After nearly two months of exhausting travel by carriage and boat, Lu Chen's caravan finally arrived at North City.
Along the way, officials from the various prefectures and counties courteously received them.
While on the road, Lu Chen had communicated with his wives and concubines, but due to the rush of the journey, there had hardly been any serious exchanges, and he scarcely practiced his Qi Refinement Mantra and Rejuvenating Skill.
Upon seeing the boundary marker of North City, the fatigue of two months vanished in an instant.
In a world without concrete roads, traveling by horse-drawn carriage could jolt a person to death.
Now that he had reached North City, his plan to have children could finally be implemented!
With that thought, Lu Chen ordered his men to quicken their pace toward his new mansion.
Before long, Lu Chen's caravan arrived at Yan County in North City.
With thirteen cities under its jurisdiction, Yan County was the most prosperous and would also serve as Lu Chen's princely city in the future.
When Lu Chen's entourage made its appearance in Yan County, all the local officials came out to greet them, and the common people stood lining the roads.
At that moment, many in the crowd quietly discussed the North Prince.
"At last, our North Land has been graced with a Seignior!"
"What's the use? The North Prince is only sixteen, still a child."
"I've heard that the North Prince is an ignoramus, thrown to North City for that very reason."
"Who knows if the North Prince will start raising taxes right away? If taxes go up again, we'll not be able to survive."
"If the North Prince just indulges in merry-making in his mansion and ignores us, that would be best. I've heard that in some places, life became much harder for the people after a Seignior arrived."
...
As Lu Chen entered the city, he took a look at the common people on both sides of the road.
The clothing of the North Land's inhabitants was clearly shabbier than that of people from other prefectures and counties.
Compared to others, they were almost like beggars.
This is too poor...
Yan County was still the wealthiest city in North City.
If even the residents of Yan County were dressed so shabbily, one could only imagine the state of other counties.
His father, the emperor, was truly heartless to send him to such a place.
Lu Chen wondered if there were many women in North City who could reach a score of ninety, and whether this would affect his plans for taking concubines.
Continually using the system to search the crowd for women who could score ninety, he scanned for a long time without finding a single one.
Among the commoners on both sides of the road, the highest score for any woman did not exceed eighty.
Lu Chen felt somewhat disappointed.
When the caravan reached the city gate, the officials of North City all bowed and said, "We greet you, Prince!"
At that moment, Lu Chen stepped down from his carriage.
Upon seeing Lu Chen emerge, the crowd immediately erupted with excitement.
"The North Prince is so handsome!"
"They say the North Prince is only sixteen, but he already looks as mature as a twenty-year-old man!"
"Judging by his appearance, the North Prince doesn't seem like the type who is uneducated, right?"
...
At this time, a middle-aged man dressed in a green robe stepped forward to Lu Chen and said, "I am Li Rui, at your service, Prince!"
Hearing this, Lu Chen sized up Li Rui.
[Name: Li Rui]
[Identity: Temporary Governor of North City]
[Strength: Fifth Rank]
[Loyalty: 30 (In his opinion, you are a talentless waste of a Prince)]
Seeing Li Rui's loyalty so low, Lu Chen immediately checked the loyalty of the officials of North City, only to find that almost all the officials had a loyalty similar to Li Rui's.
That wasn't surprising; these people had most likely already inquired about his reputation in the Capital City.
Lu Chen directly asked, "Prefecture Governor Li, may I know how the construction of my mansion is coming along?"
Li Rui responded, "Rest assured, Prince, your mansion has been completed, and it is ready for you to move in."
With a smile, Lu Chen said, "Then please lead the way."
"Yes, Prince."
After that, Li Rui and the others led the carriage team to the North Prince Mansion.
Upon entering the North Prince Mansion, Li Rui directly asked, "Prince, when will you have time? I would like to report to you the situation in North City."
Although Li Rui looked down on Lu Chen, the useless Prince, Lu Chen was, after all, the North Prince, the supreme ruler of North City now.
The appointment and dismissal of officials in North City were decided by the North Prince.
In this era, seigniors in their allotted lands held great power, not only administrative authority but also the right to appoint and dismiss officials, as well as the power to mint currency and command the military.
Li Rui was only a temporary Prefecture Governor appointed by the court. With the arrival of the North Prince, there was a possibility that he would be transferred elsewhere, so Li Rui planned to make an impression on the North Prince and show his presence, to let him know he was a capable official.
Hearing Li Rui's words, Lu Chen patted his shoulder with a smile and then said, "Leave professional matters to professionals. Governor Li, you managed North City well before my arrival. Continue to govern North City on my behalf in the future."
Upon hearing this, Li Rui excitedly half-knelt and said, "Thank you for your recognition, Prince. I will dedicate myself to assisting you with all my might, to my last breath."
Lu Chen found himself somewhat at a loss for words, he had only intended to find someone to do the job.
At that moment, Lu Chen saw Li Rui's loyalty instantly rise to fifty and said, "Alright, Governor Li, go about your business. If there is nothing important, do not come looking for me from now on. I am about to get acquainted with my mansion."
Saying this, Lu Chen walked towards his Prince's Mansion.
Watching Lu Chen's departing figure, Li Rui's feelings were complex.
Clearly, the North Prince intended to be a hands-off ruler, leaving all affairs of North City to him, the Prefecture Governor.
Of course, this was good news for him—who didn't like power?
But Li Rui also knew that taking over the power entrusted by the North Prince to an excessive degree could potentially lead to dissatisfaction from the court.
In the Great Xia Dynasty, there had been a precedent where a Chief Secretary of a princely fiefdom had taken over all the seignior's powers and had thereafter been convicted by the court of "usurping the seignior's authority, imprisoning the seignior," leading to the eradication of that Chief Secretary's entire family.
…
After entering the Prince's Mansion, Lu Chen decided on the courtyard he would reside in.
He then took out a Dragon Phoenix Tree seed from the system space. After biting his fingertip and dripping a drop of blood on the Dragon Phoenix Tree seed, he buried the seed in the soil and instructed the servants to take good care of it.
Once the Dragon Phoenix Tree grew, the tea brewed from its leaves could make women more reliant on him—an item quite useful to Lu Chen.
At that moment, Mu Zixuan, dressed in a red gauze dress, passed by the courtyard. Seeing Lu Chen repeatedly squeezing blood into the soil after biting his fingertip, she hurried into the courtyard.
"Prince, what's the matter?"
Mu Zixuan had initially thought that Lu Chen was bitten by a poisonous snake and was squeezing out the venom.
Glancing at the alluring Mu Zixuan, Lu Chen smiled and said, "I'm fine, I am cultivating the Dragon Phoenix Tree with my blood."
Mu Zixuan asked with confusion, "Dragon Phoenix Tree, what is that?"
Lu Chen wrapped his arm around Mu Zixuan's slim waist in response, "You will know in the future."
With that, Lu Chen's hand began to wander around Mu Zixuan's waist, "My dear, why don't we go try out how comfortable the bed in the Prince's Mansion is right now?"
Hearing that, a blush instantly appeared on Mu Zixuan's face.
Then Lu Chen directly picked up Mu Zixuan around her waist and headed to the room.
…
[Building a relationship with your wife once, Qi Refinement Mantra experience value increased by 10, congratulations on unlocking the Qi Refinement Mantra, successful in channeling Qi into the body.]
[Congratulations, you have successfully impregnated Mu Zixuan, and you have earned the method to make soap.]
[The reward for successful pregnancy is an encouragement reward, therefore the reward is comparatively small; giving birth successfully will yield much richer rewards.]