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

Chapter 153 In the cold winter, Zhou Youyou is pregnant again.

Lu Chen wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that Xuan Yuan Yunqi wasn't ignorant of manners.

Her loyalty to herself is at least 100, which is already the maximum loyalty.

Even if she's not good with manners, she should at least greet me, since I'm already in her line of sight.

and many more……

Lu Chen suddenly thought of something.

Typically, when he views a woman's profile, her interface looks like this:

【name:】

【identity:】

【score:】

[Favorability:]

However, Xuan Yuan Yun Qi's profile shows an additional "Loyalty" stat, which is only available to subordinates.

Her profile shows the following:

【name:】

【identity:】

【score:】

Loyalty:

[Favorability:]

Xuan Yuan Yunqi's loyalty to Lu Chen is 100%, but her favorability is only 50, which makes Lu Chen feel that something is wrong.

In his past understanding, a woman's level of affection for him was actually a measure of her loyalty to him. If a woman had a hundred percent affection for him, it meant that she was also a hundred percent loyal to him. This was Lu Chen's understanding.

But now, an anomaly has emerged: Xuan Yuan Yun Qi.

My loyalty is 100, but my affection level is only 50. What's going on?

Lu Chen then mentally asked the system, "System, why does Xuan Yuan Yun Qi have both favorability and loyalty ratings at the same time? Shouldn't these two be unified?"

[For most women, favorability and loyalty are linked. However, Xuan Yuan Yunqi is a character summoned by this system. System-summoned characters have 100% loyalty to their host, but that doesn't mean she particularly likes the host.]

Upon hearing the system's explanation, Lu Chen instantly realized that the favorability and loyalty of the women summoned by the system were not consistent.

So, if he wanted Xuan Yuan Yunqi to become his woman, he couldn't just look at her loyalty; he also had to find a way to increase Xuan Yuan Yunqi's affection for him.

However, since she is already absolutely loyal to him, is it necessary to increase her affection for him? Xuan Yuan Yunqi is considered his subordinate. If he were to issue an order to make her his woman, Xuan Yuan Yunqi would probably have no choice but to agree.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen quickly put the idea out of his mind. It was better not to do that. Others could do it, but Xuan Yuan Yunqi was his subordinate after all. How could he engage in such unspoken rules? He was not the kind of man who liked workplace unspoken rules.

Seeing that Lu Chen's expression seemed rather unpleasant and that he remained silent, Xuan Yuan Chen immediately felt a surge of nervousness. He quickly said again, "Your Highness, I will immediately go and bring my younger sister home so that she can kowtow to Your Highness and confess her sins!"

At this point, Xuan Yuan Chen looked as if he was about to chase after Xuan Yuan Yun Qi. Lu Chen snapped out of his reverie and coughed, saying, "No need for that. I was just asking out of curiosity."

At this moment, Lu Chen smiled, patted Xuan Yuan Chen on the shoulder, and continued, "General Xuan Yuan, your little sister is only in her twenties and has already reached the Grandmaster realm. She is truly a woman who is just as capable as any man."

Xuan Yuan Chen was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Thank you for your praise, Your Highness."

Lu Chen continued, "When I see your little sister again, I must ask her for some martial arts tips. I have great skill, but I lack practical combat ability."

"Um...this..." Xuan Yuan Chen hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Is he, as the lord, really planning to seek martial arts instruction from his younger sister?

Why does he always feel something is suspicious?

Although Xuan Yuan Chen's loyalty to Lu Chen was 100%, Xuan Yuan Chen also had his own thoughts. He now knew very well what kind of person the Northern King was, and he always felt that the Northern King had other ideas about his little sister.

However, since the Northern King was his lord, Xuan Yuan Chen couldn't say anything.

Lu Chen then turned around and said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Mo Fei and the others have come from afar and must be tired from their journey. Let's arrange accommodations for them and let them rest for a few days."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Mo Fei immediately replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness!"

Lu Chen didn't say anything more and led the craftsmen directly to the place where he had arranged for them to live.

Fortunately, Lu Chen had Qin Yushan prepare more houses from the beginning, because Lu Chen thought that the families of these craftsmen might also come to Beijun with them, so it wouldn't hurt to prepare more houses.

Unexpectedly, when he originally only wanted a thousand craftsmen, Mo Fei brought more than two thousand craftsmen to Beijun.

Now building cannons shouldn't be a big problem.

Lu Chen spent almost a day at the craftsmen's residence, learning about their skills so he could better assign them work later.

Seeing how much Prince Lu Chen cared for the craftsmen, Mo Fei and the others felt a great increase in their goodwill towards him.

Although Dayu City is relatively independent, they are quite aware of things happening outside, including the situation in Daxia.

They also knew that artisans had no status in the Great Xia Dynasty, so Dayu City, a city where everyone was an artisan, was a complete anomaly.

In the Great Xia Dynasty, four words were enough to describe the status of craftsmen: "extraordinary skills and ingenious crafts."

In this era, most people believed that advancements in tools were merely gimmicks and tricks, unworthy of being considered refined, and that craftsmen were simply a lowly class, so few people paid attention to this group.

At first, Mo Fei was a little worried. He was concerned that the Northern King would treat them the same way as the people of Da Xia. But now it seems that the Northern King cares about these craftsmen and does not treat them as inferior people at all.

……

night.

The evening breeze was blowing.

It gets dark quite early now. Lu Chen actually went back quite early, but by the time he arrived at the Prince's Mansion, it was already almost dark.

When Lu Chen dismounted, he saw that the lanterns at the entrance of the Northern Prince's Mansion had been blown out by the cold wind, and the servants of the Northern Prince's Mansion were trying their best to relight the candles inside the lanterns.

Upon seeing Lu Chen return, the servants and guards at the door hurriedly bowed to him and said, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Lu Chen nodded. "Okay, you guys get on with your work."

"Yes."

The servants continued to light the lanterns.

Lu Chen glanced at the servants and the guards at the gate. Although they were dressed relatively warmly, they were still shivering.

Even though they, the princes, were still there, they couldn't control their composure and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

Lu Chen frowned slightly.

Forget about the servants.

The servants in the Prince's mansion are mostly ordinary people, so it's normal for them to be afraid of the cold. However, the guards in the Prince's mansion are mostly martial artists of the fifth rank or above. How can martial artists of the fifth rank or above feel this cold? And even shiver from the cold?

Lu Chen then looked at a soldier and asked, "Are you cold?"

Seeing Lu Chen staring at him and asking this question, the soldier was startled. He instantly realized his lapse in decorum and quickly knelt down, saying, "Your Highness, I have been disrespectful. Please punish me!"

Lu Chen said calmly, "Get up. I don't mean to blame you. I just want to know what level of martial artist is needed to withstand the severe cold."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, the soldier breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought that the Northern King was going to see him and was trembling all over, believing that he had been disrespectful to him and would be punished.

The soldier then rose from the ground and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your forgiveness."

At this point, the soldier continued, "Your Highness, as far as I know, only martial artists of the seventh rank or above are immune to the severe cold."

"Martial artists below the seventh rank will still feel the cold outside, even if they are wearing fur clothing."

Upon hearing the soldier's reply, Lu Chen fell into deep thought.

Although he could feel the cold, he didn't shiver like the others. For Lu Chen, who had become a grandmaster, the cold was just a feeling.

Lu Chen thought to himself, "Even a fifth-rank soldier wearing fur clothes is shivering from the biting cold wind. What about ordinary people without martial arts skills?"

Wouldn't they be even more freezing?

Developing North County is no easy task.

Winters are so cold that people can only huddle at home, shivering, and dare not go out at all. Forget about economic development, there are probably only a few months out of the year when construction and production can be carried out.

Forget it, I'll stop thinking about these things for now.

Lu Chen then stopped letting his mind wander.

Now he can only take it one step at a time. Now that he has come to Beijun, Beijun will be his base of operations from now on. No matter how bad this place is, he will build it up. Only in this way can Beijun become a springboard for him.

When Lu Chen arrived at the main hall of the courtyard, Mu Zixuan and her harem members were waiting for him to return for dinner.

At this moment, Lu Chen glanced at Yelü Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao. This was the first time the two of them had come to have dinner with them.

After Lu Chen returned, Mu Zixuan and Da Zhou and Xiao Zhou were busy serving him, while the two of them seemed a little at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Lu Chen then asked with a smile, "Nan Yan, Yao Yao, isn't it much more lively having dinner here than at Chun Sheng Yuan?"

Previously, their maids would prepare food for them, and they would eat something casually and then rest. They would never sit together to eat like they do now.

Moreover, the Great Xia Dynasty originally had a separate meal system, and people would not sit together to eat.

Of course, it's definitely more lively sitting together like this than eating alone in their room.

Yelü Nanyan then said, "Thank you, Your Highness. The Princess Consort has invited me to attend the banquet at the Prince's residence."

Lu Chen said with a smile, "This can hardly be called a banquet. If you two don't have anything to do in the future, come here for dinner every night. It will make the family more lively."

Yelü Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao said in unison, "Yes, Your Highness."

After washing his hands, Lu Chen glanced at the brazier burning not far from the main hall.

There are three braziers in the main hall, and with these braziers, the temperature inside the room has risen considerably.

However, Lu Chen noticed that Da Zhou and Xiao Zhou's delicate bodies, dressed in fur coats, were still trembling slightly.

It's still too cold.

Yelü Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao are both martial artists, and they can withstand a certain degree of cold. Mu Zixuan has recently practiced the Dragon and Phoenix Yin-Yang Technique with him, and her body has been transformed to a certain extent. Her physique is much better than before, and her cold resistance has also been improved.

However, Da Zhou and Xiao Zhou are different; they are just ordinary people.

During dinner, Lu Chen looked at Da Zhou and Xiao Zhou and asked, "Xiao Xiao, You You, are you cold when you sleep at night?"

Upon hearing this question, the two sisters paused for a moment. Zhou Xiaoxiao then replied, "Your Highness, while we were sleeping, a maid was always responsible for burning firewood, so it wasn't very cold."

Hearing this, Lu Chen couldn't help but think that the people of Beijun had been living there for so many years, yet they still used braziers for heating and didn't even have a kang (heated brick bed).

When the Northern Prince's Mansion was built, the entire structure was basically the same as that of houses in the capital. They were all wooden houses with drafty windows and no earthen beds.

It's no wonder that ordinary people would feel cold at night.

It seems we need to find a way to solve this problem.

After dinner.

Lu Chen took a hot shower and then went straight to the North Campus.

At this moment, Xiao Zhou was holding her child in front of the brazier to warm herself.

Upon seeing the door open, Xiao Zhou immediately stood up. "Your Highness, you've arrived."

Lu Chen came to Zhou Youyou's side and hugged her delicate body. Zhou Youyou was only 1.6 meters tall, and she looked very petite next to Lu Chen. Lu Chen smiled and said, "Youyou, it's too cold for you to sleep alone at night. Let me warm you up."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Youyou and the maid who was in charge of watching the firewood blushed instantly. How could they not understand what Lu Chen meant?

Zhou Youyou then handed the child to the wet nurse, who took the child to her older sister Zhou Xiaoxiao's room. The two of them lived in the North Courtyard, and their rooms were next to each other.

Normally, when Lu Chen comes to Zhou Youyou's room, Zhou Youyou will hand the child over to Zhou Xiaoxiao, and when Lu Chen goes to Zhou Xiaoxiao's room, Zhou Xiaoxiao will hand the child over to Zhou Youyou to take care of.

After the child was taken away, Zhou Youyou whispered in Lu Chen's arms, "Your Highness, I'll go warm your bed first."

Lu Chen smiled slightly, then picked up the petite Zhou Youyou in a princess carry and walked directly to the bed. "No need, I'm not afraid of the cold."

"My darling Youyou was shivering all day, so let me help warm you up."

Zhou Youyou buried her head in Lu Chen's chest in embarrassment. Although she was already Lu Chen's woman, she still felt very shy every time she faced him, perhaps because Lu Chen was too fierce.

Lu Chen then helped Zhou Youyou raise her temperature, and soon Zhou Youyou no longer felt cold. Not only was she no longer cold, but she was also sweating profusely.

[The host cultivates feelings with Zhou Youyou once, gaining 60 experience points for the Qi Refining Technique, 60 experience points for the Rejuvenating Hand Technique, and 60 experience points for the Dragon-Phoenix Yin-Yang Technique.]

[Zhou Youyou has successfully become pregnant with the host's child; the reward is coal mining and processing technology.]

[The pregnancy reward is an incentive; the host is encouraged to ensure the child's safe delivery. A safe delivery will earn even greater rewards.]

Lu Chen's eyes lit up after hearing the system notification.

It's true that the system provides exactly what he needs. He was just worrying about how to solve the heating problem for ordinary people in winter, and he didn't expect the system to reward him with coal mining and processing technology so quickly.

(End of this chapter)