Those who weren't taken away kept silent out of fear. They regretted it so much that they wanted to kick themselves to death. They shouldn't have listened to the rumors and followed these people to clamor to see the Emperor.
"Now that all of you have seen me, I'm sure you can go with peace of mind to accept your punishment, right? All those who came to the palace today to cause trouble will be dragged away and given fifty strokes of the soldier's pole. Thereafter, throw them out of the palace, whether dead or alive."
Fifty strokes with the soldier's pole! Even if the official didn't die, he still wouldn't be able to stand up for the rest of his life!
The pleas of his ministers rose and fell. Xiao Jin did not even look at them and ordered the Imperial Guards to take them away straightaway.
Duke Jingguo looked at the ministers who were taken away and shook his head helplessly.
"Duke Jingguo, come in with me," Xiao Jin said.
