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

Chapter 23 Lu Chen's Dilemma

Watching Chu Yuqin's departing figure, Mu Zixuan couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh again.

Lu Chen asked in confusion, "My dear consort, what are you laughing at?"

Mu Zixuan replied, "Your Highness, you didn't see Aunt Chu's expression just now. When she was at the courtyard gate, her face was flushed, and she looked like she was in great distress."

Lu Chen thought to himself that the Dragon and Phoenix Tea must be working.

Mu Zixuan then asked, "Your Highness, has Miss Wang truly submitted completely to you?"

Lu Chen thought for a moment. When Wang Qingci left, he glanced at her favorability rating. Her favorability rating hadn't decreased because of his forceful approach. On the contrary, under the influence of the Dragon and Phoenix Tea, it increased by ten points, reaching seventy.

However, it's too early to say that they have completely submitted.

Lu Chen then said, "Not yet, but if she comes to the Prince's Mansion a few more times, I believe she will soon be unwilling to leave."

Mu Zixuan said, "Then I wish Your Highness a speedy success in winning over Miss Wang."

Lu Chen smiled slightly and didn't say anything more.

After returning to Baihualou, Wang Qingci immediately and carefully recalled what she had done after entering the Wang Mansion.

She was a ninth-rank expert, yet she was drugged without anyone noticing.

Fortunately, the Northern King was unaware of her identity and only desired her beauty. If the Northern King had wanted to kill her today, she would probably be dead already.

She absolutely would not allow this to happen a second time.

After pondering for a while, Wang Qingci still couldn't figure out where she might have been drugged.

At this moment, Wang Qingci suddenly thought of something, and she immediately took out a perfume bottle from the wooden box on the table.

The moment she might have been drugged was when the perfume in the Prince's mansion was on.

Wang Qingci then opened a perfume bottle and smelled it, but the perfume did not cause her to lose her powers.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Qingci opened all the perfume bottles and smelled all of them, but her internal energy was still intact.

She suddenly remembered that she had regained her powers immediately after leaving the Northern King.

Could the problem lie with the Northern King?

But the Northern King is just an ordinary person. How could he possess such mysterious abilities?

Wang Qingci's mind became increasingly confused and agitated.

She originally only wanted to seduce the Northern King and then use her seductive skills to bewitch and control him, but not only did she fail to seduce him, she also got herself involved.

After all that trouble he'd been causing her, she started to wonder if she might actually be pregnant with his child.

The thought of this filled Wang Qingci with rage!

"Damn it! That lecherous Northern King, I'll castrate him myself sooner or later!"

……

at the same time.

North Palace.

Lu Chen didn't go to see Zhou Youyou today; Zhou Youyou got a rare day off.

After taking a stroll around the inner courtyard, Chu Yuqin returned to the main courtyard. Lu Chen was no longer in the main courtyard; only Mu Zixuan remained in the pavilion.

Chu Yuqin immediately went to Mu Zixuan and said, "Zixuan, Chen'er said earlier that he had a reason for being lecherous. Can you tell me what that reason is?"

This……

Mu Zixuan was slightly stunned.

Anyone with eyes could tell that Lu Chen was just making up an excuse, but Chu Yuqin actually believed him and that he had a reason.

What could he possibly have to do with his troubles? He's just a womanizer.

Of course, as Lu Chen's wife, Mu Zixuan would never speak of her husband like that.

Mu Zixuan thought for a moment, then replied, "Aunt Chu, haven't you noticed that the Prince has changed a lot recently? Although he still enjoys matters between men and women, he is quite different from the rumored incompetent Prince of the North."

After hearing Mu Zixuan say this, Chu Yuqin thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.

Putting aside the fact that Lu Chen possesses two mysterious weapons and a tree that can enhance his power, his personality has also undergone a significant change.

He used to not care about anything at the mansion; everything was arranged for him by his aunt.

However, Lu Chen recently brought out soap and perfume, thinking he could increase the Wangfu's income.

Moreover, he seems to have also instructed Li Feng to actively train the army.

Of course, the biggest change was that he now had internal energy fluctuations. He was now a martial artist, although she didn't know where his power came from, but he was indeed a martial artist.

But then again, what does this have to do with his lecherous nature?

Chu Yuqin continued, "Chen'er has indeed changed a lot recently, but what does that have to do with the difficulties he mentioned?"

Mu Zixuan's mind raced, and then she sighed and said, "Aunt Chu, in my opinion, the Prince isn't unlearned, nor is he truly fond of beautiful women. Everything he's done is actually to tarnish his own reputation and save his life!"

"Think about it, if he were a prince skilled in both literature and martial arts, would he have been able to leave the capital alive?"

Upon hearing Mu Zixuan's words, Chu Yuqin was stunned, instantly connecting the events of the past.

She had always thought that Lu Chen was spoiled by her and that he would continue to enjoy himself in the future, but she never thought that this might be an act by Lu Chen.

Looking back now, if Lu Chen hadn't pretended to be ignorant and incompetent, many forces might have already taken action against him while he was still in the capital.

The assassination attempt by the Blood Moon Tower is a typical example.

He was already considered a useless and incompetent prince, and even after the emperor banished him to the harsh north, there were still people who wouldn't let him go.

If he were to act even slightly smarter, wouldn't he be seen as an even greater threat, and wouldn't the princes be even more eager to kill him?

The thought that she had misunderstood Lu Chen filled Chu Yuqin with immense self-reproach.

It turns out that it wasn't that Lu Chen hadn't grown up from the beginning; it was that she had never understood Lu Chen.

Lu Chen must have been under a lot of pressure to pretend to be ignorant and incompetent.

She's such an incompetent aunt.

She once told her sister that she would take care of Chen'er for the rest of her life, but she didn't know how much suffering Chen'er had inside. She even thought he was immature and a lecherous man.

Mu Zixuan had only been married to Lu Chen for a few months when she learned about the things Lu Chen had been hiding in his heart, while she had been by Lu Chen's side for more than ten years without knowing his suffering.

At this moment, Chu Yuqin said to Mu Zixuan with a downcast mood, "Zixuan, you're right."

"It's my fault as his aunt; I didn't know the pressure he was under."

"You are now the closest person to him, and I hope you can take good care of him and share some of his burdens."

Mu Zixuan smiled and said, "Aunt Chu, please don't say such things. In the Prince's eyes, you are the person closest to him."

Chu Yuqin sighed and said, "What am I, his closest person? I don't even know what he's thinking."

Mu Zixuan quickly said, "Aunt Chu, please don't think that way. In the Prince's eyes, no woman is as important as you."

Chu Yuqin gave a bitter smile and did not continue the topic.

(End of this chapter)