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The Martial Emperor's idea was to send one of his own princes as the envoy to the North Country.

Chai Jiliang's intention was that since Junwan had already dealt with the rebels, the opportunity of being the envoy to the North Country should not be given to anyone else.

If one could instigate civil strife within Great Xia, it would be a tremendous achievement. If Junwan wanted to compete for that position, she must seize this chance to be the envoy.

After reading Chai Jiliang's letter, Junwan's brows slightly furrowed.

She had just quelled the rebellion in the southeast, and now to immediately compete with her brothers for merit might incur the Emperor's displeasure.

Any somewhat intelligent person could see that the reason the Emperor wanted to choose one of his princes to be the envoy to the North Country was to let his sons accumulate some merits and thereby balance the court.

Now that her, the Princess, held somewhat too great a power in court, especially after the quelling of the Southeast rebellion, her influence had further expanded.

Although the Martial Emperor had appointed her as Princess, bestowing upon her the appearance of great importance, it wasn't necessarily true that he intended to leave her his position.

The Great Wu dynasty was an extremely military-oriented dynasty with a severe preference for men over women; the emergence of an Empress might well lead to chaos.

Of course, external conditions are unimportant; what matters is what the Martial Emperor thinks.

If the Martial Emperor didn't want a female emperor in Great Wu, then Junwan, this Princess, would sooner or later be deposed.

Junwan feared that racing back to compete with her brothers for merit might anger the Emperor, and if she managed to upset him, and he decided to suppress her power from all sides, cutting off her wings, it would be a loss not worth the gain.

However, on second thought, Junwan didn't believe that Chai Jiliang, such an intelligent man, would fail to see that the Emperor was trying to balance the court.

She had just made such a significant contribution, and it was necessary for his sons to gain some merits as well; otherwise, some ministers would start to suspect whether the Emperor was intentionally cultivating the Princess to become the Empress.

Since Chai Jiliang could also understand this point, why would he still want her to return to the Capital so soon to compete with her brothers for merit?

Junwan was puzzled and didn't know what Chai Jiliang was thinking. Chai Jiliang hadn't explained in the letter why he wanted her to do this; only after returning to the Capital and seeing Chai Jiliang would she know exactly what this astute man was scheming.

After thinking it over, Junwan decided to return to the Capital first and see how things go. After all, she had already quelled the Southeast rebellion, and she was supposed to return to the Capital to hand over military authority and report back. Once back in the Capital and having met Chai Jiliang, she would know what Chai Jiliang intended to do.

...

A few days later.

North Country, Yan County.

The North Prince Mansion was decorated with lanterns and streamers, hanging large red lanterns everywhere, looking like they were preparing for a festival.

Of course, this was not for any festival, but because Lu Chen was about to take a Side Concubine.

These last few days, Lu Chen had sent people to pay close attention to the public opinion of the common people in the North Country, wanting to see what they thought about him marrying Chu Yuqin and Chu Qingli.

According to reports from the Brocade Guards, it seemed that the common people didn't care at all about whom he married; to most of them, Lu Chen was inherently a lascivious Prince, so it didn't matter how many women he married.

As for Chu Yuqin's status, the public didn't pay attention to that, either. Now that the Chu Family and the Wang Family from the South were trapped by the Imperial Army in Sufeng City and their meddling was gone, who cared whether Chu Yuqin had been married before?

The North Prince had even married the Sky Wolf King's consort, so what difference did it make if he married a Great Xia widow? Hence, the common people simply didn't care.

The reason Lu Chen was so concerned about public opinion was not that he cared much about his own reputation; he was worried that Chu Yuqin would struggle mentally to accept it, as women tend to be more sensitive to face. He feared that public opinion might affect Chu Yuqin's resolve to marry him.

It was particularly important not to encounter any issues at this critical juncture. Once he and Chu Yuqin had consummated the marriage, no matter what the common folk said, at that point, with raw rice cooked into a meal, Chu Yuqin would have no choice but to stay with him no matter what. But for the moment, there couldn't be even a slight problem.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and the day for Chu Yuqin and Chu Qingli to leave as brides finally arrived.

In that era, whether for a commoner's marriage or a Prince's taking of a Side Concubine, the bridal sedan chair could not enter through the main gate, but the North Prince Mansion was different.

Mu Zixuan directly allowed the bridal sedan chairs of Chu Yuqin and Chu Qingli to enter the Prince's Mansion through the main gate, and they were wearing red bridal gowns, which looked no different from a formal wedding.

However, as Mu Zixuan, the lady of the house, had no objections to these arrangements, others did not dare to say much, though some officials of the North Country privately reminded Lu Chen that such a way of marrying was against ritual propriety.

After the wedding ceremony was completed, Chu Yuqin and Chu Qingli went to their bridal chamber, which was the Southern Courtyard where they had always lived.

At this moment, Chu Yuqin sat on the bridal bed with utter chaos in her heart, feeling her heart thump wildly. She had never once imagined the day she would actually marry Lu Chen.