Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 11 Mu Zixuan is pregnant

After nearly two months of arduous travel, Lu Chen's convoy finally arrived in Beijun.

Along the way, Lu Chen and his group were warmly received by the officials of each county they passed through.

While on the road, Lu Chen also communicated with his wives and concubines, but because he was in a hurry, they didn't really have a serious conversation. Lu Chen didn't practice his Qi Refining Technique and Rejuvenation Hand much either.

Upon seeing the boundary line of Beijun, Lu Chen's fatigue from the past two months vanished instantly.

There are no cement roads in this world, and riding in a horse-drawn carriage is a bumpy ride that will make you die.

Now that he has arrived in North County, his plan to have a baby can finally be put into action!

With this in mind, Lu Chen instructed his men to speed up their journey to his new residence.

Soon, Lu Chen and his convoy arrived at Yancheng in Beijun.

Beijun has thirteen cities, the most prosperous of which is Yancheng, which will also serve as Luchen's capital in the future.

When Lu Chen's convoy arrived in Yancheng, all the officials of Yancheng came out to greet him, and the people of Yancheng also stood on both sides of the road.

At this moment, many people in the crowd were whispering about the Northern King.

"Finally, a vassal king has arrived from our northern lands!"

"What's the use? The Northern King is only sixteen years old; he's still a child."

"I've heard that the Northern King is an incompetent and ignorant man, and that's why he was banished to the Northern Commandery."

"I wonder if the Northern King will raise taxes as soon as he arrives. If he continues to raise taxes, we won't be able to survive."

"If the Northern King is just indulging in pleasure in his mansion and doesn't care about us, that would be fine. I've heard that in some places, the lives of ordinary people have become even more difficult after the establishment of a vassal king."

……

As Lu Chen entered the city, he glanced at the people lining both sides of the road.

The clothes of the people in the north were noticeably more tattered than those of the people in other counties.

Compared to the people of other counties, they were practically beggars.

That's so poor...

Yancheng was still the wealthiest city in Beijun.

If even the people of Lianyan City are dressed in such rags, one can only imagine how they are in other counties.

His father was truly heartless to send him to a place like this.

I wonder how many women in Beijun can reach a score of 90, and whether that will affect my ability to take a concubine.

Lu Chen kept searching through the system for women who could score 90 points in the crowd, but after scanning for a long time, he didn't see a single one.

Among the people on both sides of the road, the highest score given to women was no more than 80.

Lu Chen felt somewhat disappointed.

When the convoy arrived at the city gate, the officials of Beijun bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Lu Chen then got off the carriage.

When Lu Chen came out, the crowd immediately erupted in excitement.

"The Northern King is so handsome!"

"Everyone says the Northern King is only sixteen, but he looks as mature as a twenty-year-old!"

"Judging from his appearance, the Northern King doesn't seem like the kind of person who is ignorant and incompetent?"

……

At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe approached Lu Chen. "Your subject Li Rui greets Your Highness!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen glanced at Li Rui.

Name: Li Rui

[Position: Temporary Governor of Beijun]

[Strength: Rank 5]

Loyalty: 30 (In his eyes, you are an incompetent and useless prince)

Seeing that Li Rui's loyalty was so low, Lu Chen immediately checked the loyalty of the officials in Beijun County. As a result, almost all the officials had the same loyalty as Li Rui.

This is not surprising; these people probably already knew what their situation was like in the capital.

Lu Chen asked directly, "Prefect Li, how is the construction of my residence progressing?"

Li Rui replied, "Your Highness, rest assured, your residence has been completed and you can move in now."

Lu Chen said with a smile, "Then lead the way."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Li Rui and his entourage then arrived at the Northern King's Mansion.

Upon entering the Northern Prince's residence, Li Rui immediately asked, "Your Highness, when will you have time to report on the situation in the Northern Prefecture?"

Although Li Rui looked down on Lu Chen, this useless prince, Lu Chen was, after all, the King of the North, and the highest authority in the Northern Prefecture.

The appointment and removal of officials in Beijun were all decided by the King of Bei.

In this era, the princes held great power in their fiefdoms, including administrative power, the power to appoint and dismiss officials, the power to mint coins, and military power.

Li Rui was merely a temporary prefect appointed by the imperial court. After the Northern King arrived, he might be transferred. Therefore, Li Rui planned to make an appearance in front of the Northern King, establish his presence, and let the Northern King know that he was a capable official.

Hearing Li Rui's words, Lu Chen smiled and patted Li Rui on the shoulder, then said, "Leave professional matters to professionals. Prefect Li, you managed Beijun very well before I arrived. From now on, you will continue to govern Beijun for me."

Upon hearing this, Li Rui knelt down excitedly and said, "Thank you for your recognition, Your Highness. I will definitely do my best to assist Your Highness, and serve you with utmost devotion until my dying breath."

Hearing Li Rui's words, Lu Chen was speechless. He just wanted to find someone to do the work.

At this moment, Lu Chen saw that Li Rui's loyalty level instantly rose to fifty, so he said, "Alright, Prefect Li, you can go about your business. In the future, unless it's something important, don't come to me. I'm going to familiarize myself with my residence now."

With that, Lu Chen headed towards his palace.

Seeing Lu Chen's retreating figure, Li Rui felt a mix of emotions.

Clearly, the Northern King intends to be a hands-off manager, handing over all affairs of the Northern Prefecture to him, the prefect.

This is certainly a good thing for him, after all, who doesn't like power?

However, Li Rui also knew that taking over too much of the power granted by the Northern King could very likely provoke dissatisfaction from the court.

There was a precedent for this in the Great Xia Dynasty. There was a time when the chief secretary of a prince's palace took over all the power of the prince. He was judged by the court to have "usurped the power of the prince and imprisoned the prince." In the end, the chief secretary's family was wiped out and his clan was exterminated.

……

After entering the Prince's Mansion, Lu Chen determined which courtyard he would be staying in.

He then took out the Dragon and Phoenix Tree seed from his system space, bit his finger, dripped a drop of blood onto the seed, buried it in the soil, and instructed his servants to take good care of it.

After the dragon and phoenix tree grows up, the tea made from its leaves can make women more dependent on him, which is very useful to Lu Chen.

At this moment, Mu Zixuan, dressed in a red gauze dress, passed by the courtyard. She saw that Lu Chen had bitten his finger and was squeezing blood into the soil, so she quickly entered the courtyard.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Mu Zixuan thought Lu Chen had been bitten by a poisonous snake and was squeezing out the venom.

Lu Chen glanced at the alluring Mu Zixuan and said with a smile, "I'm fine. I'm using my blood to nurture the Dragon-Phoenix Tree."

Mu Zixuan asked in confusion, "Dragon and Phoenix Tree, what is that?"

Lu Chen put his arm around Mu Zixuan's slender waist and replied, "You'll find out later."

At this point, Lu Chen's hands began to wander over Mu Zixuan's waist. "My beloved concubine, how about we go try out the bed in the Prince's mansion now?"

Upon hearing this, a blush instantly appeared on Mu Zixuan's face.

Lu Chen then picked Mu Zixuan up and carried her towards the room.

……

[You have cultivated a relationship with your wives and concubines once, gaining 10 experience points in the Qi Refining Technique. Congratulations on unlocking the Qi Refining Technique and successfully guiding Qi into your body.]

[Congratulations on successfully getting Mu Zixuan pregnant! You have now obtained the soap-making recipe.]

The rewards for pregnancy are incentive-based, so the rewards are relatively small. Successfully giving birth to the child will earn you much richer rewards.

(End of this chapter)