Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 154: Falling into a trap
"So... even if I kill you now, the Prince of Binyang will still live?"

The fake prince looked at Jiu Que in disbelief. This woman had just been trying to trick him into revealing information. Did she have no heart at all? She could remain so rational even in a situation like this. No wonder she was Ying Chongming's daughter.
But how could he possibly admit it at a time like this? The fake prince continued to be stubborn.

"Of course not. To be honest, what he was afflicted with wasn't poison, but a life-and-death curse. Have you ever heard of curses? If I die, he'll die within three days! My life is a small matter, but the dignified Prince of Dajing colluding with the Northern Barbarians to sell smuggled salt, ironware, and even women! This crime alone is enough to make him infamous for eternity, not to mention his collusion with the princes in the court, plotting to usurp the throne! Your mother is Ying Chongming! She and Jing Chaosheng were known as the Twin Stars, and they even respected each other on the battlefield. As Ying Chongming's daughter, are you willing to watch your mother's old friend die a violent death and bear such a humiliating crime?"

"..."

Jiu Que smacked her lips, feeling that the other party was somewhat arrogant and overconfident. However, she also found it strange that the other party assumed she would help the Prince of Binyang because of his reputation. Of course, facing such a hero, Jiu Que wouldn't stand idly by, but she definitely wasn't helping out of favor. Jiu Que believed that any person from the Great Jing Dynasty in this situation would have chosen to lend a hand.

It's this fake prince's behavior that makes people grit their teeth in hatred.

"Why are you barking like a dog? If you're so patriotic, why are you colluding with the Northern Barbarians? And all these crimes you've mentioned, you committed them yourself, didn't you? Now you're feeling wronged on behalf of the Prince of Binyang, don't you find that ridiculous? If you really cared about the Prince, you wouldn't have done this, would you?"

"you……"

The fake prince didn't know what to say at that moment, so he could only grit his teeth in resentment. He dared not offend Jiu Que at this time and could only force himself to shut up.

But Jiu Que wouldn't be so kind as to let him go at this moment. He kicked the man up, and he fell right next to the real prince's bed. He could see the sleeping face of the Prince of Binyang when he looked down. Originally, he was about to spit out blood from the heavy blow, but the next moment he turned his face away in a disheveled state. He even reached out to catch the blood dripping from his mouth so that it wouldn't fall on the Prince of Binyang's face.

Huh?
Jiu Que looked thoughtfully at the fake prince; this man's behavior was rather strange. A normal person, wearing someone else's face, even to become exactly like that person, would have to learn their actions day after day, losing their own identity. Such a life—wouldn't it be hard not to resent the real person? Human nature is so complex; even knowing it's wrong, one can still involuntarily harbor resentment.

But if he disliked the Prince of Binyang, why would the fake prince value him so much?
Uh, it can't be that she likes the Prince of Binyang, right?

Jiu Que looked down at the disheveled fake prince, his gaze carrying a hidden meaning.

"I thought you hated the Prince of Binyang, otherwise you wouldn't have done these evil things in his name. Don't you know that just colluding with the Northern Barbarians to sell smuggled salt and other things is enough to nail the Prince of Binyang to the pillar of shame? Do you want him to be infamous for eternity? To leave a bad name in history?"

"I...no, I just..." The fake prince didn't know what to say and could only remain silent. The Left Prince and his group of Northern Barbarians, however, couldn't take it anymore. Come to think of it, they weren't Northern Barbarians; they were clearly from the grasslands! These Great Jing people had been calling them Northern Barbarians from the very beginning—enough already! That's the problem with the Great Jing people; they consider themselves a civilized city, yet they call others barbarians.

Don't think they don't know that they, the grassland people, are called "Northern Barbarians," and the Miao people further south are called "Southern Yi." Calling them that in private is one thing, but to do it to their faces is a bit disrespectful, isn't it? And they consider themselves a land of etiquette!
Of course, they only kept their thoughts to themselves and dared not say them out loud, after all, they were prisoners now.

At this moment, Jiu Que also lost her patience, staring intently at the other party with a blank expression, wondering whether she should ask Senior Cui to make a move now. However, just as she was pondering this, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside. Accompanying them was a certain anxious and familiar voice.

"Your Highness, this is terrible! The female imperial envoy we talked about earlier really did travel with Bai Yichun and the others! I suddenly remembered that when I was dealing with Bai Yichun, there was indeed a young woman next to her. Could that be the imperial envoy sent by the court? How despicable! She even pretended to be Bai Yichun's cousin! How utterly despicable! Shameless! What are you doing? Get out of the way! I need to go in! I have important matters to report. If this delays the important events in Yancheng, can you compensate me?"

As they were talking, General Zhao, who had just left, returned and forcefully dismissed the guards standing outside the house, then decisively pushed open the door. However, General Zhao hadn't expected that the first person he would see wasn't his uncle, but several northern barbarians glaring at him.

To be honest, General Zhao naturally knew that the Prince of Binyang was colluding with the grasslands, given the large amount of salt transported there annually. Out of a sense of self-preservation, General Zhao remained silent, pretending ignorance. This was also to ensure his survival if the truth came out in the future; however, he was clearly too naive. If the matter in Yancheng were to come to light one day, as the Prince of Binyang's most beloved nephew, and having made a considerable fortune selling smuggled salt over the years, how could the emperor possibly let him off the hook?
General Zhao was surprised to run into these uncouth grassland people. He immediately wanted to leave, but the door slammed shut behind him.

The next second, a dark shadow flashed before his eyes, and General Zhao was horrified to find that he couldn't move. Then, a strange yet familiar figure appeared before him—wasn't this the imperial envoy he had just spoken of?
Ying Jiuque glanced at him 'embarrassed'.

"General Zhao, it's been half a day. How have you been? Were you looking for me? Ah, it seems we were thinking the same thing. I came in early and just happened to run into you. I wonder what brings you here, General Zhao? Do you need any help?"

"I...no, I don't need it. This general has important matters to attend to. Release me first! I'll pretend I didn't see anything. Besides, I'm innocent. I didn't do anything. Even if you're an imperial envoy, can you arbitrarily convict someone?"

"Oh! How can you say that? You're accusing someone without any evidence? I'm a proper imperial envoy. I won't hold a different opinion of you just because I caught General Zhao selling smuggled salt and driving up salt prices. Don't worry, none of us can escape today. Just confess everything and you'll avoid any physical punishment."

I didn't expect General Zhao to have such a strong mentality; he's lying through his teeth.

(End of this chapter)