Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 156 Could you do better?
Before they arrived, they set a signal. Once they were sure they had taken the place, Senior Cui lightly touched her toes and easily reached the roof. No one knew how she did it, but a low, hoarse insect chirping sounded. Wei Yuan and the others, who were still playing hide-and-seek with the guards in the palace, immediately heard it and realized that Senior Cui and her team had succeeded. They quickly ran towards the direction from which the sound came.

At the same time, Jiu Que cleared his throat and issued a low command, startling the 'Prince of Binyang,' for his voice was exactly the same as the Prince of Binyang's. Yet, the fake prince had spent ten years learning to imitate the real prince perfectly. This young female imperial envoy had only been in Yancheng for a day, and hadn't even heard the real prince speak before, yet she could imitate his voice so perfectly? Or was this woman, or rather, the emperor behind her, prepared all along?

Actually, she learned this trick from the elders when the village was being built. It's true that having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. Although those entering the village were mostly elderly people living alone, their skills were things many had never even heard of, like Jiu Que herself. She was considered talented, but it still took her ten whole days to barely learn it from that elder. Furthermore, the guards outside were very obedient to the Prince of Binyang, so she didn't think much of it. Although she was puzzled, she quietly followed the prince's orders.

Bai Yichun originally thought that Jiu Que had prepared everything, so he followed along without a care in the world. However, as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he was startled to see dozens of highly skilled guards staring at him.

Could this be a conspiracy?

But the next moment she realized that the menacing guards had only stared at them for a few moments without making any move to attack. Relieved, she felt even more pleased with Jiu Que's abilities. This was truly a high-ranking official with a bright future! Yes, even though Jiu Que's official rank was only sixth grade, Bai Yi Chun firmly believed that she would rise rapidly to a very high position.

Otherwise, how could they have led the guards of the Binyang Prince's Mansion around a few times before being able to openly enter this heavily guarded courtyard?

"come in."

Bai Yichun and Wei Yuan calmly walked in and immediately noticed the strange situation inside. No wonder the door slammed shut as soon as they entered; it turned out that everyone inside had become prisoners.

Wow, what are these Northern Barbarians? Their appearance is completely different from that of the Great Jing people; their facial features are much more defined, and most of their eyes aren't black. But right now, they're all incredibly docile. One of them has his hand bones crushed, and it's swollen like a flour sack, looking quite bizarre.

"Nine Palaces, what is this?"

"Senior Cui is wise and powerful, suppressing all of this with lightning speed. Our previous guess was correct. The real Prince of Binyang was poisoned and controlled, and this one is an imposter. Those wasteful and extravagant decrees were all issued by the fake prince. Moreover, he was also selling smuggled salt to the Northern Barbarians, openly selling it to the people, as well as ironware. These Northern Barbarians are the ones who came this year to discuss the total amount of goods. The one over there with the injured hand seems to be the Left Prince of the Northern Barbarians. He's a rather significant prisoner."

"Hiss—" Although they had suspected something, the two still gasped when they heard the details of the case firsthand. Swindling members of the imperial family, impersonating a prince, and selling salt and iron to the hostile northern barbarians—these multiple crimes combined would be enough to kill even a thousand fake princes!
Wei Yuan instantly recalled the women still missing from the Worry-Free Cave. He looked questioningly at Jiu Que, and upon receiving a nod, his eyes blazed with fury. It turned out that those missing women and children had been sold by their own people to an enemy nation! The Northern Barbarians were known for their cruelty and slaughter, having repeatedly attacked the borders, committing rape, plunder, and all manner of atrocities! Even though the people of the capital rarely saw genuine Northern Barbarians, as fellow citizens of the Great Jing, they were always heartbroken to hear of the suffering of their compatriots on the border. They wished they could personally take to the battlefield and slaughter those audacious Northern Barbarians. But now, someone had sold their own people to a foreign land—how was this any different from treason? Moreover, they were also selling salt and iron to the Northern Barbarians; didn't they know that the Northern Barbarians and the Great Hall were currently at war?

"Do you know that every grain of salt and every piece of iron you sell will become a sharp blade aimed at my Great Jing soldiers! As a citizen of Great Jing, how can you collude with the enemy and betray your country?"

Although Wei Yuan was born into the palace and rarely suffered hardship, he wasn't born so tall and capable of self-defense. When he was very young, war broke out everywhere. His parents died protecting him at the hands of the northern barbarians! Wei Yuan still vividly remembers the sticky, damp feeling of warm blood gushing from his parents' bodies and soaking his entire body.

Although he was later adopted by his foster father, this experience remained an unspeakable pain in his heart. While unable to personally go to the battlefield to behead the enemy, Wei Yuan had been silently observing the war on the border. He never imagined that someone would betray their country at such a crucial moment!

That 'King of Binyang' had suffered too much stimulation today, and had been beaten several times by Jiu Que, leaving him half-dead. However, upon hearing this, he still couldn't help but retort.

"How do you know I willingly betrayed my country and colluded with the enemy? If it weren't for you high-ranking people forcing me, even killing my parents and relatives, why would I have done these things? Did I not know I was a citizen of Dajing? Did I not know that my actions would cause enormous harm to the country? Did I have a choice? Do you think I had a choice? For a nobody like me, struggling to survive is already difficult enough. What right do I have to resist? Don't pin these crimes on me. If you're so capable, go find the real mastermind and kill him!"

These words had exhausted him greatly; after speaking, the fake prince collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. He glanced at the still unconscious fake prince, tears welling in his eyes.

Didn't he know that the Prince of Binyang was the God of War of the Great Jing Dynasty? But what could he do? Over the years, he even harbored some resentment towards the man lying on the bed. If it weren't for this face that resembled his own, he wouldn't have had to suffer so much torment and pain, having his flesh and bones ripped off, losing all his relatives, and even being forced to be a puppet, bearing the crime of treason and betrayal.

Ha, these people only know how to stand on moral high ground and criticize themselves. If they were in their shoes, would they do any better?
It is true that the ignorant are fearless.

Wei Yuan was not good with words to begin with, and he was speechless for a moment after being hit with this string of words, his face turning ashen.

(End of this chapter)