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

Chapter 428 There is only one sun in the sky and only one voice in the court.

Wang Yan ultimately failed!

With a touch of regret but also with a heavy reward, they left the hot spring palace.

This reward is a Yuqing silver coin given by Shen Ye!

Each one weighed one tael, and Shen Ye generously threw out a hundred at once, saying that he would give them to his family members as a New Year's gift.

Wang Yan declined the reward repeatedly, saying "No, no, I can't accept it," but in the end, he accepted it.

No sooner had he left than a few of Shen Ye's close friends arrived, trying to persuade him to change his mind.

Among those who came to persuade him, the one of the highest status was the crown prince's mother's cousin, an old duke.

However, Shen Ye did not heed these pieces of advice.

In the hot spring palace, besides copying the "Classic of Filial Piety" and rehearsing "The Legend of the White Snake", he would occasionally contemplate life, such as how many goji berries to put in the hot spring today, living his life to the fullest.

As for matters of the imperial court, he had long since forgotten about them.

However, he has forgotten the court, but the court will not forget him.

More and more officials submitted memorials to Emperor Qianxi requesting a reduction in the amount of taxes paid by officials and gentry.

The rank of those who submitted petitions also soared from the sixth or seventh rank to the fourth or fifth rank.

Although the rank of the person submitting the petition did not exceed that of a third-rank official, the increasing number of petitions also put pressure on Emperor Qianxi.

This situation was already making Emperor Qianxi a little uneasy!
As an emperor, he appears to be powerful and authoritative, with his word carrying immense weight, suppressing his ministers.

However, Emperor Qianxi's imperial wisdom told him that he should treat his ministers like livestock, being firm when necessary and lenient when appropriate, and also giving them some benefits.

Some things can't be kept bottled up forever.

If you press it for too long, problems will arise!

Emperor Qianxi glanced at the stack of memorials that was almost as tall as a person and calmly said, "These memorials will remain in the palace and will not be issued."

Liang Jiugong was already used to Emperor Qianxi's attitude towards handling these memorials, so he was not surprised at all when he heard that the memorials were to be kept in the archives and not issued.

"As ordered!"

Emperor Qianxi stared at the memorial, his eyes filled with disgust.

He really wanted to pick up these memorials and slap them on the Crown Prince's forehead, so he could see for himself how many people were offering their opinions!
That rebellious son is still stubbornly resisting!
It's not pleasant to be at odds with the world.

Suppressing his anger, Emperor Qianxi turned to Liang Jiugong and asked, "Who did the Crown Prince meet today?"

As Emperor Qianxi's chief intelligence agent, Liang Jiugong's daily routine included familiarizing himself with everything the emperor wanted to know, so he could be ready to respond at any time.

Since returning to the Forbidden City, Emperor Qianxi has been most concerned about the Crown Prince's movements.

Although the Crown Prince doesn't have many people around him, the title of "Crown Prince" is enough to make everyone take him seriously.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince met with the Duke of Shun and the Earl of Xingping today, and each of them spoke for a quarter of an hour."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianxi remained completely unmoved.

Because these two men had no real power; although they were dukes and earls, they were basically just loafing around doing nothing.

Because of her kinship with the deceased empress, she was naturally close to the crown prince.

They are a very good candidate to persuade the crown prince to back down.

This is also the real reason why Emperor Qianxi did not stop them from visiting the Crown Prince.

"Did the Crown Prince heed the advice?" Emperor Qianxi's voice carried a hint of anger.

Emperor Qianxi did not want to depose the crown prince, and he was the emperor, but this tug-of-war between father and son had to be resolved in a way that would save face.

Instead, the crown prince simply hid in the imperial palace, ignoring everything, leaving his father alone to face the scorn and criticism of the entire court.

This made Emperor Qianxi quite uncomfortable.

If the crown prince refuses to bow his head and continues to ignore the issue of tax payments by officials and gentry, his authority will definitely be affected.

Wang Yan went to persuade the Crown Prince, but he did not give any instructions.

However, he still greatly appreciated Wang Yan's action.

Unfortunately, despite Wang Yan's impassioned speech, he could not dissuade the Crown Prince.

"Your Majesty, I heard... they also returned disappointed."

Liang Jiugong reported the situation tactfully.

Upon hearing this result, Emperor Qianxi snorted coldly: "They really don't know what's good for them!"

He paced back and forth in the hall a few times, wanting to give Liang Jiugong an order, but ultimately held back.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but rather that he found it difficult to make a decision at that moment.

Finally, he stopped and said, "Summon Mingzhu here. I want to have a meal with him."

Upon hearing "Mingzhu," Liang Jiugong paused for a moment!
He never expected that Emperor Qianxi would have dinner with Mingzhu at such a time.

Although Mingzhu still held his official position, he had effectively been marginalized and had little power left.

The only positions Emperor Qianxi retained for him were those that were essentially sinecure.
At this time, His Majesty invites him to dinner. What exactly is going on here?
Although Liang Jiugong couldn't figure it out, he didn't dare to ask any more questions. He simply agreed and hurried off to deliver the imperial decree.

In less than half an hour, Mingzhu, dressed in a simple robe, arrived before Emperor Qianxi.

"Your subject, Mingzhu, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Since Mingzhu was dismissed from his position as Grand Secretary, Emperor Qianxi had not seen Mingzhu for some time.

Although there is a lot of attention being paid to Mingzhu, she still looks the same as when we first met.

Looking at Mingzhu's head, which was mostly white, he couldn't help but sigh:

When he was promoted, he was a spirited and energetic young man.

Now, he is a frail, white-haired old man!
And what about himself?
Back then, he was a young emperor.

Now, he's become the father of a bunch of kids!

The crown prince is already in his twenties. Time, that cruel butcher's knife, is indeed indiscriminate.

Back then, when he was the same age as the crown prince, he had already been emperor for fourteen or fifteen years.

"Get up!" Emperor Qianxi forced a smile and asked, "Mingzhu, how have you been feeling lately?"

When discussing matters with Mr. Liu Tao, Mingzhu appeared to have everything under control, but at this moment, he transformed into a frail old man.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. This old minister has been eating and sleeping well lately!"

"But my eyesight is getting really bad."

"Many things are no longer visible."

Hearing Mingzhu say this, Emperor Qianxi felt even more moved.

He said with great concern to his former trusted subordinate, "Don't worry if your eyes are blurry. I still have a lot of crystals that were tributes from foreign countries."

"I'll have someone make you a pair of tortoiseshell glasses later."

"It's very easy to use!"

At this point, he turned to Liang Jiugong and said, "Liang Jiugong, you arrange this matter. Within a month, Mingzhu should be able to use it."

As Liang Jiugong agreed, he secretly sighed: His Majesty treats Mingzhu differently indeed.

Although he wasn't given an official position, the two of them still acted like old friends when they met.

Mingzhu knelt down with a thud and said respectfully, "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."

"With Your Majesty's tortoiseshell glasses, I can stay up late and read more books."

Emperor Qianxi waved his hand at Mingzhu and said, "Reading is something that should be done in moderation."

"At our age, we should be more active and learn about health preservation!"

Mingzhu stood up and said, "I am truly pleased to see Your Majesty in such good health today."

"Your Majesty is the pillar of stability for the nation. When Your Majesty is healthy and well, the nation prospers."

Although he knew that Mingzhu was good at saying nice things, Emperor Qianxi was very pleased to hear Mingzhu praise him like this.

He chatted with Mingzhu about the past, and the two of them reminisced about their glorious years.

It felt like chatting with an old friend.

Although Mingzhu looked very old, his mind was still very sharp, and he responded fluently to every word of Emperor Qianxi.

Moreover, many things were said that resonated with Emperor Qianxi.

After three cups of wine, Emperor Qianxi suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Mingzhu, do you think it's appropriate to have officials and gentry pay taxes together?"

Mingzhu knew that Emperor Qianxi would ask this question before he arrived.

Because only questions like this would warrant calling him over to ask.

For ordinary problems, Emperor Qianxi had no need for him at all.

Mingzhu believed that Emperor Qianxi's sudden question had two meanings: one was to ask the question, and the other was to see if he was honest.

If he pretended not to know that officials and gentry were required to pay taxes together, Emperor Qianxi would surely have thought he was faking it.

If he appears too proactive, Emperor Qianxi will think that he still has ambitions and wants to return to the court.

This is not what Emperor Qianxi wanted to see.

Mingzhu, who had anticipated this, coughed and said, "Your Majesty, regarding the matter of officials and gentry paying taxes together, someone recently came to my house and asked me to join them in opposing it."

"In my humble opinion, this is a good thing, but good things don't always have good results."

"So if you want to do good things well, you must first grasp the right balance."

The word "degree" precisely struck a chord with Emperor Qianxi.

Emperor Qianxi nodded and said, "Officials and gentry are the pillars of the court. If we offend them all at once, the court will be unstable."

"Therefore, I am prepared to reduce the taxes of officials and gentry by half, as requested by Zhang Yushu."

"Make them pay less."

"But the Crown Prince disagrees!"

At this point, Emperor Qianxi stood up from his seat and said in a deep voice, "What should be done about this matter?"

Mingzhu did not answer immediately, but after a moment of contemplation, she solemnly said to Emperor Qianxi, "Your Majesty, the court is in turmoil, and it has always been difficult to reach a consensus."

"It's just like when His Majesty wanted to issue an edict to reduce the power of the vassal states back then."

"I still vividly remember how many people opposed it at the time."

Mingzhu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, sometimes, the court can only have one voice."

These words caused Emperor Qianxi's expression to change.

He paced back and forth slowly for a few steps, his face contorted in a grimace.

Just as Mingzhu's heart was in her throat, fearing that something might go wrong this time, she heard Emperor Qianxi suddenly say, "Didn't the Crown Prince want to go to Shangjing to herd horses? Then let him go?"

Mingzhu knelt down decisively with a thud: "Your Majesty, I am terrified. In matters of the Emperor's household, only Your Majesty's holy heart can make the decision."

"Your subject dares not have the slightest opinion, nor dares to have any thoughts."

"Your Majesty, please take a closer look!"

When Emperor Qianxi asked this question, he didn't actually expect Mingzhu to provide an answer.

Because he knew that Mingzhu wouldn't give him an answer.

But he had already found the answer in Mingzhu's words.

He waved his hand at Mingzhu and said, "Kneel down and leave!"

Escorted by Liang Jiugong, Mingzhu walked out of the Qianqing Palace. As soon as the palace gates closed, a smile appeared on her serious face.

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(End of this chapter)