"It will take some time for Yunfu to return to the capital." Situ Yao stood up after saying this. "After I have arranged things in the palace, I will take her back."
"Then when will we return to Beijing?" Su Mengyan continued to ask.
"Three days later," Situ Yao said, "after Wang Shouli is beheaded and displayed to the public."
He didn't trust the Bai family and wanted to make sure that Wang Shouli was really dead before he could feel at ease.
Thinking that she was about to leave Chu City, Su Mengyan felt a little reluctant and the smile on her face faded a lot.
Wang Shouli's crimes were made public, and on the day of his beheading, he was paraded through the streets in a prison cart for public display.
Because he concealed the plague and failed to report it, the people lost their loved ones and threw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at him.
After venting their grief and anger, many people began to cry.
Su Mengyan, sitting in the teahouse, heard the wailing from the crowd and seemed to have some understanding, "Even if Wang Shouli is killed, those who died from this plague will not come back."
If Wang Shouli had reported it as soon as he discovered it, instead of waiting for half a month, perhaps so many misfortunes would not have happened.
"Time flies, and the living shouldn't dwell on those who will never come back." Situ Yao was very clear-headed, without her sentimentality. In some ways, he was cold and indifferent, always watching the world with indifference.
Even Su Mengyan, an outsider, sympathized with the people, but he did not.
Seeing that she was silent, Situ Yao said self-deprecatingly, "Do you think I'm cold-blooded?"
"Sir, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?" Su Mengyan asked him.
"If you have something to say, just say it." Situ Yao felt that what she said was definitely not good, but he still let her speak.
After hearing what he said, Su Mengyan felt that there was nothing to worry about, and said carelessly, "Young Master appears to be cold-blooded, but that's not the case."
"What do you mean?" Situ Yao asked with interest.
"Young Master will not easily forget the deceased. It's just that you disguised yourself so well that no one noticed." Su Mengyan had read the original work and knew that he always remembered his deceased mother.
Situ Yao was icy cold, with a hint of murderous intent. Su Mengyan wondered if he was unhappy that she had guessed his inner thoughts. Su Mengyan wasn't sure.
"It was the young master who asked me to tell the truth. You can't blame me." Su Mengyan shifted the blame, saying that it was he who asked her to tell the truth.
Situ Yao raised his lips, as if to smile. "You're right, it's not your fault." As if the man who had just exuded murderous intent didn't exist.
Su Mengyan secretly relaxed, thinking that it would be better to say less of such things in the future. She never knew when it would bring her a fatal disaster.
As the prison van moved forward, the people chased after it, cursing and hurling insults, their anger unsatisfied. Finally, some even attacked Wang Shouli, and the situation spiraled out of control. Fortunately, the yamen runners persuaded the people to retreat, and the prison van arrived safely at the execution ground before 12:30 PM.
"Wang Shouli, you have come to this day. God has mercy on you and will not leave a complete corpse." A man in the crowd shouted. After saying this, he picked up a pot of wine, poured it on the ground, knelt on the ground and said, "Dad, did you see this? Someone has avenged us."
"That man used to be the son of the Qi family, the richest business family in Chu City. Later, because he was unwilling to give money to Wang Shouli, the Qi family's business plummeted and the head of the Qi family passed away." Situ Yao knew the origins of the man with strange behavior in the crowd like the back of his hand.
"Is it Wang Shouli who is secretly doing this?" Su Mengyan guessed.
"Wang Shouli deliberately threatened those who had business dealings with the Qi family and secretly sent people to destroy the Qi family's shop. Later, the Qi family gradually fell into decline." Situ Yao drank the tea on the table and looked up at the sky. It was almost three quarters past noon.
The executioner's knife was ready to strike. Wang Shouli's wife came to see him off, and her sobs were faintly heard, but they were eventually drowned out by cheers.
Situ Yao blocked her eyes with his bony fingers, "Don't look."
"Let's go." Su Mengyan didn't dare to look at the scene, so she left with Situ Yao.
As they walked down the teahouse, they heard exclamations from the crowd, and Su Mengyan smelled a strong smell of blood. The blood spread all the way in front of them.
"Knowing what would happen if he was discovered, why did he still do it?" Su Mengyan felt a little sympathetic towards the woman standing outside the crowd crying silently. "Fame, fortune, money—you can't bring them with you when you're born, and you can't take them with you when you die. He died a clean death, leaving this orphan and widow behind, despised by everyone in the world."
"She might not be completely unaware of what Wang Shouli did." Situ Yao showed no sympathy as he took Su Mengyan away. "Go back, it's over. The Wang family wasn't wiped out, we're lucky."
Su Mengyan withdrew her gaze. She almost forgot that this was a time when imperial power was supreme and the implicating of nine clans was common. The fact that only Wang Shouli died was indeed a pardon outside the law.
She sighed softly and followed Situ Yao without saying a word.
He didn't say a word until he returned.
Before returning to his room, Situ Yao stopped and asked her, "Are you worried about Madam Wang?"
Su Mengyan nodded gloomily. She had just seen with her own eyes that group of people spitting on her and saying those dirty words.
Because the culprit Wang Shouli was dead, they could only vent their anger on the defenseless women.
"I think that keeping them here is the most severe punishment, Your Majesty." Su Mengyan raised her eyes, "I saw the intent of death in Madam Wang's eyes."
"Come out with me." Situ Yao's face was stern as he took her out of the yard.
Su Mengyan took great effort to get him to stop, "Where are you taking me, sir?"
"I'll take you to meet Mrs. Wang." Situ Yao said.
"Thank you, sir." Su Mengyan finally smiled. She knew that Situ Yao was not as cold-blooded and heartless as outsiders said. He was just cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
Situ Yao felt a little uncomfortable because of her smile. He turned his head away and said, "I am trying to make you give up, so I have to show you unnecessary sympathy all day long."
Su Mengyan smiled softly, said nothing, and followed him closely.
Situ Yao had already found out where Wang Shouli lived. He used to live in the prefectural government residence, and his wife and children stayed at the mansion, rarely appearing in public.
After many twists and turns, they finally arrived. This was a very ordinary courtyard with three entrances and three exits, and a white banner was hung at the gate.
When the common people passed through the palace gate, they would curse inside. Those with children would hug their children and walk away quickly, as if avoiding the plague.
The man at the door cursed more and more harshly, and Su Mengyan was disgusted by him. She walked over to stop him, "You are scolding Wang Shouli, why humiliate his wife?"
"Who the hell do you think you are? Stay out of my business." The man pushed Su Mengyan away and walked up to bang on the door. "Wang Shouli killed so many people. Now that he's dead, his sins will naturally be borne by his son."
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