On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Sun Fu rode in a carriage, whipping his whip rapidly, and returned to the Zichen Palace before noon.

"Your Majesty, this servant has returned." He wiped the sweat from his brow and stood beside Nangong Xiong.

The old emperor was holding a white steamed bun.

Although it is simple, it is made with great care. The imperial chef racked his brains to shape a peony flower into the steamed bun.

Even if you manage to mold a lobster, it's still a steamed bun.

Nangong Xiong looked at it again and again, finding it unpalatable, and finally gave up, tossing the steamed bun onto the plate: "Tell me, what did that traitor say?"

Sun Fu bowed slightly: "Your Majesty, the traitor has agreed."

"Oh? Hehehe, he's smart enough to know his place!" Nangong Xiong's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a little. "My daughter is of noble birth; marrying her to him is a blessing he's accumulated over eight lifetimes! What reason does he have to disagree?"

Nangong Xiong was quite pleased with himself, picking up his teacup and stirring it a couple of times: "What else did he say?"

Sun Fu hesitated for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts: "Um... Your Majesty, Lin Yi said that since it is Your Majesty marrying off your daughter, the dowry cannot be too meager."

"What?!" Nangong Xiong nearly spat out the mouthful of tea he had just taken a sip of. "He dares to ask me for a dowry?!"

Nangong Xiong trembled with rage, pointing towards the palace gate and cursing, "That greedy bastard! He stole a million taels of silver from me, sealed off my palace, and starved my harem. I've already given the royal family enough face by not asking for a dowry, and he still dares to demand such an exorbitant amount? Has he lost all his shame?!"

Sun Fu's face remained expressionless, indicating that he had likely anticipated such a reaction.

Ha, you short-sighted thing, you make such a fuss over a little junk.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. That traitor is young and impetuous, so it's understandable that he acts arrogantly."

"I understand him, but who understands me?" Nangong Xiong pointed to the peony-shaped steamed bun on the table. "Look at this! I eat this every day now, I can't even get a piece of meat. It's all Lin Yi's fault! And now he still has the nerve to ask me for a dowry? I wish I could cut him into a thousand pieces!"

Sun Fu knew that he was angry and that reasoning with him wouldn't work, so he had no choice but to go along with what he said.

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty is right. Lin Yi's actions were indeed excessive, utterly disrespectful to the emperor and father, and utterly rebellious. Once we lift the siege of the palace, we will mobilize the armies of the realm and tear him to pieces to vent our hatred!"

"Hmph, that's more like it." Nangong Xiong sat up straight again. "Then tell me, what should we do now? Am I really supposed to prepare a lavish gift for him and beg him to marry my daughter?"

"Your Majesty, this old servant knows you are wronged, but given the current situation, we have no choice but to bow our heads," Sun Fu pleaded earnestly. "Think about it, the palace has been besieged for so many days, how long can the food supply last? The concubines and ladies-in-waiting are alright, but what about the guards, maids, and eunuchs? If they get desperate from hunger, who knows what kind of trouble they might cause. In that case, before Lin Yi even gets in, we'll be in chaos ourselves."

Nangong Xiong nodded thoughtfully.

Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. If these thousands of mouths in the palace were to really cause trouble, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Especially those rootless, dead eunuchs, they are the most likely to be opportunists, and they will definitely switch sides at the slightest sign of trouble.

"Besides, Your Majesty, that dowry is basically just inanimate objects. Pearls, jade, antiques, and paintings—they're just sitting in the storeroom, unusable. Taking them out now to buy us a chance to breathe is a deal that's a win-win situation no matter how you look at it."

Seeing that his expression softened, Sun Fu continued:

"Think about it. Once we lift the blockade, restore supplies, and stabilize morale, you can issue an edict calling on all the feudal lords to come to the capital to defend the emperor. At that point, not only will the dowry he asked for be yours, but the entire Regent's Palace will be yours for the taking."

Nangong Xiong understood these principles perfectly well, but he was just unwilling to accept it!

I am the Emperor! The most honorable person in the entire world!

How could my daughter beg to get married?

But on second thought, Sun Fu's words also made sense.

As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. The most important thing now is to survive!

As long as I sit on the dragon throne, and as long as the Great Zhou Dynasty still belongs to the Nangong family, I will one day repay the grievances I suffered today a thousandfold.

"You make a good point."

Sun Fu was overjoyed, knowing that the matter had been settled.

Damn it, our family has served two generations of emperors and has never gone hungry in all these decades.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"Hmph." Nangong Xiong snorted coldly, his face still showing some reluctance. "Then so be it. Have the Imperial Household Department prepare the dowry, make it generous, and draw up a list. I want to review it personally!"

"This old servant obeys!" Sun Fu replied, turning to prepare to leave.

It would be unacceptable for Lin Yi's dowry to be not generous; ideally, it should be enough to empty the Imperial Household Department.

Only in this way can Lin Yi possibly break the blockade; otherwise, at his advanced age, he would truly starve to death in the palace.

Therefore, he plans to personally oversee the process.

But before he could even leave the house, a cry came from outside.

"Your Majesty! You must do justice for me!"

Sun Fu looked up and saw a woman dressed in a magnificent palace dress, but with her hair disheveled and her makeup ruined by tears, rushing in like a madwoman.

She was Consort Hui, the birth mother of the fourth prince, Nangong Jin.

Consort Hui is thirty-five years old this year. She takes excellent care of herself and looks no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, still retaining her charm.

Just as Lu Dehao said, this was a woman who hadn't walked more than a few steps.

But now, where was the former elegance and grace on her face? Her pretty face was streaked with tears, her eyes were swollen like walnuts, her palace dress was wrinkled and crumpled, and she looked extremely disheveled and haggard.

She rushed into the main hall, not even glancing at Sun Fu, and ran straight to Nangong Xiong's side, throwing herself at his feet and wailing loudly.

"Your Majesty! You must do justice for me! Jin'er, my Jin'er has been crippled by Lin Yi, waaaaah... Your Majesty..."

Nangong Xiong was already holding back his anger because of the dowry issue, and her crying only made him more irritable.

But he was, after all, the emperor, and Nangong Jin was his most beloved son.

Now that his son is in trouble, he, as a father, is also feeling terrible.

"My beloved concubine, please get up first. Let's talk this out." Nangong Xiong bent down, trying to help her up.

Consort Hui clung to her like a lifeline, refusing to let go: "I won't get up! Your Majesty, if you don't avenge Jin'er, I'll kill myself right here in the Zichen Palace!"

"you……"

Seeing this, Sun Fu turned back and advised, "Consort Hui, please calm down. His Majesty already knows about the Fourth Prince's matter and will surely stand up for you. Your crying and fussing are only adding to His Majesty's distress."

Consort Hui calmed down a little, raised her head, and looked at Nangong Xiong with teary eyes.

That pitiful look of hers really broke my heart.

"Your Majesty, Lin Yi has committed such a heinous act against Jin'er! You must issue an edict to execute his entire family to avenge Jin'er!"

Nangong Xiong smiled bitterly to himself.

I can't even leave the palace now, so how can I confiscate his property?

"I visited the Fourth Prince yesterday. He hasn't woken up yet, but at least his life has been saved. My beloved consort, rest assured, the Fourth Prince is my son. How could I let him suffer such injustice in vain? Just wait a little longer. When the time is right, I will make that traitor pay for his crimes in blood!"

"Then when will we get there?" Consort Hui persisted. "Your Majesty, Jin'er can't even be a man anymore, his life is ruined! I can't wait any longer, I demand your decree now!"

"Insolence!" Nangong Xiong's patience finally ran out. He abruptly shoved Consort Hui to the ground with a flick of his sleeve. "I am the Emperor, I must consider the bigger picture! What do you, a mere woman, know! Sun Fu, escort Consort Hui back to the palace!"

"Yes." Sun Fu stepped forward and helped Consort Hui up from the ground. "Your Majesty, His Majesty also has his own unavoidable difficulties. You should go back first."

Consort Hui, distraught, was helped to her feet by Sun Fu, wiping away her tears as she walked outside.

As she reached the palace gate, she suddenly turned back to look at Nangong Xiong, her eyes filled with despair: "Your Majesty, I only have this one son..."

After saying that, she left without looking back.

Nangong Xiong watched her departing figure and let out a long sigh.

How could he not want to avenge Nangong Jin? It's just that I can't do it!