Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 437 The First Person in History

"Really?"

For a moment, Wang Heng couldn't believe it. After all, the woman riding outside looked so imposing and confident. Putting everything else aside, her princely attire alone was enough to command respect and awe. Could such a woman have endured the same heart-wrenching torment she had suffered over the years?
Even though she had been confined to the Xie family's inner quarters and huddled in a small Buddhist hall for so many years, the deeds of Prince Chen were still too astonishing. Therefore, Wang Heng had heard a lot about Prince Chen, whether intentionally or unintentionally, but most of it was about how glorious she was outside, how she won battles, how she brought unimaginable benefits to the country, and how she gained His Majesty's trust.

"Of course. Putting aside everything else, that Lin Wei has deliberately made things difficult for our princess quite a bit, taking advantage of his status as her biological father. But who would have thought? He's not our princess's biological father at all, just a despicable scoundrel who took a bribe from General Ying but refused to keep his promise! Our princess was less than five years old back then, such a young child! Even if Lin Wei wasn't her biological father, he shouldn't have made things difficult for a child, right? But that heartless guy actually did it! He abandoned our princess on a manor in the suburbs and didn't care for her for more than ten years. I don't know if our princess was mistreated by the people on the manor when she was so young. That's bad enough, but after more than ten years, when he finally managed to bring our princess back, he didn't appreciate it at all. Instead, he made things difficult for her time and time again. He thought our princess had offended a minister in the court and was going to fall from power, and he wanted to sever his father-daughter relationship with her immediately. He even made a huge scene back then, saying that he would expel our princess from the clan!"

"Pah! He has no shame! He's clearly a son-in-law of General Ying. His Highness was always surnamed Ying, and I don't know when he secretly changed his surname. He received benefits from General Ying, but he's unwilling to treat her child well. Such a person is truly shameless. And yet, when my Highness defeated the grasslands and swept across the northern barbarians, returning victorious, he still wants to act like a father, asking His Highness to help him and his son rise to prominence. What a shameless person he is!"

"Such a thing actually happened? That Lin fellow is truly shameless!"

Over the years, what Wang Heng has hated most is being coerced by others under the guise of family ties. But Lin Wei's actions have all precisely hit her sore spots, so it would be strange if he could say a nice word to her now.

Chunyu Shuang was quite satisfied with Wang Heng's anger. After all, His Highness had caused such a commotion for her sake, and if she didn't react after hearing about it, then they would have saved the wrong person.

By this time, Wang Heng couldn't wait to hear what happened next and kept urging him on. Chunyu Shuang was happy to answer her questions and told her what happened next. Wang Heng was satisfied with the answer.

She prefers endings where good and evil are ultimately rewarded, rather than the happy endings found in books. If all the grievances she's suffered can be denied with a simple statement of blood ties, then she'd be doing herself a disservice.

"That Lin Wei deserves to be locked up. Who told him to try to scheme against an innocent child?"

At this point, Wang Heng became a little embarrassed.

“Lord Chunyu, I... I actually have nothing of value. I am very happy that Your Highness is willing to help me, but I don’t know how I can repay Your Highness. I will do my best.”

"Your Highness has always been charitable. If you truly wish to help Her Highness, then go and thank her in person. Moreover, the court is currently in dire need of personnel. I have heard that you, sir, were well-versed in literature and poetry. If you could obtain an official position in the court, you would not need to rely on others, and such a situation would certainly not arise in the future."

Chunyu Shuang was well aware of what someone like Wang Heng was thinking. She would never easily let go of the fact that the Wang and Xie families had imprisoned her for over twenty years. If given the chance, she would definitely take drastic action. After all, for Wang Heng, this was already a fight to the death.

Sure enough, although Chunyu Shuang hadn't explained it clearly, Wang Heng understood her meaning, and her eyes brightened slightly. She had never been an obedient woman; otherwise, she wouldn't have had such a strained relationship with her husband's and her own family. She had also studied diligently, but back then she didn't have the opportunity. Now that there was a Prince Chen in the court who could handle important matters, she could naturally take up an official position.

Xie Kun, that good-for-nothing, relies on the Xie family's power, yet after all these years he's only a fifth-rank official. He appears nonchalant, claiming to be indifferent to fame and fortune, and unwilling to enter the central government. But is it really that he doesn't want to? Or is it that he can't? Is there any official in this world who doesn't want to be a first-rank official? To portray his own incompetence so convincingly is a special skill of the five families and seven clans. As for whether Prince Chen has a future, she doesn't need to worry about that. If he succeeds, Prince Chen will be high above her, and even a nobody like her can rise to power. If he fails, at least she'll have lived a spectacular life… "So what are you planning to do next? I don't think Patriarch Xie is the type to sit idly by and wait for his doom."

Wang Heng snapped out of her reverie and gave a disdainful smile.

“He will definitely go to the Wang family. After all, the reason I was imprisoned was with the consent of both the Wang and Xie families. Now that the Xie family is tainted, how can they sit idly by and watch the Wang family stay out of it?”

"So you've made up your mind to divorce him?"

"Of course! I feel disgusted just thinking about Xie's face. How could I possibly continue living with him?"

"Since that's the case, why don't you go all out and do something big?"

Chunyu Shuang had wanted to bring this up for a long time, but she had been struggling to find a way to break the deadlock. It seems that people should do more good deeds. Look, this opportunity has appeared on its own. Moreover, she is a noble lady from one of the five powerful families. If she doesn't take advantage of such a good opportunity, even the heavens would be angry.

Wang Heng sensed that something was amiss. She wasn't usually one to fuss over details, but seeing that Chunyu Shuang was straightforward, she simply asked.

"What does it mean?"

Chunyu Shuang moved directly in front of Wang Heng's lotus-like face, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Layman, life is so short. Wouldn't it be a waste to live it in obscurity? Would you like to be the first person in history to divorce your husband?"

"……what?"

Wang Heng didn't react at first, but after she finally figured out what she had just heard, even she couldn't help but show a surprised expression.

"This... I haven't been out for a long time. I've only ever heard of men abandoning women before. Could it be that in the outside world, women can already abandon men?"

"Just because it didn't work before doesn't mean it won't work in the future. Of course, there will be many difficulties in making this happen, but first and foremost, the person who breaks the deadlock must not back down. I just want to ask you, do you have the courage to be the first person in history?"