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

Chapter 159 The Magic Troupe
After the family dinner.

When Lu Jinshi saw Princess Qi strolling alone in the palace garden, he stepped forward and said, "Sixth Princess Consort."

Princess Qi looked at Lu Jinshi and smiled, "Crown Princess, it was my Prince Qi who was offended just now. You shouldn't bother with such a fool."

Lu Jinshi smiled faintly and said, "Of course I won't hold a grudge against my sixth brother. Ever since the day my sister Yongjia got married, I haven't seen you, sister-in-law, and you seem to be depressed. I wonder if... what's on your mind?"

Princess Qi was surprised by Lu Jinshi's question. She sighed and said, "It's nothing more than matters between husband and wife. Sometimes I envy you. You have a mother who is bold enough not to allow her husband to take concubines. Your husband also knows your mother's principles. Unlike me, my father and brothers all have a bunch of concubines... So I can only watch helplessly as my husband takes concubines and secondary wives. Sigh!"

Lu Jinshi felt a pang of sympathy for Princess Qi: "Sixth Princess, if you also cannot tolerate your Sixth Brother taking a concubine, I can help you get a divorce..."

Princess Qi shook her head and said, "That's not necessary. It's just that all men in this world are like this, except for my elder brother and His Highness the Crown Prince. Sometimes I envy my elder sister-in-law. She was taught by her family to be virtuous from a young age. After she got married, many families arranged concubines and secondary wives for my elder brother, but he didn't want any of them. The only one he allowed to enter the family was the daughter of Master Qian. It was only because my elder sister-in-law forced him that she agreed to let her in."

Princess Qi sighed and said, "The reason why Prince Qi always wants the Crown Prince to hold a selection of concubines is just to find an excuse for him to have multiple wives and concubines."

Lu Jinshi thought that Rong Yi's guess last time was correct, so she could only comfort Princess Qi, saying, "Actually, it's obvious that the Sixth Prince cares about you. If he didn't care about you, he wouldn't have used this as an excuse."

Lu Jinshi himself found it somewhat amusing to say those words of advice.

Princess Qi said, "If she truly cared about me, why would she allow a concubine to become pregnant? Alas, thank you, Crown Princess, for coming to comfort me."

Lu Jinshi didn't know how to persuade her, so he could only watch as Princess Qi walked away.

Rong Yi walked over to Lu Jinshi and draped his cloak over Lu Jinshi, saying, "It's so cold outside, you should go back to the East Palace."

Lu Jinshi said, "This sixth princess is also pitiful. She and the sixth prince clearly have feelings for each other, but now they have become entangled in their hearts because of the concubine."

Rong Yi said, "Sixth Brother deserves it."

Lu Jinshi said, "Sixth sister-in-law, I'm afraid this knot in her heart will be hard to untie. They are clearly a loving couple, but the man just doesn't cherish the one he loves."

Rong Yi said, "That's what I mean."

Lu Jinshi looked up at Rong Yi.

Rong Yi was terrified that she would bring up old grievances, so he quickly said, "It's too cold, and my wound is aching again."

Seeing Rong Yi using a self-inflicted injury as a pretext, Lu Jinshi didn't know what to say. After all, he had already gone through a near-death experience for her sake, so she decided not to bring up the past.

After the eve of the Lunar New Year, the court granted a long holiday, and all officials except those on duty could rest until the eighteenth day of the first lunar month.

The annual rewards for the Crown Prince have also been distributed.

Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi had a rare moment of free time, so they played with Zhang'er together, wrote Spring Festival couplets, and cut paper-cuts. Today's New Year was quite relaxing and lively.

Last year, Zhang'er was still an infant, but this year he can already walk. Qi Li gave Zhang'er some small firecrackers, and Zhang'er was quite bold, letting the eunuchs help him set off the firecrackers one by one, without being afraid at all.

When Lu Jinshi saw that Zhang'er had so many firecrackers hidden in her clothes, he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.

When Lu Jinshi learned that it was Qi Li who gave it to Zhang'er on the eve of the Lunar New Year last time, he didn't say anything. However, Qi Li was severely beaten with ten strokes of the cane by the Princess of Jin.

Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi then went to the Prince of Jin's residence to visit little Qi Li, who was lying on the bed. When little Qi Li saw Lu Jinshi, she cried and said, "Auntie, I don't want my mother anymore, waaaah."

Lu Jinshi chuckled and said, "Your mother is beating you for your own good. How could you secretly give these firecrackers to your younger brother? What if he bites them?"

Seeing that Lu Jinshi wasn't helping him, Qi Li just kept sobbing.

Princess Jin, standing to the side, couldn't help but sigh with a headache, saying, "This child, Crown Princess, Your Highness, I truly have no idea where he found these firecrackers, let alone so many..."

Qi Li said, "I was picked up from a magic troupe. Recently, a particularly wonderful magic troupe has appeared in Chang'an. They set off firecrackers for people to watch. I saw some children picking up unlit firecrackers, so I picked them up too. I only gave the firecrackers I had painstakingly picked up to my brother because I like him. But you hit me. I feel so wronged."

As Xiao Qili spoke, she started crying again.

Lu Jinshi smiled and comforted him, "I know you love your younger brother, but these firecrackers are indeed dangerous, and you can't play with them. When you're ten years older, your brother will be all grown up, and then you can play with him together."

Xiao Qili then wiped away her tears.

After Rong Yi and Lu Jinshi left the Prince of Jin's residence, Lu Jinshi said to Rong Yi, "Should we go and see the magic troupe that Xiao Qili mentioned? I haven't seen a magic troupe since I was a child."

Rong Yi smiled and said, "Okay."

The New Year celebrations in Chang'an were very lively. People from all over the world knew that everyone in Chang'an would rest during the New Year, so people from foreign lands would come to Chang'an to set up stalls and sell novelties. There were also some opera troupes that came to perform.

There are many acrobatic troupes and magic troupes performing on the streets.

To attract people, they always start by setting off firecrackers to draw them in.

Rong Yi and Lu Jinshi walked a short distance and saw a large crowd gathered around a magic troupe.

Rong Yi went to a nearby teahouse with a second floor and sat down. Looking down, he could see a magic troupe performing.

The leading man performed a skillful magic trick, and the beans in the three bowls always surprised the audience.

"That's some skillful hands," Lu Jinshi praised sincerely. "This magic troupe is quite novel. We could have them perform at the Lantern Festival banquet."

Rong Yi said, "People outside the palace don't know their origins, so it's best not to let them into the palace."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "Then on the first day of the month, we'll bring Xiao Zhang'er out to see this magic show."

"Okay." Rong Yi agreed, taking a sip of tea, only to find that his right eyelid was twitching quite badly.

The magic troupe below was full of tricks, and Lu Jinshi didn't even know what kind of technique it was to make a white snake appear out of thin air under a handkerchief.

"Good, good, good!"

As Lu Jinshi watched the cheers from below, he recognized a familiar voice. He immediately recognized the man cheering, "It's Rong Lang. He's finally back. He didn't even come back for our wedding."

Rong Yi looked at his cousin and said coldly, "Zhang'er called him 'Father' for the first time. He was afraid I would blame him, so he left Chang'an and only came back for the New Year."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "You deserve it. Who told you to let Rong Lang impersonate you in the first place?"