Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 496: Returning to Feng Family Village (2)
The last in the line were some family members and those implicated within the nine familial connections. They were all cursing, their eyes fiercely sharp as they twisted their necks to look at the crowd. The house servants and maids were crying and screaming, lamenting that they had not gained any benefits themselves, yet now they had to share in the punishment of beheading. Their hearts filled with reluctance, and as they looked at their masters who had been harsh on them on ordinary days, a surge of hatred rose in the eyes of the maids. They wished they could tear their still pretentious masters to shreds. Blazing with rage, they stepped forward and started tearing at their masters. After all, they were already people condemned to death; what more did they have to fear? Their actions were even more forceful, and in no time, the masters’ faces, hands, and bodies were marked with bruises of various sizes.
Soon, the horse-drawn carriages arrived at the vegetable market entrance, where the crowds were even denser, packed layer upon layer—seemingly all the people of Zhangzhou Prefecture had flocked here.
Huang Yi served as the temporary Execution Supervisor. With such short notice, the newly appointed Magistrate of Zhangzhou had probably only just received the news back in the Capital City and couldn’t have arrived so swiftly. The emperor held the deepest contempt for corrupt officials and couldn’t wait to execute Zhang Feng, unwilling to delay till after the autumnal sentencing.
Huang Yi looked up, noting that noon was just a moment away, and turned his gaze to the crowded streets. Despite the scorching sun overhead, the excited smiles on people’s faces made it clear how despised Zhang Feng and his son were. Not a single person seemed to have any sympathy for them.
At high noon, under the blazing sky with not a hint of breeze, birds occasionally glided across the sky, chirping loudly. Huang Yi took out a bamboo slip from the table. On it was a prominently marked, large red character for ’kill’, which Huang Yi flung onto the ground with a shout, "Carry out the execution."
The executioners, clad in red, stepped forward to hold down the prisoners kneeling on the ground, pulled the white tags from the backs of their necks, and tossed them aside. They took a bowl of strong liquor given by the soldiers, gulped down a mouthful, and proceeded to spray it across the broadswords in their hands. Then, lifting the sharp blades high, their edges glistening in the sunlight.
Zhang Feng, kneeling on the ground, lifted his eyes, and as the sword’s reflection flashed across his vision, he was forced to squint, and a look of terror instantly crossed his face. Only now did he believe that he was indeed about to be executed. His struggle to stand up was already too late, and with a flash of the blade, a spray of bright red blood burst forth, splattering the executioner’s face with bloody traces, as a head with wide-open eyes rolled tumultuously onto the ground.
The onlooking crowd gasped in shock, ’Ah!’ before closing their eyes. After a moment, they opened them again to the sound of fiery applause; only then did they believe that Zhang Feng had indeed been killed.
The over one hundred people from the nine families took six executioners a whole three hours to finish. A heavy scent of blood hung in the sky above, and the ground was a river of blood. Thankfully, preparations had been made in advance; otherwise, the entire street would have been soaked in blood.
After Huang Yi supervised the beheading of the last person and finished dealing with the aftermath, it was already dark when he returned to the estate.
After reporting the situation to his master, Huang Yi stood to the side, waiting in contained fury, yet he noticed that the master merely nodded slightly, waved a hand, and dismissed him. Everything was so bizarre.
Two days later in the early morning, on one of Zhangzhou Prefecture’s estates, two horse-drawn carriages departed in succession. Their departure was so quietly executed, with Feng Qi and Liang Shisan, reluctant to part, watching their master leave until the carriage was out of sight, and only then did they turn back to the estate, closing the gates, and life returned to its usual tranquility.
The happiest were Qiqi and Yueyue; seated on the horse carriage’s canopy, stepping into the dawn light, the two little ones watched Tian Yi, who was seriously driving the carriage. They occasionally chatted with Tian Yi, distracting him from his focus.
