Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 233 Waiting for You to Return, I'll Make You a Princess

When Jiu Que received the imperial edict, she wasn't surprised, because at this time, she was the best candidate to go to the frontier to comfort the women's army. The Second Prince's previous antics had caused widespread anxiety among women. It was understandable that the women's army, as the main force on the frontier, would be worried; after all, if they fought tooth and nail on the front lines and achieved great feats, only to have them handed over to men, no one would be willing.

The only headache now is that His Majesty has given her so much power and promoted her four ranks. I wonder what the officials outside will say. However, these are not things that Jiu Que needs to worry about. She is actually very interested in the trip to the frontier, after all, it is the place where her mother once fought her whole life.

Since the mission was to appease the people, Jiu Que could not go empty-handed. With His Majesty's decree in hand, Jiu Que had made countless trips to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue in recent days. Under the watchful eyes of the ministers and officials of these two ministries, who were suffering from splitting headaches, Jiu Que managed to gather a large amount of grain, military supplies, and weapons.

It's worth noting that Jiu Que was able to raise so much material during this non-holiday period, truly thanks to His Majesty's imperial decree. Of course, the consequence of this was that the Minister of Revenue looked at Jiu Que with eyes that practically wanted to tear him apart. Since he took charge of the Ministry of Revenue, even His Majesty had found it difficult to obtain funds without a legitimate reason. Yet this Ying Jiu Que, wielding his authority like a tiger, always managed to come up with reasons that were somewhat plausible, making it impossible for him to refuse. However, such generosity was a disgrace to his reputation as a miser. Because of Ying Jiu Que's lead, his colleagues had been looking at him strangely lately. They kept sending requests for funds to the Ministry of Revenue—did they really think he was being generous? Reject! Reject! Reject them all!

Meanwhile, Jiu Que was busy gathering a large amount of grain. The border regions would never have too much grain, and at this moment, she finally regretted not focusing on making money. She felt her daily silver was enough, but it was still a drop in the ocean when it came to so many soldiers on the frontier. Sigh, if only she knew how to grow silver—no, gold! Wait, she did seem to have discovered a gold mine and presented it to His Majesty, but without His Majesty's permission, she couldn't act. Tsk…

During this time, Jiu Que made a special trip to see Li Chengyuan. Perhaps due to His Majesty's secret instructions, the dozens of blows during her previous caning hadn't killed Li Chengyuan. Although she appeared bloodied, they were only superficial injuries. However, sending her to the frontier under such circumstances would certainly not guarantee her survival. Since Jiu Que was going to the frontier anyway, she decided to take her along. Now that Li Chengyuan was a favorite of His Majesty, no one would object to this small request. Yes, even if her colleagues were consumed by jealousy, they wouldn't dare openly do anything to her. After all, countless people had already taught them, through bloodshed, that Ying Jiu Que was not just an ordinary woman favored by His Majesty; she was an official with real power, just like everyone else, and even held a high position, having been granted the title of Earl!
It's all the Second Prince's fault for that chaotic discussion he organized earlier; it threw their minds into disarray. Alas, many families now regret not having given birth to such a capable daughter.

After packing everything she needed to take to the frontier, Jiu Que was summoned by His Majesty in private and given another task.

"Jiu Que, you should know that the Women's Army, with only three thousand men, severely damaged the Northern Barbarians' tens of thousands of soldiers. That battle was brilliantly fought, one of the few victories in the thirteen years since the founding of our Great Jing Dynasty. Even now, thinking about it brings me great satisfaction. It's just a pity that there are always those who don't want the people of our Great Jing to have a good life. It's true that the Second Prince embezzled the Northern Frontier Army's pay and provisions, but he doesn't have the ability to embezzle so much. Where did all the missing provisions go? From the Wuyou Cave incident to the current embezzlement, I've discovered that someone is plotting something behind the scenes. Although some henchmen have been dealt with, the mastermind has yet to show up. Three of the grain transport officers sent to the Northern Frontier have died, and the grain has vanished. Now that I'm sending you to the Northern Frontier, I'm truly worried. What if you..."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will certainly live up to your expectations."

Emperor Jingtai sighed. He knew that once this child set out to do something, he would do his best, and that wasn't what worried him. What worried him was whether the child might also encounter danger. After all, the mastermind behind it all was so ruthless; what if they also targeted this child…

Although she didn't know why His Majesty valued her so much, Jiu Que vaguely understood that His Majesty was a good emperor. At this moment, she solemnly declared that she would absolutely take good care of herself. She also subtly suggested that someone with exceptional martial arts skills should protect her. And that person was none other than the anonymously kind-hearted Senior Cui Zhufeng.

In truth, Emperor Jingtai knew that Jiuque was protected by the world's top martial arts expert; otherwise, he wouldn't have issued that decree. Furthermore, he knew that Cui Zhufeng was naturally free-spirited and loved freedom, and issuing an order in the emperor's name would only provoke his resentment; therefore, he didn't mention it.

Emperor Jingtai had gone to great lengths to ensure the best possible outcome for Jiu Que's trip, and Jiu Que, not being an ungrateful wretch, couldn't help but express her gratitude. In fact, she genuinely wanted to see the place where her mother had fought so hard. Unlike her father, whom she found repulsive, Jiu Que was very interested in her mother, a national heroine.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will definitely protect myself. Your humble servant is waiting to return and continue to serve Your Majesty." Emperor Jingtai looked into Jiu Que's sincere eyes. He didn't know why he was so reluctant to part with him. He hadn't spent much time with this child; most of the time Jiu Que was out working. Even if he had heard the child's thoughts, it had only been a few times. Now that he thought about it, perhaps it was because this child had always been true to himself.

After reigning for a long time, Emperor Jingtai became suspicious of everyone around him, because he didn't know what these people who claimed to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic were really thinking, just like the mastermind he discovered was actually in the court.

It is extremely difficult to find someone you can completely trust. Over time, Emperor Jingtai unconsciously came to regard the Nine Palaces as the cornerstone of his psychological stability.

"Your title is still too low. When you return and successfully inspect the border, I will bestow upon you the title of princess, shall I?"

"what?"

This news was still too shocking for Jiu Que. Hadn't she just been made a county princess? And now she was going to be made a princess?

That's an incredibly fast promotion.

However, before she could refuse, Emperor Jingtai made a firm statement.

"That's it."

Nine Palaces: ...

What else could she say? She could only kowtow and express her gratitude for the Emperor's grace.

(End of this chapter)