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

Feng Bao put down his teacup, stretched out two withered fingers, and waved them in the air.

"First, he forbade anyone from the Eastern Depot from touching a single penny."

"Think about it, the Eastern Depot has hundreds of employees, and every single one of them makes a living by confiscating property and skimming profits."

"On his very first day in office, he cut off everyone's source of income. Without our intervention, those people from the Eastern Depot will isolate him on their own."

"At that time, he'll be all alone, and we can do whatever we want with him."

Du Jiang nodded, agreeing that it made sense.

"And what about the second one?"

A sinister smile curled at the corner of Feng Bao's lips:

"He allowed the people of the Eastern Depot to embezzle money."

"As long as he turns a blind eye and lets those spies make their money..."

"When they get back, we'll just grab a few people and make them file a formal complaint."

"The new admiral condoned his subordinates' corruption on his very first day in office; that's a serious offense."

"When the time comes, we'll submit a memorial to the higher authorities. Even with Consort Xie protecting him, he'll have to slink out of the Eastern Depot in disgrace."

After hearing this, Du Jiang finally showed a slight smile.

"Your Excellency Feng is very kind. I will relay everything you have done for His Highness Prince Wei to him."

Upon hearing this, Feng Bao's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he waved his hands repeatedly:

"Oh, Minister Du, you're too kind."

"It is our honor to serve His Highness Prince Wei."

"If Your Highness ever needs my services in the future, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

He spoke with utmost sincerity, his face radiating loyalty, like an old dog wagging its tail.

Du Jiang looked at him like this, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes.

But he remained expressionless, simply smiling and nodding.

"Very well, I have remembered."

The two drank another cup of tea and chatted idly...

"Knock knock knock."

There was a rapid knocking at the door.

"Commander Feng, the newly arrived admiral has returned with his men, and they've brought back several cartloads of gold and silver."

Upon hearing this, Feng Bao's eyes lit up immediately.

came back?

The fun has begun.

He stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed to Du Jiang.

"Minister Du, please sit here for a moment. I'll go out and take a look."

"good."

Du Jiang held his teacup, a slight smile playing on his lips, looking on with an air of anticipation.

Feng Bao pushed open the door and strode out.

……

The front yard of the East Depot.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the blue brick ground, turning the entire courtyard into a dim yellow hue.

Li Fan stood with his hands behind his back in the center of the courtyard, followed by Chen Tie and more than a dozen Imperial Guards.

On the left and right sides were forty or fifty agents of the Eastern Depot.

They all had their heads down, their eyes filled with complex emotions, and their expressions were strange.

The courtyard was quiet; not even a cough could be heard.

Feng Bao came out from the back hall and saw Li Fan as soon as he entered the front yard.

His gaze swept over Li Fan from head to toe, a hint of undisguised disdain and contempt flashing in his eyes.

A petty person's triumph.

He was just a eunuch who climbed up the ranks through the connections of Consort Xie. What skills could he possibly have?

But he quickly composed himself, his face beaming with a wide smile, like a blooming old chrysanthemum.

"Oh my, you must be Admiral Gao?"

He strode forward, clenched his fists, and smiled more warmly than if he were seeing his own father.

"You've just arrived at the Eastern Depot, you must be exhausted from your journey. Instead of resting, why are you going to ransack homes?"

"You must be tired. You've worked so hard."

Li Fan replied with a smile: "I've met Chief Supervisor Feng. Working for the Eastern Depot isn't hard work."

Feng Bao frowned as he looked at Li Fan, whose words were so succinct, and then said:

"By the way, where's Xu Biao? Didn't that kid go with you? Make him come out, we'll punish him properly."

"The new admiral made the admiral run errands himself on his very first day in office. That kid is so inconsiderate."

He said this while waiting for Xu Biao to come out with a big smile.

But I waited for three seconds.

Five seconds.

ten seconds.

Xu Biao did not appear.

Feng Bao's smile froze slightly.

He turned his head and looked around. The soldiers who had followed Li Fan back all had their heads down and their expressions were very strange.

Some avoided eye contact, some were pale, and some had trembling lips...

No one dared to look him in the eye.

Feng Bao's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition welled up from the bottom of his heart.

His smile faded, and his voice became lower.

"Where's Xu Biao? Where is he? Tell him to come out."

"Let's call him out!"

Li Fan looked at Feng Bao's face, which was gradually stiffening, and the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.

He didn't say anything, he just clapped his hands.

"Clap clap."

Two crisp claps rang out.

Chen Tie walked in through the side door.

He had a corpse on his shoulder.

The corpse was dressed in the official robes of a centurion of the Eastern Depot, with its head tilted to one side and a horrifying bloody hole in its neck.

The bloodstains had dried, congealing into a dark brown crust that covered half of his face.

But Feng Baotai recognized that face.

Xu Biao.

His most trusted confidant.

His old subordinate who had followed him in the Eastern Depot for over a decade.

"thump."

Chen Tie threw the body on the ground.

Xu Biao's body rolled half a circle on the blue brick floor, face up, eyes wide open, pupils dilated, dying with his eyes wide open.

Blood seeped from the wound on his neck, meandering through the cracks in the blue bricks.

The entire front yard was deathly silent.

The barbarians all lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.

Feng Bao's face changed instantly.

The smile on that long face vanished as if extinguished by ice water, replaced by an almost overflowing rage and murderous intent.

His eyes were wide open as he stared at the corpse on the ground, his whole body trembling.

"Xu...Xu Biao?"

He strode forward, squatted down, and reached out to check Xu Biao's breath.

No.

There wasn't a trace of life.

His body had already cooled down.

"Who did this?!"

Feng Bao suddenly raised his head, his deep-set eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was sharp like a knife cutting through iron.

"Who killed our family members?! Who dared to kill a centurion of the Eastern Depot?!"