"Makes sense!" Fu Zhen nodded emphatically, "The person who hid the whereabouts of the eldest prince back then surely didn’t want him to return. Or perhaps by that time, the Emperor already regretted it, which is why I heard from my sister-in-law that on the morning after the incident, the Emperor personally searched for him around the city with the Empress.

"Regardless of whether he was sincere or not, at the very least, in everyone’s eyes, he cared for this son. Moreover, because he cared for the Empress, even if he truly didn’t want this son, he wouldn’t have been so obvious about it.

"Thus, the person behind the scenes must have wanted to prevent the eldest prince, the Emperor’s only son, from returning to the Zhou Army camp!"

"The person who didn’t want the prince to return probably also didn’t want the Emperor to ultimately gain power," Pei Zhan continued her words, "You also heard from your sister-in-law that many of the Righteous Army troops who came to the Zhou Army from various places harbored ambitions, despite having already bowed to the Emperor.

"Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been anyone aiding tyranny and conspiring with the enemy army to instigate the battle of Huzhou."

"Indeed, these Righteous Army troops came with their own forces. Compared to the generals from our families who followed the Emperor from the start, they indeed have more diverse ambitions.

"At that time, the Emperor and Empress had been married for many years, but had only the eldest prince as a son. If the eldest prince was killed, then whether by directly seizing the Emperor’s power or waiting for the Emperor to ascend the throne before taking action, there would be ample opportunities to manipulate the situation and have someone else produce a prince to inherit the throne."

As Fu Zhen spoke to this point, a sudden chill ran through her heart: "The Emperor and Empress had a deep affection, yet after ascending the throne, several concubines still entered the palace.

"By rights, these people could have been nonexistent, so who exactly tore open this breach?"

In the past, the court was united against external enemies, and no one scrutinized these matters. Now that the conflicts involved the imperial power and uncovered many hidden truths about Yang Yi, these details that had been overlooked also emerged.

Given that over the years, the Emperor had not sired another prince in the harem, the decision to fill the harem likely wasn’t his own. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Although the Empress was wise, there was no reason for her to deliberately find trouble by bringing a few people into the palace.

So this matter appeared more like an opportunistic act.

So far, none of the concubines in the palace have overstepped their bounds, indicating that the Emperor and Empress had carefully considered when selecting these people to enter the palace.

When the Emperor could take them in, he could naturally take in others, but the outbreak of the northwest war postponed these matters.

Reflecting on this, who exactly proposed bringing in concubines?

"Over twenty years have passed, and to have successfully torn open that breach, it likely wasn’t the work of just a few people. Now, it is too demanding to investigate.

"If the Emperor is indeed fishing, I think the current situation is quite favorable. If those people are still in the court, they would certainly act after King Yan’s heritage is exposed. If during this period no one makes trouble, it means these people are no longer in the court, or they have chosen to restrain themselves.

"No matter what they think, as long as they are behaving, the return and enfeoffment of the eldest prince will proceed smoothly.

"This situation still seems to have its benefits."

Fu Zhen pondered: "There are also several rebel leaders in these small groups within the court, who exactly could be behind it?

"If we can’t identify specific targets, how can we pay attention to their secret actions?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Zhan took a deep breath and said, "Blame my slow response; now we can only have Guo Song and the others move around the city more to see if they can gather any news."

Fu Zhen listened and said, "Don’t just send Guo Song and them, let everyone from the second and seventh groups take action; mingle in the court and outside, attend social gatherings, and have meals together, that will be quicker!"

Pei Zhan responded with an "Um" and advised her, "Then don’t delay, let’s go quickly!"

The couple, having made up their minds, swiftly left the palace.

After returning home, they immediately sent people to contact the Liang Family, Cheng family, and Du Family. On one hand, they gathered information from their elders about which rebel leaders had joined the Zhou Army in the past, while they themselves engaged in social activities.

On the night Yang Yi returned to the capital city, he instructed He Zhao to deliver local products to the Empress in the palace, hoping to meet his mother. However, when He Zhao returned early in the morning from the palace, he brought back only various gifts transferred from the Empress, without any mention of a meeting.