Moreover, this reception was originally his responsibility.
Now that such an incident has happened, if he didn’t bear the consequence, who would?
"I was saying, Xuanyuan Mingjing would never agree to do such thing for you," Zhong Daolong already knew the nature of the Great Grandmaster from White Crane Academy very well, saying, "Si Yinchuan assured you that he would prevent those videos and photos from leaking, and you believed him? Did you place your hope in others just for the sake of saving face?"
"It’s my fault, I overlooked the malice in people’s hearts..." Zhong Tianque kept apologizing.
The teacup in Zhong Daolong’s hand smashed against his face, and he shouted angrily, "Overlook? Is that called overlooking? This is called stupidity, this is called arrogance, this is called courting death..."
Zhong Tianque’s head was bleeding profusely, with blood streaming down his forehead, yet he dared not wipe it away.
It was Phoenix who couldn’t bear to watch any longer, pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket, wiped the blood from her brother’s forehead and face, covered his wound with the handkerchief, and spoke up to try and persuade, "Dad, after such a thing has happened, big brother is also very upset... Can we just talk this out properly? I believe big brother will never make such a mistake again."
"Talk this out properly? When I spoke to him nicely in the past, when did he ever take my words to heart? Now that he’s in this position, how many people are watching him? Even when dozing off, one has to keep one eye open..."
"And what does he do? After such an incident, he hides in the hospital without a word, and then dismisses me with a simple ’I was careless’? Zhong Tianque can afford to lose face, but I, Zhong Daolong, still value our reputation, the Royal Family still values its dignity..."
"What he has done is trampling the Royal Family’s face on the ground, letting the whole world laugh at us... This behavior is like smearing excrement on our Royal Family’s face..."
Zhong Daolong, gasping for air, glared at Zhong Tianque and said, "You’re afraid of losing face, so you hide away, holed up in Marine Hospital and refuse to come out... Are we not afraid of losing face? Are we supposed to lose even more face now?"
Zhong Tianque knelt before Zhong Daolong, head hanging low, and said with a face full of sorrow and anger, "Father, I know I was wrong. Your son is foolish beyond measure... Please calm your anger, father, and please don’t harm your health... Whether to be beaten or scolded, I will accept any punishment from father."
"Punishment? You’ve lost all your dignity out there, and I still have the task of restoring your face... How do I punish you? Not only can I not punish you, but I also have to painstakingly gild your face, trying hard to tell everyone that my eldest son is not ill, that his health is fine, and that he’s a talented individual chosen by heaven..."
"Father..." Zhong Tianque’s voice choked, full of remorse.
Phoenix walked up to Zhong Daolong’s side, poured a new cup of tea for him, and spoke soothingly, "Dad, big brother is right, he has made a mistake, and you can beat or punish him, but please, don’t hurt yourself with anger... What could be more important than your health?"
"That’s right, we’ve identified the problem, let’s just solve it. Father, please don’t be angry anymore..." Zhong Tian Yi also chimed in to support.
"You do have a deep sibling bond..."
Zhong Daolong glanced at Zhong Tian Yi, took a big sip from the cup of tea handed by Phoenix, and said, "I can accept that he made a mistake, but I cannot accept his foolishness... To sit in that position, you need to be careful every moment. A single slip can lead to irrecoverable doom..."
"And what does he do? He claims he ’overlooked’ it... If he had come back earlier and told me about this, would we be in such a passive situation now? Now that the incident has blown up, we might manage to control it within the Empire, but what about the outside world? Can they be coerced to listen to us?"
"Dad, take a moment... didn’t Director Hu also say? They’ve managed it well and won’t let public sentiment escalate, which would impact big brother’s image..."
"Does he still have an image?" Zhong Daolong laughed coldly, saying, "Diarrhea Prince... Heh, I never imagined that one day, my son, Zhong Daolong’s son, would be given such a resounding title."
He looked at Zhong Tianque, saying, "Even if you don’t get to sit in that position, it’s fine, but if you do... Do you know what the consequences will be?"
"Would the former Diarrhea Prince become the Diarrhea Emperor? This nickname would follow you through generations... Those who write books, write history, they are not benevolent people, they would nail you to the pillar of shame..."
Zhong Tian Yi’s thoughts were stirred, his father’s words seemed quite suspicious.
He said, ’Even if you don’t get to sit in that position, it’s fine’...
Before this incident, big brother was the only Crown Prince being groomed to be the next King.
There was no alternative.
After the incident, did he feel big brother’s image was too damaged to succeed, or that his wisdom was insufficient to control the whole situation?
Had his father’s mind changed now?
Father had only two sons; if he was to give up on big brother, did that mean his own chance had come?
Zhong Tian Yi’s heart pounded fiercely, but his face remained composed, showing no sign of disturbance.
The more crucial the moment, the more important it was to remain calm as if Mt. Tai collapses in front of him without changing his expression.
The more credit he gained for himself, the more his big brother would lose.
Humans, alas, are vulnerable to greed.
Without those thoughts, one would see mountains as mountains, and water as water.