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

Chapter 119 The Gu family has gained a new concubine, Rou.

Everyone looked towards the door and saw Gu Ziming walk in angrily. He felt a pang of heartache when he saw Rou Niang crying in the corner, but considering that the old lady was present, he did not go forward to comfort Rou Niang. He just looked her over and saw that she was unharmed, so he felt relieved and went to greet the old lady.

"Mother, your son greets you."

"Get up quickly, you've come at the right time. I just sent Magpie to find you. Now look what's going on, Rou Niang, come sit with your aunt. Don't cry, my grandson."

"Mother! Your eldest grandson is Changfeng, and he's still lying in the yard!" Upon hearing the old lady mutter that the woman's belly was carrying her eldest grandson, Wang Ruyan instantly jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Wang! How dare you speak to your mother like that!" Gu Ziming found a seat and sat down, scolding Wang Ru.

The old lady had sharp ears and overheard Wang Ruyan mention her eldest grandson, Gu Changfeng. Gu Changfeng was someone the old lady had spoiled since he was a child, and she would get extremely nervous at the slightest sign of a headache or fever.

"What did you say? What happened to Changfeng? Why is he lying in the courtyard?" The old lady instantly forgot about Rou Niang's matter.

Wang Ruyan saw that the old lady really cared about her eldest grandson. Wiping away her tears, Wang Ruyan looked at Gu Qingwan, who was sitting there seemingly unconcerned, and burst into tears.

"Oh dear, why are you crying? Just tell me what's wrong." The old lady looked impatient, not understanding why Wang Shi was always crying like this.

Gu Ziming thought the same thing. When he was young, he would soften when Wang cried, but now that she was middle-aged, it was too embarrassing for her to cry in front of so many of her children.

"Get to the point!" Gu Ziming urged impatiently.

“Master… how could you…” Wang Ruyan seemed a little hurt. When had the master ever shown her such impatience? He had always been so careful and gentle with her.

Seeing that her mother was in a disadvantageous position and was about to escalate the situation, Gu Hanjiao quickly grabbed her mother's hand. Wang Ruyan glanced at her daughter and knew she shouldn't be dwelling on this matter at this time, but she still couldn't help feeling sad.

Seeing that her sensitive mother couldn't take it anymore, Gu Hanjiao got up and gave a brief account of what had happened: "Father, I didn't see it with my own eyes. I only heard that my elder sister beat my brother and made him bleed and faint. He's lying in his own yard now. I went to check on him and he's asleep."

"What! My Changfeng was beaten like that!" The old lady stood up abruptly and scolded Gu Qingwan, who was sitting in the corner, "You damned little troublemaker, how could you be so vicious! You actually beat your own brother until he bled and passed out? With your fierceness, I don't think you'll ever marry into a good family! Even if you do, you'll just be a burden to the family. You might as well hang yourself and save the family a lot of trouble!"

"Waaah, I've accepted that the young lady doesn't like me, but she bullied Jiao'er and beat Changfeng. It breaks my heart as her mother... If the young lady has any complaints, she should take them out on me. Please spare my two children." Wang Ruyan threw herself onto Xue Niang and cried miserably.

Gu Ziming was surprised to hear that Changfeng had been beaten by Gu Qingwan. What kind of beating could knock a man unconscious? Gu Ziming narrowed his eyes and looked at Gu Qingwan: "What happened?"

Gu Qingwan stood up without changing her expression, walked to the front of the crowd, and said, "It was I who hit Changfeng."

"Such a cruel person at such a young age!" The old lady pointed a trembling finger at Gu Qingwan. "Rou Niang, look at her! Look at her! How can such a black-hearted person still be alive? Why doesn't God send lightning to strike her dead?! Someone! Someone, come quick! Lock her in the woodshed!"

Rou Niang quickly stepped forward to help the old lady catch her breath, but her eyes revealed her worry for Gu Qingwan. How did her return to the manor today become the subject of the eldest young lady's affairs? Moreover, she couldn't say much about such matters. If Wang Ruyan found fault with her, she would be in trouble herself. But that was the eldest young lady. How could she tolerate someone insulting the eldest young lady like that?

“Aunt, this… Miss just saved me, there must be some hidden reason.” Rou Niang said hesitantly, then knelt on the ground and pleaded with Gu Ziming, “Cousin, Rou Niang has nothing of value, but I want to repay Miss’s kindness. I hope you can give Miss a chance to plead her case.”

Gu Ziming knew that Rou Niang had always been a kind and gentle woman, and Gu Qingwan had saved her life. He couldn't bear to see Rou Niang like this, so he patiently said to Gu Qingwan, "Tell me what happened."

"Thank you, Father." Gu Qingwan said, "Qingwan is the eldest daughter of the Gu family and the eldest sister of her younger brothers and sisters. She has always been responsible for raising her younger brothers and sisters in Father's place. Today, it was Feng who spoke rudely first, which is why I punished him."

"What nonsense are you spouting! When has Changfeng ever spoken rudely to you? It's just that Miss doesn't like the three of us, so she's been taking every opportunity to bully and harass us." Wang Ruyan naturally knew what was going on, but she couldn't let Gu Qingwan finish her sentence. Just think, what kind of good reputation could a man have who flirted with his own elder sister at home?

"Madam, please don't worry. With your aunt and cousin here, I'm sure they'll give you justice," Rou Niang gently comforted her.

"What business is it of yours! This is our family matter! What are you, an outsider, meddling in? Our business isn't over yet!" Wang Ruyan's eyes were wide open as if she wanted to devour someone.

"Aunt..." Startled, Rou Niang clutched her stomach and backed away repeatedly.

"Just speak, why are you being so fierce!" The old lady patted Rou Niang's arm to signal her not to be afraid.

"It's probably because my brother said something that my sister didn't like to hear, which angered her," Gu Hanjiao said.

“No matter what you said, you can’t beat your brother like that! You beat him until he bled and passed out. What have you been learning these past two years?” Gu Ziming said.

"Exactly, I don't know what she's learned. She didn't even inform the household before going out today. What kind of well-bred young lady behaves like this?" Wang Ruyan questioned from the side.

“Father, Qingwan has been taught by her maternal grandmother since childhood, so there is no need for Madam to question Qingwan’s upbringing. But no matter what kind of education she received, Qingwan has never heard of any brother in the family harassing his sisters at home.”

"What? You flirted with your own sisters?" Gu Ziming asked, somewhat incredulously.

Siqi couldn't bear to see her young mistress suffer such humiliation, so she stepped forward and knelt beside her, defending her mistress: "Madam, Master and Madam, today when Miss went out with me, it was with Madam's permission to go get Lingzhi for Madam. Miss was worried about Madam's health, so she took a lot of tonics. They were just delivered to the courtyard. If Madam doesn't believe me, you can ask Madam."

Madam Gu looked somewhat uncomfortable. Gu Qingwan had given her permission to go back and get things, and she had indeed brought her quite a few nice things. However, she had just scolded her like that. As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to be grateful," so it was indeed a bit unfair of her.

"Ahem, I was the one who sent them. Don't I even have that much authority?" the old lady asked matter-of-factly.

“Mother, don’t be angry. Of course you have it. You’re the only elder in our family,” Gu Ziming said. Seeing that his mother’s expression had improved, Gu Ziming asked Siqi, “Then what happened with the hitting?”

"As soon as Miss left Youlan Courtyard, she ran into the Second Young Master. The Second Young Master was covered in alcohol and was being supported by a servant. He staggered and bumped into Miss. Miss didn't say a word, but the Second Young Master was very rude and actually said... said that our Miss wasn't even worthy of warming his bed!"

"Stop talking nonsense! How could I, Changfeng, say such a thing!" Wang Ruyan stood up and pointed at Siqi, shouting.

"Sister, brother is drunk, but he's been doing well all these years, so he definitely wouldn't say such a thing." Although Gu Hanjiao knew what kind of person Gu Changfeng was, and knew it wasn't surprising for him to say such things—after all, he had compared her to a courtesan last time—Gu Hanjiao still had to find a way to protect her brother.

"Perhaps he was drunk, so I wasn't angry. I just thought that if a special guest came to our courtyard and he saw us, wouldn't that cause an enmity? So I said a few words to Feng Di. Feng Di has a very bad temper. It would be a loss of face for us masters if the servants beat him, so I, as the eldest sister, had to wake up my drunk brother." Gu Qingwan said, "Father, Feng Di is already an adult and should be getting married. Our back courtyard is full of women, so he should move to the front courtyard soon."

Gu Ziming felt an urge to run to Gu Changfeng's courtyard right now, drag that brat out of bed, and give him a good beating to vent his anger. How dare he flirt with his elder sister at home, and even suggest that she warm his bed! If word got out, where would he put his face? Just as Gu Qingwan said, this time it was her, but if it were some outside dignitary guest, she would be of no use at all, only causing him trouble.

"How could Changfeng say such a thing? It must be because of you that he was corrupted. I told you to send Changfeng to me for upbringing. I raised you to become a high-ranking official, so of course I can raise Changfeng well too. Now look at what kind of child Wang Shi has raised! I don't care. This time, I will personally raise the child in Rou Niang's belly. Rou Niang will also come with this old woman, so that no one will find it displeasing."

The old lady glanced at Wang Ruyan with her triangular eyes. In the past, the old lady would have definitely poured a cup of tea over her head, but now that Gu Hanjiao was present, the old lady had to be a little more considerate.

“Mother, what are you saying? Both children were raised by my daughter-in-law. Are you saying I’ve spoiled Changfeng?” Wang Ruyan asked.

“Who else could it be but you? I, Changfeng, am such a filial son. Look at what I’ve become. I used to come and talk to this old woman often, but now you’ve instigated me to stop coming. Only that little Hanqing is still willing to keep me company.”

"Mother, does Qing'er come often?" Gu Ziming asked.

"Alas, she is pitiful, so thin and small, her voice is like a kitten's when she calls for her grandmother. You, as her daughter-in-law, are really good at managing the household. Even if she is an illegitimate daughter, you can't treat her so harshly, can you?"

"I didn't! Mother, you blame everything on me. Changfeng was led astray because of those beautiful women in the courtyard. They've bewitched him, so how can he concentrate on his studies?"

"What do you mean by that? Those were all people I sent to take care of my eldest grandson. So you're saying I'm harming my eldest grandson!" The old lady was so angry that she was about to start cursing. Sure enough, she immediately started wailing, "My God, what kind of sin have I committed? I've worked so hard all my life, and now I'm being so despicable as to have my nose pointed at and be criticized like this. What have I gained? Old man, please take me away! I'm not enjoying a peaceful life; I'm being tortured like this!"

“Mother…” Gu Ziming felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

"Aunt, don't be sad. You still have your cousin to take care of you." Rou Niang brought the old lady a cup of tea.

The old lady wiped away her tears and grasped Rou Niang's hand: "I'm old and can't take care of anything else. Your aunt only has Rou Niang as her child, and now she's pregnant with our Gu family's child. No matter what, I will keep Rou Niang and her child by my side! No one can take this child away from me. Before I die, I will raise my grandson well!"