If you force me to take the blame, I'll spend a day in jail and gain a year's worth of spi

Zhang Heng made up his mind and immediately returned to the Marquis's residence, bringing with him two of the Marquis's family retainers who possessed the strength of the ninth rank.

What nonsense about market prices and industry rules? In front of the Marquis's heir and the future Marquis, they are all utter nonsense.

Since polite words and following the rules won't work, then let's use the methods the Marquis's family is best at—power and force.

Looking at her son's exasperated expression, Qin Xuehua said with concern:

"Xiao Heng, calm down."

In business, the principle has always been to follow market trends and to make money through harmonious relations.

If we take the lead in breaking the rules and force the other party to lower prices... it will likely incite public outrage.

"Mother, you're confused!"

Zhang Heng lowered his voice, but it carried a shrewd, self-assured air:

"Those three merchants have signed long-term supply contracts with our Houfu Trading Station."

The prices have been established over the years, and now they're raising prices at will. They've violated morality first; they've broken their promise.

The more he spoke, the more convinced he became of himself, and his voice grew louder:

"When I bring people to their homes now, it's not to force them to buy or sell, but to reason with them and to act in accordance with the contract."

His fallacious reasoning seized on the other party's price increase and forcibly equated it with a breach of contract.

Jiang Luohan watched the mother and son's argument with cold eyes. The last bit of expectation she had for Zhang Heng was completely extinguished, replaced by an intense contempt and disgust.

idiot!

Utter idiot!

She screamed wildly in her heart.

Compared to Zhang Yu, who could make even grandmasters bow down with a mere laugh, this Zhang Heng before him, who could only wreak havoc in vain, was simply like an uncivilized, savage pig.

Besides relying on his ancestors' legacy and his pitiful martial prowess, what else did he have?

Jiang Luohan even found it somewhat ridiculous.

How could I have given up on Zhang Yu, that potential dragon, and chosen Zhang Heng, that worthless wretch?

Zhang Wanning agreed with Zhang Heng, saying, "Mother, Heng is right. They broke the contract first, so don't blame us for bullying them."

In her view, it was only natural for the Marquis's mansion to teach a few treacherous merchants a lesson.

Zhang Wanning grew up in the Marquis's mansion and was used to her father and brothers using their power to oppress others, so she had almost blind faith in the Zhang family's military strength.

Although Qin Xuehua felt uneasy, her unease was suppressed by the persuasion of her son and daughter, and the thought that we were in the right suppressed it.

Yes, after all, the other party raised the price first, so what's wrong with the Marquis's mansion seeking justice?

With a legitimate reason to back them up, the entire Marquis's mansion was immediately filled with high morale.

In addition to his two strongest ninth-rank retainers, Zhang Heng also mobilized more than twenty elite guards, including many skilled seventh and eighth-rank fighters.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this is already a powerful force that is enough to intimidate a region.

"Let's go and let those unscrupulous merchants know that the Marquis of Yong'an's mansion is not to be trifled with."

Zhang Heng mounted his horse, a long sword at his waist, and headed straight for the South City Chamber of Commerce district, surrounded by guards.

However, inside the Shenglong Chamber of Commerce, the scene was quite different.

Li Dagang was sitting in a grand chair with his legs crossed, a thick ledger spread out in front of him.

His fingers clicked rapidly on the abacus, a mixture of pain and pleasure on his face.

"Old Mo, look, just last year alone, the difference in price we subsidized the Hou Mansion's goods station exceeded 200,000 taels."

Li Dagang pointed to the figures in the ledger with a pained expression, "This is just what's on the surface. If you factor in transportation losses and storage costs, the actual losses are much greater."

He picked up his teacup and took a satisfied sip: "Now it's all good. We've finally gotten rid of this huge burden. From now on, all this money can go into our own pockets."

Several large traders sitting opposite him nodded in agreement.

"Master Li is right, he's really made our lives miserable all these years."

"Exactly, it's a deal that could have made a lot of money, but they insisted on selling it to the Marquis's mansion at half price. It's so frustrating."

Just as everyone was getting into the conversation, Mozi, who was sitting alone by the window, let out a cold snort.

He put down his wine glass and glanced at Li Dagang: "That's all you're good for. You probably haven't finished using the Body Tempering Pills the boss gave you, have you?"

Li Dagang gave an awkward smile: "I've been busy dealing with chamber of commerce matters..."

"The affairs of the Chamber of Commerce are handled by the managers."

Mo Di stood up. He had now broken through to the seventh rank, and his aura was refined. "The boss means you should improve your strength as soon as possible. The sixth rank... isn't enough in the capital."

He said this in a calm tone, but the merchants all instinctively shrank back.

Although this Master Mo doesn't often get involved in affairs, once he speaks, even Master Li has to give him some leeway.

"Okay, okay."

Li Dagang waved his hand, "I'll go into seclusion after I'm done with this busy period... Sigh, what's more interesting than making money?"

Mozi was about to speak again when he suddenly frowned.

Almost simultaneously, a panicked shout came from downstairs: "You can't go in... Ouch!"

Then came heavy footsteps and the loud crash of tables and chairs overturning.

Li Dagang frowned and said, "Who dares to cause trouble here, someone who's eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall?"

Mozi, however, looked grave, sensing several terrifying auras and feeling deeply worried.

Previously, Zhang Yu was afraid that the subordinates would become too powerful and dared not recruit too many capable men, so he always did business under the name of the Marquis's Mansion.

Now that they've fallen out with the Marquis's mansion, the weaknesses of Li Dagang and his ilk have become apparent.

The problem is that their cultivation levels are too low. The strongest among them is Mozi, who only has a seventh-grade cultivation level and has just been promoted.

Amidst everyone's doubts, the hall door was kicked open with a bang.

Zhang Heng stormed in, exuding a menacing aura, followed by more than twenty guards who filed in, instantly filling the hall to capacity.

Two ninth-rank guards stood guard on either side of him, their cold gazes sweeping over everyone in the hall.

But Li Dagang stood up casually, even with a professional smile on his face.

"Oh, young master, what brings you to our humble shop?"

He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, seemingly oblivious to the gleaming swords and blades. "But what big orders does the freight station have to handle?"

Zhang Heng suppressed his anger, signaled his guards to bring him a chair, and sat down in the main seat of the hall with an air of authority, attempting to regain control of the situation.

His gaze was like a knife, his voice deliberately slowed, yet it carried an undeniable pressure:

"Manager Li, and all the managers here, we have been cooperating for many years and have always gotten along well."

I, the Crown Prince, have come today with only one question.

Why did they suddenly default on their contracts and blatantly raise prices?

Are they taking advantage of my noble family's lack of manpower, or do they think I, Zhang Heng... am easy to talk to?

He believed that this opening statement both pointed out the breach of contract and demonstrated the magnanimity of the Marquis's mansion, a move that was polite before resorting to force.

Upon hearing this, Li Dagang's professional smile faded slightly.

He slightly cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, his tone neither humble nor arrogant:

"Your Highness, you are mistaken. We open our doors to do business for the sake of profit."

The business dealings with the Marquis's mansion were business dealings before, and they still are. However…

He paused, then met Zhang Heng's gaze with a frank expression:

"It used to be a friendly price, now it's the market price."

If a business is losing money, it's only natural for prices to rise.

"What a generous price!"

Zhang Heng seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair, laughing in anger:

"Then why didn't you lose money before?"

Why is it that when it's my turn, Zhang Heng, to take over the affairs of the Marquis's mansion, you all lose money?

Do you look down on me, Zhang Heng, or do you think my Zhang family... is not what it used to be?

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, his voice rising in arrogance, characteristic of scions of prominent families.

Zhang Wanning chimed in, shrilly, "That's right! It's clearly you unscrupulous merchants who are opportunistic and bully my younger brother because he's young."

This is called taking advantage of someone's misfortune; it's both unethical and immoral.

The brother and sister worked together, pinning the blame for breach of contract and price gouging on each other as if they were the ones who were completely in the right and had suffered the most.