Chapter 87 Execution Time
"Execute?" Su Jiuyue was startled, wondering if it was the same as the plot written in the play.
She had never seen execution before and the execution should take place in the food market as described in the play.
Su Jiuyue was curious about it, mixed with fear.
She turned to look at Liu Cuihua who was in excitement.
They had been living inside the village without anything new around them except gossip from others.
However, such a sudden change excited Liu Cuihua a lot who pulled Su Jiuyue to jostle into the crowd.
"Little girl, come on! Let's take a look!"
Firstly, one minute they tried their best to jostle with the crowd and the next they were pushed by the crowd.
Finally, Liu Cuihua painstakingly took a good spot in the front row with Su Jiuyue.
Then, Su Jiuyue saw clearly the man tied up on the stage who was in his 20s and 30s and unshaven.
But Su Jiuyue believed few persons who were imprisoned could look neat.
A husky executioner was standing behind that man, a broadsword in his hand with several iron rings on its back. The light reflected by its sharp blade made people shudder.
Behind the stage set a desk, and on it was the brush, ink and the writ for giving orders. The seat was still not taken, which meant the officer hadn't come yet.
When Su Jiuyue was looking around, Liu Cuihua had inquired others about that man.
"Lady, what was his crime? Why will he be executed at a young age?"
Without behaving cautiously, that lady passionately explained to Liu Cuihua, "Collaborationist and traitor! Have you ever noticed that our Yongzhou city is heavily guarded than before? It is said that a few days ago, some spied sneaked in. It is this man who let them in. He was the former commander of Yongzhou city. I remember his name is...well...is... Ah! Su Xianwu!"
Liu Cuihua also spurned, "Yuck! How dare he betray the country! He should die for this!"
"I'll say! He tried to ruin our peaceful life. He deserves it!"
...
Knowing the whole story of that man, Su Jiuyue suddenly was attracted by a boy in the opposite crowd.
That boy was dressed in mourning, his little face painted black, making his face barely visible.
He stood alone in the front row, with a serious face, looking like a little adult.
Noon was considered the best time for its highest concentration of Yang spirit that no ghost would haunt around. Therefore, execution always started at noon, including this time.
They had waited for a long time, finally, a bearded man dressed in a purple-green official uniform appeared on the stage surrounded by his attendants.
He lifted the hem of his uniform and took his seat with great dignity. After he looked around the crowd, he motioned to his attendant and whispered.
When Su Jiuyue turned to look at that boy again, she found he had disappeared.
When the execution time was approaching, a high-pitched voice boomed from the noise.
"Time's up!"
With an obvious impatient look, that lord quickly grabbed the writ, threw it and commanded, "Do it!"
At this moment, everyone became excited. Seeing the executioner raising the broadsword, Su Jiuyue closed her eyes immediately to stop watching.
Next, an uproar broke out, which made Su Jiuyue keep closing her eyes. She pulled Liu Cuihua's sleeve and said, "Mom, shall we go now? We have to look for two elder brothers!"
Liu Cuihua was shocked by the scene of execution. She recovered herself when she was pulled by Su Jiuyue. She said with amazement, "My gosh. This was what the execution looked like! The blood just gushed so high..."