After failing the imperial examination, he began to wield immense power after entering the palace!

Zhang Xuan paused for a moment, then nodded bitterly.

"I know."

Li Fan then asked, "Do you know that just now, the Empress sent people to your house and almost killed your wife and daughters?"

"What?"

Zhang Xuan suddenly raised his head, looking at Zhang Miaozhen with a shocked expression, his voice changing:

"Miaozhen, is this true?"

Zhang Miaozhen nodded.

She took a deep breath and said something against her will:

"Fortunately, Eunuch Gao arrived in time with his men; otherwise, my daughter and mother... might not have seen their father again."

Zhang Xuan's face instantly contorted.

Anger, fear, and lingering dread—a mix of emotions surged across his face.

He was trembling all over, his lips were shaking, and it took him a long time to manage to squeeze out a sentence:

"I, Zhang Xuan, risked my life for the imperial court, fighting bloody battles in Liaodong, and in the end, they didn't even spare my wife and daughters. How dare they..."

Li Fan stepped forward, stood in front of Zhang Xuan, and looked directly at him.

"General Zhang, I admire your character."

"You risked your life to cover the rear in Liaodong and saved 100,000 troops. The court remembers this merit, the people remember it, and we remember it too."

"But now you see, they want you dead, they want your whole family dead."

"Why are you taking the blame for them?"

His words, one by one, were like nails driven into Zhang Xuan's heart:

"As long as you recant your testimony now and testify that Liu Zhengsheng was the culprit behind the defeat."

"The Imperial Concubine will not only save your life and that of your entire family, but will also bestow upon you a life of wealth and honor."

"Are you really willing to die bearing the stigma of treason?"

He planned to win over Zhang Xuan, a general who had repeatedly achieved military exploits in Liaodong, who would become a great asset to him in the future.

Zhang Xuan's body jolted violently.

After a long while, he raised his head, his eyes filled with struggle:

"Changing generals on the battlefield is a major taboo."

"If I testify against Liu Zhengsheng, what will happen to the 100,000 troops in Liaodong?"

"Who will lead the army? Who will defend against the Tartars?"

Li Fan looked at him.

Even at a time like this, he was still thinking of his soldiers. Zhang Xuan was a good general who was loyal to the emperor and loved his country.

"General Zhang, have you ever thought about this?"

"This time, due to Liu Zhengsheng's command error, the 100,000-strong army was almost completely wiped out."

"Next time, if Liu Zhengsheng leads his troops to fight the Tartars again, without you covering his retreat this time, do you think any of those 100,000 soldiers will survive?"

Zhang Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

He suddenly realized how serious the problem was.

"General Zhang."

Li Fan's voice was low, yet it possessed an irresistible power:

"As long as you stand on Her Majesty's side, we can help you return to Liaodong and regain command of the army."

"At that time, when you stand in a high position and hold military power, you will be able to truly protect the country and safeguard the lives of those soldiers."

Zhang Xuan thought of his brothers in Liaodong who had risked their lives alongside him, and the faces of those who had fallen under the Tartars' blades...

Seeing her father still hesitating, Zhang Miaozhen stepped forward and pressed his hand down:

"Father, Liu Zhengsheng knows nothing about military affairs. Keeping him around will only bring disaster to the Liaodong army sooner or later."

"Only by replacing him can we save those soldiers."

"Father, do you really want to watch all those brothers who have followed you for so many years die under Liu Zhengsheng's incompetent command?"

Seeing that Zhang Xuan was already wavering, Li Fan added fuel to the fire: "General Zhang, you are a husband and a father, yet you can't even protect your own wife and daughters."

"You'll just stay here, waiting to sign and put your fingerprints on the document, waiting to be beheaded, waiting for your wife and daughters to die with you."

"We won't force you."

Li Fan turned around and walked out without looking back.

"Miss Zhang, let's go."

Zhang Miaozhen glanced at her father, gritted her teeth, and followed in Li Fan's footsteps.

Zhang Xuan could no longer hold back and blurted out:

"I am willing to obey Your Majesty's orders and testify against Liu Zhengsheng, I only beg Your Majesty to spare the lives of my wife and daughters!"

Li Fan finally showed a satisfied expression and said, "General Zhang, this will be the most correct thing you have ever done in your life."

"You will be brought before His Majesty at the court assembly three days from now."

"At that time, you can directly accuse Liu Zhengsheng, saying that he coerced you into confessing after his defeat and put all the blame on you."

"Furthermore, Cao Mo, the Prefect of Jingzhao, dispatched Wu Zheng, the legal officer, to the Ministry of Justice prison to force you to sign a confession."

He's the kind of person who always seeks revenge.

Since Cao Mo and Liu Zhengsheng are related, he had already planned to frame Cao Mo.

Let's start our revenge by killing Cao Mo!

Du Ming, wait a little longer!

Zhang Xuan's lips twitched.

First, they accused a Minister of War, and now they're trying to implicate a third-rank Prefect of the Capital.

This eunuch Gao is really going to cause a huge mess.

But he had no way out.

I might as well go all out.

"Yes, Eunuch Gao."

Li Fan's smile softened slightly:

"General Zhang, please rest. I assure you that the Empress's people will not bother you again before the court assembly."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the cell.

Zhang Miaozhen glanced at her father and whispered, "Father, take care."

"Da da da..."

A series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the end of the corridor.

A jailer, sweating profusely, ran over and bowed low from a distance, his face plastered with a fawning smile.

"This humble official greets Your Excellency! I was unaware of your esteemed presence and have failed to greet you properly. I hope you will forgive me..."

"Snapped!"

Li Fan slapped him across the face.

The prison warden was completely stunned by the slap. His head buzzed, and he spun around on the spot, almost falling to the ground.

Zhang Miaozhen paused, her phoenix eyes widening slightly.

Another fight?

Is this eunuch Gao going up against the officials today?

"You lackey."

Li Fan, with a cold face, reprimanded sharply:

"I told you to guard this Ministry of Justice prison, and you still let the dogs from the Jingzhao Prefecture in."

"Do you think our mistress is easy to talk to, or do you think you've lived too long?"

The prison warden covered his face, tears welling up in his eyes from the pain, but he didn't dare utter a single word.

He knelt on the ground with a thud, his head hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"Forgive me, Your Excellency! Have mercy, Your Excellency! I will never dare to do it again! Please, Your Excellency, have mercy..."

Li Fan looked down at him as if he were a dog lying at his feet.

He, too, once had to look up to these officials.

Once upon a time, even a prison warden could beat him half to death.

Now, this official, dressed in green robes, was kneeling before him, wagging his tail and begging for mercy like a dog.

Is this what power tastes like?

So fucking cool!

"Listen to me carefully."

"If Zhang Xuan loses even a single hair or a piece of skin in the next three days..."

"We'll take the heads off your whole family."

The jailer trembled all over, nearly soiling himself in fright, and immediately kowtowed:

"Yes, yes, yes! This humble official will certainly keep a close eye on General Zhang! I will definitely keep a close eye on him! Thank you, Your Excellency! Thank you, Your Excellency..."

Li Fan stood up, stopped looking at him, and strode outside.

Zhang Miaozhen followed behind, glancing back at the prison warden who was slumped on the ground, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

This eunuch, despite his young age, is more ruthless than those old foxes.

She couldn't tell whether she admired or feared him...

"Whoosh!"

Li Fan turned around and looked at Zhang Miaozhen.

His wheat-colored face was gleaming in the sunlight, with sharp eyebrows and phoenix eyes, exuding a commanding presence.

The tight-fitting outfit accentuated her slender yet powerful waist and her round, perky buttocks.

Even when standing still, it resembles a taut bow, full of powerful beauty.

"Miss Zhang, our family will come to pick you up in three days to go to the palace together."

"At that time, you will be a witness, accusing Liu Zhengsheng of sending people to kill you to silence you."

Zhang Miaozhen nodded, her phoenix eyes showing no hesitation:

"Thank you, Eunuch Gao."

……

Jingzhao Prefecture.

An elderly man in a purple robe held a teacup, his face somber.

He was Cao Mo, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, and a relative by marriage to the Liu family of Hedong.

He was in a terrible predicament these past two days. A fire broke out inexplicably in the Jingzhao Prefecture prison, killing dozens of prisoners, and he still hadn't found out the cause.

Now, someone from Consort Xie's faction has appeared to stir things up.

"Your Excellency, Prefect."

Wu Zheng bent over and said cautiously:

"The White Tiger Hall's assassination attempt on Zhang Xuan's wife and daughter failed. Zhang Xuan must already know about this, and he will most likely side with Consort Xie."

"Since we've already gone this far, let's go all the way and send someone into the Ministry of Justice prison to kill Zhang Xuan. Dead men tell no tales."