On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

That afternoon, Lin Yi was in his study looking at the reports sent by the workshop.

The ironworks across the Tonghui River has finally started producing steel, and the quality of the first batch of refined steel is much better than expected.

The playful Su Meier drew a round smiley face at the end of the report, sticking out her tongue.

It wasn't very pretty, but Lin Yi had a sense of watching a father watch his daughter draw, and he smiled knowingly.

To be honest, Su Meier is really good at making men happy; she's quite skilled.

At the end, she wrote a private message about Yan Fei and Yan Miao, and said that she had investigated and found out the truth.

As the sisters said, Yan Shoutian's family property was indeed forcibly taken away by Zhou Wenli, and the evidence was conclusive.

But now is clearly not the best time to deal with this matter, and Zhou Wenli is in Jiangnan, so we can't do anything about it. We can only wait until the Great Zhou is completely unified before we can do anything about it.

At this moment, Lin An came in from outside and stood at the door without saying a word, as if waiting for Lin Yi to look up.

Lin Yi asked, "Old An, what's up?"

"Your Highness, that girl from the Liu family is here again."

Lin Yi put down the report, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "The one from Liu Wentao's family?"

"Yes, her name is Liu Jing. She came by once before, but you weren't here, so she left. She's here again today and is waiting in the lobby."

Although Lin Zheng sealed off the palace, Liu Wentao remained the prime minister, and that remained unchanged. He attended court every day as usual, without any disruption to anything, except that he couldn't leave the palace.

They must have been holding it in for too long and wanted to send someone out to plead for them.

But Lin Zheng was very curious about why he thought that sending his daughter would be enough to plead for leniency.

Do I look like someone who's easy to talk to?

"Did she come alone?"

"Yes, they didn't even bring a maid, and they were dressed very plainly, not like they were just here for a visit."

"Alright, let her in. We'll meet in the flower hall next door."

"Yes."

Lin An turned and left.

Lin Yi gathered up the reports on the table, then took his teacup and went to wait in the adjacent flower hall.

Soon, Lin An led a person over from the hanging flower gate and pushed open the door to the flower hall.

"Your Highness, Liu Jing has arrived."

"Um."

Lin An gestured for Liu Jing to go inside, then closed the door himself and waved for his servants to step back.

The prince needs to do his business, and you're all listening to the noise? What kind of behavior is this?

Indeed, in Lin An's view, Liu Jing was sent by Liu Wentao to exchange for resources, but this time he was wrong.

Lin Yi sat in the armchair and looked Liu Jing up and down, feeling that she lived up to her name.

Because this girl did indeed look very quiet, of medium height and slender figure, and stood there neither humble nor arrogant, unlike those noble ladies from wealthy families who would cry and beg for mercy at the drop of a hat.

Interesting. Lin Yi was genuinely curious about what she wanted to say, so he gestured with his chin to the chair next to him and said, "Sit down."

Liu Jing did not sit down, but calmly looked at him and said, "This humble woman, Liu Jing, greets Your Highness."

After she finished speaking, she knelt down and kowtowed.

No problem. Even her father, the prime minister, would kowtow to Lin Yi, let alone the fact that she's here to ask for a favor.

Lin Yi nodded: "Yes, get up and sit down."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Liu Jing got up and sat down beside him, placing her hands on her knees. She said, "Your Highness, I have come here today without permission because there is something I would like to tell you."

Lin Yi gestured for her to continue.

"My younger brother can't stay at the Imperial Academy anymore. No classmates dare to eat with him, and the teacher won't approve his essays. The policy essays he submits are returned by the teacher without even being looked at. Your Highness, since my father entered the palace, his health has been deteriorating day by day. I'm not here today to plead for him, but my brother is only sixteen years old. He has done nothing wrong and should not sink with the Liu family."

Lin Yi noticed that her eyes were very clear when she spoke; they weren't the kind that were teary and ingratiating. She just looked at you calmly, finished speaking, and waited for your response.

Lin Yi placed the teacup on the table and said, "When your father was going against me, he never thought he would sink."

"He is him, I am me, and my brother is my brother. Please, Your Highness, have mercy."

Lin Yi's heart stirred slightly.

This girl speaks very directly, unlike her father.

You should know that Liu Wentao, as the prime minister, usually speaks in a roundabout way, and after he finishes speaking, he doesn't make his point clear, leaving you to guess.

Guessing correctly doesn't guarantee a reward, but guessing incorrectly will definitely result in punishment.

Lin Yi was a soldier and disliked this very much, so he hated those old hands in officialdom.

"Do you think your father's current situation is due to my persecution of him, or something else?"

Without thinking carefully, Liu Jing replied, "It's because he didn't choose to stand on the prince's side."

"Hehehe..."

Lin Yi smiled.

There's a lot of wisdom in what you're saying.

She neither said what her father did wrong nor what Lin Yi did right, only emphasizing the choice.

The implication is that Liu Wentao lost because he made a mistake in choosing sides, which affected others, and it wasn't a major fault.

This girl is something else.

"Go back now."

Liu Jing didn't move: "Your Highness, can you give me a straight answer? Is there any way to resolve my brother's matter?"

Lin Yi stared into her eyes and said, "No. Your Liu family must be buried in the dust."

"Your Highness, can't you be merciful and let the Liu family off the hook? You've already absconded with so much money."

"I don't want money, I have no interest in money."

"..." Liu Jing's expression finally changed slightly.

You have no interest in money, so you spend all your time confiscating property from this house and that house.

So hypocritical.

"Your Highness, I only ask that you allow my younger brother to enter officialdom. As for my father... I don't ask for anything more."

"Liu Jing, you have no right to bargain with me. I've said it before, the Liu family is doomed, and will never have a chance to rise again. However..."

"But what?"

"However, I don't dislike your brother, because I haven't heard of him making any mistakes."

Seeing that things were taking a turn for the better, Lin Jing immediately asked, "What does Your Highness think?"

Lin Yi made a peace sign.

"Twenty years from now, I will give your younger brother the opportunity to enter officialdom, but he can never become a principal official."

Twenty years.

A sixteen-year-old boy has to wait until he is thirty-six to have a chance to turn his life around.

That's a cruel statement, but it's the truth.

Because Lin Yi could not possibly give the Liu family any chance at this time, not even a sixteen-year-old child.

Liu Wentao has been an official for so many years and has done so many dirty things. It is absolutely not something that can be dismissed with a simple "he is still young" or "he does not know any better".

However, Liu Jing was clever and sensed that Lin Yi had an unspoken meaning, so she asked, "What does Your Highness want? If I have it, I will certainly not keep it."

"What else do you have?" Lin Yi pointed to her snow-white wrist. "Even your bracelet is gone. Was it like this last time too?"

Liu Jing looked down at her hands and said, "I gave the bracelet to the guard at the palace gate, and the pass to leave the palace was borrowed."

"Who lent it to you?"

Liu Jing was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I promised that person I would not speak."

"I know even if you don't say it, because only three people in the palace have the palace pass: Sun Fu, Yue Nan, and Zhao Shuyu. So you borrowed this pass from Zhao Shuyu."

"..."

"Hehehe, don't be so nervous." Lin Yi said with a wicked smile, "How about this, if you promise me one thing, I can consider sending your brother to the countryside."

Liu Jing leaned forward involuntarily: "Your Highness, please speak!"

"Go back and have Liu Wentao reveal all the corrupt officials he knows about, as well as the locations of all of your Liu family's wealth. Then I'll give your brother a chance to prove himself."

Liu Jing was stunned.

Asking Father to expose those corrupt officials?! Isn't that going against the entire officialdom?

If Lin Yi were to investigate and prosecute all those corrupt officials, then my father would become a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone.

From this point on, the Liu family's prestige will be gone forever.

"Your Highness, this..."

Lin Yi interrupted, "I only have one condition. If you agree, we will cooperate; if you don't, you can go back."

Liu Jing bit her lower lip, recalling her brother's experience at the Imperial College, and finally nodded.

"Alright, I can take care of it. Please keep your word, Your Highness."

"That's natural."

"Then this subject will take her leave." Liu Jing stood up to leave, but Lin Yi called out from behind, "Return that waist token to Zhao Shuyu, and say that I ordered you to return it. From today onwards, you no longer need to give gifts when you leave the palace."

Liu Jing paused for a moment, didn't say thank you, opened the door and walked out.

Lin An was standing outside when he saw her come out so quickly. He was a little puzzled and glanced into the flower hall.

Seeing Lin Yi nod at her, she gestured and said, "Miss Liu, please."

Liu Jing followed Lin An outside, and when they arrived at the main gate of the Prince's Mansion, a cold wind suddenly rushed towards them.

She suddenly felt her legs go weak, and reached out to steady herself against the door frame.

Seeing that she looked unwell, Lin An asked, "Does the young lady need a carriage?"

"No need, thank you, housekeeper."

"You're too kind, young lady. Please take care on your journey."