Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 278 Confidant
"And you, in order to maintain your status and position, actually colluded with the enemy army, and together with the Northern Barbarians, set up a deadly trap to lure my mother into the battle, ultimately causing her to die from exhaustion on the battlefield. My mother's death almost caused a major drop in morale. If my mother hadn't suddenly discovered it in the middle of the battle and promptly sent her personal guards to send a message to General Yuchi, and with the help of both inside and outside forces, the Northern Barbarians' army would have been swallowed up by more than half. The crisis back then could not have been resolved so easily!"

"Since Lord Mu has gone to such lengths to sow discord between me and His Majesty, I have a question for you. If it weren't for my mother and the warriors who fought so valiantly on the frontier, would you still be alive today when those barbarian tribes marched south and stormed into the capital? Don't tell me you believed those barbarian tribes kept their promises! In such a time of national crisis, you still sought to harm our commander for your own power and position. I won't believe a single word a person like you says!"

"Lord Mu, you have lived a life of cowardice for decades, harming countless capable ministers and generals along the way. Even your willingness to harbor the former crown prince and his offspring is not out of loyalty to the emperor and love for the country, but simply to seize the opportunity to overthrow the Great Jing Dynasty, so as to gain a great achievement, and even to use the emperor to command the feudal lords, and thus become the ruler of the world!"

"But you still failed. Does Lord Mu know why he failed?"

Mu Yanchun clutched his injured arm. He was old, and after suffering repeated blows, he had been stabbed in the arm, causing him to bleed profusely. Now, his face was deathly pale, and he was swaying precariously. But he still arrogantly raised his chin and glanced at Ying Jiuque.

"Are you trying to say something about good fortune protecting you? Ha! If it weren't for my foolish wife's actions that alerted you, you probably wouldn't have guessed that I was the real mastermind until you died. My defeat wasn't because I was incompetent, but because I didn't have a virtuous and capable wife, and because I was just too unlucky!"

"Even at this point, Lord Mu still habitually blames others for his failures, never reflecting on his own actions. While what you've said is part of the reason, the bigger mistake lies with you. You think you're too clever, that you can control everything, even the fates of others, but you've never understood what others are thinking. Take this child, for example. You raised him at Qingyun Manor from a young age—calling it raising him is no different from house arrest. You never even taught him to read or write, treating him like a fragile bottle, never asking if he was willing. Nor did you ask those involved because of your selfishness if they were willing to sacrifice everything for your grand cause. You think you're incredibly clever, able to manipulate events from behind the scenes, able to see the big picture from small details. How can someone like you, who doesn't care about others, possibly succeed?"

"I say Lord Mu is wrong because Lord Mu neither knows His Majesty nor understands me."

"I am but an orphan; having a father makes no difference to me. If it weren't for His Majesty's appreciation, bestowing upon me a title and appointing me to an official position, I fear I would have been married off long ago, confined to the inner palace for a wretched life. His Majesty is wise and mighty, far surpassing all others in the world. Over the years, he has never punished any minister for differing political views. Whenever court officials have disputes, he reprimands them directly, never blaming them behind their backs. Even now, with the world constantly plagued by natural disasters, floods, droughts, locust plagues, and epidemics, he has still been able to lead his ministers to restore most of the nation's strength. The world favors sons over daughters, despising women's talents and abilities, but His Majesty has never looked down on any woman because of the difference in gender. By nature, there is yin and yang, and people are divided into men and women. I am a woman, and half the people in this world are women. Why should we be confined to serving others because of the shackles of gender?"

"If it weren't for His Majesty, even if I had talent and ability, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to use them. So, your attempt to sow discord between me and His Majesty is futile. Lord Mu should think more about whether you can at least leave with a complete corpse after your failure."

In terms of verbal skills, Jiu Que considered himself quite good. This long string of words not only made Mu Yanchun's face darken and become increasingly ugly, but also attracted the attention of the vast majority of people. Just as the last word fell, Jiu Que suddenly waved his hand, and the thief directly in front of him fell to the ground. At the same time, the minor officials who were holding high-ranking officials hostage with sharp weapons suddenly went black and fell to the ground without even understanding what was happening.

Mu Yanchun was kicked in the back of the knee and fell to the ground in a sorry state. The old ministers who had been held hostage for most of the day touched their necks in disbelief. Some of them had wounds on their necks, but since they were still alive, what did these small wounds matter?
Having survived the ordeal, they repeatedly thanked the beautiful woman who had suddenly appeared before them. Just as Lord Ying had said, why couldn't women participate in court affairs? If it weren't for this martial arts expert's sudden intervention, they would likely have lost their lives in this very palace. And looking at the woman standing right behind Lord Ying, it was clear the two had a close relationship. It seemed His Majesty was indeed farsighted; at this moment, it wasn't so bad to consider women holding official positions.

Look at what happened in the court today. Mu Yanchun, a man, is obsessed with overthrowing the Great Jing Dynasty and establishing a new one. He has even committed many evil deeds, including trafficking women and children, colluding with enemy countries, spreading false intelligence, assassinating princes, and trading smuggled salt. After being exposed by His Majesty, he even kidnapped ministers and attempted to usurp the throne. But it was Lady Ying, a woman, who saved the Great Jing Dynasty and exposed his true colors.

These officials were neither deaf nor blind, so they naturally noticed that Lord Ying was among the crowd that followed the witnesses in. Perhaps the old man and the young man were brought in by Lord Ying.

Alas, how can we make hasty judgments about things based solely on gender? General Ying, too, was a woman who fought to protect her country and its people, ultimately dying a heroic death on the battlefield.

This stark contrast stirred something within the assembled court officials.

Emperor Jingtai, in particular, looked at Jiu Que with barely concealed excitement. He knew Jiu Que was always clever and quick-witted, but he hadn't expected the boy to understand him so well. Indeed, the change of the throne had never been as important to him as the well-being of the people. The events of that year involved coincidences and human intervention; through a series of fortuitous circumstances, he became emperor. But even if he could do it all over again, Emperor Jingtai could proudly say that his ascension to the throne was the most suitable one.

The boy who rose from the mud, his eyes filled with rage from witnessing all the injustices of the world, has never changed despite the wealth and glory he has enjoyed over the years.

It's rare to find a true friend in life, and his true friend was Jiu Que.

(End of this chapter)