Chapter 5: When Something Seems Wrong

On the fifteenth day of the second month, the snow stopped. Fifteen days had passed since the incident at the ancestral hall.

Thin sunlight filtered through the paper window of the side room. Wearing the new winter clothes the steward had delivered, Wei Nisheng sat at his desk with two books open before him: the Analects and Mencius. They were ordinary editions, the commonest prints sold in town, with no notes or commentary. Compared with the copies in Shouzheng’s study, crowded with explanations by great scholars of the previous dynasty, they were worlds apart.

They belonged to Wei An. When Nisheng’s grandfather had first entered the Grand Secretariat, he had bought them on his way to court and given them to his attendant.

Nisheng turned the pages, but his thoughts wandered. He was ten now, old enough to consider his future. Over the past few days, Wei An had told him a good deal about Great Zhou’s civil service examinations.

“The state gathers the finest talents through the examinations: interpretations of the classics reveal understanding, rhapsodies reveal breadth of learning, essays reveal judgment, and policy answers reveal ability.”

Great Zhou had followed the Tang, but its examinations resembled those of the Song: interpretations of the classics, poetry and rhapsodies, essays and policy questions. There were no eight-legged essays, and the examination system was less complicated than that of the Ming and Qing, with only the autumn, metropolitan and palace examinations.

Still, reading a few transmigration novels didn’t mean passing would be easy. If Great Zhou had used the Ming and Qing eight-legged essay, even a literature doctorate would have been helpless. Nisheng’s specialty was Tang and Song history, not the Ming and Qing, and certainly not eight-legged prose.

His immediate problem was registration. Great Zhou required three parties to vouch for one another: besides himself, he needed a recommendation from his father and another from his teacher. How could Wei Mingde possibly recommend him?

His only way out was adoption into his eldest uncle’s branch. Grandfather’s eldest son had died young without an heir. Under clan rules, the elder branch could not be allowed to end, and sooner or later a son from the second branch would have to be adopted into it. But Nisheng was trapped in this side courtyard, unable even to leave the residence.

The door opened. Wei An came in carrying a brazier of charcoal fragments, bent and set it by Nisheng’s feet. Instead of leaving, he stayed and watched him.

“What are you thinking about, Second Young Master?”

Nisheng looked up. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “Uncle Wei, do you know about the adoption into the elder branch?”

Something flickered in Wei An’s eyes, then vanished. “You needn’t worry about that. The elder branch holds a hundred mu of good farmland and five shops that the old master saved for the eldest young master. Their profits go into the storehouse each year.”

Nisheng stared. A hundred mu, five shops, and years of profits on top of that! No wonder the man had been Minister of Revenue and a grand secretary. He had provided handsomely.

Wei An continued, “After the eldest young master died, the old master said, ‘The elder branch of my line must not end. I entrust this property to the clan elders, with instructions that when the elder branch has an heir, it all goes to him. Whether by adoption or otherwise, whoever carries on Dalang’s line will receive the money.’

“But your grandfather did not want a child from another branch of the clan adopted into his own line, so the place has remained empty.”

Wei An regarded Nisheng intently. “Do you know what that means, Second Young Master? All these years your father has prevented anyone else in the clan from adopting a son into the elder branch. He says it’s because of your grandfather’s wishes, but he has his own eye on the property.

“Since the old master died, your father hasn’t been able to support the household as it is. His rank isn’t high, but he spends freely and loves expensive things. He’s been eating into the family wealth and has long coveted the elder branch’s money.”

“Uncle Wei, you mean Father will have to let me carry on the elder branch…”

“Your mother can’t bear to part with your younger brother, and your father can’t bear to part with your elder brother. Besides, Great Zhou has no custom of adopting out the eldest legitimate son.”

Nisheng thought it through. Adoption would mean acknowledging his uncle as his father and severing his place in his present father’s branch. It would also give him a foundation: a hundred mu of farmland, five shops and years of profits. Any one of them would be enough to establish himself independently.

No. Once adopted into his uncle’s line, he would be a bird in the open sky, a fish in the sea!

Seeing the expression Nisheng couldn’t hide, Wei An nodded slightly. He had been right: the boy was precocious, just like the old master. He understood as soon as he was given a hint.

“Second Young Master, I’m not telling you this so you’ll act now. You’re still young; there’s little you can do except study.” He bent to move the brazier closer to Nisheng’s feet. “You’ve never been without a way forward. Your grandfather left one for your uncle, and now that road is there for you too.

“Sooner or later your father will arrange the adoption. Not for your sake, but for the elder branch’s money. He can’t get it himself, and he won’t let anyone else have it. If he puts it off long enough, you’ll be the only choice.”

Nisheng couldn’t help smiling. He had held a card to play all along.

……

He spent the rest of the day reading in his room, until one of Lady Cui’s maids came to summon him. Wary as he was of his stepmother’s invitation, he couldn’t refuse. He followed the maid through courtyard after courtyard to the main compound.

It was warmer than he had imagined. Delicate pastries were arranged neatly on the table: crystal cakes, osmanthus sweets and walnut crisps.

“My son, you’re here! Come in quickly. It’s cold outside, but the inner room is warm.”

Lady Cui rose from her seat with a broad smile, served him tea herself and pressed pastries into his hand, as warmly as though the scene in the ancestral hall fifteen days ago had never happened.

She was dressed with care today: a lotus-pink gauze robe with a subtle woven pattern, beneath a pale green jacket embroidered with winding crabapple blossoms at the collar and cuffs. A deep purple sash held a mutton-fat jade ornament at her waist. Her hair was piled high beneath a fashionable pearl coronet, edged with a gold filigree dragonfly pin. It was the height of fashion among the capital’s ladies, rich yet elegant. With an outfit like that for every day, no wonder Wei An said his father spent too much.

“Nisheng, what happened in the ancestral hall was all my fault.”

When he didn’t answer, Lady Cui knew he was playing meek again. She sighed, her face full of motherly affection. “I’ve been thinking these past days. You’re getting older; you can’t stay shut up in that side courtyard forever.”

Nisheng lowered his head to drink his tea, but listened closely.

“I’ve discussed it with your father. Your younger brother Shoucheng begins his lessons next year. I’d like you to move into the main courtyard and study with him. Naturally, we’ll hire well-known tutors from the capital. If you listen along, perhaps you’ll even earn a degree someday.”

Nisheng looked up, appearing flattered and astonished. Inside, he was on guard. When had Lady Cui ever been so kind? Only half a month ago, he had humiliated her in the ancestral hall. Given her nature, he would be lucky if she didn’t seek revenge. Why would she offer him kindness?

When something was this out of character, trouble had to be hiding behind it.