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

Chapter 244 Roy Chen's Concerns

The Crown Prince was raised by the Emperor, so he could roughly guess what the Emperor was planning.

“Father, I think what you gentlemen said makes a lot of sense.”

"Tch." The Third Prince sneered disdainfully, "Isn't the Crown Prince's explanation a bit too perfunctory?"

The Crown Prince did not take Xiao Yuheng's words too seriously and continued speaking without paying attention.

"Lord Gu has indeed worked hard, even if he has not made any great contributions. Now he is all alone again, and his two daughters have married one after another. Although the Princess has severed ties with the Gu family, she still bears the surname Gu. Therefore, I suggest that he be reinstated to his original position. However, considering Lord Gu's advanced age, and the fact that I heard that the previous incident caused him to fall seriously ill, I beg Your Majesty to show compassion to a meritorious official."

The Emperor was very pleased with the Crown Prince's statement. Although he wanted to remove the position of Prime Minister, he also understood that if he suddenly abolished it, the court would be in chaos.

Daqing is currently being watched closely by surrounding small countries, and stability is the key to development. It does not want to cause internal strife, so it needs to proceed step by step.

He merely suspended Gu Ziming's rights as a warning to him. The former top scholar was indeed exceptionally talented, but he was no longer the same person he once was.

"Since the Crown Prince has said so, then reinstate him to his original position. Also, now that the Crown Prince is back, the Six Ministries can report any work to him first. Only report the important and urgent matters to me. I also need to rest well and help the Empress prepare for my brother's wedding."

It wasn't until the Emperor left that everyone realized how quickly and readily he had agreed. They had prepared lengthy speeches to persuade him, but now they felt like heroes with no opportunity to use their talents.

Finally, someone realized what was happening and stepped forward to ask the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, this ancient township was previously in charge of..."

"Father is considerate of Prime Minister Gu and cannot bear to see the already overworked Prime Minister Gong Gao troubled any further. Let's wait for Father's news. Is there anything urgent for Lord Sheng? Should we go directly to Father?"

"No, no, no, I was just asking. His Majesty has instructed us to report to the Crown Prince as well."

"That's good. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't keep you company for now."

"Hehehe, may your journey be smooth, Your Highness."

Xiao Yuheng stared at the departing figure of the Crown Prince with a gloomy expression.

After Xiao Yuheng returned, his advisor Luo Yichen was waiting at the door of the study.

"Third Prince, as Lord Gu said, it worked this time. Prime Minister Gu has been reinstated."

"He has indeed been reinstated, but his power has been stripped away by the Emperor. Gu Ziming is now a prime minister in name only, and his usefulness is greatly diminished."

"Three princes..."

"Speak your mind directly, there's no need to beat around the bush."

"I have some concerns. It's clear that Gu Ziming has already been abandoned. I'm afraid His Majesty has long intended to abolish the position of Prime Minister. After all, the Prime Minister holds too much power. If we can't get the Third Prince out of trouble, should we consider giving up on him?"

Xiao Yuheng seemed somewhat anxious, pacing back and forth in his study with his hands behind his back.

"But as you know, Gu Ziming has a lot of resources at his disposal. Most of the civil officials in the court are under his control. If we give up now, it will be more difficult for us to control these civil officials later."

"Difficult doesn't mean there's no chance. I suspect that it wasn't just Gu Ziming's personal charisma that attracted these scholars. Is it possible that he has some kind of leverage over them?"

"You're right, I will send someone to investigate. But the concubine is even more important."

"A concubine? The second young lady of the Gu family?" Luo Yichen also remembered this character.

Just then, Hongxiu came to report that the second master of the Yu family had come to see Xiao Yuheng.

When Master Yu entered the room, he saw that not only Xiao Yuheng was in the study, but also Luo Yichen, his advisor. Luo Yichen was very clever and knew how to assess the situation. Both of them worked under Xiao Yuheng, so they were not strangers.

"Oh, Mr. Luo is here too."

"Greetings, Second Master."

"Hey, hey, hey, it's always better to be lucky than early. It's been a long time since we've seen Mr. Luo. We should go have a couple of drinks later. I heard that the brothel has some new tricks up its sleeve."

Luo Yichen smiled but remained silent. He didn't have much affection for this person, and his contact with him was entirely due to the Third Prince.

Master Yu's real name is Yu Zhenyu. He is the second son of the Yu family, born out of wedlock, and is known as Master Yu.

Although the Yu family patriarch was wealthy and powerful, he only had one legitimate son and one legitimate daughter; the rest were born out of wedlock. The imperial concubine in the palace was the legitimate daughter of the Yu family.

Logically speaking, the Yu family's businesses should have been handed over to the eldest son to manage gradually. However, the old master of the Yu family was an unpredictable person, and the successor he was grooming was actually his grandson.

It would be understandable if the grandchildren chose their eldest grandson, but he chose his eldest granddaughter, Yu Linglong, which made the other descendants and collateral branches of the Yu family somewhat unwilling.

The eldest son of the Yu family is nothing special; he is completely absorbed in enjoying nature and leisure. The only things he can do to help the family business are going to sea or going out to purchase goods.

His son inherited his father's interests and hobbies, so the father and son had no complaints about the old man grooming Yu Linglong as his successor.

This Second Master Yu was the biggest protester; his ambition was practically written all over his face, and he often referred to himself as the next head of the Yu family.

Luo Yichen couldn't help but sneer. This Second Master Yu probably didn't have the ability as much ambition as he did, otherwise he wouldn't have been suppressed by that little girl from the Yu family.

Luo Yichen is a sensible man. He has his own goals. Even if he doesn't like Master Yu, they are currently loyal to the Third Prince. As long as they can achieve their goals, that's good.

While they were adding incense and serving tea, Luo Yichen swallowed his dissatisfaction with Master Yu Er with the tea.

"Wow, Tianxiang has become even more handsome lately."

Master Yu was a reckless man who couldn't resist flirting with any pretty girl he saw. Hongxiu, however, remained cold and ignored his advances.

Tianxiang was a girl who looked very approachable, with dimples that appeared when she smiled. However, only Gu Qingwan from her previous life knew how approachable a confidante who was by Xiao Yuheng's side could be, and how ruthless she and Hongxiu were.

"Thank you for your praise, Second Master." After saying that, he curtsied to the Third Prince, ignored Second Master Yu, and left with his head bowed.

Master Yu rubbed the fingers that had just touched Tianxiang's hand, sniffed them, and finally showed a smile of enjoyment. However, he quickly restrained himself, after all, she was his own nephew's maid, and he didn't dare to be too presumptuous.

"Why did Uncle come over at this time?" Xiao Yuheng was clearly unhappy with his behavior.

Master Yu took a sip of tea and said angrily, "It's still about West Mountain."

"What's wrong with Xishan again? Haven't our people been evacuated yet?"

"They've been evacuated, they've been evacuated. Since the last time outsiders broke into our mine, all of our people have been evacuated. I also had the main mine shafts blown up, so that no one can find out."

"Second Master, have you found out who the person who came last time was? How could they have such great ability to come and go freely on your territory?"

Master Yu blushed when Luo Yi asked him the question. The phrase "coming and going as he pleased" was a slap in the face to him, but what Luo Yi said was true, and he had no way to refute it.

"The investigation didn't find anything."

"Ha, are all the good-for-nothings my uncle is raising? If they're really no good, he should just replace them. He's wasting so much of my money."

Yu Zhenyu was embarrassed when his own nephew confronted him in front of an outsider.

"It wasn't all for naught. I received news a while ago that the person who came to investigate was none other than the King of Chu."

"Imperial Uncle Chu? Didn't the prefect from that side say that he was with the Imperial Uncle the whole time? How could it be the Imperial Uncle?"

"I'm also puzzled, but the information I received is that it's about Prince Chu."

Xiao Yuheng frowned, but Luo Yichen had found the key point.

"How did Second Master find out about this?"

"My men couldn't find out where they were sent, but just then someone came with a message saying that the first wave of people was sent by the King of Chu, and the second wave was the King of Chu himself."

Is that person's statement credible or not?

"At first, I didn't believe it either, until that person said that they were the third group of people our people encountered in the back mountain. However, they were not there to investigate the secrets of the West Mountain, but to assassinate Prince Chu, and they just happened to run into our people."

"Assassinate the Imperial Uncle?" Xiao Yuheng was initially shocked, but then a bloodthirsty smile appeared on his face. "You've got some nerve."

Luo Yichen then asked, "So where is this person from? Is he friend or foe who suddenly sent us this message?"

Master Yu took out a wooden plaque from his pocket and handed it to Xiao Yuheng.

"I think it's believable, you see."

Xiao Yuheng looked down and put the wooden plaque into his arms.

Luo Yichen, who was standing next to him, had obviously seen it as well. The sign had the character "南" (Nan, meaning south) on it, which clearly indicated that it was from the southern Xinjiang region.

“Even if it’s them over there, we have to be careful,” Roy Chen advised. “This is no small matter. If someone is trying to scam us, we’ll face total annihilation if we fall for it.”

Xiao Yuheng nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, Uncle. It would be great if you could carefully verify the other party’s identity and the information they provided. Our situation is not very good right now, and we can’t afford to make any mistakes.”

"What? Didn't the Emperor lift your confinement? Can you now enter and leave the court again?" Master Yu asked, somewhat puzzled.

"He has indeed returned to court. Today, the Emperor even reinstated Gu Ziming to his original post."

"This is a good thing. Gu Ziming, that old fox, was already somewhat hesitant. Now that you've helped him regain his official position, at least in the eyes of outsiders, he's one of our people. He'll speak up for you and work for you in the court in the future. Plus, you're going to marry his precious daughter. He won't be able to waver."

"The Third Prince is not troubled by this, but rather by the fact that the Emperor has not entrusted Gu Ziming with real power. The current Prime Minister Gu is more like a decorative vase, good-looking but useless. Therefore, I suggest that the Third Prince consider giving up on him appropriately... After all, the cost of reviving Gu Ziming is not worthwhile. It would be better to cultivate a new one."

"Then all the silver I gave to Gu Ziming before will be wasted!" Master Yu jumped up suddenly. Thinking of that pile of silver, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. "No, no, is there any other way? Besides, Heng'er is about to marry his daughter. Wouldn't it be a pity to give up now?"

"Hmph, what's there to regret?" Roy Chen snorted through his nose.

"As far as I know, most of the Gu family's assets have been taken by the eldest daughter of the Gu family. Even the Prime Minister's mansion could not be saved. Everyone has heard what kind of person the second daughter's mother is. When she showed off her dowry, there wasn't much to show off. I heard that Gu Ziming also took back the second daughter's dowry for his own purposes. So you can count on your fingers how much the second daughter can bring into the mansion."

"A concubine is just a concubine, no matter how nice it sounds. It doesn't matter if she has a dowry or not. I never thought about her dowry. I only wanted her for her sake."

As if suddenly remembering something, Master Yu paused and asked, "Is it what the fortune teller said in Fengzhou before?"

Luo Yichen frowned and reminded him somewhat disapprovingly, "Third Prince, although that fortune teller from Fengzhou has some reputation, he is ultimately a wandering sorcerer. We don't know how credible his words are."

"But you have to admit how difficult my situation was before I met Gu Hanjiao. Since I met Gu Hanjiao, my luck has gradually improved. Until recently, I was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Crown Prince."

After learning that Gu Hanjiao was a person with extremely good fortune, Xiao Yuheng secretly regretted it. It wasn't that Gu Hanjiao hadn't been attentive to him before, but although he appreciated it, he didn't take it to heart. At the time, he thought that marrying the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family would be like adding wings to a tiger.

But now, as long as he is with her, he can change his luck. He believes that he is now all set except for the final push, so he tries every means to get in touch with Gu Hanjiao.

“Then…” Luo Yichen was somewhat uncertain.

"What are the Third Prince's plans now? I don't know if Miss Gu can help the Third Prince change his luck, but it's clear that ever since the Third Prince and Miss Gu's affair became public, things have been going wrong one after another. If there really is someone who can change our luck, have we made a mistake in choosing them?"

"No, it can't be wrong. There are indeed many families with the surname Gu in the capital, but only Gu Ziming's family is wealthy and suddenly became rich. Moreover, Gu Hanjiao's phoenix destiny is real, so it can't be wrong."

"But as things stand, Gu Hanjiao is not only not helping, but is actually hindering us. The Third Prince is being too sentimental. How can we place our hopes on a woman!"