Yi De knew that Zhao Bi was hesitant to make a decision, but she wasn't in a hurry. People are forced to change their minds gradually.

She said calmly, "Think about it carefully. In this world, even if you don't harm others, someone will always try to harm you. And even if you repay evil with kindness, someone will always repay kindness with evil. Your friendliness and non-competition are always out of step with this world. Do you know why? Because no one is a good person. If you don't believe me, you'll know in a few days that everything I say is true. A person only lives for a few decades. If you can't live up to the principle of 'I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me,' you will ultimately only be a loser. Countless heroes, who didn't achieve their illustrious fame by stepping on piles of bones?"

After she finished speaking, she waved her hand and said, "I'm tired."

Zhao Bi's heart pounded wildly as he silently turned and returned to the Fourth Prince's residence.

He was struggling internally, but a voice told him that the winner takes all and the loser is nothing, and that if he succeeded, the world would be his.

But another voice told him that even if he murdered his father and usurped the throne, he would not get what he wanted, because people's hearts can only submit to force, not to the status brought by force.

He dared not gamble. If the coup succeeded, the world would once again be engulfed in war and torn apart. He did not have as many troops as the Weiting Division, and he could not win.

But what if we don't try and end up being humiliated?

Seeing that he seemed preoccupied, Zhen Qizhong couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Did Her Majesty say something to you?"

He trusted Zhen Qizhong, and looking at him helplessly, he said, "My mother wants me to force the emperor to abdicate."

"What!" Zhen Qizhong was shocked. "No, absolutely not!" After his initial shock, he hurriedly stopped him. "If you force the emperor to abdicate, you will be cursed for all eternity. I know you don't crave pleasure and you have your own ambitions, but if you force the emperor to abdicate, many people will rise up against you. You can't do that!"

"Do you also think we shouldn't force him to resign?" He was like a confused child, unsure which path to take.

“Yes, we shouldn’t have forced him to abdicate. The Emperor currently values ​​you highly. Among all the princes, he treats you differently. Trust me, there will be a way.” Zhen Qizhong breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he listened to her advice, but at the same time, she became wary of Yi De.

How could she encourage him to stage a coup and commit patricide! As a mother, how could she bear to see her son scorned by the world and even by future generations? A person who kills his father or stages a coup will always have a stain on his reputation, no matter how many great achievements he makes in the future.

He would never allow anyone to tarnish his posthumous reputation!

“Yes, there must be a way. We can’t take this step. If we do, it will be a bottomless abyss with no way back.” Zhao Bi finally recovered from his confusion and looked at Zhen Qizhong gratefully. “It’s good that you are here, otherwise I would have taken the wrong path.”

His eyes had regained their clarity, and Zhen Qichong chuckled softly, "I believe there's nothing you can't do."

The feeling of being trusted is wonderful and pleasant. Zhao Bi smiled and then called out, "Bring me the intelligence from the past few days."

Before long, his confidant handed him all the intelligence, and he began to read it carefully, word by word, for fear of missing a single word.

The document also clearly details some of the small things Hao Shumei has done recently.

After spending half an hour reading through the intelligence in his hand, he said, "Father's recent efforts to reform the imperial examinations have not been very successful." After saying that, he picked up his pen and wrote down the names of several people, and said to his confidants, "Go and deliver a message to these people, saying that as long as they support me, I will certainly abide by the old system and abolish the new law in the future."

"Yes." The confidant quickly left.

Zhen Qizhong's eyes lit up. "A good plan."

"Hmph, these old fogies!" Zhao Bi was confident and determined to succeed.

Zhao Shu also received intelligence about Zhao Bi, especially from the palace. With Qin Ji around, the palace was completely under their control.

Xiao Zhu Zi laid out sheets of Xuan paper on the table and weighed them down with paperweights. "Princess, that person in Weiyang Palace actually wants to force the emperor to abdicate. This is simply outrageous."

"She wants to make the father and son kill each other to get revenge on the emperor. This woman is not so easy to deal with. Killing someone is just a matter of beheading them, but torturing someone is much more vicious."

After saying this, Zhao Shu picked up one of the papers and said to Wei Tingsi beside her, "Do you think Zhao Bi will force Zhao Bi to abdicate?"

“No, he’s not desperate yet,” Wei Tingsi said succinctly.

Zhao Shu nodded. "Yes, then I'll leave him with nowhere to turn."

In the season of falling leaves, coupled with a blood-red sunset, a chilling and terrifying power is added to this late autumn.

The following day, Zhao Shu secretly entered the palace, as did Sun Yun. The two met at the entrance of Hao Shumei's Chonghua Palace.

“I thought you wouldn’t come,” Zhao Shu said.

"Because I won't give in just because you're on good terms with me." Sun Yun smiled, determined to prove herself superior to Zhao Shu.

Zhao Shu nodded. "Then, we'll wait and see."

Hao Shumei did not ask anyone to open the door, because she was completely unaware of their arrival.

Only when the two appeared in front of her did she stand up angrily, pointing at them and saying, "What do you want?"

"What are you doing? What do you think we're here for?" Sun Yun teased Hao Shumei slowly and deliberately, his aura completely overwhelming her.

Zhao Shu was much more well-behaved. She simply walked up to Hao Shumei, waved her hand, and Xiao Guozi pulled Hao Shumei aside. She sat in the main seat and watched Sun Yun perform the monkey show.

"You!" Hao Shumei's face turned ashen with anger, but she was also incredibly brave and not afraid, just extremely furious. Intruding into her territory without her knowledge was an insult and a provocation.

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