It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

On December 24, the 13th year of the Jianguang reign, thanks to the concerted efforts of Lü Dudu and Chang Daren, the highest officials in Heding Prefecture, a case of illegal gold mining was successfully uncovered. All the criminals were executed, and the body of the ringleader was brought back to Kyoto by an imperial envoy for a report.

At noon on the 25th, the main road leading to the south gate of the city was filled with people rushing to watch. Today was the day the imperial envoy returned to Kyoto, a rare event that hadn't happened in Heding Prefecture for decades. No matter how busy you were, you had to come out to see it.

"Here it comes, here it comes." Hearing the sound of a carriage approaching in the distance, someone tugged at the sleeve of the person next to him and whispered.

Leading the way were four guards, riding tall horses in a serious manner, followed closely by the imperial envoy's carriage, followed by two guards, and behind them were two wooden prison carts surrounded and protected by eight guards.

There was a wooden stake standing upright in the prison van, with a stiff corpse tied tightly to each stake. The skin was dark blue, and the exposed wounds were black and white.

On the wooden bars of the prison van, there were left ears strung together with thin ropes. A rough count showed that there were no less than fifteen of them.

When the imperial convoy was completely out of sight, the crowd slowly dispersed. Someone whispered, "Those two prisoners don't look like they were recently dead."

Four or five others, with unusual postures, left the crowd. They held the bodies of those around them with one hand, tightly covering their mouths with the other, twisting and turning into deserted alleys before relaxing.

"Mom," "Grandma," ... worried voices rang out softly.

A middle-aged woman whose mouth was no longer covered heard the sound and suddenly broke free from her shackles, and began to cry bitterly without suppressing her emotions.

The first body on the prison van was her child. Even though it was far away and blurry, she could still recognize the shape.

When I sent him to the Governor's Mansion to take up duty at the beginning of last month, I clearly said that he would come back this month to rest. How could he die so quietly and be charged with the crime of kidnapping innocent people and illegally mining gold?

How could he have the courage to commit such a heinous crime of confiscating property and exterminating the entire clan without leaving even a trace of the body?

Another older woman was crying so hard that she was out of breath, and the people standing silently around her were even more suppressed and silent.

After a long moment, a young man clenched his fists and whispered, "I can't believe my brother would do such a thing. Someone must have wronged him. I have to seek justice for him."

The middle-aged woman grabbed his hand and said in a hoarse voice, still tinged with tears, "Don't be impulsive. Mother can't live without you again."

……

In the carriage leaving the south gate of Heding Prefecture, Imperial Envoy Cao had just removed the cloth that was blocking Song Wu's mouth.

Before Song Wu could take a deep breath and pretend to curse, Cao Qi sneered, "If you dare to shout and talk nonsense, keep your mouth shut until you return to Kyoto."

Song Wu's anger was immediately blocked. He could only twist his body, which was still bound by the ropes, angrily and whispered, "Untie me quickly."

Cao Qi refused without hesitation: "I will release you once you leave Heding Prefecture."

Song Wu struggled hard for a few times, but couldn't break free from the rope. Instead, he made himself look miserable and had to calm down.

After calming down for a while, Song Wu asked, "What are you thinking? You promised leniency at first, but now you're pretending to be the principal offender by bringing a corpse you know couldn't be the culprit. With such perfunctory behavior, where do you think His Majesty and the officials in the court are?"

Cao Qi looked Song Wu over carefully, making Song Wu's hair stand on end. He raised his voice and scolded, "What are you looking at? I'm not a prisoner under your control!"

Cao Qi then said expressionlessly, "How could the Song family raise such a fool like you? No wonder they left you in Kyoto for so many years, with no lack of protection from your family, yet you're still a minor official of the sixth rank."

"What do you mean?" Song Wu felt a little short of breath as he thought about how he had finally snatched this job from his brothers, but ended up returning empty-handed.

"Use your brain to think about whose territory Heding Prefecture belongs to. If you dare to take it seriously, even General Song can't save your life." Cao Qi sneered again.