Recaps

Liu Acheng used Liu Jili’s report of a fatal beating to pressure Langya Commandery into addressing the refugee camp’s lack of registration, then organized the camp and began selling firewood to raise grain money. Their efforts met setbacks as winter approached, and the chapter ended with Household Office Registrar Lu Song arriving and questioning why Liu Acheng and Liu Jili had stayed behind.

• Liu Jili reported the fatal beating to the Bandit Office, whose registrar sent a formal request to the Household Office to clarify the refugees’ registration.
• Liu Acheng formed armed, core, and hunting groups, then organized the refugees to sort and sell firewood for rice.
• Liu Acheng and Liu Jili sold mixed firewood successfully, but Gao Heng refused their offer of pinewood for the garrison and aristocratic estates declined to buy premium turkey oak.
• Liu Acheng decided to investigate the firewood trade in Jiangcheng and then try Jiankang, while rising grain prices made the refugees’ winter prospects more urgent.
• Lu Song arrived at the camp as the new Household Office Registrar and questioned Liu Acheng and Liu Jili about why they had remained after Liu Rengong and the other Pengcheng Liu relatives left.

Lu Song came to the refugee camp to register those involved in a bandit case but refused to provide winter relief, leaving Liu Acheng and Liu Jili to consider how their actions had affected him. After Liu Acheng helped Liu Jili understand Lu Song’s frustration, they returned to their urgent plan to sell firewood and decided to go to Jiankang the next day.

• Lu Song refused Liu Acheng’s request for relief and registered only the people involved in the bandit case.
• Liu Acheng asked Lu Song whether commandery officials were pushing him aside, and Lu Song admitted his frustration before leaving.
• Liu Jili despaired over their failed plans, but Liu Acheng argued that their reputation had grown and asked whether Liu Jili was jealous of Lu Song.
• Liu Jili admitted his jealousy, then concluded that Lu Song envied their freedom to follow their own path and was ashamed of serving as Master Du Ming’s watchdog.
• Liu Acheng and Liu Jili returned to sorting firewood and resolved to go to Jiankang the next day to find a way to sell it.

Liu Acheng and Liu Jili entered Jiankang hoping to sell firewood to the Xie Family, but the city’s guarded elite districts and charcoal trade undermined their plans. After recognizing Steward Qian, Liu Acheng used a story about a prior agreement to get the pair into Qian’s courtyard, where the chapter ended with a strange tale about a white fox and a true dragon.

• Liu Acheng and Liu Jili entered Jiankang with peachwood firewood and saw how its wealth and armed retainers differed from Jingkou.
• Liu Jili explained that Black Robe Alley, once home to Eastern Wu’s Black Robe Guards, now housed the Wang, Xie, and Liu families, but the pair found no way through the guarded gates.
• Liu Jili recognized Steward Qian, a senior retainer of the Xie household, and Liu Acheng followed Qian’s ox cart to Changgan Lane.
• Liu Acheng recited a poem outside Qian’s home, then claimed that the Way of the Celestial Masters had arranged a firewood and charcoal supply deal with the Xie household.
• Steward Qian stared at Liu Acheng as the chapter closed with a tale in which a white fox fled after a true dragon entered his gate.

Liu Acheng and Liu Jili pressured Steward Qian into arranging a long-term supply deal between the Xie household and their refugee camp, beginning with blessed peachwood. The next morning, they approached Lu Song to seek access to the Way of the Celestial Masters' surplus goods and requested a Fertility Talisman.

• Liu Acheng pitched blessed peachwood to Steward Qian and proposed that the Xie household buy goods from the refugees through him.
• Liu Acheng offered quality guarantees and a twenty-percent cut, while Liu Jili pleaded for help; Liu Acheng then threatened Steward Qian, who agreed to draw up an order list in two days.
• Liu Acheng and Liu Jili delivered two loads of peachwood to the Xie residence, received a shi of rice, and gave two dou to Steward Qian's wife, who asked them to bring her a Fertility Talisman.
• Liu Jili and Liu Acheng returned to camp with the rice, then went with several men to intercept Lu Song before he rode to the Commandery Office.
• Liu Jili asked Lu Song to list the Way of the Celestial Masters' surplus goods for the refugees to resell, and Liu Acheng and Liu Jili also requested a Fertility Talisman.

Liu Acheng and Liu Jili arranged for the Way of the Celestial Masters to sell its surplus goods to the Xie residence, creating a winter income source for the refugee camp. After securing their first charcoal and crimson damask sales, they realized the trade could keep the camp fed through winter.

• Lu Song agreed to have the Way of the Celestial Masters cooperate with Liu Acheng and Liu Jili, who inspected the manor’s goods and proposed a trade list for the Xie residence.
• Lu Song drew a talisman for Steward Qian’s household after Liu Acheng persuaded him that his authority could extend beyond conventional healing charms.
• Liu Acheng and Liu Jili visited Liu Huzi, urged him to keep his tiger hide for a future approach to the Xie Family, and discussed his prospects in the Western Command.
• At Changgan Lane, Liu Acheng presented the talisman and trade list to Steward Qian, who agreed to buy charcoal and peachwood firewood and consider a bolt of crimson damask.
• Liu Acheng, Liu Jili, Liu Huzi, and their escorts delivered five hundred catties of charcoal, peachwood firewood, and crimson damask to the Xie residence, where the damask sold and further orders were requested.

Liu Acheng and Liu Jili built a profitable supply business with the Xie residence while planning to approach Xie An, but his return and strict lessons disrupted their chance to meet him. They tried to attract his attention with a flute tune, yet Xie An left before they could speak to him.

• Liu Acheng and Liu Jili sold charcoal, firewood, food, wine, and talisman goods to the Xie residence, helping the refugee camp earn enough to survive winter.
• Liu Acheng rejected chances to approach Xie Ju and Xie Quan, preferring to build income and wait for a natural opportunity to present the Tiger Hide.
• Xie An returned to the capital and made the Xie children attend lessons, keeping the two Lius from meeting anyone in the younger generation.
• Liu Acheng and Liu Jili decided to approach Xie An with the Tiger Hide and brought a crimson Crane-Feather Fly Whisk to the residence.
• Liu Jili played a new flute tune after Xie An's lesson, but Xie An left for Yin Yangzhou and asked the household musicians to learn the tune instead.

Liu Acheng told Auntie Song the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai and taught her the melody he named after them, while he soothed Liu Jili after their clash with the Xie household. Xie An learned why the Lius had drawn attention to themselves, invited them to visit, and agreed to hear the tune the next day.

• Liu Acheng told Auntie Song the legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai and asked her to play the melody he called “Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai,” or “Butterfly Transformation.”
• Auntie Song played the tune, then told Liu Acheng to bring her any new melodies through Steward Qian.
• Liu Acheng comforted Liu Jili, who condemned the gentry’s treatment of fallen families and said reforming scholarly conduct should be their duty if they gained office.
• Liu Acheng reassured Steward Qian that Xie An’s household could keep its business with the Lius separate from their association with the Crimson Headscarves.
• Xie An realized Yin Hao’s Northern Expedition plans could endanger Xie Shang and lamented that, without office, he lacked the standing to intervene.
• Xie Daoyun questioned the legend’s claim that Zhu Yingtai was steadfast, and Xie An agreed before inviting his family to hear Auntie Song play and telling Steward Qian to bring the Lius to him.

Liu Acheng argued that Liu Rengong should return to camp early, while Jiangcheng’s worsening hardship and the expulsion of garrison workers forced him and Liu Jili to weigh helping strangers against protecting their own people. They returned to camp without deciding whether to take in the expelled workers, leaving Liu Dage to quietly gather them while they reviewed their resources.

• Liu Acheng tried to persuade Liu Jili to invite Liu Rengong back early, citing the chance to build ties with Xie An and the worsening conditions in Jiangcheng.
• Liu Acheng saw that Jiangcheng’s growing refugee population had overwhelmed the town and recognized that Liu Rengong’s experience would be needed to manage the camp and any future settlement.
• Liu Acheng and Liu Jili witnessed Garrison Commander Gao expel slave retainers and labor draftees, who pleaded to remain in the garrison town for food and shelter.
• Liu Jili proposed taking the expelled workers into camp, but Grandpa Liu San warned that the group might be unable to feed them or future refugees and could damage Liu Rengong’s reputation.
• Liu Acheng decided to tally the camp’s people and supplies before choosing, and he and Liu Jili returned to camp with instructions for Liu Dage to quietly gather the expelled workers.

Liu Acheng urged Liu Rengong to return to camp, but Liu Rengong argued that they should wait until spring to protect the reputations of both families. After delivering goods to the Xie Residence, Liu Acheng and Liu Jili learned that Xie An wanted to meet them and waited for him to return.

• Liu Acheng tightened camp rules, expelled offenders, and reorganized the camp while Liu Jili questioned how they treated their own people.
• Liu Acheng asked Liu Rengong to return, but Liu Rengong said leaving Gao Jian’s home immediately could damage both families’ reputations and proposed returning in spring.
• Liu Rengong offered to explain to Gao Jian why Liu Acheng had taken in the Slave Retainers and advised him not to rush decisions unless lives were at stake.
• Liu Acheng and Liu Jili escorted the next delivery to Jiankang, where Steward Qian told them that Xie An had requested to see them.
• Xie An returned to the residence and, after hearing that the two Lius had waited all afternoon, agreed to meet them separately in his reception room.

Xie An learned about Liu Jili’s troubled family background and gave him a recommendation letter to study under Cai Mo, then questioned Liu Acheng and became intrigued by his knowledge and caution. The chapter ended with Xie An challenging Acheng after both young men declared that they wanted to “sweep Great Jin clean.”

• Xie An recognized Liu Jili’s aristocratic ancestry and heard how Jili had fled south, fallen into poverty, and struggled to support refugees.
• Liu Jili asked Xie An for help entering government service, and Xie An recommended him to Cai Mo as a student.
• Liu Jili introduced Liu Acheng, who concealed his family’s identity while asking Xie An to help his kinsman Liu Jian pursue a military career.
• Liu Acheng discussed the Liang and Zhu story, music, and Ji Kang with Xie An, who realized that the boy understood the dangers of judging the Seven Sages.
• Xie An asked Liu Acheng about his ambition and challenged him when he also said he wanted to sweep Great Jin clean.

Liu Cheng explained to Xie An why cleansing Great Jin was unlikely, then asked him to help advance his ambitions; Xie An recommended him to the Xi Family while Liu Jili secured a place with Cai Mo. As heavy snow began falling, the two men saw refugees exposed to the cold and Liu Cheng recited a poem about sheltering the poor, leaving their plans overshadowed by the crisis.

• Liu Acheng argued that Great Jin needed to regain the north before it could reform its aristocratic clans, and explained why the Northern Expedition was unlikely to succeed.
• Liu Cheng detailed the many obstacles separating him from his ambition, then asked Xie An to help him take a step toward it.
• Xie An gave Liu Cheng a letter of recommendation to Xi Linhai in Kuaiji, while Liu Jili told him that Cai Mo had offered him a place as a student.
• Liu Jili and Liu Cheng settled their business arrangements and prepared to return to the refugee camp as snow began falling across Jiankang.
• Liu Cheng and Liu Jili saw refugees huddling in makeshift shelters near Jiangcheng, and Liu Cheng recited a poem wishing for a home that could shelter the cold and poor.

As Liu Acheng and Liu Jili prepared to leave the refugee camp, the villagers performed a shehuo farewell whose war song moved them to tears. Far away in Yecheng, Shi Min seized power, resumed the surname Ran, and began moving against the ruling Shi family as Liu Acheng traveled south.

• Liu Yehu asked to accompany Liu Acheng, who told him to finish handing over the cargo escort work and come in spring.
• Liu Acheng urged Liu Jili to support Liu Huzi if he faced trouble, and Liu Jili promised to look after him and the camp.
• Liu Rengong arranged a shehuo farewell for Liu Acheng and Liu Jili, and the villagers sang a war song that left both men and many onlookers weeping.
• In Yecheng, Zhou Cheng and Su Yan killed Shi Zun and other members of his circle, then reported to Shi Min, who announced that he would resume the surname Ran.
• Li Nong learned that Ran Min had ordered Empress Dowager Zheng killed, while Di warriors escaped Yecheng and headed south.
• By dawn, Liu Acheng was traveling south with a wagon convoy of the Way of the Celestial Masters.

Liu Acheng traveled through Wuxing and learned about the Shen Clan’s former power, its punished status, and its surviving wealth. He witnessed Shen Jin announce that the court had pardoned the family, then learned that the official who arranged it, Wang Huzhi, had suddenly become paralyzed, prompting Shen Jin to seek help from the Way of the Celestial Masters.

• Liu Acheng asked Daoist Feng about the Shen Clan and learned that the family had once controlled vast estates before rebellion and rival clans diminished its holdings.
• Liu Acheng’s party reached Yixing and heard how Zhou Chu’s family had been exterminated after Zhou Zha sold Stone City to Wang Dun.
• Shen Jin crossed Zhangpu Pass with riders and announced that the court had pardoned his family so he could serve under Wang Huzhi, while the pass official protested that he had received no notice.
• Liu Acheng learned that Wang Huzhi had suddenly become paralyzed days earlier, and Shen Jin asked the Way of the Celestial Masters to help avert calamity and cure the illness.

Liu Acheng helped a group of unprepared Daoists stage a ritual for Shen Jin while concealing their incompetence, then spoke with Shen Jin about the Shen Family’s prospects. Shen Jin offered Liu Acheng a place in his household, but Liu revealed Xie An had recommended him to Xi Linhai and urged Shen Jin to remain loyal to Wang Pingbei.

• Shen Jin summoned the visiting Daoists to perform a ritual for the gravely ill General Wang, and the frightened Daoists asked Liu Acheng to speak for them.
• Liu Acheng improvised an explanation for the ritual, arranged for the Daoists to draw talismans, and played his bamboo flute to distract the Shen household from their clumsiness.
• Shen Jin learned that Liu Acheng was a northerner from the Liu Clan of Pengcheng and offered to take him as a household guest, but Liu declined and showed him Xie An’s recommendation to Xi Linhai.
• Liu Acheng told Shen Jin that joining Wang Pingbei’s Northern Expedition was the Shen Family’s best path out of its punished status and warned him not to change allegiance.
• Shen Jin thanked Liu Acheng for dispelling his grave illness, and Liu sampled the Shen household’s salted, medicinal fine tea.

Liu Acheng reached Kuaiji, met Master Du Ming, and traveled with Master Xu to Xi Linhai’s estate in Shan County. His arrival ended with Xi Chao mistaking the two visitors for Daoist swindlers and ordering them beaten out.

• Liu Acheng gave away most of Shen Jin’s gifts, sending the horse, bow, and gold to Gao Jian and the brocade to Huang, while keeping the saber.
• Liu Acheng and the Way of the Celestial Masters crossed into Kuaiji and reached their base in Shanyin, where Master Du Ming summoned him and offered him a place in the order.
• Master Xu took Liu Acheng toward Xi Linhai’s home in Shan County and explained how the Way of the Celestial Masters had gained influence among powerful families.
• Liu Acheng and Master Xu arrived at Xi Linhai’s estate, where Xi Chao tore off their headwear and cloak and ordered attendants to drive them out.

Liu Acheng met Xi Chao, who tested his ambitions and understanding of historical heroes before taking him to persuade Xi Linhai to stop swallowing Daoist talismans. Liu Acheng agreed to help, while Master Xu remained captured by Xi Chao’s riders.

• Liu Acheng mediated when Xi Chao confronted Master Xu over Daoist swindling, then introduced himself as a northerner seeking refuge with the Xi family.
• Xi Chao read Xie An’s letter and questioned Liu Acheng about his ambition to return north and the people needed to build a political and military base.
• Liu Acheng discussed historical heroes and named General Huan as the closest present-day talent to transcend his age, satisfying Xi Chao.
• Xi Chao took Liu Acheng to the religious retreat where Xi Linhai lay ill after swallowing talismans, and promised to honor Liu and release Master Xu if he persuaded his father to stop.
• Liu Acheng agreed that persuading Xi Linhai would be easy, while Master Xu remained restrained with horse dung stuffed in his mouth.

Liu Acheng persuaded Xi Yin to stop swallowing talismans whole and convinced Xi Chao that a northern Daoist such as Lu Song could redirect his father’s harmful religious habits. Settled into the Xi household, Liu Acheng was summoned to travel with Xi Chao to a New Year gathering in Shanyin, where he feared his poor handwriting would be exposed to Wang Jiang Province.

• Liu Acheng challenged Xi Yin’s Daoist practices, explaining northern customs for talismans, ritual music, and burning talismans before taking them with rice porridge.
• Liu Acheng told Xi Chao that Lu Song could replace the local Daoists and guide Xi Yin toward healthier habits, and Xi Chao agreed to bring Lu Song to Kuaiji first.
• Xi Yin called Liu Acheng back to continue discussing northern Daoism, and Liu Acheng later gained meals, a room, new clothes, and a horse at the Xi estate.
• Liu Acheng spent several days attending Xi Yin’s rituals and practicing calligraphy while waiting for Lu Song to arrive.
• Xi Chao told Liu Acheng to prepare for a two- or three-day trip to Shanyin for a gathering hosted by his uncle by marriage, Wang Jiang Province, and Liu Acheng worried about writing before him.

Liu Acheng visited Wang Xizhi’s household in Shanyin with Xi Chao and learned about the Wang family, including the five-year-old Wang Xianzhi. After Liu Acheng described the political divisions threatening the Northern Expedition, Wang Xizhi despaired over whether the Jin forces could ever unite.

• Liu Acheng traveled downstream with Xi Chao and Xi Yin’s party to Shanyin, where Wang Xuanzhi and Wang Ningzhi welcomed them.
• Xi Chao asked Liu Acheng to assess him, and Liu called him an “Ancient People's Benefactor” while naming Murong Ke as another man worthy of the phrase.
• Liu Acheng met Wang Xizhi, learned that Wang Xianzhi was five, and heard that Wang Xizhi’s household kept geese because he took mineral powder.
• Wang Xizhi summoned Liu Acheng to ask about Chu Jiye’s death, and Liu recounted Chu Pou’s defeat and his suspicions about Xun Xian’s role.
• Liu Acheng explained that the Northern Expedition depended on unity and outlined how the Murong clan and other northern powers might shape the conflict.
• Xi Chao predicted that Jin leaders would fight among themselves before defeating the Murong Xianbei, and Wang Xizhi repeatedly asked what could be done.

Liu Acheng proposed using a Shangsi purification ceremony to rally Kuaiji’s scholars behind national unity, while his conversations with Xi Chao exposed differences in Buddhist teachings and Xi Chao’s complicated motives. Lu Song arrived in Kuaiji, and Liu Acheng coached him on how to win Xi Yin’s favor before visiting other religious authorities.

• Liu Acheng persuaded Wang Xizhi and Xi Yin to consider holding public and private purification ceremonies to pray for the nation and send appeals for unity to influential leaders.
• Liu Acheng explained the ceremonies’ supposed benefits, and Xi Chao questioned him about whether the three retributions theory and Buddhist teachings were known in the north.
• Liu Acheng discussed Xi Chao’s understanding of emptiness and aristocratic religious thought, then Xi Chao and his family returned to their estate in Shan County.
• Liu Acheng found that Lu Song and Liu Dage had arrived, and instructed Lu Song to reassure Xi Yin before going to seek Master Du Ming’s endorsement.
• Xi Yin came in person to welcome Lu Song, while Liu Acheng stayed back and pretended he had only just learned of his friend’s arrival.

Liu Acheng learned how Cai Mo’s clash with Yin Hao ended and decided to spend New Year with Gao Rou rather than remain with the Xi family. After Xi Chao sent him off with generous gifts, Liu Acheng reached Qiuting and prepared to meet his family friend, while a historical passage recounted Gao Rou’s life and his later welcome for Acheng.

• Liu Acheng learned from letters that Cai Mo had been demoted and sent home after Xun Xian intervened, while Liu Jili and Liu Huzi had secured positions in Jingkou.
• Liu Acheng weighed studying with Cai Mo against strengthening his standing among the gentry in Kuaiji and chose to stay with the Xi family for the time being.
• Liu Acheng told Xi Chao he would spend New Year with Gao Rou in Qiuting, and Xi Chao sent him off with a boatload of lavish gifts after mistaking his words for grief over a lost family.
• Liu Acheng distributed cloth gifts among the Xi family’s retainers and reached Gao Rou’s household the next day, uncertain which man in the crowd was his uncle.
• A historical account described Gao Rou’s southern exile, his support for northern refugees, and his later welcome for Liu Acheng.

Liu Acheng reunited with Gao Rou in Kuaiji and learned how northern migrants were kept from advancing among the celebrated scholars. Gao Rou agreed to help with Liu Acheng’s Shangsi gathering and advised him to build his standing carefully before pursuing office elsewhere.

• Liu Acheng greeted Gao Rou at the ferry landing, and Gao Rou wept at the reunion with his northern clansman.
• Liu Acheng learned that Gao Rou had endured years of isolation, career setbacks, and financial hardship in Kuaiji.
• Liu Acheng explained his plan for Xi Yin and Wang Xizhi to hold Shangsi purification gatherings and issue a joint appeal for political unity, and Gao Rou agreed to help.
• Liu Acheng said he hoped to have his name added to the joint letter so he could establish himself among Kuaiji’s celebrated scholars.
• Gao Rou warned Liu Acheng that family standing, not talent, controlled advancement among the celebrated scholars and urged him not to waste years there.
• Liu Acheng vowed to heed Gao Rou’s counsel and bowed to him barefoot on the cold floor.

Liu Acheng and Xi Chao planned a grand Daoist ritual for Lu Song, then discussed using Shen Jin’s resources to advance their political ambitions. The chapter ended with Xi Chao silently weighing Liu Acheng’s proposal to build ties with the Shen family as insurance against losing influence over the Northern Command army.

• Liu Acheng introduced Lu Song to Gao Rou and Xi Chao, then outlined a plan for a major Daoist ritual to strengthen Lu Song’s standing in Kuaiji.
• Liu Acheng supplied new melodies for the ritual, and Xi Chao and Gao Rou agreed to assemble a musical troupe of about twenty or thirty people.
• Gao Rou proposed borrowing the Qianxi Troupe from the Shen family, but the group rejected openly involving the Xi family with the punished household.
• Liu Acheng suggested privately approaching Shen Jin for the troupe, and Xi Chao considered whether Shen Jin would agree.
• Liu Acheng warned Xi Chao that Xun Xian might control the Northern Command army for decades and urged him to consider the Shen family as a future source of wealth and military strength.
• Xi Chao questioned whether Liu Acheng could keep the Shen family aligned with him, then fell silent as he weighed Liu Acheng’s candid proposal.

Liu Acheng traveled with Shen Jin to Qianxi Village, where he recruited the renowned Qianxi Music Troupe for the Celestial Masters’ plans. After Shen Jin arranged for two young slave-retainer girls to spend the night with him, Liu Acheng rejected the insinuation, confronted Shen Jin about his resentment and warned him not to underestimate him; Shen Jin lay awake afterward.

• Liu Acheng asked Shen Jin to explain the lyrics of “Cucumber Is a Blade of Grass,” and Shen Jin described the song’s romantic metaphors and his father’s role in arranging the Qianxi Songs.
• Liu Acheng explained his plans and the northern political situation to Shen Jin, who agreed to lend him the Qianxi Music Troupe and accompanied him to the village.
• The troupe performed the song together, impressing Shen Jin and convincing Liu Acheng that they were the right musicians for his plans.
• Liu Acheng asked the musicians to finish spring plowing before traveling to Qiuting, then stayed at Shen Jin’s home while the troupe prepared.
• Shen Jin arranged for two young girls named Cucumber and Little Grass to be placed in Liu Acheng’s room, but Liu Acheng left to discuss northern affairs with him instead.
• Liu Acheng refused Shen Jin’s invitation to take advantage of the girls, confronted him about his concealed contempt, and asserted that he and Xi Jiabin should not be underestimated; Shen Jin spent the night unable to sleep.

Liu Acheng organized preparations for a large Shangsi purification ceremony in Kuaiji, securing support from Xi Chao, Gao Rou, and the Qianxi Music Troupe. The chapter ended with Xi Chao defending Liu Acheng’s character and ability before Wang Xizhi and Xie An, who realized Xi Chao’s warning about Xie Daoyun’s possible unhappiness might be true.

• Shen Jin agonized over his family’s limited prospects, then promised Liu Acheng he would keep the ceremony plans from the Way of the Celestial Masters and arranged for the group to travel east to Qiuting.
• After reaching Qiuting, Liu Acheng wrote to his allies about supplies, transport, and preparations, then gathered Xi Chao, Gao Rou, and Lu Song to plan the ceremony and anticipate trouble.
• Xi Chao and Gao Rou estimated that forty to sixty notable guests could attend, and Liu Acheng proposed inviting Master Du Ming early so he would be less likely to seize control of Lu Song’s ceremony.
• Xi Yin agreed to pursue a purification ceremony, and Xi Chao went to Wang Xizhi with Liu Acheng’s and Lu Song’s proposal for a combined public and private event.
• Xie An questioned whether Liu Acheng could manage the undertaking and called him petty, but Xi Chao praised his practical skill and argued that Xie Daoyun might look down on Wang Xizhi’s household after marriage.
• Wang Xizhi dismissed Xi Chao’s warning, while Xie An silently recognized that his niece might indeed judge the household harshly.

The author thanked readers for the book’s successful paid launch and discussed the research, historical debates, characters, and personal health behind the Eastern Jin novel. The author promised to do their best to maintain serialization while asking readers to flag mistakes and understand possible schedule changes.

• The author credited the launch promotion, Song Reclaimed's popularity, and readers' engagement for the book's unexpectedly high subscriptions.
• The author explained that they chose Eastern Jin partly to escape the pressures of writing Suppress the Dragon and described how readers' comments both supported and pressured them.
• The author recounted research discoveries showing that Wang Huzhi lived years beyond the date commonly given and that Xi Chao's mother's surname was Fu.
• The author discussed disputes over historical terminology and ancestry, and described Gao Jian, Liu Lang, Liu Huzi, and Liu Agan's family as characters grounded in historical research.
• The author described memory problems, brain fog after repeated COVID infections, and a bout of flu, then asked readers to point out errors and allow for possible schedule changes.