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

Chapter 406 The Emperor's Decline in Morality: A Warning from Heaven

When news of the earthquake in Mount Tai arrived, Emperor Qianxi was stunned. Liang Jiugong, the seasoned veteran beside him, was so frightened that his legs trembled.

Who is Liang Jiugong? He served as the Grand Eunuch by Emperor Qianxi's side for so many years, what kind of scene hasn't he seen?
They have a keen sense of everything!
Seeing the Qianxi Emperor's flustered and bewildered expression, he quickly suggested, "Your Majesty, perhaps... we should first summon all the Grand Secretaries and Princes to discuss this matter?"

Emperor Qianxi raised his eyelids, glanced at him twice, and said in a deep voice, "What are you shouting for? Don't shout at them yet."

"You, hurry to the palace and summon the Crown Prince!"

At this point, he added, "By the way, send an edict to Longkodo, telling him to keep a close eye on the capital for me!"

"At this critical juncture, we mustn't let anything go wrong!"

Liang Jiugong immediately understood and readily agreed, "This servant will go and invite the Crown Prince right away."

As soon as Liang Jiugong left, Emperor Qianxi's expression kept changing.

After a while, he turned to Wei Chao, who was serving him, and said, "Tell me... was the tremor of Mount Tai a warning from God, or was it just an accident?"

Wei Chao wished the emperor would treat him like a fart and release him immediately!
He can't answer this question!
If you answer it wrong, it's a death sentence; you could lose your head!

But then he thought, if one day he were to take Liang Jiugong's place, then this kind of life-or-death question would be commonplace, and he would have to grit his teeth and do it!
After all, the Grand Eunuch of Emperor Qianxi couldn't just be all talk and no action.

He took a deep breath and said with a serious expression, "Your Majesty, I believe this is absolutely an accident."

"Your Majesty is wise and virtuous. The world enjoys favorable weather and abundant harvests. Your Majesty's achievements are widely praised by the people."

"What warning is needed?"

Emperor Qianxi didn't say anything, but just glanced at him indifferently: "Alright, go and do your thing."

Wei Chao retreated with a mix of anxiety and relief, wiping his sweat as he did so. He was just lucky he hadn't been punished!
That was enough for him.

He then bowed to Emperor Qianxi and slowly withdrew.

When Emperor Qianxi was left alone, he murmured to himself, "An earthquake at Mount Tai... could it really be that Heaven is displeased?"

"Increasing taxes on officials and gentry... could it truly be a matter of divine wrath and popular resentment, something that Heaven cannot tolerate?"

"Or rather, doing so would cause great harm to the imperial court!"

"If that's really the case, then I..."

Emperor Qianxi received the news at the Hot Spring Palace, and Shen Ye, who was in the Yuqing Palace in the capital, also received the news.

Right now, he's happily grilling meat skewers with Cao Min in the palace.

Although he was acting as regent, Shen Ye was carefree and enjoyed his leisure time. Apart from some major matters, he left all the minor matters to the Southern Study.

If necessary, then inform him!

He doesn't do everything himself; even the donkeys in the production team don't work that hard!
Just as he was leisurely brushing oil onto the lamb skewers, Zhou Bao rushed in, stumbling and crawling.

"Your Highness, it's terrible! The Shandong Governor has sent an urgent report: There has been an earthquake in Mount Tai! Countless rocks have fallen, and tens of thousands of houses around Mount Tai have collapsed..."

Upon hearing Zhou Bao's report, Shen Ye's first reaction was to provide disaster relief.

After all, earthquakes are something he considers perfectly normal.

But before he could speak, Cao Min, who was helping him, exclaimed, "How could there be an earthquake in Mount Tai?"

Seeing Cao Min's shocked expression, Shen Ye was stunned: "Min'er, what's wrong? Can't Mount Tai have earthquakes?"

"Your Highness, Mount Tai is a sacred site for imperial sacrifices throughout history. Any natural or man-made disasters that occur there will be interpreted as warnings from Heaven."

Cao Min made no secrets from Shen Ye.

As the Crown Prince's concubine, she was very clear that her life was now intertwined with his.

So if the Crown Prince has a problem, then she has a problem.

In Cao Min's heart, no matter who was in trouble, she did not want the Crown Prince to be in trouble.

Shen Ye's eyes narrowed upon hearing Cao Min's words; he understood.

Someone is trying to use this as an excuse to stir up trouble!
He has recently been pushing for officials and gentry to pay taxes together, and many people are secretly cursing him. Now, he finally has a reason to complain!

Earthquake in Mount Tai!

This is a warning from Heaven!
The best way to deal with the emperor, the Son of Heaven, is to let Heaven teach him a lesson.

After all, this is not only legitimate, but also very appropriate.

“Your Highness, this has happened before in the previous dynasty. Once, the emperor wanted to change the crown prince.”

"Just when the situation seemed settled, the plan had to be abandoned because of the Taishan earthquake."

Cao Min added insult to injury. Mentioning the previous dynasty was actually a way of reminding Shen Ye of the importance of the Mount Tai earthquake.

Shen Ye smiled calmly and said, "I understand."

"Don't worry, they can't cause any trouble here!"

Just then, a young eunuch came to report: "Your Highness, the Imperial Academy's Tong Guowei and Zhang Ying request an audience."

After the emperor held court, Zhang Ying and Tong Guowei, as Grand Secretaries, would each go about their own business.

Since Shen Ye, the Crown Prince Regent, was not the Emperor, both of them were avoiding getting too close to him.

After all, getting too close to the crown prince could easily arouse the Qianxi Emperor's suspicion.

Shen Ye waved his hand and said, "Please ask them to go to the study. I'll be there right away."

As soon as the eunuch left, Shen Ye glanced reluctantly at the fragrant grilled meat skewers and said to Cao Min, "Min'er, grill a few more skewers. We can continue eating after I've met with the two Grand Secretaries."

As he spoke, he walked toward the study.

He had just sat down in the study when Tong Guowei and Zhang Ying walked in.

Although the two men were veteran officials, they showed great respect for Crown Prince Shen Ye.

They knew this regent prince was not easily fooled, so they still harbored some apprehension towards Shen Ye. "Your humble servant greets Your Highness!"

Just as the two were about to kneel down to pay their respects, Shen Ye stopped them, saying, "Both of you are Grand Secretaries, so there's no need for such formalities."

"Sit, sit, sit!"

"Zhou Bao, serve tea to the two Grand Secretaries."

Zhou Bao had been serving him the whole time. Upon hearing Shen Ye's instructions, he quickly brought out two cups of tea and gently put them down.

Tong Guowei took a sip of tea and said with a solemn expression, "Your Highness, we have come here to report something important."

"The Southern Study has just received a report from the Shandong Governor that an earthquake struck Mount Tai, affecting four neighboring counties and destroying tens of thousands of houses..."

After Tong Guowei finished explaining the situation, Shen Ye said in a deep voice, "Earthquakes, like floods, are not things that human beings can resist."

"Natural disasters are merciless, but the imperial court must provide disaster relief."

"The Southern Study should quickly coordinate with the Ministry of Revenue to come up with a disaster relief plan as soon as possible."

"Make unified arrangements when you hold court tomorrow."

Tong Guowei and Zhang Ying exchanged a glance; the Crown Prince's arrangement could be described as perfectly safe and sound.

If an earthquake were to occur in another location, using this method would be absolutely no problem.

But the earthquake is now occurring in Mount Tai.

That's the foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains!
It is also the place where emperors of past dynasties performed the Fengshan ceremony!
If an earthquake were to occur here, who knows how many disputes it would cause!

“Your Highness, Mount Tai is no ordinary place. Since an earthquake has occurred there, we should take precautions in advance to prevent anyone from taking advantage of this to cause trouble.”

Zhang Ying couldn't help but remind her.

Although he didn't want to say such things, as a Grand Secretary, if he and Tong Guowei didn't give the Crown Prince a hint during the earthquake in Mount Tai, they would be unqualified.

They had no way to explain themselves to Crown Prince Shen Ye, nor to Emperor Qianxi.

Shen Ye smiled and was just about to speak when Liang Jiugong rushed in.

Despite it being the dead of winter, Liang Jiugong had a lot of sweat on his forehead.

Not only that, Liang Jiugong was also dressed in a hurried manner at this time.

Clearly, Liang Jiugong had come running all the way here.

"This servant greets Your Highness." After paying his respects to Shen Ye, Liang Jiugong said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, His Majesty has decreed that Your Highness must go to the Hot Spring Palace to meet him immediately."

Upon hearing Liang Jiugong's decree, Shen Ye's heart skipped a beat, and he gained a deeper understanding of the power of the Mount Tai earthquake.

Even Dad couldn't sit still anymore. This sudden tremor from Mount Tai is truly extraordinary!

He then said to Tong Guowei and Zhang Ying, "Since His Majesty has summoned me, I will go ahead."

"Disaster relief efforts cannot stop!"

"You all go and prepare."

As she spoke, Shen Ye was about to walk out.

Tong Guowei turned to Liang Jiugong and asked, "Eunuch Liang, has His Majesty summoned me and Grand Secretary Zhang?"

Liang Jiugong naturally dared not offend Tong Guowei, the emperor's uncle. He cupped his hands towards Tong Guowei and said, "Prime Minister Tong, His Majesty has not mentioned summoning either of you."

"After I return, I will make sure that whenever His Majesty summons the two Grand Secretaries, I will immediately send someone to invite them."

Tong Guowei nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Eunuch Liang."

Shen Ye and Liang Jiugong didn't linger and immediately took a carriage towards the Hot Spring Palace.

Tong Guowei and Zhang Ying watched the two men leave. After a moment of silence, Tong Guowei suddenly said, "Prime Minister Zhang, this matter is a bit troublesome!"

"Prime Minister Tong, there are not many easy things in this world."

"Since we're in the South Study, let's not be afraid of trouble."

The two weren't very close, so that's about enough.

They both understood each other's thoughts without saying a word.

Back in the duty room, Zhang Ying met Liu Shixun.

At this moment, Liu Shixun gave off a very spirited and radiant feeling.

After greeting Zhang Ying, he said in a deep voice, "Teacher, I received a letter from home today, which was about the earthquake in Mount Tai."

"I've heard that many people believe this earthquake in Mount Tai is a warning to the imperial court."

"It is because the court has lost its virtue that Heaven has given it a warning."

"If the imperial court changes its ways, this disaster will naturally stop."

At this point, he stared intently at Zhang Ying.

Zhang Ying sighed and said, "We can just watch these things."

"As for whether the court has acted immorally, that is naturally up to His Majesty to decide."

At this point, his gaze fell on the gloomy weather outside the window.

It's going to snow!

"I hope there will be less snow this year, so that people can have a better chance of survival."

Liu Shixun nodded. He hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Teacher, the Imperial Observatory has made preparations."

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(End of this chapter)