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

Chapter 166 Still Unconscious
When Lord Rong and Jiang Yin saw Lu Jinshi enter, they quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty the Empress."

Lu Jinshi glanced at Marquis Rong and said, "Uncle, Rong Lang's mistake of bringing Consort Rong into the royal garden is a capital offense. The reason why the Changping Marquis's family has not been implicated is because your Changping Marquis's family is His Majesty's maternal family. The Empress Dowager is still unconscious, so it is not appropriate to convict you. But if you insist on causing trouble, don't blame me for not giving you a peaceful life."

Lord Rong looked at Rong Yi.

Rong Yi said slowly, "Her Majesty the Empress is still pregnant, and she is already seven months along. If you anger Her Majesty the Empress, the two of you will not be able to escape the consequences. You may both leave."

Lord Rong and Jiang Yin could only bow and leave.

After the two of them left, Lu Jinshi said angrily, "The late emperor's body is not even cold, and he hasn't even been buried yet, and your good uncle is already trying to persuade you to take a concubine!"

Rong Yi pulled Lu Jinshi into his arms. He listened to Lu Jinshi's previous spoiled words and just smiled, saying, "Why are you angry about this? I promised you I wouldn't take any concubines, and I mean it."

"I'm still angry at Jiang Yin. What kind of woman interferes in politics? His grandmother was so brave, yet she has such a foolish grandson. I've wasted my time teaching him!"

Rong Yi smiled and comforted him, "Jiang Yin didn't mean for me to take a concubine. He was just loyal to me and was afraid that Tianzhang Academy would control the government. However, the officials you promoted are indeed very suitable."

Lu Jinshi said, "I am not the kind of person who favors relatives and friends. My Tianzhang Academy is one of the top academies in the Great Sheng Dynasty. If I can use my capable and reliable fellow disciples, why wouldn't I?"

Rong Yi said, "Alright, don't be angry."

Lu Jinshi touched her belly and said, "I shouldn't have gotten angry with them. I've heard that getting angry is bad for the fetus."

Rong Yi placed his hand on Lu Jinshi's stomach. "How is Mother?"

Lu Jinshi said, "It's still the same as before, she's unconscious. Banxia and Consort Xian are taking care of the Empress Dowager. Consort Xian even asked about the palace relocation. I was thinking, why don't we let Consort Xian leave the palace and go to the Princess's residence?"

Rong Yi said, "That's fine. The Consort Xian can also help my elder sister take care of Lan'er."

"Has Banxia said there is any way to wake Mother up? Even if it is a rare medicine, I will definitely be able to get it."

Lu Jinshi shook his head and said, "No, Banxia said she has already tried everything she could."

Rong Yi bit his lip and said, "Since Mother has not woken up, I dare not bury Father. If he is buried, the imperial mausoleum cannot be opened easily, and Mother may not even be able to see Father one last time."

Lu Jinshi rested his head on Rong Yi's shoulder and whispered, "Mother is a lucky woman, she will wake up."

By late February, the gloom of the Lantern Festival had been swept away in Chang'an, but the city was still in mourning.

He Jiayi, who had originally planned to get married in March, had to postpone it again due to the national mourning period.

Recently, people have been coming to the He family's door every day to collect debts. He Jiayi only hopes that the national mourning period will end soon so that she can marry the Marquis of Anyuan.

"Open the door, open the door, hand over He Tan! He owes us two thousand taels of silver in gambling debts, and he won't get away with it so easily."

He Jiayi heard the voices of the creditors at the door.

She was extremely flustered.

From inside the courtyard came Liu Xiuxiu's exasperated voice: "He Tan, He Tan, why did you go gambling again? How are we going to come up with two thousand taels of silver? Let alone two thousand taels, we don't even have two hundred taels!"

He Tan knelt on the ground and cried, "Mother, save me, save me!"

Liu Xiuxiu said, "Mother wants to save you, but how? Mother only has fifty taels of silver left, and the family is already struggling to make ends meet." He Tan said, "Fifty taels of silver... fifty taels of silver is fine."

He Tan took the silver from Liu Xiuxiu's body and said, "Mother, I will definitely turn fifty taels of silver into five thousand taels of silver. Mother, give me my silver!"

Looking at He Qin in front of her, Liu Xiuxiu felt a pang of regret for selling her brocade orchid to a wealthy merchant in Cangzhou for the sake of this son.

Liu Xiuxiu had no idea what kind of life Jinlan lived in the wealthy family of Cangzhou. How could a daughter of a Marquis of Chang'an endure the poverty of Cangzhou?

Seeing that He Qin was about to snatch the only fifty taels of silver, Liu Xiuxiu tightly gripped her purse in her hand. "Qin'er, you can't take this money away!"

He Tan said, "Get out of the way! I'm sure I'll have the luck to turn fifty taels into five thousand taels today, give it to me now!"

Hearing the commotion, Old Madam He came out and said, "Liu Xiuxiu, hurry up and give the money to Brother Qin. Brother Qin is our family's only heir. Do you really want to watch him die at the hands of those debt collectors?"

Liu Xiuxiu said, "Mother, I have a total of fifty taels here. Once that's gone, I really won't have a single coin left. I've already sold everything I could."

Madam He said, "Give it to Brother Qin, let him try it again."

Liu Xiuxiu said, "I won't give it to you!"

With tears streaming down her face, Liu Xiuxiu said, "Brother Qin has already gambled away the money he earned from selling his twin sister. My poor Jinlan hasn't sent a single letter since she left. This is the only money we have, and we absolutely cannot give it to Brother Qin!"

Madam He said in a deep voice, "Liu Xiuxiu, don't forget that you've only been able to be the wife of the Marquis of Yongxing for the past few years because you gave birth to Qin Ge'er. Otherwise, do you think you're worthy of being my son's wife?"

Liu Xiuxiu gave a bitter smile and said, "Madam, you keep saying it's for the sake of offspring, but it's just because you don't want a daughter-in-law from a prestigious family who doesn't listen to you at all, someone you can control and make your nanny!"

"I really regret it!"

"In the end, it was all for naught; the He family lost their title and their wealth..."

Liu Xiuxiu said, "If Brother Qin wants these fifty taels of silver, he'll have to kill me first!"

Liu Xiuxiu forcefully snatched the purse back from Qin Ge'er's hand and clutched it to her heart.

He Qin slapped Liu Xiuxiu hard across the face and said, "No wonder my father didn't want you and just left!"

"You slut, give me your purse right now! Now!"

Liu Xiuxiu looked at He Qin and said, "You dare hit me? I'm your mother!"

He Qin grabbed Liu Xiuxiu's hair fiercely and said, "Do you think I don't know? You're not my mother at all. You're just He Jinlan's mother. I was brought here by your maid so that you could give birth to a son for the He family!"

Upon hearing this, Madam He stared at Liu Xiuxiu as if struck by lightning and said, "Is this true? Didn't you give birth to twins, a boy and a girl?"

Liu Xiuxiu clutched the silver in her hand tightly, but He Qin kicked her hard in the chest...

Liu Xiuxiu fainted from the pain and could only watch as He Qin snatched the purse from her hand.

Hearing He Tan's words, He Jiayi, who was inside the house, breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, since he's not my cousin, I can finally keep my dowry and don't have to give him any money."

Thank you for your monthly tickets and Red Sleeve tickets, thank you!