Chapter 311: Nicely Return the Favor

This time, Jing Wan really turned cold. Although it's said that in the emperor's harem, there was no lack of aunts and nieces coexisting, but that place didn't pay attention to family hierarchy the most. However, as the number one illustrious clan, to also do this kind of thing, truly was a bit too disgusting.

Furthermore, Li Hong Yuan still wasn't the emperor yet. To say it pleasantly, it was his maternal grandfather. To put it unpleasantly, there wasn't the slightest relation at all. Could it be that he precisely saw that there was no relation in name, thus was able to be this unbridled?

(T/N: Because Li Hong Yuan's birth mother was expelled from the clan, so on paper, he has no relation with the Pei clan.)

To be able to have one's own di related great-granddaughter given to one's outer grandson as a concubine, practically just ignoring proper human relation. Would a normal person be so shameless and underhanded to such a degree?

Although large influential families at present are long not as well-off as during a certain era in the past, sharing the mountains and rivers with the ruler, they still very much emphasized on family status, paying particular attention to prestige, and further having their own aloofness and pride.

For instance, the current Jiang clan and Xie clan, on this bit, were further like so. Although they don't still maintain the notion of just making marriage connections with influential families of equal status, but among the founding four dukes and nine marquises, as long as born as a peasant, even if holding the status of a duke or marquis, and even if just seeking to marry their side branch's shu daughter, it will all suffer various clansmen's opposition. Even if this branch, within three generation, have no one upholding the family status, and even if that girl herself also has problems existing, it still won't do. This was the sense of family status that a first-rate illustrious clan would have.

(T/N: The Jiang clan is the Grand Elder Princess's husband's family clan. Currently one of the cabinet minister is also from the Jiang clan. And also the previous court exam's second place was someone from the Jiang clan, while the top scorer was someone from the Xie clan.)

In reality, in their bones, even the Li imperial clan, they all won't take seriously. Just, because the other party was the ruler, on the matter of marrying one's daughter, they would thus soften somewhat. Even so, they still won't do something like the paternal aunt and niece sharing one husband, this kind of human relation distorting matter. Even if the Emperor wants to force it, still need to properly consider.

Just by looking at the imperial family's daughter-in-laws, and seeing how very few are noble daughters of a large influential family, this is precisely the true portrayal of this reality.

The main family's di born young lady as a concubine? Distorting human relation? Offering up? Heheh, if found out by the other illustrious clans, afraid all will have the Pei clan thoroughly reduced to a family that they refuse to have dealings with.

Does the Pei clan leader know what he's doing? Or is it that he's certain Li Hong Yuan will ascend the throne, and certain that the Pei clan in the end will become the biggest winner. As long as he wins, he can just ignore all mistakes, and as long as he holds great power in hand, others not only won't criticize him, but will even fawn over and curry favor with him?

This kind of person, for the sake of achieving their goal, was completely unbridled in their means, not leaving a bottom line. Jing Wan was a hundred percent certain, even if at present, he doesn't have the intention of having her pulled down from the position of Li Hong Yuan's main wife, as long as he advances this step, in the future, he will undoubtedly think of a way to let her fall down, and nine times out of ten, all won't wait until after Li Hong Yuan ascends the throne. Only by letting his Pei family's person become Li Hong Yuan's original Empress will it be in line with the greatest benefit, and be able to save his Pei clan's reputation.

As for what methods he will use specifically, it was nothing more than just ruining her reputation, and then go all out in spreading the Pei clan daughter's beautiful reputation.

Jing Wan coldly sneered. No matter how loudly the abacus was clicking, still need to see whether or not others were willing. Certainly will let you be unable to take even the first step, before tumbling down!

————-The most confident and the most easy-going area was probably the first step, right?

Li Hong Yuan saw the sinister look on Jing Wan's face, hooking a smile, his heart very comforted. His wife finally has a bit of awareness. For the sake of coming to this step, has it been easy for him?

"In the Pei clan's main family, is there not a single young lady of marriageable that's in the same generation as you? Or there's no more di daughters?" Else, why pull out someone of the younger generation for a political marriage. It has always just been the older (male) cousin and younger (female) cousin becoming a beautiful story, never heard of a biao uncle and biao niece becoming a happily married couple.

"The current Pei clan's clan leader, his two wives back to back were di-related sisters, their relationship very sincere. The two wives gave birth to five di sons, and three di daughters. Just based on the affection between mother-son and mother-daughter, they're just like as if coming from one mother. Imperial Noble Consort is the youngest among the eight of them. As for the five di sons, the eldest di son remarried twice (after being widowed), and the di third and fourth son each remarried once, marrying in a total of nine wives into the family. The children given birth to from front to back exceeded twenty. There's still three young ladies that have yet to marry, with a pair of beautiful twin sisters currently fifteen years of age, while the other one is even younger. As for the shu-born ones, there's already more than ten fully grown shu sons from the previous generation, so carefully counting the people in the same generation as me, the di-born's di-born, the shu-born's di-born, in addition to the di-born's shu-born, and the shu-born's shu-born, in total there's roughly a hundred and fifty-six................"

(T/N: Btw, when it says his two wives for the Pei clan leader, it means that his first wife died, and then he married a second wife, that's why all their children are di-born. Imagine having 156 grandchildren, and this isn't even counting the grandchildren from his married off daughters.)

The corner of Jing Wan's mouth couldn't help but twitch. The men of the Pei clan's main family really were all stud horses, and those wives and concubines seemingly were all very capable of giving birth. "The number of surviving children in a large illustrious clan was this many?" Wasn't it said that the rear court of large influential families was just like the Emperor's imperial harem? For his Majesty to be able to have more than ten sons, among the emperors, was already considered very impressive. This Pei clan's main family, just hearing this number of children, already made one feel, practically just a 'happy and harmonious' family.

"That old thing has a total of five brothers, but there was just one that was capable of fighting for the position of clan leader with him. By the time he sat onto the position of clan leader, only his youngest brother that's twenty years younger than him remained, and even 'naturally born' to be a bit mentally challenged." Li Hong Yuan deliberately emphasized on the two words 'naturally born', "After he took control of the clan, his brothers' family members just divided out. At that time, there were already ones from the grandchildren generation born, and for every family that was divided out, the young and old added together, not a single family's count exceeded ten."

Jing Wan inhaled a cold breath. Contrasting the two sides, wasn't this disparity a bit too big? "Isn't he scared of getting denounced by others?"

"How can that be?" Li Hong Yuan lightly chuckled, laughing at Jing Wan for thinking too naively. "The people of the world all say he has way of governing the family, and towards his brothers as well as their family that have divided out, he also very much looked after. When his father was still alive, he'd often said to people, this son was greatly virtuous. Such a big family, bustling with noise and excitement, having peaceful relations, never having unpleasant things coming out from his family's rear court, why would outsiders denounce him? They will only envy him, and speak highly of him. Wan Wan, he values children, very much values."

(T/N: I feel like calling that family a 'big family' is a bit of an understatement.)

Manor battles, this kind of thing, she didn't participate in much, but what she knew wasn't considered little. Heavily valuing children just means that in the inner manor struggles, they absolutely must not harm the children. The people possessing his blood were his family, while the other women, regardless of whether it was the wife or the concubines, all were nothing more than tools for childbirth. Between one's family and a tool, who he would choose, it was clear and obvious to see. If truly from the start just used blood to establish the rules, then for the Pei clan's main family to be this abundant, it wasn't all that strange anymore.

Just, the so called family, were they really family? Looking at it now, they were also nothing more than just a chess piece, and how highly they were regarded was also just tied to their usefulness.

"Since he's able to be this airtight, then certainly must cherish his feathers. When sending you someone, sending a granddaughter, no matter what, would still be more pleasant sounding than sending a great-granddaughter."

"The reason why that old thing chose a great-granddaughter and not a granddaughter is probably due to the so called 'sincerity'. Regardless of which generation, this eldest di child, regardless whether it's a son or daughter, all will receive an enormously high regard, especially in large influential families. In the grandchildren generation, although there's ones of marriageable age, and although similarly di daughters, they are nevertheless born from the second wife. Regardless of birth or beauty and talent, compared to this one, in the end, still lacking by a large chunk. Moreover, the people of the world don't know my relationship with the Pei clan. By the time they find out, perhaps the dust will have already settled. That old thing is probably thinking this."

Jing Wan sarcastically laughed, "When the quality is not sufficient, just take advantage of quantity. A pair of twin sister younger cousins presumably won't be inferior to a biao niece." Really think she's a pushover? If she doesn't nicely return the favor, she'll all be sorry to her current reputation.

T/N: Regarding the matter of paternal aunt and niece in the imperial harem, there's one very famous example in history, which is the founding Emperor of Qing, Hong Taiji. His Empress's two nieces both ended up becoming his consort, with one of them, Harjol, being his favorite consort, to the extent that their love story is quite well known among popular culture. It's been romanticized and dramatized the hell out of.

I believe the theory was that in order to secure her place and position as Empress, due to the fact that she never gave birth to a son, the Empress brought her nieces into the imperial harem. The one that eventually succeeded the throne was the son given birth to by the younger niece. Oh and also, her two nieces were sisters from the same father.

Also this Empress has the longest posthumous title I've ever seen: 孝端正敬仁懿哲順慈僖莊敏輔天協聖文皇后 (Filial Upright Esteemed Benevolent Virtuous Wise Favorable Kind Cautious Solemn Clever, Assisting the Heaven, Helping the Sage, Scholarly Empress)