"Instead, he is well aware of all this. He knows he can shoulder this responsibility, yet he is always avoiding it. I doubt whether he is truly suitable to be emperor, and whether he has the ability to benefit the people."
When Fu Zhen heard the first half of the statent, she felt slightly shaken, but upon hearing the end, she couldn’t hold back, "His Highness is not avoiding responsibility. As soone who has endured years of harm, it’s not unreasonable for him to seek so solace."
It was becoming more and more absurd. How could they end up questioning Yang Yi? Clearly, among the three princes, whether in temperant, character, or intelligence, Yang Yi was the most outstanding one.
"What kind of solace does he want? What sort of solace could alleviate his twenty-four years of grievances?"
Fu Zhen, however, couldn’t answer.
If it were soone else, she might have urged him to go jump off a cliff.
The key is, he’s the emperor, and Yang Yi’s biological father; she couldn’t say that.
The emperor snorted, "You know, no matter what I do, or how I do it, it’s impossible for him to truly let go. So what’s the point of what you’re saying?"
"You should hurry back and have him return to the palace to recognize his ancestry and accept the conferral at the earliest."
"If he doesn’t co, I will issue a decree directly."
Fu Zhen felt her chest swell with anger.
She had once thought of him as a gentleman; she didn’t expect him to turn into a rogue once he changed his face!
She held her breath and took her leave.
Before leaving, she pinched Pei Zhan’s waist tightly.
Pei Zhan endured the pain, making an effort to keep his posture until she walked away before daring to straighten up.
The emperor glanced at him, "What a disgrace!"
Pei Zhan grinned and bared his teeth, "I had already said this trick wouldn’t work. Ah Zhen is soone who clearly distinguishes between love and hate; she is firmly on His Highness’s side."
"This won’t work, that won’t work. Why don’t you co up with a useful idea?"
The emperor raised his voice, "The court and the public are abuzz with rumors. If he doesn’t recognize his ancestry, I’m afraid so people will dig up a nephew from far away!"
Pei Zhan braced himself to accept the order, "I will think again."
"Ten days," the emperor raised his cup.
"Ten days is too tight; please give more ti."
"Half a month, not a day more." The emperor squinted at him, his gaze deepening, "I heard that quite a few people have quietly gone to my ancestral ho. Half a month later is the Empress’s birthday. If I’m not mistaken, they will definitely return by then."
Pei Zhan imdiately straightened his face, "I will obey the order!"
When he looked up, he saw that the emperor was already waving him away, so he bent over and withdrew.
After his figure disappeared beyond the hall doors, the Empress erged from behind the innermost screen.
She looked worriedly toward the hall doors for a mont, then sat down on this side of the embroidered couch. "I don’t know whether your plan will work."
"I’ve already reached the point of no return; in any case, we’ll see the results in half a month. If it doesn’t work, I’ll abdicate this throne to you. Considering the deep bond between you and our son, he should be pleased to inherit from you."
The Empress glanced at him the way she had previously glanced at Pei Zhan, "Easy for you to say. If you’d foreseen this day, why act as you did back then? Now he hates you this much, it’s all the price you have to pay."
"I know," the emperor said, "This position as Crown Prince was his all along. Years ago, I had ntioned to you many tis that my legacy would be inherited by him. Even though it’s 24 years late, we’ve finally co to this point. Just for this reason alone, I have no regrets."
The Empress sighed deeply, "He avoids responsibility because of grievances. Wouldn’t it be better to follow Lai Zhen’s suggestion and make peace on your own initiative? Why resort to this?"
The emperor smiled at her with profound eyes, "That’s because I want not only to pass our legacy to him but also to make the world believe in him.
"His rightful position is indeed unquestionable, but he has been isolated for many years, without receiving a proper upbringing, and he has no foundations of his own in the court.
"Yesterday afternoon, I left Ming Zhi to talk for a long ti. As I expected, our son perford excellently.
"Through this ordeal, I’ve understood he has enough capability to take this position. However, whatever shortcomings he may have, he can fully compensate for them in the future.
"Still, the world cannot see this and will not believe soone who appears out of nowhere.
"Even if they temporarily accept him as Crown Prince, once soone instigates discord, hidden troubles will still arise.
"You and I are both old and don’t have much ti left to accompany him, to help him.
"I can only use such a thod to push him to demonstrate his capabilities before the world, to have him formally recognize his ancestry with his own skills, and to make him clear about the path he should take, to determine to take on this responsibility.
"Rather than—simply because he was born a prince, he drifts into becoming a prince."
The Empress remained silent for a mont after hearing this, and finally, with a wry tone, said, "To speak plainly, you still want him to earn the support of the people on his own!"
The emperor chuckled and handed her a cup of tea, "Then why don’t you believe that our son can fully achieve that?"
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