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

Chapter 92 Connivance
Madam He was so angry that her hands trembled. "You little beast! How dare you speak to your grandmother like that?"

Minister Liu frowned and rebuked, "Huang, watch your words! This is the Seventh Prince's Consort before you. If you dare to speak disrespectfully again, I will not forgive you!"

Hearing Liu Siqing's words, Madam He stopped scolding Lu Jinshi, but her gaze towards Lu Jinshi was extremely unfriendly.

He Tan sneered, "Mother, you watched our He family head towards destruction just to get rid of your daughter-in-law whom you didn't like. Miao Miao is right, you are the unfilial and heartless one!"

Madam He said, "He Tan, what right do you have to criticize your mother? In the end, all I did was for you. After Lu Mingzhu married you, she took you around to play and did not encourage you to be ambitious at all. I drove Lu Mingzhu away so that you could focus on pursuing fame and fortune."

He Tan said, "Mingzhu's father was a highly decorated general who died protecting His Majesty. The Empress Dowager treated Mingzhu like her own daughter, and His Majesty regarded her as his own sister. If you drive Mingzhu away, how could the Empress Dowager and His Majesty forgive our He family? And now you say it's for my future, hahahaha..."

He Tan cried and laughed, "How ridiculous, how utterly ridiculous!"

Lu Jinshi looked at He Tan. Lu Jinshi had never really regarded He Tan as her biological father, since Qin Zhao had already given her all the fatherly love she needed when she was a child.

Although, when Lu Jinshi came to Chang'an, she had some expectations... that her adoptive father wasn't that bad.

But when she arrived in Chang'an, the He Tan she met was weak and incompetent, watching helplessly as his own daughter fell into a wolf's den. But today's He Tan seemed to be somewhat different.

“Mother, you thought you were doing this for my future… for my fame and success, but from the moment you plotted against me, drugged me, and made me sleep with Liu Xiuxiu, my life was ruined, completely ruined!”

He Tan said, "Over the years, I have lived like a walking corpse. I just wanted to see the retribution you had plotted. Eighteen years, eighteen years, and you have finally received your retribution!"

"The He family has been destroyed by your hands. Are you satisfied now?"

"Liu Xiuxiu, back then Mingzhu and I genuinely helped you. Even though you plotted to get me pregnant, Mingzhu and I promised you that as long as you had an abortion, you would be able to find a good marriage."

"And yet you insisted on giving birth to Jinlan and Hetan, always wanting to be the Lady of the Marquis. Now your daughter's reputation is ruined, and your son is weak and incompetent, with no chance of officialdom, destined to a life of mediocrity. It's truly retribution, retribution indeed!"

"Father." He Jinlan, supporting Liu Xiuxiu, looked at He Tan with tears in her eyes and said, "Father."

He Tan said, "Don't call me father. Your grandmother and mother forced me to take medicine. I have never regarded you as my daughter."

"But Father, you didn't treat me like this when I was little. You always gave in to me and helped me with everything..."

With tears welling up in her eyes, He Jinlan said, "Father, I don't believe you've never treated me as your daughter."

He Tan's eyes flashed with malice as he said, "I helped you when you bullied others, I indulged you when you stole from others, I didn't punish you when you made mistakes, and I took you out to play when you didn't want to study. So when you grew up and wanted to take the position of the Seventh Prince's consort, I also went along with it..."

"Given your mother's methods and temperament, how could I have raised such fools as you and your brother if I hadn't spoiled you?"

Liu Xiuxiu closed her eyes in deep sorrow.

He Jinlan sobbed, "Father..."

Lu Jinshi looked at He Tan's sinister gaze, then at He Jinlan, and finally understood. How could Liu Xiuxiu, with such a good mind, have such an impatient daughter?

Lu Jinshi initially thought it was because Liu Xiuxiu doted on her daughter too much, but it turned out to be because He Tan deliberately indulged her.

Lu Jinshi said to Liu Siqing, "Your Excellency, Madam He, Huang, has admitted to giving my mother a contraceptive. I hope you will punish her according to the laws of Dasheng. I'll be leaving now."

Liu Siqing bowed and saw Lu Jinshi off, saying, "Respectfully seeing off the Seventh Prince's Consort." "Miaomiao..." He Tan called out to Lu Jinshi, "Has your mother come to Chang'an? When you get married, your mother will definitely come to Chang'an to see you off. I want to see your mother."

Lu Jinshi said, "Father, how can you face my mother? Your life was ruined because of the He family, so it's not wrong for you to want revenge on them. But you dragged me into it too. You just watched them force me to marry Huang Teng..."

He Tan said, "I'm sorry, Miaomiao, only in this way will His Majesty and the Empress Dowager be even more furious that the Seventh Prince's chosen wife has been forced by the He family to marry Huang Teng..."

Lu Jinshi turned and left, ignoring He Tan.

Qin Ke followed up with Lu Jinshi, saying, "That old woman from the He family is utterly unreasonable; she deserves this fate."

Lu Jinshi sighed and said, "My grandfather had three wives and four concubines and was very frugal. She had a princess daughter-in-law who was hard to manage and was willing to spend money. How could she be at peace with that? Of course, she did everything she could to look down on this daughter-in-law."

Qin Ke said, "Having a mother-in-law like that is truly terrifying. Fortunately, my mother escaped, and thankfully, your mother-in-law isn't like that, sister."

Lu Jinshi smiled faintly.

The two walked out of the prison gate, where Rong Yi was waiting for them in the carriage.

Rong Yi walked over to Lu Jinshi and said, "If you don't come out soon, I'm about to go in. Why have you been gone for so long?"

“There’s a good dog-eat-dog show going on inside,” Lu Jinshi said to Rong Yi. “Let’s go back to the Princess’s residence.”

The carriage soon arrived at the princess's residence.

When Lu Jinshi entered the Princess's residence, he saw Princess An arriving with her cousin, Yiran.

"Aunt, still my cousin."

"Cousin, Seventh Prince." Lu Yiran bowed to the two people in front of her.

"Seventh Prince, Seventh Prince's Consort."

Lu Jinshi helped Princess An up and said, "Aunt, there's no need for such formalities. You don't look well, is something wrong?"

Princess An said, "Don't even mention it. I don't know what got into Lu Xiao, but he insisted that I propose to Her Highness the Princess, saying that he only has eyes for Her Highness the Princess..."

Lu Jinshi smiled and said, "I already knew that Lu Xiao was in love with the princess. It's a good match."

It's just a pity that Her Highness the Princess is already pregnant.

Princess An said, "A good marriage would only be possible if the princess is willing. Besides, he is the heir of the Prince An's mansion. How can he marry the princess? Isn't that just nonsense?"

“These past two days, Xiao’er has been refusing to eat or drink because of this… I’ve come to ask your mother to help persuade Lu Xiao. How could he possibly have designs on a princess like that?”

As Princess An spoke, she glanced at Rong Yi's expression out of the corner of her eye.

Lu Mingzhu chuckled and said, "Yongjia, like me, has encountered the wrong people in the past. Lu Xiao is just a bit younger than Yongjia, but he would be a reliable husband."

Princess An said, "Sister, the problem is that Princess Ren has closed her doors to guests, which clearly means she is unwilling to marry our Xiao'er."