IDWBE -Chapter 125 The Executioner

“Exactly.”

“A man who can ruthlessly strangle his own biological daughter—what kind of decent person could he possibly be?”

Lin Yi ground his teeth. “If he ever falls into my hands, I’ll make him have a taste of suffocation.”

The common people praised him as upright, resolute, and incorruptible.

But Lin Yi simply couldn’t bring himself to like him.

What kind of person could be so heartless as to strangle his own daughter?

Even a vicious tiger does not eat its cubs!

After hearing this, Qi Peng took a sip of tea before speaking. “Jiang Kan, the Naval Commissioner, is one of the Crown Prince’s men.”

Lin Yi pondered for a moment. “It doesn’t matter. The third brother is probably enough to give him a headache right now. If he has any brains at all, he won’t come looking for trouble with me.”

If the eldest brother truly had no brains and insisted on crossing him, then he deserved to be trampled beneath the third brother’s feet in the future.

“Your Highness is wise.”

“Stop saying that kind of nonsense from now on,” Lin Yi sighed. “I’m already wise—do I need you to say it? If life hadn’t forced me, who would want to be burdened with so much talent?”

Qi Peng suppressed a laugh. “Your Highness speaks the truth.”

Lin Yi said carelessly, “Come up with some fresh phrases. I’ve already been promoting innovation in Sanhe—you should keep up with the times!”

“I understand,” Qi Peng replied with a smile.

After drinking some grape wine in the courtyard, Lin Yi went to bed and slept soundly.

In the following days, just as Qi Peng had predicted, refugees poured into Sanhe like a rising tide.

The greatest pressure fell upon the prefectural office. Every day they had to distribute porridge and arrange shelter for the refugees.

In less than a week, the government granaries were so empty that even rats could roam freely.

Unable to endure Shan Qi’s incessant complaints, Lin Yi took fifty thousand taels from his own savings to subsidize the relief effort.

Next came the worsening public security.

Petty theft became constant. Even worse, three cases of entire families being massacred had already occurred.

Lin Yi was furious and ordered thorough investigations.

With constables and more than six thousand garrison troops patrolling day and night, order in the city improved—but the countryside and mountain residents suffered instead.

Within just one month, over sixty people had died unnatural deaths.

Sanhe was vast, and the refugees were numerous. The constables and garrison troops simply could not cover everything.

Faced with the collapsing public order, Lin Yi decided to play his trump card: mobilize the masses.

Baiyun City had many martial artists. He ordered them to help inspect outsiders. Whether effective or not, it would at least ease part of the prefectural office’s burden.

Old Madam Sang stepped forward to spread the word according to Prince He’s instructions.

Within two days, the streets and alleys of Baiyun City were filled with elderly men and women wearing white gloves—many of them masters of advanced internal martial skill.

With authority granted by the prefectural office, they could interrogate any suspicious person.

Any refugee who had registered at a relief station would possess a household slip. Anyone without one was to be escorted to the Provincial Administration Office.

If someone dared to run, all it took was a shout from one of the old men or women, and a swarm of people would descend upon them. Even third- or fourth-rank martial experts would have no escape.

The elderly volunteers were not satisfied with their results in the city and, with government subsidies, ventured deeper into the countryside.

“Your Highness, fifteen troublemakers have been captured. How should they be handled?”

Shan Qi stood before Lin Yi cautiously. “This official has interrogated them repeatedly. There are no wrongful convictions.”

“According to the ordinance I previously issued, what should be done?”

“A life for a life!” Shan Qi replied without hesitation.

“And according to Liang law?”

“They should be beheaded.”

Lin Yi sighed. “Then why ask me?”

“I understand.”

“You must kill the chicken to scare the monkeys,” Lin Yi added after a moment’s thought. “These people need to understand—if they intend to commit crimes, they’ve come to the wrong place.”

“Yes.”

Shan Qi cupped his hands in acknowledgment.

The next day.

The Provincial Administration Office erected a wooden platform beside the main road connecting Baiyun City to Yuezhou.

At first, everyone assumed it was a stage for opera or some other performance.

Only under the blazing sun, when Shan Qi sat in the center and officers escorted fifteen tightly bound prisoners onto the platform, did people realize—it was the “noon beheading” from the plays.

For the residents of Baiyun City, this was the first time since the dawn of their lives that they had witnessed a public execution.

For many refugees from other regions, it was also their first time.

Most of them had never left their home villages; Baiyun City was the farthest place they had ever traveled.

To cut off heads required an executioner.

Though He Jixiang had gone on several campaigns, among the former Prince He’s guards, the later militia, and the garrison troops, very few had actually killed or seen blood.

Even those who had seen blood lacked the courage to stand in broad daylight, steady-handed, and swing a blade to sever a man’s head.

As Chief Constable, Bao Kui spent an entire night, exhausting himself, finally selecting fifteen broad-shouldered, strong men willing to wield the blade.

Standing below the platform, he frowned. One of the bare-chested men’s hands were trembling as he held the knife.

Bao Kui grabbed Yu Xiaoshi, who was watching the spectacle, and asked in a low voice, “Do you dare cut off a man’s head?”

Yu Xiaoshi frantically waved his hands.

A-Dai also waved both hands repeatedly. “Chief, I can’t! I don’t know how to kill!” He even retreated several steps in fright.

Bao Kui sighed and turned to Ye Qiu. “What about you?”

Ye Qiu said disdainfully, “I never use a blade to kill.”

Bao Kui nearly ground his teeth to dust.

Bastards! The steward definitely hasn’t beaten you enough!

Clenching his teeth, he decided he might as well go up himself.

Just as he was about to stride onto the platform, he heard a cold snort. Turning around, he saw Tian Shiyou.

Tian Shiyou smiled. “Such a small matter—why make it so troublesome?”

With such a spectacle drawing the entire city, as long as he was in Baiyun City, he wouldn’t miss it.

“What should be done then?” Bao Kui asked.

Tian Shiyou gestured toward Liu San. “You go. Let them see how cleanly a head is chopped off.”

“Then let them witness it!”

Liu San removed his upper garment, revealing bulging chest muscles. He stepped onto the red-clothed wooden platform, took the blade from the constable who was nearly scared enough to wet himself, and proudly waved at the crowd below.

To cut someone down openly, reasonably, and legally—this was the first time in his life!

The sun climbed higher and higher.

Layer upon layer of people surrounded the platform, all sweating profusely, yet none were willing to leave.

Some had come for the spectacle; others were victims’ families.

Seated at the center, Shan Qi had originally been composed, but now he suddenly grew nervous.

He had been a frail scholar who rose to the rank of Censor. He had never presided over an execution before!

He glanced at Xie Zan and He Jixiang standing at the side.

Xie Zan remained motionless. He Jixiang looked eager to try.

“I suppose I must do it myself,” Shan Qi sighed. Looking at the increasingly scorching sun, he finally declared harshly:

“The third quarter of noon has arrived!

Carry out the execution!”

Liu San had been waiting for this moment.

Under the blazing sun, the gleaming blade came down in a single stroke.

The man beneath it did not even have time to let out a scream.