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

Chapter 349 This journey will take us to a place of boundless horizons and vast oceans.
Donkey Market Alley is not large, and it is mostly inhabited by business people from Beijing who run small businesses.

High-ranking officials and nobles? They wouldn't even bother with this place.

Why is this alley called Donkey Market Alley? In short, it's because there were many people here who drove donkeys to transport goods.

Zhen Yan lived in a small courtyard in Lushi Hutong.

Such a small courtyard would cost at least a hundred taels of silver to buy in the capital, but Zhen Yan rented it.

One hundred taels of silver was a truly unattainable sum for someone like him, a mere assistant official in the Court of Imperial Studs; he simply couldn't afford it.

His annual salary was only a little over forty taels, and he had five or six people in his family to support, so he was struggling to make ends meet.

He was a bit stubborn, so when he worked at the Imperial Stud, he disdained ingratiating himself with others, resulting in average interpersonal relationships and he wasn't usually given important responsibilities. He almost failed the recent capital examination.

Why did he insist on writing that "Number One Memorial Under Heaven"? The reason was that he felt his future was hopeless.

Seeing his former colleagues riding high on success and rising through the ranks, he felt a deep sense of unease.

What he found most infuriating was that if these people were strangers he didn't know, it wouldn't be so bad, but these people who had climbed up the ladder so quickly were all mediocre people he looked down on.

From any perspective, he's far inferior to Zhen Yan! What gives him the right to arrogantly climb above me? Zhen Yan is just as good!
So, after much deliberation, he steeled himself and accepted this life-or-death opportunity, deciding to take the gamble.

But as soon as he submitted the memorial, he regretted it!
He never met the emperor in person, but how few records of the emperor are there in historical books?

Unpredictable and capricious; he kills without warning!

Thinking about these descriptions of the emperor, he became more and more frightened and panicked. He even blamed himself: Why did he have to be used as a pawn and take this risky step?
But now that things have come to this, there's no turning back. Having submitted a petition to the emperor, there's no reason to retract it.
Before submitting the petition, he had someone buy a coffin and place it at home. After submitting it, he showed the draft to many friends.

Whether it's a blessing or a curse, let's make a name for ourselves first! After accomplishing all this, he stayed at home and never went out.

To put it simply, it's about waiting.

Escape? Forget about it. All he could do was wait at home for Emperor Qianxi's wrath.

If the emperor really gets angry, he'll definitely suffer the consequences.

But would Emperor Qianxi really do something even more ruthless than Emperor Jiajing?
He wasn't entirely convinced, so he had to pretend to be calm and collected on the surface!

But the longer I waited, the more uncertain I felt, and I would wake up from nightmares every night.

He regretted it more than once, wondering why he had listened to others' instigation and written this fatal memorial.

But it's too late to regret it now.

Not only could he not retrieve the memorial, but he also dared not reveal the person who had instigated him.

Once you speak out, the nature of the matter changes—it transforms from "loyal and honest remonstrance" into "plotting rebellion," which is truly courting death.

In the midst of this unbearable torment, Emperor Qianxi's order arrived:
Three days later, His Majesty will have the Crown Prince and the other princes personally criticize his "Number One Memorial in the World" at the Imperial Palace in Xiaotangshan.

Tell him to arrive at Xiaotangshan on time in three days!
Furthermore, officials of the fourth rank or above in the capital were allowed to attend the hearings of this rebuttal.

Emperor Qianxi actually cared about this matter quite a bit, but he didn't want to appear too concerned, so he specifically chose Xiaotangshan as the venue and only allowed officials of the fourth rank and above to attend the hearing.

She wanted more people to see Zhen Yan being thoroughly criticized and rendered speechless by the princes, but she was also afraid that if the crown prince lost, the scene would be ugly.

Upon hearing this order, Zhen Yan breathed a huge sigh of relief.

For Zhen Yan, the emperor's decree was like a guillotine that had been hanging for a long time, finally falling.

He knew that his home was safe for the time being.

He knew even better that he had made the right gamble; Emperor Qianxi was a man who cared about his reputation.

Instead of indiscriminately killing himself, he chose to criticize, just like the Jiajing Emperor.

However, the Jiajing Emperor relied on ministers who were not of one mind with him, while the Qianxi Emperor relied on his son.

Firstly, his most important memorial to the throne concerned Emperor Qianxi's excessive favoritism towards his son.

Secondly... well, who can blame him when Emperor Qianxi had so many sons?

"Master! Something terrible has happened!"

The only servant in the house, Zhen Zhong, rushed in in a panic and said, "Master, we're out of rice. I want to go out and buy some, but someone is stopping me from leaving!"

"what should I do?"

"Who's stopping me?" Zhen Yan usually doesn't do housework, but the family can't function without rice.

Without rice, even he would go hungry!

Zhen Zhongdao said, "A few young men, dressed in plain clothes, but I always felt they were government officials."

Hearing Zhen Zhong's words, Zhen Yan understood the situation and started walking out, saying, "Let's go, I'll go take a look!"

Before they even stepped out of the gate, a dozen or so young people quickly surrounded them.

The leader was a handsome man in his thirties. Upon seeing Zhen Yan, he said politely but firmly, "Lord Zhen, please don't make things difficult for us!"

This statement carries a profound meaning: We recognize you, and you should know what we do.

Zhen Yan retorted coldly, "Sir, if you forbid my family from buying rice, and I starve to death at home, can you bear the responsibility?"

The man's face stiffened.

He felt a mixture of admiration and sarcasm towards Zhen Yan.

However, he also knew that now that His Majesty the Emperor wanted the princes to criticize Zhen Yan, he couldn't let this person really die.

If this person really dies, his whole family will be buried with him!
But he couldn't let Zhen go out either; if he did, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the emperor. After a moment's hesitation, he turned and asked, "Lord Zhen, where do you usually buy rice?"

How could Zhen Yan know this? He could only look at Zhen Zhong.

Zhen Zhong hurriedly replied, "Wang's Rice Shop at the entrance of the alley."

Upon hearing this, the valiant man immediately ordered his subordinates, "Go and tell the owner of Wang's Rice Shop to bring a bag of rice!"

He then said to Zhen Yan, "Lord Zhen, is there anything else your family needs? If so, please let me know quickly."

"For the next three days, Lord Zhen should not go out."

"I've already arranged leave for you at the Imperial Stud."

Hearing this, Zhen Yan felt helpless.

He knew he had no choice but to accept this "concern." Even if he went to the government office, he doubted anyone would dare to stop him.

"Zhen Zhong, is there anything else you want to buy?"

Zhen Zhong whispered, "We're out of meat at home, so maybe..."

Before he could finish speaking, the imposing man interrupted him without any politeness: "You won't starve to death if you don't eat meat for a few days, but vegetables are healthier. Lord Zhen, you should eat more vegetables."

Zhen Yan was so angry that she couldn't speak.

He wanted to argue with this heroic man, but he knew it would be useless.

Just as he turned to go back into the house, he suddenly heard someone say, "It's Lord Zhen!"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yan and the valiant man looked in the direction of the voice almost simultaneously, and saw two scholars-looking men walking over.

Hesitant, Zhen Yan was at a loss for words. Just then, the two scholars bowed to him almost simultaneously.

After Zhen Yan returned the greeting, the two scholars exchanged a glance, and then said to Zhen Yan at the same time, "Take care, Lord Zhen."

After saying that, the two turned and left.

Watching the two leave, the valiant man waved his hand, and several smartly dressed young men followed them.

Upon witnessing this scene, Zhen Yan couldn't help but question, "My lord, aren't you afraid of what the world will say about your actions?"

In response to Zhen Yan's words, the valiant man clasped his hands in a fist salute to the north and said calmly, "I only care about being loyal to His Majesty."

"As for the others, they are not within my consideration."

Just then, the owner of Wang's Rice Shop came over with two employees carrying a bag of rice.

Just as Zhen Zhong was about to take the bag of rice, the valiant man stopped him, saying, "Bring a pot over and cook a bowl of rice first."

"Also, while you're at it, get a rice container so you can pour the rice out."

This action immediately made Zhen Yan's face turn extremely ugly.

This was clearly to prevent poisoning. Zhen Yan's face turned ashen. He flicked his sleeve and turned to go into the study.

Family members can't leave, and outsiders can't come in.

There was also the conspicuous coffin that Zhen Yan had someone buy, which even the youngest daughter of the Zhen family knew meant that something big was about to happen in the family.

For the past three days, the atmosphere in the Zhen family has been so oppressive that it's hard to breathe.

Zhen Yan locked himself in his study all day, repeatedly scrutinizing the drafts of his memorials.

He didn't know what would happen if he lost, or what would happen if he won; he dared not think about it too deeply. He only knew that at this moment, he was standing on the edge of a cliff; retreat meant an abyss, advance might offer a glimmer of hope.

For the sake of his reputation both before and after his death, he refused to allow himself to lose!
Three days flew by.

Early that morning, Zhen Yan only drank a bowl of porridge before leaving home.

To Zhen Yan's surprise, the valiant man was already waiting outside the door and had even sent someone to prepare a carriage.

"Lord Zhen, it's quite a distance to Xiaotangshan. You should take a carriage," the valiant man said in a deep voice.

However, the vehicle that the valiant man brought was a plain, uncovered cart with no seats; it was just a typical street cart used for hauling goods.

A bitter smile flickered across Zhen Yan's lips. With such a vehicle, he really didn't know whether this person was afraid of something going wrong or was deliberately humiliating him.

Zhen Yan hesitated for only a moment before straightening his official robes and walking straight toward the carriage.

Just as he was about to get on the train and set off, he suddenly saw a scholar in a long gown bow to him.

Before he could respond, the man turned and left.

And this is just the beginning.

One scholar after another came up and bowed to him in unison, looking solemn.

In just a quarter of an hour, over a hundred scholars bowed to him.

Looking at these scholars who were complete strangers yet bowed respectfully to him, Zhen Yan felt a surge of pride welling up in his chest.

He turned back for one last look at his simple courtyard gate, silently reciting in his heart:
This journey will surely lead to boundless horizons!

I absolutely cannot lose face!

　The second update for today is here! Please support me, everyone! Please vote!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)