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

In the garden of the imperial palace, there were flowers in full bloom and butterflies dancing. It should have been a leisurely and peaceful scene. Chen Jia was strolling there, admiring the spring scenery. She was wearing a moon-white silk dress, which swayed gently in the wind, like a blooming white lotus. There was only a mutton-fat jade hairpin in her hair, which was simple yet elegant, and made her face more beautiful and her temperament more gentle.

Suddenly, a loud noise broke the silence. A princess dressed in gorgeous brocade clothes came with a group of maids and servants. This princess was the cousin of the current emperor. She was spoiled since childhood, domineering and arrogant.

The princess walked straight up to Chen Jia, looked her up and down, her eyes full of disdain and ridicule: "Oh, isn't this Chen Jia? You are a second-married woman, and you still have the nerve to wander around in this palace. You are really shameless." Her voice was sharp and piercing, echoing in the garden, attracting the attention of the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs.

Chen Jia raised her head slightly, looked firmly into the eyes of the princess, and responded neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Your Highness, I, Chen Jia, am upright and honest. Although I have experienced changes in my marriage, I have never done anything that violates moral ethics. I came to the palace at the invitation of the Crown Princess. It has nothing to do with you, Your Highness. Please be careful with your words." Although her voice was calm, the power contained in it should not be underestimated.

The princess sneered, "Hmph, you still dare to talk back? Do you think that you can change the fact that you married a second time by clinging to the Crown Princess? In my eyes, you are nothing more than a person who has lost his chastity. You are not worthy of living in the same room with us royal relatives."

Chen Jia took a deep breath and tried to suppress the anger in her heart: "Your Highness, you are so superficial to make such a generalization and make a hasty judgment about me based on the marriage alone. I have always been kind-hearted in the Duke's Mansion, helping the poor and opening a charity school, just to do my part to give back to society. Are all these worthless in your eyes?"

The princess was choked by Chen Jia's words and was speechless for a moment, but she was still unwilling to give up and continued to speak ill of him: "You are doing this just to gain fame and cover up the shame of your second marriage. A woman like you should stay at home and don't come out to embarrass herself."

Chen Jia frowned slightly, and said in a more serious tone: "Your Highness, it is really unfair for you to say that. I, Chen Jia, have a clear conscience. I opened a free school because I saw that many poor children had no books to read. I couldn't bear for them to miss the opportunity to receive an education, so I took out my dowry, hired a teacher, and purchased books and teaching aids. When I was helping the victims, I went to the disaster area in person, distributed supplies, and comforted the people. These good deeds were all out of my heart, how could they be for fame? And you, as a princess, enjoy wealth and glory, but you are here to accuse others without reason. What have you done for the people of this world?"

The princess's expression changed slightly. She didn't expect Chen Jia to dare to contradict her like this, but she still pretended to be calm and said, "It's against the rules for a woman like you to show up in public. You dare to teach me a lesson here? It's simply outrageous!"

Chen Jia did not back down. "Your Highness, the so-called rules should guide people to do righteous things, not be an excuse for you to suppress others. If women can only be trapped in the boudoir, who will carry out the many good deeds in the world? Although I am a woman, I also have my own beliefs and responsibilities. I will never be like you who only talk nonsense and slander at will."

At this time, some palace maids, eunuchs and other royal women had gathered around. They were all whispering and watching this fierce confrontation.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her, the princess became even more angry. She raised her voice and said, "You are such an ignorant woman. I will teach you a lesson today. What status do you think you have in this palace? It's just that the Crown Princess is just taking you as a plaything on a whim."

Chen Jia's eyes flashed with anger, but she quickly calmed down: "Your Highness, you slander the Crown Princess like this, aren't you afraid of offending the majesty of heaven? The Crown Princess is kind and caring. Her appreciation of me is based on my dedication to the people and my own moral character. And you, you speculate about others with malicious intent, which is really disappointing."

The princess felt a little guilty about what Chen Jia said, but she still said stubbornly: "Don't use the Crown Princess to pressure me. This princess is not afraid! You are a second-married person, so you should be despised by others."

At this moment, Chen Jue happened to arrive. He had come to find Chen Jia to pay respects to the Queen together, but he did not expect to hear the Princess humiliating Chen Jia as soon as he arrived at the garden. Chen Jue's eyes instantly turned cold, and he quickly walked to Chen Jia and protected her behind him.

Chen Jue looked at the princess, with a mocking smile on his face: "Your Highness, what you said is wrong. How can you slander my sister's character and deeds at will? You keep saying that my sister's second marriage is a shame, but what virtue and ability do you have? You only know how to rely on your status as a princess to show off in this palace and bully others all day long. Have you ever done a practical thing for the people? Have you ever cared about the lives of those poor people like my sister?"

The princess was startled by Chen Jue's momentum, but she still pretended to be calm and refuted: "Who are you? Where did you come from, you wild boy? Do you have the right to speak here?"

Chen Jue sneered: "I am Chen Jue, and Chen Jia is my most respected sister. Although I am not a royal relative, I also know that respecting others is the most basic virtue. And you, obviously, don't even understand this. Do you think that because of your noble status, you can trample on the dignity of others at will? In my opinion, you are just a spoiled and ignorant child."

The princess's face flushed red, and she pointed at Chen Jue angrily: "You...how dare you humiliate me like this! Do you know who I am? I am the cousin of the current emperor, and my father is a prince with great military exploits. How dare you, a mere minister, be so rude to me!"

Chen Jue met the princess's gaze without fear: "Your Highness, if you are really as noble as you say, you should set an example instead of being like a shrew scolding on the street, with no image at all. Your status and position are your blessing, but you use it to do evil. Is this what you call nobility?"

The princess was so angry at Chen Jue that she was shaking all over. Her eyes were red and tears were welling up in her eyes: "You...you bastard! This princess will not let you go!"

Chen Jue was still unyielding: "Oh? Your Highness, are you trying to threaten me? Just come at me, I Chen Jue wants to see what you can do. However, I advise you to reflect on your words and deeds first, so as not to cause greater trouble in the future."

The princess couldn't hold it in any longer, she burst into tears, and then ran away with a group of maids and servants. She cried as she ran, "I must tell my father and let him teach you a lesson!"

Watching the princess's back as she walked away, Chen Jia gently pulled the corner of Chen Jue's clothes: "Xiao Jue, are you going too far? She is a princess after all. If she really complains to the emperor, what can we do?"

Chen Jue turned around and looked at Chen Jia with a confident smile on his face: "Sister, don't worry. She is just bluffing. She humiliated you so much today. If I don't fight back, she will only become more unscrupulous. Besides, I believe that the emperor is reasonable and will not listen to her one-sided words."

Chen Jia sighed slightly: "I hope so. But I still want to thank you, Xiaojue. If you hadn't arrived in time, I really don't know how to deal with her."

Chen Jue gently held Chen Jia's hand: "Sister, there is no need to be so polite between you and me. I won't let anyone bully you, no matter who it is."

Chen Jia looked at Chen Jue, tears of emotion flashing in her eyes: "Xiao Jue, I feel really at ease with you around."

Chen Jue gently wiped away the tears from Chen Jia's eyes: "Okay, sister, don't cry. We still have to go pay our respects to the Queen, we can't keep her waiting for too long."

Chen Jia nodded, and the two smiled at each other, then walked hand in hand towards the Queen's palace. In the spring sunshine, their figures seemed particularly firm, as if they were declaring to all the injustice and prejudice in the palace that they would not yield and would bravely defend their dignity and honor.

After this incident, Chen Jia's reputation in the palace gradually changed. Many people began to re-examine her, seeing her strength and kindness, and their prejudice against her gradually decreased. Chen Jue's bravery and wisdom also made everyone look at him with new eyes. In this palace full of power struggles, they gradually gained a foothold and wrote their own legendary story.

Chen Jia and Chen Jue continued walking on the path of the palace. Chen Jia was still a little worried. She said softly, "Xiao Jue, although your rebuttal to the princess just now was very satisfying, she has a special status after all. I am afraid that this matter will not be resolved so easily."

Chen Jue frowned slightly, but his eyes were firm: "Sister, don't worry. I, Chen Jue, know how to behave. The princess is so rude, I will never let her bully you. If the emperor really blames me, I will bear it all and will never let you get hurt."

Chen Jia shook her head and said, "Xiao Jue, I'm not afraid of being implicated, I just don't want you to get into trouble because of me. It's not easy for you to be in the court, if I offend the princess's lineage, I'm afraid it will hinder your career."

Chen Jue stopped and looked at Chen Jia seriously: "Sister, in my heart, your safety and dignity are far more important than your career. I, Chen Jue, am not a person who curries favor with the powerful. I only follow the justice in my heart. The words and deeds of the princess today would not be considered reasonable by anyone who saw them. I believe that justice is in the hearts of the people."

Chen Jia was touched, but helpless: "I just hope that this matter can be properly resolved as you said."

The two of them came to the Queen's palace. After paying their respects to the Queen, the Queen seemed to notice something was wrong with Chen Jia and asked, "Chen Jia, you don't look very well today. What happened?"

Chen Jia hesitated for a moment, then looked at Chen Jue, who nodded slightly to signal her to tell the truth. Chen Jia then told the Queen everything about the conflict with the princess in the garden.

After hearing this, the Queen sighed softly: "This princess has been spoiled since she was young, and she acts rashly and rudely. Chen Jia, don't take it to heart. I will make the decision for you."

Chen Jia hurriedly thanked her: "Thank you for your concern, Queen. Chen Jia dare not trouble you. I just hope that this matter will not become a big deal and affect the harmony in the palace."

The queen smiled and said, "It's rare that you can take the overall situation into consideration. But this princess needs to be properly disciplined, otherwise she will definitely cause more trouble in the future."

After leaving the Queen's Palace, Chen Jia felt a little relieved. However, the Princess did not give up.

The princess ran back to her palace crying and immediately went to find her father, the prince. Seeing his daughter crying so sadly, the prince felt distressed and asked, "My dear daughter, who bullied you?"

The princess choked up and exaggerated the story, describing herself as the victim: "Father, Chen Jia and Chen Jue are so arrogant. They don't take my daughter seriously at all and openly humiliate her. You must stand up for my daughter!"

After hearing this, the prince's face darkened: "Humph, a man from the Duke's Mansion, a mere official, dares to be so bold. I will not let them off easily."

So the prince brought the princess to the emperor and sued Chen Jia and Chen Jue. When the emperor heard about this, he frowned and said, "I have also heard about this, but I heard that it was the princess who was rude to Chen Jia first, and Chen Jue was just eager to protect his sister."

The prince said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, although my words may have been inappropriate, Chen Jia's second marriage should not have been so ostentatious in the palace. I just said a few fair words, and they spoke ill of me. This is really too much."

The emperor thought for a moment and said, "I will investigate this matter thoroughly. You can leave first."

The emperor then sent people to question the palace maids, eunuchs and other female members of the royal family who were present at the time and learned the truth of the matter. It turned out that the princess was the first to provoke the incident and her words were extremely bad, while Chen Jia had always been restrained, and Chen Jue's counterattack was only after the princess became aggressive.

The emperor had made up his mind, and he summoned the prince and the princess. In the hall, the emperor said solemnly: "I have investigated the matter. Princess, you are a member of the royal family, but you have no tolerance and you wantonly slander others. It is really beneath your dignity. Although Chen Jia is married for the second time, she has done many good deeds among the people and her character is commendable. Chen Jue's act of protecting his sister is also reasonable. I think of your young age and ignorance, so I will not punish you severely this time, but you need to apologize to Chen Jia and not to provoke trouble again in the future."

The princess widened her eyes, unable to believe that the emperor would make such a judgment: "Father, I do not accept it!"

The emperor gave her a stern look and said, "I have made up my mind. If you dare to disobey me again, I will not let you off easily."

Seeing the emperor was so determined, the prince quickly pulled the princess's sleeve, signaling her to obey. Although the princess was unwilling, she could only helplessly apologize to Chen Jia: "Miss Chen, I'm sorry, it's my fault."

Chen Jia knelt slightly and saluted: "Your Highness, it is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them."