Chapter 162 The execution of Constable Zhao on the spot was merely the appetizer of the public trial.
Duan Wu felt very heavy-hearted. Although he had not personally witnessed the tragedy that happened to Xiu Mei's family, just hearing the descriptions from the Emperor and the Fairy was enough to make him feel disgusted.
“Xiumei…” Duan Wu composed himself and, following the interrogation procedure, asked, “Do you recognize these people?”
Xiumei looked up at the group of people, her eyes almost bleeding. "Even if they turn to ashes, I will still recognize them!"
Duan Wudao said, "Then now you tell me, and all the people present, what they did..."
Xiumei then recounted what had happened a few days prior. When she got to the crucial parts, she trembled all over, her nails dug into her palms, and both hands were bleeding.
The people were horrified, heartbroken, and furious upon hearing this.
Then some ordinary people came forward to corroborate that they saw Xiumei and An'an being arrested by Constable Zhao and others that day.
Public sentiment quickly turned increasingly indignant.
Stones kept flying out from the crowd, hitting Zhao and his men hard.
Duan Wu did not stop them, coldly watching them wail and scream as their heads bled.
Faced with overwhelming evidence and the immense public anger coming from all directions, even though Officer Zhao thought that since there was no other way out, he might as well stick to his guns, several of his subordinates had already broken down and confessed their crimes while crying.
Furthermore, he revealed that everything was because Officer Zhao was greedy and led them to rob and kill, and afterwards he even wanted to find Xiumei to silence her.
"You...you..." Constable Zhao's eyes widened, his face turning ashen with rage. "I was even thinking of helping you all prosper, and you just sold me out like this? You ingrates! Ungrateful bastards!"
"Pah!" his men spat, tearing off any pretense of civility. "You think you can get rich with us? You just want us to do your dirty work!"
"If you could handle this all by yourself, how would we get any of this good stuff? Don't you dare pretend to be something you're not!"
"You still say we're ungrateful? What about you? Five years ago, you were so poor you were begging on the streets, almost freezing to death in the dead of winter! Xiumei took you in while she was heavily pregnant and saved your life! In the end, you harmed her whole family for the sake of the treasure and even handed her daughter over to human traffickers!"
"You're the most inhuman! The most despicable scum!"
If it weren't for the fact that the group was bickering and revealing some past events, the people wouldn't have known that Xiumei had once helped Constable Zhao.
This sparked even greater public outrage.
Officer Zhao's face turned ashen, and he slumped to the ground, unable to utter a single word.
Several constables, their hands tied behind their backs, were unable to move easily, but they still managed to move their knees with all their might, kowtowing repeatedly to Xiumei, saying that they knew they were wrong and knew they were doomed to die, hoping to beg for her forgiveness before they died.
Xiumei ignored them and kowtowed to Duan Wu, saying, "Please, General, kill them!"
"Kill them! Kill them!" the people roared, raising their hands.
Duan Wu shouted, "Men! Behead these constables and display their heads in public! Cut Constable Zhao in half at the waist! Execute immediately!"
A line of soldiers acted swiftly and decisively, dragging Zhao and his men to the very front of the trial platform.
The constables were so frightened that they lost control of their bladder and bowels; they never imagined that the death penalty would come so quickly.
Whoosh!
The soldiers all brandished their swords.
Several heads flew up.
Blood gushed out, dripping down the edge of the judge's bench and onto the ground.
After the constables were beheaded, their heads rolled around, their eyes and mouths still opening and closing, and their headless bodies twitched for a while before becoming still.
When Zhao, the head constable, saw this scene, he was terrified. Duan Wu made him suffer the final torture in order to give him a final, painful blow before he died.
"No...no!" Zhao Bu cried out like a mad dog struggling in its death throes, "I was wrong! Please, General, give me a quick death! I don't want to be cut in half at the waist!"
Even after beheading, a person still dies completely after a while.
Although it was a short time, the pain endured during that period is unimaginable.
If it's cut in half... it will only be worse!
"Prepare for execution!" Duan Wu decisively gave the order.
Two soldiers grabbed the wailing Zhao, pulling his arms and legs straight, while another soldier stood in the middle, raising his long and sharp Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) high.
The people gritted their teeth, clenched their fists, and didn't even blink, afraid of missing a single scene.
Xiumei, who had returned to the crowd, hugged her husband and held An'an in their arms. They covered their daughter's eyes, and then the couple stared intently at Zhao, the constable who was about to be cut in half at the waist.
"Slay!" Duan Wu roared.
Officer Zhao was terrified, his eyes wide open, and he could only watch as the sharp long knife fell swiftly down.
Pfft!
A flash of cold light, and blood splattered.
Officer Zhao was cut in half at the waist!
"Great! Excellent!" the people shouted and applauded.
No one would find such a scene too brutal; all they would feel is satisfaction!
Because of the extreme pain in his body, Officer Zhao was unable to faint. He could only continue to wail in agony, constantly experiencing pain beyond the limits of what ordinary people could endure, while also hearing the cheers of the people.
At this moment, he finally understood what it meant to regret something, and what it meant to be worse than dead.
A full cup of tea's time passed before he slowly breathed his last in excruciating pain...
Duan Wu then ordered his soldiers to clean up the scene, dragging the bodies away first, before continuing the trial.
Xiumei's husband stepped forward with difficulty and kowtowed below the judge's bench, saying, "General Duan, this humble subject... has a request."
Duan Wudao said, "You speak."
Xiumei's husband wiped his red, tearful eyes. "Could you give me that beast's head? I... want to take it to my mother's grave to pay my respects."
“Alright, once the interrogation is over, this general will give you his head.” Duan Wu agreed without hesitation.
Xiumei's husband was in tears, "Thank you, General!"
After the soldiers dragged away the bodies that had just been executed, Duan Wu announced the sentences for the other yamen runners and officials in public.
The county officials, led by the clerk, will be beheaded at noon tomorrow, and the rest of the clerks will all be exiled to the army.
The people cheered and applauded again.
Duan Wudao said, "Fellow villagers, these are just appetizers prepared for this public trial. Next, we will introduce the culprit!"
"Bring the magistrate of Hewan County and the prefect of Longyuan Prefecture here!"
Upon hearing these words, the people were almost driven mad with excitement.
Unexpectedly, not only was the county magistrate put on trial, but even the high-ranking prefect was arrested!
This is incredibly joyous news!
After Duan Wu gave the order, one group of soldiers immediately went to the county government office in the rear, while another group of soldiers went straight to the place where the governor of Longyuan was being held alone.
Inside the county jail.
The county magistrate's entire family, including servants and guards, totaling more than 120 people, were all here.
In the days and nights since his arrest, sighs, cries, and complaints have filled the air, creating quite a lively scene.
The magistrate, thoroughly annoyed by the commotion, finally snapped, "All of you, shut up! So what if that Duan guy sent some soldiers to threaten me with force? What's the big deal? Does he really think he can kill a magistrate like me?! He's gone too far!"
"Waaah...Master..." Several concubines cried uncontrollably, grabbing his arms and chattering all at once.
"He has soldiers, and he dared to come to our house in the middle of the night to arrest people. Could he... could he really be capable of killing us..."
"Sir, we are so scared!"
Seeing the concubines crying and wailing, the magistrate became even more annoyed. He glared and said, "He wouldn't dare! If he really dared, would he have locked us all up in jail? If he wanted to kill us, he would have done it three nights ago!"
“You all calm down and give the master a break,” the magistrate’s wife said calmly. “The master is right. We don’t need to be afraid at all. If you ask me, Duan Wu must have other motives. He must be unwilling to return our family’s property, so he put on this show to scare us.”
The magistrate sneered, "That's right, that's what I think too."
"Well... Master, how about... how about we just let him take it all? We don't want it anymore," a concubine said, wiping away her tears. "I really don't want to stay in this awful place any longer."
The other concubines echoed, saying that in all their years of life, this was the first time they had suffered like this.
The prison cell is simply not a place for a human being.
They really couldn't take it anymore.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" the magistrate roared. "That entire warehouse of wealth is what I've painstakingly accumulated over the years! How can I just hand it over to that bastard Duan Wu for nothing? Besides, if we just give it away like that, you'll all starve!"
The concubines were scolded and dared not speak again.
The magistrate's wife pondered for a moment and said, "My lord, since that man surnamed Duan has agreed to return our property to the prefect, I think even if he is greedy, he wouldn't dare to swallow it all. We should talk to him properly and ask him to return only a portion. He will agree."
Seeing that the magistrate's face was ashen and he did not immediately express his opinion, the magistrate's wife patiently advised, "My lord, just consider it a loss to avoid disaster! Let him benefit for now, keep him calm, and you will be released. There will be plenty of time to deal with him in the future! As for the money lost this time, you just need to increase the tax items and recoup it from the people of Hewan County."
Upon hearing this, the magistrate sighed, "Alas... what the lady says makes sense, there is no other way."
He then turned to look at his sons and confidants in the adjacent cell, and said as he pondered:
"From now on, none of you should idle away your time indulging in drinking, gambling, and whoring. After you leave, I will arrange for you to take up positions in various other places within the county. We cannot overlook any place in Hewan County where there is still money to be made, even the poorest and most remote village. Every little bit of profit is worth something, and you must pay the same taxes as in the county seat!"
"The magistrate is quite the busy man," a sarcastic voice suddenly rang out as a soldier arrived at the cell door where the magistrate was imprisoned. "His wounds haven't healed, he's in deep jail, yet he's still plotting to plunder the people's hard-earned money."
The magistrate of Hewan County was furious. Pointing his finger at the soldier who had spoken, he cursed, "Wasn't it all because of that Duan brat?! Stop talking nonsense in front of me! I know what he's up to. Shouldn't you invite me out to meet him now?!"
The soldier smiled enigmatically, "We have indeed come to take you away."
"Summon the man surnamed Duan to come and receive me personally!" The magistrate of Hewan County straightened his back and said confidently.
The soldiers didn't waste any more words with him; they opened the cell door, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and dragged him out.
The magistrate of Hewan County was furious. "You're nothing but that brat's lackeys! How dare you treat me like this! Once I've settled things with that brat, I'll deal with you later!"
The soldiers ignored his mad dog-like shouts and led him straight out of the prison, heading towards the outside of the yamen.
The magistrate of Hewan County began to secretly plan. In the end, his entire family was controlled by Duan Wu because he had troops at his disposal. Even if he was angry later, he had to endure it, pay attention to his words, and try to minimize his losses. After this matter was resolved, he would complain to the prefect and see how long that kid Duan Wu could be so arrogant.
It wasn't until he was escorted to the open-air courtroom outside the yamen that the magistrate of Hewan County realized... something seemed amiss.
"Look! The magistrate has been brought here!"
"It really was him! You damned magistrate! You'll die a horrible death!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
The roars of the people grew louder and louder.
The magistrate of Hewan County was stunned, his legs giving way.
Two soldiers dragged him directly onto the stage.
Kneel down!
The soldier kicked him in the shin, and he staggered and fell to his knees. Looking up in surprise, he saw Duan Wu sitting behind the trial table.
"You..." The magistrate of Hewan County looked displeased. "Duan Wu! What... what are you up to!"
Duan Wu raised his chin. "Are you blind? Can't you tell we're interrogating you? Why are you still asking?"
The magistrate of Hewan County trembled, his eyes filled with disbelief. "You're interrogating me again? Haven't you had enough of this trick yet? This time you even set up a huge platform! Alright, you surnamed Duan, you're addicted to being a judge, aren't you! If you have the guts, let me see the Prefect! I refuse to believe that the Prefect will tolerate you!"
A group of soldiers around him suddenly burst out laughing.
Duan Wu sighed, "You really are blind. Open your dog eyes and see who's next to you."
Upon hearing this, the magistrate of Hewan County turned his head and glanced at it.
He hadn't missed seeing someone kneeling there, but the person was wearing prison clothes, had disheveled hair, and had their head hanging low, so he hadn't paid any attention to it.
Upon closer inspection, he gasped in shock, "Lord Yu... Lord Yu?!"
The other person slowly raised their head, revealing a pair of bloodshot, lifeless eyes through their disheveled long hair.
"Lord You!" the magistrate of Hewan County exclaimed in shock, "How did you get into this state?! You... how come you're wearing prison clothes? How did you get here?!"
The prefect lowered his head again, remaining kneeling listlessly without responding.
"Duan Wu!" The magistrate of Hewan County stood up angrily. "How dare you treat Lord You like this! You are utterly audacious and unforgivable! No wonder you arrested my entire family. It turns out... it turns out even the prefect has fallen victim to your evil deeds! Do you really think you can be so arrogant just because you have troops under your command? Do you have any respect for the law? Do you have any sense of justice?!"
Duan Wu casually wiped away the blood that occasionally seeped from the wound on his forehead, stared at the magistrate of Hewan County with a sharp gaze, and said in a deep voice:
"He has already confessed to all his crimes and can no longer be your protector. No matter how high-sounding your pleas are, it's useless. You might as well confess quickly so that I can announce your execution as soon as possible. The people are all eager to hear the result. Aren't you curious about what your own fate will be?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
