Recaps

Zhang Zai met with Kou Yuan after pressing for the delayed winter pay documents, and Kou first promised support before criticizing Zhang’s conduct and questioning his betrothal to a merchant’s daughter. Zhang defended his long-standing promise to the Li Family and rebuked Kou’s interference with pointed sarcasm, then left the Duty Room.

• A junior clerk summoned Zhang Zai to Kou Yuan’s Duty Room after Zhang reviewed documents in the Shaanxi Office of Clear Accounts.
• Kou Yuan said he had reprimanded the officials who delayed Zhang’s winter pay documents and told Zhang to bring future problems directly to him.
• Kou Yuan criticized Zhang for kicking doors and pounding desks, warned him about impeachment, and questioned whether a merchant’s daughter suited his official career.
• Zhang Zai defended his promise to the Li Family and said he would not betray the woman who had waited for him because of family standing.
• Zhang Zai challenged Kou Yuan’s judgment of pedigree and sarcastically praised Kou’s many wives and concubines before dismissing his concern about Zhang’s family affairs.
• Kou Yuan angrily ordered Zhang to conduct himself well, and Zhang bowed and took his leave.

At the Grand Court Audience, the Censorate impeached the appointment of three department secretaries to the Shaanxi Bureau without proper registration. The emperor suspended the appointments pending a joint review, and Shen Duan accused Kou Yuan of betraying their alliance by shifting responsibility onto the Ministry of Personnel.

• Wang Kan and three other censors presented memorials challenging the appointments and demanding an investigation into Zou Mo's authorization.
• Shen Duan asked Wang Kan to provide evidence, and Wang Kan produced the Ministry documents and Selection Bureau register.
• Kou Yuan admitted that the Ministry of Revenue had requested the extra staff but said he did not know who authorized the appointments.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered a joint review by the Three Judicial Offices and the Ministries of Personnel and Revenue, suspending the three department secretaries in the meantime.
• After court, Kou Yuan claimed his statement had been a stratagem, but Shen Duan condemned him for betraying their pact and called him three degrees baser than Zhang Yi.

Wei Shouzheng led Great Zhou’s embassy north into Tangut territory, where Liang He’s cavalry blocked their road to test the envoy’s resolve. Wei confronted Liang He with appeals to propriety and the authority of the Son of Heaven, and the Tangut riders finally let the embassy pass.

• Wei Shouzheng departed Lanzhou with his embassy and Escort Cavalry, carrying the Imperial Envoy’s Staff into Tangut territory.
• Liang He and his cavalry blocked the road, drew their weapons, and challenged the embassy without attacking.
• Wei Shouzheng demanded Liang He’s name and invoked the influence of the Liang family and Empress Dowager Liang to question his actions.
• Wei Shouzheng declared that Liang He owed the Son of Heaven’s envoy proper respect and warned that he would teach him propriety if necessary.
• Liang He dismounted, ordered his riders to lower their weapons and clear the road, and invited Wei Shouzheng to proceed.

Wei Shouzheng reached Wuwei and raised Great Zhou’s Imperial Envoy Banner before the closed gates, stirring the Han people and soldiers to welcome him. He stopped Li Renyong from punishing the soldiers who opened the gate, and Li Renyong finally sheathed his saber and formally welcomed the envoy into the city.

• Wei Shouzheng arrived at Wuwei and waited beneath its closed gates while the city’s soldiers refused to respond.
• Wei Shouzheng raised the Imperial Envoy Banner, prompting the people and Han soldiers inside Wuwei to recognize Great Zhou and open the gate.
• Li Renyong arrived and ordered the Han soldiers who opened the gate to be seized and executed for treason.
• Wei Shouzheng stood between Li Renyong’s troops and the Han soldiers, declaring that the banner and insignia represented the Son of Heaven.
• The Deputy Superintendent called for Great Zhou’s envoys to enter, and Li Renyong sheathed his saber, knelt, and welcomed Wei Shouzheng into Wuwei.

Kou Yuan tried to understand why Shen Duan had ignored him for seven days after their clash in court. After Xu Bingwen explained that Shen Duan was angered by Kou Yuan’s failure to consult him before retreating, Kou Yuan admitted his mistake and decided to visit Shen in person.

• Kou Yuan told Xu Bingwen that Shen Duan had refused to see him or acknowledge him for seven days.
• Xu Bingwen explained that Kou Yuan’s court statement had seemed like desertion because he had retreated without signaling Shen Duan first.
• Kou Yuan defended his decision as a way to protect their alliance and keep the Censorate from bringing both men down.
• Xu Bingwen said Shen Duan was angry because Kou Yuan had not treated him as a partner sharing the same boat.
• Kou Yuan admitted that he had been too hasty and decided to go to the Shen Residence himself.

Shen Yi told Shen Duan that he wanted to return to the Ministry of Justice, where he could uphold the law and prepare for the political turmoil he foresaw. Shen Duan accepted his decision and resolved to use his position to help open that path for him.

• Shen Duan asked Shen Yi to choose among three Vice Director posts in the Six Ministries, hoping he would leave the Director of Palace Affairs Office.
• Shen Yi explained that his time in Suzhou had taught him the human consequences of legal judgments, and he wanted to follow Xu Yougong’s example by serving in the Ministry of Justice.
• Shen Yi argued that the Ministry of Justice would become crucial amid future trials and factional reckonings, while returning there could also provide the Shen Family with a safer path.
• Shen Duan accepted Shen Yi’s choice, praised his resolve, and promised to prepare the way for his transfer to the Ministry of Justice.

Kou Yuan visited Shen Duan and tried to bind him through a marriage proposal between their families, but Shen Yi revealed that he was pledged to Grand Secretary Fang’s granddaughter. The rejection exposed the divide between Kou Yuan and the Shen faction, and Kou stayed to discuss a separate matter with Shen Duan.

• Shen Duan received Kou Yuan, who arrived with wine and praised Shen Yi before proposing that Shen Yi marry Kou’s daughter.
• Shen Duan asked Shen Yi for his own wishes, and Shen Yi said he was already pledged to Grand Secretary Fang’s legitimate granddaughter.
• Kou Yuan realized that Shen Yi’s marriage would strengthen the Shen and Fang alliance rather than bind Shen Duan to him.
• Shen Yi took his leave, while Kou Yuan and Shen Duan remained together with the wine unopened.
• Kou Yuan said he had an important matter to discuss, and Shen Duan invited him to speak.

Kou Yuan sought Shen Duan’s forgiveness and renewed their political alliance after admitting he had acted to protect himself. They agreed to cooperate for now, though their pact rested on mutual advantage and might not last.

• Kou Yuan brought wine to Shen Duan and admitted he had withdrawn without warning during the Censorate’s attack.
• Shen Duan rebuked Kou Yuan for betraying their alliance, then heard his warning that the Wei Faction threatened them both.
• Shen Duan set terms for renewed cooperation: they would consult before major plans, protect veteran support payments, and avoid openly intervening in Gansu.
• Kou Yuan agreed to the terms, and Shen Duan promised to recommend Kou Yuan’s Court Examination proposal in the Grand Secretariat.
• Shen Duan and Kou Yuan renewed their alliance over wine, each recognizing that it would endure only while their interests aligned.

Wei Nisheng and Fu Niang attended Wang Kan’s wedding, where Yao Zhen celebrated his daughter’s marriage and the Censorate’s growing circle of families. Wang Kan gained a home and a reason to preserve his life, strengthening his place in the Wei Faction.

• Wei Nisheng waited while Fu Niang prepared for the wedding, then praised her appearance as they set out together.
• Fu Niang asked Wei Nisheng whether he had brought his Discipline Ruler for Wang Kan, then shyly said it was their household’s turn to welcome a child after the other bachelors married.
• Wei Nisheng and Fu Niang arrived at Wang Kan’s residence, where colleagues and friends gathered beneath the red wedding decorations.
• Yao Zhen and Song Jing joked with the assembled censors about arranging marriages for the Censorate’s remaining bachelors.
• Wang Kan toasted Yao Zhen, Song Jing, and his colleagues, celebrating his marriage and the home Yao Zhen had helped him establish.
• Wang Kan’s new family gave him a reason to value his life, and the wedding strengthened the Wei Faction.

Wang Kan married his bride in a joyful ceremony attended by Wei Nisheng, Zhang Zai, Shen Yi, and their friends. As Wang Kan celebrated establishing a family, Wei Nisheng and Fu Niang spoke of holding a banquet for their child one day.

• Wei Nisheng teased Zhang Zai about his costly new robe, while Fu Niang and Li Shi warmly discussed Zhang Zai's efforts to dress for the wedding.
• Shen Yi arrived with a gift, and Wang Kan welcomed him as a friend despite having recently impeached Shen Yi's grandfather, Shen Duan.
• The guests teased Wang Kan about blushing before he welcomed his veiled bride and completed the wedding rites with her.
• Wang Kan announced that he had established a family, and the guests cheered.
• Wei Nisheng and Fu Niang held hands and agreed that one day they would celebrate their child with a banquet.

In Ningxia, Zhou Quan investigated coordinated veteran unrest against land clearance and sent a confidential report to the Capital. Wei Nisheng recognized a conspiracy linking military families to court factions and ordered Zhang Zai to trace the officials and land dealings behind it.

• Zhou Quan heard that the same veteran groups had staged unrest before land-clearing teams arrived and suspected someone had alerted them in advance.
• Han Zhen urged Zhou Quan to slow the land clearance, but Zhou warned the military families that the policy would proceed and threatened those secretly inciting trouble.
• Zhou Quan sent an urgent dispatch and a private report to the Capital describing the repeated pattern of disturbances.
• Zhang Zai brought Zhou Quan's report to Wei Nisheng, who concluded that the unrest had been staged to undermine military farmland policy and the plan to pacify the Rong.
• Wei Nisheng ruled out Shen Duan and Kou Yuan as the direct organizers and suspected a hidden intermediary linking them to the military families.
• Wei Nisheng ordered Zhang Zai to investigate Ningxia land-clearance officials, their patrons, and the land records of the three settlements.

Zhang Zai traced the appointments of two Ningxia officials to Zou Mo and discovered that someone had noticed his archival searches. He asked Uncle Li to investigate Zheng Bingzhi’s surveying practices through the Border Market, and Uncle Li promised to bring back word in half a month.

• Zhang Zai found that Zou Mo had recommended Zheng Bingzhi and Jin Rucheng for posts tied to Ningxia’s farmland surveys and military farming administration.
• Zhang Zai learned that Zheng Bingzhi’s merit file had been borrowed, and Vice Director Sun avoided discussing Zou Mo’s role in the recommendation.
• An unfamiliar official warned Zhang Zai that his inquiries into Zheng Bingzhi and military farmland were known, confirming that someone was monitoring his search.
• Zhang Zai asked Uncle Li to find out whether Zheng Bingzhi targeted the fields of old soldiers without heirs, and Uncle Li agreed to ask the returning caravan from Ganzhou.
• Zhang Zai treated the Li Family with respect, recognizing that its help served both his investigation and the family’s future interests.

After learning that Fang Qi had been gravely ill for seven days without anyone informing him, Shen Duan visited him and confessed how deeply he trusted and valued him. Shen Duan left the Fang residence resolved to shoulder the Grand Secretariat’s work while Fang Qi recovered.

• Shen Duan read an urgent dispatch reporting that Zhou Quan’s land survey in Ningxia had been obstructed and veteran soldiers were threatening unrest.
• Shen Duan learned that Fang Qi had been absent from duty for seven days with a serious illness, though the Ministry of Works had not reported it to him.
• Shen Duan hurried to the Fang residence and found Fang Qi gravely ill and too weak to rise from bed.
• Fang Qi admitted that he had told others not to inform Shen Duan because he did not want to burden him.
• Shen Duan recalled Fang Qi’s unwavering support through years of political struggles and told him he was the one person he could entrust his life to.
• Shen Duan promised to handle the Grand Secretariat’s affairs while Fang Qi recovered, then left the residence deeply shaken by his friend’s illness.

Kou Yuan mistook the Ningxia dispatch for Shen Duan’s plot and organized the Upright Officials to impeach Zhou Quan and attack Wei Nisheng’s land-survey policy. Shen Duan and Wei Nisheng both suspected an unseen third party had arranged the crisis, and Wei sent Zhang Zai to investigate Zou Mo’s ties to Ningxia’s military families.

• Kou Yuan read the Ningxia dispatch and concluded Shen Duan had engineered the unrest to undermine Wei Nisheng, so he summoned the Upright Officials to plan coordinated impeachments.
• Xu Bingwen warned Kou Yuan that Shen Duan’s silence made the dispatch suspicious, but Kou dismissed his concerns and urged the officials to press their advantage.
• After the meeting, Kou drank alone and resolved to use the crisis against Wei Nisheng.
• Shen Duan examined the dispatch, realized the scheme was not his, and feared someone had used Zou Mo’s sponsorship to implicate him.
• Zhang Zai told Wei Nisheng that Zou Mo had vouched for Zheng Bingzhi and Jin Rucheng, but Wei doubted Shen Duan was behind the plot and ordered an inquiry into payments between Zou Mo and Ningxia’s military families.

Zhou Quan swiftly contained a veterans’ revolt at Zhang Family Market by confronting the soldiers himself and exposing three instigators. After promising that their fields would be protected, he left with the three captives bound behind his horses.

• Veteran soldiers set fire to the Land-Clearing Unit’s quarters at Zhang Family Market, and a courier reported the revolt to Zhou Quan.
• Zhou Quan ordered guards to seal the surrounding settlements and roads, then rode to Zhang Family Market with a hundred mounted guards instead of mobilizing the whole army.
• Zhou Quan entered the firelit crowd alone and reminded the veterans that he had never turned his blade against Great Zhou soldiers.
• His guards captured the man urging the revolt and two other suspects, and Zhou Quan accused them of stirring up the veterans to bring down the court’s punishment.
• Zhou Quan promised to protect the veterans’ fields and told them to return to their settlements, while the soldiers thanked him and the three captives were tied behind his horses.

At court, officials debated whether to abolish Zhou Quan’s military farmland policy after the Ningxia uprising. Jiang Heng challenged the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of War, and Emperor Jing of Zhou kept the policy in place pending an investigation and a later decision.

• Kou Yuan called the land clearance policy costly and dangerous and asked Emperor Jing to suspend it, while Shen Duan and Song Yue avoided taking a firm position.
• Qin Yan defended military farmland and urged the court to investigate those who caused the unrest, and Wang Kan supported him.
• Jiang Heng questioned the Ministry of Revenue over delayed veteran pay, challenged the Ministry of War’s claims of frontier danger, and defended the Imperial Decree and ancestral institution.
• Emperor Jing ordered an investigation into who set the fire at Zhang Family Market and ruled that the policy would not be abolished for now and that veterans’ land must remain untouched.
• Emperor Jing ordered the Ministry of Revenue to deliver the veterans’ provisions to Ningxia before year’s end and postponed the decision on military farmland until the Court Examination on the twenty-fifth.

Zhang Zai received uncertain reports from Uncle Li about Censor Zheng Bingzhi abandoning his farmland audit for banquets and meetings with merchants and military families. He suspected that Zheng had been bribed and that the people behind the scheme were difficult to trace.

• Uncle Li warned Zhang Zai that his news from Ningxia was street gossip, then reported that Zheng Bingzhi had once inspected farmland diligently but later visited the settlements less often.
• Uncle Li said Zheng attended banquets at Lord Jin's residence and was invited by Garrison Vice Commander Han Zhen's household.
• Uncle Li reported that Zheng frequently visited an old Border Market trading firm, and his sedan chair seemed to leave carrying heavy loads.
• Uncle Li passed along conflicting rumors about the old soldiers who caused trouble and a muleteer's sighting of a sedan chair traveling from Shi's Pawnshop toward the Han family estate.
• After Uncle Li left, Zhang Zai concluded that banquets and gifts had drawn Zheng away from his audit and pondered how to uncover the hidden participants.

On a snowy day in the Wei Residence, Fu Niang spent time with Qu Niang and Qingluo while Wei Nisheng discussed a political game with Zhang Zai. After recalling Xie Lin, Wei Nisheng realized he should counter the hidden strategist with someone skilled in schemes, and the chapter ended with him sharing a joyful moment with Fu Niang.

• Fu Niang learned to salt pork from Qu Niang, while Qingluo collected snow for the tea Fu Niang had once planned to make for her husband.
• Fu Niang colored a petal on her winter plum painting as she waited for Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai to finish talking in the study.
• Zhang Zai left to attend a banquet hosted by the Li Family and asked Wei Nisheng to save him some cured pork.
• Wei Nisheng admitted to Fu Niang that he could not identify the person behind the political game, and she reminded him of Xie Lin.
• Wei Nisheng recognized that he needed someone adept at secret schemes to oppose the hidden strategist, then kissed Fu Niang and laughed with her in the snow.

At the Grand Court Audience, Kou Yuan and the upright officials launched a coordinated attack on Wei Nisheng, blaming him for the Ningxia unrest and demanding his dismissal. Emperor Jing of Zhou stayed silent as Wei stood alone under mounting pressure, leaving the court unsure whether the emperor was testing him or allowing his downfall.

• Kou Yuan impeached Zhou Quan over the Zhang Family Market unrest, demanded a halt to the farmland audit, and called for Wei Nisheng to be held accountable.
• Luo Wenjin blamed Zhou Quan's sponsors, while Liang Chengye condemned the audit as a violation of ancestral law.
• Other censors accused Wei Nisheng of using his ties to the Heir Apparent to influence frontier affairs and demanded that he be stripped of his offices and confined at home.
• Wang Kan tried to defend Wei, but Kou Yuan accused him of factional bias and silenced him.
• Qin Yan considered speaking for Wei, but Kou Yuan warned that a personal appeal would not answer the accusations, and Qin Yan stayed in place.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou watched the court's confrontation without intervening as Wei Nisheng remained silent.

Shen Duan broke with Kou Yuan in court over his attack on the farmland survey and Wei Nisheng, but the confrontation was interrupted by news that Fang Qi had died. Overcome with grief, Shen Duan collapsed after vomiting blood, leaving Wei Nisheng and the court fearing for the stability of the government.

• Shen Duan rebuked Kou Yuan for impeaching Zhou Quan and Wei Nisheng while opposing an imperial decree, undermining Kou Yuan’s coalition of upright officials.
• Kou Yuan privately urged Shen Duan to help bring down Wei Nisheng, but Shen Duan warned that doing so would lead them both to ruin.
• Fang Chongwen arrived at court and announced that his father, Fang Qi, had vomited blood and died that morning.
• Shen Duan grieved over Fang Qi’s death, vomited blood, and collapsed on the Vermilion Steps.
• Wei Nisheng rushed to Shen Duan’s side and feared that Fang Qi might have been poisoned and that Shen Duan could be the next target.

As Shen Duan lay gravely ill, he warned Shen Yi that Fang Qi’s death and the attacks on Wei Nisheng were parts of a hidden plot aimed at the Shen faction and Great Zhou. He ordered Shen Yi to pursue Fang Qi’s case and send for Xie Lin, while the chapter ended with Shen Duan entrusting the court’s survival to the next generation.

• Shen Yi told Shen Duan that Fang Qi’s mourning rites had begun and that the Ministry of Rites had requested a posthumous title for him.
• Shen Duan told Shen Yi that Fang Qi had likely been poisoned and that an unseen enemy had also targeted him and Wei Nisheng to undermine land clearance and the Shen faction.
• Shen Duan ordered Shen Yi, through his post in the Ministry of Justice, to pursue Fang Qi’s case and never let the investigation go.
• Shen Duan gave Shen Yi his ministerial seal and ordered him to tell Wei Zi'an to summon Xie Lin to the capital overnight.
• Shen Yi rushed into the snow to carry out Shen Duan’s orders, while Shen Duan reflected on Feng Yan’s trust in him and the burden of holding up the court.

Shen Yi brought Shen Duan’s seal to Wei Nisheng, giving him authority to summon Xie Lin despite Zou Mo’s obstruction. Wei Nisheng accepted the burden and vowed to summon Xie Lin and investigate Zou Mo.

• Shen Yi told Wei Nisheng that Shen Duan had suffered heart damage and needed a hundred days of rest.
• Shen Yi relayed Shen Duan’s assessment of the political crisis and explained that Zou Mo could obstruct a transfer through the Ministry of Personnel.
• Shen Yi presented Shen Duan’s seal of the Minister of Personnel, explaining that Shen Duan no longer trusted Zou Mo.
• Shen Yi urged Wei Nisheng to step forward for the sake of the people and the plans of Shen Duan and Lord Feng.
• Wei Nisheng accepted the seal and pledged to summon Xie Lin and investigate Zou Mo.

Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered protection for Shen Duan and Wei Nisheng and a thorough investigation into Fang Qi’s death, then explained to Crown Prince Jiang Heng why open political rivalry could be tolerated but secret assassination could not. He vowed to execute whoever the investigation identified as the culprit, regardless of rank or personal ties.

• Jiang Heng returned from visiting Shen Duan and reported that the chancellor was badly injured but expected to recover after a hundred days of rest.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou sent Secret Guards to watch the Shen and Wei residences and ordered the Three Judicial Offices to investigate Fang Qi’s death and examine the medicine.
• Jiang Heng asked what his father would do if the culprit proved to be a trusted court minister.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou explained that protecting ministers’ security preserved the Court’s ability to serve the state, while assassination threatened the realm.
• Jiang Heng acknowledged his father’s lesson that governing ministers required putting them at ease rather than frightening them.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou vowed to punish the culprit according to law, declaring that open factional conflict was tolerable but secret killing made a minister a traitor.

With Grand Secretary Fang dead and Chancellor Shen bedridden, Wei Nisheng used the Minister of Personnel’s seal to promote Guilin County Magistrate Xie Lin to Reader-in-Waiting. He sent the order to the Capital, asserting his authority over the Ministry of Personnel.

• Wei Nisheng entered the Palace through heavy snow as court officials watched the weakened Grand Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel.
• Wei Nisheng asked Qiu Heng to bring him Guilin Prefecture’s personnel records and selected Xie Lin for promotion.
• Wei Nisheng wrote an order appointing Xie Lin Reader-in-Waiting despite Qiu Heng’s warning that Zou Mo might block it.
• Wei Nisheng revealed the Minister of Personnel’s seal and stamped the transfer order, declaring that the ministry would henceforth bear his name.
• Wei Nisheng ordered Qiu Heng to dispatch the document, and Qiu Heng carried it out through the snow.

Zou Mo challenged Wei Zi's use of Shen Duan's seal to transfer Xie Lin, but Zhang Cheng forced him to confront the ministry's own rules and endorse the order. Left alone, Zou Mo wrongly concluded that Wei Zi had seized the seal through imperial favor, while the chapter revealed Shen Duan had entrusted it to him.

• Zou Mo read the Selection Office's transfer order promoting Xie Lin to Reader-in-Waiting and objected that Wei Zi had used Shen Duan's ministerial seal.
• Zhang Cheng cited Zou Mo's long-standing insistence on regulations, affixed his own seal to the order, and demanded Zou Mo endorse it.
• Zou Mo accused Zhang Cheng of siding with Shen Duan and questioned whether the seal was genuine, but Zhang Cheng challenged him to report his suspicions to the emperor.
• Zou Mo could not prove the seal false and was left with no answer when Zhang Cheng defended his endorsement as proper procedure.
• After Zhang Cheng left, Zou Mo suspected Wei Zi had obtained the seal through imperial favor and feared the emperor meant to take control of the Ministry of Personnel.
• The chapter revealed that Shen Duan had personally entrusted the seal to his grandson, and that he had chosen Wei Zi over Zou Mo because he trusted Wei's heart.