After morning court adjourned, Wei Nisheng did not return to the Hanlin Academy.
He parted ways with Wang Kan outside the Meridian Gate, then boarded his carriage.
Cui Fu drove the bay horse through streets and alleys, neither fast nor slow along the muddy roads left by the snow.
Wei Nisheng leaned against the carriage wall and closed his eyes, going over every detail of that morning's court session in his mind.
Shen Duan had volunteered to answer for his crimes; Kou Yuan had retreated in order to advance.
Lu Jing had opened fire head-on, and then there was the emperor's final, watertight decree...
At this point, the waves he had stirred up were no longer something a mere Compiler of the Subordinate Sixth Rank could control.
And so, every step that followed would require Feng Yan.
The Feng Residence.
Wei Nisheng crossed the front courtyard, rounded the screen wall, and followed the covered corridor to the study door.
The snow beneath the corridor had been swept clean. Wintersweet bloomed profusely in the flower beds, its cool fragrance drifting through the air, refreshing heart and soul.
Wei Nisheng stopped outside the study, straightened his robes and cap, and raised a hand to knock.
"Come in."
Feng Yan's voice came from within, betraying no emotion.
Wei Nisheng pushed the door open and entered. The charcoal fire in the study was burning brightly.
Feng Yan wore a slightly worn, raven-blue Daoist robe and sat in a grand armchair.
Seeing Wei Nisheng enter, he merely lifted his eyelids and pointed to the chair opposite him.
"Sit."
Wei Nisheng sat down across from Feng Yan, dispensing with pleasantries and preliminaries.
He began by recounting everything that had happened at morning court, from beginning to end.
His account was exceedingly detailed, reproducing tones and