Chapter 7: The Dragon Head Beheads the Son-in-law and Fells the Law

  Bao Da sat behind the desk, slightly concentrating his mind, and said after a pause: "Chen Shimei, you have committed heinous crimes, unforgivable, this court sentences you to be beheaded by a guillotine, come on, Dragon Head Executioner, wait for him!"

  Four bailiffs on one side of the hall put down their staves, walked to the east side of the hall, lifted a heavy object and carried it to the center of the hall. The yellow brocade was lifted, and the hall was suddenly brightened.

  Only this guillotine, about five feet long, with a body made of yellow copper and a blade made of cold iron, was carved in front with the image of a dragon's head. The blade was about two feet wide, emitting a chilling glow that seemed to pierce through the air, and from time to time, it seemed as if there were faint humming sounds hidden within.

  Zhan Zhao narrowed his eyes and nodded, this dragon head axe was indeed sharp!

  He looked up at Bao Qingtian, the Eighth Wise King, and Wang Chengxiang. All three of them had furious faces, as if they wanted to flay Chen Shimin alive! Zhan Zhao nodded secretly in his heart.

  Bao Qingtian, indeed worthy of the name Bao Qingtian. With his assistance, in this life, I will never again see cases where justice is absent and righteousness does not appear. In this life, I must dedicate my life to assisting Lord Bao, thoroughly sweeping away the lingering regrets of my past life!

  Chen Shimei saw the dragon head axe placed in front of him, his body shook violently for a moment, and he finally came back to his senses, shouting loudly: "This palace is the current imperial son-in-law, who dares to chop this palace?!"

  Unfortunately, the crowd in the hall didn't move a muscle, as if they hadn't heard anything. Then, Director Bao slowly pulled out a red bamboo slip from the signing tube, stood up, glared and said in a deep voice: "Start...the execution..."

  The four mighty men rushed forward, Zhang Long and Zhao Hu held down Chen Shi Mei, Wang Chao and Ma Han stood on either side of the guillotine. Suddenly, Wang Chao pushed the guillotine up, with a swishing sound, everyone felt a chill in front of their eyes, as if the guillotine was a giant beast's bloody mouth, coldly staring at people.

  Zhan Zhao rolled his eyes, this opening was exactly the same as the TV series, it seemed like he was singing Peking Opera, please, Lord Bao, can you speak seriously for once! Zhan Zhao covered his forehead with his hand, a black line appeared on his head.

  "Bao Heizi, I am the current crown prince, I..." Chen Shimei struggled desperately for his life, but he was just a scholar and couldn't escape from Zhang Long and Zhao Hu's clutches. After struggling for a few moments, Chen Shimei was pressed onto the executioner's blade.

  Bao Da Ren held the imperial edict in his hand, furrowed his brow and was about to throw it down when he heard a loud shout from outside the door: "The Empress Dowager has arrived, the Princess has arrived..."

  Zhan Zhao smiled lightly and said, "Alright, this Chen Shi Mei's heartless husband and his mother-in-law have come to stir up trouble. It's really better late than never!"

  The loud shout from outside the main hall was like a thunderclap on a clear day, instantly stunning everyone in the Kaifeng Prefecture's main hall. Magistrate Bao grasped his bamboo tablet, momentarily stunned and seemingly petrified.

  Look at Chen Shimei again, with both arms raised and her neck still on the blade of the dragon head guillotine, but she had a joyful expression and shouted loudly: "Haha, Bao Heizi, the Empress Dowager has arrived, the Princess has arrived, the Princess has come to rescue me! I've said it before, I'm the current Crown Prince's husband, what can you do to me as a small prefect of Kaifeng?"

  Bao Daren finally reacted, his face sank, and he put down the red sign in his hand. He shouted loudly: "Follow this official to greet him!" After speaking, he quickly walked out from behind the public case, leading a group of subordinates, all of whom knelt down and bowed!

  Only the sound of footsteps outside the main hall, heavy and uniform, not long after, people's heads were crowded outside the door, but extremely quiet. Only the yellow canopy with embroidered dragons, golden jade palace fans with phoenix feathers, eunuchs in brocade robes, palace maids in colorful skirts, and imperial guards with knives and guns standing upright, each one majestic, stood outside the main hall, at least nearly a hundred people.

  Zhan Zhao knelt down on the ground, clicking his tongue in amazement. Indeed, it was luxurious, indeed, it was the Empress Dowager. The Emperor's family was truly extravagant.

  The procession moved forward, and the two people surrounded by stars and moon slowly walked into the great hall. Bao Da Ren took a look and hurriedly knocked his head on the ground, shouting: "Your humble servant pays respects to the Empress Dowager, may she live for thousands of years! May the Princess live for thousands of years!" The crowd in the hall also shouted in unison, and Zhan Zhao cursed inwardly, but also followed suit and shouted two sentences.

  "No need for formalities in our family, let's just be casual."

  Everyone stood up, and Zhan Zhao glanced over to find that two people were already seated in the hall. One was a young girl with a cloud shoulder cape embroidered with red flowers and phoenixes, wearing a lotus-petal-patterned silk skirt with intricate embroidery of flowers and butterflies, which seemed to come alive and emitted a fragrant scent. On her feet were a pair of silver palace shoes with golden edges, each shoe tip adorned with a pearl or gemstone. Her raven-black hair was styled in a dragon-shaped bun, with three colorful painted pearls inserted on either side of her head. Her face was heart-shaped, with clear and bright eyes, high nose, and cherry lips, and her skin was smooth as an egg. However, the arrogant look between her eyebrows slightly marred this otherwise beautiful face!

  Zhan Zhao sighed secretly, no wonder Chen Shimei refused to acknowledge Qin Xianglian. This guy is countless times more beautiful than Qin Xianglian, compared to this person, Qin Xianglian is simply a rustic village woman!

  Looking at another person, wearing a crown of pearls, jade and gold inlays, with a night pearl and red jade hairpin inserted, shaking and swaying, shining brightly, dazzling the eyes. A whole body of purple gold skirt with hundreds of birds facing the phoenix, exquisite embroidery, as if it were alive; holding a golden dragon-headed staff, long hair like black satin, occasionally flashing silver threads, face like carved jade, fine lines visible at the corners of the eyes, almond-shaped eyes and cherry lips, elegant and refined, not hard to see that this person in their youth must have been an extremely beautiful woman, only, between the eyebrows, a hint of cruelty is revealed, with a glance around, even more intimidating.

  What an empress dowager! What a princess!

  Two eunuchs brought out two chairs from somewhere, asking the Emperor and the Princess to sit down. Bao Da Ren stood respectfully beside them, while the people of Kaifeng Prefecture retreated in a hurry. Chen Shi Mei was no longer held back by Zhang Long and Zhao Hu, and suddenly sat down next to the guillotine, panting for a few breaths. Just as he was about to shout out, the Princess waved her sleeve to stop him from speaking further.

  The Empress Dowager suddenly said, "So the Eighth Prince and Grand Preceptor Wang are also here, but they have come for that Imperial Son-in-law!"

  The Eighth King and Wang Chengxiang exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously!

  "Release the husband!" The Empress Dowager struck her golden dragon-headed cane on the ground and said, "As for Chen Shimei's crime of deceiving the emperor, the Emperor has decided not to pursue it. A special edict is being issued, allowing your family and the princess to come and take the husband back home!"

  Bao Daidaoren immediately pulled down his robe and knelt down, looking up with clasped hands: "Your Majesty, even if the Emperor is merciful and pardons Chen Shimei's crime of deceiving the ruler, Chen Shimei still has two major crimes - killing his wife and child, and inciting murder. His crimes deserve to be punished, he cannot be spared!"

  "Bao Zheng, how dare you defy the imperial edict!?" The Empress Dowager had not yet responded when the Princess suddenly burst into a rage.

  "Bao Zheng dare not!" Bao Zheng said with a straight face, "What are you saying, Princess? I am loyal to the Emperor, and heaven and earth can bear witness, the sun and moon can reflect it!"

  The empress waved her hand and said, "Get up, Baoyou. I know what you've said, but now my daughter is already pregnant. I don't want the child to lose its father as soon as it's born! That's why I begged the emperor to pardon your husband!"

  Zhan Zhao paused for a moment, carefully looked at the Empress Dowager, and thought to himself: "This Empress Dowager seems to be Liu Hou after all. How can she be so easy-going? It seems like there's some nostalgia in her eyes, but I just can't see through it. If that's really the case, then why did she have to switch the crown prince back then?"

  I don't understand! I don't understand! Zhan Zhao was puzzled in his heart!

  "Your Majesty, Chen Shimei is greedy for wealth and power, he abandoned his wife Qin Xianglian and remarried. He deceived the emperor and was afraid of being exposed, so he ordered Han Qi and Xu Tianlin to murder people to silence them. Later, he forced Qin Xianglian to sign a divorce agreement and took away her two children by force. All these crimes have clear evidence! Your Majesty, Chen Shimei's evil deeds are boundless and unforgivable!"

  "That's enough!" The Empress Dowager struck the golden dragon-headed staff heavily on the ground and said, "Since the Emperor has already said he wants to pardon him, then let us pardon him!"

  "How dare you ask for the imperial decree!?" Bao Zheng's face turned black and his teeth chattered with rage, "The Empress Dowager said it was an oral edict, but I, Bao Zheng, have not seen that imperial decree, so I do not dare to release!"

  "YOU!" The Empress Dowager stood up, pointing straight at Bao Quan, and shouted, "Are you suspecting that I forged the imperial edict?"

  "Bao Gong dares not!"

  "Let him go!"

  "Halt!" Bao Gong shouted in anger, "You can't let him go!"

  "Bao Zheng, don't you want to keep your head on your shoulders?!?" The princess thundered, "Guards, take Bao Zheng away and behead him!"

  "Hold on!" The Eighth Wise King suddenly stood up, waved his hand and said, "Empress Dowager, Chen Shimei's crime is indeed unforgivable!"

  "Eight Princes, you don't need to care about this matter anymore!" The Empress Dowager coldly snorted and said, "Guards, why haven't you escorted the Crown Prince back to the palace yet?"

  Zhan Zhao was shocked in his heart, how come he didn't see Bao Zheng forcefully beheading Chen Shimei? Forget it, forget it, let's just show you the skills of our modern 8 o'clock TV series!

  Here is the translation:

  "Thinking of this, Zhan Zhao immediately stepped forward, knelt down, bowed his head and knocked his forehead on the ground. Then he straightened up, clasped his fists and said loudly: 'Your Majesty, since the founding of our dynasty by Emperor Taizu, the four seas have been at peace. This generation is ruled by the wise emperor who governs with benevolence and virtue, making the country prosperous and the people at peace. The people of the Song Dynasty are all grateful for the emperor's great kindness. Therefore, from ordinary citizens to high-ranking officials, everyone respects the imperial family and takes their words and actions as a model. The behavior of the imperial family should be a model for the world! However, Chen Shi Mei, who was taken in as an imperial son-in-law and became a member of the imperial family, should have been strict with his words and actions, setting an example for others. But now, Chen Shi Mei has committed such immoral and shameful acts, tarnishing the reputation of the imperial family. If Lord Bao does not severely punish Chen Shi Mei, allowing such an unscrupulous person to sully the dignity of the imperial family, I dare ask Your Majesty, who will still respect the imperial family in the future? The dignity of the imperial family will be completely lost, and the emperor's position as the Son of Heaven will be imperiled. I fear that the fate of the Song Dynasty is at stake!"

  After this remark, not only did the Empress Dowager turn pale with shock, but even the Princess who had been so arrogant and overbearing just a moment before suddenly collapsed onto her wooden chair, limp all over. And as for Chen Shi Mei, she was even more devastated, her eyes rolling back in her head.

  Zhan Zhao was secretly pleased, heh heh, as a modern person, the foundation of watching 8 o'clock TV dramas wasn't for nothing. With words sharper than a sword and a heart clearer than a mirror, this speech avoided the heavy and went straight to the light, bypassing what's reasonable and just - actually, when speaking with royalty, it wouldn't have much effect either. But he broke with convention, grasping only the royal family's revered status as his fatal weakness, striking at the heart of the matter, achieving immediate results.

  This is quite something! Wow, it's really impressive! Hehe!

  The Eighth King's face moved, he took a deep breath, stepped forward and said, "Zhan Huwei, thank you for reminding me. Get up, Empress! Look at this thing!"

  The Eighth Sage King took out the rod-shaped object wrapped in golden silk from his body and placed it in front of the Empress Dowager, saying, "The imperial gold seal bestowed by the late Emperor is here, as if I were present myself! To strike the foolish ruler above and the treacherous ministers below, how can you, Empress Dowager, still stop Bao Da from carrying out the execution?"

  "You!?" The Empress Dowager and the Princess were both stunned, pointing at the Eighth Highness, unable to utter a single word!

  Emperor Taizong turned his head to look at Bao Zheng and said, "The golden axe bestowed by the former emperor is here. Bao Zheng, how should Chen Shimei's crime be punished?"

  "Beheaded according to law!"

  "Not going to be executed!?"

  "Bao Zheng obeys the imperial edict!"

  "You!" The empress's body trembled and she took a few deep breaths before saying, "Return to the palace!"

  "Empress Dowager!" The princess heard this and suddenly stood up, loudly calling out!

  The empress dowager listened and slowly turned her head, her cold eyebrows furrowed, and said in a deep voice: "Princess, why don't you return to the palace with me?!"

  The princess's face changed suddenly, her lips dared not utter another word, and she followed the empress dowager's retinue with reverence, leaving quietly.

  "Huh? What?! It's that easy to settle this?! Zhan Zhao's face twitched nonstop, looking at the imperial gold axe held in the hand of the Eighth Wise King, secretly admiring in his heart, good guy, indeed formidable, this imperial gold axe is really useful!"

  After the Empress Dowager's entourage had withdrawn from the government office, everyone else got up to leave. Bao Da Ren walked over to the public case and picked up the order on the desk, saying in a deep voice: "Get Chen Shi Mei beheaded!"

  Zhang Long and Zhao Hu erected Chen Shi Mei, placing his head under the guillotine. But this time Chen Shi Mei was unusually calm, his eyes empty and lifeless, like an empty shell.

  "Seal!" Lord Bao furrowed his brow and executed the decree with a flourish of his hand.

  The royal dynasty pressed down the guillotine, and instantly blood splattered everywhere. Chen Shimei's head was severed from his neck, and he died on the spot.

  Zhan Zhao glanced at that blood-red figure, and his heart was still surging with emotion. He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Qin Xianglian again, only to see her body convulse violently once, then remain motionless.

  "Dismissed!" With a single order from Lord Bao, the case was finally closed.

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