son, don't mess around

Chapter 871 The Eldest Princess Ascends the Throne

The kite's sound wasn't loud, but in the quiet surroundings, it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

The generals present were all momentarily stunned when they heard the words "edict of succession".

The imperial court suddenly sent someone with an imperial edict. Their instinct was that the edict was not a good thing, and that it was probably an edict issued by His Majesty under pressure to summon Princess Chang back to the capital.

They had gathered here intending to put pressure on the messenger from the capital who had come to deliver the imperial decree. But unexpectedly, the messenger was a woman.
The imperial court sent a woman to deliver the imperial edict.
This is unheard of, and many people even find it absurd and childish.

This is why many generals were completely bewildered when they heard the "edict of succession".

What imperial edict?
Pass on the throne?

Who will succeed him?
To whom should the throne be passed?
While many generals were still bewildered, Li Piaomiao's expression instantly turned sharp and revealed her true colors when she heard the "edict of succession".

Like frost and snow in the dead of winter, it hits you in the face, making your heart tremble with cold.

Many people present noticed the princess's sudden emotional fluctuation and turned to look at her.

Li Piaomiao stared at the kite, her tone still calm, yet carrying a barely perceptible emotion: "Where is His Majesty?"

"He's passed away!"

Paper Kite's answer was concise and to the point.

But her words were like a bomb thrown into the crowd, instantly causing a huge uproar.

The generals, who had been completely bewildered, suddenly narrowed their eyes and their expressions changed instantly.

"His Majesty has passed away?!"

This sudden news caught everyone present completely off guard.

No, isn't this an imperial edict from the capital summoning Her Highness the Eldest Princess back to the capital?
How could we suddenly hear the news of His Majesty's passing?
If His Majesty were to pass away, wouldn't that be...?

"When?" Li Piaomiao stared at the kite and calmly pressed for an answer.

Seven days ago!

Zhiyuan calmly looked at the stunningly beautiful woman in front of her; she was indeed as composed as rumored.

Even though her own brother had died, she showed no emotional fluctuation, as if the death of her loved one was insignificant.

This woman is so cold-blooded!

Paper Kite looked away and glanced behind her. Jasmine walked to Paper Kite's side and handed her the yellow box.

Zhiyuan took out a dusty imperial edict and looked at Li Piaomiao: "This is what he asked me to give you. It is His Majesty's last edict before his death, and it is also the edict of succession!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the generals around him, who were gradually coming to their senses, began to get excited.

Upon learning of His Majesty's passing, and recalling the edict of succession that the woman had just mentioned, many generals' eyelids twitched.

To whom will His Majesty pass the throne?
Why was the edict of succession given to Her Highness the Eldest Princess?
Is this a move to hand over power to the eldest princess as regent?
That's right. Her Highness the Eldest Princess and His Majesty have an extremely close relationship, and His Majesty trusts her implicitly. Now that His Majesty has passed away, the edict of succession should naturally be handed over to the Eldest Princess, so that she can maintain order in the court and assist the new emperor in his ascension to the throne... That must be it!

This thought crossed the minds of many generals.

This is good news... If the eldest princess were to assist in governing, she might be able to obtain military pay and cotton clothing from the imperial court.

However, their thoughts didn't linger for long before they saw the woman in their line of sight, possessing an unparalleled beauty and captivating charm, calmly gazing at the eldest princess and saying, "His Majesty left a will before his passing, bequeathing the throne to the eldest princess, Li Piaomiao. Upon receiving the decree, Her Highness ascended the throne before the army, stabilizing the court..."

The kite slowly finished reading the contents of the imperial edict.

When this information reached the ears of the generals nearby, many of them were once again stunned.

I even doubted my own ears?

What? What did they hear?
Is His Majesty going to pass the throne to the Eldest Princess?
No, isn't the eldest princess a woman?

A woman can be an empress?!

What exactly is going on?

Even though most of them were seasoned veterans, the current situation still shocked them greatly.

They originally thought that His Majesty's death and the handing of the edict of succession to the Eldest Princess meant that he hoped the Eldest Princess would assist the new emperor. But... the Eldest Princess became the new emperor?

Is this right?
Is this really true?
All eyes were drawn to the yellow imperial edict in the kite's hand, and many people in the crowd began to breathe rapidly.

Forging an imperial edict is punishable by death.

So, who knows... it might be true?

Your Majesty, do you truly intend to pass the throne to Her Highness the Eldest Princess?
The thought struck many generals present, who, after a moment of shock, quickly became excited.

Now, the vast majority of generals in the imperial army at the front have already won over Her Highness the Princess, and her prestige in the army is unmatched. And most of the generals present also fawn over Her Highness the Princess.

At this moment, the imperial court suddenly issued an edict to pass the throne to the eldest princess.

This is such a wonderful surprise!

The generals present could no longer contain their joy. Their gazes returned to the Princess, eager to know her reaction.

What about women?
Who says a woman can't be an emperor?

As long as there is a legitimate edict of succession and the eldest princess has royal blood, then she is a legitimate heir.

If anyone has any objections, then we'll have to ask these soldiers who fought bloody battles for the imperial court on the front lines!

At this moment, even Jinxiu and Anning behind him were moved.

As the princess's closest confidantes, the two of them naturally knew more or less about the princess's plans and intentions long ago.

However, when they saw the edict of succession, the two were still somewhat shocked and dazed.

Has His Majesty really passed away?

Has the throne truly been passed down to their own princess?
Does that mean... the princess will become the empress in the future?
What about them?

Wouldn't that mean becoming a maidservant to the emperor?

That would elevate your status so much!
Jinxiu only felt a sense of novelty and didn't react much. Anning, on the other hand, remained expressionless, her gaze fixed on the imperial edict in Zhiyuan's hand, lost in thought.

Li Piaomiao, standing in front of the crowd, remained calm and composed. She stepped forward and walked to Zhiyuan.

The two women looked at each other and could clearly see every expression on the other's face.

They were looking at each other calmly, but for some reason, it always gave people an inexplicable sense of strangeness.

Finally, Li Piaomiao lowered her gaze and accepted the imperial edict from Zhiyuan's hand.

"Thank you."

Her tone was calm, revealing no emotion.

"No need."

Paper Kite's reply was equally indifferent: "I'm helping him, not you."

Li Piaomiao glanced at her, said nothing more, turned around, and looked at the generals gathered in front of the prefect's mansion, as well as the soldiers guarding the surrounding area.

She slowly raised the imperial edict in her hand: "Your Majesty has passed away!"

His tone was detached and indifferent, as if he were talking about something trivial.

But the next second, all the generals who had gathered around knelt down in unison.

The clanging of armor echoed continuously. First, the generals at the front knelt down, the clatter of armor against weapons filling the air, followed by the soldiers behind them. In the end, only Li Piaomiao, along with Zhiyuan and the elite troops from the Prince of Lin's mansion, remained on the field. The rest of them all knelt down, but their faces showed no grief; instead, their eyes shone with excitement and joy.

When the eldest princess received the imperial edict and announced the Emperor's passing, everyone knew at that moment... His Majesty had truly passed away!
This was naturally unprecedented good news for all of them.

His Majesty has passed away, and the throne has been passed to... their eldest princess?
At this moment, everyone's eyes were filled with hope, and their hearts were pounding with excitement.

"At this critical juncture for our Great Ning Dynasty, the rebellion in the north remains unresolved, powerful aristocratic families in the court control the government, and embezzle the pay of our soldiers who have fought valiantly for the court on the front lines… In this perilous time, His Majesty has passed away, but now is not the time for grief. The rebel army of Prince Xu in the north is eyeing our Great Ning lands with predatory intent. Since His Majesty has abdicated in favor of me, I have a duty to shoulder the responsibility of this national crisis, to work alongside all the soldiers to quell the rebellion, eliminate the treacherous officials, and restore the Great Ning Dynasty to its former glory…"

In sight, Li Piaomiao's aloof figure stood still, dressed in simple everyday clothes, yet her temperament was made even more dazzling.

Her tone was calm, and her clear, cool voice floated distinctly in the air.

"Gentlemen, would you like to join me?!"

As she finished speaking, Li Piaomiao's clear and cold voice resonated powerfully, echoing clearly in everyone's ears.

The next second, an uproar erupted around them.

"Your Highness, this humble general is willing to assist Her Highness the Princess in ascending the throne and will swear to serve His Majesty to the death!"

"We are also willing to welcome Her Highness the Princess to the throne. We will certainly remove all obstacles for the Princess and support Her Highness in ascending the throne!"

"This humble general is also willing!"

"Me too!"

"..."

Li Piaomiao's words instantly ignited the passion of all the soldiers present.

They were more than willing!
Upon learning of His Majesty's passing, many of the generals present even entertained a bold idea... The arrival of the edict of succession meant that their princess was the rightful heir to the throne.

It's perfectly legitimate!

Is there anything more important in the world than this?

If the princess refuses, they, as soldiers, will force her to wear that yellow dress, even if it means coercing her!
Who can refuse the merit of following the emperor?

Moreover, it was a legitimate inheritance of the merits of following the emperor.

In any case, they could never become rebels... This is simply a match made in heaven!
The generals were full of fighting spirit and their expressions were excited. Now that the princess was willing to take that position, things would be much easier from there.

"As the saying goes, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Now that His Majesty has passed away and the court is in turmoil, we beseech Your Highness to immediately ascend the throne, establish a new national title, and proclaim it to the world to reassure the people!"

"Yes, yes, he must ascend the throne immediately to appease the people. Please issue the decree, Your Majesty!"

"Please issue the decree, Your Majesty!"

In an instant, the generals around shouted in unison, their voices like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, echoing throughout the city.

……

The news of Li Cining's death eventually reached the front lines, spread to Xuzhou, and even reached the rebel army of the Prince of Xu.

In an instant, a single stone stirred up a thousand waves!

Along with the news of Li Cining's death, another bombshell announcement followed... Li Cining left a will bequeathing the throne to his younger sister, the Princess who was leading the army on the front lines.

Just one day earlier, the imperial edict of succession from the capital was secretly delivered to the imperial army at the front lines. The Princess was formally enthroned at the front lines, and the country was named 'Taiping'.

Subsequently, Li Piaomiao, in his capacity as emperor, issued his first imperial edict after ascending the throne—ordering the governors and princes of various prefectures to send troops north to quell the rebellion and aid the court.

This was an imperial edict previously issued by Li Cining, but this time it was clearly different.

This news also reached Xu Wang's rebel army overnight, causing a huge uproar.

This news undoubtedly caught the Prince Lin's mansion completely off guard. Both Xu Hong and Li Yuan, who is now the nominal leader of Prince Xu's rebel army, knew that Li Cining was doomed.

Therefore, they had carefully considered this uprising and were not afraid of dragging things out with the court. As long as they could drag it out until the court ran out of ammunition and food, until Li Cining died... then Li Yuan could ascend the throne as Li Cining's younger brother directly from within the Xu Prince's army.

After all, the throne passed from brother to brother, and Li Cining had no children, so the only successor in line was Li Yuan.

He was then able to use his status as a legitimate emperor and a descendant of the Great Ning royal family to storm the capital and capture it in one fell swoop.

What Xu Hong and Li Yuan never expected was that Li Cining would leave an edict before his death, passing the throne to the eldest princess.
Few people in the world could have imagined this news.

In their minds, Xu Hong and Li Yuan were not afraid whether Li Cining passed the throne to the Sixth Prince, the Eighth Prince, or any other prince in the capital.

In terms of status and seniority, Li Yuandu is undoubtedly the first in line to succeed him.

But, by some strange twist of fate, Li Cining chose the eldest princess…

More importantly, before the news of Li Cining's death arrived, Li Piaomiao had already announced his ascension to the throne in the front-line army, making it known to the world.

This undoubtedly disrupted all of Li Yuan's plans.

"Li Piaomiao!"

Xu Wang, in the army.

Li Yuan, whom I haven't seen for many days, stared fiercely at the intelligence report that had been delivered to the table.

His eyes were filled with resentment and anger.

"Why, why you? Even you want to steal the throne from me?!"

Li Yuan's cold gaze sent chills down one's spine.

Then, footsteps could be heard outside.

Immediately afterwards, a young man of similar age to Li Yuan walked in.

"Your Highness, why are you so angry?"

The young man had a half-smile on his face, appearing extremely relaxed and at ease.

Li Yuan looked up, concealing the anger in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, he has tricked us. Li Piaomiao has already announced her ascension to the throne to the world, and the situation is now extremely unfavorable for us."

"Not necessarily!"

Xu Xuan approached and laughed, "So what if she's one step ahead? She's still a woman. How can a woman become emperor?"

Li Yuan naturally understood this principle, but the problem was: "She now commands the imperial army, who dares to disobey her? I know, Li Cining has been planning this move for a long time, sending Li Piaomiao to the front lines was all for this..."

Realizing this, Li Yuan's eyes were filled with resentment.

He should have thought of it earlier.

"so what?"

Xu Xuan remained nonchalant, seemingly unconcerned: "Even if the edict of succession is passed to her, even if she commands the imperial army, she is still... a woman!"

“If a woman becomes emperor, the people of the world will not accept it, and the officials of the various prefectures and counties of the Great Ning Dynasty may not accept it either. And this is our opportunity.”

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan was taken aback: "Your Highness, what do you mean by that?"

"Our plan can still proceed as scheduled... If she can ascend the throne, why can't you?"

Xu Xuan glanced at him meaningfully: "After all, you are the one who should truly inherit the throne, and should be the only legitimate heir."

"Isn't it?"

(End of this chapter)