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

Chapter 99 It seems His Highness the Ninth Prince has a master by his side.

Seeing the increasingly grim expression on Emperor Xia's face, the ministers in the hall were all very curious about what the Northern King had written in his letter home that made Emperor Xia look so angry.

The massacre at the Eighth Prince's residence didn't even anger Emperor Xia, did it?

After reading the contents of the letter, Emperor Xia flicked his sleeves and coldly said "Dismiss the court," before leaving the main hall.

The ministers in the hall were all bewildered, not knowing what had happened.

The court session has ended?

The Xia Emperor hasn't mentioned the war report from the north yet.

Moreover, he did not send anyone to his study to discuss military affairs this time.

This made the ministers even more curious about the Northern King's letters.

What exactly was written in the letter that angered the Xia Emperor so much that he left the palace?

A short while later.

The Imperial Garden.

When Emperor Xia arrived at the Imperial Garden, he immediately handed the battle report and Lu Chen's letter to the Imperial Advisor Situ Ce.

Situ Ce glanced at the battle report, then carefully read Lu Chen's letter home, and his expression immediately became more serious.

After a long pause, Situ Ce finally spoke, saying, "Your Majesty, it seems this battle report is not as important as this family letter."

"It's obvious that the Northern King wrote this battle report and sent it over by the Red Silk messenger in order to deliver this letter home."

Although the letter suggests that the Northern King was a coward who wanted the court to send troops to help him defend against the barbarians, the two most crucial points in the letter were fully revealed by the Northern King.

The first point is that the barbarians have adopted weapons and equipment in the style of the Great Xia Dynasty. The second point is that the caravan of the Eighth Prince has appeared in the Northern Commandery.

The appearance of weapons from the Great Xia in the north proves that there must be people in the Great Xia who are colluding with the enemy and betraying their country.

The fact that the caravans under the Eighth Prince's name went to Beijun, which is so poor, proves that the Eighth Prince may have some problems.

The letter from the Northern King almost explicitly accused the Eighth Prince of being a traitor who colluded with the enemy.

Clearly, the Northern King's purpose was not simply to complain in his letters home.

After hearing Situ Ce's words, Emperor Xia put his hands behind his back, looked at the lotus pond, and remained silent for a moment. "I don't think Xiao Jiu could have such thoughts."

When Lu Chen was in the capital, he always gave people the impression of being ignorant and incompetent, only knowing how to enjoy himself.

Even after arriving in Beijun, he still did not do any serious work and spent his days indulging in debauchery at his mansion.

Emperor Xia did not believe that Lu Chen had suddenly become enlightened and knew how to use this method to remind him that there were people in the court who were colluding with the enemy and betraying the country.

Of course, this letter may indeed have such an effect, but it was definitely not written by Lu Chen, or rather, it was written under the guidance of someone else.

Situ Ce exclaimed, "Your Majesty, it seems the Ninth Prince has a highly capable advisor by his side!"

"From the fact that His Highness was able to understand the barbarian royal court, it can be seen that His Highness the Ninth Prince must have an intelligence organization at his disposal."

"Otherwise, His Highness the Ninth Prince wouldn't be able to keep track of every move the barbarians make."

Emperor Xia fell into deep thought once again.

Situ Ce was right. Lu Chen knew in advance that the barbarian army of 300,000 was marching south, and that some people in the Great Xia were colluding with the enemy and betraying their country. He even knew that the Northern Xian King was leading 100,000 cavalry to join forces with the Heavenly Wolf King. This proved that Lu Chen had an intelligence-gathering organization under his control that was no less capable than the Shadow Guard.

This made the Xia Emperor feel a sense of threat.

How could Lu Chen, this good-for-nothing son who is good for nothing, actually control an intelligence organization with such strong intelligence gathering capabilities?

What does he want to do?

What would he dare to do?

This made Emperor Xia suspect that Lu Chen had been hiding his true abilities while he was in the capital.

However, judging from his performance, he doesn't seem to be the kind of person who hides his talents.

He has lived in the capital for so many years, under constant surveillance; his behavior doesn't seem like an act at all.

This made Emperor Xia even more suspicious that there might be some force behind Lu Chen who intended to use him to achieve some ulterior motives, especially the Xuan Yue Palace.

Lu Chen's status as a divine son has always been a source of resentment for the Xia Emperor.

Just then, the Shadow Guard Commander appeared behind Emperor Xia. "Your Majesty, Commander Bai has a secret report."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia immediately turned his head, took the secret letter from the Shadow Guard Commander, and opened it.

After reading Bai Qingqing's secret letter, Emperor Xia's expression became even more unpleasant.

Just as he expected, Xuan Yue Palace actually sent people to Bei Jun, and it was the Palace Master of Xuan Yue Palace who went to Bei Jun in person.

but……

According to the secret report, it seems that Xuan Yue Palace has not provided any assistance to the Northern King's Mansion, and the Palace Master of Xuan Yue Palace has already gone south with Lu Chen's wives and concubines.

Lu Chen doesn't have many people around him now.

This puzzled Emperor Xia. If Lu Chen wasn't backed by the Xuan Yue Palace, did he have other forces behind him?

He didn't believe that Lu Chen alone could build an intelligence organization capable of reaching into the barbarian royal court.

That's a bit strange.

Emperor Xia did not suspect Bai Qingqing. He just felt that Bai Qingqing had not yet found out the real secret of the Northern Prince's Mansion, or that she had not yet come into contact with the people behind Lu Chen.

Emperor Xia then said to the Shadow Guard Commander, "Have Commander Bai find a way to get into Xiao Jiu's bed. I need more information about Xiao Jiu."

"Also, tell her to hurry up and investigate whether there are any caravans under Xiao Ba's command in Beijun that have had contact with the barbarians."

The Shadow Guard Commander immediately replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Go down."

"Your subordinate takes his leave."

After the Shadow Guard Commander left, Situ Ce asked, "Your Majesty, putting aside the Ninth Prince's matter for now, are you planning to deal with the Eighth Prince's situation?"

Emperor Xia said calmly, "I don't think he could have done this alone. There must be powerful families involved behind the scenes."

"Once the matter in North County is resolved and the Shadow Guards have collected enough evidence, it will be time to deal with those parasites."

……

Northland.

Sirius King's Court.

An old man covered in animal skins, his skin wrinkled, was drinking and chatting happily in front of the Sirius King, Xiao Hongbo.

At this moment, Xiao Hongbo said to the slave beside him, "Go and summon the princess."

The slave immediately rose and left the royal tent.

At this moment, Xiao Wenyao was on a high grassland, gazing towards the direction of Beijun.

A short while later, the slave who had been beside Xiao Hongbo came up behind Xiao Wenyao and said, "Your Highness, the King requests your presence in the royal tent."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wenyao's face turned deathly pale.

Of course she knew why her father had sent her to the royal tent—to serve the Northern King and pour him wine and water.

Xiao Wenyao had seen the Northern King a few days ago. Not only was the Northern King ugly, but the stench emanating from him made Xiao Wenyao want to vomit.

Although they all lived on the grasslands, the Sirius King's tribe was very clean, unlike the Northern Xian King who never bathed in his entire life.

Xiao Wenyao immediately replied, "I'm not going!"

"Go back and tell my father that I'm not feeling well!"

Upon hearing this, the slave hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please don't make things difficult for me. If you don't go, the King will surely kill me."

Slaves had no status among barbarians; they could be killed at will.

Although Xiao Wenyao felt some sympathy for the slaves, she still said, "I'm not going!"

Having said that, Xiao Wenyao prepared to turn and leave.

However, at this moment, Xiao Hongbo's two personal guards appeared in front of Xiao Wenyao.

"Your Highness, the King has ordered us to take you to the royal tent!"

Xiao Hongbo had guessed that Xiao Wenyao might not come, so he simply had someone forcibly bring her there.

Today is the day to be on good terms with the King of Northern Xian. We must show him what his future queen will look like.

Seeing the two burly men dressed in animal skins in front of her, Xiao Wenyao knew she couldn't escape, so she could only say, "I understand."

Xiao Wenyao then followed them to the royal tent.

Upon entering the royal tent, Xiao Wenyao saw that old man who disgusted her.

At this moment, Xiao Hongbo said to the Northern Xian King with a smile, "Northern Xian King, this is my daughter, who will be your future queen."

Upon hearing this, the Northern King smiled and looked Xiao Wenyao up and down. Seeing Xiao Wenyao's curvaceous figure, the Northern King couldn't help but swallow hard.

He had long heard that the Wolf King's daughter was a rare beauty on the grasslands, and seeing her today, he could confirm that her reputation was well-deserved.

She was much prettier than the women he had taken from Daxia.

Being stared at so intently by the Northern King, Xiao Wenyao suddenly felt as if something was crawling all over her.

At this moment, Xiao Hongbo looked at Xiao Wenyao and said, "Yaoyao, come here and pour wine for your future husband!"

Hearing Xiao Hongbo's stern voice, Xiao Wenyao knew she couldn't refuse. She then prepared to go to the Northern King's side to pour wine, but at this moment, Xiao Wenyao's uncle, Xiao Pengtian, spoke up: "Your Majesty, Yaoyao has not yet been formally married to the Northern King. It is not appropriate for her to pour wine for him now."

"The princess once said that we should learn from the Great Xia, and we should also learn the Great Xia's etiquette. In the Great Xia, a woman is not allowed to have contact with her future husband before she gets married."

Upon hearing Xiao Pengtian's words, the King of Northern Xian was immediately displeased. However, Xiao Hongbo did not get angry at this moment. He smiled and said to the King of Northern Xian, "King of Northern Xian, I think my subordinate has a point. Why don't we wait until we take Beijun before having Yaoyao pour you some wine?"

Seeing that Xiao Hongbo had said so, the King of Northern Xian had no choice but to say, "Alright then, on the day my queen marries me, I will definitely have a good drink with my queen."

At this point, the Northern King stared lewdly at Xiao Wenyao's body and licked his lips.

(End of this chapter)