Recaps

Wei Nisheng survived the court’s judgment for killing Jiang Yu, then returned to his studies with Feng Yan’s support and promised to marry Fu Niang after passing the examination. As the Spring Examination began, Wei Nisheng met Zhang Zai and realized Feng Yan had been preparing him to become a powerful minister.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou reviewed the evidence that Jiang Yu had desecrated Wei An’s spirit tablet, spared Wei Nisheng torture, and ordered Prince Ning and Li Yuanzhen held for their roles in the crisis.
• Fu Niang pleaded with Empress Zhou for Wei Nisheng, while Feng Yan, Qin’s students, and others also spoke in his defense.
• At the joint hearing, Prince Ning admitted abandoning the Gansu Three Prefectures, while Wei Nisheng admitted killing Jiang Yu and explained the provocation.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou sentenced Prince Ning to death, stripped Jiang Yu and his family of their titles, and declared Wei Nisheng not guilty of killing Jiang Yu.
• Feng Yan welcomed Wei Nisheng home, taught him the conduct expected of a gentleman, and urged him to become his successor, and Wei Nisheng promised Fu Niang they would marry after he passed the examination.
• Wei Nisheng met Zhang Zai, and the two became friends as they studied, debated ghosts and spirits, and promised to stand together beneath the East Flower Gate.
• Wei Nisheng entered the Spring Examination and wrote on spring rain and Guan Zhong, then recognized that Feng Yan had been guiding him to become a powerful minister.

Wei Nisheng won first place in the Provincial Examination, faced accusations that his success depended on Feng Yan’s influence, and defended his work before his fellow candidates. He entered the Palace Examination with the emperor watching and submitted an essay on worthy officials, good governance, and the ruler’s virtue.

• Shen Duan asked Feng Yan about his coming death and admitted that Feng Yan’s passing could leave him without a reason for the emperor to keep him, while Feng Yan warned him against clinging to power.
• Wei Nisheng proposed a gradual land-reform plan that began with equalizing taxes and labor obligations, and Emperor Jing of Zhou later admired the policy essay among the examination papers.
• Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai awaited the Provincial Examination results together, and Wei Nisheng discovered that he had taken first place after briefly believing he had failed.
• Wei Nisheng visited Feng Yan, who praised his success and warned him to prepare for the scrutiny of the Palace Examination.
• At Spring-Viewing Tower, Wang Kan and Xie Lin questioned whether Wei Nisheng’s access to government records had unfairly helped his policy essay, and Wei Nisheng challenged their criticism before leaving with Zhang Zai.
• Feng Yan explained that Shen Duan was trying to secure influence before Feng Yan’s death, while Wei Nisheng worried that fate might take Feng Yan as it had taken Wei An.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou placed the jade Literary Balance seal on Wei Nisheng’s desk and watched him write his Palace Examination essay on selecting the worthy, securing the realm, and achieving good governance.
• Wei Nisheng submitted his essay and left the examination hall, while Wang Kan told Xie Lin that Wei Nisheng had earned his achievements and condemned Xie for using others as shields.

Wei Nisheng became the top Palace Examination scholar, entered the Hanlin Academy, and learned to navigate the dangers of Court politics. He and Wang Kan submitted evidence of stolen granary stores, and the memorial reached officials preparing to challenge Shen Duan’s control of the Ministry of Revenue.

• Wei Nisheng returned the National Auspice Jade Seal to Feng Yan, celebrated his Palace Examination success with the household, and studied Wei Zheng’s warning about Court politics.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou named Wei Nisheng the Palace Examination’s top scholar, and Wei Nisheng publicly declared Feng Shu his wife during the celebratory procession.
• Feng Yan gave Wei Nisheng the courtesy name Zi'an at his Capping Ceremony, and Wei Nisheng impressed the scholars at the Wenxi Banquet with a poem about Liu Yu’s mausoleum.
• Wei Nisheng received a Hanlin Academy appointment, where he compiled historical records and uncovered contradictions in reports about granary reserves.
• Feng Yan urged Wei Nisheng to submit a memorial but warned him against letting factional interests take precedence over the country.
• Wei Nisheng drafted a memorial detailing fictitious grain reserves, and Wang Kan discovered his evidence and offered to help deliver it to the emperor.
• Wang Kan and Wei Nisheng sent their memorial through Song Jing, who chose to forward it despite the risk of provoking Shen Duan’s faction.
• Song Yue questioned officials about the granary discrepancies, and Kou Yuan accepted the memorial as a weapon against Shen Duan’s control of the Ministry of Revenue.

Wei Nisheng’s memorial exposed the missing grain and the suppression of earlier warnings, forcing Emperor Jing of Zhou to investigate Shen Duan’s Ministry of Revenue. The inquiry ended without proving Shen Duan’s guilt, leaving Wei Nisheng and Wang Kan to consider building their own influence.

• Song Yue and Kou Yuan pushed Wei Nisheng and Wang Kan’s memorial through the Grand Secretariat, and Fang Qi failed to stop it.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered the memorial read at court and appointed Song Jing to lead an inquiry into the missing grain and the suppression of three censors’ reports.
• Feng Yan gave Wei Nisheng copies of the old memorials, and Song Jing used them to confirm that earlier warnings matched the new evidence.
• Shen Duan ordered Zou Mo to frame nine granary officials and tried to recruit Wei Nisheng, who refused and declared his loyalty to the truth and the sovereign.
• Wu Daoqing gave He Chong his private ledger of the grain transfers, while Emperor Jing of Zhou learned that Wei Nisheng had rejected Shen Duan’s offer and marked him for protection.
• Wei Nisheng and Wang Kan defended the evidence at court, and Emperor Jing of Zhou promoted them, ordered a three-day investigation, and sent Shen Duan home pending impeachment.
• Feng Yan kept a copy of Wu Daoqing’s ledger and returned the original to Shen Duan, who burned it after agreeing to place Wei Nisheng in the Selection Bureau.
• Song Jing closed the case for lack of evidence, but Wang Kan challenged him and later asked Wei Nisheng how to preserve conviction while achieving results, and Wei urged them to build their own influence.