Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 260 The Cunning Rabbit and the Lackey (2)

Is it his death date?

Song Yan simply chuckled, his expression remaining largely unchanged, as if he hadn't heard Qian Yaozu's nagging at all.

Qian Yaozu's smile became increasingly distorted, and his voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement, as if he could already see Song Yan's head being chopped off.

Huff, huff, huff...

Dragged along by the iron chain, Qian Yaozu staggered forward, panting heavily. He grinned, revealing somewhat messy, yellow teeth.

"Yesterday, I thought about it all night, and I finally understood. I finally got it."

"Everyone thinks that you, Song Yan, were able to rise to prominence because of the military merits you earned from fighting the Japanese pirates. I also admit that you do have some ability in terms of military strategy and tactics."

"But in Ningguo now, can you really succeed just by merit? Don't dream. If you don't have anyone backing you up, do you really think you can get the credit? If it weren't for Emperor Ninghe supporting you, you would never have climbed to your current position." Qian Yaozu's mockery deepened, as if he were looking down on the entire world: "Perhaps, at the beginning, you were just a live-in son-in-law, but after your first crushing of the Japanese pirates, both Luo Yuheng and Emperor Ninghe saw your talent."

"Luo Yuheng and Emperor Ninghe haven't broken off relations yet; they must be plotting something... The imperial power in Ningguo has basically been hollowed out by civil officials and powerful clans, and the royal family has become a mere figurehead. Emperor Ninghe wants to break this deadlock. When you demonstrate your military talent, you will already be a pawn in Emperor Ninghe's hands."

"Emperor Ninghe went to great lengths to give you military power and send you to the remote Liaodong, all in an attempt to divert the attention of the court and the Yang family from you, giving you enough time to expand your military strength."

"Once you have a large enough and capable army under your command, Emperor Ninghe will have the confidence to force his opponents to cede more power in court. Even if things completely fall apart, if Emperor Ninghe feels that his safety is threatened, your army can still march into the capital to defend the emperor!"

Qian Yaozu's voice was hoarse and gloomy.

Song Yan glanced at Qian Yaozu with some surprise. Although he had already thought of these things, Song Yan was still quite surprised that Qian Yaozu could deduce this much.

This guy is actually quite capable.

"Clearly, a complete break with the government is not in the interest of civil servants and powerful families, so they will most likely choose to compromise."

"Everyone underestimated our Emperor. While no one was paying attention, he had already quietly planned so much. Who knows, if we give Emperor Ninghe a few more years, or even a decade or more, he might actually be able to reclaim the imperial power, suppress the powerful clans, clean up the civil service, and become the restorer of the Ning Kingdom!"

Suddenly, Qian Yaozu turned his head again, his eyes appearing even more sinister, twisted, eerie, and mocking.

"But, Song Yan..."

"Have you ever thought about what will happen when Emperor Ninghe truly takes control of the court, and you, who control the most elite and powerful army in Ning Kingdom, are in charge?"

"What is your position in Ningguo?"

"Emperor Ninghe has broken free from his cage. He will never allow any force in Ning Kingdom that he cannot control to emerge again."

His pale tongue swept across his chapped lips, making Qian Yaozu look like a vengeful ghost: "Song Yan, have you ever heard of..."

"When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked."

"When all the birds are gone, the good bow is put away?"

"Hehe, you'll die too, just like me... Hahaha... Hahahahahaha..."

Qian Yaozu seemed to have truly gone mad; his laughter sent chills down one's spine.

Song Yan glanced at Qian Yaozu silently, then looked away. His expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard what Qian Yaozu said at all.

Seeing Qian Yaozu burst into laughter, the surrounding people, unaware of what he had said before, were even more enraged by his arrogance even as he faced death.

The cursing grew louder.

Some people even picked up stones from the ground and threw them at the Qian family, causing screams to erupt.

Because of the shackles on their hands and feet, the Qian family walked very slowly. But the road was only so long, and no matter how slow they went, they eventually reached the end. Before they knew it, they had arrived at Caishikou.

When they saw the execution platform, the Qian family members felt dizzy and their legs trembled.

The dignity of a once-important person has been completely lost in the end.

They were naturally familiar with this place.

When Qian Yaozu first became the prefect of Pingyang, many officials were not convinced by him. So Qian Yaozu devised a plan to send these people to the execution platform one by one, where they were beheaded one after another.

And they, too, once watched the ceremony here.

Watching the executioner raise his knife and bring it down, splattering blood everywhere, I felt a mix of horror and excitement.

Hearing the family members crying and wailing below the execution platform, I felt a kind of morbid excitement.

Since then, they had developed a certain fondness for this feeling. Over the course of a few months, Qian Yaozu's sons sent dozens of people to the execution platform, for no reason other than to satisfy their deep-seated, morbid desires. However, they never imagined that today would be their turn. The execution platform, which they had initially found amusing, now appeared utterly terrifying.

Several people had already gone limp on the ground and were unable to move, so the guards stepped forward and forcibly dragged them up and made them kneel on the execution platform.

The executioner was not Song Yan, but Zhang Zhen's son, Zhang Han. Zhang Zhen, that old fox, was simply using this method to further demonstrate his stance. Executing Qian Yaozu essentially signified a complete break with the civil service; from this point forward, Zhang Zhen and his son had no other choice but to cling tightly to Song Yan.

This execution was a blatant disregard for the laws of Ningguo. There was no proper trial, no witnesses, no physical evidence, no case files, no signatures or fingerprints, no review by the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review, and not even a plaintiff.

Song Yan himself was not qualified to judge Qian Yaozu.

But now that things have come to this, who would care about so much anymore?

Zhang Han's expression was somewhat serious. After Song Yan nodded, Zhang Han turned his gaze to the papers in his hand. The sheets of white paper were filled with writing, clearly recording the crimes of everyone in the Qian family. The paper was about a foot thick, and this was only a part of it.

The midday sun is very large and bright.

Looking up, the sunlight was almost blinding.

But now, the execution ground seemed to be filled with a chilling wind, and the dozen or so people on the execution platform were trembling. At some point, the surrounding commotion gradually subsided.

Zhang Han let out a heavy sigh, picked up a piece of white paper, and his powerful voice resonated across the execution platform, reaching the ears of every onlooker:

"Qian Yaozu's eldest son, Qian Mingkang, on the 12th day of the ninth month of the 19th year of Ninghe, forcibly abducted a married woman in Pingyang City. Because the woman's husband resisted, he was beaten to death by Qian Mingkang and his servants. The woman was defiled and later threw herself into a well and died."

"On the 18th day of the ninth month of the 19th year of Ninghe, after taking a fancy to a merchant's family heirloom calligraphy and painting and failing to get it, he sent people to sneak into the merchant's house that night, steal the calligraphy and painting, and kill the merchant's family of seven, including a newborn baby."

"September 27th, the nineteenth year of Ninghe..."

The scene had become deathly silent, with no sound at all. Only pairs of eyes had turned bloodshot and hands were clenched tightly, as everyone was desperately trying to control something.

"kill him!"

"kill him."

"kill him."

The silence was once again replaced by a deafening roar.

"He is guilty of twenty-seven counts of murder, sixteen counts of sexual assault, and countless counts of robbery. In accordance with the laws of Da Ning, he shall be executed immediately by beheading..."

As Zhang Han announced the final verdict, a soldier stepped forward, his machete raised high, reflecting a blinding light in the sunlight.

call!
puff.

On the execution platform, a dazzling splash of bright red blood splattered out, and Qian Mingkang's head fell to the ground, rolling far away.

This scene immediately caused the remaining Qian family members to scream in terror.

Even Qian Yaozu couldn't help but close his eyes, tears streaming down his face.

"Qian Yaozu's second son, Qian Mingli... shall be executed immediately!"

"Qian Yaozu's third son, Qian Mingshen... shall be executed immediately!"

"Qian Yaozu's wife... to be executed immediately!"

……

Heads fell one by one.

Perhaps because there were too many crimes, Zhang Han felt his mouth was dry. By the time Qian Yaozu's wife, three concubines, four sons, and three daughters, a total of eleven people, were all beheaded, it was already mid-afternoon.

With each head severed, cheers like thunder and tsunami could be heard from the surrounding crowd, and some even wailed loudly, probably because their loved ones could finally rest in peace.

As for Qian Yaozu, his entire body was completely limp.

He knew that Song Yan had deliberately arranged for the beheading of the Qian family members in front of him as punishment for him. He tried his best not to listen, not to look, and not to think about it.

But it's impossible.

The screams of his son and daughter were like a sharp knife, tearing at his heart.

That was the cruelest and most despairing torture in the world.

At this moment, Qian Yaozu's face was blank, his eyes were lifeless, and his wrinkled face was covered with sticky marks, it was hard to tell whether they were tears, saliva, or snot.

If he hadn't been tied to the wooden frame, he probably would have collapsed to the ground completely.

"Qian Yaozu..."

Zhang Han's voice rang out again.

His crimes were even more shocking. His affair with the Jurchens seemed to have become a minor matter at this time. The tens of thousands of innocent souls outside the city alone were a burden that Qian Yaozu could not bear.

“According to the laws of Da Ning, the punishment of combing and washing is applied.”

As soon as Zhang Han finished speaking, two guards immediately carried a bucket of boiling water to the execution platform. Behind them were hundreds of black-armored soldiers, led by Lei Yi.

This was a special favor that Song Yan bestowed upon Lei Yi and others.

He had promised Lei Yi that he would take Qian Yaozu's life, and now he had given them the opportunity to do it themselves.

Even though Qian Yaozu seemed to have lost his mind, the sight of the boiling water and the rusty iron claws still made his scalp tingle and his eyes filled with intense fear.

Several soldiers rushed forward and roughly stripped Qian Yaozu of his clothes, revealing his pale body.

The next moment, Lei Yi grabbed a gourd ladle and poured a ladle of boiling water directly onto Qian Yaozu.

"Ah ah ah ah ah……"

A piercing scream instantly echoed across the execution platform.

The snow-white skin instantly turned scarlet, and the flesh was deteriorating at an extremely rapid pace.

Grasping the iron claw in his hand, Lei Yi stepped forward and, under Qian Yaozu's terrified gaze, slashed down with his claw.

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah……

(End of this chapter)