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

Chapter 164 Lord Yu, I've decided to be your friend.

Thinking about the 100,000 taels of silver he was going to lose, Shen Ye lost all interest in listening to the storyteller!
At the height of his eloquent retelling of "The Story of Yue Fei," he left the teahouse without looking back.

"Master, where are we going?" Erlengtai quickly came to Shen Ye and asked respectfully.

As Shen Ye's bodyguard, Erlengtai was extremely dedicated to his duties.

Erlengtai also came from a very good family. Although he was not a member of the royal family, he was an old relative of the royal family. Currently, there is a governor in his family.

Erlengtai was simply doing his duty, and Shen Ye naturally wouldn't blame him for that.

He calmly said, "Go see Yu Chenglong."

Normally, after Shen Ye answers, Erlengtai should go about his own business.

But this time, after Shen Ye agreed, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness, this servant has something to ask, but I don't know if I should?"

"Speak," Shen Ye then patted Erlengtai on the shoulder and said, "We've been together for so long, I've never treated you like an outsider."

While Shen Ye wouldn't be too close to guards like Erlengtai, he also wouldn't let them feel like strangers. A combination of kindness and severity was the way to manage subordinates.

After all, his future life and fortune would be in someone else's hands. In Shen Ye's opinion, it was worthwhile to maintain a good relationship under such circumstances.

Of course, he is not yet prepared to pursue further efforts to win him over.

After all, Erlengtai's most loyal supporter was still the Qianxi Emperor.

"Your Highness," Erengtai asked, "Can the Imperial Household Department really be prevented from operating that stone-paved road?"

At this point, as if afraid that Shen Ye would ask further questions, Erengtai said in a low voice, "When the Crown Prince wanted to repair the stone road, this servant had the family buy five shares."

At that time, buying five shares would have cost five thousand taels of silver.

Although Erlengtai came from a distinguished background, it was quite thoughtful of him to take out so much silver at once.

Shen Ye looked at the worried-looking E Lengtai and said with a smile, "Don't worry, this operation will definitely not fall into the hands of those guys in the Imperial Household Department."

"In the end, we'll do it ourselves."

Although Erlengtai was a guard, he was very knowledgeable about the Imperial Household Department.

He knew that the Imperial Household Department was not just composed of a few chief stewards; they were a group of aristocratic families within the Imperial Household Department.

These people had always served the emperor and considered themselves his servants.

Of course, this "house slave" was also a humble self-designation they used to outsiders; they were already used to wielding immense power.

Although the Crown Prince is the second most powerful person in the country, given that Emperor Qianxi favors the Imperial Household Department, can he still obtain the operational rights?

Erlengtai was somewhat doubtful, but on the surface, he still solemnly clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute to Shen Ye, which was considered as an affirmation of Shen Ye's answer.

Shen Ye didn't explain much to Erlengtai. These kinds of things are either believed or not.

He had no intention of wasting time with Erlengtai.

In just over twenty minutes, Shen Ye arrived at Shuntian Prefecture.

For ordinary people, it's best not to enter the Shuntian Prefecture government office unless necessary, but for Shen Ye, who was accompanied by guards, it was as easy as walking on flat ground.

However, Yu Chenglong was not working at the time, but living in the back house.

The government offices of Shuntian Prefecture were similar to those of other prefectures and counties, with offices in the front and residences in the back.

Generally speaking, the family members of the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture usually lived in the best residences in the government office.

Yu Chenglong is a well-known incorruptible official; I wonder what his life was really like.

With these thoughts in mind, Shen Ye led Zhou Bao and the others directly towards the back courtyard.

Although Shen Ye did not reveal his identity, the attire and waist badges of Erlengtai and his guards were genuine, so no one dared to stop him.

The backyard of Shuntian Prefecture was quite large, after all, it was the residence of a third-rank official. However, the Yu family had too few servants, and when Shen Ye arrived, he didn't even see a gatekeeper.

Moreover, in the huge courtyard, there were only one or two elderly-looking servants busy at work, and they didn't even have time to react when they saw Shen Ye.

When Shen Ye stepped into Yu Chenglong's living room, he saw a graceful young woman who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, who was giving Yu Chenglong, who was sitting in a grand chair, a back massage.

Yu Chenglong, on the other hand, closed his eyes and appeared quite relaxed.

The woman was whispering something to Yu Chenglong when she suddenly looked up and saw Shen Ye and the others walking in. A blush immediately rose on her face.

"Who are you people?" the woman asked in a deep voice, though she was still surprised.

The woman with the clear, melodious voice and a pair of bright, sparkling eyes was a delight to behold.

Before Shen Ye could speak, Yu Chenglong opened his eyes.

Upon seeing Shen Ye, he hurriedly stood up from his chair and respectfully bowed, saying, "Your subject Yu Chenglong greets Your Highness."

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Lord Yu, you're in high spirits!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Chenglong's face darkened. Just as he was about to speak, the woman respectfully bowed to Shen Ye and said, "This humble woman, Yu Xiuwan, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Yu Xiuwan's words were brief, but they contained a great deal of information.

Not only did she not behave rudely towards Shen Ye, she also revealed her identity.

It can be said that this achieves two goals at once.

Shen Ye naturally understood. Looking at Yu Chenglong's daughter, whose smile was full of words and whose eyes held curiosity, Shen Ye felt that this girl was exceptionally intelligent and interesting.

"Yu Xiuwan, what a fine name! But... Minister Yu, you have such a wonderful daughter!" Shen Ye remarked casually as he told the other party to dispense with formalities.

Sigh, with the familiar taste of water and the easy way of speaking, Shen Ye almost blurted out "Wanwan resembles you".

Hearing Shen Ye praise his daughter, Yu Chenglong became even more wary. He then waved to his daughter and said, "Wanwan, go and have someone serve tea."

Although Yu Xiuwan was somewhat curious about the sudden arrival of the Crown Prince, she dared not disobey her father's orders.

As Shen Ye watched Yu Xiuwan leave, he thought to himself, "Old Yu is good in every way, except that he's a bit too stingy!"
"Lord Yu, is your daughter married yet?" Shen Ye asked casually.

Upon hearing this ill-intentioned question, Yu Chenglong's expression darkened even further. The Crown Prince had just taken in a beautiful woman, and now he wanted to marry a concubine.

The moment he enters his own home, he doesn't ask anything else, all he talks about is his beautiful and precious daughter. It's really awful.

If it weren't for the fact that the Crown Prince was the ruler and he was the subject, Yu Chenglong would feel his fists itching to punch him.

The Crown Prince is good in every way, except for this one flaw: a dog can't stop eating shit, and a cat can't stop stealing fish!

He didn't want this pig to eat his cabbage!
"Your Highness, this is my family matter, so please don't worry about it," Yu Chenglong replied irritably.

Seeing how cautious Lao Yu was, Shen Ye thought that Yu Chenglong wasn't someone you couldn't befriend!

He said with a grin, "Lord Yu, I'm just concerned about you!"

Yu Chenglong snorted and said, "Your Highness didn't come here for this matter, did you?"

Shen Ye asked solemnly, "Lord Yu, how are your plans for the shares in the operation of the stone-paved road coming along?"

When Yu Chenglong heard Shen Ye say this, his expression became even uglier. He had closed his eyes earlier not to maintain his health, but because he was restless.

Because, some people who were just saying that they would follow the lead of the Shuntian Prefecture in everything are now having other ideas, and some have even told him that they have sold all their shares!

Although there aren't many of these people, there are still over a hundred shares.

In other words, even with the Crown Prince's support, their shareholding would still be less than that of the Imperial Household Department!
　The first update of the day is here! Please support me, everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)