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

Upon hearing the man's voice, the two women simultaneously turned to look at the courtyard gate, where they saw the scoundrel they hadn't seen for almost half a month swaggering into the yard.

Lu Chen walked directly to Wu Junwan's side and sat down, then naturally put his arm around Wu Junwan's slender waist.

Wu Yunwan chuckled and said, "The Prince of the North is such a busy man. I haven't seen him for almost half a month."

Hearing this, Lu Chen smiled and said, "My bad, I have been quite busy lately."

Wu Yunwan said, "As the ruler of a country, wouldn't it be beneath your dignity to admit your mistakes so often?"

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Prestige is for outsiders."

Wu Yunwan continued, "I heard that the Palace Master of Xuan Yue Palace has come to the Northern Prince's residence. The Northern Prince has been so busy these past two weeks, could it be that he's been busy discussing important matters with that Palace Master in bed?"

Hearing this, Lu Chen looked at Murong Xue'er beside him and asked with a smile, "Xue'er, can you smell a sour smell?"

Murong Xue'er replied expressionlessly, "This servant can smell it, it's very sour."

Seeing the two of them subtly alluding to her, Wu Yunwan snorted coldly, then said, "His Highness just said that there would be an opportunity this afternoon to take us to see the cannons of the Northern Kingdom. I wonder if His Highness is telling the truth?"

Lu Chen said, "Of course."

"I'll take you there in a bit."

Seeing that Lu Chen had actually agreed, the two women were overjoyed.

Although they are now all in love with Lu Chen and have no plans to cause any trouble in the Northern Kingdom, they still have some deep-seated obsessions about certain things.

One of their obsessions was knowing just how powerful the weapons of the Northern Kingdom really were.

Wu Yunwan then continued, "You helped the First Prince conquer Heyang County and assisted him in developing his power. Aren't you afraid that once he becomes powerful enough, you won't be able to do anything about him?"

Hearing this, Lu Chen smiled faintly and then said, "If I were really worried about this, I wouldn't have lent him the troops."

Seeing that Lu Chen didn't take it seriously, Wu Yunwan reminded him from the side, "You lend your troops to others so casually, and they even bring weapons from the Northern Kingdom. Be careful that they don't steal your Northern Kingdom weapons and then use them to attack the Northern Kingdom."

Hearing Wu Yunwan's reminder, Lu Chen pulled her closer to him and said, "I didn't expect you to care so much about the Northern Kingdom now. It seems you've gotten used to your new identity."

Wu Junwan said expressionlessly, "I simply don't want to see the weapons of the Northern Kingdom fall into the wrong hands and bring more war to the world."

Lu Chen said, "You're really not being honest at all."

At this moment, Lu Chen released Wu Junwan's waist, stood up and said, "Let's go, come with me to see the artillery training."

Upon hearing this, the two women immediately became interested. They quickly got up and followed Lu Chen to the artillery camp.

Artillery training is quite noisy, so it's some distance from Yancheng. They even had to take a short train ride to get to the artillery camp.

Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er sat inside the train, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

Compared to horse-drawn carriages, Lu Chen's private train carriages were much more spacious and luxurious. Even as the eldest princess, Wu Yunwan had never ridden in such a luxurious carriage in her entire life.

Lu Chen's private train carriage was no different from a mobile room; it even had a bed inside.

Seeing the bed not far away, Wu Yunwan seemed to see Lu Chen doing bad things with his wives and concubines on that bed.

Just as the two women were lost in thought, Lu Chen said, "We'll sleep on the train tonight and not go back."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er were startled. They knew exactly what they had been thinking, and a blush immediately appeared on their cheeks.

Just then, a rumbling sound suddenly came from afar, like thunder. Hearing such a dense "thunder", the two women were startled.

They didn't think it was thunder, since it was still clear outside and there was no way there could be such a dense rumble of thunder.

According to the intelligence they had previously gathered, the weapons of the Northern Kingdom were closely related to thunder.

It looks like they're almost at the artillery camp in the north.

At this moment, the train sounded its horn, making a "whoosh..." sound. Then the train began to slow down, and soon it came to a stop.

Lu Chen led the two women off the train, and as soon as they stepped off, a strong smell of gunpowder filled the air.

Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er had never smelled such a strong gunpowder smell before, and the smell made them feel very uncomfortable.

At this moment, the two women quickly determined the direction from which the "thunder" came by listening to the sound, and their eyes turned to that direction.

Wu Yunwan asked, "Was that thunder from the cannons of the Northern Kingdom?"

Lu Chen replied, "Yes, but calling it a cannon shot is more accurate."

Wu Yunwan turned to look at Lu Chen and asked for confirmation, "Are you sure you want to take us to see your soldiers' training? Xue'er and I were sent by the enemy country to steal intelligence."

Although they had already consummated their marriage and made love countless times, their relationship was not necessarily very stable, and the honey trap was the most common tactic.

Even if they say they love Lu Chen so much in bed, or even call him "husband," they can still betray him.

Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er always believed that Lu Chen didn't truly trust them, but rather that he wasn't afraid of them stealing any information from the Northern Prince's Mansion because he was powerful enough.

The artillery of the Northern Kingdom is a core secret of the Northern Kingdom, and Wu Yunwan still finds it hard to believe that Lu Chen would voluntarily reveal such a core secret to the two of them.

Lu Chen said with a smile, "We've already come this far, do you think I'm just teasing you?"

Wu Junwan said calmly, "I hope you won't regret it later."

Lu Chen didn't care and led Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er directly to the training ground.

Upon hearing that the prince was coming, the soldiers who were training immediately stopped their training and lined up in two rows to wait for Lu Chen's arrival.

As Lu Chen entered the training ground, the soldiers shouted in unison, "Greetings, Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!"

After entering the training ground, Lu Chen said, "Don't mind me, you all continue training."

As soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, the soldiers returned to their original positions.

At this moment, Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er's gazes had fallen on the cannons in the artillery range. They stared intently at the soldiers' operating procedures, as if afraid of missing a single step.

A while later, a soldier pulled the cannon rope, and a deafening sound rang out. Immediately afterwards, the distant firing range was blown up into a cloud of dust.

Both women were stunned by the shocking scene.

Wu Junwan felt a little uneasy.

No wonder the Northern Kingdom was able to defeat the Great Wu Dynasty so easily.

She sensed the level of these artillerymen. Most of them were at the first rank, and some were not even at the first rank, just ordinary people who were physically strong.

An ordinary person can wield such a powerful weapon, and a single shell from this weapon is enough to kill a Grandmaster, and even restrain the actions of a Great Grandmaster. If there are enough of these weapons, the warriors of other dynasties will be no different from ordinary people in front of the Northern Kingdom.

No, to be precise, they are no different from ants.

At that moment, the training soldiers unleashed a salvo of artillery fire. In an instant, countless huge craters were blasted into the distant firing range, and the dust that rose several meters high seemed to form a wall.

Wu Yunwan was completely stunned, and Murong Xue'er next to her had almost the same feeling. She thought to herself that if the Dayue Dynasty really faced the Northern Kingdom, it probably wouldn't have any chance of winning.

It seems that it's only a matter of time before she regains her freedom. Her original agreement with Lu Chen was that he would grant her freedom after the Dayue Dynasty was destroyed.

With such powerful weapons in the North, the destruction of Dayue is a foregone conclusion.

Murong Xue'er suddenly felt a little lost. If she were to regain her freedom one day, what would she do?

Should we leave the north and find a place with a stronger scholarly atmosphere to settle down in?

The sound of cannons rang out incessantly, but the two women's thoughts were no longer on the gunfire.

After some time, Lu Chen noticed that the two of them were lost in thought, so he spoke up, "Would you like to try it out yourselves?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's voice, Wu Junwan finally came to her senses. "It seems you're really not afraid at all that I'll figure out the structure of these cannons."

Just as Lu Chen was about to say something, Wu Yunwan continued, "No need. I've already figured it out. Using these cannons is not difficult at all. Moreover, what's truly effective in killing enemies isn't the cannons, but those metal spheres."

Seeing that Wu Yunwan was not interested, Lu Chen said, "Since you're not interested, let's go see how other soldiers are trained."

Immediately afterwards, Lu Chen took the two women to other training grounds.

After an afternoon, Wu Junwan also realized that in addition to possessing terrifying weapons, the Northern Kingdom's army training methods and discipline were very different.

Their army appears to be more disciplined, truly adhering to orders and prohibitions.

This surprised Wu Yunwan greatly. Such a lecherous fellow actually had such a disciplined army. The quality of this army was completely out of sync with the Northern King, the ruler.

It was evening.

Lu Chen led Wu Junwan and Murong Xueer back to the train.

The moonlight is beautiful tonight. It shines through the train windows into the carriage and onto people's faces, making them look as if they are radiating a holy glow.

Lu Chen led Wu Junwan and Murong Xueer to the second carriage, where the tables were already laden with food.

The lights in the carriage were not on, but some candles were lit. The food looked even more tempting under the candlelight, making people more hungry.

Wu Junwan was somewhat confused, wondering what Lu Chen was up to.

Lu Chen smiled and said to Wu Junwan and Murong Xue'er, "Please sit down."

The two women didn't think much of it and sat down to enjoy their dinner. It has to be said that the food at the Prince's Mansion suited their tastes perfectly. Ever since they moved into the Prince's Mansion, they could no longer get used to eating food outside.

Wu Junwan then said, "I heard that Your Highness has dinner with your wives and concubines every night. Why didn't you go back to have dinner with them tonight?"

Although Wu Yunwan had never been to Fengyun Courtyard, she already had a fairly good understanding of the situation in the inner courtyard of the Prince's Mansion.

Upon hearing Wu Junwan's question, Lu Chen replied calmly, "Weren't we supposed to bring you to watch the soldiers train today? Unfortunately, I can't make it back in time."

Wu Junwan said, "At the speed of the train, if Your Highness wants to go back, you can still make it in time for dinner at the Prince's Mansion."

Although the artillery barracks in Yancheng were quite far away, it wasn't impossible for them to get back in time, especially since they were traveling by train, which was much faster than a horse-drawn carriage.

Even if he went back now, Lu Chen might still be able to make it to the Prince's mansion for dinner.

Wu Yunwan clearly sensed that this young man was plotting something.

Lu Chen said, "You two have been at the Prince's Mansion for a while now. I haven't been able to have dinner with you before, so consider tonight my way of making it up to you."

Wu Yunwan said, "Does Your Highness think that I am as pretentious as the women in the inner courtyard of the Prince's mansion?"

Lu Chen chuckled. This woman was truly impervious to reason.

Murong Xue'er, who was standing to the side, asked directly, "His Highness must have summoned us for something important, right?"

Murong Xue'er didn't believe that Lu Chen had come out on the train with them just to watch the soldiers train. If it was just to watch the soldiers train, they could have gone back tonight.

There's something wrong if they don't go back.

This wicked thing is definitely thinking about something bad.

Lu Chen smiled and then replied, "Today is Her Majesty the Empress's birthday. I brought her out to relax and prevent her from getting anxious if she stays in the Northern Prince's residence all the time."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wu Yunwan realized that today was her birthday. Since coming to the Northern Prince's Mansion, she hadn't checked the calendar for a long time, so she had no idea that today was her birthday.

Even she herself had forgotten about it, but this young man remembered it, which warmed Wu Yunwan's heart. This young man was indeed thoughtful.

No wonder this guy hadn't come to see me for half a month. He suddenly came to my yard today. It turns out he knew it was my birthday today, so he came to see me on purpose.

So, everything inside the train was arranged by this little man?

Although she had a strange feeling in her heart, Wu Yunwan still stubbornly said, "I don't have the habit of celebrating my birthday."

Lu Chen ignored Wu Junwan's words and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's continue eating. We have a lot of things to do after we finish eating."

Upon hearing this, the two women immediately realized what Lu Chen was referring to.

Wu Junwan chuckled inwardly. She finally understood what he meant by "celebrating her birthday." This guy just wanted to find a different place to do "that" with her.

However, the two women soon discovered that what Lu Chen was talking about was not just doing *that* kind of thing; Lu Chen had actually made preparations.

After dinner, Lu Chen had the maids take Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er to the third carriage to bathe. After bathing and changing into phoenix robes, Wu Yunwan returned to the first carriage.

Wu Yunwan went straight to the bed and lay down. She glanced at Lu Chen standing in the doorway and said coldly, "Come on!"

Lu Chen chuckled. "When did Her Majesty become so impatient? You're even more impatient than me."

Wu Junwan said expressionlessly, "You brought the two of us out here just to find another place to play with our bodies, didn't you? When did Your Highness become so hypocritical? Just do it."

Lu Chen smiled, offered no explanation, and said to the maids, "We can begin."

The next moment, the lights in the carriage went out, and soon someone pushed a cart from the second carriage to them. On the dining cart was a strange object.

At this moment, the maids said, "Happy birthday to Your Majesty the Empress! May you enjoy boundless blessings, peace, and eternal youth and beauty!"

Lu Chen said, "This is a custom in our northern country; we eat birthday cake on birthdays."

cake?

What is that?

Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er stared at the cake with lit candles, their faces full of confusion.

Lu Chen then went to the bed and said directly to the maids, "We can begin."

The maid then pushed the food cart in front of Wu Yunwan and handed her a dagger. Upon seeing the dagger, Wu Yunwan thought the maid was an assassin. She was about to stop the maid, but Lu Chenlou held her firmly, and she couldn't move at all.

At this moment, the maidservant spoke up, "Your Majesty, please cut the cake!"

Wu Yunwan took the dagger with a suspicious look, then turned to look at Lu Chen, "Your Highness, what are you doing? I don't understand."

Lu Chen explained, "People in the Prince's Mansion eat cake on their birthdays; it's a kind of celebration."

Just treat it as a gift.

Wu Yunwan said, "I have never heard of such a strange ceremony before."

Lu Chen said, "You've already heard about it, haven't you?"

Wu Junwan didn't think much of it and started cutting the cake.

There were supposed to be a few steps involved in celebrating a birthday, but Lu Chen specifically canceled the birthday song and wish-making steps, mainly because it was Wu Junwan's first birthday and there was no need to make it so complicated.

Once Wu Junwan accepts, he will complete those steps on her next birthday.

After Wu Yunwan cut the cake into several pieces, she returned the knife to the maid, who then personally cut a piece of cake for Wu Yunwan and placed it on a plate.

Lu Chen said with a smile, "Why don't you try it and see how it tastes?"

Wu Junwan picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of cake, and then put it in her mouth.

A sweet taste exploded in her mouth instantly, much to Wu Junwan's surprise, as it was the first time she had ever tasted such a sweet food.

At this moment, the maid cut cake for Murong Xue'er and Lu Chen. Although Murong Xue'er did not understand why they had to eat this, she also tasted the cake.

Wu Junwan then said, "This dessert tastes quite good. I didn't expect the Northern Prince's Mansion to have such delicious desserts."

Hearing Wu Junwan's praise, Lu Chen smiled and then said, "There's another program tonight."

Just as Lu Chen finished speaking, a loud "boom" rang out, just like thunder.

Immediately afterwards, a burst of colorful starlight exploded in the air, then turned into a shower of stars that fell to the ground.

Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er were stunned when they saw this scene.

The two women initially thought it was some kind of strange phenomenon, but then more and more colorful starlight exploded, illuminating the entire train carriage in an instant.

Under the night sky, the light from fireworks shone into the train, illuminating the stunningly beautiful faces of Wu Junwan and Murong Xue'er.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Chen's voice rang in Wu Junwan's ear, "Does Her Majesty the Empress like it?" (End of Chapter)