No words in the letter; borrow its weight as you will

In early April, spring deepened by the day.

In an alley outside the West Peace Gate, the dilapidated Small Courtyard of the Wei Residence had been transformed.

The main house, side rooms, and kitchen had all been tidied up, inside and out.

The doors and windows had been repapered, and furniture had been added to the rooms.

Though none of it was made from precious wood, everything they needed was there, neatly arranged.

In the kitchen, a newly hired older woman was lighting the stove to cook, and wisps of smoke curled upward.

Another woman washed clothes beside the well, her wooden paddle rising and falling with rhythmic thuds.

The entire Small Courtyard finally looked like a home.

Wei Nisheng stood in the courtyard and surveyed his surroundings, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

"Cui Fu, you've done very well."

"As long as you're pleased, young master!" Cui Fu hastily offered a deferential smile, bending his waist just enough. "I'm no good at much else, but I do know a thing or two about running errands and getting things done."

"And..." As Cui Fu spoke, he stepped closer and lowered his voice, eager to claim credit.

"Young master, guess how much all of this cost?"

Wei Nisheng looked at him with a faint, knowing smile. "How much?"

Cui Fu held up five fingers, flipped his hand over twice, then made another gesture, muttering as he counted.

"One hundred and fifty taels altogether! I practically wore my lips through bargaining with those craftsmen and the brokers.

"I compared one shop against another, then used the other shop to drive the first one down. I forced the price down by thirty percent!"

"Of course! I, Cui Fu, don't make empty boasts!" He thumped his chest, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. "If you don't believe me, young master, I'll bring you the accounts later. Every expense is recorded clear as day!"

Wei Nisheng nodded without pressing him.

He knew perfectly well that Cui Fu's hundred and fifty taels certainly included some padding.

An errand runner who never skimmed a little grease off the top would have to be a saint.

But whatever Cui Fu had pocketed, he had handled the work efficiently. That was enough.

Efficiency that money could buy was worth paying for.

So Wei Nisheng looked at him and fulfilled the promise he had made that day.

"Cui Fu, would you be willing to stay with me as a household guard from now on?"

Cui Fu froze, unable to take it in for a moment.

At first, Cui Fu had thought Wei Nisheng would take him on as an odd-job servant at most. He had never expected to become a household guard.

A household guard served as an attendant and protector in a wealthy household, as well as something of a trusted confidant, handling the master's private affairs.

A household guard serving a respectable master could hold his head up outside, too.

At that thought, Cui Fu's eyes lit up. "A household guard? Young master, do you mean it?"

"You work efficiently, have plenty of connections, and know the rules." Wei Nisheng nodded. "Staying here with me is better than drifting around outside as an idler."

Cui Fu was tempted.

Especially when he thought of his own circumstances.

His mother was a concubine who had once been a maid, with no standing whatsoever in the Cui Family.

Though the Cui Family's blood flowed in his veins, he could not even land a proper position.

Whenever he returned to the Cui Family, his legitimate cousins looked at him as though he were a mangy dog.

The boy before him might not belong to a grand and powerful household, but following him would at least mean serving a respectable master.

And behind this boy stood none other than Lord Feng!

Thus, Cui Fu barely hesitated before bowing deeply.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, young master! I'm willing to serve you like a hound or horse!"

"There's no need to serve me like a hound or horse. Just do your work well." Wei Nisheng looked at him and said evenly, "Our household will keep growing. Put some care into it."

Cui Fu nodded repeatedly, his face blooming into a grin. "Yes! Rest assured, young master. I'll give it my all!"

Standing nearby, Wei An watched and nodded slightly.

The young master was taking someone into his service. He would not interfere.

And Cui Fu was indeed useful, and easy to put to work.

Soon, after settling the miscellaneous chores, Wei Nisheng went alone into his bedroom study.

Since it shared space with his bedroom, the study was small, but everything had been arranged neatly.

A writing desk, a chair, and a bookshelf.

The desk held all four treasures of the study. The brushes came from Huzhou and the ink from Huizhou, all purchased by Cui Fu.

On the shelf sat the few old books he had brought from the Side Courtyard, along with many newly purchased volumes. Even the Annotations and Commentary on the Rites of Zhou and the Great Zhou Criminal Code were there, all neatly lined up.

That was Cui Fu's skill: even the smallest details had been taken care of.

Wei Nisheng sat at the desk and took a letter from inside his robe.

It was the letter in Feng Yan's own hand that Wei An had brought back from the Feng Residence that day.

Feng Yan's personal seal marked the closure, with four characters in seal script: "For Ni Sheng's eyes only."

Back at the Wei Residence, he had had neither the time nor the inclination.

After moving out, he had been busy settling into his new home and still had not opened it.

"I should take a look." Wei Nisheng opened the envelope and drew out the letter.

Yet when he unfolded the Xuan paper, he found, to his surprise, that there was not a single word on it.

Wei Nisheng stared at the paper, fell silent for a moment, then smiled helplessly.

No words in the letter; borrow its weight as you will...

He understood.

Feng Yan must have had eyes inside the Wei Family.

Feng Yan knew exactly what had happened to him that day.

He knew Wei Nisheng had been trapped in the Ancestral Hall, knew he had been besieged by the clan elders and his father, and knew he had used Lord Feng's name to bear down on them.

So there was no need to write anything, no need to give any instructions.

One letter, one sheet of paper-that alone was enough for him to cow those clan elders and that father of his.

Put more plainly, it meant: Whatever you say, I'll stand behind it.

This was the confidence Feng Yan had given him, and also the test Feng Yan had set him.

If he was someone who could not be propped up, this paper would remain a blank sheet, utterly useless.

If he could borrow that power to rise, this paper would be an army of thousands.

"Lord Feng, I, Wei Nisheng, accept this gift."

Wei Nisheng set down the blank sheet and spread out a fresh piece of stationery.

He lifted his brush, soaked it with ink, and held his wrist poised as he considered.

A moment later, he lowered the brush and wrote a line.

"Wordless, yet weightiest of all; I shall not fail the white-haired elder."

This was his gift in return, and his answer.

When he finished, Wei Nisheng gently blew the ink dry, folded the paper, and placed it in a new envelope.

On the envelope, he wrote in neat, precise characters: "For Lord Feng's eyes only."

He had just folded the envelope closed when laughter and conversation suddenly drifted in from outside.

It was Cui Fu and Wei An.

In the courtyard, Cui Fu was circling Wei An with an annoyingly sly grin.

"Brother Wei, let me discuss something with you."

Wei An glanced at him, still sorting the newly purchased items in his hands. "What is it?"

Cui Fu stepped closer and lowered his voice, deliberately keeping it neither too loud nor too soft-just enough for the person inside to hear.

"Well, look, the young master has his own household now, and there are only the two of us at his side. Isn't that a little too few?"

Wei An frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying..." Cui Fu waggled his eyebrows. "Shouldn't we find the young master a maid?

"An old fellow like you hovering around him every day, serving tea and pouring water-it hardly looks right."

"If you ask me, we need someone young and lovely, red sleeves tending the incense. Now that would be true elegance!"

Seeing Cui Fu's raised thumb, Wei An's face darkened, and he slapped the back of his head.

"Nonsense! How old is the young master? And you're already thinking about that sort of thing!"

"Ow! Brother Wei, why did you hit me?" Cui Fu clutched the back of his head and protested. "What nonsense did I say?" He rubbed his head, looking unconvinced.

"The young master is ten this year-eleven if you count his actual age! In another four years, he'll reach the age of the elephant dance. What's wrong with preparing ahead of time?"

"What age of the elephant dance?" Wei An laughed in exasperation. "A perfectly respectable expression! Why does it sound so indecent coming out of your mouth?"

Cui Fu chuckled foolishly. "That's you overthinking it, Brother Wei. I was just making a casual suggestion..."

While the two were bickering, a voice suddenly sounded behind them.

"Cui Fu is right."

Both turned at once.

At some point, Wei Nisheng had come up behind them, a smile on his face.

"Young master, don't listen to his nonsense! Cui Fu never behaves properly. All day long, he thinks of nothing but these crooked tricks!"

Wei Nisheng shook his head and said earnestly, "Uncle Wei, I'm not talking nonsense."

He looked at Wei An with gentle eyes. "You're getting older. Doing everything yourself takes too much out of you.

"Our household will keep growing. You won't be able to handle everything alone."

"Besides, you're my elder, not my servant. Serving tea and pouring water aren't things you should have to do."

Wei An froze.

He looked at the boy before him, at his earnest gaze and gentle smile, and suddenly felt his eyes grow hot.

This child truly regarded him as an elder.

It was not just something he said. He truly meant it.

Still, one matter was one matter, and Wei An remained firm. "Then I'll have to vet her too. No fox charmers!"

Wei Nisheng smiled and turned to Cui Fu, taking the letter from his sleeve. "Cui Fu, I have something for you to do."

Cui Fu hurried over, his expression turning serious, his earlier sly grin swept clean away.

"Your orders, young master!"

"Take this letter to the Feng Residence and deliver it to Lord Feng."

Cui Fu's eyes lit up, even brighter than when he had heard the words "household guard." "The Feng Residence! You mean that Lord Feng?"

Wei Nisheng nodded.

Cui Fu's heart raced. He accepted the letter with both hands and carefully tucked it inside his robe, even patting it down for fear it might fall out.

"Rest assured, young master. I'll deliver it! Into his own hands! No mistakes!"

Wei Nisheng nodded. "Once you return, come with me to the brokerage to choose some people."

Cui Fu paused, then beamed with delight. "Heh, rest assured, young master. I'll find an honest, dependable broker!"

Wei An interjected from the side, "Deliver the letter first."

Cui Fu slapped his forehead. "Right, right, right! The letter first! The letter first!"

With that, he darted out through the courtyard gate and vanished into the alley.