On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

The Regent's Palace Gardens.

Inside the pavilion, Lin Yi leaned back in a recliner covered with a white tiger skin, his feet propped up on the stone table, gently swaying.

A set of exquisite purple clay teaware is steaming, filling the air with the aroma of tea.

The newly recruited follower, Lu Dehao, sat obsequiously beside Lin Yi, picking up the teapot and refilling Lin Yi's cup of hot tea.

"Brother, please try this. This is a fine tea that was intercepted from the city gate. It's intended to be sent to the palace. It's called Ruqian Longjing. It's said that only a few kilograms are produced each year, and it's a special supply for the emperor."

"It should be pre-rain Longjing tea, right?"

"No." Lu Dehao waved his hand.

"Before the rain, it's before the rain, this is before the breast! It is said that the royal family enclosed a piece of land with the best rainfall on Lion Peak Mountain and employed fifty young girls, twenty-five of whom were tea pickers and the rest were tea fryers. These girls were no ordinary girls; they had to be young and have large breasts. The tea pickers would go up the mountain the day before the rain when the sun was at its highest, pick the tea leaves with their mouths, and then spit them into their breasts to hold them. Because of the heat, the tea leaves would be soaked in the girls' fragrant sweat. In the evening, the tea fryers would lie flat at the foot of the mountain where the sun never shines, and then the tea pickers would take the tea leaves from their breasts and spread them on their breasts to let them dry with their body heat. After they were dry, they would be left out to dry, waiting for the rain the next day. If it rained the next day, they would wash the leaves with rainwater, and then spread them on their breasts to dry and fry them. This is how the finest before-the-rain Longjing tea came about."

Seeing that Lu Dehao's explanation sounded plausible, Lin Yi became interested and asked, "What if it doesn't rain?"

"If it doesn't rain, this batch of tea will be ruined. We'll wait until the day before the next rain."

"Goodness, this is quite a hassle." Lin Yi shook his head helplessly, thinking to himself that the royal family really knows how to make things difficult. "What happens to those girls after they come of age? Are they just discarded?"

Lu Dehao nodded and said, "Yes, the court gives those girls a sum of money after they come of age. However, the national treasury is empty now, and the amount given is getting smaller and smaller. Even so, the local girls still consider it an honor to pick tea for the royal family once, and they rush to do so."

"Then the amount of money given must not be small."

"Of course it won't be less. I heard that in previous years it was fifty taels, but I don't know about recently."

"Fifty taels...hehehe." Lin Yi sneered, "That's not even a drop in the ocean for the royal family."

"That's true, but for the locals, fifty taels is equivalent to ten years' harvest. Otherwise, why would those girls be so eager to pick tea?"

"It seems to be an industry. In that case, let's not ban it. Let's leave a good livelihood for the girls in Jiangsu and Zhejiang." After saying that, Lin Yi picked up the teacup, smelled it, took a sip, closed his eyes, and said, "Hmm, it is indeed good tea, but the person who brewed it is too clumsy and has ruined it."

Lu Dehao's face instantly fell: "Brother, I spent several days specifically learning tea ceremony from a master, can't you even give me a compliment?"

"Praising you?" Lin Yi glanced at him sideways. "Praising your pointy face and monkey-like features?"

"Hehe, Big Brother is right, my appearance is indeed a disgrace to the Prince's Mansion." Lu Dehao chuckled, not angry at all, but instead lowered his posture even further.

No wonder, after following Lin Yi for a few days, he realized that he had wasted his life.

What is power? This is power!

They can do whatever they want to them, take whatever they want to them, and even the emperor has to obediently bow his head and send over this Longjing tea.

That's awesome.

Lin Yi put down his teacup and got back to the point: "How's the matter I asked you to handle going?"

"Don't worry, brother, everything's arranged. I've found a few clever lads to hang around the casino entrances every day. With the imperial decree in place, those small casino owners with no connections are terrified, all scrambling to sell their shops. I reckon in a few days, once they can't hold on any longer, we can buy up all the prime locations at rock-bottom prices!"

"Hmm, well done." Lin Yi finally gave a positive review.

Lu Dehao was overjoyed, feeling as if his bones had lightened considerably. He quickly refilled Lin Yi's teacup, saying, "It's all thanks to your excellent guidance, brother. I was just running errands."

Lin Yi didn't say anything more and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

He doesn't even look down on those small venues.

The reason he sent Lu Dehao to collect the shops was that he planned to combine several small establishments together to open a monopolistic, super-large luxury casino.

Cut off the financial resources of those powerful families, and then turn their wealth into your own.

With this shift in power, it won't be long before he controls the entire economic lifeline of the capital.

At this moment, Lin An hurriedly entered from outside, his expression somewhat strange.

"Your Highness."

"Speak," Lin Yi said without even opening his eyes.

Lin An bowed and said, "Your Highness, something has happened outside. A few scholars who are not afraid of death want to post the 'Declaration Against the Traitors' on the gate of our manor."

Upon hearing this, Lu Dehao immediately flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table and standing up: "Damn it! These shameless pedants, they're tired of living, aren't they? Brother, give the order, and I'll take men and raze Liu Wentao's mansion to the ground right now!"

Lin An glanced at him, said nothing, and continued to report to Lin Yi: "Your Highness, those scholars were captured by the guards at the gate. One of them, who was shouting the loudest, had his leg chopped off by the guards, and they threw him out along with his proclamation."

"Hmm." Lin Yi responded calmly, which was taken as tacit approval of the guard's actions.

He had no interest in getting angry at this kind of clown.

Lu Dehao, however, felt unsatisfied and said indignantly, "Brother, we can't let them get away with this so easily! In my opinion, we should arrest them all and hang them on the city gate to dry in the wind! Let's see who dares to gossip behind our backs then!"

Lin An sighed, saying with some worry, "Your Highness, while Young Master Lu's words were somewhat impulsive, they are not without merit. Once this proclamation is issued, your reputation among scholars will be completely ruined. Public opinion cannot be silenced. If this continues, it may be detrimental to your grand plans."

Lin Yi finally opened his eyes, sat up straight, looked at Lin An, who was anxious, and Lu Dehao, who was indignant, and suddenly smiled.

"Ha, reputation? What's that worth? If I really cared about my reputation, I wouldn't have led troops to blockade the city. Let them curse me if they want. The uglier their curses, the happier I am."

Lin An and Lu Dehao were both stunned, not understanding what he meant.

Lin Yi explained slowly, "The reason they're cursing so fiercely is that what I did touched a nerve. The more they jump up and down, the more afraid they are. What can a bunch of useless pens do besides cursing? Do you think they can drown me with their spittle?"

That's a powerful statement!

Lu Dehao was so excited that he wanted to kowtow to Lin Yi on the spot.

Lin An was still clearly worried and was about to ask when Lin Yi continued, "What I want has never been empty fame, but real power and wealth. As long as I hold the reins of power and the purse strings, what can those literati do, even if they curse me as some kind of 'chicken-like beauty'?"

Chicken, you're too beautiful? Ah Kun?

What does that mean?