Shengshichun

Chapter 389 Breaking the pot
There was no morning court the next day. Pei Zhan had just returned from the northwest, and the emperor had approved his leave, so Fu Zhen slept until dawn.

Pei Zhan opened his eyes under Fu Zhen's push, and saw unfamiliar carvings on the tent ceiling. He jumped up in shock, and turned his head to see Fu Zhen leaning her head and looking at him leisurely. Then he remembered what happened last night. He rubbed his chest and lay down again, looking at her sideways: "Your bed is really big."

Fu Zhen raised his eyebrows: "Is it enough for you to perform?"

Pei Zhan suddenly blushed and said with a frown, "You are laughing at me."

Fu Zhen pinched his chest and said, "I'm praising you."

Pei Zhan's face turned even redder and he pulled the quilt over his head.

Zi Yan walked in after hearing the voices, and deliberately did not look at the bed: "Madam has sent someone to come. If the young lady wakes up, I will help you get up."

Fu Zhen poked his head out from the tent and asked, "Madam, what do you want to see me for?"

"No. I heard that the young lady hasn't gotten up yet, and she also asked not to rush her."

Fu Zhen paused, retracted his head, and looked at Pei Zhan. They both gathered their clothes and went downstairs at the same time.

Mrs. Pei is an experienced person after all, and as a woman she is more careful than men. When Fu Zhen and Pei Zhan were both late last night, she vaguely guessed the truth.

But because of the quarrel between them before, it was not easy to ask her easily, so he waited until the morning to send someone to Fu Zhen's room, wanting to invite her to have breakfast in the main room.

Who would have thought that the person she sent away would come back and say that Pei Zhan stayed in Fu Zhen's room last night. Who could understand her joy and excitement?
When Fu Zhen came over to pay her respects, the joy on her face had not yet faded.

Of course, she was not a tactless mother-in-law. Since she knew very well that they had consummated their marriage last night, what else was there to say?

Immediately, someone brought up the bird's nest, milk soup, and all kinds of food that Fu Zhen liked to eat.

"Eat more and eat slowly!"

Mrs. Pei smiled so much that she couldn't stop. She picked up the tea and said happily, "Next month, your father-in-law and I plan to live in a farm in the suburbs for a while, and Mu'er will live with us. This general's mansion will be handed over to you two. When there is good news, send someone to tell me, and we will come back as fast as we can!"

Fu Zhen choked. She always thought she was thick-skinned, but she couldn't help blushing after hearing these words.

Fortunately, Mrs. Pei handed her a handkerchief and didn't say anything else.

After breakfast, I returned to the room and found Pei Zhan had just returned.

It turned out that Pei Yu had called Pei Zhan away just after Fu Zhen left. This old father who seemed to only care about romance all day long, gave him a serious lesson in front of the ancestors in the ancestral hall, telling him how to be a husband and how to be a father in the future.

"So you two had breakfast in the ancestral hall?"

Fu Zhen felt incredible, and a warm feeling was flowing in his heart.

Pei Zhan nodded: "I ate it under the tablets of my great-grandfather and great-grandmother."

Fu Zhen didn't know what to say, so he just handed him the tea and rinsed his mouth.

After drinking tea, Pei Zhan sent Guo Song to the palace to submit a letter of greeting. After receiving the emperor's reply, the couple entered the palace in a sedan chair.

The emperor was in the imperial study. When they entered the palace, the couple bowed first. When the emperor behind the desk called them up, Fu Zhen was stunned for a moment as he watched the emperor painting with a brush in his hand.

Last month, the old man started coughing and wheezing after speaking a few words, looking like a frail old man. But now, he seems to be in better spirits day by day.

His own son, whom he had abandoned as bait, was suffering from inner torture outside the palace, but he still had the mood to paint here.

"Now that you're here, why don't you say anything?"

The emperor didn't even raise his head from behind his desk and spoke slowly, still looking like he had everything under control as he did in the past few decades.

Fu Zhen and Pei Zhan looked at each other and said, "Your Majesty, originally Minzhi and I came to the palace to pay our respects to you. Seeing you so energetic and vigorous, we know that there is no need to say those words."

The emperor raised his eyebrows and looked at her, his men not forgetting to dip the pen into ink, "I don't think so, do you? You came to the palace, you must have something else to say."

Fu Zhen opened his mouth to whitewash it, but the emperor continued, "The Minister of Rites and the Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate will come to the palace to see the emperor in a few minutes. If you have anything to say, please say it quickly, so as to avoid a wasted trip."

Now that things had come to this, Fu Zhen had no choice but to poke Pei Zhan.

Pei Zhan cleared his throat, took a few steps forward, stood beside the desk and looked at the painting he had drawn: "Your Majesty's painting skills are truly superb. This eagle with its wings spread really looks like the majestic figure of Your Majesty fighting the enemy on the battlefield."

"You really have something to say." The emperor carefully traced the eagle's wings. "What's wrong with him? Is he still good? Have you thought about the choice I asked you to make yesterday?"

Pei Zhan turned his head and glanced at Fu Zhen, then said, "Last night, after I went back, I discussed it in detail with my wife and felt that the two strategies proposed by the emperor were not suitable for the current situation."

The emperor raised his head and glanced at Fu Zhen who was three steps away, then cast his gaze at Pei Zhan again: "You really listen to your wife in everything. Don't you have your own ideas?"

Pei Zhan bowed deeply and said, "I will remember the emperor's previous teachings and put the harmony between husband and wife as the first principle for stabilizing the inner house and cultivating the mind. I will always take the emperor's way of respecting the queen as the golden rule."

The emperor snorted.

Pei Zhan bent his body and turned his head, exchanging glances with Fu Zhen.

Fu Zhen walked to the other side of the desk and said, "Your Majesty, the first person you came to see when you came to the capital was me, and the second person you looked for was my mother. Even if I'm not his wife, he can't get around me for what you asked Minzhi to do!"

The emperor ignored her and continued to sketch the eagle in detail.

Fu Zhen had no choice but to continue: "Your Majesty, I and the Pei family absolutely support your Highness to return to the palace to recognize his relatives, but given your Highness's temperament, he will never be forced to submit by intimidation.

"The one who tied the bell must untie it. I wonder if Your Majesty has ever thought about putting aside the majesty of the emperor and having a frank talk with His Highness purely as a father?"

"have not thought."

Fu Zhen was choked up. She asked, "May I ask... why?"

The emperor did not straighten up and put down his pen until he had finished describing the eagle eye.

"Because he is my son, I am the emperor, and he is the prince. Even if I have many princes now, he is just one of them. As long as he is my son, no matter whether he will become the crown prince or the future monarch, he is destined to have his responsibilities."

The emperor's eyes were sharp. After glancing at the two of them, he slowly walked to the window and sat on the brocade couch. Then he raised his eyes and looked at the two of them who were also moving towards him:

“I guess you all know very well what happened in Huzhou back then.

"I also know that you are filled with indignation and feel very sorry for him. I feel lucky for him to have your support.

"If I were not sitting on this throne, and if I were not concerned about the people of the world and the vast country, I would be the father who bows his head. "But I am the emperor, and he is destined to be a prince, so there are some things he must bear. "

Fu Zhen took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, you and the Queen have been in love for many years, and you are very caring towards us meritorious officials and nobles. This makes the people of the world believe that you are a king with affection and righteousness.

"I don't believe that the saying that there is no true love in the royal family will come true in the palace of the Great Zhou. So Your Highness has endured so much suffering in the past twenty years. Now that the Emperor of Heaven has blessed others to return safely, he still cannot get the comfort of his relatives. This is unfair.

"Your Majesty, please be considerate of your Highness for the sake of our blood ties. This will also allow the people of the Great Zhou to welcome a new crown prince as soon as possible."

The emperor's face was solemn: "The royal family has true feelings, but the royal family cannot abuse true feelings. You think that I am wrong to invite him back to the palace as the emperor, but if he really cares about the people of the world, do I need to invite him?
"Besides, do you think that if I lower myself, I can get a son again?"

This question stumped Fu Zhen.

"It is impossible for me to get my son back." The emperor looked at the ground ahead and said in a deep voice, "Twenty-four years ago in Huzhou, I watched him appear at the city gate with my own eyes, and I personally suppressed the general who wanted to call him back. Since then, I have already lost him.

"I killed him with my own hands in that war, and used his ten-year-old body to pave the way for me to establish the Great Zhou. I will never be able to call him back.

"Do you think I forced him to return to the palace in such a tyrannical way because I relied on my father's name? You are totally wrong.

“Now I am a king.

"He is the eldest son of the Great Zhou, the eldest son of Empress Yuan. It is only natural and logical for him to be the future ruler of the Great Zhou.

"On the contrary, he knows all this very well and knows that he can take on this responsibility, but he keeps avoiding it. I doubt whether he is really suitable to be an emperor? Is he really capable of benefiting the people?"

Fu Zhen was slightly shaken when he heard the first half of the story, but couldn't help himself when he heard the end: "His Highness is not trying to escape. As a person who has been hurt for many years, it is not excessive for him to want some comfort."

It was really outrageous. Why did he even question Yang Yi in the end? Of the three princes, Yang Yi was the most outstanding one in terms of temperament, character, and intelligence.

"Then what consolation does he want? What kind of consolation can heal the grievances he has suffered for twenty-four years?"

Fu Zhen couldn't answer it.

If it was someone else, she could persuade him to die.

The key point is that this is the emperor and Yang Yi’s biological father, she can’t.

The emperor snorted, "You also know that no matter what I do, no matter how I do it, it is impossible for him to truly let go. So what is the point of what you said?
"You should go back quickly and have him come to the palace to recognize his ancestry and accept the title as soon as possible.

"If you don't come, I will issue an order directly."

Fu Zhen felt angry in his chest.

I used to think he was a gentleman, but I didn't expect that he would turn around and turn out to be a gangster!

She left with a breath held.

Before leaving, he pinched Pei Zhan's waist hard.

Pei Zhan felt pain and tried to hold it in until she was far away before he dared to straighten his back.

The emperor glanced at him and said, "What a prospect!"

Pei Zhan bared his teeth and said, "I have already said that this trick will definitely not work. Ah Zhen has a clear distinction between love and hate, and she is firmly on the side of His Highness."

"This won't work, and that won't work either. You better come up with a useful solution."

The emperor raised his voice, "There is a lot of public opinion in the court. If he refuses to acknowledge his ancestors, I'm afraid some people will dig out a nephew from a great distance for me!"

Pei Zhan gritted his teeth and accepted the order: "I will think about it again."

"Ten days." The emperor picked up the cup.

"Ten days is too tight. Please give me more time."

"No more than half a month." The emperor glanced at him, his eyes gradually becoming more focused. "I heard that quite a few people have quietly gone to my ancestral home. The Queen's birthday will be in half a month. If I'm right, they will definitely come back by then."

Pei Zhan immediately said solemnly: "I obey your order!"

When he looked up, he saw the emperor waving his hand, so he bowed and left.

Only after his figure disappeared outside the palace gate did the Queen come out from behind the innermost screen.

She looked at the palace door anxiously for a moment, then walked to the side of the brocade couch and sat down: "I don't know if your idea will work."

"I have already burned my boats. Anyway, we will see the results in half a month. If it doesn't work, I will abdicate the throne to you. I think you two have a deep mother-son relationship, so he should be happy to take over the throne from you."

The queen glanced at him the same way he glanced at Pei Zhan before: "That's easy for you to say. If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? You deserve the fact that he hates you so much now."

"I know." The emperor said, "This position of crown prince originally belonged to him. I told you many times that he would inherit my foundation in the future. Even though it's been 24 years late, it has finally come to this. For this reason, I have no regrets."

The Queen said calmly, "He evaded his responsibility because he felt wronged. Why don't you just follow the advice of Lai Zhen girl and take the initiative to make peace? Why do you have to do this?"

The emperor raised his lips and looked at her deeply: "That's because I not only want to pass on our foundation to him, but also make the people of the world believe in him.

"It is true that he has an unquestionable status, but he has been living in exile for many years, has never received a good education, and has no foundation of his own in the court.

"Yesterday afternoon, I kept Minzhi to ask questions for a long time. As I expected, our son performed very well.

“Through this battle, I know that he has enough ability to play in this position. Even if there are shortcomings, he can make up for them in the future.

“However, the world cannot see this, nor will they believe that he appeared out of thin air.

“Even if we accept him as the crown prince for a while, there will still be trouble if someone instigates and incites us.

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

"I can only use this method to encourage him to display his abilities in front of the world, let him return to his roots with honor through his own abilities, and let him clearly know the path he should take and make up his mind to take on this responsibility.

"Instead of becoming a prince simply because he was born one."

The queen was silent for a long while after listening to this. Finally, she said unhappily, "To put it bluntly, you still want him to win the support of the people of the world by himself!"

The emperor smiled and stuffed some tea into her hand. "Then why don't you believe that our son can definitely win?"