Recaps

Wei Nisheng and Feng Yan reviewed how Wei Nisheng countered Xie Lin’s scheme with Wang Kan’s help and the emperor’s support. Feng Yan warned him that the contest in Suzhou had only begun, while Wei Nisheng revealed that he still had the emperor’s golden token as a trump card.

• Wei Nisheng confirmed that Xie Lin had devised He Yanming’s memorial and explained how he had used Wang Kan’s court protest and the emperor’s guidance to counter it.
• Feng Yan praised Wei Nisheng for solving the predicament himself while recognizing Wang Kan’s contribution and securing his own gains.
• Wei Nisheng explained that Xie Lin’s pride led him to strike before Wei Nisheng reached Suzhou, though Wei Nisheng believed Xie Lin had kept another move in reserve.
• Feng Yan warned that He Yanming, Shen Mingxuan, and Li Jin remained in Suzhou and that Wei Nisheng’s position would change after he left the Capital.
• Wei Nisheng showed Feng Yan the emperor’s golden token and said the emperor would remain his trump card.

After the Imperial Decree stripped He Yanming of much of his authority, Xie Lin explained how Wei Zi had turned the court against them and advised He Yanming how to face the coming audit. Xie Lin accepted his defeat in their political contest and left, calling Wei Zi the strongest opponent he had ever encountered.

• The Imperial Decree left He Yanming in office but transferred control of the accounts, Granary Depot, and Grain Transport away from him.
• Xie Lin told He Yanming to comply with Wei Zi’s requests, keep the Ten-Thousand-People Umbrella displayed, and neither defend nor incriminate himself.
• Xie Lin explained that the emperor had backed Wang Kan’s remonstrance to lend authority to Wei Zi’s investigation.
• Xie Lin acknowledged that Wei Zi had outplayed him and said he had prepared for the worst, while He Yanming worried about the audit.
• Xie Lin departed after declaring Wei Zi the strongest opponent he had ever faced.

Xie Lin met Eunuch Li at the Suzhou Weaving Bureau to discuss how Wei Nisheng would respond after the court settled the dispute over He Yanming. He warned that Wei Nisheng could target Shen Mingxuan and disrupt grain trade to undermine He Yanming’s popular support.

• Xie Lin entered the Imperial Silk Bureau through its side entrance and met Li Jin in the rear hall.
• Li Jin recounted the court’s decision that He Yanming would remain in office, hand over the ledgers, and face an Imperial Envoy with full authority.
• Xie Lin said he was asking Li Jin both for Chancellor Shen and for himself, then asked whose neck Wei Nisheng would target first.
• Xie Lin argued that Wei Nisheng would target Shen Mingxuan and the Everlasting Abundance Firm rather than He Yanming directly.
• Xie Lin explained that disrupting the firm’s accounts and grain business could cause prices to fluctuate, panic the people, and turn He Yanming’s Ten-Thousand-People Umbrella into a burden.

Xie Lin persuaded Li Jin to shield the Everlasting Abundance Firm’s transactions while keeping the Imperial Silk Bureau out of Wei Zi’s investigation. Li Jin agreed to consider the plan, but Xie Lin left uncertain whether he had a way out, as Li Jin foresaw chaos in Suzhou.

• Xie Lin asked Li Jin to transfer the goods tied to the Everlasting Abundance Firm’s transactions to another firm without changing the accounts.
• Li Jin deduced that Xie Lin was protecting Chancellor Shen and himself, and explained that he also needed to keep Wei Zi’s inquiry from reaching the Imperial Silk Bureau.
• Xie Lin assured Li Jin that Wei Nisheng would not target the Inner Court and urged him to keep bureau staff from contacting Wei Zi or disclosing information.
• Xie Lin named Wang Cheng as Li Jin’s safeguard, reminding him that Wei Nisheng would not dare disregard Wang Cheng.
• Li Jin asked whether Chancellor Shen had left Xie Lin a way out, but Xie Lin dismissed the concern and departed.
• Li Jin watched Xie Lin leave, wondered what he was seeking, and predicted that Suzhou was about to descend into chaos.

Xie Lin returned home to Xu Shi after a tense day at court, where they discussed Shen Mingxuan’s attempts to win favor and the formidable Wei Nisheng. He revealed his determination to preserve the Xie family line, and Xu Shi promised she would help him by bearing eight sons.

• Xie Lin returned home, where Xu Shi greeted him with food from the Peaceful Abode Restaurant that Shen Mingxuan had sent.
• Xu Shi recalled their impoverished beginnings in Hangzhou, and Xie Lin promised he would never let them return to those circumstances.
• Xie Lin explained that Shen Mingxuan was using carefully chosen gifts to cultivate a favor, but he and Xu Shi would not be swayed.
• Xu Shi asked about Wei Nisheng, and Xie Lin described him as formidable because of his careful calculations and hidden traps.
• Xie Lin told Xu Shi that his grandfather had been disgraced and his father had died in poverty, so he had to ensure the Xie line did not end with him.
• Xu Shi clasped Xie Lin’s hand and promised to bear him eight sons, whom she called the Xie Clan’s Eight Dragons.

Fu Niang and Wei Nisheng shared a tender visit before he prepared to leave the capital, but Zhang Zai interrupted them and offended Fu Niang by disparaging her favorite candied fruit. Fu Niang confronted Zhang Zai while Wei Zi offered no rescue.

• Fu Niang waited for Wei Nisheng in the Wei Residence courtyard, and he arrived with candied fruit from her favorite shop.
• Fu Niang and Wei Nisheng shared tea and candied fruit, then discussed his planned departure around the twentieth and an uncertain return date.
• Fu Niang covered Wei Nisheng's mouth with candied fruit as he tried to reassure her, and Zhang Zai entered and interrupted their moment.
• Zhang Zai criticized the candied fruit, so Fu Niang told him it had been her childhood favorite and that her father bought it for her each New Year.
• Zhang Zai staggered back and appealed to Wei Zi, but Wei Zi could not bring himself to help.

At the grand court assembly, Emperor Jing of Zhou appointed Wei Nisheng as Imperial Envoy to investigate tax arrears in Suzhou Prefecture and Zhang Zai as his deputy. Wei was summoned to the Imperial Study, while Zhang Zai and Wang Kan parted with a warning about the dangers awaiting them in Suzhou and the Capital.

• Kou Yuan asked the emperor to formally appoint Wei Nisheng to lead the Arrears Investigation in Suzhou Prefecture.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou asked Wei Nisheng how confident he was, and Wei declared that he would reckon with the task once he reached Suzhou.
• Wang Cheng proclaimed the decree appointing Wei Nisheng Imperial Envoy and Zhang Zai Deputy Superintendent, with orders to depart for Suzhou in three days.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou instructed Chief Minister Shen Duan to pay close attention to Suzhou's affairs, and the grand court assembly later ended.
• Wang Cheng summoned Wei Nisheng to the Imperial Study, while Zhang Zai and Wang Kan discussed their separate duties and warned each other to take care.

Wei Nisheng presented Emperor Jing of Zhou with a memorial urging restraint toward the Khitan and a five-year plan to strengthen the realm before pursuing war. He pledged to bring the Tangut Chieftain and Khitan khagan to surrender, leaving Emperor Jing moved but without yet answering.

• Wei Nisheng presented his memorial on Gansu and Liaodong border affairs before departing south.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou challenged Wei Nisheng for seeming to counsel fear of the Khitan, and Wei insisted Great Zhou had no need to fear them.
• Wei Nisheng cited Emperor Taizong of Tang’s Treaty of the Wei River as an example of restraint that bought time to prepare and ultimately defeat the Turks.
• Wei Nisheng warned that a premature war with the Tangut could let the Khitan attack on a second front, risking both Gansu and Liaodong.
• Wei Nisheng urged Emperor Jing to strengthen the realm before taking action and pledged to bring the Tangut Chieftain to surrender within five years and the Khitan khagan within ten.

Wei Nisheng defended his warning about Liaodong and Gansu as a subject’s duty to his Ruler-Father, and Emperor Jing of Zhou compared him to his ancestor Wei Zheng. Wei Nisheng argued that frank remonstrance depended as much on a ruler’s willingness to hear the truth as on a minister’s courage.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou questioned Wei Nisheng’s bold promise, and Wei Nisheng explained that his duty reached beyond his Ministry of Revenue post and its concern with silver.
• Wei Nisheng said he had submitted his memorial to expose the dangers facing Liaodong and Gansu before traveling to Suzhou for an Arrears Investigation.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou praised Wei Nisheng as a descendant of Wei Zheng and expected him to follow his ancestor’s example of frank remonstrance.
• Wei Nisheng accepted the expectation but said both Wei Zheng and he had been fortunate to serve rulers willing to hear the truth.
• Wei Nisheng told Emperor Jing of Zhou that his own forthrightness was nurtured by the emperor’s enlightenment.

Wei Nisheng reaffirmed his promise to subdue the Tangut and Khitan, then explained why a minister’s remonstrance and a sovereign’s judgment both mattered. Emperor Jing of Zhou entrusted him with the journey to Suzhou and, after he left, retained the memorial on Gansu and Liaodong border affairs for personal consideration.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou asked Wei Nisheng whether he would guarantee his promises about the Tangut and Khitan, and Wei Nisheng staked his life on fulfilling them.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou questioned Wei Nisheng about Wei Zheng’s advocacy of feudal enfeoffment, and Wei Nisheng explained Emperor Taizong’s refusal as far-sighted judgment.
• Wei Nisheng said he did not need to be Wei Zheng so long as he could advise Emperor Jing of Zhou, who could judge for himself.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou praised Wei Nisheng’s uprightness and talent, then told him to return safely from Suzhou.
• After Wei Nisheng departed, Emperor Jing of Zhou discussed his resemblance to Wei Wenzhen with Wang Cheng and ordered the memorial retained in the palace for his consideration.

Before Wei Nisheng left for Suzhou, Feng Yan taught him how power worked and how to reshape the interests and rules that held local factions together. Wei Nisheng realized Feng Yan had quietly borne and dispersed risks on his behalf, and the chapter left him facing his teacher with new understanding.

• Wei Nisheng visited Feng Yan before departing for Suzhou and told him about his memorial on Gansu and Liaodong border affairs.
• Feng Yan explained how Wei Nisheng had entered the circle of power and laid out principles for building support, controlling resources, establishing rules, and winning over neutral parties.
• Feng Yan warned that Wei Nisheng would need to create a new game in Suzhou rather than break He Yanming's network by force.
• Wei Nisheng concluded that the new game depended on dispersing risk among others, including His Majesty, Wang Kan, Zhang Zai, and the Shen Family.
• Wei Nisheng realized Feng Yan had borne the greatest share of risk for him, and Feng Yan silently smiled over his medicinal broth.

Wei Nisheng prepared to leave for his new post in Suzhou and bid farewell to his family and Fu Niang. After he departed, Fu Niang watched the empty lane and grieved over their first separation.

• Wei Nisheng told Qu Niang they would travel to Suzhou, then visited Wei An’s tablet and left his grandfather’s inkstone there.
• Fu Niang arrived with osmanthus cakes for the journey and urged Wei Nisheng to care for his health and seek her help if anyone mistreated him.
• Wei Nisheng embraced Fu Niang and admitted it was the first time he had ever been so far from her.
• Wei Nisheng departed by carriage while Fu Niang stayed behind, watching until he disappeared.
• Fu Niang looked out from her carriage window and mourned their separation.

Wei Nisheng departed the Capital for Suzhou after Wang Cheng delivered the emperor’s orders and a veiled request to spare Li Jin if possible. Wang Kan watched the ship leave, then spotted Shen Wenhao on the Eastern Bank.

• Wang Kan and Zhang Zai discussed how to investigate Suzhou and argued over which of them should take the assignment.
• Wei Nisheng arrived at Dragon River Wharf and greeted Wang Cheng, who delivered the emperor’s decree to investigate thoroughly and return safely.
• Wang Cheng told Wei Nisheng he could deal with Li Jin as necessary, while implying that Wei Nisheng might show him mercy.
• Wei Nisheng boarded the ship with Qu Niang, Cui Fu, and Chen Yi, then departed for Suzhou as Wang Kan watched from shore.
• Wang Kan recited farewell verses after the ship receded and noticed Shen Wenhao standing on the Eastern Bank.

As Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai traveled by boat toward Suzhou, Wei explained that they should not rush into investigating Xie Lin’s carefully prepared network. He planned to act as an unthreatening guest and let Xie Lin’s own anxiety create opportunities, leaving their first move unresolved as they continued downstream.

• Zhang Zai worried that Xie Lin would hide evidence and obstruct any straightforward investigation in Suzhou.
• Wei Nisheng invoked the Tao Te Ching’s counsel to act as a guest rather than challenge the host, since Xie Lin held the advantage in Suzhou.
• Wei told Zhang Zai they would avoid inspecting accounts or interrogating people at first and instead wait for Xie Lin to invite them.
• Wei explained that his apparent inaction would make Xie Lin overthink their intentions and risk making mistakes.
• Wei assessed Xie Lin as ambitious and calculating but unwilling to retreat, and said he lacked fierce subordinates.

Wei Nisheng arrived in Suzhou as the imperial commissioner charged with investigating tax arrears and faced the city’s three waiting officials. He left them kneeling after using an unopened Imperial Decree to demonstrate his authority, without revealing its contents.

• Wei Zi arrived in Suzhou aboard the official boat after three days and nights of travel.
• He Yanming, Xie Lin, and Li Jin waited at the Imperial Splendor Pavilion to receive Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai.
• He Yanming greeted Wei Nisheng, who identified his imperial mission to investigate arrears and asked for guidance in Suzhou.
• Wei Nisheng announced that the Emperor had issued a decree, prompting every Suzhou official except him to kneel.
• Wei Nisheng clarified that he had only raised the unopened decree to show the officials who he was, then asked them to rise.

Wei Nisheng arrived at the Suzhou Prefecture Office and arranged for Zhang Zai to inspect the granaries while he stayed behind with Xie Lin. Wei Nisheng invited Xie Lin to play Go, opening with a white stone at tengen as their conversation began.

• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai entered the Suzhou Prefecture Office, where Xie Lin presented the carefully sorted account books.
• Wei Nisheng clasped Xie Lin’s hand and greeted him as a fellow examination graduate and former Hanlin Academy colleague.
• Wei Nisheng sent Zhang Zai with He Yanming to examine the records and inspect the Granary Depot.
• Wei Nisheng had a Go board brought in and invited Xie Lin to play while they talked.
• Wei Nisheng placed a white stone at tengen, and Xie Lin stared at the lone stone on the board.

Wei Nisheng and Xie Lin played Go while speaking through their moves, with Xie Lin attacking relentlessly and Wei Nisheng yielding and adapting. Xie Lin conceded when white’s stones filled the board, but Wei Nisheng told him he had not lost—he simply had not won.

• Xie Lin joined Wei Nisheng for a Go game after Wei Nisheng said Zihou would inspect the accounts.
• Xie Lin opened aggressively with black while Wei Nisheng responded calmly with white, turning aside attacks and yielding ground when needed.
• At the middle game, Xie Lin realized Wei Nisheng’s scattered stones occupied gaps in his calculations and could not be read by ordinary intent.
• Xie Lin cut between white stones and continued pressing, while Wei Nisheng reconnected, retreated, and sacrificed territory as his stones gradually formed a net.
• With the board crowded by white stones and no move left, Xie Lin conceded.
• Wei Nisheng returned the stones to their bowls and told Xie Lin that he had not lost, but simply had not won.

Wei Nisheng and Xie Lin debated corruption, political isolation, and the resolve required of an Imperial Envoy. Wei Nisheng defended acting on one’s innate sense of good, leaving Xie Lin shaken and asking who had written his words.

• Xie Lin served Wei Nisheng Dragon Garden Snow, and Wei Nisheng compared it with the emperor’s Little Dragon Cake to discuss their unequal weight.
• Xie Lin questioned how Wei Nisheng could confront Suzhou’s corruption alone, and Wei Nisheng argued that a lone minister could still stand with the sovereign, the people, or the law behind him.
• Wei Nisheng insisted that punishing corruption was necessary even though it could never be stopped entirely.
• Xie Lin asked whether Wei Nisheng could endure the cost of his work, and Wei Nisheng said some things had to be done despite fear because people innately knew good from evil.
• Xie Lin recognized Wei Nisheng’s words as principles of the Learning of the Mind and asked who had written them; Wei Nisheng said a future sage would surely speak them.

Wei Nisheng tried to persuade Xie Lin that conscience, rather than law alone, could make officials choose goodness, while Xie Lin challenged him with the suffering of his family. Xie Lin left unconvinced, warning Wei Nisheng to look at who controlled the puppets, and Wei Nisheng remained alone in the cold rear hall.

• Wei Nisheng defended his belief in conscience as Xie Lin tested him with comparisons to Qu Zi and Jia Sheng and questioned whether conscience could replace law.
• Wei Nisheng argued that law could punish wrongdoing but could not make people wish to be good, and asked whether Xie Lin wanted officials who feared corruption or rejected it.
• Xie Lin accused Wei Nisheng of seeking his trust and named the political forces and allies Wei Nisheng had relied upon; Wei Nisheng admitted he wanted Xie Lin to follow him.
• Xie Lin described his grandfather's downfall and his father's poverty, asking whether the people responsible had consciences, and Wei Nisheng said selfish desires had obscured them.
• Xie Lin dismissed Wei Nisheng's answer as empty words, left laughing, and warned him to watch who worked the puppets and controlled the strings.
• Wei Nisheng stayed alone, watched the daylight fade, and flung Xie Lin's cold tea onto the floor.

Zhang Zai inspected Suzhou’s granaries with He Yanming and found the accounts and grain reserves spotless, while pretending to share resentment toward Wei Nisheng. Wei Nisheng explained that the performance was meant to unsettle He Yanming, and after Li Jin sent a calling card, he prepared to see what the eunuch would do.

• Zhang Zai examined the granary ledgers, grain sacks, and warehouse floors with He Yanming, finding no problems.
• Zhang Zai complained to He Yanming that Wei Nisheng and Xie Lin enjoyed favored positions while he and He Yanming were left with the drudge work.
• Zhang Zai told Wei Nisheng that he had followed the plan and planted suspicions in He Yanming’s mind.
• Wei Nisheng said He Yanming was already in trouble and would seize anyone he could to keep himself afloat.
• An attendant delivered Li Jin’s calling card, announcing that Li Jin would visit Wei Nisheng early the next morning.
• Wei Nisheng said he intended to watch what act Li Jin would perform.

He Yanming grew anxious after Xie Lin met privately with Wei Nisheng without revealing his escape route, and he sent Li Jin a letter about his fears. Li Jin chose to stay neutral and wait to see which side would prevail, leaving the contest between Xie Lin and Wei Nisheng unresolved.

• He Yanming heard that Xie Lin and Wei Nisheng had played chess and spoken at length, then worried that Xie Lin had excluded him and kept his escape route secret.
• He Yanming sent Li Jin a letter describing Zhang Zai's warning and his fear that Xie Lin had a way out while he did not.
• Li Jin read the letter and burned it, deciding that he would avoid choosing a side until it became clear who had the advantage.
• Li Jin regarded Xie Lin and Wei Nisheng as rival players and chose to watch their contest before deciding when to speak or act.
• Li Jin reassured himself that He Yanming could keep relying on his public image and ended by singing to himself.

Wei Nisheng challenged Eunuch Li during a meeting aboard a pleasure boat, using wine as a metaphor for their approaches to duty and power. Li warned him that Suzhou’s affairs could prove difficult to stomach, and Wei left the confrontation by calling Li clearheaded and comfortable in his choices.

• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai boarded Li Jin’s painted boat and were greeted with a lavish display of music and song.
• Li Jin offered Flower Dew and Snow Fragrance, then watched Zhang Zai fall silent after Wei Nisheng glanced at him.
• Wei Nisheng invoked his teacher’s favorite wines, Tempering the Edge and Daybreak, to rebuke Li Jin for indulging in sweet pleasures instead of facing his duties.
• Li Jin warned Wei Nisheng that Suzhou’s strong wines could turn against those who drank them, and that some might discover their pot contained no wine at all.
• Wei Nisheng asked whether Li Jin was drunk, then said Li was clearheaded and chose safe, comfortable wines precisely because he understood what he was doing.

Wei Nisheng rebuffed Li Jin’s attempt to provoke him with wine and a singing girl, invoking his imperial marriage and powerful ties to protect his honor. He left Li Jin humbled and presented himself as an immovable force in Suzhou.

• Li Jin replaced the light wine with strong liquor and tried to draw Wei Nisheng into talk of pleasure and songstresses.
• Wei Nisheng cited Feng Shu’s imperial connections and warned that entertaining such advances would dishonor his wife and defy the emperor’s decree.
• Li Jin apologized, drank three cups in self-punishment, and acknowledged Wei Nisheng’s deep foundations in the Capital.
• Wei Nisheng asked Li Jin for guidance on Suzhou’s affairs, then went to the bow and declared himself a stone sunk deep and a pine standing firm.

After Wei Nisheng humiliated Li Jin in their wine contest, Li Jin recognized the imperial authority behind Wei’s position and ordered the Imperial Silk Bureau to cut ties with the Imperial Envoy’s people. Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai discussed Li Jin’s next move as they walked beside the canal, leaving the merchants’ role in Suzhou’s game unfinished.

• Li Jin flew into a rage when a singer tried to pour wine, then reflected on how Wei Zi had forced him to drink three cups of strong liquor before yielding to his demand.
• Li Jin admitted that Wei Nisheng’s imperial backing had defeated him and warned that Wei would not overlook his past actions.
• Li Jin ordered the Imperial Silk Bureau to have no dealings with the Imperial Envoy’s people and summoned Shen Mingxuan to meet him in five days.
• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai joked about Zhang’s role as Wei’s loyal deputy while walking along the street outside Chang Gate.
• Zhang Zai asked what Li Jin would do next, and Wei Nisheng said they could let Li preserve his dignity and work things out himself.
• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai reflected on the tangled game in Suzhou, then left their remarks about the merchants unfinished.

He Yanming warned Shen Mingxuan that Wei Nisheng was patiently waiting for Suzhou’s power brokers to turn against one another, and urged him to avoid contact with the Postal Station. Shen Mingxuan agreed to delay the investigation until Chancellor Shen could intervene, then left to deal with an old eunuch, weary of serving powerful people.

• He Yanming told Shen Mingxuan that Wei Nisheng’s deliberate inaction was wearing down Suzhou’s leaders and could dismantle their alliances.
• He Yanming said Zhang Zai had explained Wei’s strategy to him and warned Shen Mingxuan not to believe Wei’s promises or engage with the Postal Station.
• Shen Mingxuan argued that they should delay the investigation for a month until Chancellor Shen could exert influence at Court.
• He Yanming suspected Shen Mingxuan had invoked Chancellor Shen to pressure him, while Shen Mingxuan left the Prefectural Office to deal with an old eunuch.