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

Chapter 126 Zhang'er's First Birthday Ceremony

Upon hearing the words of the Prince of Jin, the Princess Consort of Jin was unsure whether to be happy or resentful.

Her husband promised her that he would never have a concubine or bear children with another woman in this lifetime—something that countless women in the world dream of but can never obtain…

but……

Princess Consort of Jin looked up into Prince Jin's eyes and said, "Then all the effort you've put into court over the past five years has been wasted?"

Prince Jin said, “It’s not all for nothing. I am a prince, supported by the people. It is only right that I do things for the country and the people. If Xiao Qi can trust me in the future, I will still assist him in the court. If he can’t trust me, when Li’er is older, I will take you all over the Great Sheng country to see the scenery of our Great Sheng, and let Li’er stay in Chang’an as a hostage.”

Princess Jin bit her lower lip and threw herself into Prince Jin's arms, saying, "Your Highness... I still feel wronged for you. It's just that Father Emperor is too biased towards Xiao Qi."

Prince Jin laughed and said, "I've had enough of being wronged, and I don't want Li'er to suffer any more. Now, the only one left in the backyard is Master Qian's daughter. You brought her in, so after the autumn examination, find her a good family to marry into. Don't worry about these things for me anymore."

Princess Jin listened to Prince Jin's words and silently shed tears, "Your Highness..."

The Prince of Jin wiped away the tears of his wife and said, "Don't cry. It may not be a bad thing if I can't be the crown prince."

Princess Jin took a while to say, "If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have gone against Lu Jinshi in the first place. I've gone against her quite a bit before."

Prince Jin smiled and said, "I don't think Seventh Sister-in-law is a petty person. She is very good to our Li'er. Her academy has long stopped accepting male students, but she still took Li'er in. I think Li'er can recite several poems recently."

Princess Jin said, "It's Zhang'er's first birthday, so we must send him a very generous gift to show our sincerity."

The Prince of Jin nodded in agreement and said, "Yes."
-
Zhang'er's first birthday banquet was held in the Taiji Hall.

According to the rules of the Great Sheng Dynasty, only His Majesty's birthday banquet and His Highness the Crown Prince's first birthday banquet are held in the Taiji Hall. Today, the first birthday banquet of the little imperial grandson is also being held in the hall, which is an exception.

Early in the morning, Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi took Xiao Zhang'er to the ancestral temple to pay homage to the royal ancestors.

They went to the temple to pray for Zhang'er's well-being, and then went to the Taiji Hall.

Zhang'er was very well-behaved today. Perhaps it was the first time he had seen so many people flattering him, and he didn't cry or make a fuss.

Inside the main hall was a basket containing writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, an abacus, as well as gold, silver, jewelry, paintings, swords, and the like.

After Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi put Zhang'er down, they let Zhang'er climb into the basket.

After crawling on his hands and feet for a while, Xiao Zhang'er simply stood up, went into the basket, and picked up the gold ingot.

Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi exchanged a glance, speechless.

Little Zhang'er was very happy with the gold ingot. He ran back to Lu Jinshi and said, "Mother..."

Lu Jinshi took the little gold piece handed to her by Xiao Zhang'er and smiled helplessly. She had somewhat assumed that Xiao Zhang'er knew the book.

Lu Jinshi never expected that his youngest son would be such a money-grubber, grabbing a gold ingot at his first birthday celebration.

Lu Jinshi looked at Rong Yi, and Rong Yi glanced back at Lu Jinshi. He could already tell from Lu Jinshi's gaze that she was blaming him.

"Oh my, the little prince is so clever... He touched the gold, and now he has mountains of gold and silver, and his wealth and honor will never end."

The Princess Consort of Jin chuckled in the hall, “Gold is the true treasure of the world. I think Xiao Zhang’er will really like the birthday gift I gave him.”

Princess Jin opened the brocade box in front of her and took out a gold necklace about the thickness of a little finger, with a small gold lock hanging from the bottom.

When Zhang'er saw Princess Jin approaching with the gold necklace, her round eyes lit up. Lu Jinshi was momentarily unsure whether Princess Jin was genuinely praising Zhang'er and helping her out of an awkward situation by touching the gold, or if she was being sarcastic. Judging from Princess Jin's smile today, it seemed sincere.

Lu Jinshi accepted the gold necklace presented by the Princess of Jin. She almost dropped it when she held it in her hand, and tried her best to keep smiling as she said, "I thank my uncle and aunt on behalf of Zhang'er."

Princess Jin smiled faintly and said, "No need to be so polite."

Little Zhang'er, who was next to Lu Jinshi, wanted the gold tassel that Princess Jin had given her, but Lu Jinshi didn't give it to him. She didn't know if this Princess Jin had gone mad, or if she wanted to openly harm her own Zhang'er or something...

This gold necklace must weigh almost a pound. If a necklace weighing that much were worn around Zhang'er's neck, Zhang'er's neck would break.

This golden necklace is comparable to Nezha's Universe Ring.

When Zhang'er saw that Lu Jinshi refused to let him play with the gold necklace, he threw away the small gold ingot in his hand.

With small, shuffling legs, he walked briskly toward Emperor Huiyuan.

When Emperor Huiyuan saw Xiao Zhang'er approaching, he smiled and took a few steps forward, then picked Xiao Zhang'er up and said, "You little money-grubber, you're quite the expert at the first birthday celebration, grabbing the most precious gold ingot."

Xiao Zhang'er tugged at Emperor Huiyuan's hand, mumbling something indistinctly.

Lu Jinshi didn't understand, but he was also a little nervous for Zhang'er. Although the person at the head of the table was Zhang'er's own grandfather, he was still His Majesty.

Rong Yi took Lu Jinshi's hand and led her to sit down. Rong Yi didn't seem to have much concern for Zhang'er.

Holding his grandson, Emperor Huiyuan lost his usual majesty and said in a gentle voice, "What does Zhang'er want? Tell your grandfather..."

"Well, uh uh..."

Zhang'er still can't speak, and he gets anxious when he sees that no one can understand him.

Empress Rong, who was standing to the side, said with a smile, "Does Zhang'er want Your Majesty's golden seal? He loves playing with golden seals the most."

Emperor Huiyuan gestured to the eunuch to bring the golden seal and put it into the basket.

When Xiao Zhang'er saw the golden seal in the basket, he climbed over and took it in his hands to play with it.

Rong Yi smiled at Lu Jinshi and said, "I knew Zhang'er had never seen a gold ingot before. How could he like gold? It turns out he likes the gold seal..."

Lu Jinshi smiled along with him.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Huiyuan, sitting at the head of the table, laughed heartily and said, "This child is truly intelligent. It seems that my Great Sheng Empire has a worthy successor."

In the main hall, many officials who had come to the banquet came out to offer their congratulations.

"The young prince is clever and insightful, truly a son of the dragon and a grandson of the phoenix."

Lu Jinshi listened to everyone praising her son, and she quite liked it.

Halfway through the banquet, Princess Jin walked up to Lu Jinshi and said, "Seventh sister-in-law, why didn't you put the necklace I gave to Zhang'er on him? I think Zhang'er seems to like it very much."

Lu Jinshi looked at the Princess Consort of Jin who was approaching. Today, the Princess Consort of Jin was not as sarcastic as usual.

Princess Jin looked at Lu Jinshi and said, "Are you afraid that I will hurt Zhang'er? I am also a mother. I watched the craftsmen make this gift with my own eyes. It is not mixed with any fake gold. Seventh sister-in-law, please rest assured to put it on Zhang'er."