The Prodigal Son

Qin Yu's guess was correct.

That night, all of Luo Qingyi's passion erupted once again.

Even though she was already exhausted from the conquest, she still clung to Qin Yu like a satiated, infatuated woman, as if she wanted to meld Qin Yu into her own body.

That night, both of them ascended to the clouds several times.

However, indulgence comes at a price.

The next morning, Luo Qingyi was unable to get out of bed.

Even Qin Yu, a veteran of many battles, felt his legs go weak.

He wouldn't want to get out of bed if he didn't have things to do today.

After breakfast, Qin Yu finally recovered and, after arranging things at home, headed to Tiangongfang with Qi Dachui.

The imperial city today seems to have lost its former liveliness.

There were far fewer pedestrians on the street.

"Thirteenth Young Master, don't you feel like something's not quite right?"

Qi Dachui looked around warily, "Why are there so few people on the street?"

Qin Yu smiled and looked at Qi Dachui, "What's wrong? They've probably all gone to watch the show."

"What's all the commotion about?"

Qi Dachui immediately became interested and seemed to want to join in the fun.

"behead!"

Qin Yu glared at him. "Today, the entire Shi family will be executed at the execution ground! And Lü Si and his father will be in charge of overseeing the execution."

"Oh, so that's what it was about!"

Qi Dachui scratched his head, instantly losing interest.

He thought there was some kind of excitement to be had!

As a result, this is it?

What's so interesting about murder?

It's only satisfying to kill enemies on the battlefield!

While they were talking, a man hurriedly ran into a silk shop by the roadside.

"Manager Wang, come with me to the execution ground!"

"I need to open my shop and do business! What would I be doing at the market?"

"I heard the imperial court is going to behead the entire Shi family at Caishikou. I heard there are over a thousand people!"

"What? I have to go check it out!"

The two talked as they ran towards the market.

It was as if they were treating it as a grand event.

Qin Yu smiled, spurred his horse through the streets, and quickly left the city.

As they headed to Tiangongfang, Lü Chunqiu and his son rode on tall horses, escorting the Shi family members to Caishikou.

The dozen or so babies in the Shi family have been secretly executed.

Even though it's a capital offense, the imperial court still needs to be mindful of the consequences.

The crowd formed five lines, creating a long queue, and headed towards the market.

The people along the way kept throwing rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at them, just like when they were first escorted to the capital.

However, Shi Yi's state of mind had completely changed at this moment.

There was no fear, nor hatred.

All that remains is the relief of being finally free.

The prolonged torment had already brought Shi Yi to the brink of mental collapse.

Now, death is the greatest blessing!

After the parade, everyone was escorted to the execution ground.

The area had long been cleared out by government troops, and thousands of members of the Shi family were kneeling on the ground in dense rows.

Some people were sobbing, while others were screaming wildly.

But many more people are like walking corpses, their eyes empty and lifeless.

Lü Chunqiu and his son sat on the execution platform, with a water clock beside them keeping time.

Outside the cleared area, a large crowd of people gathered, and more people kept pouring in to watch the spectacle.

Looking at the death row inmates before him, Lü Si's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He then turned to Lü Chunqiu and said, "Father, I'll personally go and chop off that scoundrel Shi Yi's head!"

"Behave yourself, you old man!"

Lü Chunqiu glared at Lü Si, "We're here to supervise the execution, not for you to do it yourself!"

"Anyway, it's all the same whether someone can cut off their head or not," Lu Si muttered in dissatisfaction.

He just wanted to chop off Shi Yi's head to vent his anger, so what?

"Shut up!"

Lu Chunqiu glared at him with a dark expression.

Lu Si curled his lip in displeasure and turned to look at the axemen standing beside him.

These executioners were all shirtless, with red cloth tied around their waists.

Everyone looked fierce and menacing.

As he watched, Lü Si suddenly noticed the knives in the hands of the axemen and immediately turned to look at Lü Chunqiu, who was sitting upright: "Father, something's wrong with their knives! Why are some of them rusty?"

"nonsense!"

Lü Chunqiu sneered, "This is a blunt knife that I specially ordered to be prepared!"

A blunt... blunt knife?

Lu Si was taken aback, but quickly realized what was happening and immediately gave his father a thumbs up, saying, "Old ginger is spicier!"

He didn't want the Shi family members to die too quickly!

Hmm, I've learned something new again!

Lu Chunqiu gave him a "learn from me" look and kept quiet.

wait!

Keep waiting!

Finally, the clerk, who had been intently watching the water clock, stepped forward and reported, "Sir, it's noon!"

Lü Chunqiu nodded slightly, slowly stood up, and said, "Bring the prisoner!"

"Bring the criminals..."

As the constables shouted in unison, dozens of members of the Shi family were escorted forward.

The executioner tightened the red cloth around his waist, took a sip of wine from the person next to him, slammed the earthenware bowl to the ground, and stepped forward with his knife in both hands.

Lu Chunqiu picked up the execution warrant from the table and, with a frosty expression, threw it out: "Execute!"

At Lü Chunqiu's command, the axemen swung their knives out fiercely.

Some people decapitated prisoners with a single blow, while others had their knives stuck around the prisoners' necks, pulling and tugging repeatedly before finally pulling the knives out amidst the prisoners' agonizing screams, and then striking down on the necks again.

The first group of people were executed, and immediately a second group was brought forward.

Same operation, same result.

In the repeated pulling and tugging, blood stained the axemen's entire bodies, making those already ferocious axemen seem like demons.

Some death row inmates' necks were mangled and bloody from repeated pulling.

Minced meat was also pulled out.

Under immense suffering, many death row inmates lost control of their bladders.

A strong stench of blood mingled with the smell of feces and urine, creating an extremely disgusting odor.

The smell not only didn't dissipate, but it grew stronger and stronger, penetrating right into people's nasal cavities.

As Lu Si smelled the extremely disgusting odor and looked at the axemen covered in blood and bits of flesh, he felt his stomach churning.

He tried hard to hold back, but the more he tried, the less he could bear it.

Lu Chunqiu turned to look at Lu Si, whose face was full of pain, and snorted, "Didn't you just say you were going to do it yourself? Now you can't?"

Lu Si didn't dare to speak, fearing that if he did, he would blurt it out in public.

After looking around, Lü Si got up and tried to escape.

"stop!"

Lü Chunqiu sternly stopped Lü Si: "You are also an executioner. Leaving now is dereliction of duty! Sit here and watch it carefully!"

Lu Si was extremely distressed and desperately cast pleading glances at his father.

He couldn't hold back any longer!

If I stay here any longer, I'm really going to throw up in front of everyone!

"Useless thing!"

Lu Chunqiu glared at him disdainfully, then picked up the wine flask he had prepared and handed it to him, saying, "Have a couple of sips, it'll make you feel better!"

Lu Si groaned inwardly, quickly took the wine flask, turned his back, and gulped it down into his mouth...