During the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, Chao Cuo was promoted from imperial advisor to grand censor. He frequently submitted memorials to the throne, enumerating the offenses of the feudal lords and requesting that their territories be reduced and their border commanderies reclaimed.
When the memorial was submitted, the emperor ordered a council of ministers, nobles, and imperial clan members to debate it. No one dared to oppose—except Dou Ying, who alone voiced his disagreement, creating a rift between him and Chao Cuo from that day forward.
Chao Cuo revised thirty chapters of imperial decrees, and the feudal lords clamored in opposition, bitterly resenting him.
When Chao Cuo's father heard the news, he rushed from Yingchuan and said to Chao Cuo, "The emperor has just ascended the throne, and you hold power, encroaching upon and weakening the feudal lords, alienating their own flesh and blood. Everyone is talking about you and resenting you—why do you bring this upon yourself?"
Chao Cuo replied, "I have no choice but to act this way. Otherwise, the emperor would not be honored, and the realm would not be at peace." His father, unable to persuade him, said in anguish, "The Liu family's empire may be secure, but our Chao family is in danger. Let me leave you before it's too late." Within days, Chao Cuo's father took his own life by poison, and with despairing, tear-filled eyes, he gasped, "I cannot bear to see disaster strike our family."
His father had been dead for just over ten days when the seven vassal states in the Wu-Chu region indeed launched a rebellion, under the banner of "Cleanse the Court, Execute Chao Cuo." In an instant, dark clouds gathered and the court was thrown into panic.
At this moment, Dou Ying and Yuan Ang, who bore deep grudges against Chao Cuo, seized the opportunity to fan the flames before Emperor Jing, saying, "If Chao Cuo is not killed, the empire will never know peace."
Emperor Jing of Han, already at a loss and mistakenly believing that all the chaos stemmed from his advisor Chao Cuo, ordered Chao Cuo to be executed in the eastern market of Chang'an while still wearing his formal court robes.
After Chao Cuo's death, the imperial messenger Deng Gong, serving as a commandant, led troops to resist the rebels. Once, returning to the capital to report on the military situation, the emperor asked, "You come from the army—did the Wu and Chu rebels retreat upon hearing that Chao Cuo was dead?"
Duke Deng said, "The King of Wu has been plotting rebellion for decades; killing Chao Cuo was just an excuse. What crime did Chao Cuo commit? Weakening the feudal lords and strengthening the imperial court—this was a plan for a thousand generations! What a pity that as soon as it began, he was cruelly murdered. From now on, no loyal minister in the realm will dare to speak."
Emperor Jing was silent for a long time before finally saying, "You are right. I deeply regret it too." But this regret came far too late. Later, the idiom "Court Robes at the Eastern Market" came to refer to innocent officials being executed.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biographies of Yuan Ang and Chao Cuo"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "东市朝衣" came to describe innocent officials being executed.