Either Dazzle the World with Literary Brilliance or Hear Your Name Called Outside the East Flower Gate!

After the little incident, Cui Fu stood rooted to the spot, unsure whether to leave or stay.

"You have quite the nerve, Second Young Master. Um... are we still going out?"

His legs felt a little weak.

Was this really the child his Older Sister had said had not left home in ten years?

With such an imposing presence, was he really unpopular at home...?

"Of course." Wei Nisheng glanced at him and strode outside.

Cui Fu hurried after him, his heart lurching with unease.

What exactly is this little terror's game?

Before long, the three of them had passed through the gates of the Wei Residence.

At the same time, Cui Fu's initial nervousness gradually eased.

Now that we're outside, that old bastard should head back, right?

Once I've got the little brat with me in the Capital, won't I be the one deciding where we go?

Just as Cui Fu was considering how to get Wei An to leave...

Wei Nisheng suddenly stopped.

He turned to Cui Fu, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Assuming Wei Nisheng was excited about his first outing, Cui Fu smiled and said,

"My little nephew, how about your uncle takes you somewhere to become a man?"

"It's just..." Cui Fu glanced at Wei An. "The place where you become a man doesn't welcome old fellows."

"Uncle Wei." Wei Nisheng looked at Wei An.

Thinking Wei Nisheng really meant to send Wei An away, Cui Fu hastily chimed in,

"My nephew has spoken! You old slave, get lost!"

No sooner had he spoken than Wei An stepped forward instead of leaving and seized Cui Fu's arm.

Cui Fu was utterly stunned.

"W-what are you doing?!"

"Second Young Master, I'm your mother's brother by a concubine-your younger uncle, at least in name!"

Only then did Wei Nisheng approach this uncle of his "in name" and tilt his head up to look at him.

"Cui Fu, tell me. Who is my father?"

Cui Fu froze. "My brother-in-law is... Lord W-Wei..."

"My father is a bureau secretary in the Ministry of Works, a court official of the Principal Sixth Rank. What does he care about most?"

"Care about..." Cui Fu's mind could not quite keep up.

Wei Nisheng answered for him. "What he cares about most is the Wei Family's reputation. Its 'pure nobility.'"

"If my father finds out that you, an unwanted concubine-born son of the Cui Family, took his legitimate son somewhere he shouldn't go, what do you think will happen?"

At those words, and recalling the incident with Wang Rong just before they left, Cui Fu went pale.

Yes-with Wang Rong's fate still fresh before his eyes, he truly believed Wei Nisheng would report him to Wei Mingde!!

"My little nephew-no! Second Young Master, you're joking, aren't you?"

"What do you think?" Wei Nisheng smiled. "If this reaches Father, the worst I'll get is kneeling in the ancestral hall. But you...

"Tsk. Do you think that stepmother of mine will protect you, or immediately wash her hands of you and say you acted on your own?"

"Older Sister would definitely wash her hands of me."

Knowing his sister's temperament, Cui Fu broke out in a cold sweat, while Wei Nisheng gently patted his face.

"Exactly. Think it through, Cui Fu. You're merely the son of a concubine. No one in the Cui Family thinks anything of you.

"If you offend my father, he could break your legs and throw you out.

"Your sister, your father-no, the entire Cui Family-wouldn't utter a word. Do you believe me?"

At that, both of Cui Fu's legs went weak. He raised his head to stare at Wei Nisheng and pleaded,

"S-Second Young Master, let's talk this over..."

Having achieved his aim, Wei Nisheng did not bother wasting any more words. He simply held out his hand.

"Hand it over."

"W-what?"

"The silver my mother gave you, and whatever money you have on you."

Cui Fu wanted to cry. "Second Young Master, that's..."

"Cui Fu said he wanted to take me somewhere to become a man. You heard him, didn't you, Uncle Wei?"

"I did." Catching his meaning, Wei An played along. "If the master's name were mentioned a few times in a place like that..."

"I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you!! Older Sister has ruined me! What sort of sheltered child is this?!"

Cui Fu had no tears left to shed. Trembling, he took out the three taels of silver, then fished out the loose silver he carried.

He handed it all over, more than six taels in total.

Wei Nisheng took it, weighed it in his hand, and tucked it into his robe.

"Second Young Master, I've given you all my money. You can't..."

"Don't worry. You're my dear uncle! What nephew in this world would make trouble for his own uncle?"

"Now follow Wei An and behave yourself. When we get back, tell that stepmother of mine everything went as planned."

"And let what happened today rot in your belly."

"Yes, yes! Everything went as planned today."

As though granted a pardon, Cui Fu obediently followed beside Wei An.

With Cui Fu dealt with, a rare trace of a smile appeared on Wei Nisheng's face.

"Let's go." Wei Nisheng turned toward the bustling streets.

"Since I finally have the chance to come out, I want a good look at this realm of Great Zhou."

This was the first time Wei Nisheng had truly stepped outside the Wei Residence since transmigrating.

Ten years.

Today, at last, he stood here, on this street filled with people coming and going.

The Capital's streets teemed with people, the cries of vendors mingling with shouts to clear the way for donkey carts and the sounds of conversation and laughter.

Curious, Wei Nisheng even approached a stall selling calligraphy and paintings and stopped.

A landscape hung at the stall, its distant mountains dark as painted brows and its nearby waters veiled in mist. The workmanship was nothing special, but its atmosphere was serene and far-reaching.

He looked at it for a long time.

The stallholder, a middle-aged man, saw that he was a child and smiled. "Young master, buying a painting? Two taels of silver each."

Wei Nisheng shook his head, turned, and left.

Two taels of silver.

He had more than six taels on him, all freshly taken from Cui Fu.

Enough to buy paper and brushes, enough to buy books, enough to last a while.

But to buy paintings?

Not enough.

Nowhere near enough.

And what he wanted was not a painting, either.

Wei An followed behind Wei Nisheng with Cui Fu, neither too close nor too far, always keeping two or three paces between them.

Watching the figure ahead, he recalled that slap at the entrance to the side courtyard.

He recalled those words, each sharp as a blade, and the composure with which Wei Nisheng had brought Cui Fu to heel.

This child was so much like the master in his youth.

No, he was even more ruthless than the master.

Wei Nisheng had no idea what Wei An was thinking. He simply kept wandering about.

After all, the curious one was both a child who had not left home in ten years and a soul who had traveled back to ancient times!

And the Capital truly lived up to its standing as Great Zhou's capital!

Commerce flourished, paper currency circulated freely, vernacular fiction thrived, and urban culture was well developed.

Shops lined the flagstone streets, wine-shop banners fluttering overhead.

Some people had set up stalls to write letters for others, while others performed on the spot, drawing crowds of passersby who cheered them on.

From the teahouses came the voices of storytellers, the pounding of tables, and wave after wave of cheers.

What were they telling? He could not hear clearly, catching only scattered phrases like "a celebrated scholar of the previous dynasty" and "romantic escapades."

A crowd had gathered on the street. Squeezing in to look, he found several men of letters holding a literary gathering, reciting poems and composing verse.

A scholar in a blue robe had barely finished a line when those beside him clapped and cried, "Wonderful, wonderful!"

The scholar clasped his hands in modest acknowledgment, though he could not conceal the pride on his face.

Wei Nisheng stood outside the crowd, watching the scene.

Literary culture flourished in Great Zhou, where people prized poetry and rhapsodies, and placed great weight on appearance and bearing.

No wonder his elder legitimate brother cared so much about his looks. No wonder the Wei Family cared so much about its reputation for "pure nobility"...

In an age like this, if he wanted to rise above the crowd,

He would either have to dazzle the world with literary brilliance,

Or... hear his name proclaimed outside the East Flower Gate, then ride a horse in procession through the streets.