Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 353 The storm is rising
Jiufu carefully helped Emperor Jingtai up, then smiled reassuringly.

"There is no new news yet. Your Majesty need not worry. General Yuchi and General Lin are both veterans with many years of experience. Moreover, there is ample food and weapons brought by Lord Ying. Besides, there are now methods to prevent smallpox. The soldiers on the frontier will not panic over such a small matter. You must trust their abilities."

"Ugh……"

Emperor Jingtai sighed and glanced helplessly at the old servant.

"You old fool, you're getting more and more cunning. I don't believe you don't know what I'm thinking right now."

Jiufu was all smiles; if he weren't so thin, he would really look like Maitreya Buddha sitting beneath the Buddha.

"How could this old servant not know who you are thinking of? Please rest assured, Lady Ying is born with superhuman strength, and besides, neither General Chunyu nor General Lin would be willing to let her go to the front lines to fight. Under such heavy protection, those barbarians would find it difficult to harm even a hair on her head. This old servant believes that Lady Ying is blessed by the heavens and will surely return to see His Majesty unharmed."

"If only things were as smooth as you described. I'm really worried that she's young and impetuous and might not be able to resist going to the battlefield. On the battlefield, there are constant flashes of swords and shadows, and it's hard to guard against open or hidden attacks. I should have known better than to worry about her getting angry and not to arrange for guards to stay by her side. Now I have no idea what to do. I've never felt this anxious before."

It's really strange. Emperor Jingtai clearly had four biological sons, but over the years, perhaps because those four sons were too unworthy and had all stayed obediently in the capital, never stepping out of the protective circle, he had never felt such deep concern for them.

Although Jiuque was clearly not his own child, Emperor Jingtai was always worried when he was away from home, fearing that the child might get cold, hungry, or suffer hardships.

Sometimes Emperor Jingtai would think that if he really had a daughter, she would probably be like Jiuque.

But so much time has passed and there are still no new battle reports...

What is the state of this war? Unfortunately, the two places are thousands of miles apart, which is too far. Even if the people in the Northern Frontier Pass knew where Jiu Que was, it would be impossible to send the message to the capital in such a short time. Therefore, Emperor Jingtai could only worry in his heart.

After a brief sigh, Emperor Jingtai thought of the current chaotic court situation, and his expression turned much colder.

"Who has submitted a memorial this time?"

"Your Majesty, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Minister Hu, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and so on, a total of thirteen people, have submitted a new memorial today, requesting Your Majesty to pardon the Fourth Prince and release him. It would be good to continue the imperial lineage, and to select a grandson from among them who can inherit the throne."

Of course, these ministers wouldn't be so explicit in their memorials, because that would be revealing their ambitions.

Emperor Jingtai sighed deeply. He still couldn't control his anger. His fourth son had committed the heinous crime of colluding with an enemy state to commit treason, and these people dared to plead for him?! Of these seemingly loyal ministers, which were truly acting for the longevity of the dynasty, and which harbored their own unspeakable ambitions?

They've been in high positions for too long and have lost sight of the current situation. He's keeping the fourth prince around only to maintain order and prevent internal strife during this war; once the war ends, it will be time to deal with him. These people thought that punishing the Left Chancellor would curb their corrupt practices, but they remain unrepentant. Tsk tsk tsk, these kinds of people won't know the pain unless they're truly punished. But for now, he'll let them live for a while and see what these traitors can really do.

"Does the Northern Frontier Army have enough food supplies? We must concentrate the nation's resources to ensure they have sufficient food supplies."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, the order has already been given. With your imperial decree, who in the court would dare to disobey?"

After discussing these trivial matters, Emperor Jingtai felt tired and lay back down on the bed, unable to fall asleep no matter what. His mind was still on the war situation in the north. Was Jiuque doing well there? Although the Northern General was loyal, more than a decade had passed, and people's hearts were fickle. Who knew if they would maintain the same loyalty to the Grand General's daughter? Sigh, he still couldn't rest easy…

"If any battle reports come in, wake me up immediately, no matter what."

"Yes."

May nine blessings come in succession.

After Emperor Jingtai rested, he carefully withdrew from the palace and walked outside the shop. Jiu Fu, who had been smiling like Maitreya Buddha, now had a murderous look on his face. The little eunuch who had been waiting for a long time walked over tremblingly to report the events in the palace to the old eunuch.

When the topic turned to the concubines in the harem who were eager to make their move, Jiu Fu revealed an undisguised, chilling smile.

"His Majesty is merely feeling unwell. These ladies in the palace are thinking far too far ahead. They are merely concubines; it is premature for them to be considering supporting the young emperor as an empress dowager ruling from behind the curtain. Keep a close watch on him. If anyone dares to secretly contact anyone outside the palace, report to me immediately. His Majesty's illness has already entrusted everything in the palace to me. Your task is to ensure absolute tranquility throughout the palace. In this situation, if the palace falls into chaos, the entire capital will descend into chaos."

"That's what Godfather said."

"You all better be on your guard! I could let it slide if you were lazy before, but now, if anyone dares to be lazy or make a mistake, I can't protect you! In this critical time, everything will be dealt with severely!"

"Yes!"

The entire palace fell silent at a visible speed. As for what happened to the discontented concubines, who cared? After all, they couldn't send out any messages. Even their families outside the palace who wanted to contact them were helpless at this moment and could only lie low.

However, this undercurrent will eventually erupt when the war becomes clear.

Meanwhile, the war between Jiuque and the two princes of the grasslands, which was of great concern to all parties, also came to a conclusion. Although there might be a difference in combat experience between them, the two princes had already been injured, especially the younger prince Namtso, who had a chest injury and had been traveling for a long time. His martial arts skills were already inferior to those of the elder prince, and coupled with his strange physical discomfort at the moment, even if he joined forces with the elder prince Muldun, they would not be a match for Jiuque.

Therefore, after a struggle lasting half an hour, the two were defeated. The first to fall was Namtso. When Jiu Que's spear thrust forward with lightning speed, he was completely powerless to resist. Even his weapon was broken. Helpless, he could only desperately retreat. However, this meager resistance was utterly insignificant in Jiu Que's eyes.