"You audacious madman! You actually beat up civilians in private and even killed someone. What gave you the audacity to be so rampant? Confess the truth!"
The gavel slammed down.
The two brothers were so scared they almost peed their pants.
What should we do? How did this woman end up in Shuangqiao Town?
Zhang Furen lay on the ground, cold sweat dripping from his forehead to the floor.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock—"
"Thump thump—"
The sounds of sweat and heartbeats mingled together, like a piece of music, performed by Zhang Furen.
"Guards, bring the torture!"
Seeing that he did not respond for a long time, Magistrate Lu directly ordered him to be tortured.
He didn't say which instrument of torture would be used.
Zuo Li gave him a wink.
Two constables brought over a whip.
The whip was made of refined iron, as thin as a finger, and had eighteen sections in total.
It also has another name.
Peony Eighteen Whips.
The whip is not smooth, so you must be careful when handling it and only hold the handle.
Because if you accidentally touch the front of the whip, your fingers will be cut by the sharp metal piece.
The whip is shaped like an apple peeler or fish scales.
With a gentle lash of the whip, flesh and blood burst open on his body.
Like a large, blooming red peony.
Exceptionally alluring.
Therefore, it was named Peony Eighteen Whips.
This punishment is extremely cruel and is not used lightly; it is only applied to prisoners who are destined to die.
Because the whip is thin and the blows are light, the whipping does not damage the tendons and bones, but only tears the skin and flesh.
It makes the prisoner writhe in pain on the ground, but doesn't make them immediately pass out.
If you encounter a ruthless official, he will pour a basin of salt water on you.
That would feel even more intense.
The whips were made of iron, which would rust, so the wounds would not heal, and the prisoners would suffer in agony until the day of their execution.
Two constables stood by, one holding a whip, and the other stuffing a piece of burlap into Zhang Furen's mouth.
After the preparations were completed, Zhang Furen was stripped naked from the waist up, and the constables tied him to a wooden frame.
"Smack—"
"Hmm—"
With one lash of the iron whip, Zhang Furen's face turned completely white.
Fresh blood was immediately visible on his waist; if you stood a distance away, you might think he had a bright red flower tattooed on his body.
It seemed that several pieces of skin and flesh had been torn off from the sharp whip.
Zhang Furen couldn't even call out; he just groaned.
They stuffed burlap into his mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue and committing suicide.
This kind of pain is beyond what ordinary people can bear.
He was whipped five times in succession.
Zhang Furen's upper body was completely emaciated.
The blood was like a red garment, firmly 'worn' over his body.
The people outside the county government office felt very relieved, but they had never seen such a scene before and were somewhat terrified.
The hall was also unusually quiet.
"Pat-pat-pat—"
The sound of blood dripping onto the ground deeply struck Zhang Fuyi's heart.
"My lord, please spare me! I know I was wrong! I'll tell you everything! Please don't hit me, please don't hit me!"
Zuo Li could faintly smell a urine odor.
I wonder who was so scared they wet their pants.
Finally, Zhang Fuyi confessed to all the despicable things he and his brother had done.
It turns out that many years ago, the two of them were just apprentices at a grain shop.
A drought caused grain prices to soar. Seeing the shopkeeper making a fortune, they became envious. One night, they conspired to strangle the shopkeeper and fled to Shuangqiao Town with the grain and silver.
Because it was a drought.
The world was in chaos, and the government did nothing to help. The shopkeeper's body was also thrown into the wilderness.
Therefore, he was not wanted.
The two brothers used the stolen silver and grain to open a grain shop in Shuangqiao Town.
They made their fortune from then on.
Their first murder and robbery gave them a taste of success, so they bought a lot of strong and capable servants for the shop.
When there's nothing to do, he's a helper.
When trouble comes, they become their henchmen!
In Shuangqiao Town alone, the number of people they beat was as high as a dozen or so.
Not to mention other places.
Magistrate Lu immediately ordered the two brothers to be executed.
Because they were acting on their master's orders, the servants were given lighter punishments and each received 50 strokes of the cane before being sent to perform corvée labor.
Even the strongest body can withstand fifty lashes.
It almost cost him his life.
These people were put to the test without any medical treatment.
Whether we survive or not is entirely up to fate.
The two brothers were beheaded at Caishikou.
From his capture to his death, it was only two days. Magistrate Lu's swift handling of the case amazed the people of the county for a long time.
They addressed him directly as "the upright and just official."
As for Zhang Furen and Zhang Fuyi's families, they were all exiled to harsh and cold places.
The family property was confiscated.
Magistrate Lu took some silver from the money and used it to compensate the victims, including Yuanshan, who received a full two taels of silver.
I intended to give that woman fifty taels.
To comfort her wounded heart.
Unexpectedly, on the night the Zhang brothers were executed, the woman hanged herself from a tree outside the city.
She couldn't even wait to go home; she just wanted to see her husband and children as soon as possible.
"What a pity, what a tragedy..."
Magistrate Lu sighed, shook his head, and looked very sad.
Yan Xia learned about this on the very first day her branch opened.
The deliveryman was Qian Yi.
The distant mountains are also on the way.
The two met at noon.
They said goodbye and then each drove their own carriage away.
One went, and one came back.
At this very moment, a bustling street in Jiangnan County is filled with people strolling around.
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