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

Chapter 355 The Great Martial Envoy Arrives in the Northern Kingdom

As soon as Dongfang Longyue finished speaking, all the women in the courtyard turned their gazes to Lu Chen.

All the women wanted to know if the hostage Lu Chen mentioned was the one they were thinking of.

Seeing his wives and concubines staring at him, Lu Chen suddenly felt a little guilty. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

At this moment, Wang Qingci said with a smile, "Your Highness, the hostage you're thinking of isn't the eldest princess of Da Wu, is it?"

amount……

Lu Chen then said, "I originally thought the eldest prince would be the hostage, but after hearing what Qingci said, I realized that if we're talking about who is more capable and ambitious in Da Wu, it's the eldest princess of Da Wu. She is more important to Da Wu, so I decided to make her the hostage."

"Qingci, thank you for reminding me."

Hearing Lu Chen's words, the women chuckled inwardly. How could they not know what Lu Chen was thinking?

Lu Chen's initial thought was probably that of the eldest princess of the Great Wu.

Just then, Wang Qingci said with a smile, "But as far as I know, Wu Yunwan is no longer the Princess of Da Wu. Her title of Princess has been revoked, and most of the officials in her faction have already pledged allegiance to other princes. She shouldn't be that important to Da Wu anymore, right?"

Lu Chen said calmly, "Although her title has been revoked, with her abilities, she will make a comeback sooner or later. She is still the most important person in Da Wu."

Just then, Xiao Wenyao asked innocently and curiously, "The Prince sent the eldest princess of Da Wu to the Northern Kingdom as a hostage. Does that mean the Northern Kingdom is making peace with Da Wu through marriage?"

Hearing this, Lu Chen glanced at Xiao Wenyao speechlessly. Seeing that Xiao Wenyao had exposed Lu Chen's little scheme, the women covered their mouths and laughed.

For a moment, the courtyard was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

At this moment, Chu Yuqin explained to Lu Chen, "Yaoyao, a hostage is a hostage, and a marriage alliance is a marriage alliance; these two are different."

Xiao Wenyao asked doubtfully, "After the eldest princess of Da Wu comes to the Northern Kingdom, will she stay at the Northern Prince's Mansion?"

This……

Upon hearing Xiao Wenyao's question, Chu Yuqin paused for a moment, then turned to look at Lu Chen.

Based on Chu Yuqin's understanding of Lu Chen, she would probably get Wu Yunwan into bed the very day she arrived in the Northern Kingdom.

Seeing that Chu Yuqin did not answer, Xiao Wenyao's gaze fell on Lu Chen again. Lu Chen coughed and then said, "In order to better monitor the hostage's every move, Wu Yunwan has come to the Northern Kingdom and will naturally live under my watchful eye to prevent her from doing anything detrimental to the Northern Kingdom."

Xiao Wenyao said, "If that eldest princess moves into the Prince's mansion, wouldn't she become the Prince's woman? Wouldn't the eldest princess of Dawu marrying the Prince be a political marriage?"

Um... this...

The women fell silent.

Looking at it this way, it really is a marriage alliance.

"Ahem, Yao Yao, you're overthinking it. A hostage is an important person sent to another country as a hostage, and that hostage has to return in the future. A marriage alliance is an important woman sent to marry the other country, and that woman will eventually become the other country's person, so she doesn't have to go back."

At this moment, Zhou Youyou asked curiously, "Then why did the Prince send the eldest princess of Da Wu as a hostage instead of a direct marriage? She'd become the Prince's woman once she entered the palace, and she wouldn't be returning to Da Wu anyway. Wouldn't a direct marriage be better?"

Hearing this, Lu Chen scoffed, then with a flick of his wrist, used his spiritual power to pull Zhou Youyou, who was sitting on the stone bench, into his arms. "You little devil, Youyou, how dare you slander me? Do you think any woman who enters the palace will be mine to possess?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chen placed Zhou Youyou on his lap, raised his large hand and slapped her buttocks hard. Zhou Youyou let out a soft "ooh" and quickly begged for mercy, saying, "Your Highness, I shouldn't have spoken nonsense. I know I was wrong, ooh ooh ooh."

Seeing Zhou Youyou being hit, Xiao Wenyao, who was not far away, also trembled. She had actually wanted to ask this question just now, because in her opinion, any beautiful woman who entered the Prince's Mansion, except for maids and servants, could not escape Lu Chen's grasp.

Xiao Wenyao felt a little relieved. Luckily, she hadn't asked that question earlier, otherwise she would probably be the one getting a spanking right now.

Getting spanked in front of so many people, how embarrassing is that?

After scolding Zhou Youyou, Lu Chen did not let her go. Instead, he held her in his arms and let her sit on his lap, his arms around her slender waist.

"Remember what Aunt Chu just said: a hostage is a hostage, and a marriage alliance is a marriage alliance. The two should not be confused."

As soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, Yelü Nanyan said, "The reason why Your Highness did not choose to marry into the Great Wu is probably to prepare for the future. If you marry into the Great Wu, then the Wu Emperor will be Your Highness's father-in-law. If the Northern Kingdom wants to send troops to the Great Wu in the future, the Northern Kingdom will not be on the moral high ground."

Upon hearing Yelü Nanyan's explanation, Xiao Wenyao suddenly realized and said, "So that's how it is, I understand now."

Wang Qingci, standing to the side, asked with a smile, "Yaoyao, what do you understand?"

Xiao Wenyao replied, "If it's a marriage alliance, the eldest princess of Da Wu will never be able to return to Da Wu. The eldest princess of Da Wu is so important to Da Wu, Da Wu definitely won't want that."

"But if Your Highness uses the term 'hostage,' you can first lure the eldest princess of Da Wu here, and then sleep with her, making it a fait accompli. In this way, you can avoid having any kinship with Da Wu and still get the eldest princess's body."

At this point, Xiao Wenyao looked at Lu Chen and praised him, saying, "Your Highness is truly clever! The most troublesome thing about Great Xia is having relatives and friends!"

Chu Yuqin: "..."

Yelü Nanyan: "..."

Wang Qingci: "..."

……

While Lu Chen might indeed have such thoughts, it wouldn't be appropriate to say them directly...

Is it because she feels that Lu Chen hasn't been to her room for too long?

At this moment, all the women's eyes fell on Lu Chen, wanting to see how he would react.

Lu Chen said with a smile, "Yao Yao, come to You You's room tonight."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wenyao was stunned for a moment, involuntarily swallowed, and squeezed her legs together.

At this moment, Lu Chen said to Dongfang Longyue, "Longyue, these are my conditions for now. You should spread some word about them so that the delegation from Dawu knows about them."

Dongfang Longyue immediately stopped writing and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

"Then I'll head back to the newspaper office today."

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Okay."

After Dongfang Longyue left, Chu Yuqin said worriedly, "Chen'er, that Princess of Dawu is a person with real power in Dawu. If she comes to the Northern Kingdom, will she willingly become your woman?"

Before Lu Chen could speak, Wang Qingci said from the side, "Which woman in the Prince's mansion wasn't conquered by the Prince? With the Prince's abilities, no woman can escape his grasp. Some women in the Prince's mansion refused to marry him back then, but now they're all calling him 'husband' and 'good brother' in bed."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yuqin's face instantly darkened. She glared at Wang Qingci and then said, "You shameless vixen, what do you know!"

Chu Yuqin wasn't stupid; how could she not realize that Wang Qingci was talking about her?

Lu Chen held Zhou Youyou in his arms, stroking her delicate body as he said, "She is indeed a very ambitious person, but once she enters the Prince's mansion, her ambition will soon be worn away."

Seeing Lu Chen's confidence, Chu Yuqin sighed slightly and then said, "It's good that you know what you're doing."

Compared to Wang Qingci, a vixen who constantly pesters Lu Chen, Chu Yuqin is more worried about people like Wu Junwan. Although both Yelü Nanyan and Wu Junwan were once powerful figures, Yelü Nanyan no longer has any backing.

Wu Yunwan is different. She has the Great Wu Dynasty behind her. Even if the Great Wu Dynasty does nothing, just thinking about the Great Wu Dynasty behind her might make her have some inappropriate thoughts.

At this moment, Zhou Youyou, who was in Lu Chen's arms, suddenly let out a soft moan. All the women turned to look at Zhou Youyou. When Zhou Youyou saw that her sisters from the Prince's Mansion were staring at her, she felt extremely ashamed and her face turned bright red.

She's a mother of two, yet Lu Chen still holds her in his arms like a child.

At this moment, Lu Chen whispered in Zhou Youyou's ear, "Youyou, you're being naughty, thinking such nonsense in front of so many people."

Lu Chen's words made Zhou Youyou's cheeks turn even redder, and she wished she could disappear into the ground.

Fortunately, Lu Chen didn't continue teasing her. She then released Zhou Youyou and said, "Alright, I have something to do. You two can talk slowly."

At this point, Lu Chen got up and walked directly outside the courtyard.

The women immediately said in unison, "Respectfully seeing off Your Highness."

As soon as Lu Chen stepped out of Fengyun Courtyard, a female soldier rushed up to him. "Your Highness, the Great Wu delegation has arrived in Yancheng."

Hearing this, Lu Chen was stunned. He hadn't expected the Da Wu delegation to arrive in Yancheng so quickly.

Lu Chen then said, "Have Li Rui arrange for someone to receive the Great Martial Envoy; I won't go."

Since the Great Wu Dynasty was the defeated party, Lu Chen naturally had no need to personally receive the delegation from the defeated nation.

Lu Chen not only did not intend to personally receive them, but also planned to ignore the Da Wu delegation for the next few days, leaving them out in the cold.

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, the soldier immediately replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

The soldier then turned and left the courtyard.

……

Fifteen minutes later.

South Gate of Yancheng.

Sitting in the carriage, Wu Ming looked out the window at the crowds coming and going on both sides of the road. Seeing that the Northern Kingdom had not arranged any reception etiquette, Wu Ming was very unhappy.

This reminded him of the humiliation he suffered when he last came to the Northern Kingdom. He thought he would never come to the Northern Kingdom again, but he didn't expect to be sent there again so soon.

Moreover, this time he was sent as an envoy of a defeated nation to sue for peace, which made Wu Ming feel even more distressed.

Wu Ming thought to himself that it was all that woman's fault. If her intelligence hadn't been flawed, how could the Great Wu Dynasty have launched a war against the Northern Kingdom? Without the war, the Great Wu Dynasty wouldn't have suffered this crushing defeat. If the Great Wu hadn't been defeated, he wouldn't have come to the Northern Kingdom as an envoy of a defeated nation to beg for peace.

His role as an envoy will bring him a lot of trouble in the future. When his father sees him, he will definitely think of the defeat and will not want to see him.

This time, the Northern Kingdom will definitely make an exorbitant demand. If they fail to secure conditions that Da Wu can accept, he, as a prince, will likely be criticized when he returns to Da Wu, which will make his chances of becoming the crown prince even smaller.

Wu Ming even suspected that he had been abandoned by his father, the emperor, who planned to make the eldest prince the crown prince, which was why he was sent to the Northern Kingdom to seek peace.

As Da Wu's convoy approached the city gate, Wu Ming noticed several officials from the Northern Kingdom standing there waiting.

At this moment, an official addressed Wu Ming's carriage, saying, "Your Highness, Second Prince of Da Wu, I am the Prefect of Yan County. Welcome to the Northern Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, Wu Ming's face darkened instantly. They had only sent a local official to receive the delegation from Great Wu.

Although he was unhappy, Wu Ming knew that since Great Wu was now a defeated country, he had no right to say anything, nor did he dare to say anything. If he offended the Northern Kingdom this time and caused the Northern Kingdom to offer more peace terms that were unfavorable to Great Wu, he would definitely be impeached by many people when he returned to Great Wu.

He had to endure it.

Thinking of this, Wu Ming calmed his anger and then said, "Thank you for coming to pick us up, Prefect."

The governor of Yan County, standing at the city gate, continued, "We have already arranged accommodations for the delegation. Please follow us into the city."

Subsequently, led by the governor of Yan County, the Da Wu delegation entered Yan City.

Once they arrived at their lodgings, Wu Ming sat in the courtyard and immediately sent people to gather intelligence on the officials of the Northern Kingdom. He planned to bribe some of the Northern Kingdom officials before the peace talks, so that they would speak up for Da Wu during the talks, and Da Wu might have to pay a lower price.

It was evening.

Wu Ming sat in the pavilion drinking tea. He was a very restless person. He couldn't stand sitting in one place for long. Last time he came to the Northern Kingdom, he had his subordinates arrange for many women to enjoy for him.

But today was different. He sat alone in the pavilion until dark, without asking his subordinates to arrange for a woman to serve him in bed that night. The key was that he really wasn't in the mood for it at all.

He wondered how he would deal with the situation if the Northern Kingdom made exorbitant demands, exceeding the expectations set by his father.

Just then, a guard from the mission rushed into the courtyard, holding a newspaper in his hand. He said to Wu Ming, "Your Highness, the Eastern News Agency just published a newspaper that mentions some conditions that the Northern Kingdom might propose in the peace talks."

Upon hearing this, Wu Ming immediately put down his teacup, grabbed the newspaper from the guard's hand, and began to read it.

Looking at the contents of the newspaper, Wu Ming unconsciously frowned. The newspaper only mentioned the main areas in which the Northern King would propose peace terms, but it did not specify the exact terms.

Ceding territory and paying reparations are the most basic things. Even if this newspaper didn't say it, Wu Ming knew that the Northern Kingdom would bring up the issue of ceding territory and paying reparations, which was pure nonsense.

But just then, Wu Ming suddenly saw the last one.

Proton?

(End of this chapter)