Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 166 Who knows you?

“I’ve grown up by your side since I was so young, don’t you know what kind of person I am? I don’t have the guts to do anything against your wishes. I truly believed that you were the one giving orders all this time, Second Uncle—”

"Of course, I know exactly who you are."

"Second Uncle, I knew you would understand..."

Amidst the varied expressions on the faces of those present, the Prince of Binyang spoke coldly.

"You are timid by nature yet arrogant, insecure yet despise being looked down upon. When you lose power, you are as cowardly as a mouse; when you gain power, you are haughty and arrogant. You have the desire but not the courage to do so."

"Second uncle..."

Zhao Gou's face flushed and then turned purple. He couldn't tell whether the Prince of Binyang was praising him or belittling him. Or perhaps he was trying to save his life by belittling him? He could only keep changing his expression, unsure of what to say. Unexpectedly, the next moment, the Prince of Binyang spoke with disappointment.

"Because you know what kind of person you are, I have never dared to give you a high position all these years. I only thought that if you stayed by my side, you could live a life of wealth and honor as a small guerrilla general. But I never expected that you would be so dissatisfied with my decision and choose to help the wicked."

"No! Second Uncle, I..."

"As you said, you've been by my side for so many years, I know you very well, and you know me very well too. You should have noticed long ago that I've been replaced, right? But have you taken any remedial measures? Have you thought about reporting the situation here to His Majesty? Or do you think that if His Majesty finds out about my situation, he might take me back to the capital and remove me from my post in Yancheng, at which point you won't be able to be a carefree young master who is fawned over by others?"

"I do not……"

"At first, you were just afraid of losing your former status, but later you gradually realized that this fake prince not only didn't distance himself from you, but also elevated you, giving you more power and benefits, and even making you more powerful than before. Gradually, you became lost in this enjoyment. You grew to like the respectful yet fearful looks people gave you whenever you went out, and you also enjoyed the life where you could squander money without being criticized. You think it would have been better if I, your second uncle, had never appeared, so you could have lived a better life. Am I right?"

"..."

Zhao Gou was almost speechless. He was horrified to discover that every word the Prince of Binyang spoke struck at the deepest secrets hidden in his heart. He found himself unable to refute them, and he realized he was trembling with fear. The feeling of having one's deepest secrets laid bare by another was unbearable, especially when one had a guilty conscience. He hadn't expected his second uncle to understand him so well; at this point, it seemed pointless to say anything.

"Second Uncle, what do you mean by saying this? I'm your own nephew. You know I have these little flaws, I'll change them in the future, okay? You watched me grow up, can you really bear to see me take my own life?"

"Good heavens! This man is utterly shameless!" Jiu Que immediately rolled up her sleeves, ready to teach him a lesson about justice. Unexpectedly, the King of Binyang waved his hand dismissively. "You're hopeless. I've taught you since childhood that those in high positions should care for the common people, because we all rose from humble beginnings. Yet you remain hopelessly addicted to the dream of power. When you enjoy wealth and luxury, indulging in pleasures and unable to wake up, have you ever thought about the people suffering day and night in the salt fields—the people under my rule, your own compatriots? Have you ever thought about the women who were wantonly abducted—the women you should be protecting? If you had even a shred of remorse, you wouldn't have done this all these years."

"Zhao Gou, you have disappointed me greatly."

The last sentence became the final straw for Zhao Gou. He suddenly straightened up, stiffened his neck, and shouted loudly.

"Yes! I am useless, so what if I disappoint you? You are my own uncle, you've already been granted a prince title, why can't you give me one too? Don't think I don't know, the emperor already mentioned that I should be your heir, but you refused even though you've never been married and have no children. Isn't that because you look down on me? Now what are you pretending to be, a good person? You even said you've been teaching me since I was little. If you've been teaching me since I was little, then give me the best of everything! What's the use of making me a lowly guerrilla general? As a damn general, I have to go out on patrol every day. I'm your own nephew, and you make me do this kind of street patrol work. Do you know how the people outside see me? Do you know how they laugh at me behind my back? Do you know how afraid I am every day, worried that you'll forget about me after you get married and have children?! You know nothing, because you are the great Prince of Binyang, you are the hero of this country, you take it for granted that the people cheer for you, and you've never cared about me struggling to survive in your shadow!"

“You’re right. I knew you’d been switched all along, and I even knew that guy had kept you hidden in this room for three whole years. But so what? In your absence, I became even more powerful and influential. By controlling the salt supply in Yancheng, I controlled the lifeline of the entire Dajing. Even the officials from the surrounding counties who frequently visited treated me with utmost respect. Did you see how those officials from the surrounding counties groveled and groveled before me for a single cartload of salt? Only then did I feel alive, only then did I realize how wonderful this world was. But why did you wake up? Couldn’t you have just stayed in bed?!”

"presumptuous!"

Jiu Que initially didn't want to get involved in the private affairs between the uncle and nephew, but the more he listened to their words, the more outrageous they seemed. What kind of nonsense was this? Did everyone owe Zhao Gou something? The Prince of Binyang had already done a great service by raising you to adulthood, hadn't he? You had no merit or fame, so what if he made you a guerrilla general? That was already giving you a lot of credit!

"You think you're being wronged by being made a guerrilla general? Do you know how many people in the world struggle their whole lives and never reach that position? You're greedy and insatiable!"

Zhao Gou's face turned ashen. He had always looked down on women. He had enjoyed countless beauties abducted from all over the country, each one trembling with fear, gentle and submissive. How could they be like Ying Jiuque before him, a woman with the strength of an ox, crude and savage? Did she even deserve to be called a woman?

But he had just been beaten by Jiu Que and was still in pain from the wounds on his body, so he could only mutter his resentment softly.

"How can I be compared to ordinary people? I am the Prince of Binyang's own nephew, I grew up by his side since I was a child, and I will inherit his position in the future. How can those commoners be compared to me?"

"Oh--"

Jiuque drew out his voice and delivered the final blow.

"This is the first time I've ever seen someone who isn't proud of their own existence, but rather proud of their kinship with someone else. Besides, what do you have to be proud of? If it weren't for the Prince of Binyang, who would even know you?"

(End of this chapter)