You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 325 Did a single sound injure you?

Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager sat in the main seat.

Standing respectfully below was Du Ruhui, the Minister of Rites.

When the emperor selected concubines to enrich his harem, he entrusted the Ministry of Rites with the entire responsibility. As the Minister of Rites, Du Ruhui naturally had to consult the Empress Dowager in the harem first.

After all, the Empress Dowager is the mother of the Emperor and the head of the harem. Her opinion is very important in matters of selecting concubines.

The Empress Dowager looked at Du Ruhui and slowly said, "Minister Du, you must have heard about the Wu family's affairs!"

Du Ruhui was taken aback for a moment, then bowed and said, "I have heard of it."

Du Ruhui was somewhat puzzled as to why the Empress Dowager had suddenly brought up the former Empress Wu.

"Just having heard a little about it is enough."

The Empress Dowager nodded and looked at Du Ruhui, saying, "You are the Minister of Rites, His Majesty's trusted minister, and a man of great talent."

"This matter of selecting concubines for His Majesty is very important. On a small scale, it concerns the stability of the harem; on a larger scale, it may affect the stability of the country."

"Since His Majesty has entrusted the Ministry of Rites with this matter, as the Minister of Rites, you must carefully guard this first hurdle for His Majesty and absolutely not allow those restless and ambitious women to enter the harem, lest a disaster like that of the Wu clan occur again."

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Du Ruhui immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I understand."

“The Zhang family has a daughter who is virtuous, kind, and of good character. Minister Du can send someone to take a look at her.”

The Empress Dowager spoke again.

"Yes, Queen Mother."

Du Ruhui's eyes flashed, and he immediately understood the Empress Dowager's meaning.

The Empress Dowager wants to help the Zhang family, the emperor's brother-in-law, rise in status.

Because of the previous incident involving the Shu King's usurpation, the Zhang family, the emperor's maternal uncle, survived by chance thanks to the Empress Dowager, but they were still plunged from being top-tier imperial relatives into the abyss.

If it weren't for the Empress Dowager secretly funding some of the Zhang family's businesses, the Zhang family would probably have had to beg on the streets to survive.

"Then so be it! I have no objection to the regulations of your Ministry of Rites. Let's proceed according to the regulations drafted by your Ministry of Rites!"

The Empress Dowager said no more.

The fact that the emperor could select concubines was a long-awaited good thing for the empress dowager.

After all, ever since the Wu clan incident, the emperor's harem had been vacant, let alone having any offspring.

……

Western Capital.

The courtyard rented by the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce.

in the lobby.

The head guard of the Mu Clan Merchant Guild said to the woman from the Mu Clan Merchant Guild, "Miss, why don't you let me accompany you to protect you? That way, we can take better care of you and also have someone to run errands for you."

now.

The woman from the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce had changed her attire, shedding her feminine clothes and donning the attire of a refined gentleman.

"Need not."

The woman shook her head; "With Uncle Yang by my side, you stay here to oversee the establishment of my Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce."

"The Great Zhou has just merged with the Wilderness Realm, and no merchant guilds or forces have yet intervened. This is the perfect opportunity for my Mu Clan Merchant Guild."

"Although my Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce does not compete for cities in the Great Zhou Dynasty, it is still necessary to establish my Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce in the Great Zhou Dynasty."

"Remember, follow the rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty in everything. Don't get into conflicts with the government officials, as that won't do our Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce any good."

The woman instructed the head of the guards.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I guarantee that I will not have any conflict with the people of the Great Zhou government."

The guard leader assured him.

"besides."

"Send someone to see how far the Beast Dynasty's influence has spread, how many cities have been affected, and also send more people from the merchant guilds to Great Zhou."

The woman then spoke to the head of the guards.

If they want to establish their Mu Clan's Chamber of Commerce in the Great Zhou Dynasty, they can't do it with the people in front of them.

We need to bring in more people.

"Yes, ma'am."

The guard leader acknowledged the order once again.

"so be it!"

After the woman finished speaking, she looked at Steward Yang, who was standing to the side.

"Uncle Yang, let's go!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman and the head steward Yang disappeared from the lobby.

Watching the woman leave, the guard leader sighed helplessly. What could be interesting about a small, secret realm that had just merged with the Wilderness Realm?

He really couldn't understand why his young lady suddenly wanted to visit Luoyang, the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

You should know that their young lady is very quiet and rarely behaves like this.

……

Outside the courtyard.

Several pairs of eyes were secretly watching the courtyard from all sides.

The owners of these eyes were all guards of the Eastern Depot.

They were responsible for monitoring the actions of the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce members in the courtyard around the clock.

However, none of the guards monitoring the courtyard would have imagined that, right under their noses, someone they were watching had quietly left without them noticing.

……

royal palace.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhou Chen was reviewing the memorials.

Although the cabinet can now help Zhou Chen handle some government affairs, some important memorials still require Zhou Chen's personal review.

At this moment, a palace eunuch came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Cao Youxiang is requesting an audience outside the palace."

"Oh!"

"Has Cao Youxiang returned?!"

Zhou Chen's spirits lifted.

Zhou Chen knew that Cao Youxiang had personally gone to Xidu City for the sake of those people from the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce.

Now that Cao Youxiang is back, there must be a result.

"Let him in."

Zhou Chen spoke to the eunuchs and guards.

"According to the order."

The eunuchs and guards bowed and withdrew.

soon.

Cao Youxiang then entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"This old servant greets Your Majesty."

After entering the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Cao Youxiang bowed respectfully to Zhou Chen on the dragon throne.

"No gift."

Zhou Chen put down the memorial in his hand and looked at Cao Youxiang; "I heard from Cao Zhengchun that you personally went to Xidu City for the sake of the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce. What was the result?"

"What is the background of the Mu Clan Merchant Guild? And what is the situation in the Wilderness Realm?"

Zhou Chen asked.

"Your Majesty, the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce is a very powerful chamber of commerce with branches in various cities of the Great Wilderness. I haven't yet figured out the specifics of their background."

"The Mu Clan Merchant Guild has powerful figures among them. Before this old servant could even ask for details, I was injured by a single voice from them..."

Cao Youxiang bowed and reported.

"However, this old servant obtained a book of barbaric history from the Mu Clan Merchant Guild."

"Your Majesty, please review this."

As Cao Youxiang spoke, he took out the book on the barbaric history that the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce had given him from his sleeve and presented it to Zhou Chen.

"Oh!"

"A single sound can injure you?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed across Zhou Chen's face.

Zhou Chen was well aware of Cao Youxiang's strength. In the current Great Zhou Dynasty, he was considered one of the top experts. Even Cao Zhengchun was slightly weaker than Cao Youxiang.

Now, the people from the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce have managed to injure Cao Youxiang with just a single voice.

This surprised Zhou Chen.

However, upon further reflection, this desolate realm is teeming with powerful figures. Cao Youxiang is merely at the level of defying fate, not yet strong enough to destroy mountains and rivers with a flick of his wrist. It is not surprising that someone could injure him with a single voice.

After all, the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce is a powerful merchant guild in the Wilderness Realm.

It would be strange if the experts of the Mu Clan Chamber of Commerce were not even as good as Cao Youxiang!

Zhou Chen suppressed his surprise, took the book on the barbaric history from Cao Youxiang's hand, and examined it curiously.

This book, a history of the barbarians, was very thick, with the three words "History of the Barbarians" written in large characters on its cover.

Zhou Chen immediately started reading the history of the barbaric era.

(End of this chapter)