Even if the fifth prince did speak up for the Qian clan head, nothing would change. The fact that the Qian clan was in cahoots with the second prince meant that his name would be tarnished if he tried to defend the Qian clan head now.

The king of the realm might not punish him, but nothing good would come out of such a confrontation.

By that time, the Qian clan head had become petrified with fear. The guards stepped forward and dragged him out bodily.

The officials of court felt somewhat sympathetic to the Qian clan head's plight. The king of the realm was making an example out of him, certainly, but wasn't this a rather extreme example? The entire Qian clan would perish overnight!

None of them had expected that the Qian clan would receive such severe punishment.

After all, they weren't a small clan....