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

Qianqing Palace, side hall.

The fragrance of ambergris rose gently, filling the entire palace with a delightful aroma.

Empress Yang leaned against the soft couch, holding a cup of tea in her hand, her phoenix eyes slightly lowered, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Standing before the couch was a middle-aged official, dressed in a purple official robe with a gold fish-shaped pouch hanging from his waist; he was none other than Du Jiang, the Minister of Works.

He was also Du Lin's uncle, and one of the key figures of a prominent family from Guanzhong in the capital.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty is angry today."

"Continuing to investigate Zhang Xuan's case will have a very negative impact; it must be dealt with as soon as possible."

Empress Yang took a sip of tea, placed the teacup on the table with a soft sound.

Her voice was soft, yet it carried a chilling undertone:

"Who ordered you to kill Zhang Xuan and his wife and daughters?"

"His Majesty's fury is entirely understandable. You people, committing such acts behind my back, still have the nerve to ask me to deal with you?"

Du Jiang was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said:

"Your Majesty, we didn't do any of these things."

"That's all Consort Xie's framing tactics. What assassin? It must have been her doing. Her goal was to smear us."

Empress Yang remained silent. She knew better than anyone that such a clumsy tactic was the work of Cao Mo and his group.

The powerful clans of Guanzhong have been acting far too arrogantly in recent years!

Seeing that she didn't speak, Du Jiang had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue talking.

"Your Majesty, Liu Zhengsheng and Cao Mo cannot be lost. If these two are lost, the military and the capital prefecture will be thrown into turmoil."

"What has been lost is all your power, Your Majesty."

Empress Yang tapped her fingers lightly on the armrest twice, her phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, as if she were thinking about something.

"Go down. I will send someone to take Zhang Xuan's wife and daughter away."

"Once we capture these two people, Zhang Xuan will naturally change his story."

A hint of joy flashed in Du Jiang's eyes, and he quickly bowed, "Yes, Your Majesty is wise."

The hall quickly fell silent.

A beautiful maid walked in.

She had a slender figure and a beautiful face. She was dressed in a light green palace maid's outfit. She had a full chest and a slender waist. She walked with a graceful gait.

"Your Highness, Consort Xie must have taken precautions. It won't be easy to arrest Zhang Xuan's wife and daughters, will it?"

Empress Yang said calmly, "Then let's try a different approach and find a way to let me meet with that eunuch who is investigating the case."

The maid's heart skipped a beat, and she nodded, saying, "Yes, I will arrange it right away."

Empress Yang seemed to remember something else, and casually remarked:

"Cao Mo has been getting very close to the King of Wei recently. If something happens to him, the King of Wei will definitely not sit idly by."

"Just wait and see what the King of Wei will do."

……

Tai'anfang.

The Cao family mansion has vermilion gates with copper nails and stone lions guarding the house.

Two large red lanterns hung high in front of the door, giving the whole street an air of wealth and prosperity.

Li Fan stood in front of the gate, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Surround the entire Cao residence; not even a fly is allowed to escape."

"Seize all evidence of Cao Mo's collusion with Liu Zhengsheng."

"If anyone dares to obstruct..."

He paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes:

"Kill without mercy."

"yes!"

Hundreds of Imperial Guards responded in unison, the clanging of armor like a torrent, the sound of longswords being drawn forming a continuous chorus.

"boom!"

The door was kicked open.

A large number of Imperial Guards surged into Cao Cao's residence like a tidal wave, and screams, cries, and the sound of tables and chairs falling to the ground instantly erupted.

The entire Cao residence was in complete chaos, like a hornet's nest that had been poked.

Cao Mo stood at the gate, his face ashen.

He stared intently at the young eunuch, his chest heaving violently, his white beard trembling.

But he didn't panic. His correspondence with Liu Zhengsheng had long been handled cleanly and without any problems.

"You little beast, do you think you can bring me down by confiscating my residence?"

"You're too inexperienced. Tomorrow at court, I will certainly join forces with all the officials to impeach you for abusing your power!"

"When the time comes, even if His Majesty doesn't kill you, I will personally snap your neck!"

Li Fan didn't even glance at him when faced with this threat.

"Prefect Cao, you stand here and watch carefully."

"Watch how we turn your mansion upside down."

"Someone, keep a close eye on Magistrate Cao and don't allow him to move an inch."

After saying that, he turned and went inside, leaving Cao Mo standing alone and humiliated at the door.

The surrounding neighbors, including the powerful and wealthy of Tai'anfang, have been alarmed and have sent their servants to peek around the street corners.

The dignified Prefect of Jingzhao, a third-rank official, was blocked at his own doorstep by a eunuch and forced to stand like a dog.

This is an utter disgrace!

"You little beast, you just wait..."

Inner courtyard.

Li Fan walked in and was greeted by an atmosphere of extravagance.

Artificial hills and flowing water, carved beams and painted rafters, the courtyard is filled with precious flowers and plants, a single orchid is worth a hundred gold pieces.

"Tsk tsk tsk, how much does a Prefect of the Capital Prefecture earn in a year? How can he afford a house like this?"

"No one would believe he didn't embezzle."

Zhang Miaozhen followed behind him, her phoenix eyes sweeping over the maids who had been driven into the courtyard.

Each of them was beautiful and slender; just by looking at their clothes and makeup, they were no less attractive than the daughters of ordinary officials.

Such people talk about loyalty to the emperor and love for the country, but behind the scenes they have embezzled countless amounts of the people's hard-earned money.

"Get out of the way! All of you, get out of the way!"

A young man in fine clothes swaggered out.

He was in his early twenties, with eyes that seemed to be on top of his head, and his whole being exuded arrogance and domineering attitude.

It was Cao Jin, Cao Mo's only son.

"Which army are you from? Are you crazy?!"

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly, this is the residence of the Prefect of Jingzhao!"

"My father is the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture! My uncle-in-law is Liu Zhengsheng, the Minister of War!"

"You dare to cause trouble in my house? Believe me, my dad can cut your heads off with a single word!"

He got more and more excited as he spoke, spitting as he spoke, and his finger almost poked a captain of the Imperial Guard in the nose.

"Stop right there! Try moving again!"

Li Fan walked over.

Cao Jin was taken aback when he saw a eunuch, but then became even more arrogant:

"Oh, who do we have here? Turns out it's a castrated man without testicles..."

"Snap!"

Li Fan grabbed the finger that was poking him and snapped it off.

The sound of bone cracking was as crisp as breaking a chopstick.

"ah!!"

Cao Jin let out a bloodcurdling scream, collapsed to his knees, his face as white as paper, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"My finger! My finger is broken!!"

Li Fan kicked him in the chest.

"Bang!"

Cao Jin was like a toad that had been kicked away; he flew three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and crashed heavily into the flowerbed, crushing a patch of precious orchids.

He clutched his chest, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, his body convulsing in pain, yet he continued to yell:

"You dare hit me, you dead eunuch? My father won't let you get away with this, and neither will my uncle..."

Li Fan dusted off his trousers and said calmly to the Imperial Guard beside him:

"Have someone keep an eye on him."

"If he dares to cause any more trouble, kill him on the spot."