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

Chapter 229 These two guys have thick eyebrows and big eyes; they're perfect for using as guns.
The Ninth Prince is quite business-minded. For example, the shop he snatched is in a very good location!
Facing the bustling commercial front door, the place is always crowded with pedestrians, a testament to its thriving business.

According to the Ninth Prince's estimate, running a gold shop here would bring in at least a thousand taels of silver a year.

A thousand taels of silver may not sound like much, but a prince's annual salary is only ten thousand taels of silver.

Of course, most princes do not live off their stipends.

The Ninth Prince was furious that what he had seized had been stolen from him.

The tenth prince, who stood up for his brother, was also furious.

At this moment, both brothers were furious.

At this moment, the shop door opened, and the guard beside the Ninth Prince pushed aside the shop assistant who wanted to ask questions and went straight into the house.

"Who is your boss? How dare you even rob my ninth brother's shop!" The tenth prince asked angrily, flicking his folding fan.

The shop assistants didn't dare to utter a sound. Just then, someone said, "This servant greets Ninth Master and Tenth Master!"

Upon hearing this voice, the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince's expressions changed.

Although the voice was unfamiliar to them, its distinctive hoarse tone indicated that the person who had arrived was from the palace.

Eunuchs in the palace!
who is this?

Just as they were surprised, they saw Zhou Bao's still slightly immature face.

Upon seeing this face, the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince immediately understood.

No wonder they were able to snatch it from me; it turns out they're the crown prince.

In the entire court, if the Crown Prince is third, then no one is second.

After all, Emperor Qianxi was supreme, while the Crown Prince was only half a ruler. Whether it was a prime minister or a prince, the difference between them and the Crown Prince was huge.

This was only because Emperor Qianxi, the father, had become wary of the crown prince. Otherwise, when the crown prince was young, Emperor Qianxi would have been extremely protective of him.

Those of them who were brothers had to kneel and bow before the Crown Prince.

"Zhou Bao, what are you doing here?" The Ninth Prince's face darkened, but he didn't want to leave just like that.

Zhou Bao respectfully said, "Ninth Master, the Crown Prince said this place is nice and he likes it very much, so he asked me to buy it here."

The tenth prince's eyes widened. He was of noble birth. Although his mother had passed away, she was still an Imperial Noble Consort. His uncle was Aling'a, whose power was considerable.

He's always been the one who suffers losses; when has he ever let others ride roughshod over him?

At this moment, the Crown Prince was saying something similar to that of the Ninth Prince, which he saw as a provocation against his brothers.

He couldn't stand this provocation.

However, although the Ninth Prince was cunning, he was not stupid. He knew that the Crown Prince had already seized control of both of their weaknesses.

The crown prince wanted to control them, and they had no power to fight back.

If they complained to Emperor Qianxi, they would probably be the ones to get a scolding.

With that thought in mind, the Ninth Prince readily agreed, "Since Your Highness likes it, then this is for Your Highness."

As he spoke, the Ninth Prince turned to leave.

Although the tenth prince was resentful, he had no choice but to follow him out.

Just as the two reached the door, they heard someone inside say, "Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother, where are you two going? Come here."

As soon as he said this, Shen Ye walked out from inside.

The Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince looked at Shen Ye as he walked out. Although they were very unhappy, they could only respectfully bow and say, "Your subject greets Your Highness."

In the past, Shen Ye would usually lift up the princes' bows and refuse to accept them.

But this time, instead of saying "no need for formalities," he bluntly said, "You two have really made something of yourselves!"

"Now the whole capital is saying that Ninth Master and Tenth Master are heroes who will take anything they see."

"Tsk tsk, have you two ever thought about how you're going to silence public opinion after doing this!"

If it were up to the usual temperament of the Tenth Prince, if the Crown Prince were to reprimand him, he might have gone against him, saying something like, "If I'm wrong, it's Father Emperor who should punish me. What are you pretending to be?"
But this time, their weakness was exposed, and they dared not argue.

Shen Ye snorted and said, "Perhaps you don't care what others think of you, but you are still the Emperor's sons!"

Do you know the consequences?

The two exchanged a quick glance, but neither spoke.

Shen Ye's gaze first fell on the Ninth Prince, and then on the Tenth Prince.

"Yun'e, bring me your fan!" Shen Ye saw the Tenth Prince's fan and suddenly realized that he had said something wrong.

If he were to speak while waving a folding fan, just like the main characters in those TV dramas, the imposing presence would be even stronger!
Although Yun'e didn't know what the Crown Prince wanted to do, he still presented his fan with both hands, feeling a little aggrieved.

"I took your fan without saying a word. Are you angry? But have you two ever thought about how the shop owner felt when you robbed it of his shop for only two hundred taels of silver?"

"When you were studying in the Imperial Study, did your teacher ever teach you what it means to 'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you'?"

"I'm robbing you today so you can experience what it's like to be robbed."

Shen Ye spoke while fanning himself.

Although Yuntang and Yune were both upset, they remained silent.

The two men knew perfectly well that arguing was useless at this point. The Crown Prince was not only a half-ruler and the eldest brother, but he also knew their weaknesses and could easily deal with them. Seeing that the two men remained silent, Shen Ye closed his fan and said, "Get up. Don't keep kneeling here as if I've mistreated you."

The two of them felt increasingly grief-stricken and indignant.

We've been kneeling since we came in, and you haven't treated us badly?

He thought to himself that he was complaining, but he could only say aloud, "Thank you, Your Highness."

After finishing her business, Shen Ye thought about leaving.

However, looking at the younger Ninth Prince and Tenth Prince, who were only sixteen or seventeen years old, a thought suddenly struck him.

Didn't Yu Chenglong say there were some things he couldn't push forward on his own? These two guys have thick eyebrows and big eyes; they look like a perfect match.

He immediately said, "Ninth Brother, you really enjoy making money?"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty just wants to make your life a little more comfortable!" Yuntang didn't expect Shen Ye to ask such a question, and quickly explained.

Shen Ye waved his hand and said, "It's true that I like making money, and I like making money too."

"Without money, it's really impossible to move an inch."

At this point, he glanced at the gold shop and said, "But you, as princes, have actually resorted to trickery and force to seize such a small gold shop. It's truly shameful."

"I'm ashamed to admit I earned this money!"

"As princes, we have more than enough opportunities to earn big money honestly and legitimately, so why bother with these petty gains?"

The Ninth Prince had already lay down. His current thought was, "You're the Crown Prince, whatever you say is right, as long as I can leave quickly."

So no matter what Shen Ye said, he just nodded.

However, the tenth prince was naturally arrogant, and after being reprimanded, he was seething with anger. When he heard Shen Ye say that there were plenty of opportunities to make money honestly, he couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, I really need money. Please show me a way to make money."

"As long as it makes money, I'm willing to share half with you."

When the Ninth Prince heard the Tenth Prince say this, he secretly thought that something was wrong.

If the Crown Prince were to act according to his usual temperament, the Tenth Prince would definitely get a beating for doing this!

However, his relationship with the tenth prince had always been the closest, so he hurriedly said, "Tenth brother is right. Your Highness, please give me some pointers on how to make money."

"As long as I can make money, I will never forget your kindness, Your Highness."

Having said this, he prepared to await the Crown Prince's wrath.

However, to their surprise, the Crown Prince smiled and said, "There are many ways to make money. Since you want to know, I'll tell you one."

"What do you think of the expressway from Chaoyangmen to Tongzhou?"

This fast track was now raking in money every day, and many people were extremely envious of the endless stream of goods being transported from Tongzhou.

However, this was a business of the imperial court, and no matter how much they coveted it, they dared not provoke it.

"Your Highness, the fast track is good, but now each share costs almost four thousand taels of silver, which we can't afford."

The Ninth Prince is now very envious of his father, who holds 400 shares of Fast Track stock, worth nearly 1.5 million taels of silver.

I wish I had that much silver.

Or, when the shares were distributed, the father didn't give any money, but directly distributed the shares of these fast-track channels.

However, he dared not say it, for fear that Emperor Qianxi would give him another lesson in love.

Shen Ye smiled and said, "The expressway to Tongzhou has been completed, so it won't be easy for you to make money now."

"But you can build new roads."

At this point, Shen Ye pointed eastward and said, "We can build a fast passage to Tianjin. This passage is about two or three hundred miles long, and once it's completed, it will be even more profitable."

A fast route to Tianjin?

Upon hearing this suggestion, the Ninth Prince fell into deep thought.

Goods are frequently transported from Tianjin to Beijing, but it's not as busy as Tongzhou. Will building this passage really make money?

"Your Highness, Tianjin has the most seafood. Shall we transport seafood?" the Tenth Prince asked Shen Ye.

Although he acted rashly, he was actually quite clever, because the imperial court had no maritime transport at all, so Tianjin was just a garrison.

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Of course not."

"Westerners are now sailing to our side, mostly from Suzhou and Guangzhou. I intend to request His Majesty to allow Tianjin to be designated as a port so that Westerners can come and trade."

"Furthermore, the imperial court could appropriately loosen restrictions on maritime transport, since there are fewer pirates now."

The Ninth Prince's eyes lit up instantly. He loved money, so he was most interested in things that involved making money.

In the past, he had considered building an expressway, but he had not been able to find a good location.

But now, if this matter is actually pushed forward, it will be another golden path.

He's going to seize any more shops; he could count money until his hands cramp.

　The second update for today is here! Dear readers, please support me, recommend me, and do whatever you want!

(End of this chapter)