An orphan girl in troubled times, living a miserable life

Chapter 364: The Execution Platform: Debating Loyalty and Treachery

"What's going on today? Why are there so many fast horses and sedan chairs running back and forth? Did something big happen?"

"I don't know. Is General Shen going to ascend the throne? I haven't heard about it. Ascending the throne is a big event. Don't they have to offer sacrifices to the heavens and choose the day and time?"

"Hey, why are all the people running towards the Meridian Gate of the Imperial Palace? What are they going to do?"

"Are many officials there too? Listen, someone is beating a gong."

"What are they shouting?"

"I don't know, how about going to check it out?"

"Okay, let's go and have a look, let's go and have a look."

Today in Kyoto City, the people noticed something was wrong and swarmed towards the Meridian Gate.

The Meridian Gate is a good place. The imperial court usually executes important criminals here. Therefore, there is a large execution platform standing on one side outside the Meridian Gate.

The platform was tall and wide, attracting a lot of attention. Many people who heard the news gathered here, and they were curious to see the person who appeared on the execution platform.

"Hey, are we going to kill the criminal today?"

"I see that everyone on the stage is extraordinary!"

"Shh, don't talk, something big must have happened."

At this moment, Shen Yue had led his men to the execution platform and sat down in the main seat placed by his subordinates. Sitting on the left were his trusted officials, while on the right opposite him were his relatives and friends who had arrived one after another and were sought out by Cui Zhouhuang and other suicidal people.

As for Li Yaoguang, who supported Ji Mo, one was an eyesore and the other felt distressed and cherished. Shen Yue actually wanted her to sit next to him, but now the two sides were in opposition, and it would not be good for her to let her sit before taking her out. So Shen Yue had to endure it.

"Let's get started quickly."

When Shen Yue's voice fell, the stage fell silent. Huang Lijin's heart skipped a beat. Xu Chengfeng was nowhere to be seen. She knew that victory or defeat depended on this move. She took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Xu has not arrived yet."

Shen Yue glared at Huang Lijin, who was hiding in the crowd, with disgust. He made another note in his little notebook and smiled contemptuously, "You still want me to wait?"

Huang Lijin choked and dared not speak again. In her heart, she cursed Xu Chengfeng for delaying things a thousand times. It was easy to see from her eyes that if things were not going well today, she would have to think of a way to escape again.

At this time, Xu Chengfeng, whose wound was bandaged but still pale, was carried up. When he came to the front, he supported himself and half stood up to salute Shen Yue. Shen Yue was disgusted and waved his hand to let him go. His voice was cold: "Mr. Xu, since it was your idea, everyone is here now, let's start quickly."

Xu Chengfeng naturally did not ignore the disgust for himself in his master's eyes. A feeling of sadness of not being understood spread in his heart. He smiled bitterly, bowed to Shen Yue, and then looked at his close followers.

The attendant understood and immediately went down to pass on the order, "Bring the witness."

Immediately afterwards, a large group of people were brought to the execution platform, including old and young, men and women, soldiers and civilians, and there were quite a lot of them.

The audience was puzzled. Some of them knew the people on the stage and could not help but whisper to each other. "Eh? Isn't this Madam Du who runs a tea shop in Fengzhou City? When Fengzhou was trapped, we fought the enemy together. Why is she here? Did she commit a crime?"

"Hey, it's not a crime. Didn't you hear that the higher-ups asked us to bring witnesses? It's probably related to some case. Just listen to them, brother."

Then the people above heard the sick person who was being carried speak weakly.

"My fellow villagers, I have invited you here today for no other reason than to testify to one thing. Please consider that we are all suffering people. For the sake of the coming peace and prosperity, please do your part to bring peace and prosperity to the world. Come and see, this woman's surname is Li and her name is Yaoguang. Do you know her? Have you ever seen her use magic to create creatures out of thin air and cause chaos to the people?"

As Xu Chengfeng nodded, there was a buzzing sound and the pot below exploded.

Below the stage, among a group of sturdy men who were protecting a woman who was carrying large and small bags and was obviously here to purchase goods, a half-grown boy pointed at Li Yaoguang who was pointed out by Xu Chengfeng and exclaimed.

"Dad, Dad, look, isn't that man above us our benefactor, Dad? He was the one who notified our entire village to flee at night when Hu Di invaded the south!"

It turned out that this group of people was none other than Ye Sandan, who had recently returned to his hometown village in the suburbs of Beijing with his family after Hu Di was defeated, and the people from the same village. When the grown-up Ye Sandan saw his benefactor, he couldn't help but excitedly pulled his father and shouted.

The so-called witnesses on the stage looked in the direction of Xu Chengfeng's finger and discovered that the person being pointed out was Li Yaoguang, whom they were familiar with and who had done them a favor. Their expressions changed.

To be honest, they were innocent. They were staying at home and preparing to rebuild their home with their few remaining relatives. But as luck would have it, they were targeted by someone. The other party did not make things difficult for them. They just asked them to go to Beijing to help out a little, and they would be rewarded handsomely after the task was completed.

They lived a hard and poor life. After all, it was extremely difficult for them to escape the chaotic times. Suddenly, a pie fell from the sky. When the mountains of hardship and survival were pressing down on their heads, they were shamelessly tempted and accepted a deposit of ten taels of silver and followed the man all the way to Beijing.

What the other party said was very simple and they thought it was just a small favor. But when they thought about it and saw what the so-called small favor was about, all the people who were invited fell silent.

The father and son who were in trouble in Wuding City and were rescued by Li Yaoguang and Shen Yue were already very excited when they saw Shen Yue. They wanted to kneel down and thank him, but they didn't want to know the mastermind who brought them here. He immediately pointed at his other benefactor and asked them to identify some witch. The father and son were both shocked. What the hell?

The father was even more shrewd. He grabbed his stunned son and looked at Xu Chengfeng in confusion.

"What? I don't know what you are talking about, sir."

Xu Chengfeng was stunned and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, but he still said patiently: "Everyone, don't be afraid, boldly tell us everything you know, don't worry, I won't embarrass you or mistreat you."

At this time, Madam Du, who was invited all the way from Wuding, stepped forward and pretended to be confused.

"What do you mean, sir? What do you want us to say? We don't know anything. I only know that Miss Li is very righteous. When Fengzhou was trapped, she disguised herself as a man and went with the soldiers to rescue Fengzhou at the risk of her life, delivering precious food to the soldiers and civilians in the city. Now, if I remember correctly, these soldiers who came with her are the ones who shared life and death with Miss Li that day, right?"

As she spoke, Madam Du looked at the row of about a hundred mighty soldiers behind her, and received nods from them.

"Yes, we brothers are all comrades with Miss Li. Although she is a woman, her courage and bravery are not inferior to any man. We admire her for her victory in the battle of Fengzhou."

Madam Du was satisfied with what she heard and nodded. She glanced at Li Yaoguang from afar with stars in her eyes. She turned her gaze back to look at Xu Chengfeng and others in front of her who had dark faces, and her tone was still unhurried.

"Why did you point at the heroes and the women and call them witches today and invite us here? If it weren't for Miss Li, the soldiers and civilians in Fengzhou would have died long ago, not to mention that Miss Li lowered herself to fight the enemy with common people like us and defended the city to the death. You accused such a good woman of being a witch. Ha, I, a little woman, would like to ask you, where were you at that time?"