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

Chapter 30 One meaning, two interpretations
Early in the morning, Shen Ye was sleeping in.

Although the weather outside was hot, the two enormous ice chests kept the Crown Princess's bedchamber cool and refreshing.

Covered by a thin blanket, Shen Ye had no desire to get out of bed.

"Your Highness, it's time to get up." Shi Jingrong quietly got up and looked at Shen Ye. Although she felt a little reluctant, she still gently called him to get up.

Emperor Qianxi liked to go to bed early and get up early, so he disliked those who slept in late.

As the Crown Prince's consort, Shi Jingrong naturally couldn't allow the Crown Prince to incur Emperor Qianxi's dislike because of this.

"Sleep a little longer!" Shen Ye didn't even open his eyes before reaching out and hugging Shi Jingrong.

Shi Jingrong's eyes were like water, but in the end she still said softly, "Your Highness, didn't you say you wanted to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager and His Majesty?"

"If we don't get up now, it will be too late!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye opened his eyes.

He glanced at the wall clock by his bedside and realized it wasn't six in the morning yet, leaving him speechless.

People who aren't going to work or school are getting up so early; they're just making things difficult for themselves.

Once I become emperor, I'll restore the nine-to-five workday!
The thought had barely crossed Shen Ye's mind when he felt a wave of helplessness.

It seems like it'll be very difficult for me to get a permanent position!
With the help of the Crown Princess, Shen Ye quickly finished washing up. Then she arranged for a young eunuch to go to the Qianqing Palace and the Cining Palace to report on her visit.

Paying respects to one's parents morning and evening is a matter of filial piety, but for most princes, they didn't even have that right.

However, the Crown Prince was different. As a semi-ruler, neither the Qianxi Emperor nor the Empress Dowager would object to his requests for greetings.

Sure enough, the eunuch who was ordered to go soon came to report that Emperor Qianxi would have time in a quarter of an hour, while the Empress Dowager told Shen Ye to go in half an hour.

This half-hour was reserved for Emperor Qianxi's greetings.

After receiving confirmation, Shen Ye strolled out of Yuqing Palace.

Although he decided to give up, the daily greetings were really not difficult.

Besides, by becoming a familiar face, perhaps when the Crown Prince is deposed in the future, the Empress Dowager might soften her heart and plead for her.

Although the emperor and empress dowager are high above and mostly act out of self-interest, they are still human beings.

When dealing with acquaintances, one should always show some affection.

As soon as Shen Ye arrived outside the Qianqing Palace, he saw the chief eunuch Liang Jiugong making arrangements with several junior eunuchs.

When Liang Jiugong saw Shen Ye, he quickly ran over and bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness."

The former crown prince had tried to win over Liang Jiugong, and in a parallel universe, he even persuaded this confidant of Emperor Qianxi to rebel with him.

However, at this moment, Shen Ye no longer had any intention of winning over Liang Jiugong.

It's all pointless anyway, everything is futile, why bother with this kind of effort?

"No need for such formalities, Steward Liang." Shen Ye gently helped Liang Jiugong up and asked, "Does Father have time now?"

Liang Jiugong said, "His Majesty has just finished his breakfast. This servant will go and inform the Crown Prince immediately."

Two minutes later, Shen Ye entered a side hall of the Qianqing Palace, where Emperor Qianxi was reclining on his bed reading memorials. His gaze fell upon Shen Ye as he paid his respects.

"Rise." After saying this, Emperor Qianxi suddenly asked with a hint of doubt, "Why are you wearing this outfit?"

This time, Shen Ye wasn't wearing the apricot-yellow prince's robe, but rather a light blue casual outfit.

His dressing style was actually part of his act of lying down.

When it's not related to palace ceremonies, try not to wear the same clothes as your father, the Qianxi Emperor.

To avoid making himself feel awkward, and to avoid making his father, who wasn't very forgiving, uncomfortable, Shen Ye said with a grin, "I was planning to go to Daxing County to observe the administration, so I wanted to get used to it first."

Shen Ye spoke casually, but the content was false.

He simply used the phrase "observing the government" to make Emperor Qianxi silently accept that he did not usually wear apricot-yellow robes.

Emperor Qianxi glanced at his dashing son and felt a surge of satisfaction. After all, these were sons he had raised, and many of them had become the kind of sons he had hoped for.

"What are your plans for observing the government when you arrive in Daxing County?"

Shen Ye had already considered this issue.

His so-called "observation of government affairs" in Daxing County was just an excuse for him to get away and relax.

As for observing politics, isn't that a waste of time?

But he couldn’t say that, otherwise the sharp-tongued and diligent Emperor Qianxi would have just confined him to his quarters.
"Father, the reason I went there this time is to take a good look at how Daxing County is operating, so as to obtain first-hand information."

"In order to truly understand how our county government operates, I intend to avoid interfering with it if possible."

"Only in this way can we grasp the core issues and have a clear understanding of them."

Shen Ye's words sounded grand and dignified on the surface, but in reality, he was just lying down and doing nothing.

Watching means doing nothing, caring about nothing, and saying nothing!

However, saying it that way would certainly be difficult to pass muster. But if this kind of laziness is turned into a desire to understand the true situation of a county, then no one can find fault with it.

Emperor Qianxi was a shrewd emperor. The Crown Prince's words made him vaguely feel that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

To truly understand how a county is operating, it seems the only way is to remain uninvolved.

But can observing politics without participating be considered observing politics?

"Then I await your reflections on governance." Taking a deep breath, Emperor Qianxi said calmly.

Shen Ye talked nonsense for more than ten minutes to Emperor Qianxi. This nonsense included Emperor Qianxi's physical condition as well as some major and minor matters in the palace.

He said these things, which basically had nothing to do with him, but he emphasized the emotional value to the maximum.

His past life's work experience taught him that life is like a play, and it all depends on acting skills. Being good at talking is worse than being good at doing things; being able to chat with your boss every day is also part of building a good relationship.

Feelings are something that can be described as ethereal, yet they are also omnipresent.

He didn't want to compete for the throne, so he avoided discussing important matters and instead talked about trivial matters.

Ten minutes later, Shen Ye took his leave from Qianqing Palace.

Watching the departing crown prince, Emperor Qianxi shook his head. As the crown prince, he didn't care about the affairs of the country and just talked nonsense.

However, a thought struck him when he picked up the memorial.

The crown prince was raised by him personally, but the conversations between the father and son in the past seemed to be in a fixed format. How could they be so casual today?

It seems that only a little over a decade ago, when the Crown Prince was still a child, did he have such a casual chat with me.

Thinking of this, Emperor Qianxi had another inexplicable thought: was the Crown Prince's sudden chat with him intentional?

Shen Ye was unaware that his actions had aroused much speculation among Emperor Qianxi.

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, he ate breakfast, paid his respects to the Empress Dowager, and then went to his usual study, where he picked up a gold-threaded horsewhip hanging on the wall.

He has followed the proper etiquette as a filial son and virtuous grandson, so now it's his turn to be a grandfather!

So he grabbed his riding whip, kicked open the door to Zhou Bao's duty room, and said, "Zhou Bao, come out with me!"

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(End of this chapter)