Recaps

Wei Nisheng used his learning and resolve to challenge the mistreatment he faced in the Wei household, then won public acclaim at Wei Shouzheng’s apprenticeship banquet. After approaching Lord Feng directly, he traveled with his family to the Feng Residence, where he planned to make his own impression.

• Wei Nisheng challenged the neglect of his mother Lu Shi’s tablet, and Wei Mingde ordered Cui Shi to restore its offerings.
• Cui Shi tried to send Wei Nisheng out with her brother Cui Fu, but Nisheng exposed the plan and struck back when Wang Rong insulted him.
• When Wei Mingde accepted false accusations and ordered Nisheng to take his own life, Nisheng killed Wang Rong and forced Wei Mingde, Wei Shouzheng, and Cui Shi to admit their fault publicly.
• Wei An spread a favorable account of Wang Rong’s death, and the Emperor’s praise made Wei Nisheng the talk of the Capital.
• At Wei Shouzheng’s apprenticeship banquet, Wei Nisheng impressed Qin Yan and the guests with an original lyric and his calligraphy, which Qin Yan named Slender Gold.
• After learning that the Feng Family had ignored Wei Mingde’s request, Wei Nisheng invoked Lord Feng’s promise to his grandfather and sent him a calling card directly.
• Lord Feng invited Wei Mingde, Wei Shouzheng, and Wei Nisheng to visit, and Wei Nisheng arrived at the Feng Residence resolved to earn Lord Feng’s notice.

Wei Nisheng broke away from Wei Mingde’s branch, reclaimed the Eldest Branch Estate, and began building a household of his own. With Feng Yan’s backing and health failing, both men began considering an alliance between the Feng and Wei families.

• Wei Nisheng persuaded Feng Yan to help him find a path to freedom, and Feng Yan urged Wei Mingde to adopt him into Wei Mingyuan’s branch.
• Wei Mingde and Cui Shi agreed to the adoption and separation, but Wei Nisheng challenged the clan’s control of the Eldest Branch Estate and threatened to take the dispute to court.
• With Feng Yan’s letter backing him, Wei Nisheng forced Wei He and Wei Mingde to hand over the property deeds and five thousand taels, then left the Wei Residence with Wei An.
• Wei Nisheng settled in the abandoned courtyard outside West Peace Gate, recruited Cui Fu as a household guard, and bought Qu Niang under a Death Contract.
• Wei Nisheng thanked Feng Yan for his help, and Feng Yan revealed that officials had impeached him for intervening in the family dispute.
• Wei Nisheng decided to seek Feng Yan as his teacher, while Feng Yan concluded that the Feng and Wei families needed to join forces.
• After learning that Feng Yan’s health was failing, Wei Nisheng wrote that Feng Half the Court and Wei One Corner would benefit from uniting and face danger if divided.

Wei Nisheng became Feng Yan’s disciple and faced Shen Duan’s attacks by defending his adoptive lineage and winning the emperor’s support. With imperial favor secured, he began studying governance at the Hall of Literary Depths, where he encountered Jiang Yu and the controversy over Prince Ning’s defense records.

• Feng Yan accepted Wei Nisheng as his first disciple, and Wei Nisheng completed the apprenticeship ceremony before officials and his birth family.
• At the welcoming banquet, Shen Duan tried to use Wei Mingde and filial duty against Feng Yan, but Wei Nisheng defended his adoptive branch, teacher, and obligations before humiliating Shen Duan with a written retort.
• Wei Nisheng wrote a lyric that impressed Qin Yan and Feng Yan, then listened as Feng Yan warned him that court opponents could conceal their intentions behind reasonable behavior.
• On Feng Yan’s advice, Wei Nisheng wrote a personal memorial asking to acknowledge Emperor Jing of Zhou as his sovereign and father, and Feng Yan presented it to the emperor.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou rejected Shen Duan’s accusations after reading Wei Nisheng’s memorial, ordered Feng Yan back to oversee state affairs, and sent Wei Nisheng a handwritten reply and imperial rewards.
• Feng Yan reviewed Wei Nisheng’s policy essay and arranged for him to observe government at the Hall of Literary Depths, while Wei Nisheng agreed to set aside his pursuit of Fu Niang and focus on his examinations.
• At the Hall of Literary Depths, Jiang Yu challenged Wei Nisheng’s presence, but Wei showed the emperor’s order and confronted Jiang over his insult to the emperor’s judgment and Feng Yan’s recommendation.
• Li Dianji told Wei Nisheng that Jiang Yu had gathered border-defense records concerning the fall of three prefectures, and Wei Nisheng criticized Prince Ning for trying to defend himself.

Wei Nisheng won first place in the provincial examination, then faced public attacks for honoring Wei An with the rites of an elder. After Jiang Yu destroyed Wei An’s spirit tablet, Wei Nisheng killed him and surrendered himself to the authorities.

• Wei Nisheng chose the Classical Commentary Examination, studied under Feng Yan, and later publicly confronted Jiang Yu over Prince Ning’s retreat and the fall of the Gansu Three Prefectures.
• At the Autumn Provincial Examination, Wei Nisheng wrote that Li Yuanzhen had failed to send aid and Prince Ning had fled, and the examiners awarded his essay a high grade.
• Wei Nisheng learned that Wei An could not recover from his illness, showed him the notice naming him the top provincial graduate, and held his hand as he died.
• Wei Nisheng insisted that Wei An be buried beside his family and honored with elder’s funeral rites, provoking debate and protests across the Capital.
• Jiang Yu helped stir students against Wei Nisheng, but Wei Nisheng explained how Wei An had saved and raised him, persuading Zhao Yuanlang and the other scholars to leave.
• Jiang Yu smashed Wei An’s spirit tablet, and Wei Nisheng killed him before repairing the tablet and composing a funeral tribute.
• Wei Nisheng sent Cui Fu and Qu Niang to seek refuge, then accompanied the arresting officials to Yingtian Prefecture after invoking his examination rank and imperial honors.