Qing Yao

Chapter 446 Good Things Delivered to the Grand Hall

Late at night, a group of about a hundred soldiers from the Shanpu Battalion, carrying torches, marched in a grand procession toward the Manchu Governor's Office of the Bordered Yellow Banner. They were particularly conspicuous in the quiet capital, attracting the attention of the soldiers and watchmen patrolling along the way.

The duty officer of the Bordered Yellow Banner Commander's Office had already received the news. When he saw Zhao An arriving with a yellow silk edict, he dared not delay and quickly led him to the room where Marquis Jinghai, Shi Bingren, was imprisoned.

Having not eaten or drunk anything all day, coupled with the sudden turn of events, the once pampered Marquis had lost all his former prestige. He slumped on the kang (a heated brick bed), staring blankly at the ground, his face quite pale.

Zhao An was sent by imperial decree to execute Shi Bingren.

This matter cannot be delayed. If it is delayed until the major government offices are closed, many officials in the court will surely submit petitions to plead for Shi Bingren. Procedurally, even if Shi Bingren has committed an unpardonable crime, he should be interrogated by the Ministry of Justice, that is, "delegated to the Ministry for discussion," instead of being executed without any trial as is the case now.

After all, Shi Bingren's ancestor, Shi Lang, made outstanding contributions to the Qing Dynasty, and the Marquis of Jinghai was a first-class marquis who was granted a hereditary title by Emperor Kangxi. If things dragged on for a few days, there was no guarantee that things wouldn't take a turn for the worse.

If it were any other emperor, he would have handed it over to the relevant departments for discussion, but who was the old master?

Emperor Qianlong, who reigned for over fifty years!
Emperor Qianlong wants you dead today, do you still want to see the sunrise tomorrow?
Special cases should be handled specially.

Upon hearing the door open, Lord Shi, as if his soul had been ripped away, naturally looked towards the doorway, only to find that it was Zhao An who had entered, holding an imperial edict in his hand. His heart tightened involuntarily.

Zhao An, expressionless, raised the imperial edict with yellow silk in his hand and announced loudly, "Marquis Jinghai, Shi Bingren, receive the decree!"

"I accept the decree!"

Realizing what had happened, Lord Shi scrambled off the kang (a heated brick bed) and knelt down with a thud.

"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I, by the mandate of Heaven, rule the entire realm. All officials should pledge their loyalty. You, Marquis of Jinghai, have received the Emperor's favor for generations and hold a noble position. You should be pure in character, devoted to public service, and reverent day and night. Yet you dare to be arrogant and disrespectful, defacing the Emperor's writings, utterly betraying His grace; furthermore, you secretly concealed poems left by the former Ming traitor Zhang Jiayu in your private residence, continuing the false reign and harboring treacherous intentions. Such ingratitude and rebellion are truly abhorrent to both gods and men, and intolerable to Heaven and Earth!"
Shi Lang's past minor contributions cannot outweigh his current grave transgressions. Therefore, Shi Bingren's hereditary title of Marquis of Jinghai is hereby revoked, and his imperial edict is revoked. He should be punished according to the law, but in consideration of his ancestors' meager merits, he is hereby granted the privilege of suicide, allowing his remains to remain intact.

All male members of the Shi clan aged twelve and above shall be executed in the marketplace according to the law for treason; all sons and daughters under the age of twelve, as well as female relatives, shall be sent to Ningguta to serve as slaves to the armored soldiers. So be it!

After reading it, Zhao An put down the imperial edict and looked coldly at Shi Bingren: "His Majesty has bestowed upon you the great favor of committing suicide. Choose a way to die, Marquis."

With a "whoosh," Shi Bingren felt dizzy and as if he had fallen into an ice cave. Although he had expected that the worst was yet to come, he still found it hard to accept.

"No, no! I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

Lord Shi, his eyes bloodshot, roared, "I want to see the Emperor! I'm innocent! I want to see the Emperor! I'm innocent!"

"Injustice?"

Zhao An snorted coldly and put away the imperial edict. "My lord, what's the use of saying all this now? Quickly choose your method of death: white silk, poison, or a dagger?"

With a wave of his hand, two soldiers from the poker battalion stepped forward and subdued Shi Bingren.

Lord Shi, his face ashen, trembled, unable to utter a word for a long time due to fear.

Zhao An didn't urge him; after all, suicide requires a period of psychological adjustment.

I suddenly wondered what Heshen's mental state was when he was ordered to commit suicide by Emperor Jiaqing.

The subdued Lord Shi hesitated to choose a way to die, and instead suddenly glared fiercely at Zhao An: "Zhao Youlu, you conspired with Heshen to frame loyal officials, you will die a horrible death!"

"My lord, what are you still trying to say when you're about to die? Let me tell you the truth, if it weren't for He Zhongtang saying a few good words for your Shi family in front of the Emperor, your entire Shi family would have been executed!"

Zhao An did not lie to Shi Bingren; it was indeed Heshen who pleaded for leniency for his family, only killing those over twelve years old.

Out of humanitarian considerations, Zhao An had no objection to this.

"My lord, a wise man submits to circumstances. It's more dignified for everyone to leave on your own. But if I were to order someone to take action, that would be quite unseemly."

With a soft hum, Zhao An was intrigued to know what method of death Shi Bingren would choose for himself.

Lord Shi closed his eyes in despair, two streams of turbid tears sliding down his cheeks, knowing that the imperial decree had been issued and there was no room for maneuver.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, his gaze empty, his voice incredibly hoarse: "...Choose white silk."

Zhao An nodded and instructed Xu Lin, who was standing to the side, "Go and find a sturdy white silk ribbon for the Marquis, so that he can be properly escorted on his journey!"

"Yes, sir!" Xu Lin responded and went to find a fine piece of white silk, and thoughtfully brought a tall stool for the Marquis.

The roof beams are high enough, just right.

"Please, Your Excellency, embark on your journey!"

As he said this, Zhao An sniffed, his eyes filled with hatred for Shi Bingren.

Shi Bingren trembled as he got up and walked to the round stool. He reached out and touched the white silk that had been hung up, his hand shaking violently.

She glanced back at Zhao An, her eyes filled with complex emotions: resentment, fear, a hint of pleading, a trace of regret, and a sense of bewilderment.

How did things end up like this when I was just going through the motions of transferring my household registration?
Why did Zhao Youlu harm me?
Zhao An remained expressionless as he looked at the descendant of Shi Lang, his eyes sending no "signal".

After letting out a long sigh, Shi Bingren swayed as he climbed onto the round stool, hesitated for a moment, and finally stuck his head into the noose.

In his final moments, he seemed to want to say something, but Xu Lin stepped forward and kicked the stool under his feet away.

"Uh"

Shi Bingren's body immediately sank, his feet weakly treading in the air a few times, his throat filled with painful sobs.

His face quickly turned red, then purple, his eyes bulged uncontrollably, and his tongue slowly stuck out.
The whole process lasted less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, and Zhao An watched quietly from the side.

Finally, Shi Bingren's body stopped twisting and hung straight down from the roof beam, swaying slightly.

A foul odor instantly filled the room.

Zhao An frowned, covered his nose, and went outside. He waved to the several waiting staff members of the Governor's Office: "Take the person off the building, wrap them in a mat, and drag them outside the city to be buried."

"Whoo!"

The staff dared not disobey the newly appointed deputy commander-in-chief's orders and rushed into the room to dispose of the former deputy commander-in-chief's body.

Zhao An led a group of skilled wrestlers straight to the Marquis of Jinghai's residence.

At the entrance of the Marquis's residence, Ming Antai and Qingyao were anxiously waiting. Upon seeing Zhao An return, they immediately came to greet him.

Zhao An reined in his horse, glanced at the lifeless Marquis's mansion, and waved the imperial edict in his hand: "By imperial decree, the entire Marquis of Jinghai's mansion shall be searched, all his property shall be confiscated by the Imperial Household Department, and all male members aged twelve and above shall be executed!"

The voice was extremely loud, and not only Ming Antai and Qingyao could hear it clearly, but the neighbors who were eavesdropping around also heard it clearly, which made their hearts pound wildly.

The hereditary first-class marquisate was just confiscated like that?!
What exactly did the Marquis of Jinghai do to provoke such a furious reaction from the Emperor?
"Whoo!"

Having received the imperial decree, Ming Antai and his men entered the Marquis's residence again. In addition to obeying the decree to gather all the male members of the Shi family over the age of twelve and execute them the next day, the rest of them were escorted out of the Marquis's residence and transferred to the Governor's Office to be sent to Ningguta by special personnel.

Soldiers from the Shanpu Camp also joined the search and seizure operation, making it even more massive than before.

"Search every nook and cranny thoroughly! Every nook and cranny, every crack in the brickwork, every cellar—leave no stone unturned! Gold, silver, valuables, antiques, paintings, land deeds—register them all!"

Zhao An constantly inspected the mansion, appearing to be a diligent and loyal worker.

The confiscated valuables were continuously carried to the front yard, with boxes, chests, and bundles piled up like small mountains. Silks, satins, pearls, agates, gold ingots, and silver ingots gleamed alluringly in the torchlight.

While it's hard to say the Jinghai Marquis's family accumulated over a million taels of silver over six generations, they certainly had several hundred thousand taels.

"Sir, look at this!"

Qingyao excitedly brought over a box. When she opened it, it was full of gemstones: rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, each the size of a fingernail, dazzling in the firelight.

Picking up a pigeon blood ruby ​​and examining it in the firelight, Zhao An nodded in approval. He then instructed Qing Yao, "Send all the good stuff to He Zhongtang's residence."

(End of this chapter)