Chapter Summaries

Jia Heng began his Canon Clerk post at the Imperial College, learned about the Capital’s examination schedule, and chose the courtesy name Ziyu. He left the college with Han Hui, Yu Zhen, and Song Yuan to dine at the Drunken Wind Tower.

• Song Yuan hired Jia Heng as a Canon Clerk, gave him his token, and showed him his workplace in Section A of the Literary Gathering Pavilion.
• Song Yuan explained that the Capital held its county and prefectural examinations in the eleventh month, and Jia Heng considered taking the examinations soon.
• Song Yuan showed Jia Heng his lodging and the Imperial College before instructing him to study the catalogues and ask questions as needed.
• Han Hui and Yu Zhen visited Jia Heng, and Han Hui invited him out to eat.
• Jia Heng asked Song Yuan to call him Ziyu, explaining that his courtesy name used the character for a golden spear, and Han Hui adopted the name too.
• Jia Heng, Han Hui, Yu Zhen, and Song Yuan left the Imperial College and headed to the Drunken Wind Tower.

Jia Heng accepted Song Yuan’s help preparing for the examinations and settled back into his household routine, writing late into the night. Qingwen remained uncertain about her place in his home, but Jia Heng’s considerate behavior left her slowly adjusting to serving him.

• At the Drunken Wind Tower, Jia Heng agreed to study with Song Yuan, while Yu Zhen offered him examination essays and annotated classics.
• Jia Heng returned home late and told Aunt Cai he would spend his days at the Imperial College; Aunt Cai said she was still searching for a reliable maid.
• Qingwen and Aunt Cai prepared Jia Heng’s bath, and Jia Heng went to his study to continue writing Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
• Jia Heng told Qingwen to wash and sleep rather than attend him in the bath, leaving her uncertain about his intentions and her future in the household.
• After Qingwen brought him tea late at night, Jia Heng stopped writing and told her he was used to looking after himself; Qingwen replied that serving people was what she had learned.

Jia Heng began his busy study schedule and offered to teach Qingwen to read, encouraging her to develop interests beyond her work. Qingwen accepted his offer, and they went to breakfast together.

• Jia Heng exercised at dawn while Qingwen watched and asked about his plans for the day.
• Jia Heng told Qingwen he would attend the Imperial College and stay there for lunch because the journey home took too long.
• While finishing his illustrated-book manuscript, Jia Heng offered to teach Qingwen to read after she admitted she could not recognize the characters.
• Jia Heng wrote Qingwen’s name for her and gave her a copy of the Thousand Character Classic to study gradually.
• Qingwen agreed to learn from Jia Heng, and they went to breakfast together.

Jia Heng settled into his Canon Clerk work at the Literary Gathering Pavilion, reorganizing its books and devising a more efficient way to help scholars find them. He presented his plan to Song Yuan, who admired his administrative talent and teased him for trying to save more time for study.

• Jia Heng ate breakfast with Qingwen, accepted her umbrella, and promised to teach her to read when he returned that night.
• Jia Heng reached the Imperial College, met Song Yuan, and began his duties as a Canon Clerk in Section A of the Literary Gathering Pavilion.
• Jia Heng memorized the catalog registers and spent the morning putting misplaced books back in their proper shelves.
• A student asked Jia Heng where to find Selected Works of Xiao Tong and marveled when Jia Heng gave him the correct location.
• Jia Heng drafted an illustrated catalog guide and proposed bookcase signs and a third-floor return point to reduce the clerks' workload.
• Jia Heng brought his plan to Song Yuan, who praised his keen administration and joked that he was working so hard to make more time for reading.

Jia Heng and Song Yuan discussed practical learning and Jia Heng’s novel, which impressed Song Yuan with its talent and prose. Song Yuan offered to help Jia Heng with his examinations and urged him to publish through the Imperial College, but Jia Heng had already promised the manuscript to the Ink and Brush Studio.

• Song Yuan agreed to put up signs for Jia Heng’s plan at the Literary Gathering Pavilion and offered to share his carriage home.
• Song Yuan encouraged Jia Heng to study the classics for the examinations and praised his practical abilities, while Jia Heng shared a maxim about learning and human relations.
• Song Yuan asked about Jia Heng’s novel, read its first two chapters, and praised its writing.
• Song Yuan urged Jia Heng to print the novel through the Imperial College, but Jia Heng explained he had already promised it to the Ink and Brush Studio for two taels per chapter.
• Song Yuan arranged for his servant to take Jia Heng home and invited him to visit the next day.

Jia Heng returned home after Song Yuan offered him a ride and reflected on his plans for marriage, study, and martial training. He began teaching Qingwen to read and write, ending with her wondering whether she had written her own name.

• Song Yuan invited Jia Heng to dinner and sent him home by carriage through the rain.
• Jia Heng arrived at the Jia Residence and found Aunt Cai and Qingwen waiting for him.
• Jia Heng began teaching Qingwen characters from the Thousand Character Classic, and she memorized sixteen of them.
• Qingwen asked to learn to write her name, but struggled to hold the brush correctly.
• Jia Heng guided Qingwen's hand as they wrote her name, and she asked, "Did... I write this?"

Jia Heng’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms impressed Song Yuan, Han Hui, and Yu Zhen, who believed the Ink and Brush Studio had offered him too little. Jia Heng chose not to break his agreement, but left open the possibility of negotiating better payment.

• Eldest Princess Jinyang admired the opening verse of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and ordered Liu Tong to urge Jia Heng to send the manuscript pages he had completed.
• Jia Heng gave Song Yuan the first three chapters, and Song praised the work’s prospects while noting that the Ink and Brush Studio had paid too little.
• Han Hui and Yu Zhen arrived, read the manuscript, and Han Hui said the story could spark interest in the Three Kingdoms.
• Han Hui examined Jia Heng’s contract and found it offered two taels per chapter without a formal breach penalty clause.
• Song Yuan urged Jia Heng to pay the hundred-tael breach settlement and print the book through the Imperial College, but Jia Heng decided to honor his agreement and seek a chance to renegotiate.

Jia Heng considered how to renegotiate his book contract with the Ink and Brush Studio and learned that its owner was Elder Princess Jinyang. He planned to finish two more installments before seeking her, then visited Song Yuan’s home, where Song praised his composure and Jia asked for help with his upcoming examinations.

• Han Hui advised Jia Heng to negotiate directly with the Ink and Brush Studio’s owner, and revealed that she was Elder Princess Jinyang.
• Jia Heng decided to write two more installments before visiting the Elder Princess to discuss the contract.
• Jia Heng showed Han Hui and Yu Zhen his Book-Searching Compass catalog entries, earning their praise.
• Jia Heng rode with Song Yuan to the Song residence and drank with him over dinner.
• Song Yuan praised Jia Heng for associating with prominent people without servility or haughtiness, and Jia asked him for help with the county and prefectural examinations.

After returning from the Song residence, Jia Heng accepted two refugee sisters as maidservants and reflected on the hardships and financial burdens facing the realm. He then found Qingwen waiting in her room and teased her before agreeing to teach her to read after his bath.

• Jia Heng returned home from the Song residence and learned that Aunt Cai had bought two sisters, Bi'er and Yan'er, as maidservants.
• Bi'er explained that she and her mute elder sister had fled famine in Shandong and been sold by their father, and Jia Heng decided to keep them both.
• Jia Heng thought about the disasters, taxes, and financial strain affecting the Chen Han Court.
• Jia Heng discovered that Qingwen had stayed in her room, and Aunt Cai said she had refused supper.
• Jia Heng teased Qingwen about adding honey to his tea, then promised to teach her to read after his bath and test her on the characters she had learned.

Jia Heng handled Qingwen’s jealousy and offer to attend his bath while keeping his promise to respect his fiancée, Qin Keqing. After three days of routine, he went to the Qin home to settle the wedding date and bride-fetching arrangements.

• Jia Heng asked Qingwen why she had skipped dinner, and she admitted her feelings were tied to the two new maids.
• Qingwen offered to attend Jia Heng while he bathed, but he sent her away and asked Bi'er to bring her food.
• Qingwen warned Bi'er to stop dreaming of rising in status and to address Jia Heng as “young master.”
• Jia Heng reflected that he would avoid intimacy with Qingwen before marrying Qin Keqing, then reviewed character cards with Qingwen.
• After three days of traveling between the Imperial College and home, Jia Heng prepared gifts and visited the Qin family to discuss the wedding date.
• Qin Ye waited at home, hoping Jia Heng would arrange a proper wedding and not slight Keqing.