On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Nangong Xiong wasn't really interested in reading the memorials today; his eyes were glued to the main entrance.

Judging by the timeline, Liu Wentao should have collected most of the donations from the officials by now, right?

As long as he can raise this money, he can immediately send people out of the city to deliver it to the four major families of Jiangnan and various vassal kings. In this way, the 200,000 loyalist troops can be mobilized to surround the capital and then tear that traitor Lin Yi to pieces.

It's good that he's thought it through. Nangong Xiong also knows that even if things go smoothly, it won't be that quick.

Well, good things come to those who wait.

Thinking of this, he picked up his teacup and took a sip.

The tea was lukewarm, and the tea leaves were just broken pieces.

Since Lin Yi cut off the palace's supplies, let alone drinking good tea, it's even difficult to eat fresh rice. Every day is just plain food, and there's not even a hint of meat.

"Sigh." Nangong Xiong slammed his teacup on the table. "Sun Fu, what time is it?"

Sun Fu stood to the side, bowing as he replied, "Your Majesty, it's past noon. The Prime Minister is probably compiling the registers and will send the silver over soon."

Nangong Xiong nodded, feeling a little more at ease.

To raise this military fund, he emptied his private coffers, pawning all the luminous pearls, blood corals, and calligraphy and paintings passed down through generations.

It hurts.

This is the foundation of the Great Zhou royal family.

But there was no way around it; if they didn't pay, the loyalist army wouldn't work.

Lin Yi has the Shenji Battalion under his command, but whether he can take down these 200,000 troops is still uncertain. If word gets out and he brings in 300,000 troops from the northern border, Lin Yi will be completely doomed.

However, on the other hand, as long as he can kill Lin Yi and take back military power, it's worth any amount of money. Once the world is at peace, he can slowly plunder from those corrupt officials and businessmen.

Just then, a young eunuch hurried in.

Sun Fu went down to greet him, and the eunuch whispered something in Sun Fu's ear. The latter was shocked and hurriedly returned to Nangong Xiong's side.

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened."

Nangong Xiong's heart skipped a beat.

He's most afraid of hearing these words now; every time he hears them, it's never a good thing.

"Go ahead and say it, anyway, you haven't had any good news in the past month."

"Your Majesty..." Sun Fu swallowed hard, "Now that this old servant has finished speaking, please take care of your health..."

"Stop talking nonsense, what else is there that I can't bear?"

"The Prime Minister's residence... has been raided!"

"What?" Nangong Xiong was taken aback.

The Prime Minister's residence was raided?

Who did it?

Who in the Great Zhou Dynasty would dare to raid the home of the current prime minister?

"What nonsense are you spouting! Liu Wentao is just keeping his money at home; who would dare raid his house?"

"It's Lin Yi! He's led the Divine Machine Battalion to surround the Prime Minister's residence..."

Nangong Xiong suddenly stood up, his mind going blank.

Did Lin Yi raid the Prime Minister's residence?

This……

"What about the silver donated by the officials? What about the military funds collected by Liu Wentao?"

Sun Fu took a step back, it was unclear whether he was preparing to make a run for it.

"Lin Yi took it all, filling dozens of trucks to the brim, leaving Liu Wentao with not a single penny."

"What..." Nangong Xiong swayed.

More than three million taels of silver, all of it was robbed by Lin Yi?

That was the money he was saving his life!

It was he who emptied his own coffers and forced officials to donate the military funds!

"Liu Wentao, that idiot! Useless! Are all those guards he employs just sitting around doing nothing?! Did they just stand by and watch Lin Yi steal the money?" Nangong Xiong cursed.

"Your Majesty, this time is different from before. Lin Yi brought eight hundred Shenji Battalion soldiers and four eight-ox crossbows! Liu Wentao couldn't stop him even if he wanted to. Xiao Dengzi said that when the Prime Minister was about to die for his country, Lin Yi was not afraid at all and led his troops to trample over him. In the end, he was saved by the steward."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Xiong was so angry that his lips trembled.

Lin Yi...it's Lin Yi again!

He must have had his eye on this money for a long time, and deliberately waited for all the officials to send the money to the Prime Minister's residence before taking it all at once!

How does this traitor know everything?!

Without money, how could the four great families of Jiangnan possibly contribute their efforts? How could the various regional princes possibly risk their lives?

This army of 200,000 is a joke!

The more Nangong Xiong thought about it, the more frightened he felt.

Lin Yi's methods were too ruthless; he calculated every step meticulously, leaving him no way out.

"Your Majesty, please calm down and take care of your health," Sun Fu quickly advised from the side.

Nangong Xiong turned to look at Sun Fu, his eyes bloodshot, and roared hoarsely, "My empire is about to fall, how can I possibly protect my health! Lin Yi is trying to force me to my death!"

"Ah!!" He stood up and pushed all the memorials on the table to the ground.

Not satisfied with that, he also smashed the inkstone and pen holder, filling the hall with the sound of shattering.

"That beast Lin Yi! Issue an imperial decree! Commander Zhang Yong of the Imperial Guards, take your men and arrest Lin Yi! I want him skinned alive!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Fu smacked his lips.

I thought to myself, "Are you out of your mind?"

"Your Majesty, Zhang Yong's imperial guards can't even leave the palace gates..."

Yes, they can't get out.

Not only Zhang Yong, but even I myself am locked up in this palace and can't get out at all.

despair.

An overwhelming sense of despair instantly engulfed him.

The money is gone, and the soldiers are gone too.

What do I have left to fight Lin Yi with?

Are we really going to wait until Lin Yi storms into the palace, drag him off the dragon throne, and chop him up with a single blow?

"No...no..." Nangong Xiong gasped for breath, his face flushed red, feeling a sweet, metallic taste rising in his throat.

Nangong Xiong clutched his chest with both hands, swaying unsteadily, his mind filled with Lin Yi's arrogant face.

Three million taels of silver!

That was all his savings, and now it's all become Lin Yi's military pay.

Lin Yi used his money to support his own troops, and then turned around to attack him, the emperor!

Is there anything more frustrating in the world than this?!

"Lin Yi...your mother..." Nangong Xiong grew angrier the more he thought about it, feeling a surge of anger rush from the soles of his feet to his head. "You'll die a horrible death..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he could no longer suppress the metallic taste in his throat.

"Pfft!" Nangong Xiong opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of blood onto the dragon table. Then his eyes rolled back and he fell straight backward.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Sun Fu was terrified and rushed to help, but he couldn't hold on. With a thud, Nangong Xiong's chin slammed hard against the armrest of the dragon throne, and he lost consciousness.

"Someone come here!"

"Quickly summon the imperial physician!"

The eunuch who delivered the message quickly ran out. At the same time, Cai Ming came in from outside after finishing his business and was startled to see Sun Fu and several guards carrying Nangong Xiong toward the back hall.

"Chief Steward Sun! What's wrong with His Majesty?"

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work!"

After much effort, Nangong Xiong was finally placed on the dragon bed in the back hall. Immediately afterwards, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy entered with several of his disciples.

Sun Fu stepped aside: "Imperial Physician Luo, quickly take a look at His Majesty!"

Judge Luo knelt down on both knees, placed one hand on Nangong Xiong's wrist, and only withdrew his hand after a long while.

"How is it?"

The court judge sighed and said, "Chief Steward Sun, don't worry. His Majesty's sudden anger caused his blood to flow backward, damaging his heart meridian. Coupled with his poor diet and weakened state recently, that's why he suddenly fainted."

"Can it be cured?"

The court physician nodded: "No problem, this old minister will administer acupuncture to Your Majesty to stabilize your heart pulse. Then I will prescribe some calming and regulating herbal medicine for Your Majesty to recuperate slowly. However, Your Majesty must not be subjected to any further stimulation during this period and must rest quietly."

Sun Fu breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this.

As long as the person isn't dead, that's fine.

If Nangong Xiong were to die now, the Great Zhou Dynasty would be in complete chaos.

Regardless of what Lin Yi might do, those princes would be the first to fight each other to the death.

The judge opened his medicine box, took out silver needles, and began to insert needles into Nangong Xiong's head and chest.

Sun Fu pulled Cai Ming aside and said in a low voice, "Go to Jingren Palace right now and find the Empress. Tell her what happened here."

Cai Ming was taken aback: "Huh? If we tell the Empress at this time, won't the harem be in chaos?"

"What do you know! His Majesty has fainted, and the imperial physician says he needs to rest. Someone in the harem needs to take charge and prevent the concubines from gossiping. Tell the Empress to keep a close eye on the people in the harem, and anyone who dares to cause trouble at this time should be killed on the spot."

Cai Ming nodded: "Okay, then... shall we also talk about Lin Yi robbing money?"

"Speak! Why don't you speak? Let them know what the situation is now, so they stop fighting over favors in the harem all day long. The Great Zhou is about to perish, and they're still thinking about how to win the emperor's favor. Let them worry about it too."

"Yes," Cai Ming replied, then turned and ran quickly out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

At the same time, Sun Fu was also mentally planning his escape route.

Now it seems that Nangong Xiong is unreliable. Lin Yi's methods are too clever, and he has been pressing Nangong Xiong step by step, which has already cornered him.

But he couldn't rely on Lin Yi either. That kid was unpredictable and even more difficult to deal with than Nangong Xiong... If Nangong Xiong really fell seriously ill this time, could he take the opportunity to do something?

Sun Fu squinted at Nangong Xiong, who was covered in needles, his lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.

After the imperial physicians worked for a long time, Nangong Xiong finally regained some color, but he still did not wake up. The imperial physician Luo went to the side to write a prescription and told his apprentice to quickly prepare the medicine.