Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 371 Retreat from the Dynasty

"But the people were living well in their homeland, why would they want to go to another place? Especially to the far north. This method is really likely to cause unrest."

"Yes, the people have only enjoyed a few years of peace and quiet, and now they are being forced to relocate to completely unfamiliar places. They are reluctant to leave their homeland, so how could they be willing?"

"Lord Wang, you are mistaken. Since the country has a need, the people will naturally rush to help. Besides, what's wrong with the Northern Frontier? So many people live there, and they don't seem to be suffering much."

"What are you saying? Everyone knows that the people of the northern frontier live in hardship and are constantly harassed by the barbarians of the grasslands. Although the grasslands have been defeated, the weather there is cold and dry for most of the year. It's alright for the people who live nearby, but how could those who live in the water towns of Jiangnan be willing to leave their fertile homeland for a barren place?"

"If that's the case, then there's no need to relocate the people from the water towns of Jiangnan, right? There must be some people who can't make a living in their own land. If we can give them a way to survive right now, how could they not seize this opportunity?"

"What do you mean? Under His Majesty's rule, the entire Great Jing is peaceful and prosperous. Where are there people who cannot survive?"

"You might fool yourself with those words, but do you think His Majesty is as ignorant of the people's suffering as you are? Have you already forgotten the number of disaster victims reported from various places recently? It's only been a few days. Lord Li's memory is really bad."

"What do you mean by this? What does it have to do with me? I am only pitying those people. Putting aside others, if I asked you, Lord Huang, to leave the capital now and take up an official post in the northern border, would you be willing?"

"You! You're utterly unreasonable! How can you compare these two things?!"

"What's wrong with that? Does being an official make you superior to ordinary people? If you don't consider things from the people's perspective, how can they possibly listen to you?"

"You're deliberately trying to frame me! Everyone knows that I rejected your son's marriage proposal not long ago, refusing to marry my youngest daughter to him. You and your son hold a grudge and are deliberately slandering me before His Majesty! Have you forgotten that my youngest daughter has been well-versed in literature since childhood and is a renowned talent in the capital? Your youngest son frequents brothels and pleasure quarters; is he a suitable match for me? I simply don't want my daughter to marry the wrong person and end up lonely and miserable. Besides, this is a private matter between the two of us; what does it have to do with matters of state? You're dragging your personal feelings into matters of the court; you're truly unfit to be an official!"

"You! You're utterly slanderous..."

The group was having a good argument when, for some reason, two of the adults suddenly started arguing, their voices growing louder and louder until they drowned out the rest of their colleagues' heated discussion. Everyone was dumbfounded and could only watch the two bicker quietly. They wondered why they hadn't heard of anything like this before.

The ancients were right when it came to the fact that in-laws are most likely to become enemies.

Seeing that the two adults were about to fight, Jiu Que stood at the forefront, slightly turning his body to the side, watching the rare spectacle with a smile in his eyes. He hadn't returned for many days, and unexpectedly, upon seeing them again, the court officials looked exactly the same as before—so familiar. But was this matter really that difficult?
This argument was ultimately stopped by His Majesty.

When the emperor is angry, there is no need for him to argue like the two men, getting red in the face. His Majesty simply raised his hand slightly, which was noticed by the ministers who were always watching his movements. Everyone knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

Even the two ministers who had been arguing so fiercely were now sweating profusely and kneeling in terror, repeatedly begging for forgiveness. "Your Majesty, please calm your anger—"

Emperor Jingtai's face was somber that it was impossible to discern his thoughts for a moment; all that could be heard was a cold laugh from the Emperor.

"A bunch of rabble. Aren't you afraid of becoming a laughing stock? You were selected through rigorous processes, and this is how you handle state affairs? Bringing your children's private matters to the court to argue—do you even have the demeanor of officials? Ridiculous!"

The two men lowered their heads, their faces flushed, after being spoken to by Emperor Jingtai.

However, it is common for people to argue and even attack each other in the court. Why is His Majesty angry today?
Before anyone could figure it out, they saw Emperor Jingtai, sitting upright on the dragon throne, wave his wide sleeves and leave expressionlessly.

"We'll discuss this later. My ministers, first prepare for tomorrow's prisoner presentation ceremony. When other countries come to pay tribute, I don't want to lose face in front of everyone. If anyone dares to embarrass me, I'll retaliate and, while I'm at it, trample on their ancestors for eighteen generations!"

The crowd trembled slightly and responded in unison.

His Majesty has been out of the public eye for some time now, so much so that everyone has forgotten how fiery his temper is. Right now, everyone is just hoping that His Majesty won't notice their inappropriate remarks just now.

Just as everyone was preparing to leave the court, they saw Eunuch Jiufu approach Princess Rui with a beaming smile, inviting her to a chat in the Hall of Diligent Governance. Well, everyone was already used to this scene, but it still felt uncomfortable. How could His Majesty trust Princess Rui so much? They couldn't even find an opportunity to diminish Princess Rui's favor.

Seeing that the newly appointed Prince Rui had already left with Eunuch Jiufu, several court officials, their anger simmering with rage, approached the dejected Lin Wei with ulterior motives. Although they had said these things more than once, seeing Lin Wei's disheveled and pale face still brought them a sense of satisfaction.

What's that saying again? Whenever you feel unlucky, seeing someone else even more unlucky makes you feel better. No matter how powerful Prince Rui is, he can't completely ignore Lin Wei, his biological father. Although they've severed ties, how can the bond between a biological father and daughter be completely severed with just a few words or a family tree?

Moreover, in this era, filial piety is paramount. Just now, Prince Rui not only failed to greet Lin Wei, but didn't even give him a glance, which is truly a violation of filial duty. As subjects, they should supervise their colleagues. They must write this matter down in a memorial and report it to His Majesty as soon as possible, lest Prince Rui, upon returning, close his eyes and ignore them again.

I wonder if these officials realized that surprisingly, almost no one stepped forward to stop Jiu Que from being granted the title of Prince Rui, even though they were still very resentful. But Jiu Que's contributions were simply too great.

The merit of saving the emperor, the merit of saving the people, and the merit of saving the country!

Every single achievement is genuine. It's safe to say that if Jiuque were His Majesty's son, people would already be discussing establishing an heir apparent long ago.

Faced with absolute merit, no one can utter a single word of dissent.