After listening to Zhou Pingan's words quietly, Prince Ning's face was so gloomy that he could shed tears. He never thought that he would be forced into such a situation by Zhou Pingan's words. If he had known earlier, he would have directly ordered him just now.
It was chopped.
But now, he can't do this.
After a moment of silence, King Ning said: "You think too highly of yourself. Killing you would be tantamount to rebellion?"
Zhou Ping'an smiled slightly and said: "I am not very talented when I am a low-ranking official, but I am still a third-rank official in the imperial court."
"Xiaguan received his salary from the court and acted loyally to the emperor. Now he was ordered to come to inspect taxes, but he was killed by King Ning. If this is not the same as rebellion, what is it?"
Prince Ning had no expression on his face and fell into a long silence.
King Ning didn't speak, and Zhou Ping'an didn't say anything. There were many people in the hall, but it was completely silent. Everyone held their breath and concentrated for fear of making a little noise and disturbing King Ning.
On the contrary, Zhou Pingan, who was at the center of the storm, was the most relaxed.
He stood there calmly, as if he was not worried that Prince Ning would really kill him.
Zhou Changshou was sitting next to him on pins and needles. At this moment, he suddenly felt King Ning's eyes looking over. Zhou Changshou raised his head and looked at King Ning. Seeing that there was a hint of inquiry in King Ning's eyes, he was greatly relieved.
But his expression was still serious, and he just shook his head slightly.
Seeing Zhou Changshou shaking his head, King Ning suddenly smiled and said to Zhou Ping'an: "It's a long way from the capital, so you must be tired, so just rest in my palace and we'll talk about anything tomorrow."
Prince Ning's smile made everyone feel like a spring breeze, as if a big stone had fallen from their hearts.
Zhou Ping'an raised his hand and said with a smile: "The prince invited me, but I didn't dare to refuse, so I had no choice but to stay in the prince's palace and disturb the prince."
"It doesn't matter."
Prince Ning twitched the corner of his mouth with a smile, and said calmly: "It's late at night, everyone should retreat and rest."
After King Ning finished speaking, he glanced at Zhou Changshou and turned around to leave.
Immediately afterwards, the palace steward came to Zhou Ping'an and led him to the side room to rest.
As soon as King Ning left, Zhou Ping'an also left. The sergeants retreated one after another, and the hall quickly became empty.
It was as if the disturbance just now had never happened.
Zhou Changshou knew the meaning of King Ning's glance before leaving. He got up and did not leave the palace, but came to the backyard and King Ning's study.
In the study room, Prince Ning was standing there waiting as expected.
As soon as Zhou Changshou entered the door, he bowed to the end and said: "You are guilty of Chang Changshou, please punish me."
"What's your crime?" Pluto asked calmly.
Although he tried his best to suppress it, there was still obvious anger in his tone.
After sighing, Zhou Changshou said: "Zhou Pingan is actually my biological brother."
Prince Ning suddenly turned around, stared at Zhou Changshou and said, "Before, I didn't know that you had a younger brother."
Zhou Changshou lowered his eyes, with a hint of just the right amount of guilt and uneasiness in his eyes.
He said: "My lord, I also saw him today. This younger brother, Changshou, is really unruly."
"Although we brothers are from the same mother, our ideas are very different, so we haven't contacted each other for many years, but I didn't want him to suddenly find me as the governor of the tax desk."
"Shou Changshou didn't dare to make the decision on such a big matter, let alone conceal it, so he took it upon himself to bring him to see the prince. But he didn't expect that the situation would develop to this point. Speaking of which, Changshou was also tricked by Zhou Ping'an.
Knowing this, Changshou would definitely not bring him here so rashly."
