On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

"Brother, you don't know, the casinos in the capital are all like iron barrels, impenetrable. I first followed your instructions and found a few trustworthy people to negotiate, driving the price down as far as possible."

"When the small casinos heard that the Prince's Mansion was taking over, they obediently sold their shops. But the casinos on Qinglong Street, relying on their powerful backers, refused to sell no matter what. No matter how much my brother pleaded with them, they wouldn't listen to reason."

"That's for sure, they all thought it would be open again in the future," Lin Yi said calmly.

"That's right! My brother thought to himself, since they won't listen to reason, then they'll have to suffer the consequences!"

Lin Yi looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Lu Dehao chuckled: "Hehehe, big brother, what happened to you? Fatty's gone!"

"Didn't he go to lift the lockdown?"

"Yeah, Fatty said that thing was just a matter of a sentence, too boring, so he came to find me as soon as the blockade was lifted. Goodness, when Fatty heard that those casinos weren't giving him any face, he immediately led the brothers from the Military Command to rush in and smash everything up."

Lu Dehao spoke and gestured, making it sound quite convincing.

Lin Yi smiled gently.

That fat guy, all he does is cause trouble all day long.

However, this is consistent with his style of doing things.

"So what if it's smashed? What's there to say?"

"No, no, no!" Lu Dehao waved his hands repeatedly, "This isn't over yet! After Fatty smashed up the casino, he probably still wasn't satisfied, so he sent people to bring out the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue from Huang'en Temple and placed it right in front of the Minister of Revenue's residence!"

Lin Yi was stunned when he heard this.

I thought to myself, "This fatso, if he's going to smash up the casino, fine, but why is he moving around someone's Buddha statue?"

Bodhisattvas are very busy.

Lu Dehao chuckled mysteriously, "Brother, you don't know, the backer of those casinos is the Minister of Revenue! When Fatty went there, he said that anyone who dares to open a casino in the Minister of Revenue's residence will have their entire family sent to keep Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva company!"

That's a brilliant move!

Lin Yi burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, this fatso, so everyone in the Ministry of Revenue's office deserves to go to hell?"

Lu Dehao nodded: "That's right, the Minister of Revenue was so angry that he fell ill on the spot! I heard that Liu Wentao and the others are rushing to the Minister's residence."

"Let them go. Even if mayflies huddle together, they can't shake a big tree." Lin Yi played with the hairpin he had just redeemed from outside, and chuckled as he looked down. "Hehehe, this fat guy is really a lucky charm. With this, those powerful families probably won't dare to make a move against us easily."

"Brother, what do you think about confiscating the entire house of the Minister of Revenue? That old bastard must have embezzled a lot of money over the years."

Lin Yi shook his head: "No need. Go find Fatty and tell him to tell Yue Nan to double the number of Shenji Battalion soldiers guarding the city gates. If they encounter any powerful families sending treasures out, intercept them immediately. I will not allow any treasures to escape from the capital."

Lu Dehao seemed to understand, but not quite.

I don't understand. Since they have both military and political power, why not just confiscate the property from those powerful families? Why go through all this trouble?

"Brother, isn't this too much trouble?"

"You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to earn money one step at a time. If you confiscate all the houses of those powerful families at once, it will provoke a backlash from the entire landlord class. It's not worth it. Besides, how are you going to spend so much money at once? It will only cause inflation and won't do you any good."

"What is inflation?" Lu Dehao was still confused.

Lin Yi waved his hand: "You don't need to know. Just do as I say."

"Alright, then I'll get on with it now." With that, Lu Dehao raised his wine cup again, licked the rim, and left with a lingering sense of satisfaction.

......

The night was as dark as ink, enveloping the Regent's Palace in tranquility.

The hustle and bustle of the day has subsided, leaving only a few lanterns swaying under the eaves, casting a dim, yellow glow.

The evening breeze carried a slight chill, rustling through the flowers and plants in the courtyard and bringing with it a delicate fragrance.

Yifei sat quietly on the stone steps in front of the bedroom, hugging her knees with both hands, resting her chin on them, and staring blankly at the crescent moon in the sky.

She wore only a thin, plain-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and the moonlight shone on her, as if draping her in a thin silver veil. The evening breeze lifted a few strands of hair at her temples and brushed against her smooth forehead.

A slender, fair wrist was exposed, tied with a slightly worn red string; the scene was quiet and beautiful.

Lin Yi had just finished dealing with the matters in the backyard and was about to return to his room to rest when he saw this scene from afar and immediately stopped in his tracks.

This girl seems to have something on her mind.

"It's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?"

A deep voice sounded from behind, startling Yifei, who was lost in her thoughts.

She turned around abruptly and saw Lin Yi. She hurriedly stood up from the stone steps, awkwardly adjusting her skirt, and lowered her head, not daring to look at him: "Your Highness, you're back."

"Mm." Lin Yi responded, walked over to her, and sat down on the stone steps. He patted the spot next to him and said, "Sit down, what are you standing for?"

"This servant wouldn't dare."

"I'll let you sit down."

Yifei was feeling very uneasy. After hesitating for a long time, she finally sat down three feet away from him, her body very tense.

Lin Yi glanced at her, finding it somewhat amusing.

This girl is usually quite bold when she serves me, so why is she acting like a frightened rabbit today?

"What's wrong? Something on your mind?" Lin Yi asked bluntly.

Yifei lowered her head even further: "No...no."

"Nothing?" Lin Yi smiled. "Nothing on your mind, sitting here alone in the middle of the night feeding mosquitoes?"

Yifei stopped talking and just gently kicked the pebbles on the ground with her toes.

Lin Yi wasn't in a hurry, so he just sat quietly and watched the moon with her.

After a long while, Yifei finally mustered up her courage and whispered, "Your Highness, I'm really alright. I was just waiting for you to come back."

"Wait for me to come back?" Lin Yi turned to look at her.

Under the moonlight, her profile appeared exceptionally gentle, with long eyelashes casting a soft shadow under her eyelids, a small and delicate nose, and beautiful diamond-shaped lips that were slightly pursed at the moment.

This girl is really good-looking.

This thought popped into Lin Yi's mind.

"Hmm." Yifei nodded gently. "Your Highness is busy with many affairs of state, and I can't help you much. I can only... I can only prepare hot water and a midnight snack for you when you come back, so that you can rest more comfortably."

These words warmed Lin Yi's heart.

This feeling is different from Yang Mi's naked possessiveness and desire, and also different from Nangong Min's obedience based on responsibility and interests.

Yifei's feelings for him were pure, without any impurities; they were the simplest kind of respect, dependence, and love a servant has for his master.

That is precisely why it is so precious.

Lin Yi naturally took her hand that was resting on her knee.

Yifei's body trembled violently, as if she had been electrocuted, and she instinctively tried to pull her hand back.

Lin Yi held her tightly. She struggled twice but couldn't break free. Her cheeks flushed instantly, and her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

"Your Highness..."

"Don't move."