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

Chapter 278 This King Falls for Miss Qian at First Sight

Upon hearing Wu Yunwan's words, Lu Chen smiled faintly and then said, "Princess, you must have misunderstood. I have never coveted that position in the capital."

"My father loved his people like his own children, was kind and wise, and was especially loving and caring towards his own children. I am his proudest child. How could I possibly do such an unfilial thing as plotting to seize power?"

Hearing Lu Chen's words, Wu Yunwan chuckled and then said, "Your Highness is joking. If your relationship with the Xia Emperor were as harmonious as you say, the Great Xia court would not have stationed troops in Qi, and the Northern Kingdom would not have sent 100,000 troops to confront the Great Xia court's army on the border of Qi."

Lu Chen said, "There's no need to discuss this topic. I will absolutely not provoke a civil war in the Great Xia. I thank Great Wu for their kindness."

Seeing that Lu Chen had blocked the way with a single sentence, Wu Yunwan basically understood that Lu Chen was unlikely to provoke a civil war in the Great Xia in the short term.

If Lu Chen is indeed the master of Tingyu Tower, it means that Lu Chen has always cared a lot about intelligence work. Now Tingyu Tower has spread to several major dynasties, so it is easy to collect intelligence.

The more a ruler values ​​intelligence on the major dynasties, the more shrewd he is, and the less easily fooled he is.

Moreover, after the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce and Tingyu Tower cooperated, Tingyu Tower probably already learned a lot about the internal affairs of Dawu through the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce. Their purpose in going to the Northern Kingdom this time was probably already clear to the Northern King. At this time, it was basically impossible to fool the Northern King into a civil war with the Daxia Dynasty.

The proverb goes, "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits." But it won't be so easy for Da Wu to become that fisherman.

Now the only option is to settle for second best, which is to reach some cooperation with the Northern Kingdom and then provoke the Great Xia Dynasty to send troops to the Northern Kingdom.

Wu Yunwan then smiled and said, "I heard that the Northern King and the Dayue Dynasty have signed a trade cooperation agreement, strengthening trade between the two sides. I imagine that the Northern King must attach great importance to commercial development. In my opinion, Dawu should also have things that the Northern Kingdom needs. I wonder if Dawu can sign a trade cooperation agreement with the Northern Kingdom like Dayue?"

Upon hearing Wu Yunwan's words, Lu Chen knew that Wu Yunwan had not given up and still wanted to cause chaos in the Great Xia Dynasty, but he didn't care at all.

If Da Wu wants to sign a trade cooperation agreement with them, then let them sign it. For the Northern Kingdom at present, the import of some resources is still too singular.

Although the Northern Kingdom has now included the northern lands on its map, they have not begun large-scale mining of the resources it possesses. They haven't even found some mineral resources yet, and have no idea where to mine them. For now, they still rely on trade and commerce.

The Great Wu region is vast and rich in resources. Since the Great Wu is willing to engage in trade cooperation with the Northern Kingdom, it is definitely a great thing for the Northern Kingdom.

In this way, the Northern Kingdom would no longer be so dependent on the resources of the Great Xia.

Of course, this is only a transitional period for the northern country, and this period will not last long.

Lu Chen then said with a smile, "That's naturally no problem. However, since the Princess has only just arrived in the Northern Kingdom today, it's not advisable to discuss too many political matters. Let's leave the trade cooperation agreement for tomorrow."

Before Wu Yunwan could say anything, Lu Chen continued, "I've heard that the Great Wu was able to quell the internal strife of the dynasty thanks to the Eldest Princess. The Great Wu is truly fortunate to have such a woman, capable in both literature and martial arts!"

Hearing Lu Chen's words, Wu Yunwan smiled slightly and then said, "Your Highness is joking. I was able to quell the rebellion in the southeast of Da Wu entirely because my soldiers risked their lives for Da Wu and the rebels. How could I possibly steal credit from them?"

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Your Highness is too modest. Even the best soldiers need an excellent commander to bring out their fighting power. I heard that before Your Highness led the troops, two princes of Da Wu led Da Wu's elite troops to besiege the rebels. As a result, the two princes not only failed to wipe out the rebels, but also caused Da Wu to lose a lot of elite soldiers."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wu Ming, who was standing next to Wu Yunwan, immediately turned pale.

One of the two princes Lu Chen mentioned was Wu Ming himself, which made Wu Ming feel that Lu Chen was being sarcastic towards him.

Although he was very unhappy, Wu Ming had no choice but to endure it, considering that they had come to the Northern Kingdom with a purpose.

At this moment, Wu Yunwan also realized Lu Chen's intention. She did not believe that Lu Chen did not know that Wu Ming was one of the two princes. However, Lu Chen brought up this matter at this time and compared her, a woman, with Wu Ming.

It's obvious that Lu Chen is trying to sow discord between her and Wu Ming.

To prevent Lu Chen from continuing to sow discord, Wu Yunwan quickly said, "Oh, right, there's something I forgot to tell the Northern King. I heard that the Northern King has a fondness for beautiful women, so I specially prepared a grand gift for him during this trip to the Northern Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen smiled and said, "Oh? Is the grand gift the Princess has prepared for me a beautiful woman?"

Wu Yunwan smiled slightly, then said, "Of course there's not just one, but ten stunningly beautiful dancers. I wonder if we can let them in?"

Lu Chen said, "Of course."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yunwan then said to the members of the delegation beside her, "Go and bring them in."

A short while later, members of the delegation next to Wu Junwan led ten stunningly beautiful dancers into the main hall.

Wu Yunwan asked, "What does the Northern King think of them?"

Lu Chen did not answer immediately. His gaze swept over the women, using the system to identify their scores. He found that most of them were above 80, but none reached 90. The highest score was only 89, which did not meet the system's standard.

These dancers were beautiful, but they weren't of much use to him. Lu Chen then smiled and said, "These dancers are all very beautiful, but..."

At this point, Lu Chen paused for a moment before continuing, "However, none of them are my type. Thank you for your kindness, Princess."

When Lu Chen refused outright, Wu Yunwan was slightly taken aback. She thought that even if Lu Chen didn't like these dancers, he would accept them because they were gifts brought by the Great Wu delegation. She didn't expect Lu Chen to refuse.

However, this also shows that Lu Chen is indeed different from the rumors. He is not a lecherous person. Thinking about it, if he were really a lecherous person, how could he have broken through to the Grandmaster realm at such a young age?

Just as Wu Yunwan was thinking this, Lu Chen spoke up, saying, "I do have a crush on a woman from your Great Wu."

Upon hearing this, Wu Junwan snapped out of her reverie and asked with a smile, "I wonder who this woman is, that she has caught the eye of the Northern King. When I return to Da Wu, I will definitely send that woman to the Northern King's residence."

Lu Chen sighed, looking very sad. "I once met the daughter of the Qian family's Chamber of Commerce president. I fell in love with Miss Qian at first sight, but unfortunately, she died young. After I managed to get the Qian family to move to the Northern Kingdom, I heard from President Qian that his daughter had already passed away."

Upon hearing this, Pei Hong, who was sitting behind Wu Yunwan, instantly gripped his sword tightly, and Wu Yunwan's eyebrows also lifted slightly.

Although she had already guessed that Lu Chen was the owner of Tingyu Tower when she entered the city, she did not expect that Lu Chen would bring it up at this time and even say that he had fallen in love with her at first sight.

Is the Northern King playing a trick on her?

Wu Junwan chuckled inwardly.

A seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy actually dared to tease her, a woman in her thirties.

Heh, that's interesting.

Wu Yunwan then said, "Your Highness, please accept my condolences. There are countless beautiful women in the world. With your abilities, Your Highness, you can have any kind of beautiful woman. There is no need to grieve for a beauty who has passed away."

Lu Chen took a sip of wine and then said, "What the Princess says is true. I was being too pretentious."

"However, I have noticed that the eldest princess seems to look very similar to Miss Qian."

Wu Junwan wasn't particularly moved. She said calmly, "Perhaps you, Prince Bei, are just too preoccupied with missing Miss Qian and are having delusions."

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Alright, this is the Princess's first time visiting the Northern Kingdom, let's not talk about these sad things anymore. Let's continue drinking and enjoying the food."

At this point, Lu Chen said to the musicians and dancers in the main hall, "Continue playing the music, continue dancing."

The luncheon lasted for about an hour, which felt incredibly long to Pei Hong, as he was constantly worried that the Northern King might do something detrimental to Wu Yunwan.

Wu Yunwan also felt that Lu Chen's gaze was constantly on her, especially after Lu Chen said that he had fallen in love with Miss Qian at first sight. It seemed that Lu Chen's gaze was constantly sweeping over her.

Wu Yunwan suspected that she was just too nervous and was imagining things. After the luncheon, Wu Yunwan couldn't help but laugh at herself. How could she be so nervous because of a sentence from a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy? It was really ridiculous.

Lu Chen was clearly reminding her that he already knew Qianhai Chamber of Commerce belonged to her, and that she shouldn't try anything funny. As for the claim that he "fell in love with Miss Qian at first sight," it was obviously a lie.

After lunch.

The Northern King's Mansion arranged for the members of the Great Martial Envoy to stay in a residence in the northern part of Yancheng for the next few days.

At this moment, Wu Yunwan was sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard, seemingly deep in thought. Pei Hong, who was standing beside her, said, "Your Highness, the Qian family is probably no longer trustworthy."

Upon hearing Pei Hong's words, Wu Yunwan pondered for a moment before replying, "Not necessarily."

"Although the Northern King knew from the beginning that Qian Dahai was my man, he still dared to use Qian Dahai, which proves that the Northern King is very confident in himself. Now that Qian Dahai has moved the entire Qian family to the Northern Kingdom, it seems that he has completely submitted to the Northern Kingdom. Perhaps in the Northern King's eyes, he has already poached Qian Dahai from my hands."

"Of course, whether the Qian family can be trusted depends on what kind of information they can provide us."

"Qian Dahai's two sons are still in the Qian Dahai Chamber of Commerce. Qian Dahai can only listen to me. I believe he wouldn't dare to betray me. Let's see if the Northern King will allow Qian Dahai to access the secrets of the Northern Kingdom."

In Wu Yunwan's view, Qian Dahai's two sons were still in her hands, and they had already secretly expressed their loyalty to her. Qian Dahai would not betray her easily. The key was to see the attitude of the Northern King and whether he truly trusted Qian Dahai.

If the Northern King truly trusts Qian Dahai, then the Qian family can continue to play a role. If the Northern King does not trust Qian Dahai, then the Qian family can still help the Qian Hai Chamber of Commerce operate various businesses in the Northern Kingdom.

In other words, for Wu Yunwan, regardless of whether Qian Dahai can extract more information from the Northern Prince's Mansion, Qian Dahai and the Qian family are of great use to her, and she has no intention of giving up on the Qian family for the time being.

Upon hearing Wu Yunwan's words, Pei Hong realized that the Qian family was still useful to Wu Yunwan, so he stopped mentioning the Qian family. He then thought of what the Northern Prince had said at the luncheon and reminded him, "Your Highness, I noticed that the Northern Prince stared at you several times at the luncheon, and he also said that he fell in love with Miss Qian at first sight. I think he is probably really coveting your beauty. We'd better be wary of him."

The Northern King's reputation was not good to begin with; he was known as a lecher, and even the common people of the Northern Kingdom thought he was quite promiscuous.

Wu Junwan smiled faintly and then said, "Lord Pei is overthinking it. What he said at the luncheon was just a reminder that he already knew that the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce belonged to me, and a warning not to use the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce to cause trouble in the Northern Kingdom."

Pei Hong did not continue speaking; he fell silent.

At first, Pei Hong also thought that Lu Chen's words were just a warning to them not to use the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce to cause trouble in the North. However, as someone who had been through it all, he always felt that there was something wrong with the way Lu Chen looked at Wu Junwan.

Perhaps he's overthinking it.

Wu Junwan then said, "What we should be most wary of now is the Northern Prince taking this opportunity to sow discord between me and the Second Prince."

Wu Yunwan realized at the luncheon that Lu Chen was constantly belittling Wu Ming, clearly trying to sow discord and make Wu Ming hate her.

She, a woman, not only spearheaded this visit, but also dragged Wu Ming, a fellow traveler, into all sorts of comparisons. Wu Ming must be extremely unhappy right now.

Pei Hong advised, "To prevent the Second Prince from harboring resentment towards you, I think it would be better if you had a few words with him, so that he might cause you trouble when we are negotiating trade cooperation agreements with the Northern Kingdom."

Wu Yunwan said, "He has people watching him. He wouldn't go so far as to cause trouble for me over this matter, unless..."

Before Wu Junwan could finish speaking, a soldier from the delegation rushed into the courtyard. "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The Second Prince has gone to the Northern Prince's residence to meet with the Northern Prince."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yunwan's face instantly darkened, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. She then asked, "Did the old man beside him go with him?"

The soldier replied, "They went along too."

Wu Junwan pondered for a moment, then said, "It seems that Father Emperor still doesn't want me to accumulate too many merits."

"Never mind, since that old man is also with Wu Ming, he probably won't do anything to harm Da Wu."

Wu Junwan did not recognize the old man beside Wu Ming, but she learned through various channels that the old man was a Grandmaster sent by her father to protect Wu Ming.

Of course, while protecting him, they were also keeping an eye on Wu Ming to prevent him from doing anything out of line.

Pei Hong then said, "Your Highness the Second Prince is being too hasty."

They only arrived in Yancheng today, and the luncheon had just ended, yet Wu Ming went to find the Northern King. What else could Wu Ming possibly want to do by going to the Northern King? It's obvious he went to discuss a trade cooperation agreement with the Northern King; he wanted to steal the credit.

Their eagerness to find the Northern King gives the impression that they are begging the Northern Kingdom to sign a trade cooperation agreement.

at the same time.

Inside the pavilion in the outer courtyard of the Northern Prince's Mansion.

Wu Ming and Lu Chen sat facing each other.

Lu Chen poured Wu Ming a cup of tea, then said with a smile, "I didn't expect Wu Ming to come to see me so soon. Wu Ming must be here to discuss the trade cooperation agreement, right?"

Wu Ming said, "It seems that the Northern King had anticipated my arrival."

Lu Chen picked up the teacup on the stone table, took a sip of tea, and said, "With such a powerful princess in Da Wu, life isn't going to be easy for you younger brothers."

Wu Ming said, "The Northern King seems to know a great deal about the situation in Great Wu?"

Lu Chen said, "I wouldn't say I know everything about it, I can only say I know a little bit."

At this point, Lu Chen asked, "Tell me, Your Highness Wu Ming, how do you intend for me to help you?"

Wu Ming was taken aback when he heard Lu Chen's question.

help?

The Northern King said he would help me?

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Although he doesn't have Wu Yunwan's strong personal abilities, he's not stupid either.

Wu Ming said, "Your Majesty, please tell me what your requirements are first."

Lu Chen said, "To be honest, I don't have many demands. It's just that your eldest princess has caused me a lot of trouble, so I don't quite like her."

At this point, Lu Chen asked, "Your Highness Wu Ming should know who owns the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce, right?"

Wu Ming replied, "Of course."

Lu Chen continued, "The Great Wu Princess allowed the Qianhai Chamber of Commerce to infiltrate the Northern Kingdom and brazenly inquire about its secrets, which makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable."

Wu Ming said, "Why do I get the feeling that you think she's a difficult woman to deal with, which is why you want to cooperate with me?"

Lu Chen smiled and then said, "Your Highness Wu Ming can also think that way. Compared to a woman who is good at scheming, I prefer to deal with an honest person like Your Highness Wu Ming."

Lu Chen's words instantly made Wu Ming feel insulted, but Wu Ming didn't care. Since the Northern King was wary of Wu Yunwan, it was a great thing for him. He could use this to his advantage, cooperate with the Northern King, and then seize the credit for this mission to the Northern Kingdom.

Lu Chen continued, "This time, I will specifically request His Highness Wu Ming to sign the trade cooperation agreement. I wonder what Wu Ming thinks?"

Wu Ming was taken aback. If he could sign the trade cooperation agreement, then the results of this mission would be his.

Wu Ming immediately said, "Then thank you very much, King of the North."

I'll be updating once a day for the next few days, taking a short break. I'll adjust the update schedule on the 3rd depending on the situation. Also, each update is 5,000 words, which is more than those authors who update twice a day. I haven't been slacking off.

(End of this chapter)