"Your Majesty, Miss Bai Wanyi and I are deeply in love and have pledged our lives together. During the eight years I spent at the border, she helped me suppress rebellions and saved me numerous times. However, I am already married, and I cannot dishonor her kindness and deep affection by becoming a concubine. I implore Your Majesty to grant me the right to marry Bai Wanyi as my second wife."

Concubine!

The two words woke Qin Wan up like thunder. She looked around in shock. The spring breeze was blowing and the flags were waving. She saw the couple kneeling in front of the emperor, looking at each other affectionately.

Qin Wan was shocked. Wasn’t she dead?

What, what...

It was like returning to the day when her husband, Pingyang Hou Lu Yan, returned victorious?

Could it be that the past few years have all been a dream?

She stared blankly at the perfect couple kneeling on the ground.

The man was dressed in armor, looking solemn and murderous. The woman next to him was wearing a moon-white dress, with cold and picturesque features. The child kneeling beside the man, whom he was protecting tightly, was only seven years old, with a pair of lively and cute eyes.

This was her husband. After eight years of separation, he came back with a woman to marry as his concubine, and they even had a child.

hehe……

Qin Wan couldn't help but smile, she was back!

Three years later, the mistress of the Lu family, who was poisoned to death by the old lady of the Lu family with a bowl of poisoned wine, returned to three years ago, the day when her husband returned victoriously.

Three years ago, for the sake of the reputation of the Qin and Lu women, she agreed to Lu Yan's request for Bai Wanyi to be given the title of equal wife. Her constant concessions invited the wolf into the house, and she lost her life at her hands.

The emperor looked at Qin Wan, who had remained silent, and said suggestively, "Madam Pingyang, this Bai has made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion and saving Marquis Lu. Now her wish is to enter the palace as a concubine. What do you think, Madam Lu?"

Qin Wan raised her eyes to look at the emperor, a mocking smile on her lips: "I want to ask, what is a co-wife?"

The emperor nodded. "That's a good question." He then looked at Lu Yan and said, "Lord Lu, please explain to me what a concubine is."

Lu Yan didn't know what a concubine was, so he couldn't help but look at Bai Wanyi beside him.

Bai Wanyi looked at Lu Yan softly and smiled, "A co-wife is naturally a wife just like a legitimate wife. The children born to her are co-legitimate children. There is no distinction between high and low, and they all have equal status."

The emperor suddenly realized it and then frowned and said nothing. A co-wife means two wives, regardless of status. This is against the moral code!

Their Great Zhou had a system of inheritance by the eldest son. Although there was an order of seniority, only the eldest son had the right of inheritance. If there was no eldest son, then the illegitimate son would inherit the family business.

If there is a concubine, the competition between the legitimate sons will be even more severe and brutal.

By analogy, if an emperor had a queen from the East or West Palace, and all of her children were legitimate descendants, wouldn't that cause chaos?

But Bai Wanyi's contribution was too great. She contributed greatly to the end of the Eight-Year War, not to mention her mastery of mechanical engineering and the ability to make explosives. If she could help him expand his territory and become an emperor through the ages...

If she were a man, he would be granted a title of nobility and appointed as prime minister, but she is a woman, and there is no precedent for women to serve as officials in the Zhou Dynasty. How to reward Bai Wanyi becomes a problem. Now Bai Wanyi only wants to be a co-wife, and the emperor is tempted.

Although I felt a little guilty towards Qin Wan, for the sake of the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty and for the peace of the Great Zhou Dynasty, what was the harm in making some sacrifices? At most, I could make it up to her later.

It’s just that this concubine…

The emperor's thoughts came back. If I agree to take a concubine, it will disrupt the ancestral system and the moral code, and I will be scolded by the censor, right?

The emperor couldn't help but look at Qin Wan. "Agree! If you agree, I won't be scolded." "What do you think, Madam Lu?"

Qin Wan ignored the emperor's expectant gaze and turned to look at the adulterous couple coldly: "In our Great Zhou, there has never been a concept of concubines. Among all the people, only merchants who need to socialize outside are allowed to take concubines as concubines for social purposes. However, in front of the wife, they are still concubines."

"Miss Bai, when you say the position of co-wife, do you really mean that she will be on equal footing with me, the legitimate wife, or is she just a co-wife in name but a concubine in reality?"

"If you treat me, your legitimate wife, as an equal, then where do you put my Qin family? When my daughters of the Qin family marry in the future, won't they be controlled by others?"

"Excuse me, my Lord, if you grant me the title of co-wife, where does that leave the old Lord? When the old Lord was dying, he arranged our marriage to unite the Qin and Lu families. Now, my Lord, you are trampling on your grandfather's reputation. Is this filial piety?"

"Excuse me, Lord Marquis, if you can grant me the title of co-wife, what is the status of this young man beside you? What will the status of my child be when I give birth to him? Who will be given the title of Heir to the Marquis' Mansion then?"

Qin Wan's questions hit the nail on the head, and even Bai Wanyi, who came up with the idea, had no way to answer. She looked at Lu Yan for help, and Lu Yan, whom she regarded as her savior, was now completely attracted to Qin Wan.

In my memory, she was dancing with swords and sticks in mountains and rivers, but the one in front of me is bright, confident and extremely intelligent.

Bai Wanyi saw that Lu Yan's entire mind was attracted by Qin Wan. Her heart skipped a beat and she took Lu Yan's hand and called softly, "Brother Yan."

Lu Yan had just come to his senses, and his self-righteous attitude had faded a little. "The position of the Crown Prince should be held by a virtuous person. Our title of Marquis of Pingyang was obtained on horseback, so naturally it depends on our achievements on the battlefield."

Qin Wan raised her eyebrows and looked at the emperor: "Your Majesty, our Great Zhou Dynasty conquered the world on horseback. Should the throne also be inherited by those with outstanding military achievements?"

The emperor's face was grim. His succession to the throne was not based on outstanding military achievements, but the one known as the God of War in the Great Zhou Dynasty...

He clenched his hands behind his back and looked at Qin Wan deeply: "The wife of the Marquis of Pingyang is indeed intelligent."

He was smart enough to know how to control the emperor in such matters!

Qin Wan understood the compliment, which was completely irrelevant. She bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the compliment. The matter of a concubine is related to ancestral etiquette and violates ethical principles. I will never agree to it."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!