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

Seeing the room layout before her, Wu Yunwan was somewhat bewildered, wondering what the Northern King was up to.

Wu Junwan then lifted the red curtain and stepped into the inner room, only to find that, just as she had thought, the layout of the room was almost exactly the same as that of the Yue Emperor's bedroom.

Even the quilts and sheets used on the bed have the same pattern.

Wu Junwan looked confused.

Just then, the maid spoke up, "Your Majesty, the hot water is ready. You must be tired from your long journey. Why not take a hot bath to relieve your fatigue?"

Wu Junwan snapped out of her daze and, without giving it much thought, replied, "Okay."

Immediately afterwards, Wu Yunwan arrived at the bathroom. Upon entering, she was surprised to find that the layout of the bath was very similar to that of Emperor Yue's bath. The only difference was that this bathroom was much smaller than Emperor Yue's, but the layout was almost identical.

With the help of her maids, Wu Junwan took off her clothes and then slowly stepped into the bath.

The bath was steaming hot and incredibly dreamy. As soon as Wu Junwan entered the bath, all the fatigue of the past few days vanished instantly. In her hazy state, she seemed to see the moonlight.

She didn't know how much time had passed before Wu Yunwan finally came to her senses. Only then did she realize that she was the only person in the entire bath, and there was no Emperor Yue. She had just been hallucinating.

The main reason was that the scene was so familiar, and the hot water made her feel drowsy, which caused her to have some hallucinations.

After Wu Yunwan regained consciousness, she immediately got out of the bath. At this time, the maids hurriedly brought towels to serve Wu Yunwan. Some maids wiped her body, and some maids brought clothes to prepare for Wu Yunwan to dress.

When Wu Yunwan saw the clothes the maids were holding, she was stunned again. The clothes the maids were holding were exactly the same as the Empress Phoenix Robe worn by Emperor Yue.

Although she did want to wear the Empress's phoenix robe, she never imagined that she would be wearing it under these circumstances.

Just as the maid was about to put the phoenix robe on her, Wu Yunwan immediately stopped them and asked, "Phoenix robe? Where did this phoenix robe come from?"

The maidservant who helped her dress replied, "Your Majesty, this was specially made by the Prince."

Wu Junwan was even more puzzled. What did this Northern King mean by having the maid call her "Your Majesty" and having someone dress her in a phoenix robe?

Although she was puzzled, Wu Yunwan eventually raised her arms and let the maid put the phoenix robe on her.

For some reason, this phoenix robe seemed to possess some kind of sinister power, making it impossible for her to refuse.

After putting on her phoenix robe, Wu Yunwan returned to her bedroom and went to her dressing table.

In front of the dressing table is a huge full-length mirror, which is different from the layout of the Qing Palace where the Empress lived.

The mirrors in the North are made of glass and mercury, so they are very clear. Wu Junwan had actually been in contact with mirrors from the North before, since mirrors from the North were very popular in various dynasties and were very popular among noble ladies.

However, the mirrors Wu Junwan had ever used were all small mirrors; this was the first time she had ever encountered a full-length mirror.

After admiring her reflection in the mirror for a while, Wu Yunwan sat down at the dressing table, whereupon the maids began to comb her hair.

After a moment, a maid suddenly brought a phoenix crown and put it on Wu Yunwan's head. Wu Yunwan raised her eyebrows slightly, but this time she did not say anything.

Since she was already wearing the phoenix robe, there was nothing wrong with wearing a phoenix crown as well. Although she didn't know why the Northern King wanted to do this, she liked the outfit very much.

She had wanted to try this outfit for a long time, but she never had the chance. In Dayue, the Yue Emperor was the Empress, so she couldn't wear this outfit. After returning to Dawu, her father was still alive, so she was even less able to wear this outfit.

She originally thought she would wear the phoenix robe when she ascended the throne, but she didn't expect to wear this outfit so soon.

For the rest of the day, until evening, Wu Junwan admired her outfit in front of the mirror.

As evening approached, the maids prepared a feast for Wu Yunwan, but she didn't eat much. Looking at the food, she asked the maid beside her, "Is your prince not in the palace?"

Wu Junwan was somewhat confused. Since she entered Yancheng, she had not seen Lu Chen's whereabouts.

Although she was a hostage, the Northern King should have come to see her, since Lu Chen had said in front of her that Da Wu would send her to the Northern Kingdom.

Now that those people from the Great Wu Dynasty have actually sent her to the Northern Kingdom, why doesn't he come and humiliate her now?

Upon hearing Wu Junwan's question, the maid replied, "Your Majesty, the Prince is at the Prince's residence, but he has been busy with state affairs lately and is handling government matters in his study."

Wu Yunwan didn't ask any more questions. She ate a little something and then had the maids remove all the food from the table.

Then she came to the full-length mirror again, looked at herself in the mirror, and fell into deep thought.

After calming down, she began to ponder Lu Chen's intentions in doing all this. She didn't believe that Lu Chen was simply asking her to wear the phoenix robe.

That young man must have some ulterior motive.

Could it be...?

Just as Wu Yunwan suddenly thought of something, a maid's voice came from the doorway, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Then a familiar voice reached Wu Junwan's ears, "You may all leave."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Immediately afterwards, Lu Chen entered Wu Junwan's bedroom. He directly lifted the red curtain and went into the inner room.

The moment Lu Chen saw Wu Junwan, he froze on the spot.

The phoenix robe clung tightly to Wu Yunwan's body, perfectly highlighting her voluptuous figure. Her slender waist and wide hips were perfectly proportioned, with curves in all the right places. Combined with Wu Yunwan's dignified and beautiful demeanor, Lu Chen was momentarily stunned.

When Lu Chen barged in like that, Wu Yunwan was also stunned. Although she had moved into the Northern King's Mansion, she was still a hostage sent to the Northern Kingdom by the Great Wu.

As the Prince of the North, how could Lu Chen enter her bedroom so casually?

However, Wu Yunwan did not blame Lu Chen, but instead asked directly, "What does Your Highness mean by this?"

Lu Chen snapped out of his reverie and asked with a smile, "How are the clothes I prepared for Her Majesty? Does Her Majesty like them?"

When Lu Chen addressed her as "Your Majesty," Wu Yunwan was taken aback. She quickly realized what he meant and said, "Do you perhaps intend to make me the Emperor of Great Wu, using this as a pretext to interfere with the succession process and then seize the opportunity to divide Great Wu?"

"If that is your idea, Your Highness, then I can only tell you that your plan is likely to fail."

Wu Yunwan had been wondering why Lu Chen had made her wear a phoenix robe until just now, when she suddenly realized what was going on.

Throughout history, there have been many instances where hostages sent by defeated nations to enemy states were made emperors by those states. Enemy states often used this as an excuse to divide those countries, and even openly interfered in the internal affairs of other countries by claiming that the hostages were the legitimate rulers.

Although most of those hostages were princes, Wu Junwan held a relatively high position in Da Wu, so she could also be considered an heir. In any case, she was just an excuse for the Northern Kingdom to interfere in Da Wu's internal affairs.

Of course, these were all Wu Yunwan's thoughts. (End of Chapter)