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

Chapter 178 I must make sure my sister sees the evil side of this man.

Upon hearing Mu Zixuan's answer, Lu Chen smiled slightly.

He liked Mu Zixuan as a virtuous wife and loving mother, who could distinguish right from wrong and would not be jealous.

In terms of looks, Mu Zixuan only scored 93, which is still a bit worse than Chu Yuqin. However, Lu Chen's liking for her is not based on the system's rating.

Any woman he likes is very important to him, and cannot be influenced by a mere system score.

Lu Chen then said, "Alright then, I'll let Nan Yan take over the national treasury for now, and I'll replace her once I find a suitable candidate."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chen reached out his other hand and turned to embrace Mu Zixuan's slender waist.

Although Mu Zixuan was pregnant, it didn't stop the two of them from hugging and cuddling.

Mu Zixuan suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Your Highness, is the construction of the straight road to begin next spring? I heard you had a lot of cement made."

Lu Chen said, "Mm."

Mu Zixuan pondered for a moment and said, "Then we'll need a lot of grain next year. Right now, Great Xia and Great Wu are at war, and grain prices in Great Xia are skyrocketing."

Hearing Mu Zixuan's words, Lu Chen was stunned for a moment. He had entrusted the procurement of grain to Mu Zixuan, so he was not aware of the grain prices in Da Xia.

However, after hearing what Mu Zixuan said, Lu Chen roughly guessed that the grain price in the Great Xia territory must be extremely high right now.

Mu Zixuan continued, "Moreover, grain prices are controlled by the powerful families of Jiangnan. The price of white rice within the Great Xia territory has risen to nearly six taels of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure).

Upon hearing Mu Zixuan's words, Lu Chen was stunned. Although he was not responsible for buying grain, he roughly knew the price of rice in the capital in the past, which fluctuated between 0.5 and 0.6 taels.

If the price of one shi (a unit of dry measure) of white rice has risen to six liang (another unit of dry measure), that means the price of grain has increased tenfold.

"Six...six taels?"

"So expensive?"

Mu Zixuan said, "If the war between Great Xia and Great Wu continues, food prices will likely rise further. By then, before the Great Wu army even reaches the capital, the people may be in dire straits..."

Mu Zixuan immediately realized she had spoken out of turn, so she shut up and didn't continue.

Seeing that Mu Zixuan suddenly shut up, Lu Chen said with a smile, "My dear consort, you don't need to be so reserved in front of me. Just say whatever comes to mind."

"And you're right, if food prices continue to rise, the people might indeed revolt. However, they still have surplus grain in their homes, so they can hold out for another six months or a year without much trouble. Besides, I estimate the war is almost over."

As long as war breaks out, food prices will inevitably rise. Even if the Great Xia initiates a war against foreign powers, it will be the same. It is impossible for the people to rebel as soon as the war starts and food prices rise. It is impossible for it to happen so quickly.

People usually only rebel when they are on the verge of starvation. The war has only just begun a few months ago, and it is impossible for the people of Daxia to be on the verge of starvation.

However, Lu Chen guessed that the war was likely to end soon. Although the war would lead to an increase in food prices, the war between Da Xia and Da Wu had only just begun and was about to enter a stalemate. Food prices in Da Xia should not have risen so dramatically.

The price of white rice suddenly increased tenfold, which is clearly the Jiangnan aristocratic families putting pressure on Emperor Xia.

On the one hand, they manipulate grain prices to exert pressure, and on the other hand, they exert pressure through external wars. It is highly likely that the Xia Emperor will soon be unable to withstand the pressure and will have to compromise.

I just don't know what the outcome of the compromise will be.

My father is young and strong, so it's impossible for him to abdicate. However, it's possible that he will appoint a crown prince.

However, if the Xia Emperor compromises with the powerful families of Jiangnan and decides to make the Eighth Prince the Crown Prince, the other factions in the capital will not be happy, and the Great Xia will be plunged into another round of bloody political struggle.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen's lips curled up slightly. Fortunately, he had been enfeoffed to the Northern Prefecture, and the events in the capital had little to do with him. He could just focus on developing his career.

Let's fight it out, let's fight until one of us is dead, then he can reap the benefits.

At this moment, Lu Chen said, "My dear consort, in a few days, allocate 70,000 taels of silver to the prefectural governor's office and have Li Rui pay the officials' salaries. Also, have him repair my council hall."

Although Li Rui only asked for 50,000 taels of silver, and it was obvious that he had exaggerated his request, Lu Chen did not intend to dwell on it. Instead, he gave Li Rui an extra 20,000 taels of silver.

He first offered some sweeteners to the officials of Beijun, because he had big plans for the future. Lu Chen understood the principle of combining carrot and stick.

Mu Zixuan said, "I understand. I will have someone transfer 70,000 taels of silver from the treasury to the prefect's mansion shortly."

Lu Chen thought for a moment, then said, "As for the issue of food..."

At this point, Lu Chen hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Grain prices are indeed a big problem. Grain prices in the Great Xia Dynasty are manipulated, and the most affected area is the Northern Prefecture. The Northern Prefecture is poor to begin with, and the Northern Prince's Palace basically buys all its grain.

If Lu Chen were to spend six or seven taels of silver to buy a bushel of rice, he would feel like he was out of his mind.

However, crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn have not been widely promoted. The promotion of crops takes time; it's not like you can harvest immediately after planting them.

Moreover, the first batch of crops needs to be planted and seeds need to be saved. It will take at least a few years before North County can truly solve the problem of food and clothing. During these years, North County will still have to buy food from outside.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen said to Mu Zixuan, "The Prince's Mansion should suspend the purchase of grain for now. I'll go ask Wang Qingci to see what the current grain prices are in other dynasties. Then we can use Tingyu Tower to purchase grain from other dynasties."

Mu Zixuan asked, "Your Highness, won't doing this expose the relationship between Tingyu Tower and the Prince's Mansion?"

Lu Chen said calmly, "Just falsify the accounts. Then Tingyu Tower will claim that the price of the grain they sell to the Northern Prince's Mansion is about the same as that of the Great Xia."

"Tingyulou was originally a business institution, so it has to play its role."

Although the main function of Tingyulou is to collect intelligence, its overt function is to conduct business. There is nothing that Tingyulou does not sell. Beijun is short of food, so Tingyulou resells food to Beijun to make a profit. This is a very normal business practice.

Mu Zixuan said, "I understand."

After spending some time with Mu Zixuan, Lu Chen left the main hall and went to his study.

Upon arriving at the study, he said to the Imperial Guards, "Go and summon Master Wang. I have something to discuss with her."

Wang Qingci has rarely been to the Northern Prince's residence in the past two weeks. I don't know if it's because the trouble she caused last time was too much and she was too scared to come back.

However, she was, after all, his female slave. If she didn't come back, he could just send someone to fetch her. As long as she didn't leave Yancheng, she had to come to the Northern Prince's Mansion to report information to him.

Lu Chen waited in the study for a short while before Wang Qingci's voice rang out from outside, "Your Highness, I've arrived."

Lu Chen sat at his desk, writing the reform plan for Beijun with a brush, and said, "Come in."

Wang Qingci then pushed open the door and entered the room.

Seeing Lu Chen busy at work, Wang Qingci breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Lu Chen had come to him to satisfy some other desires.

Come to think of it, with so many women in the inner courtyard of the Northern Prince's Mansion, even if she didn't come back, Lu Chen wouldn't be idle, so she didn't need to satisfy Lu Chen at all.

Lu Chen had no reason to send the Imperial Guards to find him for such a reason; if they were looking for him, it was most likely for something important.

Wang Qingci took the initiative to ask, "Your Highness, what brings you here?"

Lu Chen said, "I'd like to know which dynasty or country has the lowest grain prices recently, as the Northern Prince's Mansion plans to stockpile some grain."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci instantly understood what he meant. As someone who worked in intelligence, she was well aware that grain prices in the Great Xia Dynasty had recently risen to a terrifying level, and she had already helped Lu Chen find out which dynasty had lower grain prices.

Wang Qingci then said, "Your Highness, I have already inquired for you. Currently, the price of grain in the Dayue Dynasty is relatively low, but the main grain crop of the Dayue Dynasty is wheat."

The Da Xia people prefer rice, while the Dayue people, who live in the northwest region, prefer noodles, and their staple food is mostly wheat.

Although Beijun is located further north than Dayue, the people of Beijun are mostly people who have migrated from Daxia in recent years, so the staple food of most people is still plain porridge.

After hearing Wang Qingci's words, Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then said, "Wheat is fine too, as long as the price is relatively low."

Habits can be changed. In today's Daxia, where rice prices have risen to six taels per shi, it's good enough to fill one's stomach. Why bother distinguishing between noodles and rice?

Wang Qingci said, "Alright then, I'll have the caravan hurry up and purchase the grain."

At this point, Wang Qingci glanced at what was written on Lu Chen's desk, and then tentatively asked, "Your Highness, do you have anything else to do? If not, I'll get back to my work."

Lu Chen put down his brush, smiled slightly, and then looked into Wang Qingci's eyes, asking, "Has Lord Wang been very busy lately? So busy that you haven't returned to the Northern Prince's Mansion for half a month? How come I heard that Lord Wang hasn't left Yancheng at all?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci's heart skipped a beat.

Lu Chen treated her differently from the other women in the palace. When Lu Chen was discussing serious matters with her, he would usually refer to himself as "I" and would not say "this prince."

Lately, I don't know if Lu Chen likes to play role-playing games or what, but whenever he does something bad to her, he doesn't refer to himself as "I" but as "this king".

Whenever she hears Lu Chen refer to himself as "this king" and call her "Lord Wang," it means that Lu Chen intends to do something bad to her.

Wang Qingci quickly replied, "Your Highness, I only stayed at the palace to help you gather more intelligence about other dynasties as soon as possible. I had absolutely no other intentions."

Lu Chen said calmly, "Is that so? Surely Lord Wang hasn't forgotten his other responsibilities?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's question, Wang Qingci knew she couldn't escape today. She gave Lu Chen a resentful look and said, "Your Highness, I've injured myself recently from practicing martial arts. I hope Your Highness won't be so fierce today."

At this point, Wang Qingci swayed her slender waist and walked directly to Lu Chen's side.

Upon seeing Wang Qingci's alluring figure, Lu Chen got up without saying a word, pressed her down on the desk, and gave her a good beating.

If she had left Yancheng to go on a mission, that would have been fine, but Wang Qingci stayed in Yancheng for half a month and did not leave Yancheng.

He stayed in Yancheng for half a month without returning to the Prince's Mansion. This shows a complete disregard for his master and he must be punished.

……

Chu Qingli has become completely familiar with life in the Prince's mansion during this time.

And gradually, she no longer wanted to leave the Northern Prince's Mansion.

She originally came to persuade her sister to leave the Northern Prince's Mansion with her and live a life together, but she herself started to consider staying.

This was hard for Chu Qingli to accept; she felt as if she had been bewitched by some mysterious force.

Otherwise, how could she possibly have such thoughts?

Chu Qingli patrolled while analyzing what kind of power might have bewitched her.

A short while later, she patrolled to the door of the study.

Before she even got close to the study, she heard some sounds like "oh" and "ah".

Chu Qingli was still pondering why she had decided to stay when she heard those voices. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her expression turned incredibly cold.

That lecherous man is doing bad things again.

I really don't know how he has so much energy every day. Since she came to the Northern Prince's Mansion, she has never seen that scoundrel have a single day of peace.

However, after observing them, she found that none of the women in the Prince's mansion had any problems. In fact, after doing bad things with that scoundrel, they all looked radiant the next day and seemed to have become even more beautiful.

Although she didn't understand the specific principles or what was going on, she was very clear that what Lu Chen was cultivating could not possibly be some kind of demonic art like the Hehuan Gong.

If Lu Chen were cultivating demonic arts, given his abilities, these women in the inner courtyard of the Prince's mansion would probably have turned into dried corpses long ago.

Chu Qingli's mind went blank for a moment.

After she came to the Prince's Mansion, she had always heard that Lu Chen was a person with a predestined affinity for immortality.

If the cultivation method Lu Chen practices is a celestial technique that only benefits people and has no harm, then it seems to explain the problems between Lu Chen and his wives and concubines.

Thinking about it this way, a connection suddenly came to Chu Qingli's mind.

If Lu Chen truly has a destiny to become an immortal, then he must have obtained more than just one immortal technique. Despite the many bad things he did to his women, none of his wives and concubines seem to harbor any resentment towards him.

Moreover, Lu Chen's women all seem to adore him, as if they've been hypnotized.

Is it possible that the immortal inheritance Lu Chen received contains a hypnotic technique that would make him willingly stay?

The case is solved!

The reason she wants to stay is definitely because of that lecherous man!

In fact, Chu Qingli was just speculating about Lu Chen with the utmost malice, but her intuition was too accurate, allowing her to inadvertently guess part of the reason for Lu Chen's psychological changes.

Lu Chen obviously didn't know hypnosis. Chu Qingli thought so mainly because of her experience in the martial arts world. As an assassin, she knew very well that there were techniques in the martial arts world that could hypnotize people, but she just didn't know them.

At this moment, Chu Qingli realized that the lecherous man must have used some kind of hypnotic technique on her without her noticing, otherwise why would she have thought of staying?

She said that his woman was being tormented by him every day, so how could she not have any resentment towards him? It turns out that he used such underhanded methods!

No, she had to make her sister see the evil side of this man!

Of course, the most important thing is to get her sister out of her misery and run away with her.

Thinking of this, Chu Qingli glanced around the study, already starting to figure out how to break Lu Chen's hypnosis.

(End of this chapter)