On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

After the ministers had all taken their positions, Nangong Xiong sat up straight and his voice became stern.

"I know that many things have happened in the capital recently. Some people have suffered losses and are resentful. But I must remind you, you are subjects of the Great Zhou! You receive salaries from the court, so you should serve the Great Zhou and serve me! Anyone who dares to play any tricks on me at this critical juncture, or dares to harm the Great Zhou, is my enemy! I will not let them off lightly!"

Nangong Xiong's words, besides alluding to Lin Yi, were also a continued warning to these civil officials.

Now is the time to unite against Lin Yi, not to fight amongst ourselves, and certainly not to ruin the Great Zhou Dynasty by targeting Lin Yi.

Ultimately, Nangong Xiong valued the Great Zhou dynasty extremely highly.

Liu Wentao was a smart man, and he understood the emperor's meaning as soon as he heard it.

"Your Majesty is wise! We will certainly follow Your Majesty's teachings and serve the Great Zhou wholeheartedly! If anyone dares to harm the Great Zhou or disrespect Your Majesty, we will fight them to the bitter end, even if it costs us our lives!"

Nangong Xiong nodded.

"Very good. Since the Prime Minister has this intention, then I will entrust you with a task." Nangong Xiong lowered his head, toying with his thumb ring. "I have heard that things have been quite chaotic in the capital recently. Those casinos that have already closed have been forcibly taken over. Go and investigate, and see who is behind this."

Liu Wentao was secretly delighted.

The emperor is relinquishing power to himself.

"Your Majesty, I will obey! I will certainly investigate this matter thoroughly!"

Nangong Xiong looked at the ministers below, each with their own thoughts, and sneered inwardly.

......

The Regent's Palace.

Nangong Min's carriage stopped at the gate of the mansion.

Lin An had already received the news and led several servants to greet them at the door.

"This old servant respectfully welcomes Madam back to the manor." Lin An bowed respectfully.

Nangong Min's face was pale and her eyes were red, clearly indicating that she hadn't slept well the night before.

Reaching the carriage shaft, she stepped down with Liying's help and forced a smile at Lin An.

"Butler, you may dispense with the formalities."

Lin An noticed her pale complexion and quickly asked, "This old servant sees that Madam doesn't look well. Did you not rest well in the palace? Should this old servant go and fetch a doctor to take a look?"

"No need, I'm just a little tired. I'll go back and rest for a bit." Nangong Min shook her head and walked inside with her maid.

As soon as they arrived at the main courtyard, they saw Lin Yi dressed in casual clothes, sitting at the stone table in the courtyard drinking tea, with Tang San lying at his feet, wagging his tail.

Upon seeing Nangong Min return, Lin Yi put down his teacup and abruptly stood up to greet her.

"I'm back."

When Nangong Min saw him, her heart raced, her palms instantly sweated, and the image of Nangong Xiong forcing her to poison him involuntarily flashed through her mind.

She suppressed her inner turmoil and curtsied, saying, "This humble servant greets my husband."

"No need for formalities." Lin Yi reached out and took her arm.

As soon as I touched her, I could feel her arm trembling slightly, and although she was wearing thick clothes, her wrist was very cold.

Lin Yi frowned slightly and carefully examined Nangong Min's face.

The latter's eyes were red and swollen, and his face was pale. He didn't even dare to look at me.

What's wrong?

Min'er is a proper young lady from a respectable family. She can always remain dignified and composed no matter what happens. Why does she look so lost and disoriented today?

Lin Yi was a special forces soldier in his previous life, and he was extremely sensitive to changes in people's emotions.

It's obvious at a glance that Nangong Min must have encountered some trouble in the palace, and it's definitely not something good.

"What's wrong? Did you suffer any injustice in the palace?" he asked casually.

Nangong Min's heart tightened, and she quickly shook her head: "No. My mother was very happy to see me and kept me talking for a while. I stayed up a little late, so I look a bit haggard."

Seeing her evasive eyes and guilty conscience, Lin Yi became even more suspicious.

Could it be that the old emperor has devised a dirty trick to send Min'er to deal with him?

Heh, that's interesting.

Lin Yi's guess was pretty accurate, but he didn't expose him on the spot.

The main reason was that he wanted to see what choice Nangong Min would make.

If I make the right choice, she will truly be in charge of the household from now on, and I can trust her.

But if she chooses someone else... then Lin Yi wouldn't mind divorcing her.

Killing him wouldn't be the answer. Even a day as husband and wife is a hundred days of kindness. Lin Yi isn't that cold-blooded.

This has nothing to do with the Virgin Mary.

Lin Yi considered the acts of killing people and their entire families in those wish-fulfillment novels to be utterly brainless.

That's his wife. As long as she doesn't intentionally cheat or harm the family, what deep-seated hatred could possibly drive him to take her life?

"Since you're tired, go back to your room and rest. I'll have the kitchen prepare some bird's nest soup and send it over to you in a bit." Lin Yi released her arm, his tone still gentle.

Hearing Lin Yi's concern for her, Nangong Min felt even more distressed.

Although this man is ruthless outside, he is really good to me. He not only handed over the power of housekeeping to me, but also maintained my dignity in every way.

How could I possibly harm him?

However, if he didn't take action, his mother would be sent to the laundry department to suffer, and his father would completely disown him.

Sigh, what should I do?

Nangong Min felt as if her heart had been torn in two.

Half of it is the wife's responsibility, and the other half is the daughter's filial duty.

She didn't know what to choose.

"Thank you, my husband." Nangong Min lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly. After speaking, she dared not look at Lin Yi again and hurriedly returned to the backyard with her maid.

Lin Yi bent down and kicked away a pebble, then turned around and sat down to continue reading.

Mimi opened her mouth as if to speak, but Yifei tugged at her skirt and shook her head.

If you can see it, do you think the prince wouldn't? Don't worry about it.

......

Nangong Min returned to her room, closed the door, and told Liying and Shishi to stand guard outside and not let anyone in.

Then she walked to the dressing table and sat down. Looking at her haggard face in the mirror, tears welled up in her eyes again.

On the table were several brocade boxes, which were the return gifts that Lin Yi had asked her to take to the palace yesterday.

I didn't take all of them with me when I left; there are still a few left.

Nangong Min opened one of the brocade boxes, inside which lay a pair of exquisite mutton fat jade bracelets—which Lin Yi had specially selected, saying he wanted to give them to her to wear and play with.

She picked it up, and the warm, smooth touch of the jade warmed her palm, but it also chilled her heart even more.

Suddenly, she buried her face in her arms and began to sob uncontrollably, leaning over the dressing table.

"What should I do... what should I do... sob sob sob..."

......

While Nangong Min was suffering in her room, undercurrents were also swirling in the west wing.

The west wing was where the Luo sisters lived.

Ever since Lin Yi forcibly took her on her wedding night, Luo Qingyu's hatred for Lin Yi has grown deeper every day.

This hatred reached its peak, especially after Nangong Min entered the manor.

Because she has not only lost her qualification to be empress, but now she is also no longer a princess.

In just a few days, she fell from grace and became a pampered princess.

This huge disparity was unbearable for Luo Qingyu, who had always been proud and arrogant. So, during this time, she was thinking about how to take revenge on Lin Yi, how to escape from the den of demons, and how to return to Nangong Jin's side.

Today, she finally got her chance.

Inside the room, Luo Qingyu was rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for clothes.

She searched for a long time and finally found a few brightly colored, slightly revealing long dresses in the pile of boxes.

"This is it, Wan'er!" She threw the dress onto the bed and said to her younger sister, Luo Qingwan, who was standing next to her, "Wan'er, put this on."

Luo Qingwan looked at the pink tulle dress on the bed and was so frightened that she backed away repeatedly.

"Sister, I won't wear this. This dress is too thin, people will gossip if I wear it out." Luo Qingwan was timid and easily embarrassed, so how could she wear a dress that exposed her collarbone?

Luo Qingyu grabbed Luo Qingwan's arm and pulled her to the bedside.

"What do you know! The person you're meeting today is extremely important, so you must dress up beautifully and charm him. Only then can our Luo family be saved, and only then can your sister escape this misery!"

Luo Qingwan shook her head desperately: "No, sister. Brother-in-law said you can go out, but I can't."

Luo Qingyu's face contorted at the mention of Lin Yi.

"Don't mention that beast to me! He ruined our Luo family, took you into his mansion as his plaything, and now what are you afraid of? Do you want to be locked up in this wretched place for the rest of your life, living like his caged bird?"

Perhaps realizing she had spoken too harshly, Luo Qingyu took a deep breath and grabbed Luo Qingwan's shoulders.

"Wan'er, listen to your sister. Today we're going to see the First Prince, Nangong Ao. He has troops, and if he's willing to help us, that beast Lin Yi is doomed."

"I don't!"

Although Luo Qingwan was naive, she wasn't stupid. She knew that her sister was going to use her as a bargaining chip to push her out to the eldest prince.

"Sister, I don't want to be the Crown Prince's consort. I'm scared... I don't want to go..." Luo Qingwan pleaded, crying.

"You!" Seeing that she was too weak, Luo Qingyu raised her hand and slapped Luo Qingwan across the face.

"Snapped!"

"Ah!" Luo Qingwan was hit and fell onto the bed, covering her face and sobbing, "Waaah... Sister, you hit me again... Waaah..."

"You useless piece of trash! The Luo family raised you all these years, and now you won't even do a little work for us! Do you want to watch me get tortured to death by Lin Yi so you can become her concubine?!" Luo Qingyu pointed at Luo Qingwan and cursed.

Xiuzhu, who was standing to the side holding a tea tray, sighed inwardly upon seeing this scene.

Miss is getting crazier and crazier.

She was slept with by Lin Yi, and now she wants to sell her own younger sister to the First Prince...

Sigh, they don't even realize who's really in charge in the capital now.

Fortunately, I surrendered early, otherwise I would definitely have been killed by her.

"Miss, please don't hit the Second Miss. What if you hurt her face and the First Prince doesn't like it?" Xiuzhu put the tea tray on the table, deliberately echoing Luo Qingyu's words.

Upon hearing this, Luo Qingyu thought it made sense and gently advised again, "Wan'er, I'm doing this for your own good. Hurry up and change your clothes. We'll sneak out through the back door in a bit. The First Prince has already reserved a private room for us at Xinfeng Teahouse."

Luo Qingwan knew she couldn't resist her sister, so she could only cry as her sister slowly pulled off her skirt and put on the pink tulle dress.

Luo Qingyu, busy with her tasks, turned to Xiuzhu and said, "Xiuzhu, you stay here and guard the gates properly. If anyone comes to check, just say that Wan'er and I are sleeping, and no one is allowed to disturb us. Do you understand?"

Xiuzhu quickly lowered her head and agreed, "Yes, this servant will definitely keep a close watch on the door. You and the Second Miss can go without worry."

Fearing exposure, Luo Qingyu warned Xiuzhu a few more times before pulling Luo Qingwan along and sneaking out of the back window of the west wing, heading straight for the back gate of the Prince's Mansion along the path.