Chapter eight hundred and forty eight: Ren Li's death
As the words fell, Asu stood up and cupped his hands towards Zhou Xuan.
However, Zhou Xuan did not dare to look back at all, because he clearly felt that after he finished speaking, there were two unkind eyes staring closely at him from behind.
Ah Su walked onto the high platform and stood in front of Ren Li. Then, the officers and soldiers escorting Ren Li took off the black cloth from his head.
However, looking at Ren Li in front of him, Asu frowned.
Because he found that Ren Li didn't seem to be awake. He was so close that he could even hear his slight snoring...
Under such circumstances, he actually fell asleep?!
No, that's not right!
Asu frowned, bent down and took a closer look, and found that Ren Li's state did not look like he was asleep, but more like he was in a coma.
Looking closer, a strong smell of alcohol hit my nose.
So, Asu straightened up, a look of disappointment flashed in his eyes, it turned out that he was drunk...
It would be an advantage for him to die half asleep like this!
However, since the person is still alive and can kill him, there is no big problem.
Zhou Xuan nodded in the direction of the high platform, indicating that he had experienced people and there was no problem. Then Zhou Xuan stood up, asked for the imperial edict, and read it aloud in front of all the people present.
At the same time, Zhang Xi, who was sitting beside him, had a rather complicated expression.
Last time, he and Ren Li collected Zhang Fu's body together. Now, it was still the same scene, except that instead, he and Zhu Yi collected the body for Ren Li.
A strange thought flashed through my mind. I wonder who will come to collect the body for him in the future...
Zhang Min shook his head and put this thought behind him. He looked at Ren Li on the high platform from a distance and said thoughtfully.
"My lord, I heard that you went to the imperial prison in person the day before yesterday and met with Ren Li?"
Jinyiwei's manpower is mixed, and even after several rounds of cleaning, a lot of information cannot be hidden.
What's more, when Zhu Yi went there, although he left in a low-key manner, he did not deliberately hide his presence from others. Therefore, with the ability of the British government, it was not difficult to find out that he had been to the imperial edict.
Of course, since Zhu Yi dared to let people know, he naturally prepared his words early.
"Well, after Ren Li's judgment came down, Our Lady called me and Jiao Consort into the palace. She was very sorry for Ren Li's current fate. In her words, she valued Ren Li's past achievements. Therefore, she
The old man specifically asked me to go to the imperial prison to see what Ren Li's last wishes were and try to fulfill them."
This explanation is not perfect, but it is reasonable, and more importantly, Zhu Yi buried a hidden link in it.
As expected, after hearing this explanation, Zhang Mi frowned at first, then seemed to think of something again, his expression suddenly changed, and he asked.
"You just said that Our Lady was very sorry for the death of Ren Li?"
Zhu Yi nodded and pretended to be surprised.
"Yes, what's the problem?"
Of course there is a problem!
Zhang Xi's face darkened, and he thought about many things at once.
You must know that Ren Li is a foreign minister, and the Holy Mother is in the palace and has little contact with Ren Li. Even if she knows that he is the pillar of the nobles in the court, it is not possible to feel sorry for him.
When Zhang Fu died, the Holy Mother showed no sign...
Especially now that Ren Li has no use value. At this time, the Holy Mother is still showing favor to him, which can only show that the relationship between them is profound.
Therefore, Zhang Min immediately recalled all the past events. If he remembered correctly, when Ren Li was first re-employed, it was precisely the time when the British government had a rift due to Huichang Bo's incident.
He didn't realize it at the time, but now that he thinks about it, many things have been foreshadowed.
For example, Ren Li obviously had no foundation in the capital, so why did he dare to make small moves behind the scenes while relying on the British government?
For another example, many times when discussing matters, Jiao Jing always seemed to help Ren Li intentionally or unintentionally...
He usually didn't think much about these things, but now that he recalled them, he felt that there were doubts everywhere.
Originally, he felt guilty for joining forces to trap Ren Li, but now it seems that Ren Li had no good intentions from the beginning.
On the one hand, he deceived himself into trusting him and supporting him to take charge of the military government. On the other hand, he secretly colluded with the Queen Mother Sun to seize the power of the British government.
To put it bluntly, what he and Zhang Fu thought was that Ren Li, who had no connections in Beijing and was easy to manipulate and could only rely on the British government, had actually found a big tree a long time ago.
damn it!
Why hadn't he noticed earlier that Ren Li was such a two-faced person?
Looking up at the execution platform not far away, Asu had already drawn out his long knife. The wind and clouds were moving, and raindrops began to fall faintly, hitting the cold blade of the long knife, making it shine brightly.
The trace of melancholy that Zhang Min originally had in his heart disappeared at this moment, and he sneered.
"Our Lady is truly merciful."
"However, as far as I know, when the Duke went to prison, he didn't take the Holy Mother's edict, right?"
Of course, Zhang Shi is not that easy to fool.
After experiencing a series of court disturbances such as Zhang Fu's death, he is no longer the former Mr. Zhang who was eager for quick success and could be easily deceived.
Zhu Yi's expression was as calm as ever and she asked.
"If my nephew remembers correctly, before the third master was executed, the second master also went to the imperial prison to meet the third master. Wasn't there also no imperial edict?"
"Now that Ren Li's treatment has ended, and the emperor has not issued an explicit decree not to allow visits, it is not difficult to see him even in prison."
Zhang Min turned around and looked at Zhu Yi steadily. After a long while, his expression was a little complicated and he said.
"It seems that every government and family has underestimated the Duke of Guo. I'm afraid that the foundation of the Duke of Cheng's Palace is far more than what the Duke of Guo has shown before."
Zhu Yi smiled, but did not deny it, just said lightly.
"I will naturally take out what is useful, but why take out what is not needed?"
Zhang Min was silent and sighed softly.
Of course he understood what Zhu Yi meant. Several generations of aristocratic families, especially top-level public houses such as the British Duke's Palace and the Chengguo Duke's Palace, were naturally more than just so-called rare treasures or superficial connections.
The various friendships, secrets, and even past secrets hidden underneath, the random favors given, and the various relationships involved are simply countless.
Naturally, the British government also has these secrets, but some of them are used less often than before. In the case of King Zhennan, in order to save Chen Mao, and in the case of the mission to meet Zhang Fu, the British government's trump cards were constantly exposed.
, Jin Yiwei’s foundation has been almost exhausted.
But obviously, the background of Chengguo Duke’s Mansion is still there...
As for Zhu Yi's meaning, Zhang Min also understood that for the former Duke Chengguo, restoration was the most important matter, and although these backgrounds were available, they were of no use to the restoration.
No matter how many friendships and favors there are, they can only be used for small things and are of no use for such a big event as restoring the title. Therefore, Zhu Yi naturally hid himself.
As for now, the title has been restored, and the Duke of Chengguo is qualified to once again enter the court battle, then these profound accumulations should naturally take effect.
Zhang Xi shook his head gently, looked thoughtfully into the distance, and said.
"It seems that this time, Nanzhen Fusi will have more innocent souls!"
In addition to the seventeen guard stations, the Jinyi Guards also has the North and South Town Fusi. The North Town Fusi is well-known and specializes in edicts. But for the Jinyiwei internal staff, the Nanzhen Fusi, who is responsible for military discipline and punishment, is the real person.
Hell.
Zhang Min didn't believe that he could find out such a thing, and that the commander of the Jin Yiwei would not notice it at all.
Hearing this, Zhu Yi's expression changed slightly, but in the end, he just spoke.
"It is natural to accept favors from others and do things for others. In this world, it is the most difficult to repay a debt of gratitude, and it is common to pay with one's life."
"What's more, Cheng Guo Gongfu never treats people who have made meritorious deeds badly. How can it not be worthwhile if one person's life is exchanged for a family to live a peaceful life?"
"Yes, one person can exchange a family for a stable life, which is something that many people can't ask for."
Zhang Xi nodded, his tone very calm.
"However, once the chess piece is used, it will have some effect. I just don't know if the chess piece from the Duke of Guo is worth the cost?"
"value!"
This time, Zhu Yi did not hesitate, looked at Zhang Shi and smiled.
"It's worth letting the second master put down his heart and give the Ren family a way out."
Seeing this, Zhang Xi narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Zhu Yi. After a moment, he turned away again, stood with his hands behind his back, looked at Ren Li who was about to be executed, and said calmly.
"The Duke said it's worth it, so it's worth it!"
Seeing this situation, Zhu Yi's smile became even stronger, she nodded slightly and said.
"Thank you, Master!"
The execution ground was filled with solemn killings, Zhou Xuan's loud voice echoed around, Ah Su held a long knife in his hand and his eyes were stern, but for Zhu Yi and Zhu Yi who were standing under the shed, the atmosphere became a little relaxed.
Watching the clepsydra next to him falling bit by bit, Zhang Xi turned to Zhu Yi and asked.
"Speaking of which, I am a little curious. What is Ren Li's wish for if he is willing to give something that makes the Duke think it is worthwhile?"
Faced with this question, Zhu Yi shook his head, but did not answer directly, only said:
"Second Master will know soon..."
At this moment, dark clouds rolled in the sky, and large raindrops began to fall. A small number of the dense crowd of people who had been watching had begun to walk back.
It is certainly a rare thing for a big shot to be beheaded, but it is obviously far less important than his undried clothes.
As Zhou Xuan finished reading the imperial edict, the scale of the clepsydra finally reached three o'clock at noon.
Sitting behind the desk under the simple shed, Zhou Xuan looked solemn, pulled out a blood-red signature from the lottery tube in front of him, and threw it heavily to the ground, while a solemn voice sounded at the same time.
"At three quarters of noon, the execution will be carried out according to the imperial decree!"
The fire sign touched the ground and the person's head fell. The token fell to the ground and made a small but dull sound. At this time, the raindrops in the sky also became more rapid.
Under the execution platform, most of the people who had been watching had left, but there were still a large number of people under the eaves on both sides of Caishi Street, curiously looking at the execution platform in the distance.
As the signing order came to the ground, Asu held the knife in both hands and raised it high with an indifferent expression.
Although the long knife is old, it can't conceal the bloody and murderous atmosphere. Raindrops fall on the blade, making the long knife spotless. The cold light of the blade shines, reflecting Renli's old face.
cut!
Almost in an instant, the long knife fell quickly.
A flash of cold light flashed, and warm, bright red blood spurted out, splashing more than ten feet high.
A line of blood, like a scar, splashed from the corner of Asu's mouth to the corner of his eyes, making his face look extremely ferocious and dyeing Asu's slightly worn armor red.
At the same time, an old head, with wide eyes, rolled down on the execution platform...
Die with your eyes open!
It seemed that at the moment of death, he was wondering why he suddenly lost his body.
At the same time, Ren Li's body twitched slightly as he was pressed on the guillotine, and soon returned to calmness.
The heavy rain poured down, mixing the gushing blood into bloody water, flowing freely on the execution platform.
Ah Su glanced at Ren Li, whose body and head were separated, and was about to step off the execution platform, but when he glanced towards the bottom of the platform, he stood still.
Under the pouring rain, Asu stood on the execution platform, letting the heavy rain wet his body and face. He slowly put away the long knife, but did not put it into the sheath. Instead, the long knife in his hand was inserted straight into the executioner's body.
On the stage, rainwater flowed over the long knife, washing away the blood that had just been stained, but it could not wash away the murderous aura that hit the face.
The execution has been completed, but Asu has no intention of stepping down. Instead, he stands with his hands folded and leaning on the knife, like a god of murder, looking at the audience expressionlessly.
At this moment, pouring rain fell on the entire vegetable street, and the sky was dull. Thick dark clouds lowered the sky, seeming to press on everyone's heart as if they were within reach.
The onlookers had already gone to shelter from the rain, and the sound of rain covered up all the noise.
In front of the quiet street, a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old came slowly, step by step, holding a thick hemp rope with a simple two-wheeled cart tied to both ends of the rope.
Big raindrops fell rapidly from the sky and hit the young man's pale face. He was wearing a green Confucian shirt and a white plain clothes. He tied up his hair with a green wood hairpin, wore a mourning on his forehead, and frowned.
He was already soaked, but his steps were still slow and firm.
Even though the heavy rain blurred the vision, everyone who saw the young man nearby could still feel the difficulty of every step he took. It seemed that the young man was enduring great pain with every step he took.
If it hadn't been raining heavily at this moment, they would have definitely seen the beads of sweat rolling down the young man's forehead. The sweat mixed with the rain, dripped from his face, fell to the ground, and blended into the heavy rain, forming the young man's perseverance.
.
The heavy rain renders the sky and the earth into a gray ink painting, quiet and beautiful.
Imperial officials and distinguished ministers in scarlet robes sat under the shed, and the scattered officers and soldiers stood solemnly, forming the blurred background of this ink painting.
In the center of the scroll, there is blood and water flowing across the execution platform. The old man's body is still lying on the guillotine, but his head with wide eyes has rolled to the ground.
The general, whose armor was stained red by blood, stood leaning on his sword with a murderous look, standing like a sculpture in the pouring rain.
The pale young man pulling the cart slowly came from the corner of the painting, growing from small to large, and broke into this gray and red world.
Step by step, the young man slowly stood in front of the execution platform, looking up at the murderous general. His sad and firm voice sounded clearly in the heavy rain.
"The eldest grandson of the Ren family, Ren Hong, comes to be my grandfather..."