Chapter 117

In Luanzhou of the Nan Kingdom…

It was almost noon, but it was still very dark outside. The cold wind was blowing so hard that everyone felt their cheeks hurt as if they were being sliced by a knife!

Without peddlers on both sides, the usually busy street was very quiet today. Even at the nearby streets, all the shops were closed, only leaving flags with black characters on white background flapping in the wind, which added an eerie touch to the already desolate atmosphere.

How come the atmosphere was so eerie?

Actually, citizens in Luanzhou were not grounded by the government and there were still many people gathered here.

On a high platform and the empty space surrounding it, people were keeling, standing, or sitting, but none of them uttered a word! By convention, a group of prisoners would be executed after autumn!

This high platform was the execution platform, people who were kneeling on it were criminals to be executed, those who were standing beside them were executioners, and the only one sitting here was Zeng Huazhou from the Ministry of Justice, who was overseeing the execution!

Usually, there was no need for the minister to oversee the execution, and civilians would flock here to watch. Then why did Lord Zeng come here in person and civilians were all holed up in their homes? It was because these criminals were the ones who had poisoned Prince Mu! They were Peng Wancai, a rich businessman from Yuzhou and his guard, Peng Fugui, and people from the brothel, Land of Paradise—the procuress, Auntie Mei, the most famous prostitute, Yu Xiaoxiao, the maidservant, Chunhua, the middle-aged servant, Auntie Liu, and the guard, Li Gousheng!

The cause of the incident was the affair between Peng Wancai and Prince Mu’s mistress, Yu Xiaoxiao! Although the procuress, Auntie Mei, had known about it, she turned a blind eye to it because she had taken a bribe from Peng Wancai. However, they had never thought that Prince Mu would have caught them in the act of adultery! Knowing that Prince Mu would not spare them easily, Peng Wancai and Yu Xiaoxiao decided to get rid of him. Therefore, taking advantage of Prince Mu’s drunkenness, the two, together with Chunhua, Auntie Liu, and Li Gousheng, put the poison into his wine!

Although the murder of a prince over a prostitute sounded too ridiculous to be true, no one had ever doubted it. Because everyone knew that Prince Mu had a particular fondness for prostitutes and famous actresses and had even married some of them as his concubines! What’s more, the case was personally investigated by the most well-known expert detective of the Nan Kingdom, Zhang Mingqi!

The case had been tried for nearly half a year before it was settled and caused a lot of trouble. During this period of time, a lot of people had been arrested and interrogated by the government every day. For fear that they might accidentally be implicated, no one dared to come to watch on the execution. They could not afford to offend Prince Mu!

Someone shouted, “Time’s up!”

Zeng Huazhou immediately threw out a token for execution.

Several executioners walked over and gulped down the three bowls of wine in front of them to build up their courage.

“It’s snowing!” Under the execution stage, someone murmured in a low voice, which sounded unusually clear in the tense atmosphere.

As it was not summer, Zeng Huazhou did not take it seriously. ([1] It’s said that if it snows in June, there must be grievances.) When he was waiting for the executioners to finish their drink, he widened his puffy eyes, trying to get himself together. Because of this case, he had been living in fear for half a year, and now his pain was, at last, coming to an end…

However, Lord Zeng seemed overly optimistic!

Before the executioners could finish their third bowl of wine, people under the platform suddenly fell into chaos.

“Centipedes! There are centipedes! Ah—” Many people shouted while running about.

Centipedes? How could there be centipedes in this season?

The minister immediately concluded that someone had broken into the execution ground and was about to rescue the condemned criminals. He roared calmly, “Keep an eye on those on death row and don’t let them escape!”

Although those guards were afraid of being bitten by the centipedes, they were well trained and experienced in dealing with such emergencies. Regaining their composure soon, they moved in order and were ready to fight back.

However, to his surprise, the intruders did not seem to have come for those prisoners.

Feeling a chill on his neck, Lord Zeng was stupefied and dared not utter a single word.

“Move backward!” The masked man in black who was placing a blade against his neck roared at those guards angrily.

Apparently, he had strong internal force. The execution ground returned to its silence in an instant, and only the sound of someone’s teeth clashing as he trembled could be heard.

Almost at the same time, the other men in black who had been fighting with the guards rushed to the prisoners in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Lord Zeng was so anxious that he almost jumped up, but he did not dare to move at all. Now he suddenly realized how some officials had been dismissed from their posts! He had been working for the government for many years, but it seemed the credibility and prestige he had built over the years would be ruined today!

However, if the emperor knew those prisoners on death row were taken away, the consequence could be serious! As this case was related to Prince Mu, though Lord Zeng was trembling with fear, he had to pluck up and negotiate with the man in black.

However, before he could say anything, the man spoke first, “Lord Zeng, I hope you’re not offended!”

“Huh?” The shivering minister was lost for a moment.

Before he could figure out what was going on, the man in black suddenly grabbed him and took him out of the execution ground!

“Sure enough, it would be dangerous to come out to watch the execution!” some citizens who was peeping through the window of their houses said…