Chapter Summaries

Chen Qing Shan was driven off to seek reinforcements while barbarians raided the pavilion and seized Wang Yang and Liu Cheng. Wang Yang tried to redirect the attackers by claiming a nearby military inspection ground held thousands of soldiers, and the Tiger-Skin Jacket leader demanded confirmation from Liu Cheng.

• Chen Qing Shan spotted the approaching barbarians, but the Tiger-Skin Jacket leader attacked her with a spear, and she escaped after Wang Yang ordered her to find reinforcements within fifteen minutes.
• Wang Yang ran toward Liu Cheng and revealed that Chen Qing Shan had gone for help, prompting Liu Cheng to flee before the barbarians caught and beat him.
• The barbarians dragged Wang Yang and Liu Cheng to the pavilion, where the Tiger-Skin Jacket leader asked whether they had brocade fabric.
• Wang Yang falsely claimed that warehouses of brocade lay beyond the woods, then changed his story to say a military inspection ground held 5,300 infantry.
• The Tiger-Skin Jacket leader asked Liu Cheng whether Wang Yang’s claim was true.

Wang Yang let the tribesmen capture Liu Cheng in his place, then faced a hostile interrogation by Fang Yan over the attack. He challenged Fang Yan’s questioning and stood to leave, while Fang Yan threatened to stop him.

• Wang Yang persuaded the tribesmen to seize Liu Cheng by offering himself in exchange, but they gagged and carried Liu Cheng away after hearing a signal whistle.
• The tribesmen demanded three thousand brocade robes and three thousand crimson padded jackets for Liu Cheng’s return at Wuyang Gorge.
• Fang Yan arrived at the Music Family Mountain Villa with troops and took charge of the investigation, excluding the local offices.
• During questioning, Wang Yang challenged Fang Yan’s demand for precise details by comparing it to Fang Yan’s vague description of brothel girls and citing literary allusions.
• Fang Yan accused Wang Yang of lying about the tribesmen and hinted that he and Liu Cheng were on bad terms, but Wang Yang demanded evidence and stood to leave.
• Fang Yan warned Wang Yang that he would not be allowed to leave, and Wang Yang dared him to stop him.

Wang Yang resisted Fang Yan’s interrogation and attempted confinement at the Le estate, then left with Madam Le despite Chief Clerk Liu Yin’s efforts to stop him. Xie Xinghan used Military Commissioner Xi Gongmu’s orders to clear the road, and Wang Yang set off for Jingzhou City with her escort.

• Wang Yang intimidated Fang Yan into dropping plans to question Xiao Shan, but Fang Yan still ordered him to remain in the room.
• Madam Le arrived with Chen Qing Shan and her guards, confronted Fang Yan, and escorted Wang Yang out of the estate.
• Cao Yong’s soldiers surrounded Wang Yang’s party on the mountain road and demanded that he return under Chief Clerk Liu’s orders.
• Xie Xinghan presented the military command’s authority during the Southern Man attack and persuaded Cao Yong to withdraw his troops.
• Wang Yang recited a poem praising Xie Xinghan, mounted his horse, and led the party toward Jingzhou City with her escort.

Wang Yang candidly told Liu Tan how Liu Cheng had endangered him and offered a possible way to rescue him, while asking Liu Tan for a separate favor. Elsewhere, Xie Xinghan questioned Chen Qing Shan about Wang Yang’s belt, and the Prince of Badong emerged after brutally beating the Music Family steward.

• Liu Tan apologized for Liu Cheng’s actions and asked Wang Yang to recount what had happened, saying he trusted Wang Yang rather than the case file.
• Wang Yang admitted that Liu Cheng had revealed his silk business and identity to the barbarians, and that he had helped fan the flames before Liu Cheng was captured.
• Liu Tan explained that his family could not ransom Liu Cheng without risking punishment, and Wang Yang offered a rescue method with a sixty-to-seventy-percent chance of success.
• Wang Yang asked Liu Tan for a separate favor, while Xie Xinghan questioned Chen Qing Shan about Wang Yang’s belt and Chen Qing Shan concealed what she knew.
• Kong Changyu reported the case to the Prince of Badong as the prince beat the Music Family steward behind a screen, then continued after the prince emerged.

The Prince of Badong arranged a scapegoat and a cover-up after the barbarian attack, then threatened to kill a maid who had overheard his plans. Wang Yang used wit and persuasion to secure her release, leaving the prince newly reluctant to silence him.

• Kong Changyu reported the search for the attackers and warned that the Chief Clerk's office was investigating the Cheng'an and Lingzu garrisons.
• The Prince of Badong approved a false confession blaming a drunk Squad Leader and ordered Kong Changyu to tell Liu Tan that the Music Family's steward had died in prison.
• The Prince of Badong threatened to kill a maid for overhearing their conversation, but Wang Yang asked to choose her manner of death and said she should die of old age.
• Wang Yang invoked the maid's long service and the Prince of Badong's magnanimity, persuading him to spare her and give her ten thousand coins.
• The Prince of Badong asked what Wang Yang would have said if the maid were new, and Wang Yang replied that newcomers would eventually become old companions.

Wang Yang carefully framed his conflict with Liu Yin as a private grudge to secure the Prince of Badong’s protection without revealing his suspicions about the silk and satin business. The prince agreed to help, and Wang Yang left him reassured that their business could continue.

• Wang Yang weighed how to ask the Prince of Badong for help without making him suspect that Wang Yang knew the silk and satin shipment’s secret.
• Wang Yang told the Prince of Badong that Liu Yin held a grudge against him over the Vast Source Pawnshop affair and was using Liu Cheng’s case to target him.
• The Prince of Badong questioned Wang Yang’s claims and suggested he cooperate if Liu Yin summoned him, even if he faced interrogation.
• Wang Yang said detention would delay the prince’s silk and satin business, prompting the Prince of Badong to laugh and call him a little brat for threatening him.
• Wang Yang explained that he had used the private-grudge framework to reassure the prince that he did not suspect the shipment’s connection to the barbarians.

The Prince of Badong challenged Wang Yang to guess his thoughts, but Wang Yang outwitted him by declaring that he was thinking of loyalty and filial devotion. Later, Wang Yang practiced calligraphy with A-Wu under Xie Xinghan’s guidance, and the group discussed their aspirations and a temple said to reveal past lives.

• The Prince of Badong agreed to help Wang Yang if he answered a question, then asked him to guess what he was thinking.
• Wang Yang summoned witnesses and declared that the Prince of Badong was thinking of loyalty to his sovereign and filial devotion to his father, leaving the Prince dumbstruck.
• At the Wang Residence, Xie Xinghan corrected A-Wu’s calligraphy and assigned her fifty copies after noticing she was distracted.
• A-Wu said her aspiration was to earn enough money to buy Wang Yang a manor, and Wang Yang recalled that Chen Qing Shan had offered him her savings and ancestral home.
• Xie Xinghan invited Wang Yang to visit Zhiqi Temple’s Shadow-Playing Spring after martial law was lifted, and she praised his improving calligraphy.

Wang Yang entertained Xie Xinghan and Chen Qing Shan with his martial-arts story before Fan Jian arrived with officers to summon him on Liu Yin's orders. As Wang Yang finished his poem, an appointment from the Prince of Badong protected him from the summons and left the officers stunned.

• Xie Xinghan and Chen Qing Shan read Wang Yang's martial-arts story about Zhuang Zhou and praised it, while Wang Yang explained he had written it for fun.
• Wang Yang began composing a ci poem as rain lingered outside, but Black Han interrupted to report that officers had surrounded the residence.
• Fan Jian presented an improperly countersigned summons from Liu Yin, and Xie Xinghan challenged its validity before Wang Yang agreed to go after finishing his calligraphy.
• Wang Yang warned Fan Jian and the officers that they would lose their positions if they forced him to leave, then continued writing while Little A-Wu practiced.
• An envoy announced that the Prince of Badong had appointed Wang Yang White-Robed Commissioner and barred other administrations from summoning him, prompting Fan Jian and the officers to lose color.
• Wang Yang finished the poem with the words, "Look askance at the Chief Clerk; toy with the governor!"

Liu Yin exposed the false accusation against Zhang Yuan by ordering witness Ma Liu to undergo the same torture, and he had Prison Clerk Li arrested for violating procedure. After leaving the prison, Liu Yin heard that the attempt to arrest Wang Yang had failed and insisted that even an extraordinary man was subject to the law.

• Prison Clerk Li and Old Jia tortured Zhang Yuan and demanded that he confess to raping Ke Min, but Zhang Yuan continued to deny the charge and insult them.
• Liu Yin arrived, questioned Zhang Yuan, and ordered Ma Liu to undergo counter-interrogation because Zhang Yuan had refused to confess after the prescribed torture.
• Under torture, Ma Liu admitted that he and Ke Min had been having an affair, that Zhang Yuan had not raped her, and that they had framed him.
• Liu Yin ordered the jailers to continue Ma Liu's punishment and said Ke Min would face punishment after giving birth.
• Liu Yin had Prison Clerk Li arrested for taking over the torture, then heard from Fan Jian that the attempt to arrest Wang Yang had failed.
• Liu Yin told Fan Jian that Wang Yang was still subject to the law, however extraordinary he might be.

Wang Yang arranged to expose Liu Yin’s intrigues through rival officials and prepared to pursue additional fronts against him. At the imperial palace, the Son of Heaven dismissed Lü Wenxian from his post as a palace attendant and ordered him to govern Huainan after uncovering his resentment toward the Duke of Liu.

• Wang Yang reviewed Liu Tan’s plan to provoke Zhao Jie and Qiu Ying into reporting a suspicious gift, then asked Liu Tan to add another front to his campaign against Liu Yin.
• Wang Yang told Liu Tan he would be busy at the Commandery Academy the next day and arranged for Black Han to visit the brocade workshops with him instead.
• The Son of Heaven practiced with his horse lance and received Lü Wenxian, who raised the issue of the Duke of Liu handling the crisis involving his captured son.
• The Son of Heaven accused Lü Wenxian of sowing discord between the throne and the Duke of Liu and ordered him to leave the palace and govern Huainan.
• Lü Wenxian admitted his jealousy and begged to remain in the imperial city, but the Son of Heaven confirmed his appointment and arranged for him to receive a portrait before departing.

Liu Shilong and the Son of Heaven recalled old friends and discussed Liu Shilong’s retirement and his captured Fourth Son. The emperor arranged measures to help secure the boy’s release, then read Liu Shilong’s memorial and was struck by its author’s extraordinary talent.

• The Son of Heaven and Liu Shilong remembered their former Hualin Banquets, then mourned the friends who had died or were away on duty.
• The Son of Heaven asked whether Liu Shilong’s retirement and absence concealed fear of being treated like the emperor’s executed former allies, but Liu Shilong explained that he wanted a quiet life.
• The Son of Heaven said he would not yield to the Barbarian Tribe’s demands, planned to send instructions seeking the Fourth Son’s release, and appointed Liu Tan Governor of Wenyang while transferring Liu Senglin to Wenyang Commandery.
• Liu Shilong presented the Son of Heaven with a policy essay, and the emperor’s reaction revealed how deeply its brilliance had affected him.

Liu Shilong sought the Son of Heaven’s help to rescue his fourth son, and the emperor agreed to pursue a secret, carefully staged trade proposal while refusing to send Wang Yang as an envoy. After Liu Shilong left, the Son of Heaven secretly reread Wang Yang’s essay and erupted with excitement over its vision for governing the barbarians.

• The Son of Heaven approved trying limited measures with the Wenyang Man, on condition that the court keep the proposal secret and the tribe request submission and trade after releasing Liu Shilong’s fourth son.
• Liu Shilong urged the Son of Heaven to include Wang Yang in the mission, but the emperor refused and said the envoy choice required public deliberation.
• The Son of Heaven reassured Liu Shilong that he could tolerate loyal subjects who remained attached to the former dynasty, citing Yu Youjian, Xie Fei, and others.
• The Son of Heaven offered to support Liu Shilong’s efforts to rescue his son, and Liu Shilong departed after praising the emperor’s heroic spirit.
• After dismissing the attendants, the Son of Heaven reread Wang Yang’s essay, struck a pillar with a ruyi, and shattered it while declaring his ambition to establish an enduring policy.

The Son of Heaven pardoned Du Qianguang and appointed him Erudition Doctor, saving him from punishment for refusing to revise his controversial book. Du Qianguang and his son Du Jian rejoiced, and the story traced Du Qianguang’s scholarship through generations to a descendant named Du Fu, courtesy name Zimei.

• The Son of Heaven rejected a remonstrance against building Temporary Granaries, then wrote an edict pardoning Du Qianguang and appointing him Erudition Doctor.
• In prison, Du Qianguang made his son Du Jian memorize the central claims of his book, including the winter-solstice shadow measurement of three chi and five cun.
• Du Qianguang refused to alter his scholarship, insisting that historical evidence about Luoyi being the center of all under Heaven could not be erased.
• Jailers came to fetch Du Qianguang, but the deputy commandant told him that the Son of Heaven had pardoned him and appointed him to office.
• Du Qianguang and Du Jian celebrated the reprieve, and the account followed their family line to Du Fu, courtesy name Zimei.

Liu Yin secured Jingzhou's officials and documents for a major arrest operation while Wang Yang lectured Xiao Baoyue on Han military history and He Jin's ambitions. Xiao Baoyue swallowed her anger at Wang Yang's dismissive teasing, then agreed to arrange two banquet spreads for an undisclosed occasion.

• Liu Yin ordered the judicial officers to remain inside the Chief Clerk's residence and commandery offices, guard against leaks, and prepare for the next day's operation.
• Wang Yang explained the history of the Han imperial guard and argued that He Jin summoned outside troops to pursue his own ambitions against the eunuchs.
• Xiao Baoyue praised Wang Yang's interpretation of He Jin and criticized later generations for judging historical figures with hindsight.
• Wang Yang said he had to leave to order two banquet spreads, and Xiao Baoyue offered to have them delivered.
• Wang Yang told Xiao Baoyue where the banquets should go but kept their purpose secret, and she agreed to arrange them while containing her irritation.

Xiao Baoyue analyzed the Partisan Prohibitions and received Wang Yang’s critique of her historical learning and judgment. After she threatened him with armed maids, Wang Yang defended the dignity of his Way and teaching, prompting her to apologize and ask him to continue.

• Xiao Baoyue argued that the Partisan Prohibitions damaged scholarly morals and ultimately helped bring about later calamities.
• Wang Yang explained the difference between historical learning and historical judgment, praising Xiao Baoyue’s discernment while calling her analysis superficial.
• Xiao Baoyue grew angry at Wang Yang’s criticism and summoned warrior maids to surround him.
• Wang Yang declared that the teacher’s Way must not be insulted, even under threat of force.
• Xiao Baoyue dismissed the maids, apologized to Wang Yang, and asked him to continue teaching.
• Wang Yang accepted her apology and agreed to continue his instruction.

Wang Yang explained the political struggle behind the Partisan Prohibitions and asked Xiao Baoyue why she had made him memorize the Comprehensive Study of the Southern Barbarians. Xiao Baoyue said she would tell him later, and Wang Yang left her waiting for the crucial point the Son of Heaven feared.

• Wang Yang described how the Eastern Han emperors relied on imperial in-laws and eunuchs, and how scholars allied with the in-laws against the eunuchs.
• Wang Yang explained how scholars’ attacks on eunuchs and their growing public influence led to the first Partisan Prohibitions and the dismissal of more than two hundred scholar-officials.
• Wang Yang paused before revealing the point that most frightened the Son of Heaven, and asked Xiao Baoyue why she had made him memorize the Comprehensive Study of the Southern Barbarians.
• Xiao Baoyue said she would have told Wang Yang anyway, but that the time was not right.
• Xiao Baoyue asked Wang Yang to finish his explanation, so he promised to tell her the crucial point; Xiao Baoyue immediately became uneasy.

Xiao Baoyue revealed that she planned to publish Comprehensive Study of the Southern Barbarians under Wang Yang’s name to draw the Prince of Badong into contact with him. She asked Wang Yang to help identify which of three tribes was trading weapons with the prince, and he revised her proposed approach before she wondered whether he was maneuvering her.

• Xiao Baoyue told Wang Yang she had ordered two thousand copies of Comprehensive Study of the Southern Barbarians and intended to name him as its author.
• Wang Yang realized Xiao Baoyue planned to use the book to attract the Prince of Badong, who was trading weapons with the Southern Man.
• Xiao Baoyue explained that the likely trading partners were the Yidu Barbarians, the Wuning Barbarians, or the Yongning Barbarians, and asked Wang Yang to help investigate.
• Wang Yang said Xiao Baoyue’s proposed wording would make the prince suspicious and suggested a different approach.
• Xiao Baoyue praised Wang Yang’s skill at maneuvering people, then asked whether he was maneuvering her too.

Wang Yang used his unfinished discussion of the Partisan Prohibitions to keep Xiao Baoyue answering questions, then left her his written notes. Xiao Baoyue read them and ordered Xin Yi to buy roast duck, while Wang Yang arranged for his household to dine elsewhere the next day.

• Wang Yang refused to reveal his plans and teased Xiao Baoyue by saying she could learn about the Partisan Prohibitions one step at a time.
• After Wang Yang left, Xiao Baoyue broke her Jade Cluster Cup and told Xin Yi that he was trying to get her under his thumb.
• Lian San told Xiao Baoyue that Wang Yang had left her several sheets of paper, and she had Xin Yi bring them in.
• Xiao Baoyue read Wang Yang's notes, which continued his discussion of the Partisan Prohibitions, and ordered Xin Yi to buy roast duck from the Six Harmonies House.
• Wang Yang bought fifteen roast ducks, shared them with his household and several residences, and told his household they would eat elsewhere the next day.

Wang Yang accepted Liu Yin’s abrupt invitation and met the Chief Clerk at his residence, where they discussed tea, imprisonment, and Liu Yin’s handling of Liu Cheng’s case. Liu Yin said he wanted to turn their enmity into friendship, but their exchange left the terms of that friendship unsettled.

• Wang Yang received Liu Yin’s invitation and questioned Zhang Fu about its sudden timing before agreeing to go.
• Liu Yin welcomed Wang Yang while dressed for gardening, and the two exchanged greetings and offered food for the meal.
• Wang Yang observed Liu Yin’s simple home and declined to drink the cheap tea because it could worsen his sleeplessness.
• Liu Yin said he had closed the part of Liu Cheng’s case involving Wang Yang, and Wang Yang replied that Liu Yin had tried and failed to pursue it.
• Liu Yin said he wished to turn his enemy into a friend and reflected that prison made interesting people uninteresting.

Wang Yang negotiated with Liu Yin over the sale of his two retainer troops, trying to uncover why Liu Yin wanted them while driving up the price. Liu Yin’s offers reached 150,000 coins, but Wang Yang rejected them and left the negotiation unresolved.

• Liu Yin asked Wang Yang to sell him his two retainer troops, and Wang Yang pressed him to explain why he wanted them.
• Liu Yin offered 10,000 coins per retainer, but Wang Yang boasted about an expensive meal and challenged the offer.
• Liu Yin raised his offer to 40,000 coins per retainer, while Wang Yang argued that the Prince’s reward showed the retainers were worth more.
• Wang Yang and Liu Yin traded barbs about their good faith, their meeting, and whether they could become friends.
• Wang Yang set a 100,000-coin starting price and rejected Liu Yin’s offers of 120,000, 130,000, and 150,000 coins, provoking Liu Yin’s anger.