Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 13 Disgusting!

Upon hearing this familiar voice, the old emperor's smile, which had been raised, became somewhat forced. The next moment, he clapped his hands understandingly, and the palace servants, who had been prepared in advance, presented the delicacies one by one.

After a long day of running around, Jiu Que and the others were starving and quickly expressed their gratitude.

Chunyu Shuang, Xie Mingchen, and Wei Yuan all exhibited varying degrees of restraint. Even Wei Yuan, despite serving in the palace, still felt somewhat uncomfortable eating with the emperor.

The only one that should remain unaffected is Jiuque.

After Emperor Jingtai said "do as you please," they took it seriously and ate with great relish.

[Mmm! This drunken chicken is so delicious! And how did they make this mille-feuille? It's so good it's bringing tears to my eyes! And this sand cake! Wow! It's so soft and fluffy, and even a little cool—was it chilled? No wonder it's made by the imperial chef! It's just so delicious!]

The old emperor, who had originally wanted to take this opportunity to hear what Ying Jiuque was thinking, was somewhat surprised by the sheer number of dish names. But seeing that the other party couldn't even lift his head, a hint of relief appeared in his eyes.

Alas, everyone thinks that being an emperor is good, and it is indeed good. But even an emperor has his tiring moments, especially when the court is full of officials who wear masks while doing their jobs. You see their loyal and patriotic facade, but you don't know if their hearts are truly bright red.

Over the years, the only person who felt completely at ease with him, inside and out, was this little girl he had only met for less than a day.

Although he had no appetite due to the series of events that had occurred that day, Emperor Jingtai was actually a little hungry when he saw Ying Jiuque eating so heartily.

I eagerly took a bite of the mille-feuille in front of me. Hmm, the chef's skills were quite impressive. It melted in my mouth, and with each gentle bite, the sweet aroma burst forth. The sand cake, filled with golden jujube threads, was exceptionally fragrant and rich. And the fried quail was crispy, savory, and delicious…

Before he knew it, Emperor Jingtai had almost finished his meal. Jiufu, who was serving him, stared wide-eyed at Ying Jiuque, who was enjoying his food, then at his cautious, motionless godson. He was filled with disappointment and frustration. It's true that a person might lose their appetite when eating alone, but if there's someone nearby who's enjoying their meal, they'll inevitably be encouraged to eat more.

While overjoyed, even Jiu Fu had some doubts. Was Ying Jiu Que truly not His Majesty's hidden gem? His Majesty seemed to find her far too pleasing to the eye.
After a while, Jiu Que finally finished eating and breathed a satisfied sigh of relief. Looking at the remaining few pieces of pastry, his eyes were filled with reluctance.

Unfortunately, this is the palace, so we can't take it all away...

Emperor Jingtai paused, somewhat helpless. "Never mind, let's get down to business."

Did you find anything interesting today?

Upon hearing His Majesty's question, the four of them tensed up, but Chunyu Shuang and the others all looked at Ying Jiuque in unison.

Jiu Que: "..."

What are you looking at me for? I don't think I'm an official, am I? Although I'm a county princess, that's just an honor bestowed upon a woman. You three are the real, officially employed officials! Shouldn't you be the ones answering now to make a good impression on your superiors?
Even Chunyu Shuang was somewhat resistant to this idea. Well, although His Majesty was unusually gentle in front of them today, Sa Dan and the other two knew very well that His Majesty wasn't usually like this. This was an emperor who had fought his way up on horseback, decisive and ruthless, a ruthless man who had once angrily beheaded half the court! They were just lowly officials, hardly worthy of His Majesty's wrath. Besides, they weren't stupid; how could they not see who His Majesty was currently staring at?
Left with no other choice, Jiu Que stepped forward and recounted everything she had witnessed that day.

"...The women in Tonghua Lane...it seems there are more mistresses yet to be discovered, we need more manpower..."

Emperor Jingtai was able to multitask, listening to both Jiu Que's words and his thoughts without much difficulty. Although he didn't gain much, at least the child wasn't lying.

When Ying Jiuque stopped, Emperor Jingtai unexpectedly overheard her hesitating. [The old emperor has just eaten; is it really appropriate to show him those kinds of paintings now? Won't he slam his fist on the table in a rage? Tsk, it's all that damned top scholar's fault; he's already dead, yet he still makes people feel disgusted!]

Ok?
This piqued Emperor Jingtai's curiosity. At the same time, he was somewhat defiant; there was nothing he couldn't bear to see. Don't underestimate him; he had seen countless gruesome deaths. On the battlefield, people died in all sorts of ways; he was already used to it.

"It's a pity that a top scholar should be serving the country and its people well, but instead he has such a despicable behavior. The examiners are also a bunch of incompetent people. How could they not see Yu Lang's true colors! But then again, is there no substantial evidence?"

Emperor Jingtai changed the subject a bit too quickly, and Jiu Que was caught off guard, so she subconsciously took out the painting from her sleeve.

Since the painting had already been presented, Jiu Que couldn't just pretend everyone was blind, so he had no choice but to hand it over to Jiu Fu.

Seeing the lifelike fire-avoidance diagram, Emperor Jingtai was somewhat surprised. However, he was already fifty years old; what storms hadn't he weathered? He wouldn't be furious. Could it be that Ying Jiuque was simply shy?
Jiuque moved his lips, hesitating slightly. Emperor Jingtai, with his sharp eyes, noticed this and spoke up quite naturally.

"This is something Yu Lang hid? Although it can't be brought into the open, it can only be considered a minor flaw in his character?"

As expected, Jiu Que reacted very strongly!
"Your Majesty! That Yu Lang was of depraved character! Although he is dead, I still have to say, he died a worthy death!"

"Oh why?"

"...His Majesty has never seen the people we met today. His two mistresses are both in the painting."

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned!
It's not unusual for men to look at pictures of fire-avoidance rituals, and many women do too before marriage. But for a man to depict his concubine in such a picture…

What kind of weird habit is this?

Emperor Jingtai reluctantly stroked the table.

"Uh, this is indeed offensive to public morals..."

"His Majesty!"

Knowing that it was time to make things clear, Jiu Que looked around and found that there weren't many people present, so he had no choice but to speak softly.

“There are some faces on these, but they are not Yu Lang’s concubines! I have seen many beauties today, and at least one or two of them are on these.”

Emperor Jingtai went over these words in his mind several times, still somewhat bewildered. The beauty he saw today? Ying Jiuque entered the palace from the Lin residence today, and then went out to investigate a case. It didn't seem strange at all…

Looking down at the erotic and provocative painting of fire avoidance, because it was painted in the meticulous style and the faces were small, it was hard to see anything for a moment. But in a flash, Emperor Jingtai suddenly understood the key point!

Today is his birthday banquet. Who else could be attending? The wives and daughters of ministers, the wives and daughters of imperial relatives, and even his concubines and daughters!
(End of this chapter)