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

Chapter 233 The Fifth Child is Born

After Lu Chen stayed in Zhou Youyou's delivery room for a while, Zhou Youyou's belly started to move incessantly.

At this moment, the midwife reminded him, "Your Highness, Madam Zhou is about to give birth."

Lu Chen said, "I understand."

Then Lu Chen took Zhou Youyou's hand and said with a smile, "Youyou, don't be nervous, it will be over soon."

Zhou Youyou said with a relaxed expression, "With Your Highness here, I am not nervous."

Lu Chen's women basically all know that he can use magic. With the help of Lu Chen's magic, these women will not have difficulty giving birth. This was already proven when Mu Zixuan gave birth last time.

As soon as Zhou Youyou finished speaking, a sharp pain shot through her lower body. Seeing Zhou Youyou's sudden change in expression, Lu Chen knew it was almost time.

Lu Chen then used the Rejuvenation Hand technique to send a stream of green spiritual energy into Zhou Youyou's body. In just an instant, the pain in Zhou Youyou's body disappeared.

Lu Chen did not let go. He continued to infuse Zhou Youyou with spiritual energy. After a while, the green spiritual energy that had entered Zhou Youyou's body gathered near the fetus and then enveloped it.

Before Zhou Youyou could react, the baby burst out of her body, and the next moment, the baby's cries echoed throughout the room.

The midwives quickly took care of the aftermath, bathing the baby and cutting the umbilical cord.

Zhou Youyou, who was lying on the bed, was stunned. She felt a sharp pain, and then her baby came out.

Is it that easy?

Although she knew Lu Chen was there, and that giving birth shouldn't be too painful, this was still too easy—even easier than when she gave birth last time.

To put it bluntly, it's even easier than defecating, since she hardly feels anything when the baby comes out.

Seeing Zhou Youyou looking at him with a surprised expression, Lu Chen asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhou Youyou said blankly, "Your Highness...I...I've given birth already???"

Lu Chen chuckled and then said, "How much longer do you want our child to stay in your belly? It's been almost ten months, it's time for it to come out."

Zhou Youyou then said in a daze, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Lu Chen said, "Don't thank me. You're my woman. This is what I should do."

At this point, Lu Chen glanced at his hands, a slight smile playing on his lips. He thought to himself, "It seems I'm getting more and more skilled at using the Rejuvenation Hand."

From the moment Zhou Youyou felt the baby being born, it hadn't even been two minutes. The Rejuvenating Hand truly lives up to its name; it wouldn't be wrong to rename it the Medical Saint Hand in the future.

At that moment, the system voice sounded in Lu Chen's ear.

[Congratulations, host, on having an offspring. As a reward, you are granted two vassal families. From now on, these two families will live and die with the Northern Prince's Mansion. Their prosperity will be their prosperity, and their destruction will be their destruction. They will unconditionally follow you.]

[The more children you have, the greater the reward. Host, please continue your efforts and strive to have your descendants spread throughout the world as soon as possible.]

Upon hearing the system notification, Lu Chen was immediately stunned.

What is that?

Are the rewards for two families this time?

Not in the military? Not a talented individual?

What use are two families to him? He himself is someone who despises aristocratic families, so why is the system rewarding him with families?

Just as Lu Chen was lost in thought, the midwife came over carrying the baby. "Congratulations, Your Highness, Madam Zhou has given birth to a princess for you."

Everyone in the Northern Prince's Mansion knew that Lu Chen was not a sexist, and they could all see his affection for Lu Huanhuan.

Upon hearing the midwife's words, Lu Chen snapped out of his daze. He then took the baby and smiled at her. The baby girl, who had been wailing, suddenly stopped crying.

Lu Chen then placed the baby girl on the bed. At this moment, Zhou Youyou slowly propped herself up and looked at her daughter on the bed from the side.

Zhou Youyou said, "Your Highness, shall we give her a name?"

Lu Chen said, "Let's call her Lu Lingxiu."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Youyou murmured, "Lingxiu, Lingxiu, a name that embodies intelligence and beauty, the prince has chosen a truly beautiful name."

Lu Chen smiled slightly, then placed his hand on Lu Lingxiu's body and used the Rejuvenating Hand technique to examine her body, checking for any illnesses and treating her as well.

Lu Chen stayed in the room with Zhou Youyou for about half an hour before leaving and heading to his study.

Upon entering the study, Lu Chen immediately opened the system to check the rewards he had just received.

Since these people are rewards from the system, their loyalty to me is 100%. It's unrealistic to expect my territory to be without powerful families. Since powerful families inevitably emerge in the later stages of a dynasty, wouldn't it be better to make my people stronger?

Later, he could have these two families cooperate with him, putting on a show, making them pretend to oppose the Northern Prince's Mansion, and then using this as bait to lure out any families that wanted to cause trouble.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen felt a little better. Then he checked what the two families he had acquired were involved in.

[The Qian Family: Descendants of the Shang Dynasty, with a family population of 30,000. Located in the capital of the Great Wu Dynasty, the current patriarch, Qian Dahai, maintains close ties with the Great Wu Princess. On the surface, they are a force supported by the Princess, but in reality, they only serve the Chosen One.]

[The Dongfang Family: Descendants of the Shang Dynasty, with a family population of 40,000. Located in Sufeng City of the Great Xia Dynasty, the current patriarch is Dongfang Yi. They have secretly reached a cooperation agreement with the Great Xia Emperor, intending to eliminate the powerful families of Jiangnan and pledge allegiance to the Xia Emperor. However, in reality, they only serve the Chosen One.]

The heads and members of both families have received the information that you are the chosen one. You have one opportunity to give them a direct command. What command do you wish to give?

Upon seeing the system notification, Lu Chen couldn't suppress a smile. So it turned out that the Dongfang and Qian families were his people. Wu Yunwan and his father probably hadn't expected that.

What surprised him the most was the Dongfang family. The Dongfang family had actually reached a cooperation agreement with his father. Although he had already guessed that there was a traitor among the Jiangnan families after Zhuge Chongguang's reminder, and had also realized that it might be the Dongfang family, he could not be sure if it was them.

Now that the system notification appeared, it was almost 100% certain. However, unfortunately, the Dongfang family was not his father's people, but his own.

I wonder what kind of expression my father would have if he found out that the Dongfang family were his people.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen said to the system, "Tell them to stay put and have their two families contact me as soon as possible."

As soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, the system notification sounded again.

The Dongfang and Qian families have received your orders.

at the same time.

Listening to the Rain Pavilion.

In the attic, Wang Qingci, dressed in a red dress, was gazing at the distant scenery. Sitting in front of her was a fat middle-aged man.

Wang Qingci said, "President Qian, I'm a little curious. Since you're interested in the Northern Prince's Mansion, why don't you contact them directly instead of asking me about it?"

Upon hearing Wang Qingci's words, Qian Dahai was about to reply when suddenly, a surge of information flooded his mind.

Qian Dahai was taken aback for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face. He had long guessed that it might be the Northern King, which was why he had been actively inquiring about the Northern King all this time. He hadn't expected that it really was the Northern King.

Now that his master has been identified, there's no need to waste any more time with Tingyu Tower. Qian Dahai then stood up and said, "Lord Wang, I suddenly remembered I have urgent business to attend to today, so I'll be leaving now. As for what I just said, just pretend you didn't hear it."

With that, Qian Dahai walked directly down from the attic.

Seeing Qian Dahai leave in a hurry, Wang Qingci was stunned. What was going on?

She didn't seem to have said anything that would make him sensitive, so why did he suddenly leave? She had originally planned to try and find out more about the Great Wu Dynasty from Qian Dahai, but their conversation had only just begun when Qian Dahai left.

Wang Qingci frowned. Qian Dahai was in such a hurry to leave Tingyu Tower, there must be something very important. She had to tell Lu Chen about it as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Wang Qingci immediately got up and prepared to return to the palace.

At this moment.

In a courtyard.

Dongfang Longyue was painting in the pavilion when suddenly her mind went blank, her hand trembled, and the painting in front of her was destroyed by the brush.

If anyone were here, they would surely recognize that the figure in her painting is none other than the Northern King.

Dongfang Longyue stood there stunned for a long time, unable to come back to her senses. She hadn't expected that she would run into the chosen one of destiny just because she was trying to avoid the Crown Prince and casually expand the Dongfang family's business.

The chosen one is actually the Northern King?

This……

It doesn't seem particularly strange.

Since arriving in the Northern Kingdom, the Northern King has not only defeated the barbarian tribes of the North, but has also created so many strange and wonderful things in the Northern Kingdom. Most importantly, the reforms in the Northern Kingdom seem completely out of step with the rest of the world.

After regaining her senses, Dongfang Longyue glanced at the portrait in front of her.

She just suddenly felt like painting today, and she was just sketching randomly. She never expected that the man she ended up painting would also be the Northern King.

It seems that fate has its own plan.

Then Dongfang Longyue said to the maid, "Get ready, I'm going to the Northern Prince's residence."

"Yes, Miss."

Lu Chen hadn't been in the study for long when a maid's voice rang out at the door, "Your Highness, the president of the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce wishes to visit you."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen said calmly, "Bring him to the study."

A short while later, Qian Dahai appeared in Lu Chen's study. Upon seeing Lu Chen, Qian Dahai immediately knelt and bowed, saying, "This humble subject, Qian Dahai, greets Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!"

Lu Chen said, "Get up."

Qian Dahai immediately stood up and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Lu Chen didn't intend to waste any time. He went straight to the point and said, "President Qian, I've heard you're particularly skilled in business. I have an official position available here. Would you be interested?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Dahai smiled and said, "Your Highness, you are the master of our Qian family. I will do whatever you ask me to do."

Lu Chen said, "Alright, from now on, the position of Minister of Commerce will be handed over to you. However, what are your plans regarding the situation in Da Wu?"

Qian Dahai said, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but the eldest princess of Dawu has always wanted the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce to infiltrate the Northern Kingdom and gather intelligence on it, but she has never had the opportunity."

"If you want me to be the Minister of Commerce, I only need to tell the eldest princess of Da Wu. She probably wants me to join the small court of the Northern Kingdom."

"Besides, the Qian family is still in Dawu, so she shouldn't suspect me."

Lu Chen thought for a moment, then said, "This is still not safe. Your Qian family should find a way to move to the Northern Kingdom first. After you move to the Northern Kingdom, I will hand over the position of Minister of Commerce to you."

Lu Chen was worried that Wu Yunwan would find out something and then take action against the Qian family.

At this moment, Lu Chen asked, "Is there any difficulty the Qian family is facing in moving to the North?"

At this moment, Qian Dahai continued, "Your Highness, the Qian family has no difficulty leaving the Northern Kingdom. In order to gain the trust of the Northern Kingdom, Princess Dawu has long wanted the Qian family to move to the Northern Kingdom."

Lu Chen said with a smile, "She has so much confidence in you, isn't she afraid you'll betray her?"

Qian Dahai said, "Although she will agree to let the Qian family move to the Northern Kingdom, my two sons will most likely remain in the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce in Da Wu as hostages. In addition, the Princess of Da Wu has a very powerful assassination organization under her command, so she is not worried about us betraying her at all."

Although the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce appears to be owned by the Qian family, the actual controller is Wu Junwan. Moreover, the headquarters of the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce is also located in Dawu. Most importantly, the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce controls the Qian family's wealth, so even if the Qian family members have moved to other dynasties, Wu Junwan is not afraid that the Qian family will betray her.

She didn't believe that Qian Dahai, who was obsessed with money, would abandon his wealth in the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce. Besides, Qian Dahai had two sons who were being held hostage in the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce in Dawu. She still trusted Qian Dahai and the Qian family very much.

Lu Chen said, "Alright then, when you get back, hurry up and get the Qian family to move over."

As soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, the maid's voice came from the study door again, "Your Highness, Madam Wang is looking for you."

Lu Chen said directly, "Come in."

The next moment, Wang Qingci pushed open the door and entered. As soon as she entered, she immediately prepared to tell Lu Chen about Qian Dahai's visit to her earlier, "Your Highness, just now Qian Dahai..."

Wang Qingci froze on the spot before he could finish speaking.

Because Qian Dahai himself was right in front of her.

Qian Dahai said with a smile, "So it turns out that Lord Wang is also one of the Prince's men. No wonder Tingyu Tower has developed so quickly."

Wang Qingci was somewhat bewildered.

Judging from Qian Dahai's words, is he also one of Lu Chen's men?

After months of infighting, Tingyulou and Qianhai Chamber of Commerce turned out to be on the same side?

Wang Qingci immediately turned to look at Lu Chen, "Your Highness, aren't you just toying with me!"

(End of this chapter)