On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

What does a seventeen-year-old girl know? Lin Yi didn't explain, just nodded as if to agree.

"Shuying, quickly bring me the water to wash my face."

"Yes," Yifei instructed a maid named Shuying.

Lin Yi looked over and found that the girl was about 1.66 meters tall, with a very pretty face and shape; she was definitely a beauty.

To be fair, the original owner of this body had quite a good eye for aesthetics. People like Yifei, Shuying, and the maids who were tidying up the room all had very pretty faces and well-proportioned figures.

Shuying brought over a basin of water, intending to wash Lin Yi's face herself.

But Yifei didn't give her a chance, throwing the towel directly into the basin and then wringing it out with her hands.

Having no other choice, Shuying bit her lip and took on the role of the basin stand.

This small detail, of course, did not escape Lin Yi's keen eye, but he ignored it.

Competition drives progress.

He also knew that these maids had all signed indentures, destined to live their entire lives in the deep mansion, with their only way out being to marry their masters as concubines and thus change their status.

This behavior is what we commonly call: taking over.

In order to rise to the top, they always go to great lengths, engaging in open and covert struggles, and even resorting to any means necessary when encountering someone with a bad character.

Lin Yi didn't want to rack his brains over matters of the harem. He just wanted to find a suitable girl to manage things for him when he had time.

After washing up, I combed my hair, and by the time I finished everything, half an hour had passed.

The millet porridge was at the perfect temperature, but Lin Yi didn't like eating in his room. Instead, he carried the bowl of porridge and a plate of crisp radishes to the octagonal pavilion in the courtyard.

In early summer, when the weather is neither too hot nor too cold, we dine under the pavilion, enjoying the gentle breeze and the cheerful chirping of birds.

How pleasant!

Inside the room, Yifei, holding the four-clawed dragon robe that Lin Yi had taken off, said to a maid who was arranging the bed, "Mimi, I've told you several times, the prince prefers quiet, so don't use red sheets, change them to dark ones."

The maid named Mimi rolled her eyes: "Tch, you think you know everything. You serve us so diligently every day, but we haven't seen you do anything more than us."

"What kind of talk is that? Our job is to serve the Prince well; how can we compare ourselves to each other?"

"So you think you're so good at serving us? What has the Prince given you in return? You act all high and mighty, lecturing us like you're the masters?"

"You..." Yifei couldn't argue with her, and stomped her feet in anger.

Shuying quickly smoothed things over: "Alright, alright, let's all keep quiet. The Prince is outside."

"What are you afraid of!" Mimi shouted. "I just can't stand her pretentious attitude. If she's so capable, why don't you climb into the Prince's bed? She's always speaking softly and gently, but when she talks to us, she's all bossy and taunting us, saying things like, 'Oh, Your Highness, you're too big to handle... I'll make you a new one...' Ugh, what a piece of junk!"

"You! You! You pervert! Why don't you go climb it?"

Mimi threw the bedsheets onto the bed, turned around, and put her hands on her hips: "Fine, I'll climb up then! Don't think I don't know that the Madam and the Prince don't get along, so her words don't carry weight in the mansion! I'll climb up there tonight and show you!"

"Hmph!" Yifei stomped her foot. "If you can't climb up, you're a little dog!"

"If I climb up, I'll call you Little Dog!"

"You're the dog!"

"You are!"

"Oh, alright, alright, stop arguing!" Shuying and several other maids rushed over to mediate. "Both of you are first-class maids, what kind of behavior is this? If the steward finds out, we'll be punished again!"

Yes, yes.

"Sisters, stop arguing."

Mimi wasn't about to let Shuying off the hook. "And you! Stop pretending! Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Were you trying to wash the prince's face just now? Even we first-class maids can't touch the prince, and you, a second-class maid, dare to try? You little slut, have you no shame!"

"Sister, you... Waaah..." Shuying was young and clumsy with words, so she was immediately scolded and cried.

Yifei pulled her into her arms and said fiercely, "What are you doing! If you're so capable, go and take the position yourself. Don't act like a mad dog here!"

"Fine, I'll go! If I become the boss, you'll be the first one I order around!" With that, Mimi walked out and slammed the door shut with a thud.

Lin Yi, who was drinking millet porridge in the pavilion, saw a maid in a bright green dress walk away angrily, and he was puzzled.

I thought to myself, whose maid is so arrogant?

I'm sitting right here, and you dare slam the door?!

......

Let's leave Lin Yi aside for now.

As dawn broke, a thin mist shrouded the official road beneath the Tonghua Gate tower.

The fat man yawned and sat on a large stone stool that a soldier had specially brought for him. Beside him, Yue Nan, dressed in full armor, had his wrist resting on the hilt of his sword and was looking around.

On the city wall, the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion stood ready for battle.

They hadn't slept all night, but they were full of energy.

Yesterday, the prince himself came, bringing not only twenty chests of silver, but also a promise to double the military pay in the future.

Who can stand this?

Soldiers are entitled to their own food; it is only natural.

But in the past two years, they have lived worse than dogs.

Dogs can at least eat leftovers, but they can only eat bran to fill their stomachs.

Now that the new prince has returned, he's not only no longer stupid, but also so open-minded, which has instantly ignited the fighting spirit in the hearts of the brothers.

The fat man was so sleepy that his eyelids were getting heavy, so he called over an unlucky guy to stand behind him as a pillar. He leaned against the soldier's hip, crossed his legs, and looked just like a rich landlord.

"Brother Nan, do you think anyone will be foolish enough to run into us today?"

"I don't know. We'll just do as the prince tells us to do." Yue Nan wasn't as carefree as the fat man; she had more on her mind.

Intercepting supplies from the imperial palace is no laughing matter; it's very difficult to strike the right balance, and if handled poorly, it could be seen as an open rebellion.

But he had no choice.

The Lin family had shown the Yue family immense kindness; his grandfather's life had been saved by the old prince.

Although his father died on the battlefield, the Lin family has taken great care of his wife's family over the years and has never let them, the orphan and widow, suffer any injustice.

Not only the Yue family, but many soldiers in the Shenji Battalion also received favors from the old prince.

The fat man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and laughed, "It would be best if some beautiful woman were sent as tribute later, so that I, Fatty, could taste the saltiness for the old emperor first, hahahaha."

Yue Nan smiled slightly.

As they were talking, a train convoy appeared on the official road in the distance.

"Commander, there's work to be done!" shouted a sentry on the city wall.

Yue Nan's eyes narrowed, and he shouted, "On your marks!"

The fat man had the soldiers help him up. His 300-pound body bounced around a couple of times to loosen his muscles, making a series of cracking sounds. His big, fat face was full of excitement.

The convoy drew closer, consisting of more than a dozen large trucks, each piled high with bulging sacks. The deep ruts on the sacks indicated they were quite heavy.

The carriage was driven by a group of men in short jackets. At the front of the procession was a fat steward riding a tall horse, his face full of pride, his triangular eyes looking around as if he were sizing up his subjects.

Seeing soldiers setting up a roadblock ahead, he immediately shouted loudly, "What are you doing? Get out of the way! You blind fools, if you delay the delivery of grain to the palace, can you take responsibility?"

Fatty Wang chuckled upon hearing this, swinging his arms as he walked over. "Holy crap? Besides me, is there anyone else in Beijing this awesome?"

The convoy stopped, and the fat butler frowned at the fat man blocking the way, cursing, "Where did this fat maggot come from? Do you have eyes on your mother's belly button? Do you even know who this grain is for? Get out!"

A group of his men behind him also started shouting.

"Get out of the way!"

"Do you know which grain store we are? You'd be shocked if I told you!"

"If the higher-ups blame you, they'll slice off all that fat and eat it!"