Chapter 93: Execution
The King of Qin said, "The wrath of the Son of Heaven will leave millions of corpses and blood flowing for thousands of miles."
Although the current emperor is not the King of Qin, his casual words can affect the lives and property of countless people.
It was already May of that year when the envoy sent by the emperor arrived in Hushan County with the documents.
At this time, Hushan County is covered with green trees, colorful flowers and picturesque scenery. Walking in the countryside is a pleasure.
When Lord Cai received the news, he was horrified and hurried to greet him outside the county government office, fearing any discrepancy in manners. "Your humble servant pays respects to Eunuch Liu. I beg your pardon for not being able to come and greet him from so far away."
Eunuch Liu was not very old. As a eunuch, he had a fair complexion and no beard, and he had a handsome appearance. He seemed quite amiable.
In fact, all the eunuchs and palace maids with names in the palace would not look bad. After all, their emperor was famous for looking at appearance, and everyone in the court knew this.
Eunuch Liu also said politely, "Master Cai, you are too polite. We are just doing things for His Majesty. There is no need to be so polite."
Seeing that he was still quite polite, Lord Cai felt a little relieved. If His Majesty wanted to punish him, these eunuchs who were used to reading people's faces would definitely not adopt this attitude. "Eunuch Liu must have had a hard journey. Why don't you go in and rest first, and then we'll welcome him tonight?"
Eunuch Liu said, "Business is more important."
"Master Cai, please obey my order."
Lord Cai quickly knelt down to listen to the imperial edict, assuming his most respectful expression.
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: Upon hearing of the Sui Hua Yin case, I know of the tragic loss of a talented individual. My heart burns with grief. The criminal, Mu Wei, is a ruthless and wicked man, and his crimes are so heinous that death alone cannot quell this injustice. I sentence him to immediate execution!"
"The Mu clan is short-sighted and has evil intentions. You have disgraced your ancestors and are unfit to be scholars. Therefore, for the next twenty years, you are forbidden from taking the imperial examinations, serving as officials, or even as clerks, as a punishment!"
"I regret Lin Changqing's untimely death. I order the County Magistrate Cai Wen to rebuild a new tomb and offer sacrifices on my behalf. I decree this."
"Sir Cai, why don't you accept the order quickly?" Eunuch Liu reminded him.
Cai Wen, who was frightened by the emperor's words, finally came to his senses and immediately took the imperial edict respectfully.
It would have been fine to sentence Mu Wei to death immediately, but his words against the Mu clan members had ruined the entire Mu clan's future. No one had been able to become a scholar in the past twenty years, so how could the Mu clan maintain its glory now?
However, this matter had nothing to do with him. County Magistrate Cai was also quite angry with the Mu family, especially when he knew that the Mu family actually ignored Lin Changqing's future, he felt a little angry that they were ungrateful.
At this moment, his mind turned, and he smiled and said: "Your Majesty is wise, this matter is very gratifying to the people."
Eunuch Liu didn't care what he was thinking. He smiled and said, "Master Cai, this man should be killed and punished. The tombstone must be built as soon as possible. We must see you finish the sacrifices before we can return to report to His Majesty."
Magistrate Cai immediately said, "Yes, I'll do it right away."
"Mu Wei is still in prison. He will be executed at 3:15 p.m. today. I wonder if you would like to go and watch the execution?" asked Magistrate Cai.
Eunuch Liu laughed and said, "What's so good about that bloody scene? We won't go. Just verify the identity and don't cheat. His Majesty is watching this matter, so I'm sure no one will cheat, Master Cai, don't you agree?"
Even if Magistrate Cai had the guts to do something, he wouldn't dare to lie. Furthermore, he had absolutely no good feelings towards Mu Wei. He immediately said, "Of course. I will personally oversee the execution."
"As for Mujia Village, I will have someone notify them as soon as possible and conduct a thorough investigation of all officials with the surname Mu in Hushan County. They have failed to supervise and admonish their family members for their misconduct. Their behavior is unfitting for official positions."
After hearing this, Eunuch Liu was immediately satisfied and said, "Master Cai is right."
The emperor's imperial edict was watching over there, and the entire government office began to operate at an unprecedented pace.
Mu Wei was imprisoned in the death row. Because someone had a connection with him, he didn't suffer much. However, after staying there for several months, he looked miserable and haggard.
When being dragged out, Mu Wei shouted in surprise: "Are you going to let me out? I'm fine. I don't have to die!"
The jailer who was dragging him laughed heartily and cursed, "You're still dreaming at this hour! I'm going to send you to hell soon."
Mu Wei cried out in horror: "Impossible, it's not autumn yet!"
The jailer kicked him and sent him packing. "You're unlucky! The emperor has personally issued an order to execute you!"
"Impossible, impossible. Your Majesty is busy with all kinds of affairs. How could he notice me?" Mu Wei couldn't believe this was true. Although all murder cases had to be submitted to the Ministry of Justice, they should require the emperor's personal approval.
But everyone knows that this is just a formality. Most of the time, officials from the Ministry of Justice will verify that there is no error and then issue it directly.
"That's why I say you are lucky. Hurry up and don't waste time. If you miss the time, everyone will be in trouble." The jailer pushed roughly, not as easy to talk to as usual.
Mu Wei grabbed his hand and shouted, "Brother, please tell my father and ask him to find a way to save me."
The jailer suddenly pulled his hand back and cursed, "Bullshit, can your father really make the emperor change his mind?"
The jailer's expression changed slightly, as if thinking of something. He covered his mouth and pushed him out. "He's still causing trouble even when death is imminent. Go quickly and block his mouth. Stop him from yelling nonsense."
The jailer opposite him obviously thought of something. He took off his smelly socks and stuffed them into his mouth, blocking his remaining words.
Mu Wei was filled with despair. He still remembered what his father said before he left. He told him to wait in prison and not cause any trouble. When autumn came, he would find a way to buy someone with a similar body shape and replace him directly.
Although doing so would cost a lot of money and he would never be able to take part in scientific examinations in the future, being alive is better than being dead!
But autumn has not yet arrived, the people his father promised have not been sent in, and he is about to die.
Until this moment, Mu Wei still felt that he had done nothing wrong. It was wrong for Lin Changqing not to be a servant, it was wrong for him not to help him cheat, and it was wrong for him not to write poems for him.
He just hit him accidentally, and Lin Changqing died. It was his own bad luck and short life, so how could he blame him?
He couldn't die. How could he pay for the life of a servant boy?
After seeing the sun again after several months, Mu Wei not only did not feel warm and comfortable, but he was shivering all over and wanted to get back to the place he once avoided.
What’s even more terrifying is that when he was being escorted to the execution ground, the people around him pointed and cursed at him.
The first person threw out rotten vegetable leaves, and then things got out of control. Rotten eggs, rotten vegetable leaves, and someone even threw a pile of feces. If there were no officials watching around, they would probably rush over and beat people.
"That's him. He looks so gentle, but you can't tell a person's true character from his appearance!"
"We're from the same hometown after all. You killed someone for a poem and ruined a great poet for no reason."
"Even the emperor heard about this and was furious. He wanted to execute him immediately!"
"In my opinion, immediate execution is not enough. Such a wicked person should be cut into pieces to justify the innocent people who died."
When they arrived at the execution ground, someone hit him hard on the knee. Mu Wei fell to his knees. When he looked up, he saw the cold and selfless Lord Cai above him.
Lord Cai personally came down to verify his identity and asked the local teacher and others to confirm it. Then he frowned and asked, "Why are you blocking your mouth?"
The jailer quickly explained, "Sir, this kid was swearing and insulting everyone along the way, so we just silenced him."
Lord Cai didn't notice anything unusual and nodded, saying, "Then don't take it, so that he won't blame others before he dies."
The jailer was secretly delighted and kept saying, "As you command."
Mu Wei, whose mouth was blocked and he could not make any sound, raised his head and vaguely saw familiar faces around him. They seemed to be students of the county school, and they had once been brothers with him.
But at this moment, they were all ashamed to look at him, and looked at him as if they saw something dirty.
No, not like, he was indeed dirty, and there was even human feces on the hem of his clothes.
The county school was empty at the moment. Several teachers were temporarily called away, and Mu Wei's identity had to be verified in due course.
When other students heard that Mu Wei was going to be beheaded, they rushed to the execution ground to watch the execution for some unknown reason. The county school, which was bustling in the past, was suddenly deserted.
Liu Xiong was originally going to go too. He hated Mu Wei deeply, but when he saw Su Fengzhang didn't move, he asked curiously, "Brother Su, don't you want to go with us?"
Su Fengzhang shook his head and continued to copy from a book: "No need."
Liu Xiong couldn't understand Su Fengzhang's thoughts and asked, "Brother Su, don't you want to see Mu Wei's head fall to the ground?"
Su Fengzhang simply said, "Even if his head falls to the ground, Changqing will never come back. Reading it won't make me happy at all, but not reading it won't make me regretful either. I might as well stay here and read a few more books."
Liu Xiong thought about it and agreed. It was rather boring to watch someone being executed in such a noisy manner. "That's true, but Brother Su, have you heard that His Majesty's envoy is still at the county government office? I heard that he also wants to repair Mr. Lin's tomb."
When mentioning this, Su Fengzhang was a little absent-minded.
Liu Xiong continued, "Mr. Lin lived in poverty when he was alive, but he was fortunate after his death. Even His Majesty heard of his great name and asked the county magistrate to personally pay his respects to him."
"I'm afraid that in our Hushan County, no one else has this honor except him. Even if he dies like this, it's worth it."
"Is it worth it?" Su Fengzhang asked back.
Liu Xiong scratched his hair and said embarrassedly, "Of course, I still think it's better to be alive. But everyone has to die, and it's better to die gloriously than in humiliation."
Su Fengzhang smiled. Yes, who wants to die? It’s so good to be alive. You can enjoy the spring scenery and bask in the warm winter sun. But since you are dead, this honor can be a little comfort to you.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Second update
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
