Chapter 263.1: Revealing a Little
No one asked Jin Qinw.a.n.g why they needed to switch the person. Regardless of his aim, since he’s decided, probably no one will try to change this. And what they needed to do was just keeping silent, pretending to not know, letting things ‘go with the natural flow’.
Luo Jing Ming although encountered ‘swapping the wife in the last minute’ kind of thing, this really didn’t bring about any effect towards him, still going all out in playing qi with Li Hong Yuan, even if the outcome will still be losing very miserably.
Li Hong Yuan was only a few years apart from them, but in Li Hong Yuan’s eyes, they were truly too tender. However, he also knew that in his core was an ‘old monster’, so naturally won’t use himself as a standard to measure them. When in a good mood, he’ll just treat them as the younger generation and advise a few words. When not in a good mood, naturally it’s just ignoring them.
These three brothers of the Luo family, among the young masters of prestigious families in the capital, really weren’t that prominent, but also weren’t low-key to the point where no one knew of them. Of course, this was the situation previously. Now, who didn’t know the Luo family’s third young master Luo Jing Bo, and because of him, the other two also became known by even more people. Since the Luo family was able to produce a Luo third young master, then shouldn’t the others also be far more outstanding than what one’d imagined?
In reality, this was indeed the case. They, under Luo Pei Shan’s meticulous teaching, far surpa.s.sed other people’s perception. Just, because it was necessary, they hid a large portion of the radiance on them, that’s all.
After another three rounds, the person was switched again.
Facing this di-related brother-in-law, Li Hong Yuan further didn’t hold back, just because this brother-in-law’s current fame was all obtained through his wife, so it’d be strange for him to be able to feel happy about it inside. Thus, seemingly from the start of the match, he just had Luo Jing Bo thoroughly suppressed, in the end killing with nothing to spare, and the time used was even less than half the time of the previous matches.
It also made them realize, Li Hong Yuan was actually already being lenient earlier.
Although there wasn’t any change in his expression or att.i.tude, Luo Jing Bo still strangely sense a ‘killing aura’, his scalp instinctively going numb somewhat. Did he provoke this younger brother-in-law somewhere? Even if the other party was his younger sister’s husband, he was still completely unable to straighten up!
(T/N: I wanted to add a bit of cultural context in case of confusion, because of how relations work, to LHY, Luo Jing Bo, as his wife’s older brother, is suppose to be viewed like his ‘older brother’ too, with the whole respecting by seniority.)
The three rounds ended. Originally, he thought that it would end just like previously, yet a certain someone tapped the board, indicating to continue instead.
Luo Jing Bo expressed he was suffering inside, but no one to tell. Seemingly the only one able to save him was just his younger sister. He subconsciously turned his head to look below. Alright, he indeed saw quite a few people, just he didn’t see where his younger sister was.
Li Hong Yuan tormented Luo Jing Bo for a few more rounds, and probably having been satisfied, he wasn’t that ruthless with his hand anymore.
And at this time, playing qi already wasn’t the main purpose. What Li Hong Yuan said was the most crucial point of all.
At first, the three of them still haven’t realized anything, but as time pa.s.sed, their nerves gradually tensed up. After the initial shock, they forcibly suppressed their violently beating heart, attentively listening to his every word.
From beginning to end, it was entirely Li Hong Yuan controlling the rhythm, maintaining the initial idle manner the whole time, yet their views towards him had a complete heaven overturning change. If this man was all considered as not having any good points, then they were practically just the trash among trash, and under the heavens, afraid all won’t have capable people existing.
In fact, they even subconsciously had him compared with their grandfather, and the result was, even when facing their grandfather in his strictest moments, there all wasn’t this big of a pressure. This man was truly too scary.
And to have been hiding this deeply, to say he didn’t have the slightest ambition, and won’t do anything, was it possible? Moreover, if any of the other princes were to ascend the throne, they all won’t be able to tolerate him. And he further can’t just sit and wait for death. Since he has severed his path of retreat, how was it not him making clear his strength and confidence.
The three brothers looked to one another, seeing from each others’ eyes the words, ‘clearly understood’, yet didn’t say anything at all, once again maintaining their silence. This kind of thing, it was enough to just know inside, absolutely can’t express it out loud, in fact, can’t even tell the person by their pillow. It’s not that they didn’t trust, but rather so long as there’s a single mishap, the implications were truly too great, and don’t know how many people will get dragged in.
Li Hong Yuan indifferently glanced at them, “Just letting you all have an understanding inside, aside from this, nothing will change at all, and also don’t need for you all to do anything either. You all just need to remember that you’re Wan Wan’s older brothers, and become a qualifying maiden family. Just don’t make her lose face, that’s all.”
Said rather easily, but the pressure in their hearts was impossible to not be big.
They once thought that it was nothing more than having a qin-w.a.n.gfei younger sister, but looking at the situation now, in the future, it was very possible to have an empress younger sister. The discrepancy between these two were worlds apart. It was easy to be an idle w.a.n.g’s in-law family, but it wasn’t that easy to be an emperor’s in-law family.
Wait, they seemingly misunderstood something, it was a qualifying maiden family, and not a qualifying in-law family. Between these two, there was an inherent difference. The former was with their own family’s young lady as the focus, and the latter was with her husband as the focus.
What exactly did this mean?
They originally thought that their own family was still in the neutral position, just unexpectedly and unknowingly, they’d long been deeply drawn into the vortex of the succession war.
Also, this situation, did their grandfather know? He most likely should know, right?
The three brothers were increasingly quiet, listening to Li Hong Yuan neither quickly nor slowly a.n.a.lyze the present state of affairs for them. Just as he said, he didn’t need them to do anything. His words were merely just helping them open their eyes, that’s all.
Afterwards, even if they tried to calm themselves with all their might, the ones closest with them still sensed their abnormality.
———–What’s wrong?
———-Nothing, don’t ask anything.
Jing Wan rather bluntly asked Li Hong Yuan directly, “Ah Yuan, what did you say to my older brothers?”
“What does Wan Wan think I said?” Li Hong Yuan nonchalantly asked, “Right now, in essence, they’re just ‘trash’, unable to do anything at all, so what can I say to them?”
Although clearly knowing that him saying ‘trash’ really wasn’t in the literal sense, Jing Wan still couldn’t help slapping him, “Even if this is the truth, still asking w.a.n.gye to not bluntly say it out loud.”
“And these words of Wan Wan’s, how are they any different? Wan Wan just allowing oneself to set fire, yet not allowing this husband to light the lantern[1]?”
Jing Wan just wanted to roll her eyes at him, but she also didn’t continue asking. For the most part, she was roughly able to guess the contents, just hoping her brothers don’t get shocked too miserably. This man, in essence, already exceeded the scale of a normal person. Comparing with him, one will probably despair to death.
This was precisely the so called, others being better than you, you will envy and be jealous, but if the disparity is too big, then it was just longing and gazing from afar remaining. The Luo family’s three brothers have never experienced the phase in front before, yet already jumped to the end.
“Elder sister-in-law told me, the doctor has already gone to the Luo family. Fourth younger sister’s situation has already stabilized and won’t worsen anymore. Perhaps because of third aunt taking care of her day and night, letting her be moved, having the will to live again, she should wake up very soon. However, might not be able to wait until she wakes up before sending her to the estate. Rui Qinw.a.n.g is pressing very tightly.”
Luo Jing Ying’s matter, there still weren’t many in the Luo family that knew, but the main masters were still very clear. Moreover, the Luo Manor isn’t an iron bucket either, because the Luo family doesn’t have any secrets, so towards the servants, they weren’t that strict, and under normal circ.u.mstances, they won’t carelessly say things outside either. However, if an outsider has the intention to want to find out a bit of something, it was still very easy. Because even if the servants don’t know the crucial matters, a perceptive person, based on the servants’ fragmented words, would still figure out the information they want to know.
Speaking from this aspect, Luo Jing Ying must be sent away sooner.
“Small matter, why the need to waste energy, Li Hong Ming won’t have the time and energy to look for the Luo family for trouble. Right now, he’s powerless to even save himself.”
“What did Ah Yuan do?” Jing Wan curiously asked.
“Merely let the people below him cause some trouble for him, that’s all. Never mind looking for your grandfather to look for benefits, I’ll have him ‘give away the bride and lose the army on top of it[2]‘. Taking benefits to your grandfather to beg him to help.”
“w.a.n.gye really is a good younger brother, and also quite ruthless. If n.o.ble Consort Su were to know, she would be heartbroken.” Jing Wan laughed.
“By the time she finds out, it’ll be nothing more than losing that bit of affection on the surface. By that time, perhaps the dust will have already settled.”
“By that time, don’t know whether or not she will regret raising you, this ‘white-eyed wolf’.” Jing Wan laughed even more happily.
“Probably will. I suppose it won’t be the first or second time for them. No matter who finds out the truth, all will wish to have me chopped into pieces, minced and fed to the dogs. She will probably also angrily regret that she wasn’t malicious enough in the past.”
“w.a.n.gye, being your brother, really is a bit pitiful.” As for n.o.ble Consort Su, Jing Wan no longer mentioned.
“En, they were born at the wrong time. If switched with another time, perhaps one or two of them can become Emperors.” Li Hong Yuan lightly said, yet the ins and outs of these words were incomparably conceited, “Perhaps, I should have mercy on them, and have a certain one of them supported up as a puppet, while I be that crownless ruler? What does Wan Wan think?”
“Not good.” While others desperately struggle to s.n.a.t.c.h it over, this kind of ‘having it viewed as a plaything, and whether you wanted or not, all based on your whim’ att.i.tude of yours, truthfully speaking, even Jing Wan all wanted to whip him. It’s no wonder that many people had him hated to the extreme.
[1] See historical notes under idiom on the prefecture officials setting fire.
[2] This phrase is from the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, which is a dramatization of actual historical events. It roughly means suffering a double loss. Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Sun Quan (southern warlord and King of the state of Wu) wanted to take back the Jing Prefecture, so Zhou Yu, a famous general of Wu, devised a plan for him to ‘fake look for a groom for his sister, but in reality take a hostage’, and their target was Liu Bei (warlord and ruler of the state of Shu).
Zhuge Liang (military leader and prime minister of Shu under Liu Bei, and in the Romance of Three Kingdoms, portrayed as a sage and military genius) saw through this, and arranged for Zhao Yun (a general of Shu) to head with him to first pay an official visit to Zhou Yu’s father-in-law Qiao Gong, so in historical records he’s the father of big Qiao and little Qiao (women’s personal names generally weren’t recorded in historical records), two beauties who were respectively the wife of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. In the Romance of Three Kingdoms novel, he was someone with an elder’s position in the state of Wu, similar to Wu Guo Tai, who in the novel is described as Sun Jian’s secondary wife and also Sun Jian’s main wife’s younger sister (Sun Jian is Sun Quan’s father). Sun Jian’s main wife is Wu Lie Empress, who is Sun Quan’s mother, note that her t.i.tle was given to her after her son Sun Quan declared himself King. In the novel she’s known as Dowager Wu.
The character Wu Guo Tai, who actually doesn’t appear in any historical records, is modeled after Sun Jian’s concubine Ding-s.h.i.+. In the novel, she’s Sun Lang and Sun Shang Xiang’s mother (in reality Sun Shang Xiang is Sun Quan’s di younger sister, but in the novel she’s his shu sister). Anyways, after Zhuge Liang visited Qiao Gong, Qiao Gong convinced Wu Guo Tai to meet at Ganlu Temple with Liu Bei to facilitate the political marriage between Sun and Liu. This fake marriage scheme ended with Wu Guo Tai actually having Sun Shang Xiang married to Liu Bei, there were communication issues with the plan lol. Hence the saying ‘to give away the bride and lose the army’, because afterwards Sun Quan also lost a battle to Liu Bei. (In actual history, Sun Quan had his younger sister married to Liu Bei due to political reasons).
T/N: Tbh although a lot of the things LHY does are due to petty reasons, but you can’t deny that most of the times it’s very beneficial for others on his side.