On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Inside the Zichen Palace, Nangong Xiong was staring blankly at a plate of green vegetables.

Since the palace was sealed off, his food standards have been reduced again and again. From the initial delicacies, to the later large amounts of meat and fish, and now to vegetables and tofu.

He felt like he had never eaten so much vegetarian food in his life, and his mouth was almost bland.

"Sigh..." he sighed.

He felt incredibly stifled being emperor.

Just then, Sun Fu walked in from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, your servant has returned."

Nangong Xiong's eyes lit up when he saw the newcomer, and he quickly asked, "How did it go? What did that traitor say? Is he satisfied with the dowry list?"

Sun Fu bowed deeply, unable to force a smile.

"Your Majesty, Lin Yi said it's passable."

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Nangong Xiong was so angry he almost jumped off his dragon throne. "I've almost emptied my private treasury, and he's still barely scraping by? Does this traitor really think I'm easy to bully?"

Sun Fu smiled wryly, thinking to himself, "You're so easy to bully now."

"Your Majesty, please calm down. The prince is young and impetuous, and speaks without thinking. Please don't take it to heart."

"Hmph!" Nangong Xiong snorted coldly, angrily sitting back down. "Besides this, what else did he say?"

"He also wishes to request His Majesty to issue an imperial edict."

Nangong Xiong frowned: "What imperial edict?"

Sun Fu dared not hide anything, so he had no choice but to tell Lin Yi's request in detail.

After hearing this, Nangong Xiong's face turned green.

"Banning private casinos? Is he crazy? Is he trying to create a hole in the sky?"

Nangong Xiong trembled with rage, pointing at Sun Fu's nose and cursing, "You're a piece of trash too! You just relay whatever he tells you to? Can't you argue with him? Which casino in the capital doesn't have connections behind it? His actions are clearly an attempt to frame me and make me an enemy of the entire court!"

Sun Fu was scolded mercilessly, but he could only listen.

They make it sound nice, and they even try to argue with me, but do you think I can win an argument? That kid is a tough nut to crack, he won't budge no matter what I do.

"No! I absolutely cannot issue this imperial edict!"

It's a joke. Although Nangong Xiong is somewhat muddle-headed, he's not completely stupid. He knows very well that those powerful families are the foundation of his rule and a crucial force for counterbalancing the Lin family. If he issues this imperial edict, cutting off their source of income, wouldn't they be green with envy?

Lin Yi won't even need to lift a finger; he'll be torn to pieces by these people.

Seeing his attitude, Sun Fu was also a little anxious, but if he didn't agree to Lin Yi's request, the palace's blockade would not be lifted.

What should we do...?

Sun Fu's eyes darted around, and suddenly an idea came to him.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. This old servant thinks that this matter... may not be a bad thing for us."

"Oh?" Nangong Xiong raised an eyebrow. "I knew you old rascal were full of tricks. Tell me, what do you mean?"

Sun Fu leaned forward and lowered his voice: "Your Majesty, you said... why did Lin Yi make this request? Is he truly thinking of the people?"

Nangong Xiong sneered: "Ha, him? If he cares about the people, pigs can fly."

"Right? You know Lin Yi wants us to offend those powerful families and destroy ourselves. So why don't we go with the flow and play along?"

"How do we turn the tables on them?"

"Your Majesty, please issue this imperial edict!" A glint of light flashed in Sun Fu's eyes. "But everyone must know that this edict was forced upon you by Regent Lin Yi!"

Nangong Xiong's eyes lit up, as if he understood something.

Sun Fu continued, "Think about it, once this imperial edict is issued, all those powerful families' casinos will have to close down. How much will they lose? How can they not hate it? Who will they hate? Of course, they'll hate Lin Yi, who forced His Majesty to issue the edict! At that point, the tables will turn, and without us even lifting a finger, those powerful families alone won't let him off the hook!"

"Brilliant!" Nangong Xiong slapped the armrest of the dragon throne. "If Lin Yi wants to shift the blame, we'll play along! Let's do it this way! I want to see what Lin Yi can do against the attacks of powerful clans! He can't possibly kill them all, can he? Hahahaha."

"Your Majesty is wise," Sun Fu said. "If Lin Yi wanted to rebel, he couldn't succeed without the support of powerful clans!"

"That's right!"

The more Nangong Xiong thought about it, the better he felt this idea was.

He actually opposed gambling, but he hadn't dealt with it before because it involved too many powerful families. Now, Lin Yi had taken the initiative to offer his opinion, so he could issue an edict banning gambling, and in Lin Yi's name no less.

In this way, he could both rectify the atmosphere in the capital and draw the hatred of the powerful families to Lin Yi, thus helping himself out of the predicament.

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

"Hahahaha!" Nangong Xiong couldn't help but burst into laughter, the gloom of the past few days vanishing completely. "Lin Yi, Lin Yi, you think you're so clever, trying to scheme against me? Hehehe, this time I'll show you what it means to dig your own grave!"

He can't wait to see Lin Yi besieged by powerful clans.

"Sun Fu, draft the decree!" Nangong Xiong waved his hand triumphantly. "Do as that traitor says! Also, tell the Imperial Household Department to prepare a banquet. Let's eat our fill today, and the palace blockade will be lifted in a few days! Hahahaha!"

"Your servant obeys!" Sun Fu bowed and accepted the order with a faint smile.

Lin Yi, you want to play, right? Then we'll play along with you properly.

The murky waters of the capital need to be stirred up even more.

......

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Gambling is the root of all evil, corrupting minds and ruining families and businesses; it is truly a great scourge to the nation. I am deeply troubled and cannot sleep at night. Now, Regent Lin Yi, with the nation's well-being at heart and compassion for the people, has submitted a memorial with tears in his eyes, requesting the banning of gambling to rectify the people's hearts. I wholeheartedly agree and hereby issue this decree: From this day forward, all gambling dens inside and outside the capital shall be shut down! Anyone found to be operating a private gambling den shall, upon discovery, be executed immediately as the ringleader, exiled three thousand li as an accomplice, and all their property confiscated! Anyone caught gambling in private shall have their hands severed for a first offense, their feet cut off for a second offense, and be executed immediately for a third offense. This is the imperial decree!"

Nangong Xiong's imperial edict spread throughout the streets and alleys in just a few hours.

This was something he did deliberately, so that everyone in the capital would know that this imperial edict was not something he wanted to issue, but something Lin Yi forced him to do.

It was Lin Yi who cut off the source of wealth for your aristocratic families, not me.

Ordinary people, who did not understand what was going on, cheered loudly after seeing the imperial edict.

"God has opened his eyes! That damned casino is finally closed!" A ragged man knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly towards the direction of the palace, weeping uncontrollably. "My good-for-nothing son was killed by that casino! Waaah..."

"My husband gambled away all the land. Now, let's see what he'll use to gamble with!"

"Your Majesty the Regent! This must be the Regent standing up for us common people!"

"That's right! The imperial edict says it was submitted by the Regent! The Prince is truly our living bodhisattva!"

"I only knew that the old prince was compassionate and caring towards the people, but I never imagined that the young prince was so kind and benevolent!"

"We're going to have good days from now on!"