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

Chapter 307 Insolence! How dare you openly contradict me!

Emperor Qianxi's gaze swept across the court, finally settling on Cheng Shaoqin.

The coldness in his eyes sent chills down Cheng Shaoqin's spine, and he couldn't help but feel nervous.

Just as Cheng Shaoqin's heart was in his throat, Emperor Qianxi spoke:

“Cheng Shaoqin, as an imperial censor, you only know how to judge things by facts without asking questions. With such abilities, you are really not fit to be an imperial censor.”

"Guards, strip Cheng Shaoqin of his official robes and never employ him again!"

Cheng Shaoqin trembled all over and hurriedly cried out, "Your Majesty, I am innocent!"

"minister……"

But Emperor Qianxi had no intention of listening to his explanation. Before he could say more than a few words, imperial guards rushed up and dragged him out.

"Your Majesty, I am wronged!"

"Lord Chen, you must put in a good word for me!"

Left Censor-in-Chief Chen Tingjing stood aside, his face quite grim.

He never imagined things would escalate to this point.

Although Cheng Shaoqin brought this upon himself, he was, after all, an imperial censor and Chen Tingjing's subordinate.

If he doesn't speak at this moment, the people below will inevitably feel disheartened.

But this time, the Crown Prince was like a powder keg, attacking everything and everyone!
Not to mention him, even Emperor Qianxi seemed to be avoiding the Crown Prince's sharp edge. Under such circumstances, why would he want to cause trouble for himself?

After Cheng Shaoqin was dragged away, Emperor Qianxi's gaze fell on Shen Ye, and he said in a serious tone, "Crown Prince, no matter what your reason is, it is impolite to roar during the morning court like this."

"If this happens again, we will not let it go so easily!"

Shen Ye looked at Emperor Qianxi, who had an expression that said, "I have already let you off the hook," and calmly replied, "Your Majesty's punishment is something I have no objection to."

"But right now, Yuqing Bank is already putting me in a very tight spot."

"Since the money was spent by the Ministry of Revenue for the sake of the nation's great cause, I urge Father Emperor to order the Ministry of Revenue to repay the money as soon as possible!"

"If the Ministry of Revenue cannot repay the debt, then please have Censor Zhao Youzhi lead men to confiscate the property and collect the debt."

At this point, he glanced at Zhao Youzhi and said, "Imperial Censor Zhao, three million taels of silver is no small sum. You might not be able to handle it all by yourself."

"There are plenty of censors in the Censorate; I will ask them to help you."

"You must get those three million taels of silver back for me as soon as possible!"

Sending censors to confiscate the homes of ministers? And not just a dozen or twenty, but nearly two hundred. If Emperor Qianxi agreed to that, he must have really lost his mind!
Looking at the prince, who exuded a murderous aura, he said in a deep voice, "I have my own plans regarding this debt."

"As for the matter of Scholar Feng, it was just an accident!"

"Let Shuntian Prefecture allocate some money for burial and let's call it a day."

At this point, Emperor Qianxi coldly surveyed the entire room and added, "If anyone continues to cause trouble, then they will be sent to have their homes confiscated along with Zhao Youzhi's."

If Emperor Qianxi had clearly favored the Crown Prince, those present would certainly not have let the matter rest.

However, they were unwilling to go with Zhao Youzhi to ransack homes.

After all, those whose homes were raided were not ordinary people; many of them were even their relatives and friends.

In such a situation, no one wants to offend anyone.

For a moment, the Hall of Supreme Harmony became much quieter.

A hint of regret flashed in the Eighth Prince's eyes. The opportunity that could have ruined the Crown Prince's reputation had ended so abruptly and unhappily, and he was really unwilling to accept it.

However, the Crown Prince insisted that "the money was spent by the Ministry of Revenue and by Emperor Qianxi," which made Emperor Qianxi hesitant to act rashly.

His father is already like this, so even if he's dissatisfied, what can he do? He can only keep it to himself.

But how will the Emperor think of the Crown Prince's reckless disregard for the consequences?
Just as the Eighth Prince was secretly making plans, someone suddenly spoke up: "Father, we can't just let the matter of Scholar Feng go like this!"

The moment Emperor Qianxi heard these words, his anger flared up!
I've already said all this, and there are still people who jump out and openly contradict me.
Judging from the voice, it's still my son!
If you don't punish him for three days, he will tear off the tiles on the roof.

Do these unfilial sons and bastards really think he's old?

Can't I handle them myself?

Just as Emperor Qianxi's anger was about to erupt, he saw clearly who had spoken.

In fact, not only him, but all the officials in the court saw through the person who spoke.

Many people were stunned on the spot.

Emperor Qianxi himself was also taken aback!
The one who spoke was actually the Crown Prince!
Emperor Qianxi's first reaction was that the Crown Prince still wanted money from him!

This traitor!

The Eighth Prince, Tong Guowei, and others also looked on incredulously.

In their view, the Crown Prince's insistence on clinging to Emperor Qianxi in this matter was simply a way to find a powerful backer.

Now, Emperor Qianxi has done as he wished, forcibly suppressing the matter. Why doesn't the Crown Prince just know when to stop?

But the Crown Prince still disagreed. What exactly did he want to do?
“Your Highness, since His Majesty is no longer pursuing the death of Scholar Feng, why do you still insist on holding onto those debts?” Tong Guowei said calmly, “The country is facing difficulties now, so we must be patient for the sake of the nation.”

"I urge Your Highness to consider the bigger picture, be understanding of His Majesty, and not put him in a difficult position."

Tong Guowei's decision to step forward at this time showed great foresight.

This not only resolved the embarrassment of Emperor Qianxi being pursued for debts, but also highlighted his status as the chief Grand Secretary.

Seeing Tong Guowei's serious expression, Shen Ye smiled and replied, "I understand the golden words of Grand Secretary Tong." "However, the reason I disagree with closing the case so hastily is because of a sentence from Zhao Youzhi."

Zhao Youzhi had already quietly retreated to the side. He felt that his attempt to remonstrate with his life had become a joke, and he didn't know how his colleagues would ridicule him in the future.

Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince persisted and brought the matter back to itself!
But what can the Crown Prince do now?
Then Shen Ye continued, "A commoner's life is also a life, so I absolutely cannot allow Feng Lichuan to die in such an unclear way."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianxi raised an eyebrow!
He said calmly, "Your Highness, are you saying that there's more to Feng Lichuan's death than meets the eye?"

“Father, after Feng Lichuan’s death, I have ordered Daxing County to investigate this matter.”

Shen Ye calmly replied, "According to our investigation, although Feng Lichuan's family cannot be described as extremely wealthy, they are still much better off than the average family."

“A year ago, when Feng Lichuan’s father passed away, his family still had more than 100 mu of good land in the suburbs of Beijing.”

"With the shop left by his father, Feng Lichuan should have been living a comfortable life."

"But recently, Feng Lichuan's family's assets have been falling into the hands of others one after another."

"Just two months ago, Feng Lichuan's shop was sold!"

"Two weeks ago, Feng Lichuan's family sold out of their hundreds of acres of land."

At this point, Shen Ye continued, "Just before Feng Lichuan died, the land deed for his family's ancestral home also became someone else's."

"Feng Lichuan is now penniless."

"Although he had deposited fifty taels of silver in Yuqing Bank, he was in debt for over a thousand taels."

At this point, Shen Ye said calmly, "How could a scholar squander his entire family fortune in just one year? It's all because of one thing."

"That is because he was often dragged into a place called 'Qingfeng Gambling House' by several classmates."

"He lost all his wealth there."

"Even if he could come up with the fifty taels of silver, he would still be doomed."

"Your Majesty, I beg you to investigate this matter thoroughly!"

Zhao Youzhi's face turned pale, and the corner of his mouth twitched violently. He never expected that the dead scholar Feng was actually a gambler!
If that's really the case, then wouldn't Feng Xiucai's death be...?

To speak up for a gambler and even question and criticize the Crown Prince in court—this is hardly righteous; it's utterly foolish!

In fact, not only him, but the Eighth Prince's expression also changed drastically.

He knew very well that the Crown Prince would never speak carelessly about such a thing.

If what the Crown Prince said is true, then...

I dare not think about it anymore!
The Eighth Prince couldn't help but glare fiercely at Ma Qi.

It was Ma Qi who orchestrated this!

How could Ma Qi make such a mistake?

This……

Ma Qi felt a chill run down his spine and his mind was buzzing. He hadn't expected the Crown Prince to say that Feng Lichuan was a gambling addict. If that were true, then Feng Lichuan didn't deserve any sympathy at all.

But how could Feng Lichuan, who doesn't deserve any sympathy, stir up such a huge storm?
Did his classmates know that his family fortune was gambled away?

and also……

After thinking it over and over, he suddenly thought of his nephew, Fuheng!
Fuheng handled this matter, and he made a complete mess of it!
For a moment, Ma Qi was so angry that he wanted to tear Fu Heng to pieces on the spot, but unfortunately, he was in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and could not see Fu Heng at all.

Emperor Qianxi, sitting on the dragon throne, now had a completely somber expression.

He originally thought it was just an ordinary case of debt collection leading to murder, but he never expected that there was such a hidden story behind it.

It goes without saying who it's targeting.

He would never believe that his son wasn't involved.

He almost immediately sneered, "Heh, this is getting more and more interesting."

"Feng Lichuan was actually driven to his death by gambling debts."

“Zhao Youzhi, you wrote a memorial to the Crown Prince, repeatedly asking him to give Feng Lichuan justice.”

"Then let me ask you, did you know about Feng Lichuan's situation beforehand?"

Zhao Youzhi's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his voice trembled as he said, "Your Majesty, I...I really didn't know!"

"Your Majesty, I only... I only heard about this matter by chance, and I impeached the Crown Prince in a moment of anger."

"Your Majesty, please understand!"

Looking at the trembling Zhao Youzhi, Emperor Qianxi said coldly, "You have submitted memorials multiple times after hearing about this matter, and you even dare to question the Crown Prince? This is dereliction of duty and abuse of power, a heinous crime."

"Guards, take Zhao Youzhi to the imperial prison."

"Once this matter is thoroughly investigated, we will deal with it severely!"

Following Emperor Qianxi's order, several guards rushed forward and dragged Zhao Youzhi out of the main hall.

"Your Majesty, please understand! I am innocent! I am innocent!"

As he was being dragged out, Zhao Youzhi cried out his innocence, his voice fading into the distance.

Many ministers were terrified, fearing that Zhao Youzhi might implicate them in his panic by making baseless accusations!

　The second update for today is here! Please support, recommend, and vote!
　　

(End of this chapter)