right to operate it."

"What? It's actually the Imperial Concubine who's running this? What are we going to do? We can't exactly go to the palace and reason with the Imperial Concubine, can we?"

"Why are you in such a hurry? This is the Third Prince's residence. The Third Prince is the Consort's only son. If we can just block the Third Prince, then we'll have found him."

"Yes, yes, that makes sense."

"Consort Gu, since this has nothing to do with you, then please bring out the Third Prince. We need to find the Third Prince!"

"Please calm down, everyone. The Third Prince has already taken his princess to the palace. He will definitely demand an explanation for everyone."

Immediately, everyone reacted as if cold water had been poured into a hot oil pan, and they were all in an uproar. Gu Hanjiao, seeing that she had given enough instructions, weakly returned to her courtyard, supporting her belly.

Rumors have already spread that the Imperial Concubine used her daughter-in-law's name to acquire businesses outside the palace, and now that the products have run into problems, she's making her daughter-in-law take the blame.

Xiao Yuheng led Li Qianyu to the Empress's Palace, where the Emperor, Empress, and Prince Chu and his wife were all present.

As they were the younger generation, they were all offered tea. Gu Qingwan gave Li Qianyu a large red envelope and said some polite words.

Although the Empress was the legal mother, she was not interested in the Third Prince, who was always at odds with the Crown Prince. Especially after hearing yesterday that her face had been ruined by using products from the cosmetics store, she was so frightened that she immediately ordered the imperial physician to check all the products she had used.

When the Princess Consort of Chu entered the palace this morning, I checked and confirmed that it was not the batch of products that had caused the problem. However, the Empress was still apprehensive. She was the Empress, the mother of the nation. If something happened to her, the whole world would laugh at her to death.

Seemingly aware of her concerns, the Princess of Chu brought her some of her own belongings when she entered the palace today, so that she could have some temporary comforts.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have had time to put on makeup and dress up when the Third Prince and his wife came to pay their respects today.

It can be really good, but it can also be really bad.

"Third Prince, how are you? Should we have the imperial physician examine you again?"

"Thank you for your concern, Mother. Your son is much better now."

"Hmph, look at you, a grown man who doesn't study hard or practice martial arts, but instead tries to be like a woman, using cosmetics and powder. Are you trying to drive me crazy?!"

"Father, please forgive me, I didn't. It was Consort Gu in the manor who was playing with me, and it was just an accident..."

It's always better to let someone else take the blame than to embarrass yourself. Besides, if it's blamed on Gu Hanjiao, people will just say they're young and playful, and that's all.

"Oh dear, Consort Gu is pregnant. Is she alright?" the Empress asked.

"Replying to Your Majesty, Consort Gu has stayed away from cosmetics since she became pregnant. I haven't seen her use any. I noticed that those things are not cheap, and I thought that if she didn't use them for a long time, they would spoil and be a waste. After all, they cost money. Father has always taught us to be thrifty and frugal, so I used them."

Gu Qingwan used the act of drinking water to cover up her pouting. Look how eloquent Xiao Yuheng is! How could she have been fooled by his sweet talk? She must have been blind as a dog.

"If you knew the importance of thrift, you wouldn't have gone to such lengths to marry a concubine, and even held a traditional folk wedding ceremony. I really don't know what you were thinking," the King of Chu said casually from the side.

"Uncle, please be careful with your words! How could Yuheng possibly marry a concubine!"

Xiao Yuheng broke out in a cold sweat. He did indeed go back and marry Gu Hanjiao, but it was only in her courtyard and in her room. How could he let outsiders know? If outsiders, especially his father, knew, they would definitely dislike him.

"Third brother, is this really true?"

"No, no, Father Emperor, that's absolutely not true." The Third Prince's head was practically bobbing up like a rattle drum.

Li Qianyu had no choice but to speak up, otherwise the Third Prince would definitely hold a grudge against her: "Father, your daughter-in-law doesn't think the Third Prince is that kind of person. He loves me very much and would never do such a thing."

Gu Qingwan said, "After all, he is younger. He and Consort Gu had already made a private vow of marriage back then. So what if they were to learn the common practice of bowing to heaven and earth? It's just a private pleasure. Why did Your Highness take it so seriously?"

"What the princess says is true. That was just hearsay. However, I believe that a prince should make contributions to the country and not be preoccupied with personal feelings and dwelling around the inner quarters. Third Prince's wife, you should encourage the Third Prince more in the future. He loved playing with girls when he was a child. He's so old now, how can he still love playing with girls? It's really outrageous."