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

Chapter 494 Where I am, that place is the Eastern Palace (Bonus chapter for the Alliance Leader)
What was the most enjoyable time for the Crown Prince? It had to be the day of the New Year's Day court ceremony!
On this day, all the civil and military officials first performed the three kowtows and nine prostrations to Emperor Qianxi, knocking so hard that the floor was almost dented.

After the emperor finished his business, everyone had to turn around and bow twice and six times to the crown prince.

The only difference is that the thunderous shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" have been replaced with "Long live the Crown Prince!"

Although it's only a third less than the emperor's, in the whole world, only the crown prince can enjoy this treatment!
What does this mean? It means that the one sitting on the crown prince's throne is the undisputed heir to the throne!
Prince, Duke, Grand Secretary...

On this day, during the court ceremony, everyone was referred to as "your subject"!
Only the emperor and the crown prince can act as "rulers" on this day!
Therefore, the New Year's Day court ceremony was more than just a ritual for the Crown Prince.

That's a walking experience card for becoming the crown prince, a symbol of status, and a very prestigious event.

After listening to Li Guangdi's report, Shen Ye's mind raced as he tried to figure out what Emperor Qianxi meant.

The emperor could have easily decided this himself, but he didn't; instead, he had Li Guangdi come and ask him.

Isn't this just forcing me to back down and admit defeat?

Yuqing Palace was the proper place to receive homage; the Crown Prince had always received rites there.

If Yuqing Palace is chosen again this time, it means everything will remain the same, and the position of Crown Prince will be as secure as ever.

But now, he was "driven" out of Yuqing Palace by Emperor Qianxi.

If they choose to go back to receive congratulations, wouldn't that be tantamount to submitting to Emperor Qianxi?
Shen Ye had really had enough of Emperor Qianxi.

In the Kong family affair, I was clearly the one who was wronged!
I dealt with Kong Shangde, and he immediately kicked me out of Yuqing Palace.

You want me to bow down now? That's as absurd as slapping you and then asking yourself if your hand hurts!

Who knows how they'll manipulate me in the future!

Besides, there's a good chance it will be abolished in the future.

Rather than begging for mercy now, you'd be better off living a comfortable life in my garden!

Thinking of this, Shen Ye blurted out, "Then let's set it here."

Before Li Guangdi arrived, he thought the Crown Prince would definitely choose Yuqing Palace.

After all, that place represents orthodoxy!
Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince chose the Prince of Qingqiu's residence, leaving Li Guangdi completely dumbfounded.

After pausing for two seconds, he quickly advised, "Your Highness, receiving court congratulations here... this is not proper!"

After saying the words that it was unreasonable, he quickly added, "His Majesty is in the Qianqing Palace, while you have always been in the Yuqing Palace."

"Although it's not explicitly stated in writing, it's been the practice for many years."

"If you weren't at Yuqing Palace, but instead at Prince Qingqiu's residence, who knows how much gossip would be circulating outside!"

"Your Highness, you bear the hopes of the entire nation; you must not act impulsively!"

Li Guangdi's words were already quite straightforward—

Your Highness, Your Highness, you are the future ruler. At this critical juncture, you must not go against your father. It will not do you any good!

Shen Ye smiled and said, "I appreciate Teacher Li's kindness."

"But there are some things I just can't back down on."

“Teacher Li, I became the Crown Prince not because I sit in Yuqing Palace to become the heir apparent.”

"It is because of me, the Crown Prince, that Yuqing Palace is Yuqing Palace."

He paused, then said with a smile, "Or rather, wherever I am, that is Yuqing Palace."

Li Guangdi hesitated for a moment, but still braced himself and said, "Your Highness is right, but I still have a few more words to add."

His expression turned serious: "Your Highness, although His Majesty is broad-minded, His Majesty is still His Majesty."

"He is not only the emperor, but also your father!"

As the old saying goes, "The way of Yao and Shun begins with filial piety and brotherly love!"

"While serving the country, the Crown Prince must also uphold the principles of filial piety and brotherly love."

"Only in this way can you have everything go smoothly and have a clear path ahead!"

Li Guang's words were subtle, but his meaning was clear:

If you want to be a secure and stable crown prince, you have to be a dutiful son.

Only if you demonstrate filial piety will Emperor Qianxi allow you to remain in this position.

The principle is correct, but many things are not as simple as they seem.

Take the most recent example: he was both acting as regent and preparing military funds, and he also vigorously promoted the practice of officials and gentry paying taxes together.

Wasn't everything I did for the court and for Emperor Qianxi?
But what was the result? Emperor Qianxi not only discarded me after I had served my purpose, but also tried to take the opportunity to make more enemies for me.

Shen Ye simply couldn't swallow this insult.

He smiled and said to Li Guang, "Lord Li's words are all reasonable and wise, and I have benefited greatly from them."

"However, Lord Li, I do have a temper."

"Tell me, which of the things I've done has wronged the imperial court?"

"Now that I've left Yuqing Palace, I don't plan to go back. I just want some peace and quiet."

As he spoke, he pointed to his garden: "My garden has beautiful scenery and is very convenient for living."

"If I can't help the world, then I'll just stay here and be a recluse... no, a hermit is fine too."

Looking at the Crown Prince, who seemed to be saying, "I need to reason with my father," Li Guangdi felt a sense of helplessness.

Although the crown prince is intelligent, he is still too young!

You've been the crown prince for over twenty years, and you still don't see how healthy your father is!
He is currently in high spirits and full of energy.

If you confront him head-on and fight him head-on, isn't that like riding a fine horse and galloping down the road to becoming the deposed crown prince? But on second thought, the crown prince's grievances are understandable.

Li Guangdi had seen everything the Crown Prince had done during this period.

Whether it was promoting taxation by officials and gentry as a whole, or responding to the Taishan earthquake and raising funds for military expenses, they did it all brilliantly and efficiently.

This is probably one of the reasons why the emperor wanted to support the Kong family to restrain the crown prince.

Of course, this is also one of the reasons why Emperor Qianxi could still tolerate the crown prince.

Fearing that continuing to persuade him would only add fuel to the fire, Li Guangdi quickly stopped himself and changed his tune:
"Your Highness, you should take a nap and think about this matter again!"

"I'll hold off on reporting to His Majesty regarding the Ministry of Rites for now."

"Just say you are still carefully considering it and haven't made a decision yet."

"I'll come back tomorrow to ask for your confirmation. If you're still so adamant then, I'll have no choice but to bite the bullet and report the truth to His Majesty."

Although Shen Ye had already made up his mind, Li Guangdi was, after all, a kind person, and he was not ungrateful.

Seeing Li Guangdi's worried expression, he smiled and said, "Lord Li, thank you very much."

"Yunye will remember this kindness."

Li Guangdi knew he couldn't stay long at the Crown Prince's place, and even though he was a Grand Secretary, he had to avoid suspicion, so he got up to take his leave.

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Lord Li, please wait a moment. It's just a small gift; please don't refuse."

As he spoke, he winked at Zhou Bao.

Having served the Crown Prince for a long time, Zhou Bao had long since developed a keen eye for talent.

He immediately took out a stack of brown papers from the small cabinet behind Shen Ye and handed them over.

When Li Guangdi saw it, he was first stunned, then realized: this should be Yuqing gold notes.

However, unlike the hundred-tael denomination notes, this stack of gold notes is smaller and a different color.

Shen Ye handed ten bills to Li Guangdi: "Teacher Li, these are the new Yuqing Gold Notes issued by Yuqing Bank."

"It's only a ten-tael note!"

"Compared to the 100-tael note, this one is smaller, and the anti-counterfeiting mark is not as obvious."

"Its main anti-counterfeiting features are the gold thread embedded inside and this special paper." Shen Ye took out a sheet and handed it to Li Guangdi for a closer look.

The ten-tael Yuqing gold note is indeed not as exquisite as the one-hundred-tael note, but when you hold it in your hand, the paper is crisp and the texture is still quite good.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Holding the ten taels of gold notes, Li Guangdi couldn't help but think of the hundred taels of gold notes and the one tael of silver dollar.

These things, on the surface, are new gadgets created to make it easier to spend money.

But Li Guangdi always felt that there was an extraordinary power hidden inside.

But he couldn't say exactly what it was.

“Grand Secretary Li, it’s really no big deal to give you this whole stack; it’s only a thousand taels of silver.”

Shen Ye said with a smile, "Giving you one hundred taels is a token of our master-disciple relationship, and no one can gossip about it."

"Giving too much can easily make people overthink things."

"Teacher Li, you can take it and play with it!"

After thanking him, Li Guangdi turned and took his leave.

However, when he reached the door, he couldn't help but stop and say, "Your Highness, I heard that His Majesty has bestowed upon you a copy of the Zizhi Tongjian."

"Your Highness may wish to read more of this when you have some free time."

After saying that, he waved the Yuqing gold notes in his hand and exclaimed, "With ten thousand strings of cash around my waist, I can ride a crane down to Yangzhou!"

"With these Yuqing gold notes, I'm going to spend them quite a bit today!"

Watching Li Guangdi's departing figure, Shen Ye sighed softly.

This Mr. Li is incredibly clever; he's truly mastered the art of speaking with hidden meanings!
Knowing that there are some things that are inconvenient to say directly right now, they actually reminded me in this way.

The passage in the Zizhi Tongjian about Emperor Yang of Sui and his deposed crown prince Yang Yong is telling me not to follow Yang Yong's example!
However, Shen Ye had his own plans regarding this matter. He could only put Li Guangdi's good intentions aside for the time being.

Sure enough, Li Guangdi came again the next day, but he didn't see Shen Ye.

Only Zhou Bao stood blocking the doorway, smiling as he offered a three-word reply: "No changes!"

Li Guangdi muttered these three words to himself, feeling a pang of bitterness in his heart.

I tried everything I could, but the Crown Prince remained stubborn!
This prince has such a stubborn temper!
My role as a mediator is like trying to break up a fight between two stubborn oxen—both of them are kicking me!

Despite his helplessness, Li Guangdi, with a heart utterly disheartened, personally went to the Qianqing Palace to report the crown prince's selection to Emperor Qianxi.

Upon hearing that the Crown Prince would receive New Year's Day greetings at the Prince of Qingqiu's residence, Emperor Qianxi sneered twice.

"Great, excellent! Received congratulations at the Prince of Qingqiu's residence? He's utterly unrepentant!"

"In that case, issue an imperial decree: the army will be on a large expedition, which will be extremely costly."

"This year's military expenditure is too high, so we will keep everything simple for the New Year's Day celebrations."

"Just hold the court ceremonies at the Qianqing Palace and Cining Palace; cancel all other procedures."

Li Guangdi knew the emperor's reaction would be anything but calm, but he hadn't expected the Qianxi Emperor to be so resolute.

They say they'll "keep everything simple," but anyone with eyes can see that:
There were three New Year's court ceremonies: paying respects to the Emperor at Qianqing Palace, paying respects to the Empress Dowager at Cining Palace, and paying respects to the Crown Prince at Yuqing Palace.

The first two matches proceeded as scheduled, but the third match was canceled... Isn't it obvious who they're cutting?
　An extra chapter is here! Thank you so much to the first patron of this book for their generous support! Please vote!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)