In the capital, the place where criminals were beheaded was called Caishikou.
On weekdays, Caishikou is a bustling street with people coming and going.
Whenever a public beheading occurred, the Ministry of Justice would clear the area at Caishikou in advance and prepare the venue.
Every time a prisoner was beheaded at Caishikou, common people would come to watch the fun.
This time, everyone heard that it was the emperor who ordered the execution of corrupt officials, and there were fifteen of them, including the current prime minister and the son of Grand Tutor Jiang. The level of excitement was no different from a festival.
People planned to watch the beheading several days in advance.
Most of the people in the capital, as long as they could spare time on that day, were eager to go and watch it.
Those who really can't get away can only sigh alone, as if they have missed out on some once-in-a-century event.
The people from the counties and prefectures near the capital, who were rich and had free time, would come to the capital by carriage several days in advance, find an inn to stay in, and wait to watch the beheading.
All the inns in the capital were fully booked within a few days.
Guests who arrived late couldn't even find a place to stay, so they had to park their carriages in secluded places and spend the night in the carriages.
Restaurants, teahouses and diners in Caishikou, as long as they had a good location for watching the beheading, became popular.
The store specially marked the window seats on the second, third and fourth floors as VIP seats of different levels and sold tickets to the public.
The window seats on the top floor are the most expensive, followed by the window seats on the lower floors, and the seats not near the window are the cheapest.
Many shops in Caishikou made a lot of money by selling tickets in advance.
On the day of the beheading, before dawn, the Caishikou was already filled with people.
Xia Zhengqi deliberately stopped attending court for one day on this day.
In Kunning Palace, Xia Zhengqi got up early, washed and dressed.
The Queen specially placed a peace amulet on Xia Zhengqi: "This is something I obtained from Guangji Temple. It was painted by Zen Master Huihai himself. Wear it to ward off evil spirits."
"Ruoyu is still considerate." Xia Zhengqi smiled sweetly.
Xia Miaoyuan was cleaned up by the nanny at this time and was sitting on the bed playing with a rattle.
[Wow, is Dad going to kill corrupt officials today? ]
【I want to go and see it too.】
【I want to go too! 】
【Daddy, take me there! 】
Xia Miaoyuan threw away the rattle and stretched out his two little hands to reach Xia Zhengqi, babbling with his little mouth as if he was talking.
"Miao'er, are you going out with father?" Xia Zhengqi leaned over lovingly and gently pinched Xia Miaoyuan's round and smooth little face.
[Yeah, yeah, I'm going. I'm going.]
Xia Miaoyuan nodded vigorously.
"Not today. Father is going to Caishikou to oversee the execution today. Children can't go there. They will be frightened."
Xia Miaoyuan grabbed Xia Zhengqi's robe with her little hands and clenched it tightly, crying in protest.
"It's really not possible, Miao'er." The queen pried Xia Miaoyuan's little hands apart.
Xia Miaoyuan raised her eyes, but Xia Zhengqi had already turned and left.
“Waah…wah…wah…wah…” Xia Miaoyuan pounded the bed and burst into tears.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" A clear male voice came.
Xia Miaoyuan wiped her tears and saw the second prince lift the curtain and walk in.
"Is it because your father refuses to take you out?" the second prince asked softly, hugging Xia Miaoyuan in his arms and taking out a handkerchief to wipe her tears.
The queen was watching from the side and couldn't help but smile.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Rong is here to deliver some snacks." Xiao Luzi walked to the door and reported.
"That's perfect. You can comfort your sister while your mother goes to see Concubine Rong." The queen hurried to the front hall.
【I want to watch the execution of corrupt officials! 】
"Why don't you take me with you? It's not fair!"
【I don’t like Daddy anymore! 】
Xia Miaoyuan couldn't stop crying.
"Sister, don't cry. Do you want to go out?" The second prince kissed Xia Miaoyuan's little face.
Xia Miaoyuan dodged suddenly and even stopped crying.
【Don’t stick it on, it will prick your face! 】
"Look, my second brother just shaved his beard this morning, it's so clean." The second prince grabbed Xia Miaoyuan's little hand and touched his cheek.
"Come on, try it and see if it's smooth."
Xia Miaoyuan burst into laughter, stretched out her two little arms and hugged her brother's neck.
"Don't make any noise, second brother will carry you out to play." The second prince said softly.
[Yeah.] Xia Miaoyuan nodded vigorously.
The brother and sister rode out of the palace in a sedan chair, where a gorgeously decorated carriage was already waiting.
"Why are you taking so long? Didn't I tell you to come out earlier?" A magnetic male voice came from the carriage.
The attendants helped the second prince onto the carriage. Xia Miaoyuan looked up and saw that it was Prince Guoguo in the carriage.
[Ah, Prince Pot Pot Stickers.]
Xia Miaoyuan immediately smiled with joy.
The Second Prince sat down, and the Crown Prince took Xia Miaoyuan in his arms and complained, "Why did you bring your sister out?"
"She was crying and wanted to come out to play! I couldn't bear it, so I carried her out." The second prince muttered with his eyes lowered.
"Hey, we are going to Caishikou to watch the fun, not to have fun on ordinary days. You really have no idea." The prince rolled his eyes helplessly.
[Ah, are you also going to watch the execution of corrupt officials? ]
[Wow! This is amazing!]
Xia Miaoyuan couldn't help but giggle.
The Crown Prince and the Second Prince both lowered their heads and smiled secretly.
After a while, the prince's carriage arrived at Caishikou.
At this time, the crowds of people waiting to watch the excitement were already packed.
The originally wide streets were now crowded with people on both sides.
The armored and sword-wielding imperial guards, holding spears, lined up in the street, blocking the surging crowd and leaving a path in the middle of the street.
This road is reserved for the government.
Because it was the prince's carriage, the imperial guards recognized it and were tacitly allowed to enter on the official road.
The three siblings got off the carriage, and their followers finally squeezed through the crowd and escorted them to the third floor of Hongyun Tower.
Hongyun Tower is a restaurant diagonally opposite the execution ground. The prince had already sent someone to buy a seat by the window.
The Crown Prince held Xia Miaoyuan in his arms and sat down with the Second Prince, drinking tea and looking towards the execution ground.
The four corners of the execution ground were guarded by the imperial guards. In the center of the execution ground, a tall flagpole was erected, and the flag of Daxia fluttered in the wind.
There were still a few empty seats on the execution platform.
In front of the execution platform was a square platform made of stone slabs. In front of the platform, five huge wooden blocks were neatly placed, and the blocks were stained with blood. That was the place where the criminals were beheaded.
Opposite the execution platform, a surging crowd waited patiently, talking about the death row prisoners.
Occasionally, a few clever vendors would emerge from the crowd, looking for any opportunity to sell sour plum soup, osmanthus cake, etc. from their poles.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
A shrill shout was heard, and the crowd immediately quieted down and looked towards the official road in unison.
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