Da Xingguo, the chief palace eunuch, hurried forward and said, "Your Majesty, though they were at fault, their crimes do not warrant death. The enemy was simply too cunning this time, plotting against those who were unprepared, which was why Huan Yi Yuan suffered such a setback. Those thieves are still at large, and these men are the backbone of Huan Yi Yuan. This is precisely the time for them to redeem themselves through merit. Executing them now would only grieve those who care for them and delight their enemies."
Emperor Xizong hesitated before replying, "Very well. I shall allow them to redeem themselves through merit. But while they may escape death, they cannot escape punishment. Pucha Shijie and Pusan Hutu abandoned their posts while on duty. Demote them by three ranks, dock their salaries for one year, and drag them out for eighty strokes of the rod. As for Wanyan Ping, hand her over to the chief director of the Imperial Clan Court for disposition."
His earlier order to drag them out and behead them had merely been for show. Leaving aside the fact that Wanyan Ping was his own sister, Pucha Shijie and Pusan Hutu were both heirs to several of the Jin Dynasty's great clans. If he truly killed them, those powerful families would turn the heavens upside down. Thus, once Da Xingguo pleaded for them, he readily took the way out.
"Thank you for Your Majesty's mercy." Pucha Shijie and Pusan Hutu secretly wiped away their cold sweat. Emperor Xizong had killed no small number of ministers over the years, and they had truly feared that, in a fit of rage, he would have them both executed.
Warriors soon came forward and dragged the two men away, taking them to the entrance to carry out the