After Fu Zhen left Qianqing Palace, she took advantage of the absence of people around to glance back fiercely.

After last night’s conversation with Yang Yi, she had already sensed that Yang Yi was wavering. She confidently wanted to start from the emperor, letting him lower his stance so that Yang Yi could also convince himself to end the current predicament. But the emperor still had such an attitude? Was he not deliberately trying to make things difficult?

Not long after, Pei Zhan also walked out. Seeing his stifled expression, it was clear he was also powerless.

"I always feel something is abnormal," she said. "The emperor was not like this before. This time, he seems particularly stubborn about this matter."

Pei Zhan glanced behind him and whispered, "Of course, it’s not normal. Do you know, there was someone else in the hall just now?"

"Someone else?" Fu Zhen was surprised, "Who else?"

"I didn’t see anyone, but there was noise in the innermost chamber earlier. I wouldn’t guess wrong; there was definitely someone in there."

Fu Zhen crossed her arms, furrowed her brow for a while, and said, "There are only a few people left in the palace now. Who else could it be? Could it be the Empress?"

"Besides the Empress, there could be no one else," Pei Zhan said meaningfully. "Haven’t you noticed that since King Yan’s identity was exposed, the Empress hasn’t appeared?"

Fu Zhen straightened her back with a hiss, "That’s right. Not only that, since you returned from the northwest, the Empress hasn’t even met the Grand Prince until now. There hasn’t been any news of her planning to come out for a meeting either.

"Do you mean this is a setup by the emperor and the Empress?"

"What else could it be? No emperor would go against the stability of his own court."

Pei Zhan’s straightened body also revealed his full confidence.

"But why would the emperor do such a thing?"

Fu Zhen couldn’t understand, "The Empress must be protecting the Grand Prince. Since she also allows the emperor to do this, the emperor’s intention certainly isn’t to embarrass the Grand Prince.

"So why is he going around in circles? He could have just listened to my advice and talked about the past nicely with the Grand Prince. The Grand Prince isn’t unreasonable. Even if he doesn’t forgive him, he wouldn’t ignore his responsibility as a Prince."

"Perhaps the emperor’s intentions lie elsewhere."

"What do you mean by this?"

Pei Zhan stepped down the stairs, watching the distant, busy officials heading to various government offices, "Do you remember what the Grand Prince told you last night?"

Fu Zhen immediately understood, "Are you talking about the time in the northwest when the Grand Prince’s whereabouts were leaked?"

"That’s right." Pei Zhan turned to her, "The Grand Prince said it must have been leaked from their side. Based on the situation back then, it indeed seemed like the Zhou Army side leaked it.

"Do you believe that this information could have been leaked by the emperor?"

"Of course not!" Fu Zhen denied outright, "If the emperor wanted to leak this information, intending to kill the Grand Prince, why would he be so roundabout?

"Besides, I believe that even taking the emperor’s considerations into account, he would not treat his son with wholehearted dedication like a common family’s father. Still, he would never be so heartless as to let his son be captured and tortured by Dayue people."

"Exactly," Pei Zhan nodded. "Then who would be the one leaking this information? If the emperor didn’t cruelly intend to harm his own son, what would he do once he realized the truth of this matter?"

Fu Zhen realized, "So the emperor is fishing?"

Pei Zhan said as he paced, "The emperor we saw earlier was too different from the one we’ve known for decades.

"In contrast, if this is fishing, it fits his nature better.

"For the past years, the emperor and the Empress have been secretly searching for the Grand Prince. I might deduce that he didn’t know the Grand Prince had been captured by Dayue people.

"Regarding the letter the Grand Prince sent to the emperor, if it reached the emperor, the problem lies with the people he sent out.

"If the letter never reached the emperor, then there’s a significant issue with the recipient.

"No matter the case, if we assume the emperor only realized the misinformation after meeting the Grand Prince that night, he would certainly try to find the person who caused this error afterward.

"Such a reaction is one that the majority of people would have. The emperor wouldn’t ignore it. So I guess, earlier when he released that rhetoric, it might not have been to force the Grand Prince to yield, but rather to make the one who committed that act reveal themselves."