Chapter 605: With a pillar‑of‑the‑state like him and Lord Chen Yan, how could Great Zhou not thrive?

Three days later.

Chang'an.

The sun was at its height, the early noon light like fire‑tempered gold sand splashing over the streets of Chang'an, steaming a thin wave of heat off the ground.

The locust‑tree leaves by the road drooped limp, cicadas croaked hoarsely one after another, stirring an inexplicable irritation in people's hearts.

Only the area of the lone willow in Cheng Dong was bustling with voices, starkly different from the surrounding stifling silence.

Beneath the lone willow lay the execution ground commonly used by Great Zhou.

In ordinary days, weeds grew thick here, crows and sparrows circled, and even passing townsfolk would walk around, fearing any ill omen.

But today was different; since dawn, small groups of townspeople had gathered here, and by early noon the area around the execution ground was already packed to the brim...

Behind them, a steady stream of people surged forward as if drawn by an invisible magnet.

In the crowd were peddlers bearing loads, scholars fanning themselves with folding fans, women cradling children, and idle street ruffians, all craning their necks and standing on tiptoe to peer at the center of the execution ground.

The buzz of discussion rose, drowning out the cicadas.

"What are you crowding for! Step back!" In the crowd, a short‑brown‑clad man was nudged from behind, turned to scold, but as soon as he spoke, someone ahead pulled him forward, "Damn, what's the big deal? Why so lively?"

His name was Wang Er, a butcher from Chengxi; today he had come to Cheng Dong to buy fresh fodder, but this spectacle stopped him in his tracks.

Staring at the sea of Human Heads before him, puzzled, he couldn't help asking the plain‑clothed, fan‑waving elder beside him, "Brother, what's happening today?"

"Why so bustling?"

The elder, hearing this, turned, a hint of "you really don't know" on his face, surveyed Wang Er, and retorted, "Haven't you heard?"

Wang Er's mind was foggy, his brows knotted, and he asked, "Heard what?"

"I left the city before dawn to collect fodder, and as soon as I entered the city I was blocked here..."

"I haven't heard any of the city's fresh news at all!"

The elder perked up, snapped his fan shut, slapped his palm, and exclaimed brightly, "Ha! You've missed a once‑in‑a‑lifetime event!"

Today they will be beheaded: former Huazhou Prefect Yao Hongnian, former Huazhou Chief Clerk Du Duoyi, and former Huazhou Household Staff Officer Pei Min!

"And also—"

The elder paused deliberately, lowered his voice yet still clear to Wang Er, "And it's Lord Chen Yan himself overseeing the execution!"

"What?!" Wang Er's eyes widened, his mouth opened enough to fit a fist, his confusion instantly replaced by shock, he shouted hoarsely, "Execute such high officials?!"

"It even roused Lord Chen Yan, who came himself to oversee the execution?!"

At those words, several nearby onlookers turned their heads and gathered.

Who is Lord Chen Yan?

The Great Zhou commoner's clear sky, upright and uncompromising, tolerates no speck of sand in their eyes, yet bears countless responsibilities...

That he would personally come to execute several provincial officials today implies a considerable backstory!

Wang Er steadied himself, swallowed, and eagerly asked, "What crimes did they commit?"

"What could make Lord Chen Yan step in personally and demand such a severe beheading?"

The elder glanced around, saw everyone listening intently, grew smug, cleared his throat, and shouted, "Jing Zhao Fu posted the notice a few days ago; you must have missed it!"

"These three, to block the Imperial Academy's expanded recruitment of low‑born commoners, cruelly burned to death over twenty court officials sent to Huazhou!"

"What?!" Wang Er was struck as if by lightning, froze, his complexion paling.

He staggered back half a step, nearly colliding with someone behind, steadied himself, and his mind buzzed like countless bees.

After a while, as if suddenly realizing something, his eyes bulged, his voice trembling, he exclaimed, "The great fire at the Huazhou relay station last month that killed over twenty court officials—so it wasn't an accident?!"

"It was these three!?!"

The elder nodded heavily, his tone full of outrage, "Exactly! The notice states clearly that these three harbored ill intent; the Imperial Academy's expanded recruitment cut off their monopoly on officialdom, and they bore a grudge..."

"The court officials sent to Huazhou were to implement the recruitment decree and soothe the people, yet these three dog thieves lured them to the relay station, spiked the wine with poison, doused it with Fuel, and set a fire that burned everything clean!"

"Over twenty lives, gone like that!"

"Less than beasts! Truly less than beasts!" Wang Er, after hearing, felt a surge of rage to his head, spat hard, his chest heaving, his voice hoarse with anger, "Is it easy for low‑born youths like us to seek a name?"

"The Imperial Academy's expanded recruitment was a great boon, yet they committed this poisonous act for personal gain!"

"Such a vile heart is worse than pigs and dogs!"

"Well said!" a man in coarse‑woven long robe nearby shouted in agreement, a low‑born scholar with no path to office; when he first heard of the Academy's expanded recruitment he had stayed up sleeplessly, and now hearing of Yao Hongnian and the others' crimes his face flushed red, "They truly deserve a beheading!"

"They should receive the harshest punishment, to give those over twenty unjustly dead officials a justice!"

"Exactly!" the elder agreed, nodding repeatedly, looked up at the sky; the sun had risen to the zenith, its rays growing fiercer, the shadows on the ground shrinking into a lump.

He pinched his fingers, counted, and said urgently, "The third quarter of noon is near!"

"The execution time is near; we must hurry, or soon there will be no front spots left, and we won't even see how it's carried out!"

Having said that, he didn't wait to discuss further, slipped his fan to his waist, hunched, and squeezed forward through the crowd with all his strength.

He pushed while shouting "Excuse me, excuse me," and the surrounding townsfolk hurried, surging forward.

The previously orderly crowd instantly turned chaotic, with shoves, curses, and children's cries mingling together.

Wang Er watched the elder's retreating back as he pushed in, glanced at the righteous scholar beside him, clenched his teeth, tightened his fist, and said, "Let's go! We'll join the excitement too!"

"I want to see how these three dog officials meet a dismembered end!"

The scholar, also furious, replied immediately, "Let's go! Today we must watch these three villains be sentenced!"

The two exchanged a glance, no longer hesitating, followed the elder's steps, mustering all strength, and squeezed toward the front of the crowd.

In the execution ground's center, where heads swarmed, the dust was heated by the sun.

Three figures in ochre prison robes knelt in disarray before the wooden stake beneath the lone willow.

Yao Hongnian, Du Duoyi, and Pei Min's hair buns were a mess, their prison robes stained with mud and dried blood; the arrogance they once held as high provincial officials had long vanished...

Rope tightly bound their limbs, pulling their bodies into a hunch; each struggle left bruised, purplish marks on wrists and ankles.

The noon sun was so scorching it seemed to burn through flesh, beads of sweat the size of beans dotted their foreheads, rolling down their wax‑yellow, withered cheeks, splattering the dust at their feet and leaving a small dark stain.

Their necks sagged weakly, and only their murky eyes still stared fixedly at the ground ahead, the depths of their gazes churning with an impenetrable, thick despair.

Occasionally a wind blew, rustling the lone willow's branches and leaves, also stirring their hanging hair, revealing faces ashen as death.

Yao Hongnian's lips moved, as if murmuring to himself, but on close listening only fragmented sobs could be heard.....

Du Duoyi's body trembled uncontrollably, his jaw clenched with a grinding sound, and a trace of resentment lingered in his eyes.

Pei Min kept his eyes tightly shut, two streams of murky tears sliding down his cheeks, whether from remorse or fear unknown.

The commoners outside the execution ground could no longer mind the stifling heat; each stretched their necks forward, eyes glued rigidly onto the three.

Shouts of curses and denunciations rose and fell, and some even grabbed fragments of stone and earth from the ground, hurling them violently toward the prison cage.

At that moment, a regimented footstep echoed from the entrance of the execution ground, breaking the noisy clamor.

Instinctively, the crowd turned toward the sound and saw four figures strolling in, the leading two upright and steady, the trailing two equally dignified; all four wore purple official robes embroidered with gold thread.

They glittered under the sunlight, forming a stark contrast to the surrounding ruin.

Leading the way was Chen Yan, with sword‑shaped brows and star‑like eyes; his Purple Robe made his posture even more erect, and an aura of solemn righteousness seemed to surround him, making others dare not stare directly.

Right behind him was Yuwen Ze, his features handsome and his expression calm.

Walking side by side were two officials in their forties; one bore a dignified, awe‑inspiring demeanor without anger, the Grand Minister of Justice Du Yaoguang of the Qiu Official Office.

The other had a kind face and deep eyes, the Grand Minister of Education Pei Xun.

The moment the four appeared, it was like a bolt of thunder, exploding the crowd.

"Look! Who is that!"

"It's Lord Chen Yan! Lord Chen Yan has arrived!"

A sharp‑eyed young peddler was the first to recognize Chen Yan at the front, tossing his load from his shoulder, standing on tiptoe and shouting loudly.

His voice was full of uncontrollable excitement.

"Lord Chen Yan has arrived!"

"Look, it really is Lord Chen Yan!"

That shout, like a stone tossed into a lake, instantly raised a thousand ripples.

The previously noisy crowd instantly boiled over, every gaze converging on Chen Yan.

The rising and falling shouts swept the execution ground like waves.

The townsfolk voluntarily stepped back to the sides, forcibly clearing a passage to the center of the execution ground.

"Lord Chen Yan! Lord Chen Yan!"

Amid the cheers, a middle‑aged man standing toward the back of the crowd couldn't help stretching his neck, gazing at Chen Yan's figure, and exclaimed loudly with admiration, "Truly worthy of Great Zhou's blue sky!"

"Even from this distance, we can feel the righteousness emanating from Lord Chen Yan!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a young man in a coarse‑cloth long shirt beside him nodded vigorously, echoing, "Indeed! That solemn righteousness truly hits you head‑on!"

"Seeing Lord Chen makes the heart feel secure!"

As the words fell, the surrounding townsfolk nodded in agreement, their gazes toward Chen Yan filled with admiration and reverence.

Lord Chen Yan, iron‑faced and selfless, championed the people, toppled the treacherous Zhao bandits and Dugu bandits, opposed the Qi bandit Gao Changjing, and in the people's hearts he is the embodiment of fairness and justice.

At that moment, a figure in a scarlet official robe hurried out from one side of the execution ground—it was Liu Mu Zhi, Chief Historian of the Jing Zhao Fu.

He cradled a simple amplifying wooden tube in his hands, stepped to Chen Yan's side, cleared his throat, then raised the tube and shouted loudly at the noisy crowd, "Everyone, quiet down!"

"Lord Chen Zhuguo has something to say!" Liu Mu Zhi's voice, projected through the amplifying wooden tube, rang clearly in every corner of the execution ground.

The boiling crowd fell silent instantly, a hush like crows, only the rustle of wind through leaves and the townsfolk's slightly heavy breathing could be heard.

Everyone's gaze still burned intensely on Chen Yan, their eyes full of expectation.

Chen Yan gave a slight nod, took the amplifying wooden tube from Liu Mu Zhi, and walked slowly onto the high platform at the center of the execution ground.

His gaze burned like a torch as he slowly swept over the densely packed crowd below, speaking in a deep voice, "I suppose everyone has heard of the crimes these three have committed, right?"

As the words fell, the crowd below responded in unison, their voices so loud they made eardrums tremble, "We know!"

Chen Yan raised his hand, pointing at the three kneeling before the wooden stake—Yao Hongnian among them—and, his tone bristling with anger, said, "The Imperial Academy's recruitment of humble families was meant to benefit the nation, yet these three, for personal gain, disregarded the law and brutally murdered over twenty officials sent by the court!"

"If they dare act like this today, tomorrow they'll dare to intensify their cruelty, slaughtering the people of Great Zhou!"

At this point, Chen Yan's voice rose sharply, bearing an intimidating aura: "Grand Preceptor's Oral Order, such evil deeds must be severely punished!"

"To warn and set an example, to set things right for all to see!"

"Severe punishment! Severe punishment!" The crowd below instantly ignited with righteous fury, their indignant shouts echoing the execution ground again.

An elder clenched his fists, his eyes reddened as he shouted, "These three are utterly lawless!"

"Over twenty lives, even court officials, burned alive by them!"

"Their hearts are too vicious!"

"Indeed! If not for the Grand Preceptor and Lord Chen Yan's keen insight uncovering the truth, these wronged souls might never find peace!" A woman cradling a child wiped her eyes, saying with relief, "Fortunately, those now in power are the Grand Preceptor and Lord Chen Yan!"

"Otherwise, we common folk would have suffered!"

Those words instantly struck the people's hearts; everyone nodded in agreement, their gazes toward Chen Yan growing ever hotter.

Chen Yan raised his hand to hush, waited for the crowd to settle again, then turned, pointing at Pei Xun and Du Yaoguang beside him, and loudly asked, "People, do you recognize who these two gentlemen are?"

The townsfolk looked at each other, shaking their heads, responding loudly in succession, "We don't know!"

"Never seen them!"

"We don't know which gentleman!"

Chen Yan smiled slightly, then loudly introduced, "This one is Grand Minister of Justice Du Yaoguang, Chen Zhuguo!"

Du Yaoguang stepped forward, gave the townsfolk a slight nod, his visage stern yet gentle.

Chen Yan again pointed at Pei Xun, his voice ringing like a bell, "This one is Grand Minister of Education Pei Xun, Chen Zhuguo!"

Pei Xun also smiled and nodded, his gaze sweeping the crowd with a hint of friendliness.

As soon as Chen Yan finished speaking, a sudden uproar rose inside and outside the execution ground.

The commoners widened their eyes, staring at Du Yaoguang and Pei Xun, their faces full of disbelief.

The crowd that had just been whispering now erupted, cries rising one after another.

"My God!"

"Besides Lord Chen Yan, there are two such great figures!"

A merchant in a silk short jacket shouted hoarsely, dropping his folding fan on the ground in fright, hurriedly bending to pick it up, yet his eyes remained fixed on the two on the platform, his face shocked.

In the crowd, a few well‑read elders gathered, stroking their beards, their eyes full of astonishment.

One elder, hair and beard all white, squinted and examined Du Yaoguang for a while, then looked at Pei Xun, suddenly inhaled a cold breath, his voice trembling: "One surnamed Du, one surnamed Pei…"

"Could it be members of the Jing Zhao Du Clan and the Hedong Pei Clan?!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the surrounding commoners fell silent for a moment, then burst into even louder discussion.

"The Jing Zhao Du Clan? That's a hundred‑year‑old prestigious family, with disciples and former officials spread throughout the Court!"

"The Hedong Pei Clan is even more formidable; their ancestors produced countless famous ministers and generals!"

"These two gentlemen—could they be the heads of those two great families?"

"No wonder they carry such extraordinary bearing; they are the helmsmen of illustrious lineages!"

The commoners chattered, and their gazes toward Du Yaoguang and Pei Xun now held a few more degrees of reverence.

Du Yaoguang's expression remained dignified, yet a barely perceptible ripple flashed in his deep eyes.

Pei Xun gave a slight nod, showing the people a gentle smile, but said nothing further.

Chen Yan stood silently on the platform, waited a moment, and when the crowd's chatter subsided a bit, raised the loud‑speaking wooden tube again, proclaiming loudly: "As you have guessed, Du Zhuguo comes from the Jing Zhao Du Clan, and Pei Zhuguo is the eldest legitimate son of the Hedong Pei Clan!"

At his words, another round of exclamations rose on the execution ground.

Chen Yan's voice rang out again, with a decisive, cutting force: "They have come today specifically for this public execution, to show the people of Great Zhou a certain stance!"

He paused, scanned the sea of dark‑cloaked people below, then looked at Du Duoyi and Pei Min kneeling before the Wooden Stake, and with each word, his voice struck the ground: "No tolerance, no shelter!"

"Even if they share the same surname and clan, once they violate the law and harm the people, there is absolutely no room for mercy!"

Du Yaoguang stepped forward, saying gravely: "Du Duoyi, as a member of the Du clan, commits this rebellion against the law and trampling lives, disgracing the family gate; his crime is unforgivable!"

"Today I, the old man, personally oversee the execution to demonstrate to the world that members of the Du clan must regard the law as heaven and the people as their concern!"

Pei Xun also spoke, his voice gentle yet firm: "Pei Min has repaid kindness with betrayal, harming a court official for his own selfishness; the Hedong Pei Clan severs all ties with him!"

"The law shines brightly; it tolerates no desecration!"

Their words, transmitted through the wooden tube, fell clearly into every commoner's ear.

On the execution ground, a brief silence was followed by thunderous applause.

"Well! Well said!" a burly man shouted, raising his arm, "Truly worthy heads of the Hedong Pei Clan and the Jing Zhao Du Clan, indeed profound in righteousness!"

"Indeed! No shelter for kin, no favoritism for the powerful—that is the true style of a noble house!"

"With such pillar‑of‑the‑state gentlemen and Lord Chen Yan, how could Great Zhou not prosper!"

The commoners' waves of praise swept the entire execution ground; many were moved to tears.

"These Du Zhuguo and Pei Zhuguo are rare good officials!" a failed scholar from a humble background sighed in the crowd.

At that moment, Liu Mu Zhi looked up at the sky; the sun had risen to the very center, and the shadows on the ground shrank into a lump.

He hurried to Chen Yan's side and whispered: "Pillar‑of‑the‑state, the third quarter of noon has arrived!"

Chen Yan's eyes hardened, and he replied gravely: "Understood."

Then he turned, scanned the three prisoners at the center of the execution ground, then the angry crowd below, raised his right hand high, and with each word, his voice thundered: "Execute!"

"Execute!"

"Execute!"

The palace soldiers behind shouted in unison, their cries reaching the clouds.

The executioners, already on standby, stepped forward together.

The Ghost Head Blades in their hands flashed a cold, forest‑like light in the sunlight, making the onlookers' eyes sting.

Yao Hongnian had long been limp on the ground, emitting a desperate wail.

Du Duoyi jerked his head up, looking toward Du Yaoguang, eyes full of resentment and unwillingness, but an executioner seized his neck.

Pei Min trembled all over, unable to utter a full sentence, only tears mixed with sweat continuously rolled down.

Three crisp blade sounds cut the noon silence.

Fresh blood splattered onto the scorching dust, instantly blooming into a dazzling red.

The three figures kneeling on the ground were already dismembered.

The execution ground fell silent for a heartbeat, then erupted into earth‑shaking cheers.

"Good! Well cut!"

"A great satisfaction! Truly a great satisfaction!"

"These three corrupt officials are finally brought to justice!"

"The souls of over twenty gentlemen can finally rest!"

The commoners clapped in delight, many embracing and weeping.

The cheers and applause nearly lifted the roof of the Du Liu Xingchang.

Wang Er clenched his fists, his face flushed with excitement, and bowed deeply toward Chen Yan on the platform.

The humble scholar's eyes brimmed with tears, shouting loudly: "Lord Chen! Lord Du! Lord Pei! You are the blue sky for the people!"

Those words instantly resonated with everyone.

The commoners each bowed toward the four on the platform, expressing heartfelt feelings one after another: "With Lord Chen Yan present, we always feel at ease!"

"Indeed! Lord Chen Yan is iron‑faced and impartial, just and upright; with him, we ordinary folk can live peacefully!"

"May Lord Chen Yan live ten thousand years, protect the people of Great Zhou, and grant us yearly peace!"