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

Chapter 257 Divine Blessing, Heroes Cannot Live a Life of Esteem in Bed
When Shen Ye's entourage arrived at the Suo'etu residence, almost the entire Suo'etu family waited respectfully at the entrance.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Led by several of Suo'etu's brothers, Algishan and the others quickly bowed to Shen Ye.

Shen Ye waved his hand and said, "No need for formalities!"

As he spoke, Shen Ye's gaze fell on several younger relatives who were mourning Chang Tai.

He waved his hand and said, "I have come here on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor to visit Prime Minister Suo's health. If you have nothing else to do, please go ahead and attend to your business."

"Just let Algishan and a few others accompany them."

Upon hearing Shen Ye's arrangement, the Hesheli family members, who were in mourning, exchanged glances and respectfully accepted the order.

As for the others, none of them persisted.

Argishan led Shen Ye to Suo'etu's bedroom, where the tall Suo'etu lay motionless on the bed with a blank stare, as if he were dead.

This situation inexplicably darkened Shen Ye's heart.

In any case, Suo'etu was in high spirits when we met yesterday.

But now, he is like a sunset glow.

This is really hard to accept at first.

However, Shen Ye immediately put aside this reluctance and looked at Suo'etu carefully.

Soetu was still the same Soetu; even his clothes were almost the same as when I saw him yesterday.

However, compared to his energetic and ambitious self yesterday, Suo'etu now exuded an air of dejection.

"How could this happen?" Shen Ye asked Algishan in a deep voice.

Algishan wiped his eyes with a handkerchief, then said with reddened eyes, "After Father and Your Highness met, you went back to your room to ponder."

"He even specifically told us not to disturb him!"

"At the time, neither my brother nor I felt that anything was wrong."

"But when we came to call our father for dinner, we found him lying on the ground."

“It’s because we didn’t take good care of our father that this happened to him.”

"Your subject is unfilial!"

At this point, Algishan burst into tears.

Shen Ye looked at the weeping Algishan and said in a deep voice, "Algishan, no one wanted the Prime Minister to suddenly suffer a stroke."

"The incident happened suddenly, so you don't need to blame yourselves too much."

"I believe that there is always a way out, and Suo Xiang will definitely get better."

Hearing Shen Ye's words of comfort, Algishan respectfully said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I hope my father will be blessed with good fortune."

"Sigh, I really didn't expect that after working so hard all his life, he would end up like this."

"We are truly... truly unfilial."

The imperial physicians brought by Shen Ye quickly helped to diagnose and treat the motionless Suo'etu, and the results were the same as before.

They were all strokes!

"Your Highness, Lord Arjishan, there is really no good way to treat Lord Suo'etu's illness. We can only let him recuperate slowly."

Finally, after several imperial physicians discussed the matter, the tall and thin Physician Chen stepped forward and spoke.

Upon hearing Physician Chen's words, Algishan and the others looked even more grim.

Algishan, in particular, was moved to tears.

Shen Ye offered some words of comfort, then gave instructions to the Algishan brothers and others, telling them to take good care of Suo'etu, before leading his men away in a grand procession.

Sitting in the apricot-yellow sedan chair, Shen Ye thought about the scene when he had just seen Suo'etu.

Lying motionless, Suo'etu gave the impression of being dead.

But Shen Ye had a feeling that this Suo'etu seemed a little different.

As for what was different, Shen Ye couldn't say for a moment.

In terms of both appearance and clothing, there was no difference from the ones I had seen before.

However, Shen Ye still had a vague feeling that something was wrong with this Suo'etu.

Before I knew it, the sedan chair had arrived at Yuqing Palace.

After resting for a while at Yuqing Palace, Shen Ye headed towards Qianqing Palace.

At this moment, the setting sun gives one the feeling of blood-red sunset.

Thinking about Suo'etu's plan some time ago, Shen Ye felt a tightness in his chest.

He was now increasingly certain that Suo'etu had not suffered a stroke!
While Suo'etu appeared to be ill, this was merely a deceptive tactic.

He is still continuing with his plans.

And I am still just a pawn in his game.

If Suo'etu succeeds, Shen Ye feels that becoming a pawn is not out of the question.

The key issue is that Songgotu's chances of success are too small.

If he fails, he will be implicated.

Although he didn't have high expectations for succeeding to the throne, he thought it would be better to delay his confinement as long as possible.

With a series of thoughts flashing through his mind, Shen Ye arrived at the Qianqing Palace.

However, the moment he stepped into the Qianqing Palace, a decision formed in his mind.

Whether or not Suo'etu suffered a stroke, he could not let others dictate his fate.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Qianxi, having just finished half a day of official business, was taking a leisurely stroll to stretch his body.

After Shen Ye entered, Emperor Qianxi asked indifferently, "How is Suo'etu?" Shen Ye bowed and replied in a deep voice, "Prime Minister Suo'etu's condition is not good. He can only keep his eyes open now, and he seems unable to eat."

Emperor Qianxi did not speak immediately, but after taking a few steps, he turned to Shen Ye and asked, "What are your thoughts on Prime Minister Suo's situation?"

Shen Ye remained calm as he faced Emperor Qianxi's gaze.

His intuition told him that the Qianxi Emperor was testing him.

However, he had already made his decision, so regardless of what Emperor Qianxi thought, he solemnly said, "Father, seeing Prime Minister Suo's appearance fills me with deep sorrow!"

"When illness strikes, it's like a mountain collapsing. No matter how great your abilities are, once you fall ill, everything is meaningless!"

A hint of sadness flashed across Emperor Qianxi's face.

Although he harbored deep resentment towards Songgotu, he had reached an age where he was willing but unable to do so.

Many things that were easy for him when he was young are now very difficult for him.

Songgotu has suffered a stroke; who knows, he might be next...

Putting aside his negative feelings, he said to Shen Ye, "Birth, aging, sickness, and death are things no one can decide."

"It's a real pity about Songgotu!"

"Therefore, I believe that Prime Minister Suo should not lie there like a living dead!"

"I have heard that high-ranking monks of the Tantric sect can stimulate a person's potential through prayer, thereby restoring their vitality," Shen Ye said solemnly. "I hope that these high-ranking monks can pray for Prime Minister Suo for seven days."

Esoteric Buddhist blessings!

Emperor Qianxi was quite knowledgeable about esoteric Buddhism and knew that the chances of success in such prayers were extremely small.

During the prayer process, the person being prayed for is not allowed to eat anything except water.

Under such prayers, even some healthy people could not persevere, let alone Suo'etu, who has now suffered a stroke.

It is very possible that Songgotu would die under such a ritual.

"While prayer ceremonies offer hope, they also carry risks!"

"It is very likely that Songgotu will die during the blessing ceremony."

Shen Ye said in an extremely solemn voice, "Father, I have also thought about this."

"To be honest, I don't want to do this either."

"But when I went to see Prime Minister Su this time, I saw determination in his expression."

"Your subject senses that Prime Minister Suo's heart is filled with a kind of determination, a determination that if he cannot stand up, he would rather sleep forever."

"Your subject believes that he can understand Prime Minister Suo."

"A hero would rather sleep forever than live a life of dishonor in his bed."

"Not to mention someone like Suo Xiang, who can't even move an inch, his whole body is like a puppet, being manipulated at will."

Emperor Qianxi's expression changed rapidly as he listened to Shen Ye's words.

He felt that what his son said seemed to be the truth.

If I were in the same state of stroke as Suo'etu, I would probably also resort to esoteric Buddhist practices to pray for a one in ten thousand chance of recovering.

Even if it doesn't work out, just going to die like this would be much better than what Suo'etu is in now.

After all, no one wants to be like a puppet, at the mercy of others.

Does the title of "Crown Prince" have any other meaning?
Did the Crown Prince already sense something was amiss, and therefore desperately want Suo'etu to die?

and also……

Overall, the prayers were quite good.

As long as this prayer ceremony is held, I won't have to worry about whether Suo'etu really had a stroke anymore.

After a moment's thought, Emperor Qianxi said, "You're right. I think Songgotu probably thinks the same way."

"Then you'll be in charge of this prayer ceremony!"

"Song'etu is a high-ranking official of the country. You must take this prayer ceremony seriously and absolutely cannot make any mistakes."

When Shen Ye heard that Emperor Qianxi had granted his request, a hint of joy flashed through his heart.

However, he felt that he couldn't do this alone, so he said in a deep voice, "Father, I feel that praying for Prime Minister Suo's well-being on my own is not enough."

"After all, there are too many things to do, and I'm afraid I won't be able to handle them all."

"Therefore, I request Your Majesty to allow my elder brother to lead troops to guard the outer perimeter of the altar!"

"Let the third and fourth brothers guard the inside of the altar to prevent anyone from disrupting this prayer."

Emperor Qianxi knew his sons very well.

He knew very well that his four sons were four people with four different minds.

If we had to pinpoint what they all shared, it would be that all four of them wanted their own place.

They really are four unfilial sons!

But did the Crown Prince involve these three people to show him that he was selfless?
Amidst a flurry of thoughts, Emperor Qianxi still said in a deep voice, "This matter is of great importance, so please grant my request."

"You must do your best in this prayer to help Suo Xiang recover."

After recovering, Shen Ye thought, "How is this possible?"

Even with the most elaborate prayer rituals, a stroke patient is unlikely to recover completely!
However, after Emperor Qianxi said this, Shen Ye said in a deep voice, "Then I will have someone invite Prime Minister Suo to Dajue Temple to fast for two days."

Emperor Qianxi nodded and said, "Go then, and I hope that Prime Minister Suo will be blessed by the gods and Buddhas!"

　The second update for today is here. Please support me, everyone, until the end of the month.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)