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

Chapter 174 No New Empress Will Be Married

Princess Qi paused slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I apologize to you on behalf of Prince Qi."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "I can see that Brother Qi still cares about you, but he hasn't realized where he went wrong. He loves you, but he can't let go of the right of a man to have three wives and four concubines in this world..."

Lu Jinshi said, "Sixth sister-in-law, we are family, so please don't think I'm being presumptuous."

"I don't dare."

Lu Jinshi smiled faintly and said, "Although I call you Imperial Sister-in-law, you are still a few years younger than me. The matter between you and Prince Qi is not something I should interfere with. But Prince Qi is really confused. If he has not understood his true intentions, he probably will not have given up His Majesty's idea of ​​selecting concubines."

Princess Qi looked at Lu Jinshi and said, "So you're going to bestow a concubine upon him?"

Lu Jinshi said, "This is just to stop those court officials from suggesting that His Majesty hold a selection of consorts. These old ministers in the court are willing to offend me to advise His Majesty to hold a selection of consorts, just so that they can have a bright future."

Princess Qi still looked at Lu Jinshi with confusion and said, "But, being a concubine of the Prince of Qi... is also a good future."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "Prince Qi wouldn't dare accept them all. He has you in his heart, but he doesn't think about spending his life with you. Instead, he thinks that men can have three wives and four concubines and is trying to drag the new emperor into it so that he has an excuse to take concubines. I will grant his wish and let him take concubines openly and legitimately with the emperor's will. You can also take this opportunity to force Prince Qi to realize his true feelings."

Princess Qi said, "I forced you?"

Lu Jinshi nodded and said, "Although His Majesty bestows a concubine upon Prince Qi, he will also delay her entry into the household by six months. During these six months, you can force Prince Qi to choose between you and the concubine. If Prince Qi chooses you, then have him come to His Majesty to refuse the newly bestowed concubine. His defiance of the Emperor's will shows that he cares about you. If he no longer chooses you, you need not linger on Prince Qi's affections. I can also help you divorce Prince Qi..."

Princess Qi looked at Lu Jinshi in shock and said, "Your Majesty, I have no intention of getting a divorce..."

"You don't plan to divorce, but you can't accept that he has a concubine. Are you going to go from being a loving couple to a resentful pair for the rest of your lives?"
I already said, you're a few years younger than me, barely twenty, in the prime of your youth. Are you really going to be a bitter, resentful woman for the rest of your life? You come from such a noble and radiant family; you deserve to be cared for by men."

Lu Jinshi chuckled and patted Princess Qi's shoulder. "Think it over carefully."

Princess Qi said, "Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress."

Lu Jinshi said, "You don't need to thank me. Your harmonious relationship saves Prince Qi from constantly advising His Majesty to take concubines. However, his previous concubine has already given birth to his child. You must be tolerant of this concubine. If Prince Qi is willing to defy the imperial decree and come to His Majesty to rescind the order for your sake, it is enough to show his feelings for you. It is also his responsibility to treat the concubine who has given birth to his child. So you should stop making trouble."

Princess Qi nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I understand. If the Prince is willing to defy the imperial decree and refuse the concubine bestowed by His Majesty for my sake, I will treat the concubines already in the household well."

After finishing his conversation with Princess Qi, Lu Jinshi returned to his bedchamber.

Rong Yi looked at Lu Jinshi and asked, "Have you finished talking with Sixth Sister-in-law?"

Lu Jinshi nodded and said, "Well, it depends on what Prince Qi chooses."

Rong Yi said, "I really don't know whether my sixth brother will choose a concubine or his principal wife in the end, as this also involves the matter of defying the imperial decree."

Lu Jinshi said, "The reason why Prince Qi has repeatedly asked you to choose a concubine is precisely because he cares about Princess Qi. It's just that he previously complied with the custom of men having multiple wives and concubines. It wasn't until his concubine became pregnant that Princess Qi started making trouble for him. He couldn't just ignore his pregnant concubine, so he dragged you into it by having you participate in the selection. This way, he could give Princess Qi an explanation..."

“Speaking of which, his concubine is also a pitiful person.” Rong Yi said, “At least she has a child by her side, so she can’t be considered pitiful.”

Rong Yi gripped Lu Jinshi's hand tightly and said, "It's also my fault for being incompetent. Now that I've just ascended the throne, I can't say for sure that you will be my only empress for the rest of my life. Once I'm firmly on the throne, I will issue an edict that no official in the court may take a concubine."

Lu Jinshi shook his head and said, "That's not necessary."

Rong Yi asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Lu Jinshi said, “In this world, women are still unable to stand on their own two feet. Many women are still unable to resist power. No matter what they do, they submit to these court officials. If we completely prohibit them from taking concubines, they will only be mistresses. For them, the situation will be even more difficult. But you can promote more “clean” court officials who only have one wife at home and no concubines or mistresses. In the long run, the officials will be restrained.”

Rong Yi smiled and said, "You've thought things through very well."

After the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The weather is getting colder.

Lu Jinshi remained busy. On weekdays, he would go to the Hanlin Academy to check on the progress of compiling books, and then go to the girls' school in Chang'an City to handle affairs. The academy in the suburbs was managed by Caixia and Caiyun, but Lu Jinshi would occasionally go to see how the female students were doing.

The newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Lin Yunhai, was recommended by Lu Jinshi. Lin Yunhai knew how to reciprocate, and whenever there were important matters in the Ministry of Revenue, he would come to Lu Jinshi for instructions.

Besides being busy with these matters, Lu Jinshi also had to take care of his daughter.

Amidst his busy schedule, Lu Jinshi fell ill.

Lu Jinshi had not been this ill in a long time. She felt a splitting headache and a dry mouth.

After the imperial physician prescribed medicine, Lu Jinshi took it for two days but his condition did not improve.

Rong Yi was very anxious. He touched Lu Jinshi's forehead and said, "What are these imperial physicians doing? He's been taking medicine for two days and he's still not getting better!"

Lu Jinshi coughed twice and said, "You don't need to blame the imperial physician. Banxia also examined me. I have a cold, and I won't get better so quickly."

Rong Yi said, "You work too hard every day. You've just given birth and you're already running around everywhere. You can leave the affairs of the women's academy to Caiyun and Yunxia. Why bother yourself?"

Lu Jinshi coughed twice and said, "I just caught a cold because of the cold weather."

Rong Yi looked at Lu Jinshi with heartache and said, "I know you want to promote the girls' school, and I know that you are now the mother of the nation and want to do something for the women of the world, but your health is the most important thing."

Zhang'er and Panpan are both so young. What would they do if something happened to you? You can't keep abusing your health like this.”

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "Yes, I will take good care of my health. I won't get into trouble before Zhang'er is fully grown. If something happens to me, you will definitely marry a new empress. Wouldn't my status as Zhang'er be awkward then?"

Rong Yi said, "No, I will not marry a new empress."