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

Chapter 182 Revisiting Familiar Places (The Finale)

Nearly twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Lu Jinshi is deeply moved when he sees Xie Yuan again.

Xie Yuan truly lived up to expectations, becoming the top female scholar in the first imperial examination open to women.

Lu Jinshi was very pleased. Xie Yuan's essay on mulberry fields, written during the imperial examination, discussed how the high price of silk in Jiangnan led ordinary people to abandon farming and plant mulberry trees to raise silkworms, which eventually resulted in a flood and the entire city running out of food.

Xie Yuan's article pinpoints the root of the problem, offering a penetrating analysis of the conflict between agriculture and commerce.

This forced many male students who disagreed with Xie Yuan being the top scholar to accept his achievement.

In the Zichen Palace.

Lu Jinshi looked at Xie Yuan's article and read it several times. He still praised it to Rong Yi, saying, "Good, this article is really well written. Talented people emerge in every generation... The talents of young women these days are getting better and better."

Rong Yi pulled Lu Jinshi into his arms and said, "It's all thanks to you, otherwise these girls wouldn't have had the chance to show their talents."

Lu Jinshi said, "I've been severely criticized over the years, and I've heard countless rumors about me outside the palace. But these girls haven't disappointed me after all. I really want to go all over the world and see how the Lingxiao Academy's branch schools are doing..."

Rong Yi smiled and said, "After our Jin'er comes of age, I will let Zhang'er oversee the country, and then I will take you all the way back to Shanyin City. We can go and see how the girls' school is doing in the city we pass by."

Lu Jinshi looked up at Rong Yi.

Rong Yi pulled Lu Jinshi into his arms and said, "If we don't take you back to Shanyin City now, I'm afraid that after Zhang'er marries the Crown Princess and Jin'er gets married and has children, neither of us will have another chance to go back to Shanyin."

Lu Jinshi said, "Actually, seventeen years have passed, and I don't miss Shanyin that much anymore. However, I would like to go and see if there have been any changes at Tianzhang Academy after seventeen years."

In the blink of an eye, she had spent seventeen years in Chang'an, the same number of years she had spent in Shanyin.

Rong Yi said, "After Jin'er's coming-of-age ceremony, we will travel incognito to Shanyin City."

Lu Jinshi asked, "Going on an incognito tour? Won't you encounter any danger?"

Rong Yi said, “There are secret guards with us. If we go there in a big show with the imperial procession, it will be quite a fuss. Besides, you want to check out the Lingxiao Academy in other cities. It’s better to go incognito to see the truth. I have been on the throne for seventeen years. I don’t know if there are any things that can be hidden in this place. It’s better to go incognito to carry out our business.”

Lu Jinshi smiled at Rong Yi and said, "That's right. I'll start preparing clothes for the journey these next few days. Shall we bring Jin'er along this time too?"

Rong Yi's smile faltered slightly. "I won't take Jin'er with me."

"Hmm?" Lu Jinshi looked at Rong Yi and said, "Why is it that Jin'er has never experienced the splendor of Dasheng?"

Rong Yi said, "We haven't had any free time like we do without children in a long time. If you bring Jin'er along, you'll have to worry about her. Why don't we just go together?"

Lu Jinshi couldn't help but smile. "Alright, then when we return to the palace, if Jin'er complains, she can come looking for you."

Rong Yi smiled calmly, "Just prepare some novelties for her on the way."

Princess Rongjin's coming-of-age ceremony was a day after Lu Jinshi was very pleased to see his daughter growing up.

Rong Yi left behind only an imperial edict and then took Lu Jinshi to the dock.

When Rong Jin learned that his father and mother were going on an incognito visit, he rushed to the dock but could not find them. Rong Jin was furious and wished he could find a boat to follow them.

Qi Zhang, who was standing to the side, stopped Rong Jin and said, "Sister, you have come of age and are an adult now. Stop fooling around."

Rong Jin snorted, "Father and Mother have neglected me; they're the ones who're being silly."

Qi Zhang said, "Sister!"

Rong Jin said, "Brother, when Father and Mother return, would you take Wan Yin and me to Shanyin for a visit? I've never been to Shanyin City before!"

Qi Zhang glanced at Jiang Wanyin beside Rong Jin and said, "Alright, once Father and Mother return, I will take Miss Jiang to Shanyin City..."

Rong Jin stamped his foot and said, "Royal brother, you're taking me! Not Wan Yin!"

Jiang Wanyin smiled gently and said, "When His Majesty and the Empress return, I will accompany Princess to Shanyin."

On the big ship.

Lu Jinshi gazed at the increasingly distant dock, then looked at Rong Yi and said, "Jin'er should know by now that we've left Chang'an. Will she be angry? I wonder if we'll be able to coax her when we get back?"

Rong Yi said, "Forget about Jin'er now, and enjoy the scenery of our land."

Lu Jinshi looked up at Rong Yi and chuckled, "That's true. Seventeen years ago, we were in such a hurry that we didn't even have time to stop and appreciate the scenery along the coast. This time, we can enjoy it slowly all the way... However... I am a little worried about Zhang'er overseeing the country. After all, he's not even seventeen yet..."

Rong Yi chuckled and said, "You're overthinking it. With Qin Ke and Lu Xiao assisting Zhang'er, and Zhang'er already seventeen, it's time for him to gain some experience. I'm extremely confident in entrusting the country to him." Lu Jinshi looked at the scenery on both sides of the river from the deck, recalling the time seventeen years ago when she was on the ship to Chang'an, when she didn't know Rong Yi's identity.

She thought she could return to Shanyin immediately, but she never expected that after experiencing so many things, she would become the empress of a country.

Fortunately, Rong Yi never let her down during those seventeen years.

Traveling by boat, stopping and starting along the way, it took Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi a full year to reach Shanyin City.

It was the Dragon Boat Festival, and Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi, who had just come down from the dock, had not yet gone to Tianzhang Academy when they heard a commotion coming from the other side of the lake.

On the shore, several women spoke up, saying, "Nowadays, women can become top scholars, so why can't we women row dragon boats?"

"That's right. At the end of last year, Princess Fule led troops to suppress bandits and made great achievements. It can be seen that female generals are no less capable. We women should also row dragon boats and participate in the competition."

Some men on the shore said, "There has never been a rule about women rowing dragon boats!"

"There has never been a rule that women could study or take the imperial examinations to become top scholars. These rules are all made by people. Prefect Qin, do you think that we women can row dragon boats?"

Prefect Liu, who was in charge, couldn't help but feel a headache coming on as he listened to the people arguing.

Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi walked up to Prefect Liu and said, "Since women can study and even become top scholars, they can certainly race dragon boats as well. However, men and women are naturally very different in strength, so it is unfair to compare them in dragon boat racing. In the future, we can separate dragon boat racing for men and women. Let's race dragon boats together this year."

When Prefect Liu saw Rong Yi and Lu Jin, he was startled and immediately knelt down, saying, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress."

When the surrounding people saw Prefect Liu kneel down, they all knelt down as well.

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "Get up, everyone."

Lu Jinshi walked up to the little girl who had just shouted that women could also race dragon boats, took the hairpin off her head and said, "This hairpin is a reward for you. Today, you can just do your best."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The little girl's eyes shone as she looked at Lu Jinshi.

Lu Jinshi took off all her jewelry and gave it to the girls on the dragon boat team. Luckily, she was wearing quite a lot of jewelry today, otherwise it wouldn't have been enough to go around.

As the drums sounded, several dragon boats on Jianhu Lake were poised to set off.

Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi watched the dragon boat race from the shore. The women's dragon boat team was very strong, and the girls were putting all their strength into it, their shouts were loud and clear...

Although these girls didn't finish in the top three, they still managed to get fifth place, which was faster than the other two men's dragon boat teams, demonstrating their impressive spirit.

After watching the dragon boat race, Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi went to Tianzhang Academy.

In Lanting Town, Tianzhang Academy remains unchanged.

Lu Jinshi looked up at Rong Yi and chuckled, "Fortunately, the things here are still here, and so are the people."

Rong Yi and Lu Jinshi walked hand in hand into the small courtyard where he used to live. Apart from the servants cleaning the dust, the courtyard was exactly the same as it was eighteen years ago.

Lu Jinshi entered the courtyard and saw the bayberry tree that had come down from the hillside. He picked a bayberry and handed it to Rong Yi. “If I had to say what I missed most during these eighteen years in Chang’an, it would be this bayberry. Bayberries are rare in Chang’an.”

Rong Yi took two steps back in disgust. "You want me to taste it again to see if it's sour or not?"

Lu Jinshi smiled, took the bayberries and went to Rong Yi, saying, "Junior Brother Rong, would you like to try some?"

Rong Yi heard Lu Jinshi call him by the name he used eighteen years ago and said, "Call me husband."

"Husband, have a taste..." Lu Jinshi held the bayberry to Rong Yi's lips.

Rong Yi took a small sip and said, "It's not sour, it's quite sweet."

Upon hearing Rong Yi's words, Lu Jinshi picked another bayberry and ate it, saying, "It's so nice, it feels like I've gone back to those days."

Rong Yi smiled and said, "The most fortunate thing is that after eighteen years, the person who is with me in this courtyard is still you. Let's stay here for a while longer before returning to Chang'an."

Lu Jinshi smiled faintly and said, "Okay."

This is where she met Rong Yi. Although they both had their own secrets when they met, Lu Jinshi now admires her own boldness back then.

But she still doesn't regret her decision to leave her son behind and leave her father behind...

End of the full text.