The bleak autumn rain fell naturally. The green trees on either side of Jingdou's streets and alleys had not had time to dye their leaves yellow. They could only helplessly throw down a few fallen leaves to prove the coldness of the autumn rain and the strength of the autumn wind. The rain slowly moistened the earth, but it annoyed the commoners who worked hard to make a living in the marketplace. They didn't like the waves of coldness their bodies felt.
The red walls of the Palace did not feel anything. They did not know whether it was cold or warm. They only silently and indifferently welcomed the wash of the rain. The rain drenched the majestic Royal Palace walls, making the bright red color grow darker and darker. It was like a bloodstain that was about to congeal.
The deep palace gate was slowly opened with a creaking sound. The newly repaired brass nails on the big wooden gate were shining brightly. More than a hundred officials walked out in a line with complicated expressions. Under the lead of the guards of honor, they walked along the imperial road to the depths of the square and lined up on both sides. These were all officials of the Qing court. They were responsible for all the affairs of the people in this country. In such weather and atmosphere, they could only be silent observers.
The eunuch of the eunuch cracked his whip three times. Somewhere in the corner tower of the Royal Palace, there was a faint drumming sound. It made a buzzing and trembling sound and struck the hearts of everyone on the Royal Palace.
The court conference had already ended. There was only one matter dealt with in the court conference. It was deciding on the crimes of the previous Director of the Overwatch Council, Chen Pingping.
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…
Many Qing commoners gradually walked into the streets and alleys around the Royal Palace. These commoners wore clothes of different colors and carried different smells of nobility and commoners. Summoned by the drumming in the Royal Palace, they slowly walked toward the square in front of the Palace. More and more people gathered. Gradually, they filled the entire expansive square. They were as dense as ants.
Before the sky had even brightened, the Jingdou government and various yamens had begun to beat gongs and drums everywhere. They put up notices to inform all of the people of Jingdou of what would happen today.
As long as the tip of the knife did not land on their bodies, these commoners were always interested in watching a show, particularly since everyone knew that the official about to be executed by the Emperor was the mysterious and unfathomable Director of the Overwatch Council, Chen Pingping. All of the commoners' interest grew even stronger.
The Overwatch Council's reputation among the Qing people and officialdom was too resounding. Their image was too sinister and terrifying. Not many people had actually seen the old Director in the wheelchair. Everyone surrounded the square. They wanted to see if this figure was truly as the legends said, with three heads and six arms, covered in black fog, and like a demon.
Particularly since they knew that this demon of the Overwatch Council was not satisfied with the Emperor's punishment and had deranged in the Palace to assassinate the wise, martial, and benevolent Emperor of the Qing Kingdom, all of the people felt an anger from the bottom of their hearts. They wanted to see with their own eyes how this evil person would be burned into a puff of black smoke under the light of imperial power.
For decades, the Overwatch Council had always been famous for being mysterious and sinister. Although it had always targeted the officialdom of the Qing Kingdom, its actions were ruthless and its methods terrifying. Offending the civil officials meant offending the scholars and officials under heaven, as well as offending the opinions under heaven. Thus, the Overwatch Council's reputation among the people had always been terrible.
In the legends of the people, the Overwatch Council was a sinister yamen that ate people without spitting out their bones. It was best at forcing confessions, extorting confessions, and killing people like scything flax. Perhaps the Overwatch Council truly had many methods that could not see the light of day, but how much of Jingdou, the Qing Kingdom, and the people under heaven knew? It was nothing more than a rumor.
Although a dazzling Sir Fan junior had appeared in the Overwatch Council and slightly diluted some of the Overwatch Council's dark aura, he had only been in charge of Council affairs for a short time. It was not enough to change the deeply ingrained impression of the Overwatch Council among the people.
After all, there were not many things that the Duke of Danbo, Fan Xian, could change. The admiration and respect the Qing people and scholars had for Fan Xian was mostly concentrated in his personal image that stood in the clouds. Their opinion of the Overwatch Council had not changed much. For the people of Jingdou, the First Bureau of the Overwatch Council had a more human atmosphere. However, they still did not have any good feelings toward that square and sinister building. On the contrary, they unconsciously felt a kind of fear. Was the continuation of this fear an unfounded anger?
The legendary and terrifying head of darkness, Chen Pingping, was about to die in front of them. All of the people of Jingdou felt a faint glimmer of excitement and agitation. Perhaps this was just an emotion that the people naturally revealed. To be able to see a figure that only existed in legends die tragically in front of them in this life and to have more topics to talk about after drinking for their boring lives in the future, perhaps it was a good leisure activity.
It was just like the spring examination incident a few years ago. At the entrance to the salt market, the heads of the officials of the Ministry of Rites had been chopped off and rolled around on the execution field. They had almost been snatched away by wild dogs. Just this scene filled up the boring hours of countless Jingdou's bitter people and sent down countless cups of murky, low-quality wine.
Another example was the Jingdou rebellion three years ago. It had also happened at the entrance to the salt market. Countless generals who participated in the rebellion had been beheaded there. Blood had dyed half the street red. A few days later, the stench of blood still seeped into the air. There was also the Commander of the 13 city gate guards, Zhang Deqing. When he was executed by a thousand cuts, his cries were wretched.
During these three years, Zhang Deqing's death had enriched the lives of the people of Jingdou under the accompaniment of countless spittle. However, none of the major events that had happened in Jingdou in recent years could compare to what happened today. The person who died was the Director of the Overwatch Council, the Emperor's most loyal dog that everyone knew. However, this dog had gone crazy and was about to be slaughtered.
Furthermore, the place of execution was not at the entrance to the salt market or the killing field in front of the Ministry of Justice. It was in the square in front of the Royal Palace. Since the founding of the Qing Kingdom, there was probably only one official who had been publicly executed in front of the Royal Palace. The people thought of this excitedly. They couldn't help but feel anger in their hearts. Who knew what treasonous things Chen Pingping had done to die in such a place?
It wasn't that no one thought of Sir Fan junior because of the Overwatch Council. All of the people watching the execution had unconsciously forgotten this. They had never thought that Sir Fan junior had any connection to that old dog. They were just common common people. They didn't know the entanglements between the people who ruled this land. Even if there were some clever people, they would probably think in a different direction. The Emperor had just handed the Overwatch Council to Sir Fan junior and was about to kill the previous Director. Was it to help Sir Fan junior purge the past resistance and crimes in the Overwatch Council?
Countless people surged into the square in front of the Palace. Nervousness, indifference, excitement, and unexplainable sorrow wrapped in countless complicated emotions surrounded the small execution field. The surrounding imperial soldiers and bailiffs from the Jingdou government responsible for maintaining order forcefully blocked the tens of millions of people outside the borders, ensuring the silence of the execution field.
The people of the Qing Kingdom couldn't be blamed. They were used to knowing what they could know, giving up on what they could not know, enjoying what they could enjoy, and being angry at what they were allowed to be angry at. If the Emperor wanted to kill an official, regardless of whether or not the official truly deserved it, they had already been taught that if an Emperor wanted an official to die, then the official had a reason to die. If his crime deserved to die 10,000 times, they would die 10,000 times.
The densely packed crowd was like an ocean, rippling on the flat square in front of the majestic Royal Palace. The area near the Palace gates had been emptied. A simple wooden stage had been set up. This was the so-called execution field. Surrounded by the vast sea of people and the majestic Royal Palace, the execution field looked like a pitiful lonely boat. It was as if it could sink at any moment in the sea of people or crash into the unshakable rock of the Royal Palace and shatter into pieces.
Following the empty space below the Royal Palace, a group walked silently and sternly. They passed the hundreds of Qing officials who unconsciously kept their heads down on both sides of the path. Under the curious and nervous gazes of the Jingdou people not far away, they came to the bottom of the small wooden stage.
A stretcher was carried out from the prisoner carriage. On the stretcher lay an old man. He was unconscious. No one knew if he was dead or alive. He Zongwei raised his head and glanced at the top of the Royal Palace walls. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly. Gently waving his hand, the stretcher was lifted onto the wooden stage.
Finally seeing the official who was about to be executed today, seeing this legendary old thief in the darkness, the Jingdou people at the very front sighed with satisfaction and immediately became silent. They looked at the unmoving old man and thought to themselves, Is this person already dead?
Three eunuchs walked out of the pitch-black Royal Palace gates. On the table in the hands of the eunuch on the left-hand side were the crimes the court had decided on. The eunuch on the right-hand side held high an incense table. On the table was the Emperor's edict to execute Chen Pingping.
The eunuch in the middle with an indifferent expression was Eunuch Yao. He did not come empty-handed. Instead, he held a small bottle.
Everything on the wooden stage had been prepared. Chen Pingping's thin and weak body, which seemed to have no breath, was placed on the rain-soaked wooden boards. Eunuch Yao walked to his side and crouched down. With the help of the imperial doctor, he fed him a pill. Then, he carefully fed the soup from the bottle into the old man's dry lips.
After an indeterminable amount of time, Chen Pingping slowly woke up from his unconsciousness. He had lost too much blood and his life was about to be extinguished. His face was very pale, and his eyes were muddy and lifeless. He gazed at Eunuch Yao beside him. His dry lips opened and closed slightly. In a raspy voice, he slowly said, "A thousand-year-old ginseng … wasted."
Eunuch Yao's body trembled, but he didn't say anything or do anything. Instead, he glanced at the old official with a half-crying, half-smiling expression and retreated to the side of the wooden stage with his hunched body.
The moment Chen Pingping opened his muddy eyes, Yan Bingyun, who was standing on the execution field behind He Zongwei's left, also trembled. He immediately calmed down and lowered his head weakly. Earlier, with just a glance, he knew how tightly guarded the execution field was. Putting aside the densely packed Imperial Soldiers all around and the internal court aces scattered all around, just the aces wearing hemp clothes and straw hats made Yan Bingyun know that no one could change anything today.
Last night, there were four aces wearing straw hats in the Overwatch Council prison. It made Yan Bingyun and He Zongwei feel a glimmer of strangeness. However, they both knew where these sudden aces had come from. Earlier, when the autumn rain had drifted down and the clear light had shone, Yan Bingyun's sharp eyes had noticed that none of the aces had hair under the straw hats.
It looked like they were Ascetic Monks from the Qing Temple who had been scattered throughout the world. However, not long after the Great Priest of the Qing Temple returned from preaching in the Southern Frontier, he had died a strange death in the Qing Temple. The Second Priest, Great Master San Shi, had thrown himself into the Junshang Conference and died tragically in a rain of arrows outside Jingdou. He had been silenced by the Eldest Princess.
The Emperor had always looked down on Tianyi Dao and the Ascetic Monks of the Qing Temple. Furthermore, the royal family had never had much contact with the Qing Temple. Why had the Ascetic Monks of the Temple suddenly appeared together in Jingdou, in front of everyone, and in the execution field where Chen Pingping was about to die?
Yan Bingyun lowered his head and thought. It was not until now that he knew that the Emperor had not only reached the peak of imperial power and power, but even the Qing Temple had become a powerful weapon in his hands. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh faintly in his heart. Suddenly, a mountain-like cry rang out. He immediately raised his head in shock.
A wooden frame was erected on the execution field, and Chen Pingping's skinny body was tightly tied to it. The old man's clothes had all been removed, revealing his pale body. Due to his many years of disability, the area below his chest and abdomen looked especially thin and small. In the cold autumn rain, he looked especially desolate and pitiful.
The rainwater hit the skinny and lifeless body, then slowly dripped down, returning to the ground.
…
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The cry from the square earlier was the Jingdou commoners watching the execution finally seeing the raised torture rack and the treacherous official tied to the rack. Their cries exploded like a mountain, ringing out in all directions like a wave.
However, this shout quickly turned into silence. The first to fall silent were the people closest to the execution field. Then, whispers and discussions spread from the front to the back. It didn't take long before it became a thunderous discussion.
It was unknown if there was a deity in the heavens issuing an order, but everyone in the Imperial City became quiet at the same time. The place where tens of thousands of people gathered at the same time became deathly silent. It was so quiet that the people at the very back could hear the rustling sound of the straw rope binding Chen Pingping's body and the wooden stake grinding against each other.
Not only were these people shocked, but the Imperial Army, the officials supervising the execution, the eunuchs in the Palace, and a small number of Overwatch Council officials all looked at the old man's body on the torture frame with shock. Tens of thousands of gazes were all on the old man's thighs.
There was nothing there.
The old Director of the Overwatch Council, Chen Pingping, whose dark name was known throughout the world, was a eunuch.
There was silence. Tens of thousands of gazes and countless emotions. Some were pity, some were disdain, some were shock, and some were loathing.
…
…
Yan Bingyun's body finally began to tremble uncontrollably. He lowered his head rigidly. His eyes were bloodshot. He didn't know about the old Director's hidden illness and secret. He only felt that those gazes were not only cast toward the old man's thighs on the execution field but also toward him and all the Overwatch Council officials. This was an indescribable humiliation.
He clenched his fists tightly, his fingertips digging deep into his palms. He finally understood why the Emperor on the Imperial City had to carry out the punishment of death by a thousand cuts in front of everyone. It turned out that the physical torture had to be accompanied by the mental humiliation.
The Emperor wanted to announce to the world that in his eyes, this figure who dared to betray him was only a servant and a dog. He could humiliate him however he wanted. He wanted to step on Chen Pingping's dignity and the Overwatch Council's dignity under his feet and under the gazes of tens of thousands of people.
Understanding all of this, Yan Bingyun's mind buzzed. He raised his head with unusual strength and met the old man's muddy and powerless gaze on the execution field. He didn't say anything or do anything. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that the expressions of the court officials below the execution field were also very shocked. They probably would never have thought that the old Director of the Overwatch Council they normally revered like an ancestor was the eunuch they looked down on the most.
This was Chen Pingping's heartbreaking matter. This was Chen Pingping's secret. Not many people knew of his identity as a eunuch. Most of them had already died. Later, under the Emperor's boundless favor and the powerful suppression of the Overwatch Council, no one knew of this reality.
That was why these officials showed such a shocked expression. But other than shock, a sliver of disdain appeared on their faces. Human emotions were always this strange. Before the court had sentenced him and they had left the palace to watch the execution, these officials still had a solemn expression on their faces. They still maintained a trace of respect and fear towards Chen Pingping who was about to die. But now, these emotions had all disappeared.
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Eunuch Yao accepted the scroll from the eunuch beside him and forced himself not to look at the old man on the rack beside him. In a trembling voice, he began to read out the 13 crimes that the court had decided on regarding Chen Pingping. The autumn rain hit the execution field. Eunuch Yao's heart was also incomparably cold. A kind of sorrow that was difficult to suppress began to rise in his heart. However, he had to continue his work.
"One, on the 12th day of the fourth month of the seventh year of the Qing calendar, the traitor secretly sent drugs into the Palace and caused chaos in the Palace …
"Two, the traitor repeatedly instigated, using seduction to bewitch the Emperor and enticing the princes with benefits, causing me and my son to turn against each other. This is a great rebellion …
"Three, the traitor used the Hanging Temple to have the head of the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council plot to assassinate me. Afterward, he assassinated Commissioner Fan in Jingdou …
"Four, the traitor colluded with the rebel Qin Ye, stole military crossbows from the palace treasury, and assassinated the imperial envoy in the valley outside Jingdou …
"Five, the traitor used assassins to enter the Palace and assassinate the Third Prince …"
The 13 major crimes were the charges drawn up by several major departments yesterday, but the first seven were personally written by His Majesty. It was precisely because these crimes of Chen Pingping were read out at the court meeting that the ministers knew that the old Director had actually committed so many treacherous and heinous evil deeds. Even the scholars Shu and Hu, who had been prepared to beg for mercy with their lives, couldn't help but shut their mouths with pale expressions.
The last six crimes had been decided by the six departments. They were just crimes of taking land and bullying men and taking women. Compared to the seven crimes in front, they appeared too common. However, no matter which one of these 13 crimes, it was a road to death. All 13 crimes added together …
As Eunuch Yao's voice, forced out by his internal strength, rang out in the square in front of the Royal Palace and floated into the ears of all the spectators in the autumn wind and rain. The strange silence was immediately broken. Countless buzzing sounds of discussion and angry cursing rose in the sea of people.
Originally, there might have been many commoners who had come to watch the execution nervously and with complicated emotions. As these crimes rang out in front of the Royal Palace, the gazes turned toward Chen Pingping became indifferent. Of course, the Emperor was going to execute such a deranged criminal by a thousand cuts.
"Kill him!" Someone in the crowd took the lead and yelled. Immediately, the crowd became excited. The cries of "kill" rang through the sky.
On the execution field, Chen Pingping's expression was indifferent. The thousand-year-old ginseng soup had woken him up but could not save his life. It was as if he had seen through everything. There was only calmness in his indifferent and lifeless eyes. The autumn wind and rain were chilling and chilling. His face was pale, and his lips were black. It was as if he could not hear the deafening cries of "kill" in front of him. He only turned his head with difficulty as if he wanted to take one last look at the person on the palace walls who had always been victorious and always victorious.
As if feeling his thoughts, the wooden frame turned slightly, giving his muddy gaze the opportunity to see the Royal Palace.
On the tall palace walls, the Qing Emperor, wearing a black and gold dragon robe, stood alone under the eaves, right in the center. There was no one beside him. The eunuchs and serving girls had all been chased far away. The Third Prince, who had been forcefully brought here by the edict to watch, was looking at his father's expression from a distance with a pale face.
The Emperor stood very high and far away. His figure was very small. However, in Chen Pingping's muddy eyes, he was still very clear.
The lonely Emperor looked indifferently at his old comrade surrounded by a sea of people on the execution field. There was not a glimmer of emotion in his eyes. However, this kind of indifference was more terrifying than hatred and made one's hair stand on end.
Most of the steel balls in his body had been taken out last night. However, the knife wounds on his body were still bleeding and hurting. The blood stained the black and gold dragon robe, but nothing could be seen. The Emperor's face was only slightly pale. There was no sign of pain. However, he looked at the wretched looking old comrade at his feet and had the desire to make him feel even more pain.
The Emperor nodded gently. The Third Prince, who was about 100 feet away from him, had his hands on the wall of the Palace. His face was pale, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the wall. After a long time, the Third Prince called out in a trembling voice, "Execute."
This yell forced Li Chengze, a young man who had been cold and ruthless since childhood, to the verge of tears. He knew why his father had him yell this. The yell on the palace walls stopped. Eunuch Yao began to read the last edict. It was the edict the Emperor had personally written last night.
"I have known you for decades and have entrusted you with many responsibilities. However, you have deeply betrayed my heart. It is very painful, very painful. For all kinds of crimes, the three departments will jointly investigate. Death by a thousand cuts. I do not hesitate. According to the law, family members over 16 will be beheaded, and those under 15 will be enslaved. Today, the crimes are only limited to you, and the rest will not be questioned."
The edict spread clearly through every inch of the Royal Palace, every drop of rain, every wisp of autumn wind. It was indifferent and resolute. The Emperor did not mention the crimes. He only said that his heart had been betrayed and that he did not care about the pain. He did not show mercy outside the law and did not blame the eunuch's family. The deep pain made one's heart palpitate and their emotions dim.
These hypocritical words landed in Chen Pingping's ears. He only smiled slightly and allowed the rain to seep into his dry lips. He lowered his head and no longer looked at the Emperor on the palace walls.
…
…
The execution began.
The fishing net tightly covered Chen Pingping's thin body. With great difficulty, he used the mesh to protrude the skin and flesh on his torso. A small, specially made knife trembled as it fell down and slowly cut down, separating this piece of flesh from the old man's body.
This was the first cut. A mountainous cheer came from below the execution field.
The blade of the knife left the mesh. A piece of flesh fell to the ground and was immediately picked up by an official of the Ministry of Justice. Strangely, the wound in the eye of the net was somewhat pale and dry, but not much blood flowed out. It was as if the blood in this thin and weak traitor's body had already flowed out, and his essence blood had long been sacrificed for something.
The executioner holding the knife was an old official of the Ministry of Justice. Although he had already drunk two jars of strong alcohol, he still could not stop his hands from trembling. He felt that the thin old man under his knife was different from the officials he had encountered before. There was no blood in the other person's body. The other person had no flesh. It was as if there was only a wisp of a ghost in the other person's body. It was so cold that he couldn't help but tremble.
The second cut came down. The flesh was separated. A few faint threads of blood flowed on the fishing net. Another wave of cheers sounded. There were still hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of cuts?
Chen Pingping closed his eyes tightly. His face was deathly pale, his lips tightly pressed together, and his entire body trembled. It was as if he was enjoying this pain that no human could endure. He suddenly opened his eyes slowly and looked at the executioner in front of him. Panting, he said, "Your technique … is a bit … lacking."
The executioner had never seen such a person in his life. He had already transcended the so-called toughness. There was only indifference, indifference to life, to his own life, and to pain. Perhaps there was something in this old man's body that surpassed pain? His hand trembled again and he almost dropped the knife onto the wooden platform soaked by the autumn rain.
Another cut, another cut, and another cut. Waves of cheers rose and fell. However, these cheers gradually grew smaller and finally returned to silence. All the officials and people watching the execution closed their mouths and looked with complicated emotions at the old man being tortured.
There were no wretched howls, no sorrowful wails, no pleas for mercy, no pleas for death, no random curses. The old man on the execution field in the autumn rain was only silent, deathly silent.
So everyone in the Royal Palace was silent, involuntarily silent, deathly silent.
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