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

Chapter 249 Master Huang Has New Orders

There is a concubine, but above her is the princess. As for Prime Minister Gu, he is not as powerful as before. It is said that he has only been reinstated to his original position and has no real power. Moreover, the emperor has never mentioned the mansion that was taken back before, and has no intention of returning it to Prime Minister Gu, let alone offering any compensation.

Some minor officials and their families, eager to curry favor with the Third Prince and Prime Minister Gu, rushed to speak with Gu Hanjiao.

Gu Hanjiao adopted the demeanor of a matriarch when she spoke with those people. Before long, someone came to invite Gu Hanjiao, saying that Master Huang's divination had begun and that Gu Hanjiao should go.

Gu Hanjiao and a group of ladies were queuing up to wait for Master Huang to approve their applications. Finally, they got their approval, and this was the purpose of her visit.

"Greetings, Master Huang."

Master Huang stroked his beard, flicked off the dust, and nodded when he saw Gu Hanjiao in front of him. "It's Miss Gu. What a coincidence."

Those around them, following Master Huang's words, recalled that Master Huang had indeed given a fortune reading to the second young lady of the Gu family, saying that she had the destiny of a phoenix. This was discussed for quite some time in the capital, directly putting the second young lady of the Gu family in the eye of the storm.

Even after so long, Miss Gu has never faded from the talk of the capital. Miss Gu, who is destined to be a phoenix, married the Third Prince. Does that mean that the Third Prince will have a chance to ascend the throne in the future?

Of course, no one would say these things aloud; they all silently guessed in their hearts. Everyone was focused and eager to hear what Miss Gu had come to ask for and what Master Huang could predict.

"My daughter has been feeling a bit confused lately, and I hope the Taoist priest can help her."

Master Huang nodded, took the fortune slip handed to him by Chunlu, glanced at it a few times, and then put it down.

"Miss, don't be troubled. The other day I analyzed your destiny and found that you have the destiny of a phoenix, which means that you are destined for great wealth and honor. You are a person of good fortune that is rare in a hundred years. You will turn bad luck into good and turn misfortune into good fortune. Everyone who is with you will definitely share in your good luck."

These words caused those around to gasp in astonishment. What incredible luck! A once-in-a-century auspicious omen!

Hearing the reactions of those around her, Gu Hanjiao nodded in satisfaction, then pretended to be a little troubled and asked.

"Daoist Master, it's not that I don't believe what you say, it's just that now..." Gu Hanjiao seemed hesitant to speak, but she still made up her mind to say it: "Now my mother and brother are gone, and my father was dismissed from his official post because of family matters. And now I've become a concubine..."

At this point, Gu Hanjiao's eyes filled with tears.

Those present felt some sympathy for the second young lady. She had once been so glamorous, the most beautiful and talented woman in the capital. But now, she had gone from being the legitimate daughter to a concubine's daughter, from the primary wife to a secondary wife—such a dramatic fall from grace…

If you never had it, you wouldn't feel anything, but it's having it and then losing it that makes you feel pain.

"Miss, there's no need to be troubled. Everything in the world is a balance of yin and yang; where there is loss, there is bound to be abundance. What seems like a loss is because you've given your greatest fortune to the most important people in your life, and..."

"And you haven't gotten it yet, have you?" Master Huang looked thoughtfully at Gu Hanjiao's abdomen.

Gu Hanjiao immediately touched her lower abdomen. She hadn't told anyone, so how did Master Huang know? Did this person really possess unfathomable supernatural abilities? If he had genuine skills, why would he charge money to fake it?

"Miss Gu's good fortune is extraordinary. After Miss Gu was born, it brought blessings to your mother, and later your father also benefited, didn't he?"

If you think about it carefully, it's true. Gu Hanjiao's mother became the principal wife not long after giving birth to her, and Prime Minister Gu's career also progressed smoothly after having this daughter, even reaching a position second only to the emperor.

Later, the Gu family reached its peak, and at one point, a princess was about to emerge from the Gu family. The third prince also gradually came into the public eye.

It seems that Miss Gu is truly a blessed person, but how did she end up in such a state? Soon, this question was answered by Master Huang.

"Miss Gu has been having some bad luck lately, but that's because you've already shared your luck with your closest relatives. Now that you're six months pregnant, you still need to take good care of your health. You've paid such a high price to have this child, which means that the child is also very fortunate and will achieve great things in the future."

Master Huang seemed quite satisfied with his judgment.

Gu Hanjiao suddenly felt like she had been struck by lightning. She had indeed asked Master Huang to predict a good destiny for her, but she hadn't asked him to predict that she was pregnant.

Now everyone knows she's pregnant, and regardless of whether it's true or not, everyone will assume it is.

This time, everyone gasped in surprise.

What?! The aloof and ethereal Miss Gu is pregnant! And out of wedlock at that! Is the father the Third Prince or someone else?

No matter who it is, it's not a good look. If it's the Third Prince, it would obviously ruin the royal family's reputation. If it's not, it would be putting a green hat on a prince's head. This makes everyone think of the young master who was holding Gu Hanjiao at the entrance of the Taoist temple earlier.

Good heavens, what juicy gossip have they stumbled upon? This second young lady is pregnant with a very promising child, and everyone is wondering if Gu Hanjiao's baby is a boy.

"Oh no, oh no! That old Taoist priest always speaks so carelessly. He's revealed another secret of heaven and shortened his lifespan."

As he spoke, Master Huang began to show signs of regret. Seeing this, everyone quickly stepped forward to ask him to read their fortune sticks, otherwise, like last time, Master Huang might go into seclusion again for who knows how long.

Gu Hanjiao was still in a daze when she got back to the carriage that came to pick her up. As a result, she slipped and fell when she got off the carriage, and this time no one came to her rescue.

Gu Hanjiao fell at the entrance of the Gu residence. Everyone was in a flurry of activity, some calling for a doctor, some carrying her, and others relaying the news.

The Third Prince naturally received the news as well. He and Gu Ziming had just finished court and hurriedly took the imperial physician to the Gu family.

The news spread throughout the streets and alleys of Beijing after those who went to Qingquan Temple to worship the Three Pure Ones returned.

Meng Yanran was definitely not the first to know, but she was incredibly excited when she found out.

"Qingwan, you don't know, everyone is now speculating whether the Third Prince is being cuckolded. Isn't Gu Hanjiao always so aloof and seemingly untouched by worldly affairs?"

Gu Qingwan overheard a surprising remark from her: "You mean, there's a young gentleman who's quite handsome?"

"Huh?" Meng Yanran was a little confused. "Yes, I heard that a handsome young man was holding Gu Hanjiao at the entrance of the Taoist temple."

Gu Qingwan was somewhat surprised. The young and handsome gentleman was someone no one in the capital recognized. He must have come from outside.

Gu Hanjiao's luck with men is just too good.

"You don't know, I heard that young master has a pair of phoenix eyes, which are very charming. Some people even say that if he just glances at any young lady, he can steal her soul."

"You're quite the character?" Gu Qingwan laughed. "Are you talking about a fox spirit reincarnated?"

Meng Yanran stared wide-eyed in surprise and asked, "You're too amazing! You must have heard the rumors outside. Some people are actually saying that the young master is a fox spirit reincarnated."

"That's really amazing! Are there really men that handsome?"

"Hehe, I don't know either, I just heard it from others. My servant came back and told me that some teahouse and tavern staff have started to use this as a model."

but……

If she weren't searching in the capital, she would actually know someone with phoenix eyes who looks like a fox spirit, but that person is far away on the frontier and would never come to the capital of Daqing.

The two sisters leaned their heads together on the headboard, chatting away, looking incredibly content.

The scenery here is beautiful, but the scenery over at the Gu residence is quite different.

Gu Hanjiao fell off the carriage and immediately suffered a miscarriage. The household was in chaos, and the Third Prince and Gu Ziming promptly brought the imperial physician out of the palace.

After the imperial physician took Gu Hanjiao's pulse, administered acupuncture, and prescribed medicine, Chunlu and Qiushuang stood by, both worried about Gu Hanjiao and somewhat afraid of being punished later.

"Alright, Third Prince, this Second Miss is..." The imperial physician found it difficult to speak, wondering how he could be so unlucky as to have this problem.

This Miss Gu is the concubine of the Third Prince. She is pregnant before marriage. Does the Third Prince know this or not?

Whether he knew or not, it wouldn't do him any good as a lowly imperial physician. Thinking about this, he was so worried that he was going bald.

Xiao Yuheng noticed that Gu Hanjiao's condition had improved a lot before he noticed the physician's conflicted expression, thinking that something bad had happened.

"Imperial Physician Wang, you are a skilled physician in the palace. Is there anything wrong with Jiao'er? Please tell me directly."

"This..." The Third Prince's question made Physician Wang even more conflicted. Should he tell him or not? Or should he follow the old rules and say that the person had been frightened and prescribe two doses of calming medicine to deal with it?

"Miss was just frightened, but there's nothing seriously wrong. I'll prescribe two doses of calming medicine for her, and she'll be fine after a nap." After considering it for a moment, Imperial Physician Wang decided that it was best to protect himself, and besides, the second young lady was indeed alright.

Xiao Yuheng frowned. Gu Ziming was an old fox, so of course he wouldn't take the initiative to expose anything. He would wait and see what the Third Prince's attitude would be.

Having grown up in the palace since childhood, Xiao Yuheng naturally understood what Imperial Physician Wang meant. Imperial Physician Wang was unsure of his own stance, so he was unwilling to offend either him, the prince, or the Prime Minister.

Xiao Yuheng looked at Gu Hanjiao, whose face was deathly pale, and asked, "Thank you, Imperial Physician Wang. Is the baby in Jiao'er's belly still safe?"

Upon hearing this, Imperial Physician Wang realized that the Third Prince knew about the Second Miss's pregnancy. In that case, it was highly likely that the child belonged to the Third Prince. Since the Third Prince had made his stance clear, there was nothing more for him to hesitate about.

"The fetus is still small. Although it was frightened along with the mother, the fetal breathing indicates that it is alright for now. This child is very lucky and has a long life. An ordinary person would not have survived so easily."

Imperial Physician Wang smiled and said some nice things, because the future Consort Gu was going to give birth to the eldest son of the Third Prince. Although he was born out of wedlock, the royal family did not care about whether he was born of the principal wife or a concubine.

But these words took on a different meaning in the Third Prince's ears: a blessed person? Gu Hanjiao is truly extremely lucky.

"It's good that she's alright, it's good that she's alright. I, Physician Wang, am very grateful that you came to examine my daughter. Come, come, let's have a cup of tea in the front hall before you leave." Gu Ziming then spoke to Physician Wang with a smile.

"You're too kind, Lord Gu. This is my duty. I'm just offering my congratulations in advance."

"Not at all, not at all. I would be grateful if Imperial Physician Wang could grant me some simple noodles to drink a cup of my daughter's wedding wine."

"Oh, it's such an honor for me to be here, hehehehe."

Physician Wang and Gu Ziming walked together as they left Gu Hanjiao's courtyard, exchanging pleasantries and compliments.

Inside the room, Chunlu and Qiushuang were so frightened that they knelt on the ground.

"Please punish me, Third Prince."

Xiao Yuheng said coldly, "You two failed to protect your mistress. Knowing that she was pregnant, you didn't know how to advise her. When she had a problem, you didn't find a solution immediately. You two go and kneel at the door. You can only get up when Miss is better!"

"We know we were wrong." The two women quickly kowtowed on the ground to admit their mistake.

"Brother Heng." At this moment, Gu Hanjiao's weak voice came from the bed.

"Jiao'er, how are you feeling now?" Xiao Yuheng sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand.

"Brother Heng, please don't blame my two maids. They were just following my orders. If you have to blame someone, blame me for acting on my own."

Xiao Yuheng's heart softened for some reason. Jiao'er was always so kind. Even if she wasn't a lucky person or someone with a phoenix-like personality, he was still happy for her.

What attracted me was that although she appeared delicate, she possessed a rare purity of heart. She was not only talented but also had a broad perspective, unlike those ladies in the inner quarters who only knew about petty squabbles and jealousies.

"Jiao'er, you don't need to worry about anything. Those two should be punished for their mistakes, otherwise they won't serve you wholeheartedly in the future."

"Third Prince, Miss, we know we were wrong. We will serve you wholeheartedly from now on. Please, Third Prince, show leniency. Miss needs someone to take care of her right now. We are willing to die for you, but we are still worried about your safety. Please, Third Prince, let us take good care of Miss before we are punished." Chunlu kowtowed to the ground, pleading sincerely.

“Brother Heng, those two have been with me since they were little. They have worked hard, even if they haven’t done anything particularly meritorious. And this is why I went to Qingquan Temple.”

Gu Hanjiao took out two amulets from under her pillow and handed them to Xiao Yuheng.

"This is for Brother Heng, and this is for the Imperial Concubine."

Xiao Yuheng clenched his hands, "It's rare that you still think of me and Mother Consort. I, your beloved daughter, will never let you down."