Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 195 The Second Prince's words are quite true
"Why can't we let Father Emperor know? If Father Emperor says a word, it will be worth several days of our hard work!"

Consort Mo stroked the Second Prince's hair with great affection.

"Silly child, how could you possibly understand the pros and cons? If your father intervenes, the matter will be settled, but there's no guarantee those officials won't remain resentful. If you step in and gain their genuine approval, they'll support you more in the future, after all, you're destined for great things. If you don't win them over to our side first, what will you do if they all run to your fourth brother later?"

Consort Mo's words were quite detailed and convincing. After thinking about it, the Second Prince agreed with his mother. After all, everything he had ever done for him since childhood had been taken care of by his mother. How could she possibly harm him?

So the second prince readily accepted Consort Mo's suggestion. Both mother and son achieved their goals, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious at this moment.

Mo Fei touched her son's neck, then thought of her unfortunate daughter-in-law.

“Sigh, speaking of which, your wife really has no luck. In the five years she was married to you, she not only didn't give you a son or daughter, but she also died at this crucial time. Tell me, what will people outside say about us now? It's clearly her own bad luck, but now it's all our fault.”

Why did Mother mention her?

With no outsiders present, the Second Prince looked extremely gloomy.

“I said from the beginning that I didn’t like her. She comes from a humble family and can’t help me. She’s also dull and boring. If it weren’t for Father Emperor’s insistence on giving her to me as my principal wife, I would never have married such a dull and boring woman.”

It's a pity he couldn't defy his father, the Emperor, so he could only suffer in silence, which is why he had no children after six years of marriage. Outsiders only knew that he had only his principal wife in his harem for six years, assuming he respected and loved her greatly. Little did they know that from the day of their marriage, he had never set foot in the Second Prince's wife's main room. He had absolutely no intimate contact with that woman; how could she have a child? And would that woman even dare to say such a thing in front of outsiders?

Of course, he wouldn't say such things in front of outsiders. He had to admit that the woman's obedient death at the height of his power was a huge help to him.

“My son is right. Don’t worry, your mother is looking for a good family for you these days. They will definitely come from a prominent family, not only with noble birth and pure blood, but also with many useful fathers and brothers who can do things for you. Most importantly, each of them will be exceptionally beautiful, and will definitely not make my son feel ashamed.”

A barely perceptible blush appeared on the Second Prince's face, and he nudged Mo Fei's palm with his head, somewhat embarrassed.

“Mother… nothing else matters. The most important thing is that the women must be obedient and submissive, and their personalities cannot be too strong. Xiao Shi is just like that, which is why I don’t like her. The next princess consort I find must not be like her.”

"Look at this child, still shy, even though he's a grown man."

Consort Mo smiled and stroked the Second Prince's head, while chatting and laughing with her personal nanny.

The old nanny quickly smiled and agreed, saying that the Second Prince was just being filial and trying to amuse Consort Mo, but his expression seemed a little stiff. While the Second Prince's childish antics were indeed endearing, he was now in his twenties or thirties, and his childish behavior made the nanny feel uneasy. In fact, not only her, but everyone in the palace felt that the Second Prince's behavior was strange, but who dared to say such things to Consort Mo?
Everyone could only pretend that they were blind and deaf, unable to see or hear anything.

While the mother and son were still deeply in love, the lawsuit between the Yang and Li families quickly spread throughout the court and the country. The next day, during the morning court session, more than a dozen censors from the Censorate jumped out to impeach Yang and Li, saying that they had mismanaged their household, behaved improperly in the street, and publicly broke off their engagement, failing to set a good example for the people.

The first part was fine with An Yuanbo, but what about this last part? The Li family boy was already dead, so how could they be considered to have broken off the engagement? His daughter hadn't even stepped into the Li family's gate, so how could they be married? There's a limit to nonsense, isn't there? But in front of all the civil and military officials, An Yuanbo obediently knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty."

Emperor Jingtai wasn't some puppet emperor. What was happening in the capital that he didn't know? Besides, the feud between these two families had almost spread throughout the entire capital. How could he not have heard a word about it?

However, Emperor Jingtai did not show any obvious preference, or rather, he did not have time to appease the Earl of Anyuan before he saw a golden figure eagerly step forward.

"Your Majesty, I believe that since the Yang and Li families have already made a marriage agreement, even if the young master of the Li family dies unexpectedly, the young lady of the Yang family should still marry into the Li family and fulfill her duty of supporting her parents-in-law. In the future, a suitable heir should be chosen from among the Li family members who have never left the family to raise, which would be considered fulfilling her responsibility as a wife. In the future, there will also be incense offerings. Wouldn't that be better?"

Emperor Jingtai almost thought he had swallowed the herbal tea he drank that morning to hear such absurd remarks. Forcibly suppressing the dizziness in his eyes, Emperor Jingtai looked closely and found that the speaker was none other than his second son, whom he rarely spoke to.

OK, OK.

According to the information received yesterday, his son holds a significant position in this lawsuit between the two families. Ultimately, it's because the Second Prince publicly discussed the rules women should follow, and Consort Mo's so-called "Admonitions for Women." Even if he has no connection with the Earl of Anyuan, he wouldn't agree to let his beautiful daughter marry into that family and become a widow.

Moreover, the Earl of Anyuan was a brother who fought alongside him to establish the empire, and Emperor Jingtai had even met his youngest daughter. How could he possibly agree to such a nonsensical claim?

However, Emperor Jingtai did not speak immediately. He simply sat calmly on the high platform, quietly watching the scene below, as more and more officials voiced their support for the Second Prince's opinion.

"Your Majesty's words are not without merit. In this world, women are becoming increasingly unruly. Not only are some lacking in obedience, but some even openly engage in business on the streets. This is certainly not the behavior of a virtuous lady. Consort Mo's 'Admonitions for Women' is full of wise sayings, and I believe it should be promoted throughout the land so that all women can learn from Consort Mo's noble character!"

"I also believe that what the Second Prince said is very true. Women should abide by the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, be filial to their parents and parents-in-law at home, respect their husbands, raise their children, and manage the household affairs. These are the virtues that women should have..."

(End of this chapter)