On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

The afterglow of dusk filtered through the carved window lattices, casting long, twisted spots of light on the polished gold-brick floor of the county government office.

The air is filled with the crisp aftertaste of burning agarwood, mixed with the astringent smell of ink, creating a solemn and slightly depressing atmosphere.

Wang Youde knelt on the cold floor, his body hunched over, almost curled up into a ball. Lin Zhen's heartbreaking words, "You have a unique eye for choosing a wife," burned deep into his soul like a red-hot iron, completely crushing the last bit of his dignity as a man.

The huge sense of shame mixed with the fear that penetrated deep into his bones made him tremble all over. He pressed his forehead against the ground, and the cold touch could not calm the turmoil in his heart.

He felt like a fish that had been stripped of its scales and thrown on a chopping block, waiting in vain for the final slaughter.

Time seemed to have stood still for a long time.

Lin Zhen sat upright in the main seat, his slender fingers unconsciously stroking the warm coiled dragon jade pendant on his waist, his eyes calmly falling on the figure at his feet that was like a puddle of mud, as if admiring his last struggle.

Chu Xiling had already packed up her blueprints and stood quietly by, her eyes clear, like a bystander. Xiao Hanzhou stood solemnly, his hands lowered, his eyes on his nose, his nose on his heart.

Finally, Wang Youde could no longer endure the torment of dead silence and the whipping of his soul.

He suddenly raised his head, and his sallow and swollen face was covered with tears and snot, mixed with sweat and dust, making it a mess, looking very miserable.

His eyes were filled with extreme despair and humble pleading, his voice was hoarse and cracked, with tears and desperate determination:

"Your Highness! I...I deserve to die! I deserve to die!" He cried and banged his forehead against the ground frantically, making a dull "bang bang" sound. His forehead turned purple in an instant and blood oozed out.

"I...I know my sins are grave! Even a hundred deaths will never redeem me! I dare not even ask for forgiveness, Your Highness!"

He raised his tear-stained and blood-stained face, and a nearly crazy and desperate light flashed in his eyes.

"But...but I beg Your Highness to have mercy! Please have mercy! Spare my family! Spare... spare my innocent children!!"

He dug his hands into the cold floor tiles, his nails almost breaking, and his voice became sharp and distorted due to excitement:

"I... I am willing to die as an apology! Now! Immediately! I will die before Your Highness! I only beg Your Highness to have mercy on them and grant them a chance to live! Even if it means making them the most humble of slaves! Even if it means exiling them a thousand miles away! I only beg for them to survive! Please have mercy! Please have mercy!!"

He kowtowed again, and the sound of his forehead hitting the ground was particularly harsh in the silent hall.

Lin Zhen quietly watched him crying and kowtowing, with no expression on his face.

It was not until Wang Youde was almost exhausted from the intense movements and emotional excitement, and collapsed to the ground, with only heavy and desperate gasps left, that he slowly spoke, his voice as calm as an icy spring:

"Live?"

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed on Wang Youde's desperate face as if it were real:

"Wang Youde, do you know... what the word 'way to survive' means to me?"

Wang Youde struggled to raise his head, as if grasping at straws. His cloudy eyes were filled with humble hope. "Please...please, Your Highness, please tell me clearly! Even if I die a thousand times...I will still...still feel grateful for Your Highness's kindness!"

Lin Zhen's gaze swept across Wang Youde, and then seemed to look through him to the depths of the blocked Wang family compound, at the women and children who were trembling in fear.

"Survival..." Lin Zhen's voice was low and clear, with an unquestionable determination.

"The way to survive I offer you is to completely sever your past! Sever everything your Wang family once possessed! Identity, status, wealth, privileges, everything! Reduce to ashes! Nothing remains!"

His words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Wang Youde's heart hard:

"This prince has decided. From now on, your family will no longer be officials, no longer be rich daughters, no longer be young masters and young ladies!"

"They..." Lin Zhen spoke word by word, clearly stating the identity that was like an insurmountable chasm for Wang Youde, "They are just ordinary people in Hu County!"

"Ordinary people?" Wang Youde murmured, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.

For the once high and mighty Wang family, this identity is tantamount to falling from the clouds into the quagmire!

But... this quagmire is at least alive!

Not a dead end!

"That's right." Lin Zhen's voice carried a coldness that controlled life and death, and a kind of "mercy" that was like giving alms.

"This prince can give them the identity of ordinary people. Let them live like the millions of poor people in this Hu County."

He paused, his eyes becoming sharp as a knife:

"But, it's just living!"

"They will no longer have any privileges! They will no longer have any protection! They must rely on their own hands to earn a meal, a piece of clothing, and a roof over their heads!"

"They must obey all the laws of Hu County! Pay the taxes they are required to pay! Perform the labor they are required to perform! Accept the supervision of the government! Just like all ordinary people!"

"Their surnames, identities, and pasts will all be completely erased! It's as if they never existed!"

"They will completely blend into the vast masses of people in Hu County! Becoming the most insignificant, lowest speck of dust!"

Lin Zhen's voice was almost cruelly calm:

"This is the only way for them to survive."

"Do you understand it?"

Wang Youde listened blankly. The huge gap made him unable to react for a while.

From the high-ranking officials and their families to the ordinary people at the bottom... the gap is like a chasm!

But... at least this is a way to survive!

It is a real and tangible way of life!

No longer an illusory fantasy!

No longer a slave at the mercy of others!

No longer a prisoner exiled thousands of miles away, with life and death uncertain!

The huge ecstasy washed away all his humiliation and fear in an instant like a tide!

He suddenly raised his head, tears streaming down his face, mixed with the blood on his forehead, making him look hideous and humble, but his eyes burst into an unprecedented ecstasy, like a drowning man grabbing a piece of driftwood!

"I understand! I understand! Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace!!"

He kowtowed again desperately, his voice hoarse and cracked with excitement.

"It's good for ordinary people! Being able to live! Being able to live with dignity! It's better than anything! It's better than anything! Your Highness! I... I thank you on their behalf... for your grace in saving their lives! I can never repay you with my life! I can never repay you with my life!!"

He spoke incoherently and just kowtowed desperately, as if he wanted to kowtow all his gratitude and humility into the cold tiles.

Lin Zhen looked at his utterly humbled and ecstatic appearance, a subtle hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. He raised his hand slightly, signaling him to stop.

"Don't be so quick to thank me." Lin Zhen's voice was filled with a hint of cold warning. "This path has been given to them by this king. But whether they can continue on this path, whether they can live like human beings... depends on them."

His eyes became deep and full of pressure:

"Remember what the king said—"

"From the moment they obtained the status of ordinary citizens, they no longer have any connection with the Wang family or you, Wang Youde!"

"They must completely forget the past! Forget who they once were! Forget you!"

"They must work, earn a living, and abide by the rules like ordinary people! If anyone dares to rely on past 'connections' or use this king's name to stir up trouble in Hu County, bully the weak, or try to restore the old glory..."

Lin Zhen's voice suddenly turned cold, as if it came from the Netherworld:

"Then what awaits them won't be as simple as returning to being ordinary citizens! I will make sure they don't even have the chance to become ghosts! Do you understand?!"

Wang Youde was shocked all over!

It's like having a basin of ice water poured over your head!

The ecstasy was instantly replaced by a biting chill!

He kowtowed again, his voice filled with extreme fear and obedience: "I hear you clearly! I hear you clearly! I will never let them cause any more trouble! I will never dare! They are just ordinary people! No different from the peddlers on the street! I will tell them, never dare... never dare to betray Your Highness' grace!"

"Very good." Lin Zhen nodded with satisfaction and leaned back in his chair, his posture returning to a lazy state. "Get up. I'll give you a chance. Go back and tell them. After the auction, I will send someone to handle the household registration change. From now on, they will be ordinary registered residents of Hu County."

He waved his hand as if to shoo away a fly: "Go."

Wang Youde felt as if he had been pardoned. He crawled to his feet, bowed deeply, and then left the inner hall with a hunched back, staggering, but with a feeling of ecstasy and exhaustion as if he had survived a disaster.

That back view was filled with humility, gratitude and an indescribable sadness.