That evil Miss Cui killed Meng Da and Lady Yu for no reason, and now she faces immediate death by the dog-head guillotine!
After Han Qi pronounced the sentence, he saw that the female prisoner below the court had fainted and was not moving, so he ordered someone to wake her up.
A bucket of cold water was poured on her, soaking her messy hair and clearly showing her face. Her eyebrows were like willow leaves, her nose was straight and delicate, and her pale face looked sick. She seemed completely worn out, but you could still see her beauty.
Such a beautiful woman murdered her cousin and his wife in such a cruel way as slitting their throats!
Even after being doused with cold water, the female prisoner remained hunched over and motionless, her lips turning purple, seemingly devoid of any vitality.
The constables wanted to check the female prisoner’s breathing—
“Cough, cough!”
Upon hearing the female prisoner cough, the bailiffs immediately scurried away as if disgusted by something dirty.
Cui Tao has been dead for many years.
Because she lost her memories of her previous life, and didn’t even know when she was born, Cui Tao was unable to reincarnate and could only live as a wandering ghost. Later, the system approached her and told her that as long as she completed the quick transmigration missions, she could be reborn and regain her memories of her previous life.
Cui Tao agreed without even thinking.
Memories of her past life are not important to her. She’s already dead, she’s already forgotten everything, so why bother about those things from her past life?
Being a wandering ghost means you can roam freely every day, having fun however you want; when you’re unhappy, you can cause trouble, play pranks on a few bad guys, scaring them so much they scream and run away in terror; and you’ll never have to worry about birth, aging, sickness, or death.
But there was one thing, the only thing that Cui Tao couldn’t stand: she couldn’t eat delicious food!
Imagine seeing and smelling the delicious roast duck, crystal pork knuckle, and crispy spicy shrimp every day, but never getting to eat them. How would that feel? Worse than death! Total despair! Like the world ending! So cruel! Impossible to bear!
Therefore, the main reason Cui Tao readily agreed to the quick transmigration missions was simply for the sake of food.
Traveling through various timelines, experiencing worlds with different backgrounds such as ancient times, modern times, fantasy, post-apocalyptic, and interstellar… Eat! Eat! Eat!
She has now completed hundreds of quick transmigration missions and wants to continue, but the system program does not allow it, forcing her to ‘receive’ the rebirth reward.
As Cui Tao was reborn, a scene suddenly flashed through her mind:
She could barely make out a man in a blue robe and soft turban coming toward her, with a red stain on his chest. He reached out his hand, but even up close, his face was still blurry. The only clear detail was a black mole on the index finger of his right hand.
“Taozi, wait for me!”
The male voice was faint and then disappeared.
The scene blurred as she saw a bronze mirror, where she wore a pale green dress. As she stumbled closer, she suddenly tripped and fell. When she looked up, she saw two bloody bodies beside her—a man and a woman, both with their throats cut, blood spreading on the ground.
Her hands and clothes were covered in sticky blood, and a dagger was positioned to her left…
“You’re coughing, open your eyes now!”
The bailiff stabbed Cui Tao hard in the stomach with his wooden cane.
A murderer doesn’t deserve any mercy. Besides, this female prisoner is about to be beheaded. Stabbing her twice would be too lenient for her!
Cui Tao cried out in pain, and the scene in her mind was abruptly cut off.
“Execute her!”
A command token was thrown to the ground.
Suddenly, Cui Tao was grabbed by two constables and dragged swiftly toward a guillotine blade cast with a dog’s head. Beside this dog-head guillotine were dragon-head and tiger-head guillotines.
This is in Kaifeng Prefecture!?
When Cui Tao was doing her missions, she once passed through the body of an abandoned woman from the Northern Song Dynasty and confronted her scumbag ex-husband in the Kaifeng Prefecture court, so she recognized the environment here.
The people inside the room were all dressed as officials from the Northern Song Dynasty, and the three guillotines were exceptionally new, clearly recently forged. From this, it can be inferred that this scene likely takes place around the time Emperor Renzong of Song bestowed the guillotines upon the renowned minister Bao Zheng.
Then she faintly heard someone in the hall mention ‘Prefect Bao’, which further confirmed that her judgment was correct.
As the capital of the Song Dynasty, Kaifeng Prefecture oversaw both administrative and judicial functions. The prefectural governor had a heavy workload, so he couldn’t personally handle everything.
In the judicial field, except for serious cases that required the prefect’s personal intervention, the vast majority of legal disputes in Kaifeng Prefecture were handled by the judicial officer (Tuiguan).
Judging from the official rank of his uniform, the official in charge of her trial is a fifth-rank Judicial Officer from Kaifeng Prefecture.
With a ‘snap’, the guillotine blade was pulled up!
Cui Tao was forcibly pressed under the guillotine.
The cold, metallic-smelling copper pressed against Cui Tao’s slender neck, sending a shiver down her spine.
“My Lord, I have something to say!” Cui Tao quickly called out.
If this knife is used, she will become a ghost again and will never have the chance to eat delicious food again. How can this be allowed!
The bailiffs carrying the guillotine were not startled by the female prisoner’s sudden shout. In fact, they almost dropped the guillotine because they were trying to suppress their laughter.
Everyone present, except Han Qi, couldn’t help but purse their lips into a thin line and look at Cui Tao with strange eyes.
“You audacious criminal, how dare you be so insolent! Don’t you know your place? How dare you claim kinship with Judicial Officer Han!”
Cui Tao seemed to have forgotten that in the Song Dynasty, “Daren” was an informal term used for parents and elders, while officials were addressed as “Guanren” or by their titles. Calling him “My Lord” right in open court was essentially like shouting, “Dad, I have something to say!”
Looking at Judicial Officer Han, who had unexpectedly become a father, he was displeased and stared at her with cold eyes, as if he had suffered a great loss.
However, isn’t this Judicial Officer Han a little too beautiful? His eyebrows are like distant mountains, his nose is like a hanging beam, and his skin is fair and flawless. He is like a snow lotus blooming on green bamboo, both clean and eye-catching, and quite elegant.
If it weren’t for the incorruptible Prefect Bao overseeing Kaifeng Prefecture, Cui Tao would really suspect that Judicial Officer Han was selected through a beauty pageant. Wouldn’t someone with his looks and demeanor increase the female crime rate if he were an official in Kaifeng?
“Miss Cui, do you have anything else to say?”
The man’s voice was indifferent and cold, carrying a hint of refinement, yet also ruthless. He frowned in displeasure upon discovering that the other person dared to stare at him boldly under the guillotine.
The trial process in the Song Dynasty was very rigorous. The Song Criminal Code stipulated that if a prisoner cried out for justice and recanted their confession, a mandatory retrial procedure had to be initiated. That is to say, before the execution of the judgment, as long as the prisoner cried out for justice and did not admit guilt, someone else would be sent to re-examine and review the case, and there were as many as three such opportunities.
Cui Tao immediately exclaimed, “I’m innocent! I didn’t kill anyone!”
During the three retrials, you admitted to theft, murder, and silencing witnesses. Now that things have come this far, why change your story? The government’s trials are serious and not to be taken lightly.
Han Qi’s tone was flat, and his gaze toward Cui Tao held a hint of sarcasm. He then signaled to the bailiffs to continue the execution.
I never imagined that my former self would have used up all three chances!
Since there’s no opportunity, the only option is to create one and force the issue.
“My Lord, I want to expose my accomplice!” Cui Tao shouted again.
This female prisoner actually called Judicial Officer Han “Dad” using “My Lord” again. How could she be so shameless?
The constables still found it funny, but they had gotten used to it and were calmer than before.
Han Qi stared silently at Cui Tao, his face cold and stern.
“Please forgive me, Judicial Officer Han. Whenever I am anxious and frightened, I can’t help but think of my parents, and I accidentally blurted it out.”
After Cui Tao politely apologized, she choked back tears and sniffled, two streams of tears flowing down her face faster than some people blink.
“I lied! I wanted to die in his place, but looking at this sharp dog-head guillotine, and thinking that I would end up with a body torn to pieces, and that no one would even collect my body, I finally lost my backbone and became afraid.”
“Even if he had just glanced at me one last time before his execution, I probably wouldn’t have regretted it so much…”
Her heartbreaking sobs and deeply sad expression moved almost everyone there, making them feel Cui Tao‘s pain. What shocked everyone even more were her words—was she really not the murderer? Was she taking the blame to protect someone else?
Han Qi had been transferred to Kaifeng Prefecture as a judicial officer for less than five days. When he took over the case, all the procedures had been completed, and only the court hearing and sentencing remained.
During the first review of the case, Han Qi thought Miss Cui might have had help, since it seemed hard to believe that a single, weak woman could kill both a man and a woman who were awake. But at the retrial, Miss Cui kept saying she was the only one who did it for money, and there was no proof anyone else was there. So, the case had to move forward as it was.
Now that Miss Cui is on the verge of death and filled with fear, she has revealed the inside story. How can we allow the real culprit to go unpunished?
“Bring her here,” Han Qi said.
Cui Tao was finally freed from the guillotine and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
When the bailiffs dragged Cui Tao back to the center of the courtroom, Cui Tao was barely breathing, her head drooping, as if she was about to die.
Cui Tao collapsed to the ground, struggling several times to get up and kneel before Han Qi, but lacking the strength, she fell back down. This happened three times, causing Han Qi to frown again.
“Speak from where you are!”
“He… he…” Cui Tao pressed her face to the ground, sobbing weakly. At this moment, her voice was so soft that it was like a mosquito’s buzz, and Han Qi had to concentrate to hear her clearly.
“What is his name, where is he from, and where is he now?” Han Qi questioned.
“He–“
Cui Tao had no idea what his name was or where he was from. She only had a hazy memory of him, and could only be certain that she hadn’t killed anyone; she knew absolutely nothing else!
Cui Tao slowly raised her head, and after confirming that the judicial officer was interested in what she had to say, she felt confident. She was about to speak when she suddenly rolled her eyes and lay motionless on the ground.
The bailiff stepped forward again to check, “Judicial Officer Han, she seems to have fainted again.”
“Wake her up.”
This time, the constable didn’t try to dampen her enthusiasm with cold water. Everyone had heard what the female prisoner had said; she was likely taking the blame for someone else. Her silly, tearful act just now made it seem like she’d been fooled. She was a bit foolish, but also pitiful.
The bailiffs then called for a midwife to help. She pinched the philtrum and the tiger’s mouth (the area between the thumb and index finger), and applied silver needles, but the person remained unconscious and motionless.
Han Qi had no choice but to adjourn the court and announce that the trial would resume the next day.
After Cui Tao was thrown back into the jail, she waited until the midwife left before pretending to wake up weakly and slowly opening her eyes.
The air was filled with a strange, damp, and musty smell; it was generally very unpleasant. Inside the large cell, which was about two hundred and forty square feet, straw was scattered everywhere, and in the northwest corner was a filthy bucket used for relieving oneself.
Cui Tao found another woman in the same cell. She looked to be in her twenties and had a strong build. At that moment, she was lying crooked on a haystack in the east corner, chewing on a straw, and looking at Cui Tao with a mix of disdain and arrogance.
When Wang Siniang noticed that Cui Tao was looking at her, she immediately cursed, “You slut.”
Cui Tao ignored her; she had more important things to do. She sat down to meditate, silently reciting incantations, trying to draw energy into her body. The spiritual energy here was very thin and of poor quality, so it was unlikely to improve her cultivation level with it, but it was still feasible to use it to slowly regulate her body.
Her body is too weak now; all her organs are showing signs of failure, and she has a serious heart condition. Just now in court, her former self probably died from a heart attack.
“You slut! I’m calling you, are you pretending to be deaf?”
Wang Siniang jumped up and rushed towards Cui Tao, kicking her foot straight toward Cui Tao’s fair and tender face.
