Chapter 8: Senatorial Marriage and Inheritance Law (Part 2)

Serving with one’s looks cannot last long, and besides, most of the early life secretaries could hardly be described as beautiful. As the Senate continued to develop and grow, the resources for maids became more abundant and their quality greatly improved. With competition from the female students of Fangcaodi and the daughters of wealthy families from all over East Asia, the position of the early life secretaries in the household became precarious.

Although the senators had “developed feelings over time” for their first maids and mostly had a deep emotional foundation, this did not stop them from disliking the first generation of life secretaries for being “not good-looking,” “from a low background,” and “uncultured.” Du Wen had once proposed that the senators and their first life secretaries should be considered to be in a “de facto marriage,” but this was rejected by a large majority in a vote. They were planning to choose a formal wife from among the female students of Fangcaodi, who had received a full modern education, or the daughters of prominent families from the mainland. The only senators who had actually married their life secretaries as legal wives were a few, including Wu Nanhai and Wu De.

Most of the life secretaries were also aware of this and knew that they could not enjoy the title of “legitimate wife.” Their children became their only guarantee for their own status and future prospects. For the later life secretaries, they lacked the advantage of being the “original partner,” and also had to rely on their own offspring to improve their position in the household. Therefore, all life secretaries treated their children as “protective talismans,” and spoiling them was a common phenomenon. For life secretaries who had given birth to boys, it was natural for them to use their children’s “first-mover advantage” to try to secure a “senatorial seat.”

Ji Xin knew that at present, the senators had very few children, most with only one or two. There were also not many life secretaries. After the mainland campaign began, both wives and children would be plentiful. If the rules were not established now, domestic disputes could very well lead to bloodshed.

In the “Senatorial Marriage and Inheritance Law,” a senator’s spouse could have either a “legal marriage” or a “de facto cohabitation” relationship. The legal status of the two was different. The former required formal procedures for both its establishment and dissolution, and was recognized by the Senate Court of Honor with the issuance of relevant certificates. The latter did not require legal procedures and only needed to be registered with the General Office.

If a senator’s spouse was another senator, regardless of the order, it was always a “legal marriage.”

There were no gender restrictions on a senator’s spouse. Female senators, if they wished, could also keep multiple male “life secretaries.” If someone was homosexual, the Senate would also recognize the legal status of their spouse.

A spouse in a legal marriage was a spousal relationship recognized by Senate law, enjoying all the titles and powers of a formal spouse, and had priority in inheriting the estate after the senator’s death. A person in a de facto cohabitation relationship did not enjoy any of these rights. Whether they could inherit the estate, and how much, was determined by the senator’s will or the executor of the will.

This was in fact a disguised form of “distinction between legitimate and illegitimate,” legally recognizing the unequal relationship between the “main wife” and “concubines.” It was therefore resolutely opposed by a small number of senators, led by Du Wen, during the drafting stage, who considered it a serious “reactionary” move. But the Law Society, which drafted the bill, reminded everyone that, at least in a legal sense, senators did not have “concubines.”

“Whether it’s a big step or a small step, it’s a step we’ve taken in the history of human civilization,” Ji Xin said earnestly at the meeting, trying to persuade the opponents. Although in terms of proportion, the opposition was very small, Ji Xin, with an attitude of “my heart is as clear as the sun and moon,” gave a full explanation. “Comrade Du Wen, I understand your feelings, and I agree with your ideals, but our current situation makes it impossible to fully realize your ideas. Rather than stubbornly clinging to ideals and achieving nothing, it is better to take a lower stance to more easily achieve our goals progressively…”

Although the legal status of the spouses was different, the status of the children was equal. The marriage and inheritance law stipulated that as long as a senator’s child was registered with the General Office’s College of Arms, they would enjoy equal legal status, regardless of whether they were born in or out of wedlock, or adopted. There were no restrictions on a senator’s adoption of children. They could also designate an adopted child to inherit the senatorial seat—but only if they had no biological children or if their biological children were incapable of inheriting.

However, how a senator’s seat was inherited—whether by “merit,” “primogeniture,” or other methods—was determined by the individual senator. Legally, all of a senator’s legitimate children were eligible to inherit, regardless of gender or the mother’s background. However, children whose mother was a female senator had priority in inheritance.

A senator must, during their lifetime, seal their choice of inheritance method or list of heirs, with a third-party witness, and submit it to the General Office’s College of Arms for secret storage. Along with the will, it would be opened and read under the supervision of the Senate’s funeral committee after their death. Once read, it was established, and no one could object.

For senators who had not made inheritance arrangements, their seat would be inherited by a designated heir arranged by the Senate after their death. The principle was “primogeniture among legitimate children.” If there were no children, or if the children’s physical condition clearly made them unable to inherit the senatorial seat, the Senate would arrange for the adoption of another senator’s child to inherit the seat.

As for a senator’s property, apart from the shares that were to be returned to the state after death as stipulated in the Common Program, the houses, vehicles, high-end furniture, and other property belonging to the Senate would be recovered by the General Office. The remaining personal portion would be distributed according to the senator’s will. If there was no will, it would be distributed under the supervision of the Senate. The principle was that the heir to the senatorial seat would be the main inheritor.

This marriage and inheritance system generally took into account the opinions of all senators and therefore caused little debate. However, some proposed that a one-size-fits-all “primogeniture” system should be adopted to promote the stability of senatorial families.

“…So-called ‘selection by merit’ is like raising venomous creatures in a jar. It’s fine if there are few children, but if a senator has five or six or more children—which I think is very possible—it will definitely lead to a ‘harem intrigue’ drama for the succession. How can one show their ‘merit’? The senator’s children will surely use all their skills to show off, and there will be no shortage of framing and slander. It’s not impossible that there will be poisoning and drugging…

“Whether one is a senator or not, the distinction is truly like that between heaven and earth! Under our system, the Senate is the emperor, and a senator is also like an emperor. Throughout history, there have been many examples of fathers and sons, brothers killing each other over the succession. We should learn from the European practice and clearly state that the eldest legitimate son takes all. This will cut off the other children’s hopes of competing for the position and make them turn their attention to the outside world instead of staring at their own family’s seat, which is conducive to reducing internal friction.”

“Is primogeniture really that useful?” Wu Nanhai was a firm supporter of the “selection by merit” faction. “It’s not unheard of for everyone to conspire against the crown prince, bring him down, and then tear each other apart. Or for the second son to murder the eldest, or an illegitimate son to murder the legitimate one… We Chinese don’t have a noble complex. We believe that kings and nobles are not born, they are made. The primogeniture system doesn’t have such a magical effect. In my opinion, if we’re going to raise venomous creatures, let’s do it. The one who ultimately wins will not be weak, and will be much better than an incompetent eldest son. Besides, what we are implementing now is equivalent to a secret succession system, which can curb the internal struggles of the senators’ children.”

“I think we should provide sufficient security for the senators’ children to reduce conflicts,” someone suggested. “What if a senator’s child inherits nothing or very little? They will have a strong sense of loss and may become an unstable factor. The Senatorial Foundation should have special arrangements for these senators’ children, allocating special funds to provide housing and allowances to ensure they can all live a comfortable life…”

“Wouldn’t that make them like the Eight Banners’ children!” Wu Nanhai expressed strong opposition. “That would be harming them! Besides, if you provide a comfortable life for the senators’ children, what about the senators’ grandchildren? This population will grow exponentially! That would be a real burden!”

Ma Jia coughed. “I also think we cannot artificially create a ‘senatorial clan’—the consequences would be unimaginable. For the senators’ children, our Senate will provide the best education equally. They will also inherit some property. If they are still a ‘diaosi’ after all that, then the Senate has no need to pay them any more attention.”

In the end, the primogeniture system did not receive much support, and the original clause of “the senator decides” was retained.

To further reduce the possibility of “harem intrigue” among the senators’ children, curb the involvement of the children’s mothers, and reduce the interference of traditional ideas from this time and space, the “Marriage and Inheritance Law” stipulated that all senators’ children must be sent to the Learning Academy’s affiliated kindergarten after the age of three, and promoted to the Learning Academy’s primary school after the age of six. All would be in a boarding system, living a collective life at school except on weekends and holidays.

In the final stage of deliberation, someone raised the issue of the inheritance of elderly senators’ seats. Since adopted children could also inherit a senatorial seat, even elderly senators who were no longer biologically capable of having children could use this clause to pass on their senatorial seat by adopting children. For example, they could pass on their seat by adopting their grandchildren without “benefiting outsiders.”

If it were said that the seats of elderly senators alone could not be inherited, this would violate the spirit of equality among senators. After a heated discussion, it was finally decided to recognize the right of elderly senators to adopt heirs and pass on their seats, but cross-generational adoption was not allowed. That is, they could either adopt the children of other senators or adopt naturalized citizens. In addition, it was stipulated that the surname of the adopted child could only follow the senator’s own surname and not the husband’s. The adopted child could not be older than three years old.

“A grandma in her early sixties adopting a child under three, that’s asking for her life…” someone couldn’t help but complain.

“There are plenty of sixty-year-olds raising children. Besides, senators can use wet nurses and nannies. It’s not a problem,” Ma Jia said leisurely. “The age limit for the child is to minimize the emotional bond between the adopted child and their biological parents.” At the same time, to prevent some senators from using “sending children for adoption” as a way to expand their family’s power, it was explicitly stated that a senator could only send one child for adoption.