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

Chapter 208 Our child will become the next emperor of Chen.

Although Chen Wanrong had long been determined to take the initiative and make Lu Chen fall in love with her, so that she could use a love potion on Lu Chen.

But she just couldn't find a chance to get close to Lu Chen. Lu Chen was busy handling government affairs during the day and busy dealing with his women at night. He was a really busy man and didn't leave her any spare time.

Today, Lu Chen took the initiative to come to her courtyard, which finally gave Chen Wanrong an opportunity. She absolutely could not miss this chance.

Upon hearing Chen Wanrong's words, Lu Chen smiled and said, "That's not a good idea. After all, I am a man. If I frequently enter Miss Chen's courtyard, it might damage her reputation."

At this moment, Lin Wanyun said from the side, "Chen'er, we are staying at the Northern Prince's Mansion and have received such good care from them. We should do something for you."

"The Palace Master's zither music does indeed have the ability to relax people. You have been busy with political affairs lately and must feel very tired every day. If you can listen to the Palace Master's zither music every day, it will be of great benefit to your physical and mental health."

"Besides, you were only listening to the Palace Mistress play the zither in the courtyard, and you didn't enter the Palace Mistress's boudoir, so there won't be any gossip."

Upon hearing Lin Wanyun's words, Lu Chen stared into Chen Wanrong's eyes, seemingly waiting for her reply.

At this moment, Chen Wanrong said expressionlessly, "If Your Highness is willing to listen to me play, I can play Your Highness's favorite tunes every day."

Seeing that Chen Wanrong had already said so, Lu Chen smiled and said, "Since Miss Chen has agreed, it would be ungrateful of me to refuse. Alright, in the future, if I am too tired from handling government affairs, I will come to this courtyard to listen to Miss Chen's performance."

Hearing Lu Chen's words, Lin Wanyun and Chen Wanrong were slightly moved. They had stayed in the Northern Prince's Mansion for so long, and finally found an opportunity to use the love potion on Lu Chen.

If Lu Chen is willing to come to their courtyard often, it might not be long before they can plant a love potion in him.

Once the love potion is planted, the entire Northern Prince's Mansion will be under the control of the Xuan Yue Palace, making it much easier for Chen Wanrong to restore her kingdom.

At this moment, Chen Wanrong glanced at Lu Chen and, for some reason, suddenly noticed that Lu Chen seemed to have become even more handsome during this period, and his temperament had also changed a lot. She wondered if it was just her imagination.

At this moment, Lu Chen said, "Aunt Lin, Miss Chen, I have something to attend to, so I won't disturb you any longer."

"I'll come another day."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chen turned and left. Chen Wanrong then said, "Your Highness, please take care."

Lu Chen quickly returned to his study to continue handling government affairs.

After Lu Chen left, Lin Wanyun said to Chen Wanrong, "Palace Master, it seems that you will be able to use the Love Gu soon."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wanrong remained expressionless, staring at the courtyard entrance as if deep in thought.

Lin Wanyun continued, "Palace Master, if possible, I hope you won't hurt him in the end. After all, he is your senior sister's child and can be considered a divine child of Xuan Yue Palace."

At this moment, Chen Wanrong slowly sat down, her slender hands resting on the guqin once more. "Aunt Lin, don't worry, I won't kill him."

Hearing Chen Wanrong say this, Lin Wanyun breathed a sigh of relief. Although Lu Chen was of Xia Emperor's blood, he was also Chu Yue's child. If anything happened to Lu Chen, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life.

Since Chen Wanrong has already said she won't kill him, she will most likely let Lu Chen go after she has finished using him.

Just as Lin Wanyun was thinking this, Chen Wanrong spoke up: "After the restoration of Chen Kingdom, I need a child. He is a good candidate and suitable to be my husband. I will have a child with him, and our child will become the next emperor of Chen Kingdom."

Upon hearing Chen Wanrong's words, Lin Wanyun was completely stunned.

Chen Wanrong actually thought that way?

She had always thought that Chen Wanrong only wanted to use Lu Chen to refine the Dragon Subduing Curse, kill the Xia Emperor, and then restore the country, and then discard him after she was done with him. She never expected that Chen Wanrong would actually take a fancy to Lu Chen's body!

However, Lu Chen is handsome and dashing. Although he is a bit lecherous, he is not bad in any way. Moreover, Lu Chen will be controlled by the love potion in the future. Under the control of the love potion, Lu Chen will listen to Chen Wanrong 100%.

From now on, whatever Chen Wanrong wants Lu Chen to do, Lu Chen will have to do. At that time, she will be able to monopolize Lu Chen, and Lu Chen's lustful nature will be changed.

After regaining her senses, Lin Wanyun quickly said, "Palace Master, Xuan Yue Palace has a rule that disciples of Xuan Yue Palace are not allowed to have children."

Although Xuan Yue Palace allows men and women to become Daoist partners, it prohibits male and female disciples from having children in order to avoid some worldly troubles.

Chen Wanrong said calmly, "After my child inherits the throne of Chen, I will return to Xuan Yue Palace to cultivate in seclusion and never concern myself with worldly affairs again."

This……

Lin Wanyun thought about it. After all, Chen Wanrong was the disciple of the Venerable One. Even if she really had a child, none of the elders of Xuan Yue Palace were qualified to punish her. Only the Venerable One was qualified to punish Chen Wanrong.

However, after this seclusion, it is unknown how long it will take for the Venerable Ones to emerge. Perhaps they will all turn into a pile of bones while the Venerable Ones are still in seclusion.

So for now, no one can stop Chen Wanrong from doing whatever she wants.

However, for some reason, Lin Wanyun always felt that Chen Wanrong was not just using Lu Chen as a tool, but that she might have really fallen for him.

Lin Wanyun dared not think any further.

Lu Chen is, after all, the child of Chen Wanrong's enemy. If Chen Wanrong really falls in love with Lu Chen, who knows what kind of torment she will experience in the future.

……

Time flies, and another month has passed in the blink of an eye.

The capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, Xuanzheng Hall.

Today's grand court assembly is rather noisy. Recently, a lot has happened in the Great Xia, leaving the officials of the Great Xia in a state of great distress.

At this moment, an official from the faction of the First Prince stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I impeach the Crown Prince for neglecting his duties and spending his days idly. He has also failed to complete the political affairs entrusted to him by Your Majesty. The Crown Prince is unworthy of his position and should be dismissed."

This official was extremely aggressive; he practically pointed his finger at Lu Shuyun and berated him for being useless.

No sooner had he finished speaking than another official stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I also impeach the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince has allowed refugees to roam freely, leading to a recent surge in murders within the Great Xia territory."

No sooner had the two officials finished speaking than other officials stepped forward, also speaking out against impeaching Lu Shuyun.

At this moment, Lu Shuyun's brows were furrowed, and his expression was very unpleasant.

Emperor Xia sat on the dragon throne, coldly watching everything that was happening below. After a long while, he finally spoke: "Crown Prince, the first political matter I entrusted to you has been handled so poorly. How can I entrust the entire Great Xia to you in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Shuyun immediately knelt down and said, "Father, I know I was wrong. Please grant me some more time."

At this moment, Right Chancellor Zhao Wenhan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's delay in dealing with the refugee issue has little to do with him."

"Recently, rumors have been spreading among the refugees that the court is not providing food to the north and is driving the refugees there so that they will die there. This has made the refugees uncooperative with the government and unwilling to go to the north."

"I believe these rumor-mongers have ulterior motives and malicious intentions. They are the real culprits behind the Crown Prince's inability to deal with the problem of displaced people, and it has nothing to do with His Highness's personal abilities."

Upon hearing Zhao Wenhan's words, Emperor Xia was about to speak when Lin Gaoyuan stepped forward and said, "Rumors? The court's decision not to provide grain to the Northern Kingdom is probably not a rumor. His Majesty has already stated that he will no longer provide any aid to the Northern Kingdom. How can Prime Minister Zhao call it a rumor?"

"There is no food in the North. If we send so many refugees there all at once, we're just letting them fend for themselves. The people aren't stupid."

At this point, Lin Gaoyuan looked at Emperor Xia and continued, "I believe that sending all the refugees to the Northern Kingdom was a mistake in itself, and sending refugees to the Northern Kingdom without providing them with food aid is an even bigger mistake. His Highness the Crown Prince's decision was wrong from the very beginning."

"If these refugees reach the Northern Kingdom and find there is no food, they will inevitably revolt once they gather together. At that time, what is happening in the Great Wu Kingdom may also happen in our Great Xia Kingdom."

"His Highness the Crown Prince didn't even think of this before rashly deciding to send all the refugees to the Northern Kingdom. This shows a disregard for the country and its people, and a desire to save trouble."

Seeing that Lin Gaoyuan had stood up to criticize him, Lu Shuyun's face instantly darkened.

Lin Gaoyuan, the Left Prime Minister, has always been neutral and has never sided with any of the princes. So why is it that now that he has become the Crown Prince, Lin Gaoyuan has come out to target him?

Could it be that Lin Gaoyuan, that old fox, has been won over by the First Prince?

At this moment, Zhao Wenhan said, "Prime Minister Lin's words are a bit alarmist. They are just some unarmed vagrants. What kind of civil uprising could they possibly cause?"

"Moreover, the only place in the Great Xia with abundant land is the Northern Kingdom. Where else can these refugees go if not the Northern Kingdom? Could it be that Prime Minister Lin intends to give away his own land to these refugees?"

Seeing the two prime ministers start arguing, the other officials in the hall immediately fell silent, watching the two of them debate.

After the two argued for a while, Emperor Xia finally spoke up: "The northern lands are mostly wasteland, which is indeed a good place for these refugees. However, I have already said that I will no longer provide any aid to the northern lands."

"Since I have already said it, I will not take it back."

"The matter of the refugees is the first political matter that the Eighth Prince has dealt with since becoming the Crown Prince. It is just a trivial matter, so I will not provide any assistance. If you cannot even handle this matter well, you will not be qualified to inherit my position in the future."

"Xiao Ba, I'm only giving you two months. You must deal with the refugee uprising within these two months."

Lu Shuyun immediately kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Father Emperor!"

Emperor Xia continued, "Furthermore, recently many officials have submitted memorials stating that people in many remote areas within the Great Xia territory cannot afford salt, and the government and the court are indifferent. They hope that I will delegate the salt trade rights to allow caravans to..."

Before Emperor Xia could finish speaking, Lin Gaoyuan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, you must not! Salt is a matter of national importance and people's livelihood. Since ancient times, it has been managed by the imperial court. How can the management rights be delegated?"

"Once the right to operate is opened up, merchants will inevitably drive up the price of salt. At that time, not only will people in remote mountainous areas not be able to afford salt, but even people in wealthy areas may not be able to afford salt."

Decentralizing the management rights of salt could potentially shake the foundations of the nation and lead to a significant reduction in national treasury revenue.

Lin Gaoyuan couldn't understand why the Xia Emperor would bring such a matter to court.

As soon as Lin Gaoyuan finished speaking, an official from a prominent family stepped forward and said, "I agree with delegating the salt industry management rights. The current salt price is generally quite high because the imperial court has a monopoly on the industry, so the salt production has always been low."

"I believe that after delegating the salt industry management rights, more merchants will produce salt, which will actually help lower the price of salt and make it cheaper for ordinary people to eat salt."

No sooner had this aristocratic official finished speaking than another aristocratic official stepped forward, "I also agree with delegating the management rights of the salt industry..."

Subsequently, more officials came forward to express their support for decentralizing the management rights of the salt industry.

Seeing this, Lin Gao frowned. Once the salt industry was liberalized, these powerful families would be the first to benefit, and they would certainly be eager to relinquish the management rights of the salt industry.

Now it depends on what Emperor Xia thinks. Emperor Xia has always been uncomfortable with the aristocratic families, finding them an eyesore. He can't possibly listen to these aristocratic officials and really loosen the salt industry, can he?

However, just when Lin Gaoyuan thought that the Xia Emperor would not approve of opening up the salt industry, the Xia Emperor spoke up and said: "What my beloved ministers say is beneficial. Merchants pursue profit. Once the salt industry is opened up, more merchants will participate in the salt production industry. At that time, the price of salt will also drop, making salt more affordable for the people of Great Xia."

"I have decided that, starting today, the salt industry management rights will be delegated."

Hearing this, Lin Gaoyuan was completely dumbfounded.

When did the Xia Emperor become so incompetent?

They actually delegated the salt industry management rights?

Didn't he hate the aristocratic families the most? And Emperor Xia was already secretly preparing to take action against them. Why should he compromise with them at this time?

The decision to appoint the eighth prince as crown prince could also be explained as a way to appease the powerful families and prevent them from realizing what the Xia emperor was about to do.

The policy of delegating salt industry management rights could not possibly bring any benefit to the Xia emperor.

Although he was puzzled, Lin Gaoyuan said no more.

Internal strife is brewing, and the powerful clans won't be able to keep their power around for much longer. Let Emperor Xia do whatever he wants.

After the court session, Lu Shuyun led a group of low-ranking officials from his own faction to the Eastern Palace.

His father had only given him two months, and he had to hurry up and deal with the refugees, otherwise his reputation would be greatly affected in the future.

The atmosphere in the main hall of the East Palace was somewhat somber. Lu Shuyun had been impeached by ministers in turn during the court assembly today, and he was in a very bad mood.

After a long pause, Lu Shuyun spoke up: "Tell me, how should we resolve the issue of the refugees? Now those refugees know that the imperial court will not provide grain to the Northern Kingdom. In addition, the land ownership in the Northern Kingdom belongs to the Northern Prince's Mansion. They will have no land in the Northern Kingdom, so they are even less likely to go there voluntarily."

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(End of this chapter)