Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 17 Immense Ambition

Upon hearing this, Ying Jiuque was no longer sleepy. After finding out the location, someone naturally went to search for it. Ying Jiuque then smiled and asked Xie Mingchen for help.

"Don't worry, sister. Physician Xie is a very kind person, how could he possibly refuse? Besides, with your looks and character, it would be such a waste if you were really plagued by illness. Moreover, such a good opportunity might not come again. Look at the medicinal scent on you, it's already quite strong. Medicine isn't something you can easily swallow. What do you say, Sister Jinhua?"

Jin Hua nodded subconsciously.

"That's right, Fuliu, this..."

He was interrupted by Fuliu halfway through his speech.

"Thank you very much, young lady. I will respectfully accept your offer."

So impatient?

Jiu Que's eyes flashed, and he watched this scene with a smile, seemingly not noticing anything. He quietly waited on the side until Xie Mingchen prescribed the medicine, then gave Chunyu Shuang a look and left with a smile.

Chunyu Shuang, who followed them out, was very puzzled.

Jiu Que simply grabbed Chunyu Shuang's arm, acting extremely affectionately. In reality, he whispered something in her ear.

"You've been wanting an opportunity, haven't you? Now that opportunity has arrived."

Chunyu Shuang stiffened, and after hesitating for a long time on the way to leave in the carriage with Ying Jiuque, she still couldn't help but ask.

"What on earth do you know?"

"Are you asking about this case or about yourself?"

After hesitating for a moment, Chunyu Shuang pointed to herself.

Jiu Que thought this wasn't actually that difficult. After all, the world was so unfair. At the end of the previous dynasty, women could still serve as officials, but in just over a decade, how many of those female officials were still alive? Hadn't they all vanished without a trace?
Given Chunyu Shuang's age, she must have witnessed the extent of freedom women enjoyed back then. Although she was always rather taciturn, almost invisible during investigations, agreeing with everything she was told to do without offering her own opinions—like a most loyal subordinate—Jiu Que knew that this woman harbored immense ambition. Otherwise, why would Emperor Jingtai have chosen her specifically?
Or perhaps the other party is secretly trying to gain my trust?
Thinking about this, Jiu Que also felt strange.

"How do you know I'm worth using? I'm just a minor county princess, and I only got this position because of my mother's early death. You've seen it yourself; I wasn't favored by my father, and I've spent thirteen years on the estate, receiving no affection whatsoever. I'm just a lonely figure. Although His Majesty has assigned me to investigate this case, everyone knows it's just a power struggle between His Majesty and his officials. If we find the answer, we might not receive a fair reward, but if we don't, we'll definitely be thrown at him. Any of those bigwigs in the court could easily crush me with a single step. Is trusting someone like me your only option?"

"..."

A deathly silence fell over the carriage; even Xie Mingchen, who was rushing to catch his train outside, unconsciously held his breath. Although he was completely absorbed in medicine and detached from worldly affairs, he could still sense the tension between the two. They hadn't interacted much before, but their relationship had been quite harmonious; how had things suddenly changed?
In the dead silence, Chunyu Shuang stared intently into Ying Jiuque's smiling eyes for a long time before finally sighing.

"What thoughts could I possibly have? I'm just doing my job day by day. As long as His Majesty hasn't dismissed me from my post, I will remain a clerk in the Ministry of Justice. Although my position is lowly and my duties are insignificant, as long as I hold this post, I will obey His Majesty's orders. Whatever His Majesty tells me to do, I will do."

"As for choosing you..."

Chunyu Shuang suddenly relaxed her brows and smiled.

"Naturally, it's because Your Majesty trusts you deeply, Princess. If His Majesty didn't trust you, why would he entrust you with this important task? There are indeed people in this world who are unwilling to be the pebble used to test the waters, but even if that pebble is picked up randomly, even if that pebble will eventually be shattered to pieces, there are still plenty of people willing to be it. After all, some people don't even have the chance to want to be a pebble."

It turned out to be the case.

This person has an extremely strong ambition to climb the social ladder. Even if it means being shattered to pieces, they are not afraid and are already prepared to be shattered to pieces.

Although Ying Jiuque didn't feel that the old emperor trusted her that much, she still respected him greatly. "I can't be sure I won't be casually discarded, but Chunyu, you're truly a remarkable woman! Don't worry, I'll do my best to help in any way I can. This case might be solved today. Of course, Wei Yuan's side also needs to step up their efforts. Our scattered little team needs to show you all that we're not pushovers."

"Brother Xie, could you please hurry?"

"it is good!"

After two incense sticks had burned, the three looked at what they had in their hands, then at each other's dirty faces, and exchanged a knowing smile.

After Wei Yuan sent the message, Jiu Que and the other two simply waited in the courtyard. When all the suspects were brought over, the three of them were still whispering and discussing among themselves.

After a brief silence, the leader asked in a trembling voice.

"Miss, what are you doing?"

Actually, the other party wanted to ask why they had made such a mess of someone else's house, but they didn't dare to speak because of the tall guards around them.

Jiu Que gave Chunyu Shuang a look, and Chunyu stepped forward to show her what she was holding.

"Miss Yunniang, you should recognize this, right?"

Yunniang glanced at the grass still covered in mud in Chunyu Shuang's hand, looking somewhat bewildered.

"Isn't this a weed?"

He glanced again at his own vegetable garden, which had been turned into a mess, and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Are these weeds in my vegetable garden? But why did you pull them out?"

"There's no point in pretending now. Yunniang, you really don't recognize this?"

"I truly do not recognize you..."

"it is good!"

Chunyu Shuang suddenly raised her voice and looked at Jin Hua, whose expression was not quite natural.

"Golden Flower Girl, so you don't recognize this thing either?"

"I, of course I don't recognize it. It's just a common weed, why would I bother to ask about it?"

"Girl Jinhua may not know what it means to be from the Imperial Medical Academy. Out of a million people in the entire country, only twenty are qualified to study at the Imperial Medical Academy each year. It's no exaggeration to say that it's one in ten thousand. This Xie Enliangsheng next to me has been well-versed in medical theory since childhood and knows everything about herbs in the world. Because of this, he was promoted exceptionally and is the youngest and most promising doctor in the Imperial Medical Academy. He can tell what kind of herb it is just by smelling it. Do you know what that means?"

Jin Hua's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she still forced herself to speak.

"What does it mean?"

"Naturally, it means that he can tell at a glance whether something is a weed or a medicinal herb. So now, do you still think it's just a weed?"

(End of this chapter)