Recaps

Xi Chao and Liu Acheng organized a combined public and private purification ceremony, winning support and funding from Kuaiji’s leading families. When Wang Xizhi asked Liu Acheng about southern cultured life, Liu spoke about the refugees and the Northern Expedition, prompting Wang and Xie An to clash over whether pure discourse neglected practical affairs.

• Wang Xizhi stopped Xi Chao and Xie An’s argument, and Xie An admitted he had behaved improperly before approving Liu Acheng and Lu Song’s appointment.
• Xi Chao returned home with Liu Acheng, who secured a million cash from Xi Yin for preparations; Xi Chao complained that his father kept the family’s wealth idle.
• Liu Acheng and Lu Song prepared the Orchid Pavilion grounds, and Wang Xizhi and Xi Yin approved another two million cash after inspecting the work.
• At the gathering, Wang Xizhi asked Liu Acheng about southern cultured life, and Liu described the suffering of northern refugees and his hope to support the Northern Expedition.
• Wang Xizhi urged Xie An to consider practical affairs in light of the north’s suffering, and Xie An retorted that Qin had employed Shang Yang yet still fallen.

Liu Acheng defused Xie An’s argument with Wang Xizhi and helped the gathering proceed, then stood up for Xi Chao when Wang Tanzhi boasted of his pedigree and status. Wang Tanzhi was left humiliated and worried that he needed to enter office before Liu Acheng and Xi Chao could challenge him again.

• Xie An regretted his remarks about Wang Xizhi, but Liu Acheng answered by acknowledging their limited merit while criticizing their failure to address Wang Xizhi’s concerns for the northern people.
• Xie An admitted that he had spoken frivolously, and Zhi Daolin and Gao Rou helped restore the mood as Wang Xizhi accepted his apology.
• Liu Acheng arranged for the scholars to rest on their climb to Incense Burner Peak, where Wang Shu and his son Wang Tanzhi arrived to join the gathering.
• Wang Tanzhi told Xi Chao that he had rejected a Gentleman of the Secretariat post because he considered it beneath his rank, insulting the young men around him.
• Liu Acheng rebuked Xi Chao for caring about status, and Xi Chao apologized before telling Wang Tanzhi that their different priorities meant they could not work together.
• Wang Tanzhi realized that Liu Acheng and Xi Chao had turned the exchange against him and worried that he should enter office soon.

At a gathering on Kuaiji Mountain, Liu Acheng explained that his experience amid northern violence had taught him how to kill, while news of the northern turmoil drew his attention to events in Yecheng. There, Ran Min prepared to face an approaching army by opening the city gates and drafting an order rewarding the killing of Hu people.

• Wang Tanzhi conceded his argument with Xi Chao, then challenged Liu Acheng about his education and prospects.
• Liu Acheng said his filial duty was to join a Northern Expedition and described his firsthand experience with violence and killing, leaving Wang Tanzhi shaken.
• Wang Tanzhi reported that Shi Min had rebelled and that northern forces were splintering, while Xi Chao and Liu Acheng discussed the threat.
• Ran Min told Li Nong he would restore his surname and become Ran Min, then ordered Lu Chen to draft a proclamation opening Yecheng's gates.
• Ran Min ordered Lu Chen to prepare a second proclamation rewarding officials and officers who brought him the heads of Hu people.

As massacres and military campaigns shattered northern China, Liu Acheng and Xi Chao discussed the court’s plans, the celebrated scholars’ retreat from public affairs, and their own uncertain futures. Liu Acheng arranged to send supplies to refugees in Jingkou, while both he and Xi Chao faced the possibility that they could not remain in Kuaiji indefinitely.

• Ran Min’s massacre in Yecheng marked the collapse of Later Zhao, while the Jie forces, Fu Xiong, and Murong Jun launched campaigns across the north.
• Liu Acheng explained to Xi Chao why Kuaiji’s celebrated scholars were avoiding the northern crisis, and they discussed Yin Hao’s plan to build a base at Shouchun and pursue the Central Plains.
• Xi Chao told Liu Acheng about his conversation with Zhi Daolin, and Liu Acheng compared the monk’s position with Fotucheng’s service under Shi Hu.
• Liu Acheng told Xi Chao that he planned to use the construction surplus to buy supplies for refugees in Jingkou, and Xi Chao offered to provide more money for the Shangsi Festival.
• After Xi Chao left, Liu Acheng considered Xi Chao’s doubts about entering official service and his own fear that staying in Kuaiji would leave him unprepared for upheaval.

As the Shangsi Festival approached, Sun Chuo stopped Wang Shu from taking over the purification ceremony, while Liu Acheng handled worksite problems and arranged the final participants. On the eve of the festival, Liu Acheng confronted his own suppressed youthful impulses and melancholy, then woke on the festival day ready for the ceremony.

• Sun Chuo persuaded Wang Tanzhi to talk Wang Shu out of taking control of the purification ceremony, and Wang Shu agreed to organize his own event the following year.
• Liu Acheng arranged for a female performer and a Xi Family slave retainer to marry, and the stewards dealt with another slave retainer who threatened to jump into Mirror Lake after losing his wages to a widow.
• Liu Acheng inspected Master Xu's 160 Daoist followers, recognized Brother Qi among them, and paid Master Xu to accompany the festival ceremony and monitor Master Du Ming.
• Liu Acheng rode beside Mirror Lake, felt melancholy as he considered his goals and youthful impulses, then checked on the Qianxi Music Troupe and reassured the nervous Lu Song.
• Liu Acheng slept at the manor and woke on the third day of the third month, the Shangsi Festival, composed and full of energy.

Liu Acheng organized the Shangsi Festival’s Public Purification Ceremony at Mirror Lake, managing the arriving Daoists, performers, and eminent gentlemen. After seating disputes delayed the start, the grand performance stunned the guests, and Xi Yin wept at hearing what he called Immortal Music.

• Liu Acheng brought the Way of the Celestial Masters to Mirror Lake while Lu Song and the Qianxi Music Troupe prepared the ceremony.
• Xi Chao and Gao Rou helped gather the eminent gentlemen, and Xi Yin urged them to arrive before the auspicious hour.
• Liu Acheng directed the guests to their assigned seats, and Gao Rou teased Sun Chuo when he complained that the arrangement spoiled their carefree elegance.
• Liu Acheng persuaded Wang Tanzhi to quiet the seating disputes, and Wang Tanzhi’s intervention brought the quarrelling gentlemen to order.
• The music troupe began the “Ode to the Immortals” before the screens came down, and Liu Acheng’s signal finally revealed the assembled Daoists and Lu Song on the platform.
• Xi Yin wept and declared that he had never expected to hear Immortal Music in his lifetime.

Liu Acheng and Lu Song staged a spectacular Shangsi purification ceremony that impressed the assembled nobles, secured their public appraisals, and helped Liu Acheng advance his plans. Xie An challenged the praise linking Liu Acheng and Xi Chao to Sun Bofu and Zhou Gongjin, and the gathering moved on to Orchid Pavilion to sign the joint letters.

• Liu Acheng watched Lu Song’s ceremony unfold as a chorus accompanied boats racing across Mirror Lake and the distribution of Spring Flower Wreaths.
• Sun Chuo explained the purification rite, and Lu Song gave Xi Yin and the other nobles wreaths along with public appraisals.
• Lu Song praised Xi Chao as an Ancient People's Benefactor and compared him and Liu Acheng to Sun Bofu and Zhou Gongjin.
• Xie An proposed that Liu Acheng and Xi Chao were instead like Zu Shizhi and Liu Yueshi, and Liu Acheng accepted the comparison as a wish to fight and die in the north.
• Liu Acheng and the assembled gentlemen signed the joint letters at Orchid Pavilion before preparing for Floating Cups Along the Winding Stream.

Liu Acheng oversaw the Orchid Pavilion gathering as the distinguished gentlemen debated its rules and exchanged poems, while he worried that their literary legacy might not match its fame. When the floating cup reached him, he recited a seven-character poem about Mirror Lake and Orchid Pavilion Brook, earning Sun Chuo’s praise as a second-rate poet and leaving him puzzled by the gathering’s standards.

• Liu Acheng sent the Wang Family’s documents back to the Wang Residence, then accepted Sun Chuo’s penalty by draining a cup of wine.
• The guests agreed that everyone would receive the floating cup at least once, and Wang Xizhi began the ritual.
• Zhi Daolin recited a short poem, while Xie Wan and Xie An failed to complete theirs before the countdown ended and drank penalties.
• Sun Chuo composed a poem about the gathering, and Liu Acheng privately wondered why the celebrated gentlemen’s poetry seemed so unimpressive.
• The cup reached Liu Acheng, who recited a seven-character poem about Mirror Lake and its source; Sun Chuo praised it as second-rate and waived his penalty.
• Xi Chao told Liu Acheng that his poem violated his grandfather’s name taboo, and Xi Yin excused the mistake under the day’s rules.

At the Orchid Pavilion gathering, Wang Xizhi wrote a poem and then composed a preface reflecting on life, death, and decline, while Liu Acheng arranged for both works to be preserved. As the celebration ended in grief, Xi Chao announced that he and Liu Acheng would leave for Jingzhou, believing cultivated elegance in the south had reached its end.

• Wang Xizhi finished a long poem, and Sun Chuo declared it the finest work of the gathering and called for the guests to stop composing.
• As Liu Acheng and the others collected the poems, Wang Xizhi wrote a preface, revising its words to express anguish and sorrow over life's passing.
• Liu Acheng arranged for the preface and poems to be copied and engraved, then organized the drunken guests' departure by boat.
• Wang Tanzhi called the gathering the utmost of cultivated elegance, and Liu Acheng and Xi Chao agreed that southern cultivated elegance had exhausted itself.
• Xu Xun woke from a dream of dying old and wept over the thought of never seeing another gathering like this, prompting many guests to grieve.
• Xi Chao told Liu Acheng he was getting married and asked him to come to Jingzhou; Liu Acheng agreed to leave with him.

Liu Acheng told Gao Rou and Liu Huzi that he might leave Kuaiji for Jingzhou with Xi Chao after the wedding, and arranged for their families to support him there. Before sleeping, he entrusted Liu Huzi with Wang Xizhi’s original Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection and asked how many reliable men Liu Huzi had brought.

• Liu Acheng, Wu Fusheng, Liu Huzi, and Gao Heng returned from the Cao'e River to the Gao Family home in Qiuting.
• Liu Acheng explained that he might leave for Jingzhou toward the end of summer after accompanying Xi Chao to receive his bride and complete the wedding.
• Gao Rou discussed how Liu Acheng might secure troops for his future, and offered to arrange a battalion under Gao Heng if needed.
• Liu Acheng said he wanted to marry a daughter of the Shen Clan, hoping the alliance could help secure resources for his plans in the north.
• Liu Acheng secretly gave Liu Huzi Wang Xizhi’s original Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection to safeguard and urged him not to tell anyone.
• Liu Huzi asked Liu Acheng why he was sending back all his money, and Liu Acheng told him he considered their families one before asking how many reliable men Liu Huzi had brought.

Liu Acheng and Liu Huzi considered intimidating Master Du Ming, while Liu Acheng arranged the passage of Liu Huzi’s supply convoy through Wuxing. Traveling north with Xi Chao’s bridal procession, Liu Acheng reached a Shen Family manor, where Shen Jin tried to arrange a marriage between him and one of two Shen women.

• Liu Acheng asked Liu Huzi about his most reliable men and considered robbing Master Du Ming’s home to intimidate him and clear the way for Lu Song.
• Liu Huzi suggested setting fire to the estate instead, and Liu Acheng became interested in the idea.
• Liu Acheng returned to Shan County, instructed Gao Rou to delay the men’s departure until Xi Chao had spoken with Shen Jin, and then accompanied Xi Chao north to fetch his bride.
• Liu Acheng arranged for the supply convoy to split at Qiantang, with one portion traveling through Wuxing under Shen Jin’s protection.
• At a Shen Family manor north of Yuhang, Shen Jin showed Liu Acheng two young women and asked whether one could be his Da Qiao, but Liu Acheng warned that Xi Chao would reject such an offer.

Liu Acheng rejected Shen Jin’s attempt to secure a Shen Family Daughter as a concubine for Xi Chao and discussed Xi Chao’s plans to leave Kuaiji, the fire at Master Du Ming’s manor, and his guilt about his coming marriage. The party reached Zhangpu Pass amid news of the Northern Expedition’s successes, and Xi Chao learned that his bride was named Zhou Horsehead.

• Shen Jin asked Liu Acheng to arrange for a Shen Family Daughter to become Xi Chao’s concubine, but Liu Acheng refused and later reported the proposal to Xi Chao.
• Xi Chao said he would leave after his wedding to serve General Huan, while Liu Acheng urged him to treat his bride well and explained that he had arranged for Liu Huzi to burn Master Du Ming’s manor.
• Xi Chao agreed to let Shen Jin’s attempted match go unpursued and heard Liu Acheng explain that the planned fire was meant to pressure Lu Song and was partly motivated by personal ties.
• The party reached Zhangpu Pass and heard that the Northern Expedition had pacified Shouchun and gained Pu Hong’s formal surrender.
• Liu Huzi returned after the fire and departed with the supplies, while Xi Chao welcomed his maternal relatives and awaited the bride.
• On the fourteenth day of the fifth month, Xi Chao and Liu Acheng learned that the bride’s personal name was Zhou Horsehead.

Liu Acheng managed the bridal procession and helped Xi Chao recruit Fu Hong to accompany him west to take up Huan Wen’s summons in Jingzhou. Xi Chao’s parents reluctantly accepted his decision after Xi Yin made him swear to avoid commanding troops and protect the family from the danger of three generations serving as generals.

• Liu Acheng handled the gentry guests and nearly a thousand Slave Retainers during the wedding journey, executing two Zhou Family Axe-Wielding Slaves and punishing their leader after they killed local villagers.
• Liu Acheng told Xi Chao that Fu Hong’s steady manner and Northern Migrant background made him a suitable companion, and Xi Chao decided to ask him to join the journey west.
• Xi Jiabin married and, after the wedding guests departed, Xi Chao invited Fu Hong to accompany him to Jingzhou, where Fu Hong accepted.
• Xi Yin and Lady Fu opposed Xi Chao’s plan to leave for Huan Wen’s service, but Lu Song’s divination and Xi Chao’s resolve led them to accept it.
• Xi Yin made Xi Chao swear that he would avoid commanding troops and would protect the Xi Family from the risks of three generations serving as generals; Xi Chao swore and wept with his parents.

Xi Chao and his companions traveled from Kuaiji to Jiangling so he could accept Huan Wen’s recruitment, while news of Ran Min’s proclamation and the northern conflict reached them along the way. Liu Acheng met Huan Chong and secured a note to introduce Xi Chao to Huan Wen’s household, then insisted that Huan Chong provide food for his party.

• Xi Chao, Liu Acheng, and Fu Hong left Kuaiji, traveled west by boat from Wuhu, and reached Jiangling at the end of the seventh month.
• At Pen Pass, the travelers heard that Yuan Zhen had captured Hefei, and Liu Acheng explained that Yuan had taken the city and carried its inhabitants back to Lujiang.
• The narration revealed that Ran Min had proclaimed himself emperor after killing Shi Jian, then sought Jin’s aid when the Qiang attacked him and the court ignored his appeal.
• Xi Chao settled at Xie Yi’s former residence and sent Liu Acheng to Huan Chong with Xie An’s name card to arrange a renewed recruitment invitation from Huan Wen.
• Liu Acheng explained Xi Chao’s plans and insisted that Huan Wen’s household treat him with proper respect; Huan Chong wrote a note for his nephews and returned Xie An’s name card.
• Liu Acheng pointed out that he and his two companions had waited hungry outside Huan Chong’s gate, so Huan Chong invited them in for a meal.

Huan Chong reported Xi Jiabin’s arrival to Huan Wen, who recognized the political importance of welcoming the Xi family heir and arranged a large banquet. Liu Acheng chose Jiangling’s western watchtower as the venue, and Huan Wen was delighted by the poetic name Qixia; the chapter ended with later accounts recalling Liu Acheng’s literary wit and historical knowledge.

• Huan Chong visited Huan Wen and asked about the staged beating of a messenger clerk, prompting Huan Wen to explain how he adapted rules to local gentry customs.
• Huan Chong told Huan Wen that Xi Jiabin had come to accept his recruitment offer, and Huan Wen ordered a lavish welcome because the Xi family’s prestige could strengthen his standing.
• Huan Wen instructed Huan Xin to host the banquet in his name and coordinate its arrangements with Liu Cheng.
• Liu Acheng met with Huan Xin and proposed holding the banquet at a prominent western watchtower, naming it Qixia for its resemblance to a tower among the rosy clouds.
• Huan Xin relayed Liu Acheng’s explanation to Huan Wen, who rushed to admire the tower and regretted that he had not noticed its beauty sooner.
• The chapter recounted later anecdotes in which Emperor Taizu impressed Sun Anguo and Xi Zaochi with his knowledge of historical stories.

Liu Acheng attended a banquet at Qixia Tower where Huan Wen's staff and Jingzhou scholars assessed Xi Chao and his companions. After defending Jiang Wei in a historical debate, Liu Acheng and the others prepared to receive Huan Wen as he arrived.

• Luo You arrived early, ignored the formal gathering to eat, and accepted Xi Chao's share of the sturgeon after Liu Acheng arranged the meal.
• Sun Sheng and Luo Han arrived with scholars, welcomed Xi Chao, and drew him into a friendly philosophical discussion.
• Xi Zaochi arrived with local Jingzhou staff and questioned Fu Hong about northern learning before pointing out Che Yin's diligence in studying by firefly light.
• Xi Zaochi asked Liu Acheng about his reading and historical opinions, and Liu defended Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei against Sun Sheng's criticism.
• Huan Wen arrived to recite a poem, and the scholars arranged themselves to welcome him.

At Qixia Tower, Liu Acheng and Fu Hong met Huan Wen, while Xi Chao secured his audience and argued that their generation put statecraft and the Northern Expedition ahead of empty conversation. The gathering ended with Huan Wen wondering whether the southern scholars had already changed the balance of influence.

• Huan Wen arrived at the tower, renamed it Qixia Tower, and asked what the assembled scholars had been discussing.
• Xi Zaochi introduced Liu Acheng, who gave Huan Wen his family background and established a connection through their shared roots near the Wo River.
• Liu Bo interrupted to question Liu Acheng's ancestry, then recognized him as a kinsman of Liu Jili and became emotional at news that Jili was alive.
• Xi Zaochi introduced Fu Hong to Huan Wen, and Fu Hong used his account of coming south to bring Xi Chao into the conversation.
• Xi Chao told Huan Wen that his generation, including himself, Liu Cheng, and Wang Tanzhi, prioritized governing the state and preparing for the Northern Expedition.
• Huan Wen listened in surprise and wondered whether distinguished scholars South of the Yangtze had advanced beyond Liu Tan's generation.

Huan Wen decided how to recruit Xi Chao and his companions, then appointed Xi Chao chief of the Eastern Office in his headquarters. Xi Chao accepted after Liu Cheng urged him, and news of the appointment stirred Jingzhou, Jiankang, and Jingkou.

• Xi Chao defended Liu Cheng and Fu Hong as suitable recruits, and Huan Wen praised their willingness to leave the comfortable south for service in Jingzhou.
• Huan Wen told Huan Chong that he wanted to cultivate Xi Chao as a trusted future ally, and they settled on the Eastern Office chief's post for him.
• Huan Wen arranged for Fu Hong to become Chief Clerk of Nan Commandery and created a Chief Secretary post for Liu Cheng in his headquarters.
• Huan Wen consulted his senior staff about Xi Chao's appointment, then sent repeated formal recruitment invitations to Xi Chao's residence.
• Xi Chao accepted the Eastern Office chief's post after Liu Cheng urged him, and the appointment caused a stir across Jingzhou, Jiankang, and Jingkou.

Liu Acheng accepted his appointment as Chief Secretary under Huan Wen and discovered that the role focused on carrying confidential orders to local administrations and subordinate forces. Huan Wen gave him the courtesy name Yulong, and the chapter ended with the volume closing amid a celebration of Liu Acheng and Xi Chao joining the headquarters.

• Liu Acheng persuaded Xi Chao to accept his appointment, and Liu Cheng and Fu Hong accepted theirs as well.
• While waiting to take up his post, Liu Acheng investigated the duties of a Chief Secretary and worried that he might be given too much work.
• Liu Acheng and Xi Chao formally reported to Huan Wen after receiving their official robes, seals, and appointment documents.
• Liu Acheng explained the Imperial Secretariat’s Chief Secretary system, and Huan Wen clarified that Liu’s duties would involve conveying confidential instructions and handling complex matters outside headquarters.
• Huan Wen asked Liu Cheng to begin using a courtesy name and bestowed Yulong on him, which Liu Cheng gratefully accepted.

Liu Cheng traveled to Shicheng to learn Deng Xia’s response to Huan Wen’s plan to transfer him to Nanxiang, and helped him frame requests about his title and command. The chapter ended with Deng Xia slaying a giant Chinese alligator before Liu Cheng, echoing a later legend about Emperor Taizu and a flood dragon.

• Liu Cheng met Deng Xia in Shicheng and heard that he accepted the move to Nanxiang to gather refugees and train a new army.
• Deng Xia asked Liu Cheng to seek the removal of Wang Qia’s Champion General title and to propose that Deng retain his Jingling post while commanding troops in Nanxiang.
• Liu Cheng offered to carry Deng Xia’s requests to Huan Wen and invited officers to share concerns with him during his stay.
• Deng Xia lured a giant Chinese alligator from a rocky pool and killed it with a spear and sword while Liu Cheng watched.
• Liu Cheng was astonished by Deng Xia’s strength, and the closing account connected the deed to a legend in which Deng Xia presented a flood-dragon hide saddle to Emperor Taizu.

After returning to Jiangling, Liu Cheng filed his travel reports, socialized with colleagues, and recounted Deng Xia’s flood-dragon hunt to the Shu scholars and Huan Wen’s guards. He waited near Huan Wen’s office to submit his forms, and someone finally summoned him inside.

• Liu Cheng returned to Jiangling, arranged for the crocodile hide to be made into leather goods, and went to the General Who Conquers the West’s headquarters.
• Liu Cheng reported his trip to Xi Chao and Xi Zaochi, then had his clerks copy the forms he had collected.
• Liu Cheng visited colleagues and told them that Deng Xia had slain a flood dragon, while Sun Sheng and Xi Zaochi used Three Kingdoms debates to argue over regional loyalties.
• Liu Cheng shared the flood-dragon story with Luo You, who discussed how to cook and eat the creature.
• Liu Cheng visited Chang Qu and Wang Yu and praised Shu’s history and achievements, earning the scholars’ appreciation.
• Liu Cheng delivered copies of his forms, waited near Huan Wen’s office, and was called inside after telling the guards stories about Guan Yu.

Liu Cheng secured Huan Wen's backing for his reports on local grievances and his proposed Three Kingdoms romance, then urged him to attack Guanzhong. Huan Wen explained why he intended to wait, leaving Liu Cheng to accept his position and go home for the holiday.

• Huan Wen agreed to grant Deng Xia the governorship of Jingling and instructed Liu Cheng to privately warn him that the northern Champion General still commanded three thousand Shaan-Luo soldiers.
• Liu Cheng proposed collecting local complaints and addressing simple issues promptly, and Huan Wen ordered the headquarters to implement the practice and provide him with local clerks and army advisors.
• Liu Cheng asked Huan Wen for paper and official backing to write a popular history of the Late Han and Three Kingdoms, and Huan Wen approved the request.
• Liu Cheng urged Huan Wen to launch a Northern Expedition into Guanzhong, but Huan Wen argued that the Di leaders had serious weaknesses and that further preparation would be wiser.
• Huan Wen told Liu Cheng to rest over the New Year holiday, and Liu Cheng left after briefing Xi Chao and Xi Zaochi.

Liu Cheng met Luo You over lotus root soup and asked why Huan Wen was delaying the Northern Expedition. Luo You explained that Huan Wen’s ambitions and the balance of power kept his focus on Jiankang, while Liu Cheng still urged him to pursue expansion northward; the chapter ended with Liu Cheng inviting Luo You to Huan Wen’s New Year banquet for a chance to eat rare northwestern white sheep.

• Liu Cheng rode through Jiangling, bought lotus root soup and other dishes from local workers, and waited by the river for Luo You.
• Liu Cheng and Luo You ate together, discussed the costs of cured meat, and compared their views on the conquest of Shu and the Northern Expedition.
• Liu Cheng asked why Huan Wen was delaying the Northern Expedition, and Luo You explained that Huan Wen prioritized Jiankang because of its political influence and greater resources.
• Liu Cheng recognized Luo You’s practical insight and concluded that Huan Wen could not bear to give up Jiankang, even if Chang’an offered another path north.
• Liu Cheng invited Luo You to join Huan Wen’s New Year banquet, where rare northwestern white sheep would be served, and then confessed his belief that the Northern Expedition could help Great Jin resolve its internal problems.

On the eve of the New Year, Liu Cheng turned the household’s preparations into a gift exchange that brought the residence’s servants together, while Xi Chao and Fu Hong realized how thoughtfully he had acted. The three then left for Huan Wen’s residence, where Liu Cheng remained preoccupied with whether Huan Wen would swallow an egg raw.

• Xi Chao and Fu Hong worried over New Year customs and shared how lonely and uncertain they felt while living away from home.
• Liu Cheng returned and assigned Fu Hong to bury a house-guarding stone and Xi Chao to distribute year-end gifts, while he organized the household’s New Year preparations.
• Liu Cheng corrected the local retainers’ custom of swallowing raw eggs and arranged the household’s New Year meals and ceremonies.
• Liu Cheng organized a gift exchange among the household’s retainers, prompting them to laugh and cry as he urged them to support one another.
• Xi Chao and Fu Hong discussed Liu Cheng’s care for the retainers as the three rode with Huan Xin to Huan Wen’s residence.

Liu Cheng and Xi Chao discussed Huan Wen’s rejected northern expedition and supported using a military buildup at Wuchang to pressure Jiankang and secure political guarantees. The banquet ended with Huan Xi proposing that he be sent to court as a hostage, revealing how far his understanding differed from his father’s plans.

• Huan Xi sent Xi Chao, Liu Cheng, and Fu Hong away from Sima Xingnan without meeting her, then left their conversation without explanation.
• Liu Cheng wandered to Huan Wen’s kitchen to ask whether the white sheep mentioned on the invitation would be served that evening.
• At the banquet, Huan Wen asked Huan Qian, Liu Cheng, and Xi Chao about the court’s rejection of his northern expedition memorial.
• Xi Chao proposed assembling troops at Wuchang to pressure Jiankang, and Liu Cheng explained how the maneuver could lead to mutual guarantees and cooperation.
• Huan Wen told Liu Cheng not to challenge his decision to deal with Jiankang before pursuing Guanzhong.
• Huan Xi arrived late and suggested that Huan Wen send him to court as a hostage.