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

The Crown Prince, Chen Jue and Chen Jia successfully captured the spies who had sneaked into the Imperial City at the celebration banquet, and for a while, the tense atmosphere in the Imperial Palace eased a little. However, everyone knew that if they did not thoroughly pry out the conspiracy and accomplices behind these spies, the Imperial City would still be on pins and needles and full of crises.

The emperor issued an order to escort the spies to the Dali Temple to await trial. In the Dali Temple, the jailers patrolled back and forth with sticks in hand, and their heavy footsteps echoed in the gloomy corridors, as if every step was stepping on people's hearts. The cell was dark and damp, exuding a foul smell, and rats shuttled in the corners from time to time, making squeaking sounds.

Chen Jue volunteered to go deep into the prison to interrogate the spies alone. He knew that this mission was difficult. Since these spies dared to sneak into the imperial city, they must have been specially trained and would not easily reveal the truth. But Chen Jue was tenacious in his heart and was determined to make the truth known to the world.

Walking into the dim interrogation room, the light of the torch flickered, illuminating Chen Jue's stern face. Various torture instruments were placed on the ground, and the iron chains collided with each other, making a crisp and frightening sound. Opposite, the spies who were tied up were sitting or lying, with different expressions in their eyes, some pretending to be calm, and some showing a trace of panic.

Chen Jue slowly sat down in the presiding judge's seat, his eyes like torches, scanning everyone one by one. After a long while, he spoke: "Everyone, you must know why you have fallen into this situation today. I advise you not to make any more meaningless struggles. If you tell the truth, you can still be given a lighter sentence. If you persist in your delusion, the torture instruments of the Dali Temple will not be able to see through you."

A spy with a thin figure and cunning eyes snorted coldly and raised his eyes to challenge: "Duke Chen, don't scare us. Since we dare to come here, we have already put life and death aside. You can kill us or chop us up, it's all up to you!"

Chen Jue sneered, his intimidation was self-evident: "Humph, you are so disregarding life and death. I want to see how tough you are." As he spoke, he stood up and walked to the spy, leaning over to stare into his eyes, "You are from Qin, right? Why did Qin send you here? Do you want to take advantage of the fact that Qing has just won a victory and is lax internally to do something?"

The spy turned his head away, avoiding Chen Jue's gaze, and kept silent.

Seeing this, Chen Jue was not anxious and continued, "I know you have received benefits from Qin, but you should also think about it. Now you are in the prison of Qing State. Qin is far away. Can it save you? Is it worth it to work for them?"

Another short and fat spy nearby couldn't help but speak up: "Stop pretending here. If we tell it, we'll die anyway, so we might as well die heroically."

Chen Jue shook his head slightly, sat back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table, making a rhythmic sound, as if he was thinking about something. After a moment, he suddenly looked up and looked at everyone with sharp eyes: "Do you think you can save your life by not telling? I tell you, if you don't confess, your family members in Qin will not have a good life. Since Qin can send you to die, how can it really care about the life and death of your family members?"

As soon as these words came out, the faces of several spies changed slightly, and a trace of panic flashed in their eyes. Chen Jue keenly caught this detail and was secretly happy in his heart, knowing that he had touched their soft spot.

He struck while the iron was hot and continued, "My Qing country has always been kind to others. As long as you are willing to cooperate, I will not only save your lives, but also try to protect your family. But if you insist on not repenting, then I can only report your crimes truthfully. At that time, your family will be implicated because of your stupidity."

The skinny spy gritted his teeth and seemed to be a little shaken, but still said with a stiff upper lip: "Why should you make us believe you?"

Chen Jue's expression straightened up: "Based on my character, in this capital, in this Qing Kingdom, who doesn't know that I always keep my word? You can go and ask around. I have been doing business for many years. Have I ever been untrustworthy to anyone?"

For a moment, the interrogation room fell silent. The spies looked at each other, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

Chen Jue saw that the time was right, so he slowed down his tone and said, "I know that you are all following orders and have no choice. As long as you tell me who is behind this and who else is lurking in Qing State, I will plead with the Crown Prince to spare your lives and give you a chance to reform."

After a long while, the short and fat spy sighed and said, "Forget it. I said... We were indeed instructed by the Qin secret envoy. They promised that after the mission was accomplished, they would give our family a large sum of money so that we could live a good life."

Chen Jue leaned forward slightly and asked, "Who is the secret envoy? Where is he now? What is your plan?"

The short and fat spy hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "The secret envoy is called Zhao Feng, and he usually stays in a manor outside the city. Our plan is to destroy several key points of the palace at the celebration banquet according to the layout of the imperial city prepared in advance, causing chaos, so that the Qin army can take the opportunity to attack the city..."

"Who are the other accomplices?" Chen Jue asked immediately.

"And... there are a few people working in the palace. They are responsible for passing on information to us and covering our actions. I don't know exactly who they are. We are all single-line contacts, and I have only met them once or twice."

Chen Jue frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Then how did you get in touch with the people in the palace? Is there any token or code?"

The thin spy took over the conversation: "Every time we meet, the people in the palace will put a bunch of red flowers in the southeast corner of the imperial garden. When we see it, we go to the Taiye Lake and wait. If the person says, 'The moonlight is so beautiful tonight,' we will say, 'The spring breeze will be even warmer tomorrow,' to confirm our identity."

Chen Jue wrote down the information one by one, and had a plan for the next step in his mind. He looked at the spies, his tone serious but with a hint of expectation: "It is wise for you to confess today. I, Chen Jue, will keep my promise, but if I find that you are hiding something, don't blame me for being rude."

After saying that, Chen Jue stood up, walked out of the interrogation room, ordered the jailer to keep a good eye on the spy, and then went straight to the East Palace to find the prince.

In the East Palace, the Crown Prince was discussing follow-up matters with Chen Jia. Seeing Chen Jue rushing over, he quickly stood up to greet him.

"Duke Chen, was there any gain from the interrogation?" the prince asked anxiously.

Chen Jue informed the prince and Chen Jia of the results of the interrogation in detail. After listening, the two of them looked solemn.

Chen Jia said worriedly: "I didn't expect Qin's conspiracy to be so meticulous. If we hadn't discovered it in time, the consequences would have been disastrous."

The prince nodded and said, "Thanks to Duke Chen, you have worked hard again this time. Next, we must follow these clues and catch the remaining spies as soon as possible. We must not let Qin's evil plan succeed."

Chen Jue cupped his hands and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I have already figured it out. Tomorrow we can send people to the manor outside the city to capture the secret envoy Zhao Feng. At the same time, we will strengthen the guard in the palace and pay attention to the contact person. We will be able to completely eliminate the hidden dangers."

The prince patted Chen Jue's shoulder approvingly and said, "Okay, let's do as Duke Chen said. You have made an indelible contribution to this incident. After it is accomplished, I will ask my father for credit and reward you handsomely."

Chen Jue quickly knelt down to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Your Highness. Serving the Kingdom of Qing is my duty, and I dare not ask for a reward."

Afterwards, the three of them discussed some details and then dispersed to prepare for new challenges.