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

Chapter 422 The Regent Ends, the Emperor Returns
The sun rose as usual, and the day when Emperor Qianxi ended his fast arrived in the blink of an eye!

Shen Ye was leisurely playing chess with Jia Min, legs crossed, munching on melon seeds in Yuqing Palace, when Emperor Qianxi's imperial edict arrived—

The Emperor will return to the palace tomorrow!

You know, Emperor Qianxi was doing a great job of conducting business in his palace in Xiaotangshan.

Even after the fast ends, he can still stay in the palace in Xiaotangshan and remotely command the world without any problem.

In this freezing weather, he insisted on rushing back to the Forbidden City. Why do you think that was?
Could it be that they're planning to stage a "Return of the King: The Forbidden City Chronicles"?

No, no, no, there's only one truth: he certainly didn't miss the bricks and tiles of the Forbidden City because he missed them so much, but rather he wanted to proclaim to the world:
I'm back!

My fast is over!
The Crown Prince's tenure as regent has ended, and his trial period as acting emperor has expired!

After waving the eunuch who had delivered the message away, Shen Ye turned to Jia Min and sighed, "Sigh, I was hoping to slack off for a while, but now I'm completely doomed!"

"Zhou Bao, have Tong Guowei and Zhang Ying come over."

As the chief eunuch and errand boy of Yuqing Palace, Zhou Bao immediately appeared before Shen Ye upon hearing his instructions:

"Your Highness, rest assured, this servant will take care of it immediately."

In less than a quarter of an hour, Grand Secretaries Tong Guowei and Zhang Ying strode in with their official gait.

The two appeared calm and collected, but Shen Ye could sense at a glance that they already knew Emperor Qianxi was returning to the palace.

Shen Ye sensed a vague excitement emanating from Tong Guowei and Zhang Ying.

After all, with the Emperor back, they no longer have to accompany the Crown Prince to "work" in various ways every day!

But who is Shen Ye? He's a shrewd and cunning individual who immediately recognized that these two were secretly enjoying themselves.

However, these two actors were so good at acting that they were almost like movie stars. They were very restrained, and their expressions were no different from usual.

"Greetings, Your Highness!" The two men bowed respectfully to Shen Ye.

Shen Ye smiled and said, "You two scholars need not stand on ceremony. Zhou Bao, please take a seat!"

The two men thanked the emperor and sat down, thinking to themselves that they were finally almost at the end of their ordeal and would be free once the emperor returned.

But facing this cunning, quick-witted, and exceptionally adept prince, the two of them couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.

“Father will be returning to the palace tomorrow,” Shen Ye said bluntly. “What I mean is, we need to take the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers with us to the Hot Spring Palace to welcome him!”

"Your Highness is wise!"

Zhang Ying asked with a serious expression, "Where does the Crown Prince intend to receive you?"

"Of course, we should go to the palace gate!"

Shen Ye smiled innocently: "The Emperor's end of his fast is a big deal. We should line up to welcome him back to the palace in a grand and lively manner!"

Hearing Shen Ye's respectful words, Zhang Ying sighed inwardly.

More than a month of regency did not make the Crown Prince arrogant; on the contrary, he became even more respectful to His Majesty. This performance of filial piety deserves an Oscar!

From this point of view alone, the Crown Prince should not be underestimated; he is by no means an easy opponent!
He immediately replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, we will make the arrangements immediately."

Shen Ye's gaze fell on Tong Guowei and said, "Prime Minister Tong, you must pay close attention to the etiquette for His Majesty's return to the palace."

"I hope nothing goes wrong."

Tong Guowei clasped his hands in a fist salute to Shen Ye and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will explain things properly to Zhang Yushu of the Ministry of Rites later."

The matter was settled happily.

The news caused an uproar throughout the capital.

After all, the Emperor's return to the palace is a matter of utmost importance!
At this moment, the Third Prince and the Eighth Prince were having hot pot together inside the house.

In the freezing cold, the copper pot bubbled and simmered, and the thinly sliced ​​mutton rolls danced in the boiling broth. Dipped in the rich sesame sauce, a bite was an instant soul-stirring experience—it was pure bliss!
The mutton served in the imperial court was made from specially selected Tan sheep, which were even more tender and succulent, making it incredibly fragrant.

"With His Majesty back in the capital, the Crown Prince will be unable to oversee the country!" The Third Prince said with a smile as he took a bite of mutton.

The Eighth Prince said calmly, "Before his fast, Father Emperor handled state affairs at the Hot Spring Palace."

"The weather is already at the coldest point of winter!"

"Not only did Father not enjoy the blessings at the hot spring palace, but he also went straight back to the Forbidden City as soon as he left the pass. It seems that His Majesty is still not at ease about state affairs!"

The Eighth Prince's words were spoken in a grand and dignified manner.

But the Third Prince immediately understood the implication in his words: wasn't he just implying that His Majesty didn't trust the Crown Prince?
The Third Prince nearly choked on his mutton: "You mean His Majesty is worried..."

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he quickly stopped himself, realizing he had gone a bit too far.

But the Eighth Prince understood what he meant.

He grinned and said, "Third Brother, I didn't say anything."

Don't overthink it.

Although their relationship was alright, it was too sensitive, especially when it came to the topic of Emperor Qianxi, so they couldn't say anything carelessly.

The Third Prince laughed and said, "What could I possibly be thinking?"

"It's perfectly normal for Father to return to the Forbidden City. What's there to overthink?"

He laughed again as he said this.

However, as he was laughing, the Third Prince's expression suddenly froze.

Although His Majesty does not trust the Crown Prince, this seems to be a good thing.

But if Father doesn't even trust the Crown Prince, how could he possibly trust me?

"Third Brother, let's get some rest early tonight. Tomorrow morning, we're supposed to go with the Crown Prince to welcome Father back to the palace." "That'll be a long and arduous journey!"

The Third Prince smiled and said, "Then let's call it a day. We'll continue our conversation later."

After seeing off the Eighth Prince, the Third Prince's expression remained gloomy and uncertain.

He could tolerate the fact that the crown prince was stronger than him.

But now, Lao Ba's power is also rising rapidly.

He had come to realize that the Eighth Prince's strength was growing and that he was now firmly suppressing him.

Is the struggle for the throne getting... getting harder and harder?!
The next morning, Shen Ye ate a few bites of food and then led his civil and military officials in a grand procession toward the hot spring palace.

Although it would have been fine to greet Emperor Qianxi at the city gate upon his return to the palace, Shen Ye insisted on going to the gate of the temporary palace—

The right attitude is essential!
Although Emperor Qianxi was his biological father, he was also the emperor and the crown prince's superior.

The Crown Prince and Emperor Qianxi had highly overlapping powers, almost like having two supervisors in the same position.

The crown prince can do most of what the emperor can do.

In the past, the Crown Prince not only had officials from the Eastern Palace and his own think tank, but also his own army.

For example, during the Tang Dynasty, the crown prince had six guards in the Eastern Palace, totaling a total of 16,000 people!

Having such an elite fighting force in the hands of the Crown Prince is enough to make any emperor uneasy.

So gradually, the military force in the Crown Prince's hands was "optimized and adjusted" until it was completely gone.

However, emperors throughout history have always treated their crown princes as both successors and potential rivals to be wary of.

He was terrified that the Crown Prince might force him to abdicate prematurely.

Having spent many years working his way up from the bottom in his previous life, Shen Ye had long remembered that politeness was never a bad thing.

The rules that must be followed must not be transgressed in the slightest.

Even though Emperor Qianxi was the father of the Crown Prince, there were still some rules that had to be followed.

After all, His Majesty the Emperor has more than one son.

If you only have one son, then you don't need to worry too much. Take Emperor Zhengde, for example. His father only had him as his son, so what was there to worry about? He couldn't even abdicate the throne!

The emperor will find a way to make him ascend the throne.

Otherwise, the throne will only end up in someone else's hands.

Because we set off early, we arrived at the hot spring palace around 10 a.m.

Emperor Qianxi had already finished his fasting period. When Shen Ye and the others arrived, Liang Jiugong arranged for them to be invited to the Danbo Jingcheng Hall!

Emperor Qianxi, dressed in imperial robes, appeared to be in high spirits at this moment.

As everyone cheered "Long live the Emperor!", he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

Clearly, the Crown Prince's performance of filial piety was very much to the Emperor's liking.

“Your Highness, when I return to the palace this time, you can just meet me at the gate of the capital. It’s too much trouble for all of you elders to rush to the hot spring palace like this.”

Emperor Qianxi feigned reproach: "Remember, I'll let it go this time, but don't let it happen again."

Shen Ye, who was being criticized, knew perfectly well what was going on:

Emperor Qianxi's statement was merely a statement. This was at Versailles!
He may have been blaming him on the surface, but he probably felt quite pleased inside.

"Your Majesty's fasting and prayers for Your Majesty's well-being this time serve as an example for your son and all the people of the land. How could I not give Your Majesty a grand welcome back to the capital?"

For a time, the court was filled with the harmonious atmosphere of fatherly love and filial piety.

Just as Emperor Qianxi was preparing to arrange the departure, someone suddenly knelt down with a thud and solemnly said, "Your Majesty, your subject Zhang Yushu has a memorial to present."

Zhang Yushu's sudden appearance surprised Shen Ye.

However, he then stood calmly to the side, quietly watching Zhang Yushu.

Before Emperor Qianxi had even returned to the Forbidden City, Zhang Yushu had already submitted a memorial, which clearly showed his dissatisfaction with the Crown Prince's regency.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be in such a hurry.

Shen Ye was not in a hurry. He had already reported his regency to Emperor Qianxi, so even if Zhang Yushu complained, he didn't take it to heart.

The current imperial court is now Emperor Qianxi's domain.

He just needs to observe quietly.

Emperor Qianxi's face darkened. He had just been very satisfied with the Crown Prince's performance, but now Zhang Yushu's sudden appearance made him somewhat unhappy.

After all, he also likes to see a loving father and a filial son.

However, Zhang Yushu was, after all, the Minister of Rites, and Emperor Qianxi could not refuse him from making a memorial.

What do you wish to report?

"Your Majesty, our dynasty has always treated the gentry with respect, and it is precisely because of their support that the country is able to enjoy peace and prosperity."

At this point, Zhang Yushu solemnly said, "The gentry are the foundation of the court. Now, to make the gentry pay taxes along with the common people is really... really violates the ancestral system."

"Moreover, although doing so may seem to increase taxes, it has hurt the feelings of the gentry and common people across the land."

"Your Majesty, please reconsider your actions!"

As soon as Zhang Yushu finished speaking, many people's eyes fell on Shen Ye.

When the Crown Prince was overseeing the country, he had already pushed this matter forward with strong measures. Now that Zhang Yushu is saying this, it's tantamount to him coming to complain to her face!
(End of this chapter)