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

Chapter 6 Meeting the Saint
Lu Jinshi was preoccupied with the matter of the imperial marriage decree. After bidding farewell to the Prince An's residence, he planned to go to the palace to see the emperor.

The palace walls are majestic, and the palace gates are heavily guarded.

Lu Jinshi handed the jade pendant from the Prince An's mansion, which his aunt had just given him, to the guard in front of him and said, "Sir, I am the daughter of Princess Mingzhu. Please go and inform His Majesty that Lu Jinshi requests an audience with His Majesty."

Upon seeing the token of the Prince An's Mansion in Lu Jinshi's hand, the guard said, "Wait here."

Lu Jinshi nodded slightly. Although they were separated by thousands of miles, her mother and Chang'an often corresponded. His Majesty had not mentioned in his letters that she should be engaged to the Seventh Prince.

However, upon careful consideration, Lu Jinshi realized that perhaps the imperial decree of marriage had not yet arrived when he left Jiangnan, and the He family must have sent him to Chang'an as soon as they received it.

In the Zichen Palace.

Emperor Huiyuan frowned in anger, rebuking the young man below: "I sent you to Jiangnan to study so that you could learn and understand reason. But you, instead of studying properly, have been indulging in lust and have even gotten pregnant! Pregnant out of wedlock, you have disgraced the royal family. Do you know your place? How dare you let a commoner woman give birth to your eldest son?"

Rong Yi lowered his head, not daring to refute. He had indeed been lusting after the woman, after all, Lu Jinshi was truly stunning.

Thinking back to yesterday when he wanted her to be his concubine, even though her eyebrows were slightly furrowed and her face showed displeasure, her face was still extremely beautiful.

The Imperial Noble Consort smiled faintly and said, "Your Majesty, he is not young anymore. It is something to be happy about for you to have a grandson."

"Yi'er, when will you bring your grandson into the palace for us to see?"

Rong Yi said in a low voice, "The child's mother doesn't know my identity yet. She's a little angry with me for making her my concubine."

Emperor Huiyuan said angrily, "She doesn't want to be a concubine, does she want to be your principal wife? Pregnant out of wedlock, shameless, such a woman is far from worthy of being your secondary wife, isn't being a concubine enough?"

Rong Yi thought that Lu Jinshi did indeed want the position of the principal wife, but it would be extremely difficult to give her that position.

Rong Yi sighed softly, "Father, she did give birth to my eldest son after all. For the sake of the child, she should indeed be given the position of a concubine."

Emperor Huiyuan frowned and said, "Bring that woman into the palace for your mother to see, and then we can discuss it further."

Rong Yi replied, "Yes, Father. Then I shall take my leave."

Emperor Huiyuan watched Rong Yi's retreating figure and said angrily, "I shouldn't have let him go to Jiangnan to study alone. He studied and studied, and now he's produced a child."

The Imperial Noble Consort comforted Emperor Huiyuan, saying, "Yi'er is not young after all. He will be twenty this time next year for his coming-of-age ceremony. It is not a problem for him to have a child at this age."

Emperor Huiyuan was in a bad mood when a eunuch rushed in to report: "Your Majesty, the daughter of Princess Mingzhu has come to pay her respects."

Emperor Huiyuan chuckled, "Miaomiao has arrived in Chang'an? Quickly, let her in."

Seeing the smile on Emperor Huiyuan's face, the Imperial Noble Consort took a sip of tea.

Lu Jinshi followed the eunuch towards the Zichen Palace. She glanced at the palace scenery out of the corner of her eye. In February, many flowers were already about to bloom.

Lu Jinshi met Emperor Huiyuan five years ago at her coming-of-age ceremony. At that time, Emperor Huiyuan made a southern tour to Jiangnan. In the blink of an eye, six years have passed.

Lu Jinshi entered the Zichen Palace and respectfully knelt before Emperor Huiyuan, saying, "Your subject Lu Jinshi greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years."

"No need for formalities, rise," Emperor Huiyuan said. "Get up quickly."

Lu Jinshi stood up and looked at Emperor Huiyuan. He hadn't changed much from six years ago. Lu Jinshi then looked at the woman beside the emperor.

Perhaps it was because she had been away from Zhang'er for some time, but she felt that the empress beside His Majesty bore a resemblance to Zhang'er.

Emperor Huiyuan chuckled and said, "It's been six years. Miaomiao has grown even more beautiful. How are your mother and father?"

Lu Jinshi replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My mother and father are both well. However, the students my father has been teaching for several years will be taking the imperial examinations next year, so they haven't been able to come and pay their respects to Your Majesty." Emperor Huiyuan asked, "Have you visited the old Marquis He?"

Lu Jinshi nodded slightly and said, "I already went to see him just now."

Emperor Huiyuan smiled and said, "Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager has gone to a Taoist temple for quiet cultivation and will not return until some time before her birthday. The Empress Dowager will surely be delighted to hear that you have come to Chang'an."

Lu Jinshi said, "Your Majesty, I came here today because my aunt told me that you have bestowed a marriage upon me?"

Emperor Huiyuan stroked his beard and said, "Your mother wrote in her letter that you have a reputation for being a jinx and that your marriage will be difficult. That is all nonsense. When you were born, the drought in Chang'an was relieved and rain fell everywhere. It can be seen that you are a blessed person. I intend to make you my daughter-in-law and marry my seventh son."

Lu Jinshi lowered her head and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I cannot marry the Seventh Prince."

Emperor Huiyuan frowned and said, "What? You look down on the Seventh Prince?"

Lu Jinshi shook his head and said, "No, it's just that although I am not married, I already have a child."

Being pregnant out of wedlock is shameful, Lu Jinshi only dared to say it softly.

When Lu Jinshi saw Emperor Huiyuan's expression change, he quickly explained, "Your Majesty, two years ago, I was ridiculed because of my difficulty in finding a husband. I thought that instead of finding a good husband, I might as well find a handsome young scholar to borrow a child from, so that the father could leave and the son could stay."

The Imperial Noble Consort put down her teacup and said, "As expected of Princess Mingzhu's daughter, this idea is truly... ingenious."

The Imperial Noble Consort thought for a long time before changing "shocking" to "unique".

His Majesty said, "That's good. If a woman is pregnant out of wedlock, she can leave the father and keep the child. It's more comforting to have her own child, saving her from having to serve her husband's whole family and being mistreated."

The Imperial Noble Consort looked at Emperor Huiyuan with a head full of questions. Just now, Emperor Huiyuan had been scolding Rong Yi for being pregnant out of wedlock, saying that he had disgraced the royal family, and also scolding Rong Yi's lover for being shameless.

How come when Lu Jinshi became pregnant out of wedlock, she became a caring person who didn't have to be tormented?
Emperor Huiyuan chuckled and asked, "Have you brought your child to Chang'an?"

Lu Jinshi nodded and said, "I brought him to Chang'an. I'll show him to His Majesty another day. His name is Lu Zhang, and he's very well-behaved and adorable."

Emperor Huiyuan said, "Very well."

Lu Jinshi chatted with Emperor Huiyuan for a while longer. Emperor Huiyuan inquired about some matters concerning Tianzhang Academy, and Lu Jinshi answered them one by one. At noon, she took her leave.

The carriage came to a stop at the entrance of East Street.

After Lu Jinshi got off the carriage, he saw Rong Yi standing at the door of the house.

Lu Jinshi frowned and looked at Rong Yi, saying, "I told you not to appear in front of me again."

Rong Yi said, "Jin'er, I went to see my parents today. My mother wants to see Zhang'er. Let me take Zhang'er to appease my parents first. Perhaps my father will agree to let you be my concubine..."

Before Rong Yi could finish speaking, Lu Jinshi was about to slap him again, but this time Rong Yi dodged it.

Rong Yi looked at Lu Jinshi and said, "Jin'er, it's not that I want you to be my concubine, but our family is very large and I have several older brothers. I can't disobey my father and make you my principal wife. But even if you are only a concubine, I will not mistreat you and your child."

When Lu Jinshi saw Rong Yi's stunningly handsome face, she said, "You may be good-looking, but you shouldn't be so arrogant. Move aside and don't block my way."

Rong Yi stopped Lu Jinshi and said, "Jin'er, let's talk alone. Once you know my identity, you won't feel that I treated you unfairly by making you my concubine."

Lu Jinshi scoffed, "Status? Even if you were a prince or a descendant of the dragon, I would never be your concubine!"

(End of this chapter)