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

Chapter 142 People from Noble Families Arrive

Yesterday during the day, Yelü Nanyan was still feeling sad, believing that she would become the Northern King's slave girl, and she felt extremely pessimistic about her future.

However, after what happened last night, Yelü Nanyan's pessimism completely dissipated, and at this moment, Yelü Nanyan only felt extremely ashamed.

She had practiced martial arts for decades, yet she was defeated by a man more than ten years her junior.

However, if this is all the so-called female slaves are treated like, then becoming Lu Chen's female slave doesn't seem like such a big deal.

However, to be fair, Lu Chen is definitely not an ordinary grandmaster.

Although this was Yelü Nanyan's first time dealing with such matters, she was, after all, the Queen Consort of the Heavenly Wolf King, and was already in her thirties this year, so she naturally understood what she needed to know.

Even if Lu Chen has the physique of a Grandmaster, he shouldn't be this fierce.

At this moment, Yelü Nanyan wanted to move, but she had no strength left. Her whole body was completely limp. It was truly unbelievable that a ninth-rank martial artist could be beaten like this by a grandmaster.

It can be said that she was utterly defeated.

She lost the war between the Sirius King's tribe and the Northern County, and she lost again in a personal battle against the Northern King.

Not only was she defeated, but her heart was also completely conquered by Lu Chen. Yelü Nanyan knew very well that she would probably never be able to leave the Northern King again.

Human desires are like a boulder rolling down a mountain; once they start, it's hard to stop them.

If it were before, she might never have been interested in men, unless she had met Lu Chen.

However, Lu Chen opened the door to a new world for her, and it will probably be very difficult for her to control herself in the future, especially when she thinks of the Northern King, she will probably not be able to help but think of what happened yesterday.

Thinking of this, Yelü Nanyan sighed softly, then asked, "Your Highness, it's already dawn, aren't you getting up?"

Yelü Nanyan always felt strange about maintaining this state, as if she were an animal.

Lu Chen smiled slightly and then said, "I was busy all night yesterday and didn't get much rest. You can't just kick me out now, can you?"

Yelü Nanyan said no more. Fine, let this little man do whatever he wants.

After that, Lu Chen hugged Yelü Nanyan, who was like a giant pillow, closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep.

……

Chu Yuqin patrolled the inner courtyard early in the morning but didn't see Lu Chen. She went to the courtyard of Yelü Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao and looked inside.

At this moment, Chu Qingli also arrived.

Seeing Chu Yuqin staring inside, Chu Qingli immediately asked, "Sister, what are you looking at?"

Upon hearing Chu Qingli's words, Chu Yuqin coughed and then asked, "Has Chen'er not gotten up yet?"

Yesterday, Chu Yuqin didn't patrol much; it was mainly Chu Qingli who was patrolling. However, Chu Yuqin knew that Lu Chen had come to this courtyard.

Upon hearing Chu Yuqin's words, Chu Qingli chuckled and said, "You've been up all night, why are you up so early? What do you want with him?"

Chu Qingli passed by this courtyard several times last night, and each time she passed by, she would hear sounds coming from inside. In any case, Lu Chen's identity as a beast in her heart was already confirmed.

Upon hearing Chu Qingli's words, Chu Yuqin said, "Is that so? Then let him sleep a little longer."

Chu Yuqin did have something to discuss with Lu Chen, but it wasn't anything serious. Lu Chen's health was the most important thing, so she should let him rest first.

Chu Yuqin glanced at the courtyard in front of her one last time, then turned and left.

Chu Qingli quickly followed, getting away from this sinful courtyard.

It was almost noon when Lu Chen left Yelü Nanyan's room. After Lu Chen got up, Yelü Nanyan suddenly felt a sense of emptiness in her body and a sudden reluctance to leave.

However, just thinking about what happened yesterday made Yelü Nanyan's delicate body tremble involuntarily. She quickly circulated her internal energy to calm herself down.

After Lu Chen left, Mu Zixuan had a lot of tonics brought over. Yelü Nanyan sat at the table, looking at the table full of tonics, and had an indescribable feeling in her heart.

She had never heard of women needing so many supplements after doing that kind of thing.

But it must be said that the princess treated her very well.

It seems that the Northern Prince's mansion is not as dangerous as she thought. She just doesn't know if the Northern Prince and Princess will still treat her so well after she gets old and loses her beauty.

……

at the same time.

While drinking the nourishing porridge that Mu Zixuan had personally cooked, Lu Chen was in his study looking through the intelligence sent by the Embroidered Uniform Guard yesterday.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Lu Chen took a sip of porridge and then said, "The door isn't closed, come in."

The next moment, Chu Yuqin, dressed in a purple dress, pushed open the door and entered the study.

Lu Chen glanced up at the stunningly beautiful Chu Yuqin, but his heart remained completely unmoved.

This is not surprising; he hadn't slept all night, and Yelü Nanyan had drained all his energy.

"Aunt Chu, is there something you need from me?"

Chu Yuqin said, "Chen'er, the Chu family sent someone to look for me yesterday."

Hearing this, Lu Chen was stunned for a moment.

Since he arrived in Beijun, apart from Chu Qingli, the Chu family has not sent anyone.

Moreover, Chu Qingli was dispensable to his safety. If he hadn't had the system when he came to Beijun, he would have died on the way.

The Chu family has sent people at this time?

What are you here for?

Could it be that the Chu family is planning to continue supporting him in the struggle for the throne?

Lu Chen didn't harbor much resentment towards his maternal grandfather. After all, Chu Xiong had his own difficulties, and Chu Xiong's decision to keep Chu Yuqin by his side was a great favor to Lu Chen.

What Lu Chen disliked was the other members of the Chu family. He had recently learned from the Jinyiwei intelligence that the Chu family was divided internally. There were now two factions in the Chu family: one was the Northern King faction, led by his maternal grandfather, and the other was the Eighth Prince faction.

The Eighth Prince's faction now holds the upper hand in the entire Chu family. If it weren't for his own rise to power and defeat of the barbarian army of 300,000, Chu Xiong would never have sent anyone to Beijun so easily, given the presence of the Eighth Prince's faction.

Chu Xiong is now essentially a figurehead in the Chu family; whether or not he is the head of the family has little impact on the Chu family.

Lu Chen then asked, "What brings the Chu family to see you this time?"

Chu Yuqin said, "It's not just the Chu family who came this time, but also the Wang family. They hope you can reconcile with the Eighth Prince."

"The Wang family said that you two both represent the interests of the Jiangnan aristocratic families, and there is no reason for you to fight to the death. Moreover, if the Eighth Prince succeeds in seizing the throne in the future, it will be more beneficial to you. The Wang family also hinted that the Eighth Prince may give you the fiefdom of Prince Qi in the future, allowing you to establish your own country."

...? ? ?

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

He had initially thought the Chu family had sent people to continue supporting the struggle for the throne, but it turned out that the people who came were members of the Chu family from the Eighth Prince's faction.

"Heh...heh heh, the Eighth Prince sent assassins to kill me first, and now he's saying there's no need for us to fight to the death?"

"What kind of things are going on in the heads of these Wang family members?"

"Even at a time like this, the Wang family is still trying to help the Eighth Prince win me over? Don't they know that my relationship with the Eighth Prince has reached a point of irreconcilable conflict?"

Lu Chen absolutely did not believe that the Wang family was unaware that the Eighth Prince had sent assassins to kill him. The Eighth Prince had always been protected by a master from the Wang family, so the Wang family must know everything the Eighth Prince did.

They sent assassins to kill me time and time again, and now they have the audacity to come and ask to make peace with me? It's just wishful thinking.

Seeing Lu Chen's reaction, Chu Yuqin knew that Lu Chen had no intention of reconciling with the Eighth Prince. Thinking about it, it made sense. Who would want to get along with someone who had repeatedly sent assassins to kill them and act as if nothing had happened?

Chu Yuqin continued, "Chen'er, your maternal grandfather has probably completely lost control of the Chu family. The people the Chu family sent this time not only didn't speak up for you, but their stance was actually to support the Eighth Prince's bid for the throne, and they wanted to persuade you to reconcile with the Eighth Prince."

"If your maternal grandfather were still in control of the Chu family, he would definitely not oppose you becoming the crown prince at this time."

Chu Xiong is Lu Chen's maternal grandfather, after all. Lu Chen has achieved such great military exploits in Beijun. There are countless people in the countryside who want Lu Chen to be the crown prince. At this time, Chu Xiong will definitely stand up and stand on Lu Chen's side.

The people sent by the Chu family turned out to be from the Eighth Prince's faction. What does this mean? It means that Chu Xiong has completely lost control of the Chu family, and now the entire Chu family is probably controlled by the Eighth Prince's faction.

Hearing Chu Yuqin's words, Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then said, "Even if he loses control of the Chu family, it won't affect me much. Anyway, I don't plan to rely on the Chu family. But speaking of which, the reason why the Wang family is so eager to make me reconcile with the Eighth Prince is probably because they are worried that their little scandal will be exposed."

Before the barbarian army of 300,000 marched south, the Wang family and the Eighth Prince maintained close cooperation with the Sirius King's tribe. The Sirius King's southward march with the barbarian army was inseparable from their cooperation.

The Wang family originally intended to use the southward invasion of the barbarian army to force the Xia emperor to refrain from taking action against the aristocratic families.

The Xia Emperor was no fool; he certainly knew that once internal strife broke out, the barbarian army would likely march directly south, leaving the entire Xia Dynasty in turmoil.

Therefore, Emperor Xia would have no choice but to submit.

But to everyone's surprise, the Northern King not only defended the entire Northern Commandery, but also annihilated the barbarian army of 300,000.

Now the external pressure on Great Xia has vanished instantly, and the knife that Emperor Xia has been sharpening for so long is probably about to fall.

Once the evidence of collusion between the barbarians and the royal family reaches the capital, the Xia Emperor will definitely target the royal family first, and the royal family will have no choice but to send someone to seek peace with the Northern King.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen's lips curled up slightly, and then he said, "It seems that the Wang family doesn't want me to hand over the evidence of their collusion with the barbarians to my father, so they sent someone to sue for peace. But they are too insincere. Even at this point, they are still thinking about supporting the Eighth Prince's struggle for the throne, and instead they are making empty promises to me, asking me to establish a country in this harsh and cold place like Beijun?"

"They're treating me like an idiot."

Chu Yuqin then asked, "Chen'er, they're still at the restaurant they run in Xuan Yue Palace. Do you want to see them? If not, I'll send them back."

Lu Chen said, "I'm not going to see it, so as not to affect my mood."

Lu Chen was even hoping that his father would take action quickly and wipe out all the powerful families within the Great Xia territory, so as to avoid leaving him with a mess in the future.

As long as powerful clans remain, it will be difficult to concentrate imperial power, which is not a good thing for Lu Chen, who is about to implement reforms.

However, for now, Lu Chen's reforms in Beijun will not face much resistance, fortunately, there are no major aristocratic families in Beijun.

At this moment, Chu Yuqin said, "Alright, I'll have them leave Yancheng now."

With that, Chu Yuqin turned and left.

Watching Chu Yuqin leave, Lu Chen rubbed his temples, thinking that his father was about to take action, and his opportunity had arrived. Should he seize the time to promote the reforms in Beijun?

……

A short while later.

Inside a private room at Xuan Yue Restaurant.

As soon as Chu Yuqin entered the private room, a man dressed in blue immediately approached her and said, "Madam Chu, I wonder if His Highness has agreed to see us?"

Chu Yuqin said calmly, "You may all go back. The Prince does not intend to see the Wang family for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yong was stunned.

Their main purpose in coming here was to reconcile the Northern King and the Eighth Prince. If they couldn't even see the people, how could they possibly reconcile them?

This is troublesome.

Wang Yong then said, "Madam Chu, didn't you relay our words to the Northern King?"

Chu Yuqin said calmly, "I have relayed your message. The Prince believes that your Wang family is not sincere, so he does not wish to see you."

This……

Wang Yong instantly understood what Chu Yuqin meant.

Their condition was that the Northern King support the Eighth Prince's struggle for the throne, and once the Eighth Prince inherited the throne, they would give the Northern King several pieces of map so that he could establish his own independent kingdom.

If the Northern King believes that these conditions lack sincerity, then it only proves one thing: the Northern King has great ambitions, and his goal is the entire Great Xia, so he doesn't care about the land they promised at all.

In this way, there is no room for reconciliation between the Northern King and the Eighth Prince.

The reason the Wang family sent people to Beijun was because they believed that the 50,000 heavy cavalrymen in Beijun were definitely not from the Northern King. They believed that these heavy cavalrymen were most likely a trump card secretly prepared by the Xia Emperor, and the Northern King was just a pawn.

The Wang family believed that no one would willingly become a pawn, so they planned to use land as bait to win over the Northern King and make him one of their own. In this way, they could not only monitor the 50,000 heavy cavalry of the Northern Commandery, but also gain a powerful ally in politics.

However, it seems that the Northern King has not realized his status as a pawn. Could it be that the Northern King really thinks that these 50,000 heavy cavalry are his?

Thinking of this, the Chu and Wang families present found it somewhat laughable, believing that the Northern King was ungrateful.

(End of this chapter)