How Fiery Could a Ten-Year-Old Child Possibly Be?

With that, Wei Nisheng hugged the spirit tablets to his chest and strode toward the door.

Everyone froze for a moment before coming to their senses.

"This is bad! That unfilial wretch is a master at borrowing authority-His Majesty personally praised him!"

Wei Mingde went deathly pale. He pointed at the boy's retreating back, his finger trembling.

"He... he's going to take the spirit tablets to the Prefectural Office! He's going to beat the Petition Drum!"

At those words, an uproar broke out.

"Beat the Petition Drum in the Capital?!"

Several Clan Elders rose to their feet in fright, exchanging looks.

The Petition Drum was the prelude to lodging a grievance before the emperor!

Once it sounded, the authorities would intervene and the family's disgrace would be aired in public. The Wei Family's century of unsullied reputation would be destroyed in a single stroke!

Wei Mingde's legs went weak. He tried to rush after him, only for Wei He to stop him with a cold snort.

"Stay where you are!"

Leaning on his cane, Wei He slowly stood, his gaze fixed firmly on Wei Nisheng's back.

"What a sharp tongue you have, you yellow-beaked brat!" he said coldly. "The Capital calls you the Fiery Child. Now that I've seen you, you certainly live up to that name!"

"But since you wish to discuss rites and law, I shall debate rites and law with you!"

Wei Nisheng stopped and turned, looking at him calmly.

He knew perfectly well that if he left without winning them over with reason, he would plunge beyond all hope of redemption.

I'm only ten this year. Without borrowing the weight of righteousness and the lingering power of that authority, I'll meet a miserable end in the blink of an eye.

The moment I accept their "supplements" and "shares," I'll be handing back the fate I've only just freed.

So, if every choice leads to death, I'll choose the hardest road!!

Seeing Wei Nisheng stop, Wei He breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped forward and struck his cane heavily against the floor with a loud crack.

He had studied in his youth and passed the Autumn Provincial Examination. Having lived more than seventy years, what sort of confrontation had he not seen?

How fiery could a ten-year-old child possibly be?

Wei He therefore looked at Wei Nisheng, his gaze blazing like a torch, and enunciated each word clearly.

"Hah. Everything you just said rested on nothing more than the title 'Lineage Heir.'

"But do you know what 'the duties of a Lineage Heir' are? What 'the weight of filial piety' means?"

He cleared his throat and declared, "The Book of Rites: Inner Rules says, 'When a filial son cares for his elders, he gladdens their hearts and does not go against their wishes.'"

"Just now, in the Ancestral Hall, your words were knives and your bearing arrogant toward your birth father, toward the head of your clan.

"And now you clutch your ancestors' spirit tablets to threaten your elders. Is this the filial piety of the Eldest Branch's Lineage Heir? Is this the upbringing you gained from reading the sages' books?"

"Furthermore, the Book of Rites: Rules of Propriety says, 'One who is ten years older is to be served as an elder brother. One who is five years older is to be followed shoulder to shoulder.'"

"I ask you: which person seated here is not older than you? Did those words of yours show even a trace of respect for your elders?"

As he spoke, Wei He raised his voice and struck his cane heavily against the floor.

"You keep talking about 'the principal lineage and the lesser lineages,' yet you forget that above 'honoring rank' there is also 'loving kin'!"

"We are flesh and blood, joined by the same bloodline. How could a single adoption document sever that bond?"

"You claim our 'stewardship' is embezzlement. Let me ask you: how old are you this year?

"Can you calculate the acreage of the fields? Can you distinguish genuine deeds from forgeries? Can you handle the authorities' tax demands? Can you settle disputes among tenants?"

"To put it bluntly, you can barely step over this Ancestral Hall's threshold, yet you want sole control of such a vast estate. That is not preserving an estate-it is ruining one!"

Seeing the clan head press his attack, several Clan Elders nodded, their confidence slowly returning.

Meanwhile, Wei Mingde also recovered his wits. Looking at Wei Nisheng, he stepped forward as well, his tone "earnest and well-meaning," yet concealing a sharp edge.

"You unfil... Ni Sheng, I know you resent me. But you cannot do something like this with your grandfather's and eldest uncle's spirit tablets!"

With that, Wei Mingde sighed deeply, looking utterly heartbroken. "The Yan Family Instructions says, 'The solemn bond between father and son must not be treated with familiarity. The love between flesh and blood must not be treated with neglect.'"

"I am here today not as your 'father' seeking to seize your property, but as your 'uncle' helping you preserve your estate."

"You are young and do not understand how treacherous people can be. How many people out there have their eyes on the Eldest Branch's fields? Go out alone, and within three days they could swindle you out of everything you own!"

"You said just now that 'the principal lineage must not be bullied.' Fine. We acknowledge you as its Lineage Heir." He stared at Wei Nisheng with a complicated look.

"But does being the principal lineage's Lineage Heir mean you can disown your birth father? Does it mean you can glare coldly at your clan elders?"

"If your adoptive father, my elder brother, has a spirit watching from heaven, seeing you show such contempt for your elders would surely leave him unable to close his eyes even in death!"

By the end, Wei Mingde's voice choked with sobs. He clutched his chest and wept, making it seem as though Wei Nisheng was about to commit some monstrous act of rebellion.

Several Clan Elders nodded. Someone murmured, "Mingde has a point..."

"Exactly!!" Seeing the tide slowly turn, another Clan Elder stroked his beard and stepped out to take up the argument.

"You yellow-beaked brat, do you know that this 'stewardship' was not invented by our Wei Family?"

"Though the Zhou Criminal Statutes contains your so-called provision for the 'Returning Lineage Heir,' it also contains the exception that 'the property of an extinct household shall all be given to its unmarried daughters still at home.'

"Furthermore, the legal commentary states, 'If the deceased left a will, and the evidence is clear upon examination, the matter shall be handled according to law.'"

"Before your adoptive father died, did he leave a will? Did he entrust his orphan to anyone?"

He paused and looked around at everyone. "Besides, for a hundred years our clan has maintained the rule that 'a young son's property shall be managed by his elder kin, and shall only be handed over when he reaches sixteen and comes of age.'"

"This is an ancestral instruction, passed down through the generations. What the clan head said earlier was not wrong!!"

"Your adoptive father's estate was also managed by your grandfather until he came of age!

"If you break this rule today, you will be breaking the century-old institutions of our Wei Family!"

With that, he stepped back, and everyone nodded.

Wei He then drove in another blade, invoking "righteousness." "And didn't you say you wanted to take us to the authorities? Fine. Go ahead!"

"Do you know what the authorities detest most? They detest 'airing family disgrace' and 'litigation between flesh and blood'!"

"The Law on Brawling and Litigation in the Zhou Criminal Statutes clearly states, 'Those who accuse their grandparents or parents shall be strangled.'"

"Though you have been adopted into another branch, does that make your birth parents no longer your parents?"

"If you step out of this Ancestral Hall today to lodge a complaint, the people of the Capital will learn that our Wei Family has produced a rebellious son who 'accuses his father'!"

"When that happens, even if you win the lawsuit and win the estate, will you have won yourself a good name?

"Will you have won a future in the imperial examinations and official service? Will you have won the protection of your ancestors?"

"Wei Nisheng! Wei Nisheng!" He stared at Wei Nisheng, stressing every word.

"You are now the Eldest Branch's Lineage Heir. Every word and deed of yours bears upon the Eldest Branch's unsullied reputation!"

"You would do well not to destroy your own future!"