Water Margin: The Chai Family's Privilege Warrant Hits the Ground

In the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, Chai Hao pulled a curved golden token from his robes and held it high. It was an imperial pardon in gold, a privilege even greater than the iron certificate of immunity from execution. Zhao Kuangyin had bestowed it upon the Chai family after taking the throne. Yet his great-uncle had been beaten to death by the brother-in-law of the prefect of Gaotangzhou, and when his uncle took the iron certificate to the capital to appeal, he was tortured into confessing and thrown into the death cell. Chai Hao hurled the priceless golden token to the ground as if it were trash. “The Chai family are royalty of the previous dynasty. We held a golden token granting immunity from execution, yet a fifth-rank dog of an official still drove us to ruin. If you accept the government’s amnesty, one day some petty official will be able to take your lives.” Wu Song gave a cold snort, Lu Zhishen boomed, and every hero in the hall felt a shock in their hearts.