Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 226 Complaint

To file a complaint with the emperor?!

The seemingly composed Emperor Jingtai nearly bit his tongue. Shocked, he glanced outside the hall, and the next moment, all the courtiers heard a continuous, deafening drumbeat!

The Drum of Grievance!
The court officials, who had been worried, now forgot about their previous discussion. They exchanged glances, their shock evident in each other's eyes. This grievance drum was a large drum erected outside the Chaowu Gate in the early years of Emperor Jingtai's reign. It was specially crafted by a seasoned master craftsman to ensure its sound could travel for miles. In the thirteen years since, the drum had sounded only a handful of times. But each time, Emperor Jingtai took it seriously, immediately setting aside all the issues that had just been discussed in court.

Jiufu accepted the order and hurriedly led his men to the outside of Chaowu Gate.

The once bustling court was now completely silent; no one dared to utter a single word.

It felt like a long time had passed, yet also like only a moment had gone by, when Jiu Fu returned in haste with his men. However, the expression on his face was somewhat strange, as if he didn't know how to describe it.

When the people in the court saw the person following behind Jiu Fu, they couldn't help but show strange expressions. Isn't this Lord Qin, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites?
Of course, this Lord Qin also had another identity: his daughter was the former wife of the Second Prince. However, this wife was unfortunate, passing away from illness just as the Second Prince was beginning to rise to prominence. Lord Qin was an upright and honest man throughout his life, and he and his wife had only one daughter, with whom he shared a deep affection. Since his daughter's death, he had fallen seriously ill and had been on leave. He hadn't shown his face in the capital during this time, so why had he suddenly appeared now?
Many people had an unbelievable thought, but at this moment they all lowered their heads, not daring to be the ones to stand out.

This Lord Qin is an upright official who doesn't quite understand the ways of being an official. However, he is very knowledgeable, which is why he became a junior official in the Ministry of Rites. If nothing unexpected happens, his next step will be to become the vice minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Emperor Jingtai initially chose his daughter to be the principal wife of the Second Prince because of his noble family background. Although she had not borne the Second Prince any children over the years, she was not a jealous person. The Second Prince's residence was bustling with concubines, numbering at least ten, and she managed the Second Prince's residence very well.

Therefore, Emperor Jingtai had a fairly good impression of the Second Prince's wife.

Seeing Lord Qin enter with a sorrowful expression and a limp, Emperor Jingtai had a bad feeling. Not just anyone could beat the grievance drum; there had to be a shocking injustice, and the facts had to be true. After beating the grievance drum, one had to receive forty strokes of the cane before being allowed to enter the palace to see the emperor.

As an official in the Ministry of Rites, Lord Qin was most familiar with this matter, yet he still took the risk, which shows that he truly had a great injustice to be done.

Emperor Jingtai glanced at the Second Prince's suddenly pale face, slowly closed his eyes, and roused himself.

"Qin Aiqing, what grievance do you have? Tell me."

"Your Majesty!" Lord Qin clearly had a lot of grievances to express. At this moment, he knelt on the ground, his voice trembling yet loud. He wanted to tell the whole story of his daughter's injustice in this Golden Palace!
"This wicked subject must accuse the Second Prince of plotting to murder his wife!"

Lord Qin spoke slowly and deliberately, each word seemingly spitting out blood as if he were biting his tongue. This pent-up anger had been building up in his chest for so many days, almost bursting his thin chest. Now, finally, he had an outlet, and his voice grew louder and louder, resounding throughout the entire Golden Palace!
“My daughter, if not unparalleled, is certainly virtuous and kind. Over the years, she has managed the Second Prince's residence diligently and without complaint. Although she has not borne him a son or daughter, she has never stopped him from taking concubines. The Second Prince has more than a dozen concubines whose names I know, and many more whose names I don't. My daughter is by no means a jealous person! If the Second Prince doesn't like my daughter, he can divorce her, or even dismiss her. We, as his subjects, would not dare to complain. But why must you take her life? What has my daughter ever done to wrong you?!”

"You, you're talking nonsense! Wan Niang clearly died of illness!"

"Do you dare to open the coffin and examine it?!"

The second prince seemed to have bitten his tongue, speechless, his face flushed red, yet he couldn't utter a single word. Although the medicine he used was top-grade, how could it withstand the scrutiny of the Imperial Medical Academy?

"I found it strange from the beginning. Even if my daughter really died of illness, according to the laws of our dynasty, the Imperial Hospital should verify the death and the coffin should be kept for seven days before the funeral! But the Second Prince was so impatient that he didn't even have three days, and buried my daughter directly! When my wife and I wanted to see our daughter one last time, you tried every means to stop us, saying that it was Wan Niang's last wish, that she was so sick and frail because she didn't want us old folks to be heartbroken. How ridiculous that I actually believed you. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt something was wrong. All the head maids my daughter brought with her were executed. Even if it was for improper service, such punishment was too much. What's even stranger is that all those who served my daughter were beaten to death, and not a single one was sold off!"

"If it weren't for the heavens' mercy, and one of the maids miraculously surviving, I probably would never have known that my daughter was murdered by the man she slept with!"

"You, you, talking nonsense, talking nonsense!"

The Second Prince never expected that the other party knew so much. Weren't all those maids and servants dealt with back then? How could there possibly be any survivors?!

Seeing the Second Prince's flustered state, a dark glint flashed in Emperor Jingtai's eyes. He began to wonder if he had committed some heinous crime in his past life—disrespecting his master, betraying his ancestors, and desecrating their graves—to have such a son. Oh, disrespecting his master was a mystery, but he had indeed desecrated ancestral graves; the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty had been completely razed, after all, the Jing Dynasty was poor. But wasn't this punishment too excessive?

Lord Qin had clearly come prepared. He probably never thought he would get out alive. The wound on his back and buttocks was still throbbing, but he didn't care about the bleeding. He had to take advantage of the gathering of officials to settle this matter. Otherwise, everyone would know what the Second Prince would do under the guise of this opportunity.
"Second Prince! My daughter has always been healthy since childhood. Wasn't it His Majesty's consideration for my Wan Niang's constitution that led to your marriage? Tell me, how could a perfectly healthy person fall ill and die within ten days? Furthermore, even though the imperial physician's prescription was ineffective, the Second Prince's residence still allowed that Imperial Physician Wang to continue treating her? According to palace rules, if the imperial physician's prescription is ineffective, a more skilled imperial physician should be selected to treat her in turn. Why wasn't my Wan Niang treated this way?"

"Your Majesty! This is my daughter's maid, Lüying. Although she is only a lowly cleaning maid, perhaps that is why the Second Prince lowered his guard against her, allowing her to escape with her life!"

(End of this chapter)