On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Wang Youde was struck by a bolt of thunder from the sky!

My whole body was shaking!

The blood drained from his face in an instant, leaving only dead despair and unbelievable humiliation!

He suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes widening like bells, filled with extreme fear and shame. His voice became sharp and distorted with excitement: "No! No! I can't, Master Xiao! A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated! I was once an official appointed by the imperial court, a seventh-rank county magistrate! I've read the books of the sages! How can... How can I be paraded through the streets like an animal?!"

"This...this is how I...how can my Wang family ancestors...face anyone in the future?! Your Highness...Your Highness can't do this to me! Please! Please try to talk to them again! I'd rather die! I'd rather bang my head against this wall right now! Rather than suffer this humiliation!"

He was in tears and his forehead was bleeding from the kowtow he had just kowtowed, mixed with dust, making him look even more miserable.

He struggled to rush over and hug Xiao Hanzhou's legs again, but was held down by the soldiers behind him.

Xiao Hanzhou looked down at him quietly, his eyes as deep as the night sky, without the slightest ripple.

When Wang Youde's wailing and struggling subsided a little, leaving only desperate gasps, he slowly spoke. His voice remained calm, yet it carried a cold and cruel clarity that came from a person who saw through the world:

"Wang Youde, don't you understand? Your future? Your Wang family's ancestors? Oh, they all vanished into thin air the moment you embezzled the first ounce of disaster relief silver, the moment you forced Widow Zheng and her son to death over three acres of paddy field."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze like two ice-hardened swords, piercing straight into Wang Youde's terrified and distracted eyes:

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't want your life alone. He wants the resentment of the millions of people in Hu County that has been pent up for over a decade! It's the blood debt you owe us through exploitation and plunder! Parading you through the streets isn't a humiliation for you, but an outlet for those you've trampled upon! Let them see with their own eyes how the officials who once rode over their heads, lording it over them and treating them like dirt, have become a fallen dog, hated by everyone and worse than a dog! Let them personally unload the accumulated hatred, humiliation, blood, and tears on you! Spit it in your face!"

Xiao Hanzhou's voice carried a subtle chill, like the wind in December:

"Only in this way can the people vent the resentment they've held in their hearts for over a decade! Only in this way will they believe that Your Highness is a true ruler who truly serves the people! Only then will they wholeheartedly and willingly follow Your Highness to build the new Hu County that you never gave them hope for!"

"Do you understand? Your life, your dignity, in the face of His Royal Highness's grand agenda, in the face of the resentment of the millions of people in Hu County, are worthless!"

Wang Youde listened blankly, like a clay sculpture or wooden carving, and even forgot to tremble.

Xiao Hanzhou's words were like an ice-cold scalpel, completely dissecting his last bit of fantasy, his last bit of luck, and his last bit of dignity as a "human being", revealing the bloody and filthy truth.

He is not a human being, he is just a tool!

A sacrifice used to win over people's hearts and ignite public anger!

What imperial official?

What seventh-rank county magistrate?

What sage book?

In front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's ability to control the world and turn the tide, he is no better than a dog wagging its tail and begging for mercy!

The huge despair was like a Siberian cold wave, freezing him from the inside out in an instant!

The fear, humiliation, unwillingness, and anger in his eyes... eventually turned into a dead silence and complete numbness.

He stopped crying, struggling, and kowtowing. He just collapsed on the cold and dirty ground like a puddle of mud with all his bones and soul sucked out.

He raised his head, his face stained with tears, snot, dust, and blood on his forehead. He looked at Xiao Hanzhou with empty eyes, as if he was looking at a stranger. His voice was hoarse and weak, with a kind of resigned, zombie-like numbness:

"I... understand... understand... hehe... hehe..." He let out a mournful, hollow laugh like an owl crying blood at night. The laughter echoed in the dark woodshed, making people's hair stand on end.

"Good... good, Your Highness the Crown Prince... good at winning people's hearts... I, Wang Youde, accept it... accept my fate... I'll be paraded through the streets, but I only ask Your Highness the Crown Prince to consider my confession of guilt and willingness to serve as firewood, and to leave my Wang family a chance to live, even if it means being a slave..."

The last few words were almost inaudible, filled with begging that was humble to the point of dust.

Xiao Hanzhou looked at him, who had completely collapsed and looked like a walking corpse. He did not feel much pleasure in his heart, but instead felt an indescribable complex emotion.

He was silent for a moment, and finally said calmly, his voice without emotion or emotion: "If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place. Get ready, the time is almost here."

After saying this, he didn't look at Wang Youde again, as if looking at him any more would pollute his eyes. He turned and signaled to the soldiers behind him: "Change him into clean prisoner clothes, hang a badge on his chest, and prepare the prison van."

Two soldiers walked forward with expressionless faces and roughly lifted up the limp Wang Youde like dragging a fat pig to be slaughtered.

Wang Youde did not resist at all. Like a puppet that had lost all consciousness, he allowed the soldiers to manipulate him. He stared at the low, cobweb-covered roof of the woodshed with empty eyes, as if his soul had already fallen into the endless hell.

......

The next morning, the sky was slightly bright and the mist had not yet completely dissipated.

Hu County, a small town that has experienced many vicissitudes and scars, woke up earlier than any other morning.

An irrepressible, frenzied restlessness, like magma surging from the earth, permeated and seethed through the dilapidated streets and alleys. The air seemed to be filled with the smell of sulfur.

The heavy vermilion-lacquered door of the county government office slowly opened with a dull creaking sound under the gazes of countless people, some expectant, some hateful, and some curious.

A prison car made of thick logs, like a cage for wild animals, slowly drove out under the strict escort of dozens of Jinwu Guards, like a torture device coming out of hell!

The wheels rolled over the bumpy cobblestone road, making a harsh and monotonous sound of "clang! clang!", like the ringing of a death knell, announcing the beginning of the trial!

In the wooden cage in the middle of the prison van, Wang Youde was like an animal waiting to be slaughtered, tied tightly to an upright wooden stake as thick as a bowl with a thick hemp rope!

The rope cut deep into his fat flesh.

He was forced to straighten his body, which had long been hollowed out by alcohol and sex. He could not curl up or hide, and his most embarrassing posture was exposed in broad daylight!

He was wearing a specially prepared, coarse ochre prison uniform that had been washed to a pale color but was still eye-catching!

The fabric was rough, rubbing against his pampered skin, causing waves of pain and humiliation.

There was a huge wooden sign painted with cheap white paint hanging on his chest!

Written on it in thick ink, two shockingly large words were written - corrupt official!

There was another line of smaller characters below, like a verdict: "Exploiting the people is a heinous crime!"

Half of his hair was roughly shaved off, revealing his pale scalp, like a tortured prisoner.

His face was deliberately left unwashed, still showing traces of yesterday's dirt, tears and dried blood. The dark red scab on his forehead looked like a brand of shame in the morning light.

The whole person looked miserable and gave off a disgusting smell of decay, like a mangy dog ​​fished out of a rotten mire!

The soldiers of the Jinwu Guard escorting the carriage were all wearing dark and bright armor, the armor plates reflecting a cold light in the morning light. They had narrow-bladed swords hanging from their waists and powerful crossbows on their backs. Their eyes were as sharp as hawks, and their steps were in perfect unison, like a moving steel wall!

A solemn and cold atmosphere filled the air, making the air stagnant!

The leading officer was riding on a tall black horse. He was none other than Zhao Tieying, a fierce general under Mao Mengji who had made great contributions in the defense of Qinghe!

His face was as cold as iron and his eyes were as sharp as lightning as he scanned the crowds that were gathering like a tide on both sides of the street.

"Clang! Clang!"

The heavy wooden wheels rolled over the cobblestone road, and the monotonous and harsh sound was like the drumbeat of death, beating on everyone's heart.

At first, the people on both sides of the street just watched from afar in silence.

Like a herd of animals hibernating in winter, they are alert and numb.

But when the prison van approached, when the face that they once hated so much, that had appeared in their nightmares countless times, but now looked as miserable as a ghost came clearly into their eyes, when the word "corrupt official" burned into their pupils like a red-hot iron, the crowd began to riot!

The dead ice surface began to crack!