The next day was the day that Qi Che and Chu Qingniang had agreed to divorce in public at the government office.
Since Qi Che wanted to make a big deal out of this, he informed the prefect Du Youwei one day in advance. With the government's publicity, in less than half a day, almost everyone in the city knew that there would be a big show in the prefect's yamen today!
The drama of the top scholar divorcing his wife in public!
At dawn, the government office was crowded with people who came to watch the excitement. There were more people than on the day when Qi Che won the top spot in the imperial examination and rode back home on horseback.
On this side of the street, Old Man Zhang who was selling pancakes had just set up his stall when he was driven away by several ferocious-looking yamen runners.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way now!"
The leading yamen runner, Wang Mazi, waved his fire stick and shouted to drive away the crowd, "Qi Zhuangyuan has serious business to attend to today, all the outsiders, please get out of here!"
In the chaos, someone accidentally fell to the ground and scraped the skin on his palm.
"Ouch!"
"We are just here to watch the fun, why are you chasing us away?"
Other passers-by complained: "That's right, this is not the road to your home."
Wang Mazi sneered and raised the stick in his hand: "Watching the fun? Ha!"
"What is Lord Qi's status? He is the top scholar of this year's imperial examination and a new noble in the court. Are you, the unruly people, qualified to watch him? Get lost!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd suddenly became agitated and curses rang out one after another.
"Bah! What a bullshit Master Qi, you ungrateful thing!"
"What's wrong with being the top scholar? Isn't he still supported by Madam Chu?"
Wang Mazi glared with his triangular eyes and said angrily, "How dare you, rough people like you, discuss the identity of the master? If you dare to say anything more, you will all be arrested and put in jail!"
The people were so angry that they dared not say anything, but they all cursed Qi Che in their hearts.
Just then, a small sedan chair covered with blue cloth slowly stopped in front of the yamen.
Soon, the curtain of the sedan chair was lifted, and Qi Che, wearing a brand new official uniform, walked out with a calm expression.
He saw the yamen runners driving away the people and frowned slightly. When he was about to speak, Wang Mazi came up to him with a flattering look on his face.
"Master Qi, you are finally here! The prefect is already waiting in the hall, please--"
Wang Mazi bowed and nodded to Qi Che, looking like a slave, which made the onlookers despise him even more.
"Bah! Officials protect each other, and some grown men team up to bully a weak woman like Madam Chu. How shameless!"
"That's right, Madam Chu was really blind to fall for such a man."
Qi Che was far away and couldn't hear the people's discussions for a while.
But when he saw some people being pushed around, he felt something was wrong. But since things had come to this point, he couldn't reprimand the yamen runners in public, so he just said, "Just let them stand further away, there's no need to be so rude."
Wang Mazi nodded in agreement, but turned around and glared at the crowd fiercely, "Did you hear me? Stand further away. If you dare to make noise again, you'll end up in jail!"
The people were angry but dared not speak out and could only step back a few steps, but the resentment in their eyes grew even deeper.
"Oh! Why are you pretending to be a good guy? If it weren't for his instructions, how dare these yamen runners be so arrogant?"
"That's right!" someone echoed, "Back then he was so poor that he couldn't even afford to eat. He relied on Madam Chu for support. Now that he's an official, he's acting so arrogantly!"
Qi Che vaguely heard the discussions and felt unhappy, but he still maintained a calm face.
He straightened his official robe and was about to leave when he saw the prefect Du Youwei coming out to greet him personally.
He saw Qi Che standing in front of the sedan from a distance, and a flattering smile immediately broke out on his face. He quickly came to Qi Che, clasped his fists and said, "Master Qi is going to divorce today. I have already ordered people to prepare the documents. Please come this way, Master."
After saying this, Du Youwei made a "please" gesture.
As soon as these words came out, the crowd exploded.
"Great! Officials protect each other and bully weak women! Madam Chu has no one to rely on, how can we fight this lawsuit?"
"That's right. I've heard that this prefect is greedy for money and profit. Now it seems that he is indeed Qi Zhuangyuan's lackey!"
Qi Che was caught off guard by the scene in front of him. Just as he was about to explain, Du Youwei took the lead and led him to the government office: "Sir, don't pay attention to a few unruly people. What kind of trouble can a woman like Chu cause? I will take care of everything for you."
As he spoke, he winked at the yamen runners, and soon, several yamen runners immediately took sticks and drove the people away.
"Everyone, disperse! If you dare to cause trouble again, you will be punished for disturbing the court!"
The people were driven away and immediately started cursing, pointing their fingers at Qi Che.
Qi Che frowned, his face turning from pale to blue, and asked Du Youwei, "Why are you driving the people away, sir? I came here today just to let everyone bear witness together."
Du Youwei seemed not to notice his anger, and continued to smile: "Don't be angry, sir. What do these unruly people know? Once I dismiss Chu's complaint, you can go and ask for the princess' hand in marriage with peace of mind!"
After saying this, he blinked at Qi Che, as if to take credit.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the people were completely enraged, and someone shouted, "Smash this dog official and seek justice for Madam Chu!"
Then, a piece of vegetable leaf flew towards Qi Che's head. Immediately afterwards, the people followed suit and picked up stones and rotten vegetable leaves on the ground and threw them at Qi Che and Du Youwei.
"How dare you! You unruly people, get out of the way quickly!"
Seeing this, Du Youwei pretended to scold and winked at the yamen runners beside him: "Hurry up and protect Master Qi, how do you do things?"
Several yamen runners tried to resist, but they were outnumbered because of the large number of people. Several of them were squeezed aside and disappeared in an instant.
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