Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 475 Conferring the Title of Crown Princess (Part 1)

In fact, no one objected to Jiuque becoming the Crown Princess. After all, everyone had witnessed Prince Chenrui's contributions during this period. Besides, His Majesty is getting old; isn't it normal for him to want to find a suitable successor? The other four princes are either dead or imprisoned, leaving only Prince Rui as the one capable of shouldering the responsibility. There's nothing wrong with choosing a prince! What? You say women can't inherit the throne? Where does this old feudal thinking come from? Nowadays, women from ordinary families can become officials or inherit family businesses. Why can't a prince? Who made this rule?

Those families, especially those with daughters already serving as officials in the court, were particularly enthusiastic in their support of Prince Chenrui. After all, having a woman seated at the head of the table would make it easier for their daughters to advance in their careers.

As for the common people, they were even more supportive. What kind of lives did they lead before His Highness the Prince appeared? What kind of lives do they lead now? The contrast between the two proves His Highness the Prince's abilities.
Therefore, the Minister of Rites' anticipated widespread opposition did not materialize. On the contrary, he received countless visitors during this period, including colleagues, senior officials, and newcomers. They all came with only one purpose: to persuade him to stop his reckless actions. Of course, their words were perhaps more euphemistic, but that was the gist of it. Even his wife couldn't help but roll her eyes at her husband, who was sulking alone.

"...Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! Look at those people, they have absolutely no backbone. How dare they call themselves high-ranking officials? His Majesty has made a mistake, and we, as his subjects, should naturally speak frankly to advise him, lest he make an even bigger mistake in the future. But look at them, not only do they not help, but they've all swarmed to my house telling me not to meddle. Am I meddling? This concerns the future of the Great Jing Dynasty! Why aren't you saying anything? Don't you feel angry? After all, Her Highness the Princess is a woman, and should prioritize chastity and tranquility. But she..."

"All right!"

The Minister of Rites' wife finally couldn't take it anymore. She had been wiping the sweat from his face with a warm handkerchief, but now she threw it at his face, startling the Minister of Rites, who stared at his wife in disbelief.

"You, you actually yelled at me?! You've never treated me like this before. It's all because of Prince Rui who corrupted you all. Even Jing'er and the others are always running around, they don't act like girls anymore! I..."

"Are you ever going to stop, you old codger?! Nobody's paying attention to you, so you're getting more and more aggressive, aren't you? What's wrong with women? I'm a woman too, and I've given you children all these years. Have I ever made things difficult for you? Don't drag my Jing'er and Shu'er into this. It's not easy for women to be born into this world. Now that they can go out and broaden their horizons, isn't that a good thing? You're supposed to be the Minister of Rites, a high-ranking official in the court, yet your thinking is ignorant, corrupt, and utterly disgusting! Since you look down on women so much, then don't make women serve you. Go stay by yourself!"

"you you……"

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean, '?' I feel that Prince Chenrui is far superior to those four princes. Look at him, so young, how many great things he has done for the country and its people! And you, you've lived for decades, always nagging, but I haven't seen you do anything practical for the people. If you go out for a stroll now, you'll see the whole capital cheering and overjoyed that Prince Chenrui has been made Crown Princess. I don't even dare to go out now, you know? I'm afraid those people will find out that you contradicted His Majesty to his face in court and opposed Prince Chenrui being made Crown Princess. I advise you not to go out either, lest you get pelted with rotten eggs by the people."

After saying this, the wife of the Minister of Rites finally felt much better. She glanced at the devastated old man and turned to leave.

She was too busy to comfort this stubborn old man. Over the years, he had frequently defied the Emperor in court; thankfully, the Emperor was a wise ruler, otherwise he would have been executed eight hundred times over. However, her husband's personality was far too obstinate. He had already greatly offended the Emperor and Prince Chen regarding Lin Wei's matter. Although her husband was unaware of the truth, he had indeed spoken up for Lin Wei back then. Now, he remained so ungrateful; it seemed his days of retiring to his hometown were numbered.

However, the old man had served as an official for so many years; it wouldn't be surprising if he resigned and retired at any time. He just shouldn't burden her precious daughter. She had only given birth to two daughters in her life, whom she doted on like the apple of her eye. As for her illegitimate sons and daughters, she couldn't be bothered to even glance at them. Now it was time to make plans for her daughters.

She used to worry about finding kindred spirits for her two daughters. But truly conscientious men are few and far between. Take her husband, for example. Before marriage, he was a highly praised young man, yet he still took many concubines while she was still childless. He had a whole bunch of illegitimate children! And yet, people praised him for being celibate! Pah! Does not favor concubines over his wife make him a good man? That's utterly ridiculous!

The Vice Minister of Rites lay on the bed, stunned, watching his wife of many years leave. For a moment, he couldn't utter a single word. Only then did he begin to reflect: had he truly made a mistake? But a woman ascending the throne was unprecedented. Shouldn't such an unprecedented event be stopped?

No one knew what the Vice Minister of Rites had been thinking these past few days, but everyone knew that at the grand investiture ceremony a few days later, as the Minister of Rites, he remained respectful from beginning to end, never uttering a single inappropriate word. This relieved the Jingtai Emperor, who was extremely wary of him. Unless absolutely necessary, he was unwilling to casually kill a long-time minister who had served him for many years. It was best that he had come to his senses.

On the day of the investiture, the sky was clear and blue.

The square in front of the ancestral temple was filled with civil and military officials who had come to witness the ceremony. Emperor Jingtai was currently in the imperial family temple, chatting with his ancestors. In fact, Emperor Jingtai was the founding emperor, and many of his ancestors could not be found. What was displayed here now were just some memorial tablets.

Jiu Que stood behind Emperor Jingtai, listening to her father's incessant chatter that had begun half an hour ago and showed no sign of stopping. She herself was tired of standing, let alone the officials who had been waiting outside. The younger ones could probably hold on, but the veteran officials who had fought for many years were unlikely to be able to endure it.

Fortunately, Emperor Jingtai finally finished his rambling and, with tears in his eyes, beckoned Jiuque to come forward and offer incense to the ancestors.

"Nine Palaces, come and offer incense to our ancestors. Tell them that you will surely become a good emperor who cherishes the world and loves his people like his own children!"