Recaps

Feng Yan arranged Wei Nisheng’s promotion to the Ministry of Personnel’s Selection Bureau and warned him that Shen Duan would watch for mistakes. He declared Wei Nisheng his successor, entrusting him with the future of his political power as the Court Recommendation approached.

• Feng Yan questioned Fang Qi about River Works spending, then discussed Liaodong’s worsening Khitan raids and military grain shortages with Song Yue.
• Feng Yan reviewed the Selection Bureau roster with Wei Nisheng and explained that Shen Duan had agreed to his appointment to repay a favor.
• Feng Yan warned Wei Nisheng that Shen Duan would scrutinize him and told him that he now belonged to the Emperor rather than the Feng Faction or the Upright Officials.
• Feng Yan praised Wei Nisheng’s judgment and the young officials around him, then named him the person who could carry his political banner onward.
• Wei Nisheng knelt and addressed Feng Yan as his grandfather, and Feng Yan reassured him that he would protect him while the Court watched.

Emperor Jing of Zhou rejected the factions’ plan to place Wei Nisheng in the Ministry of Personnel and appointed him to the Ministry of Revenue instead. The court reshuffle proceeded, but the emperor sent Wei into the bureau overseeing the accounts and grain stores at the heart of the scandal.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou concluded that the factions had divided the appointments among themselves and decided Wei Nisheng would not be used to repay anyone’s favor.
• Feng Yan presented the court nominations, which assigned posts to the Feng Faction, the Upright Officials, and Kou Yuan’s side.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou summoned Wei Nisheng and appointed him Department Secretary of the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau in the Ministry of Revenue, granting him a Scarlet Robe.
• Wei Nisheng accepted the decree and recognized that he had been sent into the ministry whose abuses his memorial had exposed.
• Wang Kan received the post of Records Officer in the Censorate, and an Upright Official transferred from Henan Prefecture filled the other Ministry of Revenue vacancy.

Wei Nisheng learned that the emperor had assigned him to the Ministry of Revenue to monitor granary accounts and test his ability to navigate rival factions. After Feng Yan warned him to be cautious in his new post, Wei Nisheng reunited with Fu Niang, who had waited with hot chicken soup.

• Feng Yan and Wei Nisheng discussed the emperor’s decision to place Wei in the Ministry of Revenue and the motives behind it.
• Feng Yan advised Wei to audit the Ever-Normal Granaries, avoid declaring allegiance, and consider how the emperor would judge his actions.
• Feng Yan reminded Wei that his scarlet robe brought court dangers he would have to withstand.
• Wei Nisheng found Fu Niang waiting in the cold and warmed her hands as they walked together.
• Wei told Fu Niang he had been promoted to the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau, and she worried that the work would keep him from coming home.
• Fu Niang served Wei chicken soup and teased him for watching her after she had tended the fire for him.

Wei Nisheng told Emperor Jing of Zhou that he accepted his transfer to the Ministry of Revenue as a duty to his Ruler-Father, not a cause for resentment. Emperor Jing recognized his sincerity, promoted him, and arranged discreet protection as Wei Zi went to face the bureau’s troubles.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou asked Wei Nisheng whether he resented being moved from the Selection Bureau to the Ministry of Revenue, and Wei Nisheng explained that he saw the appointment as trusted service to his Ruler-Father.
• Wei Nisheng recalled Emperor Jing’s promise to treat him as a pupil and said he had endured three years at the Hanlin Academy without complaint because he believed the emperor was watching him.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou told Wei Nisheng that the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau was a furnace meant to temper him, and Wei Nisheng vowed he would not fail his Ruler-Father.
• After Wei Nisheng left, Emperor Jing of Zhou asked Wang Cheng whether he had been too harsh and then ordered Wei Nisheng’s promotion to Subordinate Fifth Rank and a new robe.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou privately instructed Wang Cheng to tell Kou Yuan to look after Wei Zi, while Wei Zi went forth alone amid snow and red plum blossoms.

Wei Nisheng learned from Feng Yan that His Majesty expected him to audit the empire’s tax arrears, beginning with Suzhou Prefecture. As he prepared to take up his post at the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau, he devised a quiet strategy for handling the entrenched Shen Faction officials there.

• Wei Nisheng visited Feng Yan and recounted his audience with His Majesty, prompting Feng Yan to explain that the summons meant he could no longer remain unnoticed in the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau.
• Feng Yan told Wei Nisheng to work with the Emperor, the Upright Officials, and Shen Duan’s debt to Feng Yan, then advised him to investigate tax arrears in Suzhou Prefecture.
• Feng Yan instructed Wei Nisheng to let the Upright Officials propose the Suzhou audit, using Wang Kan to spread word through the Censorate so they could open the way for him.
• Feng Yan showed Wei Nisheng the Bureau roster and warned that Shen Duan’s former appointees might challenge him on his first day.
• Wei Nisheng decided not to replace any officials and planned to identify the most uneasy among them as the point where he would break the deadlock.

Wei Nisheng began work at the Ministry of Revenue, where Sun Yuan and Yan Ci tried to undermine him with a cold reception and deliberately disordered ledgers. He recognized their trap and methodically began checking the records, leaving them unable to provoke or dismiss him.

• Cui Fu brought Wei Nisheng to the Ministry of Revenue, where an Office Clerk led him to the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau without offering a warm welcome.
• Sun Yuan assigned Wei Nisheng the desk by the drafty doorway and left a stack of general ledgers for him, while the other officials watched in silence.
• Wei Nisheng refused to review the general ledgers without their source records and requested the underlying accounts, grain transport documents, and Granary Depot registers from Jinghe Year Ten onward.
• Two clerks delivered a chest of underlying ledgers, and Wei Nisheng discovered that pages from different years had been deliberately bound together.
• When Yan Ci refused to advise him and Sun Yuan suggested he start with old accounts, Wei Nisheng said he would verify the dates and began checking the ledgers page by page.

Wei Nisheng reviewed the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau’s shuffled ledgers and uncovered suspicious matching grain-transport arrears that Yan Ci could not explain. When Sun Yuan tried to end the inquiry, Wei Nisheng insisted that he was carrying out the Son of Heaven’s will.

• Wei Nisheng quietly sorted and checked the ledgers while Yan Ci and Sun Yuan mocked him and expected him to ask for help.
• Sun Yuan and Yan Ci saw that Wei Nisheng had organized years of income and expenditure figures into detailed totals, cleared amounts, and discrepancies.
• Wei Nisheng questioned Yan Ci about Suzhou Prefecture’s unrecorded arrears and its following-year supplementary remittance, and Yan Ci called the missing entry a clerical error.
• Wei Nisheng pointed out that three Henan prefectures had identical arrears and remittance figures despite reports of abundant harvests, leaving Yan Ci unable to answer.
• Sun Yuan urged Wei Nisheng to stop for the day, but Wei Nisheng replied that he was following the Son of Heaven’s will.

Wei Nisheng used a meticulous tabular method to check thirteen volumes of the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau’s accounts in only three double-hours, exposing discrepancies including a forty-thousand-tael gap in Huguang remittances. When Sun Yuan probed whether he would investigate the people behind the irregularities, Wei Nisheng said he would focus on the ledgers and leave matters beyond them to the emperor and Book of Documents Kou.

• Wei Nisheng’s accounting method alarmed Yan Ci, who realized it compared income and expenditures across categories, months, and years.
• Wei Nisheng showed Yan Ci that Huguang’s ninth-month remittance in Jinghe Year Twelve was short by forty thousand taels, and that the following two months’ entries appeared to cover the gap.
• Wei Nisheng reported that he had checked thirteen volumes, reordered entries, marked discrepancies and unsupported expenditures, and added verification notes.
• Sun Yuan reviewed the ledgers and found twenty-three notes, including discrepancies involving Huguang remittances and grain records.
• Sun Yuan tested whether Wei Nisheng planned to pursue the people behind the irregularities, and Wei Nisheng said he would investigate only what appeared in the ledgers.

Wei Nisheng defended his independent audit of the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau’s ledgers after Kou Yuan questioned his conduct. He warned Kou that he had powerful backing beyond the emperor, and Kou allowed the investigation to continue while requiring him to consult the bureau’s officials.

• Kou Yuan arrived at the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau and asked Yan Ci and Sun Yuan to explain the discrepancies Wei Nisheng had found.
• Yan Ci called the discrepancies accumulated clerical errors and promised to review and correct them.
• Kou Yuan criticized Wei Nisheng for checking the ledgers without first consulting his superiors, and Wei defended his approach as necessary groundwork for accurate accounts.
• Kou Yuan warned Wei that imperial favor could shift, but Wei replied that the emperor was not the only powerful figure supporting him, hinting at Feng Yan.
• Kou Yuan let Wei continue investigating the accounts on the condition that he consult the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau’s officials more often.

Kou Yuan explained to Song Jing why he had publicly checked Wei Nisheng: he wanted to protect the young investigator, keep the Ministry of Revenue’s officials divided, and shield himself if the inquiry failed. As they prepared to send Wei Nisheng to investigate Suzhou Prefecture’s arrears, Kou Yuan urged the Upright Officials to use the political turmoil to gain influence.

• Song Jing challenged Kou Yuan over his harsh words to Wei Zi'an, and Kou Yuan said he was trying to prevent Wei Nisheng from meeting Zhao Ding’s fate.
• Kou Yuan explained that he had checked Wei Nisheng to mislead Shen Duan’s men, warn Wei against alienating the ministry, and protect himself if the investigation stalled.
• Kou Yuan and Song Jing agreed to wait until Wei Nisheng had identified the suspicious accounts before coordinating action with Wang Kan and the Censorate.
• Song Jing named Suzhou Prefect He Yanming and Prefectural Judge Xie Lin as threats, and Kou Yuan said Wei should choose a young companion himself.
• Kou Yuan reflected that the Upright Officials should use the turmoil and Feng Yan’s efforts to gain a place in the power structure.

Wang Kan impeached He Yanming, Xie Lin, and Li Jin for corruption in Suzhou, triggering a clash between the upright officials and Shen Duan’s faction at court. Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered the Grand Secretariat to devise an investigation procedure, leaving the case’s fate to its deliberations.

• Wang Kan impeached He Yanming, Xie Lin, and Li Jin, citing discrepancies in Suzhou’s tribute-grain accounts and other alleged abuses.
• The Right Associate Censor-in-Chief and other censors backed Wang Kan, while Shen Duan signaled Fang Qi and his allies to challenge the impeachment.
• Fang Qi and two other officials argued that Wang Kan lacked authority and solid, verified evidence, but Wang Kan defended his inspection under orders from Song Jing and offered to accept the accused men’s penalties if his claims were false.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered a thorough investigation but referred the procedure to the Grand Secretariat for discussion after the audience.

At the Grand Secretariat, Kou Yuan and Song Yue defended the audit of Suzhou’s accounts and urged an investigation into provincial arrears, while Shen Duan accused them of targeting his faction. Shen Duan finally accepted the investigation but warned that it could undermine preparations for military campaigns and defenses.

• Shen Duan confronted Kou Yuan over Wang Kan’s impeachment memorials and questioned how Wang had obtained figures from the Ministry of Revenue’s ledgers.
• Kou Yuan defended Wei Nisheng’s audit, challenged Shen Duan over the accused officials in Suzhou, and proposed investigating provincial arrears there.
• Song Yue denied that the Ministry of War or the Feng Faction had directed the audit and defended Wei Nisheng’s appointment by the emperor.
• Shen Duan rejected an investigation in Suzhou, citing the prefecture’s importance to tax revenue and grain shipments.
• Kou Yuan argued that the Grand Secretariat should deliberate on the investigation, and Shen Duan accused Kou Yuan and Song Yue of using Wei Nisheng to bring him down.
• Song Yue demanded that Shen Duan answer the government questions with evidence, and Shen Duan agreed to the investigation while warning it could disrupt military preparations and defenses.

Shen Duan warned that an audit of Suzhou Prefecture could lead to scrutiny of military accounts and implicate Song Yue and the Feng Faction. Song Yue reluctantly signed the draft authorizing the audit, which Kou Yuan amended to assign Wei Nisheng; Shen Duan took it for imperial review at the next morning court.

• Shen Duan argued that an audit of Suzhou Prefecture could expose financial irregularities across the ministries and eventually reach the Ministry of War's accounts.
• Shen Duan confronted Song Yue about military pay and grain accounts, and Song Yue refused to give a direct answer while warning Shen not to interfere with the audit's memorial draft.
• Shen Duan wrote his approval of the Suzhou investigation, then pressed Song Yue to add his own response.
• Song Yue hesitated before writing that officials should be dispatched exclusively to handle the investigation, and Kou Yuan added that Wei Nisheng was qualified for the assignment.
• Shen Duan took the draft response to submit for imperial review at the next morning court, while Kou Yuan questioned Song Yue about his hesitation and the Ministry of War's accounts.

Feng Yan explained that he had sent Wei Nisheng to investigate Suzhou so he could uncover Shen Duan’s financial network and become a trusted alternative at court. He urged Wei Nisheng to investigate thoroughly and build his own foundation, leaving Wei to consider the path his teacher had prepared for him.

• Song Yue told Feng Yan that Shen Duan had arranged for Wei Nisheng to investigate Suzhou, and Feng recognized the move as a warning and a bargain.
• Feng Yan told Wei Nisheng that how deeply he investigated Shen Duan’s Suzhou accounts would determine whether Shen exposed Feng’s old Ministry of War accounts.
• After Song Yue left, Feng Yan revealed that he had sent Wei to force him into the political struggle and seize Shen Duan’s role as the court’s strategist on recovering Gansu.
• Feng Yan explained that Wei needed to investigate thoroughly, earn the emperor’s trust, and wait for Shen Duan to expose his own weakness.
• Wei Nisheng asked what would happen if he could not follow the path Feng had prepared, and Feng told him he had enough support to forge his own road.

Wei Nisheng spent the night drafting a memorial that urged the emperor to prioritize defending Liaodong from Khitan, prepare patiently to recover Gansu from the Tanguts, and rebuild the treasury. After completing the draft, he fell asleep at his desk, where Qu Niang quietly covered him with a cloak and blanket.

• Wei Nisheng returned to the Small Courtyard of the Wei Residence and went straight to his study to consider how to advise the emperor on Gansu and Liaodong.
• Wei Nisheng drafted a memorial arguing that the Tanguts’ hold on Gansu was less dangerous than Khitan’s threat to Liaodong.
• Wei Nisheng proposed fortifying Liaodong, preparing Shaanxi’s defenses, and restoring the treasury before attempting a major campaign.
• Wei Nisheng revised and copied the memorial, then fell asleep in his chair before he could proofread it again.
• Qu Niang brought Wei Nisheng ginger soup and quietly covered his shoulders and knees while he slept.

Wei Nisheng waited for the right moment to present his memorial as the court advanced a plan to investigate tax arrears, beginning with Suzhou Prefecture. The Emperor ordered the Grand Secretariat to prepare a plan within three days, leaving Wei poised as the knife to carry out the investigation.

• Wei Nisheng went to the Ministry of Revenue and continued checking the accounts while waiting for the court situation to settle.
• Song Jing reported that officials had stolen forty-seven thousand shi of grain from the Southern Capital Ever-Normal Granary and that Wu Daoqing had died while being escorted to the capital.
• Kou Yuan proposed investigating accumulated tax arrears across the provinces, starting with Suzhou Prefecture, and Shen Duan said the commissioner should be chosen carefully.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered the Grand Secretariat to deliberate further and submit an investigation plan within three days.
• Wei Nisheng heard the court's decision and recognized that he might be used to investigate the arrears in Suzhou Prefecture.

Cui Shi visited Wei Nisheng to ask him to intervene after Wei Mingde was accused of embezzling river works funds. Wei Nisheng refused to plead for him, confronted Cui Shi over how she had treated him, and left the matter to the Censorate and the law.

• Cui Shi waited outside Wei Nisheng's residence until he returned, then asked to speak with him privately.
• Cui Shi told Wei Nisheng that Wei Mingde had been impeached for embezzling Henan River Works funds and begged him to seek help from Lord Feng or the Emperor.
• Wei Nisheng questioned whether Cui Shi had come at Wei Mingde's request and explained that the Censorate's investigation could not be settled by his intervention.
• Wei Nisheng declared that Wei Mingyuan was his father and challenged Cui Shi for protecting Wei Shouzheng's reputation while turning to him for help.
• Wei Nisheng told Cui Shi he would neither harm Wei Mingde nor plead for him, and sent her home as the court's investigation proceeded.

Cui Shi returned to the Wei Residence after Wei Nisheng refused to help Wei Mingde, who faced an impeachment inquiry and rejected the idea of having Shouzheng plead his case. As the family’s prospects darkened, Wei Mingde drank alone and mourned his dead father and elder brother.

• Cui Shi stopped crying in the carriage and reflected on how much Wei Nisheng had changed.
• Cui Shi told Wei Mingde that Wei Nisheng refused to plead for him and denied being his son.
• Wei Mingde cursed Wei Nisheng, but refused Cui Shi’s suggestion that Shouzheng submit a memorial because it could damage his future.
• Cui Shi privately resented Wei Nisheng and worried that Wei Mingde’s downfall would ruin the Wei Family.
• Wei Mingde drank alone, then went to the Ancestral Hall and wept before his father’s spirit tablet and portrait.

Shen Duan accepted the investigation into Suzhou Prefecture’s outstanding arrears and explained how he would avoid openly opposing the emperor while protecting his interests. He left the contest to Wei Nisheng, whose investigation Shen Duan expected Xie Lin and Shen Ming to guide toward clean-looking accounts and no recovered silver.

• Shen Duan told Fang Qi and Zou Mo that the emperor wanted revenue, while Kou Yuan sought authority, and that Wei Nisheng had been placed in the Ministry of Revenue to investigate Suzhou’s accounts.
• Zou Mo warned that Shen Duan risked the emperor’s displeasure if he continued fighting over who would accompany Wei Nisheng, and described He Yanming’s hidden accounts, local popularity, and connections to Shen Ming, Xie Lin, and Li Jin.
• Shen Duan explained that Xie Lin had helped build He Yanming’s reputation as a good official and would cooperate with Wei Nisheng by providing open accounts and arranging meetings with trusted people.
• Shen Duan said Shen Ming would also cooperate and ensure the firm’s reported grain and tax payments showed no shortage, leaving Wei Nisheng no stolen silver to uncover.
• Shen Duan agreed to sign the response and accept the emperor’s appointments without protest, betting that Wei Nisheng would fail and that the investigation would discredit Kou Yuan and the Upright Officials.

At court, Emperor Jing of Zhou appointed Wei Nisheng Imperial Commissioner to investigate Suzhou Prefecture’s tax arrears, despite Shen Duan’s effort to influence the choice of his deputy. In the Imperial Study, Wei Nisheng admitted he had only a two-in-ten chance of success because powerful officials had entrenched themselves in Suzhou.

• Kou Yuan recommended Wei Nisheng as Imperial Commissioner to investigate Suzhou Prefecture’s tax and silver arrears, and Song Jing and several Upright Officials seconded the proposal.
• Shen Duan accepted Wei Nisheng as a candidate but urged the emperor to choose an experienced Deputy Superintendent to assist him.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou appointed Wei Nisheng Imperial Commissioner and issued a decree authorizing him to investigate the arrears and requisition records.
• Wang Cheng summoned Wei Nisheng to the Imperial Study, where Emperor Jing of Zhou asked how likely he was to succeed.
• Wei Nisheng estimated his chances at two in ten, citing He Yanming’s six-year influence in Suzhou and the involvement of Xie Lin and Li Jin.

Wei Nisheng persuaded Emperor Jing of Zhou to recall Zhang Zai from Daming Prefecture as deputy superintendent for the Suzhou audit. The emperor approved the appointment and promised Wei an imperial token to prevent local officials from using the people to obstruct the investigation.

• Wang Cheng eased Emperor Jing of Zhou’s anger and helped Wei Nisheng explain why he estimated only twenty percent certainty of success in Suzhou.
• Wei Nisheng outlined the obstacles posed by He Yanming, Xie Lin, Li Jin, and his own lack of local experience, then asked to summon Zhang Zai as his trusted deputy.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou questioned whether Zhang Zai served Wei Nisheng or the Feng Faction, and Wei insisted that Zhang was his kindred spirit and essential to the audit.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou issued a decree recalling Zhang Zai and warned that neither he nor Wei Nisheng need return if they failed to uncover Suzhou’s accounts.
• Wei Nisheng requested protection from officials who might incite the people to obstruct the audit, and Emperor Jing of Zhou promised him an imperial token bearing the words “The Emperor Arrives” and “Behold.”

Emperor Jing of Zhou explained that he was sending Wei Zi to Suzhou Prefecture to recover Shen Duan’s share of its revenues while building Wei Zi’s influence for the future. He approved Wei Shouzheng’s memorial only in acknowledgment of Qin Yan’s request, leaving Wei Mingde without a clear resolution.

• Wang Cheng assured Emperor Jing of Zhou that Wei Zi could handle the Suzhou assignment, but the emperor revealed he welcomed Suzhou’s financial troubles.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou explained that Wei Zi was tasked with reclaiming Shen Duan’s fifty-percent share of Suzhou’s tax revenues and earning standing in the Court.
• The emperor described how Shen Duan’s support was useful but necessary to preserve, while Wei Zi might gather part of the Feng Faction after Feng Yan’s death.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou read Wei Shouzheng’s memorial pleading for mercy over Wei Mingde’s alleged injustice and learned that Wei Shouzheng and Wei Nisheng were twins.
• At Qin Yan’s request, Emperor Jing of Zhou wrote “Approved” on the memorial without granting Wei Mingde innocence or reinstatement, and Wang Cheng withdrew.

Wei Nisheng set aside his temple-fair plans with Fu Niang to receive Wang Kan, who apologized for interrupting and asked why Wei had not chosen him to investigate Suzhou Prefecture. Wei began explaining the strength of their enemies, leaving Wang’s question unanswered.

• Wei Nisheng received Wang Kan’s visiting card and agreed to stay home while Fu Niang went to the temple fair with Qingluo and Qu Niang.
• Wang Kan arrived, realized Wei had planned to go out, and apologized for disrupting his plans.
• Wei reassured Wang that he was glad to receive him and served him freshly brewed tea.
• Wang told Wei that Zhang Zai had been recalled to serve as Deputy Superintendent and accompany him to investigate Suzhou Prefecture’s arrears.
• Wang asked Wei why he had not chosen him for the investigation, and Wei described He Yanming, Xie Lin, and Li Jin as formidable, interconnected enemies.

Wei Nisheng persuaded Wang Kan to stay in the Capital and shield him from Shen Duan’s attacks while he investigated in Suzhou. After Wang Kan left, Fu Niang returned from the temple fair and shared a meal with Wei Nisheng, who teased her by calling her his wife.

• Wei Nisheng explained that Shen Duan could undermine his Suzhou investigation from the Capital and asked Wang Kan to defend him at court.
• Wang Kan accepted that staying in the Capital was more important than accompanying Wei Nisheng to Suzhou, and promised to stop Shen Duan from harming him in court.
• Wei Nisheng described Zhang Zai’s hands-on work clearing grain arrears in Daming Prefecture and admitted that Zhang’s temper could get him into trouble.
• Wang Kan joked that Wei Nisheng also made enemies wherever he went, and the two agreed to handle their separate tasks with a toast.
• Fu Niang returned with a painted fan and a meal featuring Wei Nisheng’s favorite mandarin fish, then blushed and fled when he called her his wife.

Feng Guan returned to the Capital with Jiang Shi and Feng Ci after years in Hangzhou, carrying resentment over his father’s decisions for their children. They arrived at the Feng Residence, where Feng Guan warned Feng Ci to mind his words with his grandfather.

• Feng Guan and Jiang Shi discussed Feng Guan’s anger that his father had arranged Fu Niang’s marriage to Wei Nisheng without consulting him.
• Feng Guan worried that his father had not helped Feng Ci after he failed the Autumn Provincial Examination, while Jiang Shi urged patience.
• Feng Ci joined his parents on deck, and Feng Guan cautioned him not to contradict his grandfather when they met.
• Jiang Shi told Feng Ci that Wei Nisheng might support him as his sister’s future husband and encouraged him to pursue a life suited to his own wishes.
• Feng Guan, Jiang Shi, and Feng Ci disembarked at Dragon River Wharf and rode in a waiting carriage toward the Feng Residence.