Chapter Summaries

After Jiao Yan failed to win Wang Yang’s favor, Wang Yang wrote about missing his former life before a knife-wielding woman broke into his room. He helped her evade Jiao Zheng’s guards, and she questioned how he had known they would return.

• Jiao Yan accepted her father’s plan to pursue Wang Yang, but Wang Yang refused her offer to attend him.
• Jiao Zheng reassured Jiao Yan that she could seek a marriage into the Cold Clans instead.
• Wang Yang wrote about longing for his family and friends in the modern world when the young woman in blue burst through his window and held a dagger to his throat.
• Jiao Zheng and the guards searched for an intruder, and Wang Yang concealed the woman by pretending they had interrupted him undressing.
• After the guards left, Wang Yang explained that he had helped hide her because he owed her for saving A-Wu, and she asked how he knew the guards would return.

Wang Yang tried to manage the armed woman hiding in his room while concealing his real identity and resisting her demand that he summon Jiao Zheng. After she revealed she wanted to take Jiao Zheng hostage to ask him something, Wang Yang demanded the full story before deciding whether to help.

• Wang Yang explained how he had concealed the woman from the guards, then claimed to be Liu Bi of the Niyang Liu Clan when she questioned his identity.
• The woman saw through his clan claim, but Wang Yang improvised that he was Liu Zhao’s fifth cousin-uncle, and she accepted the explanation.
• The woman ordered Wang Yang to summon Jiao Zheng alone, but he refused because he feared the consequences of Jiao Zheng’s death and the investigation that would follow.
• The woman thrust her dagger at Wang Yang’s eye and stopped it just short, frightening him before she withdrew the weapon.
• The woman admitted she wanted to take Jiao Zheng hostage to ask him something, and Wang Yang demanded she explain the whole story before he would help.

Wang Yang learned that Miss Chen was the daughter of Chen Tianfu, who was executed after being blamed for looting during the suppression of Tang Yuzhi's rebellion. She believed her father had been falsely accused and hinted that one of his former subordinates was the sole exception among those she had tracked down.

• Miss Chen gave Wang Yang her bronze seal, identified herself as Chen Tianfu's daughter, and found his ignorance of the Senior General's Execution Case and Tang Yuzhi's rebellion suspicious.
• Miss Chen recounted Tang Yuzhi's uprising, its defeat by Chen Tianfu and Liu Mingche, and the Imperial Guard's plundering that led to Chen Tianfu's execution and Liu Mingche's punishment.
• Miss Chen told Wang Yang she believed her disciplined father would never have ordered looting and pointed out that he had died before his public beheading.
• Wang Yang explained that the Qi Code could have subjected Chen Tianfu's relatives to conscription, while Miss Chen said she had been allowed to redeem her government-slave sentence.
• Miss Chen said she had searched for her father's former subordinates, most of whom had died, been demoted, fled, or scattered, and that only one was an exception.

Qing Shan revealed that she suspected Jiao Zheng of framing her father and asked Wang Yang to help capture him. When Wang Yang challenged her belief and warned that coercing Jiao Zheng would not clear her father, she stopped before cutting off his finger and agreed to let him draw Jiao Zheng out.

• Qing Shan explained that Jiao Zheng had accused her father of ordering plunder and had been rewarded with a better post.
• Wang Yang deduced that her father's former subordinates had all said he gave the order himself, leaving Jiao Zheng as her last person to question.
• Qing Shan admitted her doubts but insisted she believed in her father, then threatened to cut off Wang Yang's fingers unless he helped capture Jiao Zheng.
• Wang Yang argued that torture or killing Jiao Zheng would not prove his father's innocence and could leave Qing Shan unable to clear his name.
• Qing Shan spared Wang Yang's fingers and ordered him to draw Jiao Zheng out, threatening him again when he asked how he could do it now.

Wang Yang tried to delay the young woman’s demand that he draw information from Jiao Zheng, promising to earn Jiao Zheng’s trust within six days. When she insisted on staying with him, Wang Yang scolded her for leaving a dagger mark and began setting rules for their partnership.

• Wang Yang promised the young woman that his name would resound through Jingzhou City in six days and that Jiao Zheng would respect him more by then.
• The young woman refused to leave Wang Yang alone, saying she would stay with him until he finished the job.
• The young woman threw her dagger past Wang Yang’s ear and embedded it in the wall, warning him not to deceive her.
• Wang Yang scolded the young woman for damaging the wall and told her to carve the character “Wang” over the dagger mark to hide it.
• Wang Yang agreed to let the young woman stay and began laying down ground rules, starting with a demand that she stop using force against him.

Wang Yang and Chen Qing Shan agreed to work together: she would guard him while he investigated whether Jiao Zheng concealed the truth about her father's case. The next day, Chen Qing Shan met Wang Yang at the academy gates, ready to begin.

• Wang Yang told Chen Qing Shan his identity and admitted he could not arrange a meeting with General Liu Mingche.
• Chen Qing Shan agreed to serve as Wang Yang's guard for a month while he carefully investigated Jiao Zheng, and she gave him her name.
• Wang Yang met Jiao Zheng for breakfast, then returned to the academy in an ox cart.
• Chen Qing Shan appeared beside a ginkgo tree at the academy gates and addressed Wang Yang as Young Master.

Wang Yang’s lesson at the Commandery Academy was interrupted when Xie Xinghan summoned him, and she confronted him about his remark from the previous day. The chapter ended with Xie asking whether he recognized four servants who had met him before.

• Liu Zhao lectured the students on the Book of Documents while Wang Yang listened and the class struggled to ignore his bodyguard.
• Xiao Ning arrived to summon Wang Yang for Xie Xinghan, and Wang Yang theatrically insisted that his studies came first before Liu Zhao urged him to go.
• Wang Yang brought Chen Qing Shan to the rear courtyard, where Xie Xinghan challenged him over his invitation to let her have a look at him.
• Xie Xinghan presented four blue-clad servants and asked Wang Yang whether he recognized them, while Wang Yang pretended not to know them.

Wang Yang and Xie Xinghan discussed his Book of Documents question book and his plan to sell its copies, sparring over whether commerce was a proper pursuit for a scholar. Xie Xinghan revealed that her family’s brocade fleet would arrive in Jingzhou in eight days, and Wang Yang asked whether it would carry cargo back to Jiankang.

• Xie Xinghan’s servant tried to approach Wang Yang, but Chen Qing Shan blocked him and struck him back with her weapon.
• Xie Xinghan asked Wang Yang about the continuation to One Hundred Questions on the Book of Documents, and he admitted that he planned to sell the answers in a later volume.
• Wang Yang explained that he intended to sell nearly all three hundred copies of the question book, while Xie Xinghan warned that merchants might copy and resell it.
• Wang Yang defended commerce as a way to establish a livelihood, and Xie Xinghan disclosed that she managed her family’s properties and business affairs.
• Xie Xinghan said her family’s fifteen ships carrying brocade would arrive in Jingzhou in eight days, and Wang Yang asked whether they would take cargo back to Jiankang.

Wang Yang proposed that Xie Xinghan help sell his folding fans in the Capital, and she agreed to consider it if the fans became popular. After arranging a rematch at an elegant gathering, Xie Xinghan warned Wang Yang that his supposedly prestigious clothes were counterfeit, leaving him wondering whether she suspected his identity.

• Wang Yang showed Xie Xinghan his folding fan and proposed splitting the profits from selling ten thousand in the Capital.
• Xie Xinghan agreed to work with Wang Yang if the fan took Jingzhou by storm and invited him to a gathering for another match.
• Xie Xinghan said Wang Yang would have to reveal his true origins if he lost, and Wang Yang agreed to the rematch.
• Wang Yang thanked Xie Xinghan for publicly supporting his identity at the Commandery Academy, and she told him to buy better clothes because his Yulin fabric was fake.
• After the carriage left, Chen Qing Shan asked Wang Yang whether his Yulin White Lined Jacket was really counterfeit.

Yu Yuling’s hunger strike ended when Yu Yi offered to help him continue the Commandery Academy’s teachings in Dongyang, and Yu Yuling agreed to eat. Meanwhile, Wang Yang received temporary household registration in Jingzhou and prepared to attend a literary gathering hosted by Yu Yi.

• Yu Yi visited Yu Yuling, who was on his third day of refusing food, and persuaded him to consider spreading his school of thought in Dongyang.
• Yu Yuling accepted Yu Yi’s proposal and gulped down the congee before his father left.
• Wang Yang learned that his temporary Jingzhou household registration had been entered under Yixing as his ancestral home.
• Xiao Ning stopped Wang Yang from boarding Xie Xinghan’s cart and gave him a list of the three attendees at the literary gathering.
• Wang Yang learned that Yu Yi would host and judge the Pure Conversation, and began considering his strategy.

Wang Yang attended a pure discourse gathering at the Yu residence with Chen Qing Shan and Xie Xinghan, trying to conceal his lack of money and uncertain identity. When Yan Youcheng asked about his family branch, Wang Yang claimed that his ancestor was Wang Youjun, prompting Yan to exclaim in surprise.

• Chen Qing Shan realized Wang Yang was broke and offered to lend him money at twenty percent monthly interest.
• At the Yu residence, Xie Xinghan teased Wang Yang about his clothes and offered him a loan at fifty percent monthly interest.
• Wang Yang, Chen Qing Shan, and Xie Xinghan entered the reception hall, where Yu Yi welcomed them and they met Yan Youcheng.
• Yan Youcheng asked which branch of the Langya Wang Wang Yang belonged to and why he studied in Jingzhou.
• Wang Yang claimed his ancestor was a renowned Jin dynasty minister who became General of the Right Army and Administrator of Kuaiji, and Yan Youcheng exclaimed, "Wang Youjun?!"

Wang Yang’s aristocratic companions gathered for a pure conversation, and he learned that Yan Youcheng had independently found a key interpretation of Zhuangzi. Yu Yi opened the gathering by bringing out the Whitetail Fan, setting the stage for a contest of arguments.

• Wang Yang revealed that he was descended from Wang Xizhi but declined to discuss his family’s decline, and Yan Youcheng reassured him about his prospects.
• Yan Youcheng talked at length about his past debates while Xie Xinghan listened quietly and Chen Qing Shan remained on guard beside Wang Yang.
• Liu Cheng arrived, exchanged greetings with the guests, and interrupted Yan Youcheng’s explanation of Free and Easy Wandering so the gathering could begin.
• Wang Yang recognized that Yan Youcheng had independently identified the word “great” as the key to Free and Easy Wandering.
• Yu Yi called for the Whitetail Fan and explained how it passed between participants as they challenged and defended arguments.

Xie Xinghan argued that Laozi emphasized governing the state while Zhuangzi emphasized governing the self, and Yan Youcheng challenged her interpretation. She answered his objections point by point as the debate continued, leaving the other listeners to consider her rebuttals.

• Yan Youcheng declined to take the whisk, and Liu Cheng briefly offered to speak before Wang Yang also refused.
• Xie Xinghan took the whisk and argued that Laozi and Zhuangzi differed in their views on governing, contention, and life and death.
• Wang Yang praised Xie Xinghan's argument, and Yu Yi began to declare it unanswered before Yan Youcheng objected.
• Yan Youcheng cited passages from Laozi and Zhuangzi to challenge Xie Xinghan's claim that Laozi taught governing the state and Zhuangzi governing the self.
• Xie Xinghan countered that Zhuangzi prioritized self-cultivation and that his references to ruling were secondary, leaving Yan Youcheng struggling to answer.

Liu Cheng challenged Xie Xinghan’s arguments about differences between Laozi and Zhuangzi, using their shared teachings and broader context to rebut her. Xie Xinghan conceded the debate and handed Liu Cheng her Whitetail Fan.

• Yan Youcheng called on Liu Cheng to defend against Xie Xinghan’s argument after Wang Yang declined to speak.
• Liu Cheng argued that Laozi’s ideas about victory did not prove he was calculating, and Xie Xinghan’s reply left her open to a counterargument.
• Liu Cheng used Laozi’s and Zhuangzi’s remarks on death and Mencius’s method of interpreting texts to argue that Xie Xinghan had misread them.
• Wang Yang praised Liu Cheng’s argument, and Yan Youcheng declared him the winner of the Pure Conversation.
• Liu Cheng took Xie Xinghan’s Whitetail Fan and argued that Laozi and Zhuangzi shared the same Way, declaring her argument refuted.

Wang Yang challenged Liu Cheng’s critique of Xie Xinghan’s argument by showing how Zhuangzi and Laozi differed in their teachings. He ended by declaring Xie Xinghan’s position unshakable, leaving Liu Cheng unable to reply.

• After Xie Xinghan warned Wang Yang that their fan deal depended on him answering Liu Cheng, Wang Yang questioned Liu Cheng about the differences between Zhuangzi and Laozi.
• Wang Yang used Liu Cheng’s own reasoning against him and argued that the two thinkers differed in their views of the Way, sages, constancy, nonaction, and worldly affairs.
• Liu Cheng cited passages from Zhuangzi to challenge Wang Yang, but Wang Yang explained them away, drawing laughter from Xie Xinghan, Yan Youcheng, and Yu Yi.
• Wang Yang concluded that Zhuangzi and Laozi had similarities but could not be treated as identical, and reaffirmed that Xie Xinghan’s argument was unassailable.

Wang Yang won the Pure Conversation against Liu Cheng and attended Yu Yi’s banquet, where he defended his guard Chen Qing Shan from awkward questions. The gathering ended with Yan Youcheng angered after learning that Goryeo envoys had been seated alongside his brother’s party at the Northern Barbarians’ court assembly.

• Wang Yang impressed the gathering with his argument, and Xie Xinghan conceded before Yu Yi declared him the winner of the Pure Conversation.
• Yu Yi hosted a banquet where Wang Yang repeatedly served food to Chen Qing Shan, who ate while standing beside him.
• Liu Cheng asked Chen Qing Shan where she came from, but she ignored him and then clearly told Wang Yang that she had finished eating.
• Yan Youcheng told the group that his brother’s party had met Goryeo envoys at the Northern Barbarians’ New Year court assembly.
• Xie Xinghan and Liu Cheng revealed Goryeo’s annual tribute of gold and silver, and Yan Youcheng angrily complained that the Goryeo envoys had been seated with his brother’s party.

At a gathering, Southern Qi officials debated Northern Wei’s treatment of their envoy and whether to launch a Northern Expedition. Wang Yang challenged Liu Cheng’s confidence by arguing that the strategic situation, beginning with control of the Huai River, favored the north.

• Liu Cheng, Yu Qianlou, Yan Youcheng, and Xie Xinghan condemned Northern Wei for seating the Southern Qi envoy with the Goryeo envoy and discussed the court’s past treatment of Wei envoys.
• Liu Cheng proposed a three-route Northern Expedition, and Yan Youcheng enthusiastically agreed while Yu Qianlou worried about the cost and supplies.
• Yu Qianlou questioned his own caution as his father concealed a cold smile.
• Liu Cheng pressed Wang Yang for his opinion, and Xie Xinghan used their collaboration to get Wang to speak.
• Wang Yang warned that the broader circumstances favored the north and explained that Southern Qi had to defend the Huai before the Yangtze, drawing Yu Yi’s serious attention.

Wang Yang explained how the south could defend itself against the north, first identifying Pengcheng and Xuanhu as key strongholds and then arguing that Jingxiang and Shandong formed the strategic wings of the region. Yu Yi offered him a treasured jade pendant to continue, and Wang Yang began outlining the next point late into the night.

• Wang Yang mistakenly believed Southern Qi had lost the Huai River, then argued that holding only Huainan did not count as controlling it.
• Wang Yang named Pengcheng and Xuanhu as essential strongholds for defending the Huai, stunning the others with his analysis.
• Wang Yang refused to give the rest of his argument until Yu Yi offered him the Azure Deep jade pendant.
• Wang Yang argued that securing Jingxiang was necessary to defend the Yangtze and described its strategic importance.
• Wang Yang said Shandong and Jingxiang were the south's two strategic wings, then accidentally cited Xu Da's northern expedition before correcting himself.

After Wang Yang argued that Ba-Shu was essential to defending the south and launching a northern campaign, Yu Yi allowed Yu Yuling to return to the Commandery Academy and urged him to learn judgment and vision. On the ride home, Wang Yang and Chen Qing Shan discussed military strategy, the northern dynasty, and their duties to each other.

• Yu Yi recalled Wang Yang's strategic arguments, ordered Yu Qianlou to withdraw the men watching the Bamboo Hut, and permitted A Jie to return to the Commandery Academy.
• Yu Yi told Yu Qianlou to report everything Wang Yang had said and quietly investigate Wang Yang's household registration, then began writing a letter to Lay Buddhist Xuanlong.
• Yu Yuling praised Wang Yang's scholarship and strategic insight, and Yu Yi admonished him to value judgment and vision over memorizing books.
• In the ox cart, Chen Qing Shan asked who Wang Yang really was, and he jokingly called himself her master before she warned him that his smile was frivolous.
• Wang Yang cautioned Chen Qing Shan against underestimating the northern dynasty and told her she did not need to stand guard throughout future banquets.
• Chen Qing Shan insisted on fulfilling her bodyguard duties and asked Wang Yang to be equally devoted to his promise to her.

Liu Cheng urged Liu Tan to defeat Wang Yang in an upcoming debate, and Liu Tan revealed he had arranged an unfair advantage despite misgivings. As the debate drew near, Wang Yang studied widely and stayed relaxed, leaving Liu Zhao increasingly uncertain about his preparation.

• Liu Tan stopped Liu Cheng from burning the rare scroll he had found for Fourth Lady Xie and pointed out that his jealousy was misplaced.
• Liu Cheng asked Liu Tan to crush Wang Yang in the debate at the White Tiger Daoist Grounds, and Liu Tan promised to prepare while warning him against narrow-mindedness.
• Liu Tan disclosed a questionable measure he had arranged to ensure the debate went his way, delighting Liu Cheng while insisting it was not honorable.
• Wang Yang spent his free time reading in Liu Zhao's library and chatting easily with the students as the debate approached.
• Liu Zhao noticed Wang Yang reading many kinds of books, including Illustrated Techniques of Marriage and the Bedchamber, and worried about whether he was ready for the debate.