The emperor in the high seat stared at him and said word by word, "On account of the fact that he had also contributed a lot to the Imperial Court, he will be stripped of his title as the second-grade Marquis of Ningyuan, his meritorious deeds will be taken back, and he will be demoted to the third-grade if Earl Ningyuan."
The hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop!
Hiding the military intelligence was a huge crime, but the emperor had only demoted him moderately. That was because even though Earl of Ningyuan had committed a heinous crime, he had never directly harmed the emperor's interests.
Earl of Ningyuan's face was ashen as he bowed down to thank the emperor. "This subject thanks the emperor for his kindness. Long live the emperor."
The Emperor said in a low voice, "At ease!"
