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

Chapter 62 Asking for a Cup of Wedding Wine

Princess Yongjia dropped her embroidery needle to the ground. "What?"

Lu Jinshi also stood up angrily and said, "How dare Yuan Jie take a concubine into his family? Does the Yuan family just let Yuan Jie run wild?"

When Princess Yongjia got up, she staggered slightly. If she counted carefully, she and Yuan Jie had been separated for more than half a month, and her mother should have finished her postpartum confinement that night.

Princess Yongjia thought she would no longer be in pain, but hearing the ceremonial music, she still felt heartache and a deep sense of irony.

Lu Jinshi hurriedly helped Princess Yongjia up, saying, "Sister..."

Princess Yongjia said, "Even after a divorce, we are still neighbors. It's such a joyous occasion for our neighbor to take a concubine, how can we not go and ask for a cup of celebratory wine?"

Jixiang, furious, said, "Your Highness, how dare the Yuan family treat you so disrespectfully? You shouldn't have gone to ask for a cup of wedding wine; you should have gone to punish the Yuan family properly."

Princess Yongjia said, "Let's just go and ask for a cup of wedding wine."

Looking at Princess Yongjia's pained expression, Lu Jinshi felt worried about her. However, she also understood that if Princess Yongjia was not allowed to go to the Yuan family, her inner turmoil would be even more difficult to resolve.

Lu Jinshi then helped Princess Yongjia to the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion next door.

The ceremonial music band at the gate had already stopped, and there were no "double happiness" characters pasted outside the Duke's mansion. However, the lanterns had been replaced with unique palace lanterns with a few small "double happiness" characters written on them.

When the gatekeeper saw Princess Yongjia arrive, he quickly bowed and said, "Your Highness."

"Your Highness, please wait a moment, I will go and report to my master immediately..."

Princess Yongjia did not wait for the gatekeeper to report, and went straight into the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Six years ago, she married into the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. At that time, although her princess mansion had been built, she still went against the rule that princesses should hold their wedding ceremony in the princess mansion in order to uphold the honor of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Instead, she went to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to hold her wedding ceremony with Yuan Jie.

The lively atmosphere of the hall filled with guests is still vivid in my mind...

Princess Yongjia's thoughts gradually returned to normal. Not seeing a hall full of guests, she breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "It seems that the Duke's mansion still cares about its reputation and did not hold a lavish banquet to welcome guests in order to take in a concubine."

Lu Jinshi helped Princess Yongjia into the main hall of the Duke's mansion.

Upon seeing Princess Yongjia arrive, Madam Yuan quickly rose and stepped forward to greet her, "Your Highness."

When Madam Yuan looked at Lu Jin, who was supporting Princess Yongjia, she felt a headache coming on again.

Princess Yongjia said to Madam Yuan, "Madam, there's no need for such formalities. I heard that there was music playing in your mansion, so I sent my maid to inquire. It turns out that your eldest son is taking a concubine. Such a joyous occasion! I've come to ask for a cup of celebratory wine."

Upon hearing Princess Yongjia's words, Madam Yuan said, "This..."

As soon as Madam Yuan stood up, she knelt down and kowtowed to Princess Yongjia, saying, "Your Highness, I was extremely unwilling to let Wan Niang enter the household as a concubine, and I shouldn't have disregarded your status as a concubine when you took Wan Niang into your household, but I really had no choice!"

Lu Jinshi said, "What's there to be helpless about? Your Yuan family is really going too far, treating your mistress like a concubine, welcoming her into the family with fanfare, and daring to show such disrespect to the princess!" "Your Highness."

Yuan Jie's voice rang out at the entrance of the lobby.

Princess Yongjia looked up at Yuan Jie. She hadn't seen Yuan Jie for more than half a month, and he had lost a lot of weight. The clothes Yuan Jie was wearing today were not the groom's formal attire, but a red robe.

"Young Master Yuan, I heard that you have taken a concubine today, so I have come here to congratulate you and would like to have a drink of celebratory wine."

Yuan Jie looked at Princess Yongjia and said, "Jia'er, I took Wan Niang as my concubine all for your sake."

Princess Yongjia said, "How ridiculous! You took a concubine for my sake?"

Lu Jinshi sat down next to Princess Yongjia and said, "How dare you call her Jia'er?"

Yuan Jie said, "Your Highness, whether you believe it or not, you have always been the only one in my heart. I took Wan Niang as my concubine only out of pity for her. After all, Wan Niang is also a woman with a tragic fate. She lost her child because of you, and I cannot watch you have two lives on your hands."

Lu Jinshi said, "Are you ignoring what His Majesty said? You wouldn't dare to implicate Her Highness in your illegitimate child matter, but if you dare to slander Her Highness again, that's a crime punishable by imprisonment and exile!"

Yuan Jie looked at Princess Yongjia and said, "Your Highness, it is true that you made Wan Niang kneel for three hours as punishment. The child in Wan Niang's arms did indeed die because of kneeling for three hours. Also, the child in Wan Niang's arms originally had a glimmer of hope, but the two imperial physicians I invited were unwilling to save the pregnancy, resulting in Wan Niang giving birth to a stillborn child. Did those imperial physicians not have Your Highness's instructions?"

Princess Yongjia laughed, a laugh born of anger. "This is truly hilarious. I ordered the imperial physician not to save Wan Niang? And that's what you think?"

Lu Jinshi looked at Yuan Jie and said, "Any imperial physician with a brain would not attempt to save the pregnancy of the consort's mistress. Do you think the imperial physicians are the family doctors of your Yuan family? That they can treat any Tom, Dick, or Harry?"

Princess Yongjia said to Yuan Jie, "Yuan Jie, we fell in love when we were young. I never knew that I would become so vicious in your heart one day... You said that I was the only one in your heart, but you actually thought of me as so vicious!"

Yuan Jie said in a low voice, "Your Highness, it is true that Wan Niang gave birth to a stillborn child because of you, and was heartbroken. I took her as my concubine to atone for your sins."

Lu Jinshi was also angered by Yuan Jie. "You stubborn fool, you have repeatedly slandered Her Highness the Princess. It seems you won't give up until you see the truth. You must be convicted."

Lu Jinshi said, "Sister, you should go to the Dali Temple to sue Yuan Jie for repeatedly slandering Her Highness the Princess. He should be punished properly. The Duke of Zhenguo has failed to educate his son properly and should also be punished. If the tiger doesn't show its power, they will always think you are an easy cat to bully."

Lu Jinshi also felt that Princess Yongjia was too gentle and too easy to bully.

Princess Yongjia slowly rose, looked at Yuan Jie with disappointment, and said to Lu Jinshi, "It seems that I really need to go to the Dali Temple to seek justice for this princess. Yuan Jie, this princess does not need you to help me clear my name. If this princess really killed an innocent little life, I am willing to accept the punishment. If I did not kill anyone, then you have no right to slander me again and again!"

Madam Yuan knelt down repeatedly before Princess Yongjia and said, "Your Highness, as the saying goes, family scandals should not be aired in public. You do not need to go to the Dali Temple. It is all Yuan Jie's fault. Yuan Jie has slandered you. Yuan Jie, you wretched child, why don't you kneel down and admit your mistake to Your Highness?"

Yuan Jie looked at Princess Yongjia and said, "Even if you did not have any intention to harm others, the child in my mother's womb is indeed lost because of your persecution."

Princess Yongjia said, "I have been married to someone like you for six years in my life, and it is truly a disgrace to me..."

Princess Yongjia continued, "What's even more ridiculous is that the day I went to see Wan Niang was because I wanted to continue being husband and wife with you, and I was thinking of adopting the child in Wan Niang's womb as my offspring. Why would I want to harm the child in her womb?"

(End of this chapter)