The emperor has now witnessed firsthand what it means for an abacus bead to fall right in someone's face!
But Ye Jingchen's actions weren't a conspiracy; they were an open and blatant scheme!
To put it nicely, Ye Jingyu went to fulfill his filial duty; to put it bluntly, he went to freeload.
But how could the Ji family not like their grandson, who looked just like their daughter, was well-behaved and sensible, had no ulterior motives, and was like a little sun?
Liking someone shouldn't just be something you say; you definitely need to show it.
The Ji family might even feel guilty, as they are bound by family rules and cannot fight for the supreme position for Ye Jingyu.
If they really think that way, they will definitely try to compensate Ye Jingyu in other ways.
The compensation from the Ji family, whether it's gold, silver, land, or shops, may not mean much to the Ji family, but to others, it's an immense fortune!
If Ye Jingyu weren't so young, and if the journey from the capital to Yongzhou weren't so long and fraught with danger and uncertainty, Ye Jingchen would have long ago encouraged him to go to his maternal grandparents' home to fulfill his filial duties.
After considering Ye Jingyu's character, the emperor had to admit that this cunning plan worked, because for Ye Jingyu, he was really just going to his maternal grandparents' home to fulfill his filial duty on behalf of his mother.
He was somewhat tempted, but this was not without its drawbacks.
"Your plan is quite clever, but people's hearts are unpredictable. His status is what it is. Although he has no intention of competing and the Ji family will not compete for him, other aristocratic families will want to compete for him. In that case, the situation in the court will become even more chaotic."
"Your Majesty, I don't only have these two younger brothers. Don't I also have the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh imperial brothers? They can all go to the Six Ministries for training. Let those with ulterior motives choose sides! No matter how powerful a force is, it will be weakened after being divided into six parts. Then, Father Emperor can just sit back and watch the tigers fight. After those with ulterior motives have fought to the death, you can reap the benefits. Wouldn't that be fun?" Ye Jingchen said, smiling like a little fox who had just stolen some cream.
The emperor had always known that his crown prince was very intelligent, but he was still shocked when he heard Ye Jingchen's words.
This cannot be described simply by the word 'intelligent'!
He didn't have this kind of vision when he was fourteen, let alone twenty-four!
Even though he is now thirty-four years old and has been in a high position for a long time, he occasionally has such thoughts, but he does not dare to put these thoughts into practice.
He was afraid of messing things up.
But his crown prince didn't seem worried at all.
Is it that a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger, or does he really have the confidence to avoid collapse?
The emperor preferred the former, but his son Chen'er was very perceptive, so the latter was not out of the question.
"So you've always refused to show your abilities to the court officials because you want to hide your talents?" the emperor asked thoughtfully.
Ye Jingchen wanted this misunderstanding, so he went along with it, saying, "If the Crown Prince is too powerful, this show can't go on."
If the emperor had thought about it more carefully, he would have realized that the argument of 'concealing one's talents' was untenable.
Ye Jingchen's position as crown prince is as secure as Mount Tai, so why would he need to hide his talents?
Or rather, who is he trying to guard against by 'hiding his talents'?
But if it's not intentional concealment, then it's just laziness.
Rather than believing that his crown prince was lazy, the emperor preferred to believe that his crown prince was hiding his true abilities.
"But if the Crown Prince's power is weak and no one is willing to follow him, what will you use to compete with your brothers?" the emperor reminded him.
There's nothing wrong with hiding your talents, but the real danger is making things worse by trying to be clever.
"I only pretend in front of outsiders, not in front of my brothers. Don't they know whether I'm weak or not? They know I'm fishing, so they'll only cooperate with me and won't have any other thoughts. Besides, even if no one follows me, I still have the strongest backing of the Great Abyss. What's there to be afraid of?" Ye Jingchen replied confidently.
The phrase "the strongest support" pleased him, and he smiled with satisfaction.
He was wary of the alliance between the powerful families and nobles, but if they were to truly split up because of the princes, it would be a good thing, as he would ultimately be the only one to benefit.
"Then I will wait a little longer. Once you come of age, you can no longer hide your talents like you do now," the emperor said with a smile.
"Father, rest assured, I am aware of the responsibilities I bear, and I will not slack off for even a day!" Ye Jingchen patted his chest and assured him.
After appeasing his father, the Crown Prince, who claimed he dared not slack off, turned around and, because he had stayed up too late reading storybooks the night before, dozed off in Yan Xu's class the next day. Yan Xu caught him red-handed and even complained to the Emperor.
The emperor thought Ye Jingchen was deliberately implementing his grand plan of concealing his true abilities, so he pretended to reprimand him in front of Yan Xu, and then gave the Crown Prince a lot of gifts.
After the emperor's approval, Ye Jingming became Yan Xu's apprentice and entered the Ministry of Personnel for training.
However, because he was still young, he only held the position of a manager.
The head of the Ministry of Personnel was only a sixth-rank official, mainly responsible for the management of civil officials. However, he was both a prince and Yan Xu's disciple, so who in the Ministry of Personnel would dare to look down on him?
Not only did no one in the Ministry of Personnel dare to underestimate him, but the political climate in the imperial court also shifted.
The Ministry of Personnel was originally the head of the Six Ministries. Yan Xu was the Minister of Personnel and the leader of the Qingliu faction. The emperor was also quite lenient with him, and his influence in the court was no less than that of Wang Xiang.
For someone of his high rank and power to accept the Second Prince as his disciple is a significant act in this era, where the relationship between master and disciple is equivalent to that between father and son. To those with ulterior motives, Yan Xu's behavior was seen as a sign that he was taking sides.
The Crown Prince has yet to gain a notable reputation, while the Second Prince already has the support of the Minister of Personnel. By all accounts, the Second Prince is the better choice.
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