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

Faced with Zhang Heng's questioning and Zhang Wanning's accusations, Li Dagang showed no fear, but instead revealed a meaningful smile.

He shook his head, his tone remaining calm:

"The reason we sold goods at half price and operated at a loss before was not because of the Marquis's mansion, nor because of you, young master... but because of the face of Zhang Yu, the eldest son of the Marquis's mansion."

Li Dagang shrugged, making a helpless yet slightly sarcastic expression:

"Since Young Master Zhang Yu has severed all ties with the Marquis's Mansion, we businessmen naturally don't need to give him any more face."

"Your Highness, don't you agree?"

Zhang Yu! It's Zhang Yu again!

These three words were like poisoned needles, piercing Zhang Heng's ears.

His face contorted with rage, his eyes bloodshot with fury and humiliation.

He felt like a clown. All his questioning and arrogance had become the most ridiculous joke in the face of the fact that "Zhang Yu's face" mattered.

It turns out that the Houfu Goods Station's so-called profits and its prestigious reputation over the years were built on the charity of that good-for-nothing Zhang Yu.

As for Zhang Heng, the heir of a noble family, in the eyes of these merchants, he was not even as respected as Zhang Yu, that bastard.

Zhang Wanning and Qin Xuehua were also stunned, their faces drained of color.

Although they had suspected it beforehand, hearing it from Li Dagang himself was still a huge shock.

It turns out that the wealth they had enjoyed all this time, the money they had squandered, and even the military supplies the Marquis's mansion had provided in the northern frontier... were all dependent on Zhang Yu, whom they regarded as a piece of trash and discarded like worn-out shoes.

A profound sense of absurdity and a deeper regret clung to their hearts like cold vines.

"Shut up!"

Zhang Heng stood up abruptly, his voice hoarse with extreme anger:

"Zhang Yu's face is his face, but isn't my face also his face?"

What can he, a discarded outcast, a prisoner in jail, offer you?

"I am the heir apparent of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, the future Marquis."

He completely dropped his pretense, pointed at Li Dagang and the merchants, and roared:

"I don't care about Zhang Yu or whether you lost money or not. All I know is that you raised prices and you breached the contract."

Now, immediately, right now, at the original price.

Otherwise, don't blame the Marquis's mansion for being ruthless.

As soon as he finished speaking, the two ninth-rank family guards behind him suddenly released their auras, and their powerful martial arts pressure enveloped the entire area.

More than twenty guards drew their weapons with a clang, their cold glints flashing and their killing intent palpable!

The air in the hall suddenly dropped to freezing point.

The merchants turned pale, subconsciously glancing at Li Dagang, then stealing glances at Mozi, whose face was grave.

The smile on Li Dagang's face vanished completely.

He met Zhang Heng's almost murderous gaze and sighed softly, as if lamenting the other's foolishness.

He didn't look at the swords, nor did he pay attention to the imposing aura of the two ninth-rank guards. He simply spoke calmly, his voice not loud, but clearly echoing in the tense hall:

"Young Master, you may have forgotten that this is the capital city."

It's a place that upholds the law, but also the "rules of the business world."

"Don't try to talk to me about laws and rules!"

Zhang Heng completely tore off the last shred of pretense, his face contorted with rage and extreme ego inflation.

He took a sudden step forward and roared in a hoarse but arrogant voice:

"Here today, I am the rule, I am the law!"

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on Li Dagang as he pressed him, enunciating each word clearly:

"Tell me, was it you who—violated the contract and raised prices first?"

Li Dagang retorted firmly, "We didn't agree on a price, so how can you talk about breaching the contract and raising prices?"

"You dare to talk back?" Zhang Heng's eyes flashed with a fierce light.

Without him even giving the order, the eighth-rank guard standing to Zhang Heng's right rear suddenly moved.

The movement was so fast that it left only afterimages in the air.

The guard stepped forward half a step with his left foot, and his right leg swept out like a steel whip, creating a whistling sound as it struck Li Dagang's left knee with precision and ruthlessness!

"Snap!"

A crisp cracking sound echoed through the hall.

"Ugh—!"

Li Dagang didn't even have time to make a defensive move before he was knocked to the side like a wooden stake struck by a heavy hammer.

His body flipped halfway through the air before his back slammed heavily onto the floor tiles, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The excruciating pain made his vision blur, but what was even more humiliating was—

He had just fallen to the ground and was still dizzy when a heavy military boot covered in mud stomped down on him!

"Bang!"

The sole of the boot slammed into his left cheek, pressing his head firmly against the cold ground.

The rough tread of the boots rubbed against my skin, a burning pain mixed with the coolness of the floor tiles.

Blood gushed from his mouth and nose instantly, and a molar mixed with blood and foam rolled off his forced, open mouth, rolling down to Zhang Heng's feet.

"Ugh...cough..."

Li Dagang let out a painful groan and tried to struggle, but the foot pressing on his face was like an iron pillar rooted to the ground, not moving an inch.

He never expected that Zhang Heng and his group would disregard all rules and directly use their power to intimidate people.

"You bastard!!!"

Seeing Li Dagang being so humiliated, Mozi could no longer suppress the raging fire in his chest.

His seventh-grade true energy erupted suddenly, his robes fluttered without wind, and the blue bricks beneath his feet cracked inch by inch.

The dark short blade in his hand emitted a sharp hum, then flew out of his hand and transformed into a deadly black light, shooting straight at the throat of the guard who was stepping on Li Dagang's head, trying to force him back.

This attack, fueled by rage and without reservation, was a desperate gamble!

"Hmph, like an ant trying to shake a tree!"

The eighth-rank guard sneered, neither dodging nor avoiding the attack.

He took a deep breath, his chest suddenly bulged, and his skin glowed with a bronze luster.

"clang--!"

The dark dagger pierced his throat, producing a loud clang like metal striking metal.

The sharp blade tip only penetrated half an inch before being firmly blocked by the solid muscles and protective inner energy, making it difficult to advance any further.

At the same time, another eighth-rank guard threw a punch.

On the edge of his fist, the pale golden true energy solidified as if it were tangible, carrying a fierce and indomitable aura of someone who had fought countless battles.

"Seven Killings Breaking Army Fist".

"Bang—!!!"

Fist and palm strike!

Mozi felt an overwhelming force surging towards him, and his scorching palm strike was as if it had hit an impenetrable wall, instantly dissipating.

Immediately afterwards, the opponent's fist force penetrated deep into his meridians.

"puff--."

Mozi's body trembled violently, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He flew backward like a kite with a broken string and crashed heavily to the ground.

He struggled to get up, but felt as if his internal organs had shifted and his meridians were in excruciating pain. For a moment, he couldn't muster any strength at all.

The gap is too big.

The opponent was not only an eighth-rank soldier, but also an eighth-rank soldier honed in the military, with refined true qi, ruthless combat skills, and extremely rich practical experience.

In just one exchange, Mozi was rendered incapable of fighting, and he couldn't even force the two ninth-rank retainers to make a move.

"Drag it over here."

Zhang Heng coldly gave the order, his eyes filled with contempt and pleasure.

Two guards immediately stepped forward and threw Mozi next to Li Dagang.

Both of them, one lying down and the other prone, were pinned to the ground, unable to move.

Li Dagang's face was pressed against the cold floor tiles, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mo Zhai panting in pain beside him.

His heart was filled with a mixture of anger and chill, but he also gained a clearer understanding of the cruelty of reality.

Faced with an absolute disparity in strength, their struggles seemed so pale and powerless.

The other side easily suppressed them by sending only two eighth-rank guards.

The two ninth-rank family guards, who had remained silent as mountains, hadn't even moved, not to mention the innate masters within the Marquis's residence.

Compared to a behemoth like the Marquis of Yong'an's mansion, their strength was so disparate as to be utterly hopeless.

The merchants were pale and didn't dare to breathe.

Qin Xuehua turned her head away, but Zhang Wanning clenched her fists excitedly.

Jiang Luohan felt a chill in her heart. Looking at the miserable state of the two people on the ground, and then at Zhang Heng's smug face, she felt a genuine disgust for this "fiancé" for the first time.

This person is not only stupid, but also vicious and ruthless, with no bottom line in his actions.