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

Chapter 213 Wu Junwan hurriedly leaves the Northern Kingdom

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wu Junwan's lips curled up slightly, and a smile appeared on her face.

Lu Chen was right.

She had indeed intended to use Lu Chen's words as an excuse.

Wu Junwan then said, "What Master Chen said is right. Our Qianhai Chamber of Commerce is indeed very optimistic about the commercial potential of the Northern Kingdom, and also very optimistic about the commercial value of the products manufactured by the Northern Prince's Mansion."

"Of course, none of these are the most important. The most important thing is the products made by the Northern Prince's Mansion. Our eldest princess also uses them, and she likes them very much."

"That's why we want to cooperate with Tingyulou to sell goods from the North to the Great Wu Dynasty."

Lu Chen said, "In that case, I wish us a pleasant cooperation."

"As for the details of the cooperation, I'll leave it to Miss Qian to discuss with the deputy head of our Tingyu Tower. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

"If Miss Qian needs anything during her stay in the North, she can contact Tingyu Tower, and we will do our best to meet her needs."

Wu Junwan smiled slightly and said gently, "Thank you, Master Chen."

Lu Chen said with a smile, "You're welcome. After all, we'll be partners from now on. Since Miss Qian is coming to Daxia, Tingyulou will naturally treat her well."

At this point, Lu Chen stood up to leave, saying, "Then, Miss Qian, let's call it a day."

Wu Yunwan also stood up immediately, "Take care, Master Chen."

Lu Chen nodded slightly, said nothing more, and turned to leave the private room.

Although Lu Chen left, Wang Qingci did not. Lu Chen was just there to make an appearance. As the behind-the-scenes owner of Tingyu Tower, he naturally had no need to participate in the specific negotiations of business cooperation. After all, it wasn't their president who came from Qianhai Chamber of Commerce.

Wu Junwan is nominally only the daughter of the president of the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce. She is not the president of the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce, and her rank is lower than that of the owner of Tingyu Tower. Therefore, the task of receiving Wu Junwan can be left to Wang Qingci, the nominal deputy owner. Lu Chen only needs to express his opinion.

After Lu Chen left, Wu Junwan and the others finalized the details of their cooperation with Wang Qingci and established a new chamber of commerce called "Tinghai". This chamber of commerce is mainly responsible for doing business within the Great Wu Dynasty, and business in other dynasties will not be under the jurisdiction of Tinghai Chamber of Commerce.

After the cooperation was officially confirmed, the two parties also decided on two people to manage the Tinghai Chamber of Commerce. Wu Yunwan made some concessions in the management of the Chamber of Commerce, allowing the person appointed by Tingyulou to be the president of the Chamber of Commerce, and the person appointed by their Qianhai Chamber of Commerce to be the vice president.

After everything was agreed upon, it was already completely dark.

night.

Wu Yunwan sat upright in the private room of the inn, regulated her internal energy, and after a while, she opened her beautiful eyes and looked at the two old people in front of her.

At this moment, Hu Shu said, "Princess, we should hurry up and leave the Northern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom is more dangerous than we imagined."

Hu Shu was sent by the Empress of Dayue to protect Wu Yunwan, so she was very worried about Wu Yunwan's safety. If something happened to Wu Yunwan, she would have no way to explain it to the Empress of Dayue.

Upon hearing Hu Shu's words, Wu Junwan said calmly, "We will leave the Northern Kingdom first thing tomorrow morning."

Wu Yunwan didn't plan to stay in the Northern Kingdom for too long. She now felt that the Northern Kingdom was too complicated. Not only had the Palace Master of Xuan Yue Palace come to the Northern Kingdom and stayed for several months, but now such a young Grandmaster had appeared in the Northern Kingdom. In addition, there were the heavy cavalry of the Northern Kingdom. This made Wu Yunwan realize that the Northern Kingdom was a place of trouble.

As the eldest princess of the Great Wu Dynasty, it would be best for her to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

She had originally planned to stay in the Northern Kingdom for a while to see what the Northern King was up to and to find out about the situation of the Northern Kingdom's heavy cavalry. But now it seemed that leaving the Northern Kingdom as soon as possible was the right choice.

Upon hearing Wu Yunwan's words, both Grandmasters Hu Shu and Pei Hong breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that Wu Yunwan was willing to leave; their only concern was that she was too confident and unwilling to leave the Northern Kingdom so soon.

At this moment, Wu Junwan asked, "Granny Hu, Senior Pei, if you were to fight Chen Lu, are you confident you could defeat him?"

Upon hearing this question, Hu Shu and Pei Hong were taken aback. Pei Hong answered first, "Your Highness, it is difficult for us to judge his exact strength before he makes a move. However, the fact that he has become a Grandmaster at such a young age means that his martial arts skills must be extremely high."

"Moreover, I feel a strong sense of crisis in his presence. If we were to fight, I might not be his match."

Pei Hong had fought against Situ Ce before, but he had never felt the same sense of crisis as he did just now in front of Situ Ce.

Even though he sensed that Chen Lu's cultivation level was similar to his own, he always felt like he was being watched, as if he were being watched by a ferocious beast, which made him very uncomfortable.

Therefore, Pei Hong judged that Chen Lu was most likely stronger than him. If they really fought, he would probably not be a match for that young man, and might not even last half an hour.

Hearing Pei Hong's words, Wu Junwan was somewhat surprised, not expecting that even Pei Hong lacked confidence in defeating Chen Lu.

Her gaze then fell on Hu Shu, who then spoke up: "I share the same opinion as Lord Pei. If I were to fight Chen Lu alone, I would most likely be no match for him."

Seeing that Shuto said this, Wu Yunwan also realized how terrifying Lu Chen was. She was only a Grandmaster of the Extreme Realm. Although she could feel the overwhelming power emanating from Lu Chen, she could not judge how strong he was. She only knew that he was a Grandmaster.

However, Pei Hong and Hu Shu's words made her realize that Chen Lu's strength was even more terrifying than she had imagined, and it seemed that his background was not simple.

Thinking about it this way, Tingyu Tower is most likely related to the power behind the Northern King's Mansion. I wonder what they want to do in the Northern Kingdom, and what they want to get from the Northern King.

As a result, Wu Yunwan became even more interested in Lu Chen, the Northern King. What kind of value did the Northern King possess that made him worthy of the support of so many forces?

However, she certainly wouldn't get the answers to these questions in the short term. She could only leave the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce in the Northern Kingdom and let them slowly try to find some useful information.

Wu Yunwan then continued, "Senior Pei, Granny Hu, in your opinion, did Chen Lu realize my identity?"

Pei Hong replied, "He is likely aware of it. No matter how wealthy the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce is, it is impossible for them to have two Grandmasters. However, he may not know that you are the eldest princess of Dawu. He may very well think that you were sent by the eldest princess."

Wu Junwan was, after all, the eldest princess of the Great Wu Dynasty, a person of real power. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for her to secretly go to other dynasties without informing them in advance, as this would obviously be beneath her status.

Furthermore, since few people have the opportunity to see Wu Yunwan, and even in the Great Wu Dynasty, not many people know what their eldest princess looks like, Pei Hong believes that the owner of Tingyu Tower might not be able to recognize that Wu Yunwan is the eldest princess of Great Wu. At most, he might guess that the three of them are related to the eldest princess of Great Wu.

Of course, this was just Pei Hong's idea.

Hu Shu then said, "What Lord Pei said is right, I think so too."

Wu Junwan fell into deep thought and didn't say anything more.

The next morning.

As the sky darkened, Wu Junwan returned to the Great Wu Dynasty in a carriage arranged by the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce.

Hearing that Wu Junwan had left the Northern Kingdom so quickly, Lu Chen was not surprised at all. After all, Wu Junwan was the eldest princess of the Great Wu Dynasty, and her life safety was the most important thing. Now that someone in the Northern Kingdom had appeared who could threaten her life, she naturally would not stay in the Northern Kingdom for long.

In the morning, after drinking the porridge that Mu Zixuan had personally cooked, Lu Chen went to the Council Hall to attend a small court meeting.

Today's topic is still related to the resettlement of refugees in the Northern Kingdom. In recent times, nine out of the ten small court assemblies in the Northern Kingdom have been related to refugees.

After the discussion on matters related to refugees concluded at the small court assembly, Li Rui stood up and said, "Your Highness, the population growth rate in the Northern Kingdom is too fast, and the current number of officials is severely insufficient to manage such a large population. I suggest increasing the number of officials."

At the court assembly, almost every civil official held several positions. Although holding multiple positions would result in more subsidies according to the current management system for officials in the Northern Kingdom, it also meant that there would be a lot of work to do.

They used to slack off every day, but suddenly so much more work has been added to their workload, and these officials simply can't adapt.

After the last instance of making an example of them, these officials are indeed loyal, but they lack competence.

Increasing the number of officials is now an urgent matter.

Upon hearing Li Rui's words, Lu Chen said, "I am also considering increasing the number of officials. However, the Northern Kingdom is poor, and most of its people have never even been to school. Scholars from other parts of the Great Xia Kingdom are unwilling to come to the Northern Kingdom to serve as officials. It will probably not be easy to increase the number of officials now."

Li Rui said, "I have heard that a branch of the Chu family has moved to the Northern Kingdom. The Chu family is a thousand-year-old family with many scholars. I suggest that members of the Chu family be allowed to enter the Northern King's Palace and assume important positions."

Li Rui naturally knew about the relationship between Lu Chen and the Chu family. He also knew that Lu Chen had a suppressive attitude towards aristocratic families, but there were not many talented people in the Northern Kingdom at the moment, so he could only temporarily employ members of the Chu family.

If the lack of officials continues, Lu Chen's reform progress will definitely be affected.

After hearing Li Rui's words, Lu Chen thought for a moment and then said, "Okay, but from now on, anyone who wants to become an official must take an exam. I will personally set the exam questions. Only those who pass the exam will be qualified to become officials of the Northern Kingdom."

After finishing with the matter of the officials, Li Rui stepped aside. At this time, Lu Chen continued, "I have something to announce today. Yan City is too small and too dilapidated, and can no longer meet the growing commercial needs of the Northern Kingdom. I plan to build a new city, and the Northern King's Palace will move to the new city in the future."

Upon hearing this, the officials in the hall immediately began to discuss among themselves.

To build a new city, the first problem to face is where the money will come from, and the second is the labor force. There are so many migrants in the North, so there is no shortage of labor force, but the key is the problem of money.

Lu Chen continued, "You're worried about the money? Many chambers of commerce will actively participate in the construction of the new city, and the main construction funds will come from the royal treasury."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, the officials immediately stopped discussing. As long as the Prince's Mansion provided the funds and they were prevented from finding ways to raise money, everything would be fine.

What they feared most was that the royal palace would send these officials to make money. The Northern Kingdom was so poor that these officials had nowhere to make money except by collecting various taxes.

However, Lu Chen exempted the agricultural tax, which was the largest tax, and the tax items in the Northern Kingdom were now fixed by the Northern Prince's Mansion, so they had no right to create new pretexts to collect taxes.

Lu Chen continued, "The location of the new city hasn't been decided yet. You guys discuss where we should build it."

Upon hearing this, the officials' discussions resumed in the hall.

at the same time.

The inner courtyard of the Northern Prince's Mansion.

After finishing her patrol, Chu Yuqin returned to her courtyard, intending to have a good talk with Chu Qingli.

At this moment, Chu Qingli was in her room regulating her internal energy. During this period, Lu Chen often dragged her to cultivate, and her strength had greatly improved. However, the rapid increase in her power made it difficult for her to adapt.

Chu Yuqin knocked on the door. "Qingli, are you in your room? Your sister is coming in."

Upon hearing Chu Yuqin's voice, Chu Qingli quickly pulled up her clothes. When she was cultivating earlier, she was only wearing a bodice, which exposed a lot of her skin.

Her body was covered in red marks. If Chu Yuqin saw them, Chu Yuqin would scold her again.

After quickly putting on her coat, Chu Qingli said coldly, "I'm inside, come in, sister."

Upon hearing Chu Qingli's response, Chu Yuqin pushed open the door and entered. She saw Chu Qingli meditating, seemingly regulating her internal energy. Chu Yuqin sighed slightly.

In Chu Yuqin's opinion, Chu Qingli's recent frantic training was probably in order to improve her strength as soon as possible, so that she could surpass Lu Chen and then forcibly take her out of the Northern Prince's Mansion.

Chu Qingli looked at Chu Yuqin and asked, "Sister, is there something you need from me?"

Chu Yuqin replied, "Qingli, you've been frequently experiencing qi deviation during your practice lately, which shows that your mind is in turmoil. If you continue practicing like this, something bad will happen sooner or later."

"Sister has already told Chen'er that Xiaobai will be in charge of guarding the palace for the next few months. You should take a good rest for a while."

Hearing this, Chu Qingli was taken aback for a moment, then she immediately said, "Sister, I'm fine."

Chu Yuqin said, "What do you mean it's nothing? Look at those red scars on your body. Chen'er said that these red scars on your body are very difficult to remove. If one day these scars become even deeper and even Chen'er can't remove them, how will you get married?"

"Besides, these scars are a minor matter. What if you suffer a qi deviation and lose all your power? Will you still be able to stay in the Northern Prince's Mansion then?"

"I..." Chu Qingli hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

She desperately wants to say that these scars have nothing to do with her demonic possession, but the lie has already been told and can't be taken back now.

If she says these scars have nothing to do with going astray in cultivation, then how did these scars come about?

How am I going to explain this to Chu Yuqin then?

Recommendation: A friend's book, a unique Douluo Continent II fanfiction. Those who enjoy Douluo Continent fanfiction should check it out.

(End of this chapter)