Chapter 3: Pie in the Sky

In the inner residence.

"Marquis, your performance today is quite different from usual.

With so many nephews from the main family, is it possible that only this one can catch your eye?"

Hou Jue's wife asked with a puzzled face.

She had seen many nephews visiting relatives, and among them, there was no lack of those with closer blood relations.

Most of the time, the Zhenyuan Marquis just dealt with them out of etiquette; being willing to give a few pointers in private was already considered caring for family affection.

"It's different!

That bunch of nephews from the main family in front of me, one by one, are either timid or anxious to show themselves.

No matter what I say, they all follow along. Lacking the ability for subjective judgment, they are all flatterers, and their potential for development in the officialdom is limited.

Li Mu was neither humble nor arrogant from beginning to end, and even when I deliberately said some sensitive topics, he could remain calm.

He neither echoed nor spoke up to refute, but chose to muddle through.

He has unique insights into the situation in the court, and the results analyzed based on the little information he understood from the outside are already close to the truth.

This kind of person with mature mind, sensitive political sense, and accurate positioning of himself is most suitable for mixing in the officialdom.

Even if he is still very immature now, as long as he enters the court to be tempered for a few years, he will grow up quickly.

The most critical thing is that he knows how to muddle through when encountering troublesome things and knows how to protect himself; pushing him up won't cause me trouble.

It just so happens that the next generation of the Hou Fu still needs time to grow, and my political resources are in a gap period, so I'll just give him an opportunity!"

Li Yuan said with a smile.

Influenced by Confucian clan culture, promoting younger generations of the main family in the Great Dayu officialdom is a social norm.

It's just that influenced by the preference for civil over military, the number of children in the younger generation willing to take the military route is no longer large, and more have chosen the civil official route.

Including his several sons, the first choice is also to study, hoping to make a difference in the imperial examination.

It's not just the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion; the entire noble group is actively transforming from military to civil.

In this regard, emperors of all dynasties have held an encouraging attitude.

Any noble child who passes the imperial examination will be cultivated as a priority, and the promotion speed is much faster than ordinary people.

Top-tier nobles receive more care, and direct descendants only need to have the title of a scholar to become companions to imperial princes.

If the prince they follow becomes the emperor, when rewarding merits, they will usually be gifted with the status of a successful candidate in the imperial examination.

"Marquis, Mu'er has also reached the age of engagement.

This child's parents passed away early, and there is no one around to arrange it; why don't we help him?"

Hou Jue's wife proposed tentatively.

It's not that she values Li Mu so much; it's mainly because nobles have always had a tradition of marriage.

She only has two daughters under her knees, both of whom have already been engaged, and according to convention, the Hou Fu also needs to marry a main wife from a noble background.

For the sake of the face of the two major families, no matter which son of the Fu marries, he must be registered as a legal son under her name and written into the genealogy.

Once the status is set, he becomes the first heir of the Hou Fu, even if she has a biological son in the future, he can only be behind.

Having obtained the legal right of succession, plus the help of the wife's family, it is almost impossible to change the heir again.

No matter how much of a main wife's demeanor she has, on this issue, the Marquis's wife still feels uncomfortable.

Before completely losing the ability to give birth, she will not allow such a dangerous thing to happen.

Even if it is the last step that must be taken, in order to protect her own status, the wife's family of the adopted son cannot be too strong.

Compared to the heir of the Hou Fu, Li Mu's status is much lower, but noble marriage also adds points for personal ability.

The hereditary third-rank military position is barely an entry level; as long as the Hou Fu is willing to support him, and he himself shows unusual potential, the probability of success is also not small.

"Hmm!

His parents passed away early, and it is reasonable for us elders to help arrange it.

You help pay attention first, and I will first determine whether there is an engagement on him, so as not to cause a misunderstanding."

Li Yuan said indifferently.

Clearly, he did not notice the true intention of the Marquis's wife, otherwise he would never have agreed so readily.

Promoting a promising younger generation does not mean you have to spend a lot of money.

Political marriage itself is an integration of resources; once this matter is facilitated, it means that the political resources of the Hou Fu in the future will be invested in Li Mu.

Hou Jue's wife without sons doesn't care; even if she gets pregnant immediately, it will be twenty years later when the son grows up.

With such a long time span, those who can rise will have been supported, and those who can't will not need to continue wasting resources.

But the Zhenyuan Marquis is different; a concubine's son is also a son, and he would definitely be more willing to invest political resources in his son.

"Rest assured, Marquis, I will definitely help Mu'er choose a good marriage!"

Hou Jue's wife said with a smile.

Achieving the goal so simply was completely beyond her expectations.

Managing the inner residence of the Hou Fu all year round, she knows best who is engaged and who is still waiting.

Engagement is a major event.

The necessary etiquette and processes cannot be less, and it must be announced to relatives and friends in all directions.

Without any process, just relying on a verbal agreement from n years ago to finalize the marriage of two major families is purely wishful thinking.

Engagement is so cautious, and breaking off an engagement is even more difficult.

According to the "Great Dayu Law," those who break off a private agreement will be punished with fifty strokes.

Those who promise others again without being married will be punished with seventy strokes, and those who are already married will be punished with eighty strokes.

It applies to both men and women; unless the other party has a major fault, or one party passes away, otherwise, proposing to break off an engagement will cost half a life first.

Even if one can survive the punishment, one will be socially dead in public opinion, and it will be difficult to find a good family for marriage later.

Being an official is even more impossible; the imperial court does not choose people without virtue.

And the entire clan will be implicated, and the children's marriage and official career will be affected.

Once a established fact is created, there is no possibility of going back.

Back in the small courtyard, Li Mu, who didn't know about the pie in the sky, began to readjust his life plan.

The capital is not like his hometown in Hanzhong; he simply doesn't have the capital to slack off and waste time.

Taking out a list of materials from his luggage and comparing them with the information he had recently collected, Li Mu began to analyze them one by one.

Since he wants to develop in the capital, these connections must be utilized as much as possible.

Those who left the capital to take up posts elsewhere were the first to be screened out.

Immediately afterwards, those involved in party struggles and caught in the vortex of the storm were also screened out by Li Mu.

Then, according to official position and closeness, he classified the remaining people.

What kind of person, what kind of gift to send, this is also a technical job.

It is indeed a bit utilitarian, but the officialdom itself is a place of fame and fortune.

Connections are a bonus when things are going smoothly, but no one knows how much effect they can have when things are going against the wind.

It's not that everyone doesn't talk about morality, it's mainly because some mines are too big; if you get involved, you will be smashed to pieces.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 4 =====