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

Chapter 222 Wang Qingci: The Prince Has Changed

Since Mu Zixuan gave birth, Lu Chen has basically not gone out for a period of time. He neither inspected the construction of the new city nor went to the arsenal. He spent most of his time at the Prince's Mansion handling government affairs.

The construction of the new city is proceeding in an orderly manner, and the first batch of weapons manufactured by the arsenal is almost finished. Lu Chen is now mainly waiting for the arrival of Grandmaster Zhuge Chongguang.

Of course, besides Zhuge Chongguang, Lu Chen was also waiting for the babies in Da Zhou and Xiao Zhou's bellies to be born. He was eager to know what kind of surprises these two children would bring him.

early morning.

Lu Chen emerged from Yelü Nanyan's room with a radiant smile. He had spent the entire night cultivating his relationship with Yelü Nanyan, and Lu Chen was now feeling incredibly happy.

After leaving Chunsheng Courtyard, Lu Chen planned to have breakfast in the main courtyard first, but just then, a maid walked towards him.

"This servant greets Your Highness, may Your Highness live a thousand years!"

Lu Chen nodded slightly and was about to continue walking towards the main courtyard when the maidservant did not make way for him. She said, "Your Highness, Commander Qin is looking for you."

"He is already waiting for you in the study."

Hearing this, Lu Chen was stunned for a moment.

Qin Yushan came to see me so early in the morning. Could it be that he has some important information?

Lu Chen skipped breakfast and went straight to the study, wanting to see what Qin Yushan wanted to see him about.

When Lu Chen arrived at the courtyard where the study was located, he found that not only Qin Yushan was at the door of the study, but Wang Qingci was also standing at the door of the study.

Upon seeing Lu Chen arrive, Qin Yushan immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness, may Your Highness live a thousand years."

Lu Chen nodded, then walked directly into the study, saying as he went, "Come in."

Immediately afterward, Qin Yushan and Wang Qingci entered the study. Lu Chen then asked, "Commander Qin, what brings you here so early in the morning?"

Qin Yushan took a piece of intelligence from his sleeve and placed it on the desk. "Your Highness, there's movement in the capital!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen was momentarily stunned.

For the past few months, he had been waiting for his father to take action against those aristocratic families. Only when the Great Xia was in chaos could the court's attention be completely diverted, and only then could he bring the northern lands into the Northern Kingdom.

If the northern lands were incorporated into the Northern Kingdom now, it would certainly attract the attention of the imperial court, which would be very disadvantageous for him.

However, after waiting for several months, there was still no movement from the capital, which made Lu Chen wonder if his father, the emperor, had really given up on taking action against the aristocratic families.

The Great Wu and Great Qian dynasties have long been embroiled in internal strife, yet they have delayed taking action for so long. If they do not quickly eliminate the ancient families within the Great Xia Dynasty, Great Xia will miss a golden opportunity once the Great Wu and Great Qian have recovered.

After several months, there's finally some news.

Lu Chen immediately opened the intelligence report on the table and began to read it carefully.

After reading the intelligence on the table, Lu Chen smiled. It seemed that the civil war in Great Xia was about to break out.

A few days ago, Emperor Xia purged some powerful officials from noble families in the court and began to mobilize the army on a large scale. Emperor Xia said that a plague had broken out in the Daqian Dynasty in the south and that he would send troops south to guard the southern border to prevent the plague from spreading to the Daxia Dynasty.

Even a fool could see that it was just an excuse.

First, they purged some officials from the powerful families of Jiangnan, and then they mobilized a large number of troops to march south. Isn't it obvious that this was aimed at the powerful families of Jiangnan?

The Great Qian Dynasty did indeed experience a plague, but even so, with the southern vassal kings guarding the border, the plague did not easily spread to the Great Xia.

Although the number of troops in a vassal king's fiefdom is limited, a fiefdom still has at least 50,000 soldiers. Can't 50,000 soldiers hold a border? The Great Qian Dynasty has not launched a war. At most, the soldiers in the fiefdom only need to prevent the people infected with the plague from running to the Great Xia.

Such a trivial matter did not require the imperial court to mobilize a large army to the south; the Xia emperor's intentions were far too obvious.

Lu Chen is starting to have trouble understanding his father.

Previously, they hadn't taken any action. Not only that, they even made Lu Shuyun the crown prince and later opened up the salt industry, causing salt prices to rise continuously within the Great Xia, which has enriched the salt-producing families in Jiangnan.

So much time has passed, and now they're suddenly thinking about cleaning up the powerful families, and doing it in such a grand and ostentatious way.

Even the most foolish of the powerful families in Jiangnan could guess that Emperor Xia was planning to send troops south to deal with them.

Given the current situation, news of a rebellion by powerful families will likely arrive in just a few days.

After reviewing the intelligence report, Lu Chen said, "Reply to Commander Liang and tell him to keep a close eye on the movements of the powerful families in the Jiangnan region."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Your Highness, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

Wang Qingci was still standing to the side; Qin Yushan did have some sense of observation.

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Okay, you go ahead and do your thing."

As soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, Qin Yushan turned and left the study.

After Qin Yushan left, Lu Chen looked up at Wang Qingci in front of him.

After being pampered by Lu Chen for some time, Wang Qingci's figure became even more alluring, and her whole being became more charming.

Lu Chen smiled and said, "What brings you here so early, Lord Wang?"

Wang Qingci took out a piece of intelligence and placed it on Lu Chen's table, saying calmly, "Your Highness, there are rumors that the Grandmaster of Huanyu Academy went to the Dayue Dynasty and discussed something with the Emperor in private. It seems that he plans to move Huanyu Academy to the Dayue Dynasty."

Hearing this, Lu Chen smiled faintly, picked up the intelligence on the table, and only glanced at it briefly.

Clearly, Zhuge Chongguang's trip to the Dayue Dynasty was merely a smokescreen; his true purpose was to come to the Northern Kingdom.

With so many students, Huanyu Academy couldn't send them all to the Northern Kingdom at once; it would take time.

As for the meeting between Zhuge Chongguang and Emperor Yue, it is not surprising at all. Zhuge Chongguang was, after all, a Grandmaster of Literature, and a Grandmaster would be respected in any dynasty.

It is highly likely that Emperor Yue wanted to win over Zhuge Chongguang and get him to join the Dayue Dynasty, which is why he met with Zhuge Chongguang in private.

Unfortunately, Zhuge Chongguang could not join the Dayue Dynasty.

At this moment, Wang Qingci reminded them, "Recently, Huanyu Academy has been in a bad situation in the Great Qian Dynasty. Some people say that the reason why the Great Qian Dynasty has encountered a plague is because the students of Huanyu Academy do not abide by etiquette and do not respect ghosts and gods, so the heavens have sent down a plague to punish the Great Qian Dynasty."

"The fact that Zhuge Chongguang, the dean of Huanyu Academy, is visiting other dynasties at this time most likely means he wants to find a new home for Huanyu Academy. Doesn't Your Highness think this is an opportunity?"

Wang Qingci could also see what the Northern Kingdom lacked most right now.

Lu Chen has basically not done "that" with her in the study these past few months, mostly because he has been too busy.

Since there weren't many officials in the Northern Kingdom, Lu Chen had to handle many things personally. This meant that once Lu Chen entered the study, he was basically in a high-intensity work state and had no time to relax with Wang Qingci.

Previously, Lu Chen would tidy up Wang Qingci in the study. But since Lu Chen became busier and had more things to do, Wang Qingci would go back to the inner courtyard by herself and lure Lu Chen into her room on her way to Chunsheng Courtyard at night.

If she doesn't spend a lot of time getting along with the young prince, Wang Qingci will start to crave him. So she will occasionally go back to the inner courtyard to satisfy her cravings with Lu Chen. Although she will be in a daze the next day after each visit, it's not a big problem if it happens only once in a while, as long as it's not every day.

Wang Qingci was thinking that since Huanyu Academy was so unpopular, why didn't the Northern Kingdom take this opportunity to recruit Huanyu Academy to the Northern Kingdom?

Putting aside the fact that every student at Huanyu Academy is destined to be an official, Zhuge Chongguang alone, the great master of literature, is enough to make Lu Chen accept the entire Huanyu Academy.

With a grandmaster like Zhuge Chongguang, the deterrent power of the Northern Kingdom will be greatly enhanced. Even if the Northern Kingdom wants to become independent in the future, the imperial court will not dare to act rashly.

So far, no vassal state in the Great Xia Dynasty has a Grandmaster. It's hard to say whether they exist in secret, but at least there are none in public.

The Northern Kingdom already has a Grandmaster like Lu Chen. Adding another Grandmaster would make it two Grandmasters. A kingdom with two Grandmasters could completely disregard the imperial court.

Of course, this was just Wang Qingci's personal opinion. She also knew that the scholars at Huanyu Academy had unrealistic ideas in their minds all day long, so it was hard to say whether Lu Chen, the ruler, would be willing to accept those scholars.

After all, at present, no ruler is willing to accept a scholar whose mind is full of utopian ideas.

Hearing Wang Qingci's words, Lu Chen smiled and then asked, "Opportunity? What opportunity?"

"Do you, Qingci, believe that the scholars of Huanyu Academy are of great use to the Northern Kingdom?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci assumed that Lu Chen, like other rulers, looked down on the scholars of Huanyu Academy. So she said, "Your Highness, although those scholars may have some unrealistic ideas in their minds, their ideals are good for the common people. If the students of Huanyu Academy could come to the Northern Kingdom to serve as officials, I believe they would wholeheartedly serve the people."

"If officials are wholeheartedly devoted to the people, the people will surely attribute their achievements to you. This will make the people trust the Northern Prince's Mansion more and consolidate your rule."

Hearing Wang Qingci's words, Lu Chen smiled and then asked, "Qingci, haven't you considered that if all these people come to the Northern Kingdom, they might one day completely usurp my position as a prince, and then they'll call the shots in the Northern Kingdom, even forcing me to hand over all the assets of the Northern Prince's Mansion?"

This……

Wang Qingci thought for a moment and realized that if it were the group from Huanyu Academy, they might actually be able to persuade the ruling class to give up their interests to the common people.

Therefore, these people are indeed a threat to Prince Lu Chen, so it's no wonder that Lu Chen doesn't want them.

Wang Qingci then said, "Your Highness is right. I was just being a bit delusional."

Just as Wang Qingci was saying that Lu Chen had no interest in Huanyu Academy, Lu Chen suddenly said, "No, you're not being delusional. If it were an ordinary vassal king, he certainly wouldn't want these scholars from Huanyu Academy, and he would also worry that those people would come to his fiefdom and usurp his power."

"But I am different from other feudal lords."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Does Your Highness mean to recruit Zhuge Chongguang and the students from Huanyu Academy?"

"Recruit?" Lu Chen smiled faintly.

"You're overthinking it. I won't recruit them."

This……

If Lu Chen doesn't even try to recruit them, how could they possibly come to the Northern Kingdom? It's clear that Lu Chen still doesn't have much interest in the Universal Academy.

Come to think of it, Lu Chen is, after all, the supreme ruler of the Northern Kingdom. Although he says he won't be too hostile towards them, he probably doesn't have much interest in the scholars of Huanyu Academy.

Just as Wang Qingci was thinking this, Lu Chen spoke up, saying, "The Huanyu Academy is mine to begin with, why would I need to recruit them?"

What?

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci was stunned. She seriously doubted whether there was something wrong with her ears, causing her to hallucinate.

After regaining her senses, Wang Qingci immediately asked, "Your Highness, you're not joking with me, are you? Is Huanyu Academy yours?"

Lu Chen asked with a smile, "What, are you surprised?"

"This humble servant..."

Wang Qingci hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. This was no longer a question of whether he was surprised or not.

The Huanyu Academy is located in the Great Qian Dynasty. How could the entire Huanyu Academy belong to Lu Chen?

As far as she knew, the history of Huanyu Academy seemed to be much older than Lu Chen's age, right? Huanyu Academy had been established for decades, founded by Zhuge Chongguang when he was young. How come the entire Huanyu Academy now belonged to Lu Chen?

Wang Qingci asked curiously, "Your Highness, is Zhuge Chongguang also one of your men?"

Lu Chen said, "Of course."

"His trip to the Dayue Dynasty was not to pledge allegiance to the Dayue Dynasty; his real purpose was to come to the Northern Kingdom."

"In a few days, Zhuge Chongguang will come to Yancheng."

This……

Although she found it somewhat unbelievable, Wang Qingci quickly accepted the shocking news. After all, the man she was facing was Lu Chen, an extraordinary man who had broken through to the Grandmaster realm at the age of seventeen. Nothing was impossible for him.

Wang Qingci thought for a moment, then said, "Since Huanyu Academy is under Your Highness's control, then I will no longer pay attention to Huanyu Academy's affairs."

"No, we still need to pay close attention to the situation of Huanyu Academy. Huanyu Academy is still within the territory of Daqian and has not moved to the Northern Kingdom. If Huanyu Academy encounters any problems, Tingyu Tower can provide appropriate assistance in secret."

Wang Qingci said, "I understand. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

"Okay, go ahead and do your thing."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chen lowered his head and picked up the intelligence that Qin Yushan had just given him, and began to read it carefully.

Seeing this, Wang Qingci pouted her cherry lips. Lu Chen had really changed a lot recently. If it were before, he would have scolded her in the study. Now Lu Chen didn't scold her in the study anymore, which made her feel very uncomfortable.

Wang Qingci sighed inwardly. The fact that the young prince had become too serious was not necessarily a good thing.

Just as Wang Qingci was lost in thought, Lu Chen noticed that she hadn't left the study immediately. He looked up at her and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Is there something else?"

Wang Qingci quickly replied, "No...it's alright, I'll be going now."

With that, Wang Qingci turned and left the study.

Wang Qingci thought to herself that all the absurd things Lu Chen had done in the past were because Lu Chen was still young, after all, he was only sixteen or seventeen years old.

As Lu Chen grows up, his temperament will become more and more mature. Perhaps the more mature Lu Chen will no longer do those absurd things as before.

For some reason, she really didn't want Lu Chen to grow up. In the past, she could call Lu Chen "sister" and provoke him in various ways, trying to get him to punish her severely.

But this probably won't work in the future. Once a person matures, their thoughts will change. If she tries to tease Lu Chen like before, it won't excite him; instead, it might make him dislike her.

Thinking about all this, Wang Qingci felt incredibly disappointed.

She had long anticipated this day would come, but she hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly. In less than a year, Lu Chen had undergone such a dramatic change, becoming so mature and manly.

She still preferred the young prince who would often lay hands on her and was always thinking of abusing her.

Wang Qingci felt increasingly depressed as she thought about it.

At this moment, Lu Chen also noticed that something was wrong with Wang Qingci.

Lu Chen had a feeling that Wang Qingci had something on her mind.

Lu Chen then pulled up Wang Qingci's personal information.

Name: Wang Qingci

[Identity: The Northern King's favorite female slave, the Northern King's concubine, the owner of Tingyu Tower, a half-step Grandmaster. She noticed that the Northern King had recently changed; he had become serious and mature, no longer treating her the way he used to. This made her feel very lost. She felt that the Northern King had had enough of her as a female slave and might abandon her at any time.]

Rating: 95

【Favourability: 100】

This……

Upon seeing Wang Qingci's latest information, Lu Chen felt somewhat speechless.

During this period, he had indeed rarely treated Wang Qingci as he used to. One reason was that he had too many things to do, with endless government affairs to handle every day. When he was in his study, he hardly had any thoughts about women, so when Wang Qingci came to his study to see him, he would talk about business.

Although he rarely did that kind of thing with Wang Qingci in the study, he would still go to Wang Qingci's room and play role-playing games with her when she occasionally came home at night.

Wang Qingci actually felt that he had changed? She even felt disappointed because of it?

Could it be that in Wang Qingci's mind, his arguing with her was actually a sign that he cared about her, and now that he's suddenly become so serious, it means he doesn't like her anymore?

Oh……

This M...

(End of this chapter)