The ministers ultimately decided to resolve the matter through the Court Assembly.
This Court Assembly was exceptionally urgent.
Gao Rou, the Minister over the Masses, presided in person, and almost all the ministers were present.
The ministers wore varied expressions. Some had wept the entire way, some looked furious and were searching all around, and some remained silent, their eyes gleaming.
By the time the ministers gathered there, word of what had happened outside had largely spread among them.
Sima Fu sat calmly in a seat of honor, but inwardly, he could not settle down.
He had never imagined that his nephew would pull such a move at death's door.
He truly was drenched in sweat now. Sima Fu knew perfectly well that this move depended on a swift, decisive outcome. If the ministers within made contact with the generals outside, quite a few of them ought to be able to see that something was wrong.
If their thoughts then turned to Sima Shi, the Sima Family would be in serious trouble.
If you dared to slaughter someone's entire family, would they still tolerate you?
Did you really think these powerful clans were molded from clay??
Sima Fu was deeply uneasy, but his face remained calm. Sitting in his place, he studied the ministers around him. He saw neither hostility nor anger directed at him in any minister's eyes, which let him breathe a temporary sigh of relief.
There was still time to resolve all this.
The ministers were no longer watching other countries' scandals for entertainment. Now it was Shu and Wu's turn to feast on theirs. It had been years since turmoil on such a scale had occurred.
Hebei had never been entirely pacified. It had been restless even in Cao Cao's time, but turmoil like this had