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

Chapter 49 I Can't Forgive Him
Princess Yongjia said softly, "Hmm. I wanted to see her and Rou'er..."

Lu Jinshi frowned slightly when he saw the forced expression on Princess Yongjia's face. "Sister, you don't have to force yourself..."

Princess Yongjia smiled at Lu Jinshi and said, "Jinshi, I know you mean well, but what my mother said is also true. I will never have a child in this life. I will eventually need a child to rely on. Last night, my husband knelt outside my room all night, begging for my forgiveness, so... sigh!"

Lu Jinshi also sighed helplessly.

Princess Yongjia was in a great dilemma when she was about to enter the gate.

Rong Yi said to Lu Jinshi, "You accompany your sister inside, I'll wait for you outside."

Lu Jinshi nodded and accompanied Princess Yongjia inside.

When Princess Yongjia entered the garden, she saw a woman dressed in a purple ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a gentle and elegant appearance, who was six months pregnant, smiling sweetly as she watched her little daughter running around in the courtyard.

She seemed unaffected by the discovery of her status as a mistress.

Princess Yongjia stared at the woman in front of her, stunned. She looked closely and saw that the woman's eyes were just like hers, even the beauty mark under her eye was exactly the same.

When Wan Niang saw Princess Yongjia in front of her, she hurriedly knelt down and bowed, saying, "This servant, Wan Niang, greets Princess Yongjia."

Princess Yongjia clenched her fists and looked at the two-year-old girl who had stopped running. The girl looked exactly like Yuan Jie; no one would believe they weren't father and daughter.

Princess Yongjia was heartbroken. She cried all night and was determined to accept it, but when she actually saw it, she couldn't accept it at all.

Princess Yongjia looked into the eyes of Wan Niang, who was six months pregnant and kneeling with her belly protruding. Wan Niang had eyes that resembled her own. When Yuan Jie saw her eyes, he never felt the slightest bit of guilt towards himself.

Princess Yongjia took two steps back and asked Wan Niang in a low voice, "How did you and the驸马 (the驸马) meet?"

The maidservant whispered, "I am from Tashan Village outside Chang'an City. Three years ago, the village was hit by a flood. When the prince consort came to provide disaster relief, he saw that I was about to be sold by my parents to a sixty-year-old merchant as a concubine. He then spent money to save me. I was extremely grateful to the prince consort, so I became his maidservant."

One day, the prince consort got drunk and mistook me for you. He gave me a large sum of money to leave, but who knew that not long after, I became pregnant with Rou'er.

The maidservant whispered again, "I know my status is lowly and I dare not give birth to the prince consort's child. But at that time, the prince consort said that his grandmother was old and did not have much time left, so he asked me to leave the child. Your Highness, the prince consort raised me only because of the child. The prince consort is devoted to you. I don't know how many nights he has called out your name in his midnight dreams."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jinshi couldn't help but sneer and said, "What a fine 'wholehearted devotion'! Sleeping with you at midnight while calling out the princess's name, is that what you call wholehearted devotion?"

Princess Yongjia could no longer bear it, and with tears in her eyes, she turned and left the courtyard.

Lu Jinshi hurried forward, calling out, "Sister."

As soon as they left the courtyard, Princess Yongjia threw herself onto Lu Jinshi's shoulder and cried, "I can't do it, I can't forgive him."

Lu Jinshi gently patted Princess Yongjia's back to comfort her, "Your Highness, there are countless good men in this world. If you cannot forgive him, then you don't need to forgive the prince consort."

Princess Yongjia said, "I never imagined that the days he said he would stay in the military camp and not come back, he would be by Wan Niang's side. He also has a family outside..."

Seeing Princess Yongjia crying so bitterly, Lu Jinshi looked at Rong Yi.

Rong Yi said, "Sister, why don't you come with us to Lingxiao Academy to relax? There are many young men in Lingxiao Academy. A prince consort can keep a mistress. As a princess, you can also keep a few male favorites. Maybe you can get pregnant by changing men."

Princess Yongjia's grief turned to anger, and she glared at Rong Yi, saying, "Seventh Brother, what nonsense are you spouting? Keeping male concubines? Is that something a proper princess would do?" Lu Jinshi, however, felt that Rong Yi was teachable. "Sister, what the Seventh Prince said is true. Instead of being heartbroken and weeping, you should find a new husband who loves you dearly. You said yesterday that the consort's actions are like a thorn in your heart, and thinking about it will only cause you pain."

"It would be better to cut your losses decisively, remove this thorn, and find a new husband to make up for what you've lost. Why don't you come with us to the academy? Even if you're not looking for a husband, consider it a good way to relax; the scenery there is quite nice."

Princess Yongjia really didn't want to return to her residence, but she couldn't go to the palace either. Going to the palace would only make her mother worry about her, and her mother would also persuade her to forgive her husband.

Should she go to her cousins' houses? Seeing that her cousins ​​all had children, even though they were very careful, they inevitably started talking about their children.

Lu Jinshi helped Princess Yongjia into her carriage and gestured for Rong Yi to sit outside the carriage.

Inside the carriage, Lu Jinshi said to Princess Yongjia, "The most hurtful thing in this world is a woman's true heart. To meet the wrong person and give your heart to the wrong person is like having your heart ripped out. There are too few men in this world who are right for you. Princess, you might as well listen to the Seventh Prince's advice and find another handsome man to make yourself happy. Ordinary women would not dare to do this, but you are a princess, so you can do as you please."

Princess Yongjia sighed softly, "I am not as insightful as you think. The bond between Yuan Jie and me since childhood is not something that can be severed so easily."

Lu Jinshi advised again: "Yuan Jie, whom you met when you were young, was indeed worthy of your sincerity and cherished affection. But people's hearts are fickle. Yuan Jie is no longer worthy of your sincerity. If you give him your sincerity, he will only waste it."

Princess Yongjia remained silent, tears streaming down her face.

When the carriage arrived at the academy gate, Lu Jinshi helped Princess Yongjia down from the carriage.

As soon as you step off the carriage, you are greeted by a vast expanse of wheat fields, the wind rustling through the wheat, a vibrant green scene in springtime.

As a princess who grew up in the palace, she rarely saw such pastoral scenery. Princess Yongjia went down to the field and said, "If we fly kites here, we won't have to worry about those annoying tree branches getting tangled in them."

Lu Jinshi chuckled and said, "The spring breeze is so gentle today, it's the perfect time to fly kites. Let's make kites in the academy and then fly them here later."

Princess Yongjia said, "Alright."

Lu Jinshi led Princess Yongjia by the hand to the academy. Lu Jinshi found an empty classroom and asked Caiyun to find paste, Xuan paper, and bamboo strips. Together with Princess Yongjia, they made kites.

Making a kite wasn't difficult. Lu Jinshi and Princess Yongjia finished the kite in an hour and flew it in the fields.

“It’s flying.”

Princess Yongjia gazed at the kite in mid-air and smiled brightly.

In the classroom, during a dull lesson, Jiang Yin and Rong Yi whispered among themselves, "Although Senior Sister Lu is a woman, her lectures are much easier to understand than Senior Brother Mu's. She also tells us directly how to write an essay to pass the imperial examination, unlike Senior Brother Mu, whose lectures are all obscure and difficult to understand."

Mu Yan walked over to Jiang Yin's side and overheard his whispered discussion. Just as he was about to give Jiang Yin a good talking-to, he heard laughter coming from the window.

Above the wheat field, two beautiful women ran happily, flying kites. He thought this scene was worthy of being a painting.

Rong Yi chuckled as he looked at Mu Yan's gaze fixed on the window and said, "Senior Brother Mu, it's inappropriate to look at what you shouldn't. It's not proper for you to be staring at my sister like that."

Mu Yan quickly turned around and said, "It was my fault. I just thought that this scene of playing with kites in spring would be extremely beautiful if it were painted. I didn't mean to take liberties with your sister."

(End of this chapter)