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

Chapter 5 Dazzling Bright Yellow

While the Crown Princess was dealing with Granny Tong, Shen Ye was having breakfast.

Although he was only the crown prince, as the next generation of monarch personally groomed by Emperor Qianxi, and having lost his mother at a young age, the breakfast at Yuqing Palace was still quite sumptuous, only two dishes less than those served to Emperor Qianxi.

Stewed pheasant, four-happiness meatballs, braised pork hock...

Looking at the table full of dishes, Shen Ye felt like she was about to burst into tears.

In his past life, his most extravagant breakfast was a bowl of mutton soup costing thirty yuan, along with two sesame seed cakes.

This breakfast has four or five kinds of soup alone.

Millet porridge, jade rice porridge, shrimp and seaweed soup...

However, just as he was about to wolf down his meal, he felt nauseous.

Shen Ye instantly realized that his body, that of the former crown prince, was already somewhat averse to these dishes.

To put it bluntly, they're just tired of eating it!

Despite feeling nauseous, Shen Ye picked up a chicken leg and was about to put it in his mouth when his stomach began to churn, and the nausea intensified.

Helpless, he could only throw the chicken leg aside, then pick up the most inconspicuous dish of pickled radish and drink a bowl of rice porridge.

It seems the prince's health has truly suffered.

I really need to get some exercise!
Otherwise, let alone his future life of confinement, he probably wouldn't even be able to endure the more than ten years he spent as the crown prince.

"Your Highness, Granny Tong says she has something important to report to you. The Crown Princess dared not act on her own, so she sent someone to inform you," said Zhou Bao, the personal eunuch who served you.

Shen Ye glanced at the wall clock in the room; it was only 8:30 in the morning.

What major event could possibly happen at this time?

He genuinely disliked this greedy Granny Tong, so he flatly refused, saying, "Just tell her I have to go to Cining Palace to pay my respects and I'm busy today!"

Zhou Bao hesitated for a moment before mustering his courage and saying, "Your Highness, Granny Tong said... that the scholars from Shuntian Prefecture are causing trouble!"

What does the trouble caused by the scholars in Shuntian Prefecture have to do with me? I'm not the emperor!

Just as Shen Yesheng had this idea, he suddenly remembered what Granny Tong had told him yesterday about the money collected for the provincial examination.

It seems this is where the problem lies!

That former crown prince is really a pain in the ass. He left me with such a mess right after I transmigrated here.

If the former crown prince were to hear about this, he would certainly be filled with fear and unease.

After all, not long ago, Emperor Qianxi had found a pretext to kill several of his trusted confidants.

If there is cheating in the imperial examinations now, wouldn't that be like adding fuel to the fire?
Although he didn't know how the former crown prince had gotten through this ordeal, Shen Ye didn't intend to investigate. He had already decided to give up, so why waste his energy on something that could be easily overcome?

Moreover, his biggest rival was the Qianxi Emperor.

In the presence of the all-powerful Emperor Qianxi, if he said it was dark, you had to light a lamp; if he said he was sleepy, you had to start snoring.

So Shen Ye waved his hand impatiently and said, "Please ask Granny Tong to go home and rest. Just tell her I already know!"

Looking at Shen Ye's composed expression, Zhou Bao immediately calmed down as well. Although he didn't know what had happened, he sensed from Granny Tong's expression that something serious was going on.

Now, the Crown Prince is so calm, it seems he has a plan in mind.

The Crown Prince is indeed worthy of being called the Crown Prince; he remains calm and composed no matter how big the matter is.

He immediately agreed and quickly left.

After Zhou Bao left, Shen Ye began to ponder the actions of the former Crown Prince in this provincial examination. It seemed that he had given a list of twelve people to Zhang Xuezan, the chief examiner of Shuntian Prefecture and also a Hanlin Academy scholar.

Before becoming a lecturer, Zhang Xuezan was one of the instructors responsible for the Crown Prince's studies. This time, Zhang Xuezan is likely in serious trouble.

As for this money... it seems the former crown prince sent someone to Guangzhou to purchase Western goods.

Just as Shen Ye's thoughts were racing, Zhou Bao walked over again and said, "Your Highness, it's time to pay your respects to His Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye's first reaction was not to go.

Although he had never met Emperor Qianxi, the former crown prince was filled with fear of him.

However, the custom of paying respects to one's parents morning and evening is a rule. If even this basic rule cannot be followed, then it will probably be abolished even faster.

Even though I've already laid down my hands, I still want to do something small to show my appreciation.

So after hesitating for a moment, he waved his hand and said, "Then let's go over there."

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Qianxi, dressed in a yellow robe, was reviewing memorials. At the age of forty-three, Emperor Qianxi was at the peak of his life.

Although he was somewhat thin, he gave off a spirited and energetic vibe.

The calm and composed demeanor he exudes gives the impression that everything is under his control.

"Utter nonsense!" Faced with a memorial filled with a lot of rambling drivel, Emperor Qianxi cursed under his breath, but in the end he still wrote three words in vermilion ink: "Understood."

He put down his pen, rubbed his wrist, and asked, "What is the Crown Prince doing?"

The middle-aged eunuch serving nearby handed over a bowl of freshly brewed tea, saying, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has been spending most of his time in the East Study these past few days."

"Last night, the Crown Prince went to see the Crown Princess and handed over the management of Yuqing Palace to her."

"And instructed the Crown Princess to arrange for Granny Tong to go home and rest, and not to go to Yuqing Palace unless it is a holiday."

The fact that this middle-aged eunuch could recount the events that occurred at Yuqing Palace so clearly indicates that he had many informants within the palace.

Upon hearing this report, Emperor Qianxi smiled slightly: "He's not too muddle-headed after all."

However, after saying that, he added with dissatisfaction, "Why didn't you do that earlier!"

The middle-aged eunuch quickly lowered his head, trying to conceal any expression. However, a chill ran through him.

His Majesty is becoming increasingly harsh on the Crown Prince.

If this continues, will the crown prince still be able to successfully ascend the throne?

This thought sent a chill down his spine. Fortunately, just then, a young eunuch tiptoed in and announced, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has come to pay his respects."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianxi said to the middle-aged eunuch, "Liang Jiugong, go and invite the Crown Prince in."

Liang Jiugong didn't dare to say anything more and quickly came to the outside of the hall. The first thing that caught his eye was a bright yellow.

It was the same bright yellow as the dragon robe worn by Emperor Qianxi!

In the past, Liang Jiugong had seen the Crown Prince wear this color robe more than once, but today, he found it a bit jarring.

However, he knew even better that this was not something he could worry about.

So he approached Shen Ye and respectfully said, "Your Highness, His Majesty invites you in."

Shen Ye didn't have a deep impression of Liang Jiugong, but the former Crown Prince knew the status of this Grand Eunuch of Qianqing Palace and had always tried to win Liang Jiugong over.

Although Shen Ye did not intend to win over Liang Jiugong, nor did he want to create enemies for his peaceful endeavors, he immediately said casually, "Thank you, Steward Liang."

As they spoke, they headed toward the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Although the former crown prince had many memories of Emperor Qianxi, at this moment, he was quite eager to meet the famous Emperor Qianxi.

Let's see what he really looks like!
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(End of this chapter)