Storytellers were shackled one by one and loaded into prison carts, forming a long procession as they moved from the bustling market streets of Zhuque City toward the God-Slaughtering Department in Xuanwu City. Gao Wencan rode on a tall, fine horse, glancing at Hu Wenlang beside him with immense self-satisfaction.
Though Hu Wenlang held an official post and could not be shackled or put in a prison cart before his guilt was formally established, since he had already fallen into Gao Wencan's grasp, there was no escaping.
The reason Gao Wencan made such a public spectacle instead of conducting a secret trial was that his primary goal with this move was to suppress the prestige of Zhou Tieyi. Therefore, not only did he want to parade through the streets, but he also intended to hold the trial within the main headquarters of the God-Slaughtering Department—mimicking the way Zhou Tieyi had once tried the merchants of Tianjing, letting the people of Tianjing see clearly who could be provoked and who could not.
Chapter 558