Forbidden City, Meridian Gate.
"It's noon!"
When the sun's shadow was cast at the noon position on the sundial, Captain Zhang shouted loudly, reminding everyone that the beating was about to begin.
Ouyang Zishi, Luo Longwen, Yuan Wei and others held their breath in excitement, staring at Zhu Ping'an in the field without blinking, for fear of missing even a little bit of Zhu Ping'an's "wonderful performance" while being tortured.
"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, hereby decrees: Zhu Ping'an, the lecturer of Prince Yu's Palace, as the lecturer of the prince, did not think about answering the questions of the prince and setting an example, but ignored the oral instructions and knowingly violated the rules... He shall be punished with 20 strokes of the cane in the court as a warning to others. This is the Emperor's decree."
As soon as Captain Zhang finished speaking, Feng Bao unfolded the imperial edict and read it out, which was the routine procedure for executing the beating in the court.
"A tyrant!"
After hearing the imperial edict, Li Shu's pretty face puffed up with anger. She stared with her big black eyes, her mouth pouted high, like an angry tigress who was about to pounce on someone to eat her. She lowered her voice and cursed Emperor Jiajing for being a tyrant.
Qin'er, who was standing by, was frightened when she heard her young lady scolding the emperor for being a tyrant. She looked around like a frightened rabbit, fearing that someone might have heard her.
"Yeah, I just fainted... ah... it hurts... Qin'er, why are you pinching me?" The chubby little maid Hua'er agreed with her mistress's words. She nodded her head and echoed her.
When Qin'er heard Hua'er speak, she felt something was wrong. As expected, this stupid girl did not let Qin'er down and was about to follow her own lady in calling out "tyrant emperor". The key point was that this stupid girl's voice was quite loud. Fortunately, Qin'er reached out and pinched her arm as soon as she heard Hua'er speak, and thus the word "Jun" in Hua'er's name was pinched back into her stomach.
Hearing Hua'er asking about her grievance, Qin'er glared at her and said, "You are so bold, what nonsense are you talking about? You don't even need your head anymore."
Hua'er was not stupid after all. After being glared at by Qin'er, she finally reacted. She shrank her head in fear and patted the big rabbit that she couldn't control.
In the field, after Feng Bao finished reading the imperial edict, Captain Zhang waved his hand, and four Jinyiwei flag officers holding black chestnut wooden court sticks came up from behind him and pressed Zhu Pingan to the ground. Their movements were skillful and efficient.
Before Zhu Ping'an could react, he had already prostrated himself on the ground.
"Asshole, be gentle..."
Li Shu in the crowd gnashed her teeth with a squeaking sound, and the anger could not be suppressed and burst out from her big watery eyes, just like an angry little lion.
When the chubby little maid Hua'er saw Zhu Ping'an being pushed down, she screamed "Ah", attracting everyone's attention.
Qin'er crossed her arms and looked at him anxiously.
"good!"
Ouyang Zishi and Luo Longwen in the crowd saw Zhu Ping'an being pressed to the ground and couldn't help but shout "good!"
Yuan Wei looked at it excitedly and rubbed his hands excitedly.
Zhu Ping'an, the person involved in the scene, began his first close contact with the caning in the court in his life. Compared with when he watched Senior Brother Yang and others caning in the court, Zhu Ping'an felt more.
When Zhu Pingan realized that he was being pressed to the ground, he saw a Jinyiwei coming over with a sack, putting it on his shoulders and tying the sack with a rope...
"Ahem, my dear, what is this sack used for?"
Zhu Ping'an couldn't remember whether this was tied to Brother Yang when he was beaten with a stick in the court. He had no impression. He didn't know why a burlap bag was tied to the stick when he was beaten with a stick. It wasn't like he was being hit with a club. He asked curiously, as if he was not being beaten with a stick in the court, but discussing academic matters.
I have never seen such a thing before.
The Jinyiwei who was tying a sack was stunned. This was the first time in his life that he saw an official being beaten with a stick in the court, and he had the leisure to understand this.
In fact, not only him, but also the people watching were stunned. This scene was really something they had never seen before.
The little maid Hua'er first opened her mouth into an O shape, and then nodded her head like a chicken eating rice. She didn't understand what the sack was for, but she was worried about Zhu Ping'an and didn't notice this problem. Now that Zhu Ping'an asked, she noticed it too.
"Hehe, Zhu Ping'an is afraid and is deliberately delaying time." Ouyang Zishi sneered.
Luo Longwen laughed along, "I think the guy named Zhu must have peed his pants out of fear."
"Hahahaha..." Ouyang Zishi, Yuan Wei and others couldn't help laughing when they heard Luo Longwen's metaphor.
"Why are you asking this? You'd better save your strength." The Jinyiwei who was tying the sack came to his senses and shook his head.
"Learning is learning. If you don't understand something, ask." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and habitually quoted the famous sayings of later generations.
Zhu Ping'an had said this famous quote before, but for everyone present, this was the first time they heard it.
Learning is learning. If you don't understand something, you should ask. This saying is easy to understand, just like spoken language, but when you think about it, it contains infinite philosophy. It is really a great sound without sound and an elephant without form. This sentence reveals the essence of learning.
He is still able to study at this time, he deserves to be the top scholar.
Many people present couldn't help but respect Zhu Ping'an because of his words.
After listening to Zhu Ping'an's words, Feng Bao felt as if his eyes were opened and he was enlightened. He decided that he should study more in the palace in the future, and dare to ask for advice and learn when he encountered something he didn't understand. Only in this way could he make continuous progress.
As expected, you are Master Xiao Zhu. Feng Bao has learned a lot from you.
"This is to prevent you from turning left and right in pain when you are beaten with the cane."
The Jinyiwei seemed to be moved by Zhu Ping'an's spirit of learning, and he explained casually while tying him up.
"So that's how it is." Zhu Ping'an understood the doubts in his mind and nodded with a smile.
The next second, Zhu Ping'an felt his feet being held down and tied up by two Jinyiwei.
You don't need to ask to know that this is also because he is afraid that he will struggle and turn over, which will affect the execution of the caning in the court.
Then, Zhu Ping'an watched as two Jinyiweis pulled his hands apart and held them tightly, and his feet were also held tightly by one of the Jinyiweis.
The fight is about to begin.
Zhu Pingan thought.
However, the next second, something shameful happened to Zhu Ping'an. Zhu Ping'an clearly felt his pants being pulled down to his thighs, and his buttocks could feel the coolness of the wind.
Nima
Almost forgot this step.
When Zhu Ping'an thought of the crowd watching, especially Li Shu, Hua'er, Qin'er and others, his old face suddenly turned red with embarrassment. Although Zhu Ping'an came from the modern era, he could clearly feel the humiliation of the imperial caning on civil officials at this moment.
Think about it, for the ancient people who were given their bodies and hair by their parents and who were very concerned about their reputation, this feeling of humiliation must have been a hundred times stronger than mine.
"My uncle's butt is so white... Bah, bah, bah, is now the time to think about this? My uncle is going to be beaten."
The chubby little maid Huaer murmured subconsciously, then blushed, covered her eyes with her hands, and began to reflect on herself.