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

Chapter 39 The Chu Family's Crisis

Beijing.

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Garden.

The Xia emperor, dressed in a yellow dragon robe, sat in the pavilion, savoring the fragrant tea in his hand.

At that moment, a soldier in armor suddenly appeared behind him.

"Your Majesty, I have determined that the news that the Eighth Prince sent someone to assassinate the Ninth Prince was spread by the First Prince."

Upon hearing this, the teacup in Emperor Xia's hand shattered instantly. He coldly snorted and said, "My children are getting increasingly restless. Do they all wish for my early death? Are they so eager for the position of Crown Prince?"

Upon seeing the Emperor's anger, the Imperial Advisor Situ Ce, who was sitting opposite the Emperor, immediately said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. It is not surprising that brothers would attack each other when the position of Crown Prince is still undecided. If Your Majesty could establish a Crown Prince as soon as possible, it would actually calm His Highness's mind."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia chuckled and then said, "Grand Preceptor, only you dare to say such things to me. If anyone else had asked me to establish a crown prince early, I would have had them dragged out and beaten a hundred times."

At this point, Emperor Xia rose from the stone bench, put his hands behind his back, and looked at the lotus pond in the Imperial Garden.

"To be honest, I'm more curious about how Xiao Jiu survived than what happened in the capital."

Xia Huang's thoughts were similar to Lu Shuyun's. Even if the Chu family really sent a mysterious grandmaster to protect Lu Chen, the Blood Moon Tower's assassination attempt would most likely succeed.

According to the intelligence obtained by the Shadow Guards, Blood Moon Tower has sent a half-step Grandmaster and five ninth-rank soldiers to the Northern Prefecture.

Furthermore, Lu Shuyun himself had planted some spies in Beijun. If they acted together, even with a Grandmaster present, it was unlikely that the Northern King would survive.

But the Northern King survived.

This made Emperor Xia suspicious. Was the mysterious grandmaster beside the Northern King really just a grandmaster?

Situ Ce then said, "The Ninth Prince was able to survive perhaps because his life was not meant to end; it was simply a matter of luck."

Emperor Xia said calmly, "Enough, this farce should end now. Since the Chu family hasn't sent anyone to Beijun to contact Xiao Jiu recently, let Xiao Jiu run wild in Beijun. I don't plan to interfere in his affairs anymore."

Emperor Xia recently had people investigate the Chu family and found that apart from initially sending Chu Yuqin and that mysterious grandmaster to protect Lu Chen when he went to Beijun to take up his fief, the Chu family had not taken any other actions.

They haven't sent anyone to contact Lu Chen either, it really seems like they've given up on him.

Emperor Xia even heard that the Chu family was very dissatisfied with Chu Xiong as the head of the family and was already making a fuss about replacing him.

Chu Xiong himself was already in dire straits, so it was normal that he had no interest in caring about Lu Chen, who was far away in Beijun.

Emperor Xia then said to the red-robed eunuch beside him, "Pass on my order: the eldest prince is spreading rumors that damage the dignity of the royal family. He shall be confined to his quarters for three months."

"As for the Eighth Prince..."

At this point, Emperor Xia paused for a moment, then continued, "Eunuch Liu, go and tell the Eighth Prince to stop when he has gone too far."

Upon hearing this, the red-robed eunuch before Emperor Xia immediately replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Afterwards, Eunuch Liu left the palace and went to the residences of the First Prince and the Eighth Prince to deliver imperial edicts.

at the same time.

Jiangnan, Suzhou City.

Chu family.

An elderly man with gray hair sat in the courtyard, repeatedly looking at the letter in his hand.

At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a blue brocade robe entered the courtyard.

"Father, didn't you say you wouldn't concern yourself with the affairs of the Northern Prince's Mansion for the time being? Why won't you let Qin'er come back? And you even secretly sent a Grandmaster to protect the Northern Prince!"

The man's name was Chu Hongfei, and he was Chu Xiong's son, which made him Lu Chen's uncle.

Chu Hongfei was in a bad mood after learning that there was a mysterious grandmaster in the Northern King's Mansion. Although Lu Chen was his nephew, he did not have much interaction with Lu Chen, let alone any goodwill towards him.

What's more, the woman he liked was always with the Northern King, which made Chu Hongfei even more unhappy.

As for who the woman he likes is, it is naturally Chu Yuqin.

Faced with his son's questioning, Chu Xiong remained silent for a moment, then countered with, "Hongfei, do you really believe that the Grandmaster from the Northern Prince's Mansion was sent by me?"

Hearing Chu Xiong's words, Chu Hongfei was stunned for a moment, and then he said, "Besides you, who else would send a grandmaster to protect a useless prince?"

In Chu Hongfei's view, Chu Xiong probably thought Lu Chen was his grandson, so he was afraid he would get hurt. So he sent a grandmaster over.

Chu Xiong sighed and said, "I did consider sending a grandmaster to protect the Northern King, but considering the recent actions in the capital, I ultimately gave up on that idea."

"I don't know where that mysterious master came from."

"Yuqin went to Beijun with the Northern King voluntarily, and now she no longer listens to the Chu family."

At this moment, a look of doubt appeared on Chu Hongfei's face, and then he asked, "Father, you're not lying to me, are you?"

"If it weren't for your orders, how could Qin'er possibly follow a good-for-nothing? I don't believe it."

Chu Xiong said with exasperation, "The Xia Emperor is making constant moves these days. The commander of the Imperial Guards in the capital has been changed again and again. Even Zhou Wangtian's family has been wiped out, and Mu Changtian has been imprisoned in the capital. The Xia Emperor is clearly going to take action against the aristocratic families next. How could I dare to have too much contact with the Northern King at this time? Do you really think I'm senile, afraid that the Xia Emperor's blade won't fall fast enough?"

"As for Yuqin, I advise you to give up on her as soon as possible. Although her husband died on the first day she married into the Wang family, she is still considered a daughter-in-law of the Wang family."

Hearing Chu Xiong's words, Chu Hongfei said thoughtfully, "Father, if it really wasn't a grandmaster you sent to Beijun, then there shouldn't be any grandmaster protecting the Northern King, right?"

Chu Xiong stroked his gray beard and said, "I was also puzzled when I first saw this news, but I just received news from the capital that this matter is probably related to the First Prince."

At this point, Chu Xiong handed the letter to Chu Hongfei. Chu Hongfei picked up the letter, glanced at it, and his expression changed several times.

He then said, "Father, do you believe that the First Prince sent a Grandmaster to protect the Northern King in an attempt to win over the Chu family?"

Chu Xiong said calmly, "It's not about winning over the Chu family, it's about winning me over."

The letter in Chu Hongfei's hand was delivered by the Chu family's spies in the capital. The spies discovered that the First Prince had spread news related to the Northern King several times, including the news circulating in the capital that the Eighth Prince had sent someone to assassinate the Northern King.

It looks as if the eldest prince is protecting the Northern King.

But Chu Xiong wasn't stupid; this was clearly something the eldest prince was doing for him.

As for whether the Grandmaster beside the Northern King is a subordinate of the First Prince, it's really hard to say.

As the eldest prince, the most likely candidate to become the crown prince, he undoubtedly has grandmasters under his command.

But Grandmasters aren't as common as cabbages. Even the Crown Prince himself needs a Grandmaster's protection. If a Grandmaster is sent to protect the Northern King, then who in the capital will protect him, unless he has more than one Grandmaster by his side?

At this moment, Chu Hongfei placed the letter on the stone table and said, "I don't care. No matter what, Qin'er must come back. What is she doing in Beijun with a useless prince? The environment in Beijun is so harsh. She will only suffer there."

Hearing this, Chu Xiong was furious and retorted, "All you ever think about is women! Is that all you've got? The Chu family is facing imminent disaster, and you're still thinking about women!"

Chu Hongfei said nonchalantly, "What does the impending disaster for the Chu family have to do with me? When that time really comes, I'll just take Qin'er to the Great Wu Dynasty."

Upon hearing Chu Hongfei's words, Chu Xiong almost choked.

"Get out! Get out of here right now!" Chu Xiong shouted.

Seeing that Chu Xiong was angry, Chu Hongfei quickly left the courtyard.

After Chu Hongfei left, Chu Xiong looked at the empty courtyard and sighed deeply, saying, "Yue'er, it's my fault. I failed to protect you back then, and now I don't even dare to send anyone to protect your child."

(End of this chapter)