Recaps

Prince Jin Jiang Xuan welcomed Pei Zhi back to Taiyuan after his journey to Yan and learned that Pei Zhi had planted a seed of ambition in Yan’s Heir Apparent. Pei Zhi then laid out a plan to undermine Wei Zi'an by targeting Zhang Zai and exploiting Zou Mo’s precarious position.

• Jiang Xuan welcomed Pei Zhi, whose warning about turmoil in Gansu and the Capital had come true through the land clearance upheaval and political crises.
• Pei Zhi told Jiang Xuan that the Prince of Yan could not be persuaded, but Yan’s Heir Apparent had ambition, so Pei Zhi had planted a seed that might grow in time.
• Jiang Xuan reported that Wei Zi'an had summoned Xie Lin back to the Capital, and Pei Zhi said he feared Wei Zi'an more than Xie Lin.
• Pei Zhi proposed taking Zhang Zai, severing Wei Zi'an’s grain-route support, and weakening Zhou Quan’s troops and the Pacify the Rong Strategy.
• Pei Zhi identified Zou Mo as a useful target because Xie Lin’s return had put Zou Mo’s position in danger.

Wei Nisheng and Xie Lin uncovered signs that Stone Record’s accounts had been altered and coordinated an investigation into its hidden network. Shen Yi questioned broker He San, but He San died in prison that night, leaving the suspicion of foul play unproven.

• Zhang Zai showed Wei Nisheng a copied Stone Record ledger that revealed altered accounts in Yangzhou and said the Capital headquarters’ books had burned.
• Wei Nisheng told Xie Lin that broker He San was the only known witness, and Xie Lin concluded Stone Record’s trade connected powerful interests across the Northern Lands.
• Wei Nisheng agreed to handle the court and public moves while Xie Lin investigated in secret, and Xie Lin asked Shen Yi to question He San.
• Shen Yi obtained permission to bring He San from Shuntian Prefecture Prison and questioned him about Stone Record, prompting He San to agree to talk.
• He San died of a sudden illness that night, and although people suspected foul play, no proof was found.

After He San’s death signaled that Luo Wenjin was stirring, Wang Kan visited his father-in-law, Chief Censor Yao Zhen, to warn him of the move against the Censor. Yao approved an investigation under proper censorate discipline, taking charge himself while ordering Wang to provide the evidence and not lead the effort.

• Wang Kan visited Yao Zhen at the Yao Residence and told him that Luo Wenjin had made a move in the Censorate.
• Yao explained that any action against a Censor had to follow censorate discipline and revealed that he knew Luo was corrupt despite his reputation as an Upright Official.
• Wang told Yao he understood the stakes and invoked the family precept to correct wrongdoing.
• Yao approved the case on condition that the evidence be complete, the grounds be proper, and Wang not take the lead.
• Yao said he would appoint and head the Censorate investigation, while Wang would put the evidence in his hands.
• Yao urged Wang to warn Wei Zi'an to be careful and anticipated a dramatic time ahead as they took the reins of the court.

Wei Nisheng reported that Censor Luo Wenjin had taken bribes from the Stone Record and explained the political risks of pursuing him. Jiang Heng chose to act as Regent, ordering Luo's arrest and a joint investigation, and invited the upright officials to challenge him directly.

• Wei Nisheng told Jiang Heng that the Stone Record's ledgers had been destroyed, He San had implicated Luo Wenjin, and He San had died in prison the night he was questioned.
• Wei Nisheng explained that acting against Luo without proper authority could expose Yao Zhen or Jiang Heng to charges of factional abuse, while the Emperor might refuse to approve a memorial.
• Jiang Heng considered the risks and decided to issue the order himself, asking Wei Nisheng whether he held a personal grudge against Luo.
• Jiang Heng ordered Yao Zhen to arrest Luo Wenjin and convene a joint investigation with the Three Bureaus, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review.
• Jiang Heng told Wei Nisheng to make clear that the order was his and that the upright officials should bring their objections to him.

Yao Zhen arrested Luo Wenjin in a public Censorate investigation, and Kou Yuan learned that the Crown Prince’s order had authorized the move. Kou Yuan tried to reach the Emperor but was turned away, leaving him with no legal opening to interfere.

• Yao Zhen arrived at Luo Wenjin’s Duty Room and declared that the Censorate was conducting an internal investigation, despite Luo’s colleagues trying to block his arrest.
• Zhang Mao removed Luo Wenjin’s Xiezhi Crown, and Censorate Guards escorted him away while Wang Kan watched silently.
• A junior clerk told Kou Yuan that Luo Wenjin had been arrested under the Crown Prince’s order and a joint inquiry by the Three Bureaus.
• Kou Yuan went to the Palace to seek an audience with the Emperor, but Wang Cheng said the Emperor could not be disturbed.
• Kou Yuan realized that the Crown Prince’s Regency Order and the completed investigation left him no grounds to intervene.

After failing to see His Majesty, Kou Yuan confronted anxious upright officials and reframed Luo Wenjin’s arrest as a political plot by Wei Zi'an. He promised to oversee the Three Judicial Offices’ investigation while warning the officials to clean up their own affairs.

• Kou Yuan returned home to find upright officials gathered outside, demanding news about Luo Wenjin, and scolded them for panicking before inviting them inside.
• Kou Yuan learned that Luo Wenjin was suspected of taking silver from the pawnshop Stone Record, a firm he had never heard of.
• Kou Yuan recalled that Luo Wenjin had grown reckless and used his name as a shield, but hid his alarm and portrayed the arrest as a suspicious frame-up by Wei Zi'an.
• Kou Yuan warned the officials that Wei Zi'an’s power threatened them all and declared that Luo Wenjin’s case would go to the Three Judicial Offices under his supervision.
• Kou Yuan told the officials to watch their words and actions and to clean up any unaccounted-for affairs before trouble reached them.

Zou Mo urged Kou Yuan to retaliate against Wei Zi'an by targeting Zhang Zai, but Kou Yuan questioned Zou Mo’s motives and reconsidered the evidence against Luo Wenjin. The meeting ended with Kou Yuan deciding to assess how much support he still had among the Upright Officials before acting.

• Zou Mo secretly visited Kou Yuan and argued that Luo Wenjin’s arrest was an attack on Kou Yuan’s prestige.
• Zou Mo proposed targeting Zhang Zai’s control of frontier provisions to undermine Wei Zi'an’s Pacify the Rong Strategy.
• Kou Yuan reflected on Luo Wenjin’s conduct and the proper investigation procedures, concluding that Luo had likely taken bribes and that the Stone Record existed.
• Kou Yuan challenged Zou Mo about how much he knew of Luo Wenjin’s case and whether he was offering a blade for his own benefit.
• Zou Mo admitted his self-interest but claimed his proposal also protected Kou Yuan’s power, while Kou Yuan postponed action against Zhang Zai.
• Kou Yuan asked how many Upright Officials at court still served him, prompting Zou Mo to leave.

Zou Mo learned that his people had not killed He San and realized Xie Lin had used the witness’s death to strengthen Luo Wenjin’s case and sow distrust within Stone Record. He reported the matter to Taiyuan, while Xie Lin’s broader scheme remained unseen and poised against his opponents.

• Zou Mo summoned an old servant and demanded to know why he had killed He San, but the servant said Stone Record had never known He San and would not act without orders from Taiyuan.
• Zou Mo realized He San’s death had turned his recorded testimony into evidence against Luo Wenjin and made Stone Record appear responsible for silencing him.
• Zou Mo recognized that Xie Lin had arranged events to deepen suspicion between him and Kou Yuan, and understood that he had been a piece in Xie Lin’s strategy.
• Zou Mo ordered the old servant to report to Taiyuan that Stone Record had not killed He San.
• The chapter traced Xie Lin’s covert moves in the Capital and contrasted his people-focused schemes with Wei Zi’an’s open, large-scale strategies.

Xie Lin and Xu Shi shared a spring meal in the Capital, where he explained how working alongside capable allies had eased his mind. He looked forward to continuing the game with them and hinted that he might soon seek someone who had not yet appeared.

• Xu Shi returned to the Xie residence with fresh spring ingredients and prepared a meal for Xie Lin.
• Xu Shi noticed that Xie Lin seemed happier in the Capital than he had in Suzhou and asked why.
• Xie Lin explained that in Suzhou no one understood or answered his moves, while in the Capital Wei Zi'an, Wang Kan, and Shen Yi each played their parts in a responsive game.
• Xu Shi toasted the game with Xie Lin, who sang in celebration and murmured that he would go looking if someone did not appear soon.
• The chapter reflected on Xie Lin's search for capable partners and left him anticipating the next move in the Capital's unfolding game.

Wei Nisheng gathered evidence and allies as he prepared to reshape the Ministry of Personnel and remove Zou Mo’s influence. By the chapter’s end, he had drafted an order placing all four bureaus under Zhang Cheng’s authority, to be issued with the minister’s seal the next morning.

• Qiu Heng told Wei Nisheng that Zou Mo had separately met with the vice directors of the Appointment Verification and Merit Review Bureaus.
• Shen Yi showed Wei Nisheng that Luo Wenjin had recommended three Ministry of Personnel officials whom Zou Mo later appointed, while warning that the list could not prove collusion.
• Xie Lin gave Wei Nisheng a trace of Zou Mo’s covert link to Taiyuan and advised him to let Zou Mo know he was being watched without exposing the evidence.
• Jiang Heng told Wei Nisheng to turn the Ministry of Personnel into the Court’s ministry and urged him to remove its rotten roots cleanly.
• Wei Nisheng asked Zhang Cheng to support his move against Zou Mo, and Zhang Cheng agreed to stand with him under the Ministry’s rules.
• Wei Nisheng drafted an order directing the four bureaus to report to Zhang Cheng and instructed Qiu Heng to issue it with the minister’s seal the next morning.

Wei Nisheng challenged the authority of the vice ministers and confronted Zou Mo with evidence about his handling of personnel appointments and an unapproved division of departmental duties. The meeting ended with Wei accusing Zou of overstepping his rank and defying his superiors.

• Zou Mo challenged Wei Nisheng's right to manage the Ministry of Personnel while Shen Duan was ill, arguing that departmental affairs belonged to the vice ministers.
• Sun Bonian backed Zou Mo, while Lu Bing and Han Yu stayed silent when Wei Nisheng asked for their views.
• Wei Nisheng presented Luo Wenjin's recommendation list and questioned Zou Mo about placing three of Luo's recommendations in the ministry.
• Zou Mo defended the appointments as routine decisions made after checking the candidates' records and challenged Wei to accuse him formally.
• Wei Nisheng revealed an unapproved draft that Zou had used to handle departmental affairs for a month and accused him of dividing Shen Duan's authority before receiving approval.

Zou Mo challenged Wei Nisheng’s authority to hold the minister’s seal and accused him of using questionable rules to force him out. Wei answered with Chancellor Shen’s handwritten authorization, leaving the dispute over acting control of the Ministry unresolved.

• Zou Mo defended his handling of departmental affairs as consistent with established duties and challenged Wei Nisheng to justify holding the minister’s seal.
• Zou warned Lu Bing, Han Yu, and Zhang Cheng that Wei’s accusations could threaten their positions, and suggested Wei might be connected to He San’s death.
• Wei Nisheng produced Chancellor Shen’s handwritten letter entrusting him with acting administration of departmental affairs and had the officials verify it.
• Wei stated that Shen Yi had reported the letter to the Eastern Palace and that the Crown Prince knew of the arrangement.

Wei Nisheng exposed Zou Mo’s unauthorized control of the Ministry of Personnel and restored the proper flow of documents. After Zou Mo left the hall, Wei declared that the ministry’s Heavenly Official authority remained in force, and the officials bowed in acceptance.

• Wei Nisheng showed the officials Zou Mo’s unauthorized vermilion endorsement and ordered documents returned to the Minister’s Study through proper channels.
• Wei Nisheng questioned Sun Bonian about Qian Weicheng, and Sun agreed that Qian should be investigated.
• Wei Nisheng challenged Zou Mo’s claims about Zhang Cheng, and Zhang denied seeking Zou Mo’s seat.
• Wei Nisheng told Zou Mo to submit his suspicions about He San’s death for a formal investigation, then asked whether Zou had safely housed the old servant.
• Zou Mo bowed to Wei Nisheng and left the hall.
• Wei Nisheng declared that the Ministry of Personnel’s Heavenly Official authority remained, and Sun Bonian, Lu Bing, Han Yu, Zhang Cheng, and the other officials bowed.

Zhang Zai married Li Shi in a joyous ceremony attended by his friends and fellow officials. After thanking Wei Nisheng at the gate, Zhang Zai returned to his bride and lifted her veil.

• Zhang Zai’s wedding date was moved five days because the original date fell on a taboo Separation Day.
• Wang Kan, Xie Lin, Wei Nisheng, and other friends visited Zhang Zai and offered wedding gifts and congratulations.
• Zhang Zai rode to the Li household, collected Li Shi, and brought her back to his home for the wedding rites.
• Wang Kan scattered sweets and coins over the newlyweds, while the guests celebrated at a feast that honored Li Shi’s place in the Zhang household.
• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai exchanged fond farewells beneath the lanterns, and Zhang Zai returned to his bride.
• Zhang Zai lifted Li Shi’s bridal veil, and she called him her husband.

Wei Nisheng consulted Shen Yi about Luo Wenjin’s suspiciously polished confession and the stalled investigation into the Stone Record. They decided to pursue the bribe money and quietly investigate a possible prison informant, while keeping a plan to lure the hidden conspirators in reserve.

• Shen Yi told Wei Nisheng that Luo Wenjin had admitted taking more than eight thousand taels from the Stone Record but denied implicating anyone beyond the dead He San.
• Shen Yi argued that Luo Wenjin’s orderly testimony was rehearsed and that his knowledge of He San’s death pointed to an informant in the prison.
• Shen Yi concluded that Luo Wenjin was protecting powerful figures to preserve his own life and had disguised his colleagues’ involvement as ordinary personal favors.
• Shen Yi urged Wei Nisheng to trace the bribes through the Stone Record’s financial records and proposed spreading a rumor that Luo Wenjin was about to name someone important.
• Wei Nisheng kept the rumor trap as a fallback, assigned the trade-route investigation to Zhang Zihou, and told Shen Yi to wait three days before examining the prison visitors.

Pei Zhi reviewed reports from the Capital and concluded that Xie Lin’s recent victories were orchestrated by Wei Zi'an, though he resolved to test whether Xie Lin was truly a puppet. He set a plan against Zhang Zai in motion and prepared to judge Wei Zi'an and Xie Lin by how they responded.

• Pei Zhi read dispatches describing Xie Lin’s arrival in the Capital, He San’s death, Luo Wenjin’s imprisonment, and Zou Mo’s defeat in the Ministry of Personnel.
• Pei Zhi inferred that Wei Zi'an had woven the network behind Xie Lin’s moves and suspected Xie Lin was acting as Wei Zi'an’s puppet.
• Pei Zhi burned Zou Mo’s secret letter and decided to test the pair by targeting Zhang Zai, whose family was investigating Stone Record's Accounts.
• Pei Zhi sent instructions to the Capital to begin Zhang Zai's Scheme and ordered the Northwest to slow the military farmland matter and keep Zhou Quan under watch.
• Pei Zhi sent a blank letter marked with Xie’s name and waited to see whether Wei Zi'an or Xie Lin would arrange Zhang Zai’s rescue.

At Jiang Heng’s first Grand Court Audience as Regent, officials clashed over corruption, a Tangut military threat, and a missing embassy. Wei Nisheng silenced the court, proposed how to handle each crisis, and left Jiang Heng and the old officials recalling Feng Yan.

• Yao Zhen impeached Luo Wenjin for accepting bribes, and Kou Yuan theatrically denounced his own follower after Yao challenged him to oversee the case.
• Wei Nisheng impeached three Ministry of Personnel officials linked to Stone Record, prompting the Upright Officials to accuse him of overstepping his authority.
• Song Yue reported that Tangut troops had gathered near Hengshan, while Qin Yan reported that the court’s embassy, led by Wei Shouzheng, had disappeared in Xingqing Prefecture.
• As officials shouted accusations and demands at Jiang Heng, Wei Nisheng called for silence and divided the disputes into military affairs, legal affairs, and disorder among the officials.
• Wei Nisheng proposed defensive measures, an inquiry into the missing embassy, and investigations of the accused officials, then offered to debate further after court.
• Jiang Heng and several veteran officials saw in Wei Nisheng’s commanding presence a resemblance to the late Feng Yan.

Wei Nisheng defended the Court’s response to the Tangut crisis and rejected accusations that he was shielding his brother or pursuing factional revenge. Crown Prince Jiang Heng accepted Wei Nisheng’s measures and warned officials against factional attacks, while Kou Yuan recognized that fear had driven the Court to oppose him.

• Song Yue challenged Wei Nisheng for addressing military and state affairs beyond his authority, and Wei Nisheng defended the substance of his proposals.
• Wei Nisheng argued that the Court should investigate the Tangut detention of the delegation rather than punish envoy Wei Shouzheng, and he defended suspending three Ministry of Personnel officials pending investigation.
• Wei Nisheng rejected accusations of private vengeance and explained that he had invited officials to continue their disputes after Court rather than quarrel during state business.
• Yao Zhen endorsed Wei Nisheng’s three measures, and Crown Prince Jiang Heng ordered defenses considered, envoys dispatched to learn the Tangut’s intentions, and the investigations and suspensions carried out.
• Jiang Heng dismissed Court and warned against officials using factional attacks to sacrifice public duty, while Kou Yuan realized that the Court had besieged him because its members were afraid.

Wei Nisheng went to the Ministry of War seeking Song Yue’s support on the Northwest crisis, but Song Yue refused to meet him and rejected the Wei Faction’s claim on Lord Feng’s former followers. Wei Nisheng understood that Song Yue feared the return of someone who could restrain his newfound power.

• Wei Nisheng went to the Ministry of War to discuss the Tangut threat and sound out Song Yue’s support.
• Song Yue reflected on his debt to Feng Yan and the authority he had gained as Minister of War.
• Song Yue refused to see Wei Nisheng, saying Feng Yan’s former followers each kept to their own station and that the Wei Faction was not the Feng Faction.
• A junior clerk delivered Song Yue’s rejection to Wei Nisheng outside the ministry gate.
• Wei Nisheng realized Song Yue had chosen to protect his power rather than accept him as Feng Yan’s successor.

Wei Nisheng visited Xie Lin after Song Yue refused to see him, and they discussed the political forces that made Wei seem like a Yi Yin or Duke of Zhou. Wei accepted the burden of continuing his teacher’s path, while Xie Lin ended their Go game by asking whether Wei would give him the same comparison if their positions were reversed.

• Wei Nisheng went to Xie Lin’s residence to play Go after finishing his duties.
• Wei Nisheng told Xie Lin that Song Yue had refused to meet him, prompting him to reflect on how old loyalties changed with power.
• Xie Lin explained that the court saw Wei as Yi Yin or the Duke of Zhou because it urgently needed someone to support the young sovereign.
• Wei acknowledged the danger and weight of that role, then decided that he still had to continue the game his teacher had played.
• After the game, Xie Lin asked Wei whether he would compare Xie Lin to Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou if Xie Lin occupied Wei’s position.

Zhou Quan rejected the order to keep his troops inside and led a thousand cavalry on a border patrol, where he defeated Tangut raiders and protected frontier civilians. His force drove the survivors back across Hengshan, and the Tanguts stopped probing the frontier wall.

• Zhou Quan read Xu Zhen’s order forbidding troop deployments and angrily argued with Zheng Hu about the Tangut raids.
• Zhou Quan ordered a thousand elite cavalry to patrol the border, insisting that the march would obey the order not to go to war.
• Zhou Quan led the cavalry to Dingbian, where they encountered Tangut raiders who had burned forts and abducted civilians.
• Zhou Quan struck the raiders, taking four hundred heads, a hundred horses, and dozens of prisoners as the survivors fled across Hengshan.
• The Tanguts lost their nerve and stopped spying on the frontier wall, while more than a thousand frontier people were spared abduction.

At a royal banquet in Tangut Prefecture, Wei Shouzheng answered Chancellor Liang’s military threats by challenging the Tanguts’ claim to rule and their record of serving the Central Plains. Empress Dowager Liang then proposed setting aside old grievances to preserve harmony between the two countries, and Wei accepted her toast while recognizing her as the Tanguts’ most formidable opponent.

• Wei Shouzheng attended a banquet hosted by Chancellor Liang and Empress Dowager Liang while detained in the Tangut capital.
• Chancellor Liang warned Wei Shouzheng that Tangut society could mobilize its entire population for war, but Wei argued that total mobilization could not be sustained.
• Wei reminded Chancellor Liang that the Tangut rulers’ surname and five prefectures had been granted by the Tang emperor, then accused their ancestors of abandoning Emperor Xizong and shifting allegiance among rival dynasties.
• Empress Dowager Liang acknowledged Wei’s historical arguments and invited him to set aside past accounts and drink in pursuit of harmony between the two countries.
• Wei Shouzheng toasted Empress Dowager Liang and privately judged her more difficult to oppose than Chancellor Liang.

Zou Mo tried to draw Kou Yuan and Song Yue into the Court’s factional struggle by warning that Zhou Quan’s growing military fame threatened Song Yue’s position as Minister of War. He left Song Yue facing the possibility that the tide of events would sweep him aside if he continued to stay neutral.

• Zou Mo waited outside Kou Yuan’s residence and warned that Kou’s supporters would abandon him now that his influence had weakened.
• Zou Mo visited Song Yue at the Ministry of War, but Song Yue initially refused to discuss anything beyond official military business.
• Zou Mo used reports of Zhou Quan’s victories against the Tangut to remind Song Yue of Song Chengping, a celebrated general who had risen to Minister of War with powerful backing.
• Zou Mo pointed out that Zhou Quan resembled Song Chengping and argued that Zhou’s unnamed patron might be positioning him to take Song Yue’s seat.
• Zou Mo warned Song Yue that remaining neutral would not protect him if the political tide swept through the Court.

As Regent, Jiang Heng discovered that hereditary appointments had created a surplus of idle officials draining the treasury and asked Wei Nisheng how to cure the problem. Wei warned that the officials who benefited most would resist any remedy, leaving Jiang Heng aware of the disease but unable to address it quickly.

• Jiang Heng summoned Wei Nisheng to discuss the growing number of officials in the Court.
• Jiang Heng showed Wei Nisheng records revealing that many offices had more officials than authorized posts and that many officials performed no work.
• Wei Nisheng explained that hereditary privilege and expanding examination appointments had overcrowded the bureaucracy and bred resentment among scholars.
• Wei Nisheng warned that the surplus officials consumed vast sums from public revenue and that powerful Upright Officials, including Grand Secretary Kou’s family, benefited from hereditary appointments.
• Jiang Heng asked whether the problem could be cured, and Wei Nisheng said recognizing the disease was the first ingredient of its cure.
• After leaving the Eastern Palace, Wei Nisheng reflected that Great Zhou seemed peaceful despite deep-rooted ailments that even powerful officials had failed to resolve.

At a Cabinet Council, Qin Yan raised the disappearance of the embassy held in Tangut territory, while Song Yue condemned Zhou Quan for violating the Regent’s order to hold position and attacking Tangut cavalry. The Grand Secretaries were left weighing the battle’s military praise against the danger it posed to the envoys.

• Kou Yuan urged the other Grand Secretaries to discuss filling the vacant Ministry of Works post, angling to take control of it himself.
• Qin Yan said the embassy led by Wei Shouzheng had been trapped in Xingqing for five months without sending word and asked whether the Court would rescue the envoys.
• Song Yue revealed that Zhou Quan had led a thousand cavalry beyond the frontier wall and killed four hundred Tangut raiders despite the Regent’s order not to send troops out without authorization.
• Song Yue argued that Zhou Quan’s attack could provoke the Tanguts and endanger the envoys still in their hands.