"Lord Tang is the God of Wealth of this world, and furthermore, the spokesperson for the Monarch of Darkness on this continent! Naturally, he is qualified to say such things. As long as the Monarch of Darkness exists in this world, as long as His Majesty still reigns supreme, Lord Tang’s position is unshakeable, impossible for anyone to shake! Even the monarchs of various nations must show him deference and approach him with extreme caution." Tie Huaili said bitterly, "It is precisely for this reason that I wish to become a retainer of Lord Tang!"

"What kind of reason is that?" Tang Yuan’s voice was filled with a suppressed, overwhelming anger: "Jun Sanshao and I have been friends since we were boys, and that bond remains strong to this day. This has always been an affair strictly between the two of us; what does it have to do with outsiders like you? So what if he is now the Monarch of Darkness now? Even when he was opposed by the Three Great Holy Lands, and the entire continent was against him, I still stood by his side. I have never valued his status or abilities; the only thing I value is the man himself—Jun Moxie! Even if Jun Moxie were no longer the Monarch of Darkness, even if he were a beggar or crippled, he would still be my brother, Tang Yuan! This will never change! But this has absolutely nothing to do with the endless squabbles of your official circles!"

"Let me be perfectly clear," Tang Yuan stated heavily, "I, Tang Yuan, am nothing more than a profiteer. Whether in Tianxiang City or anywhere else on the Xuanxuan Continent, Tang Yuan has no faction of his own. This is especially true in the treacherous world of bureaucracy! The reputation of the Monarch of Darkness is not a banner you outsiders can hoist for your own gain! This is not only a taboo for Third Young Master, but also for me, Tang Yuan!" Tang Yuan emphasized.

Tie Huaili was in no way offended, and said in a deep voice: "Lord Tang remains above worldly affairs because he has already reached the pinnacle of this world, naturally allowing him boundless freedom. However, the vast majority of people are still caught in the mortal coil, unable to escape their circumstances. Having served in the military for half a lifetime, I witnessed the families of many fallen brothers being bullied and having nowhere to turn for justice. I resolutely gave up my promising military career and returned to Tianxiang with a single thought: to do something for my deceased, fallen soldiers and brothers!"

Tang Yuan tilted his head and looked at him mockingly, "A fine speech, but your current actions suggest you are blinded by greed, willing to throw yourself under the wing of a mere merchant. Do you even remember your original purpose now!?"

"How could I forget! I have never forgotten for a single moment!" Tie Huaili exclaimed excitedly: "Since returning to Tianxiang, thanks to Elder Murong personally arranging things for me, I first became a Registrar, then an Imperial Censor, an official speaker; after several turns, I attained the position of Judicial Commissioner in the capital. However, after Elder Murong retired, I was demoted three ranks, becoming the current Inspector-General of the Capital Surveillance Department.

"Compared to the high-flying court officials, although my position in the Surveillance Department is not high and the rank is minor, this post is precisely what I dreamed of most! The Capital Surveillance Department oversees the inspection of capital officials and the oversight of the populace, subordinate to the Ministry of Justice—it is a department with real power. But what I value most is that the common people, when suffering an injustice, can come to me to appeal! And among them are many descendants or widows of soldiers!"

Tie Huaili let out a mournful laugh: "Lord Tang was born into wealth from childhood, enjoying silks and fine food; you naturally cannot know how bitter the lives of the widows and descendants of those border soldiers who died in battle truly are! But no matter how bitter, they still must persist in living. Yet, this word 'persist' sounds easy to say, but how difficult it is to actually accomplish!"

"Especially for those soldiers' families who have daughters still possessing considerable beauty—this endowment from Heaven, instead of being a blessing, ironically becomes the root cause leading to the ruin of their homes and the death of their families! Simply because their children are good-looking, it ultimately leads to their families being destroyed—is this not a tragic and absurd thing? Yet such tragedies occur ceaselessly, happening again and again!"

Tie Huaili grew more and more agitated as he spoke, finally rising to his feet, seeming to regain the heroic spirit of a man charging into battle in his prime.

Tang Yuan listened quietly, not interrupting.

"Since taking this post as Inspector-General of the Capital, I have paid particular attention to this area! But only after actually occupying this position did I realize that many things are not as simple as I originally imagined. At first, I naively believed that simply by being in this position, I could protect the families of my brothers! How could I have known that those I managed to protect were all insignificant; meaning, I could only protect them if others allowed me to. If others forbade my protection, then I could offer none!"

"Because those who dared to commit these heinous acts were nine out of ten the young masters from powerful and noble families! Not a single one of these families is someone I, a mere Inspector-General of the Capital, could investigate or afford to offend! To attempt it would, at best, bring humiliation upon myself, and those whose pride was wounded would retaliate even more fiercely! Most tragically, they wouldn't retaliate against me; they would unleash endless cruelties upon the victims, and I would be powerless, forced only to watch!"

Tie Huaili's voice turned indignant: "Countless times, people who were persecuted and oppressed sought me out, hoping I, the so-called upright official, would champion their cause. And I did champion their cause, but after I intervened, their fates only grew more miserable! I petitioned the Imperial Ear countless times, or appealed to my superiors in the Ministry of Justice—all of it vanished into thin air, without the slightest response. Without the backing of the Imperial Court, I, Tie Huaili, nominally the Inspector-General, could not even deal with the son of a mere grain merchant!," Tie Huaili continued, his voice laced with bitterness, "In the eyes of the capital's official families and the wealthy elite, my running around desperately was just a joke, a complete and utter farce! Some even made a sport of bullying the families of the fallen soldiers for entertainment, just to watch Tie Huaili run around in vain, hitting wall after wall! Then they would sit aside with their wine cups, watching, never tiring of the spectacle!, Tie Huaili said mournfully: "I did not kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me! It was my own overestimation of my abilities that led to my humiliation, turning me into a mere plaything, and that's fine; people are born to be played with. If not by themselves, then by their superiors, or by the world itself. But... what fault did my brothers' families have?!"

He suddenly became fiercely loud, as if roaring: "My comrades and brothers guarded the frontiers for years, fighting and bleeding for the nation. After their unfortunate deaths, the state compensation was a mere fifty taels of silver! And the orphans and widows they left behind are then toyed with and bullied by the very powerful families whose lives they protected with their own lives! **Humiliation! Even enduring silently and backing down was meaningless; they were forced to watch as these families, running in circles with no way out, finally surrendered in despair, sending their own daughters forward to be trampled upon—only then would it be amusing, satisfying, and enough for them...

"And those who refused this fate but were powerless to change it, one by one, they disappeared into the world without a sound, in their helplessness and despair. An upright official? When has there ever been an upright official in this world?!"

"Is it possible that the powerful elite of Tianxiang are so devoid of humanity? Do they not know gratitude?"

Tie Huaili's voice was already hoarse, his eyes nearly bursting from rage!

Tang Yuan was stunned into silence.

He hadn't expected his casual question to uncover such a severe state of affairs.

"Lord Tang, you too have frequented the pleasure houses, you too have indulged in romantic escapades!" Tie Huaili panted through his nostrils, his voice filled with sorrow, "But do you know how many of those so-called 'women ridden by a thousand men' you frequented were actually the descendants of those heroes of Tianxiang who died in battle?! Many of them were sold to the brothels by the powerful nobles after they grew tired of them!!"

"Those... many of them were once innocent, pure, and chaste girls from the families of the fallen heroes! They should all have been the darlings we cherish and protect dearly!"

Tie Huaili gasped for air, his sharp gaze fixed on Tang Yuan, as if ready to spit fire. Suddenly, he roared, "God of Wealth Tang Yuan! You stand high above the world, above worldly affairs, but do you know that the heroic spirits of those who died in battle are weeping in the Nine Springs?!"

"I can hear them!"

Tie Huaili slapped his chest, making a loud thudding sound: "Every night in my dreams, I see my fallen brothers, begging me to take care of their families as much as I possibly can! But I cannot do it! I am powerless! I am guilty! I am guilty!"

Tang Yuan sighed mournfully, stood up, and said, "Lord Tie, I misspoke and offended you just now. Please sit down. Sit down and speak slowly."

Jun Moxie, listening from behind, had an expression like frozen water, a chilling killing intent radiating from him.

The matters Tie Huaili described were undoubtedly true facts.

The high-ranking, powerful figures in Tianxiang might disdain such sordid acts.

But the medium-sized families engaged in these pursuits with relish.

And throughout the Tianxiang Empire, the complex web of relationships built over decades and centuries meant that pulling one thread could set everything in motion! Even if it was only a member of a small family involved, if they provoked one, and the follow-up matters were not handled properly, that person could find their backer in an extremely short time and have the matter smoothed over silently!

As long as they couldn't be struck down in one blow, it gave them countless opportunities to maneuver, prompting them to sharpen their wits and use every means necessary to burrow into that network, forming an even larger, yet immovable system of crime!

Heaven’s net is vast and leaks nothing! But where in the mortal world is there a heavenly net?!

If this continues, it will become increasingly difficult to resolve. The powerful and wealthy will become ever more interconnected, acting with increasing impunity and lawlessness, and the lives of common people will naturally become harder and harder! Eventually, this contradiction will reach its zenith, and the nation will face what is called 'rebellion'..."

Tie Huaili collapsed back into his seat. He was so emotionally agitated now that he completely forgot that he had come to seek a favor from Tang Yuan; he seemed utterly unburdened, his eyes red, stating: "That is how it is. The people of the capital still spread rumors that I, Tie, am some kind of righteous official, a good official who champions the people's causes. In reality, I am no righteous official; I can achieve nothing, yet the common people rely on me more and more, and my reputation is actually rising day by day. My monument is also growing taller..." (To be continued)