To Me, You Are an "Uncle," Older or Younger-But Never a "Father"!

When the three finished speaking, silence settled over the Ancestral Hall.

Wei Nisheng stood in the doorway, holding his eldest uncle's spirit tablet, and listened to all three.

He did not rush to refute them. He simply listened quietly.

Wei He frowned too, unsure what the boy was thinking.

At last, Wei Nisheng raised his head.

He looked at the three men before him: the clan patriarch, his father, and the clan elder.

Then he laughed.

It began as a soft chuckle, then grew louder and louder, until he threw back his head and laughed at the heavens, his laughter filled with desolation and scorn.

Wei Mingde could not help shouting, "What are you laughing at?!"

Wei Nisheng stopped laughing. His gaze swept over everyone present, and he spoke slowly.

"So 'affection for kin' overrides 'respect for rank'! So 'filial piety' overrides 'lineage law'! So 'ancestral precepts' override 'the laws of the realm'!"

"Every word the three of you spoke was a pearl of wisdom, every sentence a blade through the heart."

"What a pity..."

"A pity what?"

"A pity..." Wei Nisheng paused. His smile abruptly vanished, and his gaze became sharp as a knife.

"Every sentence was twisted reasoning!"

With that, Wei Nisheng turned first to the clan patriarch, Wei He, and met his eyes. "You just quoted the line about 'one's senior by ten years' from 'rules of propriety,'

"yet you forgot the very first sentence of 'lesser record of mourning attire' in the Book of Rites!"

"It is..." For a moment, Wei He could not remember.

"Don't bother thinking. I'll tell you!" Wei Nisheng declared. "'Affection for kin, respect for rank, deference to elders, and the distinction between men and women-these are the great principles of human conduct.'"

"These three stand side by side. Where does it ever say that 'affection for kin' ranks above 'respect for rank'?"

He stepped forward and raised his voice. "If 'affection for kin' truly overrides 'respect for rank,' why did every dynasty establish the eldest legitimate son as heir?

"Why distinguish between the main and lesser lineages? Why have the rule that 'the lineage heir inherits the title, while the other sons divide the property'?"

Wei He's expression changed.

Wei Nisheng continued, "Now, as for 'filial piety.' Patriarch, you just accused me of arrogance and disrespect toward my elders. Then let me ask you this..."

"In chapter fifteen of the Classic of Filial Piety, the 'remonstrance chapter,' what did the sage say?"

"Chapter fifteen of the Classic of Filial Piety, the 'remonstrance chapter,' says... it says..."

"It says! 'In ancient times, the Son of Heaven had seven remonstrating ministers; even if he lacked virtue, he did not lose his realm. A father who has a remonstrating son will not fall into unrighteousness.

"'Thus, when faced with unrighteousness, a son must remonstrate with his father, and a minister must remonstrate with his ruler. How could merely obeying a father's commands be considered filial piety?'"

He stared at Wei He, his eyes blazing. "Today, all of you seek to commit an unrighteous act. You seek to make me betray the ancestral succession entrusted to me and saddle me with the infamy of disrespect.

"If I obeyed, that would be true unfilial conduct!"

"My 'remonstrance' today is precisely the 'great filial piety' sanctioned by the sage!"

Wei He opened his mouth, but no words came.

Wei Nisheng turned to Wei Mingde. His gaze was complicated, but his voice remained calm. "And you, Father..."

"This is the last time I will call you 'Father.'"

Wei Mingde's expression stiffened.

"You just said, 'Love between flesh and blood must not be diminished.'

"Very well. Let us discuss this 'love between flesh and blood.'"

"In the section on 'one who becomes another's heir' in 'mourning attire' of the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial, Zheng Xuan's annotation states, 'The one who comes to be an heir becomes his son.'

"Jia Gongyan's commentary states, 'Once he becomes another's heir, he stands as a son to his father, severing his ties to his birth lineage.'"

"'Severing his ties to his birth lineage'-Father, do you still recognize those words? Do you understand them?!"

Wei Mingde was struck dumb.

"Heh. Don't bother thinking. I did not decree this. The sages decreed it. Ritual law decreed it!

"And during the adoption just now, you personally burned the document before the ancestral tablets, kowtowed, and acknowledged it!"

"So for you to say now, 'I am your birth father,' is utterly wrong!"

"Since my adoption into the lineage and lineage separation, the rites require me to observe the reduced mourning obligation of one-year mourning without a staff for my birth family.

"To me, you are an 'older uncle' or a 'younger uncle'-but never a 'father'!"

"You stand as my younger uncle, yet seek to sway me with the bond between father and son. This is not love between flesh and blood. This is using affection to throw law into disorder! Sacrificing public duty to private interests! Letting a lesser lineage disrupt the main lineage!"

Those words-"To me, you are an 'older uncle' or a 'younger uncle'-but never a 'father'"-

drained the color from Wei Mingde's face. He stepped back, unable to speak.

Wei Nisheng turned to the clan elder, his gaze cold and fierce. "You just cited the ancestral precept that 'a minor's property is administered by his elder kin.'

"May I ask where this 'ancestral precept' is recorded? In what book is it written? Does it bear the signed marks of generations of lineage heirs? Does it bear an official seal, Clan Elder?"

The clan elder froze and stammered, "It... it has been passed down by word of mouth..."

"By word of mouth?" Wei Nisheng sneered. "Then let us discuss the law beyond what has been 'passed down by word of mouth.'"

"The commentary on the provision 'junior family members privately using property' in the Household and Marriage Statutes of the Zhou Criminal Statutes states, 'Within every co-resident household, there must be a senior.

"'While that senior is present, sons and grandsons may not act on their own authority. If a junior uses household property privately without the senior's permission, ten bolts of silk incur ten strokes of the light rod, with the penalty increased one degree for each additional ten bolts.'"

"This provision concerns 'co-residence'! It concerns descendants whose households have not yet been divided!"

"But my Eldest Branch, from the moment of my adoption just now, underwent Lineage Separation and separated its household registration from my birth father!"

"So my Eldest Branch and all of you are no longer 'co-residents'!"

"If we do not share a household, on what grounds can you claim 'administration by a senior'?"

The clan elder flushed red. He wanted to argue, but could find no opening.

Wei Nisheng continued, "As for your claim that 'my adoptive father's property was once administered by my grandfather,' surely you have misremembered, Clan Elder?"

"Back then, my grandfather was still alive. That was a case of 'father and son sharing a household,' so naturally my grandfather could administer the property."

"But now, I alone remain within the Eldest Branch. I am therefore the 'senior' of this Eldest Branch!

"You are relatives belonging to 'separate households.' What right do you have to 'administer' anything?"

"As for your talk of 'a century of ancestral precepts,' I too have a saying of the sage to answer you with today!"

"Confucius's family sayings states, 'The village worthy is the thief of virtue.'

"What is a village worthy? Someone who borrows the ancestors' name to pursue his own selfish ends and undermine true ritual law!"

"What you have said today places you squarely among them, Clan Elder!"

"You... you dare insult me..." The clan elder's face turned deathly pale, and he sank into his seat.

Wei Nisheng took a deep, steadying breath. Only then did he turn back to Wei He.

"Patriarch, you fear that my reporting this to the authorities will ruin my reputation, damage my prospects in the imperial examinations and official service, and make me an object of contempt."

"Then let me ask you this..."

"If I do not report this today, and allow all of you to carve up the Eldest Branch Estate until nothing remains,

"Then, as someone adopted into another lineage through Lineage Separation, I will own nothing, suffer hunger and cold, and lack even the money for a teacher's fee. What imperial examinations could I take? What official career could I pursue?"

"When that happens, someone will probably point at my back and say, 'Look, that is Wei Nisheng, who could not protect his ancestral estate and starved to death!'"

"Reputation? If I submit today, I will not even count as a human being. What reputation would there be to speak of?"

He paused, his voice icy. "As for your claim that 'one who accuses his father is sentenced to strangulation,'

"Father himself just admitted that he is my 'younger uncle,' not my 'father'!"

"My accusation is 'an uncle plotting to seize his nephew's property,' not 'a son accusing his father'!"

"That law cannot frighten me!"

"And even if I concede ten thousand steps..." Wei Nisheng drew a deep breath, his voice turning tragic and resolute.

"Even if I must bear the name of 'unfilial rebel,' I will still bring the accusation!"

"The Mencius says, 'Life is what I desire; righteousness is also what I desire. If I cannot have both, I will forsake life and choose righteousness.'"

"Today's matter is where 'righteousness' lies. Protecting the ancestral succession of my Eldest Branch, preserving my adoptive father's estate, and setting right my place within the clan-this is my 'righteousness'!"

"I would rather stand and carry an infamous name all the way to the Prefectural Office than kneel, clutching a 'filial reputation,' while others devour me and wipe the platter clean!"