Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 420 Rejection
What are they still objecting to now? Let's just give them a round of applause!

So everyone unanimously showered Prince Chenrui with compliments, their praise making Jiuque a little embarrassed. However, Emperor Jingtai, hearing this, was overjoyed. Look, this is his daughter, truly outstanding. He had never experienced this kind of paternal pride and joy with his four foolish sons.

In the past, he could only listen to his close ministers subtly boast about their children. Now, he could finally openly show off his own children. How could he not be happy? Moreover, although he had never heard of these things that Jiu Que had done before and found them extremely novel, they were very useful.

Before this, Emperor Jingtai had been troubled by the lack of a capable person to oversee the affairs of the Jingtai court, but now he had found one.

Just when the emperor and his ministers were enjoying a harmonious time, some people, unable to see the bigger picture, had to jump out and say things that displeased Emperor Jingtai.

“Your Majesty, His Highness the Prince is truly a man of great talent. His Highness is nearly twenty years old, yet still unmarried. For the sake of the nation, Your Majesty is kindly requested to choose a husband for His Highness as soon as possible.”

This wasn't the first time such a topic had been raised in public, but Emperor Jingtai found it particularly jarring. Good heavens, Jiu Que had barely begun to demonstrate his political acumen, and already someone was already eager to reap the rewards?

Indeed, a princess with exceptional skills and the emperor's deep trust, if she could give birth to their family's bloodline, would be guaranteed a title, if not something else. In the past, Emperor Jingtai hadn't thought there was anything wrong with these people's thoughts, and was even happy that Jiuque was so popular. But now, no matter how he thought about it, he felt that these people's thoughts were not pure.

Do the young men from these families truly love Jiu Que? Not necessarily. They probably just want to use Jiu Que to gain more power and greater benefits. Emperor Jingtai didn't want to see such a scene. Perhaps he was truly getting old; he didn't want to see Jiu Que, who was wholeheartedly devoted to the country and its people, surrounded by people who wanted to take a piece of her flesh, even her children, who were merely tools for those people to threaten Jiu Que.

The problem now is whether Jiuque is willing to find a husband who understands her. After all, most women in this world hope to find a suitable husband, live in harmony, and have children together.

This made Emperor Jingtai hesitant to act rashly, so he could only look to Jiuque for her opinion.

"Nine Palaces, do you want to find a husband? If you are interested now, you can choose any young man in the world!"

Upon hearing this, a barely perceptible commotion arose in the court. Many officials with handsome young men in their families couldn't help but look at Prince Chen, for the benefits of a marriage alliance with him were simply too great; no minister could resist such temptation.

Chunyu Shuang couldn't help but frown. If she could, she hoped that Jiu Que wouldn't choose someone to spend his life with before he had secured his own position. After all, the temptation of wielding power over the world was immense for anyone. Few could remain calm in the face of such temptation, especially since someone who became Jiu Que's husband would naturally possess sufficient political authority—the father of their future children. Wasn't Lin Wei's example enough?
However, as a friend, she couldn't stop Jiu Que from pursuing her own happiness. After all, although Jiu Que had decided not to marry or have children, she couldn't use her own values ​​to judge others. What if Jiu Que wanted to have both a son and a daughter?

It's unfair that Jiu Que, having worked so hard to get to where she is now, doesn't even have the right to choose what she wants. That would be too harsh on Jiu Que. This path is already difficult enough; if she could find someone with the same goals to work together, it wouldn't be a bad thing.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Jiu Que unexpectedly gave a negative answer.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but there are so many things to do right now, and the people of the world are not yet truly prosperous. I will put my personal matters aside for now and think about them when the country is peaceful and prosperous." Before Emperor Jingtai could react, the minister who had just made the suggestion couldn't wait any longer and jumped up, almost pointing at Emperor Jingtai's face to accuse him.

"How can Your Highness think like that? Of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no offspring! Your Highness's most important task now is to find a suitable husband and quickly have children so that His Majesty can experience the joys of family life. Isn't having children around one's knees the greatest happiness?"

"Does Your Excellency mean that you want His Highness to have more children?"

Chunyu Shuang's face was very unpleasant. Who doesn't know that childbirth is like passing through the gates of hell for a woman? This man keeps saying he's considering His Majesty's well-being, but why do his words sound so unpleasant?

That's disgusting!

"Children are a blessing, so the more the better."

The official stroked his beard and nodded matter-of-factly.

"Moreover, Your Highness is of noble status and is a model for all women. If you do not find a suitable husband in the prime of your life, it will be difficult to find one later. Moreover, the older a woman is, the more difficult it is for her to give birth. I am only doing this out of good intentions. As for the matter of the prosperity of the people that Your Highness mentioned, there is no need to worry. Are all the officials in the court just there for show? Everyone is willing to share Your Highness's burdens."

What a load of nonsense! What a load of nonsense about sharing burdens!
This is practically telling Jiu Que to hurry up and get married, have children, and relinquish power, then have several more kids so that childbirth takes up her time and energy, allowing others to handle her other duties. Isn't this blatant reaping of benefits?
To say it so righteously is utterly disgusting!
Even the other ministers who genuinely shared this sentiment couldn't help but glance at Lord Zhao with admiration, utterly astonished by his courage in speaking out. Was this man willing to do anything to climb the ranks? Wasn't he worried about incurring His Highness's wrath?
Little did Zhao De know that he had his own thoughts. He did indeed have an unmarried son, who was quite talented and had passed the imperial examination at a young age, but his appearance and height were not ideal. Prince Chen, on the other hand, was tall and slender, even a head taller than his son. Compared to other men's sons, he was obviously inferior and would be ruled out at a glance; His Highness the Prince was not a fool. Moreover, women naturally prefer handsome men, and his son was indeed not a strong competitor.

But should we just hand over Princess Shang's extraordinary abilities to someone else?

So, Lord Zhao naturally came up with a plan. A woman like a prince, with such social standing, status, and achievements, would undoubtedly be proud and self-satisfied. To get her to take a liking to his son, he had to suppress her through his words and actions, making her doubt herself, so that his son would have a chance!

Even if it doesn't work out, Prince Chen won't do anything to him in order to build a good reputation, so why not?

It's ending! It's ending!

There's a foreshadowing element here, I wonder if anyone has noticed it?

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