The members of the Fu family stared at the head on the ground as though they had seen a ghost, backing away one after another.
The four men from the Ministry of Punishments, led by Li Jing, did not so much as change expression.
Li Jing barked, "Someone must have been shielding Wang Wu, or we would have arrested him earlier. Were you involved?"
"I..."
Fu Wen was scared witless. He had merely failed to report Wang Wu. How did that count as shielding him? Besides, he had only failed to report Wang Wu before the man committed murder. Wang Wu had fled after the killing. How was he supposed to report him then?
Moreover, King Zhou had shattered the stone tablet bearing the collective punishment law with a single slap. Surely Li Jing did not still intend to hold him accountable?
Li Jing swept his gaze over everyone in the hall, his twitching, thick eyebrows exerting unparalleled pressure.
He suddenly thundered, "Seize Fu Wen and give him twenty strokes of the rod!"
Fu Wen recovered his senses and desperately tried to save himself. "What crime have I committed?"
Li Jing turned his head and addressed Bi'an and Xiezhi. "Bring me the case files."
The two handed him a stack of yellow paper covered in densely packed names.
Li Jing declared sternly, "Wang Wu is just one man, and his murder is just one case. There are also Zhao Liu, Xiong Er, Qian Jia, and Wu Ding. From seizing land to assaulting others, which of these cases has nothing to do with the Fu family?"
Both Fu Yu and Fu Wen trembled inwardly. They recognized all those names and knew perfectly well how those people usually behaved.
The Fu family was too large-or rather, every noble household was like this.