I was chased by my sickly junior brother who had two lives

Inside the magnificent palace, the atmosphere was suffocating.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne with an angry face, staring at the Prince of Zhao who was kneeling below with sharp eyes. The prince beside him watched the scene with a complicated expression.

The emperor was so angry that his face turned blue. He slammed the armrest of the dragon throne and scolded loudly: "Look at you, you only know how to stir up trouble all day long and do things without any regard for rules! How do you want to explain this matter?"

King Zhao knelt on the ground with a plop, his face instantly filled with fear and grievance, his eyes quickly turned red, and then tears burst out like a flood.

He cried out in a tearful voice: "Father, please listen to me. This is not what you think. Everything I did was for the good of our royal family. I really have my own plans."

As he spoke, tears as big as beans kept rolling down his face. He frantically tried to wipe them with his sleeves, but they were nowhere to be seen. The tears and snot mixed together, making him look miserable.

The emperor snorted coldly: "For the good of the royal family? Look at what good things you have done! Don't think I don't know about your little tricks. Do you think you can hide your collusion with those people outside and your conspiracies from me?"

Prince Zhao quickly raised his hand to wipe his tears and said anxiously, "Father, you misunderstood me! I did this to get more support and help in the court. Think about it, the court situation is complicated now. If I don't do this, how can I share your worries and consolidate the power of the royal family? I am dealing with them for the future of our royal family."

As he spoke, his voice became more choked and his body began to tremble violently, as if he was under tremendous pain and pressure.

The emperor became even angrier after hearing this, and slammed the dragon throne again, causing the memorials on the table to shake slightly.

"How dare you quibble! What kind of people are you associating with? They are all out for their own selfish interests. If you mix with them, you will sooner or later drag the royal family into the abyss. Do you think I don't know what you are planning? You are just for your own vanity and desire for power, and you don't care about the reputation and interests of the royal family at all."

The King of Zhao lowered his head, his eyes rolled around in panic, and he thought of another excuse. He suddenly crawled forward a few steps, desperately hugged the emperor's legs, and burst into tears.

"Father, you really wronged me. Look, haven't I been planning some government affairs recently? If successful, our royal family will gain more benefits and prestige. I did this to make the royal family more prosperous. I worked hard day and night, but I didn't expect to be misunderstood by you. I feel so sad."

As he cried, his snot and tears all over the emperor's robe, and he cried so miserably. His voice had become hoarse, and his body was twitching because of crying, as if he was about to collapse.

"Father, I know I was wrong. I really know I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so confused that I did something that made you angry. I regret it now. Please give me another chance."

King Zhao cried and begged for mercy, his eyes full of fear and regret, "I will definitely change my ways in the future, think about the royal family wholeheartedly, and never do such stupid things again. Father, please forgive me this time. I swear to behave well and never let you down again."

His forehead kept hitting the ground, making a "bang bang" sound, and each hit seemed so heavy and sincere, and even some shallow marks gradually appeared on the ground.

At this time, the prince standing aside couldn't help but rolled his eyes and said, "Don't quibble anymore. You always have all kinds of excuses. I can't stand your little tricks. Do you think you can deceive father? Look at the mess you have made in the court. Isn't it chaotic enough?"

The King of Zhao looked at the Crown Prince unconvinced, loosened his arms around the Emperor's legs, sat on the ground, and cried, "Brother Crown Prince, how can you say that to me? You haven't been involved in my affairs, so how do you know I'm not thinking about the Royal Family? You just keep saying sarcastic things. I've given so much to the Royal Family, but you don't understand me. I'm really wronged."

His cries became louder and louder, and the entire palace was filled with his cries, as if he was trying to vent all the pain and helplessness in his heart.

The prince sneered, "I don't want to get involved in your messy affairs. Look at you, hanging out with those questionable people all day, and plotting to frame others. Do you think you are smart? What you are doing will only make others look down on our royal family even more."

The emperor was so angry that he was shaking all over when he saw the king of Zhao trying to argue. His hand was shaking as he pointed at the king of Zhao. He said, "You still don't repent. Do you think your schemes will succeed? You framed others, but in the end you only hurt yourself. Look at you now. You have no sense of responsibility and you only know how to shirk responsibility."

Seeing that the emperor was really angry, the King of Zhao became even more frightened. He cried even louder, kowtowed while crying, and his voice became a little trembling: "Father, I really know that I was wrong. Please don't be angry. I will definitely change in the future and will never do this again. Please forgive me this time."

His eyes were full of pleading, hoping that the emperor would have mercy on him and let him go.

The emperor felt a little reluctant when he saw his son's pitiful appearance, but he knew that he could not let him go easily, otherwise he would continue to make mistakes in the future.

"Get up now. I will investigate this matter thoroughly. If it is really as you said, you still have a chance to change. But if you dare to lie to me again, I will never let you off easily."

Prince Zhao stood up quickly, tears still on his face, and said with sobs: "Thank you, father. I will never let you down again."

The prince looked at King Zhao and said earnestly, "I hope you can really remember your lesson this time and don't cause trouble for the royal family again."

After the emperor dealt with the matter of the King of Zhao, he said to the prince with a slightly tired look: "Let's leave it at that for today. I don't want to escalate the situation further. But next time, if the King of Zhao makes such a mistake again, I will definitely punish him severely and will not tolerate it."

Although the emperor's tone was majestic, it also revealed a hint of helplessness.

After all, King Zhao is his son and he loves him dearly. While he is strict with him, he also hopes to give King Zhao a chance to mend his ways.

The prince bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Father, your majesty is wise. I understand your good intentions. I believe that after this incident, the King of Zhao will be more restrained and reflect on his own behavior in the future and serve the court and the royal family."

Although the prince said this, he was somewhat dissatisfied with the emperor's handling of the matter. He knew that the power of the King of Zhao and the King of Jin had been growing in the court in recent years, and their behavior had become more and more arrogant. If they were not severely punished, they might cause greater disasters in the future.

However, in front of the emperor, he could not reveal too much of his true thoughts and could only respond with some polite words.

After leaving the palace, the prince went straight back to his own residence. As soon as he entered the mansion, he couldn't wait to summon Chen Jue, with an angry look on his face.

Seeing that the prince looked unhappy, Chen Jue guessed something in his mind. He thought it must be related to what happened with King Zhao in the court today.

The prince paced back and forth in the study, frowning, and complained to Chen Jue, "Chen Jue, why do you think father always favors Prince Zhao and Prince Jin so much? Prince Zhao made such a big mistake today, but father just said he would punish him next time. Isn't this just condoning him to continue doing evil?"

The prince's tone was full of dissatisfaction and confusion.

Chen Jue frowned slightly, thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty may have his own considerations. After all, Prince Zhao and Prince Jin are both royal relatives. His Majesty may hope to properly handle this matter while maintaining royal family ties, so as not to cause greater turmoil in the court. But your concerns are not unreasonable. What Prince Zhao and Prince Jin have done recently is indeed a bit excessive. If they are not curbed, I am afraid it will have an adverse impact on the situation in the court."

The prince stopped walking, sat on the chair, and sighed helplessly: "I know my father's difficulties, but the King of Zhao and the King of Jin do not take the court laws and the dignity of the royal family seriously. Take this incident for example, the King of Zhao is obviously plotting behind the scenes. If we were not prepared, I am afraid he would really succeed. And the King of Jin has been secretly supporting the King of Zhao. The two of them are in cahoots with each other, trying to gain more power in the court."

Chen Jue nodded and said, "Your Highness, we cannot sit idly by. Although His Majesty did not severely punish King Zhao this time, we can take this opportunity to pay closer attention to their every move and collect evidence. If they commit illegal acts again, we can report to His Majesty in time and let His Majesty see their true colors."

The prince nodded slightly, with a firm look in his eyes. "You are right, Chen Jue. We cannot let the King of Zhao and the King of Jin continue to act recklessly. As the crown prince, I have the responsibility to maintain the justice of the court and the dignity of the royal family. I will instruct my people to strengthen the surveillance of the King of Zhao and the King of Jin. At the same time, we must unite those upright ministers in the court to fight against their power together."

"Your Highness is wise," Chen Jue said, "However, we must be careful when we act. King Zhao and King Jin will definitely be on guard against us. We must avoid alerting the enemy, lest they become desperate and do something more radical."

The prince stood up, walked to the window, looked at the scenery outside, and fell into deep thought.

After a while, he slowly said: "Chen Jue, where do you think we should start from next?"

Chen Jue walked up to the prince and said, "Your Highness, I think we can start with the followers of King Zhao and King Jin. They have won over many officials in the court. We can secretly investigate the behavior of these officials to see if they have violated laws and disciplines. Once we catch them, we can follow the clues and expose the conspiracy of King Zhao and King Jin. In addition, we must also strengthen supervision of various affairs of the court to prevent King Zhao and King Jin from intervening and seeking personal gain."

After hearing this, the prince felt that Chen Jue's suggestion made sense. He nodded and said, "Okay, let's do as you say. Chen Jue, I'll leave this matter to you. You must be careful and report to me in time if there is any situation."

"As you command, Your Highness." Chen Jue said with a bow.

The prince turned back to his desk and picked up a book, but his heart still could not calm down.