Recaps

At the Cabinet Council, Song Yue insisted that Zhou Quan be held accountable for disobeying orders, while Qin Yan urged the Court to act to save the detained envoys. Kou Yuan tried to secure the vacant Ministry of Works for himself, but the council reached no decision and left the matter to sovereign judgment.

• Qin Yan argued that the Court must send an envoy to Xingqing to learn the Tanguts' intentions and protect Wei Shouzheng and the other detained envoys.
• Kou Yuan agreed that the envoys should be investigated but redirected discussion toward filling the Ministry of Works vacancy, implying that he should oversee it alongside Revenue.
• Song Yue warned that combining Revenue and Works could undermine oversight and declared that failing to punish Zhou Quan would render Great Zhou's military orders meaningless.
• Song Yue left the Council, and Qin Yan said he would draft a memorial about the envoys and advised Kou Yuan to seek a sovereign ruling on the Ministry of Works.
• Kou Yuan failed to obtain either man's approval and reflected that the cabinet lacked someone able to bring its members to a decision.

Wei Mingde sought Qin Yan for news of Wei Shouzheng, who had been missing for five months after traveling abroad as an envoy. Qin Yan promised to help and decided to ask Wei Nisheng for advice, while Wei Mingde left still burdened by his family’s estrangement and his son’s unknown fate.

• Qin Yan told Wei Mingde that the Grand Secretariat had discussed Wei Shouzheng’s case but had made no decision.
• Wei Mingde grieved over his missing son and explained that he could not seek out Wei Nisheng because Wei Shouzheng had forbidden him to do so.
• Wei Mingde tried to kneel and beg Qin Yan to save Wei Shouzheng, but Qin Yan stopped him and promised not to stand by.
• Qin Yan said he would ask Zi'an, also called Wei Nisheng, how to proceed because he understood Court affairs and held authority at the Ministry of Personnel.
• Wei Mingde thanked Qin Yan and left, while Qin Yan lamented the Wei Family’s decline and his own inability to resolve the crisis.

Qin Yan visited Fu Niang and offered support to her family while urging her to have a child. At the Zhang Residence, Wei Nisheng learned that the Li family caravan had been detained in Taiyuan on a false illicit-salt charge while investigating Stone Record.

• Qin Yan visited the Wei Residence and spoke warmly with Fu Niang while waiting for Wei Zi to return.
• Qin Yan asked after Fu Niang’s father and brother in Hangzhou and promised to guarantee Feng Ci when he came to the Capital for examinations.
• Zhang Zai told Wei Nisheng that the Li family caravan and more than thirty people had been detained in Taiyuan.
• Li Shi pleaded with Wei Nisheng to save her relatives, whom she had heard were imprisoned.
• Zhang Zai explained that he had sent the Li family caravan to investigate Stone Record, and that Taiyuan officials had accused them of carrying illicit salt despite their legitimate licenses and cargo records.

Wei Nisheng reassured Zhang Zai about the imprisoned Li Family members, then explained to Qin Yan why he believed the delegation held by the Tanguts was safe. Qin Yan was struck by Wei Nisheng’s resemblance to Wei Zheng and Feng Yan as the chapter ended.

• Wei Nisheng told Zhang Zai to stay calm and keep quiet, assuring him that the Li Family members would not be harmed while they served as bait.
• Qin Yan arrived at Wei Nisheng’s home and told him that Song Yue had impeached Zhou Quan, potentially turning Zhou Quan’s frontier victory into a political liability.
• Wei Nisheng argued that Empress Dowager Liang and the Liang clan were too occupied with internal power struggles to risk war with Great Zhou.
• Wei Nisheng explained that the Liang clan would keep the delegation alive as leverage against the Li imperial clan and would use Zhou Quan’s victory to strengthen its hold.
• Qin Yan remembered Wei Zheng’s boldness and Feng Yan’s stratagem while listening to Wei Nisheng, then said that age made his eyes play tricks on him.

Wei Nisheng told Qin Yan that the Li Family had been imprisoned on a false salt-smuggling charge, and Qin Yan promised to use his ties to Prince Jin to secure their release. At dinner, Qin Yan also urged Wei Nisheng and Fu Niang to have a child.

• Wei Nisheng explained that Taiyuan Prefecture had detained the Li Family's caravan and imprisoned Zhang Zai's relatives on a salt-smuggling accusation.
• Qin Yan said he would write to Prince Jin, Jiang Xuan, and use his former students and influence to demand the Li Family's release.
• Wei Nisheng thanked Qin Yan for helping Zhang Zihou and the Li Family.
• Fu Niang invited Qin Yan and Wei Nisheng to share a meal at their home.
• Qin Yan quoted the poem "Si Gan" and repeatedly urged Wei Nisheng and Fu Niang to have a child.

Jiang Xuan faced pressure to release the Li Family merchants after his teacher, Qin Yan, wrote to him about their alleged wrongful imprisonment. Pei Zhi argued that releasing them would expose the Prince's political network, but Jiang Xuan rejected his stalling plan because Qin Yan would see through it and act directly.

• Jiang Xuan received Qin Yan's letter asking him to investigate the Li Family merchants' arrest and free them if they were innocent.
• Jiang Xuan questioned Zheng Yuanli about the arrest, ordered the merchants released, and learned that Pei Zhi had arranged their arrest.
• Pei Zhi explained that the Li Family caravan was tracing connections to the Stone Record case and could expose the Prince's political resources if released.
• Pei Zhi urged Jiang Xuan to preserve his larger ambitions rather than yield to Qin Yan, but Jiang Xuan insisted that the wrongful imprisonment was not righteousness.
• Pei Zhi proposed delaying the release by asking Qin Yan to transfer the case to the Capital, but Jiang Xuan warned that Qin Yan would recognize the ploy and mobilize other princes against him.
• Pei Zhi fell silent when Jiang Xuan asked how he would handle Qin Yan's direct response.

Jiang Xuan refused Pei Zhi’s plan to secretly kill the Li Family’s caravan, fearing it would destroy his integrity and the officials’ trust. He ordered the caravan released and escorted out of Taiyuan, then wrote Qin Yan that he understood his teacher’s concerns.

• Pei Zhi proposed that Jiang Xuan publicly release the caravan but secretly arrange its deaths on the road.
• Jiang Xuan rejected the scheme, warning that Taiyuan’s officials would see through it and lose trust in him.
• Jiang Xuan ordered Pei Zhi not to stake his name on such plans and declared that he would release the caravan without harming it.
• Jiang Xuan ordered the prefectural offices to release the Li Family’s people and goods, then have Han Chuo escort them out of Taiyuan within three days.
• Jiang Xuan remembered Qin Yan catching him sneaking osmanthus cake and wrote, “Your student understands. Rest assured, teacher.”

Pei Zhi reflected on his apparent defeat at Prince Jin’s residence and realized Wei Nisheng had used Qin Yan’s upright letter to foil his scheme in Taiyuan. He accepted that Wei had won the round, but vowed to play against him directly next time.

• Pei Zhi returned home after pretending to accept Prince Jin’s authority and explained that he had let his lord win to earn his trust.
• Pei Zhi concluded that Qin Yan’s letter had been crafted and deployed to test who truly controlled affairs in the Capital.
• Pei Zhi identified Wei Zi’an as the mind behind the open scheme and recognized Xie Lin as Wei’s hidden blade.
• Pei Zhi admitted that Wei had defeated his plan by using Qin Yan’s teacherly authority, which Pei Zhi had failed to anticipate.
• Pei Zhi declared that he would no longer merely test Wei Zi’an and would play against him directly next time.

Wei Nisheng challenged the Ministry of War’s repeated rejection of Zhou Quan’s military reward, arguing that verified merit could not be blocked by unresolved allegations. He sent Qiu Heng to preserve every rejection and push the dispute before His Highness, leaving him ready to defend the authority of the Ministry of Personnel and its seal.

• The Ministry of War rejected Zhou Quan’s reward request again, claiming his alleged disobedience and provocation left his merits and offenses unresolved.
• Wei Nisheng told Qiu Heng that Zhou Quan’s documented victory was proven merit, while his alleged offenses had not been investigated or judged.
• Wei Nisheng dictated a document urging that Zhou Quan’s merit and alleged offense be submitted together to His Highness for judgment.
• Wei Nisheng instructed Qiu Heng to file every rejection and keep forwarding the case until it reached the Heavenly Audience.
• Wei Zi'an declared that he would defend the authority of the Heavenly Offices Seal and see the confrontation with Song Yue through to the end.

Wei Nisheng learned that the Ministry of War had delayed and withheld reports of Tangut and Khitan movements, then prompted Crown Prince Jiang Heng to examine the missing intelligence. Jiang Heng summoned Song Yue, leaving the Ministry of War’s concealment poised for confrontation.

• Zhang Zai told Wei Nisheng that Li Family’s caravan was released and that news of Tangut troops at Hengshan had spread along the western border well before the delayed military dispatch arrived.
• Zhang Zai reported that the Ministry of War had held border reports for two months, and Wei Nisheng suspected Song Yue was involved.
• Wei Nisheng taught Jiang Heng that speed was essential in warfare and pointed out that merchants had heard of the Tangut buildup before the Crown Prince received the official dispatch.
• Jiang Heng ordered Bao De to retrieve two months of archived border reports and discovered that vital intelligence was missing or had arrived only after Qin Yan exposed the detention of the delegation.
• Angered by the concealment, Jiang Heng summoned Song Yue to see him at once.

The Crown Prince confronted Minister of War Song Yue over delayed frontier reports and accusations that the Ministry had concealed military intelligence. Song Yue challenged the Crown Prince’s authority, but Jiang Heng ordered the Eastern Palace to appoint an officer to audit reports, and Song Yue returned home furious.

• Jiang Heng demanded to know why reports of Tangut troop movements and the detained delegation had been delayed, while Song Yue defended the Ministry of War’s verification procedures.
• Wei Nisheng stood beside Jiang Heng and accused Song Yue of concealing reports rather than verifying them, and Song Yue threatened to impeach him.
• Song Yue challenged Jiang Heng’s authority as Regent and accused Wei Nisheng of using the Eastern Palace’s power to serve the Ministry of Personnel’s private ends.
• Jiang Heng announced that the Eastern Palace would appoint an officer to receive and audit military intelligence, with copies of frontier reports sent directly to the palace.
• Song Yue returned to his residence and smashed a Duan Inkstone in his study.

The Eastern Palace appointed Xie Lin to help manage military intelligence in the Ministry of War, provoking Song Yue to protest the move. Wei Nisheng later pressed Song to accept Xie Lin, and their confrontation ended with both invoking their former teacher, Lord Feng.

• The Crown Prince decreed that Xie Lin would enter the Ministry of War to assist with military intelligence and inspect frontier reports.
• At the Cabinet Council, Song Yue objected to Xie Lin's appointment, while Kou Yuan avoided taking sides and Qin Yan rebuked Song for speaking from private resentment.
• Song Yue left the council in anger and stayed at the Ministry of War to read frontier reports.
• Wei Nisheng visited Song Yue and offered to let the Ministry of War avoid scrutiny over delayed intelligence if Song agreed to Xie Lin's appointment and deliberated on Zhou Quan's reward.
• Song Yue accused Wei Nisheng of threatening him, and Wei invoked their teacher, Lord Feng, as the two confronted each other across the desk.

Wei Nisheng confronted Song Yue over his obstruction of military affairs and challenged him to remember Feng’s teachings of impartiality. Song Yue fell silent and conceded the confrontation, but warned Wei that holding power for many years might change him too.

• Wei Nisheng defended his request for access to the Ministry of War as serving open military intelligence, fair rewards, and clarity for the Regent.
• Wei Nisheng accused Song Yue of suppressing frontier dispatches and military merit while invoking Feng’s name, and asked whether Song had forgotten his impartiality.
• Wei Nisheng told Song that the bandit he needed to defeat was in his own heart, where guilt over his past words and actions had unsettled him.
• Song Yue opened the window and admitted that Wei had laid his heart bare, but warned that Wei might lose his youthful principles if he eventually occupied Song’s seat.

On his day off, Wei Nisheng read a letter from Fu Niang’s family in Hangzhou while teasing her affectionately. He agreed to handle her father’s recommendation of Liu Ruo, then stayed close with Fu Niang at home.

• Fu Niang brought Wei Nisheng a letter from her elder brother Feng Ci and read it with him.
• The letter reported that Fu Niang’s father was well and wanted to recommend Liu Ruo for a position in the Capital.
• Wei Nisheng recognized Liu Ruo as a conscientious scholar unsuited to officialdom and said he would see to the recommendation, likely by arranging a place for him at the Imperial College.
• Wei Nisheng teased Fu Niang until she blushed, then held her as they agreed to spend his day off together at home.

Xie Lin received a scarlet robe and Silver Fish Pouch marking his Eastern Palace military intelligence post as Subordinate Fifth Rank, and Xu Shi helped him put them on. He confessed that marrying her was the thing he was proudest of, leaving them embracing in the room.

• Little Fuzi brought Xie Lin a scarlet robe and Silver Fish Pouch from the Eastern Palace and announced that his post carried the standing of Subordinate Fifth Rank.
• Xu Shi celebrated Xie Lin’s first scarlet robe, and he admitted that he was delighted to receive it.
• Xu Shi dressed Xie Lin in the robe and attached the Silver Fish Pouch, then praised his appearance.
• Xie Lin recalled how Xu Shi had supported him through hardship and told her that marrying her was the proudest thing he had done.
• Xu Shi buried her face against Xie Lin’s scarlet robe as he told her he loved her.

Five young officials in scarlet robes walked together toward their posts, drawing the attention of the older ministers Kou Yuan and Qin Yan. Remembering their own youth, Kou Yuan accepted that the next generation would inherit the future of Great Zhou.

• Wei Nisheng, Wang Kan, Zhang Zai, Xie Lin, and Shen Yi met on Imperial Street and joked as they headed to work.
• Kou Yuan watched the five young officials and criticized them for acting as though the street belonged to them.
• Qin Yan reminded Kou Yuan that they had once walked to their posts together in scarlet robes, and recalled Kou Yuan hiding a flower from the Spring Examination celebrations.
• Kou Yuan recited a poem about his own youth and the young officials, then admitted that Great Zhou's future belonged to them.

Xie Lin used the Eastern Palace’s authority to force the Ministry of War to provide frontier reports and admit him to its deliberations. He left Song Yue unable to obstruct him, while the ministry’s stagnant routines began to shift under the combined influence of law and power.

• Xie Lin cleaned his neglected duty room, then used his Eastern Palace waist plaque to obtain six months of frontier reports and files.
• Xie Lin entered the Ministry of War’s meeting despite being excluded and claimed his assignment from the Crown Prince gave him the right to attend.
• Song Yue challenged Xie Lin’s authority, but Xie Lin argued that obstructing him meant obstructing the Crown Prince’s orders.
• Xie Lin told Song Yue he relied on the Crown Prince’s power to serve the public, leaving Song Yue unable to answer and forcing him to dismiss the meeting.
• The chapter contrasted Wei Zi'an’s use of law with Xie Dao'an’s use of power and concluded that governance required both.

Wei Nisheng met Liu Ruo in Jinling and proposed that he devote himself to compiling a comprehensive history to aid governance. Liu Ruo embraced the project and agreed to lead the work, leaving their ambitious history unwritten but resolved upon.

• Wei Nisheng and Liu Ruo reunited beside the Qinhuai River and caught up on Liu Ruo’s provincial posts and literary gatherings.
• At Wei Nisheng’s request, Liu Ruo composed a lyric about the spring scenery along the Qinhuai, revealing his delight in literature.
• Wei Nisheng urged Liu Ruo to pursue work that suited his passion and proposed compiling a history that would serve as a guide to governance.
• Liu Ruo expanded on the plan, describing a chronological history that combined the strengths of annals and biographies and recorded matters essential to governing.
• Wei Nisheng proposed establishing a bureau under the Imperial College and having Liu Ruo oversee the compilation, and Liu Ruo agreed to take up the path.

Emperor Jing of Zhou taught Crown Prince Jiang Heng how a worthy chancellor balances restraining the ruler with building lasting institutions, and urged him to seek the roots of recurring crises rather than merely putting out fires. Jiang Heng left determined to remember the lesson, while the emperor recalled the hope behind the era name Jinghe.

• Jiang Heng visited Emperor Jing of Zhou, discussed his older sister’s marriage, and reported five pressing Court problems: Song Yue’s defiance, the Cabinet Council’s deadlock, the rejected Reward for Zhou Quan, delayed Military Intelligence, and surplus officials.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou asked Jiang Heng to identify which crisis could prove fatal and shared stories of Lord Feng resisting a costly Imperial Expedition and rejecting a merchant’s private donation to protect public law.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou explained that a worthy chancellor must restrain a ruler’s mistakes while building institutions that keep the realm orderly, and told Jiang Heng to seek the roots of recurring fires.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou connected Wei Nisheng’s lesson about examining surplus officials to the need to find where problems began, and Jiang Heng vowed to remember his father’s teaching.
• After Jiang Heng departed, Emperor Jing of Zhou recalled that the era name Jinghe meant bright skies, gentle winds, and peace across the Four Seas.

At the Kou Residence, Kou Yun asked his father, Kou Yuan, to help him become head of the Ministry of Works. Kou Yuan rejected him as unqualified and left Kou Yun storming out while he continued to rage over his son’s ambition.

• Kou Yun reminded Kou Yuan that the Ministry of Works had been vacant for over half a year and argued that his experience in the Ministry of Revenue suited him to lead it.
• Kou Yuan told Kou Yun he lacked the ability for the post and had only been promoted to vice minister for the Kou Family’s standing.
• Kou Yun compared himself to Shen Yi and Wei Nisheng, arguing that their influential backers had helped them rise.
• Kou Yuan invoked the Kou Family’s tradition of earning office through ability and denounced Kou Yun for seeking rank without merit.
• Kou Yun left the study in anger, and Kou Yuan cursed him and smashed his teacup.

Zou Mo persuaded Song Yue to target Wei Nisheng rather than Xie Lin by proposing that the court send Wei Nisheng to oversee Northwest military affairs. Their plan depended on recruiting Kou Yuan with the Ministry of Works and finding a timely crisis to make the court act.

• Zou Mo visited Song Yue and warned that attacking Xie Lin would only strengthen his reputation and give Wei Zi'an grounds to retaliate.
• Zou Mo argued that Wei Nisheng was the real source of Song Yue's troubles and proposed sending him to the Northwest as Border-Inspecting Commander.
• Song Yue questioned the plan, but Zou Mo argued that Wei Nisheng would be away for years and lose control of the Ministry of Personnel while he was gone.
• Zou Mo proposed winning Kou Yuan's support by letting him have the Ministry of Works, while Song Yue used his military standing to argue for Wei Nisheng's appointment.
• Song Yue and Zou Mo agreed to keep their discussion secret, and Zou Mo said they still needed a heaven-sent opportunity to force the court's hand.

Thirty thousand Khitan cavalry invaded Liaodong, prompting the Prince of Yan to mobilize the Northern Four Garrisons and march beyond the pass despite Jiang Yun’s plea that he stay. As the court convened to debate the crisis, Crown Prince Jiang Heng took the throne in place of the ill Son of Heaven.

• Thirty thousand Khitan cavalry crossed the Liao River, breached Liaodong’s frontier wall, and forced Liaoyang and Jinzhou to send urgent calls for aid.
• The Prince of Yan ordered the Northern Four Garrisons to muster and sent an appeal to the court explaining that he would lead the troops himself.
• Jiang Yun urged his father to remain in the Northern Capital, but the Prince of Yan said he had to unite the Three Garrisons under one command and charged Jiang Yun with guarding the capital.
• The Prince of Yan marched beyond the pass as the Northern Four Garrisons assembled along the road through Ji Prefecture.
• An urgent dispatch reached the palace, and the ill Son of Heaven ordered the court to deliberate through Wang Cheng.
• At the Grand Court Audience, Crown Prince Jiang Heng entered in ceremonial dress and took the Imperial Throne instead of the Son of Heaven.

Song Yue warned the Court that Khitan and Tangut attacks could overwhelm Great Zhou unless a senior minister unified command in Liaodong, and Kou Yuan explained that the treasury could not sustain a prolonged two-front war. The hall fell silent as both ministers pressed Crown Prince Jiang Heng to end the debate and act swiftly.

• Crown Prince Jiang Heng asked the officials for a response to the Khitan invasion of Liaodong and the Prince of Yan's march beyond the pass.
• Song Yue described the danger of Khitan and Tangut forces attacking both fronts and argued that a senior minister must take unified command in Liaodong.
• Kou Yuan warned that military provisions and state funds could support a two-front war for only a limited time, while new taxes would burden famine-stricken people.
• Kou Yuan urged the Court to decide the war swiftly, and the officials fell silent.

Wei Nisheng, Zhang Zai, and Xie Lin proposed a strategy to face the Khitan invasion while deterring the Tanguts through defense, military farmland, and unified command in Liaodong. Jiang Heng asked Wei Nisheng how to settle the court’s deliberation, and Wei Zi called on him to rule on three measures.

• Wei Nisheng argued that the Khitan invasion of Liaoyang was the immediate threat, while the Tanguts were unlikely to attack if Great Zhou defended the Northwest.
• Zhang Zai said restoring military farmland and using tea-horse trade and salt-license revenue would reduce the Northwest’s supply needs.
• Xie Lin said the Prince of Yan could unify the Liaodong forces and that military farmland would supply much of their grain.
• Wei Nisheng proposed restoring military farmland in Ningxia and Yansui, appointing the Prince of Yan supreme commander in Liaodong, and keeping the Capital Garrisons in place.
• Jiang Heng asked Wei Nisheng how the court deliberation should be settled, and Wei Zi and his companions urged him to rule on the three measures.

Jiang Heng settled plans for the Northwest, Liaodong, and the Capital Garrisons, but Zou Mo and other officials used the Northwest crisis to press Wei Nisheng to leave the Capital and take command there. The chapter ended with the Court clamoring for Wei Nisheng to accept, while the Crown Prince recognized the move as an attempt to send Zi'an away.

• Jiang Heng ordered the Northwest garrisons to restore military farmland, appointed the Prince of Yan to command in Liaodong, and restricted the Capital Garrisons from moving without orders.
• Zou Mo argued that the Prince of Yan could command in Liaodong only temporarily and that a senior minister was also needed to oversee the Northwest.
• Zou Mo praised Wei Nisheng's Pacify the Rong Strategy and petitioned the Crown Prince to appoint him Imperial Envoy with overall command of Northwest military affairs.
• Song Yue and Kou Yuan supported Zou Mo's proposal, and officials joined the chorus urging Wei Nisheng to go.
• The Crown Prince realized the proposal was intended to send Zi'an out of the Capital, while the Court continued pressing Wei Nisheng to accept.