Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 443 Junpo
Seeing Emperor Jingtai's majestic and imposing appearance, Jiu Que couldn't help but stare at his father with admiration for a while before nodding solemnly.

"Father, rest assured, I will handle this matter perfectly!"

After obtaining the supreme ruler's approval, Jiu Que excitedly went out to handle the matters they had discussed long ago.

When the Wang and Xie families were preparing to use a propaganda war to persuade Prince Chen to abandon his support for Wang Heng, they were surprised to find that something around them seemed to have undergone a dramatic change.

Xie Kun has been busy these past few days sending letters to his relatives, friends, and even literary figures and scholars from all over the country, all in an effort to get them to speak out on this matter. Of course, without exception, these people are all men. Perhaps only fellow men can understand why they are doing this.

Over 80% of those who received the letter chose to support and agree, while the remaining 20% ​​either remained on the sidelines or didn't want to get involved. However, in this day and age, letter delivery was far too slow. Before Xie Kun had received any replies, he noticed that the atmosphere around him seemed somewhat strange.

Especially when he saw his eldest son, Xie Mingli, carrying a new book that smelled of ink and satin, his ominous premonition reached its peak.

"Father, please look at this copy of the Analects. I just went out and noticed that dozens of new bookstores have opened on the street! They're all stocked with these new books!"

Xie Kun took the book and flipped through it. He found that the paper wasn't top-notch, but it was still of average quality. The ink characters were clear, the printing layout was reasonable, and even the binding was done with care. He couldn't help but nod in approval.

"Which bookstore printed this? They put a lot of effort into it..."

"Father! That's not the point. The point is that overnight, dozens of bookstores like this have sprung up all over the capital, selling not only the Four Books and Five Classics but also many rare and unique copies. More importantly, the prices are ridiculously cheap! A copy of the Analects like this usually sells for three taels of silver, but do you know how much that bookstore called 'Minshuo' sells it for? Half a tael! You can buy such a beautifully bound book for just half a tael of silver! All the scholars in the capital have gone crazy. Those bookstores are packed to the brim. Our family's bookstore hasn't sold a single book in the past five days! No! It's not just us; all the bookstores in the capital, except for 'Minshuo,' have been deserted these past few days!"

"Is there such a thing?"

Although Xie Kun was somewhat surprised, he hadn't lost his composure yet. He glanced at Xie Mingli with some displeasure, wondering why his usually clever son was shouting so loudly, which was completely unbecoming of a young master from a prominent family.

At this moment, Xie Mingli didn't care about hierarchy. Ever since he discovered this, he had been anxious and upset, and two big blisters had appeared in his mouth. It hurt terribly whenever he spoke, but he couldn't care less about that now and just endured the excruciating pain.

"That bookstore doesn't just have Confucian classics. While all the scholars in the capital were gathering there to buy books, they suddenly distributed a huge sheet of paper today, something like a 'Ten-Day Report'? A full ten thousand copies! It not only recorded major events happening in various places, but also several important court officials! There was even an article personally written by the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, guiding scholars across the land on writing policy essays! More importantly, the beginning of that report prominently featured His Majesty's calligraphy. The three characters 'Speaking to the People' were written by His Majesty himself. The scholars and students present went crazy grabbing them, and since they only cost ten copper coins, even passersby snatched many! On the last page of the report, there was also a short biography written by the Wang family's daughter. She smeared our Wang and Xie families terribly; now everyone outside is cursing us!" After digesting the information in Xie Mingli's words, Xie Kun looked up, almost fainting, but how could Xie Mingli allow him to ignore the matter at this time? He stepped forward and pinched Xie Kun's philtrum hard, drawing blood, and nearly pulled Xie Kun back from the brink of fainting.

Xie Kun didn't have time to complain about his unfilial son. After realizing what had happened, his eyes were practically blazing with anger, and he was breathing heavily. Only a few words were on his mind.

It's over, it ... all over! We're doomed, we're doomed!
Normally, these matters only circulated among aristocratic families, and ordinary people dared not openly discuss the affairs of adults so far removed from their own lives. But now, with that so-called "ten-day report," every commoner in the capital would know that their family had produced a troublemaker. More importantly, the other side had gained the upper hand; Xie Kun was almost certain that this "talk to the people" was backed by Prince Chen and Wang Heng!

Aside from His Highness the Prince, who else in the world has the power to produce so many sacred texts and ten-day reports in just five days?

Ten thousand copies! The Xie family, which also owns a bookstore, naturally knows how difficult it is to print so many copies in just five days. Where did Prince Chen find this method? Did she get all the bookstores in the capital to print them together? But that wouldn't work either. The five families and seven clans are closely connected; they can't abandon themselves and cooperate with Prince Chen before things are clear. Would doing so benefit them?
More importantly, matters like this, which cannot be explained in a few words, will be easily dismissed once Wang Heng gains the upper hand and the people form a prejudice. Who will care about their subsequent explanations? Right now, everyone outside will think the Wang and Xie families are utterly despicable! Their Xie family's centuries-old reputation will be destroyed overnight…

"No, we can't just sit here and wait to die. They're printing, aren't they? Now, have the steward of our household go and buy them all—buy all the ten-day newspapers from their bookstore!"

"They're all gone! They're all sold out!"

"...Then let's buy out all their books. A full ten thousand copies. Even if they print them all, it will take them five days. Five days is enough time for all the famous people in the country to gather in the capital and help us turn defeat into victory!"

"But Father, is Prince Chen someone who cares about what others think? It's not like this hasn't happened before, back when she wasn't a prince yet..."

Xie Kun knew Xie Mingli was referring to the matter with the Confucian scholar, and now he deeply felt that Prince Chen was not easy to deal with. But they had already offended him, so what could they do but confront him? Even if they tried to stop it now, His Highness wouldn't agree.

Xie Kun keenly sensed the deeper meaning behind the unusual activity of the past few days. The newspaper's popularity indicated extensive prior preparation. Prince Chen's true intentions were not what they seemed. From this day forward, Prince Chen would control the nation's media. And the Wang and Xie families were the perfect catalyst. Who in the world wouldn't be curious about the private affairs of these five powerful families? This was…

wrong!

Princess Chen's actions weren't just aimed at those two families; she was targeting five powerful families and seven noble clans! No, she was targeting all the aristocratic families!