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

Chapter 180 Girls' School Encounters Obstacles
The thirteenth year of Jingning.

Early spring.

Lingxiao Girls' Academy has opened twenty branches in Dasheng. Nowadays, girls no longer have to take only the path of getting married and raising children. They can also go to girls' schools to learn knowledge and skills.

Girls' schools not only taught academic subjects, but also skills such as needlework, cooking, and medicine. Many open-minded parents sent their daughters to girls' schools.

Emperor Jingning has been on the throne for more than thirteen years, and now there are many voices in the court calling for His Majesty to select concubines.

The reason for this is that there is now a lot of criticism in the public regarding women's education.

Because most of the female students who have graduated from Lingxiao Girls' Academy believe in gender equality, and that men should be self-reliant, so should women, and many of them have established their own households.

Some female students did not have more children after marrying their husbands. Some had only one daughter and did not have any more children, saying that their daughters could inherit the family business and that their husbands were not allowed to take concubines.

If their husbands dared to have children outside the marriage, they would take the matter to the authorities and seize half of the family property.

Even so, female students from Lingxiao Academy were sought after by many families. However, their reluctance to have many children, complaining about the suffering of mothers with many children, and their unwillingness to allow their husbands to take concubines, caused dissatisfaction among many husbands' families.

In particular, female students at Lingxiao Academy are prone to divorce at the drop of a hat.

After all, the current headmaster of Lingxiao Academy is still the Empress.

Lu Jinshi also unconditionally helps her students. If a woman from Lingxiao Academy is disliked by her husband's elders because she has only given birth to daughters and no sons, she will arrange a divorce for her and provide a safe haven for the female students and their mothers.

This was unacceptable to both the government and the public.

Therefore, there were also many voices opposing the Empress.

Some people even drew parallels to the Empress herself, noting that the Emperor had been on the throne for thirteen years, yet the harem remained empty.

Rumors have been rampant that His Majesty has only had one son, the Crown Prince, for thirteen years since his ascension to the throne, and that his bloodline is thin.

Lu Jinshi, who was in Lingxiao Academy, heard Banxia and Caiyun talking about the rumors outside and couldn't help but say angrily: "Now that girls' schools have started, they are panicking. Are they afraid that no woman will be willing to give birth to a son for them to 'continue the family line'? Are they afraid that they will also have no legitimate excuse to take concubines to continue the family line?"

Banxia said, "Your Majesty, there's no need to be angry. Even in my hometown, there are a few people who think this way. Now I think it's time to make it the first time in the court that women can take the imperial examinations..."

Lu Jinshi said, "I have discussed this matter with His Majesty. I originally thought that we should wait until there are more female students in Lingxiao Academy. Now I think it is time to put women on the agenda to participate in the imperial examinations."

"Mother!"

When Lu Jinshi saw Rong Jin arrive, he smiled and said, "You're pouting. Who bullied you?"

At thirteen, Rong Jin was already a graceful young woman. Looking at Rong Jin, Lu Jinshi felt a sense of pride, like a mother whose daughter had grown up.

Rong Jin said, "Mother, I heard people outside saying that we women should stay in the inner quarters and bear sons for men. They say you are really going too far, forbidding men from taking concubines, and even causing the annulment of the Prince An's mansion. Sister Fule is very angry. She said she is going to the military camp, determined to let everyone know that she, a woman, can also shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the Prince An's mansion..."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "Fu Le is indeed an ambitious person."

After Princess Yongjia married Lu Xiao and had a daughter, she did have other pregnancies, but one of them ended in miscarriage after three months of pregnancy.

Princess Yongjia was depressed after her miscarriage. Lu Xiao felt even more sorry for her and didn't want her to suffer any more. So he took the contraceptive medicine given to him by Banxia so that Princess Yongjia would no longer have to worry about having children.

Princess Yongjia's body was not very fertile, and even if she did conceive, giving birth would be extremely harmful to her body.

Lu Xiao didn't want Princess Yongjia to become depressed and unhappy from taking medicine in her quest for a child.

Princess Yongjia eventually came to her senses and focused on raising her only daughter. The Lu family now only has Princess Fule as their daughter. Over the years, there have been many rumors about the Lu family having "died without an heir," but because of the presence of the Princess and the Prince of An's heir, no one dared to say anything.

Nowadays, people outside are opposing the girls' academy and the empress because of the issue of having offspring. The fact that the Lu family only has one daughter is naturally being used as an excuse to say that the Lu family is guilty of not allowing concubines.

Rong Jin snorted, "Mother, these rumors outside are really too much. So what if we're women? Mother is a woman, and so am I. Mother, your knowledge is no less than that of those men. I've seen Uncle Shen Xing and Uncle Mu Yan come to you for advice when they encounter difficulties in compiling their books. It was you who organized them to compile these books. And those men, after reading your books, still come and call us hens crowing at dawn! How infuriating!"

Lu Jinshi smiled and patted Rong Jin's head, saying, "Don't be angry. Your mother is here to lay a good foundation for girls' education. In the future, we will rely on you to truly carry forward girls' education. You are the princess of Dasheng. There is no need to get angry over such people. You should set a good example as a princess and let the world see that women are not inferior to men."

Rong Jin nodded and said, "Yes, what angers me even more is the Lady of Anyuan Marquis. She actually taught many girls that the most important thing is to be a good wife, mother, and housekeeper. She also said that a woman who cannot give birth to a son is useless. She also said that the world is like this, and she is just going with the flow."

She wouldn't be like some independent women who claim to be running a girls' school but are actually just trying to show off their uniqueness in front of men..."

Bai Banxia said angrily, "He Jiayi is simply unbelievable. Why should she conform to the world as it is? It's already rare for a person to live to seventy in this world. Instead of giving it her all, she says that others are just trying to show off in front of other men. Sigh, her life is only about men getting married."

Rong Jin said, "She also said that none of her five future daughters-in-law should come from Lingxiao Academy. She wants women who know the rules, are polite, can manage a household, and are good at home management, not women who think about showing their faces in public all day long. Now many people regard her words as gospel."

Some ladies, hoping their daughters would one day marry the heir of the Marquis of Anyuan, instructed their daughters not to emulate the women of Lingxiao Academy.

Lu Jinshi smiled gently and said, "She has always been like this, why do you care about her? As long as the female students of Lingxiao Academy live freely and happily, and can be self-reliant without depending on others, sooner or later more and more women will not be wronged."

Lu Jinshi led Rong Jin back to the palace.

Inside the bedchamber, Lu Jinshi saw Rong Yi with a slightly furrowed brow, clearly quite annoyed.

Lu Jinshi asked, "What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

Rong Yi said, “Several ministers have submitted memorials saying that if women go to school and work in public, who will have children? Nowadays, female students who graduate from Lingxiao Academy can only have two children at most, and their husbands are not allowed to take concubines to have more offspring. If this continues, the population of Dasheng will decline. I know that what they are saying is nonsense, but I really don’t know how to refute it.”

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "What's so hard to refute about that? I'll go to court with you tomorrow."

Rong Yi chuckled and pulled Lu Jinshi into his arms, saying, "Alright, it's been quite a while since you accompanied me to court."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "The affairs of Lingxiao Academy have been busy these past few days, and it is indeed time for me to attend court. Otherwise, these court officials will think I am easy to bully."

Rong Yi looked at Lu Jinshi's smile, sighed slightly, and said, "Oh, right, there's one more thing. Li'er is of marriageable age..."

"Time flies! In the blink of an eye, Qi Li is getting married?"

Lu Jinshi still remembers Qi Li's chubby and round appearance when he was five years old, but now Qi Li is a gentleman with the demeanor of a royal prince.

Qi Li was particularly close to Zhang'er, so Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi didn't keep a close watch on Qi Li. Prince Jin had been very honest all these years, and Princess Jin later gave birth to a son and a daughter. Prince Jin and Princess Jin raised their children. When Qi Li was young, she studied at Lingxiao Academy. Later, when she was ten years old, she entered the palace to study with Zhang'er.

It can be said that she grew up alongside Zhang'er.

Rong Yi said, "Now that our Jin'er is thirteen and Qi Li is eighteen, it's natural to arrange a marriage."

“Isn’t arranging a marriage a good thing? Why are you sighing like this?” Lu Jinshi said.

Rong Yi said, "It's a good thing to talk about marriage, but Qi Li wants to marry Mu Rou."

"Who is Mu Rou?" Lu Jinshi asked. "In the court, isn't the only person with the surname Mu... Senior Brother Mu Yan?"

Rong Yi said, "She is Senior Brother Mu Yan's stepdaughter."