Yi Yun was speechless!

He quickly looked at the two young men beside him, who were holding rewards and were at a loss of what to do!

Judging by the Emperor and Empress’s attitude just now, weren’t they quite pleased with them? Wasn’t it supposed to lead to them being acknowledged as Imperial Nephews, paving the way for the future heir? Even if there’s no rush to choose one of them right now, acknowledging their status as Imperial Nephews and including them in the Imperial Family genealogy would also be reasonable, wouldn’t it?

In the current situation, the Emperor has no choice but to do this!

If he doesn’t choose the Yang Family descendants, could there be any other choice?

Yi Yun couldn’t believe the Emperor wasn’t swayed, and he blurted out, "Your Majesty, since the lineage of Prince Rong has been abolished, the forces of the royal family have become thinner, which is unfavorable for the future of Great Zhou. These two young men of the Yang surname are distant nephews of the Emperor. Perhaps the Emperor can train them to become competent..."

"Why should I nurture other people’s sons?" Before he could finish speaking, the Emperor frowned and said, "I have my own sons to cultivate, why should I take the trouble to cultivate them? Do you think I have nothing better to do?"

Yi Yun replied, "Is Your Majesty referring to King Yan?"

"Of course not me." Following his words, a person entered from outside the palace doors, and his gentle voice immediately changed the expressions of everyone—King Yan walked into the hall with steady and slow steps, reaching the Emperor and Empress amidst everyone’s held breaths, lifting his robe to kneel: "Subject pays respect to Your Majesty, pays respect to the Empress. May the Empress live a thousand years, a thousand years, thousands of thousands of years!"

He said "subject" and not "your son"!

King Yan’s background had been circulating in the capital city for over a month, with everyone passing on tales until almost all details of his parents and ancestors were uncovered, yet the palace and the court had never responded positively or given any clear stance on whether King Yan was indeed a prince.

The address "subject" at this moment was the answer!

It also served as a direct response to Yi Yun’s earlier question.

"Get up, Hao’er." The Empress said kindly.

There indeed was a character "Hao" in King Yan’s name.

Ever since the last time the Empress brought Fu Zhen to the palace, allowing her to witness the dispute between mother and son from outside the palace doors, Fu Zhen had never seen King Yan again.

Later, when rumors about his background spread through the capital, he still didn’t appear.

So much so, on an occasion like today, Fu Zhen almost forgot he should be present.

What does his sudden appearance signify at this moment?

Fu Zhen and the people beside her observed breath quietly without speaking.

After King Yan stood up, the Emperor said again, "Stand beside your mother."

The people below watched intently, only feeling that this scene was no different from the past, with King Yan still receiving princely treatment, and the Emperor and Empress not regarding him as an outsider.

Someone in the crowd couldn’t hold back and stepped forward to ask, "May I ask Your Majesty, why did King Yan just now refer to himself as the subject rather than your son?

"For the past few days, there have been rumors in the capital about King Yan’s background. We thought those were just baseless stories and thus paid no attention. Please, Your Majesty, clarify whether those rumors are true or not?"

The eyes of everyone in the hall turned to the Emperor on the throne.

The Emperor calmly replied while looking back: "Today I summoned King Yan here exactly to announce to the world that the rumors are true, King Yan is not my son, but an adopted son raised by the Empress and me. His biological father was a deceased Border General named Lin.

"Back then, General Lin died of illness during his travels, and shortly afterward, his wife gave birth to a child and passed away due to excessive grief. The Empress, out of benevolence, discussed with me to adopt their child Lin Hao as our foster son."

The hall was in an uproar.

King Yan’s background had been circulated in the capital for a long time, and the palace had never uttered a word about it, yet now suddenly revealing everything was truly unexpected.

Those who reacted quickly immediately focused their gaze on King Yan.

Yet, King Yan still appeared as pale and frail as before, but he faced it all naturally, with a very calm expression. It seemed he was still that pampered prince from the past.

"Your Majesty, since King Yan is not truly a prince, his noble title of Prince should be revoked!"

At this time, Yi Yun loudly declared. "He cannot be considered a member of the royal family and shouldn’t be residing in the Imperial Palace anymore!"

And this statement drew agreement from many people.

The Emperor spoke unhurriedly, "What Lord Yi said is indeed the case, so I have already prepared an imperial decree to strip King Yan of his princely title. But since he is the foster son raised by the Empress and me, aside from the lack of blood ties, there are many years of companionship. Therefore, I grant him the position of General inherited from his father and bestow upon him a residence to move in at a chosen date."