On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Mimi turned around and ran off to find Lin An.

Lin Yi turned around and walked back to his desk, took out a sheet of fine Xuan paper and spread it on the table, then picked up a wolf-hair brush from the shelf.

Seeing this, Nangong Min quickly went over and continued the work she hadn't finished. She added some water to the inkstone and began to grind the inkstone carefully.

Although I don't know what Lin Yi is up to, judging from his confident expression, he's definitely going to do something for me.

There's nothing in this world that my husband can't accomplish if he's willing to help.

The ink was quickly ground, and Lin Yi picked up his brush, paused briefly on the Xuan paper with his wrist suspended, and then began to write with great speed and precision.

Nangong Min stood to the side, her gaze fixed on the Xuan paper.

Lin Yi's handwriting was vigorous and powerful, and the strokes exuded a fierce and warlike aura.

"My husband has such beautiful handwriting."

Nangong Min grew up in the palace and had seen countless works of calligraphy and painting by famous artists, but he rarely saw anyone write calligraphy in such a domineering and imposing way.

This word is just like him—it doesn't follow any rules, yet it's impossible for anyone to resist it.

After Lin Yi finished writing, he threw the brush into the brush washer.

"It doesn't matter if the handwriting is beautiful or not, as long as it works."

Just then, Lin An rushed in from outside: "This old servant greets Your Highness and Your Highness."

"Old An, send someone to deliver this letter to the palace and give it to Sun Fu."

Lin An took the Xuan paper with both hands, glanced at it, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"Your Highness...this...this..."

Nangong Min knew he would be surprised, and couldn't help but burst out laughing. She quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Because there was only one sentence written on the rice paper, the characters were written in a vigorous and powerful style, exuding an air of dominance.

"Use fifty pigs to exchange for Yang Siyu leaving the palace."

Lin An's face darkened, and he looked at Lin Yi with a bitter expression: "Your Highness, aren't you making a fool of this old servant? The Imperial Concubine, a woman of noble birth, you're offering fifty pigs in exchange? This is just too... too undignified! If word gets out, won't the entire court be pointing fingers at our manor and cursing us behind our backs?"

Lin Yi leaned back in his armchair, crossing his legs: "Let them curse, it's just a verbal sparring match. Old An, let me ask you, what's the most precious thing in the palace right now?"

Lin An thought for a moment and said, "Of course, it's grain and meat."

"That's right! The palace has been cut off from food by me, and Nangong Xiong is now living on millet porridge and rice porridge every day, without even a shred of meat. His body was already weak, and I made him vomit blood. What he needs most right now is some meat. Fifty big fat pigs, that's real meat! Don't bring up the fact that he's a concubine. In the eyes of a starving person, can a concubine be eaten? No! But these fifty pigs can keep Nangong Xiong alive!"

Lin An was completely bewildered by Lin Yi's twisted logic and fallacies. He opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words.

So, in the eyes of the prince, the current imperial concubine is only worth fifty pigs?

This deal was calculated too shrewdly.

Nangong Min stood aside. Although she found it somewhat ridiculous to exchange her mother for a pig, she knew in her heart that Lin Yi was testing her father's bottom line in the most direct and humiliating way.

Fifty pigs would indeed be an irresistible fortune for the current imperial palace.

Therefore, she felt not angry at all, but rather a warm feeling welled up inside her.

Lin Yi is a man destined for great things, and he would never do anything that goes against his ideals just for his own sake; but at the same time, he is also doing his best for her.

Fifty pigs, not a lot, not a little. If Father Emperor plans his meals carefully, they can feed him for several months. It's better than starving all the time, isn't it?

Besides, with so many concubines, what difference would it make if Mother were released? He doesn't lack company.

"My husband's method, though... though somewhat unexpected, upon closer examination, it does indeed hit the nail on the head." Having thought it through, Nangong Min said softly, "Father values ​​his reputation most right now, but he is also most in need of resources. Fifty pigs give him a way out without letting him gain too much advantage, and will not affect my husband's grand plan."

That's right, she's still my wife after all, she knows how to speak up for me.

"Min'er is so clever. Old An, you should learn from her. Nangong Xiong is now a penniless man who's obsessed with saving face and suffers for it. If I were to exchange him for gold and silver, he would definitely feel that I'm humiliating him, and besides, gold and silver are useless in the palace. But if I were to exchange him for pigs, that would be real life-saving food. Even if he curses in his heart, his body will tell a different story."

Lin An sighed, folded the letter, and stuffed it into his sleeve. "Well... alright, this old servant can't argue with Your Highness anyway, I'll go and do it now."

"Remember, just hand it over to Sun Fu. That old eunuch knows what to say to Nangong Xiong."

"Yes." Lin An bowed and withdrew.

The study fell silent again. Lin Yi beckoned, and Nangong Min obediently walked to his side.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yi suddenly reached out and put his arm around her waist, making her sit on his lap.

Nangong Min exclaimed, "Oh dear! Husband, please don't do this! What would it look like if the servants saw this?"

"It's alright, don't worry, your mother will be able to leave the palace soon." Lin Yi squeezed her hand. "Once she arrives at the Prince's residence, I will take good care of her like a mother-in-law, and no one will dare to bully her."

Nangong Min smiled sweetly, stopped struggling, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hehe~~ Thank you, my husband."

......

Outside a side gate of the palace, several soldiers from the Shenji Battalion were patrolling.

Since Lin Yi ordered the blockade of supplies, the palace gates have become useless; apart from the night-time toilets used for defecating and urinating, not even a fly can get in.

Of course, there were also eunuchs and palace maids who would try to exchange good things for food, but Lin Yi turned a blind eye to this.

It's a fool not to make money when you can, and besides, the Shenji Battalion soldiers know whose money they can take and whose they can't.

For example, they won't accept money from Nangong Xiong, but they will accept money from the concubines and princesses in the harem, but the price will be more than ten times higher than the market price.

The fat man really enjoyed doing this job. For a while, he had been guarding the gate for the Shenji Battalion and made a lot of dirty money. Later, Lin Yi sent him away to work with Lu Dehao on building a casino.

The main problem is that the fat man is too greedy. He exchanged Wang Meiren's gold hairpin for three ounces of meat, which was bloody neck meat that couldn't even be cooked properly after being minced.

Left with no other option, Lin Yi had to send him away to protect the reputation of the Prince's Mansion.

Closer to home.

Lin An sent one of his trusted men to sneak up near the side gate and exchange a secret signal with the guards.

Not long after, the side door opened a crack, and a young eunuch peeked out.

The servant stuffed the letter into his hand, whispered a few words of instruction, and then turned and disappeared into the alley.

This was a hidden informant planted by Lin Yi, who bribed him with a large sum of money.

Previously, he had been unable to reach the top, but then Sun Fu arrived uninvited, and thus Sun Fu became the head of these undercover agents.

It wasn't that Lin Yi trusted Sun Fu, but rather that he wasn't afraid of anything happening to him.

So what if they found it? What's the big deal?

Nangong Xiong can bring the Imperial Guards to the Prince's Mansion to beat me up? That's ridiculous.

As for Sun Fu, that's even more impossible.

If Lin Yi wanted to kill him now, it would only take a word; Nangong Xiong couldn't possibly protect him.

The letter traveled through several hands before finally arriving at the Zhongche Mansion.

Sun Fu is drinking porridge right now.

As we get older, our energy expenditure decreases. In my younger years, I ate a lot of meat and fish, which made me overweight. Now, eating some whole grains is a good idea to help me lose some weight.

Therefore, he didn't have any opinion on the palace lockdown; no one else would go hungry, but he wouldn't.

At this moment, a young eunuch hurried in and handed the letter to Sun Fu: "Godfather, this was sent from outside. It says it's for you from the Regent."

Sun Fu's eyelids twitched. He quickly stuffed the letter into his pocket, looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, and then hurried back to his room.

She was puzzled. Lin Yi really had fallen for her, sending her letters every few days.

What are you doing? Do you want me to die even faster?

Sun Fu muttered to himself, then took out the letter, unfolded it, and read only one sentence: "Use fifty pigs to exchange for Yang Siyu leaving the palace."

"Lin Yi has really gone mad."