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

Chapter 175 Are you trying to rebel?

The Prince's Mansion, Chunsheng Courtyard.

Light snow was falling in the courtyard, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

Yelü Nanyan sat in her room with a pot of hot tea in front of her. She sipped her tea while listening to the sounds coming from the neighboring courtyard.

"Your Highness, spare my life..."

"Your Highness, I know I was wrong..."

"Your Highness...my husband...my dear brother..."

……

At this moment, Xiao Wenyao whispered, "Sister Nanyan, I remember that woman next door was also the prince's woman, right?"

Yelü Nanyan took a small sip of tea and replied, "The entire inner courtyard is inhabited by his women."

Xiao Wenyao said, "Oh."

Xiao Wenyao thought for a moment, then continued, "However, I seem to rarely see the Prince going next door."

Yelü Nanyan said, "She is different from us. She has responsibilities outside and is not often in the palace."

Hearing this, Xiao Wenyao sighed and then said, "I wish I could be in charge of something too. It's so boring staying in the Prince's mansion every day."

Yelü Nanyan smiled slightly and then said, "You won't be bored when the Prince comes to your room later."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wenyao trembled and blushed, saying, "Sister Nanyan, what nonsense are you talking about? The Prince is still up to no good next door, how could he possibly be looking for me?"

Xiao Wenyao still had some expectations in her heart, after all, it had been more than two months since she had played horse riding games with Lu Chen.

However, she also knew that Lu Chen had many women, and he might not come to find her anytime soon. Even if he did come to Chun Sheng Courtyard, he would most likely go to Yelü Nanyan first.

Once Lu Chen entered Yelü Nanyan's room, he would never leave, not even for a single night. This was almost always the case, and Xiao Wenyao had already figured out the pattern.

Lu Chen seemed to really enjoy attacking Yelü Nanyan's weaknesses. Xiao Wenyao was actually a little curious as to why Lu Chen was always able to stay in Yelü Nanyan's room for so long. Was it because Yelü Nanyan was a ninth-rank martial artist, so Lu Chen needed to suppress her for a longer period of time in order to make her submit?

Seeing Xiao Wenyao's face turn red, Yelü Nanyan smiled slightly and then said, "Yaoyao, you should give the prince a big, healthy son as soon as possible. Maybe you can go out whenever you want in the future."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wenyao asked, "Really?"

Yelü Nanyan said softly, "The people of Daxia value offspring. If you give the prince an heir, your status in the Northern Prince's Mansion will be elevated, and you will be able to leave whenever you want."

Xiao Wenyao said, "But I've heard that it's very difficult for martial artists to get pregnant; it's not so easy for them to have children."

Yelü Nanyan smiled and said, "That's simple. As long as you serve the prince well and get him to visit you more often, you might get pregnant one day."

Hearing this, Xiao Wenyao pouted. She didn't want Lu Chen to come to her place so often.

Although being teased by Lu Chen doesn't make her uncomfortable, she definitely can't stand it if Lu Chen keeps coming to see her.

Not to mention her, there wasn't a single woman in the entire inner courtyard of the Prince's mansion who could resist Lu Chen's frequent requests to share a room with them.

She was conflicted about Lu Chen's attitude; she was afraid that Lu Chen wouldn't come to see her, but she was also afraid that Lu Chen would come to see her every day.

What she thought was that it would be best if Lu Chen came to see her once every seven or eight days.

Just as Xiao Wenyao was lost in thought, the noise from next door grew louder and louder. Yelü Nanyan said with a smile, "It seems Your Highness is in a bad mood today?"

Upon hearing Yelü Nanyan's words, Xiao Wenyao involuntarily squeezed her legs together. She thought to herself that she must be obedient to Lu Chen in the future, otherwise she might end up like the girl next door who was punished by the prince.

I don't know how much time passed.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, gradually drowning out the sounds of the wind and snow within the Prince's mansion.

As time passed, only the howling wind and snow remained.

at the same time.

Inside a room.

Wang Qingci lay sprawled on the couch, her hair disheveled, looking utterly dejected.

At this moment, Lu Chen was looking through the information about Dayue that Wang Qingci had given him.

At this moment, the wind and snow drifted in through the window, but the room had long been converted into a heated room, so there was no cold at all.

Even if this room isn't a greenhouse, it doesn't matter. Lu Chen can use manpower to turn it into a greenhouse. Wouldn't Wang Qingci be sweating profusely then?

Lu Chen glanced at the blinding white light beside him and said with a smile, "Lord Wang, weren't you here to report intelligence to me? Why are you lying there motionless?"

"Your work attitude is seriously problematic. How dare you be so lazy in front of me, a prince?"

"Looks like he still needs to be properly disciplined."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci turned over slightly, turned to the side, and stared at Lu Chen's eyes with a resentful expression.

"Your Highness, you really like to play the victim and accuse others first. It was clearly you who prevented me from reporting my work properly."

"If you do this again, I will have someone else deliver intelligence and I will never return to the Prince's mansion."

Lu Chen said indifferently, "Oh? As my female slave, you dare not personally return to report to me?"

"Are you trying to rebel?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci said quietly, "Your Highness is so fierce, how dare I rebel?"

Seeing Wang Qingci's resentful expression, Lu Chen raised his hand and slapped her buttocks, then said, "Lord Wang, remember, serving me is also your job."

At this point, Lu Chen turned to look at the intelligence report in his hand again. "Alright, let's get down to business."

His anger had mostly subsided, and it was time to discuss serious matters.

Wang Qingci then said, "Your Highness, Tingyu Tower's business has expanded to the Great Wu Dynasty, but it is not an easy task to inquire about information about the Great Wu Dynasty."

"I've heard that the eldest princess of the Great Wu Dynasty is extremely powerful. Her intelligence network covers the entire Great Wu, and any intelligence agency from any other dynasty that tries to infiltrate the Great Wu Dynasty will be discovered by her."

"Although Tingyulou has successfully opened several restaurants and inns in Dawu, I dare not let them inquire about anything."

Upon hearing Wang Qingci's words, Lu Chen immediately became interested. "Oh? A princess can control such a vast intelligence network? Doesn't Da Wu have any princes? How could they let a woman manage such a large intelligence network?"

This was an era that favored sons over daughters. Even princesses in the royal family generally did not have much power. Their role was mostly that of a political tool used by the emperor to maintain his rule.

The nationwide intelligence network was similar to the shadow guards under the Xia Emperor. It was indeed hard to believe that a princess of a dynasty could control an intelligence agency similar to shadow guards.

Wang Qingci replied, "Of course, Da Wu also has princes, and quite a few at that. However, Da Wu's eldest princess is no simple woman; those princes are no match for her."

At this point, Wang Qingci suddenly thought of something and continued, "Speaking of women in power, I thought of another person, and that woman is relatively close to Beijun."

Lu Chen asked curiously, "Who?"

Wang Qingci replied, "The new Emperor Yue."

"Emperor Yue?" Lu Chen muttered to himself. Although the Dayue Dynasty bordered the Northern Prefecture, he didn't know much about the Dayue Dynasty at first.

However, Tingyu Tower has recently collected a lot of information about the Dayue Dynasty, but very little of this information is about the Emperor Yue.

Wang Qingci continued, "Rumor has it that the new Empress Yue is also a woman, but for some reason, there is very little information about the new Empress Yue from other dynasties."

"Moreover, there are no voices opposing Emperor Yue within the Dayue Dynasty."

"Logically speaking, a woman becoming emperor would definitely cause a turmoil in the dynasty and dissatisfaction among various forces, but the Great Yue territory is unusually quiet, and no one is discussing whether the Yue Empress should be emperor."

Upon hearing Wang Qingci's words, Lu Chen smiled and said, "That's quite interesting. An empress, I never imagined there was an empress in this world."

Wang Qingci continued, "What's more, I've heard that the eldest princess of the Great Wu Dynasty and the Emperor of the Great Yue Dynasty are old acquaintances and have a very good relationship."

"The reason why the Dayue Dynasty has stationed 200,000 troops in the border area with Beijun is likely because Dawu asked the Yue Emperor for help, so that Dayue could guard against Beijun's 50,000 heavy cavalry."

"However, all of this is just my speculation, and there is no evidence to confirm it yet."

After pondering for a moment, Lu Chen said, "Your guess is not without merit."

"The fact that Da Wu was able to immediately mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Da Xia the moment Da Xia provoked the conflict shows that they were well prepared. It also proves that they may have already informed countries or dynasties with good relations with Da Wu. That's why Da Yue's 200,000 troops were mobilized in advance to the border area with Bei Jun to monitor Bei Jun's heavy cavalry."

"Of course, speculation is just speculation."

At this point, Lu Chen looked into Wang Qingci's beautiful eyes and said, "Since it's easy to expose yourself when gathering intelligence in Dawu, then you shouldn't collect overly sensitive information. Just collect what you hear from the common people."

"Next, Tingyu Tower will focus on the Dayue Dynasty. I am particularly interested in the empress of the Dayue Dynasty."

Hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci said coquettishly, "Your Highness, you wouldn't be thinking of kidnapping that empress to have your child, would you?"

Lu Chen chuckled, then slapped Wang Qingci's buttocks again, causing Wang Qingci to involuntarily let out a soft moan.

"What do you know? A woman who can ensure that no man in the country opposes her becoming empress proves that she must be very powerful and resourceful. In addition, the Dayue Dynasty borders our Northern Prefecture. Isn't it only natural that I want to know more about her?"

"By the way, how old is this new Emperor Yue?"

Wang Qingci had initially believed Lu Chen's words, but when Lu Chen asked about her age, she looked at him with suspicion. However, she still replied, "She seems to be only in her thirties. I'm not sure of her exact age, but she should be about the same age as the eldest princess of Da Wu. Since they are friends, their ages shouldn't be too different."

Wang Qingci then reminded him, "Although I don't know what Your Highness is thinking, I still have to remind you that I've heard that Princess Yue has quite a few male lovers. Unlike Your Highness's women, she is not a virgin."

Upon hearing Wang Qingci's words, Lu Chen looked at her and said, "Why are you telling me this? You don't actually think I have any romantic interest in that Emperor Yue, do you?"

"Even if I were stupid, I would never be interested in an empress. A woman who can have such great power must rely on men to some extent. Even men who become emperors need to secure their positions through marriage, let alone women who become emperors."

"The reason I want to understand her is because I'm worried that she will become a major enemy of North County in the future."

"Lord Wang, you actually think of me as the kind of man who only thinks with his lower body? You are making malicious assumptions about me."

In this era, women had a relatively low status and were expected to adhere to the "Three Obediences and Four Virtues," but this was relative.

All rules are made by those who have power. When women have power, they can completely disregard those rules.

In this era, men could have multiple wives and concubines, and women with power could also have several men.

Let alone the Empress, even the princesses in the capital of Great Xia were all promiscuous, keeping male concubines was perfectly normal for them. As for their husbands, they dared not speak out, unless the husband was from a powerful family, they could only endure it.

Even princesses, who are used by emperors as tools for political marriages, would keep male lovers or gigolos, let alone an empress of a dynasty.

An empress of a dynasty wields such immense power, able to have any man she desires. If someone were to claim she is still a virgin and has never been with a man, who would believe it? Moreover, Empress Yue is already in her thirties, unless she is someone who has devoted herself to martial arts.

Only martial artists can abstain from lust, and some even abstain for life.

However, Lu Chen didn't believe that Empress Yue was the kind of woman who could abstain from lust. A woman in the center of power, surrounded by such great temptations, could she really abstain from men? That was highly unlikely.

Lu Chen was clearly not after Yue Huang's beauty, but Wang Qingci actually thought of him as the kind of man who would have impure thoughts whenever he heard about a woman, which infuriated Lu Chen.

He was a virtuous man, yet he was mistaken for a lecherous man.

This little slave girl is utterly lawless! How dare she slander him! She must be severely punished!

If someone dares to slander him today, who knows what they might do tomorrow!

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci's expression changed slightly, and she quickly said, "Your Highness, I know I was wrong... umm..."

Lu Chen didn't care about anything else, he threw the intelligence in his hand aside, then leaned down and sealed Wang Qingci's red lips with his.

The snow was still falling outside the window, but it had lessened considerably.

The servants of the Prince's mansion had already started shoveling snow. When they heard a sound coming from a certain courtyard, they all wisely avoided that courtyard.

Yelü Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao were still enjoying their Dragon and Phoenix Tea in their room when they heard a noise from next door. Xiao Wenyao asked, "Sister Nanyan, did the Prince kill that woman?"

Yelü Nanyan took a small sip of tea and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Your Highness knows your limits. This is just the beginning; it's not even dark yet."

Xiao Wenyao said with a hint of regret, "Oh."

It seems Lu Chen won't be going to any other courtyards today, and probably won't be coming to their Chun Sheng Courtyard either.

……

Winter is a long season for most people, and most people can only stay at home. There are not many entertainment activities in this era.

However, time passed very quickly for Lu Chen. Because there were fewer political affairs in Beijun during the winter, he would spend most of his mornings in his study looking at intelligence reports, and then go to Chunsheng Academy to teach Xiao Wenyao to ride horses and enjoy tea with Yelü Nanyan. He would stay at Chunsheng Academy for a whole day.

At night, Lu Chen returned to the main courtyard to sleep with his beloved concubine. He lived a very fulfilling life every day.

half a month later.

The capital of Daxia.

The Imperial Palace.

Although heavy snow was falling in Beijun, the capital of Daxia was still like autumn, and there was no sign that winter had arrived.

Emperor Xia, dressed in a yellow dragon robe, stood in the pavilion in the Imperial Garden, looking at the falling leaves in the distance, and listened to the report from the Shadow Guard Commander with a frown.

After the Shadow Guard Commander finished his report, Emperor Xia said to the eunuch beside him, "Go and see if the two prime ministers have arrived yet."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

At this moment, Situ Ce, who was inside the pavilion, spoke up: "This old minister believes that this news is most likely true."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia said, "Is the Grand Preceptor joking? In the last battle of Wanning Valley, Beijun was able to defeat the 300,000-strong army of the Heavenly Wolf King, but when faced with the 200,000-strong army of the Northern Xian King, not only did they fail to defeat them, but they also lost 50,000 heavy cavalry."

Situ Ce said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten the incident where a Grandmaster was suspected to have appeared in the Wanning Valley last time?"

"In my opinion, if there really is a Grandmaster in the Northern Commandery, it is unlikely that the Grandmaster would stay in the Northern Commandery forever."

"The reason why such a great victory was achieved in the Battle of Wanning Valley is very likely due to the help of that Grandmaster. Without the Grandmaster, the heavy cavalry of Beijun would still be no match for him."

"These heavy cavalry have only recently appeared. Their combat strength and whether they can compare with the imperial court's heavy cavalry are still unknown. We have focused too much on the armor of those heavy cavalry and thus overlooked their true strength."

"Even if the Northern Commandery possesses heavy cavalry armor, training a heavy cavalry force and making it combat-ready is not something that can be done overnight. Your Majesty should be very aware of this."

Upon hearing Situ Ce's words, Emperor Xia remained silent, but the expression on his face kept changing.

Situ Ce's words made a lot of sense. They were all intimidated by the heavy cavalry that appeared in Beijun. The main reason was that they subconsciously regarded the Beijun Black Cavalry as an army similar to the 20,000 well-trained heavy cavalry of Daxia.

Although they received intelligence about the presence of Black Cavalry in the Northern Commandery, neither Lin Xiuming's battle report nor Bai Qingqing's intelligence mentioned the strength of those Black Cavalry.

They never considered whether the heavy cavalry that appeared in such a short time possessed the same combat power as the heavy cavalry of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Now think about it, if those heavy cavalrymen weren't soldiers who entered Northshire directly from other forces, but rather soldiers recruited from Northshire, and were simply made into a heavy cavalry force just because they wore heavy armor, then their combat power would definitely not be comparable to that of real heavy cavalry.

(End of this chapter)