Chapter 29: The Scholar with Many Thoughts
Dongping County Government Office
County Magistrate Zhou has been taking people out to inspect the river these days, and County Magistrate Ji is handling official business on his behalf.
This was the first time in Cui Qingyi's two lives that she had stood in such a place. Looking at the large characters hanging high on the mirror in the hall, she looked respectful but not afraid in her heart.
However, she was somewhat surprised by this County Magistrate Ji. She had originally thought that he would be an old man with a beard, but he turned out to be very young, appearing to be only in his twenties.
Ji Yunzhi had been sitting in the county yamen these days, dealing mostly with trivial matters like quarrels between passers-by and thefts between neighbors. He had long been a little fed up with it, but now, seeing the yamen runners bringing people back, he barely perked up.
Sitting in the court, he banged the gavel and began to inquire about the reason of the matter.
Gu was a little scared at first. She was just an ordinary woman who would usually go around the county government office even when strolling on the street. How could she not be afraid when she suddenly became the defendant in court?
But when she saw that the adult sitting in the hall was really young and had a gentle attitude, not at all as scary as he was portrayed in the opera, and heard him start to ask what happened, Gu immediately became excited and wanted to speak before Cui Qingyi.
"Sir, I feel wronged. This young lady is unfaithful to her husband and seduced my son. She is so angry that she wants to frame him. Sir, you must help us. My son is a student. He will definitely pass the imperial examination and become an official. How can we allow others to ruin his reputation?"
Ji Yunzhi glanced at the three people in the hall, raised his eyebrows, and thought, am I really such a fool?
He didn't interrupt Mother Gu, waiting for her to finish her spitting words before looking at Gu Erlang, who was kneeling quietly with his head bowed. "Your mother said that this young lady seduced you on purpose. Is what she said true?"
Cui Qingyi glanced at the slightly shaking Gu Erlang with an expressionless face, "Useless thing, even he can't keep an illiterate old woman steady."
Gu Erlang's mind raced, but in the end, he didn't dare to agree with his mother and said, "Your Excellency, I am truly ashamed. This is all a misunderstanding."
Having said that, Gu Erlang glanced at Cui Qingyi in what he thought was a covert move, with a blush on his face.
"I'm a student who likes Miss Cui. I happened to see her going out today and thought of going up to say hello.
Perhaps the student suddenly saw his beloved and didn't know how to behave properly, which scared Miss Cui, so he was accidentally injured by Miss Cui's dog.
All of this happened so quickly that I had no time to react. My mother, anxious to protect me, said some nonsense. I am willing to apologize to Miss Cui and ask everyone to forgive my mother's sins."
Yoho!
Cui Qingyi had never expected what Gu Erlang said. She thought Gu Erlang would follow his mother's words to frame her and clear himself.
But he probably knew it all himself. Many people had seen Gu Erlang run into her in Moxiangzhai that day, and her words of seducing Gu Erlang would not stand up to scrutiny. But now that he said this, the situation was completely different. If it got out, it would be just a joke made by an innocent scholar because of his crush on the young lady, which was insignificant and harmless.
Scholars have so many tricks in their minds!
Gu was stunned. She wanted to speak but Gu Erlang pinched her waist and she was silenced instantly.
Ji Yunzhi was enjoying the fun, but he didn't believe the embarrassed look on Gu Erlang's face when he looked at the girl. He grew up in a wealthy family, and he had seen many tricks used between men and women. This guy's acting skills were not that great at the moment.
He looked at Cui Qingyi, "Do you recognize what he said?"
Cui Qingyi looked at the Gu mother and son, and a cold snort escaped from her lips:
"Your Excellency, I believe this is not the love that Gu Erlang claimed, but rather that the Gu mother and son are greedy for money and want to ruin my reputation and then embezzle my wealth.
"Sir, this Gu Erlang, a scholar, may be saying nice things, but in reality, he is just looking at me, a commoner, with no parents or relatives to rely on, and wants to wipe out my entire family!"
Gu Erlang's words blocked Cui Qingyi's way of defense. In any case, Cui Qingyi did not suffer any actual harm in this incident, and the people in the county government would not punish them mother and son for such a thing.
If it were any other woman, she might have developed a liking for Gu Erlang because of his behavior in court, and they might even be able to find a partner outside of court.
But Cui Qingyi was unwilling to go along with Gu Erlang's words, so she simply said it clearly in court to see if Gu Erlang would still have the face to approach her in the future.
Ji Yunzhi laughed secretly in his heart. This young lady was not stupid. If she really fell in love with Gu Erlang, she would probably be cheated to the point where nothing would be left of her.
But he was sitting in this hall, representing the law, so he could not express his thoughts, otherwise the county magistrate would probably send him to guard the riverbank when he returned.
Both sides just need to give each other a few words of education.
"Since this is just a misunderstanding, let's end it here. Please leave."
This trip to the county government office was hasty and ended even more hastily.
But Cui Qingyi achieved the effect she wanted. She wanted those people in Huaihua Lane who were plotting against her to see clearly that she, Miss Cui, was not afraid of anything and should not be treated as a soft persimmon.
Gu's arrogance was gone at this moment. She hurriedly left the county government office with her son. Gu Erlang still wanted to say a few words to Cui Qingyi.
But it's clearly not appropriate here.
Konjac was waiting for Cui Qingyi outside. When she saw her coming out, she hurried over to greet her. "Miss, are you okay?"
Cui Qingyi shook her head: "It's okay, let's go to the embroidery workshop first."
Konjac had no time to think about going to the embroidery workshop. She was almost worried to death. How could the young lady be so indifferent?
In fact, Cui Qingyi just felt that she did not perform well today, and she felt a little depressed. She secretly persuaded herself that this was the first time she was inexperienced, and when she encountered such a thing next time, she would know how to deal with it better.
The two of them finally went to the embroidery workshop. Konjac's embroidery skills were taught by a famous master. Even Cui Qingyi from the Chen family in Qinghe City had never seen anyone whose embroidery skills were better than Konjac's.
The embroidery workshop here also knows the goods. After taking a few handkerchiefs in hand and examining them carefully, the embroidery worker readily gave the price: "This handkerchief is very good, with novel patterns and smooth and fine stitches. I'll give you fifteen cents for each one."
Konjac was prepared to run into a wall and was also prepared to visit several embroidery workshops, but she didn't expect that the first embroidery workshop they entered would accept her handkerchief.
She subconsciously wanted to see Cui Qingyi. Cui Qingyi nodded, and Konjac happily nodded in agreement: "Okay, thank you, shopkeeper."
The female shopkeeper smiled and waved her hand: "You're welcome, you're welcome. The embroidery work of the young lady is indeed excellent, and the pattern on it is also beautiful and interesting. I'm sure many young ladies will like it if I put it here.
If you have more, you can bring them to my Jinxiufang and I will give you the same price."
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