Great Xia Dynasty.
Capital city, a certain tavern.
At this moment, Lu Shuyun was standing with his back to a woman wearing a veil, his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the distant pavilion.
After a long while, Lu Shuyun finally spoke, "So much time has passed, yet your Misty Pavilion has made no move. I really cannot understand, what use is it for me to support you?"
Hearing this, the woman behind Lu Shuyun hurriedly spoke, "Your Highness, the Saintess has already made contact with the North Prince. As soon as she confirms that the Mysterious Grandmaster has left the North Prince Mansion, she will take action immediately. This subordinate believes the Saintess will be able to complete the task soon!"
Lu Shuyun said coldly, "Soon? I need a definite time!"
Hearing this, the woman fell silent and did not continue speaking.
At this time, a man entered the room.
"Your Highness, Blood Moon Tower has agreed, but they demand a price five times higher than last time, however, they will send the Vice Tower Master!"
Hearing this, the anger in Lu Shuyun's heart slightly subsided.
Originally, he had not planned to continue to seek out Blood Moon Tower, for they had bungled the last assassination attempt, and the Misty Pavilion, which he supported, also had people in North City. Initially, he intended to let the people from Misty Pavilion take action.
But recently, the calls for the establishment of the Crown Prince within the court had grown louder and louder, giving Lu Shuyun a sense of urgency. He needed to gain the Chu Family's support as soon as possible.
Once he had the Chu Family's support, it would be more or less the same as having the support of the Southern aristocratic families, and the likelihood of him being established as the Crown Prince would greatly increase.
Lu Shuyun had also sent people to make contact with the Chu Family recently, but the Chu Family seemed not very interested in him, which made Lu Shuyun feel that they had not yet given up on his useless imperial younger brother.
In his view, the Mysterious Grandmaster by Lu Chen's side was sent by the Chu Family, and since they had sent a Grandmaster to protect Lu Chen, how could they possibly give up on him.
Therefore, Lu Chen must be removed.
At this time, Lu Shuyun asked, "How strong is the Vice Tower Master of Blood Moon Tower?"
Lu Shuyun's subordinate immediately replied, "Your Highness, it is said that his strength has reached that of a Half-step Grandmaster."
Lu Shuyun thought for a moment. Even if the Grandmaster by Lu Chen's side was still there, the Vice Tower Master of Blood Moon Tower should be able to hold him off. Then the others from Blood Moon Tower would have a chance to take advantage of the situation to eliminate Lu Chen.
Moreover, Misty Pavilion had also sent quite a few experts to North City. At most Lu Chen had one Grandmaster by his side, plus a Chu Yuqin.
As for Li Feng, merely a seventh-rank, not a threat at all.
Lu Shuyun then said to the man in the room, "Go and tell Blood Moon Tower, if they want five times the price, then it's five times the price, but I must see the North Prince's head."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After the man's words fell, he left the room, leaving only the veiled woman inside.
Lu Shuyun then said to the woman, "Write a letter to Wang Qingci at once, and tell her to coordinate with the assassination attempt by Blood Moon Tower. If Blood Moon Tower can lead away the Grandmaster from the North Prince Mansion, Misty Pavilion must act immediately."
"Yes."
After speaking, the woman also left the room.
Lu Shuyun's hand rested on the windowsill, looking in the direction of the Imperial Palace, his fingers continuously tapping on the windowsill, and he mumbled to himself,
"My dear brother, it's about time you stepped down."
...
Capital city, Prince Lu Yi's Mansion.
Looking at the information in his hand, Prince Lu Yi revealed a trace of a smile, "Shuyun is really ruthless. Now that Chen has gone to North City, he still doesn't plan to let him off."
At this moment, a retainer clad in a gray robe next to Lu Yi inquired, "Your Highness, what do you intend to do this time?"
Lu Yi thought for a moment and replied, "I originally thought that by spreading rumors of a Grandmaster protecting Chen, Shuyun would retreat knowing the difficulty, but it seems that tactic is useless now."
"Chen must not die; if he dies, how can I forge an alliance with the Chu Family?"
Lu Yi and Lu Shuyun had different maternal clan identities and thus had different stances, so the things they had to do were different as well.
Lu Shuyun wanted to eliminate Lu Chen to leave the Chu Family with no choice because his mother also came from an Aristocratic Family of the South. Without Lu Chen, that Southern Aristocratic Family would have to fully support him.
On the other hand, Lu Yi believed that Lu Chen was the grandson of Chu Family Master Chu Xiong. Even if the Chu Family had truly abandoned Lu Chen, Chu Xiong still had personal feelings for Lu Chen. To eliminate Lu Chen would be tantamount to offending Chu Xiong.
Even if the Chu Family, due to the interests of the Southern Aristocratic Family, were bound to support Lu Shuyun, the incident would still leave a thorn in Chu Xiong's heart.
What Lu Yi needed to do was very simple. He had to show the Chu Family his goodwill, thereby further driving a wedge between the Chu Family and the other Southern Aristocratic Families.
Therefore, Lu Yi's stance leaned more towards protecting Lu Chen.
Moreover, as he saw it, Lu Chen was nothing but an uneducated and useless Prince, and such a Prince posed no threat at all to his position as Crown Prince.
In the future, once he ascended the throne, he could even support Lu Chen to become the new spokesperson for the Southern Aristocratic Families. An uneducated and useless Prince was far easier to control than those Southern Aristocratic Families.
At that moment, Lu Yi said to a retainer beside him, "Mo Dongping, later you should spread the news about the Vice Tower Master of Blood Moon Tower heading to North City."
The Vice Tower Master of Blood Moon Tower heading to North City made even Lu Yi worry that this time Lu Chen might truly be in grave danger.
In his heart, Lu Yi thought, "Chen, brother, this is as far as I can help you. From here on out, it's up to how tough your luck is."
...
At this time, Lu Chen was still unaware of the events transpiring in the Capital City.
In the following period, he continued to stay in the North Prince Mansion, cultivating his relationship with Zhou Youyou daily.
Mu Zixuan and Zhou Xiaoxiao were both pregnant now, leaving only Youyou to attend to Lu Chen, which was somewhat difficult for her to endure.
Lu Chen was already a fourth-rank Martial Artist and had taken the Dragon and Tiger Pill, so Youyou, a frail woman, was no match for him.
North Courtyard.
Mu Zixuan and Zhou Xiaoxiao discussed this matter while walking toward the courtyard.
According to the perfume blueprint provided by Lu Chen, they had already made some perfumes. The North Courtyard was planted with many flowers, and they planned to use these flowers to try to create new perfumes.
But just as they were about to enter the yard, they heard the faint sound of a woman's voice coming from a distant pavilion, sometimes subdued, sometimes sharp.
Then, two young maids responsible for Youyou's meals and daily life approached Mu Zixuan and the others, their faces blushing.
"Greetings to the Princess Consort."
Seeing the two maids' cheeks so red, they immediately understood what had happened.
At that moment, Zhou Xiaoxiao ventured, "Sister, now that I'm pregnant, only Youyou is left to serve the Prince. And lately, the Prince seems to increasingly enjoy that affair. Youyou alone can't hold up. Could you ask him to see if he is willing to take a concubine?"
Zhou Xiaoxiao knew well that she was simply a concubine to Lu Chen, so it wasn't appropriate for her to bring up the topic of taking a concubine. Only Mu Zixuan could raise the issue.
She didn't know if Mu Zixuan was willing after all, for Mu Zixuan was the Princess Consort, the mistress of the North Prince Mansion.
Hearing Zhou Xiaoxiao's suggestion, Mu Zixuan sighed, "Sister, about taking a concubine, I've actually already spoken to the Prince. He said his stance on the matter is to prefer quality over quantity. He's not interested in ordinary women."