Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 225: Whining the grievances

It must be admitted that what Jiu Que said completely hit the mark with the Second Prince, but even if he was foolish, he knew that he could not agree with it at this moment.

He gritted his teeth inwardly, then tried his best to act as if nothing was wrong.

"Lord Ying, aren't you being a bit too agitated? Even if you are both women, the laws of our dynasty are not based on sympathy. In truth, I can understand that you want to plead for Yu Chuyang, who is also a woman. But this is the Great Jing court, not your private quarters. Such private matters are still..."

"Your Highness is mistaken. Although I am a woman, I am still a subject of the Great Jing Dynasty. Everything I have done is for the sake of the Great Jing, and I am simply stating the facts. Yu Chuyang's crime does not warrant death. Should we put her to death because of a trivial prejudice? That would be the greatest contempt for the law."

The Second Prince never expected Ying Jiuque to contradict him in front of so many officials, and his expression immediately turned ugly. Furthermore, his father had not expressed a clear stance on the matter.

Besides, Father is a man, and men understand men best. What man would want to see such an arrogant woman as Ying Jiuque active in the court? Father must have disliked her for a long time, but he just hasn't found an opportunity. The matter of Yu Chuyang is the perfect opportunity. If he can use this to suppress Yu Chuyang, Ying Jiuque's people won't be far behind.

Therefore, he spoke directly.

"I believe Yu Chuyang and Li Chengyuan are in cahoots, otherwise they wouldn't have gone to the discussion meeting together! Lord Ying believes Yu Chuyang is innocent, so let's produce some evidence. Otherwise, don't waste everyone's time here..."

Jiu Que narrowed his eyes. Had the Second Prince completely abandoned all pretense of civility?

In fact, no matter how much the two of them argue here, it won't affect the final outcome, because only Emperor Jingtai can make the final decision on this matter.

Strangely enough, while the Second Prince's scandal was causing a great stir throughout the capital, the usually decisive Emperor Jingtai hadn't expressed a clear stance. This led many court officials to suspect that the Second Prince was Emperor Jingtai's preferred successor, causing him to hesitate. Among the high-ranking officials standing in the front row, one narrowed his eyes. "Hmm, it seems His Majesty is also undecided." In truth, whether the Second Prince or the Fourth Prince ascended the throne made little difference to him; both were weak and incompetent, easily controlled. However, what he desired more was to use the Second and Fourth Prince's affairs to provoke His Majesty into a moment of righteous anger. His Majesty had endured so many years of military campaigns, accumulating numerous hidden injuries. Furthermore, the complexities of state affairs in recent years had taken a toll on his spirit. If…

At this moment, half of everyone's attention was on the argument between Ying Jiuque and the Second Prince, while the other half was on Emperor Jingtai on the high platform.

Before the two could reach a conclusion, Emperor Jingtai swiftly tossed down a memorial, which, by sheer coincidence, landed squarely on the Second Prince's lap. The Second Prince, who had initially thought he had the upper hand, suddenly changed his expression. To be honest, he was still somewhat afraid of his father, and at that moment, he subconsciously began to reflect on whether he had made any mistakes recently.

But after thinking it over, he didn't seem to have done anything wrong...

"Second brother, take a look at this document!"

The second prince, trembling with fear, opened the seemingly unremarkable memorial. But after quickly scanning a few lines, his face changed drastically, and he immediately knelt down, begging for mercy. "Father! Your Majesty! I had no such intention! Please see the truth!"

The document, lying on the ground amidst the chaos, came into Jiu Que's view. The handwriting was bold and unrestrained, carrying an unspeakable anger. The entire document was filled with disbelief, and then he looked at the signature.

Hey ho, the Women's Army of Beiguan!

Sure enough, the wind in the capital is really strong; it even blew all the way to the North Gate.

"I'm not even dead yet, and you're already eager to interfere in the border regions?! Why is the Women's Army's pay reduced by 70%? Where did the winter clothes prepared for this year go?! I never expected you to have such audacity! What? Stirring up trouble in the capital and trampling women underfoot isn't enough, you also want to trample the Women's Army far away on the border? If you really think women are useless, why are you afraid of them?"

"A man, a prince! Even if you want this dragon throne beneath my butt, you should fight for it honorably! Not hide behind your mother and use the method of suppressing women to fight for it! Aren't women citizens of the Great Jing? Aren't women human? So you think you're more noble just because you have more things underneath you? I don't have a daughter! If I had a daughter who was better than you, you wouldn't be sitting on the dragon throne!"

These hurtful words not only caused the second prince to weep bitterly, proving that he had no such intention, but also made the court officials kneel down, not daring to look directly at the emperor's furious face.

Some old-fashioned people wanted to refute what His Majesty had just said, but they were pulled back by their colleagues. Even if you want to gain fame before and after death by submitting a remonstrance, you have to seize the opportunity! At this moment, His Majesty was obviously furious. If you jump out again, who will die if not you?
"That Yu Huaishan, he's corrupt and wants to make a name for himself, yet he insists on relying on his daughter and granddaughter! I find it strange that all the court officials, when their own daughters, nieces, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters are married and their husbands have died, go to great lengths to find them better. Why is it that when it comes to other people's daughters, it's not the same? Minister Zuo of the Ministry of War, I remember that your youngest daughter's husband died of a stroke just three months after her marriage. Your wife was incredibly brave; she went straight to her daughter's house and brought her back. In less than a year, she found a perfect husband and married him. Now they live happily ever after and have three children. Yet you haven't dared to utter a single word about this! What? Do you think your wife did something wrong in your daughter's case?"

"Your humble servant dares not, Your humble servant is terrified."

"I think you really should be terrified. The Second Prince has done something wrong, and instead of offering any advice, you ministers have remained silent. What kind of logic is that? And the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, I remember your granddaughter..."

Ah, I didn't expect the old emperor to be so shrewd. He knows about the family affairs of his ministers, and it seems he's fully aware of the Second Prince's actions these past few days. It's so boring. Who in the court doesn't know the Second Prince has done wrong? Yet most of his colleagues seem to think that women who do wrong must be punished more severely. What's the difference between their brains and pig brains? All people are born equal; how can there be distinction based on gender?

"Ahem... Oh, right, and the granddaughter of the Vice Minister of Agriculture..."

[Huh? It seems someone wants to enter the palace. Isn't it the grand court assembly now? Who wants to come in? Minister Qin, the Vice Minister of Rites? Strange, wasn't Minister Qin supposed to be ill? Why is he with someone else? Oh dear, this is going to be trouble! He's going to file a complaint with the Emperor!]

(End of this chapter)