Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 411 Very Steady
However, she had no desire to marry. She simply lived alone, eating, sleeping, drinking tea, and doing carpentry. She didn't see anything wrong with it, but almost everyone, including her own parents, siblings, and friends, thought she was crazy. In the countryside, girls usually married at fifteen or sixteen, and seventeen or eighteen was considered late. But Huang Liangmu was thirty-five and still unmarried—this was truly alarming! Absolutely shocking!
For some reason, Huang Liangmu suddenly felt no fear in front of Prince Chen, and even began to recount his long-buried stories and thoughts. He no longer cared about the surprised looks from the adults around him, and simply spoke up as if venting his frustrations.

Jiu Que looked at her gently, comforting her with each word.

"You're not wrong; it's just that this world doesn't allow you to be so free and carefree. Even if you're not gentle and lovely, and you're usually quiet and reserved, in those people's eyes, you have other values. For example, you can have children, right? You're strong and can do farm work, right? You can do carpentry and earn money, right? A woman with so many advantages like you, yet unwilling to marry a man and dedicate everything to another family, makes them feel uncomfortable and even dissatisfied. But they don't dare to completely offend you because you're so useful, so it eventually turns into verbal attacks. They try to use this ubiquitous rhetoric to undermine your mentality, wear down your will, and make you the same as women in the eyes of the world."

"A woman should get married when she reaches a certain age, otherwise all the good men will be taken, and she won't be able to get married!"

'Look at her, she's so big and burly, she doesn't look like a woman at all!'

"A woman should be gentle and considerate at times, and lively and charming at others. What man would like someone who's like a block of wood?"

'You can't even do this much housework? See how your mother-in-law treats you when you get to your in-laws' house!'

Have you heard these sounds before?

Huang Liangmu was utterly shocked. There were some things she couldn't actually remember, but how could Prince Chen know them? Could someone of her high status have actually heard such things?

But the next moment, Huang Liangmu felt that his thoughts were too disrespectful to His Highness. How could someone as noble as His Highness have ever heard such words?
However, Jiu Que patted her arm reassuringly.

“I’ve encountered that too. Of course, they might not be so direct, but the core meaning is the same: they resent that they can’t profit from us. So they try every means to slander us, to mentally break us down, and to prevent us from having independent consciousness.”

"This idea is actually very common. Even mentally strong people will gradually become timid and insecure if they live in such an environment for ten years."

"But now you don't need to worry about Tian Desheng anymore. From now on, you will be a completely free person. Do whatever you want, don't let your talents be bound by worldly constraints. See these officials behind me? Some of them are from the Ministry of Works. I will have them accompany you. Go ahead and do whatever you want. If you need help, just ask them. There are also several female officials who will arrive tomorrow." Hmm? Why did the topic suddenly change? It's one thing for them to work for His Highness, but now they're being asked to work for this country bumpkin, someone else's concubine, no less! Isn't that a huge disregard for them?

Although they were very resentful, these specially selected officials were the kind of people who lacked ambition and preferred to avoid trouble. At this moment, they looked at each other, hoping that the other would step forward. However, since everyone thought the same way, no one could control the situation, and the matter was settled inexplicably.

Huang Liangmu felt as if she were in a dream. Even after showing the prince and his entourage the carpentry she had made, she felt lightheaded, as if she were walking on cotton. How could an uneducated, uncouth, and rude countrywoman like her possibly work for the court and even manage several officials? How could anyone have imagined this before? It was simply impossible.

If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, Huang Liangmu would have thought he was dreaming.

The officials, however, harbored different thoughts. On the surface, it seemed Her Highness was visiting the imperial estate for the first time, yet she had immediately and decisively demanded the account books, dealt with Tian Desheng swiftly and efficiently, and even recruited the talented Huang Liangmu into their ranks. Yes, even though they were quite resentful of working for a countrywoman, they couldn't help but be impressed by Huang Liangmu's exquisite woodworking. Then again, Her Highness must have come prepared. This was His Majesty's imperial estate; without His Majesty's permission, how could Her Highness have acted so boldly? Therefore, what appeared to be a sudden impulse on Her Highness's part was actually intentional.

All of this sends a signal: Is His Majesty about to target the veteran officials from the founding of the nation? Don't underestimate Tian Desheng just because he's a minor steward of a royal estate. The high-ranking officials in the capital usually don't take him seriously. But in essence, Tian Desheng is a distant relative of His Majesty. If they can take action against Tian Desheng today, will they take action against those meritorious officials tomorrow?
Thinking of the potential consequences, several lowly officials couldn't help but shrink back. They only wanted to live out the rest of their lives peacefully and had no desire to get involved in that bloodshed. Therefore, staying in the imperial estate and working diligently was safer at this time.

I just don't know if Your Highness would be willing to be lenient and let them off the hook...

As expected, news of Jiu Que's events at the imperial estate quickly spread, causing a great uproar. Many of his former ministers, who had served during the founding of the dynasty, flocked to see His Majesty. However, while these men entered the palace in a huff, their expressions varied greatly. Some appeared thoughtful, then shut their doors and refused to engage in any further social interaction; others were pale and trembling, nearly collapsing as they boarded their carriages, and quickly submitted memorials requesting to resign and retire; still others emerged beaming, as if some good news had occurred…

The reactions of these people were not entirely the same, and no one could glean what His Majesty had said from their reactions. But the only thing that could be seen was that Prince Chen's position was very secure. Even if he had incurred the wrath of the masses, His Majesty would still be there to support him.

Therefore, a considerable number of officials gave up their efforts. They had repeatedly pleaded with His Majesty to release the Fourth Prince to ensure the continuation of the imperial line, but His Majesty had refused. Now that the prince had a daughter, and a daughter who was so capable, the country ultimately belonged to the imperial family. They would just watch what His Majesty wanted to do. They didn't want to cause too much trouble at this time and incur the wrath of Prince Chen, who could handle them himself without even needing to complain to His Majesty.

Although they were clearly aware of this reality, there were still some resentful officials who had offended the Nine Palaces, who whispered among themselves in secret.