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

Chapter 45 It's not that I'm afraid of bad things happening, it's that I'm afraid of a lack of good
The South Study, a place usually filled with gentle breezes and harmonious atmosphere, was now somewhat oppressive.

The reason for this was not only the twenty half-price purchase slots for Wanfuyuan apartments granted by the Crown Prince, but also the fact that most of the nobles received some kind of reward, but Grand Secretary Mingzhu did not.

Within the Southern Study, Mingzhu was second only to Suo'etu in status.

The two even frequently competed against each other.

But now, the Crown Prince is showing Mingzhu absolutely no mercy.

Among the nobles, only Orondai and Mingzhu received such treatment as first-class kilometer.

Orondai received this treatment for a simple reason: he had just offended the Crown Prince and had been whipped.

It's normal that the Crown Prince doesn't like him.

However, to treat Mingzhu so blatantly would be tantamount to telling everyone that the Crown Prince does not like Mingzhu.

Although many people understand why, this blatant disrespect is just too obvious!

It was practically a slap in the face to Mingzhu.

As a Grand Secretary and a First-Class Duke, one must also have pride.

Although Mingzhu appeared calm and composed in the duty room, showing no signs of anger, no one wanted to incur her wrath by speaking loudly.

After all, this person is famous for being all smiles and hiding a knife!

This put the entire South Study in a somewhat awkward position!
However, many of the lower-ranking officials working in the Southern Study have already begun to consider the twenty half-price housing purchase quotas bestowed by the Crown Prince.

Although many of them lived in the Southern Study, their lives were quite ordinary.

After all, the Southern Study was right under Emperor Qianxi's nose, so making money there wasn't easy.

Moreover, the governors and viceroys in various places only cared about those Grand Secretaries; they didn't care about these errand runners.

Therefore, some people, although working in the Forbidden City, rented houses in the dirty and chaotic southern part of the city.

Some even share an apartment, which makes life quite inconvenient.

After all, everything is expensive in Shuntian Prefecture!
The number of houses is even more limited; not only are they expensive, but there are also very few available for sale!
"Brother Jinlin, how do you think we'll allocate these twenty half-price housing purchase slots?" A sixth-rank official from the Southern Study asked his colleague in a low voice.

The man in his thirties, referred to as Brother Jinlin, was sorting through the memorials that the Grand Secretaries had approved.

Upon hearing this, he glanced around and whispered to his companion, "Brother Yu Mo, do you want a set?"

Lin Yumo hurriedly said, "I just went to the Ministry of Works and saw the design of the Wanfu Garden courtyard that the Crown Prince had the Ministry of Works make."

"Although there are only five rooms, they are fully equipped with all kinds of amenities."

"The houses are clean and tidy new houses."

"Moreover, there are small paths separating each house, which is much better than the house I'm renting now."

"I heard from a clerk in the Ministry of Works that these paths are paved with stones, so they won't be affected by rain."

At this point, Lin Yumo sighed and said, "I never intended to buy a house in Beijing, after all, it's too expensive."

"However, I think I can still come up with fifty taels of silver if I piece it together."

Upon hearing this, the man called Brother Jinlin was also tempted.

He was also renting a house. Although the landlord treated him fairly respectfully, he was very uncomfortable because he had to listen to the noise of the landlord's family every day while living with them.

He could afford fifty taels of silver as well.

Moreover, what he values ​​even more is the significance of this house.

Throughout the entire Southern Study, there were twenty or thirty of these sixth-rank servants who did odd jobs, not to mention the many more scribes who were responsible for copying and writing.

According to the Crown Prince's statement when bestowing the reward, it was intended as a reward for officials who performed their duties faithfully.

Once you get this title, you might be able to get some good things.

Therefore, upon hearing his companion's thoughts, Jin Lin lowered his voice and said, "Everyone is thinking the same thing. This spot will probably not be easy to get."

"After all, there are plenty of people who do their jobs conscientiously."

"Don't the Grand Secretaries do their best?"

Upon hearing Jin Lin's words, Lin Yumo's initial enthusiasm immediately cooled.

Just then, a constable came running over. Lin Yumo had a good relationship with the constable, so she casually asked, "Old Ma, what are you rushing about for?"

Old Ma said, "Prime Minister Suo invites all the Grand Secretaries to a meeting." "I heard it's about the half-price housing quotas for Wanfu Garden, which were bestowed by the Crown Prince."

These twenty spots are not a big deal in the Southern Study.

However, this one matter requires discussion among all the Grand Secretaries.

The reasons behind this, besides the Crown Prince's reward, probably also involve the distribution of benefits.

After all, everyone wants a spot that allows them to perform their duties effectively.

Even if the Grand Secretary doesn't think much of them, would their underlings also look down on them?

……

As the sun began to set, Mingzhu, returning home from her duties at the South Study, had a gloomy expression on her face.

He didn't care too much about Wanfu Garden, but the Crown Prince had bestowed gifts upon most of the nobles, leaving Mingzhu out of the picture! This put him in an awkward position!

The Crown Prince's actions clearly showed him no respect.

It might even affect his prestige!

After all, a Grand Scholar who has no ambition to become the future Emperor is rather dangerous.

Although he knew that the Crown Prince hated him to the bone, he did support the First Prince after all.

But the Crown Prince did this without any attempt to hide it.

The discussions among the Grand Secretaries today only fueled his resentment.

Soetu's old rival actually offered to give him ten of the twenty housing purchase quotas. Although he refused outright, he could sense that the other Grand Secretaries were looking at him differently.

Xiong Cilu and Zhang Ying, in particular, seemed to be watching from the sidelines.

Just as Mingzhu returned to her study with a gloomy face, she saw that there was someone sitting in her study.

When Mingzhu saw the person's face clearly, her expression changed drastically, and she said in a panic, "My Highness, why have you come at this time?"

Mingzhu knew Emperor Qianxi very well.

He knew that His Majesty was not as tolerant and magnanimous as he appeared on the surface.

It's understandable that the eldest prince would come to celebrate his mother's birthday.

Now that the eldest prince has suddenly appeared in his home, what will Emperor Qianxi think?
"Uncle, I've come here today because there's something I want to discuss with you," the eldest prince said calmly. "The Crown Prince used the pretext of praying for the Empress Dowager to do this."

"Do you think I should also do something?"

Seeing the eldest prince's somewhat anxious expression, Mingzhu knew what he was thinking.

Although his status was not as high as that of the Crown Prince, he was always secretly competing with the Crown Prince, trying to outdo him in everything, big or small.

The Crown Prince's actions—using the pretext of praying for the Empress Dowager to gather disaster victims to build Wanfu Garden, and then selling the houses in Wanfu Garden by offering half-price quotas to nobles—have put pressure on the First Prince.

Although it was a small matter, it fully demonstrated the Crown Prince's abilities.

This strategy, which kills three birds with one stone, can be considered a win-win situation for the current crown prince, bringing him both fame and fortune.

The eldest prince, unwilling to fall behind, wanted to accomplish something, even if it wasn't as outstanding as the crown prince's, he couldn't remain silent forever.

Seeing the eldest prince who seemed somewhat flustered, Mingzhu smiled faintly and said, "Your Highness, misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a blessing may be a misfortune in disguise. We still need to look at the issue dialectically."

Good things can turn bad, and bad things can turn good.

"Thirty-seven counties have been affected by the disaster, and the number of victims is far more than just ten or twenty thousand!"

"It's easy to do things when you have less of them, but if you have too much of them, then problems arise."

Upon hearing Mingzhu's words, the eldest prince paused for a moment and asked, "Will all those disaster victims come to the capital?"

Mingzhu didn't speak, but her gaze toward the eldest prince carried a meaningful smile.

The eldest prince wasn't stupid; he just didn't think about it that way.

At this moment, Mingzhu's smile made him suddenly realize something.

For a moment, I felt both excited and a little apprehensive.

During the new book release period, the support from you big shots is really important to me. I'm asking for all kinds of support!
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(End of this chapter)