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

Chapter 143 Crying at the Feast at Hongmen

The Prince Yu's Mansion is very close to the Forbidden City, which naturally shows that Prince Yu was blessed and could be said to have won the favor of Emperor Qianxi.

As the only elder brother of Emperor Qianxi, Emperor Qianxi naturally had to show his brother full respect.

After all, the elder brother's status is different.

In many matters, Emperor Qianxi showed great magnanimity towards his elder brother, the prince.

Emperor Qianxi readily agreed to many things that he shouldn't have agreed to, without hesitation.

This also made Prince Yu stand out among the imperial clan.

However, Prince Yu was quite uneasy at this moment.

His anxiety stemmed from the money.

Fuquan is very rich!
Putting aside everything else, he owns more than ten estates in the suburbs of the capital.

Each village has tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, and in some places, there are even vast stretches of mountains and forests.

The annual output of these family assets alone is no less than 100,000 taels of silver, not to mention that he also has his own ranch on the grasslands and his own business in Jiangnan, which is thriving.

Of course, local offerings are also indispensable every year.

You could say he's a truly wealthy man.

The richer a person is, the more stingy they are.

Moreover, Fuquan has six sons and five or six grandsons now, with more to come.

He wanted to accumulate more wealth so that he could give his sons a larger share later.

Therefore, he never misses an opportunity to make money.

After discovering that he could borrow money in Taicang, he continued to ask others for loans, even though he had plenty of money. He seemed unable to stop himself and became increasingly addicted to it.

None of the previous Ministers of Revenue dared to stop this prince from accumulating debts, so now, Fuquan is practically one of the biggest debtors.

Nine hundred and sixty thousand taels of silver!
If the treasury and assets in the Prince's mansion were pooled together, these debts wouldn't be impossible to repay.

The problem is that, in Fuquan's view, he had already handed over the vast empire to his younger brother, so what was wrong with borrowing some silver from the Ministry of Revenue's granary?
After repaying the 960,000 taels of silver, his life will be very difficult.

The prince's treasury was almost half empty.

Besides, this is money I borrowed through my own abilities, so why should I pay it back!

I just want to ask one question: How can white cloth be poured out of a dye shop?
With that thought in mind, he made up his mind: I will never return this money.

He had already decided that if Emperor Qianxi personally asked him for the debt, he would plead poverty.

Although Emperor Qianxi knew he was not short of money, his proud younger brother would never keep pressuring his brother to repay his debts when his brother was in great pain.

You have way more money than I do!

If someone else were in charge of collecting the debts, Fuquan probably wouldn't care too much.

But now, the person collecting this money has changed to the Crown Prince.

He was not afraid of Emperor Qianxi, but he was somewhat wary of the Crown Prince.

After all, the emperor was his own brother, and he knew how to control him, while the crown prince was just his nephew.

Once Emperor Qianxi passes away, the Crown Prince will ascend the throne.

If the Crown Prince holds grudges, then even if he doesn't punish them, he will probably punish their descendants.

That would be troublesome!

It was precisely because he neither wanted to repay the money nor wanted to confront the Crown Prince that he pulled this stunt.

"Your Highness, the Princess asked me to inquire whether we should use the set of gold cups inlaid with rubies or the set of gold cups inlaid with jade for this banquet?" A maid approached and respectfully asked Fuquan.

In Fuquan's mansion, there were several sets of golden cups for banquets.

Different cups are used depending on the guests' circumstances.

Among these gold cups, the most prestigious are the gold cup with rubies and the gold cup inlaid with jade.

Fuquan glared at the maid, then angrily shouted, "What are you doing with gold cups! Just find a set of chipped porcelain cups from the kitchen!" "Make it clear to the Princess that no one is allowed to serve anything haphazardly."

"Otherwise, if anyone messes up for me, don't blame me for skinning them alive!"

The maid was extremely afraid of Prince Fuquan.

If an ordinary person said such a thing, it would just be a threat, but Fuquan was fully capable of doing such a thing.

As the maid left, he turned to the person sitting in the study and said, "Third brother, will your idea work?"

The one referred to as the third prince was none other than the third prince, Prince Cheng, Yunzhi.

He was leisurely sipping tea when he heard Fuquan ask this question, and immediately replied calmly, "Uncle, please rest assured."

“You are His Majesty’s own brother, and you live such a simple life. Who would have the nerve to come and ask you for money?”

"The Crown Prince should be understanding of you, don't you think?"

When Fuquan heard Yunzhi say this, he smiled and said, "Yunzhi, your uncle has not spoiled you for nothing."

"If you can handle this matter properly, your uncle will owe you a favor."

As Emperor Qianxi's elder brother, Fuquan's favors were not easily obtained.

Even the Third Prince Yunzhi couldn't help but smile and feel overjoyed upon hearing this promise.

Soon, guests began to arrive.

Although the target guest for this 100-day celebration is the Crown Prince, no one who should be invited can be left out.

When Shen Ye strolled over to Fu Quan's residence, most of the guests had already gathered, and the large mansion was bustling with activity.

Shen Ye's arrival prompted Prince Yu to personally lead his six sons to greet her.

Although Fuquan was of a higher generation, the Crown Prince was still the heir apparent, and there was a distinction between ruler and subject.

Therefore, when everyone was exchanging greetings, Fuquan and his family first bowed to Shen Ye, and then Shen Ye bowed to Fuquan, who was an elder.

For a moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of kinship.

When Shen Ye arrived at the main hall where Fuquan was receiving guests, he saw that in addition to many nobles, almost all the adult princes had also arrived.

When they saw Shen Ye, they all stood up.

Everything looks very good.

However, when Shen Ye picked up the teacup, he subconsciously frowned.

Although the teacup was not chipped, it felt very rough to the touch. Just by feeling it, Shen Ye knew that this teacup must have been specially prepared by Fu Quan.

After all, Fuquan was a well-known wealthy man in the capital!
With increasing confidence, Shen Ye chatted with the princes while drinking tea, seemingly unaware of Fu Quan's intentions.

Soon, the food and drinks were served.

The large, coarse porcelain plate, along with the food on it, while not exactly shabby, was far inferior to the status of a prince's residence.

It wasn't some rare delicacy, nor was it a fancy meal.

Instead, it consists of the most common types of food.

With more than half of the food and drinks served, Fuquan raised his glass and said, "Everyone, welcome to my grandson's 100-day celebration. I apologize for any shortcomings in our hospitality!"

At this point, Fuquan wiped his eyes with his hand and said with some emotion, "To be honest, it's my fault for not being good at or skilled in business, which is why I've ended up in this situation."

"Even the money needed for this hundred-day celebration is not enough for the manor, which is why the food and wine are so simple and meager. I am truly ashamed!"

At this point, he actually took out a handkerchief and started to shed tears.

Seeing Fuquan with tears streaming down his face, Shen Ye felt a surge of emotion.

Life is like a play, and it all depends on acting skills. But the banquet has only just begun, and you've already started your act!
Regardless of how this uncle squeezed out his tears, by doing this, he essentially put himself on the hot seat in front of everyone!

At that moment, everyone's eyes turned to Shen Ye, the Crown Prince.

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(End of this chapter)