On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

The entire Luo residence was deathly silent.

Whether it was the maids, servants, Luo Hongtu and his wife, or the retainers who came to "move" things, everyone was stunned by the scene before them.

Liu Wentao is the prime minister!

The Prime Minister, second only to the Emperor!

He was the head of the civil officials and a role model for scholars throughout the land.

She actually knelt down before Lin Yi!

And he knelt down so decisively.

You don't kneel down unless the fat guy swings his knife; but if the fat guy swings his knife, you kneel down faster than anyone else.

Dude, where's your integrity?

What about the saying you always repeat: "Confucius said to achieve benevolence, and Mencius said to uphold righteousness"?

The students who witnessed this scene were all devastated, their faces ashen.

Because Liu Wentao is not only their revered teacher, but also their faith!

As a result, they ended up kneeling before a spoiled brat they despised the most.

This is worse than killing them.

Fatty Wang sheathed his knife, planted the tip on the ground, placed his hands on the hilt, and laughed loudly: "Hahahaha, bro, what did I say again? These pretentious intellectuals are all talk and no action; they'd chicken out with a knife to their throats!"

Lin Yi couldn't help but chuckle.

To be honest, he hesitated a bit when the fat man was about to kill someone.

His original intention was simply to get back the million-dollar dowry in order to expand the military and win over the soldiers.

I didn't intend to kill anyone.

After all, he had just transmigrated, his position in the court was unstable, and his army's prestige was low. If the emperor turned against him, it would not be good for him.

But who knew Liu Wentao was so easily intimidated? The fat man grabbed a knife and he knelt down.

"Liu Xiang is truly a hero of our Great Zhou! Get up, the ground is cold." Lin Yi pretended to help Liu Wentao up, then waved his hand, "Keep moving! Leave nothing behind!"

"Yes!" The retainers responded in unison, their momentum unstoppable, and they put away their swords and began moving things.

Just then, a shrill voice came from outside the mansion gate.

"Imperial edict has arrived!"

The oppressive feeling of imperial power caused the retainers to stop what they were doing and all look at Lin Yi.

"The imperial edict has arrived!"

"His Majesty has sent people! We're saved!" Luo Hongtu and his wife were so excited that they danced with joy and ran straight to the door, ignoring Lin Yi.

Liu Wentao had just brushed the dust off his knees when he thought to himself, "Couldn't this imperial edict have come two seconds earlier? Why did it have to wait until I finished kneeling? Was it on purpose?"

Everyone fell silent, their gazes all turning toward the doorway.

An old eunuch dressed in a moon-white robe slowly walked in, escorted by a group of imperial guards.

This man was different from the arrogant and domineering Cai Ming of yesterday. He had an air of otherworldly arrogance, and his back was straight, exuding the composure and authority of someone who had long held a high position.

It was Sun Fu.

He was much older than Cai Ming, a senior member of the palace who had served the late emperor, and his status in the palace was far superior to Cai Ming's.

Upon seeing him, Liu Wentao immediately guessed that His Majesty was angry, and walked over energetically: "Chief Steward Sun, you've finally arrived. That Lin Yi..."

"Hehehe, Prime Minister Liu, please calm down. His Majesty has already given the decree." Sun Fu gave him a reassuring look.

Liu Wentao was a shrewd man, and immediately understood, so he said no more.

Then Sun Fu walked towards Lin Yi, his eyes filled with malice, and said, "Your Highness, how have you been?"

Lin Yi remembered this person when he was reading the book; he was a behind-the-scenes big boss.

According to the original plot, a few years later, during the struggle for the throne among the nine princes, he chose to support Nangong Jin, but ended up rebelling.

If it weren't for Nangong Jin's protagonist aura, this old man would have truly become a eunuch emperor.

However, Lin Yi now has money and troops, so he is not afraid of him at all.

"Your Highness, this old servant has come today to read the imperial edict. Please accept it." After Sun Fu finished speaking, the little eunuch behind him immediately stepped forward and unfolded the imperial edict.

According to custom, upon hearing an imperial edict, one should treat it as if seeing the emperor himself, and everyone must kneel.

Without hesitation, Luo Hongtu and his wife knelt down and pressed their heads firmly to the ground.

Liu Wentao and his students were all relieved and knelt down.

Only Fatty Wang curled his lip and glanced at Lin Yi.

That means: If my older brother won't kneel, I won't kneel either. I love whoever you are.

As expected, Lin Yi stood still without moving.

Not only him, but also the more than thirty retainers around him stood there like javelins, none of them showing any intention of kneeling.

Sun Fu frowned slightly.

"Your Highness, what is the meaning of this? Why do you not kneel upon seeing the imperial edict?"

Lin Yi looked at him and said calmly, "I have a gold medal bestowed by the late emperor, which allows me to receive the emperor's decree without kneeling. I can listen to this imperial edict standing up."

Sun Fu's eyelids twitched.

He has indeed regained his senses; he even remembers the late emperor's gold medal.

This little rascal will be hard to fool from now on.

"In that case, this old servant will proclaim the decree." Sun Fu did not dwell on the matter further, and besides, now was not the time to concern himself with such trivial details.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Regent Lin Yi, young and promising, has now regained his sanity, which greatly pleases me. However, I have heard that you and Luo Hongtu, an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, had a dispute over the bride price. This is a family matter; why did it escalate to this point? Considering that the Regent's Palace and the Luo family have already formed a marriage alliance, it is truly inappropriate to damage harmony over such a trivial matter. I hereby order Lin Yi to immediately cease his nonsense and return all the money and valuables he has taken to the Luo family. As for the one million taels of bride price, I have already confiscated it from the national treasury to fund the military. This matter is thus concluded. I hope you will act accordingly and not disappoint the expectations of me and all the people of the land. So be it!"

After Sun Fu finished reading the imperial edict, the entire courtyard fell silent.

This isn't a mediation session; it's clearly a biased stance!

What does it mean to act recklessly?

What is considered a trivial matter?

The most shameless thing you could do is confiscate one million taels of silver from the national treasury! Isn't that blatant robbery?

Upon hearing the imperial edict, Luo Hongtu and his wife beamed with joy.

The million originally belonged to the emperor, and as for the ten thousand taels, he, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Personnel, had no shortage of them.

As long as we can stop Lin Yi and prevent him from ransacking our house, losing 10,000 yuan is fine!

Madam Li immediately sneered, "Heh, Your Highness, why don't you keep moving? Why have you stopped?"

Luo Hongtu stood up triumphantly and said to Sun Fu, "Thank you for arriving in time, Eunuch Sun, which saved the Luo family from disaster."

"Hehehe." Sun Fu thought the imperial edict had worked and smiled smugly. "This is all His Majesty's will. Lord Luo, you flatter me."

Luo Hongtu and his wife, along with Sun Fu and their students, were all beaming with pride and praising each other.

The only person in the room who understood was Liu Wentao.

He never expected the emperor to issue such an edict.

Isn't that just plain stupid?

Lin Yi was about to kill me just now, why would I be afraid of your imperial decree?

You tyrant... This isn't just reprimanding Lin Yi; you're escalating the conflict and driving him to his doom!

really.

Upon hearing the contents of the imperial edict, Fatty Wang flew into a rage. Pointing at Sun Fu, he cursed, "Old Sun, how come you royals are all so shameless? You're robbing my brother? And you're even confiscating the national treasury? Is your national treasury so empty that you can't even afford to buy your underwear?"

"Insolence!" a eunuch behind Sun Fu shouted sternly. "Wang Chongyu, how dare you insult His Majesty! This is utter disrespect! Guards, seize him!"

"Fuck you!"

"ah!!"

The fat man kicked him.

The little eunuch screamed and was kicked away, crashing heavily to the ground.

Sun Fu's expression finally changed.

He didn't expect that this fatso would not even give him face and would attack without warning.

"Wang Chongyu, you..."

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean'?" Fatty Wang pointed at Sun Fu's nose. "Old Sun, out of respect for the late Emperor, I'll spare you today. But let me tell you! My brother is determined to get this money today, and even the Emperor can't stop him, I said it!"

"You...you..." Sun Fu was so angry that he trembled all over, but he dared not say another word.

He knew that reasoning with a brute like Fatty Wang wouldn't work, so he could only turn his attention to Lin Yi.

"Your Highness, is that what you mean too?" Sun Fu's voice carried a hint of threat.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Lin Yi.

On one side was the emperor's decree, and on the other was his own interests and the prestige he had just established.

Not only Sun Fu and Liu Wentao, but even the regent's household servants were staring at him intently.

However, Lin Yi, who had skated through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, was not intimidated by such a small scene.

He slowly walked up to Sun Fu and took the imperial edict.

He didn't even look at the contents; he just held it in his hand, weighed it in his hand, and then, to everyone's astonishment, he exerted force with both hands.

"Sizzle—"

He tore that imperial edict, which symbolized supreme imperial power, in two!