Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 110 Malice is Easily Achieved

"Two years! My greatest wish was to see him die with my own eyes! The moment I saw you, I knew this opportunity had come. I've been in this mine for years, and I've seen all sorts of wealthy and powerful people from all over, but I've never seen fabric as fine as yours. It looks ordinary and unremarkable, but it's actually incredibly smooth and soft, just like the legendary tribute. So at that moment, I told myself I had to take the gamble! And I clearly won. Heaven has not forsaken me!"

Wang Mo was in a somewhat deranged state at the moment; she had only been quiet and reserved before. Perhaps because her great revenge was about to be achieved, her tense mind relaxed, and she could no longer hold on.

Jiu Que felt somewhat apologetic, because she couldn't kill Yang Hui yet. She still needed to extract more detailed evidence from him, and at crucial moments, she would need these overseers as witnesses. When she told Wang Mo about this, Jiu Que repeatedly assured him.

"But don't worry, Sister Wang, I won't do anything foolish. So I've already asked Doctor Xue to concoct a bottle of poison beforehand. If they don't receive the antidote within three days, they'll bleed from all seven orifices and suffer excruciating internal heat, slowly dying after a long period of torture. After all, I'm worried they might escape along the way. Even if they do, they'll still die eventually. It might sound a bit vulgar, but Sister Wang, I want them to be punished by the laws of the Great Jing Dynasty because their actions violated them. We need to let everyone in the world see what happens when you do something wrong. It's also a way to avenge those innocent people who died."

“Sister Wang, I know this is difficult for you, but they are truly important witnesses. After this matter is resolved, I will report to the imperial court to convict them, and I can even ask officials from the Ministry of Justice to help you be the executioner! So, spare their lives for now, do you agree?”

Wang Mo had been silent the whole time, but after listening to Jiu Que's words, he nodded emphatically.

She wasn't someone who couldn't distinguish right from wrong; she genuinely wanted revenge for her family. However, she also knew her enemies weren't just Yang Hui. They were the powerful figures behind the scenes, manipulating the government and forcing innocent people to work day and night in the mines! Only by taking this opportunity to bring down those high-ranking figures could she truly avenge them!
With Wang Mo's help, Jiu Que's actions became smoother and smoother. Before long, he had taken control of the entire mine. At this moment, Doctor Xue, who used to walk back and forth between the two squares, finally found an opportunity to arrive. However, when he arrived, Jiu Que and Wang Mo had already taken control of all the overseers and arrested those traitors who had good relationships with the overseers in private.

Wang Mo knew this much better than anyone else. Even the woman among the group of cooks who had been so kind to Jiu Que, even giving her a piece of cornbread, turned out to be a traitor. You couldn't tell from the surface; after all, that woman was just as afraid as the others.

That's what makes those people so terrifying. After everyone woke up, Jiu Que asked them with deep sorrow. At first, the auntie refused to admit it no matter what, but faced with the facts listed by Wang Mo, she had no choice but to admit it. However, when she heard the reason, the auntie, who had originally looked kind, suddenly sneered.

"Reason? Do you need a reason to do bad things? There's no reason. I did what I wanted to do, so what?"

Jiuque frowned.

Not only Jiu Que, but even those around her who knew her were shocked. This Aunt Du was a well-known kind person. A young widow without children, everyone around her, including her in-laws, urged her to remarry, but because of her deep affection for her deceased husband, she refused. Everyone saw her kindness, her devoted service to her in-laws, and her benevolence and thoughtfulness; no one failed to praise her. The village even raised money for her so she wouldn't have to work so hard. Yet this woman, considered the most gentle and kind person in the surrounding area, secretly told the overseers which pretty young women and wives in the village were being abused, watching them being violated! And all she did was ask for no reward whatsoever!
Hearing her recount these past events, some clear-headed people couldn't help but curse her and even wanted to pounce on her, because among the girls she had harmed were their relatives!
"You wicked woman! I knew my little niece had already blackened her face and dirtied herself, so why was she still kidnapped? It turns out you were the one who tipped her off! How could you be so heartless?! You watched her grow up! You were her elder, and we didn't ask you for help because we were afraid of implicating you, but we never expected you to be the one who betrayed us... Why?! My poor little niece died so innocently..."

"Who in our village has ever wronged you?! During holidays, we pool our money to buy you rice, flour, and cooking oil, and we even send you money every month so you can live a better life. Is this how you repay us? You have no conscience at all!"

"That wicked woman..."

Aunt Du just sneered.

"There are no so many whys! I just want to do it this way. Can't I stand seeing them living so comfortably? I'm living such a miserable life, while they can live happily under the protection of their families. Why should they? If I'm not happy, then no one else can be happy either!"

"You, you wicked woman! You chose to be a widow yourself; no one forced you. Even your in-laws advised you to remarry, but you refused! Now you're blaming us? Did we force you to be a widow?!"

Aunt Du just gave a cold laugh.

"They did try to persuade me to remarry, and you didn't force me, but does the absence of verbal coercion mean you didn't force me? Whenever I get close to that man, people always subtly remind me of my widowhood. Even if I just accidentally bump into someone on the street, you stare at me with strange looks, as if to say, 'Look! How can that widow be so unchaste!' It's true I'm a widow, and I genuinely wanted to remain a widow for my dead husband at first. But even as a widow, I'm still a human being. Does losing my husband mean I can't live the life of an ordinary person?"

"I remember it clearly. I could only be sad and upset. Even if I was happy, some so-called respected person would come over and tell me that it was really hard for me to be so happy. Ha! I'm like a fool. Am I only fit to live like this, so foolishly?"

"Pah! I won't! I'm going to make sure you never have a moment of peace!"

(End of this chapter)