On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

The Prime Minister's residence was bustling with activity, and a sumptuous feast was laid out in the spacious hall.

Liu Wentao sat in the main seat, holding a white jade wine cup in his hand. His face was radiant, as if every pore on his body had relaxed.

Sitting to his left and right were several prominent civil officials from the imperial court.

Even Qian Deguang, the Vice Minister of Revenue whose swelling hadn't completely subsided, came, because today was a joyous occasion.

Liu Dong, the registrar of the Ministry of Personnel, raised his wine cup and stood up to toast Liu Wentao.

"Your Excellency, may I offer you a toast! These past few days, the streets and alleys have been buzzing with rumors about Lin Yi's disgraceful deeds. Hahaha, now the entire capital is talking behind his back. We've finally vented half our anger!"

Liu Wentao stroked his beard and laughed heartily, "What's so special about this? I told you long ago that Lin Yi is arrogant and conceited, with no moral compass, and he'll be punished by heaven sooner or later. Does he think he can silence the world's criticism just because he has troops? Dream on! The people's spittle can drown a person!"

Next to him is Ma Jianguo, whose son Dachun died at the hands of Lin Yi, because his hatred for Lin Yi was deeper than anyone else's.

"The Prime Minister is right! Lin Yi is arrogant and domineering, and now he doesn't even care about human relations! When the regional princes and garrison troops see our revised proclamation and know what kind of person Lin Yi is, they will surely be outraged!"

"That's right! Once His Majesty's 200,000 troops arrive, even if Lin Yi has three heads and six arms, he'll be doomed! At that time, I'll personally skin that fat Wang alive to avenge those twenty slaps I gave him!"

Liu Wentao felt secretly pleased with everyone's praise.

When it really matters, it has to be me, right?

You lot are only fit to shine my shoes!

However, on the other hand, he was indeed severely suppressed by Lin Yi recently. He led a strike but failed, and was instead forced by Lin Yi to attend court, losing all face.

Now things are really messed up. That crazy woman, Li, caused a scene at the Regent's Palace, directly slapping Lin Yi with a label he can never shake off. Meanwhile, he himself took the opportunity to have his men stir things up in teahouses and taverns throughout the city, making the matter a huge scandal.

As long as Lin Yi's reputation is ruined, the 200,000 loyalist troops marching into the capital will be in accordance with the will of Heaven and perfectly justified.

Once Lin Yi is dead, Liu Wentao will still be in charge of the Great Zhou court.

"Fellow colleagues," Liu Wentao raised his glass, glancing around, "Lin Yi's arrogance won't last much longer. Once the army arrives, dawn will break in this capital. At that time, all of us here will be heroes of the Great Zhou! Hahaha, rewards for our merits, promotions and titles—it'll all be a given! Come, drink to this!"

"Damn it! For the Great Zhou!"

"May Your Excellency the Prime Minister soon restore order to the court!"

The crowd toasted and drank, the atmosphere becoming extremely lively. Some even began to imagine how to divide the Regent's estate after Lin Yi's death.

Just as the civil officials were enjoying their drinks, the door to the hall was suddenly pushed open quietly, and a servant hurriedly came to Liu Wentao's side and whispered a few words in his ear.

At first, Liu Wentao seemed impatient.

But as she listened, the smile on her face froze, her eyes widened, her originally rosy complexion turned ashen at a visible speed, and even her lips began to tremble.

Qian Deguang and Liu Dong, who were sitting next to him, exchanged a glance and both realized that something was wrong.

"Your Excellency, what has happened?"

Liu Wentao ignored him completely, his mind was buzzing, and finally he suddenly stood up and dropped the white jade wine cup on the ground with a thud.

Snapped--

"A tyrant!" Liu Wentao trembled with rage, his mustache bristling.

The civil officials present were all stunned and didn't understand what was going on.

He thought to himself, "The Prime Minister is usually the most respectful to His Majesty, so why did he curse him in public?"

Qian Deguang quickly lowered his voice to dissuade him: "Prime Minister! You can't say such things carelessly! If this gets back to the palace, it's a capital offense!"

Ma Jianguo was also completely bewildered: "Prime Minister, what exactly happened?"

Liu Wentao no longer cared about being beheaded; all he knew was that his carefully laid plan had been ruined by that idiot Nangong Xiong!

Damn it! I went through so much trouble to ruin Lin Yi's reputation! I was finally seeing some improvement, and you, Nangong Xiong, couldn't control yourself in the middle of the night and did something so shameless!

Even if you do it, the next day you still issue an imperial edict to behead the couple!

Are you trying to kill yourself, or are you trying to kill us?

Liu Wentao pointed to the door and roared angrily, "Was I wrong to call him a tyrant! He made a mistake in a moment of confusion and ruined our entire plan!"

Liu Dong quickly poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him: "Prime Minister, please calm down. Have some tea and tell me slowly. What exactly happened?"

"Get out!" Liu Wentao shoved the teacup aside, spilling tea all over the floor. Then, gritting his teeth, he recounted the events the servant had just reported.

This includes how Nangong Xiong bullied the Luo family and even tried to kill them to silence them. Now the whole city knows about it, causing the public's opinion of Lin Yi to reverse.

Qian Deguang and the others were all stunned, as if struck by lightning.

"This...how is this possible? How could His Majesty have taken a liking to her?"

"Yes, that makes no sense at all."

"Your Majesty has been on the throne for many years, but has never done anything so shameful. Is someone setting a trap?"

Liu Wentao sneered repeatedly: "A trap? Bullshit! Nangong Xiong is so eager to kill to silence witnesses, isn't it just to cover up the facts and ensure there are no witnesses left?"

"My God..."

The civil servants felt their worldview had collapsed.

Although they schemed and plotted against each other in the court, they also claimed to have read the classics and valued propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame.

Even street thugs wouldn't do something like what Nangong Xiong did, let alone them.

Ma Jianguo swallowed hard and stammered, "Prime Minister... this matter... as long as we don't say anything, the common people won't know, right?"

"You know nothing!" Liu Wentao slammed his hand on the table. "Do you think this can still be kept secret? Luo Hongtu and the Li family already revealed it all in front of the entire capital during their public parade!"

Qian Deguang's legs went weak, and he slumped into the chair.

It’s over.

It's all over.

"We've been working non-stop for days, and not only have we failed to kill Lin Yi, we've actually helped him! Now Lin Yi is seen as a loyal minister who has been framed, and His Majesty is seen as a tyrannical ruler who will stop at nothing to cover up a scandal!" Liu Wentao became more and more angry as he spoke, wishing he could slap himself twice.

If he had known the emperor was so stupid, he shouldn't have bothered spreading rumors.

Now look what's happened; the blame isn't being placed on Lin Yi, but entirely on the Emperor.

Liu Dong wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said urgently, "Prime Minister, no matter what, the deed is done. We must quickly find a way to remedy the situation! We absolutely cannot let the loyalist army know this news, otherwise we won't be able to fight!"

Liu Wentao pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the servant and shouted sternly.

"You! Take this order immediately and inform Zhang Zenan to halt the march. I must go to the palace to see His Majesty!"

"Yes." The servant went immediately.

But the somber atmosphere could not be dispelled.

Liu Wentao looked at the sky outside; it was foggy, and it looked like it was going to rain.

"Sigh, I hope the news doesn't spread so quickly." He had never felt so powerless.

Lin Yi's reaction was too quick. This wasn't some kind of repaying evil with kindness; it was clearly killing someone by destroying their spirit!

The emperor was in a hurry to kill him to silence him, but he generously stepped forward and saved the man.

The difference in rank between killing and saving is immediately apparent.

When ordinary people see this scene, they will only become more convinced that the emperor is a tyrant and that Lin Yi is a magnanimous and righteous good man.

Ugh.

Liu Wentao sighed.

Having served as prime minister for so many years, I haven't gained much; I've mostly been cleaning up other people's messes.

"Prepare the sedan chair! I must go to the palace immediately to meet the Emperor!"