He changed Tiwat

Businessmen act as fronts for officials to embezzle public funds, while government officials simply transfer state assets to their own pockets.

The money earned by the Ginhara-cho (Golden Plains Office) ultimately belongs to the state, not to the Ginhara-cho itself. The salt god's descendants of the Ginhara-cho are civil servants who receive salaries and benefits—not operating profits.

So even if they collude with businessmen, they have to do it secretly.

The nation's reputation as a "contractual nation" and the authority of its laws must always be taken into consideration.

The fishmonger Ye Mingxiang found out was probably a errand boy for a businessman who colluded with Yinyuan Hall.

They were simply no longer satisfied with operating in secrecy.

If the "reforms" on Tianji Star are truly successfully implemented, and salt and minerals in Liyue become entirely privately owned, not only will workers be unprotected, but the market will also transform from "state-owned" to "privately owned." They talk a good game about free competition and market expansion—but what will others have to compete with them on?

For three thousand years, the Silver Plains Hall has been controlled by their family. The witnesses, circumstantial witnesses, organizers, and co-organizers are all their people. How can others fight against them? Once the salt mines are privatized, they can openly pocket Liyue's tax revenue, which will all be legal income.

Taxation has always been an important means of balancing the gap between the rich and the poor. The reason why Silver Plains, Glorious Hill, and Dewy Hill are among the eight gates of Liyue is precisely because the profits and taxes generated by their industries are an important source of Liyue's finances.

The income earned by state-owned enterprises belongs to the country's taxes and profits, and should be used for the benefit of the people. However, private businesses have no obligation to do charity with their private income.

If businessmen really do charity—it's usually to avoid taxes.

For example, if a merchant from Liyue donates a large sum of money to a charitable foundation in Mondstadt or Fontaineble for charitable purposes, that money is naturally tax-free. The foundation, in gratitude of this philanthropist, would then give them a gift of several hundred million Mora each year—that's perfectly reasonable, and gifts from others are also tax-free…

The kind-hearted people of Yujingtai have done many good deeds like this.

The five "reforms" of Tianji Star, when put into practice, are actually to make Liyue forever a place where "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." It's like those who get on the bus first are shouting, "There are no empty seats on the bus. For your safety, don't crowd in," while locking the doors.

"I secretly detained the fishmonger and his goods, and secretly investigated. Eventually, I traced the evidence back to Tianji Star Zhuji, who was then the director of Yinyuan Hall. I gathered the incriminating evidence, contacted Xingxiang, and together we went to Tianji Star's residence to arrest him."

Han Fulai sighed softly, as if he were witnessing the cycle of thousands of years of history, "He will not surrender easily."

Ye Mingxiang shook her head. "No, he surrendered without resistance. He was even waiting for me to arrest him."

One afternoon more than four hundred years ago, three Seven Stars appeared in the flower hall of Tianji Star, a rare occurrence.

With Ye Mingxiang and Xing Xiang's skills, they were not afraid of Zhuji's counterattack. In order to prevent the news of capturing Tianji Star from leaking out, they did not tell anyone beforehand, nor did they bring any soldiers from the Qianyan Army.

But the news seems to have leaked out.

When these two uninvited guests entered Tianjixing's residence, Tianjixing had already prepared a banquet in the flower hall to entertain them.

The wine was good, the banquet was good... but the people were not good people.

Therefore, Ye Mingxiang neither drank his wine nor attended his banquet.

Zhuji didn't mind at all; this banquet was actually prepared by him for himself.

You can't drink such good wine or eat such good food in prison.

He calmly finished eating and drinking, then stood up and said to Ye Mingxiang, "Let's go."

His tone and demeanor didn't resemble that of a wanted criminal who had been arrested, but rather that he was going to stay at another residence for a while.

But Ye Mingxiang didn't take him away so easily.

"Who told you we were coming? And who told you when we were coming?" Ye Mingxiang asked.

Zhuji simply smiled. Although he was a middle-aged man, he was very well-maintained, with no wrinkles on his face and no out-of-shape figure.

When he smiled, he still had the demeanor of a refined nobleman from the Jade Capital Terrace.

He smiled and pointed to the sky, meaning something like, "Heaven knows."

"It's no use trying to hide it. We'll find out who it is." Xingxiang's hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his tone unfriendly.

“Ha.” Zhuji’s smile widened. “You can’t find out.”

Ye Mingxiang frowned, ultimately unwilling to waste time here. He knew that among the Seven Stars, there were still those with close ties to Tianji Star, and there might be informants. There was no point in saying more; he should first take down the chief culprit who embezzled state funds.

At this moment, Zhuji suddenly spoke again, "How many years?"

"What?" Ye Mingxiang asked.

“If you arrest me, how many years can you imprison me?” Zhuji replied.

"You can listen in during the court hearing at the Dali Hall," Ye Mingxiang said coldly.

Zhuji smiled and shook her head. "Eighteen years. No more than eighteen years. I can wait."

Ye Mingxiang sneered, "What, you mean you'll just stay on Tianji Star once you get out?"

“Of course not. It doesn’t matter if it’s not me.” Zhuji was still smiling.

"Reform should be undertaken slowly and deliberately, not hastily. Just as one can carve a stone from the bottom of a rock with a candle, eventually pearls and gems will emerge. The same principle applies to the complex matters of Liyue."

He was reciting the ending of his book, "The Gemstone Mine".

"I failed because I was too hasty, but with my example, those who come after me will not make the same mistake. They will be more cautious and thorough. The day I want will eventually come, but what you want will never come."

"With me here, the day you want will never come." Ye Mingxiang's voice grew colder.

“How about we make a bet?” Zhuji laughed. “I will live to see the new policy implemented, and before that, you will die.”

"Then you lost the bet."

Ye Mingxiang waved her hand.

Zhuji's head flew into the air, and blood splattered five steps inside the flower hall.

Chapter 292 Let the Autumn Wind Blow White Hair, Old Frost Gone? [4k]

The headless body of Zhuji slowly fell to the ground; she was dead beyond any doubt.

Xingxiang was speechless for a moment.

He was a man accustomed to bloodshed, but he never expected his friend to act so violently. Fortunately, there were only the three of them in the flower hall, otherwise, screams from the others would probably have already rang out.

But how should this matter be resolved? To him, a villain like Zhuji deserved to die. But Zhuji was still Tianji Star of Liyue, not someone who could be killed so easily. Killing her before sentencing was not only against the law, but it would also give others cause for gossip if word got out.

Ye Mingxiang gently shook the blood off her hands and silently wiped them with a handkerchief she took out from her bosom.

"He resisted arrest and remained obstinate."

Ye Mingxiang doesn't mind letting justice be served sooner for such an incorrigible person.

Xingxiang smiled wryly, "Yes, I saw it."

As long as there is no fourth person here, Yao Guangxing's words will naturally serve as evidence. Xingxiang is not an inflexible person. As long as the person's crimes are made public and it is stated that Ye Mingxiang was acting in self-defense under threat, it is not impossible to kill her—but this would have to be made public, which would inevitably cause a huge uproar.

A sigh suddenly came from afar behind the two of them.

"But I saw it too. You shouldn't have killed him."

There's a fourth person here!

The two were startled.

With their combined cultivation levels, nothing within a hundred feet could escape their perception—so who could possibly evade their senses?

Ye Mingxiang turned around and was surprised to see a tall man in a hat and wide belt standing outside the flower hall.

He didn't recognize the person.

But I recognized those golden eyes.

He had seen those eyes during the "Invitation to Immortals Ceremony".

Four hundred years later, the person who changed his clothes and looked the same was named Zhongli.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." The two hurriedly bowed.

The Emperor stepped into the flower hall, his face expressionless.

Legend has it that the Emperor transformed into countless beings, measuring every inch of Liyue's land with his own feet, leaving behind a wealth of anecdotes and stories—but none of these anecdotes include the Emperor visiting the Seven Stars' home.

And it just so happens that they chose to visit at this particular time.

"Ye Mingxiang, you are Tianquan Star, who governs the laws. Let me ask you, what is the first article of the Liyue Criminal Code?"

The Rock King Emperor asked in a deep voice.

“Murderers shall die, those who injure or steal shall be punished,” Ye Mingxiang replied immediately.

This is an entry from the original version of the Liyue Codex that has been preserved to this day. Legend has it that when the Geo Archon was still known as "Gui Li Ji," he made this law with the people.

The law has undergone countless revisions, but this one clause has always been written on the first page of the Liyue Codex.

"You just killed someone," the Emperor said.

"Yes," Ye Mingxiang admitted.

"This person should die according to the law?" the Emperor asked again.

“According to the law… it shouldn’t be like this,” Ye Mingxiang still admitted.

"Then why did you kill him?" the Emperor continued.

"For the eternal stability of Liyue, and for the well-being of humanity." Ye Mingxiang used a line from "The Gemstone Mine".

He took out the book "Treasures of Pearls and Gems" from his bosom and handed it to the Emperor along with the evidence and confessions he had collected.

But the Emperor took it without looking at it.

The Emperor shook his head. "There is no such thing as 'the eternal stability of Liyue and the harmonious coexistence of humanity' in the law. He committed a crime, so you can deal with him according to the law. I'll ask you one more time, why did you kill him?"

"...because the punishment he received from the law was too lenient." Ye Mingxiang finally spoke her mind.

He knew, of course, that Zhuji was not to be executed according to the law, but if this person were alive, how could he intimidate the high-ranking officials on the Jade Capital Terrace?

"You are the Star of Heavenly Power, you have the power to revise the laws." The Emperor's voice was completely flat.

Ye Mingxiang lowered her eyes. "The revision of the law needs to be approved by the 'Seven Star Council.' They won't allow corruption to be punishable by death."

"How do you know you won't pass if you haven't even tried?" the Emperor asked.

"Because they almost passed the proposal in this book, 'The Gemstone Mine.' There's an old saying in Liyue: 'People die for wealth, birds die for food,' but those who seek wealth don't want to die for it, especially when they hold power."

Ye Mingxiang's voice gradually grew louder, "I have reviewed the changes in the Liyue Penal Code over the past three thousand years. In the last two thousand years, the number of death penalty provisions has been decreasing. Two thousand years ago, embezzling state funds was a capital offense, but now it is a crime punishable by life! Nowadays, those who steal from banks or rob merchants are still subject to the death penalty, but those who steal from the state treasury can be exempted from the death penalty! Not only can the death penalty be avoided, but even crimes punishable by life are not inescapable. As long as a doctor is bribed to issue a medical certificate, those who are ill can even be granted medical parole."

"If such parasites are allowed to live on in this world, I feel I have no face to face the people of Liyue, nor to face the 'Heavenly Justice' banner hanging in the Dali Hall. Killing him is for the sake of justice!"

The Emperor looked at the young man before him and finally sighed again.

"You could have lived a long time."

Ye Mingxiang's back hunched slightly. He felt that those golden eyes could see through everything, through the star-shaped iris hidden by his secret technique, and through the "curse of immortality" in his blood.

"...You could have won the bet. If only you hadn't killed anyone."

—This is the bet that Ye Mingxiang and Zhuji made just now.

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingxiang suddenly recalled Zhuji's smile from before.

He remembered that when he asked who had informed on him, Zhuji pointed to the sky.

God knows.

In Liyue, the Geo Archon is the heavens.

How did Zhuji know he would come, and even prepare a banquet in advance to wait for him? Of course, it was because someone had told him he would be arrested.

Why did Zhuji surrender instead of trying to resist or escape? Of course, someone ordered him to do so.

Who could make Tianji Star do this? It could only be the Rock King Emperor, of course.

He knows everything.

He clearly knows everything, so why doesn't he care?

Does he know about the grievances and suffering of the people of Kanria?

However, the gods who destroyed Kanria included this Rock King.

"What should be done to the murderer?" the Emperor asked.

"Pay with your life," Ye Mingxiang replied immediately.

The Emperor nodded, “You have abused your power, which is unacceptable under the law. A life for a life is the justice of heaven and earth.”

"But I have a question, Liyue, is there really any justice?" Ye Mingxiang looked back at the god before her with her head held high.

Upon hearing this, Xingxiang, who had been holding his breath and waiting for the Emperor's judgment, quickly reached out and pulled him back. This was blatant disobedience to the gods!

But Ye Mingxiang showed no sign of stopping. Pointing at Zhuji's corpse, he shouted, "Killing one person requires paying with one's life, yet you want to slaughter millions of people in Liyue and still hold a high position and enjoy honor? Can the death brought by a blade or axe in an instant compare to the slow slaughter of hunger, cold-blooded humiliation, cruelty, and grief?"

"He is all alone, and a single coffin could hold him, yet people keep telling us to be cautious and reflect. But the true horror that has existed since ancient times, that indescribable, inhuman horror, could fill a coffin that even the entire Liyue could not contain! Can't you really see that?"

The Rock King Emperor did not answer. He stood quietly in front of Ye Mingxiang, like a black stone that had remained unmoved for thousands of years.