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

"Someone, bring tea."

The two took their seats as host and guest, respectively.

Xiao Ningxiang stood behind her father, head down, quietly.

A maid brought tea, and Xiao Zhengchun personally poured a cup for Li Fan.

"Eunuch Gao, please have some tea."

Li Fan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and didn't speak immediately.

Xiao Zhengchun waited a moment, and seeing that he didn't speak, he had no choice but to ask first:

"May I ask what brings you here today, Eunuch Gao?"

Li Fan put down his teacup and smiled slightly.

"Lord Xiao, I have come today on the behalf of Consort Xie to deliver a few words to you."

Xiao Zhengchun's expression changed slightly.

It really was Consort Xie.

He forced himself to remain calm and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Please speak, sir."

Looking at his feigned calm face, Li Fan's smile deepened.

"Her Majesty asked me to ask Lord Xiao a question: Has Lord Xiao been busy with something important lately?"

Xiao Zhengchun's hand trembled slightly, and the tea in the teacup sloshed twice.

He opened his mouth, his voice a little dry:

"You jest, Eunuch Gao. I am but a lowly clerk in the Ministry of Justice. What important matters could I possibly have to deal with?"

Li Fan responded with an "Oh," his tone casual.

"Yeah?"

"How come we heard that someone is coming to the Xiao residence to propose marriage today?"

Xiao Zhengchun's expression changed completely.

He suddenly raised his head, staring at Li Fan's ambiguous smiling face, his mind buzzing.

Consort Xie found out.

Moreover, not only did they find out, they also sent Gao Jin to visit them in person.

This shows that Consort Xie had already planted spies in the Xiao family.

This shows that the Xiao family's every move was under the surveillance of Consort Xie.

But now that things have come to this, he cannot back down.

To withdraw would be tantamount to admitting betrayal of Consort Xie.

Once you admit to betrayal, it's all over.

"I don't quite understand what Eunuch Gao meant by proposing marriage."

"My daughter is not yet betrothed."

"I wonder where Eunuch Gao heard this news? Perhaps there's some misunderstanding."

Seeing his stubborn demeanor, Li Fan didn't expose him.

He simply picked up the teacup, took another sip, and then slowly put it down.

"Lord Xiao, I don't want to beat around the bush with you."

His voice suddenly turned somber, and his tone changed.

"Her Majesty said that the Xiao family and the Xie family have been friends for decades."

"Since the old man's generation, the two families have been in the same boat."

"Over the years, Her Majesty has been very kind to the Xiao family."

"Your Majesty should know how much effort Your Excellency put in behind the scenes to help you rise from a minor clerk to a physician."

Xiao Zhengchun's face turned pale and then red, but he did not answer.

Because what Li Fan said was true!

Li Fan continued, his tone neither hurried nor slow:

"Her Majesty said she understands the Xiao family's difficulties."

"After all, the situation in the court is very unpredictable, and everyone wants to leave themselves an escape route."

"That's perfectly understandable."

"But Her Majesty wishes to remind Lord Xiao of something: Her Majesty will soon be pregnant."

Xiao Zhengchun's pupils suddenly contracted.

"What?"

His voice changed, carrying a hint of disbelief.

Li Fan didn't explain, he just smiled slightly.

"Her Majesty instructed me to convey to Lord Xiao that if the Xiao family is willing to continue standing with the Xie family..."

"Your Majesty guarantees that when that day comes, the Xiao family's future will be a hundred times better than if they were to marry into the Wei family."

"But if the Xiao family insists on betraying the Empress..."

His smile vanished suddenly, and his voice turned cold.

"Then Your Highness will have no choice but to let Lord Xiao know what fate awaits those who betray her."

Xiao Zhengchun understood his threats and inducements.

He was in a very bad mood at the time.

Since he was determined to form a marriage alliance with the King of Wei today, he suddenly felt much more confident.

"Eunuch Gao, you are mistaken!"

His voice was completely different from his polite demeanor just now.

His tone carried a hint of barely suppressed arrogance and impatience.

"I know you are Consort Xie's man, and I also know that you have done a lot of important things in the Eastern Depot."

"But this is the Xiao residence, not the Eastern Depot."

"My family affairs are none of a eunuch's business."

"Eunuch Gao, go back and tell Consort Xie that the Xiao family should make their own decisions regarding the Xiao family's affairs."

"Whether it's marrying off a daughter or forming an alliance, that's the Xiao family's prerogative."

"It's none of the Consort's business."

His tone became increasingly harsh and aggressive.

No matter how powerful Consort Xie was, she was still just a woman in the harem.

Once the King of Wei ascends the throne, what will she be?

She was just a concubine who had no children.

At that time, let alone dealing with the Xiao family, she herself will have a hard time.

Standing behind her father, Xiao Ningxiang's expression grew even more uneasy upon hearing these words.

She wanted to persuade her father, but seeing his resolute face, she swallowed her words.

A slight smile curved the corners of Li Fan's lips.

"Lord Xiao, I thought you were a clever man."

"I didn't expect this..."

He sighed softly, as if he was regretting something.

On that young and handsome face, there was no anger, no threat, only a calm indifference that was unsettling.

Immediately afterwards, Li Fan took out a thick stack of documents from his sleeve, held them in his hand, and waved them at Xiao Zhengchun.

"Lord Xiao, before I came, Her Majesty specifically instructed me on something."

"She said that if Lord Xiao is sensible, then there is no need to bring these things out."

"But if Lord Xiao remains stubborn, then we will have no choice but to ask Lord Xiao to take a look."

Xiao Zhengchun frowned, staring at the stack of documents in Li Fan's hand, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

"What is it?"

Li Fan slammed the stack of documents onto the table.

Then, he reached out and turned to the first page, pushing it in front of Xiao Zhengchun.

"Lord Xiao, please take a look."

Xiao Zhengchun looked down and his expression changed instantly.

That was an account book.

To be precise, it was the Xiao family's salt and iron smuggling ledger in Jiangnan.

The record clearly shows the time, quantity, amount, and person in charge of each transaction.

In the first year of the Jinghe era, 3,000 yin of government salt were smuggled, generating a profit of 40,000 taels of silver.

In the second year of the Jinghe era, 5,000 yin of government salt were smuggled, generating a profit of 60,000 taels of silver...

Each pen was accompanied by the accountant's handwritten signature and the Xiao family's private seal.

Xiao Zhengchun's hands began to tremble.

"What...what is this?"

His voice was trembling.

Li Fan ignored him and turned to the second page.

"This is a record of the Xiao family forcibly occupying farmland in Fengtai County, totaling 3,700 mu and involving 123 households."

"Seventeen of these families were driven to ruin and death, and three families were wiped out."

Page 3.

"This is a record of the Xiao family's privately established torture chamber and abuse of torture."

"From the first year of Jinghe to the present, the Xiao family's privately established punishment hall has killed eleven tenant farmers and injured or maimed thirty-seven others."

"All of them were fabricated as accidents or suicides, and not a single case was investigated by the government."

Page 4.

"This is a record of the Xiao family bribing officials of the imperial court."

"From the first year of the Jinghe era to the present, the Xiao family has bribed forty-seven officials in the capital through various channels, with a total amount exceeding three hundred thousand taels of silver."

"This included officials from several key government departments, such as the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of War."

With each page turned, Xiao Zhengchun's face paled a little more.

By the time he turned to the seventh page, his face was as white as a sheet of paper.