Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

As Zhou Qingfeng listened in the crowd, he learned that during this period, his colleagues who went to the five major workshops and four major caravans had all encountered difficulties. They had not accomplished anything and some had even been injured or crippled by accidents.

There were even four unlucky souls who encountered the exploding furnace of the elixir and were killed on the spot.

Chu Tian and Lin Yi were traveling with the caravan when they died the next day at the mouths of demons and monsters. Whether they actually died at the mouths of demons and monsters is unknown, but that's the message the caravan sent back.

Those colleagues who went to the five major workshops were found guilty of incompetence and their fates were decided at the point of judgment. They were all sent to the manors outside the city to join the manor protection team to safeguard the manors.

This job is dangerous. You have to face attacks from demons and monsters almost every day, and the casualty rate is very high. But those who can make it up in the manor protection team are all incredibly powerful and awesome people.

There is a chance to be transferred back to the city in the future; it doesn't mean that those who are sent to other places can only stay outside forever.

"Xiao Hongyun, you abused your authority in prison interrogation to accept bribes and pervert the course of justice. Do you have anything to explain?" Butler Qiu asked coldly.

Xiao Hongyun pursed his lips and took out an account book from his pocket: "Steward Qiu, I have written down all the people who bribed me. I didn't dare spend a single penny of the money I received, and I didn't do any of the things they asked me to do."

"Prepare everything for this performance review and submit it here. If you don't believe me, look at the ledger."

Steward Qiu coldly took the ledger, flipped through it, and confirmed that each bribe was clearly written with the date, who gave the bribe, the amount of the bribe, what was requested, and a note that it would be handed over upon returning to the manor.

Butler Qiu's expression softened slightly: "Why didn't you hand it in earlier?"

Xiao Hongyun said, "Unlike Zhou Qingfeng, I don't have the privilege of freely entering and leaving the mansion. Without being summoned, I can't enter the city lord's mansion. After thinking it over, I decided it would be better to return to the mansion and hand it over in person, which caused the misunderstanding."

Butler Qiu narrowed his eyes: "Alright, I'll consider you to have passed the test for now."

I'm not afraid of my subordinates being corrupt, but I am afraid that their corrupt practices will be dishonest and give others leverage against them.

That's stupidity. A person who is both stupid and greedy is worse than a piece of trash, so naturally, one wouldn't show mercy.

However, Xiao Hongyun cleverly kept a backup plan.

This way, at least on the surface, the situation can be explained.

Then I'll just turn a blind eye.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongyun immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he was smart enough to have prepared a backup plan beforehand, otherwise he might have been in trouble today.

After questioning Xiao Hongyun, Butler Qiu looked at Ye Tingxiu with a smile and praised him, "Ye Tingxiu, you did a very good job. Every bribe you received was promptly handed over to the City Lord's Mansion. Madam is very pleased with you."

Ye Tingxiu grinned: "I have to thank Lao Xiao for this. Spending time with him has taught me to be more careful."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Xiao Hongyun stared at Ye Tingxiu in disbelief.

"You didn't ask either." Ye Tingxiu smiled brightly. He knew he couldn't outsmart Xiao Hongyun and Zhou Qingfeng, and his brains couldn't compare, but that didn't matter. Sincerity was his ultimate weapon.

Zhou Qingfeng stood in the crowd, expressionless, thinking to himself that these two didn't seem hopelessly stupid; they even knew to hold back a trick up their sleeves.

Upon hearing Ye Tingxiu's words, Butler Qiu hummed in response, then put his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Zhou Qingfeng."

Zhou Qingfeng stepped forward from the crowd, bowed and clasped his hands in greeting: "Steward Qiu, Qingfeng is here."

Butler Qiu said, "After Madam's personal investigation, the evidence against Zhou Qingfeng for forging official documents and embezzling and accepting bribes is not true and is purely a malicious frame-up."

Zhou Qingfeng looked down and saw that Butler Qiu was wearing the new shoes he had bought. He smiled slightly, clasped his hands and said, "Thank you, Butler Qiu, for clearing my name. I will remember your great kindness."

Butler Qiu returned the smile and nodded.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Zhou Qingfeng with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

When the questioning turned to Zhou Qingfeng, the questioning of guilt was no longer pursued; the lady directly declared Zhou Qingfeng innocent.

It's obvious that the madam is intentionally protecting Zhou Qingfeng, so even if Zhou Qingfeng is guilty, he's now innocent.

The gap had widened to a point where they could clearly see that Zhou Qingfeng's position in the manor was gradually becoming more secure, and he was showing signs of soaring to great heights.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Zhou Qingfeng will undoubtedly be retained during the year-end performance review.

Butler Qiu, facing the ten people who had no merit, said expressionlessly, "Listen carefully, all ten of you. You have been eliminated from this assessment and do not need to take the next assessment."

"However, Madam considered that you had worked hard even if you hadn't made any great contributions, so before sending you out of the city, she still gave you a reward, bestowing upon you the Blood Burning Body Tempering technique, which ranks one hundredth among the Turbid-level spells."

"See for yourselves the details." Butler Qiu didn't even bother to explain. He thought that good-for-nothings weren't worth his attention or training. He simply patted his belt and tossed the ten manuals to everyone.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked bitter and respectfully thanked her, saying, "Thank you, Madam, for bestowing this method upon us."

Butler Qiu waved his hand, signaling the group of good-for-nothings to stand aside and get out of the way.

Seeing this, everyone quickly stood aside.

Butler Qiu looked at Ye Tingxiu and said, "Ye Tingxiu, considering your cooperation with Zhou Qingfeng in solving a major case, even if you haven't made a great contribution, you have still worked hard. Madam bestows upon you the Tenth-Ranked Body Technique of the Turbid Level, the Blade-Catching Overlord Body. After you have mastered the Blade-Catching Overlord Body..."

"His innate divine ability is immunity to all control spells of the same level, making his berserker physique virtually invincible among his peers!"

Ye Tingxiu was overjoyed and almost jumped up: "Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Steward! I, Ye Tingxiu, will be a member of the First Family in life and in death, and will be absolutely loyal to the First Family!"

Butler Qiu nodded slightly, patted his belt, and handed him the martial arts manual.

He wasn't really satisfied with Ye Tingxiu. This kind of guy was intelligent, but not many people were like that. Moreover, he was brave and fierce, with a never-give-up attitude and was a natural-born battle maniac who could die in battle at any time.

However, if this child is allowed to grow up, his combat power will be quite terrifying.

It might be worthwhile to train him in a combat-oriented way, and fully develop him into the number one Berserker Blade.

Annihilate all invading enemies.

Butler Qiu gestured for Ye Tingxiu to step aside and looked at Xiao Hongyun: "Xiao Hongyun, considering your cooperation with Zhou Qingfeng in solving a major case, even if you haven't made a great contribution, you have still worked hard. Madam hereby bestows upon you the Gathering Sands, ranked sixteenth in the Turbid-level physical technique."

"Once you master the Gathering Sands technique, your innate divine power will allow you to become like quicksand, gathering and dispersing without a trace. This is a superior body technique for protecting your life. You must cultivate it diligently and master your innate divine power as soon as possible. Don't waste Madam's good intentions."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongyun's face lit up with joy, and he cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you for bestowing this method upon me, Madam."

"Yes, you may leave." Butler Qiu nodded, then called out with his hands behind his back, "Zhou Qingfeng!"

All eyes were on Zhou Qingfeng. They all knew that the main event was about to begin. They had already received physical skills rewards, and Zhou Qingfeng's rewards would definitely be even more generous. They just didn't know how generous they would be.