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

Chapter 297 Your Highness, It's Still Early

After leaving Dongfang Longyue's room, Lu Chen went to Fengyun Courtyard for breakfast. While drinking the nourishing porridge that Mu Zixuan had personally cooked, he checked the system notifications from the previous night.

[Congratulations, host, on acquiring a concubine. Reward: Technical blueprints related to oil exploration, extraction, and production.]

[For each time the host cultivates feelings with his wives and concubines, the Qi Refining Technique experience points increase by 10,000, and the Rejuvenation Hand experience points increase by...]

Seeing the prompt in front of him, Lu Chen thought to himself, "Oil? Given the current conditions in the Northern Country, even if oil is extracted, it probably can't be used for the production of chemical products."

The northern country is still an agricultural country and does not have the conditions for large-scale industrial production, so it is best not to extract oil for the time being.

Of course, even if extraction is not carried out now, oil exploration work still needs to be done. He needs to figure out what kind of resources are in those places in the North, so that when the North develops in the future and transforms from an agricultural country to an industrial country, oil can play a huge role.

With his Grandmaster-level lifespan, living for several hundred years is not a problem. Moreover, he may one day break through to the Celestial Realm. After breaking through to the Celestial Realm, he may even live for a thousand years. In any case, he will definitely be able to see the world transform from an agricultural world to an industrial world in his lifetime.

At this moment, Mu Zixuan noticed that Lu Chen was lost in thought, and she asked curiously, "Your Highness, what are you thinking about?"

Upon hearing Mu Zixuan's words, Lu Chen snapped out of his reverie and said with a smile, "I wasn't thinking about anything. By the way, I plan to create a newspaper based on the Northern Prince's Mansion."

Upon hearing this, Mu Zixuan was stunned for a moment, but she quickly realized that Dongfang Longyue was currently in charge of the Dongfang Newspaper, and now that Dongfang Longyue had become Lu Chen's woman, perhaps Lu Chen was just giving Dongfang Longyue something to do.

However, the government already has a newspaper.

Thinking of this, Mu Zixuan asked, "Your Highness, the Prince's residence already has the Northern Times. Wouldn't creating another newspaper be redundant?"

Lu Chen smiled and said, "The current Northern Times is the newspaper of the Northern Kingdom's small court. The newspaper I want to create next will be completely controlled by the Northern King's Mansion."

Mu Zixuan said, "I understand. I will help Your Highness set up the newspaper shortly. Your Highness, please give the newspaper a name?"

Lu Chen thought for a moment, "Let's call it Fengyun Times."

Upon hearing this name, Mu Zixuan paused again. This name…

The characters "风云" (Fengyun) are more suitable for formal occasions than for a courtyard name, and are actually most suitable as a newspaper name.

However, for some reason, when Mu Zixuan thought about what Lu Chen had said yesterday about stirring up trouble that night, she felt that the name was strange.

……

Time passed day by day, and before they knew it, the day arrived for Lu Chen to take a concubine.

In the end, Dongfang Longyue decided to stay at the Dongfang Newspaper for a while longer. She thought that since she was already the Northern King's woman, the status of her status was not that important. What she needed to do now was to manage the Dongfang Newspaper well and make it a good example for the Northern King in terms of public opinion.

Dongfang Longyue naturally knew that the Northern Prince's Mansion had a newspaper called Fengyun Times, and she also knew that Fengyun Times would most likely be managed by her in the future.

However, compared to newspapers like Fengyun Times, which have close ties with the Northern Prince's Mansion, independent newspapers are better able to guide public opinion.

In the eyes of ordinary people, although the Dongfang Newspaper was established after passing the review, it was, after all, the newspaper of the Dongfang family and had no official affiliation. In reality, some people simply did not trust the imperial court or the royal family.

In Dongfang Longyue's view, she could only make the most of herself by staying at the Dongfang Newspaper, so she didn't need to be in such a hurry for that title.

Rather than seeking a title, it's better to demonstrate one's value, which will make the Northern King value one more.

Although Dongfang Longyue did not agree to a formal title now, the wedding that the royal family should hold still had to take place, after all, Wang Qingci, as a concubine, was about to enter the household.

Mu Zixuan arranged Wang Qingci's wedding. Although Wang Qingci was a concubine who married into the Northern Prince's mansion, she still wore a red wedding dress, and the scale was almost the same as when she married the principal wife.

Wang Qingci sat in the bridal chamber, looking somewhat dazed. She never imagined that this day would come for her.

She used to work for the royal family, thinking that she would only ever be a tool of the royal family and would be abandoned by them at a certain time. However, she encountered the evil King of the North in the Northern County, who helped her escape from the royal family ahead of time.

Thinking about what happened between her and Lu Chen, Wang Qingci felt it was all unreal. She was clearly the enemy of the Northern King at the beginning, but she was captured by the Northern King and became his slave. The key point is that she was eventually completely conquered by the Northern King.

Wang Qingci couldn't help but laugh at herself, realizing she was truly a shameless woman. She had been captured by Lu Chen, yet she had fallen in love with this wicked man and was even unable to extricate herself from it.

Just as Wang Qingci was lost in thought, a maid's voice came from the doorway, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Qingci tensed up. She had served Lu Chen countless times, but she had never been this nervous before.

The next moment, the door opened and Lu Chen entered the room.

Lu Chen's footsteps were light, but it seemed that every step he took touched Wang Qingci's heart. Wang Qingci's heart beat faster and faster. Before long, Lu Chen came to the bed and used the jade ruyi to lift Wang Qingci's red veil.

Wang Qingci's face was completely flushed, even her ears were red. Lu Chen teased, "Is this your first time consummating your marriage, Master Wang? Why do you look so nervous?"

Hearing Lu Chen's teasing words, Wang Qingci instantly relaxed a lot. She looked up at Lu Chen and said, "Of course, this is my first time in the bridal chamber."

Although her body and mind had long since become like Lu Chen's, what she did before was at most just sexual pleasure, not a wedding night. In Wang Qingci's opinion, only what they did on their wedding day could be considered a wedding night.

This was her first marriage, her first wedding night, and of course, her first time consummating the marriage.

However, after being teased by Lu Chen, Wang Qingci was no longer as nervous as before.

At this moment, Lu Chen's large hand wrapped around Wang Qingci's lower abdomen, and he laid her down on the bed.

Seeing this, Wang Qingci thought Lu Chen was planning to do something to her, but when Lu Chen came to the bed, he did not take any further action. He simply put his arm around her waist and held her quietly.

This……

Wang Qingci was stunned for a moment.

Lu Chen has never been a well-behaved person. Every time he catches her, he punishes her. Why is it that Lu Chen did nothing today?

Wang Qingci felt somewhat puzzled.

Could it be that Lu Chen is already tired of it?

Since their encounter in the study of the old prince's mansion, Lu Chen had never touched her again, not even after they moved to the new city.

She didn't take it seriously at first, after all, Lu Chen had so many women, it was normal for him to be too busy to handle them all.

But today is the day she and he are getting married, the day she is marrying into the royal family. At this time, Lu Chen is just holding her and not doing anything important.

Wang Qingci began to feel anxious.

Today is her first day marrying into the royal family, but the prince won't even touch her body. How can she feel at ease?

After a long pause, Wang Qingci finally mustered up the courage to say, "Your Highness, it's still early."

Wang Qingci's unspoken message was that it was still so early, so why not do something fun to pass the time?

However, Lu Chen simply hummed in response and then remained silent, still holding Wang Qingci's waist as if he were about to go to sleep.

Seeing Lu Chen's indifferent reaction, Wang Qingci couldn't help but wonder if the prince hadn't slept well last night and was therefore not in high spirits and was planning to go to bed early.

As Lu Chen's woman, Wang Qingci knew Lu Chen's lifestyle very well. Sometimes when Lu Chen was having a great time, he might not sleep all night, so the two of them often stayed up all night.

Wang Qingci thought to herself that perhaps Lu Chen had stayed up all night with some woman from the Wang family last night, such as Dongfang Longyue.

Ever since Lu Chen moved to the North, he has been going to Dongfang Longyue's room almost every day. It is obvious that Dongfang Longyue is Lu Chen's new love.

Thinking of this, Wang Qingci felt a little sour inside. Although she never thought of monopolizing Lu Chen, she also knew that she couldn't possibly bear Lu Chen's favor on her own.

But the thought of marrying Lu Chen today, only to find out that Lu Chen had spent the entire night with another woman, made Wang Qingci feel somewhat depressed.

If Lu Chen and his woman stayed up all night at other times, she wouldn't feel uncomfortable at all, but today is their wedding day.

Wang Qingci sighed inwardly. Perhaps in Lu Chen's eyes, she was just a concubine, so the wedding night was optional, since she already belonged to him.

Just as Wang Qingci was thinking this, she suddenly noticed that Lu Chen, who was holding her, seemed a little restless.

Lu Chen's chest was pressed tightly against her back. They were already holding each other very tightly, so she could clearly sense Lu Chen's physical condition.

This made Wang Qingci even more confused. This bad thing clearly wanted to do something bad to her, so why didn't it make any moves or take any action?

Could he have done this on purpose?

Could it be that he's waiting for me to make the first move?

Or was he trying to play a trick on himself?

After pondering for a moment, Wang Qingci felt that she could not wait any longer. No matter what this wicked thing was thinking, the wedding night had to take place today.

Thinking of this, Wang Qingci reached her hand behind her back. She needed to firmly grasp her own happiness before she could feel at ease.

Lu Chen had originally planned to take a nap. He had indeed stayed up late last night, but not for women. Instead, he had been in his study dealing with some performance reports submitted by various counties in the northern country.

The reforms in the North had been underway for so long, and he wanted to see how they were going, so he asked the officials of each county to write some performance reports.

As for consummating the marriage with Wang Qingci, he didn't really intend to do it. After all, Wang Qingci was already pregnant with his child, and he didn't want to do anything to harm his child. But as soon as he closed his eyes, Wang Qingci's hands started to wander.

At this moment, Lu Chen grabbed Wang Qingci's wrist and said, "What are you doing?"

Wang Qingci asked, "Your Highness, it's still early. Don't you have anything else to do?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen instantly understood what Wang Qingci meant.

What a vixen! I didn't touch her, but she couldn't help herself.

Lu Chen then rolled over, trapping Wang Qingci's body between his arms, and looked down into Wang Qingci's eyes. "Lord Wang, it's still broad daylight, and you actually want me to do that kind of thing? Do you want to corrupt me and make me fall into depravity?"

Hearing this, Wang Qingci pretended to be aggrieved and stared into Lu Chen's eyes, saying, "Is Your Highness already tired of me? In the past, whenever Your Highness had me by your side, you would do bad things to me no matter where you were. Today is the day I am to marry Your Highness, but Your Highness has not made a single move."

This……

Although Lu Chen could tell that Wang Qingci's pitiful appearance was an act, he also realized that not consummating their marriage on their wedding day might indeed cause Wang Qingci unnecessary anxiety.

So he decided not to hide anything from Wang Qingci and said directly, "Before we had children, we could be reckless, but now that we have children, we can't be as crazy as before."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qingci was completely stunned.

Huh? A child?

When did she and Lu Chen have a child?

(End of this chapter)