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

Chapter 365 They're preparing to attack you.

Lu Chen hadn't even reached the study yet; he had just stepped out of the inner courtyard when he saw Xuan Yuan Chaoge.

Upon seeing Lu Chen, Xuan Yuan Chaoge first bowed, then immediately said, "Your Highness, there's trouble in the old city!"

Hearing Xuan Yuan Chaoge's sudden remark, Lu Chen was slightly taken aback.

Is there something wrong?

What's going on?

Xuanyuan Chaoge realized that his words were too vague, so he quickly explained, "This old minister accidentally discovered two powerful auras in the old city, so he went to take a stroll around the old city and found that there were many martial artists at the Grandmaster level or above, and even two people whose auras exceeded those of Grandmasters."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen was stunned. His aura surpassed that of a Grandmaster?

A celestial being? Or a pseudo-celestial being?

Lu Chen immediately asked, "Their martial arts aura is stronger than yours?"

Xuanyuan Chaoge replied, "Their aura is much weaker than that of this old minister."

At this point, Xuanyuan Chaoge suddenly thought of something and continued, "The aura they exude is very similar to that of Grand Scholar Zhuge."

Upon hearing Xuan Yuan Chaoge's words, Lu Chen suddenly thought of two people. He said thoughtfully, "So, these two are pseudo-celestial beings?"

Xuanyuan Chaoge said, "It's highly likely. This old minister was worried that there were celestial beings behind these two, so I came back to see Your Majesty first."

After Xuanyuan Chaoge became a Celestial Being, he was able to communicate with heaven and earth with ease and perfectly integrate his aura into the environment, making it impossible for others to perceive his true realm.

In his view, other celestial beings should also have this ability, so he was still unsure whether there were real celestial beings behind these two pseudo-celestial beings. Therefore, he did not act rashly, but chose to report the situation to Lu Chen first.

Upon hearing Xuan Yuan Chaoge's words, Lu Chen fell into deep thought. After a long while, Lu Chen finally spoke, "I roughly know who these two are."

Lu Chen then said to Xuan Yuan Chaoge, "Later, have the Embroidered Uniform Guard assist you in investigating their identities in the old city. Once you've confirmed their identities, don't do anything for now. Come back and let me know first."

Lu Chen has a system, so determining the identities of those people is actually very simple. He only needs to take a trip to the old city to confirm their identities.

However, if he did that, he might alert the enemy, so he planned to have Xuanyuan Chaoge and Liang Zong confirm the identities of those people.

Lu Chen then said to the female guard at the door, "Go and fetch Commander Liang."

At this point, Lu Chen walked towards the study, saying as he went, "Come with me to the study and wait for Commander Liang."

Immediately afterwards, Lu Chen led Xuan Yuan Chaoge to the study to await Liang Zong's arrival.

A moment later, Liang Zong arrived at the study and saw that Xuan Yuan Chaoge was also there. Liang Zong was a little curious about what Lu Chen wanted to see him about.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

Lu Chen said, "The auras of two pseudo-celestial beings have appeared in the old city. Send someone to investigate the situation in the old city with Lord Xuanyuan and see if it is people from Sifang Mountain and Dingfeng Mountain who have come."

Upon hearing this, Liang Zong was taken aback.

The Imperial Guards in the capital had been keeping an eye on where those two old men lived, but they hadn't noticed that they had left the capital.

If they had left the capital, the intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard should have reached Yancheng long ago, instead of being completely out of the loop.

Just then, Liang Zong suddenly remembered something. Some time ago, a Jinyiwei soldier told him that there had been a sudden increase in the number of people from the capital coming to Yancheng to do business. At the time, he had only done a rough investigation.

Looking back now, it seems that the other party probably came to Yancheng disguised as a merchant caravan, and they were very clever, only going to the old city and not coming directly to the new city.

The inspections in the new city were very strict, with Jinyiwei spies among the crowd. Although there were some soldiers patrolling the old city, they were not as strict. As long as there were no fights or killings, the soldiers in the old city basically did not care.

Liang Zong then said, "I will take my men and Lord Xuanyuan to the old city immediately."

Lu Chen continued, "Keep it quiet, don't alert them."

Liang Zong immediately cupped his hands and said, "Yes."

Afterwards, Xuanyuan Chaoge and Liang Zong went to the old city. When they were about to arrive at the old city, they disguised themselves as a caravan and entered the old city under the name of the caravan.

Over the next two days, Xuan Yuan Chaoge and the Imperial Guards tried to find out about the two men, but they didn't do it deliberately. They pretended to be merchants and subtly inquired about their whereabouts through conversations with some merchants in the old city.

The disciples from Sifang Mountain and Dingfeng Mountain disguised themselves exceptionally well. They didn't stay in the inn the whole time. If they had, people would have noticed something was amiss long ago. After all, they were there to do business, and they couldn't just stay in the inn doing nothing.

To avoid arousing suspicion about their identities, the disciples of Dingfeng Mountain and Sifang Mountain even opened a restaurant in the old city.

Xuanyuan Chaoge approached the two pseudo-celestial beings by concealing his aura, only to find that they hardly talked about the Northern King's Mansion at all. Their daily conversations revolved around the goods from the Northern Kingdom and how delicious the wine was, as if they were truly merchants.

The conversation between the two old men made Xuanyuan Chaoge wonder if he had been discovered.

Lu Chen waited for two days without receiving any news from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which left him feeling extremely confused.

It's just a matter of confirming the identities of those people, how come it's taken two days and we still can't confirm them?

In the study, Lu Chen said directly to the maid at the door, "Xiao Rou, go and call a Jinyiwei soldier."

Just as the maid was about to say yes, Liang Zong entered the courtyard. "Your Highness, Commander Liang requests an audience!"

Lu Chen then said, "Xiao Rou, you don't need to go."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The next moment, Liang Zong pushed open the door and entered the study. Before Liang Zong could even bow, Lu Chen asked, "Why did it take two days to confirm your identity?"

Seeing that Lu Chen seemed a little angry, Liang Zong quickly explained, "Your Highness, they hid very well. Not only were they not wearing the clothes of disciples from Sifang Mountain and Dingfeng Mountain, but they also didn't talk about the Northern Prince's Mansion at all when they spoke. You couldn't tell their identities at all."

Hearing this, Lu Chen frowned. "So, their identities are still not confirmed?"

Liang Zong continued, "It's confirmed. Last night, one of their disciples got drunk while visiting a brothel and got into a fight with someone. He couldn't hold back and started a fight, using the Dingfeng Mountain martial arts technique."

Lu Chen was full of questions. He had been hiding it so well, but it was exposed because one of his disciples went to a brothel?

Isn't this a bit too fake?

Just then, the maid's voice rang out again from the doorway.

"Your Highness, Lord Xuanyuan requests an audience!"

"Come in!"

Xuanyuan Chaoge then entered the study.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Lu Chen nodded.

Xuanyuan Chaoge continued, "Your Majesty, those two pseudo-celestial beings are very well hidden. This old minister has never heard them talk about the Northern King's Mansion."

Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then said to the maid at the door, "Xiao Rou, have someone go and summon the Grand Secretary."

"Yes, Your Highness."

A short while later, Zhuge Chongguang appeared in the study.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

Lu Chen immediately said, "Two pseudo-celestial beings have appeared in the old city, suspected to be the ancestors of Dingfeng Mountain and Sifang Mountain. What does the Grand Scholar think we should do?"

Zhuge Chongguang paused for a moment, then asked, "Your Highness, has the identity been confirmed?"

Lu Chen said, "I can't be sure for now. They are very well hidden. I sent Commander Liang and City Lord Xuanyuan together to find some clues."

Zhuge Chongguang turned to Liang Zong and asked, "How did Commander Liang confirm their identities?"

Liang Zong replied, "One of their disciples went to a brothel to drink, got drunk, and used the Dingfeng Mountain martial arts when he fought with someone."

After listening to Liang Zong's reply, Zhuge Chongguang stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then looked at Lu Chen and said, "Your Highness, I'm afraid those people have already discovered that their identities have been exposed, and they are preparing to take action against you."

……

(End of this chapter)