Having children earns benefit, start competing for dominance in the world by marrying a wife

Hearing the words of the Sum Emperor, Wu Junwan asked, "Father Emperor, do you intend to send your daughter on a diplomatic mission to Great Jue?"

Wu Junwan, with the largest intelligence agency in Great Wu hands, had long known about the North Country's purchase of land in Yongan County and the stationing of thirty thousand Heavy Cavalry there.

Therefore, she had also basically guessed what the Martial Emperor was planning to do next. Now that the North Country was already bordering Great Wu and had stationed thirty thousand Heavy Cavalry in the border area, if Great Wu were to make a move against Great Sum at this time, it was likely that the North Country would immediately send troops against Great Wu.

The recent direction of the court discussions centered on sending troops against Great Sum, and with her understanding of her own Father Emperor, Wu Junwan knew he would not easily give up on military action against Great Sum. Thus, it was very likely that her Father Emperor's next move would be to seek an alliance with Great Jue to attack Great Sum jointly.

Seeing that Wu Junwan had already guessed his intentions, the Martial Emperor said, "It seems you already know."

"Now that the North Country has stationed thirty thousand Heavy Cavalry in Yongan County, if Great Wu were to send troops against Great Sum, it is very likely that the North Country will attack Great Wu, and this greatly worries your Father Emperor."

"The plan for now is to coax Great Jue into helping Great Wu contain the North Country. Only by doing this, will Great Wu have a chance to annihilate Great Sum."

Wu Junwan said, "Father Emperor, your daughter understands your intentions. I will head to Great Jue tomorrow."

Hearing this, the Martial Emperor looked at Wu Junwan with a smile and then, still smiling, said, "Then I shall trouble you."

At this juncture, the Martial Emperor sighed and continued, "It's only Junwan who can help alleviate some of your Father Emperor's burdens. Those brothers of yours, each is more useless than the last. Your Father Emperor often thinks how good it would be if you were a man."

Wu Junwan instantly detected the underlying message in the Martial Emperor's tone—it was a reminder that she was merely a woman, not a man, and should not entertain impractical thoughts.

Even though she picked up on the hidden meaning in the Martial Emperor's words, Wu Junwan did not take it to heart; she had long recognized her Father Emperor's attitude.

Although her Father Emperor had granted her the title of Princess Junwan, significantly elevating her status, he was also attempting to balance court power and was avidly grooming her brothers. The fact that her Father Emperor had had Wu Ming accompany her to the North Country showed he had no intention of passing the throne to his daughter.

At this moment, Wu Junwan said, "Father Emperor, your daughter understands your meaning. All of this is my duty. As the Princess of Great Wu, I should bear these responsibilities."

Hearing Wu Junwan's words, the Martial Emperor smiled and said, "If you can understand your Father Emperor's hardships, it pleases me greatly. Alright, if there's nothing else, you may go and make preparations."

Wu Junwan then bowed and said, "Yes, your daughter takes her leave."

With that, she turned and left the Imperial Study Room.

By the time Wu Junwan returned to the Green Cloud Palace, a maidservant entered excitedly, "Your Highness, there is great news!"

Hearing this, Wu Junwan asked with puzzlement, "What great news?"

The maidservant answered, "This morning at the early court session, someone proposed that His Majesty select a husband for you. Mr. Chai immediately stepped forward and requested His Majesty to marry you off to him."

Hearing this, Wu Junwan's face darkened instantly, and she said coldly, "This is what you call great news?"

Hearing the displeasure in Wu Junwan's tone, the maidservant quickly knelt on the ground and began to kowtow, saying, "Your Highness, this servant was wrong. I should not have presumed your thoughts. This servant deserves death. Please, Your Highness, punish me."

Chai Jiliang often visited the place where Wu Junwan resided, and after numerous visits, nearly all the maidservants and eunuchs in the Green Cloud Palace believed that Chai Jiliang and Wu Junwan shared a very good relationship, perhaps even an affection for one another.

Chai Jiliang, despite his age, had yet to marry—not even taking a concubine—making it clear to anyone seeing that he was interested in Princess Junwan.

The maidservants and eunuchs thought that since the Princess was already in her thirties and still unmarried, it must surely be because of Chai Jiliang.

Now that Chai Jiliang had so proactively stepped forward to request His Majesty to marry Princess Junwan to him, it was naturally good news to the maidservant as she believed that Princess Junwan and Prime Minister Chai would finally be united in matrimony.

What they did not know was that, in Wu Junwan's eyes, Chai Jiliang was nothing more than a political partner. She had never felt even the slightest attraction toward Chai Jiliang.

Wu Junwan was no fool; she knew exactly the path she was walking. The path she chose strictly forbade romantic entanglements, and thus she had long sealed her heart, essentially immune to feelings for men.

Wu Junwan swept a cold glance over the maidservant on the ground and then said, "If there's a next time, you can go back to your room and hang yourself."

Upon hearing this, the maidservant immediately said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your mercy. I will certainly hold my tongue from now on."

Just then, a mature man's voice came, "Your Highness seems quite unhappy today?"

Seeing Chai Jiliang had arrived, Wu Junwan asked directly, "I heard you requested my Father Emperor for an arranged marriage in court today?"

Hearing the tone of Wu Junwan's voice, Chai Jiliang knew she was upset and promptly said, "Princess Junwan, this subject did it to buy you time."

"You should understand that His Majesty would never marry you off to a subject like me. By doing so, others will know of my admiration for you and hence would stop urging His Majesty to find you a suitor on the court."

Wu Junwan scoffed coldly and then said, "Mr. Chai, I advise you to keep your ulterior motives in check."

With that, Wu Junwan turned and walked away.

Wu Junwan was no fool; Chai Jiliang's actions indeed bought her some time, with no ministers likely to bring up her marriage in the near future.

However, this move also tied her to Chai Jiliang. Once their story spread among the people, they would surely be celebrated as a talented man and a beautiful woman destined for one another. And if Wu Junwan were to ascend to the supreme position in the future, how should she then deal with Chai Jiliang?

Their affair had already spread among the people, should she grant Chai Jiliang a status?

If she did not grant Chai Jiliang a status, what would the common folk say about her? Most likely, they would accuse her of being unfeeling and disloyal, the traditional indifference of an emperor's heart.

Having dealt with Chai Jiliang for so many years, Wu Junwan knew all too well what kind of person he was, he always had a long-term vision and was not someone to focus solely on the immediate gains and losses.

At this moment, Wu Junwan was indeed very angry, Chai Jiliang even schemed against her.

Watching Wu Junwan's departing figure, Chai Jiliang muttered to himself, "It seems I went a bit too far this time."

...

Half a month later.

North Country.

Hall of Political Affairs.

Lu Chen sat on the throne, full of vigor. With a smile, he said, "This is our last time discussing important matters in this Hall of Political Affairs. Gentlemen, if you have any issues to discuss, bring them up quickly."

"If not, let's talk about the city relocation."

Thanks to the tremendous efforts of the common folk of North Country and the slaves of the Barbarian Tribe, the new city of North Country had been built. It was constructed mainly of steel and concrete, with very wide streets. There was also a Prince's Mansion in the new city, with a very large area. Lu Chen was already eager to move there.

The current Prince's Mansion was somewhat too cramped for him; he felt constricted. Once he moved to the new city, he and his wives and concubines could live as they pleased.

After hearing Lu Chen's words, Li Rui took the initiative to stand and say, "Prince, although the new city has been constructed, the houses there are expensive, and the general populace can hardly afford them. It is feared that few people from Yan County will move to the new city to live."

The new city was already built, but it was constructed using steel, concrete, and red bricks, all of which were almost exclusively produced by the North Prince Mansion and were considered new and costly materials. As one could imagine, the prices of the homes built with these were quite high.

Despite the growing prosperity of commerce in Yan County since Lu Chen's arrival in North Country, enabling the locals to make some money through trade, the particularly wealthy among them made up probably less than one percent of Yan County's populace.

If only the North Prince Mansion moved to the new city, and the civilians of the old city remained, what use would the new city serve?

Lu Chen said with a smile, "I anticipated this issue early on, which is why I had the Jinyiwei Guard register the population of Yan County. Currently, there are a total of one hundred thousand original inhabitants, each household only needs to pay five hundred wen to own a house in the new city."

"Those who truly can't afford it can owe the amount temporarily, as long as it's repaid within ten years."

Hearing this, the officials in the great hall thought it over, and if it was just five hundred wen, most of Yan County's locals should be able to afford it.

The key was that the North Prince offered a ten-year repayment period. Although the people of North Country were previously quite poor, since the North Prince arrived, the North Prince Mansion had created quite a few industries.

These industries required a large labor force, and although the core industries all involved signing lifetime contracts, the North Prince Mansion employed a hiring system for certain simple handicrafts, meaning the people of Yan County could earn five hundred wen by working for the North Prince Mansion's industries.

Even if they did not work in industries established by the North Prince Mansion, with the flourishing trade in Yan County today, it wouldn't be a problem for the locals to find some work to make money.

And even stepping back ten thousand steps, if the Yan County locals didn't work for anyone else, but merely leased some land to farm, paying off five hundred wen within ten years wouldn't be an issue at all.

Therefore, the price set by Lu Chen was fairly reasonable.

Lu Chen then said, "Of course, this price is only for the locals of Yan County. If outsiders wish to buy houses in Yan County, that would be a different price."

At this moment, an official asked, "Prince, what if the Yan County locals sell their houses to others at a high price?"

Lu Chen said indifferently, "The first house owned by Yan County locals is not allowed to be traded."

Hearing this, Li Rui returned to his spot, "Your servant has no further questions."

Lu Chen asked, "Do any of you have other questions? You may also raise any issues related to the relocation now."

Seeing no one spoke up, Lu Chen said, "Since all of you have no questions, then I will go over the arrangements for the city relocation."

As his voice fell, a Jinyiwei Guard beside Lu Chen took a small booklet and walked to the center of the great hall, then began to read from the contents of the booklet.

The booklet addressed the arrangements for the city relocation and how the new city should be managed.

Two hours later, after the discussion about the city relocation was complete, Lu Chen returned to his study.

Sitting on a chair in the study, Lu Chen glanced over the entire room, a hint of reluctance rising in his heart.

This study held many beautiful memories for him. He had flirted with Chu Yuqin in this room, had retorted Wang Qingci, made deals with Chu Qingli, and even carried out mischievous deeds with Lin Wanyun in secret. He never thought he would soon have to leave this place.

As Lu Chen was immersed in his memories, a familiar voice called out, "Prince, this is the first time I've seen you daydreaming in the study."

Lu Chen snapped back to reality, looked up at the doorway of the study, and saw Wang Qingci's S-shaped enchanting figure.