Recaps

Zou Mo warned Kou Yuan that Wei Zi'an’s use of the Seal of the Heavenly Offices threatened both the Ministry of Personnel and Kou’s ambitions. He argued that the emperor might favor Qin Yan over Kou Yuan for the Grand Secretariat, leaving Kou unsettled by the danger ahead.

• After Shen Duan refused visitors, Zou Mo sent a message asking whether Kou Yuan still had ambition, and Kou invited him inside.
• Zou Mo told Kou that Wei Zi'an had used the Seal of the Heavenly Offices to transfer Xie Lin and promote him to Reader-in-Waiting, challenging Zou’s authority in the Ministry of Personnel.
• Kou Yuan urged Zou to control the Ministry of Personnel himself and said the Ministry of Revenue could not help, intending to let Zou and Wei Zi'an contend.
• Zou Mo argued that the emperor had likely lent Wei Zi'an the seal to take power from Shen Duan and could later use another man to deny Kou the position of Chief Minister.
• Zou Mo warned that Qin Yan’s reputation for evenness and noncontention could make him the emperor’s preferred choice to lead the Grand Secretariat.

Zou Mo persuaded Kou Yuan to help force Wei Zi'an into overseeing military farmland affairs, where he could be ruined by failure or by refusing the task. Kou Yuan agreed to the scheme but remained wary of Zou Mo’s motives.

• Zou Mo convinced Kou Yuan that Wei Zi'an held the Seal of the Heavenly Offices with the emperor’s tacit approval, making him a rival for the Chief Minister’s seat.
• Zou Mo urged Kou Yuan to have the Upright Officials demand that Wei Sheng receive full authority over military farmland affairs, leaving him no safe way to refuse.
• Zou Mo proposed that Kou Yuan delay or limit the Ministry of Revenue’s funding so Wei Zi'an would bear blame if the frontier project faltered.
• Kou Yuan praised Zou Mo’s scheme, then questioned whether he was acting on Chancellor Shen’s behalf.
• Zou Mo denied that Chancellor Shen could be behind the plan and said their differing goals meant they had no reason to deceive each other.

On New Year's Day in Jinghe Year Sixteen, Wei Nisheng and Fu Niang welcomed Wang Kan and Yao Shi, along with Zhang Zai and Li Shi, to their home for a warm holiday gathering. Li Shi shared that her wedding to Zhang Zai was set for the eighteenth day of the second month, and the chapter ended with the three couples enjoying a peaceful moment before returning to the turmoil beyond their courtyard.

• Wei Nisheng returned from the snowy New Year's Grand Court Audience, and Fu Niang served him Tusu wine as they teased one another about having a child next year.
• Wang Kan and Yao Shi arrived at the Wei Residence with Zhang Zai and Li Shi, and Wei Nisheng welcomed them inside.
• Fu Niang and Yao Shi shared stories about their husbands while Li Shi joined them for sugar cakes in the inner hall.
• Li Shi told Fu Niang that her wedding to Zhang Zai would take place on the eighteenth day of the second month and gave her an embroidered twin-stem plum blossom handkerchief.
• The three couples shared wine and conversation as snow fell outside and the holiday brought brief peace to their households.

In Guilin, Xie Lin received an imperial promotion ordering him to the Capital, where he would reunite with his old ally Wei Zi'an. He left immediately, knowing that their long-awaited meeting would begin a new phase of their plans.

• An urgent dispatch from the Capital arrived at the Lingui County Yamen while Xie Lin was hearing a lawsuit.
• The deputy magistrate proclaimed that Xie Lin had been promoted to Reader-in-Waiting in the Directorate of Classical Studies and must depart for the Capital within three days.
• Xie Lin laughed and praised Wei Zi'an, recognizing the appointment as a sign that their plans were moving forward.
• Xie Lin thanked his colleagues, left the yamen, and rode north through the rain toward the Capital.

Emperor Jing of Zhou found that nine of ten annual memorials praised the Upright Officials and erupted in anger over their factional endorsements and missing reports on provincial affairs. After Wang Cheng warned that Kou Yuan might lack the ability to manage the Grand Secretariat, the emperor summoned Kou Yuan to answer for the memorials.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered Wang Cheng to read the annual memorials and learned that nine of ten praised or endorsed the Upright Officials.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou condemned the memorials for ignoring the people's suffering, taxation, lawsuits, and border defenses, and questioned whether Kou Yuan had allowed the faction's influence to spread.
• Wang Cheng argued that Kou Yuan might not be solely responsible, but compared his ability to lead with Yang Guozhong's rather than Yao Chong's.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered Kou Yuan summoned and asked Wang Cheng to convey that he wanted to know whether Kou Yuan had drafted the memorials for the emperor or for the Upright Officials.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou cited the Records of the Grand Historian, saying that one outspoken remonstrance was worth more than a thousand meek agreements.

Kou Yuan entertained upright officials who praised his control of the Grand Secretariat and maneuvered to secure the vacant Ministry of Works post for one of their own. An imperial attendant then summoned Kou Yuan to meet the emperor, leaving the officials uneasy about what awaited him.

• Kou Yuan accepted praise from visiting officials while claiming Song Yue and Qin Yan could not manage the Grand Secretariat.
• The officials turned the gathering toward the vacant Ministry of Works seat and urged Kou Yuan to recommend one of their faction.
• Kou Yuan told them the appointment required the emperor’s decision and warned them not to rush into declaring their positions.
• An imperial attendant delivered an urgent oral edict summoning Kou Yuan, and Kou Yuan sent the officials away before preparing to enter the palace.

Kou Yuan mistook Emperor Jing of Zhou’s criticism of his constant assent for praise and boasted of his own frankness. After the emperor exposed the Upright Officials’ influence in the annual memorials, Kou Yuan was left prostrate and unable to answer whether the memorials reflected his wishes or theirs.

• Kou Yuan heard the phrase “a thousand voices of assent, one voice of dissent” from the Little Yellow Gate Eunuch and assumed it praised him.
• Kou Yuan told Emperor Jing of Zhou that he had managed the Grand Secretariat well and was the only minister willing to speak frankly.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou threw annual memorials before Kou Yuan and accused him of allowing the Upright Officials to dominate them.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou explained the saying’s meaning, and Kou Yuan realized the Little Yellow Gate Eunuch had shortened it and misled him.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou asked whether the memorials expressed Kou Yuan’s wishes or those of the Upright Officials, and Kou Yuan could not reply.

Kou Yuan defended himself before Emperor Jing of Zhou by admitting to negligence while denying that he led the Upright Officials, then asked to surrender his authority over the Grand Secretariat. The emperor spared him but reclaimed that authority and ordered an investigation into the annual memorials.

• Kou Yuan confessed to failing in oversight but denied forming a faction or leading the Upright Officials.
• Kou Yuan requested an investigation and argued that local officials had submitted annual memorials to follow the influence of officialdom.
• Emperor Jing asked whose wishes the memorials represented, and Kou Yuan blamed officialdom’s tendency to flock to power.
• Kou Yuan asked to give up his authority to act for the Grand Secretariat and return to the Ministry of Revenue.
• Emperor Jing spared Kou Yuan, ordered his own investigation, and limited Kou Yuan to properly submitting and forwarding Secretariat documents.

Wang Cheng confronted Kou Yuan over his role in the turmoil at Court and the Northwest’s missing military supplies. Kou Yuan remained convinced he had done nothing wrong as he stood alone beneath the falling snow.

• Wang Cheng escorted Kou Yuan from the hall, and Kou Yuan accused him of misleading him by passing on only half of the Emperor’s message.
• Wang Cheng quoted the Book of Changes to warn Kou Yuan that his position exceeded his virtue and ability.
• Kou Yuan angrily blamed Wang Cheng, Wei Zi'an, and Shen Duan for upheaval in the Grand Secretariat and the Northwest, and called them thieves lulled by ease.
• Wang Cheng asked Kou Yuan when the Ministry of Revenue’s silver for the Northwest had left the capital, what route it took, and whether payment was made in silver or goods.
• Wang Cheng returned to the Palace, leaving Kou Yuan alone in the corridor, where Kou Yuan insisted he had done no wrong and praised his ancestor Kou Zhun.

On the road back to the Capital, Xie Lin explained to Xu Shi how the deaths, illness, court memorials, and shifts in authority formed a connected political game. He realized Shen Duan and Wei Zi'an had summoned him as a weapon, and he looked forward to confronting the unseen strategist behind the events.

• Xie Lin told Xu Shi that he studied the Court Gazettes and letters as clues to the Capital's political struggles.
• Xie Lin connected Fang Qi's death and Shen Duan's collapse with the Annual Memorials, Kou Yuan's rise, and Wei Zi'an's possession of the Minister of Personnel's seal.
• Xie Lin concluded that Shen Duan and Wei Zi'an had joined forces to summon him from Guilin and use him as a weapon.
• Xie Lin identified an unseen strategist who had driven the Capital's turmoil and welcomed the prospect of facing a worthy opponent.
• Xie Lin told Xu Shi they would rest at the Changsha Prefectural Official Post Station before continuing to the Capital.

At Fang Qi’s funeral court assembly, Wei Nisheng reflected on the dwindling generation of officials and visited the gravely ill Shen Duan. Shen Duan mourned Fang Qi, pressed Wei for news of the investigation into his death and Xie Lin’s return, and recognized that Wei had come to visit him of his own accord.

• The court approved Fang Qi’s posthumous title of Cultured and Solemn, along with the prescribed sacrificial offerings and burial honors.
• Wei Nisheng visited the deserted Shen Residence, where Shen Yi told him that Shen Duan knew he had ordered Xie Lin’s recall and had praised Wei’s willingness to act and shoulder responsibility.
• Wei Nisheng told Shen Duan that Fang Qi’s title had been settled within the rules, and Shen Duan lamented that he would give a hundred lives to redeem Fang Qi’s one.
• Wei Nisheng reported that the Three Judicial Offices were investigating whether conflicting medicine ingredients in Fang Qi’s prescriptions resulted from an error or tampering, and estimated Xie Lin would reach the Capital in about ten days.
• Shen Duan asked about other court affairs, then observed that Wei had visited him of his own accord for the first time, and Wei urged him to take care of himself.

Shen Duan warned Wei Nisheng that Kou Yuan’s talent and indispensability made him dangerous, and urged him to attack Kou Yuan’s obsession with his reputation. He praised Wei’s potential to become a great statesman, leaving him to face the court’s shifting alliances after Shen Duan’s departure.

• Shen Duan described Kou Yuan as diligent, incorruptible, and skilled with finances, but narrow in vision and unable to grasp the larger affairs of state.
• Shen Duan warned Wei Nisheng that Kou Yuan would target him once Shen Duan was gone, especially if Zou Mo sided with Kou Yuan.
• Shen Duan told Wei Nisheng that Kou Yuan feared losing his untarnished reputation and advised him to expose how clean Kou Yuan’s record truly was.
• Wei Nisheng bowed and promised to remember Shen Duan’s counsel.
• Shen Duan compared Wei Nisheng to Wang Jinglüe and Liu Muzhi, saying the Crown Prince’s comparison of Wei to Wang Meng had been apt.

After Shen Duan entrusted Wei Nisheng with holding the Court together, Wei Nisheng returned home and found resolve in Fu Niang’s support. He left the chapter determined to undertake great things, with his family as his refuge.

• Wei Nisheng reflected on the strengths and faults of those who had shaped him as he walked through the snow.
• Shen Duan, supported by Shen Yi, called Wei Nisheng back and admitted his failings before insisting he had never disgraced the office of Chief Minister.
• Shen Duan asked Wei Nisheng to hold the Court together, and Wei Nisheng answered with a deep bow before walking away.
• Shen Duan watched Wei Nisheng depart and said that he reminded him of Feng Yan, whose brilliance had once filled the age.
• Wei Nisheng returned home, where Fu Niang welcomed him and described the family’s Lantern Festival preparations.
• Wei Nisheng told Fu Niang he was going to do great things, and she encouraged him with confidence in his destiny.

Wei Nisheng privately warned Crown Prince Jiang Heng that a hidden hand might be behind Grand Secretary Fang Qi’s death and Chancellor Shen’s collapse, and explained why he had secretly promoted Xie Lin. He asked Jiang Heng to protect him from the officials’ coming attacks, and Jiang Heng promised he would not face them alone.

• Fu Niang and Wei Nisheng entered the palace, with Fu Niang visiting Princess Luyang and Wei Nisheng heading to the Eastern Palace to see Jiang Heng.
• Wei Nisheng told Jiang Heng that he and Chancellor Shen suspected Fang Qi had been killed and that an unseen court faction was stirring disorder.
• Wei Nisheng revealed that he had used Chancellor Shen’s seal to promote Xie Lin, hoping to employ his skill at hidden schemes against the unknown hand.
• Wei Nisheng warned that Kou Yuan and other upright officials would attack him while Chancellor Shen was ill and Fang Qi was dead, and he asked Jiang Heng for protection.
• Jiang Heng took Wei Nisheng’s hands and promised that, as his teacher and friend, he would stand by him.

At the court hearing, officials impeached Wei Nisheng over his use of the minister's seal and Xie Lin's appointment, while others sought to remove him from the capital. Wang Kan defended Wei's actions and challenged the accusers' motives, leaving the hall stunned and the dispute unresolved.

• Luo Wenjin impeached Wei Nisheng for using Chancellor Shen's seal without authorization and demanded an investigation.
• Liang Chengye attacked Xie Lin's transfer to Reader-in-Waiting, Gao Lian accused Wei Nisheng of overstepping his authority, and another official urged the emperor to send Wei to oversee military farmland across the Nine Frontiers.
• Kou Yuan warned that allowing vice directors to use ministerial seals and transfer subordinates would undermine the Six Ministries' system.
• Wang Kan defended Wei Nisheng's frontier work and challenged Luo Wenjin and Liang Chengye over their accusations and suspected factional interests.
• Wang Kan questioned why Xie Lin should be barred from office and suggested the accusers wanted the Reader-in-Waiting post for Kou Yuan's fourth son, leaving the hall without an answer.

Censors attacked Wei Nisheng over his seal, military farmland, and ties to the Eastern Palace, but Crown Prince Jiang Heng defended him and rebuked the court for turning frontier concerns into political weapons. Emperor Jing of Zhou watched his son assert his authority as regent.

• Luo Wenjin and Liang Chengye accused Wang Kan of breaching court decorum, while other Upright Officials attacked Wei Nisheng over military farmland and his position as a servant of the Eastern Palace.
• An Upright Official questioned whether Wei Nisheng’s authority belonged to the emperor or the Eastern Palace, casting suspicion on the Crown Prince’s relationship with the court.
• Jiang Heng rose and challenged the censor for introducing the Eastern Palace into the dispute, asking whether the officials were impeaching Wei Nisheng or driving a wedge into the imperial family.
• Jiang Heng accepted responsibility for the military farmland policy, which Emperor Jing of Zhou had approved and Jiang Heng had proposed as regent.
• Jiang Heng rebuked the officials for focusing on appointments instead of Ningxia’s snow, Shaanxi’s grain, and the frontier soldiers, and declared that he had served as regent for half a year.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou watched Jiang Heng speak and recalled his own struggles as Crown Prince.

During a court audience, Jiang Heng faced officials who used arguments about propriety, benevolence, and brotherly affection to challenge his conduct as regent. After Emperor Jing of Zhou affirmed the Crown Prince’s authority, Jiang Heng publicly stood beside Wei Nisheng and declared he would not let anyone take him from his side.

• Zou Mo argued that Jiang Heng had overstepped a subject’s proper role, and Kou Yuan and other officials followed by criticizing his treatment of Wei Nisheng and his plans for his younger brothers.
• Jiang Heng refused to debate his filial piety and brotherly affection, returned decisions about the princes’ departure to the emperor, and asked to be punished for speaking too hastily.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou declared that the Crown Prince governed as regent by his decree, said that criticizing Jiang Heng meant criticizing him, and dismissed the court.
• After the audience, Jiang Heng turned back through the officials and went to Wei Nisheng instead of leaving for his palace.
• Jiang Heng held Wei Nisheng upright, stood shoulder to shoulder with him, and declared before the court that he feared Wei Nisheng might no longer stand behind him.

Jiang Yu explained to Jiang Yun that the Prince of Yan title was not hereditary and that he must earn the future sovereign’s trust to remain in the Northern Capital. He warned Jiang Yun to stay out of political struggles and threatened to kill him if he exchanged letters with Prince Jin again.

• Jiang Yun brought Jiang Yu a letter describing the Capital’s court dispute over Wei Nisheng and the Crown Prince’s plan to send his younger brothers to their fiefs.
• Jiang Yun asked whether he could live in the Northern Capital one day, and Jiang Yu explained that each sovereign chose his own Prince of Yan from among his brothers.
• Jiang Yu told Jiang Yun to keep to his proper place, avoid power, and understand that the Prince of Yan’s position required knowing when to retreat.
• Jiang Yu threatened to cut off Jiang Yun’s head if he exchanged letters with Prince Jin again.

Jiang Yu rebuked Jiang Yun for secretly corresponding with Prince Jin, warning that political maneuvering could endanger the Northern Capital and the Yan Principality. Jiang Yun rejected Prince Jin’s overture in person, but remained uncertain whether his declaration reflected his own convictions.

• Jiang Yu warned Jiang Yun that the Northern Four Garrisons protected Great Zhou from the Khitan and could not be used as political bargaining chips.
• Jiang Yu reminded Jiang Yun of Prince Ning’s fate and threatened to disown him rather than let the Yan Principality be branded treasonous.
• Jiang Yun admitted he was wrong, then went to a tavern to deliver his reply to Prince Jin’s servant.
• Jiang Yun told the servant that the Yan Principality obeyed only imperial decrees and would end further correspondence with Prince Jin.
• After the servant questioned whether Jiang Yun’s words were truly his own, Jiang Yun sat alone, unsure of his resolve.

A blue-robed man explained how Jiang Yun’s fear of losing his position could be used to exploit tensions within the Yan Principality and the imperial succession. He burned a letter from the Southern Capital and left for his lord’s side, ordering his servant to wait and nurture the opportunity in the Northern Capital.

• The servant reported that Jiang Yun had refused to act beyond obeying the Imperial Decree, and the blue-robed man concluded that the Prince of Yan was restraining him.
• The blue-robed man explained that Jiang Yun feared losing his position because the title of Prince of Yan was not hereditary and the Crown Prince had no full brothers.
• He told the servant to avoid confronting the Prince of Yan and instead nurture Jiang Yun’s resentment until it created an opening.
• The blue-robed man burned the letter from the Southern Capital and ordered the servant not to act independently.
• The blue-robed man left the Northern Capital to return to his lord, saying that only time would pass between them and the Southern Capital.

On the Beginning of Spring, Emperor Jing of Zhou walked alone through the palace and learned that the Heir of Yan had secretly exchanged letters with Prince Jin. He accepted that his time was limited and resolved to watch whether Heng'er and Zi'an could take up Great Zhou, then continued toward the empress and Crown Prince waiting at the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou dismissed the officials after the spring rites and chose to walk back to his palace without a palanquin.
• Wang Cheng reported that Jiang Yun had secretly exchanged letters with Prince Jin and met a suspected Prince Jin servant in the Northern Capital.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou said Prince of Yan's public threat to Jiang Yun was meant to reassure the emperor that he controlled his household.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou told Wang Cheng that he was not afraid of death but feared leaving before he could see whether Heng'er and Zi'an could lead Great Zhou.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou walked alone past the palace halls and reached the Palace of Heavenly Purity, where the empress and Crown Prince awaited him.

Xie Lin waited outside the Capital after Kou Yuan barred him from entering, confident Wei Nisheng would come because the court needed him. The two reunited and agreed to investigate the hidden hand from opposite sides of the city, with Xie Lin taking charge of affairs outside it.

• Xie Lin told Xu Shi that Wei Nisheng would visit within three days and that being barred from the Capital gave him freedom from court scrutiny.
• Wei Nisheng arrived at the Five-Li Pavilion with Fu Niang and reunited with Xie Lin, recalling their friendship and past exchanges.
• Wei Nisheng asked Xie Lin to help uncover who was tampering with the Statute and described how the hidden hand’s schemes began outside the Capital.
• Xie Lin agreed to work with Wei Nisheng, who would handle matters inside the city while Xie Lin investigated outside it.
• Xie Lin compared their positions to Sima and Zhuge as the two men sat down over wine and an unplayed Go board.

Xie Lin used his duty as Chancellor Shen’s disciple to argue that he should enter the Capital despite the delayed appointment. Grand Secretary Kou Yuan let him pass, and Xie Lin told Wei Nisheng that Wei’s influence and concrete achievements—not clever arguments alone—had made his return possible.

• Wei Nisheng explained the Capital’s political situation and warned Xie Lin that the gate officials would not let him enter.
• Xie Lin decided to enter the Capital as a disciple visiting his sick Exam Mentor, Chancellor Shen, rather than as an official taking up his appointment.
• At the city gate, Kou Yuan’s servant challenged Wei Nisheng for escorting Xie Lin despite the order delaying Xie Lin’s entry.
• Xie Lin confronted Kou Yuan, invoking his duty to visit Shen and comparing it to Kou Yuan’s past devotion to his sick father.
• Kou Yuan moved his carriage aside and allowed Xie Lin to enter the Capital.
• Xie Lin told Wei Nisheng that Wei’s standing and achievements had secured his passage, and that self-strengthening mattered more than schemes.

Xie Lin visited his ailing teacher, Shen Duan, in the Capital and faced Zou Mo’s questions about his return. Shen Duan entrusted Xie Lin with his old connections and urged Shen Yi to consult him, while Zou Mo left realizing his thirty-year bond with Shen Duan had reached its end.

• Xie Lin and Zou Mo arrived at the Shen Residence to visit Shen Duan, and Shen Yi asked them to wait while his grandfather rested.
• Zou Mo questioned Xie Lin about returning to the Capital and his correspondence with Wei Zi'an, but Xie Lin turned the exchange into a warning about their shared debt to Shen Duan.
• Shen Duan welcomed Xie Lin as Dao'an, and Xie Lin knelt to apologize for visiting late.
• Shen Duan gave Xie Lin a box of old calling cards to tend to and told Shen Yi to consult Xie Lin more often.
• Shen Duan told Zou Mo that the favors represented by the calling cards were a debt he could not carry, and offered Xie Lin an empty residence near the East Flower Gate.
• Zou Mo left the Shen Residence reflecting that, like Li Si leaving Xun Qing, he and Shen Duan had parted because their ambitions and positions no longer aligned.

Xie Lin answered the court’s impeachments with a memorial asking only to serve his ailing teacher, Shen Duan, and Emperor Jing of Zhou allowed him to take office. He entered the Directorate of Classical Studies in a blue robe as Wei Nisheng left the palace in scarlet, while their formal exchange hinted at an unspoken rivalry.

• After the officials’ impeachment memorials were retained at the palace, Xie Lin wrote to Emperor Jing of Zhou that he had returned only to care for Shen Duan and would accept punishment if necessary.
• Xu Shi delivered Xie Lin’s memorial through the Directorate of Transmission, and Emperor Jing of Zhou exempted him from investigation and ordered him to assume his post as Reader-in-Waiting of the Directorate of Classical Studies.
• Luo Wenjin and Liang Chengye protested the decree, while Kou Yuan concluded that Wei Zi’an’s influence mattered more than the obstacles they had raised.
• Xie Lin arrived at the Eastern Palace in his blue robe and exchanged formal courtesies with Wei Nisheng, who wore scarlet and was leaving the palace.