Housekeeper Wu was thinking that once the young master recovered his memory or learned about the family's affairs, he likely wouldn't insist on studying Legalism any longer, but seeing as he was unrelenting, he had no choice but to say, "All right, if you want to study Legalism, you first need to pass the Imperial Examination and become an official to have the authority to enforce laws..."
Under his persistence, Li Nuo finally inquired about the method of cultivating Legalism.
Legalism, Legalism, to cultivate the way of Legalism, one must first have the authority to enforce laws.
And neither commoners nor nobles have the authority to enforce laws; the only way to gain such authority is by becoming an official.
Li Nuo even thought about using his father, a third-rank official, to secure him a minor position, but Housekeeper Wu said that in Daxia, to become an official the only path was the Imperial Examination; without passing it, it wouldn't matter whether his father was the Minister of Justice or the current Prime Minister, he couldn't just conjure up an official position out of thin air.
All right, the idea of taking a shortcut had temporarily burst, but Li Nuo wasn't discouraged.
In his previous life, he had passed both the bar and public service exams, and although he didn't know the difficulty of the Imperial Examination in Daxia, if he put forth the effort he had in his previous life, he could still give it a shot.
Passing the Imperial Examination would qualify him to be an official.
He was only missing a stepping stone. Having a father of Standard Third Rank, as long as he could pass the Imperial Examination, he didn't dare to claim his future official career would be without obstacles but it should at least be smooth sailing.
This line of thinking may not align with core values, but his life was almost over; where would he find the mind to consider these things?
Legalism takes the path of maintaining and defending justice through the authority to enforce laws. Generally speaking, one could choose to become a County Magistrate or go further to serve in the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Censorate, or the Ministry of Justice as an official.
Li Nuo had no official status, but thanks to his identity, before he was qualified to become an official, reviewing minor cases at the County Magistrate's Office wouldn't likely be met with a word of objection from the Chang'an County Magistrate.
Housekeeper Wu watched as his young master's gaze became increasingly steadfast and his expression more and more impassioned, unable to help himself, he asked, "Young Master, do you truly wish to follow the path of Legalism?"
Li Nuo asked, "Why, can't I?"
He found that Housekeeper Wu seemed to be somewhat intentionally trying to stop him from studying Legalism.
Housekeeper Wu sighed and said, "The abilities of Legalism, although above the Martial Path, are not easy to learn, and the cultivation is extremely difficult; it may take decades without any progress, Young Master must think this through carefully."
Li Nuo asked in confusion, "Why?"
Housekeeper Wu explained, "To start cultivating Legalism, one only needs to judge ordinary cases, which in a short time could be one or two years, and at most three to five years to glimpse the threshold. But to cultivate it deeply, one must judge what others cannot judge, execute what others cannot execute. When I say this, do you understand, Young Master?"
Li Nuo himself studied law, of course, he was aware of the limitations of Legalism.
In another world, Legalism represented the political voice of commoners, where everything was "governed by law," stressing the principle of "no distinction in kinship or status, just decisions by law," "both rulers and subjects, nobles and commoners must follow the law," "punishing the guilty without excusing high officials, rewarding the good without overlooking commoners"...
Under the law, there would be no privileges, which clearly affected the interests of the privileged class.
Li Nuo asked, "Are you saying, cultivating Legalism will encounter obstacles from the powerful?"
Housekeeper Wu felt relieved in his heart. The young master had indeed become smarter, quickly grasping the key point.
He nodded and said, "Exactly, Legalism is not like the Medical School, which only requires deep study in medicine to heal and save people, nor like the Mohist, who only need to delve into craftsmanship, nor like the Agricultural School, which farms and breeds for a lifetime. Cultivation in Legalism requires one to devote oneself to the law, first executing commoners, then high-ranking officials in order to continuously advance. It hangs over the heads of all officials like a sharp sword; therefore, disciples of Legalism have always been rejected by the nobles. Since the end of the Warring States, it has gradually declined and few people pursue it..."
Li Nuo thought for a moment, then asked, "Which school did my father practice?"
Housekeeper Wu replied, "Confucian."
Li Nuo was somewhat surprised. The Minister of Justice, standing at the pinnacle of Daxia's legal field, turned out to be a Confucian practitioner. It seemed that Legalism really had declined.
Housekeeper Wu's words; Li Nuo understood them. He also knew that challenging an entire class on one's own usually ended disastrously.
But if he didn't study Legalism, he would die soon.
He seemed to have a choice when in fact there was none.
Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "I understand now, we'll talk about this later..."
He was very aware that Housekeeper Wu didn't want him to study Legalism for his own good. The incident on Loli Island was known to all; even modern states couldn't bring all evil-doers to justice, let alone in a feudal dynasty.
To need to kill nobles halfway through cultivation and then perhaps even have to kill the Emperor?
No Emperor would tolerate Legalism.
Today's Legalism is more of a tool they use for managing the grassroots, which naturally doesn't reach the nobility, so no one practices Legalism to a high level anymore.
Housekeeper Wu stealthily glanced at Li Nuo, thinking the young master wouldn't create a distortion of facts now, would he?
After a discreet cough, he stood up and said, "It's getting late, Young Master should rest early, and so should this Old Servant."
Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."
After Housekeeper Wu left, Li Nuo sat at the table, propping his chin with one hand, his gaze gradually becoming vacant.
In this half day's time, too many things had happened to him.
A twenty-first century court clerk, who was only asleep, had come to another world; upon awakening, he faced an assassination attempt, thinking it was a dream, he knocked himself out against a pillar, and upon reopening his eyes, he saw a death countdown, caught a female assassin, got kicked unconscious by his wife, stepped out the door, and almost had his head pierced by an arrow...
His experiences of more than twenty years were not as rich and thrilling as this half a day.
He needed a moment to catch his breath.
...
Night.
Li Mansion.
Within a quiet room, a young woman sat at the table, her gaze somewhat vacant as she watched the flickering candle flame.
This morning, when she saw the pitiful state of that woman in the firewood shed, she truly had a moment where she couldn't control her anger.
Her husband might be a fool, but he never committed any crimes.
Of course, she soon realized it was a misunderstanding.
But compared to him committing a crime, a fool who used to only smile stupidly and drool, suddenly becoming normal or even smart, seemed to be even more surprising.
Strangely enough, when he was foolish, she didn't think much of it.
He was no longer foolish, but she found herself at a loss for how to interact with him.
This caused her, who was always as tranquil as still water, to experience a bit of turmoil.
Her fingers habitually caressed the longsword in her hand.
Yet it didn't feel familiar.
She looked down in confusion, and then with shock and doubt, she exclaimed, "Where's my sword!"
In another room separated by just a wall.
Li Nuo sat at the desk, his eyeballs moved, and he finally snapped out of his reverie.
He didn't know how long he'd been daydreaming, but when he turned his head, he was surprised to find it had already gotten dark outside.
He collected his emotions and let out a long breath of stale air.
By now, he had come to terms with the fact that he had traveled through time.
In his past life, his parents had died early on, and six months ago, he had bid farewell to the grandmother who had raised him. In that other world, he actually had very few strong attachments. His only regret was that he had worked so hard to pass the Law and Public Service exams. The secure job he had finally landed was suddenly gone...
If he had known, he wouldn't have pushed himself so hard.
However, thinking that he might have landed a "golden rice bowl" in this life, his mood improved a bit.
After snapping out of his daze, Li Nuo felt unbearable hunger. The meal Housekeeper Wu had brought in the afternoon had long gone cold, but Li Nuo didn't care. Just as he was about to start eating, he suddenly heard a knock at the door.
He stood up and walked to the door, opened it, and upon seeing the figure before him, he was slightly taken aback and then asked, "Wife, what brings you here so late?"
He knew that although they were married, they had always slept separately.
The cool and detached woman asked, "Have you seen my sword?"
Li Nuo shook his head, "No..."
Her gaze shifted slightly downward as she asked, "Then what is that you're holding in your hand?"
Li Nuo looked down and realized he was holding a sword.
He had no memory of how his wife's sword had come into his possession.
Li Nuo hurriedly handed the sword back to her, saying, "I'm sorry, I don't know how your sword ended up in my hand..."
The woman in white didn't say much. She turned around and walked away. After two steps, her pace hesitated slightly, but she didn't look back as she said, "I'm sorry about today. I misunderstood you."
Li Nuo rubbed his still throbbing chest, speaking magnanimously, "It's okay."
After all, she had saved his life. What was one kick in comparison to that?
Although his wife was a bit violent, at least she was reasonable.
Watching her figure nearly disappearing into the courtyard, Li Nuo asked on a whim, "By the way, wife, what... is your name?"
He suddenly realized he didn't know her name.
Her figure had already vanished, and a voice came from the darkness as if from nowhere.
"Song Jiaren."
...
"Song Jiaren..."
It was indeed a pleasant name. Li Nuo repeated it to himself several times in his mind. As he turned to go back to his room and was about to close the door, he was startled and stared blankly at a pink wallet in his hand.
What was this?
Why did he keep finding strange things in his hands today?
Li Nuo opened the wallet to look inside and saw some broken silver. He brought it closer and sniffed it. The wallet had a faint, pleasant scent. He recognized the fragrance; after spending a day with his wife, he could identify her scent.
But why was his wife's wallet in his hand?
And why... did he say "also"?
Li Nuo thought for a moment. During the day, Housekeeper Wu's purse had also appeared in his hand inexplicably, and not only that, his wife's sword as well...
Upon further reflection, it seemed that when returning his wife's sword, he had subconsciously performed an action with his right hand that pilfered her wallet.
Could it be that his predecessor was a master thief?
Was he still retaining some of his body's habits?
Impossible, a fool wouldn't understand such skills. Suddenly, a bright light flashed in Li Nuo's mind.
He immediately summoned the Law Code, and his gaze locked onto the illustration of the bearded man on the second page.
Then, another thought came to him, and he looked at the page depicting the female assassin.
Moments later, in a room at Li Mansion, Housekeeper Wu curiously asked, "Young Master, why are you in the assassin's room?"
The female assassin, who had attempted to kill Li Nuo, had been a servant of the Li Family. This was her room, and it had been searched before. Now, it looked somewhat disordered. Li Nuo searched around in the room and finally found a slip of paper in a drawer by the bed.
"5 a.m.: Get up, wash up, make-up. Before 5:45 AM, clean the young master's courtyard."
The contents on the paper were simple, detailing what she needed to do at what time each day, like cleaning and tidying the bed, among other chores. In such a grand household, the servants had fixed tasks each day. As work positions changed, the daily responsibilities varied as well.
After a moment, Li Nuo had Housekeeper Wu prepare ink and brush, went back to his room, sat at the desk, took up a brush, and wrote the same content on another piece of paper.
"5 a.m.: Get up, wash up, make-up. Before 5:45 AM, clean the young master's courtyard."
He compared the handwriting on both slips of paper, elegant Hairpin Flower Small Regular Script. They weren't merely similar; they were indistinguishable.