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

Chapter 357 You Have No Choice But to Take a Gamble
Shen Ye drank a bit too much this time. After seeing off the princes, he went straight to sleep.

When I woke up, the lights outside were already on.

He took the hot tea that Shi Jingrong had prepared, took a sip, and casually asked Zhou Bao, who was standing to the side, "Is there any news from Lord Zhen?"

"Lord Zhen has woken up!" When Zhou Bao heard the Crown Prince ask about Zhen Yan, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up, looking like he wanted to laugh but dared not.

Seeing Zhou Bao's comical, barely suppressed laughter, Shen Ye also laughed: "What's wrong? What's making you so happy?"

Having followed the Crown Prince for so long, Zhou Bao's awe of Shen Ye had only grown stronger, but he was actually more at ease in front of Shen Ye.

He knew that although the Crown Prince was exceptionally intelligent, he was gentle with his servants and did not care about such trivial rules, as long as he was not confused about important matters.

Therefore, he calmly replied, "Your Highness, His Majesty sent word to the Imperial Medical Academy that people like Lord Zhen need to undergo more acupuncture treatments!"

Zhou Bao's voice carried a hint of mischief: "So, the Imperial Hospital sent one of the best acupuncturists to give Lord Zhen acupuncture every fifteen minutes."

Fearing that Shen Ye hadn't understood, he took another step closer and lowered his voice to explain, "Acupuncture, to put it simply, is using needles to prick."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye nearly spat out the tea leaves in his mouth.

He originally thought his father always had a stern face and was extremely serious, but he never expected that when it came to playing pranks, he would come up with all sorts of tricks and be ruthless!

No, I should say he's really petty!
This isn't healing; it's clearly a special version of "divine power" supplied to the imperial court!

It's a shame that a bunch of sycophants said the emperor's forehead was big enough for a horse to run across and his belly could hold a boat. His narrow-mindedness is as narrow as a slit in the sky!
Finding it amusing, I asked curiously, "Were you woken up by being pricked?"

Zhou Bao laughed until tears welled up in his eyes: "That's right! Your Highness, that was so satisfying! At first, Lord Zhen endured being stabbed a few times, but then the stabbing got more and more intense, and he couldn't take it anymore, so he had to struggle to wake up!"

"Did Father see him?" Shen Ye stood up and stretched his limbs, then casually asked.

Zhou Bao shook his head and said, "Your Highness, why would His Majesty see him? Not only will he not see him, but he also ordered that this person be handed over to the Crown Prince for full disposal."

Shen Ye nodded, not surprised by Emperor Qianxi's arrangement.

After all, he had told Emperor Qianxi that if there were conditions, they should proceed; if there were no conditions, they should create them and proceed, and they must make this Lord Zhen a "divine sword" for the Great Zhou.

He immediately smiled and said, "Since Father has entrusted this matter to me, then let's do our best."

"Make arrangements in the kitchen to prepare a few refreshing side dishes, and then have someone bring this Lord Zhen over."

"Just tell him I'm going to treat him to dinner."

Zhou Bao felt a little reluctant when he heard that Shen Ye wanted to treat Zhen Yan to dinner.

To the eunuchs in the palace, who was the emperor? He was the supreme ruler of heaven!

Ministers who dare to impeach the emperor are all ungrateful bastards; they deserve to starve to death, let alone be worthy of being invited to dinner by the crown prince.

However, glancing at the Crown Prince again and seeing his serious expression, Zhou Bao knew there was no room for negotiation, so he had no choice but to obey and say, "This servant will go and do it right away!"

Shen Ye nodded and turned to walk towards Shi Jingrong's residence.

Before even entering the door, one could hear Nian Xinyue's hearty laughter coming from inside.

"What are you so happy about?"

Shen Ye pushed open the door and went in, asking with a smile.

When Shi Jingrong saw him come in, she was about to get up, but her body was already a little heavy. Shen Ye quickly stepped forward and stopped her: "Don't get up, your health is important."

As he spoke, he came to Shi Jingrong's side and helped her sit down.

Shi Jingrong glanced at him gently and said softly, "I was just about to congratulate the Crown Prince today, but Physician Li just took Xinyue's pulse."

"It's a slippery pulse!"

Shen Ye now fully understands the meaning of the term "pulse diagnosis".

Upon hearing Shi Jingrong's words, she immediately understood and was both surprised and delighted. She looked at Nian Xinyue and asked with great joy, "Really?"

Nian Xinyue, usually carefree and unconcerned with details, showed a rare hint of shyness at this moment, stammering, "The imperial physician said... said it's been almost a month and a half!"

"Great, wonderful!" Shen Ye clapped his hands and said, "Then let the imperial kitchen prepare a few more good dishes tonight, and we'll have a good meal!"

His joy made the atmosphere in the room even more cheerful.

Nian Xinyue was especially happy, as she had been hoping to get pregnant soon and secure her position as the Crown Prince's concubine.

After all, this position requires more than just the Crown Prince's approval; it also requires the Emperor Qianxi's investiture.

Her family was not as favored as Shi Jingrong's, so if she wanted to advance further, giving birth to a grandson of the emperor was the fastest and most reliable shortcut.

Seeing the Crown Prince so happy, she smiled secretly to herself.

Zhou Bao stood aside, feeling somewhat troubled upon hearing Shen Ye's arrangement.

He knew that Shi Jingrong and the others certainly hoped that the Crown Prince would stay and have dinner with them.

However, the Crown Prince has just arranged to invite Zhen Yan to dinner.

If it were an ordinary person, the Crown Prince wouldn't have invited them, but Zhen Yan is different.

Zhou Bao had participated in today's rebuttal and knew that this man was a "key focus" of Emperor Qianxi's attention. Since the Crown Prince had promised to invite him to dinner, if he were to change his mind at the last minute... wouldn't that be a bit fickle and inconsistent?

"Your Highness, what about Zhen Yan? This servant..."

Zhou Bao was a smart man. He wisely didn't finish his sentence, but instead adopted a posture of seeking instructions, which was actually a reminder to Shen Ye.

Shen Ye was reminded by Zhou Bao that he should forge the "Great Zhou Divine Sword".

Before he could speak, Shi Jingrong said, "If Your Highness has important matters to attend to, go ahead and do so. You can rest at Xinyue's place after you're done. We're family, we can eat anytime."

When Nian Xinyue heard Shi Jingrong say that Shen Ye was to come to her place that evening, she was even happier and immediately said with a smile, "Sister Jingrong is right, you can go and do what you need to do."

Shen Ye waved his hand: "We're too busy with court affairs to be at home; home is what truly belongs to us."

"Let's eat first! As for Zhen Yan, Zhou Bao, have the kitchen send him the dishes first, and I'll ask him to have tea later."

Although Zhou Bao felt that the Crown Prince was somewhat "light on official duties," he also admired him to some extent.

The meal lasted for more than half an hour, and the atmosphere was warm and cozy.

With Cao Min by his side, Shen Ye drank a few glasses of wine. Although his face turned a little red, he was not drunk.

He talked with Shi Jingrong for a while before getting up and going to the place where Zhen Yan was being held.

Although it was called imprisonment, it wasn't actually a prison. There were just eight imperial guards standing at the entrance, making it a very grand affair.

Upon seeing Shen Ye arrive, the imperial guards quickly opened the door.

Zhen Yan was sitting blankly at the table, seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing Shen Ye walk in, he was stunned for a moment, but still obediently knelt down to pay his respects.

"Your humble servant Zhen Yan greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Shen Ye looked at Zhen Yan, but did not immediately tell him to get up. Instead, he walked around him a few times before speaking in a firm voice: "Zhen Yan, you are far inferior to Hai Rui!"

These words made Zhen Yan, who was kneeling on the ground, tremble. He instinctively looked up at Shen Ye, opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

He certainly understood Shen Ye's meaning. What he and Hai Rui had in common was that they both dared to submit the "Number One Memorial in the World" to the emperor.

However, Hai Rui spoke out for the people, which was a heroic act; while he did it for fame and fortune, which was a trick.

When the crown prince asked him to submit a memorial suggesting that the privileges of officials and gentry be reduced and that they pay taxes like ordinary people, he chickened out!

He chose to faint!
He knew that his feigned unconsciousness wouldn't fool anyone with eyes to see.

Otherwise, the imperial physician wouldn't have pricked him with needles like that.

He had received acupuncture before and knew that acupuncture at specific acupoints was not painful at all.

But this time, the imperial physician, whose medical skills were supposed to be a hundred times better than those of ordinary doctors, didn't even bother to identify acupoints. Without saying a word, he started randomly sticking needles into himself.

The pain was excruciating; he was practically screaming like a banshee!
He wanted to yell, "You're stabbing me so recklessly! This isn't acupuncture at all, it's just venting your anger!"
In the vast imperial palace, there were only two people who could instruct the imperial physician to do such a thing to a minister: the emperor and the crown prince.

He didn't know which of the two it was, but one thing was certain: of the two, Emperor Qianxi must have hated him to the core.

I am not as good as Hai Rui!
If it were Hai Rui, he would definitely step forward and take on this important responsibility.

He will be like a divine sword, cleaving a gash in the face of the officials and gentry who have gained the greatest benefits!

I am neither like Hai Rui nor as good as him!

"I am naturally inferior to Hai Rui!" Zhen Yan said with a sigh and a hint of sadness.

Seeing Zhen Yan's dejected expression, Shen Ye sat down in the seat Zhen Yan had just been in and said, "Zhen Yan, if Father Emperor had any concerns before he wanted to kill you, it was because he had many reservations."

"But now, without Father Emperor even having to say a word, countless people will petition him to kill you."

"Whether in history books or in other people's mouths, you will be seen as an opportunistic and cunning person."

“They will say that you submitted the ‘Number One Memorial in the World’ to His Majesty in order to earn yourself a reputation as an upright official, but in reality, the contents of what you wrote were all slander. Do you believe it?”

Zhen Yan had also thought of what Shen Ye said.

He dared to take the risk because he believed that Emperor Qianxi valued his reputation, and that the other ministers would protect him, the one who dared to submit the "Number One Memorial in the World."

Now, the Crown Prince wants him to submit a memorial proposing that officials and gentry pay taxes in the same way as commoners. In order to prevent this from happening, many people want this guy who imitates Hai Rui to die as soon as possible!

That way, we might be able to suppress this matter.

“Zhen Yan, if you don’t write a letter now, you’re doomed. If you do write a letter, you might be heading straight into an abyss.”

"In this situation, you only have one option: take a gamble!"

"That way, there might still be a way out."

"You can also be like Lord Hai Rui, whose name will be remembered for all time!"

"Zhen Yan, you have no way out!"

　The second update of the day is here! It's the beginning of the month, so if you have any new monthly tickets, please give me two!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)