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

Chapter 373 The Probationary Period for the Acting Emperor

When Zhang Ying and Li Guangdi heard that Shen Ye was going to meet the ministers who were kneeling and remonstrating outside the palace gates, they both found it unbelievable.

The Crown Prince's actions are outrageous!
How can a monarch personally meet with those who knock on the palace gates?

Isn't this just asking for trouble?

Look at Emperor Daojun, he always had his ministers try to persuade the emperor, and if the ministers couldn't, he'd send in the eunuchs.

Of course, they went to "persuade" him while carrying a cane.

Although the crown prince is not yet the emperor, he is, after all, the regent crown prince, which means he is acting as emperor.

Although Zhang Ying and Li Guangdi had different opinions, at this critical juncture, the two exchanged a glance and decided that they should try to persuade the Crown Prince.

For no other reason than that Emperor Qianxi was sitting behind this crown prince.

Emperor Qianxi reigned for so many years, what kind of scene hadn't he seen?

I'm already quite adept at handling these kinds of things.

Even though he had never personally experienced knocking on the emperor's door, he knew exactly how to respond.

Anyway, it's not as reckless as the Crown Prince.

Now, this "acting emperor" is actually going to meet those troublemakers in person!

Haha, isn't this just blatantly jumping into a fire pit?

If they didn't know, that would be one thing; Emperor Qianxi wouldn't be to blame.

However, if Emperor Qianxi knew they were present and did nothing to stop them, he would absolutely not let them off the hook—

This master is not a soft-hearted person.

"Your Highness, it's best if you don't handle this personally. Leave it to us to deal with."

Zhang Ying took a breath and said in a deep voice.

Li Guangdi quickly chimed in, "Yes, Your Highness, these people who come to the palace are all under the supervision of their superiors. If the superiors can't take the people away, then the superiors will be punished."

"Your presence has only emboldened them."

After listening to the two men's advice, Shen Ye smiled and said, "We are all subjects, so there's no harm in meeting them."

"Besides, I'm not meeting with them to promise anything; I'm just having a conversation and doing my best to be considerate."

“When they come to me with their problems, I will meet with them and answer their questions if I should. If I shouldn’t agree to something, I will explain the reasons clearly.”

"If they are reasonable, then it's easy to talk to them."

“If you try to be unreasonable—” Shen Ye paused, “then I’ll have a beating waiting for you here.”

He wasn't just saying that casually.

Although he was only acting emperor and still under the watchful eye of Emperor Qianxi, he knew that he could not be led by the nose by those below him in such matters.

Otherwise, he'll have a hard time passing this probationary period!
Zhang Ying's suggestion contained hidden agendas, and Li Guangdi's method sounded simple, but it was not easy to actually implement.

Although he is not yet the true emperor, his past life experience tells him:

If you don't even dare to show your face, then in many people's eyes you are cowardly and timid!

Moreover, if he wanted to get things done properly with Zhen Yan and Tian Wenjing, he couldn't allow people to block the palace gates every day.

Although Li Guangdi and Zhang Ying still felt it was inappropriate, they had said everything they needed to say.

Even if Emperor Qianxi investigated, it wouldn't be their fault.

So the two of them said no more, but asked to go with Shen Ye to see those who had come to the palace.

Shen Ye walked to the Meridian Gate and saw that it was quiet outside.

Looking down from the city gate tower, one could see dozens of officials and hundreds of people who looked like students of the Imperial Academy kneeling on the ground.

Among them, the leader held a memorial to the throne aloft with both hands, holding it above his head.

"Your Highness, kneeling at the very front is Shang Rongjun, a sixth-rank compiler in the Hanlin Academy, and the top scholar of the previous imperial examination!"

Li Guangdi pointed to the man and introduced him.

Shen Ye nodded, then said to Zhou Bao, "Go and deliver the imperial decree, instructing them to select three people to come out and give a reply."

Zhou Bao responded and left.

Shen Ye glanced at the kneeling crowd below again, then turned to Li Guangdi and asked:

"Grand Secretary Li, I've heard that the examination cells in the examination hall are very simple, and they can't even keep out the cold wind?"

Li Guangdi was taken aback, wondering why the Crown Prince would suddenly ask this, but he still answered honestly: "When I took the exam, the examination cells were indeed very simple."

"However, thanks to His Majesty's grace, things have improved considerably."

Shen Ye smiled and said, "So many students from the Imperial Academy are just wasting their time kneeling here."

"Didn't they have something to say? Since they're here, let's give them a test."

"This time, I'll set the topic—write an article on finance and taxation."

"The main point is that the number of officials and gentry is increasing, while the tax revenue of the imperial court is decreasing. How should we deal with this?"

“Give them an hour to write me a thousand words.”

"Too much is not good either!"

Li Guangdi and Zhang Ying were speechless upon hearing this request.

But looking at the kneeling students below, the two couldn't help but admire the Crown Prince's wit.

Putting everything else aside, just using exams to deal with these imperial college students is a brilliant move.

Didn't you come here to plead your case? It's not too much for me to test you, is it?

Once the imperial examination students went to take the exam, the momentum of these hundreds of people naturally weakened.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Although the Meridian Gate was not the examination hall's examination cells, one could still take the exam as long as they had paper and pen.

Just as Li Guangdi was about to go and deliver the imperial decree, Zhou Bao rushed back.

"Your Highness, those people say they want to meet with you all at once!" Zhou Bao said, his tone filled with dissatisfaction. In his view, the fact that the Crown Prince was even willing to see them was already a great honor.

I didn't expect these guys to insist on meeting us all. They're being so unreasonable and don't know what's good for them.

Shen Ye's past life experience told him:

Never meet with a group of people at the same time, otherwise, with everyone talking at once, chaos will ensue.

His personal visit has already made his stance clear.

If these people continue to cause trouble, then he will have a reason to take action.

So he said to Zhou Bao, "Tell them that Grand Secretary Zhang and I have arrived at the Meridian Gate."

"If they disobey the imperial decree, they are not here to petition the emperor, but to incite a disturbance and threaten the court, which is treasonous!"

"I'll only wait for them for a quarter of an hour."

Zhang Ying listened with her heart pounding.

He originally disagreed with the Crown Prince coming in person, feeling it would appear weak—

If someone kneels before you, doesn't that mean you can be manipulated and blackmailed by your subjects at any time?
But now, seeing the Crown Prince's attitude, he suddenly realized what was going on.

The crown prince wasn't afraid to deal with these people; he only came out to avoid giving others cause for criticism.

Moreover, he was looking for a reason—a legitimate reason to deal with these guys.

The first excuse the crown prince found was that he did not send a representative in accordance with the imperial decree.

If these people still don't know what's good for them, then using corporal punishment or other means would be perfectly justified.

Just as Zhang Ying was silently hoping that the scholars would clear their heads, Zhou Bao had already walked over with three people.

They were all young officials, with Shang Rongjun leading the group, holding a memorial to the throne.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Highness!" Shang Rongjun's face was blue from the cold, but he remained calm and composed as he bowed.

Shen Ye raised his hand: "My dear ministers, you may rise and dispense with formalities."

He then said to Zhou Bao, "Serve tea to the three gentlemen to warm them up."

Shang Rongjun and the others hurriedly expressed their gratitude, but their expressions remained serious.

"Your Highness, we have come to the palace today for two reasons: first, to speak out against the injustice done to Lü Baizhou and others; and second, to accuse the Infantry Commander's Office of arbitrarily arresting people, disrupting the order of the Hanlin Academy, and disgracing scholars!"

Shang Rongjun took a sip of tea and said in a deep voice, "Lu Baizhou and the others acted out of righteous indignation!"

"The person who was attacked was also a traitor to the country."

"It was purely an accident that I accidentally killed Lord Tian Wenjing."

"In addition, we have consulted the imperial physicians. Lord Tian was already ill, and the cause of death was mainly a relapse of his old ailment."

"I beg Your Highness to spare them their crimes, considering their loyalty to the court, and to severely punish the soldiers from the Hanlin Academy who arrested them."

"I believe that all scholars in the world will be grateful for the Crown Prince's kindness."

These words were spoken politely, but the underlying threat was not hidden at all.

Scholars all over the world are grateful? Haha.

You might as well use all the scholars in the world to intimidate me—

If you do not comply, the scholars' gratitude will turn into resentment.

Shen Ye smiled and asked, "Has Lord Shang finished speaking?"

"Your Highness, I have finished speaking." Shang Rongjun raised his head slightly, displaying the unique arrogance of a top scholar.

Shen Ye then looked at the other two: "Do you two have anything to add?"

The two men, one from the Hanlin Academy and the other from the Censorate, exchanged a glance and said in unison, "We have nothing to add and agree with what Lord Shang said."

"Alright." Shen Ye nodded. "Lord Shang, I have something I'd like to ask you about."

"Your Highness, please ask whatever you wish, and I will answer to the best of my knowledge!"

Shang Rongjun spoke respectfully, but couldn't hide a hint of smugness.

No wonder, given his status as a top scholar, he certainly had the confidence to be arrogant.

Shen Ye smiled lightly and asked in a calm tone, "Lord Shang, will you die?"

This question completely baffled Shang Rongjun!

He never expected that the Crown Prince would say such a thing.

—Are they trying to kill me?
Li Guangdi, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but smile.

He had always disliked Shang Rongjun—speaking to the Crown Prince with such arrogance, his pretentious manner showed he was a young man who had never suffered hardship!

Do you think that having a little knowledge makes you a learned and talented person? Do you think no one can compare to you?
Bah! You haven't even rolled around in this deep palace a few times, or soaked in blood and gore yet!

You always look so smug, haha, you don't know anything! You're just utterly stupid!
Truly capable people are harmless and unassuming, always keeping themselves in the dust.

Hearing this question, Zhang Ying frowned and immediately understood the Crown Prince's intention. She also disagreed with Shang Rongjun's previous statement.

So you're sick, so it doesn't matter if you're beaten to death?

What kind of reason is this?
It's practically handing the Crown Prince a handle to use against you. Do you think your own head is already too secure?

Although he wanted to speak up for Shang Rongjun and help him out, he didn't know how to start.

"Your Highness, I...I will die eventually, after all, I am not a god." Shang Rongjun hesitated for a moment, but still answered with a forced smile.

He knew, of course, that this was a difficult question to answer, and that if he opened his mouth, he would likely fall into a trap.

But when the Crown Prince asked him a question, how could he dare to ignore him and remain silent?

"Lord Shang, since you're going to die sooner or later anyway, wouldn't it be pointless for me to order someone to kill you now?"

"Since we're all going to die eventually anyway, what difference does it make whether we die sooner or later?"

Shang Rongjun's face turned deathly pale instantly.

He was speechless for a moment, and could only stare blankly at the smiling crown prince, his heart sinking suddenly—

This matter is unlikely to end easily!
(End of this chapter)