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

Upon hearing Lu Chen mention the Empress, Mu Zixuan instantly understood why Lu Chen had gone to Chu Yuqin's place last night and hadn't asked her to serve him in bed.

She knew very well Chu Yuqin's place in Lu Chen's heart; Lu Chen must have gone to Chu Yuqin to discuss the Empress's matter.

Mentioning the Empress, Mu Zixuan couldn't help but sigh slightly; she truly didn't want to get involved in such matters again.

Unfortunately, this isn't something she can do as she pleases. As Lu Chen's princess, she's bound to get involved in these kinds of things.

After glancing at Mu Zixuan's reaction, Lu Chen said directly, "My plan is for Feng'er to be the crown prince, but not to establish an empress."

Hearing this, Mu Zixuan breathed a sigh of relief, instantly understanding Lu Chen's intentions.

Ever since Lu Chen started having more women, he has been emphasizing the harmony of his harem. He doesn't want any woman to fight for power in his harem.

Lu Chen chose not to establish an empress, most likely because he didn't want the empress to become a target. On the other hand, he probably also wanted to tell the women in the harem that he would never establish an empress, so they shouldn't even think about climbing the ranks.

Lu Chen continued, "Although I will not establish an Empress, I will establish an Imperial Noble Consort, and in the future, there will only be the distinction between Imperial Noble Consorts and Noble Consorts in my harem. There will be no more ranks below Noble Consorts."

Upon hearing this, Mu Zixuan thought to herself, just as she had imagined, everything Lu Chen did was for the harmony of the harem.

Mu Zixuan then said, "This matter is entirely up to Your Majesty to decide."

Lu Chen asked, "Zixuan, you're not sad that I didn't make you empress, are you?"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's probing question, Mu Zixuan quickly replied, "Your Majesty, in truth, I have no interest whatsoever in the position of Empress. Not only am I not interested, but I also do not wish to be involved in the struggle for the Empress's position."

"Your Majesty is aware of what happened to the Mu family back then. I am tired of those things and do not want my child to be involved. I only want to see my child grow up safely."

Lu Chen sighed and said, "Actually, I don't want my child to get involved either. After all, I've faced life-or-death crises many times in the past. I never want to see brothers killing each other or fathers killing their sons again. Unfortunately, I'm in this position now, and my child will inevitably get involved in some things in the future. I just hope that Feng'er can grow up quickly under my protection and become independent. That way, no one else will have any other ideas in the future."

Mu Zixuan instantly understood Lu Chen's thoughts. Lu Chen wanted to solidify Lu Changfeng's position as heir to the throne while he was still alive. As long as Lu Changfeng's position was stable enough, it would naturally eliminate the thoughts of some people.

Lu Chen then said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's eat, or the food will get cold."

The four then stopped discussing the Empress and the Crown Prince and began talking about the children.

After dinner, the four of them went to the bathhouse for a bath. After bathing, they went to the large bed in the Fengyun Palace.

To punish them for distancing themselves from him, Lu Chen made Mu Zixuan and the other two kneel for almost a whole night and even whipped them. Their cries could be heard outside the Fengyun Palace.

As dawn broke, Lu Chen finally let the three of them go. Under Lu Chen's guidance, Mu Zixuan and the other two promised him that they would never dare to distance themselves from him again.

In the morning, Lu Chen had a simple bowl of porridge before going to the Imperial Study to handle government affairs.

The list of ministers to be appointed has not yet been drawn up; we'll have to work on it all day.

Not long after Lu Chen arrived at the Imperial Study, Zhuge Chongguang came to the Imperial Study again and continued to discuss the structure of the court and the appointment of officials with Lu Chen.

While Lu Chen was busy, the officials from the capital who had come to Yancheng with him were also trying to curry favor with the ministers from the former Northern Kingdom, especially Li Rui.

As a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhuge Chongguang was summoned by Lu Chen at any time, so he always lived in the place closest to the Imperial Palace. It was difficult for the ministers to see him, and the ministers did not dare to openly run to curry favor with Zhuge Chongguang in such a close place as the Imperial Palace.

Most ministers chose to curry favor with Li Rui.

At this moment.

Inside the Li Mansion.

Li Rui sat in the hall, drinking tea and sighing, as if something was troubling him.

Just then, a servant rushed in and said, "Master, another person has arrived. He is said to be a former vice minister of a certain department in the imperial court."

Li Rui quickly waved his hand, "No, no, just say I'm sick and still in bed."

Li Rui wasn't stupid; he knew very well the capabilities of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If he really encountered those officials from the capital, he wouldn't even know how he died.

Thinking of this, Li Rui couldn't help but feel a little emotional. He never thought that he, Li Rui, would have such a day. Back when the Northern King came to Beijun, he was just an ordinary prefect. Although he lived a better life than ordinary people, he was far worse off than the officials in the capital.

Unexpectedly, in just a few short years, he has become a person of high position and power, and now officials from the capital are currying favor with him.

Li Rui felt somewhat fortunate. Fortunately, when the Northern King came to Beijun, he did not oppose him because he thought the Northern King was useless. Instead, he immediately handed over his military power to Lu Chen and actively cooperated with Lu Chen to complete the reform of Beijun.

Of course, the most crucial point was when Lu Chen gave them a choice: whether to leave or stay in Beijun. He resolutely chose to stay in Beijun.

If he hadn't made the right choices in any of those matters, it's hard to say whether he would still be alive, let alone have his current status.

He has now figured out Lu Chen's personality. Although Lu Chen seems to delegate power in every way and leave most things to his ministers, Lu Chen's control over the court is extremely terrifying.

Lu Chen was different from traditional monarchs. He only made decisions on the general direction and then left everything else to his ministers, with the Embroidered Uniform Guard supervising their execution.

In the presence of other emperors, court sessions would be filled with trivial matters, but under Lu Chen, only state affairs were discussed, and all trivial matters were forbidden to be mentioned.

Just as Li Rui was lost in thought, another servant suddenly rushed in, hurriedly saying to Li Rui, "Master, someone from the palace has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, Li Rui instantly snapped back to his senses, his face turning deathly pale with fright. He knew that what had happened today would definitely attract the emperor's attention, but he hadn't expected the emperor to send someone so quickly.

However, Li Rui quickly calmed down. He thought to himself that he had not actually accepted any gifts from those officials in the capital, nor had he even met with them. The emperor had probably sent someone to remind him, not to interrogate him.

Thinking of this, Li Rui immediately said, "Quickly, invite that person in."

Soon, a servant led a female guard into the courtyard. Upon seeing Li Rui, the female guard took out a gold waist token and said directly, "Lord Li, His Majesty has decreed that if officials from the capital visit, you may make appropriate contact with them and explain to them the rules of officialdom in the Northern Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, Li Rui was stunned.

He had initially thought the emperor had summoned him to warn him against forming cliques, but he never expected the emperor to actually invite him to meet with those officials in the capital.

Li Rui quickly understood what the emperor meant. The emperor intended to use his words to let the ministers in the capital know in advance what they should and should not do, so that the officials in the capital could integrate into the new court more quickly.

Li Rui then said, "Please convey to Your Majesty that I will definitely complete the task Your Majesty has entrusted to me, and let those people know what they should and should not do."

Hearing Li Rui's reply, the female guard didn't say anything more and then left. (End of Chapter)