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

Chapter 348 The Crown Prince is Ruthless; Brothers, Let's Stick Together for Warmth

The Eighth Prince's expression was not good when he came out of the Crown Prince's place.

His heart was pounding, and he felt that the situation was developing like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, running in a direction he could not possibly understand.

This feeling of being out of control is the last thing he wants to see.

The Crown Prince is far too cunning, treacherous, and hateful!
The memorial he instructed Zhen Yan to submit was mostly aimed at the Crown Prince, but instead, he turned around and shifted the blame onto his other brothers.

This is absolutely intolerable!
Now he understood that his opponent was not only deeply favored by Emperor Qianxi, but also a slippery old fox.

Therefore, he absolutely cannot let it go unchecked and sit idly by.

After only a moment's hesitation, the Eighth Prince turned to the Fourth Prince beside him and said, "Fourth Brother, I just got a piece of venison a while ago. How about we have a couple of drinks?"

The Fourth Prince was also a clever man, and upon hearing this, he immediately guessed the Eighth Prince's thoughts.

Although he didn't want to draw too much attention, he also wanted to have a good chat with his eighth brother, who was rising in popularity and gaining momentum—after all, in the Crown Prince's eyes, this eighth brother was now a greater threat than the First Prince.

"The sky is gloomy, and I was just feeling down about drinking alone," the Fourth Prince said with a smile. "It would be wonderful to have a drink with my Eighth Brother; I couldn't ask for more!"

The two of them tacitly agreed not to call anyone else. The Eighth Prince's residence was right next to the Fourth Prince's, a small courtyard with only three rooms.

This is not to mistreat the princes; it's just that the palace space is limited. Providing each prince with a private courtyard with three rooms is already the result of Shen Ye's best efforts.

As for why the Crown Prince's residence was so spacious, well, there's nothing we can do about it; the houses and land of the Xiaotangshan Imperial Palace originally belonged to someone else.

Although the Eighth Prince did not have his own small kitchen, he was willing to spend money, and given his status as a prince, a pot of stewed meat and four plates of cold dishes were served in no time.

"Fourth Brother, this is the finest pear blossom wine, let's have a drink!" The Eighth Prince raised his cup in a gesture of respect.

The Fourth Prince is not usually a heavy drinker, but today he has to drink this wine.

Because the wine was offered by the Eighth Prince.

"Thank you, Eighth Brother." The Fourth Prince said earnestly, "If I had known that you had such good wine hidden here, I, as your older brother, should have come earlier to have a couple of drinks."

"What a drink!"

The Eighth Prince laughed heartily and said, "I still have a few jars of pear blossom wine here. If Fourth Brother likes them, I'll have someone send them over to you later."

The fourth prince smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Eighth brother, a gentleman does not take what others love!"

"Besides, what difference does it make whether this wine is with you, Eighth Brother, or with me, the older brother?"

"When I want a drink, I can just come to Eighth Brother."

After saying this, the distance between the two people unconsciously shortened considerably.

After a few drinks, the Eighth Prince's face turned a little red.

As he poured wine for the fourth prince, he said, "Fourth brother, I'm a straightforward person. I say what I think and don't like to hide anything."

"Fourth Brother, don't you think there's something fishy about what happened today?"

"Although the Crown Prince has pinned many things on us brothers, I always felt that those memorials were originally aimed at the Crown Prince."

The Fourth Prince, seeing the Eighth Prince's smiling face, knew exactly what was going on.

He knew very well that since the Eighth Prince had made his point clear, he had to accept the challenge and respond appropriately.

If you don't accept the challenge, then there's no point in eating this meal.

Moreover, the relationship between him and the Eighth Prince, which had just begun to warm up, has also cooled down.

To say that he felt no jealousy towards the Eighth Prince would be a lie.

But seeing that the Crown Prince's position was becoming more and more secure, he suddenly realized that he could not lose the Eighth Prince as an ally!
Otherwise, it will only do him harm, not benefit him.

“Yes, I also find it a bit strange,” the Fourth Prince continued, “For example, regarding the matter of interfering in the capital inspection, Shen Zhumo’s last memorial clearly states that it was the Crown Prince’s people who replaced him, this diligent and loyal minister.”

“I think if Zhen Yan is going to make a report, he should start from this angle. Why is he criticizing Third Brother instead?”

"Third Brother and Li Fu are truly just friends."

The Eighth Prince was waiting for the Fourth Prince's response, just to see how he would express his opinion.

Hearing him say that now, I finally feel relieved.

He immediately replied, "Fourth Brother, what you said really resonated with me!"

"I bet Third Brother is feeling incredibly frustrated right now—he got a beating for no reason and has nowhere to vent his anger!"

The Fourth Prince raised his wine cup and said, "Then let's toast our Third Brother with this cup, as a way of... expressing our understanding to him!"

The Eighth Prince knew that the Fourth Prince might not have any good intentions in offering this cup of wine, but he still raised his cup nonetheless.

After that drink, most of the usual distance between the two disappeared instantly.

Their relationship seemed to have grown a little closer.

"Fourth Brother, I don't think we can be fools. We can't be the ones to charge into battle this time," the Eighth Prince said in a low voice.

The fourth prince shared the same thought, but he had concerns: "Father will definitely be watching this criticism of Zhen Yan."

"Perhaps he will even attend in person."

“If it were any of the other brothers, they would all be the first to charge forward, but we two would remain silent. I’m afraid Father would have a problem with us.”

Upon hearing this, the Eighth Prince held his wine cup and thought for a moment before saying, "We shouldn't be too negative, but we can guide the topic appropriately during the debate."

"Fourth Brother, I believe that since Zhen Yan wrote the memorial, he must know in his heart who he originally wanted to impeach."

"When we refute him, we can deliberately bring out a few people; that shouldn't be a problem."

The fourth prince did not respond to the suggestion immediately and remained silent.

His strategy has always been to act cautiously, hiding behind the Crown Prince's protection, waiting to reap the benefits. But the Eighth Prince's actions have essentially exposed him.

Of course he doesn't want to.

However, simply hiding isn't a solution.

The Crown Prince has already begun to openly call a deer a horse. If I remain silent, then in my father's eyes, this trust will likely be lost...

“Eighth Brother, we must be careful about this,” the Fourth Prince finally spoke up. “We must not be too hasty, lest we get burned and harm you and me.”

The Eighth Prince smiled and said, "Fourth Brother, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"I will absolutely not let you suffer any loss, brother."

"Come on, cheers!"

The Fourth Prince raised his wine cup and clinked it heavily with the Eighth Prince's.

As he drank, he thought to himself: he had always regarded the Eighth Prince as an adversary, but now he had no choice but to join forces with him.

Some things are truly beyond our control...

Right after Emperor Qianxi ordered the Crown Prince and other princes to refute Zhen Yan's memorial, the memorial spread like wildfire throughout the capital.

Someone has submitted the "Number One Memorial in the World" to the emperor again!

Is the current court about to produce another Hai Rui who dares to speak frankly?

This shocked everyone, but also filled them with anticipation, as they all wanted to see what the final outcome of this rebuttal meeting would be.

With the encouragement of Zhen Yan's classmates and friends, the contents of Zhen Yan's memorial quickly spread throughout the court and the country.

—Tolerating the prince's collusion with officials!
—Interfering in the Beijing Inspection and profiting from it!

—Through cunning and forceful means, they amassed a fortune!

-besides……

The list of crimes was so detailed and chilling that it made many people's scalps tingle, and many were worried for Zhen Yan.

Because many people could tell from between the lines who the real person Zhen Yan was going to participate in the memorial service was.

Prince!

If Hai Rui's "Memorial on Governance" was directed at the Jiajing Emperor himself, it was not directed at anyone else.

So, this "Number One Memorial Under Heaven" of Lord Zhen Yan was a complete massacre, with the emperor and the crown prince being executed in one fell swoop.

Will Zhen Yan die after this rebuttal?

Will the Crown Prince and his allies be able to win this round of rebuttal?
Just as everyone was discussing the matter, Ma Qi, who was recuperating at home, also received the news.

While playing chess, he listened to his younger brother Ma Wu recounting rumors circulating outside.

After Ma Wu finished speaking, he said calmly, "Your Majesty is indeed a wise ruler!"

These words sound like a sigh, or perhaps an admiration, but upon closer examination, they also seem to carry a subtle hint of sarcasm.

Ma Wu was very loyal to Emperor Qianxi, and of course, to his family as well.

Hearing his brother say this, he couldn't help but chime in, "Brother, His Majesty is indeed a wise and virtuous ruler!"

Ma Qi smiled and didn't continue the topic.

Some things are best left unsaid. Saying too much is just asking for trouble.

After a moment of silence, Ma Wu lowered his voice and said, "Brother, do you think the Crown Prince and his group can win this rebuttal?"

"Win? What makes him think he can win!"

Ma Qi picked up a chess piece and said calmly, "Could it be that the contents of Zhen Yan's memorial were not true?"

At this point, he sneered and said, "I just didn't expect that the Crown Prince could actually coax His Majesty into dragging all the princes into this mess."

"Tsk tsk, in this way, even if the Crown Prince loses the rebuttal, it won't be a loss for him alone."

"The other princes also failed to win, so the Crown Prince's defeat is understandable."

At this point, he couldn't help but sigh and say, "The Crown Prince is such a slippery fellow, so difficult to deal with!"

Ma Wu remained silent for a while, but ultimately did not reply. He simply placed a piece on the board.

“Don’t have any contact with Zhen Yan. We shouldn’t do anything, and we shouldn’t contact the Eighth Prince again.” Ma Qi said seriously, “Right now, His Majesty is furious.”

He would become suspicious at the slightest sign of trouble.

"At this time, we'd better keep a low profile."

Ma Wu nodded. He wasn't just a nobody in the Imperial Household Department; he could think of anything Ma Qi could think of.

"Brother, I heard this rebuttal is in three days. Are you going to go?"

“Why not go? My health has almost fully recovered, and His Majesty should already know that.” Ma Qi said calmly, “Not going at this time would only arouse more suspicion from His Majesty.”

"Not only will I go, but I will also watch a good show."

"I want to see what tricks the Crown Prince can pull off to turn the tide this time."

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(End of this chapter)