Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 25 The Old Emperor Reminisces About His White Moonlight
"Really? That's a real shame."

Emperor Jingtai then called out several more names, all of which, unsurprisingly, were rejected. He had initially only intended to humiliate these ministers, but he had become genuinely angry. These people only knew how to pursue their own interests and had no desire to do anything of substance.

But before they revealed it, even if they didn't want the position themselves, they didn't want Jiu Que to get it either.

Emperor Jingtai never understood as clearly as he does today that these officials in the court were driven by their own selfish interests.

"Since you're all unwilling, why try to dissuade me?! Alright! Enough with the useless talk. If you don't want your own sons to be the city patrol censors, then you can do it yourselves! I see you're all still very young. It's just patrolling the city; you won't die!"

The crowd below was shocked. They were only rebelling out of habit, but they didn't really intend to give up their promising futures to become a lowly sixth-rank official.

So these people started putting on an act of exasperation, citing health problems, leg problems, and even their elderly parents' poor health. Emperor Jingtai was too lazy to listen to their finger-pointing. In the end, the Minister of Revenue, being quick-witted, wisely expressed his strong willingness to appoint Princess Ying as the Imperial Inspector, saying that there was no one more suitable than Ying Jiuque in the entire capital.

Now that their own allies have betrayed them, what else can they say? Naturally, they can only 'joyfully' express their willingness to appear before Jiu Que and become officials.

Emperor Jingtai, however, was not keen to let them off the hook. In particular, the Minister of Rites, that fool, had proposed to give Yu Lang a proper funeral. He had already been holding back for a long time, and now he was about to explode!
"Fine! And while you're at it, bury all the paintings he made while he was alive with him. Anyway, your pampered daughters, granddaughters, and even your own mother will never show their faces in public, and outsiders won't recognize them, so it won't damage their reputation."

This, what does this mean?
The group was somewhat flustered. When they learned from Jiu Fu what Yu Lang had done, these ministers, who had just been showing camaraderie, suddenly erupted in anger.

"Tear him to pieces! He must be torn to pieces! Does such a person deserve to be called a scholar? He has utterly insulted the classics!"

"How can such a defiled person stand in the imperial court as a role model for all scholars?! Your Majesty, I beg you to issue an edict to have him ground to dust!"

"..."

Emperor Jingtai coldly waved for them to leave. Seeing their anxious, scratching-headed expressions and refusing to see him again, the officials, though maintaining a solemn and dignified demeanor as they left the palace, felt deeply uncomfortable. They even began to worry that the matter might leak out.

His Majesty is really something. Why didn't he tell them about these things before? If they had known Yu Lang was this kind of person, they would have definitely kicked him while he was down and ruined his reputation.

Meanwhile, Emperor Jingtai, who remained in the Hall of Nourishing Life, was also quietly circulating his qi.

"Other emperors who seized power did so because their ministers, both civil and military, worked together effectively and were all good officials who cared about the people! Why is my court filled with scheming and petty people?"

"If he hadn't set himself on fire, the court would definitely not be like this today!"

Jiu Fu, standing to the side, tacitly pretended to be deaf, unable to hear anything. He couldn't hear His Majesty's regretful reminiscence of Prime Minister Pei, who committed suicide when the previous dynasty collapsed, and the other key ministers who followed him, nor could he hear His Majesty's complaints about the current court officials. He was simply a dutiful deaf man.

"Even a cruel and tyrannical emperor like the last emperor had someone like Prime Minister Pei who devoted himself to him, even to the point of self-immolation. But I see these ministers in the court now, even if I were to die from my illness, they would only be thinking about how to support the next emperor to ascend the throne, not about saving me."

Emperor Jingtai grew increasingly angry, even forgetting to refer to himself. He then launched into a series of complaints, which Jiufu was already used to. His Majesty would only complain for a while before calming down. Sure enough, after a short while, Emperor Jingtai had already soothed himself and was even chuckling.

"But did you see their faces just now? They looked awful! Serves them right! Hmph, by the way, give Jiu Que a formal appointment. I need to let the whole world see that as long as you work hard for me, you'll reap such rewards! Prime Minister Pei is unwilling to follow me, but now I rule the world, and all the talents in the land are under my control. I refuse to believe that I can't govern this world even better!"

With a smile, Jiu Fu went off with the appointment, and thus Jiu Que became the first female imperial inspector in history.

They couldn't even bring themselves to refuse. His Majesty sent them a carriage and a matching horse—a very spirited little mare, snow-white and beautiful.

Jiufu smiled and said.

"This horse is a descendant of His Majesty's beloved horse, Zhuiyun. It has excellent bloodlines and, although it is still young, it has the qualities to become a thoroughbred. Even when several princes in the palace asked for it, His Majesty did not grant their request."

The implication is that this horse also reflects His Majesty's high regard for her.

Jiu Que sincerely expressed his gratitude to His Majesty, and then reluctantly took up his post.

However, before taking office, she attended a small gathering. It was organized by Xin Tanhua, who specially invited Jiu Que and Chunyu Shuang. Even Wei Yuan was somewhat surprised that this scholar among scholars, a dignified Tanhua, would be willing to invite him, a disreputable eunuch adopted son and the emperor's henchman.

Also present were Yu Lang's nine mistresses. Because Xin Tanhua didn't report them, Fu Liu and the others didn't suffer much; in fact, Xin Tanhua even paid their fines.

As Yu Lang's only son, Xin Tanhua inherited all the money and shops he had owned over the years, making him quite wealthy. However, he didn't intend to keep them; aside from using them to atone for the sins of these innocent and pitiful women, he distributed the rest among them.

This world is inherently harsh on women. They even served as Yu Lang's mistresses, so their lives weren't easy. But no matter how they lived, they needed money. As long as they had money, they could live well.

Yunniang felt somewhat ashamed.

“Lord Xin, there’s really no need. We have hands and feet and can support ourselves. It’s you who should be going to such a far place as Bingzhou. It’s better to bring more money with you, even if you’re poor. Besides, we’re not entitled to this money in the first place…”

As they talked, Yunniang and the others felt ashamed. They had even considered killing someone's father, so how could they shamelessly steal this money?

Ke Xin, the third-ranked player, really doesn't mind at all.

"To be honest, I don't want to have anything to do with Yu Lang at all. If you don't want this money, the government will take it back anyway, so I might as well give it to you. Consider it compensation. I know that bastard Yu Lang has treated you badly, so spending all his money is only fair, isn't it?"

(End of this chapter)