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

Chapter 117 Reunion After Eighteen Years

Zichen Palace.

Lu Jinshi followed Lu Mingzhu inside and bowed to Emperor Huiyuan at the head of the table.

Emperor Huiyuan said, "No need for formalities, please rise."

Lu Mingzhu smiled at Emperor Huiyuan and said, "Your Majesty, Qin Zhao and I will be taking a boat back to Shanyin this evening."

Emperor Huiyuan was taken aback and said, "Are you going back to Shanyin so soon? Why not stay in Chang'an a few more days?"

Lu Mingzhu said, "There are still a lot of trivial matters to attend to at the academy. If it weren't for the busy academy, I wouldn't have been willing to let Jinshi come to Chang'an alone. It's really time for me to leave."

Emperor Huiyuan said, "Then you must take care on your journey. Who knows when we will meet again after this parting."

Lu Mingzhu knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I have one more request before I leave Chang'an."

Emperor Huiyuan smiled and said, "Just say what you want to say, why kneel?"

Lu Mingzhu said, "Your Majesty, Sister Rong has been with you for twenty years. Back then, you promised her the position of Empress. Now that she is a grandmother, why can't you give her the position of Empress?"

Emperor Huiyuan sighed and said, "It's not that I don't want to give it to her. I've wanted to give her the empress title countless times, and it's even caused deaths. All the court officials have opposed it. Miaomiao also proposed the empress title before, but the Consort was afraid it would affect Xiaoqi's marriage to Miaomiao. Then it was delayed because of Yongjia's marriage to Lu Xiao..."

Lu Mingzhu said, "It's not good to keep delaying like this. There's no better time than today. Why don't Your Majesty summon the Grand Chancellor to issue an edict today and bestow the title of Empress upon Sister Rong?"

Emperor Huiyuan said, "I need to discuss this matter with the Imperial Concubine..."

Lu Mingzhu said, "You know that Sister Rong will have reservations, so why bother asking the Imperial Concubine? She's probably afraid that another death will be involved and implicate the Seventh Prince..."

Emperor Huiyuan looked at Lu Mingzhu and said, "Someone, summon the Grand Secretary to an audience."

Lu Mingzhu kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Jinshi also quickly knelt down.

When Lu Jinshi accompanied Lu Mingzhu away from Zichen Palace, the sun was high in the sky and it was very hot.

Lu Mingzhu patted Lu Jinshi's hand and said, "You don't need to see Mother off, it's so hot."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "I'm not afraid of the heat. After this separation, I don't know when I'll be able to see you again, Mother."

Lu Mingzhu whispered, "His Majesty has made Consort Rong Empress. The court will probably not be very stable. Jinshi, you must be careful in the palace. Don't trust Rong Yi too easily. Men's hearts are the most unreliable in this world..."

Lu Jinshi nodded and said, "I understand. My only wish now is for my Zhang'er to grow up safely."

Lu Mingzhu smiled faintly and said, "If you have truly suffered any injustice in the palace, do not hide it from your mother..."

"Ah."

Lu Jinshi escorted Lu Mingzhu to the palace gate, where Rong Yi was already waiting for them outside the carriage.

The three of them went to Prince An's residence together.

At the Prince An's residence, Princess An prepared a farewell banquet to entertain Lu Mingzhu and Qin Zhao. After lunch, Lu Mingzhu packed her luggage and headed to the dock with Qin Zhao.

The group from Prince An's residence escorted them to the entrance of the residence.

Then they saw the guards of the Prince's Palace driving away a man.

"Go, go, go... Don't cause trouble at the Prince's mansion!"

"If you don't leave now, we'll have to use our weapons."

Lu Mingzhu looked at the man in the blue brocade robe in front of her, and she froze on the spot...

“Mingzhu…” He Tan saw Lu Mingzhu in the middle of the crowd and, ignoring the guards’ attempts to stop him, went up to Lu Mingzhu and said, “Mingzhu… Mingzhu!”

"Eighteen years... a full eighteen years..."

"You haven't changed much, you haven't changed much..."

He Tan looked at Lu Mingzhu with tears in his eyes. He stepped forward to hug Lu Mingzhu, but Qin Zhao blocked Lu Mingzhu's way. "Young Master He? No, you are no longer Young Master He... He Tan."

He Tan looked up at Qin Zhao in front of him, frowned and stared intently at Qin Zhao, saying, "Move aside."

Qin Zhao said, "Now that Princess Mingzhu is my wife, please be more considerate."

He Tan glared at Qin Zhao and said, "Get out of the way!"

Qin Ke scoffed from the side, "Who do you think you are to make my father move aside?"

Lu Mingzhu said slowly, "Qin Zhao, step aside."

Lu Jinshi, standing beside Rong Yi, frowned slightly upon hearing her mother's words. Could it be that her mother still harbored feelings for He Tan?
Although He Tan was her biological father, Lu Jinshi had already regarded Qin Zhao as her biological father in her heart. She regarded He Tan, who gave birth to her but did not raise her, as a stranger.

Lu Mingzhu looked at He Tan in front of her, raised her hand and slapped He Tan across the face. She stared at He Tan coldly and said, "I always thought that although you have wronged me, you are still Miaomiao's biological father. But what about you?"

Lu Mingzhu felt her hands go numb and burning as she said, "You just watched your parents scheme to marry my Miaomiao off to a disgraced playboy, He Tan, you are not worthy of being a human being!"

As Lu Mingzhu spoke, she slapped He Tan hard across the face again, "How could you do this to Miaomiao?"

He Tan lowered his eyes and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry to Miaomiao, but Mingzhu, I have no other choice..."

"I've waited eighteen years for this opportunity to bring about the destruction of my parents and Liu Xiuxiu. I can only sacrifice Miaomiao's marriage. Besides, I won't really let Miaomiao suffer. I will expose the imperial decree before Miaomiao marries Huang Teng..."

With tears in her eyes, He Tan looked at Lu Mingzhu and said, "Since we parted, I have thought of you every single day and missed you... I want revenge even more. They threatened to kill themselves and forced me to submit to their filial piety. I can bear the infamy of being unfilial, but what about you, Miaomiao? Are you going to let people talk behind your backs with me?"

He Tan couldn't help but tremble as he said, "I had no choice but to obey my filial duty. I just waited and waited for the day when they would get their comeuppance. Eighteen years, a full eighteen years, and finally their comeuppance came."

"Mingzhu... I'm sorry, I'm so incompetent. I couldn't protect you and Miaomiao..."

He Tan wept uncontrollably.

Lu Mingzhu was also in tears. Qin Zhao stepped forward and took Lu Mingzhu's hand, saying, "Mingzhu, we have to go to the dock. If we are any later, the ship may have to set sail."

With tears blurring her vision, Lu Mingzhu looked at He Tan and said, "I still have four years to go to Tianzhang Academy before I can return to Chang'an. During these four years, you must take good care of Miaomiao. If you let Miaomiao suffer even the slightest grievance, I will definitely take your life."

He Tan quickly replied, "I will definitely take good care of Miaomiao from now on."

“I don’t need him to take care of me,” Lu Jinshi said, strongly resisting.

So what if He Tan was forced back then? So what if he was drugged? Filial piety is important. If the old Marquis He and his wife could threaten suicide, why couldn't He Tan do the same?

He Tan's willingness to hurt his wife's feelings in order to uphold filial piety was nothing short of cowardice and incompetence.

Lu Mingzhu held Lu Jinshi's hand and said, "Come with me into the carriage."

Lu Jinshi followed Lu Mingzhu onto the carriage road: "Mother, how could you let He Tan take care of me? He's weak and incompetent, he abandoned you and me back then..."

Lu Mingzhu lowered her eyes and said, "Miaomiao, your mother was too stubborn back then. Being too stubborn is not good in this world. You must understand that your current status is not ordinary. The only people you can trust in this world are your blood relatives. He is your biological father. He would never harm you!"

"He's the one who wanted me to marry Huang Teng!"

“Wonderful,” Lu Mingzhu said, “I believe what he said…”

Lu Jinshi frowned and said, "Mother, do you still have feelings for him? How can you face Father like this?"