Chapter 377: Chapter 249: The Common Girl Will Definitely Ask the Prince for Advice_3

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Bai Qingqing answered expressionlessly, “Most of the Shadow Guards in the North Country have been dealt with. I suspect His Majesty has sent people to the North Country to eliminate traitors.”

The Shadow Guards are the Sum Emperor’s most important force; he definitely could not tolerate any treason within their ranks. Although it was Bai Qingqing who was betrayed, and not related to those guards responsible for relaying messages, those guards were in the North Country as well. The Sum Emperor could no longer trust them.

Upon hearing Bai Qingqing’s words, Lu Chen was slightly startled.

He slowly walked over to Bai Qingqing’s side and embraced her delicate body, “Do you mean someone will make a move against you soon?”

Bai Qingqing lightly hummed in affirmation, not adding anything more.

She had actually considered last night whether or not to tell Lu Chen about it. After all, the Shadow Guards’ elimination of traitors was certainly meant to remove her, and they wouldn’t make a move against Lu Chen.

After pondering the whole night, Bai Qingqing ultimately decided to inform Lu Chen. She had a premonition that the person coming this time was extremely powerful and that she was unlikely to be their match.

If it were before, she wouldn’t have sought help from anyone else, even when facing a formidable enemy. But now things were different; she had a man, and her man was so powerful that she didn’t need to face it alone.

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then continued to ask, “Have the Shadow Guards in Yan County been removed?”

Bai Qingqing answered, “No.”

Upon reflection, Lu Chen thought that if the Shadow Guards in Yan County hadn’t been dealt with, it likely meant the other party didn’t want to startle the snake. This didn’t mean that his father’s envoy hadn’t arrived in Yan County yet.

On the other hand, if Bai Qingqing was always in the North Prince Mansion, his father’s envoy probably wouldn’t dare to come to the North Prince Mansion to trouble Bai Qingqing, right?

Lu Chen then said, “Starting today, you will stay by my side at all times. Wherever I go, you go, even when sleeping, until the person my father has sent is found by me.”

Hearing Lu Chen’s words, Bai Qingqing’s cheeks turned slightly red, feeling somewhat warm.

Bai Qingqing then said, “This servant understands.”

Lu Chen wasn’t sure if the other party would come to the North Prince Mansion to directly trouble Bai Qingqing, but with him, a Grandmaster, in the North Prince Mansion, it would be a trap for anyone who dared to come.

However, this also made Lu Chen feel somewhat uneasy. What if, when he left the North Prince Mansion in the future, someone sent people to trouble his wives and children?

In the past, those who troubled them were at most at the Master Realm. The North Prince Mansion now had Grandmasters, even several of them, and could temporarily withstand a Grandmaster. But as the North Country continued to grow stronger, there might come a day when someone would send a Grandmaster to trouble them.

Although Chen Wanrong was already a Grandmaster, as the Palace Master of the Mysterious Moon Palace, she was very likely to return to the palace one day. As for the agreement they made that Chen Wanrong wouldn’t return to the Mysterious Moon Palace until their child was fifteen, Lu Chen wasn’t taking it seriously now.

After hearing Lin Wanyun’s words, he felt it was improbable to keep Chen Wanrong against her will. If Chen Wanrong truly wished to return to the Mysterious Moon Palace, he would certainly let her go.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen then said to the maid at the door, “Xiao Huan, go invite the Great Scholar. I need to see him.”

“Yes, Prince.”

Now, the place where Zhuge Zhongguang lived was quite far from the North Prince Mansion. If anything happened in the North Prince Mansion, it would be difficult for Zhuge Zhongguang to arrive promptly. Therefore, Lu Chen planned to have Zhuge Zhongguang, a Great Grandmaster on the verge of breaking through to the Heavenly Human Realm, move next to the North Prince Mansion.

With Zhuge Zhongguang, a Great Grandmaster close to entering the Heavenly Human Realm by his side, Lu Chen felt slightly more at ease.

Half a month later.

In North Country, Hall of Political Affairs.

Sitting on the throne, Lu Chen said indifferently, “Speak if there’s any matter, otherwise dismiss the meeting.”

Since some students from Univeral Academy and people from the Chu Family entered the officialdom, there wasn’t much left in North Country that required Lu Chen’s personal attention.

The recent minor court sessions had been about trivial matters; North Country’s reform was progressing vigorously. With the guidance of Great Scholar Zhuge Zhongguang, few matters concerning reforms ever reached the court for discussion.

Lu Chen also felt that the minor court sessions were being held too frequently. Currently, they were held every three days, and hardly any significant issues accumulated in such a short period. He had initially set the meetings at this frequency because North Country had just started reforms, and officials were facing a variety of issues.

But now it was different. North Country had generally stabilized, and even with a constant stream of refugees from Great Sum’s internal strife entering North Country, lower level officials could easily accommodate them. Just when Lu Chen was contemplating whether to reset the minor court sessions to every seven days or every half month, an official from the Universal series stood up and said, “Prince, yesterday on the street, I saw some people selling something called ‘newspapers.’ I bought a copy and found that this so-called newspaper records the recent events in Great Sum.”

“Eventually, I learned that these newspapers were sold by a shop called Eastern Newspaper Agency.”

“The newspaper allows civilians to acquire information about other places quickly, but I believe that if it’s not controlled, certain ill-intentioned individuals will surely use it to spread rumors, leading to civil unrest.”

“Therefore, I propose to shut down the so-called Eastern Newspaper Agency!”

After this official spoke, Li Rui also stepped forward and said, “Prince, I also purchased those newspapers a few days ago. They contain a myriad of vague and uncertain messages; ordinary people indeed cannot discern the truth. Hence, I also suggest shutting down the newspaper agency.”

Once Li Rui finished speaking, many other officials in the hall also stood up and proposed to shut down the newspaper agency, believing that such an influence on social stability should not be allowed to appear in North Country.

Seeing the officials’ aversion to the newspaper agency, Lu Chen had a rough idea of some of their reasons. Some officials were genuinely concerned that the newspaper would lead to unfavorable public opinions about North Country, but certainly some had personal agendas.

To attract the public’s attention, Lu Chen had specifically instructed Dongfang Longyue to record some quirky stories about officials in the initial few issues of the newspaper.

After the officials saw this content, they naturally felt very uncomfortable. It was no wonder they wanted to shut down the newspaper agency.

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