Zi Shou gave Zeng Bing a meaningful look and asked, "What if I insist on sentencing you to castration?"
Zeng Bing knew that if he did not resist, he would lose his manhood. Naturally, he had to steel himself and say, "If Your Majesty insists on this, how are you any different from Xia Jie? As a Three-Dynasty Veteran Official, I must urge Your Majesty to follow ancestral precedent. If Your Majesty imposes this cruel punishment today, I shall dash myself to death in this hall!"
Zi Shou was delighted. Well, here's another one threatening to bash himself to death.
San Yisheng, who had rammed his head into a pillar, had only just been carried out!
At one collision every three days, he was probably on the verge of a concussion. Perfect timing for a replacement!
Zi Shou turned to the other civil and military officials. "What do you all think of Grandee Zeng's character?"
Seeing King Zhou ask about Zeng Bing, many officials who could not bear to see him punished immediately stepped forward.
"Grandee Zeng is a Three-Dynasty Veteran Official. He is incorruptible in office, upright in character, and diligent in serving the people."
"The late King Di Yi once praised Grandee Zeng for possessing the qualities of Fu Yue."
"Grandee Zeng..."
Well...
He really was a good official.
But he sold his daughter.
People of this era saw nothing wrong with selling daughters, because it was commonplace.
The main issue was that people believed a daughter, after all the effort spent raising her, would ultimately become part of someone else's family. When a woman entered her husband's household, that household effectively gained another worker.
Thus, the groom's family had to pay the bride's relatives a certain sum. In truth, this was merely selling daughters under another name,