On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Lin Yi was sitting in the armchair in his study, holding an account book about the allocation of land in Ping'an County.

The land reform has been progressing smoothly these past few days, and the people have benefited greatly. They are very grateful to the Regent's Palace, and the promise to build a statue of Lin Yi was not just talk; they actually made one out of clay.

The Shenji Battalion soldiers who returned said that the statue was not very well made, and the prince was made to look like Mo Lihong with his teeth bared, but it was clear that the people had done their best to make it.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi shook his head with a wry smile.

I thought to myself, it must be really tough on those artisans. To create an image, whether it's a god, Buddha, or Bodhisattva, they have to rely entirely on their imagination.

Nowadays, even building a statue of a prince requires imagination.

interesting.

"Your Highness." Xiuzhu's voice came from outside the door.

Lin Yi wanted to laugh when he saw this girl because she had a pimple on her nose, which made her look quite cute: "Come in."

After saying that, he put down the account book in his hand and opened his arms.

Xiuzhu was secretly delighted.

Hehehe, the prince seems to really like me~~

She also opened her arms and wrapped them around Lin Yi's neck, then sat on his lap.

As the fragrant body entered his arms, Lin Yi immediately said to Yi Fei and Mi Mi beside him, "You two go out first."

"Yes." Yifei immediately put down her embroidery needle and led the reluctant Mimi out.

Just before closing the door, Mi Mi glared fiercely at Xiu Zhu, as if to say: You vixen, you just wait!

Xiuzhu, of course, didn't see him; her eyes were completely fixed on Lin Yi.

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry to come over?" Lin Yi's hands were a little restless, probably because he hadn't been intimate with Xiuzhu for many days.

Xiuzhu, her face flushed, said, "This servant has come to report to you that Luo Qingyu has secretly taken the Second Miss out of the manor!"

"Oh?" Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. "Where did she go?"

"I heard that Luo Qingyu is taking the Second Miss to the Xinfeng Tea House to see the First Prince Nangong Ao, and she doesn't want me to go with her. She wants me to stay in the room and cover for her."

"To see the First Prince?" Lin Yi was now genuinely interested. He stopped touching his thigh and instead stroked his chin. "This is interesting..."

Xiuzhu swallowed hard and added, "Does Your Highness remember? The First Prince secretly wrote a love letter to Luo Qingyu, saying he liked her and wanted to win over the Luo family. But Luo Qingyu refused no matter what, her heart only belonged to that Fourth Prince. But now, to get revenge on you, Luo Qingyu actually wants to push her own sister out!"

Xiuzhu spoke with great conviction: "You don't know, just now she forced the Second Miss to change into that revealing gauze dress, saying that as long as the First Prince takes a liking to the Second Miss, he will marry her as his principal wife. Then the First Prince will send troops to deal with you."

"Pfft, hahaha!" Lin Yi couldn't help but laugh out loud after hearing Xiuzhu's report. "This is really something! The First Prince is sending troops to deal with me? Heh heh heh, that trash doesn't even deserve it!"

If it were Nangong Jin, Lin Yi might think twice, but he wouldn't be careless, since he's the male protagonist of the original novel.

We have to give them this much face.

But what kind of person is Nangong Ao? He's a stupid donkey with skills but no brains.

In the original book, relying on his prestige in the army and the fact that he had two thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry hidden outside the capital, he dared to rebel. As a result, he was beaten so badly by Nangong Jin that he didn't even recognize his own mother. In the end, his wives and concubines were all taken by Nangong Jin.

You think you can mess with me with that little skill? You're just bragging.

At most, he just wanted to taste what Luo Qingyu was like and trick her into having sex.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi shook his head with amusement: "This Luo Qingyu is really something else. She slept with me and then thought of using her sister to exchange for military power. Sigh, she thinks everyone is a fool..."

"I think so too. It seems like Miss is becoming less and less intelligent."

Lin Yi reached out and gently touched her face with the back of his hand. "She's not smart, but you are. I like smart women."

"Hehehe, this servant is also willing to serve Your Highness~"

"Good girl~ kiss~" Lin Yi cupped Xiuzhu's face and kissed her, then said, "After this matter is settled, I will release you from your slave status, and you can be a proper master in the palace from now on."

"Really!?" Xiuzhu's face was full of surprise.

For a slave like her, there is no better reward than being freed from slavery.

Because of the strict hierarchical system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, if the parents were slaves, their children would also be slaves and could never escape their slave status.

Slaves have no land, no autonomy, and are destined to serve others for their entire lives.

If Lin Yi releases her from slavery, she can live a normal life with dignity. Even if Lin Yi doesn't want her anymore, she can find an honest and hardworking farmer to take her in and live a peaceful life.

Xiuzhu was overjoyed beyond measure, wishing she could tear her heart out and show it to Lin Yi.

"Your Highness, this servant..."

"Alright." Lin Yi covered her mouth with a single finger: "It would be a waste to use your little mouth to say things like expressing loyalty. I'm in a good mood today, kneel down."

"Mmm." Xiuzhu happily knelt down and untied Lin Yi's belt.

At the same time, Lin Yi began to think about Nangong Ao's matter.

It's certain that he was tricked into having sex, but judging from the original plot, Nangong Ao does have some fighting ability, especially his two thousand Tiger Leopard Cavalry, who are his trusted confidants.

In addition, this person has a bad temper and a stubborn personality. If he is really bewitched by Luo Qingyu and wants to confront me head-on... that's fine too.

He could use him to establish his authority and show the powerful families in the capital who were still observing who the real power was.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xiuzhu pushed open the door and came out of the study. Xiuzhu and Mimi were sitting on the veranda chatting.

Seeing her face flushed and her mouth smacking as she came out, Mimi immediately realized something, stood up, and said, "You little vixen, how dare you seduce the prince!"

Knowing she was no match for Mimi, Xiuzhu quickly bowed and said, "Sister, please spare me. It was the prince's request. It wasn't that I was trying to win his favor."

"Hmph, utter nonsense. If you hadn't seduced the Prince, why would he have taken a liking to a wild girl like you?"

"If my sister doesn't believe me, there's nothing I can do..." Xiuzhu pretended to be a green tea b*tch, "But just now the prince said that I did better than you."

"You..." Mi Mi was stunned by the retort, and finally pointed at her angrily, "Shameless! So shameless!"

Yifei stood up and said, "Alright, everyone, say less. Xiuzhu, did the Prince say anything just now?"

"The prince said that my sister should send someone to inform Young Master Wang and Young Master Lu that he is in a good mood today and is going to invite them to tea at Xinfeng Tea House."

Yifei nodded: "Okay, I understand. You can go back now, just be careful not to give yourself away."

"Mmm!" Xiuzhu nodded happily and left.

Mimi watched her smug back and was so angry she could have teeth in it.

"You vixen! Not only did you seduce the prince, but you also claimed to be better than me. Pah!"

Yifei frowned and said, "Mimi, when are you going to change your temper? The Prince has reprimanded you more than once or twice. If you continue like this, you'll fall out of favor!"

Mimi pointed at Xiuzhu: "Even if she fell out of favor, it was her fault! She's more capable than me... Bullshit, more capable than me! The Prince said I'm the most powerful woman in the world!"

Seeing her impotent rage, Yifei shook her head and turned to do what Lin Yi had asked her to do.