Chapter 82 Death List
After Sun Shaozong had finished counseling Xue Pan, when he came out of Rongguo Mansion, it was already six o'clock in the afternoon.
After getting on the carriage, he leaned on the pillow and squinted his eyes to sober up. He suddenly remembered that there were a few books on "Liu Bei" in his sleeve, so he took them out and looked through them. However, he could not find the illustrated book "Strange Cases" no matter what.
Could it be that it fell into Xue Pan's hands?
Seeing that he hadn't walked far, Sun Shaozong originally wanted to turn back, but then he thought, he had just pretended to be a life mentor for a long time, and now he was asking for "Liu Bei" again...
This affects the image too much, doesn’t it?!
So he gave up the idea and decided that even if Xue Pan came to him later, he would never admit it.
However, without this most classic book, the others seemed a bit boring - after all, Sun Shaozong had been influenced by the Internet age, and ordinary and shoddy things were not to his liking.
So he simply threw the storybook into a corner and closed his eyes to rest.
No conversation along the way.
After about half an hour, seeing that they were not far from the Sun Mansion, the driver chose a corner away from people, carefully pulled the reins, and turned back to report: "Second Master, we are almost at our mansion, look..."
Sun Shaozong immediately lifted the curtain and got off the carriage. Seeing that there was no one around, he trotted a few steps, reached out his hand to grab the outer wall of the Sun Mansion, and easily climbed in.
The driver waited until he climbed over the wall, then calmly used a hook to lift the curtain, exposing the empty carriage to the public, and then drove the carriage towards the gate of Sun's mansion.
When we got closer, we saw six parasols standing on either side of the two stone lions. There were about forty or fifty people gathered under the parasols, including men, women, young and old, rich and poor. When they saw the carriage approaching, they immediately swarmed around it.
"It's unfair, sir! It's unfair!"
"Master, my family has only one son for six generations!"
"Master, please have mercy on me. My husband didn't mean to kill anyone!"
"If my grandson dies, I won't live either!"
"Daddy, I want daddy, I want daddy!"
Men were shouting, women were yelling, the old were crying, the young were making a fuss, it was as if a stage had been set up in the street to perform a havoc in heaven!
The driver was not in a panic. He slightly turned his body to make way for the empty carriage behind him, and shouted loudly: "Everyone, everyone, please make way! There is no one in our carriage, so it will be useless even if you stop us!"
Even while shouting like this, it took him a full quarter of an hour before he finally returned home safely.
Not to mention how the driver unloaded the horse and fed the feed.
However, after Sun Shaozong climbed over the wall and entered, he went to the lotus pond in the front yard to wash his hands as if he was familiar with the place. After washing, he was about to tear two lotus leaves to use as paper when someone behind him handed him a handkerchief.
Sun Shaozong looked back and saw that it was Zhao Zhongji, the second housekeeper of the mansion. He wiped his hands and asked casually, "How was it today? How many people fainted again?"
"It was an old lady in her 70s who fainted. She wasn't from the heat, she was crying so hard that she couldn't catch her breath. Doctor Liu gave her two injections and she woke up right away."
Zhao Zhongji couldn't help but say, "If you ask me, it's because of your kindness that you provided us with parasols and plenty of sour plum soup. How could they have enjoyed such a lowly life? If it were up to me, I would have chased them away with sticks long ago!"
"Bullshit benevolence!"
Sun Shaozong threw the handkerchief back to him and said unhappily, "This is the first time I'm presiding over the autumn execution report. How many eyes are watching me? If a few people really die in confusion, it will be my turn to go to the streets to protest my injustice!"
All feudal dynasties liked to follow the will of heaven and the will of the people, and this is where the term "Autumn Execution" comes from.
The general meaning is: Spring and summer are the seasons for all things to grow, and mass killing is against the will of heaven. Therefore, if a crime is committed in spring and summer, except for those who are extremely vicious and cannot be killed immediately to appease the public anger, the execution will generally be left until autumn.
The Great Zhou Dynasty went a step further. Taking into account the "Mid-Autumn Reunion" and the "Double Ninth Festival", the date of the "Autumn Execution" was deliberately changed to the tenth day of September every year.
During the period from the Beginning of Autumn to the Double Ninth Festival, provincial governments would draw up a list of people to be executed in advance and submit it to the Ministry of Justice for approval, so that the killing could begin on the tenth day of September.
In previous years, the list of autumn executions in Shuntian Prefecture was reported by the governor, but Liu Chongshan was so angry about Sun Shaozong's usurpation of power that he fell ill and has not been able to report to the government office for more than half a month.
Therefore, the matter fell on Sun Shaozong.
Those people outside were none other than the family members of the prisoners who were sentenced to death this year, and they were crying and shouting in front of the Sun residence, simply wanting Sun Shaozong to remove their relatives from the "death list".
Although according to the imperial court's decree, death row prisoners who were not on the "autumn execution" list would still be executed at the end of the year if they could not prove their innocence within three months.
But three months is enough time for those who are rich and powerful to accomplish something.
As for the poor ones, although they have no money to pawn, isn't there a saying these days called "amnesty for the whole world"?
Maybe if I can hold out for these three months, I won’t have to die!
That's why so many people gathered outside the Sun Mansion.
This is also another reason why Sun Shaozong has been going to Rongguo Mansion to escape the summer heat recently.
Sun Shaozong threw the handkerchief to Zhao Zhongji and prepared to return to his yard. After taking a few steps, he saw Zhao Zhongji following closely behind him, so he asked, "Why, is there anything else?"
"My Lord, at noon, Master Feng from Fengzui Lane sent a wedding invitation, inviting you and your Lord to his house on the eighth day of next month for a wedding banquet."
Feng Xin is getting married?
Sun Shaozong paused and asked in confusion, "Isn't he already married? Could it be that his father is going to remarry?"
"Second Master is really good at joking."
Zhao Zhongji didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "The second master of the Feng family has been paralyzed for more than half a year. How can he remarry? The first wife of the Feng family has no children, and the family is about to be extinct, so they asked Master Feng to take over the throne. This time, the first wife is helping him find a wife."
Is there such a good thing?!
Sun Shaozong hurriedly asked, "Then is the wife we marry this time also considered a proper young mistress?"
"of course! "
Tsk~
That's really cheap!
You have to know that these days, if you want to marry a concubine, you can only find one from the common people. Only by marrying a wife can you find an opportunity to find a helper in the officialdom. It seems that from now on, Lao Feng can be considered a man with both wings flying.
"Do you know that it is the family he married into?"
"I heard that she is the daughter of Kong Limu of the Taichang Temple, and she is also a well-known talented woman." Zhao Zhongji smiled and joked: "Looking at the intention of the eldest branch of the Feng family, they are probably taking the opportunity to change the family tradition."
Although Li Mu was only a ninth-rank official, he was an official of the Taichang Temple after all. He could be considered a good match for Feng Xin, who was now a sixth-rank captain in the patrol camp.
So Sun Shaozong ordered again: "Then help me draw up a list and see if there are any suitable gifts in our house. If not, I will find a way to buy them from outside."
Only then did Zhao Zhongji accept the order and leave.
Sun Shaozong returned to the courtyard alone. Seeing several maids and old women chatting outside, he scolded them in dissatisfaction: "Why are they all outside? Who will serve my aunt?"
Qiulian, the leading maid, bowed and explained: "It was my aunt who said she wanted to be quiet for a while, so..."
Hearing that Ruan Rong wanted to be quiet for a while, Sun Shaozong had no intention of listening to what she said next and walked straight into the inner room. He saw Ruan Rong sitting in front of the desk, biting the pen and staring blankly, with a letter covered in ink in front of her.
Sun Shaozong came closer quietly, lowered his head and looked worried for a few times, then he understood immediately, put his arm around Ruan Rong's shoulders, and said softly, "Why, are you missing home?"
Ruan Rong shook her head and said, "In another month it will be my mother's death anniversary, but I..."
No wonder.
"Then I will arrange for someone to go to Qianxiang Country tomorrow." Sun Shaozong said, and seeing Ruan Rong shaking her head again, he hurriedly said, "It's not just for you, there is also a letter from Madam Niu to take home."
Then, he said softly, "When I get a higher position, I will ask for leave to accompany you back home in glory, how about that?"
