In the center of the Civic Square near the Pavilion of Ancient Books, the huge guillotine has not tasted fresh human blood for a long time.

As we approached the Civic Square, the crowd became denser than ever, and two things could be seen standing tall above the crowd: the Obelisk, with a huge statue of an iron axe, indicating that this was the center of the square.

In front of the obelisk, at a visible intersection of three streets, there was a guillotine on which two blood-soaked dark red wooden beams, the long curved blades of the guillotines had been sharpened by the executioners, and the flares of murderous light flowed.

On the east side of the civic square, there is a wide staircase of high basalt, which was improvised, but judging from the majestic main staircase and the secondary staircase on both sides, and the stone staircase that encircles almost half of the square, and the thick carpet of vermilion and goose yellow, which are carefully paved, the slaves must have toiled all night to complete this great work in such a short time.

At the top of the staircase is a glorious Adamantite Throne in the center, behind which is the immensely large and imposing Vicente Lion Crest, and on the steps below the throne, several smaller iron thrones surround it.

A large canopy of I-shaped purple velvet supported by acacia wood also covers most of the square.

In the past, these lavish sets would have aroused the envy and heated discussions of the common people and ordinary citizens alike, but today, everyone's attention is drawn to the scene presented in the Civic Square and the terrible torture instruments that are more noticeable than the Pure Gold Throne at the moment.

Many people saw the guillotine for the first time, because since the accession to the throne of Emperor Serres, public executions were rarely carried out in public, and only a few royalty and nobles had the privilege of witnessing the entire process.

The murderous instrument and the Barbarian Free State were almost poured out of the same mold.

The guillotine looked like a crescent moon from a distance, and the protruding part was aimed at the back of the prisoner's neck, falling from the high blood-stained wooden frame, and nothing more.

Two burly men with hideous faces sat on the seesaw where the prisoners were released, eating and waiting. They could be seen eating crusted garlic bread and burnt and greasy sausages. One of them pulled a bottle of wine from a dirty stool under his thigh, took a large sip, and handed it to his companion.

These two men are part of the Executioner's ranks!

Thirteen remnants of the Udinei family, including Xia Jin, were escorted from Baishan Prison to the old Shenya Prison in Civic Square yesterday evening, each prisoner was accompanied by two Cloud Palace Holy Children to listen to their deathbed confessions. The entire small prison is surrounded by three layers of sentinels, three layers of outer layers, in case there is an escape or robbery.

The Civic Square at the moment resembles a vast amphitheater, with spectators crowded on every step and corner. Even the top of the ancient book attic is crawling with curious people with their eyes peeled. The square seems to be surrounded by colourful waves, a never-ending wave that pushes it forward: it makes room for all those who want to feast their eyes.

Sether looked out from the Adamantite Throne, where there was an endless stream of heads of men and women. Many women rest their children on their shoulders, and these little ones are in a privileged position above the crowd with their bodies.

The most attractive thing in the world, and the only thing that can divert people's attention from luxury and pleasure, is the close and bloody witness of death.

With the emperor's throne, the privy envoys, dukes, ministers of justice, naval marshals, and many royal nobles were also seated.

The Empress did not attend as usual, she kept saying that she could not stand this kind of scene, and the Emperor certainly would not force her.

When all the iron seats are filled, it means that the execution is about to begin.

But, instead of a solemn scene of silence, a high-decibel noise mixed with laughter, shouting, and singing rose from the crowd.

As Sether thought through the mirror, it was clear that for most civilians and civilians, the execution was nothing more than a carnival.

In an instant, the noise seemed to be stopped by death, and the gates of the old Shea prison had just opened.

First, a group of Cloud Palace Holy Boys appeared, both male and female, all dressed in identical white linen robes, with turbans around their mouths and noses, only two eyes exposed, and each holding a lit candle in their hands.

The highest child is the leader, and he is at the front.

In the past, these tasks should have been performed by the priests of the temple of Austal, but after the incident of Heli, Sether temporarily placed all the priests under house arrest in the temple, and let the Holy Child of the Cloud Palace take all their positions in his place - although Mr. Su Yu strongly objected, but after all, he could not resist the emperor's will.

After the Holy Child, the twelve condemned prisoners of the Udini family were executed in the order in which they were executed.

Shakin was not among them.

Each death row inmate was accompanied by two sentinels, and all of them were blindfolded—a sign of His Majesty's mercy and forgiveness toward them, lest they faint or convulse at the sight of the horrific execution scene, which would make the death even longer and more painful.

Except for Seser and Infant White, the rest of the royal family and nobles sitting on the iron throne all had faces as white as shrouds.

Wei Nan mechanically threw away his cigar, albeit only half-smoked, while the Chancellor of Justice and the Admiral were shaking with their legs, but fortunately there were chairs to catch them, otherwise they might have collapsed to the ground.

The Emperor seemed indifferent, but there was a gentle expression of an unbelievable smile on his face, and his eyes as bright as black diamonds were all the more glamorous with tolerance and softness.

However, Infant White's expression was different from everyone else, and his handsome dark and rigid face had a faint flush at this moment, as if it was about to seep out of the iron blue of his cheeks.

Sure enough, he saw the woman who had made his life like hell for so many years.

After all the death row inmates had fallen to their knees before the Adamantite Throne - each with a large knife behind him - out of the small prison gate came a bearded, shirtless, and murderous-looking man with a terrible tattoo on his face.

He was barefoot, dressed only in a pair of dirty, greasy cloth underpants, with a large knife in his left sheath, and in his right hand he dragged a heavy sledgehammer, and on his left shoulder was a woman whose hands were tied, whose head hung down, and whose long hair swayed with his steps, obscuring her face tightly.

There is no doubt that this woman is Shakin, and it is the head of the executioner who is about to put her to death!

With every step the leader and executioner, the heavy hammer in his right hand cut a deeper and longer furrow in the ground, and the piercing sound of metal mopping the floor made Infant Zhibai shiver for a while.

The executioner walked to the bottom of the guillotine ramp and unloaded the woman from his shoulder with almost a gentle motion.

Everyone was shocked by the beauty of the woman when they saw her, and she didn't even wear an eye patch.

The crowd hummed and whispered again.

Infant Zhibai couldn't help but stand up, his face had changed from red to pale, and he walked to the front of the granite wide steps step by step, completely ignoring his feet, and the whole person looked like he was about to fall.

Infant Mo seemed to want to call him back, but was stopped by a look from Sether.

The emperor's eyes clearly told her: let him go.

Xia Jin immediately raised his head from the slope as if he had been hit by an electric shock, and after such a distance, the eyes of the two people finally met each other. Everybody reads

The crowd fell silent in an instant, and the Civic Square of the University was so silent that even the dullest could see that the female prisoner had an unusual connection with their great privy envoy, the Duke.

Shakin struggled to get up, she seemed to forget that her legs had been broken a long time ago, she cried and struggled to climb up, looking at the power of despair and indignation, she almost wanted to climb to the feet of the baby.

The executioner couldn't stand it, so he helped Shakin up and leaned against the side post of the guillotine, so that her face was facing the royal stand.

"Baby's white, baby's white!" the female prisoner who was so miserable and so beautiful screamed madly.

Her voice echoed over the square, more mournful than the nightingale's mournful cry.

The carnival of death and blood in the crowd was gone, and everyone felt a sense of heartfelt sorrow and fear.

Infant White didn't speak, he stood there straight, his eyes staring at the woman in the distance, as if he had long since turned into a lifeless statue.

"I don't want them to blindfold me!" cried Shakin, tears streaming down his face, "because I know you won't come to see me in prison!

"I've never been crazy! I'm just going to live until the last moment I see you—you know?

"I know you hate me, you hate me! I know that the damage I have done to you will never be remedied! I know that you are the only person who once loved me the most in this world!"

"Baby's white, baby's white! After many years, when my mouth spits out these words of your name, I can still feel incomparably sweet and incomparably happy!"

"What I'm going to tell you is that just as you really loved me, even if you don't love me anymore now, I'm going to tell you, Baby White!"

"Infant white! I really love you, even today I still love you! I love you from the bottom of my heart, and I have never changed!"

"You are the person I love the most in my life! Do you know? Baby's white! You must believe me! I have always loved you! How much pain I have caused you, how deep my love for you is!"

"I used to resent you, I hated you for not accepting my original origin, I hated that you couldn't love me in spite of the world! I hated that you were going to kill me! So I want revenge, I want to vent my hatred, I married the prince I hated and disdained, just to avenge the harm I thought I had suffered from you!"

"Ah! Infant white, your name I used to utter with a sorrowful sigh, a groan of pain, and a desperate pant, and I called your name when I was torn naked and hung from a tree, I called it when I was about to be eaten by fish at the cold bottom of the sea, I called your name on the night I married Prince Udine, I called your name when my legs were broken by your men!"

"I used to think that in the past seven years, my love for you has long disappeared and has turned into hatred! But when I was captured to this country, this country that gave birth to you and raised you, I realized that I still love you so much!"

"I did it wrong! I did it wrong from the beginning! I was so stupid, so selfish, so evil!"

"I should have confessed everything to you before you proposed, instead of leaving you in the dark on the wrong path of deception! After bringing you and your family an unprecedented insult, I should not pretend to be a victim of this tragedy, so that I could hate you for no warranted reason!"

"I love you, I love you, I love you!"

"I regret it so much! If time had to do it all over again, I wish I hadn't done it in the first place, then we wouldn't end up like this!"

No matter how much you hate me, I won't hate you! I am innocent of death! I am a vicious, despicable and cold-blooded woman, I am not worthy of your love! I really do not deserve it!"

"Infant White, your love is the sweetest, happiest and most precious gift in the world, and I have desecrated it!"

"I just hope, no! I beg you! Please, forgive me!"

"I beg you, Infant White, I beg your pardon me, okay?"

Countless women and children were crying, many men were also holding back their tears, Ying Mo's face turned pale, and Wei Nan kept his face buried in his arms, unwilling to let others see him like a girl, and he was so excited by this scene that he broke down emotionally.

The baby's white head didn't move, and there was no expression on his face, but his tears fell like beads of broken thread, streaked across his military uniform, and dripped down the steps.

This strong man finally showed the most fragile side of his heart, but no one would look down on him for this, and his loyalty, passion, bravery, integrity, and kindness were all the more precious because of the confession of this female death row inmate.

"I forgive you, Shakin. Infant White finally opened his mouth, his voice was not loud, but it was as clear as a bronze bell throughout the audience, "You can die in peace, I will pray for your soul for the rest of my life." ”

Xia Jin smiled from the bottom of her heart, and she said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you." I'm sorry. I love you. ”

The murderous-looking nephew cried and raised his fist to heaven.

"The time has come!" the executions began!! "The herald rode over and announced loudly.

Xia Jin willingly lay on the guillotine and closed his eyes contentedly.

All those present turned their backs, and their mood at the moment of watching the execution was diametrically opposed to the beginning, and all of them wept low or mourned in their hearts for the tragedy of the love of the privy envoy and the sad and lamentable voice of this woman.

Ying Zhibai closed his eyes and was almost about to faint, but Ying Mo hurriedly rushed up to support his brother.

Ten minutes later, all thirteen prisoners had been executed, including Shakin, whose body had been divided, but her face seemed to be bright, with a peaceful smile on her lips, and her head seemed to be shrouded in the light of redemption.

Many years later, the nephew will still talk to people about this strange woman named Xia Jin and her tragic confession before she died.

"Perhaps this woman is alive to be a wicked devil," said the executioner, mysteriously to the people around her, in the slow tone characteristic of a storyteller, "but I am sure that she must have become an angel in heaven when she died." ”

"Why?" someone asked, puzzled.

"Because, when I cut off her head, I really saw the Angel of Death all black, holding iron chains, and with a long knife out of the sheath!" the angel depicted it in hand-painted voices, using both hands and feet, and it was hard to imagine that such a fierce man could tell the story so vividly, "This angel's wings are blacker than ink, and his face is more terrible than death! Do you know that if it were not for the redemption of the soul and the forgiveness of the sins, the angel of death would not have appeared—but this is not the most important thing." ”

"So what's the most important thing?" asked the other man.

"The most important thing is that," the executioner solemnly raised his glass and drank it all, "she made everyone present understand the true meaning of love - a toast to love!"

"Cheers to love!" he all stood up, toasting in mourning.