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

Chapter 250 The Chu Family's Letter of Annulment

Seeing that most of the officials in the hall suggested banning the newspaper, Lu Chen smiled slightly. Just as he was about to say something, Zhuge Chongguang spoke first: "As far as this old minister knows, the only one with the capability to print paper books and manuscripts on a large scale is the Northern Prince's Mansion."

Zhuge Chongguang wasn't saying this to Lu Chen, but rather to remind the officials in the hall who wanted to shut down the newspaper that it would never have been able to open without the approval of the Northern King.

Upon hearing Zhuge Chongguang's words, the officials immediately realized what he meant. Li Rui then said, "Your Highness, I believe that although there may be people with ulterior motives who use newspapers to spread unfavorable remarks about the Northern Kingdom, as long as we supervise them properly, newspapers can also become an important tool for our internal and external propaganda."

"Therefore, I believe that newspapers should not be banned."

Seeing Li Rui's face change so quickly, Lu Chen chuckled and said, "Lord Li, your face-changing speed is truly extraordinary."

At this point, Lu Chen glanced at the other officials in the hall and continued, "The Dongfang family came to me before they established the newspaper. Their newspaper was established with the permission of the Northern King. As for the drawbacks you just mentioned, I have already considered them. However, I believe that the benefits of establishing the newspaper outweigh the drawbacks."

"In addition, in order to prevent private newspapers from influencing public opinion, I plan to create an official gazette. In the future, all major events in the Northern Kingdom will be published in the official gazette, and the announcements of the Northern Prince's Palace will also be published in the official gazette."

Lu Chen continued, "In addition to establishing an official gazette, I also plan to set up a new Bureau of Culture. From now on, the review of books and newspapers will be handled by the Bureau of Culture."

At this point, Lu Chen looked at Zhuge Chongguang and said, "Grand Scholar, I'll leave the establishment of the Cultural Bureau to you."

Zhuge Chongguang immediately replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

Lu Chen then asked, "Is there anything else going on today?"

After Lu Chen finished speaking, the officials in the hall looked at each other and remained silent.

Lu Chen said, "Since there's nothing else, I'll say one more thing: from now on, the small court sessions will be held every seven days."

Hearing Lu Chen's words, the officials in the hall were very happy. The small court meeting held every three days was really nothing to talk about. Unlike the Great Xia Dynasty, the small court meetings in the Northern Kingdom were different. When the Great Xia Dynasty held court every day, the ministers would attack each other when there was nothing to talk about.

At the small court assembly in the Northern Kingdom, there was basically no infighting among the ministers. The officials all knew that Lu Chen was a pragmatic person and he couldn't stand the officials talking nonsense.

The fact that there is no idle talk at the small court meetings means that most of the time there is actually nothing to discuss. The small court meetings held every three days are indeed too frequent. Changing them to seven days would be just right.

If something particularly important happens, they can simply go to the Northern Prince's study in the Northern Prince's residence to find him.

Seeing that none of the officials in the hall objected, Lu Chen rose from his throne, waved his sleeve, and said, "Very well, let's end today's small court assembly here."

Lu Chen then left the Hall of State Affairs.

After the small court assembly, Lu Chen didn't just sit idly by; he also had to handle government affairs. He went directly to his study.

As soon as he entered the study, Qin Yushan followed closely behind.

"Your Highness, the head of the Chu family asked me to give you this letter of annulment."

Upon hearing Qin Yushan's words, Lu Chen glanced at the annulment letter in Qin Yushan's hand, then took it and read it briefly.

The letter of annulment was very simple. It mainly stated that the Wang family had become traitors, so the Chu family of the Northern Kingdom wanted to sever all ties with the Wang family, and the marriage between Chu Yuqin and Wang Han was thus null and void.

With this annulment letter, Chu Yuqin was nominally free.

Lu Chen smiled and then said, "Give this letter of annulment to Dongfang Longyue and have her put its contents on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper."

Qin Yushan took back the letter of annulment. "Yes, Your Highness, I will go right away."

"Your subordinate takes his leave."

Watching Qin Yushan's departing figure, Lu Chen thought to himself that it was time to marry Chu Yuqin.

At first, Lu Chen only wanted to possess Chu Yuqin's body, but as Lu Chen had more and more women, his energy was diverted. He no longer had such a strong desire for Chu Yuqin's body as before, which made him calm down a bit. Now, in addition to wanting Chu Yuqin's body, he also wanted to give Chu Yuqin a proper status so that she could openly bear his children in the future, and the two of them would no longer have to be secretive.

……

the next day.

early morning.

Chu Yuqin got out of bed and stretched her graceful body. Just then, an impatient voice came from the doorway.

"Sister, I have good news!"

Before Chu Yuqin could react, the door was pushed open, and Chu Qingli was holding a huge piece of paper, looking extremely excited.

Chu Yuqin asked curiously, "What good news makes you so happy?"

Chu Qingli said, "Sister, when I went out this morning, I bought a newspaper on the street and found that it actually contained the Chu family's letter of annulment!"

Hearing this, Chu Yuqin was slightly stunned.

A letter of annulment?

What annulment letter?

Just as Chu Yuqin was about to ask Chu Qingli what was going on, Chu Qingli came up to Chu Yuqin with a newspaper and opened it.

Chu Yuqin then glanced at the contents of the newspaper and found that the first article was the letter of annulment from the Chu family of the Northern Kingdom.

After glancing at the contents of the annulment letter, Chu Yuqin froze on the spot, unable to recover for a long time.

She wasn't stupid; she had already guessed who had gotten the Oriental Daily to publish the annulment notice. It was clearly not the Chu family, but Lu Chen.

Lu Chen used this annulment letter to directly grant her her freedom, and she would no longer be a daughter-in-law of the Wang family.

But then again, will ordinary people accept this annulment letter?

After all, she is the woman. Since ancient times, it has always been the man who is dissatisfied with the bride and then breaks off the engagement. I have never seen the woman break off the engagement before, and this is a public break-off, not a private one.

Seeing Chu Yuqin staring blankly at the newspaper, Chu Qingli continued, "Sister, you're free now. You're no longer a member of the Wang family!"

Hearing Chu Qingli's words, Chu Yuqin sighed slightly and then said, "Qingli, this matter is not that simple. Although the Chu family has publicly announced the annulment of the engagement, the common people may not accept this annulment letter. Perhaps in the eyes of the common people, I am still the Wang family's daughter-in-law."

Chu Qingli immediately said, "Sister, don't worry. I just heard people discussing it on the street. They said the Wang family has rebelled and committed a heinous crime. The Chu family should have severed ties with the Wang family long ago."

"In the eyes of ordinary people, you are just a woman with a tragic fate, and they will accept this annulment letter."

Hearing Chu Qingli's words, Chu Yuqin's heart was also stirred. If it was really as Chu Qingli said, then she would no longer be a daughter-in-law of the Wang family, but could directly marry into the Northern Prince's Mansion.

At this moment, Chu Yuqin thought of what Lu Chen had said to her some time ago. Lu Chen said that he would marry her openly and honestly into the royal palace, so that their relationship would no longer have to be secretive or afraid of gossip.

Thinking of this, Chu Yuqin felt a great warmth in her heart.

Seeing that Chu Yuqin remained silent again, seemingly lost in thought, Chu Qingli asked疑惑地问道, "Sister, you've regained your freedom, aren't you happy?"

Although Chu Yuqin and Wang Han did not have a marital relationship, she had always been known as a member of the Wang family, and in the eyes of others, she was a widow.

Now that her identity has been removed, Chu Yuqin is free to marry whomever she wants and pursue her own happiness. Chu Qingli doesn't understand why Chu Yuqin still seems a little unhappy.

At this moment, Chu Yuqin looked into Chu Qingli's eyes and asked, "Qingli, do you think this letter of annulment was published by the Eastern Newspaper at the behest of the Chu family?"

Chu Qingli replied without hesitation, "Of course! Doesn't the family head's name end with the annulment agreement?"

Chu Yuqin smiled slightly and remained silent.

Seeing Chu Yuqin's smile, Chu Qingli's heart skipped a beat, and she instantly realized what was going on.

If Chu Yuqin regains her freedom and is no longer a daughter-in-law of the Wang family, wouldn't that mean that a man could openly possess her body?

As for which man it was, is there even a question?

He's just some beast from the Northern Prince's mansion.

Thinking about it this way, it's highly likely that bastard had the Oriental Daily publish this annulment letter, and the purpose is obvious: to possess Chu Yuqin.

Thinking of this, Chu Qingli said, "Sister, you don't mean that the Northern King had the Eastern Newspaper publish this letter of annulment, do you?"

Chu Yuqin remained silent. Seeing that Chu Yuqin had tacitly agreed, Chu Qingli angrily said, "If that bastard dares to make a move on my sister, I'll fight him to the death!"

"Don't worry, sister, I will definitely find a way to get you out of here!"

Hearing Chu Qingli's words, Chu Yuqin asked calmly, "Qingli, tell me honestly, you keep saying you're doing this for your sister, is it because you want to monopolize Chen'er?"

Chu Qingli was stunned for a moment, and her heart immediately panicked. Ever since Chu Yuqin discovered her affair with Lu Chen, Chu Qingli had been worried that Chu Yuqin would have such thoughts.

Chu Qingli quickly said, "I didn't. I did all this so that you could be free, sister."

Chu Yuqin said coldly, "You make it sound so nice to say you're talking about my freedom."

"After climbing into Chen'er's bed, you probably forgot even your own name. You still think of your sister? Do you think your sister is stupid?"

"I..." Chu Qingli hesitated, unsure how to explain.

Chu Qingli then gritted her teeth and simply told him about the deal she made with Lu Chen, "Sister, I really did want to save you from the Prince's mansion at first. I made a deal with the Prince of the North that if I served him a hundred times, he would let you leave the Prince's mansion. But I didn't expect him to break his promise. The number of times I served him..."

Before Chu Qingli could finish speaking, Chu Yuqin interrupted her, "What? You secretly did that kind of thing with Chen'er over a hundred times behind my back?"

"This has happened over a hundred times, and you're still telling me it's for my sake?"

"Qingli, do you even believe such a lie yourself?"

"I..." Chu Qingli was stunned again.

She had only been at the Northern Prince's Mansion for a little over a year, yet she had already made a hundred transactions with Lu Chen, while Lu Chen had never even entered the rooms of some of his wives and concubines a hundred times.

Chu Qingli also felt that what she said sounded like a lie, but that was indeed the agreement she made with Lu Chen back then.

At this moment, Chu Qingli had a feeling that she had been tricked by Lu Chen.

Chu Qingli cursed inwardly, "That damned bastard, he was setting things up from the very beginning!"

She used to think that the hundred transactions would end in three months, and that once the transactions were over, her sister would be free, and then she would leave the Northern Prince's Mansion as well.

Looking back now, things weren't that easy. She was now completely inseparable from Lu Chen. No matter how much she cursed Lu Chen as a bastard, if she didn't do business with him for a few days, she would still think of him involuntarily at night.

Not only is she unable to leave Lu Chen, but now that she has revealed the details of the transaction, her sister simply doesn't believe her because of the sheer number of transactions. Instead, her sister thinks she is shameless and indulging in pleasure.

Seeing that Chu Qingli remained silent, Chu Yuqin asked, "Qingli, tell me, what are your plans?"

Chu Qingli blushed and replied, "I don't know."

Chu Yuqin asked, "Didn't Chen'er say he wanted to take you as a concubine?"

Chu Qingli wanted to say something like "Who wants to marry that bastard?" in anger, but she swallowed the words back down.

No matter how much she denies it now, her sister sees her as hypocritical. After all, her sister personally witnessed her affair with Lu Chen. Not only was she caught, but her sister also listened in the yard all night, leaving her no room for excuses.

If she were to say that she didn't like Lu Chen, her sister would definitely say that if she didn't like him, she would still make such a sound, and that she had secretly done the same thing a hundred times.

Chu Qingli felt that she was now in a terrible predicament, and even if she jumped into the sea east of the Northern Kingdom, she couldn't clear her name. She had no choice but to get married now.

Chu Qingli remained silent for a long time before saying, "Sister, it's my business that I married Lu Chen, but you have your own happiness. This man..."

Before Chu Qingli could finish speaking, Chu Yuqin interrupted her again, "Qingli, are you trying to say that Chen'er is despicable, shameless, and uses vile and filthy methods?"

"Hmph, even at this point, you still want to stop me from serving Chen'er?"

Chu Qingli didn't know what to say. She felt that nothing she said would make a difference. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "Sister, from now on, I will no longer interfere in your affairs with him. You can do whatever you want."

Hearing Chu Qingli's words, Chu Yuqin was overjoyed, finally getting Chu Qingli to agree.

At this moment, Chu Qingli thought to herself that since she could no longer stop Lu Chen from taking her sister, she might as well stay in the Northern Prince's Mansion and keep an eye on them. If Lu Chen ever betrayed her sister, she would definitely avenge her sister and make Lu Chen regret his actions.

……

at the same time.

Inside a private room of a restaurant in Yancheng.

A dozen or so men wearing straw hats were drinking when a man in a gray cloth robe entered the private room and whispered to the man sitting by the window, "Commander, she has been staying at the Northern Prince's Mansion these past few days and has hardly gone out. Zhuge Chongguang lives right next to the Northern Prince's Mansion. If we make a move, it will inevitably alert Zhuge Chongguang."

Zhuge Chongguang possessed the strength of a Grandmaster, and was on the verge of breaking through to the Celestial Realm. He was clearly not an easy opponent, which made Wang Jiantao feel somewhat troubled.

Bai Qingqing has most likely betrayed Emperor Xia. Emperor Xia cannot tolerate betrayal, so she must be dealt with. She is the deputy commander of the Shadow Guards. If she is still alive, how can she deter the other Shadow Guards in the future?

At this point, Wang Jiantao asked, "Has the Shadow Guard's letter been delivered to the Prince's residence again?"

The man in gray replied, "It's been sent in, but she probably won't pay any attention to it."

Wang Jiantao didn't eliminate the former shadow guards of Yancheng mainly because he wanted to use them to lure Bai Qingqing out. However, in the past few days, they used the former shadow guards of Yancheng to pass on several pieces of intelligence to Bai Qingqing, but they failed to attract her out.

At this moment, Wang Jiantao said, "It seems she has realized that His Majesty is purging traitors. We need to find another way to lure her out."

……

At this moment.

Northland.

A series of bugle calls echoed across the vast grassland.

A large number of barbarian cavalrymen dressed in animal skins were advancing rapidly eastward. The cavalry could be seen from one end to the other.

A man clad in black and gold metallic armor, carrying a massive axe, gazed eastward.

A short while later, their scouts returned.

The scouts immediately dismounted, bowed to the man, and said, "Your Majesty, the Tianlang King tribe and the Beixian King tribe have been destroyed by the Northern Kingdom. According to our intelligence, the Northern Lands have been incorporated into the Northern Kingdom by the Northern King of the Great Xia."

Upon hearing this, the man immediately said, "These two tribes are a disgrace to our barbarian race! I asked them to submit to me, but they refused, and now they've been wiped out by a bunch of two-legged sheep! Ridiculous! Truly ridiculous!"

At this moment, the man's trusted aide said, "Your Majesty, should we directly occupy the northern lands, or march south to attack the northern kingdom?"

The Apocalypse King laughed and said, "What good things could the North possibly have? What would we do there? If we're going anywhere, let's go to the Northern Kingdom!"

"To be able to wipe out both the Sirius King and the Northern Xian King tribes, the Northern Kingdom of Great Xia does have some strength. I'll go and see what's so special about this Northern Kingdom!"

Another trusted confidant beside him then reminded him, "The divine messenger instructed us to occupy the northern lands first and not to act rashly for the time being. If she knew that we had gone to attack the Great Xia, she would probably be unhappy."

Upon hearing his confidant's reminder, King Apocalypse's face instantly darkened. The thought of that stunningly beautiful woman filled him with intense desire, but he was no match for her and had suffered many losses at her hands.

The Apocalypse King scoffed and said, "Is she your queen, or am I your queen?"

Seeing that the Heavenly King was angry, his trusted generals behind him said nothing more.

Everyone knew that King Tianqi was very unhappy after suffering a defeat in the attack on Dayue, and now he urgently needed to find a force to vent his anger on.

(End of this chapter)