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

After the council hall quieted down, Lu Chen glanced around the entire hall again before speaking: "Today's grand assembly is mainly to discuss how to deal with the invaders from the Mist World, and how Great Xia should face the crisis from the Mist World in the future."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, the ministers in the hall looked at each other, seemingly not understanding what Lu Chen was saying at all.

Many ministers knew nothing about the Misty World; they had never even heard of the term "Misty World." They only knew that there was a misty region in the west.

Lu Chen continued, "Perhaps most of my subjects don't know what the Misty World is?"

At this point, Lu Chen said to the Imperial Guard soldiers beside him, "Tell my esteemed ministers about the situation in the Misty World."

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guard soldier immediately replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"At the westernmost edge of this continent, there is a place shrouded in mist. Within the mist lies another world. Due to the existence of restrictions, people from the misty world find it difficult to enter our world."

"Now the restrictions on the Misty World are about to disappear, and the cultivators of the Misty World will enter our world."

"Now the enemies of the Mist World have sent some invaders into our world, and they have now occupied the land where the Black Dragon Kingdom used to be. They are essentially installing an emperor and overthrowing the entire Great Xia."

Upon hearing the words of the Embroidered Uniform Guard soldiers, the entire council hall instantly erupted into chaos.

Most officials originally thought that after destroying the Great Qian Dynasty, the Great Xia would usher in thousands of years of peace. After all, their emperor was already a celestial being at such a young age, and could live for at least a thousand years.

With Emperor Lu Chen in power, maintaining the stability of the Great Xia Dynasty for a thousand years without external enemies would not have been too difficult. But now, external enemies have appeared.

Less than a year after the Great Qian Dynasty was destroyed, foreign enemies arrived.

At this moment, Lu Chen glanced at the restless officials in the main hall, and he was not surprised at all by their reaction.

Just when peace was finally on the horizon, a powerful enemy suddenly appeared, so it's understandable that they reacted this way.

Lu Chen then spoke up, saying, "The enemies of the Misty World are extremely powerful. To them, Celestial Beings are merely the beginning of a cultivator's journey. Every faction in the Misty World possesses hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of Celestial Beings."

These words caused the officials in the hall to gasp in shock. Their world only had a few Celestial Beings, while a single force in the Misty World had tens of thousands of Celestial Beings. How could they possibly be a match for those forces in the Misty World?

Could it be that the Great Xia Dynasty is about to be destroyed?

For a moment, the atmosphere in the entire hall became incredibly heavy. No one spoke anymore; everyone listened quietly to what Lu Chen was about to say.

Lu Chen then said calmly, "Although the enemies in the Misty World are very powerful, we are not without hope. We already possess weapons capable of dealing with the Celestials."

These words did not excite the officials in the hall. They knew, of course, that Lu Chen possessed a weapon to deal with the Celestials—the God-Slaying Spear.

However, only Emperor Lu Chen possessed such a weapon. As an emperor, Lu Chen couldn't possibly be on the front lines every day.

Most importantly, Lu Chen is all alone. Even if Lu Chen's weapon can deal with the Celestials in the Misty World, he still can't deal with everyone.

Seeing that the officials seemed pessimistic, Lu Chen did not mention the talisman weapon. It was not the right time yet, and there was no need to bring it up now.

Lu Chen continued, "Now that the enemies of the Misty World have invaded, the focus of our work should shift to how to resist the invaders, and our future work priorities should also change."

At this moment, an official stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, do you intend to inform the people about the enemy's invasion of the Misty World?"

Upon hearing this question, the ministers all turned their attention to Lu Chen, awaiting his answer.

This is a very important issue. If this news is told to the public now, it could cause panic and lead to the world losing its order prematurely.

Moreover, this will give those enemies who have been lurking in the shadows an opportunity. Those enemies will definitely try to contact the forces of the Misty World and then collude with those forces to harm Great Xia.

Lu Chen thought for a moment, then said, "I have no plans to tell the people this news for the time being."

"Although the enemies in the Misty World are very strong, they are not invincible as long as we are well prepared. I already have a way to deal with them, so my beloved ministers do not need to worry too much. You just need to do your own jobs well."

"Alright, let's discuss the change in work focus next."

……

After the grand court assembly ended, Lu Chen felt completely drained. He always felt exhausted when presiding over the grand court assembly, and it was definitely easier to leave things to others.

But there's nothing he can do. Rights and obligations are equal. He is now the emperor, enjoying the emperor's treatment, and therefore must fulfill the emperor's obligations. Lu Chen just wants the crown prince, Lu Changfeng, to grow up quickly so that he can share the burden.

After the grand court assembly ended, Lu Chen headed directly towards Wu Junwan's palace.

Since returning to Yancheng, Lu Chen hasn't visited Wu Yunwan even once, as if he's neglecting her. He doesn't really neglect her; he's just feeling a little guilty.

Wu Ming's rebellion was somewhat related to him. Ever since the incident with the Wu family, he had heard from the Embroidered Uniform Guard that Wu Yunwan seemed to be in low spirits.

Wu Junwan's belly is now quite large, and it looks like she will give birth soon. Perhaps due to the pregnancy, Wu Junwan's mood has become even more depressed these days.

Upon learning of Lu Chen's return, Wu Junwan was not happy at all; instead, she became even more depressed.

Originally, Li Qingrou spoke ill of Lu Chen to Wu Yunwan every day, trying to sow discord between Lu Chen and Wu Yunwan so that she could leave with Wu Yunwan. However, after seeing Wu Yunwan become more and more depressed, Li Qingrou stopped speaking ill of Lu Chen.

Not only did she not speak ill of Lu Chen, she also frequently comforted Wu Yunwan, praising Lu Chen's virtues.

Despite harboring some resentment towards Lu Chen, Li Qingrou could only speak well of him for Wu Junwan's sake.

At this moment, the room was filled with the scent of cigarette smoke. Wu Junwan lay on the soft couch, turning her head to look at the door, looking utterly dejected.

Seeing Wu Yunwan like this, Li Qingrou cursed Lu Chen in her heart again and again. Didn't this guy know what he had done? The first thing he did after returning was not to comfort Wu Yunwan, but to go to his other wives and concubines.

Li Qingrou sat on the edge of the soft couch, holding Wu Junwan's delicate hand and said, "Junwan, don't be sad. Lu Chen is probably quite busy lately. Maybe he'll come to your place tonight."

Wu Junwan didn't speak, and just kept looking at the doorway.

Seeing Wu Junwan's appearance, Li Qingrou sighed. Why hasn't that bastard come yet? If he doesn't come, she will personally go to the Imperial Study and drag him here!

Just as Li Qingrou was thinking this, the door to Wu Junwan's bedroom slowly opened, and a familiar voice came from inside.

"Why do I hear someone calling my name?" (End of Chapter)