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

Chapter 236 Lin Wanyun's Eagerness

Seeing that the officials were not at all surprised by the news of Lu Shuyun's rebellion, Lu Chen continued, "The Eighth Prince used the slogan of 'cleansing the court of corrupt officials' to say that the Left Prime Minister Lin Gaoyuan was a treacherous minister who deceived my father, leading to the Great Xia's defeat in the war, the cession of territory and payment of reparations, and ultimately causing the people of Great Xia to suffer."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, the officials of the Northern Kingdom remained calm and showed no surprise.

Throughout history, most rebellions have been carried out under the banner of "purging the emperor's inner circle of advisors." Of course, although the goal is to purge the emperor's inner circle of advisors, in the end, it is still the "emperor" who is being purged.

Lu Chen asked again, "Tell me, if the imperial court summons me to the capital to defend the emperor, should I go or not?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Chongguang, who had remained silent throughout the morning court assembly, stepped forward.

A grandmaster like Zhuge Chongguang wouldn't need to participate in court assemblies in other dynasties, even the Great Xia. However, this is the Northern Kingdom. Although he is a grandmaster, he is nothing compared to Lu Chen, the chosen one.

He should still attend the morning assemblies, even though he is 150 years old this year.

Of course, someone of his stature would never participate in discussions about trivial matters; he would only speak up on important issues.

As for what constitutes a major event? The question Lu Chen is asking now is a major event.

Zhuge Chongguang said, "Your Majesty has been planning for many years. The Eighth Prince's southward journey was forced by Your Majesty, and the rebellion of the Jiangnan aristocratic families was also forced by Your Majesty. Therefore, this old minister believes that Your Majesty's preparations are very thorough. If there is no interference from other forces, the court will most likely win this civil war, and there is no need for the vassal kings from other places to come to the capital to defend the emperor."

"If one day the imperial court orders Your Highness to come to the capital to defend the emperor, then Your Highness will have to be careful."

Upon hearing Zhuge Chongguang's words, Lu Chen asked curiously, "Why is that?"

Zhuge Chongguang replied, "Judging from Your Majesty's strategy, resolving the rebellion in Jiangnan should not be too difficult. However, if Your Majesty still sends the vassal kings to the capital to defend the emperor under these circumstances, it proves that Your Majesty's initial target was not the powerful families of Jiangnan."

Upon hearing what Zhuge Chongguang said, Lu Chen instantly understood what Zhuge Chongguang meant. It seemed that in Zhuge Chongguang's view, the Xia Emperor might be preparing a series of schemes.

Ostensibly targeting the powerful families of Jiangnan, the real intention might be to provoke the regional princes to come out as well, and then eliminate them as well.

but……

Isn't that a bit too much of an appetite?

Lu Chen asked, "Does the Grand Secretary believe that His Majesty's summoning of the vassal kings to the capital to defend the emperor is an indication that he intends to weaken their power? With the current military strength of the court, it seems impossible to weaken the vassal kings while simultaneously suppressing the rebellion, isn't it?"

Zhuge Chongguang said calmly, "This old minister has heard that Your Majesty has sent people to Dingfeng Mountain, Sifang Mountain, and Peach Blossom Valley."

"In my humble opinion, if Your Majesty only intends to destroy the powerful families of Jiangnan, there is no need to send people to these three places. Your Majesty has hidden cards in Jiangnan. As long as you use these cards, you can easily deal with the powerful families of Jiangnan. Moreover, the Grandmaster of the Great Xia Imperial Family cannot only be the Imperial Preceptor. Since Your Majesty has been planning to destroy the powerful families of Jiangnan for a long time, you must have already made preparations to deal with the Grandmasters of the powerful families. You will not go to these three places when you are about to take action against the powerful families."

Upon hearing what Zhuge Chongguang said, Lu Chen immediately realized what he meant and frowned slightly.

Not long ago, he also heard from Dongfang Longyue that the Xia Emperor had sent people to Dingfeng Mountain, Sifang Mountain and Peach Blossom Valley. At the time, he thought that his father was going to these places to ask the grandmasters of the aristocratic families to help him deal with them.

But thinking about it carefully, isn't it a bit too rushed for his father to go to these places to invite those grandmasters at this time? If he wanted to invite them, he should have done so much earlier.

Moreover, Zhuge Chongguang was right. The royal family could not possibly have only one Grand Master. Situ Ce, the Imperial Preceptor, was merely the Grand Master in name only.

Zhuge Chongguang's reminder made Lu Chen realize that his father was planning to deal with the vassal kings as well, and that dealing with the vassal kings was probably the real reason his father sent people to those sects.

Sending people to several sects that supposedly have Grandmasters just to deal with the Jiangnan aristocratic families seems like making a mountain out of a molehill.

Lu Chen felt something was wrong the more he thought about it.

If the royal family's grandmasters were used to deal with potential grandmasters from the Jiangnan aristocratic families, then who were the grandmasters that Emperor Xia invited from those sects to deal with?

Grandmasters generally don't make a move easily, and if they do, they're most likely dealing with another grandmaster.

Currently, among the vassal kings, only the Northern Kingdom has a Grandmaster on its side. Most importantly, it seems that the Xia Emperor sent people to those sects precisely after Zhuge Chongguang arrived in the Northern Kingdom.

In other words, the Xia Emperor's request to deal with those grandmasters from various sects was very likely to target Zhuge Chongguang.

Zhuge Chongguang himself was a Grandmaster, which is why he was so sensitive to things related to Grandmasters.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen's expression turned even more unpleasant.

No way, his cheap father wouldn't really be planning to do something to him, would he?

I hope I'm just overthinking it.

Perhaps his father sent people to invite the grandmasters of those sects just to be on the safe side.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen said to the officials in the hall, "Go back and think about how the counties and prefectures of the Northern Kingdom should be divided. Tomorrow's court session will determine the regional division of the Northern Kingdom."

"That concludes today's small court assembly. If there are any important matters to report, please come directly to my study."

"Also, Commander Qin, please come to my study."

At this point, Lu Chen got up and left the council hall, heading to his study.

Zhuge Chongguang's reminder made Lu Chen feel uneasy. He hadn't paid attention to those subtle pieces of information before. Unexpectedly, these details, pieced together, suggested a huge conspiracy. He hadn't even imagined his father would attack the Northern Kingdom at this time.

After all, the problems of the aristocratic families were already giving Emperor Xia enough headaches, so how could he possibly take action against the vassal kings at this time, especially since the Northern Kingdom was now a vassal state with a Grandmaster in charge.

The idea of ​​eliminating powerful clans and then immediately weakening the vassal states, especially the northern kingdoms, poses a significant challenge to the strength of the Great Xia Dynasty.

However, Lu Chen was prepared to take precautions to see if Zhuge Chongguang's warning would come true. He was determined to thoroughly investigate the current situation in the capital and find out what his father, the emperor, was up to.

After going to the study, Lu Chen instructed Qin Yushan to immediately assign tasks to all the Imperial Guards of the Great Xia Dynasty, instructing them to quickly gather intelligence on troop movements within the Great Xia territory.

……

At this moment.

The Northern Prince's Mansion, Yunrong Courtyard.

Chen Wanrong and Lin Wanyun also received intelligence about Lu Shuyun's rebellion. Upon seeing this intelligence, Chen Wanrong was slightly moved.

After waiting for so many years, her chance for revenge and restoration of her kingdom has finally arrived.

After reviewing the intelligence report, Chen Wanrong handed it to Lin Wanyun, who was standing nearby, and asked, "Aunt Lin, how much of the Lovebirds powder did you use on him?"

After receiving the information from Chen Wanrong, Lin Wanyun was stunned for a moment. The absurd things she and Lu Chen had done recently immediately flashed through her mind.

After regaining her senses, Lin Wanyun lied and said, "It's almost halfway done."

Lin Wanyun knew very well that the closer they got to this point, the more important it was to prevent Chen Wanrong from discovering her affair with Lu Chen.

She needed to get the antidote from Lu Chen as soon as possible, but she had tried many methods recently without finding the antidote for the poison Lu Chen had mentioned. She even suspected that Lu Chen might not have poisoned them at all and was just lying to her.

However, she quickly dismissed the idea that Lu Chen was lying to her. She found that whenever she was away from Lu Chen for too long, she would feel restless and uneasy. Every time she cultivated, she would think of Lu Chen and vaguely showed signs of going into qi deviation. This indicated that Lu Chen was probably not lying and that they had indeed been poisoned by Lu Chen.

At this moment, Chen Wanrong said, "Aunt Lin, try to put more of the powder of the Lovebird Butterfly into his food recently. The Love Gu has matured and can't be delayed any longer, or it will transform into butterflies."

The Gu worms that Chen Wanrong chose were cultivated using the larvae of the Lovebird Butterfly. She had been suppressing the growth of the Gu worms. If the Gu worms grew too fast, they would directly transform into butterflies, and then the Lovebird Butterfly would no longer be able to be used as Gu worms.

Lin Wanyun said guiltily, "I understand. I'll try to put the powder of the lovebirds in his food over the next few days."

At this point, Lin Wanyun thought to herself that she would either have to pester Lu Chen for the next few days to help her get pregnant as soon as possible and obtain the antidote, or she would have to find a way to steal the antidote from Lu Chen herself. Time was running out, and she couldn't wait any longer.

……

night.

Lu Chen's study was brightly lit. He stood in front of his desk, looking at the map of the northern lands drawn by the Imperial Guards. The map of the northern lands was basically completed, but it was only a simplified map. Lu Chen was looking at the map mainly to see how to divide the counties and prefectures appropriately.

Just then, Lin Wanyun's voice rang out from the doorway, "Chen'er, are you there?"

Upon hearing Lin Wanyun's voice, Lu Chen said calmly, "Come in."

The next moment, Lin Wanyun pushed open the door and entered.

Lu Chen then looked up and glanced at the dignified and elegant Lin Wanyun.

Seeing Lin Wanyun come to his study that night, Lu Chen already guessed what she wanted to do. They had done quite a few bad things in the study. However, Lu Chen smiled and said, "Aunt Lin, I have official business to attend to tonight. I'm afraid I won't have time to do that kind of thing."

Hearing this, Lin Wanyun was slightly stunned.

She then said, "I can wait until you're done."

Time was already very tight for her, so she didn't want to wait even a day longer. Today Lu Chen had official business to attend to, tomorrow Lu Chen would definitely have official business to attend to, and the day after tomorrow he might go to be with his wives and concubines. If this continued, when would she be able to conceive his child?

If she can't conceive his child, how will she get the antidote from Lu Chen to save Chen Wanrong?

Seeing Lin Wanyun's urgency, Lu Chen had basically guessed the reason. He asked jokingly, "Aunt Lin, when did you become so eager?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Wanyun's pretty face became incredibly hot, and a blush spread across her face, quickly reaching her delicate collarbone.

She knew that her initiative made her seem like a shameless woman, but she had no choice. The crown prince had rebelled, and the Great Xia Dynasty was in turmoil. She didn't have much time left.

Lu Chen continued, "Aunt Lin, you must have heard about my eighth brother's rebellion, which is why you're so anxious."

"But then again, what's the use of your rush? Even if Miss Chen leaves the Northern Prince's Mansion, without that so-called Dragon-Subduing Curse, she probably still won't be able to kill my father, will she?"

"You've been scheming and infiltrating the Northern Prince's Mansion for so long, all for that Dragon-Subduing Curse. I imagine this Dragon-Subduing Curse is extremely important to you."

Hearing this, Lin Wanyun blushed and said, "This is none of your business."

"All you need to do is keep your promise."

Lu Chen smiled, picked up the map from the desk, rolled it up and put it aside, then slowly walked towards Lin Wanyun.

When he reached Lin Wanyun from behind, he grabbed her voluptuous body and whispered in her ear, "Since you want to have my child so badly, then I should naturally grant your wish."

Lin Wanyun turned to look at Lu Chen, about to say something, when Lu Chen sealed her lips with his.

"Mmm..."

Then, a voice that sounded very familiar to the maids in the inner courtyard of the Northern Prince's mansion came from inside the room.

(End of this chapter)