Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

After compiling Yuan Shouchang's confession, Shen Lang returned to the guesthouse immediately.

"Old Jiang, please inform the brothers in the Jingwei Division who are fast enough to deliver these confessions to His Majesty tonight."

"Please rest assured, Duke Zhenguo, I will deliver it on time."

"What Duke of Zhenguo? It's just a title. I'm actually a centurion in the Jingwei Division, which is your subordinate in terms of rank."

"Your subordinate wouldn't dare. If His Majesty found out, he would skin me alive."

"You're being so silly. Learn from Fatty Jiang, that's what you call doing whatever you want."

"Hehe, how can they be the same?"

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Jiang Chaoyun, Shen Lang directly tossed him the confession and the communication jade tablet.

Jiang Chaoyun didn't linger and immediately went to contact the other brothers in the Jingwei Division.

No sooner had Jiang Chaoyun left than Mu Qingqiu appeared in Shen Lang's room with a strange expression.

"Is something wrong?"

"Ah."

"explain."

Faced with Shen Lang's simple and clear words, Mu Qingqiu took a deep breath before asking, "Was it necessary to go so far tonight?"

The thought of Shen Lang directly controlling Yuan Shouchang's entire family tonight, and even using his only son as a bargaining chip to force Yuan Shouchang to reveal everything he knew, made Mu Qingqiu feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Where is it too much?"

Shen Lang wiped his face and asked in return.

"A mere prefect of Suzhou has embezzled over four million taels of salt tax that should have gone into the national treasury over the past ten years. Compared to that, am I not allowed to use some tricks?"

"But his family members are innocent. Why not use legitimate means to investigate them?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang couldn't help but sneer and threw the towel in his hand directly into the basin of water.

"Do you know what kind of opponent we're facing now? Conventional methods? Liu Wu has already used them."

He's already been falsely accused and imprisoned, and a group of people are clamoring to kill him. I'm going to follow Liu Wu's old path.

"I'm afraid I'll be the next one to go to prison. What will I do then? Will His Majesty personally issue an edict to save me?"

Mu Qingqiu: "That's not what I meant. I was just thinking that innocent people shouldn't be involved."

"innocent?"

Shen Lang sat back down at the table, picked up a bowl of white porridge and stirred it a few times.

"Commander Mu, if that's what you're thinking, you should go back to your life of adventure as soon as possible. This officialdom is not for you at all."

Mu Qingqiu quickly sat down opposite Shen Lang: "As you know, I'm a member of the martial arts world, and people in the martial arts world believe in settling scores quickly and decisively..."

"Given your current status, the words 'seeking revenge' shouldn't come out of your mouth."

The Jingwei Division exists solely to achieve its purpose; the process is unimportant, only the result matters.

Shen Lang interrupted her without any politeness.

"Let me tell you, everything Yuan Shouchang eats, wears, and uses is made from the blood and sweat of the people."

Their family's affluent lifestyle was built on embezzling tax revenue from the national treasury; they have no right to claim innocence.

From the moment they began using the national treasury's tax revenue, they had already become complicit with Yuan Shouchang!

This is just the tip of the iceberg in Suzhou's officialdom. How many such powerful families exist in the entire Jiangnan officialdom?

Don't their families know that their current lifestyle is the result of corruption and bribery?

Don't be naive, they're used to it and don't see anything wrong with it at all.

The silver in the provincial treasury has long become their private coffers. If this is not rectified, how can our new policies be implemented?

Do you want the phrase "national prosperity and people's well-being" to remain just words, without any real progress for decades or even centuries?

Mu Qingqiu fell silent.

"Commander Mu, I don't want to hear you say such naive things again. Remember, the imperial court is not the martial arts world."

It's not a place that comes about arbitrarily; the purpose of the imperial court is to consolidate its own position while also taking care of the people's livelihood and order.

These corrupt aristocratic families are already the biggest cancer in the Great Chu court and society.

If we don't remove it soon, it will only become the last straw that breaks the camel's back for our Great Chu!

I don't want to hear you say such ridiculous things again.

Mu Qingqiu clenched her fists and let out a long breath.

"Okay, I understand. Don't worry, kid, I'm not someone who can't understand things."

"As long as it can truly serve the country and its people, I will definitely do it without hesitation."

Shen Lang's tone softened a bit: "I have to go out for a while, so you don't need to wait for me to come back."

"Where are you going so late?"

“In Yuan Shouchang’s confession, he mentioned a salt official named Huang Daorong. I have to go and have a heart-to-heart talk with him.”

"Then let me go with you."

"No need."

Shen Lang directly refused her offer to accompany him.

"This matter is still unclear, and I must act secretly. You stay at the inn; if anyone from the Governor's Office tries to find out, you can help me cover it up."

Mu Qingqiu thought for a moment and finally agreed: "Then be careful. If anything happens to you, my junior sister won't let me off the hook."

"Hehe, you should worry about yourself. It seems that Zheng Xiaoru has something on your mind today."

"Him? Heh, I'm afraid he won't come. If he dares to come, I'll cut off his manhood and make him a spineless eunuch."

Shen Lang was speechless. He shook his head and opened the door: "Alright, I'm leaving now."

After saying that, he leaped and disappeared into the night.

"No wonder he was able to defeat my third junior brother in one move. With that kind of skill..."

Even if the master were to intervene, he probably wouldn't gain much advantage.

Where did my junior sister find such a talented individual, skilled in both literature and martial arts?

……

Salt official, a mere eighth-rank official, would be at the bottom of the list, not to mention in the capital, even in the provinces.

However, even scions of prominent families would go to great lengths to obtain this official position.

Why? Because the salt officials make a lot of money.

What was the most profitable business in feudal society?

It's nothing more than salt and iron.

Even if your family is destitute, you can become a salt official and make a fortune in just a few years during your term.

Moreover, salt officials are mostly idle. As long as they count the salt bags entering the warehouse on time and register them, there are basically no special things to pay attention to.

Therefore, being a salt official was indeed a leisurely and lucrative job that didn't require any extraordinary abilities.

At worst, they'll be pushed out by their superiors to be scapegoats and lose their lives when something happens.

But Huang Daorong, the salt official, was different. Not only was he not afraid of being beheaded, but he also lived a very comfortable life.

More importantly, he was not from a noble family, but a commoner who was a minor official. He was rewarded with this lucrative position because he sided with the right person.

"Ah~"

He was enjoying a leisurely drink in the salt warehouse official's residence, feeling quite content and at ease.

"Oh dear, another imperial envoy has arrived. What use is this constant coming and going?"

In the end, all they'll do is scapegoat a few people and execute them, and it'll all just fizzle out, won't it? I don't know what they're so busy with!

Huang Daorong naturally knew something about Shen Lang's entry into the city today.

But for him, it doesn't matter who comes.

After all, the Zheng family calls the shots in Suzhou, and outsiders can't really preach here.

Just as he picked up his wine glass, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, he suddenly realized that an extremely young man was sitting opposite him.

"Huh? Who are you?!"

Huang Daorong was shocked and hurriedly got up to find his sword.

"Don't bother looking, it's right here."

Shen Lang simply threw his two swords on the table.

"Lord Huang, you're having a great time, drinking wine and singing songs. Anyone who didn't know better would think you came from some opera troupe."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Shen Lang. I am the newly appointed Inspector General of the Imperial Court. Lord Wang, please sit down and let's talk."

Shen Lang slammed his gold badge on the table and looked at him with a half-smile.

Huang Daorong was instantly paralyzed with fear. He cautiously glanced at the identity token and felt as if the sky was about to fall.