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Chapter 189 - 153 Cold Winter, Zhou Youyou Pregnant Again_2
Chapter 189 - 153 Cold Winter, Zhou Youyou Pregnant Again_2
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189 Chapter 153 Cold Winter, Zhou Youyou Pregnant Again_2
At first, Mo Fei was somewhat worried that the North Prince's treatment of them would be the same as that of the people from Great Xia, but now it looked as if the North Prince actually cared a great deal for them craftsmen, not considering them as inferiors at all.
Evening.
The evening wind howled as it blew.
It was getting dark early now, so although Lu Chen had set out to return quite early, by the time he got to the Prince's Mansion, it was almost completely dark.
When Lu Chen dismounted, he saw that the lanterns at the entrance of the North Prince Mansion had been extinguished by the cold wind, and at the moment, the servants of the mansion were making an effort to light the candles inside them again. Seeing Lu Chen return, the servants and guards at the door hurriedly greeted him, saying, "We pay our respects to Your Highness!"
Lu Chen nodded, "Mhm, carry on with your work."
"Yes."
The servants continued to light the lanterns.
At that moment, Lu Chen glanced at the servants and the guards at the gate; although they were dressed quite warmly, their bodies continued to tremble nonstop.
Even with the Prince present, they couldn't control their composure and kept shaking uncontrollably.
Lu Chen slightly frowned.
It was understandable for the servants.
The servants of the mansion were mostly ordinary people, so it was normal for them to fear the cold, but the guards of the mansion were mostly martial artists of fifth rank or higher. Should martial artists of such rank also feel so cold, shivering continuously? Lu Chen then turned to one of the soldiers and asked, "Are you very cold?" Seeing Lu Chen focusing on him and asking this question, the soldier was suddenly frightened. He instantly realized his inappropriate behavior, quickly knelt halfway, and said, "Your Highness, it was my lapse of conduct, please punish me!"
Lu Chen spoke indifferently, "Get up. I didn't mean to blame you. I only wanted to know what rank a martial artist must be to withstand the bitter cold."
Relieved by Lu Chen's words, the soldier had thought the North Prince was observing his uncontrollable shivering, deeming it disrespectful and would punish him for it.
The soldier then got up from the ground, "Thank You, Your Highness, for forgiving your subordinate."
Continuing on, the soldier said, "Your Highness, as far as your subordinate knows, only those above the seventh rank can be fearless of severe cold."
"Martial artists below the seventh rank, even if they wear fur clothes, will still feel the chill when outside."
Hearing the soldier's answer, Lu Chen fell into deep thought.
Although he could feel the cold, he did not tremble like the others. For Lu Chen, who had attained the status of a Grandmaster, cold was merely a sensation.
Lu Chen thought to himself, if soldiers of the fifth rank, despite wearing fur, were shivering from the bone-chilling cold, what about the common folks without any skill? Wouldn't they suffer even more?
It was no easy task to develop North City, especially so.
Just this winter chill alone made the commoners huddle in their homes, shivering, too afraid to step outside. Let alone economic development, for the twelve months of the year, construction and production could probably only be managed for a few months.
Better leave these thoughts aside for now.
Lu Chen ceased his wandering thoughts.
At present, he could only take things one step at a time. Having come to North City, it would now serve as his stronghold. No matter how challenging the local conditions might be, he had to develop it well, for only then could North City become a stepping stone for him.
When Lu Chen arrived at the main hall of the main yard, Mu Zixuan and the women of his harem were all waiting for him to come back for dinner.
At that moment, Lu Chen glanced at Yelv Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao, both of whom were joining them for dinner for the first time that day.
After Lu Chen came back, Mu Zixuan and both the young and elder Zhou busied themselves serving Lu Chen, while the other two seemed somewhat at a loss, unsure of what to do.
Lu Chen then asked with a smile, "Nanyan, Yaoyao, is dining with us here much more lively than what you're used to at Spring Sound Court?"
Before, they ate whatever the maids prepared for them, ate a little, and then rested. They certainly didn't gather to dine as they did now.
Moreover, Great Sum originally adopted a separate dining system and did not sit. together to eat.
Of course, sitting together like this was certainly lively, anyway it was much more lively than eating alone in their rooms.
Yelv Nanyan immediately said, "Thank you, Prince, the Princess Consort allowed me to attend the feast at the Prince's Mansion."
Lu Chen smiled and said, "This can hardly be counted as a feast. If you two have no other matters, come here for dinner every evening. It's livelier with family."
Yelv Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao said in unison, "Yes, Prince."
After washing his hands, Lu Chen glanced at the braziers burning not far from the hall.
There were three braziers in the entire hall, and with them, the temperature inside the room rose considerably.
However, Lu Chen found that even clad in fur clothes, Zhou Xiaozhou and Zhou Youyou's delicate bodies still trembled slightly.
It was indeed still too cold.
Yelv Nanyan and Xiao Wenyao were martial artists, capable of withstanding a certain amount of cold. Mu Zixuan had recently practiced the Dragon-Phoenix Yin-Yang Spell with him, which transformed her body to a certain extent. Her constitution had greatly improved from before, enhancing her cold resistance as well.
But Zhou Xiaozhou and Zhou Youyou were different; they were completely ordinary
people.
During the meal, Lu Chen looked at Zhou Xiaozhou and Zhou Youyou, asking, "Xiaoxiao, Youyou, do you get cold when sleeping at night?"
Upon hearing this question, the sisters were taken aback. Zhou Xiaoxiao then answered, "Reporting to the Prince, we have maids responsible for burning firewood all night, so it's not very cold."
Hearing this, Lu Chen couldn't help but think that the ordinary people of North City had been living there for so many years, yet their heating method was still braziers, without even a kang bed-stove.
It was the same when building the North Prince Mansion. Basically, the entire structure of the North Prince Mansion was the same as that in the Capital city, all wooden houses with drafty windows and also without kang bed-stoves.
It would be strange if ordinary people weren't freezing at night.
It seemed he needed to come up with a solution to this problem.
After dinner.
Lu Chen took a hot bath and then went directly to the northern courtyard.
At this moment, Xiaozhou was warming herself by the brazier while holding a child. Seeing the door open, Xiaozhou immediately stood up, "Prince, you have arrived." Lu Chen walked over to Youyou and hugged her delicate body. With her height of only one meter sixty, she appeared very petite next to Lu Chen. Lu Chen smiled and said, "Youyou, you must be too cold sleeping alone at night. Let me help you warm up." Hearing this, Youyou and the maidservant responsible for the firewood immediately blushed. How could they not understand the implication of Lu Chen's words? Immediately, Youyou handed the child over to the wet nurse to be taken to her sister, Zhou Xiaoxiao's room. Their rooms were in the northern courtyard and next to each
other.
Usually, when Lu Chen visited Youyou's room, she would hand over the child to Xiaoxiao to look after, and when he went to Xiaoxiao's room, she would do likewise
with Youyou.
After the child was taken away, Youyou whispered in Lu Chen's embrace, "Prince, I'll go warm the bed for you first."
Lu Chen smiled slightly, then swept up the petite and exquisite Youyou in a bridal carry, heading straight toward the bed, "No need, I'm not cold."
"Instead, my precious Youyou has been shivering all day. Let me help raise your
temperature."
Youyou, feeling shy, buried her head in Lu Chen's chest. Even though she was already
Lu Chen's woman, she still felt very timid in front of him, perhaps because he was so
formidable.
Afterwards, Lu Chen indeed helped raise Youyou's temperature, and soon she no longer felt the cold. Instead, she was so warm she broke out in a sweat.
[Host cultivated affection with Zhou Youyou once, Qi Refinement Mantra experience increased by 60, Rejuvenating Skill experience increased by 60, Dragon-Phoenix Yin-Yang Spell experience increased by 60.]
[Zhou Youyou successfully conceived the host's child, rewarded with coal mining and
processing technology.]
[The pregnancy reward is an encouragement, hoping the host will ensure the child's safe birth. A richer reward will be granted upon the safe delivery of the child.] Upon hearing the system prompt, Lu Chen's eyes brightened.
The system was indeed giving him what he needed just when he was worrying about
how to solve the heating problem for ordinary people in winter. He had not expected that the system would reward him so quickly with coal mining and processing technology.