Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 234 Farewell
"Nine Palaces? Nine Palaces! Nine... Princess Ying!"

"A princess is enough... huh?"

Jiu Que finally came to her senses, turned her head to look at Chunyu Shuang standing behind her, and felt a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, I was just spacing out."

Chunyu Shuang felt somewhat helpless. It was one thing for him to daydream on ordinary days, but now was a crucial moment—the transport of the grain convoy to the frontier—and the soldiers outside were waiting. Indeed, to ensure the safe delivery of the provisions to the frontier, Emperor Jingtai had directly assigned a contingent of Golden Armor Guards and city-protecting troops for the escort; today was the departure day. As the highest-ranking and most powerful official in this contingent, Jiu Que was unusually lost in thought, which greatly intrigued Chunyu Shuang.

What's wrong with you? Didn't you get enough rest yesterday?

"No, that's not it, it's just..."

After thinking it over, it seemed there was nothing to hide from the other party, so Jiu Que quietly whispered what Emperor Jingtai had said to Chunyu Shuang. After listening, Chunyu Shuang was equally shocked. She looked Jiu Que up and down several times, and finally couldn't help but whisper.

"Are you truly not His Majesty's hidden gem?"

Although he had asked his friend this question long ago, His Majesty's attitude towards his friend was so strangely kind that it seemed eerie. It was likely that she wasn't the only one who suspected this; many people in the court were secretly investigating Jiu Que's background.

After all, even His Majesty's sons haven't been treated this well by His Majesty. Wasn't the Second Prince just ordered to commit suicide by His Majesty without batting an eye?

Similarly, this wasn't the first time Jiu Que had been asked this question. This time, even she herself felt confused. When she transmigrated, this body was already eighteen years old, and everyone told her she was the daughter of General Ying Chongming and Lin Wei, so logically there shouldn't be any mistake. Otherwise, why would those concubines and illegitimate children in the Lin family, who openly and secretly hated her, cause trouble?
"I don't think so. Everyone says I look more like my mother, and I don't look much like His Majesty."

"It's hard to say. Although your appearance is quite different from His Majesty's, I don't know if it's your temperament or something else, but you really do have a striking resemblance to him. Even those princes don't have this quality in you..."

Chunyu Shuang didn't know how to describe it; in short, it was a very mysterious feeling.

However, since the Fourth Prince was still alive and well, Chunyu Shuang didn't dare to go too far and could only whisper a few words. With departure imminent, it wasn't the time for much talk, so Chunyu Shuang quickly called her friends to go out together. They needed to make an appearance before the soldiers transporting the provisions. Especially Ying Jiuque; everyone needed to remember her face so that if danger arose during the transport, they would know who to save first.

Sitting on the steed bestowed upon him by His Majesty, Jiu Que straightened his clothes and glanced at his familiar companions behind him. Yes, His Majesty had once again packed up Wei Yuan and the others and sent them to the frontier. But he had to admit that seeing familiar faces immediately put Jiu Que at ease.

"senior?"

A gentle breeze brushed against Jiu Que's face, lifting a strand of her hair, which reassured her. She lightly nudged her steed and calmly stepped out of the tent, where she found tens of thousands of soldiers waiting quietly before her. Perhaps this number wouldn't seem like much under normal circumstances, but only when a dense, orderly mass of soldiers stood before you could you truly feel the tension and awe-inspiring presence.

Surprisingly, despite the intense scrutiny of so many eyes, Jiu Que showed no sign of nervousness; in fact, she felt quite relaxed. This ease was genuine. She calmly approached the soldiers, casually uttered a few encouraging words, and then decisively ordered them to advance.

After all, the investigation revealed that the border regions had been suffering from a shortage of silver and food for quite some time. The longer the situation dragged on, the greater the chance of unrest on the frontier. Besides, she couldn't wait to see the women soldiers who had fought alongside her mother.

In the instant she led her army forward, Jiu Que inexplicably turned her head and, in a flash, saw several blurry figures on a small hill at the edge of her vision. Although she couldn't make out their faces, Jiu Que was certain that one of them must be His Majesty. She spurred her horse around, clasped her hands in a salute to the distance from her horse, and then turned her horse around, leading her army forward at full speed.

"...Your Majesty, the child Jiu Que saw you."

Binyang Wang Jingchao glanced at his adoptive father beside him, whose emotions were overflowing and whose eyes were filled with tears. He felt helpless but offered quiet words of comfort. It was strange, really. Why did his adoptive father value Jiuque, who wasn't related to him by blood, so much? Not only did he give her so much power and help, but he even secretly came out to see her off?

Is this still the same suspicious and complicated adoptive father he knew? At this moment, the Prince of Binyang really wanted to ask His Majesty the same question: Is that child truly not the precious pearl that you left behind in the ocean?
“That child has only been back from outside for a short time, and she is about to embark on another long journey, which is fraught with danger. It is one thing if I, as her father, cannot help her, but I should at least come and see her off. After all, no other elders care about her. If even I don’t care, then no one else will.”

"..."

The Prince of Binyang really wanted to ask, "Doesn't that person have a biological father?" Although that Lin fellow was a scoundrel, he was still an elder of the Nine Palaces! But without a doubt, at this moment, Emperor Jingtai completely identified himself as an elder of the Nine Palaces and refused to let anyone else join him.

However, upon closer reflection, Jiu Que's journey was indeed fraught with danger. It was just a pity that his body was not up to par. Although he had been spared death, he could not withstand the long journey and the hardships of the battlefield. Otherwise, he should have been the one to go this time.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, Jiu Que is a lucky child. She will surely turn misfortune into good fortune and danger into safety. Moreover, the women's army on the frontier will definitely protect her, after all, they are the people left behind by General Ying."

"Oh, who knows about this kind of thing? The world will end, and people's hearts are unpredictable. Besides, after so many years, will the people in the Detachment of Women still remember General Ying? Although I asked Jiuque to expand the recruitment of Detachment of Women, I don't know if this can be done. I know how xenophobic the Detachment of Detachment is. Didn't you have to be beaten severely before you were accepted by them?"

"Well, so many years have passed, Godfather, please don't bring this up again..."

They say a true hero doesn't dwell on past glories, but he was thoroughly beaten back then, so General Ying certainly wouldn't help him. He earned the sisters' approval through his own efforts. Thinking about Jiu Que's innate superhuman strength, which is exactly the same as General Ying's, he figured that even with just a bit of incense money, those people wouldn't ignore her.

(End of this chapter)