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Chapter 354 - 242: The North Prince You Mentioned, Is It Lu Chen?_1
Chapter 354 - 242: The North Prince You Mentioned, Is It Lu Chen?_1
Chapter 354: Chapter 242: The North Prince You Mentioned, Is It Lu Chen?_1
Wu Yuan, accompanied by Wei Siyuan, arrived at Lu Chen’s study, and Wei Siyuan immediately knelt halfway and said to Lu Chen, “General Wei Siyuan presents his respects to the Prince, long life and prosperity to the Prince, may you live thousands and thousands of years!”
Lu Chen immediately rose from his seat and then, holding onto Wei Siyuan’s shoulder, said, “General Wei, please rise quickly, I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”
After Wei Siyuan stood up, he said, “Thank you, Prince!”
Once Wei Siyuan stood up, Lu Chen asked, “General Wei, do you know how many large warships there currently are on Wind Cloud Island?”
Upon hearing this question, Wei Siyuan was startled for a moment, then he replied, “Prince, the ships on Wind Cloud Island are mostly medium-sized vessels; there aren’t many large ones, and they hardly qualify as warships.”
After arriving in the North Country, Wei Siyuan saw the Dongfang Family’s large merchant ships. The Dongfang Family engaged in maritime trade for their business, hence they built especially large ships.
Before seeing the Dongfang Family’s large merchant ships, Wei Siyuan had always thought the ships of Wind Cloud Island were the biggest. But upon reaching the North Country, he saw merchant ships that were a whole size bigger than theirs. It suddenly made him feel as though the ships they had built on Wind Cloud Island were nothing but fishing boats.
Now, Wei Siyuan felt embarrassed to tell Lu Chen that they had been building warships – how could warships look like little fishing boats next to merchant vessels?
In this era, it was believed that the size of a ship corresponded to its strength. If this were modern times, it would be normal for merchant ships to be larger than warships; however, they still lived in an era where tonnage was a measure of combat power.
After hearing Wei Siyuan’s words, Lu Chen thought for a moment, it seemed that if he were to build a navy in the future, he would need shipbuilding know-how, but they did not yet possess the technology to build large ships.
He would have to ask the Dongfang Family later on. Given that the Dongfang Family built such large merchant ships, they must have skilled craftsmen and shipbuilding technology.
Just then, Wei Siyuan asked, “Prince, when I reached the North Country, I heard that the Palace Master of Mysterious Moon Palace is residing in the North Prince Mansion?”
Wei Siyuan’s question took Lu Chen aback. What did the Palace Master of Mysterious Moon Palace staying in the North Prince Mansion have to do with Wei Siyuan? Why would Wei Siyuan ask such a question?
Lu Chen, curious, asked, “Why do you bring up this question?”
Wei Siyuan directly inquired, “I wonder if the Prince is aware that the Palace Master of Mysterious Moon Palace is actually a princess of Chen Nation?”
If Wei Siyuan were acting on behalf of the remnants of Chen Nation, he naturally would not have disclosed anything about Chen Wanrong to Lu Chen. But now that the Wei Family had awaited the birth of the Son of Destiny, the North Prince would be their new master, and they need not remain loyal to the Chen royal family anymore.
Wei Siyuan decisively betrays Chen Wanrong’s identity; after all, Chen Wanrong is a princess of Chen Nation, and Lu Chen is a Seignior of Great Sum. A princess of Chen Nation residing in the North Prince Mansion would be instantly suspect of plotting something nefarious.
As a subordinate of Lu Chen, Wei Siyuan naturally had to disclose this, and also had to make sure if Lu Chen was aware of these matters.
Hearing Wei Siyuan’s words, Lu Chen was stunned once again.
How could Wei Siyuan, a man from Wind Cloud Island, know about this?
Not many knew of Chen Wanrong’s true identity as a princess of Chen Nation, even the women in the inner courtyards of the North Prince Mansion, Lu Chen’s women, were unaware of it. Most of them thought Chen Wanrong was just the Palace Master of Mysterious Moon Palace.
Coming back to his senses, Lu Chen, still curious, asked, “How did you come to know of her identity?”
Wei Siyuan responded, “To not conceal it from the Prince, the Wei Family had a good relationship with the Chen royal family and were highly favored by them. After the downfall of Chen Nation, the Wei Family then moved to Wind Cloud Island and has been awaiting the Prince’s orders.”
“Initially, the Wei Family intended to support the restoration of Chen Nation, and over the years, I have continuously corresponded with the princess of Chen Nation.”
“However, since we have now received the Prince’s orders, our natural course of action is to assist the Prince in achieving his great ambition. Hence, the matter of restoring Chen Nation no longer concerns the Wei Family.”
Smiling, Lu Chen then said, “So that is the case.”
Lu Chen thought to himself, it was unexpected that Chen Wanrong’s people had now become his; he wondered what she would think once she learned of this.
At that moment, Wei Siyuan continued, “Prince, the princess of Chen Nation must have had a motive for coming to the North Prince Mansion, you should be wary.”
To this, Lu Chen replied indifferently, “You needn’t worry about that; before long, she will become my Side Concubine and bear my children.”
“You, the former ministers of Chen Nation, needn’t be overly concerned either.”
This…
Wei Siyuan was momentarily stunned.
Honestly, Wei Siyuan did not wish to see conflict arise between Chen Wanrong and Lu Chen; the Wei Family had enjoyed excellent relations with the Chen royal family, and their prosperity today was supported by them. Without the help of the Chen royal family, it was doubtful whether the Wei Family would have been able to await the appearance of the Son of Destiny.
If the princess of Chen Nation could unite with the Son of Destiny, that would be ideal.
Regaining his composure, Wei Siyuan said, “I understand.”
Lu Chen went on, “Moreover, later you shall inform her about the Wei Family pledging allegiance to me. It’s also time for me to lay my cards on the table with her.”
Wei Siyuan replied, “I understand.”
Lu Chen contemplated that having delayed for so long, this was a good opportunity. The Wei Family was certainly an important force for Chen Wanrong, and now that the Wei Family had pledged themselves to the North Country, it would be a considerable blow to Chen Wanrong, causing her to lose hope in restoring her nation.