In the next instant, the young men, who had been scared out of their wits, dropped to their knees in unison. Their shoulder-length hair tumbled down, and on the ground beside them lay a pile of shorn hair and several severed topknot crowns.
The thought that if Prime Minister Yu's hand had slipped even slightly, it might have been their heads getting lopped off, sent a violent shiver down their spines. They immediately began to wail, kowtowing ceaselessly to Yu Jiuqing and begging for mercy.
Shen Qing, standing to the side, frowned slightly.
Suddenly, a voice beside her remarked with a sigh, "Jiuqing still restrained himself. It's a good thing he did, though."
After all, the public already had plenty of complaints about this immensely powerful Prime Minister. If he had carried out a punishment right here in front of everyone, it would have only solidified the accusations that he scorns imperial law.
'Things like scorning imperial law should be done in secret!'
