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

Chapter 82: Not knowing how to tell the princess about her pregnancy

Lu Jinshi chatted with his mother and the Empress Dowager for a while, and by the time they left Shou Kang Palace, it was getting dark.

The two then took a carriage to Prince An's residence for dinner.

The Prince An's residence was bustling with activity today.

Rong Yi was already at the Prince An's residence with Zhang'er, waiting for Lu Jinshi to arrive.

Lu Jinshi took Zhang'er, who was crying and fussing upon seeing her, from Rong Yi's arms. Lu Mingzhu chuckled and said, "Little Zhang'er is starting to recognize people. Just like when you were little, if he doesn't see me for a while, he will always cry with grievance when he sees me again."

Lu Jinshi said, "Zhang'er is very attached to people now. He's going to the palace the day after tomorrow. I wonder if he'll cry if he doesn't see me for three days..."

Lu Jinshi was quite reluctant to part with Zhang'er, but according to the rules, Zhang'er was indeed to go to the palace three days before the wedding. Rong Yi had to pay homage to the royal ancestors after his wedding, and Zhang'er would also have to go to the royal ancestral temple to pay homage to the ancestors. He would also have to change his name to Qi Zhang and be recorded in the royal family genealogy.

Rong Yi said, "Zhang'er is being taken care of by me and Mother Consort, so you don't need to worry too much. Three days will pass quickly."

Lu Jinshi thought about it and realized that time really flies; it was almost the end of April in the blink of an eye.

Today is a family banquet at the Prince An's residence. Although Rong Yi is present, there is not much discussion of the rules between the emperor and his subjects; the focus is on the family banquet.

Princess An smiled and said, "Speaking of which, the Seventh Prince and my Xiao'er are only one day apart. The Seventh Prince is already getting married for his father, but who knows when Xiao'er's marriage will be?"

Lu Mingzhu looked at her nephew and said, "Xiao'er is also very handsome, so his marriage will be very easy. I'm just afraid that you, sister-in-law, have too high standards and won't be interested in ordinary girls."

Princess An smiled faintly, "I only ask that Xiao'er find a girl he likes. I don't care about anything else, such as family background. As long as she is kind, filial, and intelligent, that's enough. Looks and family background are not as important as a girl's character. The most important thing is that Lu Xiao himself likes her..."

Lu Mingzhu looked at Lu Xiao and said, "Xiao'er, do you have a girl you like? If so, tell me quickly. Don't wait until your uncle and I return to Jiangnan and receive your wedding invitation again, making us make another trip to Chang'an."

Lu Xiao said, "I do have a girl I like, but she won't let me tell you. I'm afraid our marriage won't go smoothly, and she's unwilling to give me a formal title..."

"Hmm?" Both Prince An and Princess An looked at their son.

Princess An asked, "How come we didn't know you already had a girl you liked? Who is she?"

“She forbids me from saying it now,” Lu Xiao said. “I dare not disobey her orders.”

Princess An teased, "You're usually so obedient to your parents, but you listen to her. Tell me which girl it is. Your aunt is here too, so you can ask her to help you find a match..."

Lu Xiao said slowly, "Mother, I really can't say it, she forbids me to say it."

Princess An was quite curious about the identity of the woman Lu Xiao mentioned, but she didn't want to ask too much at the family banquet today.

After the family banquet ended, it was already dark. The Princess's residence was not far from the Prince An's residence, so Lu Jinshi went back to the Princess's residence with his parents to rest.

After Lu Jinshi carried Zhang'er into the carriage, she saw Rong Yi also get into the carriage. "My parents have come to the Princess's Mansion. You are not allowed to stay in the Princess's Mansion before the wedding."

Rong Yi smiled faintly, "Well, I'll leave after I take you back to the Princess's residence. Why is the wedding still so many days away?"

As the wedding date drew closer, Rong Yi longed to marry Lu Jinshi as soon as possible, while Lu Jinshi wished time would pass as slowly as possible. After escorting Lu Jinshi back to the Princess's residence, Rong Yi said, "I will come to pick up Zhang'er the day after tomorrow."

Rong Yi gently pinched Xiao Zhang'er's cheek and said, "Father will come to take you home in a couple of days."

After bidding farewell to Rong Yi, Lu Jinshi returned to the Princess's residence. Inside, the maids had already hung up red silk and pasted up many double happiness characters, all indicating that she was indeed getting married.
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On April 23, Rong Yi, accompanied by palace staff, came to pick up Xiao Zhang'er in a festive carrying pole.

Lu Jinshi originally thought that Xiao Zhang'er would cry and fuss when he was sitting on the wedding basket away from him, but Xiao Zhang'er didn't cry or fuss because he found sitting in the wedding basket very novel.

After Zhang'er left, Lu Jinshi, who hadn't been looking forward to the wedding ceremony, began to eagerly anticipate the arrival of the 26th.

On April 25th, the day before Lu Jinshi's wedding, many people came to add to her dowry.

Princess Yongjia arrived at the princess's residence early in the morning and presented her dowry.

Lu Jinshi smiled faintly when he saw the pearl-embroidered shirt given by Princess Yongjia, saying, "Sister, the dowry you gave is far too precious."

Princess Yongjia smiled and said, "After tomorrow, you will be my seventh sister-in-law. We are family, so there's no need to talk about who's more important or less important."

Lu Jinshi said, "Then thank you very much, sister."

Princess Yongjia smiled and sat down, smelling the pastries in front of her, and said, "These pastries smell so good."

Lu Jinshi said, "This is lotus flower pastry from Jiangnan, my favorite. Please try it."

Princess Yongjia took a bite and said, "It's sweet and crispy, really delicious. I'm sorry to have made you laugh. Perhaps it's because my stomach wasn't feeling well a while ago, but I've been really enjoying it these past few days, and even my lower abdomen has gained some weight."

Lu Jinshi looked at Princess Yongjia, his suspicion that she was pregnant growing stronger. "Sister, have you seen a doctor these days?"

Princess Yongjia said, "No, how could that be?"

Lu Jinshi just smiled and said, "It's nothing. I'm just worried about your health, sister. You couldn't eat anything before, and now you can't even get enough to eat. You should see a royal physician to put your mind at ease."

Princess Yongjia smiled and said, "I used to vomit because I was feeling disgusted. Now I don't think about those disgusting and filthy things anymore, so I can eat anything. There's no need to call a doctor."

Lu Jinshi reached out and grasped Princess Yongjia's wrist. "Sister, it would be more reassuring to have a royal physician examine you."

Lu Jinshi probed Princess Yongjia's wrist with his fingers for a while, and she quickly withdrew her fingers. Princess Yongjia's slippery pulse was already quite obvious.

She had been childless for six years, but now that she had seen Yuan Jie's true colors and was disgusted by him, she was pregnant. It was truly a cruel joke that Heaven had played on Princess Yongjia.

Princess Yongjia looked at Lu Jinshi's expression and said, "What's wrong with you? By the way, when I came to deliver your dowry today, I saw that people from the Yongxing Marquis's residence were also delivering dowries. Could it be that the Yongxing Marquis's residence is trying to take advantage of your dowry?"

Lu Jinshi didn't know how to tell Princess Yongjia that she was pregnant, so she first talked about the dowry, saying, "The He family of the Yongxing Marquis's mansion still thinks that He Jinlan will become the Seventh Prince's wife tomorrow."

Princess Yongjia was stunned and said, "What? The Seventh Prince's wife is clearly the eldest daughter of the He family, how could it be He Jinlan? Don't they realize that the Seventh Prince is the Emperor's most beloved youngest son? How could they possibly marry He Jinlan as his wife?"