Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 79 The Execution of King Ping
Emperor Jingtai suddenly lost his temper and gave the Third Prince a severe beating. However, even after the Third Prince was bruised and battered, he still couldn't reveal who was behind it all. Just as he had said before, it was merely a way to make money; as long as the money came quickly, who cared whether it was clean or not? After all, the person sitting on the highest chair was his own father, and even if something happened, his father would always protect him.

Indeed, that was what the Third Prince thought before today. However, after being severely beaten by Emperor Jingtai, he realized that he was not irreplaceable in his father's heart. It was at this moment that the Third Prince remembered that he had three brothers.

Could this incident be related to those three hypocritical brothers? After all, no matter how powerful Ying Jiuque is, he wouldn't risk his life for something that has nothing to do with him, would he?

It has to be said that the Third Prince never really took Ying Jiuque seriously. Even though Ying Jiuque had made such a huge mess, in the Third Prince's mind, he was just a knife that had been pushed out.

When Emperor Jingtai got tired of beating him, the Third Prince rushed over and hugged his leg.

"Father! Your son knows he was wrong! But this matter really has nothing to do with me. I was only greedy for money and had no idea about the shady dealings behind it. Please forgive me this time, and I will definitely reform myself in the future..."

Emperor Jingtai was getting old and lacked exercise, and this time, his beating of the Third Prince nearly left him unable to get up exhausted. He himself was also quite tired, but upon hearing those words, his heart sank. How could he have never realized before that his third son was such a fool and good-for-nothing?

"You say you know nothing about the shady dealings behind Wuyou Cave? Ha, Third Brother, if you really know nothing, why did your steward suddenly die when Jiuque went to your residence? Don't tell me this has nothing to do with you. No matter how far others have their influence, without your permission, would your steward die so mysteriously?"

"If you truly have a clear conscience and truly know nothing, why did you kill him?"

"That's because...that's because I'm afraid, Father. I'm afraid you'll dislike me because of this, I'm afraid I'll lose you from now on..."

Emperor Jingtai looked at his son with disappointment. Even if he hadn't said everything, Emperor Jingtai knew what he was trying to say.

"You're afraid of losing your right to be emperor, aren't you?"

"Father!"

The third prince's pupils constricted sharply; he hadn't expected his father to be so blunt. Of course, he wanted to be emperor. In this life, to be the emperor's son was already incredibly fortunate, especially since his father treated him so well. Who wouldn't want to ascend to the highest position and experience that feeling?

However, he wasn't his father's only son; he had three other brothers, and the four of them were close in age. None of their mothers were empresses, so the distinction between嫡 (legitimate) and 庶 (illegitimate) was irrelevant. With such a small age gap, the wavering ministers in court naturally placed their bets in all directions. To win over the ministers, a great deal of money and power would certainly be needed.

What's wrong with him wanting to win people's hearts and become emperor? His mistake was that he acted carelessly this time and was discovered by his father. But it doesn't matter. So what if he broke the law? As long as he can get his father's forgiveness, he can always make a comeback.

However, Emperor Jingtai had long seen through his son. He looked down at his weeping third son with a blank expression, and delivered his final judgment with disappointment.

"By imperial decree, the Third Prince Jing Fengxiang has violated the law, harmed servants, and committed treason! He is hereby demoted to commoner status and imprisoned in his residence! Without my decree, he is not to leave even an inch!" "Prince Ping is disloyal and unfilial, indulging in pleasure, causing the tragic deaths of eighteen women... He shall be executed immediately!"

"Father——"

Prince Ping, who had been trying to pretend he didn't exist, let out a long, mournful howl and suddenly lunged forward, grabbing a pillar on the door. His hand reached out from the crack, desperately stretching towards Emperor Jingtai. His face was deathly pale, and he was almost incoherent.

"Father, please don't! Father, I know I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! I will never dare to do it again. Please forgive me this time. I am willing to be demoted to a commoner, I am willing to have my property confiscated and be exiled, just spare my life! Father—"

However, Emperor Jingtai merely stared at him coldly before turning to leave.

Seeing that Emperor Jingtai was determined to kill him, and looking at the pale-faced, slumped Third Prince beside him, Prince Ping suddenly pointed at the Third Prince and shouted loudly.

"It's not fair! This is not fair! Father! The Third Prince also made a mistake; he killed someone too. Why didn't you kill him? Is it just because he's your son? Aren't I? Father, don't you always love me? Why won't you spare my life at a time like this! Since you spared the Third Prince's life, you must spare mine too!"

Emperor Jingtai stopped and turned to look at Prince Ping, who was wailing and lamenting. He remained silent for a long time with a deep look in his eyes.

“Prince Ping, you are not my biological son. Out of respect for your mother, I have treated you as my own. You have no title of prince, yet you enjoy the privileges of one. You do not speak of serving the country or its people, nor of worrying about the emperor and father; you merely indulge in pleasure, which is one thing. But your greatest mistake was to torment those innocent women to death. The Third Prince did kill people, but he killed his own servants, and I have already punished him. But you killed innocent civilians!”

"If you have any objection to my punishment, go and read the laws of the Great Jing Dynasty!"

After saying this, Emperor Jingtai stormed off. The fate of the Third Prince and the Prince of Ping became known throughout the land in an instant.

At this moment, the officials in the capital who had been observing fell silent. His Majesty could even harm his own sons and stepsons; what chance did he have against officials with no blood relation to him? From now on, they would have to live with their tails between their legs. As for the relatives of those disgraced officials who came begging for help—we were acquainted with them!

When she heard the news, Jiu Que was busy building a new village near the capital. Chunyu Shuang, who came to tell Jiu Que the news, looked at the group of ordinary people in front of her who were working hard but still smiling, and couldn't help but sigh.

When these people were rescued from the Worry-Free Cave, they all looked extremely numb and unwell, so weak that it seemed they would be reunited with their ancestors underground in a few days. But only a few days later, they were already back to work, full of energy. She even wondered if they were the same group as before.

"The Third Prince has been imprisoned, and His Majesty has not said when he will be released. He may be imprisoned for life. However, this is ultimately His Majesty's family matter, so it's best if we don't say too much about it."

(End of this chapter)