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

As Huang kowtowed, he raised his hands and slapped himself repeatedly with both hands.

Each strike was delivered with full force, causing blood to splatter from the corners of his mouth.

"I deserve to die! I was blinded by greed and offended Madam Zhang unintentionally!"

"I will kowtow to General Zhang and Madam Zhang right now..."

He turned to Zhang Xuan and his wife, his head banging loudly.

Zhang Xuan stood aside, watching this scene with mixed feelings on his face.

The person who was just moments ago so arrogant and threatening was now kneeling on the ground, begging for mercy like a dog.

This feeling of exhilaration was even more satisfying than killing enemies on the battlefield.

Madam Zhang stood in the corner, her tense shoulders finally relaxing, tears welling in her eyes, and silently curtsied to Li Fan.

Looking at Li Fan's face, which was as calm as a stagnant pool, Zhang Miaozhen felt a surge of indescribable emotions.

This person is more ruthless than anyone else when it comes to hitting people.

But everyone he hit deserved to be hit.

Manager Huang slapped himself dozens of times, his face swollen like a steamed bun, his mouth full of blood and foam, and he could barely open his eyes.

Li Fan then slowly spoke:

"Alright."

As if granted a pardon, Manager Huang stopped what he was doing and lay on the ground, panting heavily.

"Remember what we just said."

"If you dare to make things difficult for General Zhang again, and if we find out you're trying to sabotage things..."

"Then we'll send you to the Eastern Depot, so you can keep Cao Mo's corpse company."

Manager Huang trembled all over and immediately kowtowed:

"I understand, I understand, I absolutely wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare..."

"Get lost."

Manager Huang scrambled to his feet and limped toward the door.

As he ran to the door, he tripped and nearly fell flat on his face, but he didn't dare to stop and disappeared into the night in a very disheveled state.

The main hall fell silent.

Zhang Xuan stood still and let out a long breath.

He turned around, looked at Li Fan, clasped his hands together, and bowed deeply.

"Eunuch Gao, if it weren't for your help today, I really wouldn't know what to do."

"Today, Your Excellency avenged me, and I am deeply grateful!"

Li Fan reached out to support him and patted his shoulder with a smile.

"General Zhang, you're too kind. Such a petty person isn't worth getting angry over."

Zhang Xuan nodded emphatically, his eyes filled with gratitude.

"I will never forget your great kindness, Father-in-law!"

Li Fan waved his hand, his tone relaxed:

"Alright, alright, stop with the formalities."

"The food's getting cold, let's heat it up quickly and continue eating."

"We're here to eat today, not to fight."

Zhang Xuan laughed heartily and quickly told his wife to heat up the dishes.

Zhang Miaozhen stood to the side, looking at Li Fan's smiling face, a slight curve appearing at the corner of her lips.

This person's insults are like knives.

He acts like a madman when he hits people.

When he laughs, he's like a carefree boy next door.

But ironically, everything he did was to support others.

"Grandpa Gao, have some vegetables."

……

The next day.

In front of a mansion gate.

The vermilion gate was tightly shut.

A golden plaque hangs above the doorway, the seven large characters "Imperial Construction of Princess Jincheng's Mansion" gleaming in the sunlight.

Two life-sized stone lions crouched in front of the gate, their mouths wide open, revealing menacing fangs.

Li Fan, leading a large group of agents from the Eastern Depot, arrived in front of the Princess's residence in a grand procession.

Forty or fifty barbarians stood in two rows, dressed in brown shirts and with embroidered spring knives at their waists, exuding a menacing aura.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding people all took a detour, not daring to even glance at it.

When agents of the Eastern Depot travel, it's no laughing matter.

The foreigners stood in front of the princess's residence, their faces strange, whispering amongst themselves.

"Admiral, what case are we investigating here today?"

One of the bolder guards asked in a low voice.

Li Fan stood with his hands behind his back, speaking calmly.

"Investigate Sun Jizong, the Imperial Son-in-Law and Commandant, for his crimes of corruption, embezzlement, and oppression of the people."

The guard's face turned pale instantly.

"Wh...what?"

He thought he had misheard.

The guards around them all changed color, exchanging bewildered glances, their eyes filled with undisguised shock and fear.

Who was Princess Cha Jincheng's husband?

This admiral killed Xu Biao yesterday, investigated Zhou Wenyuan, and today he's actually investigating the Imperial Son-in-Law?

Is he made of iron?

The guard hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage and spoke:

"Admiral, the husband of Princess Jincheng... is not easy to investigate."

"Although our Eastern Depot has the authority to investigate cases, to trace it back to the Princess's residence... this..."

His voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, until finally he lowered his head.

The other servants chimed in, offering their advice all at once:

"Yes, Admiral, this case is too tricky."

"The people from the princess's residence are not to be trifled with. If things get out of hand, we'll be in deep trouble."

"Admiral, perhaps... you could reconsider?"

Li Fan listened without expression.

He turned his head and glanced at the terrified foreigners, his tone indifferent:

"That's precisely why we need to investigate."

"If every case were easy to investigate, what would be the point of having the Eastern Depot?"

"What use is our family then?"

The barbarians all shut their mouths.

They looked at each other, their eyes filled with helplessness.

I wanted to persuade them again, but I didn't dare.

Yesterday I took ten taels of silver from the Admiral. If I don't behave today, I'll have taken the silver for nothing.

Moreover, they had already witnessed the admiral's methods yesterday.

Even Xu Biao was killed by him with a single sword strike, so who would dare to disobey him?

Never mind, whatever happens later, this admiral will be the one to take the blame.

All they need to do is stand in formation and pretend.

Having figured this out, the spies' mindset actually calmed down considerably.

They stood up straight, their faces solemn, like a group of well-trained model soldiers.

……

Chen Tie stepped forward and raised his hand to knock on the door.

"Knock knock knock!"

The heavy knocking echoed through the quiet street, startling a few sparrows on the eaves.

After waiting for a while, there was no movement.

Chen Tie frowned and knocked a few more times.

"Knock knock knock! Knock knock knock!"

Still, no one came.

Chen Tie was getting impatient and increased the force of his blows.

"Bang bang bang!"

This time the knocking was even louder, so loud that the door panel was shaking.

"Squeak!"

The door finally opened a crack.

A round head peeked out from the crack in the door, its face full of impatience and a disgusted smile on its lips.

It was a fat doorman with a big belly, wearing a gray short jacket, and a toothpick in his mouth.

He squinted and looked Chen Tie up and down, then glanced at the spies behind him, a smirk playing on his lips.

"What's all the noise about? Did someone die? Knocking on the door so early in the morning, you're keeping me up all night!"

"Who are you people? Do you know where you are? Princess Jincheng's residence! What are you banging on?"