On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

In the back garden of the Regent's Palace, there is a rugged artificial mountain made of Taihu stones.

An octagonal pavilion stands beside the artificial hill, extending into the lake and offering a wide view, making it a great place to cool off in the summer.

Lin Yi lay on the rocking chair, holding a cup of tea in his hand. A short, stocky, dark-skinned fat man sat across from him at the stone table.

He wasn't as bulky as Fatty Wang, who looked like a bear; instead, he resembled a groundhog. He had dark skin, small eyes, and a clever look about him.

His name was Lu Dehao, the youngest son of the Duke of Lu in the current dynasty.

Duke Lu Buting was a valiant general who fought alongside the old regent in numerous battles and had a close relationship with the Lin family.

In recent years, the emperor has been suppressing powerful nobles and has repeatedly reduced their power.

Seeing that things were not going well, Lu Buting took the initiative to retire, relinquishing his military power and becoming a wealthy nobleman.

Moreover, he was a low-key person, unlike the Wang family who were flamboyant, and he didn't have many enemies in the court, so he had been doing quite well over the years.

As for Lu Dehao himself, he was Lin Yi's best brother besides Fatty. In the original story, after Lin Yi died, he disregarded his family's objections and resolutely followed Fatty Wang in rebellion, ultimately suffering the same fate of being torn apart by chariots.

A few days ago, his father sent him to Jiangnan to collect rent. He had just returned to the capital today when he heard that his elder brother's dementia had been cured, so he rushed to the Prince's Mansion to pay his respects.

"Brother, I've heard about what happened these past few days! Well done! Not only did you get back the million-dollar dowry, but you also forced the Prime Minister to kneel down and tear up the imperial edict! I have only one word for you: I'm impressed!" Lu Dehao picked up his teacup, downed it in one gulp, and then smacked his lips as if he were drinking plain water.

The way he's chewing on peonies is quite similar to what the fat man looks like.

Lin Yi laughed and said, "Didn't your dad say anything to you when you went back?"

"Of course he said that, he told me to keep my distance from you. Sigh, the old man is getting more and more afraid of death as he gets older."

"It would be abnormal if I weren't afraid of death. In this peaceful and prosperous world, who would want to rebel with me?"

"I'm willing! As long as you give the order, Fatty and I will immediately go to the palace and sleep with the emperor's wife." Lu Dehao has been very close to Fatty over the years. People say that you become like those you associate with. This is a perfect example.

Lin Yi smiled and shook his head: "That's meaningless. Apart from being the emperor's wife, she's just an ordinary middle-aged woman. In my opinion, she's not even as good as the young courtesans of Yanlai Tower."

"Brother, you don't know?" Lu Dehao got excited when talking about women, gesturing as he spoke, "Years ago, my mother took me to a banquet in the palace. Consort Hui accidentally got her shoes and socks wet and had to change them on the spot. Oh my~~ those little feet, smaller than my palm, so pink and tender. At that time, I thought, if I could just lick one of those, I'd die happy!"

Lin Yi: ......

What kind of quirks does this person have?

"You're never serious when it comes to women, just like that fat bastard."

Lu Dehao chuckled lewdly: "Hehehe, brother, you've never tasted the freshest tenderness. You don't know what it's like. The most attractive part of a girl's body isn't her breasts or buttocks, it's her feet! This time in Jiangnan, I saw a top-quality skinny girl. Those little white feet of hers, just one sip and you wouldn't even need salt to eat rice!"

Lin Yi forced himself to suppress his nausea: "That's a skinny horse. How old is Consort Hui? Her feet must be covered in calluses."

"Impossible! Consort Hui's grandmother was a princess of the previous dynasty, and she is the eldest daughter of the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. How could she have walked more than a few steps since she was a child? You wait, when we succeed in our rebellion, I will definitely make you taste the saltiness!"

Lin Yi couldn't continue this conversation. He waved his hand impatiently and said, "Alright, alright, enough of that nonsense. Let's get down to business. How much do you know about the casinos in Beijing?"

"A casino?" Lu Dehao was taken aback, scratched the back of his head, and said, "Brother, I just got back, and I'm still dealing with a lot of family troubles. But I do know a thing or two about casinos. It's arguably the most profitable business in the Great Zhou right now, bar none!"

He counted on his fingers for Lin Yi:

"Think about it, running a casino is incredibly profitable. First, there's the commission. No matter who wins or loses, the house takes a cut, called 'water money,' a sure-fire way to make money. Second, there's lending. Gamblers, nine out of ten need to borrow money, and the interest rates are skyrocketing, faster than robbery. And the worst part is cheating. They hire a few experts to sit in the room, making whoever they want win or lose. Those gamblers, blinded by greed, lose all their savings and still think it's just bad luck."

Lu Dehao got more and more excited as he spoke, leaning forward and lowering his voice: "Brother, to be honest, all the dozens of casinos, big and small, in the capital have officials behind them. Many officials don't even earn as much as their casinos in a day; that's their main source of income."

Lin Yi listened, tapping his fingers lightly on the stone table.

Of course he knew casinos made money. In his previous life, he had taken down several large underground casinos while on missions, and he knew all about their ins and outs.

However, opening just a small shop is not very meaningful.

If we're going to do something, let's do a monopoly!

Seeing the uncertain look on his face, Lu Dehao tentatively asked, "Brother, why are you asking this?"

Lin Yi glanced at him: "Of course, we'll open one."

"Open one?" Lu Dehao was a little confused. "Brother, you're not short of money, and didn't you just rob... no, bring back over a million taels of silver from the Luo family a couple of days ago? That should last you a while."

"You think you have too much money?"

"Um...no. So, are you planning to go to the east or west of the city? I know a few good establishments; how about I help you take them over?"

"Taking over a few venues is too petty." Lin Yi stood up, walked to the pavilion, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at the ripples on the lake. His voice carried an air of dominance, "If I'm going to open one, I'll open a casino that's unique in the whole world."

Lu Dehao was even more confused.

But Lin Yi continued, "I'm going to shut down all the casinos in the world. From now on, only my Lin family will be allowed to run casinos. Anyone else who tries to do so will die."

Upon hearing this, Lu Dehao gasped.

My older brother is going crazy.

Is this what it means to follow someone else's path and leave them with nowhere to go?

"Brother, this...is this really going to work? Those officials who make their living off the casinos, wouldn't they fight you to the death?"

"Ha, fight to the death? They don't even deserve it!" Lin Yi scoffed. "I command the Divine Machine Battalion and 300,000 troops in the Northern Territory. Who would dare to fight me if that fat guy kicked their head in the head? Besides, I'll use the casino's revenue to pay the military, and the rest to provide disaster relief and build schools. This way, we can solve the military budget problem, gain a good reputation for serving the country and its people, and incidentally confiscate the money from those officials. Tell me, isn't that killing several birds with one stone?"

Lu Dehao was stunned.

I thought to myself, "As expected of my older brother, he can make robbing money sound so elegant and refined, and it even has a damn sense of upholding justice."

"Brother, I understand!" Lu Dehao stood up excitedly. "Don't worry, leave this to me! I know all the inside stories of those casinos in Beijing! I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly!"

"Hmm." Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction.

The reason he sought out Lu Dehao was because he valued Lu Dehao's quick wit and his background as the Duke of Lu's mansion.

There are some things that I can't do myself, but he can.

Just then, after the two made their decision, Tang San, like a dog, came over wagging his tail.

"Woof woof woof!"

"Tang San, be good." Lin Yi patted its head. "Have you eaten?"

As a meritorious official of the Prince's Mansion and the captain of the guards, Lin Yi still admired Tang San.

But to everyone's surprise, Tang San suddenly turned serious, his dog-like eyes flashing with ferocity as he stared intently at the artificial hill.

Lin Yi asked, "What's wrong?"

"Woo..." Tang San let out a low growl, his hair standing on end, and the next second he darted out like a madman.