Three years ago, the high-ranking official who died was bound by the "law of filial piety" too. The law of filial piety said that children should obey their parents even if they had been abandoned or cut off relationship with their parents.
The official was pressured by his parents' greed to take bribes. In the end, he was caught. However, he wanted to be caught. He did that to prove that the "law of filial piety" was unfair and wrong.
That was because he had never used a single tael of silver that he had embezzled. But he was still beheaded in public.
After the Emperor read the man's statement, he did not eat or sleep well for a few days.
Now, another official had been forced to commit suicide by the "law of filial piety."
The Emperor was shocked once again.
He also knew that the "law of filial piety" had many inappropriate aspects, but this was, after all, a rule left behind by his ancestors. As a descendant, he could not easily change it.
