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

Chapter 267 Using a borrowed knife to kill someone – the knife is quite sharp.

Although Suo'etu is nominally "dead," Shen Ye can still easily investigate something.

Soon, Zhou Bao had figured out Wu Sidao's background.

Among the clerks in the Ministry of Revenue was a man named Wu Sidao.

This person was brought over by the Fourth Prince, Yunzhen, and was mainly responsible for the affairs around the Fourth Prince.

In other words, this person is someone close to Yunzhen.

Upon hearing Zhou Bao's report, a cold glint flashed in Shen Ye's eyes.

This guy who was hiding in the shadows and playing dirty tricks finally couldn't hold back and actually swaggered out.

What others might not know, Shen Ye knew very well in the parallel universe that Wu Sidao had caused a scene at the provincial examination a few years ago.

That incident caused quite a stir. In a fit of anger, Emperor Qianxi killed two or three examiners, but Wu Sidao also became a wanted criminal.

However, Wu Sidao was not one to be easily captured. As soon as he sensed that things were going wrong, he immediately slipped away!

Hehe, if you can't catch me, you can't punish me either.

Unexpectedly, this person actually pulled a "hidden talent in the court" trick and infiltrated the imperial court!

This guy must have been secretly plotting behind the scenes when Songgotu got into trouble.

If it were up to the original crown prince's temperament, he would have taken this guy down with just one invitation.

However, doing it this way is too direct and could easily give others something to talk about, so Shen Ye has no intention of doing it that way.

He hesitated for a moment, and then some ideas began to form in his mind.

He turned to Zhou Bao, who was standing to the side, and said, "Have someone secretly leak this information to the First Prince, saying that there is a fugitive around the Fourth Prince."

"And he also enjoys the Fourth Prince's deep trust!"

"Remember, be discreet and don't let the Crown Prince see through our act or realize that we're the ones who sent him the message."

Zhou Bao immediately understood Shen Ye's instructions.

He smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't worry. The eunuchs around the First Prince often go to the Imperial Kitchen to get food. I'll have someone tip him off."

Shen Ye waved his hand, signaling Zhou Bao to leave.

This little trick may not be very sophisticated, but it works, that's good enough.

The fourth prince had always pretended to be a member of the crown prince's faction, reporting many things to the crown prince. This certainly had its advantages; it's good to be under a big tree.

But his actions also made the eldest prince extremely resentful.

If you, the fourth prince, choose the crown prince over me, isn't that a sign of looking down on me?

The eldest prince is not so tolerant of those who look down on him.

Upon receiving this news, the eldest prince would definitely not let this opportunity slip by.

Although this small action wouldn't cause any major harm to the Fourth Prince, Shen Ye believed that it wouldn't be so easy for Wu Sidao to escape alive.

Zhou Bao was very reliable, and the Ministry of Revenue became lively the next day.

After the emperor held court, Ma Qi, the Minister of Revenue, had just returned to the Ministry of Revenue when he heard a commotion outside.

He was very respectful in the Qianqing Palace.

However, once back at the Ministry of Revenue, it was their own territory, and they would absolutely not allow others to act recklessly.

Even towards the fourth prince who was observing the government, he was only polite on the surface, and still followed his own rules in many matters.

"What happened?" Ma Qi asked the official who was coming to greet him, his expression displeased.

This assistant was specifically there to help Ma Qi with his work; to put it simply, he was Ma Qi's secretary.

"Reporting to your Excellency, it is men from the Infantry Commander's Office who have come here to arrest fugitives." The official's face carried a subtle expression.

Maqi almost slammed his hand on the table.

Although the commander of the Infantry Commandery was a confidant of Emperor Qianxi and held a high position of power, who was Ma Qi?

That was a power that even the Qianxi Emperor dared to defy; why would he be afraid of a mere infantry commander's office?

Coming to his territory to arrest fugitives without even a word of warning, isn't that disrespecting Ma Qi and slapping the face of him, the Minister of Revenue?
He swallowed his anger and didn't dare to talk back when the Crown Prince scolded him. But don't forget, he was the kind of person who dared to talk back to Emperor Qianxi.

"Damn it, how dare they come to my Ministry of Revenue to arrest people! They've gone too far!" Ma Qi said, turning to leave.

As Ma Qi's close associate, the official naturally sided with Ma Qi.

He grabbed Ma Qi's arm and said, "My lord, please wait!"

Ma Qi knew his secretary's character well and knew that unless it was a crucial matter, the secretary wouldn't dare to arbitrarily stop him.

He looked at the wealthy man with a hint of doubt.

The official immediately said, "Sir, the one who came to arrest people is Narkh, the commander of the Infantry Commandery. He is the eldest prince's wet nurse."

The commander-in-chief was only a mid-level official in the Infantry Commander's Office.

The head of the Infantry Commander's Office, also known as the legendary Nine Gates Admiral, was only a second-rank official.

There's simply no comparison to him, Ma Qi.

However, upon hearing that Narch was the Crown Prince's wet nurse, Mazzi immediately calmed down.

He knew that even if he confronted Emperor Qianxi directly at this moment, the emperor wouldn't do anything to him.

After all, Emperor Qianxi needed him to manage the Ministry of Revenue.

However, if he dares to get involved in the disputes among the princes, he will be asking for trouble!
Let alone the Crown Prince, even the Fourth Prince, who is observing state affairs at the Ministry of Revenue, is not someone to be trifled with.

Although on the surface the fourth prince treated him with respect, he felt that his power had been diminished as the fourth prince took charge of the Ministry of Revenue.

However, he dared not say more about this situation.

"The person who was arrested is Wu Sidao, who serves the Fourth Prince!" "The Fourth Prince is currently preventing the arrest. Narhe must have come on orders. Although he doesn't dare to break in to arrest the person, he is blocking the door."

"They dared not interfere with the Fourth Prince's outings, but they did not allow anyone else to go out."

Upon hearing this, Ma Qi immediately understood.

This is the eldest prince and the fourth prince facing off.

This also marks the Crown Prince's latest attack on the Crown Prince's faction.

After all, the Fourth Prince closely followed the Crown Prince, which was something many people knew.

Now that the eldest prince has caught the fourth prince red-handed, he is naturally unwilling to give up.

He patted the wealthy man on the shoulder and said, "Thanks to you this time, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to get out if I had barged in."

At this point, he coughed lightly and said, "I have something to discuss with the Ministry of Works. Have someone prepare a sedan chair."

Just as Ma Qi hurriedly slipped away from the Ministry of Revenue, in the courtyard where the Fourth Prince was working, the Fourth Prince was angrily roaring, "This is outrageous! This is truly outrageous!"

"A mere commander of the infantry headquarters dares to block my gate demanding people. Does he think I'm easy to bully?"

"Narch, get out of here with your men right now, or I'll go talk to your master."

Outside the courtyard, a tall young man clasped his hands and said, "Fourth Master, if you wish to leave, this servant would absolutely not dare to stop you."

"However, please understand, Fourth Master. Wu Sidao is a fugitive from the court. I was ordered to arrest him. If I go back empty-handed, I will have no way to explain myself."

"If you could plead with His Majesty to pardon Wu Sidao, I could easily report back to him."

"However, before pardoning him, please hand him over to me, Fourth Master."

"I dare not disobey the laws of the court."

Narch spoke politely, but his attitude was very firm.

He was also telling the fourth prince that he was acting in accordance with the laws of the court, and that if the fourth prince tried to stop him, he would not be afraid of taking the case to Emperor Qianxi.

Given Emperor Qianxi's temperament, it's likely that the fourth prince will ultimately suffer the consequences.

Although the Fourth Prince understood the principle, he had never been so humiliated. He smashed the covered bowl on the ground.

"Bastard thing!"

If it were an ordinary person, he would have simply handed it over!
However, Wu Sidao was different!

Wu Sidao was a great talent he had encountered, and in his view, this Mr. Wu was also an important strategist who could help him seize the position of Crown Prince.

With Mr. Wu's intervention, Suo'etu simply "disappeared"!

There are still many things I need Mr. Wu's help with in the future.

If he were handed over to the Infantry Commander's Office, Mr. Wu might die at any time.

By then it will be too late.

Therefore, under no circumstances could he hand over his trusted confidant directly.

Just as he was getting angry, Wu Sidao brought him a cup of tea and then said in a deep voice, "Fourth Master, calm down first. It's not a good idea to put up with it now."

"I can't hide from what's going on in my own life."

"Then I'll go take a look."

"It's nothing more than causing trouble during the provincial examination; it's not a crime punishable by death."

The fourth prince took the teacup and put it down, saying, "Mr. Wu, rest assured, with me here, this matter will absolutely not involve you."

"Don't worry, I'll go find the boss right away."

"I don't believe he would completely fall out with me over something like this."

"I also have something on him."

Wu Sidao smiled and said, "I appreciate Fourth Master's kindness."

"However, this matter has escalated to this point, and I'm afraid it's no longer something that the First Prince can simply let go of."

"His Majesty already knows about this matter. Fourth Prince, you'd better think about how to answer when His Majesty asks you about it."

"Moreover, I believe that although this matter was instigated by you, sir, the person who plotted against me may not necessarily be the Crown Prince."

"Perhaps he was also being used as a pawn."

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince's expression changed.

He had always thought that the eldest prince was causing him trouble, but after hearing what Wu Sidao said, he realized that this matter was not simple.

If the eldest prince who made the move was merely used as a pawn, then who was plotting against him from behind?

The Third Prince, or the Eighth Prince, or...

A series of thoughts quickly surged through the Fourth Prince's mind.

For a moment, his mind was in complete chaos, and he even felt a little panicked.

"Mr. Wu, who do you think made the move?"

Wu Sidao pondered for a moment and said, "Fourth Master, this matter is hard to guess."

"Because there are just too many people who want to seize the throne, anyone could make a move in secret."

"My identity has been exposed, possibly because someone recognized me."

At this point, Wu Sidao couldn't help but sigh.

Although he was incredibly intelligent, figuring out who had plotted against him in such a chaotic battle was no easy task!
However, he had a vague feeling that he might be in big trouble this time.

Just as the two were talking, Su Peisheng, the fourth prince's trusted eunuch, quickly walked over and said, "Fourth Prince, it seems the eldest prince is coming!"

(End of this chapter)