On July 12, the Zhenfusi ordered the prison.
Thump thump thump——
Two jailers entered the prison.
One of them held a lamp, the other held a key, and they walked side by side to the door of a cell.
Crash.
One of the jailers took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and reached out to open the chain on the cell door.
"Liu Wenxiu? Who is Liu Wenxiu?" asked the jailer.
Liu Wenxiu in the corner of the cell stood up slowly without saying a word.
"Are you deaf? I'm calling your name!" the jailer cursed.
"I am Liu Wenxiu. Has my sentence ended?" Liu Wenxiu was very calm.
He has been reflecting since being imprisoned in the imperial prison.
Reflect on whether you have done anything wrong in your past life, or killed the wrong person...
Now he understands that there is no need to think so much, because in the end everything will be in vain.
The two jailers rolled their eyes at Liu Wenxiu and said, "Bah, you want beauty! The court will waste a few taels of silver to kill you!"
The few taels of silver here are the money for the final meal before execution.
The last meal before execution, also known as the farewell meal, can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
After King Zhuang of Chu put down the rebellion, in order to show his magnanimity, he ordered that the criminals be given a good meal before being executed.
From then on, the last meal before execution began to be implemented in the vassal states and has continued to this day.
The standards for the last meal before execution varied from dynasty to dynasty.
Taking the Song Dynasty as an example, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin stipulated that the standard food for the last meal of execution was five strings of coins per person.
The monthly expenditure of an average family in the Song Dynasty was only five strings of coins, which shows how high the standard was.
Although the standards were lowered in the Ming Dynasty, there was still a bowl of wine, a bowl of rice, and two dishes, one meat and one vegetable.
However, in the actual implementation process, the configuration is reduced layer by layer.
The county magistrate reduced the ration to one bowl of wine and half a bowl of meat and vegetables.
The Dianshi’s rations were reduced by half a bowl of meat dishes and half a bowl of vegetable dishes.
If the jailer was a little greedy, he would only give the prisoner a bowl of rice and a piece of half-cooked meat.
(In the Ming Dynasty, a piece of meat was a must for the last meal before execution. At that time, the idea of reincarnation was popular among the people. It was said that after death, people had to cross the Mengpo Bridge and drink Mengpo soup. When crossing the bridge, they would encounter a vicious dog. In order to avoid being haunted by the vicious dog, they had to feed it with this piece of meat.)
Under Liu Wenxiu's astonished gaze, the jailer opened his handcuffs and shackles.
"What is this...?" Liu Wenxiu asked with her mouth open, unable to believe what was happening before her eyes.
"The Crown Princess has given birth to a son. Your Majesty now has a grandson. For this reason, I hereby grant amnesty to the entire nation!" The jailer pushed Liu Wenxiu out of the cell.
Liu Wenxiu's mind went blank.
He had already prepared himself to die, but he unexpectedly survived. You can imagine how excited he was.
Only after completing the formalities and walking out of the Zhenfusi Prison did Liu Wenxiu come to his senses.
He squinted his eyes and looked up at the sky. Soon his face was covered with tears. "I... am free! Hahahaha... I have walked back from the gates of hell!"
Before he could finish crying, a team of armored soldiers came up to him.
The leader pointed the tip of his knife at him and asked, "What do you do? Why are you standing at the gate of the prison?"
Liu Wenxiu quickly stopped crying and replied, "I was a prisoner in the imperial prison, and was released during the amnesty."
"Name?"
"Liu Wenxiu."
"That's right, take him away." The leader gave orders to those around him.
Liu Wenxiu wanted to resist, but he had neither weapons nor armor on him, and had no chance of winning against the armored soldiers.
He hastily explained: "My name is Liu Wenxiu, and I have been pardoned!"
"Know."
As they were talking, two soldiers tied up Liu Wenxiu and took him away.
Liu Wenxiu asked unwillingly: "Can you tell me who you are?"
"Northern Pacification Division."
Liu Wenxiu was stunned for a long time before asking, "Isn't the Imperial Prison under the jurisdiction of the Jinyiwei? If you want to arrest me, why do you want to let me go?"
"Two groups of people, two different things! Those who release people should be released, and those who arrest people should be arrested."
"You guys have a good connection!" Liu Wenxiu smiled bitterly.
"It's OK!"
After many twists and turns, the group finally arrived at a private residence.
After pushing open the door, Liu Wenxiu saw a Jinyiwei in plain clothes.
"I am Zhang Tongchang, a captain of the Imperial Guard. You can call me Lord Zhang."
"I don't know why Lord Zhang arrested me?" Liu Wenxiu asked.
"Grasp?"
Zhang Tongchang then saw that Liu Wenxiu was tied up. He glared at the Jinyiwei beside him and ordered, "Untie him."
After untying the rope, Zhang Tongchang took out a silver ingot from his arms and gave it to Liu Wenxiu.
"What's this, Lord Zhang?" Liu Wenxiu became more and more puzzled.
"This is your travel expenses. Li Dingguo is currently farming and training troops in Wuchang Prefecture, Huguang. Take the travel expenses and go find him." Zhang Tongchang said seriously.
"Then...what then? Don't I have to do anything else?" Liu Wenxiu asked excitedly.
"Not now, but not necessarily in the future." Zhang Tongchang said something that Liu Wenxiu couldn't understand.
"Then I will respectfully obey your command!" Liu Wenxiu carefully took the silver and put it in his arms.
You can't be against anyone, but you can't be against money.
"You can go now." Zhang Tongchang said, pointing at the door.
"Thank you," Liu Wenxiu turned around and paused, then turned back and asked, "Master Zhang, can I ask a question?"
"Can."
"I want to know if Zhang...Zhang Xianzhong's youngest son has been pardoned?"
“I don’t know.”
Liu Wenxiu didn't dare to ask any more questions and ran out of the yard trembling with the money.
After watching Liu Wenxiu leave, Zhang Tongchang asked, "Where is He Shun? Did you bring He Shun, the former garrison commander of Qufu?"
"On the way, will be there soon."
Soon, He Shun was brought forward.
Zhang Tongchang did the same thing again. He handed the other party a silver ingot and said, "This silver is for your travel expenses."
"Where does your Excellency want me to go?"
"Go to Fujian to join the army."
"Fujian? Join the army?" He Shun looked embarrassed.
"It's okay if you don't go. Just wait for the autumn execution!" Zhang Tongchang sneered.
He Shun suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. He immediately took the silver and said with a flattering smile, "Please spare my life, sir. I'll go."
Zhang Tongchang nodded: "Remember this life is given by the Pacification Office. After you go to Fujian, find a way to climb up. We will contact you when necessary."
"You can also choose to betray the Royal Guards, at your own risk."
"Don't worry, sir. I know the rules!"
He Shun felt like he was dreaming after leaving the yard.
Today, not only was his death sentence pardoned, but he also received silver.
Although he was not sure why the Jinyiwei asked him to go to Fujian, he was already prepared to work for them.
When they arrived near the gate of the capital, a team of Jinyiwei were reading the imperial edict.
"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims:
"The ruler who was created by the people...except for treason and murder of grandparents and parents...all crimes, no matter how serious, shall be pardoned. This is my decree!"
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