On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Sun Fu waved his hand, summoning two eunuchs who then led Guo Ao and his family away.

The main hall returned to silence.

Nangong Xiong leaned back on the dragon throne, looking at Sun Fu with an unfriendly expression. "What do you mean by this?"

Sun Fu bowed slightly: "Your Majesty, this old servant believes that letting them move in might not be a bad thing."

"Ha," Nangong Xiong sneered, "I can barely support myself now, and I'm supposed to feed a dozen more of them? When did my palace become a place to shelter officials in distress?"

"Your Majesty, please calm down," Sun Fu said unhurriedly. "We've already let Luo Hongtu's family stay here. If we turn Guo Ao away now, what will the other officials think? They'll think Your Majesty is being unfair, only valuing the Luo family and not the other loyal ministers. Wouldn't that discourage the officials?"

Nangong Xiong remained silent, lost in thought.

He understood this principle, of course, but the problem was that if all officials followed their example and fled to the palace when trouble arose, it would greatly weaken the deterrent power of the emperor and be detrimental to the stability of the country.

Sun Fu continued, "Furthermore, Your Majesty, the siege of the palace will soon be over. Tomorrow, the Princess will be married off. No matter how despicable Lin Yi is, he should lift the blockade for the sake of the princess. As long as the palace's supplies return to normal, supporting a dozen or so more people will be nothing to us."

"Most importantly, what we need to do now is to unite all the officials who have been suppressed by Lin Yi around us. Let them know that only you are their only support. Only in this way will more people be willing to stand on our side and risk their lives for us when we fight Lin Yi in the future!"

Nangong Xiong nodded repeatedly, having to admit that the old eunuch Sun Fu indeed saw things more clearly than he did.

People get wise with age.

Now is not the time to worry about a few meals. Winning hearts and minds and accumulating strength are the most important things.

As the emperor, he naturally wanted the whole world to see that he, Nangong Xiong, was a good emperor who cared for his subjects. He would rather let his subjects live in the palace with him than let Lin Yi harm loyal and good people.

"Very well." Nangong Xiong patted the armrest of the dragon throne, appearing somewhat casual. "Let's do as you say and treat Guo Ao's family well!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Sun Fu bowed respectfully, then, as if remembering something, grinned lewdly. "Your Majesty, this old servant thinks Guo Ran, the eldest daughter of the Guo family, is quite nice. She is gentle, virtuous, and exceptionally beautiful. Your harem hasn't had any new beauties for quite some time. How about... taking her in to bring some joy?"

Nangong Xiong shook his head: "I'm not in the mood right now. By the way, how are the preparations going with Min'er?"

"Everything is ready, and I will be getting married on time tomorrow."

"Hmm." Nangong Xiong nodded, a hint of relief on his face.

I hope Min'er won't disappoint me, after all, she is now the only hope for the Nangong family.

......

The next evening, the streets and alleys of the capital were much more lively than usual.

Ordinary people often go out to watch the excitement after dinner when they have nothing else to do.

After all, there are too few entertainment options these days, and it's not right to just lie in bed and have kids all the time. You have to find something to do.

I don't know who spread the rumor, but it's said that Princess Nangong Min of the Great Zhou Dynasty is getting married today.

The people were very excited and went out to see it.

"Hey, did you hear? Princess Chang is getting married today!"

"That's right, she married our Regent!"

"Tsk tsk, this is a momentous occasion! The emperor's daughter is marrying the regent, strengthening their ties even further. Won't the Great Zhou Dynasty be even more secure in the future?"

"Brother, you're mistaken. What do you mean by 'more secure'? Haven't you heard what the Prince did the other day? His Majesty only married off his daughter because he had no other choice!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Upon hearing this, everyone became interested and gathered around.

"Of course! You don't know, our prince isn't the same foolish prince who used to be bullied. Ever since he woke up on his wedding day, he's been incredibly decisive and ruthless! First, he confiscated his father-in-law's property, then he confiscated the property of the Vice Minister of Justice, and now he's even forced the emperor to marry off his daughter!"

The people were stunned, feeling both admiration and fear.

"So, Your Highness, aren't you deceiving the emperor?"

"Nonsense! His Highness is ridding the people of a scourge! Have you forgotten who issued the gambling ban a few days ago? My brother was killed by a gambling den, and now that it's closed, my whole family has to kowtow to His Highness!"

His words immediately resonated with many people.

"Yes, I agree. I also heard that the prince sent people to the county to seize all the land owned by those landlords and rich people, and distributed it to us poor folks!"

"Huh? Really? Is there really such a good thing?"

"It's absolutely true! My second maternal uncle's son-in-law lives in Ping'an County. Yesterday, he sent someone to say that his family has been allocated thirty mu of land! From now on, they only need to pay the prince 30% of the land as rent, and the rest is all theirs! The people in their village are practically worshipping the prince like a living Buddha!"

For a time, the streets and alleys were abuzz with discussion, and people's opinions of Lin Yi became complicated.

In their simple mindset, whoever feeds them is a good official. As for things like deceiving the emperor or committing treason, those are things for scholars and officials to worry about; what do they have to do with these peasants?

Just then, a muffled drumbeat came from the direction of the palace.

"Here it comes!"

"Look! It's the princess's entourage!"

Someone shouted, and everyone stood on tiptoe, looking towards the end of the long street.

A long procession slowly approached, escorted by hundreds of imperial guards. At the head of the procession were dozens of court musicians playing festive yet solemn music. Behind them came carriage after carriage, each fully loaded and covered with red silk.

"My goodness, how much dowry is that?"

"Look at those boxes! They're made of the finest Phoebe zhennan wood! How much gold and silver jewelry must have been inside!"

"More than thirty carriages! The emperor has really gone all out this time!"

The common people were dumbfounded as they stared at the seemingly endless dowry procession. Some of the older folks even remembered the emperor's wedding to his empress. But even the empress of that time didn't have such a large dowry.

The procession moved slowly forward, and wherever it passed, the people stopped to watch and marveled at it.

However, unlike the excitement and amazement of the common people, the faces of the high-ranking officials and nobles who stood at the gates of their own mansions or peeked out from restaurants and teahouses were extremely grim.

Damn it, this endless dowry was all the result of years of digging and pulling strings to get it to the emperor! And now, it's all going to Lin Yi, that traitor.

The second floor of the Prime Minister's residence.

Liu Wentao stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the team that could be described as top-notch luxury, and his heart ached so much that he trembled.

His hard work was also reflected in this dowry.

"Teacher! Look at that brat Lin Yi, how arrogant he is! His Majesty has treated him so well, but instead of being grateful, he has become even more arrogant. He is simply a traitor to the country!" Several of Liu Wentao's students behind him were equally indignant.

"Yes, teacher! We absolutely cannot stand idly by and watch such a treacherous minister wreak havoc on the court! We should jointly submit a memorial to impeach him!"

Liu Wentao knew that these students were less angry at Lin Yi's actions and more envious of his wealth and women.

Marrying a princess of noble status, and receiving such a large dowry.

Not only will his official career be successful, but he will also never have to worry about his family fortune.

Who wouldn't be envious of this? Even Liu Wentao himself is envious.

"Shut up, all of you!" Liu Wentao snapped impatiently. "Just watch! The more successful he is now, the harder he'll fall! I refuse to believe he can outwit all the scholars in the world!"

The proclamation denouncing the traitors has already been sent out; now all that's left to do is wait. Wait for public opinion to ferment, wait for those powerful families whose livelihoods have been cut off to reach their breaking point.

Without me even lifting a finger, Lin Yi will be torn to shreds by this colossal wave!