Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife-Chapter 207: High Achiever

"The results are out, the results are out!"

The crowd below shouted desperately, and everyone at the tavern immediately swarmed to the railing, looking down expectantly.

"Huh, strange, why don’t I see that Li Qingmu?"

"Hmph, probably thinks he won’t pass, too ashamed to face anyone. To think, he even made a bet with me before, said he’d bark like a dog if he lost, hahaha..."

Huang Hua saw those people coming over, took the opportunity to approach them, and joined in the uproar.

"Look quickly!"

Someone pointed at the red list ahead, their face flushed, full of excitement.

The red list below was suddenly unveiled, each name leaping into sight.

The candidates were all searching for their names.

"I got in, haha! I got in, come, I’ll throw a party later!"

"I got in too, and my rank is higher than yours, I’ll treat!"

"..."

The tavern exploded with excitement, the successful candidates cheered gleefully, some even drank while singing with a bottle in hand.

"Next time Tianxiang Pavilion is choosing an Oiran, let’s go show some support!"

"Haha, alright, I’m quite fond of Miss Qingwu, hehe..."

"Huh? Why don’t I see Brother Qiao’s name?"

Suddenly, an incongruous voice sounded from the crowd, everyone was taken aback, then looked at the speaking man with disdain.

"Fool, are you blind? Brother Qiao’s talent is outstanding, how could he possibly..."

The man speaking was about to point at the other person and start cursing, but then caught something out of the corner of his eye, and the words got stuck in his throat.

He rushed to the railing, almost laying on it, staring incredulously at the red list outside.

He scanned each name thoroughly, yet he couldn’t find the three characters for Qiao Zizhan. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

And what shocked him even more was that Li Qingmu’s name was astonishingly there, ranked... eleventh!

"Pfft!"

It was as if something surged out from his chest, the man couldn’t hold back any longer and a mouthful of blood spurted out.

"Brother Han! Brother Han, quick, call a doctor..."

Another man rushed up to catch the fallen man with the surname Han, just as he was about to call out, he suddenly saw the name at the front of the red list, and he too stood there dumbfounded, staring blankly.

"No... this can’t be!"

"What can’t be?"

The people were frightened by his terrified expression, hastily asked, and saw him pointing with a trembling hand towards the top direction of the red list.

"He... he’s over there..."

The crowd thought "he" referred to Qiao Zizhan, so they looked over confidently, and the next second, they too were stunned!

Rank eleven, Li Qingmu!

The black words on the red background made this name so eye-catching, the young talents in the tavern all gaped, mouths wide open enough to fit an egg.

"How... how could this be?!"

Huang Hua followed his pointed direction and saw Li Qingmu’s name, he suddenly rushed to the railing, hysterically roaring.

His eyes had turned red!

How could this happen?

He actually succeeded, and even with such a high rank! Only a line away from the top ten?

No, no, no!

Huang Hua screamed desperately in his heart, almost going insane!

This was simply a nightmare for him!

"Li Qingmu, you... pfft!"

Frustrated, Huang Hua also ended up spitting blood.

"Doctor, call a doctor!"

The tavern was in chaos, full of cries for help.

"Brother Qiao, why aren’t you on there?"

After the shock of Li Qingmu’s rank, someone finally realized the more crucial issue.

Qiao Zizhan wasn’t on it?

What a joke, Shengjing City’s brilliant talent didn’t make it?

The originally elegant face of Qiao Zizhan gradually showed a hint of astonishment, followed by reluctance!

He was confident in his talent, there was no way he couldn’t pass, what on earth happened?

"Brother Zizhan, you should check the papers!"

Generally, candidates couldn’t check their papers, but Qiao Zizhan’s aunt was the Empress, just based on that status, checking within reason was absolutely doable.

Qiao Zizhan concealed his discontent, still smiling warmly, he cupped his hands to a few concerned friends: "Don’t worry, I will check."

Unaccountably failing, Qiao Zizhan naturally had no mood to continue drinking and chatting in the tavern, standing up to leave.

He walked out briskly, and as he passed a narrow alley, suddenly, a shadow pulled him in.

"Who?"

Qiao Zizhan reached for his waist, he was skilled, and decently so, with a soft sword hidden at his waist, ready to strike when in danger.

"Shh— Master, don’t panic, the lady sent me!"

Upon hearing ’lady,’ Qiao Zizhan knew who the person was, but he didn’t drop his guard, instead putting some distance between them.

"Aunt?"

"Yes, the lady knows about your failure, she sent me to deliver a message."

"What message?"

Qiao Zizhan squinted slightly, faintly sensing something amiss.

"The lady said, this time we lost the gamble, master, don’t go checking the papers otherwise it will cause trouble, it’ll bring a lot of issues."

"Hmm? My failure, it has something to do with Aunt?"

"Yes, the lady wanted that person to fail, sent someone to find his handwriting, but instead, the other person mimicked yours, and you ended up failing."

Qiao Zizhan’s eyes turned cold, unwillingly said: "You gamble, yet I bear the brunt?"

"Master, it was purely accidental, we encountered an opponent this time, that Li Qingmu is hard to deal with! What the Crown Prince said before in the Eastern Palace was known by the Emperor, the Emperor was very displeased, if anything goes wrong again on the Crown Prince and the Lady’s side, there really may be a change of the Crown Prince! Master, prosper together in glory, suffer together in ruin, please think carefully!"

Qiao Zizhan sneered, slowly turned his neck: "So, I have to take this silent loss?"

"Master is still young, in three years you will surely achieve first place, this time... sorry to wrong you!"

The man in black knelt on one knee to Qiao Zizhan, his attitude very sincere.

Qiao Zizhan looked at him coldly, for a long time, then slowly said: "I can refrain from checking the papers, but, can I at least cause him some trouble?"

The man in black paused, bowed his head: "Master, keep it appropriate."

"Don’t worry, just going to have a fight with him."

...

Imperial Censorate.

"Imperial Censor Li, the list is out today, why aren’t you checking it?"

A fellow Imperial Censor who was on good terms with Liu Yi and Huang Hua saw Li Qingmu organizing documents, and came to tease him.

Li Qingmu smiled slightly: "Work is busy, everything should wait until work is done, shouldn’t it?"

This implied that he was neglecting his duties.

The Imperial Censor’s face turned blue, snorted, and left with a wave of his sleeve.

Just as he entered the duty room, the pounding sound of drums and gongs was heard from outside.

This was the name-reporting drum, only the top thirty from this spring’s examination would receive at-home notifications, it was a form of encouragement and olive branch.

The people at the Imperial Censorate were curious as to why someone nearby had become a Jinshi, and the sound gradually came towards them.

When the drum-beating clerk stepped into the government office of the Imperial Censorate, the faces of those present all changed.