"Your Majesty, before receiving my punishment, this subject has something to say!" Ye Zhen's boldness once again left the assembled ministers dumbfounded.
"Granted!"
Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long used only that utterly emotionless word—"Granted"—to convey his feelings, yet he had no choice but to grant it.
For everything Ye Zhen had done thus far fell within the rules of the Great Zhou court.
Before receiving punishment, a meritorious subject was allowed to ramble on for a sentence or two. This was the goodwill Great Zhou ought to show its meritorious subjects.
"Your Majesty, Great Zhou has always had the rule of redeeming one's crimes with Military Merit! So long as the crime is not the extermination-worthy offense of rebellion or collusion with the enemy, it may be redeemed with Military Merit. Your Majesty, this subject wishes to redeem his crime with Military Merit and avoid the suffering of these three hundred Dragon Whip lashes. Is that permissible?"
Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long was furious. He wished he could immediately order the golden-hall guards to drag Ye Zhen out and give him three hundred Dragon Whip lashes first, venting his anger before anything else.
In any case, three hundred Dragon Whip lashes would not kill Ye Zhen.
But redeeming crimes with Military Merit was an ancestral rule of Great Zhou.
Before these political rules, even the emperor was constrained at every turn. He could not simply do whatever he pleased.
Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long had not cultivated his composure for nothing all these years. He slowly exhaled, and his expression returned to normal.
"Redeeming crimes with Military Merit is an ancestral rule. Why would it not be permitted?"
Having said that, Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long waved his hand. "Lord Ye is now a valiant general of Great Zhou and has just won a