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

Chapter 56 I Don't Want to Get Married Anymore
Emperor Huiyuan coldly looked at the Yuan family members and said, "Get out of here!"

Upon hearing this, Duke Yuan and his wife had no choice but to take their leave.

Seeing this, Consort Rong stepped forward and patted Emperor Huiyuan's back, saying, "Your Majesty, you are already in poor health. There is no need to be so upset over this man surnamed Yuan. The princess has met the wrong person. In the future, we will find a better consort for Her Highness. I do not believe that there is no better man in this world than Yuan Jie."

"If there really isn't one, my nephew Rong Lang is quite good. He's just four or five years younger than Her Highness, but that's alright. After all, it's said that marrying a woman three years older is like finding a golden brick."

Emperor Huiyuan looked at Princess Yongjia, who was crying with grievance, and said, "Your mother is right. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Your father will find you a consort who is a thousand times better than Yuan Jie."

Princess Yongjia sobbed softly, "No, I can't have children anyway, why should I harm other families?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Huiyuan sighed. Even as His Majesty, he was indeed powerless to help his daughter in this matter.

Princess Yongjia wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and said, "I have caused Father Emperor worry. I will take my leave now."

Lu Jinshi also curtsied and accompanied Princess Yongjia out of the palace. “Sister, please don’t belittle yourself. I believe that not all men in this world need to have an heir. When my stepfather learned that my mother was infertile, he didn’t care. He even promised my mother that he would never take a concubine… Later, not long after the marriage, my mother became pregnant with Qin Ke.”

"Over the years you've sought medical treatment, not a single doctor has said that you have any illness that prevents you from having children. They've all prescribed tonics for you, so who knows, you might still be able to have children in the future."

Princess Yongjia said, "Having gone through this, I don't want to get married again. I am a princess, and I can live a carefree life on my own. Why should I take those bitter medicines again?"

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "It's good that you think that way, sister. I want to buy Lingxiao Academy and establish a girls' school there. I'm worried about not having a female teacher. I wonder if I could trouble you to be a female teacher in my academy?"

Princess Yongjia said, "Me? I'm afraid I'm not knowledgeable enough to teach those girls well."

Lu Jinshi said, "Sister, you can teach these female students some etiquette and proper manners."

Princess Yongjia looked at Lu Jinshi and smiled, "I thought you would think that etiquette and manners are a constraint on women."

Lu Jinshi shook his head and said, "No, if men are to be called gentlemen, they also need to sit like a bell and stand like a pine tree. A dignified demeanor is also a person's spirit. If one has a strong spirit, it will definitely be beneficial to learning literature and calligraphy in the future. I think the female students who graduate from my Lingxiao Academy can be called female gentlemen."

Princess Yongjia said, "I have nothing to do in the princess's residence anyway, and recalling the past only brings me sadness. It would be fine to teach at the academy, but it won't be so easy for you to recruit female students in Chang'an. Even if there are a few families in Chang'an that have daughters who study, they only study in their own private schools and don't go to academies."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "With Your Highness teaching etiquette, I think there will always be a few young ladies willing to go."

After escorting Princess Yongjia back to her residence, Lu Jinshi returned to her own residence on East Street to ponder the enrollment matters for the girls' academy.

Lu Jinshi wrote many things on the white paper, but he felt they were all unsatisfactory, so he crumpled the paper into a ball.

When Rong Yi entered, he saw Lu Jinshi with her hair in a mess and her fingers scratching her hair. He smiled slightly and said, "What are you thinking about that makes you look so disheveled?"

Lu Jinshi put down his pen and said, "Didn't Senior Brother Mu say that Lingxiao Academy is not making ends meet? I was thinking of buying Lingxiao Academy and opening a girls' academy. After all, there is no girls' academy in Chang'an City. However, I don't know how to recruit female students. If I waive the tuition fees for female students, my savings are not much, and buying Lingxiao Academy will cost a lot of money."

Lu Jinshi's savings came entirely from the palace's rewards. Although her stepfather's Tianzhang Academy was not exactly insolvent, it was not exactly a place of great wealth either.

Although Lu Jinshi's mother had a lot of private money, she couldn't very well ask her mother for more money now that she was twenty-one and a mother herself. As for her adoptive father, the He family... Lu Jinshi thought it over and decided to give up. He had already tacitly agreed to let He Jinlan take her place as the Seventh Prince's consort, so there was no way she could get any money from him.

Rong Yi looked at Lu Jinshi's worried expression about money and said, "You're still short of money?"

Lu Jinshi said, "Of course I'm short of money. It cost me a lot of money to establish the girls' school in Lanting. His Majesty and the Empress Dowager gave me more treasures than money. I can't sell the imperial treasures. By the way, since you don't acknowledge that you are my male concubine, you should return the 15,000 taels I gave you last time."

Lu Jinshi stretched out his hand to Rong Yi, asking for money: "If I want to establish a girls' academy, there are many places where I'll need money. The safety of so many female students must be guaranteed. Female students are delicate and cannot eat as coarsely as you are now..."

Rong Yi smiled and said, "What I mean is, after you become the Seventh Prince's consort, will you still be worried about lacking money? Give me a kiss, and I'll give you ten thousand taels of silver."

Lu Jinshi reached out and hooked his arm around Rong Yi's neck, kissing Rong Yi's cheek repeatedly.

Rong Yi didn't react for a moment. When he did, he quickly pushed Lu Jinshi away and saw Lu Jinshi spread his hands and say, "Nine times, ninety thousand taels."

Rong Yi: "..."

Lu Jinshi looked at Rong Yi and chuckled, "The dignified Seventh Prince cannot go back on his word. You must know that a ruler does not lie."

Rong Yi said, "This kind of kinship doesn't count. I'm losing too much money on these 90,000 taels of silver."

Lu Jinshi frowned at Rong Yi, wiping his lips in disgust. "Heh, the dignified Seventh Prince is so untrustworthy."

Rong Yi said, "Kiss me well, and I will entrust my treasury to you for safekeeping."

I cannot allow you to act recklessly, given your recent suggestion to interfere in politics. After all, some of your ideas are too outrageous, and I must consider the bigger picture.

But I can now entrust the management of the treasury to you. The day I become the crown prince, the Eastern Palace treasury will also be under your control. The day I become emperor, the Ministry of Revenue will be under your control… Can you rest assured now?”

Lu Jinshi looked into Rong Yi's eyes and asked, "Are you serious?"

Rong Yi pulled Lu Jinshi into his arms and said, "It's true, but there's one condition: you must not bring up the past again."

Lu Jinshi agreed, "Okay..."

Lu Jinshi knew when to stop. With Zhang'er around, she could never sever ties with Rong Yi for the rest of her life. Rong Yi's willingness to let her control one of his lifelines showed his sincerity.
-
In March, after a spring rain, the weather gradually warmed up.

In Chang'an, the most talked-about topic among the people was the divorce of Princess Yongjia and her husband. After six years of marriage, they had become a bitter couple, leaving everyone feeling deeply saddened.

In the room of the old lady of the Yongxing Marquis's mansion.

Liu Xiuxiu looked at the old lady and said, "Mother, Princess Yongjia and her husband have divorced, and His Majesty has removed Yuan Jie from his position as heir apparent. However, my husband's title of Marquis has not been granted yet. Is it really related to Princess Mingzhu?"

(End of this chapter)