My husband, who abandoned his father and kept his son, actually wants me to be his concubine.

Chapter 15 No Longer Need to Be the Seventh Prince's Consort
Lu Jinshi frowned and said, "I don't need you to send me off for another year. You should take the money and leave now. I will find another male concubine."

Rong Yi approached Lu Jinshi step by step, and when he got close to Lu Jinshi, he laughed and said, "Can you find a man with a higher status, more outstanding literary talent, and more handsome appearance than me to be the father of your child?"

Lu Jinshi frowned even more. Rong Yi was so arrogant and didn't know the meaning of humility.

But ironically, what he said actually made sense; his literary talent and appearance were the best among all the scholars at Tianzhang Academy.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen him to give birth to Zhang'er.

Lu Jinshi said coldly, "Although your literary talent and appearance are impeccable, your character is as filthy and foul as swill. I am, after all, your master's daughter. Not only do you want me to be your concubine, but today you also tried to take away the child I gave birth to after ten months of hard work. Your character is truly despicable."

Rong Yi scoffed, "What about your character? You took advantage of my sincerity. At least I thought about our future and had genuine feelings for you, but you deceived me from the very beginning."

Lu Jinshi said, "What did I lie to you about? Did I ever say I wanted to be your husband? You gave me Zhang'er willingly, so how could I take advantage of your sincerity? Besides, was it sincere of you to ask me to be your concubine? Don't you think your sincerity is ridiculous?"

Rong Yi took a deep breath and looked at Lu Jinshi in front of him. Wasn't the concubine of the imperial family also sincere?
Rong Yi wanted to explain, but he had some reservations.

Lu Jinshi is currently furious. After she learns her true identity, will Lu Jinshi be used by her brothers?
Lu Jinshi grew up in a folk academy. Dean Qin and her mother never disciplined Lu Jinshi. Is Lu Jinshi, who is still angry, able to endure the rules and intrigues of the palace?

Rong Yi had no choice but to give up on telling Lu Jinshi his true identity once again. "I am sincere towards you. One day you will understand that if I were not sincere, you would never have had the chance to give birth to Zhang'er."

Lu Jinshi said, "I don't need to understand your true feelings. Quickly pick up the silver notes on the ground and leave!"

Rong Yi slowly picked up the scattered silver notes, put them into his sleeve, and looked at Lu Jinshi, saying, "Putting aside the title of concubine, instead of finding another man to give Zhang'er a younger sister, why don't you find me to give birth to a daughter? At least she and Zhang'er will have the same parents, and the two siblings will be closer."

Seeing that Lu Jinshi didn't respond, Rong Yi continued, "Daughters usually look more like their fathers. If you find a husband who isn't as good-looking as me, the daughters you have in the future probably won't be pretty either."

Lu Jinshi glanced at Rong Yi and pointed to the gate, saying, "Let's go."

Rong Yi said, "Then see you at the academy tomorrow."

Lu Jinshi watched Rong Yi's departing figure, his brows furrowed.

Lu Jinshi had just heard the news of the death of the old Marquis He. She had originally planned to go to the He family to pretend to be a dutiful granddaughter for the next few days, but now she thought better of it. The He family was not only forcing her to marry Huang Teng, but they also had some bad intentions.

Just like how Liu Xiuxiu's maid could pour tea directly on her, forcing her to change her clothes, it was impossible to guard against such a thing.

It would be best to avoid visiting the He family; it would be better to help Uncle Lin teach his students instead.

The next morning, Lu Jinshi took Xiao Zhang'er to Lingxiao Academy.

Lingxiao Academy has many vacant houses now, and there are plenty of places to settle Xiao Zhang'er.

However, Lu Jinshi was not at ease anywhere else, so he had the wet nurse take Xiao Zhang'er to his younger brother Qin Ke's room.

Qin Ke was overjoyed to see the little nephew that Lu Jinshi had brought over. "Sister, why do I feel that Zhang'er looks a bit like the Imperial Noble Consort?"

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "Perhaps beautiful people often have similarities. It is Zhang'er's good fortune to be like the Imperial Noble Consort. I also hope that Zhang'er can be as promising as the Seventh Prince."

His Majesty frequently mentions the Seventh Prince in his letters to his mother, which shows that he is very pleased with this child.

Qin Ke whispered, "Sister, His Majesty has arranged a marriage for the Seventh Prince. People outside say that after the Seventh Prince and He Jinlan get married, His Majesty will make the Seventh Prince the Crown Prince." Lu Jinshi said, "His Majesty does not want the Seventh Prince to marry He Jinlan, but wants me to marry the Seventh Prince."

Qin Ke said, "What's being said outside is all about the eldest daughter of the He family..."

Qin Ke belatedly realized and said, "Oh right, sister is the eldest daughter of the He family, but you already have a child, so you can't marry the Seventh Prince as a concubine. But it's good that you already have a child."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "Is there anything wrong with marrying the Seventh Prince?"

Qin Ke lowered his voice and said, "Of course it's inappropriate. Those old civil officials in the court will not allow the Seventh Prince to be made crown prince. A few years ago, when His Majesty wanted to make the Imperial Noble Consort the Empress on her thirtieth birthday, the Grand Secretary at the time even banged his head against a pillar in the main hall, remonstrating with His Majesty that the Imperial Noble Consort should not be made Empress."

Lu Jinshi teased the little Zhang'er in his arms and said, "These old ministers in the court are quite ridiculous. Why are they fighting so hard to stop His Majesty from making the Imperial Noble Consort Empress?"

Qin Ke glanced around and lowered his voice to Lu Jinshi, saying, "Don't you know that before marrying His Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort was the second wife of His Majesty's elder brother, Prince Zheng?"

Lu Jinshi was too young when he left Chang'an, so she really didn't know about this.

Qin Ke said in a low voice, "Before entering the palace, this Imperial Noble Consort was His Majesty's elder sister-in-law. She married His Majesty after divorcing Prince Zheng. Therefore, His Majesty has tried to make the Imperial Noble Consort Empress many times, but was blocked by the civil officials of the previous dynasty. Moreover, Prince Jin has always had a very good reputation among the civil officials. This time, His Highness the Seventh Prince's attempt to establish an heir has not been so smooth."

Lu Jinshi scoffed, "A bunch of pedantic old men."

Qin Ke said, "As a former Imperial Noble Consort who has been married twice, she is not worthy of being the mother of the nation."

Lu Jinshi said, "Our mother was also divorced. According to you, my mother is not worthy to be my father's legal wife after her second marriage?"

Qin Ke quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, no, I didn't mean that."

Lu Jinshi had some doubts before. Even if His Majesty and Empress Dowager loved her because of her mother, they shouldn't have allowed the Seventh Prince to marry her, who had a reputation for bringing bad luck to her husband.

Hearing Qin Ke say this today, Lu Jinshi finally understood.

Most of the civil officials in the court sided with Prince Jin. Prince Jin was now twenty-seven years old, much more mature than the seventh prince who had not yet come of age, and had already made achievements in the court.

Although the Seventh Prince is deeply favored by His Majesty, he has not yet entered the court and his position is unstable. Moreover, the civil officials in the court are all against the Imperial Noble Consort and are willing to risk their lives to prevent her from becoming Empress. If His Majesty wants to make the Seventh Prince the heir apparent, these old ministers will definitely oppose it in the court.

The seventh prince is neither the eldest son nor the legitimate heir, and since he has not yet entered the court, he naturally cannot be considered virtuous.

After marrying her, the Seventh Prince would become the son-in-law of Tianzhang Academy. Many of the rising stars among the court's civil officials were students of Tianzhang Academy. Even if the old ministers opposed it, the Seventh Prince could still use Tianzhang Academy to cultivate his own civil official power.

Lu Jinshi reached out and touched Zhang'er's little face, saying, "You're right. Fortunately, I already have Zhang'er, so I don't have to be the Seventh Prince's Consort anymore."

Lu Jinshi did not want to be a prince's wife, especially not the future crown prince's principal wife.

Just like her mother, Lu Jinshi could not accept her husband taking a concubine.

Not to mention the principal wife in the palace, who not only had to endure her husband's multiple wives and concubines, but was also confined to the palace and had to deal with the trivial matters of her husband's and concubines' food, clothing and daily necessities.

Lu Jinshi was also fortunate that she had given birth to Zhang'er before the imperial decree of marriage was issued, so she did not have to be the seventh prince's wife and was not confined to the palace.

(End of this chapter)