On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

And so, Fatty and Yue Nan started a business without any initial investment outside Tonghua Gate.

Everything sent to the palace, no matter what it was—food, drink, clothing, daily necessities, even the brushes used to clean toilets—was confiscated.

Such a big thing couldn't be kept secret. For a time, all kinds of suppliers in the capital were in an uproar, discussing it endlessly, not knowing what to do next.

Evening, Regent's Palace.

There is an artificial lake in the garden, and to the north of the lake is a huge palace called Xuanyuan.

On the platform in front of Xuanyuan Hall, Lin Yi lay on a deck chair like he was sunbathing at the beach, while Yi Fei knelt at his feet and massaged his legs.

Today she changed into a pale yellow dress, which made her skin look even whiter and her features even more exquisite.

"Your Highness, is this force appropriate?" Yifei's voice was soft and gentle.

Lin Yi was pondering things in his mind, and only gave a faint reply.

As things stand, a million taels of silver is more than enough to support the Shenji Battalion, but if you add the 100,000 troops that are about to enter the capital, it's just a drop in the ocean and not enough.

Lin Yi didn't believe the imperial court would allocate funds unless Nangong Xiong was out of his mind.

So I have to come up with a way to make money.

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Just then, a roar came from the other side of the lake: "Big brother! Big brother! Damn it, your house is way too damn big! If it weren't for Old An leading the way, Fatty would have gotten lost!"

Lin Yi knew who it was without even opening his eyes.

Yifei, however, was startled and paused in her hand that was massaging her leg: "Your Highness, it's Young Master Wang."

"Hmm," Lin Yi replied lazily.

This fatso is making such a fuss, looks like he's got something good.

When Yifei saw that Lin Yi didn't tell her to leave, she was secretly pleased and quickly lowered her head to continue massaging her legs.

A short while later, a bear came to the platform, followed by a tall, serious-looking middle-aged man.

It was his father, Wang Tienan, the Minister of War.

The old steward, Lin An, led the way, sweating profusely. He bowed and then withdrew.

"Big brother! Look what good stuff Fatty brought you!" Before Fatty even got close, he held up the big box in his hand like he was showing off a treasure.

Yifei rose and bowed: "This servant greets the Minister and Young Master Wang."

"Ouch~" The fat man hadn't paid attention until she said something, but now he saw Yifei and thought she was so pretty and beautiful. "Yifei, your figure is getting better and better! How big are your feet?"

The fat man's question made Yifei blush, and she quickly said, "How annoying! Young Master Wang is teasing me again!"

After saying that, she knelt down again and continued to massage Lin Yi's legs.

Lin Yi patted her head: "Sweetie, go pour some tea."

"Yes." Yifei stood up, not forgetting to glare fiercely at the fat man before leaving.

The fat man didn't care and casually placed the box on the tea table.

At this moment, Wang Tienan also stepped forward and bowed.

Although he was an elder and the godson of the old regent, the proper etiquette between ruler and subject could not be disregarded.

"Your humble servant greets Your Highness."

Lin Yi didn't stand up. He believed that one should treat comrades with the warmth of spring, and that deliberately going through the motions of formality would only create distance between them. So he waved his hand and said, "Uncle Wang, there's no need to be so polite. Please sit down."

Wang Tienan sat down, and the fat man eagerly opened the box.

"Big brother, this was specially saved for you by Fatty! Those bastards almost snatched it all, but Brother Nan was smart enough to hide a box for each of us." Fatty Wang wiped his sweat, sat down, and grinned foolishly.

Yifei poured tea and placed it respectfully on the tea table. She glanced at the lychees in the box, somewhat curious, but didn't ask any questions. Instead, she returned to Lin Yi's side and massaged his legs.

Wang Tienan took a sip of tea, smacked his lips, and looked preoccupied.

Lin Yi knew that he must have something to say today, but if the other party didn't speak, he certainly wouldn't speak first.

The fat man didn't care about any of that. He grabbed a handful of lychees, peeled one and stuffed it into his mouth, then peeled another and handed it to Lin Yi.

"Brother, have a taste, this stuff is really sweet."

Lin Yi shook his head.

The fat man asked in bewilderment, "Why aren't you eating? Oh dear, I just washed my hands in the bathroom."

"That's more like it," Lin Yi said, taking it from him.

He genuinely disliked it.

This fat guy is great in every way, except he doesn't pay attention to personal hygiene. Last night when we were drinking together, he was rubbing his athlete's foot, and after rubbing it, he ate beef with his hands.

If it weren't for his brother's sake, he would have slapped him across the face long ago.

I popped a lychee into my mouth and took a bite.

Well, apart from being sweet, it doesn't have any particularly special flavor, unlike the new varieties bred in later generations.

Lin Yi spat the fruit pit into Taiyun Lake, then picked up another one, peeled it open himself, and handed it to Yi Fei.

Yifei was flattered and her face flushed instantly. She whispered, "Your Highness... this servant dares not..."

"Just eat it when I tell you to." Lin Yi said calmly.

"Yes, thank you for the gift, Your Highness." Yifei carefully accepted it and ate it in small bites, feeling as sweet as if she had honey in her heart.

Lin Yi turned around as if possessed and asked, "Is the lychee sweeter or am I sweeter?"

Yifei smiled sweetly, revealing her neat white teeth, "Hehe, Your Highness is still sweeter."

Hahahaha.

When the fat man saw this, he chuckled and winked at Lin Yi, as if to say: "Big brother really knows how to play."

Wang Tienan felt angry whenever he looked at his good-for-nothing son, and coughed heavily.

"cough!"

The fat man immediately stopped making trouble.

Lin Yi noticed Wang Tienan's worry and said, "Uncle Wang, just say what's on your mind. Why hide things from family?"

Wang Tienan sighed, his wrinkles deepening. "Alas, Your Highness, I have heard about what my son did at the city gate today. Although he acted according to your orders and relieved the Shenji Battalion's immediate crisis, this is ultimately not a long-term solution."

He paused and glanced at Yifei.

Lin Yi smiled and said, "It's alright, please continue."

Seeing that the prince hadn't kicked her out despite the confidentiality of the matter, Yifei felt even sweeter as she ate the lychees.

Wang Tienan continued, "Now that we have sealed off the capital, it is tantamount to placing the emperor under house arrest, which is an act of rebellion. It's not that I'm afraid, Your Highness, but... you still want to mobilize 100,000 troops from the northern border to the capital. I'm afraid this matter needs further consideration."

"Oh? What are you worried about, Uncle Wang?"

"Money!" Wang Tienan blurted out. "What I'm worried about is money! Your Highness, you have no idea how expensive it is to maintain an army!"

He counted on his fingers as he explained to Lin Yi: "The Shenji Battalion has 5,000 men. You just rewarded them with 50,000 taels of silver, and then said that military pay would double. This month alone, military pay will cost more than 30,000 taels. Add to that food, drink, equipment wear and tear, and horse feed, and it simply won't be enough to cover the cost of less than 50,000 taels of silver a month."

"And that's only five thousand men! You're sending one hundred thousand troops to the capital. What does that mean? One hundred thousand mouths to feed, one hundred thousand sets of armor and weapons to maintain, and tens of thousands of warhorses to feed. The amount of food for people and horses each day is astronomical!"

"They can farm and hunt on the border and be self-sufficient. But once we enter the capital, we'll have to rely on ourselves for everything! The money we brought back from the Luo family seems like a lot, but if we spread it among an army of 100,000, it won't even make a ripple. It'll only last a month at most!"