On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Getting back to the point, Lin Yi bent down and touched Nangong Min's head, then touched the hair at her temples, his movements gentle and casual.

The latter looked up and smiled sweetly at her: "Husband, take a bath more often, it will relieve your fatigue."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work."

Nangong Min blushed upon hearing this.

"Why do you say that, my husband? This is what I should do."

She was quite unhappy when I praised her.

So be it.

Lin Yi leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of a furtive figure hiding outside the door, peeking inside cautiously.

Hehehe, this little girl.

She was just punished during the day, and she dared to sneak into the master bedroom at night. She's really bold.

That's good, saves me the trouble of going to find her again.

"What are you doing hiding outside? Come in and say what you have to say."

The figure outside the door visibly trembled, hesitated for a moment, and then tiptoed in.

It was Yang Mi.

As soon as she came in, she knelt down on the ground with a "plop," without saying a word, just lowering her head and shedding tears, her shoulders shaking so pitifully.

Nangong Min paused while washing Lin Yi's feet, glanced back at her, then turned back to continue rubbing Lin Yi's feet.

Lin Yi ignored her, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and drank it slowly.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment.

Mimi thought that as long as she made this pitiful expression, the prince would feel sorry for her and comfort her like he did in bed, calling her "daughter".

But now it seems that the prince doesn't care at all.

What should I do?

Has I really fallen out of favor?

She secretly glanced up and saw Nangong Min looking down, carefully wiping between Lin Yi's toes with a clean cloth.

The movements were so gentle they were almost tender.

There was a time when washing the prince's feet was her favorite thing to do. Only then would the prince let down his guard, chat and laugh with her, and sometimes even tickle her palms with his toes, making her giggle.

But now everything has changed.

That woman took only one day to steal everything that should have been hers.

She mustered her courage, raised her head, and, with a sob in her voice, spoke first before Nangong Min could: "Your Highness, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have talked back to Madam, I shouldn't have made her angry. But... but I'm truly innocent!"

After wiping Lin Yi's feet, Nangong Min sat up straight and gave Liying a look at the door.

The latter came in, took out the towel and foot bath water together, and then looked at Mimi with a half-smile, without saying a word.

Lin Yi finally turned his gaze to her face and asked calmly, "Oh? What grievance do you have? Tell me about it."

When Mimi saw that Lin Yi was finally willing to talk to her, she was overjoyed and quickly embellished her story and recounted what had happened during the day.

"Your Highness, you have no idea how outrageous that Accountant Chen is! He's a complete corrupt official! Everything confiscated from the Guo residence changed completely once it got into his hands!"

As she spoke, she wiped away tears with her sleeve, her voice choked with emotion, sounding extremely aggrieved.

"Take that brocade box for example. I think the wood and carving are worth at most ten taels of silver. But he insisted on writing in the ledger how much the wood was imported from overseas; how much the craftsman was the most famous master craftsman in the capital; how much the transportation costs; and then all sorts of other miscellaneous costs. Guess how much it ended up in the accounts?"

She deliberately kept him in suspense, hoping to attract Lin Yi's attention.

Lin Yi looked at her with great interest: "How much?"

"Five hundred taels!" Mimi held up five fingers, her face full of indignation. "Your Highness, listen to this! Is this outrageous? A broken box, and he dares to ask for five hundred taels! Isn't he clearly trying to take advantage of you and make a quick buck? I was just so angry that I argued with him. I did all this for the good of the manor, for Your Highness! But Madam convicted me without even asking what happened. I... I'm so wronged! Waaah..."

After saying that, she lay down on the ground and started sobbing again.

Nangong Min was also surprised after hearing this.

Something worth ten taels of silver is being reimbursed for five hundred taels? That's outrageous!

Could it be that accountant Chen really has a problem?

She subconsciously looked at Lin Yi, wanting to hear what he had to say. Although she was the mistress of the house, she had only recently arrived and was not yet familiar with the household's finances.

However, after listening to this statement, Lin Yi revealed a strange smile.

The concept of "emotional balance" has existed since ancient times.

What a talented person!

He didn't answer immediately, but slowly asked, "So, with Accountant Chen's accounting, is there too much or too little money in the storeroom?"

Mimi was stunned for a moment.

"I've checked. The accounts in the storeroom are exactly as they are, not a single coin more or less."

"That's right."

"Huh? Right?" Mimi was completely bewildered. "Then what about the shortfall of 490 taels? This servant doesn't know."

Nangong Min couldn't understand it either.

How can something be overstated by 250 times, yet the accounts still match up?

Seeing their blank expressions, Lin Yi sighed inwardly.

Looks like I'll have to give my wife and concubine a finance lesson tonight.

So Lin Yi sat up straight, looked at Mi Mi with a leisurely air, and explained, "Mi Mi, who do you think that ledger is for?"

Mimi blinked her swollen, red eyes, looking completely bewildered: "Isn't the account book for the master to see?"

"Foolish! That ledger is for outsiders."

"Huh?" Mimi was even more confused.

Nangong Min seemed to understand something, but was not quite sure.

Lin Yi patiently explained to them in the simplest and most straightforward language.

"Let me put it this way. Our royal family is very powerful and wealthy, and with great power comes great scrutiny. There are countless people watching us. Especially that person in the palace, who dreams of bringing down our Lin family. Therefore, we absolutely cannot let him know how much money our royal family has. This account is made for him and for everyone in the world who is watching us."

"A brocade box worth ten taels of silver is quoted at five hundred taels. It sounds like a loss, but in reality, the difference of four hundred and ninety taels is made up from those items that cannot be registered."

"For example, the gold bars and silver coins confiscated from the Guo mansion, as well as the gifts from wealthy merchants—can these things be written into the accounts? No. But this money has indeed entered our treasury. What to do? We have to rely on Accountant Chen to use this method to clean up this dirty money bit by bit and put it on the books, making the entire ledger look flawless, so that no one can find any problems."

"This is called a level tent."

Mimi was completely confused, only vaguely understanding what she was hearing.

But Nangong Min understood, and stared at Lin Yi with wide phoenix eyes and an expression of admiration.

As a princess, she grew up in the palace from a young age.

Having been exposed to political intrigue from a young age, she was naturally familiar with it, but she never imagined that such a small ledger could contain such profound knowledge.

Inflating prices, engaging in clandestine transactions, and deceiving the public...

This is no longer simple bookkeeping; it's practically military strategy!

And her husband was able to explain these principles so clearly, as if everything was under his control.

Could a warrior who has fought on the battlefield have thought of this?

No, absolutely not.

His cunning, shrewdness, and foresight are probably beyond the reach of even those self-proclaimed brilliant old foxes in the court... How could the Emperor possibly defeat such a person?

Thinking of this, Nangong Min's gaze towards Lin Yi suddenly became ambiguous.

If before she felt more fear and obedience towards Lin Yi, a reluctant compromise for the sake of her family, now she genuinely felt a sense of respect and admiration.

Because this man is just too strong.

His strength made her feel unfamiliar, yet she couldn't help but want to get closer and learn more about him.

Lin Yi, oblivious to the change in Nangong Min's expression, continued, looking only at the bewildered Mimi, "Accountant Chen did this not to embezzle; quite the opposite, he did it to protect the Prince's Mansion, making him a meritorious official. And you, you're just a half-baked expert, pretending to know everything, and then you went to question and slander him, driving him away in anger. Tell me, shouldn't you be punished?"