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

Chapter 410 You have a sharp tongue, I have a sharp knife
What's the emperor most afraid of? Probably being impeached, right? Who could remain calm in that situation?

Moreover, Shen Ye had already secretly discussed with Emperor Qianxi and arranged for the Kong family to take the blame for this natural disaster!

But surprisingly, during this imperial audience, Yang Fenggu of the Imperial Observatory bluntly declared, "This is Heaven's warning to the Crown Prince!"

This completely contradicts the agreement between Shen Ye and Emperor Qianxi.

Where are my teammates?

This is absolutely mind-blowing!
If it were a typical young and hot-blooded emperor, he would probably have slammed his fist on the table and cursed on the spot!

But who is Shen Ye?
He was a seasoned veteran who had worked his way up from the bottom in his previous life; what kind of "calling a deer a horse" hadn't he seen?
What kind of unfair treatment haven't I endured!
Instead of getting angry, the man remained calm and waited patiently for Yang Fenggu to finish his performance before slowly speaking: "Yang Jianzheng, are you done?"

Yang Fenggu was already exhausted at this point.

He knew that once he uttered those words, his career path would essentially come to an end.

But he had reasons for doing so!
Upon hearing Shen Ye's question, he could only bite the bullet and answer, "Your Highness, this humble subject... has finished speaking!"

Shen Ye wasn't in a hurry, and casually retorted, "Yang Fenggu, since you say that I, the Crown Prince, have offended Heaven, then let me ask you, what is Heaven like? And what is Earth like?"

Yang Fenggu was speechless on the spot!
He clearly hadn't expected that instead of Shen Ye's fury, he would be met with this question.

He was already under immense pressure, because in this kind of situation, one wrong move could cost him his head.

Even though Emperor Qianxi had some concerns and dared not take action against him.

However, his future is completely ruined, and it will be extremely difficult for him to extricate himself from this situation in the future.

"Your Highness, the sky is round, like a chicken egg, while the earth is a square piece of land floating on the sea..."

When Yang Fenggu saw that the Crown Prince was not playing by the rules, he had no choice but to instinctively resort to the outdated theory of "heaven is round and earth is square".

Shen Ye laughed upon hearing this: "You don't even know what the heavens and earth look like, yet you dare to spout nonsense here? You, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, are you here to be a joke!"

Now the other princes are getting restless!
The thirteenth prince was the first to step forward and said, "Your Highness, Yang Fenggu, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, is spreading heresies and has ulterior motives."

"I believe he should be thrown into prison to find out who ordered this!"

As the thirteenth prince spoke, the tenth prince also stepped forward, angrily saying, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is acting in accordance with Heaven's will and the people's will, rescuing the common people from their suffering."

"The earthquake at Mount Tai clearly had another cause."

"This Yang Fenggu, whoever he's colluding with, dares to slander the Crown Prince! He deserves to die!"

"Your Majesty, I request that you issue an edict to execute such a person who speaks nonsense, as a warning to others."

The Ninth Prince, the Fourth Prince, and others also stepped forward at this moment.

Seeing this, the Eighth Prince secretly sneered.

He knew very well that once Yang Fenggu had said those words, it would be difficult to take them back.

Even if Yang Fenggu is killed now, the claim that the anger of Mount Tai originated from the Crown Prince will surely spread like wildfire among the people!
The crown prince has lost his virtue and has offended Heaven!
Changing the crown prince is in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people!
Whether Yang Fenggu lives or dies is not important. What is important is that you have to take the blame for the "Crown Prince's misconduct"!
So he also stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, Yang Fenggu has acted recklessly and slandered the Regent. Your subject requests that Yang Fenggu be imprisoned in the Dali Temple for a thorough trial."

Shen Ye smiled but didn't take the bait, turning to look at Tong Guowei and Zhang Ying, who stood at the head of the court officials.

"Tong Guowei, you are the chief Grand Secretary. What do you think of Yang Fenggu's words?"

Tong Guowei was also a little confused!
However, after listening to Yang Fenggu's words, his mind started working quickly.

He felt this was a golden opportunity to bring down the crown prince.

If this opportunity can be used to depose the crown prince, then the eighth prince's chances of ascending to the throne will become increasingly greater.

He did not want to see a crown prince who was too capable.

Yang Fenggu didn't know whose subordinate he was, but this fatal blow was simply a divine assist, coming at the perfect time and in such a brilliant way!
At this moment, he felt a greater sense of admiration for the Crown Prince, after all, the Crown Prince was still able to remain calm and composed at such a critical time.

Instead of getting angry, he calmly pushed forward the process of holding court at the gate.

This shows that the crown prince indeed possesses all the potential of a qualified monarch.

Unfortunately, the crown prince isn't close to his own family!

"Your Highness, I have never studied astronomy and calendar systems... I am completely ignorant of them. I have no idea what Heaven and Earth are thinking. Therefore... therefore, I believe that only Your Majesty can decide this matter."

Tong Guowei, true to his reputation as a master of passing the buck, kicked the problem directly to the Crown Prince.

In other words, he actually has no opinion on this matter.

Having no stance is also a stance; it means he doesn't think that the divine wrath of the Taishan earthquake has anything to do with the Crown Prince.

Shen Ye remained unmoved by Tong Guowei's statement; Tong Guowei's reaction was exactly what he had expected.

After all, Tong Guowei himself did not support him. The reason he asked Tong Guowei was because Tong Guowei held the title of "Chief Grand Secretary".

He just wanted to see how Tong Guowei would handle this matter.

Shen Ye then looked at Zhang Ying: "Grand Scholar Zhang, what do you think about this matter?"

Zhang Ying's heart raced when she heard Yang Fenggu's words.

He originally thought that Liu Shixun and others had contacted Yang Fenggu in an attempt to use the Taishan earthquake to overthrow the new policy of "officials and gentry paying taxes together".

I never expected these guys to go so far as to target the Crown Prince.

Is Yang Fenggu crazy to do this?

He didn't believe Yang Fenggu was crazy. Yang Fenggu must have had a compelling reason for doing this! Someone was probably stabbing him in the back!
However, the consequences of such behavior are extremely serious. The Crown Prince has lost his moral compass!

Heaven is furious!
At best, this would force the crown prince to relinquish his position as regent and find a place to repent.

In severe cases, the crown prince may be deposed or reinstated!

This is going to completely destroy him!

Looking at the Crown Prince, he could still preside over the court assembly without changing his expression or skipping a beat. He couldn't help but secretly admire the Crown Prince.

Regardless, the Crown Prince's mental fortitude is quite remarkable; he's a truly talented individual!
With a thought flashing through his mind, Zhang Ying clasped his hands and said, "I have no knowledge of celestial phenomena either."

After Zhang Ying finished speaking, the area outside Qianqing Gate became completely quiet.

Both scholars claimed they didn't understand celestial phenomena, but in reality, they wanted to express their support for Yang Fenggu.

After all, it seems that Yang Fenggu is the only one in the world who understands celestial phenomena the best.

Shen Ye smiled and said, "It seems that none of the civil and military officials in the court are very knowledgeable about celestial phenomena!"

His gaze swept over the assembled officials, as if to say, "You're all got the guts to pull stunts behind the scenes, but not the guts to stand up for yourselves? What kind of hero are you, making faces in private?"

Among the court officials, some claimed to have some knowledge of celestial phenomena, but since both Grand Secretaries said they didn't understand them, they naturally wouldn't risk offending them.

After all, what Yang Fenggu just said made it difficult for anyone to express their opinion on the spot.

One wrong move and you could be ruined.

While everyone was silent, Shen Ye said calmly, "The way of Heaven is constant; it does not exist because of Yao, nor does it perish because of Jie."

"I remember that there were quite a few earthquakes in the history books."

"It's unlikely that every earthquake in Mount Tai is caused by the Crown Prince, who has angered Heaven, thus incurring its wrath."

At this point, Shen Ye continued, "I have always valued the Director of the Imperial Observatory, believing that he should be a learned person."

"But this time, I found that his abilities were very limited."

"Some time ago, someone told me that he had studied celestial phenomena for many years and that this earthquake at Mount Tai must be a sign that a treacherous villain was planning to disrupt the government!"

At this point, Shen Ye looked around and then said to Tong Guowei, "Prime Minister Tong, tell me, should I believe this man's words or not?"

Tong Guowei was shocked by Shen Ye's words and alarm bells rang in his mind. He quickly pledged his loyalty, saying, "Your Highness, with the Holy Emperor above us, although the court may not be entirely composed of righteous officials, all the ministers are loyal and devoted to the king's affairs. I implore Your Highness not to believe such nonsense."

“This man’s true aim is to wreak havoc on the court. I request Your Highness to execute him.”

Tong Guowei had no choice but to make a statement. If he said that they should believe it, wouldn't that mean there were traitors among them?

If this escalates, it'll be like throwing bricks over a wall—whoever gets hit will be in trouble!
As the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Court, he could not possibly agree to such a situation under any circumstances.

Shen Ye said with a forced smile, "Of course I can't believe him!"

"How could you gentlemen conclude that the earthquake at Mount Tai was caused by me based on just one sentence from the Director of the Imperial Observatory?"

At this point, he turned to Yang Fenggu and said, "Let's not talk about whether this Director of the Imperial Observatory has a deep understanding of astronomy and calendar."

"If he harbors ulterior motives, would you all simply obey the will of Heaven and the people and replace the crown prince with someone else just because he says so?"

"If you change the crown prince today, you can change the court tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, you can change the world!"

"Tsk tsk, is the threshold for rebellion this low now? All you have to do is take down an Imperial Observatory official and keep saying that 'the Purple Star is dimming'."

"Don't you all agree?"

Yang Fenggu's face turned deathly pale.

He knew he was in great danger!

He never expected that the Crown Prince, instead of panicking at this critical moment, would turn the tables and pin a charge of treason on him!
He said in a deep voice, "Every word I just said is based on the ancient Chinese texts' explanation of the earthquake at Mount Tai."

"Your subject has absolutely no disloyal intentions."

"Please, Your Highness, do not speak recklessly and disappoint loyal officials."

Shen Ye waved his sleeve and said, "Whether you are loyal or not, we will know after the investigation."

"Guards, arrest Yang Fenggu! Also, order the Infantry Commander's Office to imprison everyone in the Imperial Observatory and interrogate them severely."

"Furthermore, imprison Yang Fenggu's entire clan on charges of treason!"

"I want to see who he's colluding with to dare to ruin the kingdom of my Great Zhou."

Shen Ye's series of orders caused Yang Fenggu's expression to change drastically.

He had thought he would only be imprisoned for two days at most, but he never expected the Crown Prince's orders to be so ruthless!

This filled him with deep regret.

Unfortunately, there's no turning back now that the arrow has been released; he's already gone this far, and there's no turning back.

He gritted his teeth, knelt down with a thud, and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, no matter what you think, the truth is clear, and my loyalty is evident to all."

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(End of this chapter)