Two days later, the rain stopped for a time, and Liu Acheng returned to his usual attentive, accommodating self, as though he had not been the one to erupt so suddenly before.
Of course, it might also have been because, among the households they had contacted these past few days, only Liu Agan was unreliable. This gathering of the Liu Clan of Jingkou, ultimately held in Jiangcheng, was most harmonious. On one side, Liu Jing, the former Governor of Dong'an, obliged them by attending; on the other, of the brothers Liu Liang and Liu Shuang, Liu Liang could not come because of his local posting, but Liu Shuang came straight from Jiankang.
Moreover, they were clearly men of experience, aware of what it meant for someone from Liu Cheng's family circumstances to maneuver his way into third-rank standing, begin his official career at a salary equivalent to Three-Hundred-Dan, and enter Huan Wen's staff directly.
Liu Shuang in particular worked at the Imperial Secretariat. Never mind "Shooting the Horse before shooting the rider" or "execute Cao Wushang at once"—he even knew the joke about "a Chief Secretary overseeing six provinces being worth a hundred shi more than an Imperial Secretariat Chief Secretary overseeing four," and made fun of himself on the spot.
More harmoniously still, although these two households and their close relatives were destined not to follow Liu Cheng, they had brought along many younger members of their clans and distant kin. Among them were seven or eight who could read, along with several dozen ordinary Able-Bodied Men, all from families in desperate poverty, hoping to find a livelihood.
Liu Acheng gladly took them all in. Inevitably, he then called Liu Shuang his brother and addressed Liu Jing as Uncle. When he turned around and saw Lord Liu Ying, he