The prince is more stable

Chapter 45: Hit Me
When Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhao Hao arrived outside the Forbidden Palace, they saw it was packed with people.

Hundreds of people wearing official uniforms of various colors and long-winged hats sat quietly outside the palace gate, neither speaking nor moving, staring blankly at the closed palace gate.

The carriage stopped, Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhao Hao got off, and Chen Shou and the imperial guards carried Liu Zhi around from behind.

Seeing the three people appear, the court officials outside the palace gate were stunned for a moment, and then jumped up as if they were bitten by a dog.

"Mr. Liu! Mr. Liu! And the King of Chu and his rebellious son!"

All of a sudden, the officials rushed forward and saw Liu Zhi being carried by someone with a bruised face and nose. He looked extremely miserable. This tragic scene aroused the public indignation of the officials.

"This is too much! How dare you abuse Prime Minister Liu? This is unheard of in the history of the country!"

"Heaven is cruel! Alas!"

"King Chu, you must give me an explanation, or I will fight you to the death!"

The crowd could not control their emotions and surrounded Zhao Xiaoqian, trying to grab his clothes, but were stopped by Chen Shou and the imperial guards.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked calm and said nothing.

Liu Zhi, who was being held, showed a look of satisfaction. He finally found the organization, and finally someone stood up for him!
Then Liu Zhi's head suddenly drooped down, and he looked like he was dying, with faint groans coming from his mouth.

Zhao Hao was a little daunted by this situation, but he still stood in front of Zhao Xiaoqian, pointing at the courtiers and shouting, "Dare! Whoever dares to attack me! If you touch a hair on my head, you will be humiliating my uncle, a relative of mine, and committing a grave crime!"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "Father, there is no need to bother with them. Please go into the palace."

Outside the palace gate, Chen Shou and others were unable to enter. Liu Zhi had no one to support him, and it was not known whether he was pretending or not, as he collapsed to the ground.

This action immediately caused the old party to cry out in grief.

Zhao Xiaoqian squatted in front of Liu Zhi and said with a smile, "Mr. Liu, if you keep pretending, I'll hit you again. I'm afraid it wouldn't be so glorious to see you crying for your parents in front of your students, former officials, and your followers. How can you face people in the future?"

Liu Zhi's eyelids twitched, and he jumped up on the spot and stood straight in an instant.

He had to get up. Liu Zhi knew very well that the King of Chu's bastard son was really unreasonable. If he said he would beat someone, he would definitely beat them. Liu Zhi had tried it himself.

The three of them entered the palace and came to the Funing Palace.

Inside the Funing Hall, the atmosphere of the chat was very lively, with bursts of laughter emanating from time to time.

It was not until Zhao Hao and his son and Liu Zhi entered the hall that the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became stiff and cold. The harmonious chatting scene just now was no longer seen. At this moment, the new and old parties were clearly divided and belonged to different camps.

Only Zhao Xu looked calm and smiling.

After the three of them saluted, Zhao Xu looked at Zhao Hao and said with a smile, "Uncle Chu has gained weight again. It's better for him to eat less every day, otherwise obesity will cause many problems."

Zhao Hao smiled and said, "Yes, yes. I will obey your orders and eat less in the future."

Zhao Xu looked at Zhao Xiaoqian again and said with a smile, "My cousin has gotten into trouble again?"

Zhao Xiaoqian also laughed: "Yes, I was impulsive and beat someone up."

Liu Zhi finally got his chance. He knelt before Zhao Xu and said in a mournful voice, "Your Majesty, please make the decision for me!"

Everyone in the hall was shocked. Zeng Bu and Zhang Dun, two members of the New Party, frowned, then curled their lips in disdain, feeling quite disdainful of Liu Zhi's ugly and shameless behavior.

Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang sat quietly with blank expressions.

Even Emperor Zhao Xu couldn't help but frown. Liu Zhi's appearance at this moment was considered to be impolite in front of the emperor, and Zhao Xu was quite unhappy.

The only sound in the hall was Liu Zhi's crying, and Zhao Hao blinked his little green eyes.

Whoever is miserable is right, right?
We can't let this old guy take all the credit. Who doesn't like to compare misery?

Zhao Hao then sank to his knees, grinning miserably, "Please, Your Majesty, help me. That bastard Liu Zhi insulted me in the street. His insults were so filthy, so filthy!"

Zhao Hao's reaction caught everyone in the hall off guard, and everyone looked at him in astonishment.

Why are you, a fat guy, getting involved in the matter between your son and Liu Zhi?
An old minister and a clan member were throwing a tantrum in front of the emperor, and this behavior made everyone frown.

Finally, Zeng Bu couldn't bear it anymore and said in a deep voice: "Enough! If you continue to make trouble, I will report you for impoliteness in front of the emperor!" Zhao Hao immediately stood up, glanced at the stunned Liu Zhi and sneered.

Liu Zhi knew that he couldn't continue making trouble, so he stood up awkwardly.

Zhao Xu then looked at Zhao Xiaoqian and said, "You did this, so you speak first."

Zhao Xiaoqian said frankly: "At the intersection of Yu Street, I killed Liu Zhi's horse, smashed his carriage, and even pulled him down, slapped him, and kicked him..."

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Xiaoqian added calmly, "Oh, right, I slapped him again in the lobby of Kaifeng Prefecture. Well, that's about it. I did it all."

Zhao Xu looked at Liu Zhi and said, "Prime Minister Liu, is what the Prince of Chu said true?"

Liu Zhi was a little confused by Zhao Xiaoqian's frank admission. Are crimes so righteous and justified these days?

I wanted to add some extra fuel to the fire, but Zhao Xiaoqian admitted it too readily, and the action happened in public. Anyone who was interested would know the truth of the matter once they checked, so I really couldn't add any more.

So Liu Zhi had no choice but to say, "It's true."

Zhao Hao snorted coldly, "I only hit you three times, and you screamed so miserably, as if your entire family was wiped out..."

The words were so venomous that Liu Zhi flew into a rage. Zhao Xu could no longer bear to listen and said with a sullen face, "Uncle Wang, please do not be so presumptuous."

"I know my crime." Zhao Hao immediately became obedient.

Zhao Xu looked at Zhao Xiaoqian again and asked, "Why did you hurt someone?"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "I am not a reckless or rude person. I could not bear it any longer and hurt others. I have my reasons. As for this reason, I believe that Prime Minister Liu knows it better. Why don't you tell me why you were beaten?"

Looking at Zhao Xiaoqian's malicious smile, Liu Zhi felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

The incident started with him because he cursed the King of Chu and his son, and the curses were indeed very unpleasant, so people started to attack him.

This matter has been brought to the attention of the government. How can I explain it to appear to be right?
While he was pondering, Zhang Dun stroked his beard and smiled, "Your Majesty, I happened to be present when the incident happened. How about I say something fair?"

Liu Zhi, Fan Chunren, Lu Dafang and others' eyelids jumped.

Anyone who starts with "let me be fair" is actually the most unfair person, and will definitely take sides next.

Zhang Dun looked at Liu Zhi, his tone growing colder. "Everyone has seen what I said. Mr. Liu, the whole incident started when your carriage blocked mine at the intersection of Imperial Street. We stood in a standoff for nearly half an hour, neither of us giving in. Is that right or wrong?"

Liu Zhi pursed his lips tightly and said nothing.

"The Prince of Chu's carriage followed and I saw him. I invited him up to chat for a few words, but you lifted the curtain and spoke arrogantly. The Prince of Chu, who is well-mannered, still saluted and greeted you. Is that right or not?"

Liu Zhi remained silent.

"Seeing the Prince of Chu being so modest, you felt he could be deceived and became even more rude, even insulting his father. I have written down every word you said. Do you want me to repeat it in front of the emperor?"

Liu Zhi's face gradually turned pale.

Until this moment, he still couldn't understand why he was the one who was beaten, but the wind direction was wrong and the one who beat others was justified?

Zhang Dun said leisurely, "Not only that, you also cried out in the street, 'The government is incompetent!' You said this in public. A quick check will reveal its truth. Lord Liu, is it true or not?"

Zhao Xu's face suddenly darkened.

Even I was scolded?
Liu Zhi's face turned pale. He finally realized that the matter had become serious and it was no longer a matter of who was suffering and who was right.

Zhang Dun was indeed an old fox who had experienced decades of ups and downs in the officialdom. With just a few words, the nature of the whole matter suddenly changed.

At this time, Zhao Xiaoqian also spoke leisurely: "Your Majesty, my lords, I am only a young man with a strong temper. There are many things I don't understand, but there is one thing I will never forget: filial piety and loyalty."

"Someone insulted my father in the street, lamenting, 'The government is incompetent.' If I keep silent, people will accuse me of being disloyal and unfilial. I'm still young, and I can't bear that accusation."

"I have beaten this bastard Liu Zhi. No matter how the emperor punishes me, I have no regrets. The next time I see this bastard, I will beat him again."

(End of this chapter)