Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 399 Conspiracy
Step by step, as his position continued to rise, Jiuque began to feel a faint sense of dizziness.

When she finally reached Emperor Jingtai's side, Jiuque caught a glimpse of the bustling crowd in the hall from the corner of her eye. The atmosphere was lively, yet the sounds of their activity faded into a faint murmur as they reached the Emperor, as if they belonged to two different worlds. She understood even more clearly what His Majesty thought when he sat there; it must be the loneliness of being at the top.

[So this is the view His Majesty usually sees. People say it's lonely at the top, and His Majesty must feel quite lonely sitting here all the time. But am I really His Majesty's daughter? Could there be a mistake? If there is, His Majesty will be very sad. Should I find a chance to tell His Majesty? My mother never seems to have mentioned who my father is…]

Emperor Jingtai looked at Jiuque with a smile, growing more and more fond of him. He had long known that this child possessed an innately kind and compassionate heart, and was remarkably insightful. Now, he felt even more heartache for him. If others knew that he was His Majesty's hidden gem, they would surely rush to demand more benefits, but only this lovable child was still concerned about whether he would get hurt.

Oh my, this child is so lovable!

"Jiu Que, I've always thought you were a good child. I never imagined we'd have a father-daughter bond. Good child, don't worry, with me as your father, you can do whatever you want from now on. As parents, we just want to see our children happy. Stay in the palace tonight, and you can take a look at the furnishings in Qiu Wu Palace and see if there's anything you don't like, and change it if you like."

It's no wonder that those ministers were all jumping out to stop it like cats whose tails had been stepped on. It's simply because Qiuwu Palace is too close to His Majesty's Hall of Diligent Governance. To put it bluntly, if His Majesty establishes a Crown Prince, then the Crown Prince will definitely move into Qiuwu Palace, making it no different from the Eastern Palace.

Jiu Que had only lived in a side hall before, and of course, she never expected His Majesty to value her so much. She felt like she was dreaming tonight; inexplicably, she could finally escape that annoying Lin Wei and have a father who truly loved her.

All of this was so wonderful that Jiu Que felt a little uncomfortable. While responding to Emperor Jingtai's words, Jiu Que subconsciously glanced at Lin Wei's position.

If anyone's reaction tonight surprised Jiu Que the most, it was Lin Wei. This man usually practically leeched off Jiu Que, and even if there had been past conflicts, he could easily wash his hands of it, his shamelessness unbelievable. As long as someone like that is alive, he will inevitably use his status as Jiu Que's biological father to seek more, and even without Jiu Que's consent, others will give him preferential treatment out of respect for Jiu Que, which is not what Jiu Que wants to see.

But with such a major incident happening tonight, essentially blatantly cuckolding Lin Wei, the other party hasn't said a word. This is unlike him. Normally, wouldn't he jump out and play the victim?

Lin Wei stared intently at the father and daughter on the stage with his bloodshot eyes. How could he accept this scene? Besides, when had he ever made any agreement with Ying Chongming? Ying Chongming wasn't pregnant when they married! Ying Jiuque's birth time didn't match their birth charts at all!

This is all a huge conspiracy; someone must be lying! And Xu Minghui—I've always treated her well, even allowing her to bear two children. That despicable woman would actually collude with outsiders to deceive me on such an important occasion. She's asking for it!
Seeing the various glances directed at him, Lin Wei was almost spitting blood with rage. Ying Jiuque was clearly his daughter. Even if he didn't acknowledge it, everyone had to know that Ying Jiuque was his child, and that Ying Chongming had only ever been with him. Were all these people in the hall blind and deaf? Didn't they think it was shameful for His Majesty to have an illegitimate daughter who had been raised outside the palace? And yet, some were discussing it with great interest, showing no sign of finding Ying Jiuque's background shameful. Had the world gone mad, or had he gone mad? This was actually because he was unwilling to admit it. In an ordinary family, if the mistress had a child before marriage, it would naturally be a matter of gossip. But he didn't consider who Ying Chongming was. She was a great hero who had single-handedly stopped the grassland army from advancing south. So what if she had some anecdotes? Moreover, Princess Chenrui was a heroine of her time. She had done so much for the Great Jing Dynasty; some people already doubted how Lin Wei had given birth to such a remarkable child. Now everything makes sense; it turns out that this Prince Chen is actually His Majesty's daughter with Ying Chongming.

There's a persistent, unwavering belief that like father, like daughter. Ying Jiuque's success must be due to her powerful parents. As for Lin Wei, a man who rose to power through connections with women, he abandoned his daughter with his first wife after gaining power, taking a house full of concubines and having illegitimate children running rampant in his courtyard. Such a person doesn't deserve respect. Many in official circles already had reservations about him. Coupled with the widely publicized severing of kinship ties, his reputation among the public was not high.

Furthermore, his concubine, who has served him for many years, has personally testified today, asserting that he is a morally corrupt man who not only climbed the social ladder through General Ying's connections but also abandoned General Ying's daughter after gaining power. He is truly despicable.

Therefore, at this moment, most people were just watching the spectacle.

If what the concubine said was false, why didn't Lin Wei say a word in defense from beginning to end? Unless what she said was true, Lin Wei had nothing to say.

hiss……

The love-hate relationship between these three back then could probably fill a storybook. It's unexpected that General Ying had such a past. But General Ying's life wasn't in vain; after all, who else could have a lover who was the emperor and the daughter of a prince?

Lin Wei had no idea what the others were thinking, but he could see the contempt in their naked eyes. He was so angry he almost vomited blood, but in reality, he couldn't even move a toe.

As for Xu Minghui, who bravely came forward to testify earlier, she has now received His Majesty's pardon, allowing her to leave home with one of her children. Concubines were never allowed to divorce, and now that Her Majesty has personally granted her permission, she will no longer be a concubine of the Lin family, but a free woman.

Lin Moran, equally speechless, strongly resisted this arrangement. He didn't want to leave with a woman who had nothing and had even accused her husband. It was obvious to anyone that Xu Minghui wouldn't be able to support herself after leaving the Lin family and would definitely have to take her adult son with her to maintain the family's reputation. He didn't want that…

But when he saw Xu Minghui leaving triumphantly with Lin Shuran, he became even angrier. Why did Xu Minghui take Lin Shuran away but not him? Was he inferior to Lin Shuran?