The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 1 Lying Down

Yuqing Palace, where the moon is bright and the stars are few!

Under the palace lanterns, both the maids and eunuchs serving the palace did their best not to make a sound.

Even when acquaintances bump into each other, they simply nod silently, not daring to exchange any words.

In the palace, many times, losing one's life is simply due to saying one more word.

Moreover, this was a critical time for Yuqing Palace. Just three days earlier, the Emperor had ordered the execution of the steward in charge of food and tea at Yuqing Palace, as well as the Crown Prince's personal attendant.

The charge, however, is disorderly conduct.

This matter was like a persistent shadow, completely looming over Yuqing Palace.

Many people felt that His Majesty's favor towards Yuqing Palace was not immutable and eternal.

What is even more frightening is that today, His Majesty has bestowed titles upon all seven of his eldest sons.

The eldest prince was even granted the title of Prince of the County.

Therefore, while many people kept their heads down and looked around, they would secretly glance at the east study.

The East Study was as bright as day, with lights shining through!

However, Crown Prince Yunye of the Great Zhou Dynasty, sitting behind his desk, could not be happy at all.

No, no, no, to be precise, it should be said that Shen Ye, who had transmigrated, was not happy at all at this moment.

After two days of confirmation, Shen Ye was certain that he had transmigrated to a parallel world similar to the Qing Dynasty.

However, the name of this country was Great Zhou.

Apart from that, nothing else seems to have changed much.

For example, Emperor Qianxi, who ascended the throne at the age of eight, took personal control of the government at sixteen, and has now been emperor for over thirty years, has become increasingly adept at political maneuvering.

For example, the Empress who died in childbirth; for example, her maternal uncle, Suo'etu, who was a Grand Secretary; for example...

All of this made Shen Ye realize that everything was unfolding according to the trajectory in his memory.

His own fate was to be the crown prince for thirty-eight years, and then a prisoner for more than ten years.

Having transmigrated and become the second most powerful person in the world, yet ending up with such a distressing fate, Shen Ye felt extremely resentful.

These past few days, he's been reviewing information about the Great Zhou Dynasty while pondering how to stage a Xuanwu Gate Incident.

However, what distressed Shen Ye was that, knowing he didn't have any cheat codes, it was simply impossible to recreate the events of the Xuanwu Gate incident.

The chances of success are too small!

Although he was a transmigrator, he was at most a nobody in his previous life. In terms of political acumen, he seemed to have nothing in common with the crown prince whose body he had taken over.

Even the power grab personally orchestrated by the Crown Prince could be thwarted by Emperor Qianxi with a wave of his hand. Could I possibly do the same?

It is important for people to know themselves!
Shen Ye felt that the chances of success were practically nil.

If rebellion is out of the question, then how about vying for favor and the throne?
No, it should be to first stabilize one's own position. This seems simple, but after careful consideration, Shen Ye found that it was not easy at all.

Not to mention those ambitious brothers, they were merely an external factor.

In Shen Ye's view, the reason why Yinreng, who had been the crown prince for thirty-eight years, was deposed was that his biggest enemy was actually his father.

The crown prince for thirty-eight years is a cause for great concern for the emperor!

There's a saying that goes, "Before the throne, everything else is meaningless."

As the crown prince grows older, the emperor becomes increasingly wary of him.

The more wise and powerful an emperor is, the more wary he is of his crown prince.

For example, Liu Ju, the crown prince of Emperor Wu of Han; the crown prince of Emperor Taizong of Tang; the crown prince of Li Longji; and so on...

Being the crown prince is difficult, because the crown prince is already grown up, but the emperor does not want to abdicate.

As emperors grow older, they become increasingly suspicious of their crown prince, eventually resorting to the ruthless act of eliminating him, shedding a few tears in the process. The reasons given for eliminating the crown prince are, of course, either the prince's filial impiety or the emperor's attempt to force him into rebellion.

Whether it was Liu Ju, Li Chengqian, or the Yinreng in the parallel universe, they were all forced into rebellion step by step by their own fathers.

Therefore, a crown prince who does not want to rebel is not a good crown prince.

The possibility of him vying for favor and succession is basically zero.

With trepidation and painstaking effort, and then...

As a time traveler, Shen Ye had a slight psychological advantage, but he was also well aware that there were far too many clever people in a dynasty.

In his previous life, he was at most a department head in a small unit, with a rank of section chief. He was far inferior to these important figures in front of him.

Without a cheat code, it's simply impossible to defy fate and defeat those seasoned and cunning big shots.

Therefore, Shen Ye was extremely conflicted for the past three days.

Moving forward is not an option, and retreating is not an option either. What should we do?

"Boom boom boom!"

A gentle knock on the door broke Shen Ye's thoughts. He casually said, "Come in," and a slender woman with beautiful features walked in carrying a tray.

"Your Highness, the Crown Princess was worried that you were working too hard, so she specially asked the kitchen to prepare a ginseng soup for you. Please take good care of yourself."

The woman spoke while bowing.

Seeing the respectful attitude of this beautiful woman from later generations, who could easily score 90 points, Shen Ye, who was feeling extremely frustrated, suddenly felt enlightened.

In my past life, I always followed the rules and regulations, and as a result, I did a lot of work but never found a partner.

Anyone with a bit of good looks looks down on people like him, who have low wages and bleak prospects.

Of course, I don't seem to be interested in those who are interested in me and actively try to get close to me.

So much so that even in his thirties, he's still living a life where he's the only one who needs to be fed.

Not to mention those who work diligently and conscientiously, only to find their hair thinning before middle age.

He can still be the crown prince for fifteen or sixteen years. Even if he is imprisoned, it seems that he will still have plenty of food and drink.

What's the point of fighting now!

Just lie down!
To hell with the Nine Princes' Succession Struggle, I'm not playing along!

Whoever wants to do it can do it!
Feeling enlightened, Shen Ye prepared to chat with the palace maid who brought the ginseng soup. However, when he looked up, he found only an exquisitely crafted soup bowl on the table, steaming hot.

The woman from before had already vanished.

gone!

It seems I've been spacing out for a bit too long!
This woman was the personal maid of Crown Princess Shi Jingrong, and according to palace rules, she was also someone close to the Crown Prince.

Good!

Shen Ye picked up the ginseng soup and took a sip, then frowned.

Although this stuff seems quite nutritious, it really doesn't taste very good!
However, considering that this soup must have been made with ginseng that was over thirty years old, and that Shen Ye had never even tasted ordinary wild ginseng in her previous life, she still drank it all in one go.

I don't really feel anything!
It's no different from regular tea.

After silently criticizing the ginseng soup, Shen Ye decided to go see the Crown Princess.

Since we can't defy this damned fate, we might as well enjoy it.

But just then, the door was gently pushed open, and a woman in her forties, dressed in gold and silver, sneaked in furtively.

Seeing this, Shen Ye was taken aback.

I was just thinking of a beautiful young woman in her late twenties, what's with this middle-aged woman popping up here?
My new book has started, please support me!
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(End of this chapter)