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

Chapter 485 Father, what did you say? (Main theme: Unable to hear)
Tong Guowei stared at the chessboard in front of him, feeling as if he had swallowed twenty-five little mice in one bite, his heart was being scratched by a hundred claws!

As for playing chess, although his skill level isn't top-notch, he's still a seasoned player who frequently plays chess.

In this situation, White has a virtually guaranteed win. Black's early moves were terrible, completely disorganized, and simply unwatchable.

This isn't playing chess; this is a one-sided crushing defeat!
Want to turn the tables and make a comeback? Sleep well, anything is possible in your dreams.

He secretly hoped the Crown Prince would oppose the Emperor, but he couldn't show it too openly; he still had to follow the proper procedures.

The main message is "It's none of my business," so get out of this mess as soon as possible.

So, with his shrewd and calculating face, he lowered his voice and said to Shen Ye:

"Your Highness, Black is in dire straits. I think... how about we start another game?"

"Continuing like this is a complete waste of time."

Unexpectedly, Shen Ye raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Prime Minister Tong, what did you say? In such a hurry to go back for dinner?"

"It's alright! This meal is on me!"

"Hurry up, stop dawdling! Everyone says you're a master chess player, let me, the Crown Prince, see for myself today!"

Tong Guowei felt a pang of sympathy – he knew the Crown Prince was doing it on purpose, but he had no good way to deal with it.

After all, the Emperor was not present, and the person in front of him was the King.

He had no choice but to raise the golden imperial edict in his hand and wave it:
"Your Highness, please look carefully. This is His Majesty's imperial edict. I am acting on orders."

"We hope Your Highness can do us a favor and cooperate!"

Seeing Tong Guowei brandish the command token, Erlengtai and the others beside him were all sweating for the Crown Prince.

Without this imperial edict, the Crown Prince would be "unbridled" here.

However, if one sees the imperial edict and does not accept it, that would be considered disobeying the imperial decree, which would be a serious matter.

To everyone's surprise, Shen Ye looked at the command token swaying in front of him, blinked, and actually smiled:
"Oh my, Father is so thoughtful!"

"Knowing that my task is fraught with obstacles and difficult to accomplish, they specially sent Prime Minister Tong to personally deliver this imperial edict."

"Thanks! I appreciate the gesture!"

Before he could finish speaking, he reached out and took the command token, stuffing it into his pocket.

"Let's keep this token for now and use it later. Let's play chess for now."

Tong Guowei: "..."

Even though he had spent decades in the imperial court and experienced many ups and downs, he was still quite knowledgeable.

Little did he expect that his "imperial sword" would be confiscated by the crown prince on the spot.

The crown prince is not only audacious, but also quick-witted.

However, he wasn't actually furious.

After all, although Kong Shangde was given the title of "future Duke Yansheng," he was ultimately just a pawn, not so important that the relationship would stop without him.

But if the Crown Prince does this, the Emperor's wrath will definitely fall on him later.

Hmph, just wait and see how you handle this!

Seeing the Crown Prince put away his command token, Tong Guowei stood up decisively.
“Your Highness, since you do not allow me to carry out my duties, then I have no choice but to report to His Majesty.”

After saying that, he turned around and made a move to leave.

"Tong Guowei! The game isn't over yet, why are you making a move? No, no, come and continue watching!"

Shen Ye reacted quickly; how could she let him go?

He grabbed Tong Guowei, his face serious: "Quick, I just had a flash of inspiration, I think I've found a way to break this deadlock!"

Fei Yuanji watched the Crown Prince's unreasonable arguments from the side, his mind racing:
This matter has little to do with me... I hope His Majesty will see the truth and know that I am innocent, so please don't take your anger out on me.

As for Longkodo, he stood obediently to the side, pretending to be a wooden figure.

Unless my father gives the order, I know nothing.

Although Tong Guowei was not young, he was a military man after all, and he still had strength.

But the one who caught him was the young and impetuous crown prince, whose strength was completely ineffective.

Helpless, he was forced back into his seat while shouting at Longkodo, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and go report the news!"

Longkodo then seemed to realize what was happening and rode off on his horse.

Shen Ye watched Longkodo speed away, then glanced at the main hall of the Dali Temple, frowned, but didn't stop him.

Longkodo has a lot of men. If you try to stop one Longkodo, another Zhangkodo or Likodo will pop up. What's the point?
After Longkodo left, Tong Guowei sighed and said, "Your Highness, why did you do this?"

Shen Ye sensed the insincerity in his words and, too lazy to respond, asked while holding the chess piece:
"Prime Minister Tong, don't just sigh. What do you think of my move here? Doesn't it seem like it's bringing the game back from the brink of collapse?"

Seeing that the Crown Prince was still seriously playing the "chess fanatic," Tong Guowei didn't expose him and casually placed a piece.

I thought to myself, "Go ahead and pretend here, let's see if you can still keep up the act later!"

The cold wind howled, and time slipped away little by little.

About half an hour later, the sound of horses' hooves grew louder and louder as they approached from afar.

Shen Ye frowned—

Those who can ride freely within the inner city are definitely not ordinary people.

Judging from the noise, it's not just one or two horses, it's a whole herd of horses running wildly!

Even he, the crown prince, wouldn't dare to be so arrogant normally.

Only Emperor Qianxi himself could have done something like this.

I wonder how the fourth prince's interrogation is going. I hope he doesn't mess things up... Just then, Tong Guowei slowly put down the chess piece, revealing a smile that said the game was over: "Your Highness, this game is over."

"You've run out of options!"

Shen Ye glanced at the chessboard and saw that it was indeed completely blocked.

But the smile on his face didn't fade at all; instead, it became even brighter: "Chess Master Tong's skills are superb. I admire you greatly. Let me think about it some more; maybe a miracle will happen!"

Just as the two were talking, hundreds of riders roared in and rushed up to them.

The one in the lead was none other than the Qianxi Emperor.

After hearing Longkodo's embellished report, Emperor Qianxi was furious.

Even Tong Guowei with his imperial edict couldn't use it; I have to personally intervene, right?

Otherwise, whoever goes will be met with the Crown Prince's "three-part feigned ignorance"—"can't hear, can't see, don't understand"—and he'll shut them down.

He really didn't expect it!
This brat of mine, who usually acts all proper and respectable, is actually the Crown Prince of the court, yet he has such a talent for pretending to be stupid and acting like a scoundrel!

Upon seeing the emperor's arrival, Erlengtai and the others quickly made way for him and knelt more neatly than anyone else.

Orondai sidled up to Tuli Shen and whispered, "Old Tu, our job is probably coming to an end soon."

"If I were the emperor, I would definitely depose this rebellious son!"

Tu Li Shen glanced at him, his mouth tightly shut as if it were stitched up.

"Yunye! You dare to defy my decree!" As soon as Emperor Qianxi dismounted, he roared at Shen Ye.

He was truly enraged this time, his whole body radiating fire. The guards and soldiers around him all knelt down, not daring to utter a sound.

Upon seeing Emperor Qianxi, Shen Ye's expression immediately changed to one of delight:
"Father! What brings you here?"

"Your Majesty, my fourth brother and I were merely interrogating a petty thief who was smuggling disaster relief grain. You already showed enough respect by sending Prime Minister Tong with a golden edict and imperial decree to back us up. Why did you have to come all the way here in person?"

"Your subject is truly flattered and overwhelmed with gratitude!"

As they were talking, Shen Ye came to Emperor Qianxi and respectfully greeted him.

Emperor Qianxi's lips trembled, and his hands shook.

He knew the Crown Prince was putting on an act. If this weren't his own son, he would have dragged him out and given him twenty lashes long ago!
But this was the crown prince, his "good eldest son" whom he had personally trained.

Taking a deep breath to suppress his anger: "Who told you that the golden imperial edict was delivered to you by Tong Guowei at my behest?"

"Father, what did you say? Your son... oh dear, I forgot to take off my earplugs!"

Shen Ye slapped his forehead and laughed innocently, "It's all because Lord Fei Yuanji played chess so well that I plugged my ears in order to concentrate on the game."

Fei Yuanji, caught in the crossfire, cast a mournful glance—

Don't drag me into your father-son feud! I dare not get involved in this mess.

Emperor Qianxi glared at Fei Yuanji, then turned to Shen Ye: "Crown Prince! I ask you, who gave you the audacity to interrogate Kong Shangde on your own?"

"Father, I did not conduct the trial on my own!" Shen Ye answered fluently. "My fourth brother and I conducted the trial at the Dali Temple!"

"My fourth brother is the imperial envoy in charge of disaster relief in Mount Tai. He has uncovered many cases of embezzling money and grain and seizing the property of disaster victims. Kong Shangde was behind it all. Of course, he must be investigated."

"Besides, I think it's reasonable and justifiable to interrogate him—"

"His father, Kong Yujin, was a criminal who committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and Kong Shangde himself has no title. Not to mention my son and fourth brother, even Longkodo could interrogate him!"

Longkodo shrank back, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself on the spot.
Don't drag me into your father-son argument!

Emperor Qianxi never expected that the Crown Prince would not only refuse to admit his mistake, but would also argue back with sound reasoning and evidence!

Without saying a word, they first pinned Kong Shangde down on the pillar of shame as the "son of a traitor" and a "parasite who embezzled disaster relief funds."

With these two serious accusations leveled against him, even if Kong Shangde were beaten to death on the spot, it would be no different than swatting a fly.

The onlookers even had to shout, "Well done!"

His original plan to appoint Kong Shangde as Duke Yansheng was now completely out of the question.

You can't exactly say, "I want this parasite to become the descendant of a saint, can you?"
However, his mind worked quickly, and he soon came to his senses:

It's not time to argue with the Crown Prince yet. When it comes to dealing with the Crown Prince, we need to get Kong Shangde out first!
If some irrefutable evidence is found during the investigation, it will be difficult to overturn the case.

"Longkodo! Go and bring Kong Shangde out!"

Upon hearing this, Tong Guowei was about to rush towards the main hall of the Dali Temple, as if he were not there to rescue people, but to put out a fire!
Just as Shen Ye was pondering how to delay any longer, the Fourth Prince walked out with a serious expression and steady steps.

He bowed to Emperor Qianxi and Shen Ye, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Emperor Qianxi snorted coldly.

The fourth prince glanced at Shen Ye and reported in a deep voice, "Father, Kong Shangde has finished his interrogation."

"Based on witness testimonies and the confessions of the magistrates of the three counties in Taishan, Kong Shangde was indeed one of the masterminds behind the embezzlement of disaster relief funds and grain."

"He has confessed and signed the confession in the face of the evidence. Your son has also obtained the account book of the Kong family forcibly seizing 30,000 mu of farmland during the disaster."

"Your Majesty, I believe that the court must severely punish corrupt officials like Kong Shangde! Only in this way can we set an example for others, warn the world, and prevent such unscrupulous profiteering!"

Emperor Qianxi listened to his impeccable words and knew that it would be too difficult to forcibly clear Kong Shangde's name.

He couldn't help but curse Kong Shangde in his heart: How long has it been and you've already swallowed up 30,000 mu of land? You're really courting death!

But the anger in his chest had already reached its peak.

He nodded to the Fourth Prince, but his eyes were like knives piercing Shen Ye—this rebellious son was determined to go against his father to the very end today!

　The second update for today is here! Dear readers, please support me, please vote for me, please do everything you can!

　
(End of this chapter)