Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 476 Conferring the Title of Crown Princess (Part Two)

"..."

Jiu Que really wanted to tell her father that she wasn't the emperor yet, and the title of crown princess hadn't even been officially bestowed. But seeing her father's tearful face, she ultimately held back and remained silent. After all, it was her father's sincere heart; why should she betray it?
After Jiu Que offered incense to the ancestors, Emperor Jingtai came out with his children, personally took the imperial edict from the Minister of Rites, and read a beautifully written congratulatory text.

The article had been prepared long ago and revised by the entire Hanlin Academy; it was so perfect it could be used as a model essay. Even Emperor Jingtai had read it several times beforehand, as he needed to familiarize himself with some of the unfamiliar vocabulary.

"...She is hereby named Crown Princess!"

As the last few words were spoken, Emperor Jingtai looked down at Jiuque kneeling before him, tears of emotion glistening in his eyes. He had schemed for six long years, all to smoothly hand over power to Jiuque. And now it had indeed succeeded, and succeeded remarkably. The entire court bowed its head; not a single person dared to question its authority. This was truly the best possible outcome.

"Nine Palaces, receive the decree."

"Your son kowtows to express his gratitude for the Emperor's benevolence."

Jiu Que respectfully kowtowed, accepted the bright yellow imperial edict, and then slowly rose. Emperor Jingtai spoke earnestly.

"The heavy responsibility of governing this country will be entrusted to your shoulders in the future."

"Father, rest assured, your son will do his utmost to share your burdens."

After Emperor Jingtai nodded, Jiuque turned to look at the civil and military officials who had been waiting for a long time and slowly extended his hand.

All the officials knelt down in unison and shouted three times.

"Long live the Crown Princess!"

"All of you, rise!"

"Thank you, Your Highness—" Jiu Que stood on the high platform, the numerous ministers below appearing to her like statues or puppets, their faces obscured. At this moment, the heavy responsibility of governing the country rested on her shoulders, the shift in power began to manifest, and Jiu Que finally had a legitimate reason to manage the court.

Jiuque gazed at the officials, her eyes gradually drifting into the distance—to the vast landscape of the Great Jing Dynasty, and beyond that, an even wider expanse of land and rivers. A person, having lived a lifetime, must leave something behind in this world. What she wanted to leave for posterity was a more expansive and fertile land.

Emperor Jingtai stood behind Jiuque, his gaze filled with satisfaction. He had finally found a successor for the world. He only needed to wait two more years before abdicating in favor of Jiuque, and then he could be completely liberated.

This world, you'll understand once you sit in the Nine Palaces. Power is nothing more than this: you can use it as a weapon, but you can't become its slave. Soar towards a wider world!
If one were to raise their gaze and look further afield, one could see the neatly arranged, kneeling civil and military officials in the entire Ancestral Temple Square, and the gazes of the entire capital city that couldn't help but look in this direction. Further still, in the more distant prefectures and counties, the news of His Majesty's investiture of the Crown Princess had spread throughout the entire Great Jing Dynasty within days, thanks in large part to the post stations and pamphlets provided by the Nine Palaces. Now, if the court wanted to issue any decrees, they could be transmitted to all directions in the shortest possible time—it couldn't be more convenient.

Their gaze stretched far into the distance, reaching the northern border thousands of miles away. General Yuchi and Lin Chongshan stood on a high platform in the camp, looking towards the capital.

"Do you think that child is currently at his investiture ceremony? Would anyone be so foolish as to try and make things difficult for Jiu Que?"

"General Yuchi should address her as the Crown Princess."

"I'm used to it, I'm used to it, alright, alright, I'll change it. From now on, you'll be called Crown Princess. Do you think anyone will make things difficult for Her Highness the Crown Princess?"

Lin Chongshan felt his superior was spouting nonsense. Her Highness the Crown Princess's prestige was growing daily; even those far away in the northern frontier could enjoy her favor. The people weren't fools; they could naturally sense Her Highness's concern for them. If the people didn't resist the Crown Princess, what could those officials, whose positions had already been largely filled, possibly say? Even if there were some inflexible officials in the court before, how many officials had been selected for the court in the past six years? The vast majority of those officials were chosen by the Crown Princess herself; would they betray their mentor?

Although they didn't know where Jiu Que had found so many talented people who could directly replace officials in the court in just six years, did that matter now? As long as the result was good, who cared about the process!
The only regret now is that they couldn't personally witness the grandeur of Jiu Que being appointed Crown Princess. Seeing that His Majesty is so eager to pass the position to Jiu Que, will they be able to attend her coronation ceremony in the near future?
The grasslands are now eerily quiet. All the grassland tribes have been found within the last six years, scattered, and integrated into the vast population of the Great Jing Dynasty. And it must be said, Her Highness the Crown Princess's methods have truly worked. In just six short years, the grassland people, accustomed to their peaceful lives, have completely forgotten about restoring the glory of the grassland cavalry.

To put it bluntly, all people in the world are the same. They all want a stable and prosperous life. Now that they have a good life, why would they want to go back to the days of wandering and constantly having to pay tribute to the upper nobility? Isn't that just asking for trouble? Now they only need to pay a small amount of tax to the Great Jing Dynasty to receive official protection and live in peace and contentment. Why not?
Dominating the world and unifying the grasslands and the Central Plains—these are the desires of ambitious rulers, and have little to do with ordinary people like them. Their current lives are already quite good. To be honest, before being incorporated into the Great Jing Dynasty, they were genuinely worried that it would enslave and oppress them. Their current lives are a far cry from what they could have imagined before, so they'll just live as they are. They're even thinking about earning more money to buy more farmland for their descendants!
This has led to the Northern Frontier soldiers being practically growing mold from lack of time for the past six years. However, no one dislikes this leisurely lifestyle. Soldiers who have long since reached retirement age have been taking their substantial sums of money home to enjoy their golden years. Of course, many more soldiers have chosen to stay in the Northern Frontier, settle down, and build their lives. They have spent most of their lives on this land, and leaving now feels truly unsettling. After all, their familiar brothers are here, their superiors are top-notch, the land is more fertile than in the Central Plains, and there are all sorts of factories run by Her Highness the Crown Princess…

They really didn't want to leave.

This is an unexpected boon, as the population of the frontier has always been a hidden pain for the imperial court. In the past, which frontier person didn't try every means to migrate inland? Now, on the contrary, a group of people have been attracted to settle down in the northern frontier.

The remaining able-bodied soldiers couldn't just sit in the north and collect their rations! Over the past six years, Jiu Que had transferred a significant number of northern troops to the southern barbarians, the eastern sea, and the western mountains, strengthening their fighting power and deepening his control over the armies of the realm. In other words, Jiu Que could become the ruler of the world at any time if he so desired!