Empress, please have some self-respect. I am not your husband.

Her Majesty the Empress looked at him strangely: "Scamming money from officials?"

Lu Feng nodded: "Yes."

Ye Bingyun was both amused and exasperated, shaking her head and saying, "How could that be possible? Lord Lu, you've only just become an official. You don't know that among the ministers in the court, some are indeed loyal, but if you're talking about someone whose family is completely clean, you'd be lucky to find even one out of ten."

"When it comes to money, they are more sensitive than anyone else. Getting money out of them is harder than taking their lives. After all, isn't that what most of them became officials for?"

In closing, Ye Bingyun remarked, "Official hats and money bags—the bigger the hat, the bigger the bag; it has always been this way."

"Nothing in this world is absolute; you always have to try," Lu Feng said calmly.

Ye Bingyun wanted to say something more, but suddenly realized, "You...you mean you can help me?"

She even forgot that she was still a woman. After all, although Lu Feng had promised her a government post, he hadn't done anything substantial since he saved Yu Ningyan.

Quite a few people were beaten up, first Huang An from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, then the sons of ministerial officials like Zhang Feng and Wang Qi.

A few days ago, she even crippled Zhang Tianyuan's nephew's hand, causing quite a stir, which reached her ears.

Hearing that Lu Feng seems to be planning to make a move, it's truly a surprise that came too suddenly.

Since he was willing to help, Lu Feng didn't hesitate. He didn't notice the loophole in the other party's previous words and nodded, saying, "That's right. Just like Your Majesty said, most of the officials in the court are not clean. As long as we grasp their weaknesses, things will be much easier."

"Officials are most afraid of being caught doing something wrong and then being retaliated against."

Ye Bingyun pondered, "What you said makes sense, but it's not an easy task. They're all seasoned veterans; they won't let us find their weaknesses easily."

Lu Feng laughed: "There are no secrets in the world. As long as something is done, there will definitely be loopholes. Besides, even if we really can't find them, we have another way besides causing trouble."

"What method?" Ye Bingyun asked.

“It’s a frame-up,” Lu Feng replied casually.

"what?"

Ye Bingyun's beautiful eyes widened: "Framed?"

She never expected Lu Feng to say such a thing.

Lu Feng nodded: "That's right."

Ye Bingyun asked, puzzled, "How did you frame me?"

"If it were me, I would throw hundreds of thousands of taels of silver into the Minister of Personnel's house, and then lead troops to investigate. Zhang Tianyuan's annual salary is only two thousand taels and four hundred shi of rice, but he has hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in his house. Let's see how he explains that!" Lu Feng's tone was as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

The Ministry of Personnel.

While working, Lord Zhang suddenly shivered and couldn't help but look up at the sky outside.

"That's strange, why is it so gloomy in the middle of summer?"

……

"What kind of method is this?!"

Ye Bingyun was so angry that she couldn't speak. She originally thought that Lu Feng would come up with some brilliant plan, but she didn't expect him to be so despicable!

How could an emperor himself frame his own ministers? If word got out, how could he possibly live with himself?

Lu Feng asked doubtfully, "Don't you think this method is very effective? There are hundreds of thousands of taels of silver notes in the family that are impossible to explain."

Ye Bingyun was about to respond, but then she was speechless, because it seemed to make a lot of sense.

But she was unconvinced and, after thinking for a moment, snorted, "The Zhang family's collateral branch is in business, and their business is quite large. Otherwise, where would they get such a large family fortune?"

Lu Feng scoffed, "What's the big deal? We're just framing him. If he wants to use doing business as an excuse, then we'll check the accounts! Maybe we can even find some issues with collusion between officials and businessmen. Then we'll confiscate their property and exterminate their entire family, taking everything they own!"

Ministry of official affairs.

Zhang Tianyuan sneezed more than a dozen times in a row, which puzzled his subordinates.

"Lord Zhang, are you feeling unwell?"

Zhang Tianyuan rubbed his nose: "No, maybe someone is talking about me behind my back?"

"You serve the country and its people; who knows who might be secretly thinking of your good deeds?" another subordinate flattered.

Zhang Tianyuan stroked his goatee with obvious satisfaction: "Maybe."

……

Her Majesty the Empress's face darkened, and she said in a sullen voice, "We can't just confiscate their property every time, can we? Besides, Zhang Tianyuan is an important official of the court. Who will take his place if we kill him? Your method is simply not good!"

Lu Feng, with a confident expression, said, "Your Majesty, this is only the second option. I have a third one."

"besides!"

Ye Bingyun was shocked. The previous trouble-making and framing were already too much, weren't they?

Lu Feng nodded: "That's right. Didn't you say before that the Zhang family is in business and that they're very successful? The other officials' families should be similar, right?"

Ye Bingyun nodded silently, although the direct descendants of officials were not allowed to engage in business.

However, the ministers' families were so large that they entrusted all their businesses to collateral branches, leaving the court with no grounds for complaint.

Lu Feng smiled and said, "So we can first find out what businesses these officials' families run and how they usually deliver goods. Then we can send people to act as bandits on their usual routes and rob them of all their money and goods!"

"Put the silver in your pocket and take the goods out to sell—it's a win-win situation!"

Her Majesty the Empress:...

Could you be any more shameless? Any more inhumane?

After a long silence, Ye Bingyun finally managed to utter this sentence.

Lu Feng shrugged it off: "What's this? This is just the third option. If it were me, I'd just kidnap their business people, make them pay a ransom, and then send someone to kill the ransom messengers on the way. That would be way more profitable!"

Ye Bingyun was defeated; she admitted that she had been completely defeated by Lu Feng.

I originally thought Lu Feng was just a little inhuman, but I never imagined that this guy is not human at all!

What kind of despicable and shameless person could come up with such an inhuman way to make money?

After feeling frustrated for a long time, Ye Bingyun said quietly, "Can't we use some legitimate means?"

Lu Feng frowned: "Let me think about it."

Half an hour passed...

Lu Feng opened his mouth slightly, and Ye Bingyun quickly looked at him expectantly.

Then the other party said seriously, "I think that to achieve great things, one must be ruthless in using any means necessary."

Her Majesty the Empress didn't even bother to roll her eyes, and turned her head away in annoyance, pouting.

What kind of talent did I find?

Lu Feng's performance initially made Her Majesty the Empress think she had found a talented person, but now it seems that while there is talent, it is not what one would expect.

Lu Feng couldn't help but smile knowingly, finding the Empress's appearance quite adorable at that moment.

Hearing the whisper, Ye Bingyun turned around, snorted, and said angrily, "What are you laughing at?"

Lu Feng's smile faded: "I'm not teasing you anymore. Since you want to use legitimate means, then use legitimate means."

Her Majesty the Empress's eyes lit up immediately.