He Shen was woken up by Cao Rui's knocking on the door. He was annoyed and got down to put on his shoes to open the door. He saw the fat Cao Rui standing outside the door, covered in sweat. The scholar's Confucian robe was wet and stuck to his body. He was panting heavily.
From the unconcealable joy on his face and his sweaty face, it could be seen that the news he had just received had surprised him greatly, to the point that he couldn't wait to share it with He Shen.
It was really hard for him to run back with such a fat body.
"What good news do you know that you're in such a hurry to tell me?”
After He Shen saw Cao Rui, the annoyance in his heart lessened slightly as he smiled.
"Brother He, I just heard that the president of this exam, Li Hanhai, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the other two vice presidents, Liu Zhengcheng of the Supreme Court and Xu Yuan of the Taichang Temple, have been found out by the emperor.
" And Brother He, your answer sheet was originally the first place in this exam, but because Li Hanhai and the other corrupt officials deliberately targeted you, you fell out of the roll and didn't even pass the tribute exam. Rumor has it that this time, the Emperor might change your ranking to first place,'Huiyuan'.”
He Shen, who had a calm expression just now, immediately changed his expression when he heard Cao Rui's words.
He pulled Cao Rui's arm anxiously and said,"Brother Cao, are you serious?"
Cao Rui smiled." Of course I'm serious. Would I lie to you about this?"”
He Shen anxiously pulled Cao Rui and walked out."Brother Cao, let's go to the Meridian Gate.”
Cao Rui was pulled out of the inn by He Shen as he panted,"Sigh, Brother He, wait for me. Do you think it's easy for me to run a few streets just to send you a message? Let me drink some water first…"
In Cao Rui's protest, He Shen pulled him away.
Before he transmigrated, He Shen thought that the Meridian Gate, which often appeared in ancient historical dramas, should be somewhere in the Forbidden City.
However, after coming to this world, He Shen realized that the so-called Meridian Gate was Caishikou.
He Shen pulled Cao Rui along and came to the innermost market entrance of Xuande Gate, which was often used to deal with felons in the capital. They found that it was already overcrowded and it was not easy to find a place to stay.
He Shen and the others finally managed to squeeze into a corner with fewer people.
He Shen observed carefully and found that there were many scholars in Confucian robes among the crowd. There were also many commoners from ordinary families who came to watch the fun.
After waiting for about half an hour, the imperial court finally sent someone.
First, there were about 50 people. They were guards wearing short yellow coats and carrying knives. They were also commonly known as the imperial guards. They surrounded the entire high platform where the market was used to deal with the felons.
Following that, another three hundred imperial guards wearing golden scale armor, sky-piercing helmets, and holding sharp spears arrived at Xuandemen Street. They opened up a three-meter-long path from the noisy crowd, enough to accommodate six people walking side by side.
Seeing that the guards with swords and the royal guards had appeared, those who had some knowledge could basically confirm that the emperor would really come later.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
After another quarter of an hour, a long, high-pitched voice unique to eunuchs came from the street.
Then, under the protection of two rows of twenty armed guards, a red carriage that was two meters wide and had five clawed golden dragons carved on its four corners was carried over by eight armed guards who were also wearing short yellow robes and long sabers at their waists.
A dozen court officials followed behind the carriage. Beside the carriage was a white-faced, beardless eunuch who looked young and held a horsetail whisk.
He Shen, who was standing in the distance, felt that this eunuch looked familiar.
Only when they reached the execution platform did the eight guards put down the Emperor's carriage.
The eunuch walked to the front of the carriage and lifted the curtain embroidered with a golden dragon. A young man wearing a golden dragon robe embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon and a green hat walked out.
He Shen immediately recognized the youth. He was the young examiner who had stood behind him and looked at his answer sheet when he had taken the examination in the examination hall. He was wearing a second-grade official uniform.
"At that time, I guessed that he was very likely the current Emperor Qianlong. I didn't dare to confirm it at that time, but now it seems that he is the current Emperor.”He Shen stood in the distance and thought.
"Long live our emperor!"
Seeing Emperor Qianlong walk out of the carriage in his usual clothes, all the commoners on the streets knelt down.
Everyone knelt down, and Cao Rui followed suit.
He Shen, who was born in a modern civilized society, did not agree with the kneeling ceremony of the Qing Dynasty, but he did not want to attract too much attention. Moreover, he did not have any official position now. He only had a small Juren title. He did not have the power to challenge this era alone, so he also knelt.
However, he only knelt down with one leg, and the other leg was half-bent. If one looked carefully, one would see that his other kneeling leg was not touching the ground.
"All of you, rise."
Qianlong clasped his hands behind his back and looked at his people below the stage with an extremely calm expression.
His actions were mature and steady, not at all like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth.
Qianlong looked like he was only 16 or 17 years old. In He Shen's previous world, he was still a high school student. However, in this world, Qianlong had already become the emperor of a country.
Before Qianlong arrived, a long four-legged table had been placed on the high platform used for beheading. Beside the table was a hunchbacked old man wearing an official uniform with egret stripes.
This old man was Gou Luzhou, the sixth-rank magistrate of the capital.
Qianlong walked over to the long table and sat down. The chief eunuch, Wu Shulai, stood behind him on the left, and the magistrate of the capital, Gou Luzhou, stood on his right.
The dozen or so court officials who came with Qianlong could only stand on both sides of the platform.
"I'm guilty."
Qianlong ordered after he sat down.
Following that, Li Hanhai, Liu Zhengcheng, and Xu Yuan, who had just been brought out of the imperial prison, were shackled and escorted onto the stage.
Perhaps it was because they had just been thrown into the imperial prison, the three of them did not even have time to change out of their prison uniforms. They were wearing white internal clothes and were pressed onto the guillotine.
Perhaps it was because they knew that they were hopeless at this point, the three of them no longer asked Qianlong for help. They were like puppets who had lost their souls and were pressed onto the guillotine.
"Slash!"
Qianlong picked up a wooden token with the word " behead " written on it from the token box on the table and threw it to the ground.
The three executioners who had been prepared beforehand each sprayed a mouthful of liquor on the wide blade of the Ghost Head Blade and wiped it clean with a white cloth. Then, they simultaneously chopped at the necks of the three people who were placed on the guillotine.
Gulp! Gulp!
Blood splattered everywhere. The three living human heads were separated from their master's body and rolled a few times on the ground.
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