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

Chapter 522 It's not yours, you took it and it's a hot potato.
As soon as Feng Heshun said this, the whole room erupted in a buzz of excitement.

Su Mahu had just sat down, lifting his robe, and hadn't even tasted the tea when he heard someone shouting at the top of their lungs:
"Our old-established family in the Imperial Household Department will remain inactive for now, but the next round of Crown Prince selection will be dominated by imperial relatives!"

Someone nearby immediately chimed in:
"This is nothing! This is only the second round. There's a third round coming up, where it's open to all the wealthy merchants in the world!"

"Lord Feng, do you think we can hold them off? What if we end up not even getting a hot bowl of soup?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Heshun not only wasn't angry, but instead straightened his back, his voice radiating a smug "I expected this all along" attitude:

"My lords, the concerns you have are things that we have already considered!"

"Which family in our Imperial Household Department hasn't been related to more than 80% of the imperial relatives by marriage? Those are blood relatives!"

At this point, he deliberately glanced at Su Mahu out of the corner of his eye:
"Leaving aside distant examples, let's talk about Lord Su Mahou's family—they are Prime Minister Tong's legitimate in-laws!"

"When Lord Su Mahu meets Prime Minister Tong, he has to respectfully address him as 'Uncle'!"

"Furthermore, Lord Fuyuan is Minister Ma Qi's legitimate cousin, and..."

Feng Heshun listed four or five families in a row, all of whom were outstanding figures among the imperial relatives.

Su Mahu smiled obsequiously, but cursed inwardly:
You, Feng Heshun!

Using my family as a typical example? Isn't this clearly an attempt to make my family do all the work?

But they couldn't openly break off relations, so they had to force a smile while secretly rolling their eyes.

Feng Heshun got more and more excited as he spoke, and patted his chest to guarantee it:

"These in-laws, can they really just stand by and watch us fall? Impossible!"

“Let’s each pass on a message, and they’ll definitely stay out of this contracted situation.”

"As for those wealthy merchants outside, ha, they're nothing more than dogs scavenging for our scraps!"

"Give them a heads-up—if anyone dares to stick their paw into our rice bowl, I'll chop off their dog paw!"

As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately chimed in to support him:

"Lord Feng is right! Those bastards who wag their tails and beg for food, do they even deserve to compete with us?"

"As long as we stick together, let's see which royal relative dares to disrespect us!"

"Just you wait and see, this contract is definitely going to fall through!"

Su Mahu felt extremely uneasy.

Although he felt the plan was a bit risky, Feng Heshun's words weren't entirely unreasonable—what if it actually worked?

After a few rounds of drinks, a rough action plan was actually devised:

In addition to winning over more families of the Imperial Household Department to ensure they do not participate in the contracting, they also need to visit their respective in-laws and tell them not to get involved in the Imperial Household Department's mess.
Furthermore, wealthy merchants from various regions also had to send people to give them a warning.

We must not relax our efforts in maintaining relations within the palace; we must also intensify our actions.

Spread the word to Emperor Qianxi and the Empress Dowager, saying that contracting out the land would cause chaos within the Imperial Household Department...

With a belly full of alcohol and a heart full of trepidation, Su Mahu went home in a daze.

Although he wasn't the mastermind, he was already calculating in his mind: if this really went through, the benefits would be substantial.

Feng Heshun didn't want to give up the easy money he had already made, and Su Mahu certainly couldn't bear to part with it either!
Not to mention, half of the money earned each year would first be paid as a contract fee to the Emperor, and the other half would be given as a tribute to that "cousin" Tong Guowei...

"Why? All of these should have been mine!" he muttered through gritted teeth, seething with resentment.

But how can I bring this up with my uncle?

Su Mago regretted that he had been too impatient.

He tossed and turned for most of the night, the two little figures in his mind locked in a fierce battle.

After much thought, I've decided to tell the truth:
They said it was a decision made jointly by all the departments of the Imperial Household Department, and everyone decided to resist it because it was an inevitable trend and they couldn't go against it. They had no other choice.

As for the benefits... we can first offer my uncle a promise, since it's not up to him to decide.

The next day, Su Mahu reluctantly went to see Tong Guowei.

Tong Guowei was initially quite polite because of their working relationship.

But after listening to Su Mahu's hesitant and half-truthful "joint resolution," a mocking smile appeared on his face.

He knew that these people in the Imperial Household Department were arrogant, but he, Tong Guowei, never expected them to be so arrogant!
They've all been spoiled by the Emperor and forgotten their own limitations!

Tong Guowei remained calm and composed, his smile even becoming more amiable:

“Su Mahu, since it is the common will of all the departments of your Imperial Household Department, I will naturally not stop you.”

“My Tong family is large and wealthy, with plenty of businesses, and we don’t need to worry about food.”

"You... better watch yourselves."

After saying that, he picked up his teacup and saw the guest out!

Su Mahu stood there, stunned, swallowing back all the words he wanted to say, which made his chest feel tight.

He had planned everything meticulously, but he never expected Tong Guowei to be so easy to talk to!
This made him spend most of the night carefully considering his words and rehearsing his expressions, but none of it came in handy.

As Su Mahu walked out of the Tong residence, his heart felt heavy, not at all relieved.

Isn't this reaction a little too quiet?
But no sooner had he left than Yue Xing'a, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, heard the news.

Although Yue Xing'a could not be said to have completely controlled the Imperial Household Department, he must have had a few trusted confidants under his command.
Feng Heshun and his group made such a big fuss that it couldn't be kept from him at all.

After thinking for a while, Yue Xinga turned around and went to discuss it with Ma Qi.

After listening, Ma Qi didn't even raise his eyelids, and simply said:

"Steward Yue, remember this: do whatever the Crown Prince says." "Don't meddle in anything else."

"Let those old men do whatever they want, why are you getting involved?"

He then patted Yue Xing'a on the shoulder:

"Some people are courting death and insist on walking into the line of fire. Are you going to stop them from realizing their dreams?"

Yue Xing'a shrank his neck, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"My lord, are you saying that the Crown Prince... is going to get serious?"

"It's not just serious; it's likely to employ ruthless methods!"

Ma Qi sneered, "This time, the Crown Prince will definitely teach the Imperial Household Department a lesson they won't forget!"

"However, after this incident, the major families of the Imperial Household Department will probably hate the Crown Prince to the core from now on!"

Yue Xing'a quickly cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your guidance, sir. I understand now. I am just a brick; I will move wherever the Crown Prince points!"

Compared to Yue Xing'a's vigilance, Prince Ping, Narsu, and Chiluntai, the two chief stewards of the Imperial Household Department, put on a very good show:
Pretend to know nothing, each go about their own business, and offend no one.

He neither got involved with the crown prince nor offended those powerful figures.

The network of relationships within the Imperial Household Department was more intertwined than the roots of an old tree. Coupled with the fact that it was the New Year and relatives were visiting each other frequently, their attitude spread throughout the capital in just a few days.

The imperial relatives and officials found out, and the civil officials also heard about it.

People came to Zhang Ying's residence in an endless stream to pay their New Year's respects.

For example, Inspector General Chen Tingjing and Liu Shixun, who served in the Southern Study, were both present.

Zhang Ying, dressed in plain clothes and with a solemn expression, took a sip of tea and looked at Chen Tingjing:

"Lord Chen, have you been corresponding with Lord Zhang Yushu lately?"

Chen Tingjing chuckled and said, "It's just exchanging greetings during the holidays!"

"Alas, just last year I was drinking and chatting happily with Brother Yushu, and now we're worlds apart..."

"Life is truly unpredictable."

Zhang Ying also smiled and said, "It is precisely because life is unpredictable that we should cherish each other even more."

"When you write to Brother Yushu next time, you might as well advise him to write more books and establish his own theories in his hometown and to pay less attention to trivial matters—otherwise, his scholarship will be difficult to improve."

Chen Tingjing's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, but he still smiled and said, "Yes, yes, but Brother Yushu has always been a man of his own mind, and I'm afraid I can't persuade him!"

The two chatted back and forth, seemingly amicable on the surface, but their words were actually loaded with hidden meanings:
Zhang Ying instructed Chen Tingjing to warn Zhang Yushu not to cause trouble in Jiangnan;

Chen Tingjing was implying to Zhang Ying that Zhang Yushu was already a prominent figure in Jiangnan and might not be willing to listen to him.

Zhang Ying was furious, but since she was too far away to do anything about it, she couldn't lash out. So she could only speak frankly and clearly:
"Jiangnan must not be thrown into chaos. If it becomes too chaotic, we will be the ones who suffer in the end."

"The imperial court will surely send troops to suppress the Taihu rebels soon, and we should support them."

"We can't raise a tiger that will eventually become a threat, can we?"

Chen Tingjing hesitated for a moment, then took a different turn in the conversation:

“Brother Zhang is right, we cannot raise a tiger to cause trouble. However…should we also advise His Majesty that the taxes in Jiangnan are already the heaviest in the country, and that they should be appropriately reduced?”

"Otherwise, the number of thieves will only increase."

Zhang Ying's head was buzzing: How come the whole court is full of such incompetent teammates!

I'm racking my brains trying to figure out how to quietly cover up the scandal of Ge Li's murder!

You guys are really something, even when things are at their most desperate, you still want to squeeze a few more sheep out of His Majesty?
Was Emperor Qianxi the kind of person who would tolerate injustice? If this continues, everyone will be in trouble—

It's true what they say: good advice is hard to persuade a damned devil, and good food is hard to feed a headless person!

He was about to retort when Liu Shixun casually interjected:

“Grand Secretary, what the Censor-in-Chief said makes sense.”

"Things in Jiangnan should be reported."

"Look at those big shots in the Imperial Household Department. If you touch a piece of meat in their bowl, they'll unite and cause a huge uproar. Are you saying we're less united than them?"

Upon hearing the mention of the Imperial Household Department, Zhang Ying burst into laughter in anger:
"Unity? That's called banding together to commit suicide! Those old men have been spoiled by His Majesty. Do they really think the Forbidden City is their own private home?"

"Just wait and see, the Crown Prince will not hold back this time—they're going to suffer a terrible defeat!"

Chen Tingjing immediately understood that Zhang Ying's words were both a blatant insult to the Imperial Household Department and a warning to himself and his men.

He immediately retorted without any politeness: "The Imperial Household Department is not just one person; it consists of His Majesty's bondservants and close associates."

“If the Crown Prince is killed too ruthlessly, His Majesty may not say anything now, but it will surely cause trouble in the future.”

"I refuse to believe that the Crown Prince would dare to take all the grudges upon himself and kill indiscriminately!"

Although Zhang Ying didn't like hearing it, she knew he was telling the truth.

But now the Imperial Household Department is in an uproar, causing chaos. If the Crown Prince doesn't take decisive action, this plan will definitely fall through.

Given this situation... what choice will the Crown Prince make?

Is it ruthless indifference, or a subtle approach that achieves maximum effect with minimal effort?
Zhang Ying picked up her teacup, using the rising steam to conceal her expression, but couldn't help but mutter to herself:
This year's holiday was more tiring than going to court!

　Hey everyone, here's the first update of the day! Double votes again, please support me!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)