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

Chapter 43 A Man with High Abilities but Low Abilities
Changchun Garden, Qingxi Study!

A gentle breeze carrying moisture made the temperature here at least seven or eight degrees lower than that of the Qianqing Palace.

While it wasn't exactly cool, the summer heat was significantly reduced.

With the completion of Changchun Garden, Emperor Qianxi increasingly preferred living there to the solemn but restrictive Qianqing Palace.

After reviewing and forwarding the memorials sent from the Southern Study, Emperor Qianxi's gaze fell on the memorials placed on his left.

This memorial had no patterns and looked extremely ordinary, but it was much thicker than ordinary memorials.

Because this memorial reported not just one matter, but the slightest movement in the entire capital.

After ascending the throne, Emperor Qianxi established the Secret Guard in addition to the existing palace guards, with the aim of gathering information about the capital.

Although these secret guards did not have the duties of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they were responsible for reporting all the happenings from the palace to the streets to Emperor Qianxi.

It was precisely because he possessed this information that Emperor Qianxi was able to wield more and more power and make absolute decisions over the years!

Upon opening the memorial, one would find that the first item listed was news about the Crown Prince.

The memorial contained very detailed information about the Crown Prince, such as what time he arrived at the Daxing County government office and when he chatted with Nian Dongliang.

However, the content of their casual conversation did not appear here.

Seeing that the record above only noted the time when the Crown Prince went to Dexing Tower, Emperor Qianxi smiled slightly.

He had already met the Crown Prince at Dexing Tower, so there was no need to record it.

However, when he saw the situation after the Crown Prince went to the soup kitchen in Daxing County, he couldn't help but frown.

This crown prince is too impetuous in his actions.

He didn't even look at the consistency of the porridge. If it were the fourth brother, he would not only check the consistency of the porridge himself, but also ask the disaster victims if anyone had tampered with it.

Perhaps they can even seek justice for the people and expose a few corrupt officials.

How can I trust someone who acts so carelessly?

Immediately afterwards, he saw records of the Crown Prince recruiting able-bodied men from among the refugees, and the conditions offered were very high.

Meals are provided, and each person receives fifty coins a day, paid on the same day!
Seeing this, even Emperor Qianxi was speechless.

Based on current prices in Shuntian Prefecture, two taels of silver are enough for a family of four to live comfortably for a month.

The current exchange rate between copper coins and silver in Shuntian Prefecture is one tael of silver for one thousand copper coins. The shrewd waiter at Dexinglou only earns three taels of silver a month.

Giving so much money to disaster victims is just asking for trouble.

Did he really think that the imperial court had an inexhaustible supply of money?

The moment this thought crossed his mind, Emperor Qianxi's face darkened.

He really didn't have much money left in his Taicang warehouse.

Although his years of campaigns brought him great prestige, wars ultimately cost money and supplies.

The emperor possesses the entire world—this sounds nice, but there are countless mouths under heaven waiting for him, the emperor, to feed them.

River works, Green Camp, staunch supporters of agriculture...

Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

His Taicang coffers are now unable to produce even one million taels of silver.

Although the princes' residences have begun construction, progress is slow.

This was also to wait until the autumn tax was collected before paying the bills, and there were also the sons' share of the inheritance money; just thinking about it gave me a headache.

The crown prince also wanted to split the business, but he didn't even consider how much silver he would need to do so.

This unfilial son should really know what it's like to be broke.

Emperor Qianxi, inwardly grumbling, continued to focus his gaze on the account of the Crown Prince's day.

Rebuild the city!

There's no need for Daxing County to worry about buying a house!
He can handle it himself!
It's not like it's a house in Beijing, so why would it be so easy to sell?

Emperor Qianxi, watching the Crown Prince return to the palace promptly at five o'clock, bringing with him some exquisite food and items, couldn't help but angrily rebuke him: "How can I entrust the empire to someone so ambitious yet incompetent?" Liang Jiugong, standing at the entrance of Qingxi Study, couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this.

He naturally knew who Emperor Qianxi was referring to.

But it was precisely in times like these that he couldn't utter a sound.

How could a mere eunuch possibly concern himself with the emperor's family affairs?

Fortunately, Emperor Qianxi did not summon him, which made him wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Emperor Qianxi's gaze remained fixed on the matter concerning the Crown Prince.

However, what follows is not about the Crown Prince himself, but about the Crown Princess's actions in the palace and the behavior of some important palace maids.

Looking at the records of the Crown Princess's arrangements for palace affairs, Emperor Qianxi nodded slightly.

The crown princess he chose was very virtuous.

In the past, this wretched child was ungrateful and always treated the Crown Princess with indifference, which made Emperor Qianxi very uncomfortable.

Now he finally understands how good the Crown Princess is.

That's not bad.

Just as Emperor Qianxi's expression had softened somewhat, he came across a record of someone secretly meeting with Consort Li and asking her to intercede on behalf of Granny Tong.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Qianxi snorted, but then fell into deep thought.

Emperor Qianxi was fully aware of the actions of the Lingpu family.

Although the memorial from the Court of Judicial Review had not yet been presented, he already knew the contents of the memorial.

However, he has not yet made up his mind on how to handle it.

The reason for this is that Granny Tong has a special identity.

No matter how many mistakes she made, she was still the Crown Prince's wet nurse.

What should the Crown Prince do?

Although the discussion about cheating in the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination has subsided considerably, such discussions may resurface at any time.

What will the Crown Prince choose?
Upon reading the ending of the record about the Crown Prince, Emperor Qianxi recalled the matter that the Crown Princess had requested some time ago.

Cao Yin's daughter was to be brought into Yuqing Palace as a concubine.

This was naturally not something the Crown Princess could decide; only the Crown Prince could make that decision.

Emperor Qianxi was initially unwilling to accept this request.

After all, Cao Yin was his favorite minister and the Commissioner of State Affairs whom he had placed in Jiangnan. He was extremely important to him. If the Crown Prince married Cao Yin's daughter, then who would Cao Yin be loyal to in the future?

However, it seems that apart from the Crown Princess, there is a lack of people in the Crown Prince's palace who can provide assistance.

Unable to make a decision for the moment, Emperor Qianxi's gaze fell once again on the memorials. The section on the Crown Prince had been completed, and the next section on the whereabouts of the First Prince was to be recorded.

Emperor Qianxi frowned as he watched the eldest prince go to Mingzhu Mansion to offer birthday greetings.

Although the eldest prince was not stupid, Emperor Qianxi felt that his eldest son was being manipulated by Mingzhu.

This feeling made him very uncomfortable.

The account of Mingzhu's secret conversation with the eldest prince brought a hint of sarcasm to Emperor Qianxi's lips.

Although he didn't know what the two were discussing, everything was under his control.

With him around, no one can turn the world upside down!

However, the slightly blurred words inexplicably made him feel a little irritated!

As people get older, their eyesight gradually deteriorates.

He didn't know when he heard this sentence.

Now, this sentence was swirling in his mind, making him very uncomfortable!

I am not old yet!
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(End of this chapter)