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

Chapter 8 mainly focuses on a relaxed attitude.

Shen Ye was somewhat dazed when he came out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

When he met with Emperor Qianxi, although he answered questions in an orderly manner, he was also analyzing the relationship between Emperor Qianxi and the Crown Prince with the eyes of an observer.

Or rather, he was analyzing Emperor Qianxi's attitude toward the crown prince.

It would be wrong to say that the current Emperor Qianxi has no feelings for the Crown Prince.

After all, Crown Prince Yunye was raised by Emperor Qianxi.

When Yunye contracted smallpox, this iron-fisted emperor even skipped court sessions to personally take care of him.

Emperor Qianxi always tried his best to fulfill the Crown Prince's requests.

It can be said that at this time, Emperor Qianxi still had a lot of affection for Crown Prince Yunye.

However, at this moment, this kinship is being replaced by something called fear.

The increasingly impressive and ambitious Crown Prince had already made Emperor Qianxi feel a deep sense of threat.

He did not want to follow in the footsteps of Li Yuan and Li Longji, and even less did he want to become the unfortunate Tuoba Gui or Li Yuanhao!

So gradually, he will take action against the crown prince.

With absolute monarchical power and the monarch's centralized authority at its peak, coupled with a dozen or so ruthless brothers eyeing the scene like wolves, it was simply impossible to repeat the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Therefore, it would be better to take advantage of the fact that Emperor Qianxi still had some feelings for the former crown prince, and to gain as many benefits as possible, so that his days of lying low would not be so boring.

"Your Highness, shall we return to the palace next, or..." Zhou Bao asked cautiously.

Although he didn't witness Shen Ye meeting Emperor Qianxi, the Crown Prince's silence after leaving the palace made him somewhat uneasy.

Shen Ye glanced at the sky, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Let's go to Cining Palace."

The Cining Palace was where the Empress Dowager lived. Although she was not Emperor Qianxi's biological mother, she was Emperor Shizong's empress and Emperor Qianxi's legal mother.

Emperor Qianxi, whose birth mother had died, was extremely filial to his stepmother.

In the past, after Crown Prince Yunye realized that the Empress Dowager's favorite was the Fifth Prince, who was raised in Cining Palace, he began to visit Cining Palace to pay his respects every five or ten days, as was customary.

Instead of going every day like when I was a child.

Now, Shen Ye has decided to pay her respects every day. Although it may not be effective, it is much better than not going at all.

Isn’t it strange that there are so many people?

After all, this old grandmother was able to live until after she was deposed for the second time.

She was also one of the few people who could be spoken to.

Cining Palace is not too far from Yangxin Hall. When Shen Ye arrived at Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager had just finished breakfast.

Although the Empress Dowager was somewhat surprised by Yunye's arrival, she still graciously had him invited in.

When Shen Ye entered the main hall of Cining Palace, he not only saw the Empress Dowager chatting with an elderly concubine, but also a young man standing beside her.

The young man was dressed in the robes of a duke, and his chubby face wore a rather simple and honest smile.

After Shen Ye paid his respects to the Empress Dowager according to protocol, he bowed respectfully and said, "Your subject greets the Crown Prince."

Seeing that the Fifth Prince Yunqi was about to kneel, Yunye quickly reached out and helped his younger brother up.

This younger brother of the emperor has no desire to compete for the throne, and he is the apple of the Empress Dowager's eye, whom she raised herself. Why would he come here and ask her to pay her respects? Wouldn't that just make the Empress Dowager unhappy for no reason?
So he smiled and said, "Fifth brother, it is only right for us to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager. We are brothers, so there is no need to stand on ceremony."

As he spoke, he patted Yunqi's somewhat broad shoulder, thinking to himself, "How wonderful it would be if I could travel back in time and become this person!"

He had no choice but to give up, while Yunqi had been giving up from the very beginning and had lived a peaceful and uneventful life.

With the Empress Dowager's protection and his ability to play dumb, he lived a very comfortable life!
"Your subject wouldn't dare," Yunqi said respectfully, somewhat surprised by the Crown Prince's affectionate gesture of patting his shoulder.

Shen Ye didn't continue speaking. He didn't want to win over this fifth brother; it wasn't worth the trouble.

After inquiring about the Empress Dowager's health, Shen Ye prepared to take his leave.

Although he harbored the idea of ​​cultivating a powerful backer, Shen Ye knew that a single act of paying respects was far from sufficient; it required persistent, gradual effort. Expecting to achieve the desired effect in one or two attempts was simply impossible.

The Empress Dowager did not linger and had Yunqi escort Shen Ye out of Cining Palace.

As they walked out of the palace gates, Yunqi casually asked, "Your Highness, my fourth brother is hosting a banquet at noon today for his eldest son, who was born out of wedlock, to celebrate his one-month birthday. Are you going?"

Fourth brother?

Shen Ye immediately thought of that cold-faced king who always had a cold face and acted as if everyone owed him eight hundred yuan.

To be honest, before he traveled through time, he admired this person quite a bit.

After all, he was the greatest contributor to the Kangxi and Qianlong era in a parallel universe.

The father is generous and spends money like water, and the son, needless to say, spends money like a landslide or tsunami!

Thanks to his hard work over the past decade, the company's finances did not collapse.

Furthermore, the future crown prince will still have to rely on others for his livelihood.

So after a moment's hesitation, he smiled and said, "My fourth brother's family has a new addition, so of course I have to go."

"Let's have a good drink together, brothers."

Yunqi asked this question simply to make conversation.

After all, she was accompanying the Crown Prince, so she couldn't just remain silent.

In his memory, the Crown Prince, in order to highlight his distinction and the difference between ruler and subject, would generally not attend such banquets.

At most, they would bestow a small gift, like an elder would.

"Then I will await Your Highness's arrival." Yunqi said calmly, though he was puzzled.

Looking at Yunqi with her head down, Shen Ye felt even more envious.

If I were to transmigrate into this person's body, I might even be able to challenge for the throne.

It's a pity that for a crown prince who has been feared by the emperor for many years, the difficulty of becoming emperor is simply too great.

The thought that Emperor Qianxi would remain emperor for another twenty years chilled him to the bone.

"Didn't I say we're all brothers?"

"At the court assembly, Fifth Brother, you may address him as you would normally."

"But in private, you can just call me Second Brother."

After saying this, Shen Ye hugged the brother's shoulder and then left Cining Palace.

As Yunqi watched Shen Ye leave, she became increasingly puzzled by his actions. However, having lived by the Empress Dowager's side for many years, she knew that there were some things she should not pursue.

Inside the Cining Palace, the concubine who had been chatting with the Empress Dowager had already left. Seeing Yunqi return, the Empress Dowager waved for her attendants to leave before saying, "Isn't it a little strange?"

The Empress Dowager did not say what was strange.

Yunqi said respectfully, "Grandmother, I am also somewhat surprised."

The Empress Dowager said, "One learns from one's mistakes. When a person suffers a loss, they should always change their ways."

"But you must remember, there are some things that are not for you to meddle in."

"All you need to do is study hard, have children, and live your own carefree life..."

At this point, a shadow crossed the Empress Dowager's eyes.

She thought of the middle-aged man who had come to pay his respects half an hour earlier; he was also dressed in bright yellow, walked with a brisk pace, and exuded a heroic and spirited air…

"Hey!"

With a sigh, the Empress Dowager fell silent.

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(End of this chapter)