Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The word "斩" (zhǎn, behead) floated out lightly, sending tremors through the hearts of everyone present!

Fang Zheng Yi also felt it was a bit much. What was going on? How could he just kill someone like that? Just because they weren't 'loving the people like their own children'? That's too terrifying!

Even the seasoned and prudent Grand Secretaries were shocked.

Yan Guoan might have been excessive, but at most, he should have been reprimanded and then demoted. Even the most severe punishment shouldn't have been a capital offense!

However, after exchanging glances, none of the Grand Secretaries spoke.

His Majesty was clearly utterly disappointed and enraged with Yan Guoan.

An emperor who rose through the ranks on horseback, wading through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, had killed countless people.

But Emperor Jing was benevolent, and after unifying the country, he rarely resorted to killing.

Perhaps his benevolence had lasted too long, and many had forgotten what kind of emperor Jingdi truly was.

Killing a mere Yan Guoan was indeed nothing to His Majesty....

Guo Tianyang waved his hand, and the Imperial Guards who had been prepared long ago immediately stepped forward and seized Yan Guoan's arms.

Yan Guoan felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his mind blank. He hadn't even registered what was happening.

He only realized what was going on when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his knees and knelt on the ground. His face turned deathly pale, and he trembled like a leaf, looking at Emperor Jing in terror, "Why are you arresting me...? Why are you arresting me...? Your Majesty! What... what crime have I committed?"

Emperor Jing looked at him coldly, then silently turned and gazed at the plaque above the main hall.

The Imperial Guards had already twisted his arms behind his back and were dragging him out.

Yan Guoan was terrified out of his wits, shouting, "Your Majesty! You can't just kill a high-ranking official! How can you kill me without a joint trial by the Ministry of Justice? I refuse to accept this! I refuse to accept this!"

Emperor Jing made no move.

Yan Guoan's eyes were bloodshot. Ignoring the sharp pain in his arms, he tried to fight back, roaring, "The law does not apply to high officials! Your Majesty cannot kill me!"

"Killing a high-ranking official without cause will cause widespread discussion and sow discord! Your Majesty, please reconsider!!"

"I... my family has an iron certificate of immunity from death bestowed by the late Emperor!!"

Hearing this, Emperor Jing suddenly moved.

He slowly turned and looked at Yan Guoan.

The others breathed a sigh of relief for him. So he had an iron certificate of immunity from death. It seemed he wouldn't die after all.

His Majesty probably knew about it too; it seemed he was deliberately putting on this show.

"Wasn't that iron certificate of immunity from death bestowed upon your father by the late Emperor?"

Hearing Emperor Jing speak, the Imperial Guards dragging Yan Guoan stopped.

Yan Guoan, looking disheveled, knelt down as if he had been granted amnesty, kowtowing repeatedly.

Soon, bloodstains appeared on the ground from his kowtowing.

He explained frantically, as if he were insane, "Yes! Yes! The late Emperor bestowed the iron certificate of immunity from death upon my father!"

Emperor Jing smiled disdainfully, "That was bestowed upon your father. How are you worthy to use it?"

The sharp pain in his arms began to overwhelm him, and Yan Guoan closed his eyes in agony.

How could this be! How could this be! What on earth was happening?

"I..." Yan Guoan choked, unable to speak.

Emperor Jing walked up to Yan Guoan, looking down at him, his eyes full of indifference.

"You have nothing to say? Today, no one can save you.... Not even an iron certificate of immunity from death. Even if the late Emperor were here, he couldn't save your life. I said it!"

Yan Guoan burst into tears, his voice hoarse, filled with despair, "Why! Why! Your Majesty, even if you want me to die, at least let me die knowing why..."

Emperor Jing shook his head and turned to look at the plaque in the hall again.

"'Justice and Brightness.' You are not worthy to sit beneath these four words. All of you, remember this: there are too many places in the world that I cannot see, but the people will be watching for me."

"Heavy rain falls, sewage flows in the streets, and the people have nowhere to go. This is your 'loving the people like your own children,' Yan Guoan..."

"If you still don't understand, go down below and ask the children who drowned in the streets. Take him out and behead him!"

Yan Guoan wailed and continued to be dragged out, still shouting, "You can't kill me! I am the current Number One Scholar!!"

"I am a Hanlin academician....."

Before he could finish speaking, Yan Guoan stared blankly at the six people kneeling before him.

They were the same people Emperor Jing had met in the pavilion earlier.

The crowd was also wailing, seeing Yan Guoan as if they had seen a savior, crying out, "Lord Yan, save us! Save us! Lord Yan, what on earth has happened!?"

Yan Guoan opened his mouth, tears streaming down his face, but he couldn't speak. He couldn't help but turn his head away.

His scholarly dignity made him instinctively not want to show himself in this state.

But under the shadow of the fear of death, the words in his heart finally broke through his throat: "I am wronged..."

A flash of a blade.

Yan Guoan's head fell before he could finish speaking.

Only his body remained kneeling upright, a pillar of blood soaring into the sky before falling down, as if raining blood.

Such a decisive blow took away all of Yan Guoan's pride and honor.

In the end, he had no dignity. His corpse was even left in the sewage, and no one cared what expression he wore.

The blood splattered on Su Rongxuan's face, and at that moment, he finally felt his heart and liver shatter.

The dignified and high-ranking Lord Yan had died just like that?

What crime had he committed? What crime had I committed?

As the corpse fell, a patch of crimson spread in the sewage.......

Inside the hall, Li Yansong and the others shook their heads and sighed, glancing at Fang Zheng Yi out of the corner of their eyes.

This time, His Majesty had indeed killed a high-ranking official without authorization. Without a clear trial, who knew how much turmoil would be stirred up in the court.

Although it had little to do with Fang Zheng Yi, many people would associate him with this matter.... In the future, this kid would probably have no end of trouble. At least, no one would dare to pay attention to him for a while.

Fang Zheng Yi still looked confused.

He really just chopped him off? So decisively. What did he even do?

To be beheaded just for not managing the market well was too outrageous.....

His mind was full of question marks, and he couldn't figure it out. He couldn't help but poke Li Yuanzhao next to him. But there was no response.

Fang Zheng Yi turned to look and found that his face was pale and he was shaking uncontrollably. He shook his head helplessly.

You're useless too! Usually, you're all loud and wanting to go to the battlefield and fight.

As soon as you see a beheading, you panic like this. It seems His Majesty has been protecting him very well.

After a while, someone collected Yan Guoan's corpse, and an Imperial Guard came to report.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the criminal has been executed, and his head has been severed."

"Good! Hang his head high above the Yimen Gate to warn everyone! Let the officials in the capital take a good look!"

"'Loving the people like their own children' sounds easy, but how many officials in the world treat the people as pigs and dogs? It is my fault for appointing such people to high positions in the court!"

"Return to the palace!"

Emperor Jing led a group of people out of the hall, passing by the six people kneeling outside the hall as he left.

Su Rongxuan felt both fear and confusion in his heart, not knowing who the person before him was. Seeing him leave, he felt a little relieved. Just as he was about to raise his head and speak to the Imperial Guard beside him, he saw the steel blade fall!

Six streaks of silver light flashed, and several more corpses lay in the hall.

Before long, the wind began to blow again.

Yan Guoan's head swayed on the Yimen Gate, his eyes wide open, his expression full of unwillingness, staring at the sewage below, rippled by the wind, spreading out layer upon layer....