"The new law takes effect now. Every offense will be punished, and the same law applies to high and low alike. Since you have dared deceive me with your grand claims, you shall be punished."
Zi Shou watched Wan Nian, Bo Yi, and the others being dragged away by the Royal Guards, and a flicker of satisfaction actually rose in his heart.
You take jabs at me every day. Now you're getting beaten!
This time, Zi Shou had hardened his heart. Loyal or treacherous, he would have them beaten first and worry about the rest later!
One moment, Chentang Pass had been a haven of peace; the next, it had become a hell on earth. He was blatantly twisting the facts without distinguishing right from wrong. How could that not make him a foolish tyrant?
He could throw a wrench into the reforms while he was at it. Was this how the new law ignored black and white? Was this how the new law muddled right and wrong?
Yin Pobai had already led the guards into administering the beatings. The drizzle gathered into thin streams and slipped off the edge of the Parasol Canopy. Beneath it, Zi Shou remained expressionless.
As the Marquis of Yue took his beating, his thoughts churned.
King Zhou's actions were unfathomable, but it was precisely that unfathomable nature that inspired fear.
At least, with opponents and supporters of the reforms each receiving fifty strokes, the neutral feudal lords would have no cause to feel aggrieved.
Bo Yi endured his beating, his thoughts racing as pain seared through his backside.
He had never imagined that this was what King Zhou had in mind.
Chentang Pass had neither desolate fields nor bountiful land. It was not so bad, but neither was it so good.
In other words,