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

Chen Tiesong released his grip, took a step back, and remained calm.

"Admiral, the man is dead."

Li Fan glanced down at the corpse on the ground, his face expressionless.

He took out the piece of paper written by Zhou Wenyuan from his sleeve, unfolded it, looked at it, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Chen Tie, take men to these places tomorrow and dig up all the gold and silver jewelry."

"Make sure to register everything, not a single ounce is missing."

"Of course, remember to set aside a portion as a reward for you and the Eastern Depot agents."

"yes!"

Chen Tie clasped his hands in response.

Li Fan handed the paper to Chen Tie.

Then, he turned around and looked at Zhang Miaozhen.

"Miss Zhang, let's go."

Zhang Miaofeng lowered her eyes slightly, her expression somewhat complicated.

There was relief, admiration, and something else that was hard to explain.

"Eunuch Gao, I misunderstood you before. I thought you really wanted to take his money."

Li Fan looked at her strikingly handsome face and smiled.

"Miss Zhang, our family member isn't exactly known for following the rules."

"But there are some things that have a bottom line."

"Zhou Wenyuan beat his wife to death and drove an innocent person to their death for the sake of a woman."

"What's the point of keeping someone like that around? For the New Year?"

Zhang Miaozhen looked at him, a slight glint in her phoenix eyes.

She suddenly realized that although this man was ruthless and cunning, he still had something special about him deep down.

It is neither good nor evil.

It is a kind of...

It was something she couldn't explain either.

"Let's go."

Li Fan didn't say anything more.

He strode out of the torture chamber, his gray official robes fluttering in the torchlight.

"There's still a lot to do tomorrow."

……

The back room of the Eastern Depot.

Feng Bao pushed open the door, strode in, and plopped down in the armchair.

"Bang!"

He slammed his hand on the table, and the teacup jumped up with a "clatter," splashing tea all over the table.

Zhao Fu followed behind, hunching his shoulders as he entered, and carefully closed the door.

He looked at Feng Bao's face, which was so gloomy it seemed to drip water, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke:

"Master, this Gao Jin is far too arrogant."

"He was a newly arrived admiral who killed Xu Biao, arrested Zhou Wenyuan, and kicked you out on his very first day."

This is clearly a slap in the face!

"My lord, why don't I find a few men to kill him when he's not paying attention?"

"He was just a eunuch; once he's dead, he's dead. Who's going to stand up for him?"

Feng Bao gave Zhao Fu a cold look, his deep-set eyes filled with malice.

"idiot."

The two words, spoken lightly, sent a chill down Zhao Fu's spine.

"You think we don't want to kill him?"

Feng Bao's voice was as hoarse as iron that had been sanded.

"But use your brain and think about it, how many eyes are watching the Eastern Depot right now?"

"His Majesty personally issued an edict to send Gao Jin to the Eastern Depot as its director."

"He's only been at the Eastern Depot for a day. What would His Majesty think if he suddenly died the next day?"

"His Majesty will think that the Eastern Depot is disobeying the imperial decree."

"When His Majesty is enraged and sends people to investigate, how many heads do you, Zhao Fu, have to lose?"

Zhao Fu's face turned pale, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

Feng Bao continued, his voice growing increasingly cold:

"Moreover, this Gao Jin is not some nameless eunuch."

"He's Consort Xie's man. If we kill Gao Jin directly, do you think Consort Xie will let it go?"

"When the time comes, she'll whisper a few words in His Majesty's ear, and not only you, but our whole family will be in deep trouble."

Zhao Fu swallowed hard; a layer of cold sweat had already broken out on his back.

"You're right, Chief Supervisor. It was my oversight."

Feng Bao leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a while.

The anger on that long face slowly faded, replaced by a deep, cold gloom.

"If Gao Jin were so easy to kill, Minister Du wouldn't have personally come to the Eastern Depot to find us."

"The fact that the Minister of Works personally intervened shows that the higher-ups consider him a problem."

"Trouble can't be dealt with by force; you have to outsmart it."

Zhao Fu hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice:

"Master, what should we do next?"

Feng Bao opened his eyes, a calculating glint flashing in his deep-set eyes.

"Gao Jin is currently riding high, and he also possesses His Majesty's token. We cannot afford to confront him head-on at this time."

"You should try to get in touch with Zhou Wenyuan first."

Zhao Fu was taken aback: "Contact Zhou Wenyuan?"

"right."

Feng Bao tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice, at a moderate pace.

"Zhou Wenyuan is Consort Xie's man. He did many things for Consort Xie in the Ministry of Justice, and he must know a lot of Consort Xie's secrets."

"Go tell him that our family can save his life."

"But the prerequisite is that he has to cooperate with our family and reveal all of Consort Xie's secrets."

"Once we get hold of Consort Xie's weakness, that dog of a eunuch, Gao Jin, will lose his backer."

"At that point, he'll be like a stray dog ​​without a master."

"We can deal with him however we want."

A hint of admiration flashed in Zhao Fu's eyes.

"Your Excellency is brilliant!"

"I will take care of it immediately."

He turned to leave.

"etc."

Feng Bao called out to him, his voice suddenly turning somber.

"Be careful on your way there, don't let Gao Jin's men find out."

"That kid is very alert, and he also has Zhang Miaozhen, a fourth-rank expert, by his side."

"If we get caught, our family will be in trouble."

"Yes, I understand."

Zhao Fu bowed, turned around, and pushed open the door to leave.

His footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor, disappearing into the depths of the East Depot's many courtyards.

……

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Zhao Fu rushed in, his face as pale as a sheet of paper, and his whole body was trembling.

"Master...Master! Something terrible has happened!"

Feng Bao's heart sank.

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Fu was bent over, panting heavily, his voice rapid and fragmented:

"Zhou...Zhou Wenyuan...he committed suicide out of guilt!"

Feng Bao was stunned; he thought he had misheard.

"What did you say?"

"Did Zhou Wenyuan commit suicide out of fear of punishment?"

"Yes...yes..."

Zhao Fu took a breath and said haltingly:

"When I arrived at the torture chamber, Zhou Wenyuan was already... already dead."

"He was strangled with a rope, lying on the ground, his body already cold."

"Gao Jin's men said that Zhou Wenyuan committed suicide out of fear of punishment, hanging himself with a rope in his cell."

"I went in and took a look; the rope was still hanging on the fence..."

At that moment, Feng Bao's expression completely changed.

He slowly sat back in his chair, gripping the armrests with both hands, his veins bulging.

"Suicide out of fear of punishment?"

"What a Gao Jin! He killed Zhou Wenyuan."

"It turns out that from the very beginning, he didn't want our family to have any contact with Zhou Wenyuan."