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

Chapter 252 An Unavoidable Meeting, Goodbye Suo'etu
Ma Wu stood to the side, listening to Shen Ye's scathing rebuke of Ma Qi. At first, he was a little anxious, but as he listened, he inexplicably felt a sense of satisfaction.

Although the two are brothers, Ma Wu always felt that his older brother Ma Qi never respected him at all.

Ma Qi never explicitly said he looked down on him, but some things didn't need to be said; you could understand just by feeling.

Ma Wu wasn't ungrateful; he harbored a deep resentment, yet there was nothing he could do about it.

After all, his older brother was far superior to him in both talent and ability.

Putting aside other matters, just considering that he was the Minister of Revenue, even Emperor Qianxi often had to weigh his opinions.

That alone is enough for him to act with impunity.

This time, Ma Qi did this not only because the Ministry of Revenue's granary was indeed somewhat empty, but also because he was somewhat trying to spite the Crown Prince.

Unexpectedly, he was caught by the Crown Prince and received such a scolding!
"You call yourself the Minister of Revenue? Are the Ministry of Revenue's account books even accounts?!"

"Not only does it look complicated, but it's also full of loopholes. These problems are right under your noses, how can you officials not see them?"

"Tell me, are you blind, or are you just heartless?"

"I've heard that you, Ma Qi, boast of your amazing talent. Come, come, show me right now what's so amazing about you, so I can have a good look at you."

"Have you come up with some new tricks for the Ministry of Revenue's work, or are you just putting on airs...?"

Criticizing Ma Qi's work wasn't too difficult for Shen Ye.

He has been here for almost half a year and is well aware of the current work efficiency.

Although he doesn't say it usually, he keeps it in his heart.

One sentence after another rained down on Ma Qi, making Ma Qi's face turn very ugly.

Although many of these things were not Mazi's fault.

However, all the situations that Shen Ye described did indeed exist in the Ministry of Revenue.

As the top leader and the person in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, he certainly had responsibilities.

I thought I'd be done with a few scoldings, but the Crown Prince just wouldn't stop; he showed no sign of letting up.

Ma Qi felt an urge to jump up and question the Crown Prince: "Have you finished cursing?"

But he didn't dare.

Although being scolded like that by the Crown Prince was somewhat humiliating, if he dared to jump up, that would be a great disrespect, a serious offense...

Knowing that the Crown Prince was doing it on purpose, Ma Qi could only endure it.

Finally, just as Ma Qi's face turned red and white and he was about to faint, Shen Ye stopped scolding him.

Zhou Bao, who was serving nearby, quickly brought over a cup of tea.

Shen Ye took a sip of tea before turning to Ma Wu, who was standing to the side, and said, "I'm a good person in every other way, but I get angry when I see incompetent people! Aren't you just blatantly occupying a position without doing your job?"

Why didn't you stop me?!

Upon hearing this, Ma Wu nearly burst out laughing.

As the crown prince, it is only natural for you to punish your subjects.

If someone else were being punished, it would be perfectly normal for me to say a few words of sympathy. But you're scolding my own brother!

If I were to plead for leniency, wouldn't that be considered collusion and mutual cover-up?
He immediately clasped his hands and said, "Your Highness, you are punishing my elder brother for his own good. How dare I interrupt you?"

The key point of Ma Wu's words is in the last two sentences.

But Shen Ye didn't care about all that. He immediately said, "Ma Wu, the fact that you have such insight shows that you're at least not confused."

"Everyone says that Ma Qi is more virtuous than you two brothers, but I think he is far inferior to you."

"Even if I give him all this advice, he might not remember it."

When Ma Qi heard Shen Ye speak of him in such a way, he was furious, but he still said in a humble voice, "Your Majesty, I will certainly remember your teachings."

Shen Ye said calmly, "Ma Qi, you are the Minister of Revenue, yet the granary is empty every year. I think it's not enough for you to just remember my teachings."

"Here's what we'll do: from now on, you'll come to Yuqing Palace every fifth day of the month."

"I'll give you a proper lesson so that Father Emperor won't have to worry about money every day."

Ma Qi's eyes widened in surprise!
What real knowledge could the Crown Prince possibly have in his lectures? What good would that do? It's clearly just a way for him to berate him in various ways!

What I just said was just polite talk, but you're taking it all too seriously!
With a flick of his sleeve, Ma Qi felt an urge to leave.

Fortunately, he was stopped by Ma Wu, who was quick-witted and agile, just as he was about to sway his sleeve.

Now that Ma Qi was leaving, he would inevitably be charged with disrespecting the emperor.

I've already been scolded; I can't make myself suffer any more.

"Ma Qi, what were you doing waving your sleeves just now?" Shen Ye didn't want to give him any face and asked directly.

Ma Wu quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Your Highness, whenever my brother gets excited and wants to express his gratitude, he likes to wave his sleeve. It's an old habit of his!"

"Is it brother or not!"

Ma Qi clenched his teeth tightly. He wanted to say that he had no such hobby, but the situation was beyond his control.

He regrets it now.

Why did she have to provoke the Crown Prince for no reason? As a result, she ended up being punished by him like this.

Actually, Ma Qi can't be entirely blamed for this. He never expected that the Crown Prince would be so utterly shameless.

Since things have come to this point, there's nothing we can do but endure it!
"Hehe, Ma Qi, your way of thanking people is quite unique!"

Shen Ye glanced at Ma Qi, then slowly said, "It's not impossible for you to have the Imperial Household Department borrow money from me first."

"In the end, it's all for the sake of the imperial court."

"However, I still need to clarify this: I'm going to pay out this money to depositors next year. When do you plan to return this money?"

At this moment, Ma Qi truly did not want to continue entangled with Shen Ye.

He had just been thoroughly berated and couldn't retaliate. He knew that if he continued to argue, he might receive another round of insults.

So at this moment, all he wanted was to leave as quickly as possible.

Only by leaving this place can we slowly consider and plan other things in the long term.

"Whenever Your Highness deems it appropriate."

Ma Qi didn't want to say this, but he forced it out in order to leave sooner.

Unexpectedly, Shen Ye snorted coldly and said, "Ma Qi, I usually just think you are arrogant and look down on everyone, but now I realize that you are extremely irresponsible in your work."

"Let me tell you, your job isn't your own."

"It's because His Majesty trusts you that he put you here!"

"Your handling of this task has not only failed the Emperor's trust but also the entire court's confidence in you."

"No wonder everyone says you're unqualified to be the Minister of Revenue. Now I understand. You may be capable, but your attitude is really problematic."

Mazi was on the verge of a breakdown!
He stared at the eloquent Crown Prince, hesitated for a moment, his lips moved, but he ultimately kept silent.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make; it's better to keep quiet.

Half an hour later, Ma Qi and Ma Wu finally emerged from Yuqing Palace.

Ma Wu looked quite good, since Shen Ye wasn't targeting him, so he was very relaxed at the moment.

However, Ma Qi seemed to be in a daze.

He felt that this trip to Yuqing Palace was more painful than a trip to the underworld.

The crown prince cursed without using any vulgar language, yet every word he uttered was piercing to the heart, making the other man's head feel like it was about to explode.

“This is outrageous! I’m going to the Qianqing Palace, I want to…” Ma Qi originally wanted to say he wanted to resign, but in the end he didn’t say it.

He was reluctant to give up his position as Minister of Revenue.

They were even less willing to let Shen Ye benefit from such a huge advantage.

Ma Wudao said, "Brother, let's be more careful in the future."

"The Crown Prince's position is what it is. As long as he puts aside his pride, everyone except the Emperor will have a headache when they encounter him."

"Our family really doesn't need to get involved in this mess."

Ma Wu didn't say much, but every word he said made sense. Although Ma Qi felt bad, he was helpless.

He snorted and said coldly, "The waters are already muddy; who knows when they might dry up completely!"

Although Ma Wu felt that Ma Qi's words were somewhat taboo, something inexplicably came to mind.

This incident made him keep his mouth shut.

Although Ma Qi is the elder brother, there are some things that shouldn't be said, so it's best to keep them to yourself.

The fact that Ma Qi was reprimanded could not be kept from Emperor Qianxi.

Listening to Zhao Chang's vivid report, Emperor Qianxi couldn't help but burst into laughter.

In his eyes, Maqi was a stinky, hard, broken rock, but he couldn't live without it.

This made Emperor Qianxi feel very uncomfortable.

Now, finally someone has made Ma Qi suffer.

If Ma Qi tries anything again, the Crown Prince can give him a good beating.

Just as Emperor Qianxi was feeling smug, a thought suddenly popped into his head.

The moment this thought arose, Emperor Qianxi's smugness vanished without a trace.

The Crown Prince is wise!

The Crown Prince is wise!

The crown prince seems to be filial too!
But did the Crown Prince know about this "raising money to support the army" scheme?

Is it Suo'etu, or...?

For a moment, Emperor Qianxi felt his mind was in turmoil.

Shen Ye was not surprised that this matter reached Emperor Qianxi's ears. After all, Emperor Qianxi knew about any slight movement in his palace, let alone such a major event.

Since he had already done it, he wasn't afraid of Emperor Qianxi finding out.

You took so much money from me, and I can't even say a word?
Moreover, given that things have come to this point, Shen Ye felt that it was only right for him to stand up for himself.

For the time being, Shen Ye does not plan to have any interaction with Suo'etu.

Because he felt that both Emperor Qianxi and Suo'etu were doing something somewhat dangerous.

Although he had no evidence, his intuition was becoming increasingly clear.

But now, there's nothing he can do.

However, some things do not change according to his imagination.

For example, three days after cursing Ma Qi, Shen Ye suddenly received news that his uncle, Chang Tai, the nephew of Suo'etu, had passed away.

The news came so suddenly that Shen Ye was stunned!
This determined one thing: he had to go and offer sacrifices.

Regardless of the circumstances, Chang Tai was the former crown prince's maternal uncle! That relationship was undeniable.

After informing Emperor Qianxi, Shen Ye openly and legitimately arrived at the residence of the Suo'etu family.

After paying their respects at the mourning hall, they were led by Algishan, who was in charge of receiving guests, to a side hall to rest.

The moment Shen Ye sat down, he heard someone whisper, "This old minister greets Your Highness!"

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(End of this chapter)