There is a god in the sky

Chapter 352 Palace Change 5

Shen Lan sat at the lower end of the City God Temple. After Shen Zhiyuan finished bowing to the City God while holding her, he turned to her and bowed as well.

"The ceremony is complete... escort them out..." The emcee almost blurted out, but realizing that the two would not be able to consummate their marriage, he quickly changed his words: "Hurry up, escort the bride back to her room!"

The bride's coffin was magnificent, made of the finest materials, and perfectly matched the bride's elegant attire.

But Shen Zhiyuan had already decided to cremate Miao Niang and take her ashes back to Guli Town.

I won't be able to attend the wedding banquet.

The crowd saw Lin Miaoniang off out of the city before nightfall.

The soldiers guarding the city stopped them and asked curiously, "Why is the funeral being held at this hour?"

Little Tiger carried the memorial tablet and walked ahead, weeping as he said, "My sister died on her wedding day. The master said that the funeral should be held at dusk, otherwise her soul would not stay if the yang energy was too strong, and if the yin energy was too strong, it would be easy for her to... to rise from the dead."

Upon hearing this, the soldier was so frightened that he took three steps back and urged, "Hurry up, hurry up!"

Shen Lan watched their procession disappear into the distance until it vanished at the end of the road before turning back, feeling lost and dejected.

After walking a few steps, a fast horse entered the city behind them, and the rider shouted, "Make way!"

"King Zheng has returned to the capital; the people have dispersed!"

A cavalry unit led the way.

Shen Lan stood on the side of the street and saw the cavalry pass by quickly. After that, several carriages filed into the city, accompanied by more than a hundred guards.

"King Zheng has returned to the capital."

"I heard they came to pay their respects to the Grand Prince Consort."

"Ha, the Grand Prince Consort has been dead for so long, and he only comes now. It's too late."

"Tanzhou is too far from Bianjing. News would have to travel back and forth and the Emperor would need to approve it, so it wouldn't be quick."

"I heard that the Crown Prince has made a mistake and has been imprisoned by the Emperor. I wonder if the arrival of Prince Zheng will change the Crown Prince's situation."

Shen Lan was thinking about the same problem.

If the King of Zheng is ambitious, will he take this opportunity to hasten the dethronement of the crown prince?

She was starting to look forward to it.

Xiao Ji did not return to the manor; only Madam Xiao was at home.

Upon learning that Shen Lan had returned, they immediately sent someone to invite her.

Madam Xiao's belly was already quite large, and Master Xiao did not dare to let her enter the palace to observe mourning, lest it disturb the fetus.

Shen Lan was covered in dirt. She went back to her room to bathe and change before going to see Madam Xiao.

Mrs. Xiao sat at the dining table waiting for her; the table was set with hot food.

"Come on, haven't eaten yet?"

Shen Lan hadn't eaten anything all day, but she didn't have much of an appetite.

She knew that Madam Xiao had something to ask, so she ate a few bites and then put down her chopsticks.

"Is the food not good?"

"No, it's just that I don't have a good appetite today."

Madam Xiao felt the same way; she sighed and put down her bowl as well.

"I know the general situation in the palace, but there are many questions I don't know who to ask. Master and Wangchuan have both gone to the palace. Can you tell me how Qingya's child died?"

Shen Lan only spoke of what she had seen and the autopsy results; as for the various speculations, she could not draw any conclusions.

She knew that Li Ge was the most suspicious person, but she would not tell anyone about this suspicion.

Madam Xiao rubbed her forehead, her expression pained. "Qingya has been well-behaved and sensible since she was little, beautiful and intelligent. I love that child so much."

We were heartbroken when she entered the palace, but it was an imperial decree that no one could disobey.

My elder sister repeatedly warned her not to be too flamboyant in the palace and not to have any children. She said that after the emperor passed away, we would find a way to bring her out of the palace.

As a result, her personality became much sharper after entering the palace, and she no longer hid her sharpness. Fortunately, she had no children, so she didn't make many enemies.

We didn't care whether she was favored or not, as long as she was safe and sound. We never imagined that such a simple hope would turn into despair.

Shen Lan handed a handkerchief to Madam Xiao to wipe her tears, and she herself couldn't help but shed tears when she thought of Lin Miaoniang's death.

The first news that came after one night was that Liu Engui had been sentenced to immediate execution by the emperor and would be beheaded at Caishikou at noon today.

Shen Lan wasn't too surprised; Liu Engui was just a pawn, someone anyone could discard.

Her story of beating the drum to appeal for justice spread throughout the town, and the deeds of Guli Town back then were passed down by word of mouth.

The common people are the most honest and trusting, and they also believe that the government is capable of doing such things. As for the Tong family's family values, that is none of their business.

"It's outrageous! Thousands of lives in a small town, just killed by that corrupt official like that."

"Hey, the common people are like ants, not even worth a few pounds of grain in the eyes of officials. Besides, that's a chance for him to rise to the top. If you were in that situation, wouldn't you take it?"

"This……"

With the temptation of promotion and wealth at hand, who dares to say they can resist the temptation?

"Hurry, the corrupt officials are being paraded through the streets."

Shen Lan followed at the back of the group, watching Liu Engui being pelted with rotten eggs and vegetable leaves by the emotionally charged crowd, but she did not feel any relief.

Just one night later, Liu Engui looked as if he had aged ten years. His hair was disheveled, and he was wearing a newly changed prison uniform with mottled bloodstains on it.

As they walked to the execution ground, Liu Engui struggled violently as he was being led to the guillotine.

He opened his mouth wide, wanting to cry out that he was innocent, but no sound came out.

Shen Lan was standing in a very conspicuous position. Liu Engui saw her, his eyes flashing with a fierce light, and glared at her a few times.

Shen Lan laughed provocatively and made a beheading gesture with her hand.

Liu Engui's head was pressed under the guillotine, and with each lift and press of the executioner, his head was separated from his body.

The Liu family members fainted from crying. Some servants rushed onto the execution platform to try to carry Liu Engui's body back, but were stopped by the officials.

"By order of the Emperor, Liu Engui's body shall be handed over to Shen Lan for disposal."

When the Liu family heard this news, they were thunderstruck, and their gazes toward Shen Lan seemed to want to devour her.

Shen Lan walked up to the guillotine in front of everyone, kicked Liu Engui's head away, and said to the crowd below, "Gentlemen, I hereby issue a reward: anyone who is willing to burn this man's body for me will be rewarded with ten taels of silver."

The crowd was in an uproar.

Such a reward is unheard of.

Immediately someone shouted, "Girl, death is the greatest tragedy. Even the deepest grudges have been settled. Why be so cruel?"

Shen Lan gritted her teeth and said, "He has the lives of thousands of people in Guli Town on his hands. Even if each life is worth only one knife, this villain should be torn to pieces."

As a survivor of Guli Town, I swore to grind my enemy to dust to comfort the spirits of my fellow villagers in heaven!

"That's right, that's right! This kind of villain should be executed by slow slicing. Just beheading him is too lenient!"

A strong and sturdy man stepped forward, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "I'll do it. I'm willing to burn his body to ashes for the girl, to punish evil and uphold justice. This is doing a good deed."

“I’m willing too. I don’t want money. I just want to do something for the people of Guli Town.”

"I am willing to provide tung oil."

"I'll go build the wooden frame!"

At first, only a few people responded, but soon more and more onlookers joined the revenge.