Chapter 1361 – The Ladies’ Tea Party (Part 4)
The Audience didn’t need to be told; they were cheering for Yang Si until their balance ran dry.
【Princess Xia Li】: Can you feel it? Xiao Rongrong is exceptionally manly today; even his beard can’t hide his charm!
【Li Family’s Mo Chou】: Yes, super manly! His aura is so strong, it rivals Lord/Leader at two meters eight!
【Han Yan Ning Meng】: My baby might jump the wall! I used to really like Rong’er, but today I’m totally in love!
This was the excited cheer of fans, claiming today was the manliest moment for Yang Si in years.
However, plenty of Audience members were skeptical.
From what they knew, there were many ancient men who took wives and concubines—where were the restrictions?
Those in power were men; of course, men would protect men. There couldn’t possibly be such regulations!
【Wen Yu Ji】: I remember a saying: “Farmers collect three to five more buckets of grain and want to take concubines.” Wasn’t the ancient concubinage system actually pretty lenient?
【Stowaway Non-Money】: In ancient times, the infant mortality rate was so high, and the survival rate of baby girls was much lower than that of boys. Was taking concubines really that easy? The concubine system has always been a privilege of the few powerful individuals. The Common People only gained this right during the Yuan Dynasty, but even then, it wasn’t without restrictions. One had to be over forty and childless to take a concubine, or else that would lead to forty lashes!
Due to the unbalanced gender ratio in ancient times, there were instances of shared wives and marriages where women were completely commodified and treated as resources.
Who would dare to allow the Common People to take concubines without restrictions?
Female resources would be frenetically hoarded by the powerful, causing an exponential increase in men who couldn’t find wives.
Hence, various violent crimes and cases of harm against women would rise, disrupting the stability of the feudal state.
Setting restrictions on taking concubines was inevitable.
While it couldn’t guarantee nobody would act against the law, the number of those taking concubines wasn’t as exaggerated as imagined.
Yang Si brandished the banner of propriety with confidence.
But those he confronted were doomed.
How could one person surpass the weight of a system cultivated over a thousand years?
Jiang Pengji furrowed her brows, asking Yang Si, “Are all those people you mentioned true?”
“Absolutely true. It’s just…” Yang Si replied, “For the sake of caution, I request Lord/Leader to dispatch someone for a thorough investigation to verify.”
Jiang Pengji sneered, twisting her wrist as she slammed the document onto the heavy copper table.
Both Yang Si and Xu Ke heard a painful crunch, and when Jiang Pengji released her grip, a handprint indented deeply on the table.
“They’re truly outrageous! They dare to ignore the law while the world is still unsettled! Who can guarantee that all the women around them were acquired through proper means?” Jiang Pengji was clearly enraged. Yang Si watched the drama unfold, waiting for the foolish ones to get themselves in trouble, only to hear Lord/Leader say, “Jing Rong, this matter is entrusted to you. Any reckless individuals engaging in favoritism over their wives and exceeding their authority must be suspended and investigated!”
Yang Si: “……”
Huh?
Wait, it’s almost the New Year, and now you’re giving him extra tasks?
Internally ranting, Yang Si maintained a serious demeanor, “Conducting suspensions and investigations at this time… seems a bit…”
“I’m short a few clueless rascals around here; does that mean the situation can’t be maintained? To be hindered by them would only be a laughingstock to the world!” Jiang Pengji replied coldly, “When I say to suspend, we suspend! All the invitations for this year’s New Year banquet have been retracted. Let them stay home and reflect on their wrongdoings. How many ambitious individuals yearn for an official position but find no opportunity? If they don’t cherish it, let them pack their bags and leave!”
The earlier comments sounded pretty authoritative, but the latter part revealed her true nature.
A classic Bandit move.
Yang Si felt a mixture of relief and frustration.
He felt relieved because Lord/Leader was indeed a true man, unflinchingly suspending over thirty mid-level officials in one go.
He felt frustrated because Lord/Leader was exploiting her people, and heading into the busy year-end with thirty less personnel meant greater pressure on the others.
Internally groaning, he still had to accept the orders with a serious face.
Suddenly, Jiang Pengji asked, “By the way, you mentioned that person was an unkind father? What’s going on with that?”
Yang Si replied, “I’ve heard that the eldest son suffered from a quack’s treatment in childhood, which led to losing his ability to carry on the family line. This man holds a peculiar loathing for his eldest son and often resorts to hitting him in anger. According to an old servant, he even once slapped the child hard enough to cause him to lose hearing in his right ear…”
As soon as the Audience heard this, they exploded.
【Salami Chicken Wings】: Whoa, this man is scum! Choosing concubines over wives, elevating the mistress, letting her live in the wife’s house, abusing the wife, deafening the son, and the mother-in-law also beats the daughter-in-law? Even modern drama writers wouldn’t dare to write this!
【Chapter of Madder】: Ancient concubinage was legal, so I agree with the others, but the mistress part is excessive.
【White Elephant Rice Cake】: Ahem, didn’t you hear what Rong’er just said? That man isn’t even qualified to take a concubine, right? If he’s not qualified, then that concubine is basically a disqualified mistress. Isn’t that just a scum man and woman? The legitimate wife and son really hit the jackpot!
【The Wind Has Risen】: And there’s also the wicked mother-in-law!
【Stowaway Non-Money】: Holding my breath, based on my ten years of experience following updates, I have a feeling the Host V is about to drop a bomb!
Jiang Pengji lifted her eyelids, her tone icy, “How can such a beastly father even qualify as a father?”
To personally deafen a son’s ear? That’s downright beastly.
These days, everyone praises “a good child is raised with the help of sticks,” but nobody dares to seriously injure or maim; those extreme and ignorant examples are exceptions.
Of course, if the feudal society were to develop for several hundred more years, perhaps parents killing children might no longer be seen as a crime.
Yang Si sighed, “Poor children.”
“Dongqing has endured several battles, resulting in millions of casualties among the Common People and soldiers,” Jiang Pengji cast a glance at Yang Si and Xu Ke, speaking calmly, “We should encourage childbirth to quickly restore the population. In other words, children are the future of the entire nation; they must be treated well. How could we allow them to be mistreated by such filth? Jing Rong, go summon Wen Bin; I want to discuss some matters with him.”
Although Jiang Pengji hadn’t finished her sentence, Yang Si had an inkling that Lord/Leader was preparing for something big!
“Yes!”
Yang Si and Xu Ke sensed something brewing, but the Audience immediately understood.
The Host V was about to revoke the guardianship rights of beastly fathers and mothers!
Even if the concept of “guardianship rights” didn’t exist in ancient times.
【Genius Guo Fengxiao】: Host V, you’re asking for trouble!
Jiang Pengji remained composed; even as the broadcast room was blowing up, she stood undisturbed.
【Host V】: It’s not as hard as you think. For parents, children are not just a mere continuation of bloodlines and care for old age; they are also property presumed to belong solely to the parents. Since they are private property, there’s always a way to make them relinquish it.
In this era, emperors wielded immense power, especially the founding monarch.
Jiang Pengji was the presumed future emperor, so she had the right to be willful.
Moreover, she didn’t intend to achieve this all at once. Naturally, she had to test the waters of everyone’s bottom line repeatedly.
“I need them to know who truly calls the shots on this land!”
With a smile, Jiang Pengji casually splashed the water from her cup, leaving not a single drop, right into a trash bin set in the corner of the courtyard.
There was no one around, only the Dried Fish Audience could see the distinctive villain-like grin on her face.
