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

Chapter 272 He's three hundred years old!

Chu Hongfei, accompanied by Lu Shuyun and dozens of followers, walked for more than two hours before finally reaching the cave entrance.

As they approached the exit, they heard the rushing sound of seawater coming from the cave entrance. Lu Shuyun was overjoyed, not expecting that Chu Hongfei had actually led them out of the cave.

That's great. As long as he gets to Qi State, he'll still have a chance to make a comeback.

Before long, they emerged from the cave, and by the time they left, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

Looking at the vast sea before him, Lu Shuyun's ambition was rekindled.

At this moment, Chu Hongfei said from the side, "Your Highness, let's hurry up and leave. It's not far from Sufeng City. If the imperial army realizes that you have escaped, they may send people to find us here."

Upon hearing Chu Hongfei's voice, Lu Shuyun snapped out of his daze and immediately gave a look to one of the grandmasters next to him.

Now that they have escaped, Chu Hongfei is no longer of any use.

The grandmaster instantly understood Lu Shuyun's meaning, drew his sword, and pierced Chu Hongfei's chest with a single strike.

Chu Hongfei suddenly felt a chill down his back, followed by waves of excruciating pain. He coughed up blood and looked down at the sword blade in his chest in disbelief.

Then he stared wide-eyed at Lu Shuyun, and said with a look of resentment, "Crown Prince...you..."

Before Chu Hongfei could finish speaking, the master protecting Lu Shuyun kicked him off the cliff and into the sea.

Having dealt with Chu Hongfei, Lu Shuyun was about to leave when a man's voice came from behind him, "Your Highness, Chu Hongfei did help us escape. It's not quite right for you to kill him like this."

"Isn't this a bit too ungrateful?"

"If His Highness the Crown Prince treats his servants like this, always discarding them after they've served their purpose, who would dare to follow him in the future?"

Upon hearing these words, Lu Shuyun was stunned. He hadn't expected anyone to dare speak to him like that. He immediately turned around and saw that his entourage had already surrounded someone.

The person who was surrounded was Liang Zong, who had been helping him amass wealth.

Lu Shuyun thought that after going to Qi State, he would definitely need to accumulate some money to bribe court officials. He couldn't rely on his royal uncle for everything, so he brought Liang Zong along.

Unexpectedly, Liang Zong, this lackey, dared to speak to his master like that.

Lu Shuyun asked coldly, "Liang Zong, do you know who you're talking to?"

Upon hearing this, Liang Zong smiled faintly and then said, "Of course I know. I'm talking to the rebel leader right now."

Upon hearing Liang Zong address him as the leader of the rebels, Lu Shuyun was instantly enraged and said directly, "Since you insist on courting death, then I will grant your wish!"

At this point, Lu Shuyun said to the grandmaster beside him, "Kill him!"

In Lu Shuyun's view, Liang Zong was just an ordinary person who was good at making money, and killing him was no different from crushing an ant.

Upon hearing Lu Shuyun's order, the master beside Lu Shuyun immediately attacked, slashing at Liang Zong's head with his blade.

Just when everyone thought Liang Zong was about to lose his head, suddenly, Liang Zong drew a soft sword from his waist and beheaded the grandmaster who had attacked him.

Seeing the scene of blood splattering before him, Lu Shuyun was dumbfounded. The person protecting him was a Grandmaster, and he had been killed so easily.

How is this possible?

Lu Shuyun stared at Liang Zong in disbelief, "You...you actually know martial arts!"

Lu Shuyun had always thought Liang Zong was an ordinary person, but she never expected that Liang Zong could kill a grandmaster so easily.

To be able to draw his sword so swiftly, even faster than a grandmaster, means that Liang Zong's strength is at least at or above that of a grandmaster.

Lu Shuyun's heart was instantly filled with fear.

What does it mean when an ordinary person who has been by your side for so many years suddenly possesses the strength of a grandmaster?

This means that this person was lurking by my side for some purpose. Now that his rebellion has failed and I only have these few dozen followers left, Liang Zong's sudden revelation of his strength means that Liang Zong is about to take action against me.

At this moment, Liang Zong said with a smile, "Your Highness, I have never said that I don't know martial arts. It is you who have always thought that I don't know martial arts."

Lu Shuyun involuntarily took a step back. "Who... exactly are you?"

Liang Zong said with a smile, "The ones who escorted His Highness the Crown Prince on his journey."

Upon hearing this, Lu Shuyun immediately ordered his followers, "Kill! Kill him for me!"

As soon as Lu Shuyun finished speaking, everyone immediately took action.

With a flick of his soft sword, Liang Zong produced a series of sword cries, and in the next moment, the followers who rushed forward were easily dealt with.

Upon witnessing this scene, Lu Shuyun knew that his followers were no match for Liang Zong. He immediately turned and ran, attempting to have his remaining followers hold off Liang Zong for a while.

Unfortunately, those followers didn't buy Lu Shuyun much time. Before Lu Shuyun could run many steps, Liang Zong killed all of his followers.

Seeing that Lu Shuyun had run away, Liang Zong smiled faintly, kicked hard with his right leg, and a stone flew directly towards Lu Shuyun, knocking Lu Shuyun's body to the ground.

After Lu Shuyun fell, she turned around and kept backing away.

As he retreated, he said, "Whose man are you? If you pledge allegiance to me, when I go to Qi Kingdom, I will have my royal uncle give you ten thousand taels of gold. And if I ascend the throne in the future, I will make you a duke!!!"

Upon hearing Lu Shuyun's words, Liang Zong laughed and said, "Your Highness, I am not Chu Hongfei, and I will not easily believe your empty promises."

At this point, Liang Zong prepared to act, but Lu Shuyun quickly said, "I am the Crown Prince! You cannot kill me! Even if I rebelled, I am still the Crown Prince appointed by the Xia Emperor. If you kill me, you will not have a good end!"

Liang Zong ignored Lu Shuyun's words and swung his sword directly. The sword flashed, and Lu Shuyun's body slowly fell to the ground, but he still had a sliver of consciousness left.

At this moment, Liang Zong said, "Finally, let me introduce myself. I am Liang Zong, the Commander of the Northern Imperial Guard. Your Highness, may you have a safe journey!"

Lu Shuyun coughed up blood and slowly collapsed, uttering a weak voice, "You...you are...Lu Luchen's...person..."

After saying his last words, Lu Shuyun completely lost consciousness. Liang Zong wasted no more time and left directly.

Lu Shuyun is dead, and his undercover work has come to an end. It's time for him to go to the Northern Kingdom to report to the Northern King. Since the Northern King started using the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he has never personally reported to the Northern King once, which is not the behavior of a good subject.

After Lu Shuyun escaped, the major families in Sufeng City quickly realized that Lu Shuyun was missing, but no matter how hard they searched, they could not find him.

Two days later, the imperial army stormed into Sufeng City. The Grandmasters of the Jiangnan aristocratic families once again made their move and clashed with the Grandmasters of the imperial court. In the end, all the Grandmasters of the Jiangnan aristocratic families were killed, while the three Grandmasters of the imperial court were also seriously injured.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, some members of powerful families led their clansmen out of Sufeng City. Although the imperial army also sent people to block the city gates, the families still had a strong foundation and many powerful members, including a number of grandmasters. In the end, many of them managed to escape.

Of course, Zhao Quan immediately ordered the imperial soldiers to pursue the fleeing noble families. Although many of the escaped noble families were killed, some still managed to escape.

However, all of that is irrelevant now. Most of the aristocratic families in Sufeng City were beheaded and executed on the spot. All the property of the major aristocratic families was also confiscated. Without land and money, those aristocratic families who escaped could no longer cause any trouble.

Zhao Quan originally wanted to capture Lu Shuyun and bring him back to be judged by the Xia Emperor, but he heard that Lu Shuyun had escaped two days before the city fell, so he had no choice but to send people to look for Lu Shuyun again.

They did find it, but it was a corpse. There was nothing he could do but have someone store the body and transport it back to the capital.

In this way, the chaos in Jiangnan came to an end.

Not long after, Emperor Xia learned that Lu Shuyun had committed suicide by the sea. He was not particularly happy about it. He did not feel any guilt about Lu Shuyun's death. Lu Shuyun was just one of his children. To him, death was death.

He couldn't be happy because the actions of the north were becoming more and more frequent. The soldiers of the northern kingdom were behaving very aggressively, and even frequently provoked the imperial army stationed on the border of Qi.

Clearly, the Northern Kingdom wanted the imperial court to initiate the war so they could find an excuse to retaliate.

Fortunately, he issued a strict order to the imperial army stationed on the border of Qi: no matter what, as long as the northern soldiers did not attack Qi, they were not allowed to attack the northern soldiers.

Recently, Emperor Xia also received intelligence from the Shadow Guards regarding whether Zhuge Chongguang had broken through to the Celestial Realm.

Although there is no direct proof that Zhuge Chongguang has broken through to the Celestial Realm, and they have never seen Zhuge Chongguang make a move, the golden light that shot straight into the sky from the Northern King's Mansion, as well as the tornado that appeared in the sky, were seen by all the people of Yancheng.

This strange phenomenon was clearly something that a Grandmaster could not create, so it was highly likely that Zhuge Chongguang had indeed broken through to the Celestial Realm. In addition, the Northern Kingdom soldiers deliberately provoked trouble on the border of Qi Kingdom, which further confirmed the conjecture that Zhuge Chongguang had broken through to the Celestial Realm. Emperor Xia was increasingly worried.

He quickly transferred the elite soldiers of the imperial court from Jiangnan to the north to prevent the northern kingdoms from actually rebelling.

at the same time.

Northland.

Dayu City.

After a long journey, Lu Chen and his group finally arrived in Dayu City.

The people of Dayu City had known in advance that Lu Chen was coming. As soon as they heard that their king was coming, every household decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations.

The people of Dayu City, as well as the city lord, personally came to the city gate to welcome Lu Chen's convoy.

After arriving at the city gate of Dayu City, Lu Chen got out of the carriage.

After all, one cannot meet one's people inside a carriage.

Lu Chen rode his horse slowly through the road into the city. The roadside was packed with people, and the locals were very excited.

When Lu Chen arrived at the city gate, he saw an old man standing there, waiting respectfully.

Lu Chen immediately dismounted, and at that moment, the old man knelt down.

"Your subject, Xuanyuan Chaoge, pays respects to Your Majesty!"

After Xuanyuan Chaoge knelt down, the people on both sides of the road also knelt down, shouting, "Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the King!"

Upon hearing the name Xuanyuan Chaoge, Lu Chen was taken aback. He then used the system to identify the city lord of Dayu City and discovered that the city lord was indeed named Xuanyuan Chaoge.

The name Chaoge...

Lu Chen thought to himself that it must be a coincidence, and then he stopped thinking about it.

He glanced at Xuan Yuan Yunqi, who was standing next to Xuan Yuan Chaoge.

Xuan Yuan Yunqi was dressed in the same black and gold armor as when she went to Yancheng last time, with her hair tied in a high ponytail, revealing her fair forehead. She was both beautiful and heroic.

However, it seems that Xuan Yuan Yun Qi's affection for him has increased considerably.

【Name: Xuanyuan Yunqi】

[Identity: Daughter of Xuanyuan Chaoge, head of the Xuanyuan family in Dayu City; 23 years old; younger sister of Xuanyuan Chen; Grandmaster level. Upon hearing that you were coming to Dayu City, she and her father went out to greet you.]

Rating: 98

Loyalty: 100

【Favourability: 60】

The favorability rating has increased, but why has it only increased by such a small amount?

Lu Chen thought to himself, if he remembered correctly, when Xuan Yuan Yunqi saw him in Yancheng last time, her favorability rating was 50, right? It's only increased by 10 points now.

Is he really that incompetent as the King of the North? Even the figures summoned by the system only have this little bit of goodwill towards him.

Without further thought, Lu Chen quickly walked to Xuan Yuan Chaoge, then took his arms and said, "City Lord Xuan Yuan, please rise!"

At this point, Lu Chen said to the people on both sides, "Everyone, please get up."

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Chaoge took the lead and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Immediately, the people on both sides echoed, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Immediately afterward, Xuanyuan Chaoge rose from the ground, saying with slight excitement, "Your Majesty, you've finally arrived!"

Lu Chen could see that Xuan Yuan Chaoge was truly excited about his arrival. Xuan Yuan Chaoge's body trembled with excitement, and even his eyes were filled with tears, as if he had been waiting for this day for countless years. Lu Chen saw the vicissitudes of life on Xuan Yuan Chaoge's face.

Lu Chen subconsciously checked Xuan Yuan Chaoge's personal information through the system again.

【Name: Xuanyuan Chaoge】

[Identity: Lord of Dayu City, 300 years old this year. He is very pleased with your arrival.]

[Strength: Grandmaster]

Loyalty: 100

Lu Chen was a little stunned. He was a full three hundred years old!

Wait a minute, he's three hundred years old, how come his daughter, Xuan Yuan Yun Qi, is only in her twenties? And his son, Xuan Yuan Chen, is only a few decades old.

Having a child late in life?

That's way too old.

She was over two hundred years old when she finally had a child?

Lu Chen then said with a smile, "Lord Xuanyuan, are you just going to leave me standing here without showing me around your city?"

Xuanyuan Chaoge then came to his senses and quickly said, "Your Majesty, please mount your horse. I will lead it for you."

Lu Chen said, "No need, I'd rather walk. Walking is good for my health."

Lu Chen then handed the horse's reins to the soldier beside him.

Lu Chen said, "Let's go."

Seeing that Lu Chen insisted on walking, Xuan Yuan Chaoge didn't say anything more and then led Lu Chen into Dayu City.

Upon entering Dayu City, Lu Chen could clearly sense its wealth and order.

The streets of Dayu City were very clean, although this could be because he was coming to Dayu City and Xuanyuan Chaoge had them cleaned again.

After entering Dayu City and walking through many streets, Lu Chen discovered that the architectural integrity of Dayu City was far superior to that of Yan City.

Yancheng still has mud houses, and some people's houses are still pitted and uneven. But Dayucheng is different. The houses in Dayucheng are all built of stone and wood, and the houses on the streets are arranged in rows, which looks very neat and orderly, unlike the messy and disorderly old Yancheng.

The architecture of Dayu City clearly shows that the lives of the people in Dayu City were much better than those of the people in the former Yan City.

Dayu City is located further north, where winters are longer and colder. Yet, the people of Dayu City actually live better than those of Yan City, which is enough to show how strong the leadership of the city lord, Xuanyuan Chaoge, is.

Lu Chen then asked with a smile, "City Lord Xuanyuan, may I ask your age?"

Xuanyuan Chaoge replied, "Your Majesty, I am exactly three hundred years old this year."

Lu Chen sighed and said, "Three hundred years old! You've had a tough time all these years."

Xuanyuan Chaoge said, "It's no trouble for the King."

Afterwards, Xuan Yuan Chaoge took Lu Chen to inspect various places in Dayu City. In the evening, Xuan Yuan Chaoge arranged for Lu Chen to stay in the City Lord's Mansion and gave him the largest hall in the mansion to live in.

Looking at the magnificent hall before him, Lu Chen thought to himself, "This hall is quite grand."

After taking a bath, Xiao Wenyao sat down in front of Lu Chen wearing a light blue, semi-transparent cicada-patterned dress. She leaned against Lu Chen's chest. Lu Chen did not immediately make a move on her or attack her. Instead, he glanced around the hall and then his gaze fell on the maids in the hall.

He asked directly, "Are people living in this main hall normally?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's question, a maid from the city lord's mansion immediately replied, "Your Majesty, this main hall was specially prepared for you by the city lord and is not usually inhabited."

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment. Was it prepared for him?

Lu Chen then continued, "Your city lord is already three hundred years old, so how come his son and daughter are only a few decades old? Do you know why?"

The maid replied, "Your Majesty, the city lord actually has quite a few children, but most of them have only average martial arts talent and are only a few decades old at most, so most of them have already passed away."

"The city lord was afraid he wouldn't live to see you, so he kept trying to have children. Finally, when he was over two hundred years old, Madam Mo gave birth to a young master with extremely high martial arts talent, who is also known as Young Master Chen. Later, Madam Mo gave birth to Yun Qi, who also has extremely high martial arts talent."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen thought for a moment and realized that the characters the system had assigned to him had been waiting for his arrival for a long time.

The Dongfang family is like this, the Wei family is like this, the Qian family is like this, and the Xuanyuan family is even more so.

Three hundred years old...

Xuanyuan Chaoge must have been waiting since birth, no wonder he was so excited to see me today.

(End of this chapter)