Cannot rename Columns in df

[tester_V]

Thank you for looking into it!
The Excel file I'm reading has usually 2 first rows blank sometimes more. I'd like to completely remove blank rows.
When I used your code:

exlf = pd.read_excel('C:/01/XLS_Files/SHORT.xlsx', usecols=lambda x: 'Unnamed' not in x)
print(exlf)

it produces:
Empty DataFrame
Columns: []
Index: []
I'm getting really frustrated with this, it is such a simple tusk . Should I try different modules?
Thank you.