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

Chapter 504: Chapter 294 Moving_3

Having entered the main hall, Chu Yuqin saw Lu Chen cuddling the child and trying to soothe him. At this moment, she asked, “Chen’er, why did you name this courtyard ‘Wind Cloud Court’? Isn’t the name somewhat inappropriate? After all, it’s a place where we live.”

Upon hearing this, all the ladies agreed that Chu Yuqin had a point, finding the name unsuitable. While continuing to entertain the child in his arms, Lu Chen replied with a smile, “I’ve just given it a provisional name for now. We can always change it later. But come to think of it, there’s nothing wrong with the name. I live here, and isn’t it true that I still manage to stir up quite a storm at night?”

As soon as the women heard Lu Chen’s reasoning, they instantly understood, and both Dazhou and Xiaozhou’s faces flushed with a hint of redness.

If he had mentioned ‘wind and cloud’ alone, they might not have understood, but connecting it to ‘stirring up a storm’, they grasped his meaning in an instant.

This scoundrel! So that was the reason behind choosing this name!

Chu Yuqin’s face turned slightly warm, and she chose not to continue the discussion. At that moment, Mu Zixuan turned to her servant and said, “Xiao Rou, dinner is almost ready, go and call Miss Dongfang.”

Although Dongfang Longyue had not yet officially married into the family, she had already decided to become Lu Chen’s woman. And as Lu Chen’s woman, she was definitely supposed to come to the main hall and dine with him in the evening, which was considered one of the customs at the North Prince Mansion.

A short while later, the maid Xiao Rou arrived at the courtyard where Dongfang Longyue was staying. At that time, Dongfang Longyue was painting alone in the pavilion, appearing somewhat lonely.

The maids from the Dongfang Family were not brought to the Prince’s Mansion, and being new to the North Prince Mansion, she was not familiar with the people there, which made her feel quite uncomfortable.

At that moment, Xiao Rou spoke to Dongfang Longyue from the entrance of the courtyard, “Miss Dongfang, the princess consort invites you to the main hall for dinner.”

Dongfang Longyue was taken aback upon hearing this.

Dinner?

Was the princess consort actually inviting her, a newcomer of just one day, to dine together to win her over?

Thereupon, Dongfang Longyue responded, “Please extend my thanks to the princess consort, but I’ll have to decline. I’m not hungry at the moment.”

Hearing this, Xiao Rou said, “Miss Dongfang, everyone else in the Prince’s inner court is already going. If you don’t go, the Prince may be displeased.”

Dongfang Longyue, puzzled, asked, “What does this have to do with the Prince?”

Xiao Rou realized that Dongfang Longyue must not know the rules of the North Prince Mansion, and took the initiative to explain, “Miss Dongfang, in the inner court of the North Prince Mansion, the Prince’s wives and concubines are required to join him for dinner in the main hall every evening, unless there are important matters to attend to.”

Dongfang Longyue was slightly taken aback, now understanding she had misunderstood. She then said, “I see.”

Immediately after, she set down her paintbrush and stood up, following the maid to the main hall.

Upon entering the main hall, Dongfang Longyue saw that indeed, as Xiao Rou had said, most of Lu Chen’s wives and concubines had already arrived.

Seeing Dongfang Longyue’s arrival, Mu Zixuan promptly walked over to her, took her hand, and introduced her to everyone, “This is the sister who has recently joined our Prince’s Mansion.”

Hearing this, all the women turned their gaze to Dongfang Longyue. Most of Lu Chen’s women had already met Dongfang Longyue, but they weren’t very familiar with her. However, they had long expected that this woman would eventually be lured into the Prince’s Mansion by Lu Chen, the lecher.

Dongfang Longyue did not show any signs of panic. With a smile, she introduced herself, “My name is Dongfang Longyue, from the Dongfang Family. It is my pleasure to meet all my sisters here.”

At this, Mu Zixuan promptly corrected her, “Sister Dongfang, I told you this morning that now you are a member of the North Prince Mansion. There’s no need to be so formal, nor do you need to refer to yourself as a commoner. You are no longer just a commoner.”

Once in the inner court of the North Prince Mansion, she became one of the North Prince’s women and could no longer be considered an ordinary civilian.

Dongfang Longyue gracefully responded, “You’re right, princess consort. I understand.”

At this point, Lu Chen handed the child to a nearby wet nurse and then said, “Well then, since everyone is here, let’s start dinner.”

Following that, all the women took their seats at the round table in the main hall. Dongfang Longyue, being new, thought that seating arrangements might be particular, such as the princess consort sitting next to Lu Chen, with other women of higher status in the Prince’s Mansion seated closer to the male host.

However, as she contemplated this, she noticed Zhou Youyou and Xiao Wenyao sitting on either side of Lu Chen, while Mu Zixuan, the princess consort herself, did not sit next to Lu Chen, contradicting her conjecture once again.

At that moment, Mu Zixuan, holding Dongfang Longyue’s hand, brought her to the table to sit down. Her place was several seats away from Lu Chen, which might lead those unfamiliar with the North Prince Mansion to speculate that perhaps the princess consort was at odds with the Prince or that she was not important in the Prince’s Mansion, being neglected by the Prince.

Lu Chen then took a piece of meat and popped it into his mouth before looking across the round table at Dongfang Longyue and saying, “Longyue, this is your first time at the Prince’s Mansion. You might not be familiar with everything here yet, but don’t worry. There are not many rules here, unlike your Aristocratic Family. You don’t have to be so overly cautious.”

Dongfang Longyue replied, “Yes, my Prince. I understand.”

Just then, Xiao Wenyao took out a jug of wine from below the table, poured a cup, and slid it in front of Lu Chen, “Your Highness, will you be having wine tonight?”

Hearing this, Lu Chen smiled subtly, glancing at Dongfang Longyue across the table before saying, “I’ve got work to attend to tonight, so I’ll pass on the wine.”

At those words, the eyes of all the women instinctively turned to Dongfang Longyue as they quickly grasped the meaning behind Lu Chen’s words.

Suddenly finding herself the focus of the gaze of Lu Chen’s wives and concubines, Dongfang Longyue felt exceedingly embarrassed. Although it was her first time entering the North Prince Mansion, she was no fool, and had almost guessed what Lu Chen meant by ‘having work to attend to tonight’.

Just then, Chu Yuqin placed some bear penis from the soup bowl into Lu Chen’s bowl. With a smile on her face, she said, “Chen’er, if you’re going to be up late tonight, eat this to keep your strength up.”

Lu Chen was speechless, thinking to himself that with his constitution, he hardly needed such tonics. However, he didn’t refuse Chu Yuqin’s kind gesture.