Chapter 1437 Princess Li Yunrui, Conferred the Title of Duke

It was November, and Zhou Chen had been back in Kyoto for twenty days.

During this time, countless people from all the major forces in Kyoto wanted to visit Zhou Chen, but Zhou Chen refused all of them on the grounds that his old injuries had recurred.

I don’t know how many people secretly cursed Zhou Chen. What kind of old injury recurred that required him to go to a brothel to heal?

However, despite the curses, Zhou Chen treated everyone equally and didn’t see anyone, which made others feel relieved. If no one could see him, then everyone was the same in Zhou Chen’s place.

Emperor Qing was also very satisfied with Zhou Chen’s behavior. Even though Grandmasters were his goals, Zhou Chen’s tactfulness saved him a lot of worry.

It was reported some time ago that Emperor Qing wanted to arrange a marriage for Zhou Chen, but there was no sign of it until now. I don’t know if Emperor Qing had given up or if he just said it casually at the time.

This was also in line with Zhou Chen’s wishes. Otherwise, if Emperor Qing forced the marriage, he would have to forcefully refuse. If he didn’t grant the marriage, there would be no need and no need for the confrontation.

"Master, I just got the news that Director Chen of the Inspection Institute quietly left Kyoto a few days ago. He should have been ordered by His Majesty to do something."

"He left a few days ago. What's the point of you telling me now?"

In the past few years, Zhou Chen only established the 36 constellations of the Star Guard. It was only when he returned to Kyoto recently that he began to have people build an intelligence system.

However, this kind of intelligence organization cannot be built in one or two years. The things involved are too complicated.

He did not expect to build an intelligence network that can cover the world. As long as he can gain a foothold in Kyoto, he can know as soon as possible what major events have happened in Kyoto.

Neither Sun Yi nor Tong Quan have experience in this area. He Qin is a swordsman with high martial arts skills, but he is not good at this.

In the end, Zhou Chen could only pick the tallest among the short ones and chose an old soldier who had joined the mansion before to be in charge. Zhou Chen had to teach him for a long time.

These days, in Kyoto, the talents have been almost won over by others, and here are all old silver coins, who like to play Wujie and Dao in Dao. Who knows if the talents recruited are other people's spies.

Zhou Chen fell into deep thought. Chen Pingping was transferred by Emperor Qing in preparation for summoning Fan Xian back to Kyoto.

It seemed that Emperor Qing couldn't wait to take action. When Fan Xian entered the capital, a big drama would slowly begin.

There was one thing that made him speechless these days.

That was Lai Mingcheng. He was really like an old dog, biting him and impeaching him at several court meetings, making him look like an unforgivable sinner.

Not to mention him, many officials were very unhappy because Lai Mingcheng not only impeached Zhou Chen, but also the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice. The reason was that the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice did not deal with the case reported by Lao Dou's family, and shirked responsibility, etc., which led to the tragedy.

Everyone had long acquiesced that this matter was over, but Lai Mingcheng just kept holding on to it and impeached people. How could he not be hated?

Even Emperor Qing had hinted to him, signaling that the matter should be stopped, but he just wouldn't let it go, and brought it up every time at court meetings.

Zhou Chen was also amused by this. He didn't expect that the first person in Kyoto who would not let him go was Lai Mingcheng, and the two had never even met.

He didn't hate Lai Mingcheng, but he definitely didn't like him. He could only say that he admired his integrity, but he didn't agree with his way of doing things.

Night.

Zhou Chen sat alone in the courtyard. Since he became a grandmaster, he found a very serious problem, that is, he was stuck in a bottleneck.

The grandmaster seemed to have become the most perfect life form in the world. At this level, it was very difficult to improve further. Even if he had multiple worlds of understanding of martial arts, the improvement was very slow.

But what Zhou Chen had was time and patience. The combat effectiveness of the four grandmasters was not particularly different, but he was different. His strength was not only in his true qi, but also in his body.

Although he was also a mortal, his physical fitness, which had been strengthened by the system, was definitely more than one level stronger than the four great masters.

He had fought with Ku He and Si Gu Jian. He only had a simple exchange with Ku He, and the fight with Si Gu Jian was more intense, but in terms of combat experience, he was definitely the strongest among the four great masters.

In addition, his physical fitness was several times better than that of ordinary people. He was confident that he would be the one who survived the life-and-death duel with any of the four great masters.

He was practicing when he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Old He, there are guests. Go to the back door to greet them."

A gust of wind flashed by, and He Qin appeared.

"Guest, back door?"

The courtyard where they lived was not close to the back door. Has the hearing of the great master reached this level?

Although he was puzzled, he did not hesitate to execute Zhou Chen's order.

As soon as he arrived at the back door, he heard someone knocking on the door. When he opened it, he saw that there were indeed a few uninvited guests.

One man and three women, all covered with black cloaks, faintly protecting one of the women.

"Are you the guests that the young master mentioned?"

One of the women stepped forward and said, "My master wants to meet your young master. Please lead the way."

He Qin held the sword and looked at the woman. He saw that this woman was also a master, almost at the eighth level. He knew in his heart that the master she mentioned might not be ordinary.

"The young master knew you were coming, so he asked me to take you to see him."

He Qin's words made the men and three women look shocked. If this was the case, wouldn't it mean that Zhou Chen already knew about them just after they arrived and before they even knocked on the door?

Is this the Grand Master's method, or did he discover their arrival in advance?

With doubts in mind, he followed He Qin in, passed through several corridors and courtyards, and finally stopped at a courtyard with the best environment.

He Qin pointed to the courtyard and said, "Your master will go in, and the rest will stay."

"No, we..."

A man and two women immediately wanted to speak eagerly, but were stopped by their master.

"You all stay. If the Grand Master wants to take action, it will be the same with or without you."

Her voice was like a clear silver bell, sweet and sweet, making people's hearts beat. He Qin also looked at this person in surprise, and with just a glance, he saw that beautiful face.

But as a ninth-grade swordsman, his mind was firm, and after being distracted for a moment, he returned to normal.

"please!"

As soon as the woman entered the courtyard, she saw Zhou Chen sitting in the pavilion. She quickly walked over and lifted the black cloak covering herself in front of Zhou Chen.

"The eldest princess came to visit late at night, why?"

Under the black cloak, there is an extraordinarily beautiful woman. She has swollen eyebrows and smooth skin. She is as beautiful as a fairy. She has the elegance of a girl and the charm of a mature woman. She is so charming that people can't help but fall in love with her.

This girl is surprisingly the eldest princess of Qing Kingdom, Li Yunrui.

Li Yunrui saluted slightly: "I have met the great master."

Zhou Chen raised his eyebrows. This Li Yunrui was interesting. He didn't care about his age. He called him Grand Master with respect and made it clear that he was communicating with the Grand Master, not his other identity.

However, he knew exactly what this woman looked like beneath her beautiful face and polite title. As beautiful as she looked, she had a vicious heart.

"Young Master has always declined visitors. I had no choice but to take this step. Please forgive me."

Zhou Chen pointed to the opposite side of him and gestured: "Since you have come in, you are a guest. Please take a seat."

Li Yunrui sat down opposite Zhou Chen and looked at Zhou Chen directly.

He had seen the Grand Master before, but this was her first time meeting a young Grand Master like Zhou Chen.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face. Zhou Chen did not disappoint her. He was indeed a charming man. With such a handsome and upright appearance, coupled with the blessing of being a grand master, she was attracted by him.

"I have heard of the young master's name a long time ago. When I saw him today, I realized that the young master is more charming than the rumors."

Now that he knew what kind of person Li Yunrui was, Zhou Chen certainly didn't want to have more contact with her, so he went straight to the point.

"Eldest Princess, please tell me what is important and ask you to come to me at this time."

Li Yunrui smiled and said softly: "I came today because I want to marry the young master."

"Getting married?"

Zhou Chen was slightly startled: "Are you talking about Prime Minister Lin Ruofu and your daughter, Lin Waner?"

"yes."

"She hasn't been granted marriage by His Majesty yet?"

It had only been a few months since Fan Xian entered the capital. He thought Emperor Qing had already granted marriage to Fan Xian and Lin Waner. From what Li Yunrui meant, he hadn't granted marriage yet?

"Marriage?"

Li Yunrui was also slightly surprised: "Wan'er is still young and has not been married yet, nor has she been granted a marriage. If the young master agrees, I can go to His Majesty to grant a marriage."

Zhou Chen immediately refused: "That's not necessary, eldest princess, I have no intention of getting married to anyone, so there is no need to say more."

Li Yunrui's expression remained unchanged and he said slowly: "I heard that the young master once went to the capital in Northern Qi and made friends with the eldest princess of Northern Qi. Could it be that the person that the young master wants to marry is the eldest princess of Northern Qi?"

Zhou Chen seemed to be smiling but not smiling: "The eldest princess even knows everything about me in Northern Qi. She deserves to be the one who has the financial power of the inner treasury and the three major workshops. Her intelligence ability is amazing."

He did not deny it and simply said: "You are right. If I really want to get married, the Princess of Northern Qi is indeed my first choice."

"Then you should understand that she is the princess of the Northern Qi royal family, and you are the grand master of the Qing Kingdom. Even if the young emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty agrees, will our Majesty agree?"

Zhou Chen looked proud: "Who I want to marry is my business. As long as the woman agrees, other people's opinions are not important to me."

Li Yunrui's eyes suddenly changed. Zhou Chen's words revealed a meaning. He didn't seem to have much respect for Emperor Qing.

If other royals heard Zhou Chen's words, they would definitely be very angry, but she was different. Instead of being unhappy, she smiled.

"Young Master can become a Grand Master at a young age, but his courage is incomparable. Since Young Master doesn't want to get married, I won't force it."

When talking about marriage with Zhou Chen, she just casually tried it. She didn't have high hopes, so she wasn't disappointed when she was rejected. She just suddenly changed the topic abruptly.

"Young Master, who do you think will inherit the throne, the crown prince or the second prince?"

"I can't give you an answer to the eldest princess's question. I just don't know. Does the eldest princess support the prince or the second prince?"

Looking at Zhou Chen's half-smiling expression, Li Yunrui frowned slightly. She felt that Zhou Chen seemed to have something in his words.

"I will support whoever can inherit that position. Who do you think the young master is more optimistic about?"

"Again, I have never participated in state affairs, and I am not familiar with them. If the eldest princess comes here today for this matter, then I'm sorry, I can't give you an answer."

Li Yunrui thought for a while and asked another question.

"If I want to ask the young master for help in the future, what price will I have to pay?"

"The princess is of noble status and has countless capable people under her. What can you ask the grandmaster to help you?"

"No now, but it doesn't mean there won't be in the future. If you wait until then to ask, wouldn't it waste a lot of time?"

Li Yunrui values ​​Zhou Chen, naturally she values ​​Zhou Chen's grandmaster combat power. As for other things, they are not important to her.

Zhou Chen pondered for a while: "It depends on what the princess wants to do. If you don't give me an answer now, I naturally can't give you an answer."

"I don't need an answer now, I just hope that if that day comes, the young master can stand on my side."

"I can't guarantee this. After all, the world is unpredictable. Before that time, who can say anything for sure?"

Zhou Chen didn't want to agree to anything with the princess. This crazy woman is not trustworthy at all. He must be crazy to cooperate with her.

Li Yunrui didn't get the answer he wanted, so he talked to Zhou Chen for a while and left Zhou Mansion.

Zhou Chen knew that he would inevitably become a thorn in the eyes of others if he lived in Kyoto as a grandmaster.

Some people wanted to curry favor with him, some wanted to use him, and some wanted to kill him...

The existence of a grandmaster is a huge benefit, and no one can ignore the combat power of a grandmaster.

Li Yunrui's visit still had no effect on Zhou Chen. He still lived a secluded life as always, unless he went to the banks of the Liujing River.

When he was in Zuixianju, many people wanted to visit him, but he refused them as well. He Qin could help him deal with these people without him asking.

Time flies, and the new year is here again in the blink of an eye.

A new year, a new life, for the Anyuanbo Zhou Mansion, this year is another new beginning.

Because this year, Zhou Chen reached the year of crowning.

Zhou Chen did not invite others to the ceremony of crowning, because there were no elders in his family, so he held it in the ancestral hall by himself.

Just after his ceremony of crowning, the imperial edict of Emperor Qing also arrived.

Emperor Qing was a maverick. As an emperor, he did not respect the etiquette of his ancestors in many things, and even his imperial edicts were of his own style.

The imperial edict he gave to Zhou Chen was also different. Originally, Zhou Chen should have inherited the title of Anyuan Earl, but he praised Zhou Chen in the imperial edict and finally gave him a lot of rewards.

He directly promoted Zhou Chen's title of Anyuan Earl to the title of Duke of the State, and named Zhou Chen.

The Duke of Zhenguo!