The court is located in the most prosperous section of the downtown area of Tongzhou, which is a big difference between ancient and modern, the ancient execution ground is generally located in the densely populated city streets, the most famous vegetable market in the Qing Dynasty is the case. The purpose is to let more people see the execution situation, so as to achieve the role of deterring crime and preventing crime.

The road from Lu Jinping's house to the Yamen did not lead to the execution ground, so there were few pedestrians, but the road from the Yamen to the execution ground was crowded with people, as if the whole city had crowded here, and Minzhuang had already set up a cordon on both sides, using spears and broadswords. Under the deterrence of knives and guns, the people who watched the excitement did not dare to move forward, so they could only stand on both sides of the street with their heads tilted, and look at each other with their heads stretched out like ducks choking their necks. After the prisoner truck came, it started to make a commotion, and some people threw all kinds of garbage at the prisoner car from time to time, such as rotten cabbage, rotten duck eggs and even small stones. Of course, the big rocks are not daring to smash over, and if the death row prisoner is stoned to death, it will be a lawsuit.

From the moment the prisoner cart left the yamen, there was a middle-aged man, crying while smashing a basket of various sundries that had been prepared in his hand at the prisoner cart Qu Butcher, among which there were some small stones, which made the butcher's face bloody, Lu Jinping frowned, and asked the attendant Xiong Zhutou who followed next to him who was that person? Get him out of the way, don't beat the prisoner to death.

Xiong Zhutou smiled and said: "That person is the son of the old man who was killed, named Shi Jingsheng, his daughter-in-law was humiliated and hanged because she was attempted to be raped by the butcher, and their family can be said to be ruined, no wonder he is so angry." ”

Hearing Xiong Zhutou's explanation, Lu Jinping realized that although he smashed some small stones, they were not fatal, so he let him go. Anyway, there were escorting officers and soldiers next to him, so he could only throw stones and debris from a distance. The accuracy was much worse, and most of them missed.

However, the body parts that hit him were still unbearable for Butcher Qu. After being hit by a few stones, he couldn't speak at first, but later, a stone hit him in the eye socket. Suddenly hit him with gold stars in his eyes, blood flowing, covering one eye, which angered him, and roared loudly: "Shi Jingsheng, you rabbit cub dare to beat Lao Tzu? After Lao Tzu dies, he will become a powerful ghost and take your life! You framed me for killing your father, and now I'm going to behead you, you're finally satisfied, right? But don't get complacent too soon, I'll die and turn into a ghost to take your dog's life! ”

Just said this. Shi Jingsheng smashed a stone over, hit him in the mouth, smashed his upper lip into a hole, knocked out two front teeth, a mouthful of blood, and the words were slurred, and he couldn't hear what he was cursing and roaring, which caused the onlookers to laugh. His shouting and scolding could not be heard more clearly in the commotion.

Lu Jinping frowned and ordered the carriage to speed up. In this way, coupled with the obstruction of pedestrians, Shi Jingsheng could not keep up with the carriage and was left behind, so he could no longer attack the butcher.

Finally came to the execution ground. The surrounding area has been blocked by layers of guards and soldiers, forming a cordon. A prison shed was set up on the side of the street, Lu Jinping's carriage came to the platform, and the attendant hurriedly held an oil-paper umbrella to take Lu Jinping off the car and send him to the stage.

Lu Jinping was about to walk on the stage, when he suddenly heard a woman's voice behind him: "Brother! I'm in this. ”

Lu Jinping turned his head to look, but it was Yunzi. The two of them were in the crowd with his brother Yun Vulture, and they were blocked by the guards who were waving at him.

Lu Jinping took Yunzi to solve a black shop murder case in Yunya Mountain last time, although they didn't have time to climb Yunya Mountain because of the impact of that incident, but that incident gave Yunzi a greater harvest, she witnessed how Lu Jinping caught the real murderer, so that experience brought her greater shock and joy than climbing the mountain.

This time, I heard that the execution was carried out in Tongzhou City, and it stands to reason that this kind of occasion is not suitable for her to appear as a Tibetan envoy, but she is a curious girl in the end, and she doesn't care much about the so-called identity, she does whatever she thinks, and she rushes to see if she thinks it is lively, and she doesn't care if there is anyone to receive her, and she also takes the initiative to greet Lu Jinping.

This kind of occasion is very serious, it is really not suitable to greet a girl in the Western Regions on the spot, if you meet other Tang Dynasty officials, you must have not heard it, ignore it, but what you meet is a young man with modern consciousness who has crossed over from modern society, not the ancients who were influenced by ancient feudal etiquette. So Lu Jinping smiled and walked over quickly, saying, "Why are you here?" ”

"I'm coming to see you! Originally, I wanted to be with you, but after thinking about it, it's not appropriate, I'm an envoy of Tubo, and it's inconvenient to follow you to the prison and behead the stage, so I'm here to see the excitement. You don't have to worry about me, you go and get busy, I'll just watch here. ”

Lu Jinping said: "Didn't you say that you went into battle with your father to kill the enemy and killed a lot of enemies? Why haven't you seen life and death yet? Are you still lacking this excitement? ”

"In a life-and-death fight on the battlefield, can the people killed be compared to those on the execution ground? I heard that this butcher was very cruel, and wanted to rape the daughter-in-law of the old man, so that the woman hanged herself and died, and then he hacked to death the angry old man who came to him for a theory, and then stabbed him in the temple with a pig-killing knife, which was really cruel! ”

Speaking of this, Yunzi raised his right hand and pointed to his temple, and said, "I heard that the pig-killing knife is very long, and if you stab it through here, you almost have to pierce it, it is really vicious!" ”

Lu Jinping said with a smile: "It's so vivid, as if you saw it with your own eyes." ”

"It's your Datang announcement of the execution of death row prisoners that is written in detail, I have read it all, and that's how it was written. It is said that the death row butcher's killing methods are extremely bad, so the emperor quickly approved the death penalty, and it was a summary execution. ”

Before Lu Jinping could speak, the bear catcher next to him hurriedly whispered: "Sir, the hour is coming, you hurry up and go to the prison to behead the stage, don't miss the time." ”

Lu Jinping nodded and said to Yunzi: "Okay, I'm going up, then you can take your time." ”

Lu Jinping stepped up to the prison platform, and there was a pergola on the platform, of course, there was no need to hold an umbrella. Sit down in front of the pergola, there is a screen around the back, and there is a fire under the long table, so you can't feel the cold outside.

After sitting down, he saw the snowflakes fluttering in the sky under the stage.

In the snowflakes, the butcher had already pulled out of the cage and pulled him to the middle of the vegetable market and knelt down. The big-shouldered and round-waisted executioner sat under a large oil-paper umbrella and was gulping wine, while the apprentice next to him was holding a ghost-headed knife with a back, polished to a shiny and shiny light, and full of murderous aura in the wind and snow.

This executioner, Han Dong Layue, was also shirtless, and the tendons on his arms were bumpy, and despite his age, there was already some fat on his belly, which looked a little bloated. But it is this fat body that is enough to make people imagine his strength, this ghost head knife down, I am afraid that a big human head will be cut down on the snow cleanly.

Not far away in a corner of the incense case, there is a tablet on the incense case, next to the incense case kneeling a few old and young, dressed in linen and filial piety, at this time, I saw that the crowd was a little chaotic, and there was a voice shouting: "I am the son of the old man who was killed by the thief, I want to use his head to sacrifice my father and my wife, please let the villagers let me pass, thank you." ”

Those who were in front of the queue blocked it, originally not letting the person who wanted to squeeze in behind, but when he heard this, he knew that he was the bitter master, and of course he had to allow people to go inside, so they got out of the way and waited for the person to squeeze in, of course, Shi Jingsheng, who chased the butcher all the way to beat stones.

He was thrown behind by the speeding carriage, and only then did he rush to the execution ground, panting, and after coming in, he quickly came to the incense table set up by those people wearing linen and filial piety, and knelt down with a sigh, and cried: "Father, the evil thief of the butcher will be subdued today, and I will put his head in front of your spiritual throne in a while, and pay tribute to your spirit in the sky. Your old man is waiting in the spirit of heaven, and the child will avenge you. Lady, open your eyes too, this thief who humiliated you and made you commit suicide in humiliation is about to die in front of you. Open your eyes and watch. ”

Lu Jinping looked up at the sky, the snow seemed to be getting heavier and heavier, without the slightest stop, at this time he could not judge the time from observing the shadow cast by the sun, he could only rely on the hourglass, there was an hourglass on the coffee table next to him, when the sand inside was gone, it was the time of execution.

At this moment, there is only a small point, and looking at the fine sand leaking evenly and continuously, Lu Jinping somehow feels a little interested. Although it hasn't been long, it's really depressing to wait so empty, and such a serious occasion is not suitable for talking and chatting, so you can only wait quietly like this.

Because the execution was about to be carried out, it was like the darkness before dawn, and at this time, the originally lively crowd of onlookers also quieted down, quietly waiting for the most exciting and tense moment to come, but did not speak for a while. The field was so quiet that only the rustling of snowflakes could be heard in the air.

At this moment, an old voice came from behind the crowd of onlookers, which looked particularly desolate in the silent snowstorm: "Folks, please let go, I am the butcher and his wife, I came to collect the body of this unfilial son, let me, please let me." ”

When the onlookers heard the old woman say this, they quickly looked back, and sure enough, they saw a white-haired old man, carrying a basket around his waist and covering it with a blue cloth, looking exceptionally old in the wind and snow, and the cold wind blew her snow-white hair, and it was impossible to tell whether it was snowflakes or her hair.

When they heard that it was the butcher's wife, they all got out of the way and looked at the poor old woman with a complicated look. (To be continued......) u