After Rebirth, She Becomes the Revenge Queen-Chapter 642 - 388: Burning the Boats_3

"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 statement, she felt slightly shaken, but upon hearing the end, she couldn’t hold back, "His Highness is not avoiding responsibility. As someone who has endured years of harm, it’s not unreasonable for him to seek some solace."

It was becoming more and more absurd. How could they end up questioning Yang Yi? Clearly, among the three princes, whether in temperament, 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 someone 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 come, 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 someone 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 come 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 some 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 me more time."

"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 home. Half a month later is the Empress’s birthday. If I’m not mistaken, they will definitely return by then."

Pei Zhan immediately 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 emerged from behind the innermost screen.

She looked worriedly toward the hall doors for a moment, 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 mentioned to you many times that my legacy would be inherited by him. Even though it’s 24 years late, we’ve finally come 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 time. As I expected, our son performed 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 someone who appears out of nowhere.

"Even if they temporarily accept him as Crown Prince, once someone instigates discord, hidden troubles will still arise.

"You and I are both old and don’t have much time left to accompany him, to help him.

"I can only use such a method 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 moment 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?"