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

Chapter 230 His Majesty wants a gentleman to take revenge, but wants me to take the blame.

The more the Ninth Prince thought about it, the more he felt that this path could make money.

At this moment, he no longer cared about the gold shop, and he even forgot about the Eighth Prince, whom he usually supported the most. Now, he was focused on making money!

"Your Highness, is this plan feasible?"

Shen Ye waved his hand and said, "Of course! As long as we get more people to participate, and then follow the example of the Tongzhou fast track, we can give Father Emperor more money..."

Shen Ye didn't make it clear what he wanted to give Emperor Qianxi, but the Ninth Prince wasn't stupid; he immediately understood.

However, the thought of having to give most of the money he had worked so hard to earn to his father made him feel a pang of heartache.

He couldn't help but mutter, "Father is already very rich, why would he care about this?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he noticed that the Tenth Prince was looking at him with a surprised expression. The Ninth Prince's face changed. Yes, how could he have said something so disrespectful to the Emperor?

Shen Ye smiled and smoothed things over, saying, "Father's money belongs to Father. As his sons, we should still show our filial piety."

At this point, he patted the Ninth Prince on the shoulder and said, "Ninth Prince, go and see Lord Yu later and talk to him."

Mentioning Yu Chenglong, Shen Ye suddenly thought of the cement matter.

He went to see the cement that Yu Chenglong had been asked to develop. Although it was much inferior to the cement of later generations, it was still sufficient for his needs. It was strong and hard enough.

The reason why Shen Ye has not yet reported to Emperor Qianxi is that Emperor Qianxi's birthday is in half a month.

As the crown prince, Shen Ye wanted to present a respectable birthday gift.

So he instructed Yu Chenglong to continue his research, so that it could be presented as a birthday gift to Emperor Qianxi.

It's prestigious and doesn't cost any money.

"Your subject obeys!" The Ninth Prince now showed even more respect for Shen Ye.

It's unclear whether it was because he had just been reprimanded by Shen Ye, or because Shen Ye had talked to him about making money.

Having dealt with the Ninth Prince, Shen Ye returned to the palace.

Having finally managed to sneak out, the Ninth Prince and Tenth Prince booked a private room at a familiar restaurant and closed the door to discuss important matters.

"Ninth Brother, how did the Crown Prince know that we bought the Hu family's shops?" The Tenth Prince picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked in confusion.

The Ninth Prince, who was pondering the fast track, was startled when he heard the Tenth Prince ask such a question.

The crown prince was not very close to either of them; they usually only nodded to each other when they met.

Is the Crown Prince spying on them?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the Ninth Prince immediately dismissed it, feeling that he wasn't quite worthy of the Crown Prince's surveillance.

Moreover, it seems the Crown Prince doesn't have that ability either!
But if the Crown Prince wasn't keeping watch, how would he have known that the man was robbing a shop?

Did someone complain to the Crown Prince?
But if we were to accuse them, shouldn't we take it up with Emperor Qianxi?
After thinking it over, the two of them understood. It was highly likely that someone had complained to Emperor Qianxi, and Emperor Qianxi had sent the Crown Prince to handle it.

What about the Crown Prince? He slapped them first, then gave them a sweet treat!
Having figured this out, the Tenth Prince hesitated and asked, "Ninth Brother, should we still proceed with the fast track the Crown Prince mentioned?"

"Why not do it? Once it's done, it's a great business that can be passed down to future generations."

“We have the Emperor in our generation, so we won’t go hungry. But what about the future?” the Ninth Prince sighed. “Just look at our old relatives!”

"Except for a few hereditary princes, they all live off the meager stipends inherited from their ancestors, and their lives are all more difficult than the last."

The Tenth Prince pondered for a moment and said, "Ninth Brother, if we build a fast track, it'll be like helping the Crown Prince. What about Eighth Brother...?"

Although the Tenth Prince did not say what he was going to say next, his meaning was very clear: would the Eighth Prince have any objections?
Although the Eighth Prince never said he wanted to compete for the throne, the Ninth and Tenth Princes were not stupid.

Judging from some of the Eighth Prince's actions, we can already see what this little brother is thinking.

The reason they both supported the Eighth Prince was because they had the best relationship with him.

Once the Crown Prince is removed from his position as heir apparent and the Eighth Prince becomes the Crown Prince, they will certainly reap the benefits.

While I wouldn't dare call him a hereditary prince, surely I could at least get the title of a prince?
Isn't that much better than making the crown prince the emperor?

However, if this fast track can be completed, it would be like having a golden goose that can lay eggs. How could the greedy Ninth Prince bear to give it up?

He forced a smile and said, "Tenth Brother, we're just making money by following the Crown Prince's orders; we're not really siding with him."

What objection could a myna bird possibly have?

The tenth prince felt that the eighth prince must have his own ideas, but seeing the ninth prince's determined attitude, he didn't say anything more.

Shen Ye had no idea what the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince were thinking. In any case, he had already said what he needed to say. The bait had been cast, and whether the two of them were willing to take the bait was up to them.

It wasn't that important to Shen Ye.

He went back to the palace, drank a couple of sips of water, and then headed towards the Qianqing Palace.

In any case, educating the Ninth and Tenth Princes was a task assigned to him by Emperor Qianxi. Now that he had completed it, he had to give Emperor Qianxi a reply.

This means that everything receives a response and every matter is resolved.

However, to his surprise, as soon as he entered the gate of Qianqing Palace, Shen Ye saw the thirteenth prince kneeling on the ground. The thirteenth prince, only thirteen or fourteen years old, knelt straight on the slightly hot stone, his expression tense, revealing a stubbornness.

When he saw Shen Ye approaching, he hesitated for a moment but remained silent.

Not far from the thirteenth prince stood several eunuchs. Shen Ye waved his hand and called over one of the eunuchs, asking, "What's going on?"

"Your Highness, this servant doesn't know what's going on either."

The young eunuch said with a hint of fear, "After the Thirteenth Prince came out of His Majesty's room, he knelt here."

Although the young eunuch didn't know the situation, he did reveal an important piece of information to Shen Ye: Emperor Qianxi knew why the thirteenth prince was kneeling.

Shen Ye's mind raced, and without stopping, she walked towards the palace gate.

Liang Jiugong was standing at the door when he saw Shen Ye walking over, and his expression changed immediately.

Emperor Qianxi was in a terrible mood at this moment. Sending the Crown Prince over would be like walking into a trap...

"Does Your Majesty have time?" Shen Ye asked, feeling increasingly uneasy as he looked at Liang Jiugong's expression.

He felt that he had come at a really bad time, but since he had already come this far, if he withdrew now, his father, Emperor Qianxi, would become suspicious and paranoid!
So Shen Ye asked directly.

Liang Jiugong hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Highness, the Fifth Princess has passed away, and His Majesty is currently grieving, so..."

Fifth Princess?
Shen Ye had no prior contact with her, so he quickly rummaged through the former Crown Prince's memories and did recall the Fifth Princess.

The Fifth Princess is the Thirteenth Prince's older sister from the same mother. She didn't have much contact with Shen Ye and was a quiet girl.

The Fifth Princess is dead.

According to the original crown prince's memory, the fifth princess should have married into the grasslands two years ago. How could she have died so quickly?

Suspicious, Shen Ye prepared to leave.

In any case, Emperor Qianxi must be feeling very unwell right now, so disturbing him is definitely not a good idea.

Moreover, he couldn't remain calm after his sister's death. He had to remember that the first reason for deposing the crown prince was that he showed "no grief" when the eighteenth prince died!
"How did you die?" Shen Ye tried his best to appear grief-stricken.

Liang Jiugong said, "The prince consort reported that he has a heart ailment."

Shen Ye was a little skeptical, since the Fifth Princess was in good health when she got married and did not have any heart disease.

Not to mention, she's not even twenty years old...

Shen Ye hesitated for a moment and said, "Then I will come to see Your Majesty again tomorrow."

"Liang Jiugong, you must persuade His Majesty to accept the situation and not grieve too much."

Just as Liang Jiugong was about to agree, Emperor Qianxi said, "Is that the Crown Prince? Come in!"

Although Shen Ye knew that this was not a good time to see Emperor Qianxi, since Emperor Qianxi had already spoken, he had no reason to slip away.

He immediately rushed to the Qianqing Palace, where he saw Emperor Qianxi with a livid face and red eyes. He knelt down with a thud and said, "Father, please accept my condolences. It is my fifth sister who is unfortunate and can no longer serve you!"

"But I think that my fifth sister would never want Father to be saddened by her."

As she spoke, Shen Ye tried her best to squeeze out a few tears.

He felt a pang of regret that he hadn't mastered the ability to cry and laugh at will; otherwise, shedding more tears would have been quite nice.

However, just as he was feeling regretful, a genuine sense of sorrow welled up inside him, and tears actually streamed down his face.

Emperor Qianxi felt much better when he saw Shen Ye crying.

He sighed and said, "Jingyi died unjustly. She was kicked to death by that bastard Keerzang!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye's expression changed drastically.

He was both annoyed and felt that he had come at a really bad time.

No wonder the thirteenth prince was kneeling outside!
Shen Ye immediately straightened his back and said resolutely, "Father, I am willing to lead the army to capture Kezang and cut him into a thousand pieces."

After a long silence, Emperor Qianxi finally spoke in a heavy voice: "How I wish I could personally lead the troops and crush Khorchin!"

"But now, the Rakshasa Kingdom is making trouble. Their envoy has arrived in Zhangjiakou and will soon be heading to the capital."

"They came here ostensibly to congratulate me on my birthday, but in reality, they want to take advantage of our recent battle with Galdan, when our strength has been greatly diminished, to break our previous alliance."

At this point, Emperor Qianxi solemnly said, "Perhaps we will have to fight a war with the Russian Kingdom."

“If we attack Khorchin at this time, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

Shen Ye understood what Emperor Qianxi meant. He was just about to speak when he heard Emperor Qianxi say, "Even if you don't come this time, I will still send someone to find you."

"Although Kerzang is hateful, we cannot let him ruin our grand plan!"

At this point, Emperor Qianxi said resolutely, "You are now the head of the Court of Colonial Affairs. Tell the Court of Colonial Affairs to submit a report as soon as possible regarding the investigation into the cause of the princess's death."

"Remember, a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years! This revenge must be taken!"

　The first update of the day is here, everyone! It's almost mid-month, so please give me two new monthly tickets if you have any!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)