On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

The fat man always thought he was incredibly powerful, so he slapped his chest hard, making a dull thud.

"Of course it's because of me, Fatty! Look, Fatty slapped that idiot to death with one slap, and the old prime minister was so scared he immediately knelt down!"

"..." Lin Yi was somewhat speechless. "That was just reckless courage. We're standing here today, and we've gotten our money back..."

Lin Yi pointed to the retainers around him: "It's them we rely on, that is, military power!"

Fatty Wang nodded, seemingly understanding, "Brother, you're right, so what?"

"Therefore, our most important task right now is not to go whoring, but to seize military power!"

Lin Yi's eyes sharpened. "Nangong Xiong isn't stupid. He suffered such a huge loss today, he definitely won't let it go. I bet he's thinking of ways to deal with us now, and his first target will be the Shenji Battalion."

"He will use money and official titles to bribe the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion, thereby undermining us from within."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang immediately became agitated: "That old bastard wouldn't dare! The Divine Machine Battalion is the Lin family's army. Anyone who dares to betray us, I, Fatty Wang, will be the first to chop them up!"

"Killing people won't work," Lin Yi shook his head. "People's hearts need to be won over. Even the emperor can use money to buy them off, so why can't we?"

Lin Yi walked to the donkey cart and stepped on one foot onto the large box full of silver ingots.

"That's why I took back the betrothal gifts. If the emperor gives them one tael, we'll give them two! If the emperor promises them official positions, we'll grant them titles! I want to see whether those soldiers would rather follow an emperor who only makes empty promises or me, the regent who can feed them and provide them with money!"

Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang finally understood.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind, but then I realized something was wrong.

"Brother, you're not going to give all this money to the brothers in the Divine Machine Battalion, are you?"

"Of course not, but we should at least give them a portion to show them our sincerity." Lin Yi mounted his horse. "Let's go, enough talk, I'll take you to a good place."

Don't let the fat man's clumsy appearance fool you; he's surprisingly agile when mounting a horse.

"Where are we going?"

Lin Yi turned around and grinned at him, "Go win people's hearts."

......

Zhang Yuan's body was ultimately thrown into the well.

However, the well opening in the Luo residence was very small, and Zhang Yuan was quite large. When he tried to insert himself backwards, his buttocks got stuck on the stone at the well opening. No matter how hard the servants tried, they couldn't get him in, so they simply gave up and let him spread his legs wide, as if he were giving a "yeah" sign to life.

Not far away, Luo Hongtu was still sitting on the ground, with his maids and servants gathering around him in twos and threes.

The old butler, sixty-seven years old this year, endured two severe slaps to protect the property, knocking out both of his back teeth and leaving him with only one front tooth, causing him to speak with a lisp: "Master... what are we going to do now...?"

The maids and servants around him all looked at him, their eyes seeming to say: Hurry up, stop dawdling, give me a straight answer, are you going to be dismissed or continue working?

Luo Hongtu's eyes were vacant. Only after being reminded did he realize what was happening and hurriedly pinched the philtrum of his wife in his arms.

"Madam, Madam!"

"Uh..." Li groaned and slowly woke up.

She first looked around blankly, but when her gaze fell upon the empty courtyard and the scattered shards of porcelain, her memory instantly returned. She sat up abruptly and let out a piercing scream: "Ah!! My things!"

She scrambled towards the central hall, only to find that the spot where the red coral had once been was now just a lonely base. Her heart ached so much that she almost fainted again.

"It's all gone! Everything's gone! Waaah... Lin Yi, you heartless bastard! You'll die a horrible death!" She leaned against the door, slowly slid down to the ground, and wailed loudly.

Luo Hongtu still cared for his wife, so he came in to try and comfort her.

Who knew that when Li saw him, she looked at him as if he were an enemy, and pounced on him with bared teeth and claws.

"Luo Hongtu! You useless piece of trash, you coward!"

"I must have been blind to marry you!"

"Look at yourself now! Your home has been ransacked, your wife is being groped and touched by other men, and you don't even dare to fart! What kind of man are you!" Li's long, sharp fingernails scratched at Luo Hongtu's face.

Luo Hongtu couldn't dodge in time and was scratched so hard that his face was covered in blood, leaving him both in pain and angry.

He shoved Li aside and roared, "What do you know, you woman! Do you think I didn't want to stop it? Didn't you see that fat Wang dared to kill even the newly appointed top scholar? Are you sending me up to my death?!"

"It's better to die than to cower like a coward!" Li sat on the ground, slapping her thigh and crying, "I don't care! It's all your fault! I never agreed to marry Qingyu to that idiot, but you insisted on pushing our daughter into a fire pit!"

"Now look what's happened! Lin Yi has gone from a fool to a madman, daring to tear up even an imperial edict! This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family! The entire Luo family is going to be ruined by you, you piece of trash... Waaah... Why is my life so miserable..."

Upon hearing this, Luo Hongtu was so angry he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

You still have the nerve to disagree?

Who was it that had their eyes light up like lanterns when they heard there was a million taels of silver as a bride price? And who was it that kept whispering in my ear, saying that if I climbed up to Nangong Xiong, I could walk sideways in the capital?

Now that something's happened, you're trying to pin all the blame on me?

"Shut up!" Luo Hongtu pointed at Li's nose, trembling with rage. "Do you think I want to marry off my daughter? It's His Majesty's will! His Majesty wants us to cooperate and use Qingyu to trick the Lin family into handing over military power! Do you think I dare disobey? How many heads do I, Luo Hongtu, have to go against His Majesty?"

He only dared to shout these words at home; if outsiders heard them, it would be a serious crime.

Li was taken aback by his shout, and her crying subsided a little.

She knew, of course, that this was the emperor's plan, but now that the plan had failed, someone had to take the blame, right? She didn't want to.

"I don't care! Anyway, you're the one who did it. Now our house has been ransacked. How are we going to live? Our daughter is still in that madman's hands. What if he gets angry one day and beats Qingyu to death? Luo Hongtu, you have to think of a way!" Li started throwing a tantrum again.

Luo Hongtu stood up, leaning on the door panel, and looked around. Suddenly, he felt utterly exhausted.

He spent half his life as an official, pulling strings, using back channels, and giving out countless gifts. He finally climbed to his current position and was on the verge of great success, but all of that vanished in an instant because of Lin Yi.

"What to do... Ha... What can I do..." Luo Hongtu laughed self-deprecatingly, his face full of sorrow.

"Your Majesty! Yes, go find His Majesty!" Li suddenly thought of something, her eyes lighting up. "This whole thing was His Majesty's idea, and now that things have gone wrong, he can't just ignore it! Go to the palace immediately and beg His Majesty for help. Let him stand up for us and make sure Lin Yi returns my things!"

Upon hearing this, Luo Hongtu's spirits lifted.

Yes, and His Majesty is there too!

No matter how arrogant you are, Lin Yi, you can't kill the emperor, can you?

There's still a chance if His Majesty is willing to step in!

"You're right, I'll go to the palace right now!" Luo Hongtu wiped the blood off his face, smeared it on his official robes, and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Li called out to him again, "Old Luo, how much of our savings do we have left? Can we hold on?"

Although Lin Yi and his men emptied the mansion of all its valuables, Li Shi knew that those were only the visible assets.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and one doesn't put all their eggs in one basket.

Luo Hongtu sighed and lowered his voice, saying, "Don't worry, our family has several estates in the suburbs of Beijing, and we've also acquired a lot of land in the countryside... In short, we shouldn't have to worry about food and clothing."

Hearing that she still had some savings, Li felt a little more at ease.

But she was still worried, saying with a troubled expression, "But... even if we have money, we can't stop that madman from coming and causing trouble again and again! Today he comes to ask for a bride price, what if tomorrow he finds another excuse to raid our house? We can't live in constant fear, can we?"

Luo Hongtu's expression turned grim again.

The wife's concerns were not unfounded.

Lin Yi has completely broken ties with the emperor.

What is there that a madman who doesn't even respect imperial power wouldn't do?

He can raid their home today, and he'd dare kill them tomorrow. The Luo family is like meat on a chopping board, completely at his mercy.

"Therefore, I must go to the palace!" Luo Hongtu's eyes hardened. "Only by seeking His Majesty's protection can we have a glimmer of hope! Madam, stay home and don't go anywhere. Keep the door closed and wait for my news!"

After saying that, Luo Hongtu ran towards the gate of the mansion.

Watching her husband's departing figure, Li hugged a table leg and burst into tears again.

"Waaaaah... Lin Yi, you damned beast! You'll die a horrible death!"

"God, please open your eyes and look!"

"If you have a spirit, quickly send down a bolt of lightning and strike this lawless son-in-law dead!"