Chapter 58: Beaten to Death
The moment the middle-aged man appeared in front of them, the girl's face turned pale instantly.
The man was extremely angry. He leaned sideways and stretched out his hand through the gap in the cell bars, but he was unable to touch the corner of the elegant man's clothes.
Although Gu Yanran had never seen Li Xuanjing in the Li Mansion, the portrait of the enemy who murdered her father had already been deeply engraved in her heart.
The elegant man looked at the man in prison and said calmly, "In the case of Qinghe County Magistrate Gu Wenhan, all the masterminds have been brought to justice, except for the son of the Gu family's guard who has been roaming around and has not been brought to justice. This official has always felt regretful, but today we can finally successfully close the case."
Looking at the figure, the girl said angrily, "My father is upright and honest, and he is incorruptible. Everyone in Qinghe County knows that. How could he abduct and sell women and force them into prostitution? These are the charges you have slandered him with. Lord Li, you have done so many evil things, aren't you afraid of being punished by God?"
The elegant man looked at her, his eyes fluctuated, and then he said: "Gu Yanran, the daughter of Qinghe County Magistrate Gu Wenhan, is sixteen years old, very intelligent, and could compose poems at the age of six. She is proficient in music and especially good at calligraphy. She is known as the most talented woman in Xuanzhou. She studied under the calligraphy master Madam Wei, and is even better than her teacher. She can write small regular script with flowers in her hair, which is soft, beautiful, elegant and graceful. No one in Daxia can match her..."
He paused for a moment, then spoke again: "Madam Wei is indeed a famous calligraphy teacher, but she never accepted any disciples in her life. When you were six years old, your father gave one of your calligraphy works to Madam Wei for evaluation. After that, she came to the Gu Mansion four times a month to teach you calligraphy. You thought she appreciated your calligraphy talent, but in fact, your father gave her three thousand taels of silver every year..."
Gu Yanran said angrily: "You are talking nonsense. Master is indifferent to fame and gain, how could he possibly accept so much money!"
After a short silence, a young man's voice came from the cell opposite: "Miss, this is true. Madam Wei is not as indifferent as you think. She asked for three thousand taels at the beginning, and later she became even more greedy and asked the master to give her five thousand taels every year..."
Even though he hated Li Xuanjing to the core, what he said in this matter was true.
Gu Yanran was slightly stunned, with a blank expression.
At this time, the elegant man continued: "I have to say that although Gu Wenhan is not a good official, he is a good father. He is especially fond of you, his daughter. The rice paper you use to practice calligraphy is called Longwen Xuan, which comes from Xuancheng, Huizhou. It costs one tael of silver per foot. The ink you use is called Tongyan Ink. It is complicated to make and rare in the world. Its value is comparable to gold..."
He looked at Gu Yanran and said slowly, "He is a seventh-rank county magistrate with an annual salary of only three hundred taels, but he has purchased several mansions in Xuanzhou, can afford to hire a calligrapher for his daughter who pays three to five thousand taels of silver a year, can afford the best paper and ink, and can also provide your family of dozens of people with a luxurious life of fine clothes and delicious food... Haven't you ever thought about where all these huge amounts of money come from?"
After hearing these words, the girl was completely stunned.
Since she was born, she had lived a life of luxury. She had everything she wanted. When she saw something she liked, she would just take a second look at it and her maid would buy it. She had never even touched money. She didn't know the price of the paper and ink she used, let alone her father's salary or the expenses of the family...
No one had ever told her these things.
The elegant man put his hands behind his back and said calmly: "You don't know, let me tell you."
He looked at the girl in the cell and spoke slowly, "On the surface, he is the magistrate of Qinghe County who is incorruptible and loves the people like his own children. But secretly, he is corrupt and abuses his power, solicits and accepts bribes, embezzles relief funds, and exploits passing merchants. He is also the umbrella for the largest gangster gang in Qinghe County. They are in collusion with the officials and the gangsters. In just three years, more than 500 women were abducted and sold in Qinghe County alone. After being abducted, these women were sold to brothels in other places, or to widowers in the mountains. They are helpless..."
He stared into the girl's eyes and spoke word by word: "Most of these women committed suicide because they could not bear the humiliation. Every piece of paper and every piece of ink you use is stained with their blood..."
The girl turned pale and shook her head desperately: "This is impossible, it's not like that, you framed him with all these charges!"
She looked at the young man opposite her for help. They were the people her father trusted the most. If her father did these things, he would definitely know!
She hoped that Lin Xuan would tell him in person that these were all fake and were stories made up by Li Xuanjing!
However, the young man did not refute, but stared at Li Xuanjing and said with gritted teeth: "You big traitors, how can you know the hardship of an honest official? The master wanted to be an honest official at first, but is it so easy to be an honest official? If he is not greedy, how can he bribe the governor, the inspector, and the officials inspected by the Ministry of Personnel? If he is not greedy, I am afraid that he would have been swallowed up by the higher-ups without leaving any residue!"
A trace of sarcasm appeared on his face, and he continued, "Who are you, Li Xuanjing? You are one of the nine ministers, and you are in charge of the Secret Service. You are second only to the emperor and above everyone else. Even the prime minister has to bow his head to you. But what about the master? The master is only a seventh-rank county magistrate. How can he not listen to the words of the superiors? If the master doesn't do these things, they will replace them with others. By then, the master's family will not have a good end. What can the master do?"
At this point, he showed anger on his face, and said viciously: "What's more, you, Li Xuanjing, betrayed your loyalty and killed countless aspiring people. In recent years, you have formed a clique for personal gain, abused power and made the court a mess. You are also corrupt and murdered loyal officials. How many loyal officials died at your hands? You are the biggest traitor in Daxia. Countless benevolent people are eager to kill you. What qualifications do you have to say anything about my master?"
When the girl heard this, the only light left in her eyes completely went out.
The belief that had supported her until now also collapsed.
Really, it turns out what he said was true.
The father she was most proud of turned out to be such a person.
And everything she enjoyed since childhood was exchanged for these innocent lives.
The girl leaned against the cold wall of the cell, her expression dull, as if her soul had been taken away.
The elegant man shook his head, looked at the young man, and said, "You people always focus on other people's faults, but don't know how to reflect on your own. You Gu family members are human beings, and the hundreds of decent women you trafficked are also human beings. They also have families. You destroyed their families, and I will destroy your families. Isn't this a fair thing to do?"
The young man waved his hands and sneered, "Don't talk so high-soundingly. The master was just affected by your party disputes. What you did is a thousand times and ten thousand times more serious than the master's crime. You are the one who deserves to die the most!"
He stared at the person in front of him and said in a deep voice: "God will punish you, and no one will be spared. You evil villain, just wait. One day, it will be your turn to have your Li family destroyed. It's a pity that I won't be able to see that day..."
The elegant man shook his head slightly: "You are loyal to the Gu family, but it's a pity that your loyalty is used in the wrong place..."
A moment later, a figure slowly walked out of the county prison.
In the courtyard of the county government office, three people stood trembling. Pei Zhe's face was still normal, but County Magistrate Zhang and County Lieutenant Wang were pale, and their backs were already soaked with cold sweat.
Finally, it was the county magistrate Pei Zhe who mustered up the courage and asked cautiously, "Lord Li, how should we deal with this assassin?"
The elegant man patted his sleeves and said calmly: "Be beaten to death..."
His expression was indifferent and his tone was light, as if he was talking about a trivial matter.
Beat him to death... Although there were only three words, they frightened the three people present.
There are only two ways of execution in Daxia: hanging and beheading.
The death penalty by beating is not within the scope of the Daxia Code and will definitely not pass the review of the Ministry of Justice.
But these three words were said by Li Xuanjing.
The death penalty review approved by the Ministry of Justice must ultimately go through the final review of the Dali Temple. However, a word from the Dali Temple Chief can bypass the Ministry of Justice and directly decide how a person will be executed.
Ten years ago, when Your Majesty was still in charge of government, the death row sentences sentenced by the Dali Temple had to be finalized by Your Majesty before they could be implemented.
But Your Majesty has not taken care of state affairs for ten years. Now, the supreme power of Daxia's laws is in the hands of one person, the Grand Court Minister.
If he said he would beat the assassin to death, there would be absolutely no other way for him to die.
Soon, at the gate of Chang'an County Government Office.
A young man was escorted out and tied to a bench.
Seeing this, the people nearby began to gather around to watch.
Public executions are not a rare occurrence in the Chang'an County Court these days. They can be seen almost every day, and the people have become accustomed to them and regard them as something exciting to watch.
However, there were some careful observers in the crowd who soon discovered the difference in this execution.
"Hey, isn't it a caning? Why is he tied to a stool?"
"Maybe they're afraid he'll run away."
"Then why is your mouth blocked too?"
"Maybe you're afraid he'll scream?"
"I don't know. It's never happened before..."
…
They had seen caning many times, but never had anyone been tied to a stool, and rarely had the prisoners' mouths been gagged. While everyone was wondering, the two men in black had already raised the canes high in their hands, and then brought them down fiercely.
Click!
Every time the rod fell, there was a sound of bones breaking.
As if he was in great pain, the prisoner kept twisting his body on the stool and whimpering, but he was unable to break free because of the ropes.
At this point, people finally understood why he was tied up and gagged.
This is going to beat him to death!
Every blow of the stick was intended to beat him to death.
Sure enough, after only ten blows, the figure tied to the stool stopped moving.
A pool of blood gushed out from under his body, dripping onto the ground, and soon dyed the ground red...
A man in black stepped forward, sniffed his breath, then turned around and shouted, "Hey, Chang'an County Court, come out to collect the body and clean the place!"
(End of this chapter)
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