Imprisonment (Part 8)
The eighth day in prison.
After finishing her work, Wang Pan'er returned to her cubicle and sprawled out on the dry straw.
The gruel distributed by the prison guards was left untouched at the door of her cubicle. She didn't want to touch it at all, rubbing her flat stomach as she waited for Mu Chuan to bring her food.
They waited and waited until past 5 PM.
Even the uncle next door couldn't sit still and asked Wang Pan'er, "What's going on today?"
Wang Pan'er shrugged, indicating that she didn't know either.
The jailer passed by, glanced at the two anxious people, and said, "Don't wait anymore. They're keeping a tight rein on things today. The higher-ups have already given orders that prison visits are not allowed."
The uncle lay back down in disappointment.
Wang Pan'er fell into deep thought.
Her sudden tightening of her lips must have a reason. She calculated the days on her fingers; could it be that the imperial envoy had already arrived in Jinzhou Prefecture?
If the imperial envoy arrives, her days of suffering will be over.
Wang Pan'er rolled over and got up, reaching for the porridge and cornbread by the door. Even without good food, she couldn't let herself go hungry; food is essential for life, and a meal missed would leave her starving.
She had just picked up the bowl of porridge to slurp it up when the jailer suddenly returned with a tray. The tray contained meat, vegetables, white rice, and a jar of wine.
Wang Pan'er's eyes widened as she looked up at the jailer. It seemed like they were about to send her to the guillotine!
The jailer placed the tray in front of Wang Pan'er: "I also took a lot of money from your family. After you finish this last meal, have a good journey ahead."
After the jailer delivered the tray, he left. Wang Pan'er pointed to the porridge and steamed buns and asked the uncle next door, "Do you want some?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" the uncle nodded hurriedly.
A bowl of porridge and a cornbread bun are barely enough to fill a strong man's teeth. Except for the few days when Mu Chuan brought him food, he went hungry every day.
After swallowing Wang Pan'er's portion, the uncle belatedly realized something was amiss: "Your meal..."
Wang Pan'er said expressionlessly, "It's your last meal before you're executed."
"Clang."
The uncle was startled, and the chipped earthenware bowl in his hand fell onto the pile of straw: "So sudden."
“Not suddenly.” Wang Pan’er gestured for him to pick up the rice bowl and return it. “I’ve had enough of this dungeon.”
The middle-aged man was very worried: "He's about to be beheaded, how can he have the leisure to joke around?"
Wang Pan'er took the rice bowl, a smirk playing on her lips: "I'm doing my job for the imperial court. If the imperial envoy comes, will he kill me? Since I won't die, I'll just live my life as usual."
After listening, the uncle gave Wang Pan'er a thumbs up: "Young lady, you have a really good heart."
Wang Pan'er was starving and quickly finished a tray of food. Then she said to the uncle, "If I am to be executed, the Su family and Prefect Zhao will probably be finished soon. Thank you for taking care of me these past few days. Once the Su family falls from power, you will be free too."
The uncle glanced at Wang Pan'er's jar of wine: "Since we won't really be beheaded, why don't we have a drink to celebrate our soon-to-be-arrived freedom!"
Drinking with someone is definitely more fun than drinking alone.
Wang Pan'er picked up the jar, and the uncle immediately reached over the fence with his clean rice bowl. The two of them happily finished the whole jar of wine.
The uncle wasn't a big drinker; after half a can, he started humming a tune, feeling dizzy. Wang Pan'er guessed that he knew he was about to leave and couldn't contain his excitement.
After a hearty drink, she lost track of the time and couldn't sleep. She could only rub her feet against the uneven wall to relieve her excitement.
Inside the dungeon, there was no sunlight, and it was unknown how far Mu Chuan and his group had progressed outside.
Tomorrow she will be sent to the guillotine, a magical experience that most people will never have in their lifetime. After being imprisoned for eight days, Wang Pan'er's heart has long since flown outside the cage.
The consequence of the excitement was a sleepless night.
After the sun rose again, the jailers escorted the others to labor camps, and finally it was her turn to be sent to the execution ground.
The execution ground was now bustling with noise.
A few days ago, news of Lord Zhao arresting a smuggled iron merchant spread among the people.
Private ironworks were considered a grave offense by the common people. Even civilian iron products were extremely valuable items in the Great Xia Dynasty, let alone military ones.
Iron pots and shovels in the family were passed down from generation to generation. Only well-off families could afford iron machetes. Most people used copper utensils, not to mention rare farm tools like iron plows, which could be found in several villages. During the busy farming season, they had to be rented out by time to rush the harvest.
Moreover, Jinzhou is located on the frontier, and border conflicts are frequent. The people have long suffered under the northern barbarians, and even children can sing the ballad "Iron passes over Yanmen Pass, and white bones pile up into mountains."
The actions of the private railway were tantamount to hanging a large knife over the heads of the people in the Jinzhou area, which could fall at any time, and the people were naturally indignant.
They came to the execution ground on their own initiative, just waiting to see the heads of their "lackeys" roll, to satisfy their curiosity.
As noon approached, the imperial envoy from the capital led a large procession to the execution ground.
He took the main seat behind the table, with Prefect Zhao and the Vice Prefect standing respectfully to the left of the table. In this formal setting, there was no seating for Master Su; he stood with Su Lingzhao in the very center of the execution ground.
The sun has risen to its zenith; the time has come.
At the imperial envoy's command, people with handcuffs and chains, their hands tied behind their backs, were finally led to the execution platform.
The man was forced to kneel before the people. When he raised his face, the crowd erupted in uproar.
"It was a young woman."
"Isn't she the owner of Shanhe Medicinal Cuisine Restaurant? Why would she go to the private railway?"
"Haven't you heard? She managed to get close to the second young master of the Su family and almost entered the Su mansion. It's clear she's a greedy person. Women are just ignorant; they don't know what they can and cannot do."
"The Shanhe Medicinal Cuisine Restaurant is doing so well, and the owner is very generous. The girls in the shop even go to the City God Temple to distribute porridge every day. It's all just an act for us."
"That's right, even the Su family was almost fooled by her."
Master Su and Su Lingzhao stood in the center of the crowd, attracting the attention of the people.
Someone beside him muttered, "Luckily, we caught her before she entered the Su residence, otherwise the entire Su family would have been implicated by her."
The man's companion also flattered Master Su, saying, "Master Su's presence at the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce has brought prosperity to our Jinzhou Prefecture area. You have done good deeds and are blessed by Heaven."
Master Su seemed heartbroken, sighed deeply, and replied, "Pan'er is a bright child, and my Zhao'er is also in love with her. How could he be so foolish as to go astray..."
Su Lingzhao followed behind his father, his head bowed, neither replying nor showing any expression.
The man who had been muttering earlier looked at Su Lingzhao with pity, then patted Su Yuanwai's smelly feet and said, "If you ask me, Yuanwai, there's no need to feel sorry for her. She's just an ordinary village woman who has managed to own several shops today. I don't believe she didn't have some tricks up her sleeve. It's understandable that the second young master was misled by her because she's not a wicked woman."
Those around him chimed in, "Who can argue with that?"
Su Lingzhao suddenly looked up and glared fiercely at the group of people who were criticizing Wang Pan'er.
The group was startled and fell silent for a long while before resuming their quiet discussion.
"This Second Young Master Su is quite the romantic."
"I wonder which lucky girl will be able to become the second young master's wife in the future."
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, the imperial envoy unfolded the confession and began to read aloud Wang Pan'er's crimes sentence by sentence.
Meanwhile, rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs were constantly thrown onto the guillotine, hitting Wang Pan'er on the head and body.
The stench of eggs and the rancid smell of vegetable leaves filled Wang Pan'er's nostrils, making her feel nauseous.
She frowned and looked down at the audience.
The facts were distorted, and the uninformed people were misled. She wouldn't take her anger out on them, but the eggs and vegetable scraps they threw at her smelled disgusting.
Among the enraged crowd, a small group stood out from the rest.
It was Wang Xiaoyao and Wang Chengxi, along with the ladies from the manor and the medicinal cuisine restaurant.
Even Su Lingya came. She was worried that Wang Xiaoyao would be heartbroken, so she stayed close to Wang Xiaoyao and put her arm around her shoulder.
Wang Xiaoyao felt Su Lingya's thoughtful gesture, sighed, and touched her hair. He feared that their situation would soon be reversed.
Mu Chuan stood at the edge of the crowd. He was still dressed in a silk skirt, and because he was much taller than the average woman, he was very eye-catching.
After a brief exchange of glances, Mu Chuan nodded almost imperceptibly to Wang Pan'er.
Wang Pan'er received the signal he sent: everything is in order.
After the imperial envoy finished reading the charges, he picked up the token from the tube and gave the order: "Execute him immediately!"
The group of girls who followed Wang Pan'er could not believe that their kind boss, who sheltered them like a female eagle, was a traitor who had betrayed the country. They all covered their faces and wept bitterly.
But at this moment, no one paid attention to the group of girls.
The executioner, shirtless, climbed onto the execution platform, took the strong liquor, spat it onto the blade, and swallowed it down. He then pressed Wang Pan'er onto the wooden chopping board, awaiting the final orders from the imperial envoy.
Wang Pan'er's face was squeezed painfully, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw some figures moving in the crowd.
They systematically infiltrated the crowd at the most emotionally charged moment, and surrounded the Su father and son, along with the prefect and the assistant prefect.
Wang Pan'er couldn't help but chuckle.
Normally, the Su father and son were always accompanied by servants and guards, and Lord Zhao was always accompanied by guards, no matter when or where.
It turned out that they planned to take advantage of the large number of people at the execution ground and their attention being focused on the beheading to separate the Su father and son, the prefect and the four other officials from the guards, and capture them all without losing a single soldier.
Wang Pan'er's smile widened even further.
What a brilliant plan!
Her unusual behavior of laughing instead of crying on the guillotine sent chills down the spine of the executioner, who kept praying that the imperial envoy would give the order quickly so that he could cut the Gordian knot.
However, the executioner did not receive the order to behead them. Instead, the imperial envoy suddenly jumped to the center of the execution ground and shouted, "Take them down!"
He watched as the cleaver he held in his hand was struck down by a hidden weapon from a tall, aloof beauty in a flowing dress in the distance. Then, the Su father and son were instantly captured by those around them. He instinctively turned around, only to find that Lord Zhao and the Prefect behind him had also fallen into the same fate.
The executioner was in a daze, watching as the beautiful woman in the silk dress rushed towards him, lightly leaped onto the guillotine, and shoved him aside.
Is that correct?
The executioner measured the distance in shock; it was more than three feet, and his face was filled with disbelief.
Mu Chuan untied the hemp ropes binding Wang Pan'er, lifted the rotten vegetable leaves, and hurriedly wiped away the rotten egg liquid.
Covered in rotten egg liquid from head to toe, Wang Pan'er was already extremely disheveled. She stopped Mu Chuan from wiping her off, saying, "I can't wipe it all off. I'll wash it when we get home. I've been sulking in the dungeon for so many days. Even if they don't smash me, I'll still stink. I'm used to the smell."
Wang Pan'er didn't find the remark funny, but Mu Chuan burst out laughing.
She was baffled, while Mu Chuan laughed more and more maniacally, looking as if he had gone mad.
"Hello!"
Wang Pan'er was about to speak, but before she could say anything, Mu Chuan leaned forward and pulled her into his arms.
After he finished laughing, he hugged Wang Pan'er tightly and shouted excitedly in a trembling voice, "It's finally over!"
Wang Pan'er chuckled and patted his back reassuringly: "Alright!"
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