On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

In no time, people whose families had been swindled by gambling spread the word and expressed their deepest gratitude to Lin Yi.

The common people don't understand politics, let alone the intricacies behind it. They only know that it was Regent Lin Yi who helped them remove this harmful tumor.

However, while some are happy, others are sad.

At the Guo residence, Guo Ao, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, smashed a celadon teacup on the ground.

Snapped--

"Lin Yi! I'll curse your ancestors!"

Dressed in brocade robes, he was bloated and obese, clearly having amassed considerable wealth in the Ministry of Justice over the years. Still not satisfied, he pointed towards the Regent's residence and launched into a tirade: "The Tianxiang Pavilion, I rake in at least thirty thousand taels a month! Lin Yi forced His Majesty, and a single imperial decree shut it down! Why?! Who does Lin Yi think he is?!"

The butler was so frightened that he lay on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.

Guo Ao pointed at him and cursed, "And you, you piece of trash! What use are you to me? The imperial decree has already been issued and you only know to cry now? Didn't you know to go to the Prince's mansion to make arrangements? Huh?!"

"My lord, spare us! We've come so quickly because we're at odds with the Regent's Palace, and this imperial edict was issued too soon; nobody expected it..."

The same scene was playing out simultaneously in the mansions of dozens of high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital.

Almost every one of those aristocratic families that usually held a high position had its own casino business in the capital.

This is not only an important source of income for them, but also a gray area where they build connections and gather information.

Now Lin Yi has cut off everyone's source of income with a single stroke.

This is worse than killing them!

"This is outrageous! This is absolutely outrageous!" In the Prime Minister's residence, Liu Wentao's beard and hair stood on end, his face turning ashen with rage.

Although he himself did not engage in the casino business, which of his students and confidants did not own several casinos? Weren't the gifts he received during holidays all from casinos?

Lin Yi's move was tantamount to offending everyone in his faction.

"Alas! Late Emperor!!" Liu Wentao immediately recognized that the imperial edict was forced upon Nangong Xiong by Lin Yi. He looked up to the sky and roared, "This old minister advised you long ago to reduce the power of the princes, otherwise great chaos would surely ensue! But you insisted on trusting the old prince, and now, this new prince is defecating on the face of the royal family!"

Liu Wentao was devastated.

This wasn't an act. The Lin family was so powerful that even the emperor was forced to bow his head, let alone officials like them.

Several students knelt before him, begging and crying for help.

"Your Excellency, you must do us justice!"

"Yes, Prime Minister, that brat Lin Yi dares to act so lawlessly just because he's the Regent. Is there no law left in this capital?"

"He's making an enemy of all the noble families like ours!"

"We must get an explanation from him!"

Liu Wentao took a deep breath and roared, "Shut up, all of you! What kind of behavior is this, crying and wailing! The imperial edict was issued by His Majesty. If you have the guts, go and cry to His Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately wilted.

Seek His Majesty? They wouldn't dare even if they had a hundred lives.

An official cautiously said, "Your Excellency, the imperial edict clearly states that it was forced upon His Majesty by that traitor Lin Yi. His aim is to cut off our source of income!"

"Yes, Prime Minister, how can we accept this?"

"Nonsense! Do you even need to tell me that?" Liu Wentao glared at him.

None of these guys are any good; they just keep talking about attacking Lin Yi and demanding justice.

crazy?

They have money and soldiers; getting into a conflict with them is suicide.

Since we are scholars, we should deal with things in the way scholars do.

"Don't worry, the imperial decree has been issued. If you need to close down, then close down. Just consider it a few days of rest. Once Lin Yi is brought down, His Majesty will issue a decree to reopen."

"Huh?" The officials immediately objected. "Your Excellency, if the venue is closed, what will we eat and drink?"

"That's right. Closing the shop for a day means losing several hundred taels of silver."

Liu Wentao slammed his fist on the table in anger: "Then go ahead and open it! Let's see if Lin Yi dares to use the pretext of disobeying the imperial edict to lead troops to raid your territory!"

"I……"

"Your Excellency, we must think of a solution; we can't continue like this."

"Yes, nobody can stand being closed every day."

"What's the rush?" Liu Wentao snapped impatiently. "Of course I won't just stand by and watch him cut off your livelihood. But Lin Yi is powerful right now, and if we confront him head-on, we'll be courting death! Bring me pen and ink. I'm going to draft a proclamation against this traitor in my capacity as a great scholar from Shandong, to proclaim it to the world! Let all the scholars in the land see just what kind of traitor Lin Yi really is!"

"The Prime Minister is wise!"

"Yes! Curse him to death! Ruin his reputation!"

"We are willing to lend the Prime Minister a helping hand!"

Soon, a "Proclamation Against the Traitors" was officially released, personally drafted by the then Prime Minister Liu Wentao and jointly signed by dozens of important officials in the court.

The manifesto, thousands of words long, quoted extensively from classical texts and was written in ornate language. Its core message was this: Lin Yi is a disloyal, unfilial, disrespectful scoundrel who brings disaster to the country and its people! Such a traitor deserves to be punished by everyone!

The moment the manifesto was released, public opinion in the entire capital was instantly ignited. Those scholars who were already dissatisfied with Lin Yi became like they had been injected with chicken blood, spreading the word everywhere, posting the manifesto everywhere, and launching verbal and written attacks, wishing they could tear Lin Yi to shreds, so that the entire capital was shrouded in a fervent atmosphere of "denouncing Lin Yi".

Inside the Zichen Palace, Nangong Xiong looked at the proclamation presented to him and couldn't stop smiling.

"Hahaha! Good! Well written! That's a satisfying rant!" Nangong Xiong slammed the proclamation onto the dragon desk, his face beaming with excitement. "That old bastard Liu Wentao has finally done something that pleases me!"

Sun Fu stood to the side, a faint smile on his face, and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Lin Yi has thoroughly incited public anger and become the target of everyone's wrath. With this manifesto in hand, no matter how capable he is, he can't stir up any trouble."

"That's right!" Nangong Xiong stroked his beard smugly. "He thought he could outsmart me? Heh heh, now look what's happened! He's become the enemy of all scholars in the land! I'd like to see how he gets out of this mess! I hope he gets cursed to death by those angry scholars! Hahahaha!"

Nan-Xiong felt even more refreshed than drinking ice water on a sweltering summer day. He could almost see Lin Yi being condemned by everyone, ultimately disgraced, and kneeling before him, begging for mercy.

"Sun Fu, convey my decree: order the Imperial Kitchen to bring out the several jars of fine wine I've been hoarding. Today, I will drink with my beloved concubines until we're both thoroughly drunk!"

"This old servant obeys the order," Sun Fu replied with a smile, but inwardly he was sneering.

Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you are still too naive. You think a single proclamation can bring down Lin Yi? That kid is not so easy to deal with.

The muddy waters of the capital have only just begun to be stirred up.