Recaps

Wei Nisheng met Feng Yan in private, where Feng tested him and was impressed by his tactful use of a saying from his grandfather. Feng then recalled their long friendship and asked Wei Nisheng what the “one corner” in “Feng Half the Court, Wei One Corner” meant.

• Feng Yan received Wei Mingde’s family and asked about Wei Mingde’s post and his sons’ studies.
• Feng Yan sent Wei Mingde, Wei Shouzheng, and Cui Shi to the side hall so he could speak privately with Wei Nisheng.
• Feng Yan asked Wei Nisheng what he wanted to say, and Wei Nisheng recalled his grandfather’s saying about Feng’s talents and understanding of people.
• Feng Yan laughed at Wei Nisheng’s clever response and recounted how he and Wei Nisheng’s grandfather had served together for forty years.
• Feng Yan asked Wei Nisheng to explain the meaning of “one corner” in the saying “Feng Half the Court, Wei One Corner.”

Wei Nisheng impressed Feng Yan with his insight and confidence, and asked him for a path to freedom from his precarious position in the Wei Family. Feng Yan agreed to guide him, while Wei Mingde and the others waited anxiously outside.

• Wei Nisheng explained that the saying about the Wei clan praised his grandfather but warned that the family’s influence depended on him alone.
• Wei Nisheng admitted that he had spread the poem about himself as a child’s act of self-protection and explained why his reputation could not secure his future.
• Wei Nisheng declared that he would no longer conceal his abilities, prompting Feng Yan to recognize Wei Zheng’s character in him and say he took after his grandfather.
• Wei Nisheng told Feng Yan he had already received what he came for, then asked for a clear path to freedom; Feng Yan agreed to show him a path into the seas and up to the heavens.
• Wei Mingde, Wei Shouzheng, Cui Shi, and Wei Shoucheng waited in another side hall as Feng Yan’s meeting with Wei Nisheng continued.

Feng Yan heard Wei Mingde’s requests for a transfer and help relocating his brother-in-law, then confronted him about leaving Wei Nisheng neglected in the Side Courtyard. He demanded to know why Wei Mingde’s three sons were still registered under his name instead of allowing Wei Nisheng to carry on the eldest branch.

• Feng Yan praised Wei Nisheng’s courage while Wei Mingde and Wei Shouzheng wondered what had been discussed privately.
• After Cui Shi and the two boys left, Wei Mingde asked Feng Yan to help him transfer to the Imperial Parks Bureau and relocate his brother-in-law closer to home.
• Feng Yan rebuked Wei Mingde for asking for two favors at once, then agreed to inquire about his transfer and review his brother-in-law’s evaluations.
• Feng Yan recalled how Wei Wenyue had rejoiced that Wei Mingyuan had an heir, then criticized Wei Mingde for keeping Wei Nisheng neglected in the Side Courtyard for ten years.
• Feng Yan asked Wei Mingde why all three of his sons were still registered under his name.

Feng Yan pressured Wei Mingde to adopt his youngest son Shoucheng into the late Wei Mingyuan’s branch, making clear that Wei Nisheng’s future and Mingde’s requests for help depended on the family’s decision. Back at the Wei Residence, Nisheng waited to learn whether his father would agree, hoping to leave Mingde’s branch for good.

• Feng Yan urged Wei Mingde to honor his late father’s wish by having Shoucheng adopted into Mingyuan’s branch, and offered to oversee the adoption if the Wei Family objected.
• Wei Mingde left without giving an answer, while Feng Yan said he would make inquiries about Mingde’s appointment and Cui Shi’s elder brother’s affair.
• On the carriage ride home, Wei Mingde stayed silent, and Wei Nisheng privately resolved to wait and see whether his father would choose to let him break away from the branch.
• At the Wei Residence, Wei Mingde went to his study and Cui Shi followed, while Wei Nisheng returned to the Side Courtyard.
• Wei Nisheng told Wei An that Feng Yan had promised to help him, then waited to learn what Wei Mingde would decide.

Wei Mingde told Cui Shi that Lord Feng had proposed adopting a son into the eldest branch, and the couple argued over whether Wei Shoucheng or Wei Nisheng should be adopted. Cui Shi persuaded Wei Mingde to have Nisheng adopted and separate his line from the clan, leaving the decision to be carried out.

• Cui Shi assumed Lord Feng wanted Wei Shoucheng as a disciple, but Wei Mingde asked whether Shoucheng should be adopted into his elder brother's line.
• Cui Shi furiously rejected the idea of losing Shoucheng, and Wei Mingde explained that Lord Feng had raised the adoption proposal.
• Wei Mingde refused to have Wei Shouzheng adopted and suspected Wei Nisheng had prompted Lord Feng to pressure him.
• Cui Shi proposed adopting Nisheng instead, then argued that Wei Mingde could keep control of the eldest branch's property.
• Cui Shi urged Wei Mingde to separate Nisheng's line from the clan after the adoption, and Wei Mingde agreed.

Wei Mingde and Cui Shi negotiated with Wei He and the clan elders over adopting their ten-year-old son Ni Sheng into the eldest branch and managing its properties. Wei He exposed their motives and proposed that the clan keep seventy percent of the annual proceeds while the heir was underage.

• Wei He and four clan elders arrived at the Wei Residence to discuss the adoption, while the elders privately debated control of the eldest branch's land and shops.
• Wei Mingde told Wei He that Ni Sheng would be adopted by his late elder brother Mingyuan and that the clan could continue managing the properties until the boy came of age.
• Cui Shi praised the clan's management and promised it would receive what was due after the adoption.
• Wei He revealed that he knew Ni Sheng's reputation as the Fiery Child and challenged Wei Mingde and Cui Shi about why they wanted him adopted.
• Wei He criticized the family's past relationship with the clan, then proposed allocating thirty percent of the annual proceeds to the household and seventy percent to communal clan funds while Ni Sheng was underage.

Wei He and Wei Mingde settled the terms for Wei Nisheng’s adoption into the Eldest Branch, including the estate profits and a lineage separation. Wei Nisheng agreed to the adoption, and Wei He led the clan elders to open the Ancestral Hall and inform the ancestors.

• Wei He rejected Cui Shi’s attempt to keep the Eldest Branch’s past profits and insisted that the estate be managed by clan rules.
• Wei Mingde agreed to divide the past profits with the clan and proposed that Wei Nisheng separate his lineage after the adoption; Wei He accepted.
• Wei Shouzheng taunted Wei Nisheng, but Wei Nisheng called him his younger cousin and asserted his future precedence in the lineage.
• Wei Nisheng entered the side hall, greeted the elders, and declared that he was willing to become Wei Mingyuan’s son.
• Wei He rose and led the clan elders toward the Ancestral Hall to inform the ancestors.

Wei Nisheng completed the ancestral adoption rite and was recorded as heir to his late uncle Wei Mingyuan’s senior branch. Wei Mingde then proposed separating Nisheng from the second branch, and the genealogy recorded Nisheng as the head of an independent branch.

• Wei Mingde proposed Wei Nisheng as heir to Wei Mingyuan, while he and Cui Shi performed grief at Nisheng’s departure.
• Wei He led the ancestral rites, and Wei Nisheng bowed to the ancestors and to Wei Mingyuan’s spirit tablet.
• A clan elder amended the genealogy, removing Nisheng from Wei Mingde’s branch and recording him as Wei Mingyuan’s heir.
• Wei Mingde proposed that Nisheng separate from the second branch, and Wei He warned Nisheng that the separation would end their ties.
• Wei Nisheng agreed, and the clan elder recorded him as the founder of an independent branch with no connection to Wei Mingde’s branch.

Wei Nisheng completed his adoption into the eldest branch and demanded the property and profits owed to him, but Wei He and Wei Mingde tried to keep control of them. The chapter ended with Wei Nisheng openly denouncing their scheme and refusing to submit.

• Wei He gave Wei Nisheng the succession document that made him the eldest branch's heir and separated him from the second branch.
• Wei Shouzheng urged Wei Nisheng to leave the Wei Residence, and Wei Nisheng called him “younger cousin” and addressed Wei Mingde as “Second Uncle.”
• Wei Nisheng demanded the eldest branch's land, storefronts, and more than five thousand taels in accumulated profits.
• Wei He and Wei Mingde refused to hand over the property, saying the clan would manage it until Wei Nisheng came of age and give him thirty percent of future earnings.
• Wei Nisheng accused Wei He and Wei Mingde of planning to take the eldest branch's wealth and declared that he would be insolent.

Wei Nisheng confronted the Wei clan over its attempt to control his estate, arguing that as the adopted heir to the eldest branch he alone had the right and duty to preserve its lineage and ancestral rites. He left the clan elders stunned and threatened to take the dispute to the magistrate, even at the cost of his status as adopted heir.

• Wei He and Wei Mingde defended the clan's plan to manage Wei Nisheng's property, promising him only thirty percent of its proceeds until he came of age.
• Wei Nisheng demanded to know what had happened to the 5,600 taels the clan had collected over ten years, and Wei He and the elders had no accounts to produce.
• Wei Nisheng cited ritual texts and legal precedents to argue that he was the eldest branch's rightful heir and that the clan's stewardship would extinguish its ancestral rites.
• Wei He, Wei Mingde, and the clan elders fell silent as Wei Nisheng rejected their authority over his estate and warned them not to speak of dividing it again.
• Wei Nisheng kicked over a table, took the spirit tablets of Wei Zheng and Wei Mingyuan from the Ancestral Hall, and vowed to sound the Petition Drum in the Capital and accuse the clan before the magistrate.

Wei He, Wei Mingde, and the clan elders challenged Wei Nisheng’s claim to control the estate, arguing that filial duty, clan rules, and the law justified their stewardship. Wei Nisheng remained at the ancestral hall as Wei He warned that taking the dispute to the authorities could ruin his reputation and future.

• Wei Nisheng started to leave the ancestral hall with the spirit tablets, intending to take them to the Prefectural Office and beat the Petition Drum.
• Wei He stopped Wei Mingde from pursuing Wei Nisheng and challenged the boy to debate rites and law.
• Wei He accused Wei Nisheng of disrespecting his father and elders, then argued that the ten-year-old could not manage the estate alone.
• Wei Mingde appealed to family affection and warned that outsiders could cheat Wei Nisheng out of his inheritance.
• A Clan Elder cited the Zhou Criminal Statutes and the Wei Family’s tradition of having elders manage a young heir’s property until he came of age.
• Wei He warned Wei Nisheng that accusing his father before the authorities could destroy the Wei Family’s reputation and his own future.

Wei Nisheng defended his right to protect the Eldest Branch Estate, refuting the clan patriarch, his birth father, and the clan elder with ritual texts and legal statutes. He declared he would report their attempt to seize the estate, even if doing so earned him an infamous reputation.

• Wei Nisheng challenged Wei He’s claim that affection for kin outranked lineage succession and argued that remonstrating against wrongdoing was an act of filial piety.
• Wei Nisheng told Wei Mingde that, after his adoption and separation from his birth lineage, Wei Mingde was his uncle rather than his father.
• Wei Nisheng rejected the clan elder’s claim that an oral ancestral precept allowed him to administer the Eldest Branch Estate, citing laws governing shared households.
• Wei Nisheng argued that losing the estate would destroy his prospects and reputation, and that the law against accusing one’s father did not apply to an accusation against an uncle.
• Wei Nisheng vowed to bring the accusation to court, choosing to protect the ancestral succession and estate even if he were branded unfilial.

Wei Nisheng confronted the Wei clan elders over the Eldest Branch estate and threatened to appeal to the prefectural court if they withheld its deeds. Backed by Feng Yan’s letter, he left the ancestral hall unharmed and planned to wait until the next day before choosing where to go.

• Wei Shouzheng recalled Wei Nisheng’s childhood writing and realized his younger brother had developed remarkable knowledge despite years of confinement.
• Wei Nisheng demanded the deeds to the Eldest Branch Estate by noon the next day and threatened to beat the Petition Drum if the clan refused.
• Wei Mingde ordered the servants to stop Wei Nisheng, but Wei Nisheng revealed that Wei An had gone to seek help.
• Wei An returned with Feng Yan’s letter, and Wei Nisheng warned the clan that Feng Yan had promised him a favor.
• Wei Mingde identified Feng Yan as a former chief grand secretary, causing Wei He and the elders to back down.
• Wei Nisheng and Wei An left the ancestral hall, and Wei Nisheng said they could go anywhere after tomorrow.

Wei He urged Wei Mingde to return the Eldest Branch’s property to Wei Nisheng, reminding him of Wei Zheng’s fierce spirit. Wei Mingde rejected his advice, and Cui Shi persuaded him to secretly divert the deeds to Wei Shoucheng once the clan took custody of them.

• Wei Nisheng returned to the Side Courtyard, arranged the spirit tablets, and began reading while servants guarded the entrance.
• Wei He told Wei Mingde that Wei Nisheng resembled Wei Zheng and urged him to return the property to his son.
• Wei He said he would prepare the Eldest Branch’s property deeds and discuss the matter with Wei Mingde the next day.
• After Wei He left, Wei Mingde denounced Wei Nisheng and insisted that he would bring ruin to the family.
• Cui Shi proposed transferring the deeds to Wei Shoucheng after the clan took custody of them, and Wei Mingde agreed.

Wei Nisheng reclaimed the Eldest Branch’s properties, secured their registration, and formally left the Julu Wei family. As he departed with Wei An, he promised to establish a new Capital Wei and honor Wei An as an ancestor.

• Wei Nisheng accepted the Eldest Branch’s deeds and five thousand taels, then sent Wei An to register copies of the property deeds at three offices.
• Wei An completed the transfers, thwarting Wei Mingde and Cui Shi’s plan to transfer the properties to Wei Shoucheng.
• Wei Mingde expelled Wei Nisheng from the Wei Family, and Wei Nisheng renounced descent from his branch before leaving the Central Hall.
• Wei Nisheng collected his bundle from the Side Courtyard and thanked Wei An for protecting and supporting him over the years.
• Wei Nisheng promised that Wei An would receive ancestral offerings from the Capital Wei, and Wei An knelt in tears.
• Wei Nisheng and Wei An left the Wei Residence together, intending to find a place to stay as Wei Nisheng set out to establish the Capital Wei.

After leaving the Wei Residence, Wei Nisheng learned that his grandfather had left him a small courtyard near West Peace Gate, giving him a place to live as he began a new life in the Capital. He planned to inspect it and recruit Cui Fu, while considering how to rebuild his connections and pursue his studies.

• Wei Nisheng considered how to manage his five thousand taels and realized he could not afford to buy a home in the Capital.
• Wei An told Wei Nisheng about a courtyard left in his grandfather's name outside West Peace Gate, and Wei Nisheng decided to inspect it the next day.
• Wei Nisheng and Wei An agreed to hire temporary workers to clean and maintain the courtyard.
• Wei An recommended Cui Fu as a useful contact, and Wei Nisheng decided to send him a message and recruit him.
• Wei Nisheng reflected on his family's former status and resolved to gradually rebuild his connections as his new life began.

Wei Nisheng and Wei An reached their neglected courtyard home outside the Capital and began settling in. They met their neighbor Xu Li, who recognized Wei Nisheng as the famed “Fiery Child,” while Wei Nisheng waited for news from Cui Fu.

• Wei Nisheng and Wei An crossed the West Peace Gate and found their abandoned courtyard residence.
• Wei Nisheng told Wei An to treat him as an elder, then declared that the ruined courtyard would be their new home.
• Xu Li introduced himself as an administrative clerk of Shuntian Prefecture and learned that Wei Nisheng was the grandson of Wei Zheng and belonged to the separated Eldest Branch.
• Xu Li recognized Wei Nisheng as the “Fiery Child,” offered neighborly help, and left delighted to have a famous neighbor.
• Wei Nisheng explained to Wei An why it was wise to be courteous to Xu Li, then asked whether Cui Fu had been contacted.

Wei Nisheng recruited Cui Fu by offering him steady work and a chance to build a future beyond the Cui Family. Cui Fu pledged to follow him, and Wei Nisheng tasked him with hiring trustworthy workers for the new courtyard.

• Cui Fu arrived at Wei Nisheng's courtyard, where Wei Nisheng asked whether he knew his eldest brother had used Cui Shi's connections to transfer to Nanchang Prefecture.
• Wei An asked Cui Fu to recruit reliable temporary workers for the courtyard, and Cui Fu eagerly agreed in exchange for an errand fee.
• Wei Nisheng confronted Cui Fu about his precarious place in the Cui Family and asked whether he wanted to keep drifting through life.
• Wei Nisheng offered Cui Fu a lasting position, and Cui Fu decided to follow him so he could eventually bring his mother out of the Cui Family.
• Wei Nisheng told Cui Fu to prove himself by hiring honest, capable, trustworthy workers, then explained to Wei An that Cui Fu's street connections could make him useful.

Wei Nisheng settled into his new household, appointed Cui Fu as his household guard, and opened Feng Yan’s blank letter, understanding it as a promise of support. He wrote a reply and sent Cui Fu to deliver it before joining him to find more household help.

• Wei Nisheng praised Cui Fu for furnishing the Small Courtyard and asked him to stay as a household guard, which Cui Fu eagerly accepted.
• Wei Nisheng opened Feng Yan’s letter and found it blank, understanding that Feng Yan trusted him to use his backing as he saw fit.
• Wei Nisheng wrote a reply thanking Feng Yan for his support and sealed it in an envelope.
• Cui Fu suggested finding a maid for the household, and Wei Nisheng agreed that Wei An should not have to handle every task himself.
• Wei Nisheng gave Cui Fu the reply for Lord Feng and told him they would visit a brokerage to choose household staff after he returned.

Wei Nisheng visited an official brokerage in Bridge Market to find a literate female attendant who could sign a Death Contract. He noticed a capable-looking girl with three wooden hairpins and recognized something distinctive in her appearance.

• Cui Fu led Wei Nisheng and Wei An through Bridge Market to an official brokerage.
• Old Madam Wang agreed to show Wei Nisheng female relatives of convicted officials who could sign Death Contracts.
• Wei Nisheng examined the girls in a quiet rear room and passed over several of them.
• Wei Nisheng stopped at a girl wearing three plain wooden hairpins and recited, "Lilac knots and hibiscus cords, binding no bright pearls, but a treasured blade."

Wei Nisheng bought Qu Niang, a convicted official’s daughter, from a slave brokerage and brought her to the Wei Residence. After she was settled in, he reflected with Wei An on how his household had grown.

• Wei Nisheng recognized Qu Niang’s Jian Ning Prefecture hairpin and chose to buy her.
• Cui Fu bargained the price down to twenty-five taels, and Wei Nisheng signed a Death Contract for Qu Niang.
• Qu Niang followed Wei Nisheng in silence and told him she no longer felt hatred.
• Wei An arranged for older serving women to instruct Qu Niang at the Wei Residence.
• Wei Nisheng told Wei An their household had gained another mouth to feed as they stood beneath the jujube tree.

Wei Nisheng explained to Feng Yan how years of hidden study and hardship had shaped his learning, satisfying Feng Yan’s suspicions. He thanked Feng Yan for helping him leave the Wei Family and reclaim the Eldest Branch Estate, while Feng Yan noted that the affair had brought him back to His Majesty’s attention.

• Wei Nisheng arrived at the Feng Residence and was ushered directly into the garden pavilion to meet Feng Yan.
• Feng Yan praised Wei Nisheng’s calligraphy and questioned how he had gained such learning despite his years confined to the Side Courtyard.
• Wei Nisheng said he had continued studying in secret for ten years and that enduring setbacks had taught him to apply what he read.
• Feng Yan accepted Wei Nisheng’s explanation and praised his words about a heart unbowed by setbacks responding to change.
• Wei Nisheng thanked Feng Yan for helping him leave the Wei Family and recover the Eldest Branch Estate, and Feng Yan remarked that the matter had drawn His Majesty’s attention to him again.

Wei Nisheng explained how Feng Yan’s intervention had reassured the emperor while repaying a debt to Wei Nisheng’s grandfather. After Wei Nisheng and Feng Yan exchanged calligraphy and praise, Wei Nisheng left the Feng Residence, and Feng Yan admired the boy’s talent and ambition.

• Feng Yan told Wei Nisheng that officials had impeached him for intervening in the dispute involving Wei Mingde and the Cui Family.
• Wei Nisheng reasoned that Feng Yan had helped him partly to show the emperor he was not plotting in retirement and would likely face no punishment.
• Wei Nisheng wrote a saying about obsession and flaws, explaining that Feng Yan’s willingness to risk his reputation showed genuine feeling and would reassure the emperor.
• Feng Yan praised Wei Nisheng and invited him to teach him Slender Gold calligraphy; they spent half a day talking and practicing.
• Wei Nisheng left the Feng Residence with Wei An, while Feng Yan reflected that Wei Nisheng was formidable, knew what he wanted, and refused to endure hardship.

Wei Nisheng explained to Wei An that he intended to become Lord Feng’s true disciple and inherit the protection and influence of his network before Lord Feng died. Cui Fu’s report confirmed that Lord Feng’s son was too mediocre to succeed him, and the chapter ended with Wei Nisheng discovering Qu Niang had begun sleeping on the small couch in his room as his personal maid.

• Wei Nisheng told Wei An that he had only two years before the next imperial examination and planned to seek Lord Feng as his teacher.
• Wei Nisheng explained that Lord Feng needed a disciple who could unite his protégés and protect the Feng Family after his death, and Wei An agreed to follow his lead.
• Cui Fu returned with reports that Lord Feng’s son was mediocre and had asked to leave the capital after Lord Feng retired.
• Wei Nisheng concluded that Lord Feng feared losing power and had no capable son to succeed him.
• Wei Nisheng found Qu Niang in his bed and learned she would sleep on the small couch in his room as his personal maid.

Wei Nisheng studied while Qu Niang mended his robe, as Feng Yan reflected on his family’s political danger and recognized Wei Nisheng as a potential ally. After learning that Feng Yan’s health was failing, Wei Nisheng concluded that the two families needed to unite, and Feng Yan planned to visit him the next day.

• Wei Nisheng studied at home while Qu Niang quietly mended his worn robe.
• Feng Yan read a letter from Feng Anren urging him to leave court and return home, then angrily rejected his son’s wish for a peaceful life.
• Feng Yan reflected on Wei Nisheng’s insight and decided the Feng and Wei families needed to join forces.
• Feng Yan ordered his steward to prepare a carriage so he could visit West Peace Gate the next day.
• Cui Fu reported that Feng Yan had been coughing and that physicians’ treatments had not improved his health.
• Wei Nisheng wrote that Feng Half the Court and Wei One Corner would benefit from uniting and face danger if divided.