Chapter 270: Legal Status and Civil Relations

Xiao Zishan saw the attendees off and sank into thought at his desk. News of the maid school’s restructuring would begin to spread among the Elders tomorrow as the documents were printed and distributed.

Some people with ulterior motives would undoubtedly use this as an opportunity to make trouble. He wasn’t concerned about that. Realizing that the maid issue would become unmanageable if not resolved, he had already made up his mind to eliminate this hidden danger, no matter the difficulty. So, he had also made some arrangements.

His female secretary knocked on the door and quietly announced that the people from the Law Society had arrived.

“Please show them to the secure conference room.”

Xiao Zishan stood up, picked up his tea mug, and walked towards the conference room. Next, he was to hold a discussion with the core members of the Law Society, led by Ma Jia, about legislation on Elder marriage, the legal relationship with maids, and the legal status of their children.

The bill to be decided in this discussion would be debated at the plenary session, so it naturally had to be handled with caution. For this reason, he had to have Ma Jia go out for a bit and then come back.

In the secure conference room, several core members of the Law Society were already seated. Xiao Zishan nodded to everyone. “Let’s skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point.”

The General Office attendant who was pouring water in the conference room saw Xiao Zishan’s signal, drew the curtains, then retreated and closed the door.

Ma Jia gave a signal, and An Xi, like a compressed spring being released, shot to his feet. His expression was one of utmost reverence, with a humble smile. “Committee Member Ma, Director Xiao, comrades, on behalf of the Law Society, I will now present the concluding report on the special research conducted under the instructions of the General Office. My level is not high, so I ask all leaders, experts, guests, and comrades to please criticize and correct me…”

Ma Jia said, “It’s just us and Comrade Zishan. You don’t need to be so modest on behalf of the Law Society. Let’s begin.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll begin now.” An Xi hurriedly opened the Lingao-made rattan briefcase in his hand and carefully took out a stack of glass slides in wooden frames—Lingao’s version of lantern slides. He turned on the projector and began his presentation.

“The Law Society, under the instructions of the General Office, has conducted research on the legal status of Elders’ life secretaries, the marriage system of Elders, and the legal status of Elders’ children…

First, regarding the status of maids, the Law Society conducted a comprehensive investigation into the selection, training, and employment of life secretaries—the conclusion is that the life secretary system indeed needs to change.

The Law Society believes that the life secretary system is a concentrated and extreme manifestation of the Elder Council’s political oppression, economic exploitation, and personal control over the naturalized citizens. If the naturalized citizen class still has a veneer of ‘freedom’ and ‘civil rights,’ then on the level of life secretaries, the oppression and control are nakedly apparent. It’s no wonder that naturalized citizens and natives bluntly refer to them as ‘concubines’ and ‘common-law maids.’ In essence, they are not wrong.

“…The Law Society’s opinion is: it’s not that the Elder Council doesn’t need to control life secretaries, but that the control should be more covert, with better optics. Therefore, there is no need to force all life secretaries to sign a deed of absolute sale. After all, the future state of the Elder Council is not a slave empire, and it seems unnecessary to create a special slave system just for the Elders. Secondly, there is a legal paradox in terms of its binding force.

“First, the deed of absolute sale is currently based on the ‘Great Ming Code.’ The Elder Council has now semi-publicly established its own territory; it just hasn’t declared all-out war and broken with the Ming Dynasty yet. For core naturalized citizens like life secretaries, the Great Ming Code has no deterrent effect. Second, in terms of the Lingao Group’s own legal system, slavery can indeed exist for a period of time, but as the naturalized citizens closest to the Elders, maids should not be branded with the status of slaves, because in fact, their standard of living and political influence are higher than that of ordinary naturalized citizens. If their legal status is lower than that of ordinary naturalized citizens, it doesn’t make sense. Third, not all of the Elders’ secretaries and wives of naturalized citizen origin are slaves. Xun Suji’s wife, Liu Meilan, is not. This shows that from the very beginning, there was no rule that life secretaries and wives must be slaves. This would make it impossible for the Elders’ spouses to interact: for example, if one Elder only has a distributed life secretary, while another has a properly married native wife, how would you arrange them at a dinner party? Undoubtedly, the difference in status would cause the women to distinguish between ‘legitimate’ and ‘illegitimate’—which is not conducive to unity.

“Therefore, the Law Society’s view is that life secretaries no longer need to sign a deed of absolute sale, and their status will no longer be that of a slave. They should be staff members on the payroll of the General Office, dispatched by the General Office to serve the Elders.

There is no civil relationship between them and the Elders…”

“Wait, let me interrupt. If there’s no civil relationship, what about the children born to life secretaries and Elders?” Xiao Zishan asked.

“They will be treated as ‘children born.’ That is, legally, they will be considered the Elders’ illegitimate children.”

“Let me explain here,” Ma Jia stood up. “Director Xiao, you are probably well aware that the ideal of most Elders is something like a ‘human zoo,’ so a monogamous system for Elders is certainly not very realistic. Our country’s historical system of one husband, one wife, and multiple concubines is more practical. However, from the perspective of our nation-building philosophy and the development of an industrialized society, a polygamous marriage system is not advisable. Therefore, our future marriage laws and other laws will inevitably affirm monogamy in legal terms, abolish the system of concubinage, and eliminate the legal status of concubines. In this state, for the Elders to openly establish a system of concubinage and define the legal status of concubines and their illegitimate children would not only violate the spirit of the law but also fail to set a good example.”

“You want the Elders to be monogamous? Are you sure they’ll accept that?” Xiao Zishan expressed his doubts. He knew all too well the “grand ambitions” of the Elders.

“Legal monogamy and reality are two different things. The 21st century was all about monogamy, but that didn’t stop some people from keeping dozens of mistresses, even managing them with an MBA.” Ma Jia said, “A rich man, as long as he has the energy and can afford it, can keep as many mistresses as he wants. But these mistresses have no legal status and do not form any civil relationship with their keeper.”

The Law Society’s idea was to introduce this concept of “de facto existence, but not legally recognized.” Life secretaries or women of other titles around the Elders could be roughly classified as “concubines,” but they would not have a civil relationship with the Elder himself. This way, if an Elder passed away, the inheritance issue would be greatly simplified. Since these women themselves had no civil relationship with the Elder, they would be excluded from the inheritance distribution, except for any gifts arranged in the Elder’s will. If the two parties wanted to end their relationship, because there was no civil relationship, there would be no issues like property division.

Xiao Zishan understood. This way, not only could an Elder have as many women as he wanted, but he could also replace them when he got tired of them, simply by paying some “breakup fee,” without having to consider any troublesome legal procedures.

Compared to the cumbersome distinctions between “wife” and “concubine” in the old society, with their respective statuses and properties, modern law was truly considerate. No, considerate to the rich.

“Comrade An Xi, you may continue.”

“Alright.” An Xi had been waiting respectfully for Xiao Zishan and Ma Jia to finish speaking. Only now did he continue his presentation. “Life secretaries can be roughly classified as concubines. But this does not mean their civil status is higher or lower than other women besides the Elder’s legal wife, and this is only within the Elder’s system. In the naturalized citizen system, life secretaries and other naturalized citizens, regardless of whether they are the Elder’s legal wife, are equal in legal status and have all the rights of other naturalized citizens. This is to clarify the legal and political status of life secretaries. The vast majority of life secretaries, in addition to home economics, also have their own work skills, can go out to work, and can have income, subsidies, and professional titles. This improves the economic status of life secretaries.”

“As for the children of Elders and life secretaries, although the life secretaries do not have legal and civil status, as long as the children are acknowledged by the Elder, they will be treated as illegitimate children. In the civil law system we are establishing, illegitimate and legitimate children enjoy equal rights. This way, all of the Elders’ children are at least theoretically on the same starting line. As for some Elders who prefer a clear distinction between legitimate and illegitimate, that’s also fine. After all, how an Elder’s property and seat are inherited is still in the hands of the individual Elder.”

“Regarding the supervision and management of life secretaries, the Law Society believes that all non-legal-wife women who live with an Elder and have regular sexual relations with him should be classified as life secretaries. Their files will be managed by the General Office. Administrative means, discipline, and confidentiality systems will be used to restrain and monitor life secretaries.

For matters such as going out, consumption, travel, communication, visiting relatives, and receiving guests, life secretaries will report to the General Office or be inspected and supervised by the General Office in accordance with relevant regulations on discipline and confidentiality. The General Office, as a rule, will respect the opinion of the Elder to whom the life secretary belongs on general issues like supervision and minor punishments.”

“You want our General Office to be the Imperial Household Department,” Xiao Zishan joked, shaking his head.

“Why not?” Ma Jia said. “Nothing around an Elder is a small matter. An Elder’s sex life is also a big matter. From this point of view, your responsibility is very great.”

An Xi continued, “Regarding the issue of divorce between life secretaries and Elders, it is beyond doubt that the Elder has the right to initiate a breakup. As for the life secretary, the Law Society’s suggestion is that they have the right to resign, that is, to break up with the Elder, but with significant obstacles.”