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

Lu Chen embraced Mu Zixuan and Chu Yuqin, inhaling their fragrance to his heart's content.

At this moment, Lu Chen said, "Zixuan, Aunt Chu, you've worked hard."

Hearing this, Mu Zixuan and Chu Yuqin were about to say something when Lu Chen turned to look at his other wives and concubines beside him, "You've all worked hard too."

At this moment, Lu Chen's gaze fell on Lin Wanyun, and he said with a smile, "Wanyun, the Lin family has moved to Yancheng. Why don't you go and see them in the next couple of days?"

Hearing this, Lin Wanyun was slightly stunned, and a blush involuntarily rose to her cheeks. The Lin family had moved to Yancheng, so she would likely be officially married to Lu Chen soon.

Lu Chen then glanced at the others and noticed that Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er were not there.

Although the two women were already his women, they didn't have any official status, so they wouldn't come to greet Lu Chen to avoid giving others cause for gossip.

Lu Chen didn't think much of it. He stroked Mu Zixuan and Chu Yuqin's slender waists and said, "Alright, go back now. I have a court meeting later. We can talk about it at the family banquet tonight."

Hearing this, the women didn't say much to Lu Chen. Since Lu Chen was back, they had time to talk to him about whatever they wanted to say.

The women then returned to the palace, and Lu Chen immediately summoned the officials from the former Northern Kingdom.

A large number of officials from the capital have come to Yancheng, and the officialdom is about to undergo significant changes.

Today's court assembly is merely a prelude to allowing the ministers from the two capitals and the original ministers from the Northern Kingdom to get acquainted.

Soon, the grand assembly began.

Lu Chen sat on the dragon throne, gazing at the people in the hall. The court was now divided into two distinct factions: one was his original team, and the other was the ministers from the capital.

Lu Chen then said, "From today onwards, the court assemblies will follow the original rules of the Northern Kingdom: a small court assembly every seven days and a large court assembly once a month."

Upon hearing this, the ministers from the capital were stunned.

A small court assembly every seven days?

real or fake?

Didn't emperors attend court every day?

Only incompetent rulers often neglect court affairs. Could it be that Lu Chen is planning to indulge in pleasure after becoming emperor?

The ministers who came to the capital with Lu Chen were all officials with ambition, ideals, and aspirations. Those officials who had no ambition and wanted to retire have stayed in the capital and will not come to Yancheng.

These ministers did not want to see the new emperor fall into depravity.

Lin Gaoyuan then stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, will changing the court sessions to once every seven days delay the implementation of government orders?"

Lu Chen said, "You can rest assured about this. This is how the Northern Kingdom has always done it. It will not delay the implementation of any government orders. On the contrary, doing so can improve the efficiency of officials."

"I have long noticed that some ministers come to court every day without even waking up properly, and they are dozing off during court sessions. They have no idea what was discussed during court sessions afterward."

"Moreover, the daily morning meetings mainly discuss trivial matters, which is a pure waste of time."

"Of course, even though there is a court session every seven days, it doesn't mean you can't report to me if you have something important to report. If you have something important to report, you can submit an official document. I handle government affairs every day."

"From now on, the daily court assemblies every seven days and the monthly court assembly will mainly discuss important matters. Let's not bring up trivial matters for discussion."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's reply, Lin Gaoyuan said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Lin Gaoyuan then returned to his position.

Lu Chen glanced at the assembled officials and then said, "Furthermore, those of you who came with me from the capital need not worry. The personnel arrangements will be issued to you in a few days and will also be published in the Great Xia Times."

Although Lu Chen looked down on some officials in the capital, there were still some insightful and far-sighted officials among those who came to Yancheng with him. Lu Chen planned to reshape the personnel structure of the court.

Of course, he mainly focuses on his own people. He will hand over important departments, such as those that control money, to people summoned by the system and officials from the Universal Academy.

Today's court assembly was rather brief and didn't cover anything particularly important. It was simply a chance for officials from the capital and the northern kingdom to get acquainted so they could begin their work once the job assignments were finalized.

After the court assembly ended, Lu Chen went to Fengyun Palace.

Fengyun Palace was expanded from Fengyun Academy, and the current Fengyun Palace is even more magnificent and spectacular.

When Lu Chen arrived at Fengyun Palace, Mu Zixuan and the others were already waiting. Lu Chen also saw Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er at the banquet.

Just as Lu Chen was about to walk over and hug the two of them, a little boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Father, Father..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what was happening. He immediately squatted down and opened his arms.

The next moment, the little boy threw himself into Lu Chen's arms.

Lu Chen picked up Lu Changfeng and said with a smile, "Feng'er, I didn't expect you to be able to speak so quickly."

Just then, Lu Huanhuan and Lu Changsheng arrived in front of Lu Chen. Upon seeing the three of them, Lu Chen smiled kindly.

He had only been away from Yancheng for less than a year, and he never expected his child to change so much. He was truly his offspring.

After playing with his child for a while, Lu Chen went to the main seat.

During the family banquet, Mu Zixuan asked, "Your Majesty, Feng'er can speak now. It's time to find him a teacher."

In this era, the prince's tutor was no ordinary person; it often involved political arrangements.

Lu Chen thought for a moment, then said, "I've already made arrangements for the teacher."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's answer, Mu Zixuan stopped pursuing the topic. Since Lu Chen already understood, she didn't need to say anything more.

Lu Chen glanced at Wu Yunwan and Murong Xue'er, then his gaze returned to Mu Zixuan. "Zixuan, a lot must have happened while I was away from Yancheng, right? I remember you wrote to me saying that someone had tried to harm the Northern Prince's Mansion?"

Mu Zixuan replied, "Someone once tried to harm the Northern Prince's Mansion, but with Sister Wu's help, the matter has been resolved."

Hearing Mu Zixuan's reply, Lu Chen looked at Wu Junwan again and said with a smile, "Junwan, thank you for your hard work."

Wu Junwan said calmly, "It's what I should do."

Although Wu Yunwan's expression was indifferent, her heart was burning with excitement as she eagerly awaited Lu Chen's return.

Of course, this wasn't just Wu Yunwan's feeling; every woman in the main hall was hoping for Lu Chen's early return, and they were all thinking that Lu Chen would visit their rooms tonight.

However, the women all knew that Lu Chen had just returned, but he hadn't gone to any of the women's places, so he would definitely have Mu Zixuan serve him tonight.

It's a bit of a shame, though, that the women clearly misjudged Lu Chen's plans.

During the dinner, Lu Chen learned in detail about what had happened in Yancheng after he left the Northern Kingdom. Their dinner lasted until 11 p.m.

As the banquet ended, all the women's eyes fell on Lu Chen, just like a pack of hungry wolves eyeing a delicious, fat sheep.

Lu Chen smiled slightly, then looked at Chu Yuqin and said, "Aunt Chu, I have something I want to ask you tonight."

Hearing this, the women sighed inwardly. They had thought that Lu Chen would have several women serve him in bed on his first day back, but they did not expect that he would only choose one, and it was not Mu Zixuan.

At this moment, Zhou Xiaoxiao and Zhou Youyou looked at Mu Zixuan nervously. Mu Zixuan used to be a princess, and in theory, she was the most likely person to become empress. However, on the first day of Lu Chen's return, he did not let Mu Zixuan serve him in bed, but instead chose Chu Yuqin.

This made Zhou Xiaoxiao and Zhou Youyou somewhat worried that Mu Zixuan might become emotionally unbalanced.

However, Mu Zixuan showed no disappointment at this moment. She didn't care at all who Lu Chen chose to serve her in bed, and she didn't particularly crave the position of Empress. (End of Chapter)