Chapter 43 Execution

The New Year is over, the fireworks are still bright, and the end of the first month has come. At

the end of the first month, although the red lanterns in front of every household are still hanging high, the red color gradually fades from its initial brightness. The streets are less noisy and bustling, and more peaceful and daily. The people of Yangzhou City have withdrawn from the festive atmosphere and plunged into the busyness and struggle of the new year.

The Sheng Mansion also began to get busy. Each courtyard began to pack items. The maids would carefully fold and wrap the clothes, daily necessities and valuables one by one in cloth or sacks. For fragile items, they were more careful to pad them with soft materials to ensure that they would not be damaged during the long journey. Each item was carefully marked so that they could find what they needed quickly on the way or after arriving in Tokyo.

When everyone was busy packing their luggage, Sheng Hong suddenly asked the servants to notify the maids and servants in each courtyard to go to the backyard to watch the execution. The servants then remembered that the master had said that he would severely punish Zhou Xueniang, the housekeeper of the West Courtyard, and the servants talked about it.

When everyone arrived, they found that the woodshed had changed a lot. The yard had been cleaned up, and a wooden bench, about the width of a person, had been placed in the middle. Four strong servants were standing on both sides of the bench. The first two were holding three-foot-five-inch staffs. The width of the large end of the staff should not exceed two inches, and the diameter and thickness of the small end should not exceed nine fen. The two men at the back were holding a bundle of ropes each. The four men had solemn expressions and awe-inspiring aura, which frightened everyone who saw them. The woodshed yard, which used to be a little noisy, was now so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After everyone stood still, another servant carried out a person. This person was dirty and haggard, not much better than a beggar on the street. People who knew Zhou Xuenniang couldn't believe that this was her. The originally quiet courtyard was once again filled with discussions because of Zhou Xuenniang being carried out.

Dong Rong came from the back of the crowd. The maids and servants made way for him. Dong Rong stood in front of them, and without saying anything, he went straight to the point. "I called everyone here today to show you what the consequences are for murdering the master! The master gave Zhou Xueniang some dignity because she had served Aunt Lin, and she will not be beaten! This time Zhou Xueniang murdered the master, and she will be beaten with thirty sticks!"

Everyone was in a cry. Looking at Zhou Xueniang's appearance, would she still be alive after this caning?

The two servants who were carrying Zhou Xueniang put her on a wooden stool, and then the two men holding ropes went up to tie Zhou Xueniang's hands and feet and fixed her on the wooden stool. Zhou Xueniang did not struggle at all during the whole process, and she no longer had the strength to resist.

With Dong Rong's order, "Execute!" the two men holding staffs rounded their arms and hit down. The staffs made a dull sound when they hit the flesh. Zhou Xuenniang, who had been motionless, suddenly screamed miserably. As the sticks fell, the screams became more miserable. Several timid maids around were scared to tears, and the brave servants didn't dare to look.

Dong Rong saw everyone's reaction and shouted fiercely, "Open your eyes and watch carefully! You all must remember Zhou's miserable condition today, so you won't commit the same mistake again! "

Everyone had no choice but to watch the execution process. At first, Zhou Xueniang's screams were one after another, but as the number of times the staff fell increased, Zhou Xueniang's voice gradually became silent. The two executioners saw that the person on the wooden bench had stopped moving, waiting for Dong Rong's instructions. Dong Rong glanced at Zhou Xueniang, and a servant beside him immediately walked over to check her breath, and found that she was still breathing.

Dong Rong ordered, "Continue beating!" The two executioners had no choice but to continue. Even though Zhou Xueniang fainted, she had actually received the thirty strokes of the stick!

After the execution, everyone was still silent. Dong Rong faced everyone and swept his eyes around, "Look carefully! Be careful! "After saying that, he walked out first.

As soon as Dong Rong left, the firewood courtyard became lively again. Everyone gathered two or three steps away from Zhou Xuenniang, but no one dared to go forward to see if she was still alive. Dong Rong did not explain how to deal with Zhou Xuenniang after she was punished. Under the pressure of Dong Rong's power, everyone was unwilling to meddle in other people's business.

Until Chang Feng and Mo Lan arrived, Chang Feng asked Mo Lan to wait outside the courtyard, and he went in to find his servant. When Chang Feng entered the yard, he saw a large group of people gathered together. No one noticed his arrival. He struggled to push the crowd apart, and someone saw that the Third Young Master had come, so he gave him some money. He made way for everyone, and then Chang Feng saw Zhou Xuenniang lying on a wooden bench. Caught off guard by such a bloody scene, the inexperienced young master only had time to let out a short scream before he fainted. Chang

Feng's servant saw that his young master had fainted, so he hurried out of the crowd, carried him on his back and shouted for a doctor. The courtyard was in chaos again. Molan heard

her brother's cry outside the courtyard and thought that Mother Zhou's injury was too serious. Chang Feng cried out in distress, but when Chang Feng's followers carried Chang Feng out, she realized that she was wrong. She stepped forward and said, "What's wrong with my brother? "

The attendant saw that Molan had also found her backbone, "Fourth Miss, our young master has fainted from fright, quickly get someone to find a doctor."

Molan was stunned. Not only did her brother not bring Mother Zhou out, but he also fainted from fright! "Take your brother back to his yard quickly, I'll get someone to find a doctor!"

After Molan gave the order, she rushed into the yard, pointed at two familiar servants and asked them to quickly find a doctor to see the Third Young Master. When Yun Zai and Lin Qinshuang's maids and servants saw Molan coming in, they hurriedly stood in front of her to prevent her from seeing Zhou Xueniang's miserable condition, fearing that she could not bear it.

Molan was anxious and asked them, "How is Mother Zhou? Is she seriously injured? Take her back for treatment quickly! "The maids looked at each other, and one of the maids who was more familiar with Zhou Xuenniang went back to feel her breath, and was surprised to find that she was still alive. Then she called a few sisters to find a stretcher to carry Zhou Mama back to the west courtyard.

Then the servant who went out to find a doctor went to several clinics and drugstores, but they all said that the doctor had been invited away and there was no doctor in the clinic. After running two streets, he still couldn't find a doctor who could see the patient. The two servants were so anxious that they were mad at themselves. It was not

until they ran to the third street that they caught a doctor who had just returned from outside in an inconspicuous small clinic. The two of them pulled her up without saying a word. The doctor ran to the mansion. Outside the Sheng Mansion, Chang Feng's followers were stamping their feet anxiously. When they saw the two men bringing the doctor back, they dragged the doctor to Chang Feng's yard without waiting for the doctor to catch his breath. When Lin Qinshuang's men rushed over to ask for the doctor, the doctor had already arrived at Chang Feng's yard.

The doctor took Chang Feng's pulse and said that he fainted because of excessive fear. He prescribed tranquilizers and gave him acupuncture, and Chang Feng was fine. However, after all this trouble, the morning was almost over, and Zhou Xueniang was in a critical condition over there, and had a high fever.