The Imperial Censor took advantage of the situation and said, "Although he has committed a grave crime, considering his significant contributions to the court, why not offset his crime with his merits, spare him the death penalty, and instead sentence him to three years of penal servitude and exile him three thousand leagues away? How about that?"
Three years of penal servitude and an exile of three thousand leagues were the most severe punishments below the death penalty.
But, at the very least, it temporarily saved his life.
Marquis Yongshou snorted coldly, "Aren't you practitioners of Legalism? Taking a life for a life is natural and just. You are always the ones shouting the loudest on normal days; why are you silent today?"
