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

Chapter 280 Thunderous Fury: In the heat of anger, there is no right or wrong.

The eldest prince was shocked and completely stunned when he saw the faded deer!

He never imagined that the "auspicious white deer" on which he had placed such high hopes was actually a fake!

How can this be? !
But the deer's spots and the white stains that rubbed all over the fence were clearly visible.

Why didn't they lose their color before?

Why today of all days?

what on earth is it?

Could it be that the white deer was switched with another one?
That's impossible! I've had my trusted confidants guarding it day and night; there's simply no chance for anyone to tamper with it.

But if it wasn't switched, how can this be explained?
Someone is trying to frame me!
Who on earth is it? Who is so cruel as to harm me at this critical juncture?

What should I do now?
Just as the eldest prince's mind was in a complete mess, Emperor Qianxi's gaze turned coldly toward him.

"What's going on with this deer?"

Emperor Qianxi's voice was not loud, and even carried a hint of calmness, yet it was firm and resounding. Upon hearing it, the eldest prince felt a little tremble.

He was terrified and wanted to explain, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Finally, under the piercing gaze of the Qianxi Emperor, the eldest prince stammered, "Father, your son... your son doesn't know either..."

"This white deer, it...it's clearly a white deer!"

Everyone around kept their mouths tightly shut.

Even those in the crowd who were involved dared not utter a sound.

No one dared to attract Emperor Qianxi's attention, for fear of arousing suspicion.

If Emperor Qianxi were to take his anger out on someone, then we would be finished!
After all, this was tantamount to slapping Emperor Qianxi twice in the face in front of everyone.

How could the Qianxi Emperor not be furious?
Even a small, unintentional action of theirs could be misinterpreted by Emperor Qianxi.

Once you incur the wrath of the Qianxi Emperor, your death is not far off!

Shen Ye also kept his head down silently, not daring to utter a word!
In his previous life, when he was a junior clerk, he knew what thunderous rage was. In the heat of anger, there is no right or wrong, and there is no reason to reason with anyone!
The current Emperor Qianxi is the one who might unleash a thunderous rage!
If he were to speak out now, whatever he says would arouse the suspicion of Emperor Qianxi.

If the eldest prince falls, he will be the biggest beneficiary.

After all, everyone in the court knew that the eldest prince had always coveted the position of crown prince.

Now that the eldest prince has made such a big mistake, he is very likely to be punished as a result, making him the prime suspect.

"White Deer?"

"You're offering me this as a birthday gift?"

Emperor Qianxi sneered, his tone full of sarcasm.

The eldest prince knelt down with a thud: "Father, I truly wish to wish you a happy birthday."

"Your Majesty, I have no disloyal intentions whatsoever! I beg you to see the truth!"

"Your subject... Your subject can swear to Heaven that your subject truly believed it to be a white deer."

"Someone has framed me!"

"It's Wu Youjing, it's him!"

"He's the one who found this white deer!"

Wu Youjing is a disciple of the First Prince, and the First Prince praised this disciple quite a bit some time ago.

But now, he doesn't care about sentimentality anymore; shifting the blame and saving his own life is the priority.

As for the rest, we'll talk about that later.

Hearing the eldest prince's explanation, Emperor Qianxi's face grew even colder.

Although he didn't think the eldest prince would be foolish enough to create a fake "auspicious white deer" for him, the eldest prince was undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of the white deer's appearance.

Furthermore, he even had the Golden Moon Dharma King say something like, "The one who presents the white deer is the chosen one."

Isn't this obvious...?

Amidst a flurry of thoughts, Emperor Qianxi coldly ordered, "Guards, arrest Wu Youjing and bring him to justice!"

"Furthermore, the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Imperial Clan Court will conduct a joint trial to thoroughly investigate the situation surrounding this white deer."

"And, the First Prince..."

Seeing the eldest prince trembling slightly, Emperor Qianxi's heart softened for a moment.

Although this matter was caused by the eldest prince.

This caused him to lose face among the various tribes of the grasslands, but after all, this was his first son.

He felt a little reluctant to punish him.

But if he is not punished, and such a big thing is let go, then what will become of his imperial authority?
“Father, I believe that my elder brother has been misled in this matter!” Shen Ye suddenly stepped forward and said.

His stepping forward to defend the eldest prince this time wasn't just a show to curry favor with Emperor Qianxi; he had just considered another possibility:
The Crown Prince's auspicious white deer must be the result of some people's conspiracy.

At first glance, this conspiracy seems to have nothing to do with him, but upon closer examination, it may be a two-birds-with-one-stone scheme, and he, the crown prince, is also part of their calculations!

Given the Crown Prince's personality, if the First Prince obtains the "Auspicious White Deer," the Crown Prince might send people to try and sabotage it!

If such sabotage succeeds, then he will fall into the other party's trap.

In the end, it won't be the eldest prince who falls, but himself.

Shen Ye also had a guess about who used this plan. It was unlikely to be the Fourth Prince; the most likely candidate was the Eighth Prince.

Rather than letting the Eighth Prince frame the First Prince and then attack him with all his might, it's better to keep the First Prince, who wants revenge, alive.

Although the eldest prince was somewhat reckless, he was eventually able to find out who had framed him.

At the very least, he was grateful to himself.

"Do you think Yunshi was just deceived?" Emperor Qianxi was very surprised that Shen Ye came out to plead for him.

Because of his arrangements, Shen Ye and the First Prince were quite incompatible.

The eldest prince's biggest wish was to remove Shen Ye from the position of crown prince so that he could take the place himself.

In order to increase his bargaining power, he went so far as to seek out the Golden Moon Dharma King to claim that he was the chosen one, which can be said to be a direct challenge to the position of Crown Prince.

Although his claim of being the chosen one was ultimately thwarted by the Crown Prince's few words, his status as the chosen one was recognized by many.

Is the Crown Prince truly magnanimous, or...?

Shen Ye had no idea what Emperor Qianxi was thinking. Now that he had stepped forward, he naturally had to explain his actions in a positive light.

“Father, although I have some disagreements with my elder brother, I absolutely do not believe that he is an unfilial person.”

"He would never, and would never, do anything dishonest on your birthday."

"Your subject is willing to vouch for your elder brother!"

As soon as Shen Ye finished speaking, the Fourth Prince, who already understood somewhat, quickly stepped forward and said, "Father, I do not believe that my elder brother is an unfilial person."

"My elder brother probably didn't see a white deer before, and he was so focused on adding to the celebration of Father's birthday that he was caught off guard and deceived."

"I beg Father Emperor to forgive my elder brother this time, considering his sincere intentions."

"Big brother is just confused!"

Although the Fourth Prince and the First Prince had a deep-seated feud, he knew even better that the Crown Prince had stepped forward, and it was time to show their brotherly affection.

If I don't step forward now, my father will definitely hold it against me.

If you feel you haven't been respectful and loving enough to your brothers, then there's really no one to reason with.

However, while pleading for the eldest prince, the fourth prince couldn't help but subtly add the comment that the eldest prince wasn't smart enough.

The fifth prince added, "Father, my elder brother was just momentarily careless."

"I beg Father to give my elder brother a chance to redeem himself through meritorious service."

The Eighth Prince quickly added, "Father, my elder brother has always been filial. This time, he was simply misled by his subordinates."

"I beg Your Majesty to consider his good intentions and give him a chance to correct his mistakes."

Several princes stepped forward, and some of the ministers standing to the side also spoke up.

The one who spoke was Floren, a close friend of the First Prince. At a time like this, if he didn't speak up for the First Prince, who would?

"Your Majesty, the First Prince is indeed responsible for oversight in this matter."

"However, he was also deceived, which is why he did wrong."

"I beg Your Majesty to be lenient and give the eldest prince a chance."

Seeing Fulun kneeling on the ground, Emperor Qianxi coldly said, "Alright, since you all plead for him, then let Yunshi go home and reflect on his mistakes for now."

"We'll deal with it all once the truth is out."

At this point, he glared at the eldest prince and said, "Go down."

The eldest prince finally breathed a sigh of relief. While expressing his gratitude, he glanced silently in Shen Ye's direction.

He never expected that the first person to plead for him would be the Crown Prince.

If it weren't for the Crown Prince pleading for him, he would never have been so easily forgiven by Emperor Qianxi, knowing that he had made such a grave mistake.

But why would the crown prince help him?

Does he really think he can win me over?

Feeling utterly dejected, the eldest prince left in a daze.

Although he was not severely punished for this incident, it essentially eliminated his chances of becoming the crown prince, a position he had been vying for.

If such an important matter can be concealed, how can one be expected to shoulder the responsibility of governing a vast country!

Would Emperor Qianxi have made someone known for being muddle-headed and negligent as crown prince?
Emperor Qianxi ignored the departing eldest prince. He looked at the two deer, most of which were turning white, and his expression turned ferocious again.

If he had previously been very fond of these two white deer...

So now, how much he loathes those two deer.

Because these two deer were like two resounding slaps in the face, constantly reminding Emperor Qianxi that he had just made a fool of himself!

After carefully examining the two deer for a few moments, Emperor Qianxi glanced at the people around him and then said calmly, "Crown Prince, what should we do with these two deer?"

At this moment, Shen Ye felt even more resentment towards Emperor Qianxi.

He understood Emperor Qianxi's feelings at that moment, but why do you keep coming to me when you're feeling uncomfortable?
It's not like I did anything to upset you!
However, since Emperor Qianxi had asked, Shen Ye had no choice but to answer.

This question is still difficult to answer.

Shen Ye glanced at the two white deer, whose fur was beginning to show, and then an idea came to him.

　The first update of the day is here! Please support me, everyone! If you have any votes, please give me two!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)