Ning Xu thought to himself, it was indeed the Emperor who reacted instantly, and he crisply responded, "Yes, before the list was announced, I saw Zhang Rongchuan outside the tavern. Since Zhang Rongchuan resembles my elder brother greatly, I feared there might be trouble, so I had someone investigate. Later, I learned he was Zhou Shuren's future son-in-law and dismissed the possibility of a conspiracy. However, since he was too much like a member of the Ning family, I discreetly sent someone to investigate Zhang Rongchuan in Zhou's village."
The Emperor wasn't angry. Zhang Rongchuan did look too much like Ning Shao. Ning Xu's reaction was also understandable, "Looking at you, you must have uncovered something. Could he really be a child of the Ning Residence?"
One couldn't blame him for thinking this way; the child looked like he belonged to the Ning Residence to anyone who saw him.
