Recaps

Wei Nisheng returned to the Feng Residence after the Palace Examination and reunited with Feng Yan, who saw his own youthful spirit in his disciple. Feng Yan welcomed him as family, and they gathered with Fu Niang and Cui Fu for a celebratory meal.

• Wei Nisheng entered the Feng Residence and knelt before Feng Yan, announcing that he had come home.
• Wei Nisheng returned the National Auspice Jade Seal and recounted his Palace Examination essay to Feng Yan.
• Feng Yan praised Wei Nisheng and told him that seeing him reminded him of his younger self and made his life's efforts feel worthwhile.
• Wei Nisheng promised to keep walking forward, and Feng Yan invited him, Fu Niang, and Cui Fu to a family feast.
• Wei Nisheng and Fu Niang joined Feng Yan, Cui Fu, Qu Niang, and the household for a lively meal celebrating the Palace Examination.

Feng Yan showed Wei Nisheng his grandfather Wei Zheng’s memorial rejecting the title “Wei One Corner” and explained how it modeled caution at Court. Wei Nisheng studied the memorial at home, reflecting on the counsel it carried as he prepared to enter official life.

• After the banquet, Feng Yan summoned Wei Nisheng to his study and showed him Wei Zheng’s old memorial.
• Feng Yan explained that Wei Zheng had remonstrated against the title “Wei One Corner” to avoid the dangers of excessive prominence.
• Feng Yan told Wei Nisheng to study his grandfather’s thinking and warned that every word in a memorial could shape an official’s reputation or endanger him.
• Wei Nisheng returned to the Small Courtyard, read the memorial beneath the lamplight, and imagined Wei Zheng writing it.
• Wei Nisheng absorbed his grandfather’s counsel to understand Court politics, distrust praise, and know when to step back.

Emperor Jing of Zhou reviewed the Palace Examination essays and learned that Wei Zi had taken the Jade Seal from his desk. He let Wei Nisheng keep it, postponed setting the results ceremony date, and ordered the papers sealed while he continued considering the rankings.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou reviewed the selected essays and repeatedly reread the circled papers as he considered the candidates.
• Wang Cheng reported that Wei Zi had taken the Jade Seal inscribed with “Literary Balance” from his desk after submitting his Palace Examination paper.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou considered Wei Zi’s audacity and his Policy Essay, which he believed showed the candidate’s backbone.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered the Ministry of Rites to seal and store the examination papers until an auspicious date was chosen for announcing the results.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou told Wang Cheng not to pursue the Jade Seal and allowed Wei Zi to keep it, acknowledging that he had said Wei could take it himself.
• Wang Cheng left the Imperial Study reflecting on the emperor’s favor toward Wei Nisheng.

Wei Nisheng was proclaimed the top laureate of the Palace Examination, with Xie Lin and Wang Kan taking second and third place. After the three received scarlet robes and imperial horses, Wei Nisheng reunited with Zhang Zai outside the East Flower Gate and invited him to celebrate.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou personally proclaimed Xie Lin third, Wang Kan second, and Wei Nisheng first in the Palace Examination.
• Wei Nisheng kowtowed before Emperor Jing of Zhou, who praised his policy essay and confirmed him as the top laureate.
• Wang Cheng and the palace guards relayed the names of all 136 Presented Scholars through the gates to the East Flower Gate.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou congratulated the new Presented Scholars and ordered Wei Nisheng, Xie Lin, and Wang Kan to receive scarlet robes and imperial horses.
• Wei Nisheng, Xie Lin, and Wang Kan rode out through the East Flower Gate as the people celebrated their results.
• Zhang Zai congratulated Wei Nisheng, and Wei Nisheng invited him to celebrate together.

Wei Nisheng paraded through the Capital as the new top scholar, where Landowner Li tried to claim him as a son-in-law. Wei Nisheng declared Feng Shu to be his wife, while Landowner Li turned his attention to Zhang Zai.

• Wei Nisheng rode through the Capital in his Scarlet Robe as crowds celebrated the top scholar and showered him with flowers.
• Landowner Li stopped Wei Nisheng’s horse and offered his sixteen-year-old daughter as a wife.
• Wei Nisheng spotted Feng Shu in the Feng Family’s carriage and declared, “Feng Shu! My wife—the wife of Wei!”
• Feng Shu blushed as the crowd learned the top scholar’s wife was named Feng Shu.
• Wei Nisheng told Landowner Li that Zhang Zihou was an unmarried Presented Scholar, and Landowner Li rushed toward Zhang Zai to claim him as a son-in-law.

Wei Nisheng waited at home for his Hanlin Academy appointment while Zhang Zai began his Ministry of Revenue observation stint and weighed his career options. Zhang Zai chose to pursue the academy selection, then reminded Wei that he needed a courtesy name before entering officialdom.

• Wei Nisheng stayed home after Feng Yan warned him that his imminent appointment had drawn the court’s attention.
• Zhang Zai told Wei Nisheng that he had been assigned to observe work at the Ministry of Revenue.
• Wei Nisheng explained the faster ministry route and the slower Hanlin Academy path, including their different prospects for advancement.
• Zhang Zai decided to try for the academy selection and said he could afford to wait three years.
• Zhang Zai asked when Wei Nisheng would take a courtesy name, pointing out that colleagues in officialdom addressed one another by those names.

Feng Yan held a Capping Ceremony for his disciple Wei Nisheng, welcoming guests who honored Wei Zheng and celebrated the young scholar’s coming of age. Feng Yan gave him the courtesy name Zi'an and wished him a safe, peaceful future.

• Feng Yan prepared invitations and dressed formally to host Wei Nisheng’s Capping Ceremony at the Feng Residence.
• Zhao Er and Zhou Shen arrived with other guests, and Zhou Shen returned an antique inkstone that Wei Zheng had once given his father.
• Qin Yan returned and reunited warmly with Feng Yan, while Wei Shouzheng respectfully greeted Wei Nisheng.
• At the auspicious hour, Feng Yan combed Wei Nisheng’s hair, placed the Black Cloth Cap on his head, and led him through the three bows of the ceremony.
• Feng Yan gave Wei Nisheng the courtesy name Zi'an and explained that he hoped his disciple would live safely and find peace.

At the Qionglin Banquet, Zhang Zai told Wei Nisheng why Emperor Taizu had established the garden beside Liu Yu’s mausoleum. Looking at the tomb, Wei Nisheng recited a poem about Liu Yu that stunned Zhang Zai and Liu Zijin.

• Zhang Zai welcomed Wei Nisheng, who arrived wearing his imperial scarlet robe, at the Wenxi Garden entrance.
• Zhang Zai explained that Emperor Taizu admired Liu Yu and had chosen the garden near his mausoleum to remind scholars that Great Zhou was won through battle.
• Wei Nisheng gazed toward Liu Yu’s mausoleum and recited lines from a poem about Liu Yu’s martial achievements.
• Zhang Zai praised Wei Nisheng’s lines, and Liu Zijin arrived and repeated them in astonishment.

At the Qiong Forest Banquet, Wei Nisheng socialized with fellow graduates and reached out to Shen Yi, who had been isolated because of his grandfather’s political enemies. The two cleared the air about an earlier incident and agreed to look out for each other when they served at Court.

• Wang Kuan toasted Wei Nisheng and praised his achievement of placing first in all three examinations.
• Liu Zijin and Wei Nisheng exchanged praise for each other’s writing and discussed their interests.
• Wei Nisheng welcomed Lu Wenzhao and spoke with him about governance and official affairs.
• Zhang Zai told Wei Nisheng that Shen Yi sat alone and had refused his toast.
• Wei Nisheng approached Shen Yi, praised his fifth-place examination result, and reassured him that he bore no grudge over the earlier street incident.
• Shen Yi introduced himself as courtesy name Wenhao, and he and Wei Nisheng agreed to look out for each other at Court.

At the Qionglin Banquet, Emperor Jing of Zhou toasted the newly named Presented Scholars as the young officials celebrated. Xie Lin then proposed composing poetry and singing, leaving the gathering's attention on Wei Nisheng.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou welcomed the Presented Scholars and toasted their success at the Wenxi Banquet.
• Wang Kuan plied Liu Zijin with wine while Wei Nisheng and Wang Kan discussed how Liu Yu's descendants had lost the realm he conquered.
• Qin Yan encouraged Wei Shouzheng to drink with the others and reassured him that he would grow accustomed to both wine and officialdom.
• The banquet grew louder with drinking, singing, and dancing as Xie Lin watched Wei Nisheng closely.
• Xie Lin proposed that the scholars compose poetry and sing, drawing the gathering's attention to Wei Nisheng.

At the Qionglin Banquet, Emperor Jing of Zhou challenged Wei Nisheng, Xie Lin, and Wang Kan to write about the Liu Yu Mausoleum for a Jade Court Tablet. Wei Nisheng answered with a fierce poem lamenting the lost Central Plains and left the gathering stunned.

• Liu Zijin praised Wei Nisheng’s lines about iron steeds devouring ten thousand miles, stirring the guests and Emperor Jing of Zhou.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou asked Wei Nisheng whether he had composed the line, then challenged him, Xie Lin, and Wang Kan to write about the Liu Yu Mausoleum for a Jade Court Tablet.
• Xie Lin presented an elegant lyric, and Wang Kan presented a plain, sincere ancient-style poem; Emperor Jing of Zhou noted the strengths of both.
• Wei Nisheng began writing and reciting a poem that evoked forty years of northern occupation and confronted the descendants of the Wang and Xie clans.
• Wei Nisheng cried, “If Jinu were still alive today, why would we need to gaze north toward the Sixteen Prefectures,” leaving the guests silent.

At the Qionglin Banquet, Wei Nisheng’s poem honoring Liu Yu moved Emperor Jing of Zhou and the assembled scholars, securing the emperor’s praise and the Jade Court Tablet. The emperor told Wei Nisheng to bring the tablet with him when he entered court one day.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou and the gathered scholars were struck by Wei Nisheng’s poem, “Paying respects at the Liu Yu Mausoleum,” which mourned the loss of the Sixteen Prefectures.
• Liu Zijin, Wang Kuan, Zhang Zai, Lu Wenzhao, Shen Yi, Xie Lin, and Wang Kan each recognized Wei Nisheng’s poem as surpassing the other scholars’ work.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou praised Wei Nisheng and asked how Liu Yu would respond to hearing the poem.
• Wei Nisheng answered that Emperor Wu of Liu Song would drain a great cup of wine, making Emperor Jing of Zhou laugh.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou presented Wei Nisheng with the Jade Court Tablet and told him to bring it when he entered court.

Wei Nisheng received his appointment as a Subordinate Sixth Rank Compiler of the Hanlin Academy and tried on his official robe. After he told Cui Fu to prepare a carriage, Qu Niang revealed that he was not due to report until the next day.

• On the tenth day of the sixth month, a Ministry of Personnel official delivered Wei Nisheng’s appointment decree, naming him a Subordinate Sixth Rank Compiler of the Hanlin Academy.
• Wei Nisheng accepted the decree, official attire, and seal, while Cui Fu and Qu Niang celebrated his appointment.
• Wei Nisheng changed into the green robe, silver belt, boots, and futou, then remarked that scarlet robes looked better.
• Wei Nisheng told Cui Fu to prepare the carriage to take him to the Hanlin Academy, but Qu Niang pointed out that he was not due to report until the next day.

Wei Nisheng began work as a compiler at the Hanlin Academy and discovered that the prestigious post involved quiet, painstaking historical research. After reviewing two volumes and finding errors, he joined fellow officials in the courtyard.

• Wei Nisheng reported to the Hanlin Academy, where Academy Director Liu Chongyan explained his duties overseeing and checking historical records.
• Wei Nisheng met Wang Kan and Xie Lin, who were investigating a three-month discrepancy in an account of a Yellow River flood.
• Wei Nisheng settled into his office and spent the day proofreading two volumes, finding an incorrect place name and a mismatched year.
• Wei Nisheng went into the courtyard to stretch and found several officials there, some practicing boxing.

After three and a half years at the Hanlin Academy, Wei Nisheng had grown into a steady young official and visited the Feng Residence on a snowy day. He reunited affectionately with Fu Niang before Feng Yan raised the question of her marriage.

• Wei Nisheng prepared to visit the Feng Residence on his day off as snow fell.
• Wei Nisheng reflected on his three years of steady work compiling historical records at the Hanlin Academy.
• Wei Nisheng and Fu Niang reunited in the garden pavilion, teased each other, and briefly held hands.
• Feng Yan gave Wei Nisheng a letter from Qin Yan, who reported that Wei Shouzheng had filled the vacancy at the Imperial College.
• Feng Yan noted that Wei Nisheng was seventeen and Fu Niang had reached hairpin age.

Wei Nisheng showed Feng Yan evidence that the empire’s ever-normal granary accounts concealed missing grain and asked his teacher how to pursue the matter. Feng Yan had not yet advised him when the chapter ended.

• Feng Yan told Wei Nisheng that Fu Niang had come of age and said her parents would return to the capital at New Year so Wei could bring the betrothal gifts.
• Wei Nisheng gave Feng Yan archival records showing that Ministry of Revenue reports contradicted censors’ inspections of the granaries.
• Wei Nisheng revealed a discarded note stating that Jinghe Year Eleven’s actual grain stocks were seventy-three thousand shi, while the recorded amount was one hundred and twenty thousand.
• Feng Yan questioned whether officials had concealed the discrepancy and asked who else knew; Wei Nisheng said he had told no one.
• Wei Nisheng said he intended to submit a memorial and asked Feng Yan when, how, and to whom he should submit it, and how far he should pursue the matter.

Wei Nisheng discussed a memorial about missing military grain with Feng Yan, who explained how Shen Duan had taken control of the Ministry of Revenue by backing a war against the Tangut. Feng Yan warned Wei not to delay speaking up for personal advantage, leaving Wei ready to submit the memorial in service of the state.

• Feng Yan told Wei Nisheng that he should submit the memorial, but not while Shen Duan controlled the Ministry of Revenue and could portray it as an attack on his faction.
• Feng Yan explained that Shen Duan had gained the emperor's favor by urging war to reclaim Gansu, while Feng opposed fighting before Great Zhou had enough grain and money.
• Wei Nisheng argued that a war against the Tangut could leave the northern defenses exposed to the Khitan, who threatened Liaodong.
• Wei Nisheng said he would wait to submit the memorial until trouble in Liaodong or a weakness from Shen Duan made the court listen.
• Feng Yan rebuked Wei Nisheng for putting his faction's interests ahead of the country and warned him not to become a traitor.
• Wei Nisheng tucked the copied manuscript into his robes, straightened his clothes, and bowed to Feng Yan.

Wei Nisheng brought evidence of false Granary Depot accounts to Liu Chongyan and asked to verify the original records. Liu Chongyan allowed him to use the Hanlin Memorial on State Affairs precedent, leaving Wei Nisheng prepared to pursue the matter despite the risks to his career.

• Wei Nisheng identified Liu Chongyan and Wu Daoqing as figures connected to Feng Yan and Shen Duan.
• Wei Nisheng arrived early at the Hanlin Academy and showed Liu Chongyan his handwritten copy of the suspected false accounts.
• Liu Chongyan recognized the discrepancies and asked whether Wei Nisheng truly intended to investigate them.
• Wei Nisheng insisted that historical records had to be grounded in fact.
• Liu Chongyan advised Wei Nisheng that he could submit a Hanlin Memorial on State Affairs if he uncovered corrupt governance, while warning him to seek no personal gain.

Wei Nisheng completed a memorial asking the emperor to investigate discrepancies in the Southern Capital Ever-Normal Granary, carefully grounding his claims in records and evidence. He sealed the memorial at home, setting its delivery in motion while accepting that he could no longer control its outcome.

• Wei Nisheng drafted a memorial detailing inflated grain registers and depleted reserves, citing records from Jinghe Years Eleven through Thirteen and prior censors' reports.
• Wang Kan brought Wei Nisheng hot noodles and explained that Hanlin officials could submit memorials directly to the emperor, but Wei Nisheng did not reveal his plans.
• Wei Nisheng left the Hanlin Academy with Wang Kan and returned home carrying the memorial in a yellow silk envelope.
• Wei Nisheng stamped his official seal across the envelope's seam, completing the memorial for delivery to the emperor.

Wang Kan investigated Wei Nisheng’s desk and discovered records showing that ever-normal granaries held far less grain than official accounts claimed. Furious over the apparent embezzlement, he decided Wei Nisheng must share his outrage and resolved to act.

• Wang Kan noticed Wei Nisheng had broken his usual routine and went to inspect his duty room after hours.
• Wang Kan searched Wei Nisheng’s desk and found a handwritten copy of Ministry of Revenue memorials and Censorate inspection records.
• Wang Kan compared the records and saw that a Suzhou Prefecture granary’s reported reserves differed from its usable grain by tens of thousands of shi.
• Wang Kan concluded that officials had stolen forty-seven thousand shi of grain and denounced them for betraying the people and the realm.
• Wang Kan declared that he would submit a memorial, then reasoned that Wei Nisheng must also oppose the embezzlement.

Wang Kan confronted Wei Nisheng over the copied ledger documenting grain corruption and urged him to submit it directly to the emperor. Wei Nisheng admitted he had already written a memorial, and Wang Kan offered to stand beside him as his sword.

• Wang Kan revealed that he had examined Wei Nisheng's copied ledger and accused him of investigating corruption in the Ever-Normal Granary.
• Wang Kan insisted that they submit the ledger to the Imperial Presence, while Wei Nisheng warned that the officials handling the memorial could have them killed.
• Wang Kan produced a Bronze Tally from his teacher, which would let them bypass the Directorate of Transmission's officials and send their memorial to the Grand Secretariat.
• Wang Kan reminded Wei Nisheng that 47,000 shi of grain could feed a prefecture and three counties through the winter, and Wei Nisheng reconsidered his plan to wait.
• Wei Nisheng admitted he had already written the memorial, and Wang Kan praised him and declared, "I would be your sword. Pray do not refuse."

Wei Nisheng’s evidence-backed memorial about missing granary grain impressed Wang Kan, who burned his own angry draft and pledged to support him. After Wang Kan left, Wei Nisheng reflected that he was using Wang Kan to channel the memorial through the Upright Officials, while maintaining that its evidence was true and his conscience clear.

• Wang Kan read Wei Nisheng’s memorial and admired its precise evidence and restrained argument about the missing grain.
• Wang Kan burned his own draft, admitted it was only an angry outburst, and praised Wei Nisheng’s memorial as fit to reach the emperor and endure in the annals.
• Wang Kan bowed to Wei Nisheng and offered to follow his lead, and Wei Nisheng helped him rise.
• After Wang Kan left, Wei Nisheng realized that he was borrowing the Upright Officials’ channel through Wang Kan and Song Jing to deliver the memorial.
• Wei Nisheng considered whether he was acting from factional self-interest, but concluded that the figures and evidence were real and that his conscience was clear.

Song Jing received and studied Wang Kan and Wei Nisheng’s memorial exposing grave shortages in the Southern Capital’s Ever-Normal Granary. Recognizing Wei Nisheng’s hand and the political risks, Song Jing chose to forward it.

• Song Jing joked with Liu Minzhi about Wang Kan’s earnestness and feared he might submit a reckless memorial.
• A clerk delivered a memorial signed by Wang Kan and Wei Nisheng, reporting discrepancies in the Southern Capital’s Ever-Normal Granary.
• Song Jing read the evidence of fictitious grain reserves and the proposed investigation and reforms, while Liu Minzhi watched in silence.
• Song Jing recognized that Wei Nisheng had written the carefully worded memorial and weighed the political consequences of forwarding it.
• Song Jing decided to forward the memorial.

Song Jing persuaded Liu Min to submit Wei Zi’s memorial exposing the disappearance of 47,000 shi of grain, arguing that it could restore the Qing Faction’s reputation and benefit everyone involved. The chapter ended with Song Jing admiring Wei Zi’s careful strategy and declaring that he had not lost his fire.

• Liu Min warned Song Jing that submitting Wei Zi’s memorial would provoke the Shen Faction, but Song Jing insisted they should submit it.
• Song Jing argued that the memorial could give the Directorate of Transmission and the upright officials a public name for integrity.
• Song Jing explained that Wang Kan would gain a reputation for remonstrating, he and Liu Min would gain recognition as leaders of upright officials, and Wei Zi would gain renown.
• Song Jing praised Wei Zi’s precise writing and strategy, concluding that Wei Zi had not lost his fire.

Grand Secretaries Song Yue, Kou Yuan, and Fang Qi reviewed a memorial alleging that the Southern Capital Ever-Normal Granary’s reported reserves did not match its actual stores. Kou Yuan revealed that Shen Duan’s faction kept him from seeing the Ministry of Revenue’s accounts, turning the dispute into a direct challenge to Shen’s control.

• Song Yue read a memorial signed by Hanlin Academy Compilers Wang Kan and Wei Nisheng, which cited records showing discrepancies in the Southern Capital granary’s reserves.
• Song Yue challenged Fang Qi over whether similar false figures could affect the Ministry of Works’ construction funds.
• Fang Qi redirected the questioning toward Kou Yuan and asked him to explain the Ministry of Revenue’s reports.
• Kou Yuan said he had never seen the Censorate’s inspection records and could not access the granary accounts despite being Minister of Revenue.
• Kou Yuan accepted the memorial as a weapon against Shen Duan’s control of the Ministry of Revenue.