Xiao Ning folded the letter on the bedside a few times, put it in his pocket, and followed Mu Xiyao gently and quietly.

Mu Xiyao's footsteps were fast.

Veiled her, she walked through the clean, silent streets, not noticing that anyone was following her.

"Auntie, do you know how to get to the vegetable market here?"

Finally, I met a lady who made a living cleaning garbage on the street, Mu Xiyao hurriedly walked over and asked.

The lady raised her head, squinted her eyes and looked at her for a while, before she said, "Little girl, are you new here?" It looks very raw. ”

"Hmm. Be. Mu Xiyao nodded, "My young lady is here to play, she wants to eat some vegetables and fruits here, let me go to the vegetable market to buy some for her to eat." But I can't find where the market is, can you show me the way? ”

"Oh, that's right...", the lady was still squinting, giving people the feeling that she might fall asleep at any time. She nodded in realization, pointing ahead. "For your young lady's sake. I'll point it to you, old woman. Do you see the red brick house in front of you? ”

Mu Xiyao looked in the direction she pointed, and there was indeed a red brick house about a few hundred steps away from her, which was particularly conspicuous among the gray brick and blue tile bungalows.

"To the west of the house, about a thousand eighteen paces, to the east of where you are standing, there is a grocery store. The grocery store walked a little further south for 1,800 steps, and you will arrive at the vegetable market! The eldest lady took Mu Xiyao's hand, felt the calluses on her knuckles, and said secretly in her heart. It seems that she is a hard-working girl, and I hope she can live a better life in the future.

But then again, it's not clear why the vegetable market in this small city is about 500 steps away from the government.

Alas, forget it, I don't know what those officials think.

"Really? Thank you, Auntie! Mu Xiyao was happy in her heart, and thanked her again and again.

"Good boy, go ahead."

"Hmm!"

I have to be quicker and try to arrive before Sister Shuang'er is tortured! It's best if you can save it, if you can't... Let yourself do it for her!

It's just that how can you escape the eyes and ears of those officials?

Mu Xiyao lowered her head and thought as she walked towards the small house.

The lady also watched her go away and shook her head. When the lady was about to turn around, she felt a cool breeze blowing around her.

She looked around strangely, but found nothing. "Strange... Hit the hell..."

The eldest lady muttered as she entered her room.

"Huh?"

Mu Xiyao turned around vigilantly and glanced behind the empty people. Why do you always feel that someone is following you? Who is it?

Xiao Ning, on the other hand, hung on the eaves and quietly observed her every move.

Forget it, it's important to save people, if you delay the hour, I'm afraid you will regret it for the rest of your life. Thinking of this, Mu Xiyao stepped up and quickened her pace.

Xiao Ning also sneaked up and followed quietly.

...

In the vegetable market, there is already a little noise.

A lot of them came out to buy breakfast food.

The vegetables that were just sold in the early morning, although the price is expensive, but after all, it belongs to others who dug it out of the ground early and carried it to the vegetable market to sell, some vegetables, not only the leaves are hung with a little clear dewdrops, smell carefully, and the fragrance of the earth.

It's too early, and everyone is in a hurry to choose carefully. Everyone was amiable, and only a few words of bargaining came from the vegetable stall.

Bang~~~~

The sound of gongs and drums broke the unique tranquility of the vegetable market.

Everyone quieted down, put down the food and the weighing rod in their hands, and looked up in the direction where the voice came from.

"The government does business, and idlers retreat!"

Bang~~~~~!

I saw an official at the head of the group, holding a gong and drum in his hand, and he beat it loudly. And behind him, there were also three or five officials in black official uniforms, vermilion belts, and large swords at their waists, holding a man with a cloak and a disheveled hair. Look at the direction of the guard, it is the side of the gallows unique to the vegetable market.

"Dude, do you know what's going on?"

The crowd was bewildered and whispered, trying to understand what had happened.

"I don't know, aren't they all executions after the autumn? Why is it going to be executed now? ”

"I'm afraid I've committed a big crime?"

...

"Why is the detained figure so slender? It's like a girl's house. ”

"Girl's house? Lao Tu, don't talk nonsense! Nowadays, women all value their reputation, how can they commit something and be taken down by the official? ”

"Don't you know? Just a few months ago, the national teacher came, and a woman contradicted the wife of the national teacher and was escorted to the government for a day! This is what my third aunt's sister-in-law's cousin's nephew in the government said, don't spread the word! ”

"No, no, no! Then again, since it's a girl, why don't you cry out for injustice? ”

"You have been convicted, do you cry out?"

"Yes."

"What if you're exhausted?"

“... That's hard to say..."

"Maybe it's another trick. Alas, it's really..."

"These officials, one or two are not people! It doesn't matter if you can get things done! Always wronged good people! ”

"Shhhh You don't want to die! Shut up! ”

"I drank too much yesterday and you didn't hear anything... Didn't hear..."

“... Alas! ”

At this time, the supervisor who was already standing on the stage directly spread out a document and said loudly

"This woman is one of the sinners who escaped from prison! According to the Law of the Beams! It deserves to be hanged! Convicted! Come! Torture! ”

After saying that, he threw off a token on the ground and hurriedly stepped off the stage.

No one noticed that there was a lot of sweat flowing from his sideburns.

And the woman had already been brought to the stage, and was shackled by those officials, and she was held with a fist, and the thick hemp rope was put around her neck.

Those officials also ran off the stage one after another.

None of them thought about why those people were in such a hurry, only knowing that the woman who was about to be executed was a fugitive, a person who needed to be hanged.

"It turned out to be a fugitive! Smash her to death! I don't know who shouted first, and picked up the rotten vegetable leaves on the ground and threw them directly at the woman on the stage.

"Smash!"

"Smash her!"

The emotions of the crowd were aroused.

Everyone was red-faced, throwing what they could throw in their hands. But I don't know that the person who took the lead in drinking has quietly slipped out of the crowd at some point.

"My lord, it's done!"

The man slumped over and trotted in front of a man.

Take a closer look, isn't that person Liu Yuanwai who hurt Shuang'er?!

He nodded with satisfaction, took out a hundred copper coins and handed them to the man who was doing the errand. "You and your brothers will divide the money!"

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! The man graciously took the money and left.

"Hehe..." Liu Yuanwai smiled in a low voice, took out a copper coin and threw it from his hand, and caught it again. No matter who you were, as soon as you die, it's a hundred. Not only that, but I'm going to make your reputation stink. Aren't women the most important about honor? Without a name, see how you live? See if your husband will want you when he finds out? Oh no, the man is dead, and it's useless to come! Ha ha! ”

After laughing twice, he stopped abruptly. Glancing around weakly, he retreated to the shadows and watched the show.

On that stage, apart from the woman, there was only one executioner waiting for the hour to pull the rope.

"That's... I don't know if you've been wronged. The executioner stepped forward and whispered in the woman's ear, "But I'm sorry, my duty is like this, and I can only do what the adults do, whether they are right or wrong." I only hope that in the next life, you will not be reborn in this troubled world, invest in a good family, and live your next life plainly. ”

"Thanks... Thanks—" The woman's voice was hoarse. She reluctantly looked up and smiled at the executioner.

"You look so good when you smile." The executioner sighed heartily, "What's your name?" Can you tell me? ”

"I... I don't have a last name... I just know that they all call me Shuang'er..."The woman still didn't want to admit that she was the former lady of Chaomufu. She didn't want to admit it

admit that she is the daughter of that person.

"Frost," the executioner swiped for a moment, "I think that since I'm interested in talking to you, and you're willing to answer me, it means that we're destined." Can that... Borrow your name? ”

"Why..."Frost only felt that her throat was hoarse, and her body was already full of rotten vegetables. She didn't feel any pain. She only knew that she had his child, and she had lost his child...

The pain of the heart is greater than the pain of the body.

"That," the executioner smiled shyly, "my wife is pregnant, and I'm wondering what we'll call him if it's a boy." If it's a girl... Can you use your name? It's like borrowing your name to live in this world. ”

"You're a good father," Frost coughed. The hemp rope streaked a shallow streak of blood around her neck, but she didn't seem to know it. "What's your last name?"

“... My surname is Mu. Of course, it is not the Mu of the Mu family that was destroyed in the previous dynasty, it is He Baimu. The executioner looked at Shuang'er's expression and quickly explained.

"Mu Shuang..." Shuang'er looked at the slightly rising red sun with blank eyes, "What a name... I.. Agreed..."

"Thank you!" The executioner was so excited that he lowered the rope and grabbed her hands, and suddenly felt that it was impolite again, so he quickly let go, "I'm sorry... Passover. ”

"You don't need to apologize to a sinner," Frost whispered. She muttered, "I'm sorry... Xiao Ning, I'm sorry, Miss... Frost I... It's time to go first..."

"You... You are not a sinner! The executioner hurriedly said, "You must have been wronged!" You're a good girl! ”

"Hey! What are you doing! It's time to execute! Pull the rope! ”

The supervisor in the audience roared, but his hairs stood on end by everyone in the audience. What the hell are you doing so loudly! Didn't you see that we were all smashed, were we moved?! You're so loud! Scared the hell out of us!

"You... What do you guys watch me do! Rebel! ”

"Phew!" Someone took a low sip.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to start my duties." The executioner apologized to Shuang'er, grabbed the rope's hand, and trembled slightly.

"Let's get started." Frost lowered her eyes, waiting for the last moment to come.

"I—" the executioner closed his eyes and shouted, "In my lifetime, I will have someone help you get justice!" ”

What a lovely person... Frost took a deep breath and smiled under her breath.

"Stop! Keep people under the rope! ”

(End of chapter)