At dawn the next morning, Wuya County’s marketplace witnessed its first public execution in many years.
The condemned prisoner, Fan Yaosan, was trussed up like a dead dog in the hands of the Tao brothers, his face smeared with blood and his whole body devoid of spirit.
At present, the county yamen only had Tao Zhang and Tao Rui as court runners, so the townspeople themselves united to drag out the long-abandoned execution guillotine from the yamen storeroom. After wiping away the thick layer of dust covering it, they hauled it all the way to the marketplace. Fortunately, though it had sat unused for years, the blade had not rusted and still gleamed coldly beneath the daylight.
The instant Fan Yaosan saw the blade, his legs gave out. His eyes bulged, his knees softened, and his whole body sagged downward as ragged breaths hissed from his throat.
Before death, humans could unleash tremendous strength. Though Fan Yaosan had already been scared witless, when faced with the execution blade he still tried to make one final struggle, trembling as he opened his mouth to cry injustice.
But Ah Long reacted quickly and stuffed a rag into his mouth.
Fan Yaosan’s eyes were bloodshot, his sockets sunken. His already ugly face looked even more horrifying now as muffled cries rasped from his throat.
Yet the people watching showed not the slightest pity. Instead, their faces were full of satisfaction. They hated this man to the bone, and now their vengeance was finally being fulfilled. Especially among the younger men, faces flushed red, veins bulged on foreheads, eyes burned crimson, they looked as though they wished to rush forward and kill him personally.
Zhao Baozhu stood at the very front of the crowd, dressed in dark official robes and black gauze cap, his expression stern.
Yesterday, after sorting through all the grievances against Fan Yaosan, Zhao Baozhu had declared in court that Fan Yaosan should be executed according to the law, with the sentence carried out immediately the next day. This case involving the You family’s watchdog was the first major matter Zhao Baozhu handled after taking office. He had to make a proper display of authority, not only to warn the villains lurking in the shadows, but also to slap the You family hard across the face from afar and establish his official prestige for the future.
Tao Rui pushed Fan Yaosan toward the guillotine while Tao Zhang prepared to carry out the execution. Both brothers were butchers by trade and long accustomed to this sort of thing. Killing people and slaughtering pigs were not the same, but there were similarities enough.
As Tao Zhang adjusted the guillotine, he glanced toward Zhao Baozhu, who stood with his hands behind his back at the front of the crowd. Suddenly noticing something, Tao Zhang stopped what he was doing and jogged over, bowing his head.
“My lord, perhaps you should stand a little farther left,” Tao Zhang whispered. “The dirty blood might splash onto you later.”
Zhao Baozhu froze for a moment. Once Tao Zhang pointed it out, Ah Long also realized the issue and hurriedly pulled Zhao Baozhu to the side. “My lord, stand here instead.”
Zhao Baozhu paused briefly before nodding calmly with a composed hum. Yet secretly, his hands tightened, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Yizhou was full of towering mountains and remote villages. The settlements were poor, but the village Zhao Baozhu had grown up in had been fairly simple and honest. Occasionally there were petty thefts, but nothing severe.
He had never seen an execution before in his life.
Watching Fan Yaosan forced onto the guillotine, bent over with his neck pressed against the blade by the Tao brothers, Zhao Baozhu suddenly felt a chill race up his spine. Goosebumps prickled across his back, while his stomach sank heavily, as though the steamed buns he had eaten that morning had turned into two hard stones lodged inside him.
It was not that he pitied Fan Yaosan, this evil old cur. But the thought of witnessing flesh and blood flying still frightened him somewhat.
Yet today was an important occasion. Zhao Baozhu absolutely could not lose composure in public. He had worked hard to establish his authority, if people discovered he was afraid of executions, all his effort would collapse. Quietly swallowing, Zhao Baozhu cleared his throat, drew a deep breath, and forced himself to steady down.
At that moment, Ah Long shouted loudly: “The hour of Chen has arrived, carry out the execution!”
At his command, Tao Zhang gripped the guillotine blade with both hands and slammed it downward.
Ka-cha!
Fan Yaosan’s head fell instantly to the ground. He did not even have time to let out a scream before a wrist-thick wound opened at his neck, blood spurting out in streams.
Half the color drained from Zhao Baozhu’s face immediately.
The surrounding commoners erupted into cheers. Tao Rui grinned broadly as he climbed down from the execution platform, scooped up the severed head with one hand, and held it up for the crowd to see.
The sight nearly made Zhao Baozhu faint. Never before had he realized how round a human head was. Sparse hair covered the back of the perfectly rounded skull, white scalp faintly visible through the gaps as Tao Rui dangled it in his hand. The last traces of blood vanished from Zhao Baozhu’s face.
Ah Long was younger and equally sickened by the bloody scene. Tugging at Zhao Baozhu’s sleeve from behind, he whispered: “Old Master, this place is filthy. Let’s head back.”
Zhao Baozhu felt dizzy, his nose full of the thick scent of blood filling the marketplace. Hearing that, he nodded quickly. “Good. Let’s return first.”
Yet just as the two turned around, Tao Zhang suddenly dropped to his knees before Zhao Baozhu with a loud thud and kowtowed three times in succession, declaring loudly: “Being able to personally execute our enemy today was all thanks to Your Excellency’s fair and enlightened judgment. The kindness you’ve shown is something my Tao clan will never forget for as long as we live. In this lifetime, we are willing to serve at Your Excellency’s side like loyal dogs and horses, to repay today’s grace!”
Tao Rui also tossed the head aside and hurriedly dropped to his knees beside his elder brother, banging his head against the ground before Zhao Baozhu as well.
“Tao Rui is willing to work like an ox or horse for Your Excellency!”
At a glance, Zhao Baozhu noticed the fresh blood still smeared across Tao Rui’s right hand. His vision immediately went black, and he nearly fainted on the spot.
But once Tao Zhang and Tao Rui knelt, the rest of Fan Yaosan’s enemies also surged forward one after another, kneeling together and kowtowing along with them.
“My Lord! This commoner is also willing to serve you loyally! I’ve studied before, if My Lord does not disdain me—”
“Young Lord Zhao! I-I’m overwhelmed with gratitude too! I’ve got a son as strong as an ox. How about letting him serve as a court runner for you?”
“My Lord, and my brothers as well—”
Like pulling up a radish and bringing the mud with it, the whole crowd ended up kneeling before Zhao Baozhu, kowtowing so densely that there was no way for him to avoid them.
At that very moment, the remaining half of Fan Yaosan’s corpse was still spurting blood from atop the execution block. Dirty blood had already splashed onto the ground and was flowing across the blue stone pavement toward Zhao Baozhu.
Zhao Baozhu watched helplessly as Tao Zhang slammed his forehead directly into the pool of blood, smearing a huge patch of filth across his brow without even noticing. When he bowed again, droplets of blood splattered everywhere.
Zhao Baozhu nearly vomited.
At this point he could no longer maintain the dignity expected of a county magistrate. Forcing down the nausea churning in his stomach, he spoke in a trembling voice: “Mm… mm, very good, very good…”
The moment he finished speaking, he staggered through the crowd and hurried away. Ah Long, standing behind him, froze for a moment before hastily chasing after him.
The people kneeling all over the ground slowly raised their heads as Zhao Baozhu abandoned them behind, staring blankly at his somewhat panicked retreating figure.
“…What’s wrong with Young Lord Zhao?”
At that moment, an older woman standing nearby, who had seen the situation clearly from the sidelines, stepped forward and smacked her husband hard across the back. “What do you mean, what’s wrong? With such a filthy scene, didn’t you see you frightened the poor magistrate? His little face turned white as paper, ”
Only then did the man suddenly understand. Rough men like them were long used to such things, and since they all bore grudges against Fan Yaosan, seeing his head roll naturally felt immensely satisfying.
Over the past few days, Zhao Baozhu’s thunderous methods in bringing Fan Yaosan down had already earned the wholehearted admiration of Wuya County’s people. For a moment, they had forgotten that he was merely a youth not yet twenty years old.
Though educated and even successful enough to pass the imperial examinations, making him an extraordinary person, he had probably never witnessed anything like this before.
The man chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. “My wife really is more thoughtful… I-I just didn’t think of it…”
Tao Zhang and Tao Rui were also stunned. Then they hurriedly jumped to their feet and called for everyone else to help clean up the mess.
“Hurry and clean everything up! Don’t let Young Magistrate Zhao see this again! Over here, and there too—”
The townspeople immediately divided up the work and busied themselves. The women fetched basins from their homes and poured water over the ground to wash away the blood. The men worked together to lift Fan Yaosan’s severed body down from the execution block. Tao Zhang carefully wiped blood and bits of flesh from the blade with a handkerchief.
Tao Rui suddenly remembered how he had been swaggering around earlier carrying the severed head for everyone to see. Realizing he had probably frightened Young Lord Zhao terribly, he was immediately filled with regret.
Fan Yaosan was nothing more than a thug and hooligan, so naturally no relatives came to handle his remains. Tao Rui casually picked up a burlap sack, stuffed the head inside, and prepared to toss it somewhere in a mass grave.
However, at that moment, Ah Long, who had just chased after Zhao Baozhu, suddenly returned and found the Tao brothers.
“Old master says the two of you are to properly prepare the corpse and deliver it to the You family.”
Tao Zhang and Tao Rui froze simultaneously, almost doubting their own ears. They exchanged glances before hesitantly asking: “The Lord said to deliver it to the You family?”
Ah Long nodded, his expression somewhat complicated. “Yes.”
The Tao brothers stared in utter shock, mouths slightly agape before slowly closing them again. The tiny spark of pity they had just developed for Zhao Baozhu because of his young age vanished in an instant.
This… although Young Magistrate Zhao was young, his methods were truly formidable.
This was killing a man and destroying his heart as well.
***
The execution took place at dawn, and within less than half a quarter hour, the news had already reached You Qian’s ears.
Inside the You family estate, You Qian was eating breakfast.
An exquisite assortment of side dishes and several kinds of porridge were laid out atop a fine nanmu round table. Several pretty servant girls stood nearby. Beside You Qian sat a fair-faced young opera performer dressed in a blue butterfly-patterned costume, makeup painted delicately across his face. Smiling sweetly, he lifted soup to You Qian’s mouth with a celadon spoon.
He was the star young actor of a Qingzhou opera troupe, whom You Qian had taken a fancy to at first sight and invited into the household for a huge sum.
The opera itself was secondary. The truly marvelous thing was that whenever he lowered his head slightly, his brows and eyes bore a thirty percent resemblance to Young Magistrate Zhao.
You Qian looked delighted as he opened his mouth for the porridge. Beneath the table, he grabbed the young actor’s free left hand and placed it atop his thigh.
Actors sold both their art and their smiles. After a token show of resistance, the performer obediently let his hand remain there while You Qian squeezed it a few times.
As he fondled the hand, You Qian’s imagination wandered. He wondered whether Young Magistrate Zhao’s pale hands were also this slender and soft.
Just as he was enjoying himself, a servant suddenly stumbled through the doorway and whispered something into You Qian’s ear. The instant he heard it, You Qian’s expression changed drastically. He flung aside the young actor’s hand and abruptly shot to his feet.
“What?!”
That young magistrate had actually sentenced Fan Yaosan to death by decapitation, and carried it out publicly at the marketplace!
You Qian’s face shifted several times in succession. He paced around the room before suddenly turning to glare at the servant. “What is he trying to do? Rebel?!”
He had originally abandoned Fan Yaosan precisely so Zhao Baozhu could vent his anger. In his mind, it would’ve been enough if the little magistrate secretly had someone beat the man up. Even if Fan Yaosan were beaten to death in private, You Qian wouldn’t have cared.
But a public execution was completely different.
No matter what, Fan Yaosan was still a member of the You household. As the saying goes, even beating a dog depends on its owner. Beheading Fan Yaosan in front of so many people was equivalent to grinding the You family’s reputation into the dirt!
You Qian was genuinely angry now. He had never expected that little magistrate’s temper to be so fierce.
The first time they met, Zhao Baozhu had already been smashing cups and bowls. And now he was pushing things even further!
You Qian paced several more circles, too furious to continue eating. Turning toward the doorway with rage written across his face, he said: “No! I have to teach him a lesson!”
But before he even reached the door, another servant came running in, followed by the estate steward. The steward entered with a grave expression and reported: “Third Master, the county yamen has delivered Fan Yaosan’s corpse.”
You Qian stopped so abruptly he nearly lost his balance and fell. “What?!”
The steward repeated himself. “Fan Yaosan’s corpse is parked outside the estate gates. It’s… only wrapped in a broken straw mat.”
In truth, the steward had already spared You Qian some details out of consideration. The corpse had not been cleaned at all. It was covered in filthy blood, several shreds of flesh still hung from the severed neck, and the expression frozen on the dead man’s face was one of utter terror. It was horrifying to behold.
The steward hesitated before continuing: “The court runners said the county magistrate considered Fan Yaosan a member of the You family. Although he violated the law and was executed, his remains should ultimately be returned to the You household.”
Hearing this, You Qian’s face alternated between pale and red.
The words themselves sounded perfectly proper, but first executing the man and only informing him afterward, then sending the corpse directly to the You estate…
Was this courtesy?
Or was it a warning?
After a long silence, You Qian finally said: “Carry the corpse inside. Let me see it.”
The steward’s expression immediately changed. Recalling the corpse’s appearance, he hesitated. “Th-this…”
Already in a foul mood, You Qian glared at him and roared: “Go!!”
With no other choice, the steward ordered several servants to carry the corpse inside together. But after only a single glance, You Qian’s legs gave out beneath him and he collapsed to the floor. Pointing at the corpse with a trembling hand, he screamed at the steward: “Throw it out! Throw it out immediately!”
The steward, well aware that among the You family’s masters this Third Master was the weakest-willed of them all, sighed inwardly before asking: “Master, where should we throw it?”
Slumped on the floor with a livid face, You Qian snapped: “You still need to ask me that?! Just dump it in some mass grave!”
The steward then ordered the servants to carry the corpse away once more.
As the youngest son in the family, You Qian had never personally handled matters involving death. His usual pursuits were little more than teasing cats and dogs or chasing women and pleasure.
Yesterday, Fan Yaosan had still been lively and active before him. Now he had suddenly become a cold, terrifying corpse. The shock completely overwhelmed him.
Slowly climbing up from the floor, his hands and feet still weak, he heard the steward turn back and add: “The county yamen also sent someone to ask whether the magistrate’s letter has been delivered yet.”
You Qian paused.Then it was as if he suddenly realized something, his eyes shifting thoughtfully.
In order to curry favor with Zhao Baozhu, he had dispatched riders to deliver that letter the very same day. And now the little magistrate had deliberately asked about it again… That meant Zhao Baozhu still remembered the matter of the Imperial Academy recommendation letter!
Could it be that sending over the corpse truly had been done out of courtesy?
You Qian’s expression turned complicated. After turning the matter over in his head several times, he finally gritted his teeth and said: “Go tell the court runner the letter has already been sent.”
Whether it was meant as intimidation or something else, Fan Yaosan was ultimately just an old dog that could be discarded at any time. And now You Qian had begun to understand as well. That little magistrate probably wanted to use Fan Yaosan as an example to establish his authority and show off his power before the ignorant commoners.
Fine, then.
At the end of the day, Fan Yaosan was merely a servant. Though the You family’s reputation had suffered somewhat, enduring a small loss for the sake of greater long-term benefits was acceptable.
Having thoroughly analyzed the situation to his own satisfaction, You Qian fell silent for a moment before raising his head toward the steward.
“Fan Yaosan… if he’s dead, then he’s dead. Hurry and throw that unlucky thing away. As for the tax silver and accounting books, continue delivering them to the county yamen as usual.”
The steward acknowledged the order and departed.
You Qian quickly turned his head away, unwilling to look at the corpse in the courtyard again.
Everyone inside the room had witnessed the earlier commotion. Seeing You Qian return, the young opera performer stood up from beside the table with concern in his eyes and gently asked: “Third Master, has something important happened?”
You Qian walked back with a dark expression. The moment he raised his eyes and saw the opera performer’s delicate face, his heart suddenly jolted.
The sight of the corpse earlier had left a lingering shadow in his mind. The three parts of resemblance the performer shared with Zhao Baozhu now seemed to have taken on an entirely different flavor. He could no longer appreciate the actor’s gentle, flower-like beauty. Instead, he kept feeling as though a fierce tiger lurked beneath those brows and eyes, ready at any moment to pounce and bite him.
You Qian’s expression abruptly changed. With a fierce face, he barked: “Get out!!”
The performer had no idea why he had suddenly been shouted at. His face immediately paled in fright as he hurriedly lowered his head and retreated. The servant girls throughout the room also withdrew one after another, and soon only You Qian remained inside.
Not long after, the sound of objects smashing came from within the room.
