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

Chapter 363 Lord Zhen has fainted again.
As arranged by Shen Ye, the princes residing at the hot spring palace received another invitation.

The Crown Prince hosted a banquet and invited his brothers to eat.

The fourth prince lived in a courtyard close to the third and fifth princes, and they often visited each other.

Upon receiving the invitation, the Fourth Prince's first reaction was that such a banquet was bound to be something special, and this meal was probably not simple.

The last time the Crown Prince invited them to dinner, he gave them a task: to criticize Zhen Yan.

Moreover, this task involved the Qianxi Emperor, so no one dared to refuse and had to bite the bullet and go into battle.

Although the Fourth Prince had played a trick in this matter, the more he thought about it after returning, the more he felt he had been taken advantage of.

Now, the Crown Prince is doing the same thing again.

"Fifth brother, the Crown Prince may not be able to swallow this meal!" The fourth prince said with a hint of emotion.

The Fifth Prince, however, remained calm.

He was raised by the Empress Dowager from a young age and didn't study much, so he didn't have much interest in coveting the supreme position.

So he lived a rather leisurely life.

He got along well with both the crown prince and his other brothers.

"The Crown Prince has summoned us; we can't refuse," the Fifth Prince said truthfully.

Seeing the fifth prince's indifferent demeanor, the fourth prince understood that the fifth prince did not want to get involved in the dirty dealings between them and the crown prince.

Whatever I say is like talking to a brick wall; it won't elicit any response.

All he could do was reply, "Yes, let's go on time, so the Crown Prince won't find fault with us."

As the two were talking, the Eighth Prince walked over.

The handsome Eighth Prince, walking through the palace filled with the mist of hot springs, gave off an air of otherworldly elegance.

Even the fifth prince, the elder brother, had a hint of envy in his eyes.

I've gained a little weight.

Although the Empress Dowager always said that being a little chubby is a sign of good fortune, the Fifth Prince still felt that the Eighth Prince was more handsome this way, looking dignified and imposing.

"Greetings, Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother!" The Eighth Prince greeted with clasped hands.

The fourth and fifth princes returned the greeting with clasped hands. Although they were the elder brothers, they didn't need to be too polite to the eighth prince, but the eighth prince's status was higher than theirs.

The Eighth Prince is a Prince of the County!

But they were just dukes!
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the Eighth Prince, the Fifth Prince's gaze suddenly fell on the Eighth Prince's neck—there was a faint scar there!
Although it's not very obvious, you can tell that the scar was recently formed.

It looks like it was scratched by a finger!
"Eighth brother, what happened to your neck?" The Fifth Prince, who always cared about his brothers, immediately became angry upon seeing this.

They are the sons of Emperor Qianxi, and can be said to be of noble birth. Anyone who dares to lay a hand on them is committing a heinous crime!
The Eighth Prince paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I was walking at night last night and got scratched by a tree branch. Thank you for your concern, Fifth Brother."

The Fifth Prince didn't believe the Eighth Prince's explanation at all.

If the branch was going to scrape you, it would have scraped your face, so why did it scrape your neck instead?

However, he was only the older brother after all, and since the Eighth Prince was unwilling to say more, he couldn't ask any further.

"Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, have you both received the Crown Prince's invitation?" The Eighth Prince quickly changed the subject, clearly not wanting to talk about the scar any further.

The Fourth Prince smiled and said, "We've already received it. Zhou Bao told us that someone sent the Crown Prince a large fish, and he's inviting us to try it."

The Eighth Prince sighed and said, "If only we could just eat fish."

"Don't let it be like last time, where they said it was just a meal, but ended up sending us to charge into battle!"

The fifth prince was silent for a moment before saying, "No matter what, it's still serving Father Emperor."

The Eighth Prince listened and then fell silent.

He was originally looking for the Fourth Prince, but his encounter with the Fifth Prince was purely accidental.

The three chatted for a few more minutes before parting ways, but the Eighth Prince followed the Fourth Prince into the courtyard.

After delivering the invitations to the princes, Zhou Bao quietly went to Shen Ye's study.

Shen Ye's study has no name, and he doesn't intend to give it a name like the Four Knowledges Study, like Emperor Qianxi did.

A study is a study.

Shen Ye was reclining in a chair in the study, flipping through a storybook, when he saw Zhou Bao walk in and casually asked, "Is everything taken care of?"

"Your Highness, everything has been taken care of."

Zhou Bao hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Highness, I have heard something, but I don't know if I should tell you?"

Shen Ye put down the book in his hand and said, "Speak your mind directly. There's no need to beat around the bush with me."

Zhou Bao lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness, I heard... I heard that a couple of days ago, the Eighth Prince and the Eighth Princess got into a fight for some reason."

"The Eighth Princess Consort scratched the Eighth Prince's neck!"

Shen Ye laughed when he heard that.

This would have been perfectly normal in my previous life, but in the current imperial palace, it's no small matter.

According to the law, Emperor Qianxi could have simply sent this daughter-in-law back to her parents' home.

The Eighth Prince will also be affected by this matter. After all, if you can't even manage your own small family, how can you talk about managing your family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world?

Thinking of the fate of the Eighth Prince in later generations, Shen Ye pondered for a moment before instructing Zhou Bao, "Let's pretend we don't know anything about this."

"And don't spread this around!"

"Otherwise, even I can't protect you." Zhou Bao quickly replied, "This servant knows. After hearing about this, this servant didn't tell anyone, because I dared not hide it from Your Highness!"

Shen Ye nodded and said, "Good to know."

The reason Shen Ye didn't want Zhou Bao to say more was that since Zhou Bao had already heard about this, it must have reached Emperor Qianxi's ears.

Emperor Qianxi always valued his sons' family traditions, and now that his son had been arrested by his daughter-in-law, he must have been furious.

If the Eighth Prince cannot appease his own household, he will not fare well with Emperor Qianxi either.

At this point, why should I step forward and become the villain?
Shen Ye was determined not only not to expose him, but also to find a way to help the Eighth Prince and absolutely not let him divorce his wife.

Because once they get divorced, the Eighth Prince will make up for this shortcoming!
After being reminded by Shen Ye, Zhou Bao became much more obedient.

He reported to Shen Ye, "Your Highness, Zhen Yan has been summoned. When would you like to see him?"

"So fast?" Shen Ye asked in surprise.

"I heard from the people who went to find Zhen Yan that there were quite a few people gathered outside his house cursing him." Zhou Bao's tone was filled with joy: "As soon as our people conveyed your decree, he immediately came along."

"I heard that when they came out, they almost got beaten up if the people from the Infantry Commander's Office hadn't stopped them!"

Seeing Zhen Yan's fate, Shen Ye thought about what he was going to make him do next, and couldn't help but mourn for him for two minutes.

"Has Zhen Yan eaten?" Shen Ye asked with concern.

"Your Highness, Lord Zhen has already eaten." Zhou Bao said with a smile, "This time when he came back, Lord Zhen ate two extra bowls of rice."

Shen Ye smiled and instructed Zhou Bao to invite Zhen Yan over.

Shen Ye was startled when she saw Zhen Yan.

It had only been a day or two since they last met, but Zhen Yan not only looked haggard, but his eyes were also bloodshot.

Shen Ye asked Zhen Yan, "Lord Zhen, what's wrong?"

"You've only been home for a day or two, how come you look so haggard?"

Zhen Yan said weakly, "Your Highness, if you went home and saw a bunch of letters severing ties, and someone constantly cursing you from morning till night, you would be just like me."

"How dare you! How dare you spout such nonsense in front of the Crown Prince!" Zhou Bao rebuked Zhen Yan sternly after hearing his casual tone.

Zhen Yan ignored Zhou Bao's reprimand, not even glancing at him, acting as if he didn't exist.

Shen Ye waved to Zhou Bao, then said to Zhen Yan, "Lord Zhen, don't worry about it, you'll get used to it eventually."

These words sounded like words of comfort, but Zhen Yan felt they were a real blow to her heart.

He really wanted to ask the Crown Prince, "When I gradually get used to it, won't my conscience hurt?"

Don't you know that I've ended up in this state all because of you?

However, since the person in front of him was the Crown Prince, no matter how unhappy Zhen Yan was, he could only manage to say, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

His words of thanks were incredibly perfunctory.

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Lord Zhen, I invited you here today because there is something I need your help with."

Zhen Yan's face darkened!
Although he knew that the Crown Prince's visit to him was not for anything good, he did not expect that the Crown Prince would actually ask him to take action.

Doesn't this give people a chance to breathe?
His mind was in turmoil. Although he was very unwilling, he knew that he couldn't fight against the powerful.

"I wonder what His Highness the Crown Prince wants me to do?"

"It's nothing major, just asking you to impeach someone, or rather, impeach a family," Shen Ye said.

Upon hearing that the Crown Prince had asked him to impeach someone, Zhen Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He wasn't afraid of anything as long as it didn't offend all the gentry in the land.

However, the crown prince's next words made his heart tremble.

“Zhen Yan, a descendant of the Duke of Yansheng, not only occupies millions of acres of fertile land without paying taxes, but also does a lot of immoral things.”

"I hope you will submit a memorial to the throne, impeaching the lineage of the Duke Yansheng and requesting the court to withdraw the preferential treatment given to the lineage of the Duke Yansheng."

"The blessings of a virtuous person last only five generations!"

"The Sage Confucius has been gone for almost two thousand years. It's time to change the treatment his descendants should receive."

Zhen Yan's hands began to tremble. He never expected that the Crown Prince would give him such a huge problem.

Cancel the preferential treatment for the lineage of the Duke Yansheng!

Do I really have to bring this up?
I've already offended all the officials and gentry in the world, and now you want me to offend all the scholars in the world as well.

Are you trying to kill me?!

Zhen Yan seemed to already see that after he submitted his petition, the number of people shouting and cursing at his doorstep would double.

There are even people who want to stab you in the back.

He forced a smile and said, "Your Highness, could this matter... be handled by someone else?"

"Lord Zhen, you are favored by the Emperor, there's nothing I can do!" Shen Ye spread his hands and shook his head.

The phrase "Jian is in the Emperor's heart" was like a fire, instantly igniting the anger in Zhen Yan's heart. He opened his mouth to speak, but due to his overwhelming anger, he fell straight to the ground.

Fortunately, Zhou Bao was standing nearby and quickly caught him.

"Your Highness, Lord Zhen Yan has fainted again!"

　Hey everyone, the middle of the month is almost over, please give me your votes!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)