Zhou Cheng said in earnest, "I have always firmly believed that a scandal only becomes a scandal when word gets out. My doing it is no crime. Whoever spreads it is guilty."
For a moment, Emperor Qing had no words.
For a prince to slap his elder brother was a grave offense, a violation of the bonds of kinship.
Why had he not held Zhou Cheng accountable back then? Apart from his intention to support Zhou Cheng, it had largely been for this very reason.
If the matter had not blown up, it did not count as a crime.
Emperor Qing had never expected that a justification he had accepted back then would come flying back like a boomerang and strike him more than half a year later.
Of course, he would not consider himself wrong. He said forcefully, "That was an exception. I spared you punishment not for your sake, but to protect Chengze's reputation! You commit a filthy deed and then forbid others from speaking of it? Where in this world does anyone get off so easily?"
Zhou Cheng said, "If I dare do it, I naturally have no fear of people talking. My thinking was the same as yours then, Father Emperor: it was for the good of others. After all, when people like us make mistakes and word gets out, the one who pays the price is not necessarily the person responsible."
"What do you mean?"
Zhou Cheng said, "Their mouths belong to them. How they discuss it and spread it is their freedom. But I believe a blade is harder than a mouth. The blade is in my hand, and when I am unhappy, I will kill. Whoever speaks, I will kill!"
Emperor Qing sneered. "Kill? Ridiculous! How many can you kill, inside and outside