On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

As autumn deepens, life in the Regent's Palace remains as warm as spring.

The last time Murong Yan fell asleep in her husband's arms while counting money in the garden, Lin Zhen specially ordered people to lay thicker and softer Persian carpets in the warm room where they often stayed, so that his Empress would not catch a cold when she occasionally sat on the floor and counted money.

The warm room has transparent glass windows on all four sides, which allow the warm afternoon sunshine into the room without reservation.

In the corner, an ingenious brass steam heater hissed, emitting a comfortable warmth, ensuring a cozy warmth inside the house, in stark contrast to the slight chill outside.

Murong Yan was not wearing the complicated and solemn black phoenix robe today. Instead, she changed into a palace dress of the same dark color but simpler in style. The hem of the skirt was embroidered with fine cloud and phoenix patterns in dark gold thread. It gave her a less oppressive feeling in the court and a more lazy and charming look at home.

She was sitting on the thick carpet with her legs curled up, her bare white jade feet. Around her were several open rosewood boxes, all of which were filled with copper coins with her portrait printed on them.

In front of her was a thick account book and a fountain pen that Lin Zhen had specially modified for her to make it more comfortable to hold.

She was counting the newly arrived "annual income" and carefully writing down the figures in the account book with a focused expression, as if she was dealing with some military or national affairs.

"Hmm... the profits and taxes from the East City Steam Textile Workshop last month were equivalent to 3,700 copper coins... and the dividends from the West City Mine were 1,200 copper coins..." she muttered softly, writing in a delicate yet powerful hand. "This accounting method my husband has devised is quite clear and concise."

While they were busy, the door of the warm room was gently pushed open and Lin Zhen walked in.

He was still wearing work clothes that were convenient for him to move around in, but he had a dark woolen coat on the outside to block the wind, and he was holding a brown paper envelope in his hand.

"Yan'er, are you calculating our family assets again?" Lin Zhen took off his coat with a smile and hung it on the hanger at the door. Then he walked naturally to Murong Yan and sat down on the ground, imitating her.

Murong Yan raised her head and saw him. Her eyebrows immediately curved up. She naturally leaned over and leaned on his shoulder: "My husband is back. Please help me check. I counted this total twice, but it doesn't seem to add up..."

She pointed to a place in the account book, her tone a little distressed and dependent.

Lin Zhen took advantage of her leaning forward and put his arm around her waist. He lowered his head to carefully look at the account book, did some mental calculations, and said with a smile, "My little money-loving majesty, there's a carry error here."

He pointed at a number with his finger and said, "Look, this should be five plus one, but you forgot to add it, so the total is a little off."

"Ah! So it's here!" Murong Yan suddenly realized and patted her forehead lightly, a little embarrassed. "My husband is really amazing."

She picked up a pen and quickly made changes.

Lin Zhen looked at her profile as she carefully corrected her mistakes, the elegant fragrance of her hair lingering on his nose, and his heart felt peaceful and satisfied.

He picked up the brown paper envelope he had brought and handed it to her: "Here, I brought you some new toys."

"What is it?" Murong Yan's attention was immediately drawn to it. She put down her pen and took the envelope curiously.

It felt heavy in my hand, obviously it contained a lot of things.

She expertly opened the seal and poured the contents onto the soft wool blanket. With a rustling sound, out came not copper coins but stacks of beautifully printed paper notes.

The notes are made of a special, slightly resilient paper that feels warm to the touch and resists tearing. The designs on the notes are intricate, the colors are vibrant, and the anti-counterfeiting markings are meticulously applied.

The most eye-catching thing is that Murong Yan’s portrait is printed in the center of these banknotes!

Unlike the relief on the copper coin with her side, the portrait on this paper note is a half-length portrait in a phoenix crown and palace dress on the front. Her face is extremely beautiful, with a hint of smile in her majesty. It is clearer and more vivid than the one on the copper coin.

The denomination is printed below the portrait, including "10 yuan", "50 yuan", "100 yuan" and so on. Next to it are intricate patterns and the words "Daqian Royal Bank", as well as the red seals of Lin Zhen and Murong Yan side by side.

"This is..." Murong Yan picked up a paper note with a face value of one hundred yuan in surprise, and looked at it against the light. The watermark and dark patterns on it were clearly visible, and the craftsmanship far exceeded the ordinary printing technology of that era.

"This newly issued paper currency is also called a banknote," Lin Zhen explained, reaching out to take one and pointing at the pattern on it. "In the future, we won't have to carry around carts of copper coins for large transactions. We can just use this. It's light, easy to carry, and safe. I plan to pilot it in the capital and several major industrial cities first."

His tone was calm, as if he was talking about a trivial matter, but Murong Yan knew that this was another major innovation that could change the economic structure of Daqian. And what made her most excited about this innovation was——

"That's me too!" She picked up one banknote after another of different denominations, looking at herself from different angles, all equally exquisite, her joy was beyond words, her eyes bright with surprise.

"It's clearer than on the copper coin! And more beautiful! Husband, how did you come up with that?"

Lin Zhen looked at her delighted expression and couldn't help but smile and pinched her nose: "Because my Yan'er is the most beautiful, printed on the money, the people will be happy to see it, and feel at ease when using it, right?"

He paused, his tone slightly teasing, "Well, does counting money become easier now? A hundred-yen note is worth a hundred copper coins."

Murong Yan couldn't help but caress the smooth coating and delicate convex and concave lines on the banknotes.

Hearing this, he immediately hugged the stack of banknotes in his arms, raised his chin, and acted like "this is all mine": "Humph, I want to count the copper coins and banknotes too! They are all mine!"

The sweet and domineering tone made Lin Zhen laugh. He reached out to take one back to have a look, but Murong Yan subconsciously retracted her hand and hugged him tighter, looking at him warily: "What are you doing? Whatever you give me is mine!"

"Okay, okay, everything's yours, even me." Lin Zhen laughed and leaned over to kiss her smooth cheek. "I won't fight with you. These are just samples. I'm giving them to you to review first, to make you happy. It will take some time before they can be widely released."

Murong Yan finally relaxed and happily began to count her new treasures again, looking at them one by one and counting them one by one, with more dedication than she had before when counting copper coins.

That focused and joyful look was more moving than any beautiful scenery in Lin Zhen's eyes.

After counting for a while, she suddenly remembered something and looked up with a sly glint in her eyes: "Husband, issuing this banknote will make us a lot of money again... What's the word for it? 'Seigniorage'?"

Lin Zhen raised an eyebrow, surprised that she even remembered this, nodded and smiled, "Your Majesty is wise, it is indeed so."

Murong Yan suddenly smiled like a flower. She put down the banknotes and suddenly crawled to his side using her hands and feet. Then - just like last time in the garden - she skillfully sat on his legs and wrapped her arms softly around his neck.

The soft body pressed against hers, and the sweet fragrance filled his face. Lin Zhen naturally put his arm around her waist and held her firmly.

"Husband~" Murong Yan's voice was drawn out, soft and sticky, with obvious coquettishness, "You are so nice~" As she said, she took the initiative to move forward and rubbed Lin Zhen's chin affectionately with her cheek.

Lin Zhen was so tickled by her that he chuckled softly, "Is it because I printed money for you and made a fortune that I'm fine?"

"No!" Murong Yan immediately retorted. She leaned back slightly and looked into Lin Zhen's eyes with a serious and focused expression.

"It's because you always come up with these amazing ideas to make Daqian better and better, allowing me... allowing me to be so at ease, without having to worry about anything, and just love you every day."

Her words were direct and passionate, with unreserved trust and love.

Lin Zhen's heart was warmed by her words, and he tightened his arms around her.

Murong Yan looked at her reflection in his deep eyes, her face slightly hot, but she continued boldly: "So... I want to reward you!"

"Oh? What reward?" Lin Zhen asked with interest.

Murong Yan's eyes moved, a hint of shyness flashed across her, but more of charm.

She leaned close to Lin Zhen's ear, her breath sweet as orchid, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I asked my maid to use that fragrant, what's it called... essential oil stuff you brought back to make some hot water... My husband must be tired after a busy day. How about we go take a bath together to relieve our fatigue?"

At the end of the words, his breathing was a little unstable and his cheeks were as red as the sunset.

Lin Zhen's eyes suddenly darkened, and he tightened his grip on her. He could hear the alluring meaning behind this invitation. His Majesty the Empress always displayed her most extreme seduction at times like these.

"Your Majesty has commanded, and I..." His voice was low and a little hoarse, "How dare I disobey?"

As he spoke, he supported Murong Yan's legs and back and easily lifted her up sideways.

Murong Yan screamed and subconsciously hugged his neck tightly. The banknotes in her arms fell to the ground and she didn't care anymore.

She buried her hot cheeks in Lin Zhen's neck, listening to his strong and slightly rapid heartbeat, feeling like her whole body was about to burn.

Lin Zhen held her in his arms and strode towards the side hall behind the warm room, which was connected to a fragrant hot spring bath that had already been prepared.

The misty water vapor and the rich aroma of essential oils filled the warm side hall, blurring the scene on the glass windows, leaving only two figures hugging each other tightly and the beautiful spring scenery in the room.

As for the banknotes and copper coins scattered on the carpet?

At this point, who cares?

In the eyes of the Prince Regent and Her Majesty the Empress, it was just the most insignificant embellishment in their peaceful and prosperous times and happy marriage.