IDWBE -Chapter 538 Calculations

“You all handle things—I’m at ease,” Lin Yi said as he casually slapped a mosquito dead and muttered, “The only bad thing about living outside the city is that there are more mosquitoes than inside.”

Zixia smiled. “Your Highness, I remember when you gave us those hygiene lessons, you said forests, shallow waters, and lakes are the places mosquitoes breed the most. One mosquito can produce hundreds more—densely packed everywhere. Our place happens to have all of those conditions. I’ve already thought of a solution: in a few days we’ll clear some of the old woods nearby and cut away the weeds to open up some space.”

“That works,” Lin Yi nodded. “Too many mosquitoes are annoying. Who knows—snakes or monkeys might wander in too.”

He suddenly thought of the otters in Sanhe and found himself oddly missing them.

Zixia continued, “We should leave larger open areas by the front and back gates. It will make purchasing supplies and moving people in and out more convenient.”

Lin Yi reminded her, “If you make the open space too big, watch out for those martial arts enthusiasts. Don’t let them gather outside the gate making noise.”

The shouting of martial artists practicing—“ha! hey!”—could be as loud as the elderly ladies doing square dancing.

Zixia laughed. “Commander Han already thought of that. As soon as I mentioned it, he decided to post guards there.”

Lin Yi turned his head and looked at her with a smile. “Did Han Deqing give you something? Why are you speaking up for him?”

“You see right through everything, Your Highness,” Zixia giggled. “I knew I couldn’t hide it from you. Commander Han is a bit too honest and sometimes does ridiculous things. If I didn’t speak for him occasionally, he’d really die of injustice.”

Lin Yi rolled his eyes. “If I didn’t know him well and only heard your words, I’d think he was a good person.”

There were no real good people in Prince He’s Mansion.

Han Deqing’s martial arts were mediocre, and his brain was nothing special.

Lin Yi suspected that Hong Ying appointed him as guard commander for only one reason:

He was ruthless enough.

Back when Sanhe was cracking down on crime, there weren’t enough executioners. Wang Xu, Chen Xinluo, Jiao Zhong, Han Deqing, and other guards volunteered to carry out executions.

Later, Shan Qi brought in skilled executioners from Yuezhou and Hongzhou who had family traditions in the craft.

The guards were no longer needed as executioners.

But rumor had it that Han Deqing had already developed a taste for killing—if he didn’t execute someone for a day, his hands would itch.

To improve his skills, he even apprenticed himself to masters from Hongzhou and Yuezhou and learned the craft of skinning people alive.

Its cruelty rivaled punishments like disembowelment, molten lead pouring, the scorpion pit, or being torn apart by five horses.

And eventually he surpassed his teachers.

He could peel a human skin perfectly intact, with the ears, nose, eyes, and mouth all preserved.

When Lin Yi heard this, he was shocked.

He could never reconcile that brutal executioner with the simple, honest-looking guard.

It sounded like a psychological perversion.

Still, such a “pervert” was useful for dealing with vicious criminals who had committed countless murders.

Some criminals were so depraved that their crimes could never be fully recorded. For such people, Lin Yi never talked about human rights.

Privately, if Han Deqing and the others wanted to skin them alive, Lin Yi would simply turn a blind eye.

As Xing Keshou once said: “In chaotic times, harsh punishments are necessary.”

If the criminals weren’t crushed, society would truly descend into chaos.

Zixia massaged Lin Yi’s shoulders while speaking. “He simply hates evil too deeply. Perhaps his killing intent is a bit too strong.”

Lin Yi sighed. “How can a person not have flaws?”

Men like Chen Yan or Fu Yin—perfect “gentlemen”—were plentiful.

But not a single one was willing to serve him.

Smart people knew best how to avoid danger.

Only flawed people like Han Deqing were willing to carry the burdens for him.

And Lin Yi could only provide them with a peaceful life in return.

“Your Highness is wise,” Zixia said.

Lin Yi closed his eyes and unconsciously fell asleep.

That Night, When he woke up, he suddenly remembered:

Tonight was supposed to be his wedding night.

Rubbing his eyes, he took a cup of tea from Hong Ying and went straight to Guan Xiaoqi’s room.

The room was brightly lit.

When he opened the door, Guan Xiaoqi was sitting upright on the bed with the red bridal veil covering her head. Hearing the door, she instinctively raised her head even though she couldn’t see anything.

“Your Highness,” Zixia said.

She stood up and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.

Lin Yi lifted the red veil.

The two of them stared at each other.

The room fell silent except for the sound of their breathing.

“You must be hungry,” Lin Yi said. “Eat something first. Otherwise how will you have the strength for the rites of Zhou Gong?”

He pulled her toward a table filled with food.

“You rascal,” Guan Xiaoqi snapped. “You can’t speak anything decent.”

Lin Yi frowned. “I’m concerned about you—what’s wrong with that?”

“Hmph!” Ignoring him, she poured herself a full cup of wine and drank it in one gulp, then started devouring the dishes.

Lin Yi rested his chin in his hands and watched her eat.

“Don’t stare at me like that,” she said, blushing.

While chewing a lamb leg she mumbled, “No wonder you’re so fat—eating rich food every day.”

Lin Yi’s face immediately darkened.

Hitting someone without hitting their face, remember?

“Oh, if you don’t like my words, you can still regret it now,” Guan Xiaoqi said smugly. “But don’t worry—I’ll return your hundred taels of betrothal money in full. We’ll be even.”

“Don’t dream!” Lin Yi gritted his teeth.

He grabbed her waist again and threw her onto the bed.

A fierce flurry of action followed.

But when he looked down— nothing happened.

Defeated, he sighed.

“If you’re unwilling, just go eat.”

He left dejectedly and returned to his own bedroom.

Zixia, understanding immediately, attended to him.

Eventually, the frustration in his chest was vented.

Looking at Zixia in his arms, Lin Yi couldn’t help sighing internally:

In front of true sensual charm, cuteness and beauty are hardly worth mentioning.

The Next Day, Following custom, Zixia brought Guan Xiaoqi to greet the princess consort.

They waited half an hour.

But the princess consort never summoned them inside.

Guan Xiaoqi finally sighed in relief.

“I told you not to come. You insisted. See? It’s better we didn’t come.”

Zixia said gently, “Miss Guan, I’ll escort you back to rest. If you need anything, just tell me.”

“Thanks. Everything’s fine. I need nothing.”

She turned and left.

Three Days Later, Guan Xiaoqi had spent three days in Prince He’s Mansion.

Every day she only wandered between the garden and her room.

The huge mansion felt like a cage.

Finally she went to find Lin Yi.

“I want to go home.”

Lin Yi looked at her silk dress and teased, “Clothes really do make the person. You’re starting to look like a proper young lady.”

“I want to go home,” she repeated.

“Then go,” Lin Yi said casually. “The gate is over there. Nobody will stop you.”

He had never restricted the women in the mansion.

But they had all learned the rules too well—rarely stepping out the gates.

Even taking children out for a stroll required Lin Yi forcing them.

It gave him constant headaches.

“You mean… I can really go?” Guan Xiaoqi asked in disbelief.

“I’ll accompany you,” Lin Yi said, standing up. “Otherwise your father might misunderstand.”

“No, no!” she waved frantically. “If you come, he’ll misunderstand even more.”

Lin Yi thought for a moment.

“Fine. Whenever you want to go home, just go. Don’t worry about what others think.”

“That finally sounds like a human sentence,” she said and left immediately.

Later, Lin Yi soon saw Hu Miaoyi approaching.

He took his daughter from her arms and tried teaching her to say “Dad.”

Instead, the little girl shouted: “Damn it!”

Hu Miaoyi quickly grabbed the child back when she saw Lin Yi’s expression darken.

Watching Guan Xiaoqi skipping away down the corridor, she said, “Your Highness is spoiling her too much.”

“Innocence is a good thing,” Lin Yi replied. “If you kill it, people lose their humanity.”

Everyone in the mansion treated him with robotic obedience.

He didn’t like that.

“Let her do whatever she wants. Just ignore her. She won’t trouble you.”

“Yes,” Hu Miaoyi said.

After a moment’s hesitation, she added, “My mother-in-law wishes to see the children.”

Lin Yi smiled. “I’ve already prepared a carriage. You and Mingyue can take them to the palace. Maybe there’ll even be rewards—don’t be polite, just accept them.”

His mother wanted to see her grandchildren. There was no reason to stop her.

No matter how scheming she was, she would never harm her own grandchildren.

So he let her do as she pleased. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

In the Garden, Looking at the rose bushes that looked like they had been chewed by dogs, Lin Yi frowned.

“How’s your father doing?”

“If things are fine, call Guo Zhao back. Someone needs to take care of this garden.”

The current gardeners were clearly incompetent.

Even roses were dying under their care.

Hu Miaoyi smiled. “Thanks to Your Highness, my father is quite healthy. Though he sometimes acts foolish and I scold him.”

“Guo Zhao spends his days following him doing strange things—wasting his talent. I’ll send word for him to return.”

Lin Yi nodded. “Good.”

That Night, Lin Yi lay with his head resting on Du Yinniang’s smooth stomach.

“You stay in the mansion every day. Don’t you get bored?”

Du Yinniang sighed. “I thought I was quite bold, but compared to Miss Guan, I’m far inferior. I even feel a bit envious of her.”

“Don’t speak in that sarcastic tone,” Lin Yi said while his hands wandered everywhere. “Has your father sent any messages lately?”

She shook her head. “No news. But he was worried I might lack spending money, so he sent me some silver.”

Lin Yi laughed. “In this mansion, you might be the richest.”

Du Yinniang replied, “Your Highness underestimates our princess consort.”

“Hm?” Lin Yi scoffed. “How much money could she have that I don’t know about?”

Her father’s family had fallen into poverty—where would the money come from?

Du Yinniang smiled. “The Heshun Prince’s lineage may have declined, but generations of wealth cannot be emptied so easily. I heard the princess started learning the abacus at age three. At twelve she was already managing the household. At fourteen she was running the family’s shops and estates.”

Even when war struck Yueyang, she calmly sold properties and moved their wealth.

“In my opinion,” Du Yinniang said quietly, “She may have deliberately let her father suffer a little.”

Lin Yi frowned. “Pan Duo never told me that.”

“You’re too involved to see clearly,” she laughed. “Even if Pan Duo knew, would he dare gossip about the princess over money?”

Lin Yi cursed softly. “That bastard Pan Duo…”

Then he asked curiously, “So how much money do you think she has?”

Du Yinniang shrugged. “I wouldn’t dare guess. But just her bracelets, earrings, and hair ornaments are not from this mansion. Since I arrived, I’ve never seen her wear the same set twice. Just the jewelry alone is probably worth over one hundred thousand taels of silver.”

Lin Yi blinked. “So she’s actually a rich woman.”

Then he suddenly realized something felt wrong.

Why am I scheming with a concubine about my own wife’s wealth?

He waved his hand.

“Forget it. Sleep.”

Later after that, Lin Yi secretly observed Hu Miaoyi’s clothing.

Just as Du Yinniang said—the woman was seriously wealthy.

Hu Miaoyi, meanwhile, felt increasingly uneasy under his constant gaze.

One day Lin Yi turned to Zixia.

“Your mistress is so rich… don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

Zixia burst into laughter.

“Your Highness, I did hint at it before.”

“You did?”

Was his memory really getting worse?

Zixia imitated his voice: “You said—‘I’m not so poor that I’d scrape beans from a sparrow’s throat, slice meat from a heron’s leg, or scrape fat from a mosquito’s belly. What I want is the people’s taxes.’”

Lin Yi sighed in defeat.

“I’ve decided. Starting tomorrow, I’ll write a diary.”

“Serious people don’t write diaries,” Zixia suddenly added.

Lin Yi was speechless.

The insult wasn’t strong—but the damage was enormous.

Five Days Later, After staying home for five days, Guan Xiaoqi was personally escorted back by her father Guan Sheng.

Lin Yi warmly greeted them at the gate.

But Guan Sheng refused to enter no matter what.

He dropped off his daughter and hurriedly ran away.

Guan Xiaoqi lowered her head weakly.

“That’s… my real father.”