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

Chapter 158 A Family Banquet in the Palace
Rong Yi summoned Yuan Fei inside.

When Yuan Fei entered the study and saw Lu Jinshi sitting there, he was not surprised. Since Rong Yi took over the Eastern Palace, he had never avoided Lu Jinshi when summoning the ministers of the Eastern Palace to discuss government affairs.

Yuan Fei bowed and said, "Your Highness, Crown Princess."

Rong Yi asked, "What is it?"

Yuan Fei said, "Your Highness, a servant from my hometown of Zhangzhou reported that my elder brother, Yuan Jie, went to Zhangzhou and transferred all the Yuan family's troops away."

Lu Jinshi looked up at Yuan Fei.

Since the founding of the Great Sheng Dynasty, the founding nobles have all held military power. After several dynasties, some nobles' children and grandchildren have not become prominent, and their military power has gradually been taken over by the court. Now, there are not many nobles who still hold military power.

Even though they held military power, these noble families didn't have much control over their soldiers. Basically, these nobles only held the title of "armyman," while the actual military power was firmly in His Majesty's hands.

In addition to military power, nobles were allowed to maintain 5,000 soldiers in their ancestral homes, a special favor bestowed upon nobles by emperors throughout history.

This was also to ensure that these founding heroes could be renowned in their ancestral homes, thus demonstrating the emperor's boundless benevolence.

These soldiers were completely obedient to the noble families.

Although these 5,000 soldiers are not a large number, they are still a considerable force.

Lu Jinshi frowned and asked, "Why did Yuan Jie transfer the garrison troops?"

Rong Yi said, "Trying to cause trouble with the help of the local guards? I'm afraid that won't be easy."

Lu Jinshi felt a tightness in her temples; she felt a headache coming on.

Yuan Fei said, "I don't know either. I want to go back to my hometown of Zhangzhou to find out."

Rong Yi agreed, saying, "Alright, you must be careful in everything you do when you go to Zhangzhou."

"Yes," Yuan Fei replied.

After Yuan Fei left, Lu Jinshi looked up at Rong Yi and said, "I'm still a little uneasy because I haven't gotten rid of Consort Rong yet. She's not a kind person."

Consort Rong's greatest skill was her ruthlessness; she once used her own body to take revenge on the Emperor, controlled the court for many years, and almost succeeded in making Prince Jin the Crown Prince.

If the Prince of Jin hadn't voluntarily stepped down, Rong Yi and the Prince of Jin would have had quite a few days to compete for the position of crown prince.

Rong Yi nodded and said, "The order to arrest Consort Rong and Prince Qingshan has spread throughout the land. They probably won't be able to hide for long. Moreover, since Yuan Jie has transferred the palace guards, they will definitely make another move. Let's just wait and see."

Lu Jinshi reached out and wrapped her arms around Rong Yi's waist, leaning against him and saying, "I feel very uneasy."

Rong Yi chuckled and said, "Even with five thousand soldiers, Consort Rong can't cause any trouble. Don't worry. The New Year is coming soon, so just enjoy it in peace."

Lu Jinshi nodded and said, "Mm."

This year, he experienced far more major events than Lu Jinshi had in the previous twenty-two years.

I vividly remember first receiving news of my grandfather's serious illness and coming to Chang'an, then being looked down upon by Rong Yi and made a concubine, and later, after learning Rong Yi's true identity, having no choice but to marry him as a prince's wife, until the students passed the imperial examinations, Rong Yi became the crown prince, I became pregnant with my second child, and Rong Yi was stabbed...

In just one year, Lu Jinshi experienced far too much.

Lu Jinshi only hoped that there wouldn't be so much trouble next year, and also hoped that she could give birth to her daughter safely next year.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, a family banquet was held in the palace. Rong Yi had not spent the New Year in the palace for two or three years, and this year, apart from the deceased Third Prince, everyone was present.

The concubines who lived outside with their princes also entered the palace to attend the New Year's Eve family banquet.

Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi sat next to His Majesty and the Empress. When she saw Princess Yongjia and Lu Xiao carrying their daughter over, she smiled and took the little princess from Princess Yongjia's arms.

When Zhang'er saw Lu Jinshi holding another family's child, she pouted jealously and was about to cry.

Rong Yi held Zhang'er and said, "This is my own little sister. The one your mother is holding is your aunt and uncle's daughter. Don't cry."

Zhang'er sobbed softly.

Little Li'er came over to Zhang'er and said, "Little brother, be good and don't cry. I won't cry when my mother holds other little sisters."

Zhang'er now quite likes Li'er. Seeing his older brother comforting him, he went to play with him.

The Empress Dowager smiled gently and said, "Jinshi, Zhang'er is jealous and about to cry now because he sees you holding your little sister. I wonder if Zhang'er will be jealous after your little sister is born?"

Lu Jinshi was also a little worried. She was so focused on wanting both a son and a daughter that she forgot that when Zhang'er was two years old, he was the one who clung to his mother the most.

Rong Yi smiled and said, "Grandmother, rest assured, Jinshi and I will treat you equally so that Zhang'er will not feel that we are biased and will not be jealous."

Lu Jinshi held the little princess for a while, then returned her to Princess Yongjia.

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "This year, the royal family has welcomed two new children, and there is also a pregnant concubine in the Prince of Qi's residence. Next year, the royal family will surely be even more prosperous."

When Princess Qi heard that the concubine was pregnant, her expression changed, and she glared at Prince Qi resentfully.

King Qi stood up and said, "Grandmother is right, but I think that for the royal family to prosper, the Crown Prince should have more children. Right now, the Crown Prince has very few children."

Lu Jinshi glared helplessly at Prince Qi, thinking, "Things shouldn't happen more than three times!"
Whenever the King of Qi held a banquet, he would rise and suggest that Rong Yi select a concubine; this was the third time this had happened.

Rong Yi smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Sixth Brother. The Crown Prince now has Zhang'er, and Jinshi is also pregnant with another child. It is not really a case of having few offspring. I will not hold any more selections or take any more concubines."

King Qi said, "The matter of the Crown Prince's heir is of utmost importance. How can you not select concubines or take any concubines?"

Rong Yi said, "It's not that the Crown Prince's Palace is without offspring. Instead of worrying about my harem, Sixth Brother, it would be more important to let the Qi Prince's Mansion have more children."

King Qi then turned to Emperor Huiyuan and said, "Father!"

Emperor Huiyuan said, "Miaomiao and your seventh brother are still young. In the future, the Crown Prince may not only have two children. As a prince, you should be concerned about important matters of the court and the people's livelihood, not about your seventh brother's affairs in the harem. You are also two years older than your seventh brother. Why should a man keep an eye on other people's offspring every day?"

After being reprimanded, King Qi had no choice but to obediently sit down.

Princess Qi said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Don't you know who the Crown Princess's mother is? She divorced her husband because he took a concubine. How could her daughter allow her husband to take a concubine? It's a pity I don't have a mother like that."

The King of Qi lowered his voice and scolded, "That's enough! How long have you been arguing with me over a concubine's pregnancy? Among the brothers, only the eldest and seventh brothers don't have concubines."

Princess Qi gave a soft snort, picked up a cup of wine and drank it, feeling a deep bitterness in her heart.

Looking at Princess Qi's expression from across the room, Lu Jinshi couldn't help but sigh. Although Princess Qi was her sister-in-law, she was actually two years younger than Rong Yi.

Look at this King Qi, he must care about his Queen Consort, but even if he does care, he still can't change his nature of having multiple wives and concubines.