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

Chapter 270 Aning Runs Away from Her Wedding

The servants in the Prince's mansion held very simple wedding banquets. They would simply bring the banquet from inside the mansion to outside, have a few trumpets playing, and have relatives and friends witness the occasion.

But an unexpected incident occurred: the bride ran away.

"That Ah Ning is a real jerk!" Siqi was furious. "If I catch her, I'll beat her to a pulp!"

"Your Highness, you don't know, we were all there at the time. Guard Xiao Jia, oh no, we should call him Brother Chen now, was beaming with joy. We could tell he was genuinely happy."

Siqi and Ruhua went to join in the fun, and they witnessed the whole thing.

"From what you're saying, there must be a bride."

"Yes, there really was a bride who went through the wedding ceremony with Brother Chen..." Ru Hua hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

"What's wrong?" Gu Qingwan felt that something was amiss.

Siqi was the bolder one. She pulled Ruhua aside and said to Gu Qingwan, "The bride is Xiaoxi from our courtyard."

"What!" Gu Qingwan exclaimed in shock, standing up abruptly. "She used Xiaoxi to take her place in the wedding?"

"Yes, Your Highness, Xiaoxi was acupunctured and couldn't speak. She just followed Xiaojia, ah no, Brother Chen, and got married without even realizing it," Ruhua explained.

Gu Qingwan thought about it and realized that being acupunctured only prevented her from speaking and immobilizing her upper body, but she could still move her lower body. There seemed to be more to this than met the eye.

"Ruhua, go and bring Xiaoxi over. I have something to ask her."

Ru Hua felt sorry for Xiao Xi. After being brought back by the young lady, that girl followed the four sisters, just like Xiao Hua. Xiao Hua was talented in cooking, so Ru Hua personally took her under her wing, while Xiao Xi was more meticulous and was often given guidance by Sister Bao Qin.

"Your Highness, this was all done by that scoundrel Aning. Xiaoxi is innocent."

Gu Qingwan nodded and said, "I know what I'm doing. Just go and bring Xiaoxi over."

After Ru Hua left, Si Qi had some questions that puzzled her. She asked the princess directly, "Your Highness, there's something I don't understand. Didn't that Aning not know martial arts? She was almost beaten to death by me before, so how was she able to strike Xiao Xi's pressure points?"

This was also something that puzzled Gu Qingwan.

“You’re right. The prince did tell me that he personally crippled A-Ning’s martial arts. Logically speaking, she was only stronger than the average woman, and at most she knew some fancy moves. As for using internal force to strike acupoints, that would be absolutely impossible.”

"Could it be that someone in our household is helping her?"

After thinking it over, Gu Qingwan felt that this was also possible. "Either A Ning has had some good fortune and her martial arts have recovered, or as you said, there is a traitor in the manor who helped her."

Siqi was shocked. "Neither of these options is good. Shouldn't Your Highness have Ning Yi and Ning Er investigate?"

Gu Qingwan tapped her fingers lightly on the desk. She suddenly thought of Zheng Yang's face and felt that this matter might be related to Zheng Yang.

"No need, let's not rush this matter. Let's take care of Xiaoxi's situation first."

Soon after, Xiaoxi followed Ruhua over. At this moment, Xiaoxi was still wearing her wedding dress, and her eyes were red, as if she had been crying.

"Your Highness, Xiao Jia has also come over and is kneeling in the courtyard."

"I understand." Gu Qingwan ignored Xiao Jia for the time being, stared at Xiao Xi for a while, and said, "Tell me about it."

Xiaoxi knelt down on the ground with a thud, and the tears that had stopped started falling again as if they were free.

"Tell me the truth, what's going on? Maybe I can help you."

"Xiaoxi, tell me quickly, did Aning kidnap you? You need to explain to the Princess Consort immediately. With the Princess Consort here, this marriage can be disregarded."

"No!" Xiaoxi rejected Ruhua's suggestion without even thinking.

The group was stunned by Xiaoxi's shout. Knowing that she couldn't hide it anymore, Xiaoxi simply knelt down on the ground.

"Your Highness, it is Xiaoxi's fault. Xiaoxi was delusional. Please punish me, Your Highness."

Gu Qingwan picked up the teacup beside her. "Speak."

“This servant has long harbored feelings for Brother Xiaojia.”

"You had feelings for him? When did that happen?"

Xiaoxi hesitated for a moment and said, "It was when the Princess Consort brought me and my brother back from the Western Hills with the Prince last time. Brother Xiaojia was very caring, so I developed feelings for him. But I know my place, and my brother advised me not to have any other thoughts, so I suppressed my feelings."

"I just can't believe that the princess has brought her maid with her when she married into the royal palace. I saw Brother Xiaojia again in the palace. I... I'm sorry, princess."

"Xiaoxi, what's wrong with you?" Ruhua found it a bit unbelievable. In her eyes, Xiaoxi was a little girl even younger than her. How could she know what it meant to like something so early?

“I know I’m not good enough for Brother Xiaojia, and I also know that Brother Xiaojia’s heart is always with Sister Aning. Last time he got drunk, he kept talking about Sister Aning. Now that he has gotten his wish, Xiaoxi naturally gives him her blessings.”

"So you did it voluntarily?" Gu Qingwan asked.

"No, Your Highness, Xiaoxi doesn't! Even if Xiaoxi really likes Brother Xiaojia, Your Highness has given my brother and me a second life. Without Your Highness's permission, Xiaoxi would never betray your own family."

Xiaoxi tried her best to explain that even if she liked that person very much, she would never act on her own initiative, because she knew that it would not end well.

If it were just her alone, she would be fearless in the face of death, but her brother and Xiao Jia were still there, and she couldn't abandon them for her own selfish reasons.

“Xiaoxi, you came to my room last night asking me for flower patterns, how come you went to be a bride the next day? It must have been Aning who forced you, right?” Ruhua tried to explain for Xiaoxi.

"Your Highness, please save Xiaoxi again. Last night, I asked Sister Ruhua for a pattern so I could embroider a purse as a wedding gift for Brother Xiaojia, as a way to give this relationship some closure. But on my way back, someone acupunctured me."

"Is it A-Ning?" Gu Qingwan asked, determined to find out whether A-Ning had regained her martial arts skills.

"At first, I didn't know if it was A-Ning. But when I got into the room, I saw that it was indeed A-Ning. She hid me under the bed all night. The next day, I heard Aunt Li's voice. A-Ning said that she was all dressed up and wanted to put on the veil and be alone for a while."

“Yes, I was helping Aunt Li at the time. Aning said she wanted to be alone for a while, and Aunt Li felt that everything was ready and wanted to go to the front to take a look. But I didn’t want to be alone with Aning, so I went out to find Siqi and the others,” Ruhua said.

"After Aunt Li and Sister Ruhua left, Aning pulled me out from under the bed, changed my clothes into her wedding dress, and then put on my clothes herself," Xiaoxi said.

"Anything else?" Gu Qingwan continued to ask. It was obvious that Xiaoxi was unwilling before, so Xiaoxi must be willing afterward.

Xiaoxi knelt on the ground and kowtowed. She knew what the princess suspected, but she had the will but not the courage.

“Your Highness, I understand what A-Ning means, but even if I had the greatest courage, I would not dare to do such a thing as a substitute bride. Once it is discovered, not only will Brother Xiao Jia despise me, but Your Highness will also despise my brother and me. I know the consequences.”

“It was Aning who gave me a pill. She said she also gave this pill to Xiaojia. If I don’t cooperate and complete the wedding ceremony for her, she won’t give us the antidote. Aning also said that as long as I complete the ceremony for her, she will come back in a little while.”

"Then she released the pressure points on your lower body, but not your upper body, and even fed you poison?" Siqi said.

Gu Qingwan stepped forward and gently placed her arm on Xiaoxi's arm. She frowned. How could this A Ning be so vicious? She actually used poison.

"Call Xiao Jia in."

Xiao Jia entered and knelt on the ground dejectedly: "Please punish me, Your Highness."

Gu Qingwan ignored him and reached out to check his pulse. Sure enough, Xiao Jia also had poison in his body.

Have you two had any drinks today?

Xiao Jia shook his head, and Xiao Xi shook his head even more.

Gu Qingwan breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "The poison that Aning gave you is not really a poison. If you drink alcohol, you will both die suddenly. But if you don't drink alcohol for three months, you will be fine, and the poison will lose its effect and be excreted from your bodies."

Xiao Jia was stunned. He didn't expect that A Ning would poison him. He had disobeyed the prince's orders for her sake. How could she still want to kill him?

Seeing that Xiao Jia remained silent, Gu Qingwan asked, "What are your plans?"

Xiao Jia looked at Xiao Xi, who was in tears, and couldn't help but sigh. This little girl was still young, and she was very kind to him. Oh well.

“Your Highness, I have already married Miss Xiaoxi. If Miss Xiaoxi is willing, I am willing to take responsibility for the rest of her life and never let her down. If Miss Xiaoxi is not willing, then let's just treat this as a joke and not count it.”

"What should we do about Aning?" Gu Qingwan asked.

"A-Ning?" Xiao Jia still felt a pang of pain in his heart when he mentioned this name. "I am destined to be apart from A-Ning. I beg Your Highness to allow me to personally bring A-Ning back. She is no longer the A-Ning of the past. The A-Ning of the past is dead. She died on the day Your Highness abolished her martial arts!"

Seeing Xiao Jia's bloodshot eyes and tightly clenched fists, Gu Qingwan sighed.

"His Highness is in charge of the pursuit of Aning. What do you think, Xiaoxi?"

"Your Highness, thank you for thinking of Xiaoxi even at this point. Xiaoxi is willing to marry Brother Xiaojia."

"Xiao Jia, you can go down now."

Xiao Jia glanced at Xiao Xi, hesitated for a moment, then stepped back and returned to kneeling in the middle of the courtyard.

After Xiao Jia left, Gu Qingwan helped Xiao Xi up and said, "I brought you two siblings back from Xishan, so naturally I have to be responsible for your lives. You should know that Xiao Jia probably sees you more as a younger sister. If you don't want to..."

"This servant is willing. Even if Brother Xiaojia has no romantic feelings for me, we can always develop feelings over time."

"Alright, since you've had this kind of fate, it's all arranged by heaven. Go back and tell your brother. Whether he'll agree is another matter. If your brother has no objections, then you can go and live a good life with Xiao Jia. From now on, you'll still serve in my courtyard as a second-class servant."

"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"

Xiaoxi knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times. When she got up, her forehead was red.

After Xiaoxi left with Xiaojia from the courtyard, Siqi couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, are we just going to let that A-Ning go like this? Despite Your Highness's leniency towards her, this is how she repays Your Highness!"

"Don't worry, she must have something to do with her escape this time, so she will come back. Let's just wait and see."

After Xiao Jingchen returned, Gu Qingwan told him about it, and he saw that his eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"Ah Ning, there's no need to stay any longer. I will send my guards to intercept and kill you."