July had just passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was already August, right at the time of Wuyang.
As the old saying goes, autumn is a season full of events. Every year at this time, every industry becomes a chaotic mess, with everyone too busy to extricate themselves.
The farmers are busy with the autumn harvest, the merchants are busy trying to make more transactions before the end of the year, and even the rebel groups are busy training their troops, waiting for the right moment to move, to prepare for the winter rations and next year’s expenses.
In the Jin Sect area, during the August fishing season, the fish gathering for the winter crowd the waters, while the fishermen who rely on waterways for sustenance are busy with their catch.
Autumn, everyone is so busy that their feet barely touch the ground, even the usually quiet mortuary business cannot avoid getting busy.
The autumn execution ground, in front of the Vegetable Market.
Familiar red banners, familiar placards, and those people holding steamed buns, watching intently, persistently dipping them in free sauce.
Xu Qing couldn’t understand, guessing that maybe blood-soaked steamed buns really were delicious, otherwise, why would there be returning customers?
This year, on the execution platform, apart from County Magistrate Chen and Judge Li, there were two more officials.
Xu Qing looked at Wu Zhiyuan and Wu Wencai’s unsmiling faces as if he were watching marionettes on the stage, laughing and mocking but not at their own discretion.
Tsk, handling corpses is still better, sitting on a coffin is just like ’sitting in office’, which corpse would dare argue with him?
On stage, Chen Guangrui threw one red-topped bamboo stick after another, while Judge Li’s brush never stopped moving, as if drawing big red crosses.
When it came time for Yang Hong, Yuan Hu, Zhou Heng, and others to be brought to the execution ground, the two finally paused, temporarily handing over the task of overseeing the execution to the Wu brothers.
Wu Zhiyuan’s face was hard and cold, his red-topped bamboo stick showed no mercy, while Wu Wencai’s judge’s brush swiftly marked down, and as their fine heads rolled to the ground, Judge Li glanced at the roster and nodded.
Below the execution platform, Xu Qing was beyond delighted.
After all, he was the one handling the corpses and conducting funerals. If he wasn’t happy, who would be?
The officials had to maintain a stern face in such a solemn setting, managing their expressions, but as the owner of a mortuary store, he didn’t have to maintain any image. He could afford to take it easy!
Thus, among the crowd of onlooking citizens watching the execution, there was one person whose joy was almost written on his face.
The people were already used to it; as long as it wasn’t their own head being chopped off, they let others enjoy as they pleased!
Meanwhile, as Xu Qing was engrossed in watching the heads roll, he suddenly felt someone reaching out and tugging at him.
Seeing that they couldn’t pull him away, the person pushed aside those nearby and forcefully squeezed to the front of the viewing platform.
He spotted someone holding a sign, squeezing onto the execution ground, shouting loudly: "Stay the execution!"
Typically, when Xu Qing heard or saw these words in storytellers’ novels, he felt something, but now, his instinctive reaction was—
Who is this person? Is the execution ground yours to call the shots on whether to stay or not?
Yet, unexpectedly, maybe the phrase inherently carried some property of absolute control, because the row of five or six executioners lifting their blades truly paused!
There were soldiers maintaining order who drew their swords to stop him, but the man displayed his waist plaque, speaking loftily: "I am from the Mirror Administration. The remaining convicts, those who practice martial arts, will be transferred to our agency for execution instead..."
This person was clearly waiting for a long time, deliberately stepping in after the execution orders for several convicts had been fulfilled, intercepting the remaining prisoners due for execution.
Chen Guangrui and Judge Li exchanged whispers, the latter having seemingly been notified by the Mirror Administration beforehand, and before Chen Guangrui could ask further, Judge Li ordered that the remaining convicts be divided into two batches—those who were not martial artists to remain and be executed at the ground, while those shackled in heavy chains, the martial artists, were escorted off the grounds.
Xu Qing furrowed his brow at the scene, questioning what the Mirror Administration wanted with these martial artists, and why they specifically selected death row inmates...
Recalling Liao Jinzhong’s ever-smiling face in government offices during trials, Xu Qing couldn’t shake the feeling of some hidden agenda at play here.
But regardless of any agenda, the disruption of his business was something Xu Qing silently remember and noted.
A month later, as the autumn executions came to a close, Xu Qing counted this year’s number of executed prisoners and found there were about a hundred fewer than in previous years.
One must know that Linjiang County is renowned in Jin Sect as a major trading port, with merchants coming and going like ants. Human resources were the least of its worries. Coupled with the Yaozhou refugees accommodated at the New Yao Quarter, the county government office had expanded its jails twice in the past year.
With such gathering of talents at the port, naturally, there wouldn’t be a shortage of shady individuals. In theory, his returns this year shouldn’t have decreased, but increased...
"Chief Zhao, do you know how many convicts were transferred to the Mirror Administration?" Taking the chance while handling bodies, Xu Qing casually asked.
"No other reason, I just feel this year the number of corpses is significantly fewer than previous years, and I don’t know whether it’s because our port is truly more stable than before or due to some other reason..."
Zhao Zhonghe grumbled good-naturedly: "Stable my ass! Since I became a constable, I haven’t been this exhausted over the past two years!"
"As for the number of bodies... do you know how many convicts were sent to the Mirror Administration?"
Zhao Zhonghe held out two fingers: "No less than two hundred."
Hearing this, Xu Qing raised an eyebrow: "What does the Mirror Administration want with these convicts?"
"Who knows." Zhao Zhonghe supported his constable’s blade, chuckling: "It’s probably not a bad thing, and it saves the brothers in the government office the hassle of handling these bodies..."
While the two were talking, a copper coin rolled from who-knows-where, coincidentally stopping right in front of Zhao Zhonghe, spinning lightly a few times before settling on the ground.