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

What exactly is the reason behind Chapter 121?

Emperor Huiyuan, sitting at the head of the table, frowned and said, "It was I who permitted Prince An to bring a whip to court."

Huang Liu, who had been struck by the whip, felt excruciating pain. He forced himself to stand up and said, "Your Majesty, I really cannot stand by and watch you commit such a grave mistake. I implore Your Majesty to rescind the decree to make you empress."

"Your Majesty, we humbly request that you rescind the decree appointing an empress!"

Emperor Huiyuan swept his cold gaze over the civil officials and said, "You say that Consort Rong is my former sister-in-law and that she has corrupted the moral order. But when she met me, she was no longer the Princess Consort of Zheng. She had already divorced Prince Zheng two years earlier, and they had parted ways and had no further connection. How can she be shameful or have made a mistake?"

"My mind is made up. From this moment on, the Empress will be Rong Shuang, the birth mother of the Seventh Prince."

The Prince of Yan's gaze swept over Liang Wen. When Liang Wen met the Prince of Yan's eyes, he slowly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to consider the well-being of the people. If the royal family violates the principles of morality and ethics in this way, and the people follow suit, it will truly be a collapse of propriety and music. I cannot stand by and watch the Great Sheng Dynasty collapse. I am willing to die to beg Your Majesty to rescind your order!"

Liang Wen was so close to the pillar that Prince An's whip couldn't reach him.

Liang Wen slammed his head against a pillar in the main hall and fell straight down.

When Lu Jinshi saw Liang Wen fall down, he couldn't help but frown. Why would Liang Wen be so determined to commit suicide?

Lu Jinshi was genuinely puzzled.

"Lord Liang."

"Scholar Liang..."

The Prince of Yan walked up to Liang Wen, reached out and checked Liang Wen's breath, saying, "Father, Grand Secretary Liang is dead! He risked his life to persuade you to rescind the appointment of the Empress, which was truly out of loyalty. I beg you, Father, do not let Grand Secretary Liang die with his eyes open!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jinshi frowned, recalling Liang Wen's frail and suffering appearance back then. Her senior brother Liang had only enjoyed twelve years of good life.

During Liang Wen's most difficult time, he even had to pick up discarded paper. Unable to afford pen and ink, he could only practice calligraphy on the ground.

Liang Wen had endured countless hardships before finally becoming a Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, enjoying wealth and honor. He also had sons and daughters. Why would he be willing to sacrifice his life just because His Majesty refused to appoint an empress?

Lu Jinshi didn't know what benefits the Prince of Yan's henchmen had promised Liang Wen, that Liang Wen would even risk his life for him.

"Your Majesty, what Grand Secretary Liang said makes sense. If you disregard the established order and insist on making your sister-in-law Empress, then if everyone in the world follows suit, it will surely lead to the collapse of morality and order. I beg Your Majesty not to let Grand Secretary Liang die with his eyes open in disgrace!"

"We cannot let Grand Secretary Liang die with his eyes wide open in disgrace!"

Lu Jinshi looked at Jiang Yin, who stood up and said, "You treacherous officials are quite good at talking nonsense. What kind of empress Rong is the emperor's sister-in-law? The laws of the Great Sheng clearly stipulate that divorce and separation are unrelated. What are your intentions in insisting on calling Empress Rong the emperor's sister-in-law?"

Jiang Yin said, "I am also willing to die to protect Your Majesty in establishing an empress."

Jiang Yin stepped forward to a guard, drew the guard's knife, and stabbed it viciously into his waist!
"Jiang Yin, my son!" Marquis Wu'an rushed forward to protect Jiang Yin. "My son, you have just been engaged to Miss Xu, and you have not yet given our family a bloodline..."

Jiang Yin said, "Father, these treacherous officials are now able to pressure His Majesty so much in the court. I cannot stand by and watch them rebel. I will protect His Majesty's imperial power with my life..."

Marquis Wu'an glared at the kneeling civil officials and said, "You keep talking about the fundamental principles of morality and ethics, but what are these principles? The ruler is the guide for the subjects! The ruler is the guide for the subjects, yet you dare to remonstrate with your lives, even seeking death. It's utterly ridiculous! His Majesty's investiture of the Empress is perfectly justified!" Rong Yi walked up to Jiang Yin and said, "Father, Jiang Yin is the one who is truly loyal..."

"I beg Your Majesty to grant Jiang Yin's request..."

Emperor Huiyuan glared at the kneeling civil officials and said, "Do you want to see a few more people die before you're satisfied? I'm not here to discuss this with you today, but to announce to the world that Rong Shuang, the mother of the Seventh Prince, is my Empress. There will be no room for argument. Huang Liu, since you, the Grand Secretary, are unwilling to issue an edict, then I will dismiss you from your position today and appoint Gu Lai as the new Grand Secretary. Court adjourned!"

"Father!" the Prince of Yan hurriedly said, "Father, aren't you afraid that if the world knew that you forced a loyal minister to his death for the sake of a woman, it would chill the hearts of scholars throughout the land?"

Lu Jinshi continued, "Father, Jiang Yin was willing to die to protect your imperial power. Everyone can tell who is loyal and who is treacherous."

Lu Jinshi then looked at the Prince of Yan and said, "Prince of Yan, once His Majesty retracts his decree, he will not even have the power to appoint an empress. It is because the military generals are incompetent and have failed to protect His Majesty's imperial power. They will all die... It will only discourage the generals and soldiers of the world."

Anyone can threaten suicide, and since the Prince of Yan was so righteous and threatened to kill himself, they could retaliate in kind.

The Prince of Yan frowned and glared at Lu Jinshi, saying, "This is the main hall. How dare you, a woman, enter the main hall, Seventh Brother's wife?"

Lu Jinshi said, “So what if she is a woman? The matter of choosing an empress is a matter of state and family. It is you, Third Brother, who keeps talking about etiquette and moral principles. As a son of a concubine, you are interfering in your father’s marriage to a principal wife and you are opposing it at every turn. If word gets out, you are violating moral principles and being disloyal and unfilial!”

Even uneducated elders in the countryside know that what's meant to rain is meant to rain, and what's meant to happen will happen; no one can stop a mother from remarrying. It's a wonder my third brother is educated; he dares to disrespect even the principles of "the ruler is the guide for the subject" and "the father is the guide for the son!"

The King of Yan was so angry that he trembled.

Emperor Huiyuan, seated at the head of the table, said, "I cannot discourage the noble families, military generals, and other powerful figures. No one is allowed to have any further objections to the matter of the empress's investiture. Court adjourned!"

"Father..."

Emperor Huiyuan looked at the Prince of Yan and said, "Third son, did you just ignore what your seventh sister-in-law said? I will not punish you for your disloyalty and filial impiety, but you have repeatedly gone too far. So I will grant your wish and strip you of your title of prince and demote you to the Prince of Yan... If you dare to be disloyal and filial again, you will be demoted to a commoner."

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Yan frowned deeply. He clenched his fists, the veins on the back of his hands bulging, concealing the viciousness in his eyes.

After Emperor Huiyuan left, the Prince of Yan approached Rong Yi and, seeing Jiang Yin in Rong Yi's arms, said, "Exchanging Jiang Yin's life for his own isn't a bad deal."

After saying this, the King of Yan turned and left the hall.

After everyone had dispersed, only Wu Ke walked up to the eunuchs carrying Liang Wen's body, gave them some silver, and said, "I'll take care of this junior brother Liang's body."

"Yes……"

Wu Ke placed Liang Wen's body on his back, his eyes straining to hold back tears.

Seeing this, Lu Jinshi slowly walked to their side. The senior brother who had just spoken to him was now dead...

"Senior Brother, what are your and Senior Brother Liang's reasons for doing this? Why are you so willing to risk Senior Brother Liang's life?"

Wu Ke said, "Junior sister, we have no ulterior motives. We are only thinking of His Majesty's reputation."