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

Chapter 161 Chaos in Chang'an on the Lantern Festival

On the first day of the month, Fengkun Palace was filled with joy and happiness.

Lu Jinshi only started to miss her mother after returning to the East Palace. This was the first time since she was born that she had spent the New Year without her mother by her side, and she couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

Rong Yi sensed Lu Jinshi's thoughts and pulled her into his arms, saying, "In two years, after Mother finishes her work at Tianzhang Academy, she can come back and celebrate the New Year with us."

Lu Jinshi nodded and said, "Mm."

During the rare Chinese New Year holiday, both Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi had some free time, so they studied the books in the Eastern Palace.

Seeing that his parents were reading, Xiao Zhang'er obediently sat aside and flipped through the storybooks that children love to read. Lu Jinshi didn't know if Xiao Zhang'er could understand them.

Easy days always pass too quickly, and before you know it, the Lantern Festival is almost here.

Lu Jinshi called Banxia, ​​Caiyun, and Yunfeng to the palace to discuss the opening of the girls' school next year.

After the New Year, Lu Jinshi's belly will only get bigger and bigger, making it difficult for her to travel back and forth between the academy.

I can only trouble Banxia and Caiyun to manage the affairs of the academy.

This was Lu Jinshi's first time attending the Lantern Festival in Chang'an. He had previously heard his mother say that the Lantern Festival in the Chang'an Palace was exceptionally lively.

Lu Jinshi was also looking forward to the Lantern Festival banquet in the palace this year. She went to Fengkun Palace early to help Empress Rong with the affairs of the Lantern Festival banquet.

Although Empress Rong was not the empress before, she had served as the Imperial Noble Consort for eighteen years. She was very familiar with palace banquets and taught Lu Jinshi with great care.

Lu Jinshi humbly sought advice.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, the Tiger Garden, a royal garden outside the palace, was filled with lanterns. This year's Lantern Festival banquet was held in the royal garden outside the palace, and the performance was different from previous years, taking place on a boat on the lake.

During the day, all kinds of lanterns were already placed on the boat, waiting for the palace banquet to begin at nightfall so that the lanterns could be lit.

Looking at the exquisitely crafted lanterns in the lake, Lu Jinshi was quite impressed. The capital city was indeed the capital city. No wonder his mother thought the Lantern Festival in Yuezhou City was just ordinary.

As night slowly fell, high-ranking officials of the third rank or above in the imperial court entered the palace with their families to attend the Lantern Festival banquet.

The royal gardens were bustling with activity.

Lu Jinshi looked at the lanterns reflected in the lake and thought they were absolutely beautiful.

Little Zhang'er looked at the lanterns in Rong Yi's arms, her little face full of surprise. After all, she had come to Chang'an with them during the Lantern Festival last year and had never seen lanterns before.

Lu Jinshi smiled gently when he saw Xiao Zhang'er's appearance.

During the Lantern Festival, many prominent families also put on performances.

Some performers are their own daughters who come up and shine with a dance, while others have invited their family's opera troupe to perform.

Rong Lang stood up and said, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, I recently encountered a magic troupe outside the palace. I am acquainted with the troupe leader and have specially invited him to perform magic tricks in the garden today to entertain Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress.”

Upon hearing Rong Lang's words, Emperor Huiyuan said, "A magic trick? If that's the case, then come up and show it to everyone."

Today's banquet is being held in a garden, not in the actual palace.

Therefore, opera troupes from outside the palace could freely enter.

Lu Jinshi whispered to Rong Yi, "Rong Lang really did bring the opera troupe to the palace banquet."

Rong Yi smiled gently and said, "In previous years, the Lantern Festival banquet was all about singing, dancing and playing the zither. It would be great if there were more folk magic tricks this year."

As the two were discussing, they saw the magic troupe walk to the center. The man in the lead took out three bowls, and the first thing they performed was "Three Immortals Returning to the Cave," which Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi had seen before.

This magic trick amazed the children in the palace.

Little Zhang'er cried out that it was terrible.

Lu Jinshi held Xiao Zhang'er and said, "Don't cry, be good, don't cry, Zhang'er, don't cry!" Since Lu Jinshi was pregnant, she couldn't hold Zhang'er for long, so she handed Zhang'er to the wet nurse: "Perhaps Zhang'er is afraid of this magic trick, you take him away."

Everyone was engrossed in the magic trick, and Lu Jinshi couldn't let Zhang'er spoil their enjoyment.

Zhang'er clutched Lu Jinshi's clothes tightly with her little hands and said, "Mother! Mother."

Lu Jinshi didn't know what was wrong with Zhang'er today, so she picked him up and said, "Alright, alright, Mother will carry you."

Rong Yi also stood up and said, "You're pregnant, how can you hold the baby? I'll hold Zhang'er."

Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi walked a little further away, but Zhang'er was still crying and fussing, refusing to be held by the wet nurse, and tightly clutching Lu Jinshi's sleeve with his little hands.

Rong Yi said, "Do you remember the East Street Villa we stayed at before? It's not far from here. Let's go to the East Street Villa and put Zhang'er to sleep first."

Lu Jinshi nodded and said, "That's good. Maybe this garden is haunted, otherwise Zhang'er would be crying so hard."

Rong Yi laughed and said, "The Lantern Festival is the Shangyuan Festival, not the Zhongyuan Festival, so where would you find ghosts?"

Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi took Zhang'er out of the garden and went to the East Street villa. They had only been inside the villa for a short while when they heard a commotion outside.

"on fire!"

"Help!"

"My son!"

"Mother, mother..."

The villa on East Street wasn't far from the street. Hearing the commotion outside, Lu Jinshi frowned and asked, "What's going on outside?"

Rong Yi summoned his guards to secure the gate of the East Street villa, and then had the wet nurse take Zhang'er, who had stopped crying, to a secret room in the villa to hide.

After doing all this, Rong Yi led Lu Jinshi to the third-floor viewing platform in the courtyard.

Today, the Lantern Festival moon is full and bright. In addition, lanterns are hung everywhere in Chang'an City, making it as bright as day. The two people on the viewing platform can clearly see people fleeing in the streets and fires burning everywhere, with the fires growing stronger and stronger.

The soldiers who were fighting the fire put out this one fire, but another one caught fire.

Even though the soldiers of Chang'an had made preparations for the Lantern Festival, they were too late to put out the fires that had broken out everywhere, especially with the panicked civilians fleeing in all directions.

"These four fires are definitely not accidental; they were deliberately set by someone..."

"This fire doesn't seem like an accident."

Lu Jinshi and Rong Yi said this in unison.

Lu Jinshi looked at Rong Yi and said, "Was it Consort Rong and her group who did this? Such outrageous and unscrupulous methods must have been their doing!"

"I wonder how heavily guarded the royal gardens are."

Rong Yi said to Lu Jinshi, "You should also hide in the secret room. They will never expect that you and Zhang'er will be in the secret room of the other courtyard. I will have the guards protect you well. I have to go back to the garden. Something big is about to happen today."

Lu Jinshi grasped Rong Yi's hand and said, "But your injuries have just healed, Rong Yi. You will hide with me in the secret room."

Rong Yi smiled at Lu Jinshi and said, "I am the Crown Prince, the heir apparent. My people are in danger; how can I cower like a coward? Besides, my parents are still out there."

Lu Jinshi gripped Rong Yi's hand tightly and said, "If we're going, let's go together. I don't want to go through this alone again."

“You are pregnant, and if anything happens to me, or to my father or mother, the fate of the Great Sheng Dynasty will depend on you.”

Rong Yi handed a piece of the Imperial Seal of the State to Lu Jinshi and said, "This is the Imperial Seal of the State."

Lu Jinshi looked at Rong Yi and said, "Why do you still carry the Imperial Seal of the State with you?"