On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

After the tea ceremony, the formal banquet begins.

The fat man couldn't wait any longer and grabbed his chopsticks to put food into the plate.

Braised pork knuckle, soy sauce duck, sweet and sour fish, and dry-fried green beans—I devoured them all, piling them up like a small mountain in my bowl.

Lu Dehao watched in stunned silence.

"Fatty, slow down."

"Mind your own business," the fat man mumbled, his mouth full of a piece of pork knuckle. "I've been here since early this morning and have only managed to eat a chicken leg. I'm starving."

Lu Dehao asked, "Where did you get that chicken leg?"

"I brought it."

"Brought it with you? Where would you put chicken legs on your person?"

"Fatty has his own clever trick." The fat man patted his oversized sleeves. "Look, it's all hidden in my sleeves."

Lu Dehao looked at him with disgust: "You..."

"What's wrong?"

"Isn't it greasy?! There's a chicken leg hidden in your sleeve!"

"Who cares if it's oily or not, as long as it's edible."

Lin Yi, sitting at the main table, heard the two arguing and shook his head.

Nangong Min was also smiling.

Mimi sat next to Nangong Min, her mood had calmed down, and she was not as nervous as before.

She picked up a piece of pastry and put it in her bowl, eating it in small bites, occasionally glancing up at Lin Yi with tender affection.

Lin Yi noticed this and deliberately ignored her.

Mimi looked away and continued eating.

Halfway through the meal, Lin An came over and whispered a few words in Lin Yi's ear.

Lin Yi put down his chopsticks and glanced at him.

"Sure?"

"It's confirmed. Zhao Dongqing just sent back the news that everything is peaceful and there haven't been any problems. Zhang Yong has also behaved himself; he's tied up in the side hall and isn't causing any trouble."

"OK."

Lin Yi ate a couple of bites of the remaining rice and got up.

Nangong Min asked, "Is my husband going out?"

"Okay, I'm going to the study to take care of something. You guys eat first."

"it is good."

Lin Yi left the flower hall and walked along the covered corridor toward his study.

After taking two steps, I heard hurried, light footsteps behind me.

Looking back, it was Yang Mi.

She lifted her skirt and trotted over, stopping in front of him: "Your Highness!"

"What's wrong?"

Mimi bit her lower lip and suddenly reached out to grab his sleeve: "This concubine would like to say something to Your Highness."

"explain."

"Your Highness... thank you."

Lin Yi frowned, finding it somewhat amusing: "Didn't you already thank me?"

"That was just a polite thank you! What I want to say now is what I truly want to say."

"I know I come from a humble background; I used to be just a maidservant, serving tea and water. Many people in the manor gossip behind my back, saying I climbed into bed and couldn't be respectable. I know all this... But His Highness gave me a title and surname, and even bestowed upon me a seal of office, allowing me to stand upright in the main hall to receive respect. My life..."

She choked up again, blinking hard twice: "I will remember Your Highness's kindness for the rest of my life."

Lin Yi looked at her with a smile.

This girl is usually very sharp-tongued and fearless when it comes to criticizing anyone or anything.

But now he seemed like a different person, his voice was hoarse.

"Alright." Lin Yi patted her head. "Let's go eat."

Mimi nodded, loosened her sleeve, and turned to run towards the flower hall.

He ran a few steps and then turned back.

"Your Highness!"

"What's wrong now?"

"Tonight, I will dance for you!"

"OK."

"hey-hey!"

Yang Mi ran away.

Lin Yi watched her retreating figure, shook his head, and continued walking towards the study.

As soon as I sat down in the study, Yifei came to serve tea.

Looking at her slender figure, Lin Yi asked, "Didn't you go to the banquet?"

Yifei smiled sweetly: "This servant has already eaten. I heard that the Prince was coming to the study, so I ran to make you some tea."

"Running right after eating is bad for your health."

"I'm fine."

Since they were there, Lin Yi casually asked about the promotion.

Min'er's concerns are valid. They were all originally maids and had all served the emperor. It would be unreasonable to promote one but not the other.

After all, everyone wants to live a life with status and position; no one wants to be a slave serving others for the rest of their life.

"Fei'er, would you like to be a concubine?"

Yi Fei poured tea for Lin Yi, her expression unchanged, and shook her head: "This servant doesn't want these empty words. As long as Your Highness has this servant in your heart, this servant will be very happy. This servant is willing to serve Your Highness."

"But you can't stay without a title forever. Let Min'er pick a time to promote you to a concubine. If you're willing to serve, you can stay here and do whatever you want."

Yifei nodded: "This servant will obey Your Highness's will."

This girl really doesn't compete for favor; she lets Lin Yi make all the decisions, which is very similar to Nangong Min.

She's happy if you give her a title, but she doesn't care if you don't; she just wants to stay by your side and serve you.

A girl like that is hard to find anywhere in the whole country.

At this moment, Lin An came in from outside.

He held a letter in his hand, sealed with sealing wax. There was no name on it, only a small red plum blossom mark.

Lin Yi knew who it was at a glance.

"When was it delivered?"

"Your Highness, about half an hour ago, someone from Tianxiang Tower delivered it to the front door, saying it was written by Miss Su herself."

"Hmm." Lin Yi took it and opened it. Inside was a piece of bamboo paper with a line of words written on it.

The first musket has been completed; please take a look, Your Highness.

The musket was actually invented.

Great, he's been thinking about this for a long time, ever since the day he transmigrated here.

Although the iron smelting technology of the Great Zhou Dynasty could forge triangular bayonets, it was still somewhat lacking in the precision and strength of gun barrels.

So he kept telling Su Meier to take her time and not rush things, to get the steel sorted out first.

I didn't expect the finished product to be out so quickly.

But not today. Today is Yang Mi's big day, so she can't go anywhere.

Lin An waited nearby, and seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, asked, "Your Highness, do you need to give a reply?"

Tell the messenger that I will be going there tomorrow.

"Yes."

After Lin An left, Lin Yi continued working, annotating various documents, and before he knew it, it was evening.

Winter nights fall early. Several lanterns hung on the veranda. He got up and went out, walking along the corridor toward the main house.

As I passed the flower hall, I heard people talking inside; it was the voices of Nangong Min and Shuying.

"...I've already seen that courtyard. The location is alright, the houses are a bit small, but the layout is fine. Have the servants been arranged?"

That was Nangong Min's voice. Immediately afterwards, Shuying replied, "Your Highness, it's all arranged. Six maids and four outer gate servants. If that's not enough, His Highness will probably add more."

"Have the bedding been changed?"

"It's been changed. I brought people to set it up this afternoon, and even the curtains are new."

"Yes, move the things on her dressing table over there too. Just the few things she usually uses. Don't make it too extravagant, but don't make it too shabby either, after all, it's a title given to her by the prince."

"Yes."

Lin Yi smiled knowingly; she was indeed his woman.

If it were any other legal wife, would she personally handle the matter of her husband taking concubines? She would never do it, even if you beat her to death.

Not only did Min'er do it, but she did it perfectly, even thinking of what to put on Mimi's dressing table.

This magnanimity is not feigned, but rather a quality ingrained in one's very being.

Lin Yi walked into the flower hall. Nangong Min was standing by the table looking at a blueprint of a courtyard, while Shuying was squatting beside her, sorting through several bolts of fabric.

Upon seeing him enter, the two men simultaneously rose and bowed.

"My husband is back."

"Your Highness!" For some reason, Shuying always blushed whenever she saw Lin Yi.

I guess they still remember the last time they played hide-and-seek.

"Yes." Lin Yi nodded, sat down in the chair, and said, "Is Mimi's yard all done?"

Nangong Min handed over the blueprints: "Alright, I've allocated the Tingsong Courtyard near the study to her. It's not a big place, but it's close to you, so it'll be convenient for her to come to you if she needs anything."

Lin Yi remembered that there was indeed a separate courtyard next to his study. Because it was next to the study, no one lived there because they were worried that Lin Yi might have other uses for it.

Giving it to Yang Mi would be the most appropriate thing to do.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

"It's no trouble at all, these are all my duties." Nangong Min smiled as she stood up and came over to straighten the collar of his cloak. "Husband, why don't you go and keep her company tonight? It's the first night in the new courtyard, there should be some liveliness."

"OK."

"Then I'll have the kitchen prepare two more dishes and send them over."

"Not too much, she likes sweet things, so a sweet osmanthus sticky rice lotus root will do."

"Okay, okay~" Nangong Min smiled and agreed, then turned to instruct Shuying to do it.

Shuying ran out, leaving only the two of them in the room.

Nangong Min sat down opposite him, hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to speak: "Husband."

"Um?"

"MiMi isn't a bad person, she just sometimes speaks without thinking. Now that she's a concubine in the Prince's mansion, she'll have more occasions to meet guests. I'm thinking of finding a nanny to teach her manners, what do you think?"

Lin Yi flicked her nose: "Of course, you're the mistress of the house, you're in charge."

"Alright, then I'll tell my mother and ask her to help me find a suitable one."

"Um."

The two then made further arrangements.

After all, she is a new concubine, someone who has never appeared in the Prince's residence before, and there are many things that need to be improved.