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

Chapter 157 Yongjia Gives Birth to a Daughter
The downfall of a number of high-ranking officials in the imperial court and the closure of Guiyuan Temple have become the biggest talking points in Chang'an recently.

Officials in Chang'an were all on edge, since the fallen officials were well-liked in the court and other officials were afraid of being implicated.

By the end of December, Rong Yi's injuries had completely healed, and he had returned to normal.

Lu Jinshi's belly gradually grew quite a bit. Lu Jinshi was hoping that the child in her womb would be a daughter, but everyone who saw her said that she was the little prince's grandson, which made Lu Jinshi a little annoyed.

In the twelfth lunar month, the Lu family of Prince An's mansion welcomed a great joy: Princess Yongjia was about to give birth.

Having received the news, Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi went to the Prince An's residence together from the Eastern Palace.

Lu Jinshi had already given birth once, but when she heard Princess Yongjia's cries of pain in the delivery room, she couldn't help but worry about the pain she would experience while giving birth.

In the courtyard, Lu Xiao paced anxiously back and forth.

Rong Yi, speaking from experience, advised Lu Xiao, "Walking around won't do any good. You might as well stand quietly for a while."

Lu Xiao said, "It's not your wife giving birth inside, so of course you're not nervous!"

Rong Yi scoffed lightly and said, "Although she is not my wife, she is still my sister. How could I not be nervous?"

Lu Jinshi smiled at Lu Xiao and said, "Don't mind His Highness. He was also extremely nervous when I gave birth to Zhang'er."

Inside the house, Princess Yongjia's shouts could be heard continuously. Then, a sparrow chirped in the tree outside, followed by the sound of a baby crying.

Lu Xiao hurriedly went inside, but was stopped outside by the nanny next to Princess Yongjia.

After a while, Princess An came out with a smile, carrying a swaddled baby.

Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi also went to the door to look at the red-faced baby. Although the baby was a little red, upon closer inspection, it was clear that the child had inherited the beauty of his parents. Even as a baby, his stunning appearance was evident.

When Lu Xiao saw the child that Princess An brought out, he stood there stunned and said, "Why is this child so ugly? Is it a boy or a girl?"

Princess An gave Lu Xiao a reproachful look and said, "How dare you say such a beautiful baby is ugly? Aren't you afraid the princess will scold you!"

Lu Jinshi asked, "Aunt, is it a girl or a boy?"

Princess An chuckled and said, "It's a young lady."

Lu Jinshi then reached out and said, "Let me hold the little princess."

Princess An carefully handed her granddaughter to Lu Jinshi.

Lu Jinshi took the child and smiled at Rong Yi, saying, "It's been so long since I've held such a small child..."

When Zhang'er was born, neither Lu Jinshi nor Rong Yi dared to hold him. Fortunately, there was a wet nurse. Zhang'er was born in the hottest month of July, so he couldn't be swaddled. The soft and cuddly little baby seemed delicate and boneless.

Princess Yongjia was still wrapped in swaddling clothes, but Lu Jinshi felt safe holding her in his arms.

"Such beautiful eyes."

Rong Yi stepped forward and smiled, "I think this child's eyes are somewhat similar to my father's."

Princess An smiled and said, "If this child can grow up to resemble His Majesty, it would truly be a blessing for the child."

Looking at her soft, cuddly daughter in her arms, Lu Jinshi's eyes were filled with envy. Perhaps it was because people said that she was carrying more boys than girls, but now Lu Jinshi was even more eager for her daughter.

Lu Xiao watched as Lu Jinshi held the baby girl tightly, and when she got tired, Lu Jinshi handed the child to Rong Yi.

Lu Xiao couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Can I carry you now?"

Rong Yi smiled and handed his little niece to Lu Xiao, "Aunt, Jinshi and I will return to the palace to report the good news first." Princess An curtsied and said, "Respectfully seeing Your Highness off."

After returning to the palace hand in hand with Rong Yi, Lu Jinshi went to Shou Kang Palace first.

When the Empress Dowager saw Lu Jinshi arrive with his companion, she asked Rong Yi, "How is Yongjia?"

Lu Jinshi bowed and said, "Grandmother, my sister has safely given birth to a daughter."

The Empress Dowager couldn't help but sigh and said, "It's my daughter..."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "Grandmother, what is wrong with your daughter?"

The Empress Dowager said, "Yongjia had not conceived for the previous six years. This pregnancy was hard-won. If it were a boy, she would not have to suffer in the future. Unfortunately, it is a girl. Lu Xiao is the only son of the Prince of An's mansion. In the future, he will need to have another son to continue the bloodline of the Prince of An's mansion. My Yongjia will have to suffer again."

Lu Jinshi said, "Grandmother, the child born to Princess Yongjia, whether male or female, is of utmost nobility. If we raise this girl well in the future, she may be able to continue the bloodline of the royal family. At that time, we can find a husband who will marry into the family, or we can follow my example and leave the father and keep the son."

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Do you think all women in this world are as audacious as you?"

Lu Jinshi said, "My sister's daughter is not only the daughter of my Lu family, but also His Majesty's niece. Why can't she be 'outrageous'?"

The Empress Dowager smiled indulgently and said, "It's because I spoiled your mother in the past that you are more daring than your mother. But that's true, after all, it has allowed Yongjia to have a bloodline to survive."
-
Inside the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

When Madam Yuan learned of the widespread rumors about the birth of a little princess at the Prince An's mansion, she couldn't help but sigh. If Yuan Jie hadn't been so muddle-headed, this granddaughter should have belonged to their Yuan family.

Yuan Jie used to insist on keeping mistresses, but in the end, he wished they were dead.

Yuan Fei walked to Madam Yuan's side and said, "Mother."

"Fei'er, you and Lu Xiao are good friends, so just send some gifts to the Prince An's Mansion in your own name. It will be considered that our Yuan family has sent a gift. We are not afraid that the Lu family will return it and make us look bad."

Yuan Fei said, "Mother, I have an important matter to discuss with you. The guards at our old residence have been requisitioned!"

Madam Yuan hummed in agreement and said, "The palace guards were mobilized by someone?"

Yuan Fei nodded and said, "Yes, the messenger said that my elder brother went to mobilize troops with the military tally."

Madam Yuan frowned and said, "Isn't your eldest brother imprisoned in the mansion?"

Yuan Fei said, "I just went to check, and it turns out that my elder brother left the courtyard a month ago."

Madam Yuan asked in shock, "Why is your elder brother mobilizing the palace troops?"

"He mustn't do anything foolish. You should go to the palace quickly and inform His Highness the Crown Prince about this."

"Yes," Yuan Fei replied.

It's already December, and the New Year is just around the corner. The Eastern Palace has been exceptionally busy lately, with all sorts of accounts needing to be settled.

After returning from the Prince An's residence, Lu Jinshi never left the palace. The affairs of the academy were handled by Caiyun, Yunfeng, and Banxia who came to the East Palace to ask her to deal with them, because the accounts and general affairs of the East Palace had to be sorted out by the end of the year.

Lu Jinshi was indeed less adept at accounting than at studying. Fortunately, Banxia taught him a method: using some numerical symbols to replace "one," "two," "three," and "four," which made it much easier to understand.

I heard that these are symbols brought from India by Persian merchants.

Rong Yi looked at the symbols on Lu Jinshi's ledger and asked, "What do these symbols mean?"

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "The symbol that replaces the numbers one, two, three, and four was taught to me by Banxia. With this symbol, accounting becomes much easier and clearer."

Rong Yi couldn't help but smile. As the two were talking, a palace attendant came to report that Yuan Fei requested an audience.