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

Chapter 177 Chen Wanrong's Master, Lu Chen's Troubles

In the quiet and elegant courtyard, white mist swirls around.

A stream flows continuously within the courtyard, making a babbling sound.

At that moment, a biting chill emanated from the rooms in the courtyard, and in an instant, everything in the courtyard was frozen, as if this place were in the far north.

At that moment, a graceful figure appeared at the entrance of the courtyard.

Dressed in a simple white dress, Chen Wanrong walked lightly across the frozen stone path to the door of the room.

Chen Wanrong did not go in directly. Instead, she bowed at the door and said, "Disciple greets Master."

At that moment, a cold female voice came from inside the room.

"Come in!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the door of the wooden house opened automatically, and a cold wind blew out of the room, causing Chen Wanrong's long skirt to flutter wildly.

After the cold wind subsided, Chen Wanrong stepped over the threshold and entered the room.

The room was like an ancient ice cave, with everything frozen solid.

At this moment, Chen Wanrong looked toward the bed not far away, where a woman with long silver-white hair was slowly opening her beautiful eyes.

The woman was like a fairy from heaven; her beauty seemed to exist in reality.

Although the woman's hair was completely white, her skin was incredibly fair and smooth, and her face was free of wrinkles, making her look like a young woman who had just come of age.

She radiated a holy light, and her icy demeanor made her unapproachable.

At this moment, the woman looked into Chen Wanrong's eyes and said, "Recently, many elders have come to me to complain that you are not focused on cultivation and have sent many disciples to the Northern Prefecture."

The woman's voice was clear, pure, and elegant, with a powerful penetrating quality, as if it were directly transmitted to the brain.

Chen Wanrong said expressionlessly, "Yes, Master, that is indeed the case."

Upon hearing Chen Wanrong's reply, the white-haired woman said, "There are very few people in this world with the destiny to become immortals. Countless people fight tooth and nail for this elusive destiny, yet you, who possess it, do not know how to cherish it."

Chen Wanrong said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "This disciple's worldly desires are not yet extinguished, and I have no intention of cultivating immortality. I have disappointed my master."

The woman sighed and said, "Never mind, everyone has their own choices."

"The reason I summoned you here is to inform you that I am about to go into seclusion. This seclusion may last for a hundred years, or it may last for five hundred years."

"After I go into seclusion, I will entrust everything of Xuan Yue Palace to you and those elders."

"I must remind you that although this world cannot accommodate the existence of immortals and immortals will not come to this world, the Xuan Yue Palace is not invincible. There are also powerful individuals below the immortal realm who surpass the Heavenly Realm. If one day a powerful individual surpassing the Heavenly Realm appears, you and those elders may not be their match."

"Therefore, I still hope that after you have settled all worldly affairs, you will not cause any more trouble and can return to Xuan Yue Palace to cultivate in peace and break through to the Celestial Realm as soon as possible. I do not want to see only your grave when I come out of seclusion."

"I have already lost one disciple, and I do not want to lose a second one."

Chen Wanrong bowed again and said, "This disciple understands."

The white-haired woman said, "Alright, that's settled then."

As soon as she finished speaking, the white-haired woman's body transformed into countless fragments and then disappeared.

As the white-haired woman disappeared, the ice inside the room instantly dissipated, and the sound of flowing water outside the courtyard returned.

After the white-haired woman left, Chen Wanrong also turned and left the courtyard.

Her master had gone into seclusion, her biggest worry had disappeared, and now no one could stop her from restoring her kingdom.

It's time to go back to Northshire.

Just then, Lu Chen's image involuntarily appeared in her mind.

For some reason, Lu Chen's image kept popping into her mind lately.

At this moment, Chen Wanrong still didn't think much of it. She guessed that perhaps it was because she was always thinking about planting the love potion in Lu Chen that she kept thinking about him.

……

Beijun.

North Prince's Mansion, Chunsheng Courtyard.

"Achoo!!!"

"Achoo!!!"

"Strange, I'm already a grandmaster, why am I still sneezing? Could it be that some woman is after me?"

Lu Chen had just finished exercising and was sitting on the edge of the bed resting when he sneezed several times in a row as soon as he got up.

At this moment, Lu Chen turned his head to look at Xiao Wenyao, who was lying paralyzed on the bed. Xiao Wenyao had tears in her eyes and looked pitiful.

Seeing Xiao Wenyao staring at him with resentment, Lu Chen smiled and said, "Little Ma'er, what's with that expression? You weren't cursing me in your heart just now, were you?"

Xiao Wenyao whispered, "This humble servant dares not."

Lu Chen chuckled, then slapped her bottom and said, "You don't dare? Someone who wants me to be their horse, what is there that you wouldn't dare to do?"

"I see you're getting bolder and bolder lately."

Xiao Wenyao didn't dare to speak, only whimpering in her heart. She wanted to ride a real horse, a horse that could gallop across the grassland, but Lu Chen always twisted her meaning and treated her like a horse.

Lu Chen glanced out the window and saw that the snowstorm had stopped. He then stood up and said, "You should get some rest. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."

Seeing that Lu Chen had gotten up, Xiao Wenyao quickly got up as well and helped Lu Chen get dressed.

Now Xiao Wenyao has also learned to serve others, after all, she is Lu Chen's little slave girl, and these are things she should learn.

After leaving Chunsheng Courtyard, Lu Chen went to his study.

The weather was nice today, with clear skies after the snow. After arriving at the study door, Lu Chen did not immediately go into the study, but stood in the yard to bask in the sun for a while.

For the past two weeks, Lu Chen has been either cultivating his relationship with Yelü Nanyan in bed, teaching Xiao Wenyao to ride a horse, or practicing his spear skills with Bai Qingqing, a master. He hasn't been able to bask in the sun for a long time.

Just as Lu Chen was sunbathing, a maid came up to him and said, "Your Highness, Lord Li requests an audience."

Lu Chen said calmly, "Let him come over."

Soon, the maid brought Li Rui to Lu Chen.

Li Rui bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness! Long live the Prince!"

While basking in the sun, Lu Chen said, "Yes, no need for formalities."

"Speak, what is it?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Li Rui hesitated for a moment and did not speak immediately.

Seeing that Li Rui hadn't spoken yet, Lu Chen curiously turned to look at Li Rui and asked, "Why is Lord Li being so hesitant today?"

Li Rui coughed and then said, "Your Highness, the main reason I've come to see you today is about the matter of officials' salaries."

Hearing this, Lu Chen was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Officials' salaries? What, do the officials in Beijun want a raise?"

Li Rui replied, "No, that's not it."

"only……"

Li Rui hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Seeing that Li Rui was being indecisive today, Lu Chen immediately said, "Lord Li, get to the point. If you have nothing else to say, go back and get back to your work."

Seeing that Lu Chen was somewhat unhappy, Li Rui quickly said, "Previously, the salaries of officials in Beijun were all paid by the imperial court. However, according to the regulations of the imperial court, the salaries of officials in the fiefdoms of the Great Xia vassal kings are all paid by the vassal kings."

"The imperial court stopped allocating funds to Beijun six months ago, so..."

Li Rui didn't continue speaking; he looked up and stared at Lu Chen.

His meaning was quite clear: the Northern Prefecture was out of money, and the officials' salaries would have to be paid by the Northern Prince's Palace.

Upon hearing Li Rui's words, Lu Chen chuckled and then said, "Doesn't the Northern Commandery collect taxes every year? I remember that according to the court's rules, a vassal king is exempt from paying taxes to the court for the first ten years after he takes up his fief."

"Isn't the tax revenue from North County enough to support these officials?"

Li Rui replied, "Your Highness, Beijun is impoverished, and since Your Highness came to Beijun, you have exempted a lot of taxes. There is indeed very little silver left in Beijun's treasury."

"I have done the calculations. If we distribute all the officials' salaries for this year, we're afraid we won't have enough money to finish the renovation of the Council Hall."

Currently, the Northern Prince's Mansion and the Prefectural Governor's Mansion keep two separate accounts. The Northern Prince's Mansion manages the money, while the Prefectural Governor's Mansion manages the taxes of the Northern Prefecture.

Without the imperial court's funding, the little money Li Rui managed would soon be exhausted, and the funds for the government office were all drawn from the prefectural governor's treasury.

Lu Chen exempted Beijun from so many taxes, and without the imperial court's funding, the money managed by the prefectural governor's office had been basically only coming in and not going out, so it naturally couldn't last long.

After listening to Li Rui's words, Lu Chen remained silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. After a while, Lu Chen asked, "How much salary do the officials of Beijun need this year?"

Li Rui cautiously replied, "Your Highness, no more than 100,000."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen frowned and continued to ask, "How much exactly?"

Li Rui replied again, "Around fifty thousand taels."

The Northern Prince's Mansion could certainly afford 50,000 taels.

However, this is only part of the salary of the officials in Beijun. Lu Chen now spends an unknown amount of silver every month to support the Black Cavalry and those barbarian prisoners. Although the Beiwang Mansion still has many businesses that are making money, if he spends lavishly, he will definitely spend faster than he earns.

Lu Chen then said to Li Rui, "You go back first. I don't manage the accounts of the Prince's Mansion. I need to ask the Princess Consort first. As for the officials' salaries, I will allocate the funds in a few days. You don't need to worry about that."

Hearing Lu Chen's words, Li Rui felt relieved. He knew that the Northern Prince's Mansion was not short of money. Almost every business the Northern Prince's Mansion was currently engaged in could make a lot of money, and earning tens of thousands of taels of silver a month was definitely not a problem.

The key is the attitude of the Northern King. Some vassal kings often delay paying the salaries of their officials after arriving in their fiefdoms. This happens in every fiefdom. Li Rui's initial concern was that Lu Chen might deliberately delay paying the salaries of his officials.

If Lu Chen defaults on the officials' salaries, the officials of Beijun will not think of Lu Chen, the prince, but will come to him, the prefect.

Fortunately, Lu Chen showed no intention of delaying his salary payment.

Li Rui then said, "Your subject takes his leave."

Afterwards, Li Rui left the Prince's Mansion with peace of mind. After Li Rui left, Lu Chen did not go into the study. Instead, he went directly to the main courtyard to find Mu Zixuan.

Mu Zixuan was sitting on a wooden chair in the main hall. Most people in Daxia preferred to kneel, but Lu Chen was worried that kneeling would affect the fetus after his wives and concubines became pregnant, so he specially asked the craftsmen to make a lot of chairs.

Mu Zixuan is now showing her pregnancy; her belly is a little bulging, but it's not particularly noticeable, mainly because her clothes are quite loose.

When Lu Chen arrived at the main hall, he found Mu Zixuan looking at the account books. He immediately moved a chair over and sat down next to her. Then, he put one arm around her slender waist and whispered in her ear, "My dear consort, you've worked hard."

Seeing Lu Chen come to find her at this time, Mu Zixuan was a little confused. Usually, after she became pregnant, Lu Chen would not come to hug and cuddle with her in broad daylight. After all, Lu Chen had to ride horses and practice shooting with Xiao Wenyao and Bai Qingqing, and he didn't have time to come to find her.

Mu Zixuan immediately put down the account book in her hand and asked, "Your Highness, what brings you here?"

Lu Chen didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "From now on, the officials of Beijun will also need to be supported by the Beiwang Mansion, and the Beiwang Mansion will probably have to give out a lot of money."

Mu Zixuan instantly understood Lu Chen's meaning and said, "Indeed, the national treasury and the private treasury should be divided."

When the Great Xia Dynasty granted fiefdoms to its vassal kings, the fiefdoms were granted to them. Once a fiefdom was granted, the imperial court would no longer allocate funds to the vassal kings' fiefdoms unless there was a war or some particularly significant event.

When a vassal king went to his fiefdom, he would distinguish between the royal treasury and the national treasury. The purpose of this was to collect most of the tax revenue directly into the royal treasury to fund his own eating, drinking, and entertainment.

Of course, the situation in Beijun is different. Beijun is now extremely poor and has very little tax revenue. Lu Chen does not need to rely on the people's taxes to make money. The Beiwangfu will set up an internal treasury and a national treasury separately, simply to facilitate future fund allocation.

Mu Zixuan continued, "But who should manage the national treasury? Does Your Highness have an ideal candidate in mind?"

The treasury should naturally be in the hands of our own people. Once the internal treasury and the national treasury are separated, the national treasury can no longer be handed over to the prefectural governor's office.

Although the Prince's Mansion is very wealthy now, it's possible that one day the national treasury will have more money than the imperial treasury, especially after the Northern Prefecture develops and tax revenue increases. In that case, the national treasury will likely be even wealthier than the Prince's Mansion's imperial treasury.

Therefore, it's best to keep a firm grip on your money from the very beginning.

Upon hearing Mu Zixuan's question, Lu Chen pondered for a moment, "I really haven't found a suitable candidate yet."

First, the person managing the national treasury must be 100% loyal to it; second, the person managing it must have a certain amount of experience.

Lu Chen sighed and said, "Let alone the national treasury, the current official structure of the entire Beijun is almost like a makeshift team. There are hardly any capable people. It seems that we need to adjust the official structure of Beijun first."

The reason why a vassal state is called a state is naturally because the vassal kings within the vassal state have a lot of autonomy, including the power to appoint and dismiss officials.

When a vassal king arrived in his fiefdom, the first thing he would do was to establish his own staff, which was called a small court. The court had six ministries, and the fiefdom also had six ministries.

Lu Chen has been in Beijun for over a year, and even the Six Ministries haven't been officially appointed yet. Their responsibilities and powers are unclear. The way Beijun was managed before is still the same old way.

Of course, the most important reason is that Beijun lacks capable people, and Lu Chen cannot find enough civil officials to form the Six Ministries.

Lu Chen glanced down at Mu Zixuan's belly, then reached out and gently stroked it, thinking to himself that the system rewarded Mu Zixuan and Zhou Youyou with talent when they gave birth.

One time it was the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the other time it was the Black Cavalry, which suggests that the reward for having children is very likely to be talented individuals.

In this way, Mu Zixuan and the others are not only carrying their own children, but also the civil officials they desire.

Hopefully, when Mu Zixuan and the other two give birth again, the system will reward me with some capable people, as Beijun is currently in dire need of civil officials.

At this moment, Mu Zixuan said, "Your Highness, how about we try temporarily entrusting the national treasury to Sister Nanyan for management?"

Hearing this, Lu Chen was stunned for a moment.

Yelü Nanyan does indeed have rich management experience, and her favorability towards him has reached 100%, so it is impossible for her to betray him.

However, Yelü Nanyan was, after all, the Queen Consort of the Heavenly Wolf King in the past. Entrusting the management of the national treasury to someone who was once the Queen Consort of the Heavenly Wolf King would definitely cause dissatisfaction among some people.

Mu Zixuan continued, "Sister Nanyan is now the Prince's woman, and I recently asked her to help with the affairs of the Prince's mansion. I found that her accounting skills are not much worse than mine. If we just temporarily entrust the management of the national treasury to her, I don't think there will be any problems."

"Moreover, with Your Highness's charm, I believe that Your Highness will soon be able to find a suitable person to take over the national treasury, so letting her manage the national treasury is only temporary."

"I believe that there is another important reason for letting her manage the national treasury: to appease the barbarians of Beijun. If the barbarians know that even Sister Nanyan, who was once the Queen Consort of the Heavenly Wolf King, has been entrusted with such an important task by you, it will prove that you do not reject the barbarians. Only then can those barbarians see hope."

Lu Chen's marriage to Yelü Nanyan had a significant political purpose: to appease the barbarian tribes of Beijun, especially the Tianlang King tribe.

Although Lu Chen had always been lusting after Yelü Nanyan, his marriage to her was not actually a matter of lust, but rather a political alliance.

It was essentially a political marriage between the barbarian Sirius King tribe and the Northern King's Palace.

Of course, even if Yelü Nanyan wasn't the Queen Consort of the Heavenly Wolf King, Lu Chen would still want to possess her after seeing her; political marriage was secondary to Lu Chen.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen smiled and said, "My dear consort, aren't you afraid that if you let Nan Yan manage the national treasury, she'll gain power and her status in the palace will surpass yours?"

Mu Zixuan smiled and replied, "The status of women in the Northern Prince's Mansion is not something that anyone can fight for, but rather something that the Prince bestows. Whoever the Prince wishes to have a high status can have a high status."

In other places, once a woman has power, the male head of the household is likely to be controlled by her.

However, things are different in the Northern Prince's Mansion. Lu Chen holds absolute authority in the Northern Prince's Mansion, and all the women in the inner courtyard revolve around him.

Mu Zixuan knew the effects of the Dragon and Phoenix Tea, so she wasn't worried at all that Yelü Nanyan would become more powerful than her, unless Lu Chen wanted Yelü Nanyan to be more powerful than her.

If Lu Chen really wanted to elevate Yelü Nanyan's status above hers, or even abolish her position as princess consort, it would be something that a disgraced official's daughter like her couldn't stop.

However, after living together for more than a year, Mu Zixuan believed that Lu Chen was not that kind of person. She trusted Lu Chen completely, which was also a benefit of having 100% affection for him. There was absolutely no scheming between the couple.

(End of this chapter)