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

Chapter 325 Has the Crown Prince Gone Mad, Holding His Own Hands Against Emperor Qianxi?
Emperor Qianxi could hardly believe his ears.

Based on his understanding of the Crown Prince, this son was quite capable, and in many ways, his performance was truly amazing.

However, this child has been very low-key lately, which makes him quite a filial son!
Moreover, and most importantly, the Crown Prince has almost never disobeyed anything I say.

In many situations, all she needed to do was give the Crown Prince a look, and he would immediately understand and do as she said without making a sound.

The father and son worked together incredibly well.

What happened this time?
Why did he suddenly become so stubborn and insist on picking a fight with Tong Guowei?
Could it be that the Crown Prince noticed that Tong Guowei and the Eighth Prince were too close, so he wanted to cut ties with Tong Guowei quickly?
But it doesn't seem like it!
Just as Emperor Qianxi's anger was rising, he suddenly remembered the Crown Prince's words, "Without rules, there can be no order."

This kid wants to use the Prime Minister as an example to set rules for how Yuqing Bank pays salaries!
If I forcefully stop Tong Guowei from going over, will the Crown Prince remain in a stalemate and insist on waiting for Tong Guowei?

If things really escalate to that point, the conflict between the father and son will be out in the open.

What will the court think then? Will the court lose all face?

Thinking of this, Emperor Qianxi was both angry and anxious, cursing the Crown Prince in his heart, "This rebellious son is too willful!"

But then he thought about it again and realized that the task he had given to the Crown Prince seemed to have a deeper meaning behind the Crown Prince's actions.

If the Crown Prince is only being so concerned because he wants to complete the task I gave him, then isn't it a sign of me being out of my mind to protect Tong Guowei without distinguishing right from wrong?

Thinking of this, Emperor Qianxi took a deep breath and said to Tong Guowei, "Uncle, what do you think we should do about this?"

The Crown Prince's insistence surprised Tong Guowei as well.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind: Did the Crown Prince foresee this situation when he specifically requested him to come over because of this matter?
He would never obediently accept punishment just because of the Crown Prince's edict.

They would definitely sneak over to Emperor Qianxi to plead for mercy.

As his nephew, Emperor Qianxi would certainly help his uncle plead for help and intercede on his behalf...

After much thought, Tong Guowei became increasingly convinced that his guess was correct.

If the Crown Prince persists and confronts the Emperor, then regardless of who wins or loses in this struggle between father and son, and whatever the outcome, the public opinion in the court will surely drown Tong Guowei in spittle!

After all, it was his servants who caused the trouble! The problem originated with him!

It was perfectly reasonable for the Crown Prince to ask him to go and handle the matter, but not only did he refuse to go, he also brought up Emperor Qianxi. Doesn't this make him look like he was deliberately creating conflict between the Emperor and the Crown Prince?

It's clearly an attempt to sow discord between the two!

Although he desperately wanted to remove the crown prince from power, he frequently tried to sabotage and trip him up in secret!

However, he dared not do something so blatant!

He couldn't bear the accusation of sowing discord within the imperial family; it was no joke.

Moreover, although the emperor has supreme authority, the crown prince is still in the right!
Now, Emperor Qianxi asked him what to do? Alas, this emperor clearly favored his son.

Tong Guowei was no fool; he could tell at a glance that Emperor Qianxi no longer wanted to fight back.

He didn't want to expose the conflict between father and son, nor did he want to be known as unreasonable.

After all, the emperor's authority was supported by rules and regulations.

If the emperor were to break all the rules at will, where would his authority come from?

Tong Guowei hesitated for a moment, then said respectfully, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince is right. Without rules, nothing can be accomplished."

“Since it was my servant who did something wrong, I should naturally go and apologize to the Crown Prince.”

"Please, Your Majesty, do not blame the Crown Prince for this."

“This whole affair is entirely the fault of this old minister.”

Tong Guowei's last two sentences seemed to be pleading for the Crown Prince, but in reality, he was subtly trying to sow discord between the two princes.

Emperor Qianxi remained expressionless, seemingly oblivious to the veiled meaning in Tong Guowei's words.

He waved his hand and said, "It's just a small matter, we'll deal with it as soon as possible."

He fell silent after that.

Tong Guowei stole a glance at Emperor Qianxi and then quickly withdrew.

After Tong Guowei left, Emperor Qianxi's expression began to change rapidly.

He sensed a provocation!
This provocation made him very uncomfortable.

But ironically, since the crown prince was in the right, he felt he had nothing to say.

Even if the emperor were to punish a crown prince who possesses a strong moral compass, he cannot be disposed of arbitrarily.

Why is the Crown Prince so determined to punish Tong Guowei this time? Is it to establish rules, or does he have other plans?

The more Emperor Qianxi thought about it, the more solemn his expression became, and the atmosphere in the entire Qianqing Palace grew colder.

The news that the Crown Prince insisted on having Tong Guowei come in person spread very quickly.

By the time Liang Jiugong reported the news to Emperor Qianxi, many people already knew about it.

For example, the eldest prince, the fourth prince, the eighth prince...

After learning this news, the princes had different thoughts.

For the eldest prince, this matter was none of his concern, and he would simply ignore it.

After all, neither the Crown Prince nor Tong Guowei had much of a relationship with him. And because of Bai Lu's affair, his chances of becoming the Crown Prince were practically zero.

Dogs fighting, all that's left is a mess, he's happy to just watch the show, it has nothing to do with him anyway.

However, while watching the play, he felt a growing admiration for the Crown Prince.

He was the eldest son of the emperor, but he never defied the Qianxi Emperor's decrees.

He had a feeling that, as far back as he could remember, he had never seen anyone dare to defy Emperor Qianxi's orders.

But now, the Crown Prince is standing firm!
The Crown Prince really showed his mettle in the crucial moment!
The eldest prince really wanted to see how things would unfold, but in the end, he held back.

He didn't know if the Crown Prince would be punished if he rushed over recklessly, but if he didn't get to see the excitement and instead got into trouble, then it would be a loss!
The Fourth Prince heard about this at the Ministry of Revenue; his information came even faster than that of the First Prince.

It's not that he has more people than the eldest prince, but rather that he had people keeping an eye on Yuqing Bank early in the morning.

He had people report all the happenings at Yuqing Bank to him in a timely manner.

The Fourth Prince was already furious about Tong San's outburst at Yuqing Bank!
In his view, not only was Tong San a bullying lackey, but even Tong Guowei, whom Emperor Qianxi addressed as "uncle" repeatedly, was a lackey!
The implementation of the salary system was itself intended to change the way the imperial court distributed salaries.

This is a big deal in itself!
You, Tong Guowei, as the Grand Secretary, not only did not support him, but also sent people to cause trouble.

If this isn't dealt with severely, where will the imperial court's authority be?! And how will the rules set by Yuqing Bank be implemented?
The fourth prince wanted to applaud the crown prince's firm stance.

He secretly sent people to closely monitor the situation, ready to fan the flames at any time.

When the Eighth Prince heard about this, he had just seen Ren Bo'an off.

Although he was filled with reluctance, Ren Bo'an was someone Emperor Qianxi had ordered to take up the post, so no matter how reluctant he was, he could only listen.

The Crown Prince is targeting Tong Guowei!
The Crown Prince wants Tong Guowei to personally go to Yuqing Bank to explain the situation!

The Crown Prince defied Emperor Qianxi's decision...

Is the Crown Prince trying to make an example of someone, or has he lost his mind? He's defying his father!

The Eighth Prince had carefully studied Emperor Qianxi's temperament.

He discovered that from the very beginning of his reign, Emperor Qianxi hated nothing more than anyone disobeying his orders.

Not to mention, some people openly disagree with him.

What will be the outcome of the Crown Prince's blatant confrontation with his father this time?

Will the Emperor, in a fit of anger, depose the Crown Prince because of this?

But on second thought, it seemed a bit unlikely, since the Crown Prince was in the right.

There is no legitimate reason to depose the crown prince, especially an excellent one, as it is easy to provoke a backlash.

After much deliberation, the Eighth Prince also chose to remain inactive.

His little tricks have gradually caught the eye of his father, the emperor, and he can't help but be careful now.

After all, Ren Bo'an's transfer was already a warning, and we can't afford to act rashly now.

So he stood in his duty room, silently waiting for new information to arrive.

At Yuqing Bank, more and more government officials received their salaries, and they were all beaming with joy.

However, even though they were holding silver coins from Yuqing Bank, none of them were willing to leave.

After all, the current conflict between Emperor Qianxi and the Crown Prince over Tong Guowei has already captured the attention of everyone.

No one wants to miss out on how this grand drama will end.

Whether His Majesty would side with his uncle or handle the matter impartially drew everyone to gather outside Yuqing Bank to watch the spectacle.

Tong San was still tied to the hitching post.

At this moment, he was like a defeated quail, head down and silent.

He knew in his heart that his current situation was most likely dire, with little chance of survival and certain death.

Even Ye Keshu was chased away when he came. Is the Crown Prince determined to break ties with the Grand Secretary?
Tong San didn't know the outcome; he could only pray.

Just as everyone was whispering among themselves, Tong Guowei's sedan chair arrived.

When the officials who were queuing to receive their salaries saw that Tong Guowei had come in person, there was a commotion.

With Tong Guowei here, the Crown Prince probably won't let him off easily.

This is about to be a great show.

The moment Tong Guowei arrived, the news was already delivered to Shen Ye by Erlengtai.

Shen Ye had anticipated Tong Guowei's arrival.

He knew Emperor Qianxi too well; he knew that although the emperor always proclaimed that he would govern the country with filial piety, he still valued rules and regulations quite a lot.

Moreover, this time, he, the crown prince, is in the right.

He said to Erlengtai, "Let's go see Grand Secretary Tong."

Erlengtai agreed and was just about to walk out with Shen Ye when someone announced, "This servant, Tong Guowei, has come to apologize to the Crown Prince!"

(End of this chapter)