Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 410 Huang Liangmu

Hearing this, the village headman trembled with fear. Already kneeling on the ground, he could no longer support himself and collapsed to the ground. The five long-weary tenant farmers behind him saw this and a glint of satisfaction flashed in their eyes. That damned Tian Desheng, relying on his position as village headman, had bullied them countless times. Now, finally, someone had come who could put him in his place.

This is truly gratifying! We had long heard that Prince Chen was an extremely benevolent member of the royal family. In recent days, the whole world had come to know that she was His Majesty's biological daughter. Even those of them who were staying on the estate had heard about it. They had originally thought that this prince was far removed from their lives, but they never expected that he would suddenly appear before them and punish the estate head for them.

Thinking about this, everyone became uncertain again. Would His Highness really punish a head of a royal estate for a group of tenant farmers with no status or position? The reason Tian Desheng was able to become the head of a top-tier royal estate was because he had a slightly indirect kinship with the current emperor. With this thought, the light in the five people's eyes dimmed again.

It's obvious that His Highness the Prince wouldn't go against His Majesty's wishes; it seems this is just another bluff.

Even Tian Desheng had a nagging feeling that Prince Chen wouldn't dare punish him. After all, the prince had only recently been recognized by the Emperor; surely he would have to obey his father's wishes? His information network was fairly efficient; most of the court officials were quite critical of the prince's exclusive favor with the Emperor. Didn't this prince rely on the Emperor's trust to rise to prominence? Surely he wouldn't dare punish him?

Tian Desheng, clinging to this hopeful hope, collapsed upon hearing Jiu Que's matter-of-fact voice.

"So you're admitting it? Perfect, this saves us both trouble. Let's arrest him, send him to the Ministry of Justice, and let them interrogate him thoroughly. They'll find out how much he's taken over the years and make him spit it out."

“Your Highness! I am the steward personally appointed by His Majesty. This Class A Imperial Estate is able to produce continuously year after year precisely because of my management. You cannot imprison me…”

If he hadn't rambled on so much, Jiu Que might not have been so angry. Hearing this, he kicked him directly, scaring the officials nearby into trembling. In those days, the term "lackey" was used to describe the nobility. This prince wasn't without attendants, so why did he personally do it? The prince was incredibly strong; how could that pampered, bloated Tian Desheng withstand such a kick? His body rolled several times in the air before landing heavily. He groaned, looking up with a face swollen like a pig's head, and half of his teeth missing.

The officials watching from the sidelines couldn't help but gasp. They suspected that Her Highness was deliberately showing them this scene so that they wouldn't dare to disagree with her in the future. But in this situation, not one of them dared to ask the question.

The guards behind him immediately stepped forward, picked up Tian Desheng, who was rolling around on the ground, tied him up, and rushed him to the Ministry of Justice.

The remaining officials trembled with fear. They were now on the imperial estate, quite far from the capital. If Her Highness truly intended to do something to them, it would be too late by the time outsiders found out. However, Jiu Que had no interest in such matters. She simply gestured for the five tenant farmers to rise, then signaled the only woman among them to step forward and casually inquired about the estate's annual output and what crops and livestock had been planted and raised.

Surprisingly, this woman, who looked to be in her forties, spoke eloquently and in great detail, despite her nervousness.

Jiuque immediately became interested.

"You are very meticulous. The Imperial Estate needs someone like you. Who are you?"

The woman hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"I am one of Tian Desheng's concubines." "Oh?"

Jiu Que carefully examined the man's clothing and found that it was no different from the other tenant farmers beside him. Tian Desheng himself was adorned with gold and silver, and his silk robe was smooth and delicate, with strong and warm fur underneath. Why would he dress his concubine in such tattered clothes?

"Are you trying to plead for him?"

"No, Your Highness misunderstands. I was just about to thank Your Highness for punishing Tian Desheng. Although I am his concubine, I was forcibly taken in by him. As you can see, I am just a country girl from the mountains. Because I am not pretty, I have always been bullied and never thought of getting married and having children. The reason Tian Desheng wanted to take me as a concubine was because he took a liking to my craft of making farm tools. I have loved woodworking since I was a child and have been self-taught for several years. The things I make are quite usable. And because I don't use much material, and the people around me are all my neighbors, I have developed feelings for them over the years, so I only charge a small fee for my work. But because the price is low, business is good. After Tian Desheng found out, he tried to recruit me at an extremely low price. I refused, so Tian Desheng forcibly took me as a concubine so that he could work for him without paying a single penny..."

Jiu Que had long known that the world was extremely harsh on women, but he never imagined it could be this harsh. The best way to obtain free labor was to take her as a concubine!
This is truly a highly profitable method...

He closed his eyes briefly and personally helped the woman in front of him up, so that she wouldn't be alarmed.

"Don't be afraid. What's your name?"

"My family used to call me 'Little Stinky Girl.' Later, because I was good at carpentry, everyone around me called me Huang Liangmu."

Huang Liangmu, what a fine name!

This sounds much better than the title of "concubine" given to Tian Desheng.

“Your name is very nice. Could you show me the tools you’ve made? To be honest, the reason I came here is to help the people from the Ministry of Works improve the tools for spring plowing. With the New Year approaching, spring will come right after the New Year. There’s no work in winter, so this is a good time to make more tools so as not to delay spring plowing.”

Huang Liangmu's eyes shone so brightly they almost glowed; she looked at Jiu Que with the eyes of someone looking at a god.

"You, you don't mind that I'm a carpenter? They all say I'm ugly, and they wouldn't buy my farm tools if they weren't so cheap..."

The reason for this question is that even though she sells useful farm tools at extremely low prices and even repairs them for free, people still gossip and criticize her, always saying things like she's not good-looking, or that she's over thirty and still unmarried, and that no one will want her if she doesn't get married soon. Over the years, Huang Liangmu has lost her self-confidence and become introverted and taciturn.

Even when Tian Desheng forcibly took her as a concubine and she asked for help from those around her, everyone said she was incredibly lucky. How could someone want someone so ugly and old, and even be the manager of the imperial estate? Her ancestors' graves must be emitting auspicious smoke! She'd be living a life of luxury from now on!