Having children earns benefit, start competing for dominance in the world by marrying a wife

The female guard finished reading the edicts for Mu Zixuan and Chu Yuqin, but she didn't leave immediately. She took out another decree and said to Mu Zixuan, "Consort Mu, is the eldest prince here? He also has a decree."

Upon hearing this, Mu Zixuan seemed to understand something and quickly said to the maid beside her, "Xiao Rou, go bring Feng'er here quickly."

The maid quickly got up and went directly to the Wind Cloud Palace, and soon brought Lu Changfeng over.

Soon after, the female guard announced the decree that conferred Lu Changfeng as the Crown Prince.

It was only after the decrees for all of them had been read that Mu Zixuan and Chu Yuqin began to kneel and express their gratitude.

After Mu Zixuan and Chu Yuqin stood up, the female guard who announced the decrees said, "Consort Mu, Noble Consort Chu, this servant still has to deliver decrees to several other ladies, so this servant will take her leave now."

Mu Zixuan quickly replied, "Yes, you go ahead."

The female guard said, "This servant takes her leave."

Then the female guards left the Wind Cloud Palace.

Watching their departing figures, Mu Zixuan, Chu Yuqin, and both the Great and Little Zhou fell into a long silence.

Their identities, along with Lu Chen's, were finally settled, but for some reason, they felt incredibly calm inside, as if they had no feelings of excitement at the moment.

Perhaps it was because they had already established their relationship with Lu Chen and had known what kind of titles he would give them, so they didn't feel particularly excited.

Soon, the other wives and concubines of Lu Chen also received their edicts, and even Xue Linglong, the Demon Sect Sorceress, was conferred a title.

However, within Lu Chen's harem, there were still women without titles. One was Wu Junwan, and the other was Murong Xue'er. Their special identities did not allow for their titles to be granted now.

To grant Wu Junwan the title of Imperial Noble Consort, they at least had to wait until the Great Wu Dynasty was eradicated. And to bestow Murong Xue'er with the title of Noble Consort, they had to wait until the Great Jue was destroyed.

There was also another person who had not received the decree, Chen Wanrong, who was still in the Mysterious Moon Palace. However, Lu Chen had already sent someone to deliver the decree to the Mysterious Moon Palace, and it wouldn't be long before Chen Wanrong would receive the decree.

After the edicts to confer titles on his wives and concubines were issued, Lu Chen allowed the government gazette to release the news.

Soon, the common people of Great Xia learned of the title conferment. When the common people saw that Lu Chen did not establish an Empress, they were very puzzled.

Normally, emperors would first establish an Empress, but Lu Chen did not do so. Not only did he not establish an Empress, but he also appointed several Imperial Noble Consorts, and the lowest position among Lu Chen's women was that of a Noble Consort.

This was completely different from the harem of previous emperors, people truly could not understand why the new Emperor would confer titles on the women of his harem in such a manner.

Of course, although people were curious, they did not think it was necessarily a bad thing, as many of the policies established by the new Emperor were different from the past. Perhaps there was a special reason for the Emperor to confer titles in this way.

When the news of the title conferments reached the ears of court officials, many felt it was somewhat inappropriate, especially the officials from the Capital City. However, at the subsequent court meetings, they did not bring up the topic.

The officials from the Capital City took Li Rui's words to heart. They now only attended to state affairs, as matters of the harem were the Emperor's personal business, and the Emperor could do as he pleased with his family affairs.

Although an Empress had not been established, the Crown Prince had already been designated, and they knew who to pledge their allegiance to.

Mu Changtian did not feel anything improper about his daughter not being chosen as the Empress. He had also sensed Lu Chen's intentions; Lu Chen probably did not want to see constant strife in the harem, which was why he did not establish an Empress.

Furthermore, there was a benefit to not establishing Mu Zixuan as the Empress. Her son, Lu Changfeng, had already been designated as the Crown Prince. The status of Crown Prince was in itself quite special. If there was also an Empress, then the Mu Family's influence in the court would become even greater—the logic of being a target due to its prominence was something Mu Changtian understood very well.

Although Lu Chen seemed indifferent, Mu Changtian was very clear about the control Lu Chen held over the imperial court. He feared that if the Mu Family's influence became too great, it would become a thorn in Lu Chen's side.

Now the situation was quite good. His grandson would be the Emperor in the future. As long as the Mu Family did not do anything out of line, they would still maintain a very high status without invoking the Emperor's fear.

With the Crown Prince established, Great Xia had internally stabilized. The most important task that followed was the eradication of Great Wu.

Soon, the grand army of Great Xia launched a comprehensive attack on Great Wu. When the Seigniors of Great Wu heard of Great Xia's assault, they dispatched all of the soldiers from their territories and continuously conscripted able-bodied men.

These Seigniors had already heard about the Celestial who had threatened the Martial Emperor in the Capital City. However, they had no intention of surrendering. Once they surrendered, the Martial Emperor's immediate royal family might have a chance to survive, but the fates of these Seigniors were much less certain.

If Great Wu were to be annihilated, what Great Xia might do next could very well be to settle scores with these Seigniors. After all, the power of the Seigniors was deep-rooted and complex. It would be more straightforward and simpler to eradicate them rather than to imprison their forces.

Even though they were aware that Great Wu would likely be no match for Great Xia, these Seigniors still desperately conscripted the strong and sent ordinary civilians to the front lines as cannon fodder.

However, no matter how many soldiers Great Wu had, once they reached the front lines, they could not withstand the firepower of Great Xia. In just a month, several Seigniors were eliminated and numerous critical counties were lost.

The Great Wu dynasty.

Capital City.

In the imperial court, there was a silence so profound it was unsettling—the recent battle reports had completely drained Great Wu's civil and military officials of any hope.

The army of Great Wu was like paper before the forces of Great Xia. Any encounter with Great Xia's army would result in a rout of the Great Wu's forces within less than a day; they couldn't even delay the advance of Great Xia's troops.

Over these past few days, many ministers had already begun to secretly discuss defection. It was clear to everyone that Great Wu was finished, with its downfall being only a matter of time.

The Martial Emperor, seated on the Dragon Throne, had a darkened face, radiating an aura of martial might that was fierce and terrifying—his expression so ghastly that none of the ministers dared to raise their heads and look into his eyes.

Just then, a soldier suddenly rushed into the grand hall. After entering, he immediately knelt down and reported loudly, "Your Majesty, Fengtian County has fallen, and Prince Yi has taken his own life!"

Before the Martial Emperor could respond, another Messenger Soldier dashed in and declared while kneeling in the grand hall, "Your Majesty, Qinyue County has fallen, and the Yue Prince has surrendered to Great Xia!"

Moments later, another soldier burst into the grand hall, also there to report the unfortunate news from the front lines.

The Martial Emperor remained silent, his face still darkened with rage, as cold sweat broke out among the ministers in the grand hall. Although the end of Great Wu was already a certainty,

the Martial Emperor could still lash out in madness before the fall. He had no recourse against Great Xia, but he could still deal with the ministers. Now, the ministers' greatest fear was that the Martial Emperor would become mentally unhinged and slay them to vent his fury.

The Martial Emperor was known for his volatile temper, and such actions were not beyond possibility.