Recaps

Feng Yan went to the palace to defend Wei Nisheng after learning that his disciple had killed Jiang Yu, the Heir of Prince Ning. After reading the testimony describing Jiang Yu’s desecration of Wei An’s spirit tablet, Emperor Jing of Zhou sat in silence, leaving Wei Nisheng’s fate unresolved.

• Feng Yan vowed that Wei Nisheng would be safe and headed to the palace despite the closed gates.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou summoned Feng Yan to meet him alone about Wei Nisheng’s killing of Jiang Yu.
• Feng Yan accepted responsibility for failing to teach Wei Nisheng properly and asked to see the testimony from Yingtian Prefecture.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou read Wei Nisheng’s account and witness statements, which said Jiang Yu destroyed Wei An’s spirit tablet and provoked Wei Nisheng before he was stabbed.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou finished reading the testimony and stared silently at Feng Yan.

Emperor Jing of Zhou questioned Feng Yan about Wei Nisheng killing Jiang Yu and ordered that Wei Nisheng be held without torture until his personal interrogation. After hearing Feng Yan defend Wei Nisheng while acknowledging his guilt, the emperor ordered protections for him and moved against Prince Ning and Shaanxi Governor Li Yuanzhen.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou confirmed from Wang Cheng that Jiang Yu had insulted Wei An and trampled his spirit tablet.
• Feng Yan told the emperor Wei Nisheng was guilty of killing Jiang Yu, but argued Jiang Yu’s own lawless conduct had brought about his death.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered Wei Nisheng held at Yingtian Prefecture without torture pending his personal interrogation.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou recalled Liu Zhonggong’s devotion after learning Wei An had stayed to raise Wei Nisheng despite being freed from servitude.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered that Wei Nisheng retain his Provincial Graduate status and be spared torture, coerced confession, and humiliation.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered Shaanxi Governor Li Yuanzhen charged and Prince Ning held at the Imperial Clan Court.

Wei Nisheng was brought to Yingtian Prefecture Prison on a murder charge after being accused of killing the Heir of Prince Ning. Jailer Meng gave him a lamp and food, then realized the boy’s calmness and imperial favor made him even more dangerous to underestimate.

• Constable Zhou delivered Wei Nisheng to the prison and warned the jailers not to torture or humiliate him because he was the year’s top Provincial Graduate.
• The jailers learned Wei Nisheng was accused of killing the Heir of Prince Ning and panicked about holding such a prisoner.
• Jailer Meng placed Wei Nisheng in a small cell, where Wei asked for a brighter lamp as he recalled Wei An’s words about the moon shining on everyone.
• Jailer Meng returned with an oil lamp and flatbread, and Wei Nisheng thanked him by name.
• Jailer Meng told a young jailer that calm prisoners like Wei Nisheng could be trouble, recalling a scholar who was later cleared and became a Censor.
• Jailer Meng recognized the four characters on Wei Nisheng’s confiscated Fish Bag as a mark of favor from the Palace and concluded the boy was even more trouble than the scholar.

After learning that Jiang Yu had been killed by Wei Nisheng, Prince Ning tried to leave the Imperial Clan Court to see his son and appeal to the emperor. He was stopped by an imperial decree and returned to the hall, where he blamed Shen Duan for breaking his promise to keep them safe.

• Zhou Yong told Prince Ning that Jiang Yu had been killed by Wei Nisheng and that his body was being held at Yingtian Prefecture.
• Prince Ning ordered a carriage so he could see the emperor, but Zhou Yong told him the emperor had decreed that he could not leave without permission.
• Prince Ning tried to force his way through the guards at the gate, but Wang Cheng blocked him and refused to carry his plea to the emperor.
• Prince Ning returned to the hall, resumed writing his memorial, and shouted that Shen Duan had promised to get him and Jiang Yu out safely.

Shen Duan realized Feng Yan had traded Li Yuanzhen and the Shaanxi governorship to save Wei Nisheng, while the emperor isolated Prince Ning. After learning Shen Yi was not implicated but Prince Ning had been confined, Shen Duan concluded that Wei Nisheng had ruined him.

• Shen Duan learned that Wei Nisheng had killed the Heir of Prince Ning and ordered inquiries into Prince Ning’s actions and Wei Nisheng’s confession.
• At court, Shen Duan saw Feng Yan remain silent as Li Yuanzhen was dismissed and arrested, then deduced Feng Yan had offered the Shaanxi governorship in exchange for Wei Nisheng’s life.
• Shen Duan urged Shen Yi to stop fearing Wei Nisheng and return to his studies, but Shen Yi said it was only Yingtian Prefecture before leaving.
• The steward reported that the Imperial Clan Court was sealed by the emperor’s decree, Prince Ning was held as an accused criminal, and Wei Nisheng’s confession did not implicate Shen Yi.
• Shen Duan understood the emperor’s maneuver and blamed Wei Nisheng for ruining him.

Fu Niang escaped the Grand Princess’s residence with Princess Luyang and pleaded with Empress Zhou and Emperor Jing of Zhou to give Wei Nisheng justice after he killed the Heir of Prince Ning. She declared that she was Wei Nisheng’s wife and would remain loyal even if he died, while the emperor had yet to reveal his decision.

• Fu Niang refused food and tried to leave the Grand Princess’s residence, then asked Princess Luyang to take her to Empress Zhou.
• Princess Luyang led Fu Niang past the maids guarding the residence and brought her to Kunning Palace.
• Fu Niang knelt before Empress Zhou and pleaded for Wei Nisheng, arguing that the Heir of Prince Ning had also committed a wrong by destroying Wei An’s spirit tablet.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou arrived and acknowledged that destroying the spirit tablet was wrong, but warned Fu Niang that he had not decided how to deal with Wei Nisheng.
• When Empress Zhou asked about her relationship with Wei Nisheng, Fu Niang declared that she was his wife and said she would follow him if he died.

In death row, Wang Cheng returned Wei Nisheng’s imperial gifts and told him that Feng Yan, Qin’s students, and Fu Niang had pleaded on his behalf. At the Imperial Clan Court, Prince Ning received a hidden message urging Jiang Zhang to consider his imperial kinsmen as he weighed Wei Nisheng’s innocence.

• Wang Cheng visited Wei Nisheng in death row and delivered the emperor’s words, saying Wei had no regrets and that no one could take his bestowed items before an imperial decree.
• Wang Cheng returned Wei Nisheng’s Silver Fish Pouch and National Auspice Jade Balance, then told him Feng Yan, Qin’s students, and a young lady had spoken for him.
• Wei Nisheng wept as Wang Cheng relayed the Empress’s praise for the young lady’s devotion, then reminded himself that his teacher and Fu Niang were still there for him.
• Prince Ning found a folded note hidden in his meal stating that Feng Yan had intervened, Wei Zi was innocent, and Zhang must consider his imperial kinsmen.

Emperor Jing of Zhou heard Prince Ning’s territorial abandonment case and Wei Nisheng’s murder case together, while the Three Judicial Offices presented their findings. The chapter ended with both cases awaiting the emperor’s ruling.

• Prince Ning and Wei Nisheng appeared before Emperor Jing of Zhou as the court convened to hear their cases jointly.
• Prince Ning admitted that he had fled and abandoned the Gansu Three Prefectures, causing heavy losses.
• Wei Nisheng admitted killing Jiang Yu but asked the emperor to recognize Jiang Yu’s destruction of Wei An’s spirit tablet and insult to his ancestor.
• The Three Judicial Offices reported that Prince Ning had abandoned more than five hundred li of territory and that Jiang Yu had destroyed the tablet, while citing Wei Nisheng’s age and circumstances as mitigating factors.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou read the findings in Wei Nisheng’s case but had not yet announced a verdict.

Emperor Jing of Zhou put Prince Ning on trial for abandoning the Gansu Three Prefectures, while Wei Nisheng admitted without regret to killing Jiang Yu. After Prince Ning denounced the emperor and accused him of sparing Wei Nisheng, Emperor Jing of Zhou condemned Prince Ning and his household.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou asked Wei Nisheng whether he regretted killing Jiang Yu, and Wei Nisheng said he would still draw his sword if given another chance.
• Prince Ning grieved for Jiang Yu and accused Wei Nisheng of killing his son, but Emperor Jing of Zhou said he was judging the deaths of the people and soldiers in the Gansu Three Prefectures.
• Prince Ning tore off his crown, called Emperor Jing of Zhou by his personal name, and accused him of plotting to kill his uncle while sparing Wei Nisheng.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou declared that the history of his reign was already stained by the loss of territory and ordered the Three Judicial Offices to hear his decree.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou sentenced Prince Ning, Jiang Zhang, to death by waist-cutting, stripped Jiang Yu and the family of their titles, and ordered the remaining household exiled.

After Prince Ning’s outburst in court, Emperor Jing of Zhou summoned Wei Nisheng and absolved him of guilt for killing Jiang Yu while insisting the court’s debt still had to be recorded. The emperor and Empress Zhou told Wei Nisheng how Feng Shu had pleaded for his life and publicly called herself his wife, leaving him to swear an oath before being challenged to earn back his Jade Balance at next year’s Palace Examination.

• Prince Ning cursed Emperor Jing of Zhou in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and guards gagged and dragged him away before the emperor dismissed court.
• Wang Cheng brought Wei Nisheng to the Imperial Study, where Emperor Jing of Zhou recalled Wei Nisheng’s grandfather and declared Wei Nisheng was not guilty of killing Jiang Yu.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou took Wei Nisheng’s National Auspice Jade Balance, saying Wei Nisheng could claim it again after returning to the great hall for the Palace Examination.
• Empress Zhou told Wei Nisheng that Feng Shu had begged her to save him and declared herself his wife, and she and the emperor bore witness to her words.
• Wei Nisheng vowed that if he ever failed Feng Shu, life would hold nothing worth clinging to and death nothing worth mourning.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou told Wei Nisheng to prepare for the Spring Examination and promised to await him at next year’s Palace Examination, where he could reclaim the Jade Balance.

After leaving the Palace, Wei Nisheng returned to the Feng Residence and reunited with Feng Yan, who praised his measured conduct before teaching him the three qualities of a gentleman. Feng Yan then showed Wei Nisheng the robes from his decades of service and declared that Wei Nisheng ought to rise to the same heights and become his successor.

• Wang Cheng advised Wei Nisheng to stand on his own, and Wei Nisheng thanked him for helping him survive the ordeal.
• Cui Fu wept with relief when Wei Nisheng emerged from the Palace, and Wei Nisheng returned to the Feng Residence.
• Feng Yan welcomed Wei Nisheng, then asked what a gentleman's prudence meant and whether he had feared death or failing those who trusted him.
• Feng Yan praised Wei Nisheng for withdrawing beside the hall guards during Prince Ning's outburst and explained that his retreat had shown clear judgment.
• Feng Yan taught Wei Nisheng that a gentleman should be dignified, warm, and firm in speech.
• Feng Yan showed Wei Nisheng the official robes he had worn across three reigns and told him he must achieve similar glory and become his successor.

Wei Nisheng and Fu Niang exchanged half of the broken Black Jade as a marriage pledge, but Feng Yan interrupted them before the Grand Princess’s death was announced. The chapter ended with palace bells signaling the Grand Princess had passed away.

• Feng Yan returned the Black Jade to Wei Nisheng, told him Wei An had been buried beside Wei Wenyue, and invited him to learn the Spring Examination rules the next morning.
• Wei Nisheng met Fu Niang, accepted the osmanthus cakes she had brought, and told her he knew what she had said in Kunning Palace.
• Wei Nisheng broke the Black Jade in two, gave Fu Niang the half bearing “Feng,” and promised to marry her after passing the examination.
• Feng Yan charged out from behind the moon gate with a court tablet, shouting that affection had to be restrained by propriety.
• Nine bells rang from the imperial palace, and Feng Yan announced that the Grand Princess had passed away.

Wei Nisheng walked through the crowded Southern Capital with Fu Niang and Qu Niang as candidates arrived for the Provincial Examination. After Fu Niang gave him a temple talisman praying for his safety, the three shared a lighthearted moment in a teahouse.

• Wei Nisheng, Fu Niang, and Qu Niang walked through West Street as crowds of examination candidates arrived from across the country.
• Fu Niang teased Wei Nisheng about a swaggering young scholar and offered to buy him a collection of model policy essays, but he declined.
• The three stopped at a teahouse, where Fu Niang asked whether Wei Nisheng would pass and he confidently said he would.
• Fu Niang gave Wei Nisheng a temple talisman she had embroidered with a prayer for his safety, and Qu Niang laughed at their bashful exchange.

Feng Yan explained how Shen Duan used Prince Ning’s case to weaken his influence and how Wei Nisheng’s killing of Jiang Yu changed the court’s calculations. He told Wei Nisheng that doing what was right always carried a price, while revealing that Li Yuanzhen had been demoted and several disciples had left his tutelage.

• Wei Nisheng waited for Feng Yan and learned how much his teacher had aged during six months of political turmoil.
• Feng Yan explained that Shen Duan had maneuvered Prince Ning into implicating Li Yuanzhen, forcing Feng Yan to defend his disciple and weakening the Feng Faction.
• Feng Yan said Wei Nisheng’s killing of Jiang Yu upended those plans, leading to Prince Ning’s execution and drawing attention away from Li Yuanzhen’s case.
• Feng Yan revealed that he had failed to save Li Yuanzhen, who was demoted, and said he had paid for protecting Wei Nisheng with the loss of influence in Shaanxi.
• Feng Yan urged Wei Nisheng to act rightly despite the cost and told him that several disciples had left or turned toward Shen Duan after Li Yuanzhen fell.

Feng Yan urged Wei Nisheng to pass the upcoming Provincial Examination and become a visible successor who could give the Feng Faction hope. Wei Nisheng chose to focus on staying steady, and Feng Yan promised to perform his capping ceremony if he succeeded.

• Feng Yan explained that some of his disciples had left because they feared the Feng Faction would collapse after his death.
• Feng Yan told Wei Nisheng that he must give the faction hope by proving himself a worthy successor.
• Feng Yan gave Wei Nisheng a roster of his disciples and Wei Mingyuan’s old friends, but Wei Nisheng returned it and said he only needed to remain steady.
• Feng Yan advised Wei Nisheng on preparing for the Provincial Examination and asked whether he had eaten the food Fu Niang brought him.
• Feng Yan told Wei Nisheng he would perform his capping ceremony when his name was proclaimed beneath the East Flower Gate.

Wei Nisheng met his new neighbor, Zhang Zai, a fellow examination candidate and the great-grandson of Grand Secretary Zhang. The two formally introduced themselves and began their neighborly acquaintance.

• Cui Fu welcomed a young scholar who introduced himself as the new neighbor and said he had moved into the residence next door to study for the examination.
• Cui Fu learned the visitor was a provincial graduate and fetched Wei Nisheng, who changed into formal clothes before meeting him.
• Wei Nisheng recognized Zhang Zai as the fair-faced scholar Fu Niang had compared to a big white goose on Vermilion Bird Street.
• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai exchanged formal bows and introduced themselves as fellow candidates from the Capital and Xi'an Prefecture.

Wei Nisheng recognized Zhang Zai as the future author of the Four Sayings of Hengqu and invited him to share his courtyard while they prepared for the Spring Examination. Zhang Zai revealed that he had bought the house, leaving Wei Nisheng stunned.

• Wei Nisheng learned that Zhang Zai was born in Chang'an, had ancestral roots in Kaifeng, and was descended from Grand Secretary Zhang through a distant branch.
• Wei Nisheng remembered the Four Sayings of Hengqu, which he knew Zhang Zai would write in the future, but kept them to himself.
• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai agreed to exchange ideas while preparing for the Spring Examination.
• Wei Nisheng invited Zhang Zai to move into his courtyard to save money, but Zhang Zai said he had bought his house.
• Wei Nisheng choked on his tea in shock at Zhang Zai's revelation.

Zhang Zai told Wei Nisheng that he had spent all his money buying a house in the Capital because he was certain he would pass the examinations and belong there. After Zhang Zai moved into the neighboring house, Wei Nisheng returned to his policy essay and completed it.

• Zhang Zai told Wei Nisheng that he had bought a house in the Capital and was sure his name would be proclaimed at the East Flower Gate.
• Zhang Zai admitted that he had spent every coin on the house and owed his book boy two months' wages.
• Zhang Zai explained that he believed the Capital was where he belonged, while Wei Nisheng recognized a kindred ambition in him.
• Zhang Zai said his father had forbidden him to expect money or a share of the family farmland if he failed, and the two men toasted each other's success.
• Wei Nisheng watched Zhang Zai move into the house next door, then added the phrase “To secure the lives of the people” to his policy essay.

Zhang Zai excitedly praised his new neighbor, Wei Nisheng, and hoped they would become friends, while Chen Yi warned him that they were nearly out of money. Zhang Zai revealed that he had bought the house to be near the man who killed Jiang Yu, and vowed to stand beside Wei beneath the East Flower Gate.

• Zhang Zai told Chen Yi that Wei Nisheng had invited him to study together and attend the Spring Examination.
• Zhang Zai praised Wei Nisheng’s achievements and his killing of Jiang Yu, the Heir of Prince Ning.
• Chen Yi counted their expenses and pointed out that they had less than two taels of silver left and that Zhang Zai still owed him two months’ wages.
• Zhang Zai explained that he bought the house because he regarded whoever killed Jiang Yu as a hero and wanted to befriend him.
• Zhang Zai gazed toward Wei Nisheng’s courtyard and declared that they would stand shoulder to shoulder beneath the East Flower Gate.

With the Provincial Examination two days away, Wei Nisheng rested and welcomed his neighbor Zhang Zai, who brought tea and raised a philosophical question about ghosts and spirits. Zhang Zai argued that they were the innate powers of yin and yang qi, and Wei Nisheng recognized the idea from the writings of a Zhang Zai he had known in another life.

• Wei Nisheng stayed in bed and took a rare day of rest before the Provincial Examination.
• Zhang Zai sent Wei Nisheng a visiting card and came to his courtyard with tea from Xi'an Prefecture.
• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai drank tea and chatted without discussing the examination.
• Zhang Zai explained his view that ghosts and spirits were manifestations of yin and yang qi rather than independent entities.
• Wei Nisheng recognized Zhang Zai's argument from the writings of the famous scholar Zhang Zai in his previous life.

Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai debated whether ghosts and spirits existed independently or were manifestations of qi, citing classical texts and reported hauntings. Zhang Zai answered each case with explanations based on qi, and the debate continued with his argument that Bo You’s ghost was violent qi that had not dispersed.

• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai agreed to debate Zhang Zai’s claim that ghosts and spirits were capacities of yin and yang.
• Wei Nisheng cited the Book of Rites to argue that the spirit and corporeal soul could exist apart from the body, while Zhang Zai compared them to flame and smoke arising from grease.
• Wei Nisheng described the report of Miss Wang’s ghost breaking a willow branch, and Zhang Zai used a bronze mirror’s moving reflection to argue that apparent movement did not prove a ghost could affect physical objects.
• Zhang Zai suggested that the willow incident could have resulted from blurred senses, clouded qi, or a false report, and argued that visions seen by the sick came from illness.
• Wei Nisheng cited the Zuo Tradition’s account of Bo You’s ghost, and Zhang Zai argued that Bo You’s violent qi had congealed after his death rather than forming an independent soul.

Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai debated whether ghosts and spirits existed independently of qi, with Zhang Zai defending his account of ancestor worship and natural effects. They ended without a winner, shared tea, and agreed to celebrate together if they both passed the Provincial Examination.

• Wei Nisheng challenged Zhang Zai to explain how ancestors responded to worship if ghosts and spirits were only forms of qi.
• Zhang Zai argued that descendants communed with the qi of heaven and earth during ancestor worship, rather than summoning the dead.
• Wei Nisheng asked how ghosts and spirits could move things, and Zhang Zai argued that qi itself caused such effects without independent spirits.
• Wei Nisheng acknowledged Zhang Zai’s arguments and joked with him, then said he was uncertain whether ghosts existed but knew people were more frightening.
• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai toasted with tea and promised to share wine if they both passed the Provincial Examination.

On the morning of the Provincial Examination, Fu Niang helped Wei Nisheng prepare for the five-day stay in the Examination Hall and saw him off. Wei Nisheng left for the examination after honoring his ancestors and exchanging a promise with Zhang Zai, while Fu Niang watched from the gate.

• Fu Niang brought Wei Nisheng lotus seed soup and carefully checked his examination supplies, clothes, bedding, and candles.
• Wei Nisheng reassured Fu Niang that he would return, accepted her osmanthus cake, and prayed at the Wei family ancestral hall.
• Wei Nisheng met Zhang Zai in the lane, and they promised to stand shoulder to shoulder beneath the East Flower Gate in five days.
• Wei Nisheng departed by carriage with Cui Fu, while Fu Niang stayed at the gate and watched him go.

Wei Nisheng sat the first session of the provincial examination and wrote a rhapsody on spring rain that expressed his own convictions about benevolence. After submitting it, he rested in his cell, at peace with his purpose as night fell.

• Wei Nisheng entered the Examination Hall, found his cell, and exchanged greetings with Zhang Zai from across the passage.
• Wei Nisheng answered the roll call and received the prompt to compose a rhapsody on spring rain.
• Wei Nisheng wrote a rhapsody describing rain within his heart and spring rain’s benevolence toward all beneath heaven.
• Wei Nisheng reviewed his finished rhapsody, submitted it at dusk, and settled down to eat and sleep in his cell.
• Wei Nisheng listened to a neighboring candidate recite the Analects and watched the sparse stars through his skylight.

During the argumentative essay exam, Wei Nisheng wrote that Guan Zhong’s achievements were great but his capacity was small because he lacked vision, failed to cultivate successors, and relied on hegemony rather than the kingly way. As he reconsidered his essay, Wei realized Feng Yan had been teaching him how to become a powerful minister, and the chapter ended with that realization.

• Wei Nisheng read the prompt about Guan Zhong’s achievements and Confucius’s judgment that his capacity was small.
• Wei Nisheng argued that Guan Zhong’s hegemony collapsed because he neglected propriety, failed to yield power or recommend a successor, and pursued advantage instead of benevolence and righteousness.
• Wei Nisheng connected Guan Zhong’s failures to Feng Yan’s predicament and resolved to become a minister of broad capacity who could sustain others beyond his own achievements.
• After finishing the essay, Wei sensed something was wrong and reconsidered Feng Yan’s lessons about Court politics and powerful ministers.
• Wei Nisheng realized Feng Yan had been guiding him all along to become a powerful minister.