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

Chapter 278 Crown Prince, Your Birthday Gift Is Too Perfunctory!
A person valued by Buddha!

This was the last struggle of the Golden Moon Dharma King!
He dared not say directly who the emperor chosen by Buddha was; if he did, wouldn't that be tantamount to forcing Emperor Qianxi to break off relations on the spot?

Ultimately, who becomes emperor is still up to Emperor Qianxi himself.

But according to Shen Ye's explanation just now, "a person valued by Buddha" means that the eldest prince has the potential to become a Dharma King!

So, as soon as the Golden Moon Dharma King finished speaking, Shen Ye smiled and cupped his hands towards the First Prince, saying in a serious tone, "Brother, you should probably give up on the Dharma King position for now!"

"Think more about your sister-in-law and children. A wife, children, and a warm bed are quite blissful. Even if you really want to become a monk, you'll have to wait at least a few more years!"

Shen Ye spoke with utmost sincerity.

Upon hearing this, all the princes present couldn't help but chuckle.

The fourth prince, in particular, was trying his best to suppress his laughter, but his mouth was practically stretched to his ears!
Although he and the eldest prince share a common "enemy," they are currently on the same side—both want to remove the crown prince from power first.

However, seeing the eldest prince suffer a setback, he couldn't help but feel a sense of schadenfreude.

The eldest prince's face turned as red as a pig's liver!

His carefully crafted "chosen one" persona was turned into a complete farce by the Crown Prince's machinations, and he was transformed into a "chosen monk"!
It is really unbearable and unbearable!
He glared angrily at Shen Ye, and was about to speak when Emperor Qianxi interrupted him: "Alright, let's leave it at that!"

As he spoke, he rose from his throne and slowly walked to the two white deer.

Although the two white deer were only the size of ordinary elk, Emperor Qianxi liked them more and more because they were pure white.

"Starting today, build a deer park for the white deer and take good care of it."

Upon hearing this, the servants immediately led the white deer out.

After all, the birthday banquet was not over yet, the Crown Prince's birthday gifts had not been presented, and the ceremony had to continue.

As Emperor Qianxi spoke, his gaze swept over Ma Wu.

Raising auspicious white deer for His Majesty is a prestigious task, so when Ma Wu saw Emperor Qianxi looking at him, he quickly and respectfully agreed.

"Your Highness, it's your turn to present your birthday gift this time!" the First Prince said, barely suppressing his anger.

He suffered a huge loss this time—he had hoped to use the Golden Moon Dharma King to create the impression of being the "chosen one," and he spent a lot of money, but it all turned into a joke.

This debt must be settled with the Crown Prince!
If it weren't for the Crown Prince's silver tongue, he wouldn't have been in such an embarrassing situation.

So this time, he was determined to make the Crown Prince suffer a setback, and he had to pay the price for his actions.

The eldest prince had already sent people to inquire about the birthday gift prepared by the crown prince, but unfortunately, they couldn't find any clues.

Judging from this situation, it seems as if the Crown Prince was completely unprepared.

But how could that be? It's the Emperor's birthday, how could the Crown Prince not prepare a gift?
How could the Crown Prince not be attentive!
You see, he's always full of tricks and comes up with a fresh idea that makes the Emperor very happy.

Not to mention, this time it's the Emperor's birthday!

This guy, who's got a hornet's nest of schemes, how could he possibly let go of such a great opportunity to show off!
However, after thinking it over carefully, the eldest prince realized that with the auspicious white deer in his possession, he should be able to secure victory.

In addition, he had spread rumors beforehand, so at this moment, he really hoped to use this to turn the tide.

Shen Ye completely ignored the Crown Prince's provocative words and said to Emperor Qianxi, "Father, my birthday gifts are outside. I will have them brought in."

Emperor Qianxi had a general idea of ​​what gifts the other princes would give him.

The only thing he felt he hadn't quite figured out was the Crown Prince's birthday gift.

He didn't believe any of the rumors about immortality elixirs or three-headed monsters.

With his intelligence, wisdom, and exceptional insight, he had long ago realized that it was probably a rumor spread by the eldest prince to put the crown prince in a difficult position.
Hearing Shen Ye say "bring it in," Emperor Qianxi couldn't help but feel a little disappointed—what was being brought in was mostly gold, silver, and jewels, which he had long since stopped caring about!

Moreover, while gold and silver might be considered valuable if given by someone else, they were considered commonplace to Emperor Qianxi.

"Bring it in."

At Emperor Qianxi's command, four strong and sturdy guards carried in a box with a beautiful knot tied with red silk cloth.

Everyone was stunned when they saw this.

The Crown Prince's birthday gift... seems a bit perfunctory.

Indeed, this box is clearly meant to contain gold and silver jewelry.

As the crown prince, is this how you give the emperor a birthday gift? Aren't you afraid the emperor will be so angry that he'll replace you as crown prince?
What is the Crown Prince up to?
When Emperor Qianxi saw the box, he was also a little stunned.

Although he knew all along that what the Crown Prince gave him would definitely not be one of the divine items the First Prince had mentioned, this was still far too casual.
He hesitated for a moment, composed himself, and asked calmly, "Your Highness, what kind of birthday gift is this?"

Shen Ye looked at the eye-catching big red flower on the box, feeling quite embarrassed.

Nian Xinyue said that tying on a big red flower would make it look festive, and he thought it made sense, so he listened. Who knew that it would look so tacky after he tied it on!
Oh, what happened to my taste? What happened to my aesthetic sense? I've ruined my lifelong reputation...

While inwardly complaining, he respectfully replied, "Father, the birthday gift I wish to present is inside."

"Open!"

Following Shen Ye's instructions, the four guards quickly opened the box.

Then a square, grayish, hard block came into view. On the surface of this block, there were many small stone-like objects.

Simply put, it's a large rock encasing smaller rocks. What is this thing?

Did the Crown Prince really bring a stone to celebrate his birthday?
Upon seeing this, the last trace of worry that had been hanging over the eldest prince disappeared.

Unable to resist, he sneered, "Your Highness, where did you get this precious treasure? Could it be the legendary five-colored stone that Nuwa used to mend the sky?"

"If that's true, then it's incredibly precious!"

Faced with the Crown Prince's foreign accent, Shen Ye ignored him and calmly said, "This is not a five-colored stone, and it cannot mend the sky—but it can mend the earth!"

At first glance, Shen Hua's first sentence sounded quite modest, but the second half left everyone stunned!

Mending the earth is not as good as mending the sky, but it is still not something that ordinary people can do.

Could it be that the Crown Prince has actually created a divine artifact this time?
But no matter how you look at it, it's just an ordinary, unremarkable stone!

"Bring this gift out," Shen Ye ordered the four guards.

Those who could serve as bodyguards by Emperor Qianxi's side were no ordinary people. Besides having a similar background, they also had to be quite capable; otherwise, how could Emperor Qianxi trust them to protect his safety?

Therefore, although the stones in the box were heavy, the four of them easily lifted them out.

Only then did everyone realize that the large rock was embedded with many pebbles of different sizes, and somehow they were all fixed in place without falling off.

Upon seeing the strangely shaped stones, Emperor Qianxi immediately became interested. He examined the small stones repeatedly, and then reached out and pressed down on one of them.

The small pebble remained completely still, as if it had grown onto the large rock.

He then looked at Shen Ye: "How are these small stones fixed so firmly?"

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Father, the birthday gift I'm giving you is called 'cement'."

"Its function is very simple—to glue small stones together to form a larger stone."

"Moreover, it can shape these small stones into any shape."

"Through its adhesive properties, this large rock becomes incredibly sturdy."

"Once the cement has hardened, it will no longer be afraid of water corrosion or fire."

Several tribal leaders had not yet grasped the purpose of cement, but Emperor Qianxi's eyes had already lit up.

If it's really that powerful, then in the future, when we repair river embankments, can we just use stones and cement? If so...

"Is your cement... really that strong?" Emperor Qianxi asked solemnly.

"Father, we'll only know if it's strong or not by testing it."

Shen Ye pointed to the cement block and said, "There are hammers in the palace. We'll find two strong warriors to try them out and we'll know."

Emperor Qianxi looked at the cement block studded with pebbles, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Alright, it's as you say."

"Someone, bring two large iron hammers to try."

Soon, two burly guards came over carrying heavy iron hammers.

Looking at the large "rock" in front of them, both of them felt a little scared.

Breaking rocks is no easy task; the experience is anything but pleasant.

While Emperor Qianxi was talking to Shen Ye, the Fourth Prince and others gradually figured out the uses of cement.

Especially the fourth prince, who had observed the administration of the Ministry of Revenue, knew all too well how much silver was spent each year repairing the river embankments, and how easily the repaired embankments could be washed away.

If the riverbank were paved with a layer of cement and stones like this, would it be so easily washed away by a flood?

Furthermore, if it were used to build city walls...

The more the fourth prince thought about it, the brighter his eyes became.

Just as the fourth prince was pondering, two large hammers struck the stone in quick succession.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With a loud and heavy thud, the guard grimaced from the recoil of the hammer, but the cement block made of cement and sand only chipped off a little bit.

Everyone looked surprised.

This situation caused many people to look on with surprise.

Emperor Qianxi, watching the two guards swinging hammers, suddenly got excited and pushed one of them aside, saying, "Let me try."

"Your Majesty, this stone is too hard, it's dangerous..." The guard was so frightened that he hurriedly knelt on the ground and whispered a warning.

However, Emperor Qianxi completely ignored him and picked up the hammer to smash it down hard.

With a "clang," the hammer bounced up, making his hand go numb and almost causing him to drop it.

Having tested it, Emperor Qianxi had a better understanding. He put down the hammer and solemnly asked Shen Ye, "Crown Prince, how much did this cement cost?"

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(End of this chapter)