The moment the system notification sounded, Lu Chen immediately felt an incredible sense of refreshment, as if even his skin could breathe.
Lu Chen was overjoyed—he had finally succeeded in drawing spiritual energy into his body! Now, he had officially stepped onto the path of cultivation.
Of course, there was another thing that delighted him—Mu Zixuan was finally pregnant.
For the past two months, they had been traveling constantly. Though they had spent plenty of time bonding along the way, there had been no signs of pregnancy from any of the three women.
Yet now, as soon as they settled down, Mu Zixuan conceived.
It seemed that in order to reproduce, a stable environment was truly essential.
Lu Chen held Mu Zixuan in his arms, gently caressing her smooth, fair skin tinged with a soft blush. Smiling, he said, "My dear consort, I have a way to make money. Are you interested?"
Currently, as the vassal prince of Northern Commandery, the primary source of income for Lu Chen's palace was taxation. However, those tax revenues also had to be used to pay the salaries of lower-ranking officials, leaving very little for the palace itself.
If the palace wanted to thrive, it needed its own industries. Fortunately, Lu Chen had obtained the method for making soap.
Of course, the real money-makers were salt and iron, but he wasn't planning to touch those just yet.
The profits involved were too vast and entangled with too many interests. If he started meddling in them the moment he arrived in Northern Commandery, assassins would come after him in droves.
Hearing Lu Chen's words, Mu Zixuan's eyes lit up. She immediately asked, "Your Highness, what method are you referring to?"
Mu Zixuan also wanted to prove that her value wasn't limited to the bedroom. Back in the capital, her father had groomed her as a future crown princess, so she was highly capable in many areas.
Lu Chen replied, "I have something that can clean clothes, and I believe the common people will love it."
Mu Zixuan asked curiously, "Are you talking about soap beans?"
In this world, there was a certain type of tree that bore fruit with natural cleansing properties. People called them soap beans.
If it was just soap beans, they were abundant and wouldn't be easy to turn into an industry.
Lu Chen chuckled. "Of course not. What I'm talking about is far superior to soap beans. You'll understand once I have someone make it in a few days."
Mu Zixuan nodded. "Alright, I understand."
At that moment, a maid's voice came from outside the door. "Your Highness, Lady Chu is looking for you."
Hearing this, Mu Zixuan immediately said, "Your Highness, you should go see her. Aunt Chu must have something important to discuss."
They had just arrived in Northern Commandery, and there were bound to be many matters to handle. Mu Zixuan didn't dare cling to Lu Chen too much—if word got out that she was monopolizing him right after their arrival, who knew how many people would criticize her?
"My dear consort, get some rest. I'll go see what's going on."
Lu Chen reluctantly got out of bed, dressed, and left the room.
When he reached the training grounds of the palace, he saw Li Feng and Chu Yuqin engaged in conversation.
Seeing Lu Chen approach, Li Feng quickly greeted him, "Greetings, Your Highness."
Lu Chen turned to Chu Yuqin and asked, "Aunt Chu, did you need me for something?"
Chu Yuqin replied, "It's not me—it's General Li who needs to see you."
Lu Chen shifted his gaze to Li Feng.
Li Feng hurriedly took a letter from his robes and handed it to Lu Chen, saying, "Your Highness, this was given to me by Duke Mu before our departure. He instructed me to deliver it to you upon reaching Northern Commandery."
Lu Chen immediately took the letter, opened it, and began reading it carefully.
Meanwhile, Li Feng and the hundred or so soldiers behind him kept their eyes locked on the letter in Lu Chen's hands.
Li Feng, in particular, was visibly tense.
He had no idea what was written in the letter. His greatest fear now was that the Northern King would decide to silence them.
After all, they were about to return to the capital, and the Northern King might not trust them.
Once Lu Chen finished reading, he glanced at Li Feng and the others.
Li Feng's loyalty had now risen to eighty-seven—more than enough to be considered trustworthy. The loyalty of the soldiers in the guard unit was also relatively high, with none falling below sixty.
Lu Chen spoke directly. "Duke Mu states in this letter that you are all already dead."
The moment those words fell, the entire group erupted in shock.
Li Feng and the others immediately thought—was the Northern King really planning to eliminate them?
No—rather, Duke Mu never intended for them to return alive in the first place. After all, this letter was written by Duke Mu to the Northern King.
Seeing their uneasy expressions, Lu Chen continued, "Duke Mu wanted me to inform you that he has already sent your families to Yan City. You have been officially removed from the Tiger Guards. From now on, you will follow me."
…
Li Feng instantly realized they had misunderstood Lu Chen's words.
When he said they were "already dead," he meant they had been removed from the Grand Xia Tiger Guards.
It was clear that Duke Mu had never intended for them to return to the capital—he wanted them to serve the Northern King.
A sly smile appeared on Lu Chen's lips. "Of course, if any of you don't wish to follow me, I won't force you."
At this, Li Feng and the hundred soldiers immediately dropped to one knee without hesitation. "We swear our lives to serve Your Highness!"
What a joke—if they dared to utter a single "no" now, they'd never leave Yan City alive. They weren't fools.
Besides, following the Northern King wasn't a bad choice. Ever since they learned that he possessed a weapon capable of killing ninth-rank experts, they believed he had been hiding his true power all along.
When the Northern King eventually returned to the capital and seized the throne, they would all have the honor of having supported his rise.
There was no need to hesitate at all.
Lu Chen said, "Alright, rise."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Lu Chen took a command token from his robes and tossed it to Li Feng. "General Li, take this token and assume control of Northern Commandery's army."
"The training of the troops will be your responsibility."
Li Feng immediately cupped his fists and said, "I will not disappoint Your Highness. I will reorganize the Northern Commandery's army as quickly as possible and turn them into a force that can fight."
Lu Chen said, "No need to rush too much—moving too quickly might cause unnecessary attention."
Li Feng instantly understood. "Understood, I will act with caution."
He knew the Northern King was deliberately maintaining a low profile to avoid exposing his ambitions.
"Alright, get to work."
With that, Lu Chen turned to leave.
At that moment, Chu Yuqin watched his departing figure and felt something was off.
She couldn't explain why, but she had the sense that there was some kind of energy surrounding Lu Chen.
To confirm her suspicion, she suddenly kicked off the ground and appeared behind Lu Chen in an instant.
Sensing the surge of spiritual energy behind him, Lu Chen spun around abruptly, locking eyes with Chu Yuqin.
She was so close—less than a foot away. A delicate fragrance wafted into Lu Chen's nose, making his body stir with restlessness.
"Aunt Chu, you…"
Chu Yuqin smiled knowingly and said, "Chen'er, so you secretly became a martial artist? I've never seen you train before. What technique are you practicing?"
Uh…
Realizing he had been exposed, Lu Chen chuckled. "Aunt Chu, that's a man's little secret."
Chu Yuqin huffed playfully. "Where do you get all these secrets?"
Lu Chen grinned. "A deep man naturally has many secrets."
Chu Yuqin rolled her eyes. "Forget it, I'm off to arrange the defenses."
With that, she turned and walked toward the palace gates.
Watching her elegant, mature figure, Lu Chen felt the fire in his heart blaze even stronger.
Quickly shaking off his thoughts, he rushed off to "cultivate" with his two concubines.