Prince 07

When Fang Zhiyi returned to his estate, Prince Xiang was triumphantly leading people to move the memorials and official documents out of his place. Seeing Fang Zhiyi return, Prince Xiang bowed and said, "His Royal Highness has returned? Didn't I hear that you were sick?"

His eyes were full of the smugness of having caught Fang Zhiyi deceiving the Emperor.

Fang Zhiyi shrugged his shoulders. "Are you stupid? When has my health ever been good? Besides, if I had gone, how would the old man have an excuse to let you act as regent today?"

Prince Xiang was taken aback and smiled awkwardly. "Then I suppose I must thank the Crown Prince..."

"It is I who should thank you." Fang Zhiyi patted Prince Xiang on the shoulder. "Keep it up, work hard, and if you become the Emperor in the future, remember to grant your eldest brother a good fiefdom."

"Uh..."

At this time, Prince Xiang had not yet realized the severity of the problem. In the original plot, they had always been playing their little tricks while only Fang Zhiyi worked like a beast of burden. Now that Prince Xiang had been pulled into the position of regent, he found himself struggling before he could even enjoy two days of smugness.

Memorials from all over the country were delivered almost every day. Because the old Emperor demanded that all affairs of the realm be handled personally, everything from minor official appointments and transfers to major floods requiring disaster relief had to be reviewed by him personally. Although there were subordinates to help, the progress was still very slow. In addition, he had to inspect various ministries, check accounts, and so on.

What was even more terrifying was that, because he was acting as regent, the old Emperor would summon him from time to time. If any single matter was not handled well, he would be met with a torrent of harsh scolding, cursing Prince Xiang so much that he began to doubt his life choices.

Fang Zhiyi's words constantly echoed in his mind.

"Whoever wants to be it can be it. I won't do it, not even if you beat me to death."

There was a knock on his door, and a servant called out softly, "Your Highness, it is time for the morning court."

I just lay down! Prince Xiang wanted to cry but had no tears.

Looking at Prince Xiang's dark circles, the other princes were a bit bewildered. How long has he been regent? Wasn't he just strutting around arrogantly?

Xu Ruyi was also a bit panicked now, because Fang Zhiyi was clearly no longer favored, and her network of connections was becoming somewhat shaky.

"It's all this Fang Zhiyi's fault! He abandons his perfectly good position as Crown Prince and just plays at home every day!" Thinking of her brother who was still suffering in prison, Xu Ruyi couldn't help but get angry. Her mother had visited twice recently, complaining in every word she spoke.

But she really didn't dare to provoke Fang Zhiyi. Just yesterday, Xiaocui was finally able to get out of bed, but somehow she offended Fang Zhiyi. Immediately after, she was slapped in the face over a dozen times by Nanny Wu, to the point where she passed out.

She didn't know what kind of evil spirit Fang Zhiyi had been possessed by!

Compared to those things, she had a much more urgent matter, which was her belly... Xu Ruyi touched her lower abdomen. This matter had to be dealt with quickly. If the Emperor heard that she was pregnant with the Crown Prince's child, he would surely be overjoyed and start favoring Fang Zhiyi again, right?

While she was planning on her end, Fang Zhiyi had taken slacking off to the extreme.

Fang Zhiyi knew very well that he was currently invulnerable. Everyone else was afraid of offending the Emperor, but he didn't care. The worst that could happen was losing his position as Crown Prince, which was exactly what he wanted. The things Xu Ruyi was doing behind his back had also been leaked by him to his brothers. He was practically playing with his cards on the table, and no one could catch any weakness of his.

Coupled with the fact that all political affairs were now handled by Prince Xiang, the old Emperor couldn't even find an excuse to scold him.

"Sure enough, sometimes slacking off makes you invincible... Invincibility is truly lonely, though mostly because I have no money."

His behavior was recorded one by one by the old Emperor's spies and reported back. The old Emperor remained silent for a long time, just as Prince Xiang walked through the door with his head drooping.

"Imperial Father, today's memorials have been processed." Prince Xiang immediately knelt down.

The old Emperor looked at him. "Processed? Open your dog eyes and see for yourself. Is this how you handle your duties?" With that, he threw a few small booklets over. Prince Xiang picked them up and flipped through them for a while, his face turning even uglier.

He just sat heavily on the floor. "I can't do it anymore! So many memorials require me to review them all, and I have to do other work too. Who could possibly manage all this?"

"Your eldest brother could manage it."

"My eldest brother? That..." Prince Xiang wanted to argue back, but the words stopped at his lips.

"What are you still standing around for? Didn't you keep saying you were better than your eldest brother?"

"Yes..." Prince Xiang picked up the memorials with a bitter face and left. Today would probably be another sleepless night.

Watching his retreating back, the old Emperor sighed. "Who said the Crown Prince has no schemes? Hmm?"

Zhang Dafu chuckled. "Even if His Royal Highness has schemes, it is out of consideration for Your Majesty."

"He has finally enlightened."

Prince Xiang fell asleep in his carriage until he was awakened by his attendant.

"Huh? Are we there?" He felt like he could fall asleep standing up right now.

"Your Highness, we have not arrived."

"Then why did you wake me up?"

"Um..."

"Second brother, come out quickly!"

Hearing Fang Zhiyi's voice, Prince Xiang finally sobered up a bit. He patted his cheeks and poked his head out of the carriage. "Oh, Crown Prince, you're actually waiting for me here in the middle of the night?"

Fang Zhiyi's face was full of smiles. "Waiting for the God of Wealth, of course."

"God of Wealth?"

Fang Zhiyi didn't stand on ceremony; he jumped right onto the carriage and squeezed inside.

"Hey? Hey?"

"Move over a bit."

"What is the meaning of this?" Prince Xiang was confused.

Fang Zhiyi winked at him. "Got scolded again?"

Prince Xiang didn't answer. He felt that Fang Zhiyi was just here to laugh at him.

"How about I point you to a clear path?"

Prince Xiang looked at his eldest brother suspiciously. He never thought he was this sneaky before.

"I'll help you review a third of the memorials, but you have to..." Fang Zhiyi skillfully rubbed his fingers together in a gesture for money.

Prince Xiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Since when did reviewing memorials become a business transaction for his eldest brother?

"Forget it if you don't want to. I just wanted to earn some pocket money..." Fang Zhiyi said, getting up to leave. "And here I was wanting to give you a hand."

Prince Xiang caught a glimpse of the memorials he had to take back, and his head immediately throbbed. "Crown Prince, no, no, Eldest Brother, we can negotiate! We can negotiate!"

He really had no other options. Even someone as diligent as Fang Zhiyi could only squeeze out a little time to rest. Not to mention him, someone thrust into the role halfway. He was groggy all day, and the moment he made a mistake, he was hauled up and scolded by the old man. Right now, he just wanted to go home and sleep.

The old Emperor never expected that his two sons would actually strike up a business deal. With Fang Zhiyi's help, Prince Xiang was finally able to sleep a little more, but the price was shiny silver. He just couldn't understand how a Crown Prince could be so poor.

After barely surviving a month, the old Emperor seemed to find this arrangement rather amusing, or perhaps, seeing that Fang Zhiyi was still calling in sick and refusing to attend court, he angrily appointed Prince Qi as the regent.

The entire court, top to bottom, was somewhat bewildered.

Only Prince Xiang's face was filled with excitement; it was an expression of total liberation.

"Third brother, good luck." After court was dismissed, he patted Prince Qi on the shoulder. Prince Qi didn't quite understand what he meant, but out of politeness, he smiled. In his eyes, this opportunity was a chance to prove himself, and he would definitely do his utmost.

Thinking of that supreme imperial throne, Prince Qi made up his mind that no matter what, he had to persevere.