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

The atmosphere in the magnificent court was as heavy as the dense clouds before a storm. The emperor sat high on the dragon throne, looking dignified, with ministers standing on both sides. Chen Jue and the crown prince stood on one side, staring at the King of Zhao who was brought up. Although the King of Zhao was wearing prison clothes, he still had his former majesty, but his eyes revealed a hint of panic that was not easily detected.

The emperor spoke in a deep and majestic voice: "Prince Zhao, do you know why I am interrogating you today?"

King Zhao stepped forward, saluted, and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know. I have always been loyal to Your Majesty, but was harmed by a traitor and suffered this imprisonment. I hope Your Majesty can see clearly." As he spoke, he looked at Chen Jue, and a trace of resentment flashed in his eyes.

Chen Jue frowned slightly and immediately retorted: "King Zhao, don't try to quibble. You colluded with the enemy country, raised troops privately, and plotted rebellion. The evidence is irrefutable. How can you shirk your responsibilities by saying you were framed?"

King Zhao sneered, "Chen Jue, you are just a small official, but you are willing to frame me just to win credit. Your so-called evidence is nothing but far-fetched stuff."

Chen Jue took a step forward and looked directly at King Zhao: "Far-fetched? The correspondence with the enemy country found in your palace recorded military secrets and treasonous plans. Are they also false? And those account books that show that you illegally amassed funds for rebellion, are they also forged?"

King Zhao's expression remained unchanged: "Humph, those letters might have been deliberately placed in my palace by someone to frame me. As for the account book, it is just a record of the palace's daily expenses, and you have misinterpreted it."

The emperor frowned slightly and looked at King Zhao: "Then how do you explain the large amount of evidence found among your confidants? They have all confessed and admitted to conspiring with you to rebel."

A trace of panic flashed across the eyes of the King of Zhao, but he quickly regained his composure: "Your Majesty, those people are just trying to save their lives, so they are making random accusations. I don't know what they did, I always thought they were working for the court."

Chen Jue glared at King Zhao: "King Zhao, do you think you can deceive His Majesty like this? Your advisor Lord Li, his letter was found in his son's villa, and the content of the letter clearly mentioned treason. Is this also fabricated by him to save his life? And General Zhang, the enemy weapons and flags used by his privately raised army were all seized in his military camp. Are these all coincidences?"

King Zhao gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Li and General Zhang may have their own ambitions, and I was deceived by them. I always thought they were working for the court, but I am really wronged!"

At this time, the prince said, "King Zhao, don't try to clear yourself of all charges. You have been forming cliques in the court for many years, trying to undermine the court. This is known to everyone. You colluded with the Lin family and laundered money through underground banks to provide financial support for your conspiracy. How do you explain this?"

King Zhao looked at the Crown Prince and said, "Your Highness, I am only on good terms with some ministers in the court and have been working together to make plans for the court. How can this be considered forming a clique for personal gain? As for the Lin family, I only have normal business dealings with them and have absolutely no intention of treason."

Chen Jue sneered, "Normal dealings? The Lin family secretly funded you to expand your power, and you used your power to seek benefits for them. You are in cahoots with each other and endanger the court. This is a fact."

King Zhao suddenly became emotional: "Your Majesty, my loyalty to the court is evident to all. I have always worked diligently to share your Majesty's worries. Now I am burdened with these false charges, and I am deeply saddened!" As he spoke, he burst into tears and knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

The emperor looked at King Zhao, his expression somewhat moved: "King Zhao, please stand up and speak."

King Zhao stood up and wiped his tears. "Your Majesty, you know how much I have done for the court over the years. In years of disaster, I opened the granaries to release grain and provide relief to the victims. When there was a war on the border, I also actively raised supplies to support the front. How could I be a traitor?"

The emperor was silent for a moment, as if thinking about what the king of Zhao said. Chen Jue's heart tightened, he knew that the king of Zhao was trying to exonerate himself by taking advantage of the emperor's kindness and his impression of his past achievements.

Chen Jue said quickly: "Your Majesty, the King of Zhao's move is just to win people's hearts and pave the way for his rebellion. His crimes are unquestionable. We cannot ignore his treason just because he did some seemingly good things in the past."

The crown prince also echoed, "Father, if the King of Zhao succeeds in his plot, the consequences will be disastrous. The stability of the court and the peace of the people will be seriously threatened. We must not let him off easily."

The emperor looked at the crown prince and Chen Jue, then at Prince Zhao, and said slowly, "Prince Zhao, I will consider your words. But the evidence is before my eyes. If you cannot give a reasonable explanation, I cannot protect you."

King Zhao knelt down again and said, "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to give me some time to prove my innocence. I am willing to accept any investigation by the court, but I only ask Your Majesty not to listen to the words of villains and wrongly accuse a loyal minister."

The emperor nodded slightly: "Okay, I will give you another chance. But during the investigation, you must stay in the palace and not contact anyone."

Chen Jue and the prince looked at each other, and saw dissatisfaction and worry in each other's eyes. But the emperor had already made a decision, so they couldn't say anything more.

After the court session, the crown prince and Chen Jue came to the East Palace. The crown prince said angrily, "Chen Jue, what father did today was too merciful. The king of Zhao committed such a crime, but he was still given a chance. This is tantamount to letting a tiger go back to the mountain."

Chen Jue nodded: "Your Highness, I am also worried that King Zhao will use this opportunity to destroy the evidence or continue to plot. We cannot relax our surveillance on him."

The prince frowned, "But father has already given the order, we can't openly disobey. We can only secretly arrange people to closely monitor the actions of the King of Zhao."

During the period when the King of Zhao was under house arrest, Chen Jue and the Crown Prince sent their most capable men to secretly monitor the area around the King of Zhao's mansion. However, the King of Zhao seemed to have noticed that someone was watching him, and he behaved very well in the mansion without any unusual behavior.

But Chen Jue knew that King Zhao would not give up. He decided to look for a breakthrough from other aspects. After investigation, he found that during King Zhao's confinement, some mysterious people still entered and left the palace. These mysterious people were unidentified and their actions were very secretive.

Chen Jue informed the prince of the situation: "Your Highness, the King of Zhao must be planning something. These mysterious people are likely his accomplices. We must find a way to find out their identities."

The prince nodded: "We can't let the King of Zhao succeed. We must find evidence again before he takes action and let father see his true face."

Therefore, Chen Jue and the prince stepped up their investigation of the mysterious people. They found that some of these mysterious people were martial arts masters, and some were good at transmitting intelligence. This made them more certain that the King of Zhao was secretly preparing for a counterattack.

During an operation to track a mysterious person, Chen Jue's men discovered that the mysterious person went to an abandoned manor outside the capital. After Chen Jue learned about it, he personally led his men to investigate.

In the abandoned manor, they found a large number of weapons and supplies, as well as some letters between the King of Zhao and a mysterious person. The content of the letter showed that the King of Zhao was preparing to launch an action in the near future, in the name of proving his innocence, but in fact to control the court.

Chen Jue brought the evidence back to the East Palace and reported to the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, the King of Zhao is indeed planning a rebellion. We must immediately present this evidence to His Majesty and stop the King of Zhao's conspiracy."

The prince looked at the evidence with a serious expression, "There is no time to lose, let's go to the palace to see our father now."

However, when they arrived at the palace, they learned that the emperor was unwell and would not see anyone. Chen Jue and the prince were extremely anxious, as they knew that the King of Zhao's conspiracy was approaching step by step, but they were unable to inform the emperor in time.

While they were anxiously waiting, King Zhao received news in the palace. He knew that his plan might be discovered, so he decided to act in advance. He used the spies he had planted in the palace to go to the palace to meet the emperor, to defend himself again, and to carry out his conspiracy.

The King of Zhao came to the Emperor's bedroom and asked to see the Emperor. Upon hearing that the King of Zhao wanted to see him, the Emperor summoned him to see him despite his physical discomfort.

When the King of Zhao saw the emperor, he cried again, "Your Majesty, I have been under house arrest for a while and have thought a lot. I know someone wants to frame me, but I have a clear conscience. I came here today to show my loyalty to Your Majesty and beg Your Majesty to lift my house arrest."

The emperor looked at Prince Zhao and hesitated: "Prince Zhao, I am still waiting for the results of the investigation. It is very difficult for me to come here at this time."

At this moment, Chen Jue and the prince received the news and rushed to the emperor's bedroom.

Chen Jue said loudly: "Your Majesty, the King of Zhao is here to confuse you. He has prepared a large number of weapons in an abandoned manor in the suburbs and intends to rebel. We have evidence."

The King of Zhao knelt down immediately and said, "Your Majesty, this is their conspiracy. They want to frame me again. I have no second thoughts about Your Majesty!"

The emperor looked at Chen Jue and King Zhao, and his heart was shaken. At this moment, the situation was at a stalemate, and the fate of the court depended on this thought.

The prince stepped forward and said, "Father, the King of Zhao's conspiracy has been exposed. We cannot give him another chance, otherwise the court will be in ruins."

The emperor pondered for a moment, and finally chose to believe King Zhao: "I believe in King Zhao's loyalty. He has done a lot for the court, and I cannot convict him based on some unconfirmed evidence. King Zhao, you can go back. I hope you will not let me down."

The King of Zhao was overjoyed and said, "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will definitely live up to your trust."

Chen Jue and the prince watched the King of Zhao leave, their hearts filled with helplessness and anger. They knew that a greater crisis was coming, and they had to find a way to stop the King of Zhao before he launched his conspiracy, even if it meant disobeying the emperor's will.

In this turbulent court, the contest between justice and conspiracy becomes increasingly fierce. Whether Chen Jue and the prince can turn the tide and save the court from danger remains unknown.