The commoners muttered curses. "That bastard who deserves to be drawn and quartered is finally getting beheaded."
"It's a shame, though. Who knows how many families they ruined and lives they destroyed."
"I heard a lot of people came all the way from Guyuan County just to watch them get beheaded…"
Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing's sharp ears caught something familiar in the crowd's chatter. They hurried forward, intending to stop a few of the commoners to ask what was going on.
But just then, a man walked out of the Wang Family's teahouse.
Who else could it be but Zhang Lanshan?
Zhang Lanshan was no longer a mere Scholar; he was now a proper scholar. The essay he wrote for the autumn provincial examination had been highly praised by the Lord Prefect and was ranked near the top of the collection of selected works published by Xinghuai Prefecture.
They saw Zhang Lanshan, and he saw them.
The three walked toward one another, exchanging pleasantries as they met.
