Recaps

Liu Cheng arranged for Sun Sheng to receive a proper farewell after his release from the cage, then returned to Jiankang with Huyan Xiang and formally handed over his credentials. He arrived prepared to remain in the capital, while Sun Sheng was placed in the Court Commandant’s custody.

• Xi Chao sent Huan Wen a note asking him to allow a gathering to see Sun Sheng off, and Liu Cheng discussed responsibility and the ties he had formed with Xi Chao.
• Liu Cheng traveled downstream, met Sun Sheng at Baling, apologized, and watched visitors arrive to bid Sun Sheng farewell.
• Huyan Xiang asked to accompany Liu Cheng to Jiankang, and Liu Cheng agreed to take him along.
• Liu Cheng’s fleet passed through Xiankou and Wuchang, then reached Jianye in early summer without stopping at Stone City.
• Liu Cheng entered Jiankang with a ceremonial escort, handed over his credentials at the Tai Pavilion, and transferred Sun Sheng to the Court Commandant’s custody.
• Liu Cheng went with Huyan Xiang to Gao Rou’s residence as word spread that he had returned to stay in Jiankang.

After returning to Jiankang, Liu Cheng received Sima Yu’s summons and secured a promise of a future military appointment while refusing a prestigious court post. He urged Sima Yu to divide Xuzhou and Yuzhou into northern and southern regions, warning that Yin Hao’s coming defeat would leave the court with little choice but to rely on Huan Wen.

• After four days of waiting, Liu Acheng was summoned by Sima Yu, who sent Han Bo to bring Liu Cheng and Huyan Xiang to the Prince of Kuaiji’s residence.
• Liu Cheng asked the court to arrange a post for Huyan Xiang, and Sima Yu agreed to recommend him to Duke Kong.
• Sima Yu offered Liu Cheng a prestigious court position until he met the age requirement for his intended appointment, but Liu Cheng refused and secured a promise that he could take up the post later.
• Liu Cheng proposed establishing Northern and Southern Xuzhou and Northern and Southern Yuzhou, letting Huan Langzi govern Yuzhou proper while the court retained Southern Yuzhou and the Western Command.
• Liu Cheng warned Sima Yu that Yin Hao would likely suffer defeat because the court was financially strained and Yin Hao lacked military ability, then left to visit his wife and her family.

Liu Cheng made a leisurely return visit to his wife’s family in Wuxing before reuniting with Kuaiji’s celebrated scholars. He argued that Yin Hao’s Northern Expedition was doomed by political rivalry, overconfidence, and financial weakness, leaving the gathering to consider the coming upheaval.

• Liu Cheng delayed his journey while tending to affairs at his manor, then traveled toward Wuxing with Awu, A She, and mounted guards.
• Liu Cheng spent a month visiting the Shen Family in Wuxing, discussed political prospects with Shen Jin, and asked him to retain the Qianxi Music Troupe for a special project.
• Liu Cheng visited Xu Xun, who refused to meet him, before traveling to Shanyin and catching up with Sun Chuo and other acquaintances.
• Sun Chuo gathered Kuaiji’s scholars at Wang Xizhi’s residence, where Liu Cheng and Wang Xizhi reconciled amid jokes and stories.
• Wang Xizhi announced that Yin Hao planned to move his headquarters to Xuchang, and Liu Cheng predicted defeat if Yin Hao crossed the Huai River.
• Liu Cheng explained that rivalry with Huan Wen, Yin Hao’s confidence in his military abilities, and inadequate finances would force him into a disastrous northern advance.

Liu Cheng returned to Kuaiji, discussed governance and changing literary fashions with Wang Xizhi and other scholars, then learned that Yin Hao’s failed Northern Expedition had strengthened Huan Wen’s position. After receiving the appointment of Langya Interior Minister, Liu Cheng met the exiled Yin Hao, who accepted his defeat as a road home, and Liu Cheng set out for his new post.

• Liu Cheng joked with Wang Xizhi, Xie An, Yu Cun, and Sun Chuo about governing, reforming finances, counting the White Register population, and the changing tastes of literature.
• Liu Cheng stayed at Xi Yin’s Manor, revised Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and learned that Yao Xiang had broken with Yin Hao, whose army then suffered a crushing defeat.
• The court stripped Yin Hao of office and exiled him, while Huan Wen received authority over the Northern Expedition and Xie Shang was released from custody.
• After Wang Shu became Yangzhou Governor, Liu Cheng hurried north with his wife and pregnant concubine and met the exiled Yin Hao at a Shen Family manor.
• Liu Cheng told Yin Hao that Huan Wen had appointed him Langya Interior Minister, then left after seeing Yin Hao trace strange words in the air.
• Han Bo relayed Liu Cheng’s message that the flowers were blooming and Yin Hao could take his time returning, and Yin Hao said they were on the road home.

Liu Cheng oversaw the successful construction of a water-powered mill and ordered preparations for a papermaking workshop. At Jincheng, he began tightening commandery administration with population and property surveys, then asked his clerks to recommend candidates for vacant posts.

• Liu Cheng watched the water-powered mill turn and instructed Grandpa Liu San to prioritize a downstream papermaking workshop.
• Liu Cheng returned to his residence to study, train, and spend time with his wife before heading to Jincheng the next morning.
• Liu Cheng reviewed the clerks’ reports, closed inquiries into past matters, and warned that upcoming investigations would be demanding.
• Liu Cheng ordered a population survey and a survey of land, houses, and shops, clarifying that he was preparing for Tuduan rather than carrying it out.
• Liu Cheng told the clerks to begin the surveys with his own clan and Jiangcheng’s market, while recording gentry properties separately.
• Liu Cheng asked the clerks to recommend candidates, including themselves, for the vacant governing and attendant clerk posts.

Liu Acheng realized that Langya Commandery’s lower-ranking officials were too intimidated by the gentry to recommend candidates, and he resolved to recruit two great-clan officials while still trying to open opportunities to others. After arranging for soy milk to be made, he set out for Black Robe Alley with two buckets to recruit someone.

• Liu Acheng explained that he lacked suitable candidates for commandery posts because humble-household officials feared their recommendations would be mocked or displaced by powerful clans.
• Liu Acheng recognized that few capable officials came from outside the gentry, but remained committed to breaking the social barrier despite his failed attempt to solicit recommendations.
• Liu Acheng asked A She to prepare soy milk for the following day after she explained that the beans needed to soak overnight.
• After drinking fresh soy milk and an egg wrap, Liu Acheng summoned the newly arrived Attendant Secretariat Supervisor and ordered a carriage prepared.
• Liu Acheng took two buckets of soy milk to Black Robe Alley, intending to deliver them and recruit someone.

Liu Cheng visited the Xie and Fan families with homemade soy milk to recruit staff for Langya Commandery, trading insults with Xie Yi before securing Fan Ning’s likely appointment as Chief Clerk. The chapter ended with Wang Biaozhi sending word that he would meet Liu Cheng the next morning, potentially changing which post Fan Ning received.

• Liu Cheng visited the Xie household, delivered soy milk, and argued with Xie Yi over their wager and his recruitment of Xie Lang.
• Liu Cheng asked Xie Xuan to become his Attendant Secretariat Supervisor, but Xie Xuan objected to his age, the bypassing of his elder brothers, and Liu Cheng’s insults toward his family.
• Liu Cheng left the Xie household and offered Fan Ning a choice of posts; Fan Wang and Fan Kang agreed that Fan Ning would likely become Langya Chief Clerk.
• A messenger from Wang Tanzhi told Liu Cheng that Wang Biaozhi would receive him the next morning, prompting Liu Cheng and Fan Kang to joke about whether Fan Ning would serve as Chief Clerk or Officer of the Five Offices.

Liu Cheng visited Wang Biaozhi to discuss Wang Xizhi’s troubles, the future of Wang Xizhi’s sons, and a request concerning the Shen Family. Wang Biaozhi agreed to consider pardoning the Shen Family’s other branches and planned to take office in Kuaiji to help his cousin.

• Liu Cheng visited Wang Biaozhi and asked how the affair targeting Wang Xizhi would end.
• Wang Biaozhi said he intended to urge Wang Xizhi to resign, then leave his own post as Minister of Personnel and govern Kuaiji in his place.
• Liu Cheng told Wang Biaozhi that Wang Xizhi’s sons were gifted mainly in calligraphy, and Wang Biaozhi proposed summoning Huizhi to serve as Liu Cheng’s Chief Clerk, with Linzhi as an alternative.
• Liu Cheng asked Wang Biaozhi to help Shen Jin’s family, and Wang Biaozhi agreed to discuss pardoning the Shen Family’s other branches with the Prince of Kuaiji.

Liu Cheng strengthened his staff and household ties, then was summoned by Regent Sima Yu to advise the court after rebels seized Liuhe Small City. He left for the Department of State Affairs as the court sought his insight into the crisis between North and South.

• Liu Cheng recruited Wang Linzhi as Chief Clerk, Fan Ning as Officer of the Five Offices, and Liu Ye as Inspector of Postal Stations, then ordered Wang Linzhi and Fan Ning to document the tofu-making process at his mill.
• The court issued an amnesty allowing most Punished Families implicated in the Wang Dun and Su Jun Rebellions to redeem their offenses, and the Shen Clan paid on behalf of impoverished families in the Wu Region.
• Liu Cheng comforted Awu after her elders suggested bringing Shen Clan women to his household as concubines, then reassured A She as she neared childbirth.
• Liu Jili summoned Liu Cheng to the Department of State Affairs at Wang Biaozhi’s recommendation after refugees took Liu Shi hostage, seized Liuhe Small City, and raised Yao Xiang’s banner.
• Liu Cheng left for the Department of State Affairs, telling his clerks to settle matters and inform his household of his departure.

Liu Cheng volunteered to resolve the Qihuo Army’s occupation of Liuhe Small City before Jiankang sent troops to garrison the Central Hall. He negotiated the release of Liu Shi and recovered the city, while Guo Bi’s people fled north toward the Huai River region.

• At the Department of State Affairs, Liu Cheng learned that Guo Bi’s Qihuo Army had seized Liuhe Small City and possibly Tangyi, prompting the court to prepare defenses for Jiankang.
• Liu Cheng secured permission to cross the river with Gao Jian’s troops and hurried to Jiangcheng, where he ordered boats, weapons, grain, radishes, and water spinach prepared.
• At Liuhe Small City, Liu Cheng met Guo Bi and concluded that the Qihuo wanted to travel north rather than serve Yao Xiang; he offered supplies in exchange for their departure and Liu Shi’s release.
• Guo Bi agreed, and more than a thousand Qihuo left the city with food and sandals; after Gao Jian’s troops secured Liuhe, Guo Bi released Liu Shi and fled with his rear guard.
• Liu Shuang returned to Jiankang and reported that Liu Cheng had recovered Liuhe Small City the previous night, before Zhou Min’s troops needed to occupy the Central Hall.

Liu Cheng attended an audience with Empress Dowager Chu Suanzi and the Young Emperor, where he warned that Yan’s leading princes threatened the south and presented his Treatise on Lasting Peace and Order. After challenging the court to pursue a Northern Expedition and reform its rule, he startled everyone by revealing he had brought a real saber into the palace.

• Liu Cheng met Xie Shang and Xie Yi on the way to the palace and asked Xie Shang about the audience’s etiquette.
• At the Eastern Studio, Sima Yu led the ministers in greeting Chu Suanzi and the Young Emperor before discussing Murong Jun’s appointments in Yan.
• Liu Cheng named Murong Ke, Murong Ping, and Murong Chui as Yan’s most formidable leaders, then described Wang Meng as an exceptional northern talent.
• Liu Cheng rebuked Xie Yi, warned that the Murong Clan might collapse while Jin’s own divisions threatened its survival, and read out his Treatise on Lasting Peace and Order.
• Liu Cheng argued that a Northern Expedition was necessary to unite the country and address the court’s problems, while Chu Suanzi asked why Xie An still refused office.
• The Young Emperor asked to see Liu Cheng’s real saber, and Liu Cheng drew it briefly before leaving the hall to surrender it.

Liu Cheng gained the prestigious appointment of Gentleman of the Palace Attendant, Extra-Establishment, after the Empress Dowager reconsidered his reward, and he later received a pardon for bringing a blade into the palace. As A She's delivery approached, Xie An and several unexpected guests arrived at Liu Cheng's Manor, with Xie An demanding to know why his brothers had ordered him home.

• The court approved General Who Pacifies the South for Huan Yun, promoted Xie Shang to Western General of the Gentlemen of the Palace, and approved several other commendations and appointments.
• Empress Dowager Chu initially proposed giving Liu Cheng a general's title, but Liu Cheng argued that Wang Tanzhi had failed to teach the Young Emperor about weapons, prompting Chu to approve Liu Cheng as Gentleman of the Palace Attendant, Extra-Establishment.
• After Xie Shang and Xie Yi spoke with Chu about their family and Xie An, Wang Tanzhi reported that Liu Cheng had gone to the Court Commandant's office to await punishment for bringing a blade into the palace, and Chu ordered him pardoned.
• Liu Cheng returned to the Manor, slowed his routine as A She's pregnancy advanced, began population verification, and hired Chang Qu as Chief Registrar.
• Liu Cheng saw Wang Biaozhi off to Kuaiji with Wang Linzhi, then remained anxious as A She's due date neared.
• Xie An arrived with Monk Zhi Daolin, Sun Chuo, Yu Yun, and Yu Cun, demanding to know what Liu Cheng had said in his name at court, while Sun Chuo explained that he had come to seek office.

Liu Cheng confronted Xie An over his refusal to enter office, then learned that A She had safely given birth to a daughter. Pressed by his brothers, Xie An agreed to write a guarantee that he would join Huan Yuanzi’s staff when Liu Yulong left Langya for the Northern Expedition, while Xie Xuan arrived to serve under Liu Cheng.

• Liu Cheng defended dragging Xie An into politics, accusing him of evading responsibility while the realm’s people suffered.
• A messenger told Liu Cheng that A She had delivered a daughter safely, and Liu Cheng celebrated the birth of A Weng.
• Xie An explained to Xie Yi and Xie Shang that he should eventually serve Huan Yuanzi in Jiangling, but wanted to wait until the right moment.
• Xie Shang revealed that Liu Cheng had predicted Xie An would avoid office and demanded a written promise that he would join Huan Yuanzi when Liu Cheng left Langya for the Northern Expedition.
• Xie An agreed to write the guarantee, and Xie Xuan brought congratulatory gifts to Liu Cheng and said he wished to serve like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.

After personally organizing flood relief in Langya Commandery, Liu Cheng launched household registration reforms and proposed challenging aristocratic estates to fund development and support a future Northern Expedition. He persuaded Sun Chuo to lead a memorial to the court, while the chapter ended with Xie Xuan asking about names for the newly established townships.

• Liu Cheng led flood relief across Langya Commandery, restored roads and waterways, inspected damage, and ordered officials to register households and investigate fraudulent aristocratic registrations.
• At a meeting to name local townships, Liu Cheng reported the commandery's population figures and discussed the unfairness of taxing refugees while aristocratic estates held land and laborers beyond his jurisdiction.
• Liu Cheng outlined a gradual Tuduan plan and argued that the court should require aristocratic estates to surrender unused fields for refugee cultivation.
• Xie Xuan proposed petitioning the court, Fan Ning recommended building support through a joint memorial, and Liu Jili suggested seizing estates if the aristocrats resisted.
• Liu Cheng persuaded Sun Chuo to lead a memorial on behalf of the people by promising to help him obtain a local Yangzhou commandery appointment.
• Xie Xuan pointed out that the seven newly established townships and villages still needed proper names, and Liu Cheng defended their existing informal names.

Liu Cheng’s campaign against fraudulent gentry registrations sparked a wave of memorials in Jiankang supporting Tuduan and reform. While Sima Yu sought to question him, Liu Cheng was in Caishi helping Xie Shang create a musical performance, leaving the court’s political maneuvering tangled with his theatrical plans.

• Liu Cheng’s investigation of Langya gentry households coincided with Sun Chuo’s memorial condemning fraudulent registrations, wasteful estates, and gentry encroachment.
• Gao Rou, Liu Lang, Ming Ji, Xie Shang, Fan Wang, and other officials submitted memorials supporting Sun Chuo’s call for reform, and Sun Chuo proposed gradual Tuduan with nineteen prominent co-signers.
• Sima Yu learned that Liu Cheng had coordinated the public campaign and summoned him to the Department of State Affairs, but Wang Tanzhi said Liu Cheng was in Caishi at Xie Shang’s invitation.
• Liu Cheng and Xie Shang organized the Qianxi Music Troupe to perform The Peacock Flies Southeast, with Yuan Hong writing and revising lyrics and Song Yi arranging the music.
• Xie Shang rejected the stone chimes he had commissioned, and Liu Cheng protested that without restoring the Imperial Music Bureau, Sun Chuo would lose the political reward of promotion.

Liu Cheng met Sima Yu after arranging stone chimes for the court and proposed using Langya Commandery to begin a gradual Tuduan policy. Sima Yu approved the plan, and Liu Cheng explained the political circumstances behind Xi Zaochi’s demotion before the meeting ended in laughter over Sun Chuo’s impatience.

• Liu Cheng finished gathering stone at Caishi and hurried to Jiankang to meet Sima Yu.
• Liu Cheng argued that Sima Yu should prepare for an eventual Tuduan by setting an example in Langya Commandery and transferring farmland attached to private estates to aid impoverished people on the White Register.
• Gao Song endorsed Liu Cheng’s proposal, and Sima Yu approved it.
• Liu Cheng explained that Xi Zaochi’s demotion stemmed chiefly from tensions with Huan Wen and discontent among Jingzhou Native Literati, rather than solely from Xi praising Sima Yu.
• Liu Cheng told Sima Yu that the stone chimes would be completed before winter so Sun Chuo could receive recognition sooner, prompting laughter in the hall.

Liu Cheng used the performance of “The Peacock Flies Southeast” to persuade the Empress Dowager to establish monthly ritual-music demonstrations at the Central Hall. The chapter ends with a later performance causing Murong Chui to collapse after hearing its final song.

• The performance of “The Peacock Flies Southeast” moved the Empress Dowager and the gathered officials, while the Young Emperor watched curiously.
• Liu Cheng explained that the ensemble was private but proposed monthly performances at the Central Hall, with senior ministers and titled ladies invited.
• Liu Cheng argued that the gatherings would let the young Emperor appear before court figures, and Xie Shang supported the proposal.
• The Empress Dowager approved monthly demonstrations and sent the restoration of ritual music’s merit to the Tai Pavilion for deliberation.
• At a later performance, Murong Chui heard the song’s final lines, stood up, and collapsed unconscious.

Liu Cheng explained how he would implement Tuduan and offered refugee leaders reassurance through marriage ties and a new school. He corrected the boys’ summer project and asked them whether he himself was happy in Langya.

• Liu Cheng met with refugee commanders and clan chiefs, explained the Tuduan policy, and proposed intermarriages and a school for their children.
• Liu Cheng reviewed Xie Xuan, Fan Ning, and Wang Linzhi’s mill and land survey, pointed out that they had proposed too many sites, and asked them to narrow the list to five or six.
• Fan Ning said he disliked the fieldwork and wanted more time to study the Confucian classics, while Xie Xuan said he enjoyed learning practical skills and looked forward to the winter hunt.
• Wang Linzhi said he preferred quiet conversation but could endure fieldwork when it pleased his father.
• Liu Cheng asked the three boys whether they thought he was happy in Langya.

Liu Cheng explained that his outward success in Langya could not hide his frustration at being unable to remedy injustice, then assessed the Murong Clan’s likely campaign and the court’s military choices. He left the court facing the problem of how to replenish its armies before the northern war began.

• Liu Cheng told Fan Ning, Xie Xuan, and Wang Linzhi that injustice was what truly troubled him, and praised each young man for understanding his own desires.
• Liu Cheng received the delayed Tuduan proclamations, then learned they had been pushed through after Murong Jun began registering households and preparing troops in Hebei.
• Liu Cheng predicted that the Murong Clan would invade after the next autumn harvest and attack Duan Kan first, explaining that Duan Kan threatened Murong power in both the Xianbei tribes and Bohai region.
• Liu Cheng urged the court to aid Duan Kan but warned that victory would require placing the Western, Central, and Northern armies under Huan Wen, a risk the court would likely reject.
• Liu Cheng explained that famine would delay Huan Wen’s campaign in Guanzhong and warned that the following year would bring renewed mass warfare, prompting Sima Yu to ask how the court could quickly fund and reinforce its armies.
• Sun Chuo’s account described how Emperor Taizu directed him to seek Xie Shang at Caishi, where a proposal to restore court rites helped Xie Shang advance and Sun Chuo gain an appointment.

Liu Cheng formalized local offices and drove his gradual Tuduan policy through Langya, confiscating estate fields and resettling refugees while the Jiankang court sought ways to raise troops from great-clan retainers. After Liu Cheng burned a Zhuge estate and demanded its owners serve on the front line, Sima Yu sent Zhuge Heng to a dangerous post, leaving Jiankang in a panic.

• Liu Cheng held an autumn feast, appointed township and village officials, and made Grandpa Liu San the senior township head of South Garden Township.
• The Jiankang court prepared to restrict great clans’ slave retainers and recruit able-bodied men for military service.
• Liu Cheng and Liu Dage confiscated estate fields across Langya, distributed them to refugees, and rebuilt local administration.
• Liu Cheng burned a Zhuge family estate after its owners complained about his measures, then memorialized against Zhuge Hui’s three sons.
• Sima Yu appointed Zhuge Heng Administrator of Xingyang, a dangerous post near enemy forces, and the news alarmed Jiankang.

Liu Cheng met secretly with Shen Jin to discuss the troops and resources Shen could provide, then considered using a possible uprising to gain Shen a path out of his political predicament. He was left struggling with whether to deliberately provoke turmoil in Jiankang, unsure whether history would otherwise avert disaster.

• Liu Cheng discussed Shen Jin’s pregnant relative and the Shen family’s offer to support the court, asking Shen to report his available troops, weapons, livestock, and supplies.
• Shen Jin secretly visited Liu Cheng in South Garden and said he could provide ten thousand men with basic equipment and three months of provisions, while potentially gathering thirty or forty thousand adult males from Wuxing and nearby communities.
• Liu Cheng told Shen Jin to keep the force’s true size secret, approach Wang Huzhi, and let Liu Cheng sound out the Prince of Kuaiji about a smaller force.
• Liu Cheng asked whether Shen Jin would serve under him to escape his status as a Punished Family; Shen Jin said he would if Wang Huzhi’s efforts failed, but preferred a better background for his children if possible.
• After Shen Jin offered to lend troops if unrest broke out, Liu Cheng considered whether to provoke turmoil himself so he could suppress it and benefit from the upheaval.

After settling into a comfortable routine in the eleventh year of Yonghe, Liu Cheng learned that the Prince of Wuling was preparing weapons and armor. Seeing an opportunity to intervene in the Sima Clan’s affairs, he questioned Sima Yu about the prince’s character and political ties.

• Liu Cheng concluded that he could stir up trouble only after first accepting responsibility for its consequences.
• Huan Wen reported that Quchi had submitted to him, while a locust plague in Guanzhong threatened to keep his forces occupied.
• Liu Cheng collected increased taxes through Gradual Tuduan, supplied Xun Xian, supported schools, and enjoyed a quiet life with his family.
• Sun Sheng’s performance of "Discussing Heroes While Boiling Green Plums" provoked Cai Mo, who left after their argument.
• Sima Yu told Liu Cheng that the Prince of Wuling had been preparing weapons and armor, and Liu Cheng asked about the prince’s character, relationships, and political views.

Liu Cheng advised Sima Yu that the Prince of Wuling was preparing for possible upheaval but was unlikely to act immediately, and urged Sima Yu to consider meeting Huan Wen. After consulting his trusted advisers, Sima Yu received a note from Wang Tanzhi and asked whether his father thought the Prince of Wuling was merely preparing to hunt.

• Liu Cheng explained the Prince of Wuling's position and warned Sima Yu not to dismiss his weapons preparations as hunting.
• Liu Cheng advised Sima Yu to watch for sudden changes and consider meeting Huan Wen before major fighting began in the North.
• Sima Yu summoned Gao Song, Liu Jili, and Wang Tanzhi separately to discuss Liu Cheng's advice.
• Gao Song supported meeting Huan Wen, while Liu Jili urged Sima Yu to send the Prince of Wuling away to Jingzhou.
• Wang Tanzhi arrived with a note, and Sima Yu asked whether his father believed the Prince of Wuling merely wanted to hunt wild boar.

Sima Yu weighed whether to meet Huan Wen while growing uneasy about his family and political allies, as Liu Cheng worked to arrange the meeting. The chapter ended with Sima Yu confining his heir, Sima Daosheng, after he described hunting to the Young Emperor and angered the Empress Dowager.

• Sima Yu consulted Wang Tanzhi, Liu Jili, and Gao Song about meeting Huan Wen, and they advised against deciding hastily.
• After the others left, Gao Song reassured Sima Yu about Wang Shu’s loyalty and listened as Sima Yu lamented that even his allies had their own interests.
• Liu Cheng wrote to Xi Chao, asking him to pass his observations to Huan Wen and encourage him to initiate a meeting with Sima Yu.
• Sima Yu drafted an incoherent letter to Huan Wen about their children’s betrothals and northern affairs, then abandoned it without deciding whether to invite him.
• Sima Yu learned that Sima Daosheng had described hunting to the Young Emperor, displeasing the Empress Dowager, and ordered his son confined to the rear courtyard.

Liu Cheng learned that Sima Yu’s conflict with Sima Daosheng and Princess Consort Wang had exposed deeper family and political resentments, but the household soon appeared reconciled. He arranged Huan Wen and Sima Yu’s secret meeting at Niuzhu, leaving Sima Yu to approve Xie Renzu’s transfer to Shouchun.

• Sima Yu refused repeated pleas to release Sima Daosheng, while rumors spread that Princess Consort Wang had also been confined.
• Liu Cheng met Sima Yu, who instructed him to arrange a meeting with Huan Wen and keep the family dispute out of their talks.
• Fan Kang told Liu Cheng that Princess Consort Wang had confronted Lady Hu and searched Sima Yu’s discarded letters, worsening Sima Yu’s resentment toward the Taiyuan Wang Clan.
• Sima Daosheng and Princess Consort Wang were released after four or five days, though Liu Cheng later noticed that Sima Yu still seemed unwell.
• Liu Cheng conveyed Huan Wen’s proposal: Sima Yu would restore Xie Renzu’s title and send him to Shouchun, while Huan Wen traveled to meet Sima Yu at Niuzhu.
• Gao Song began drafting Xie Renzu’s appointment, and Liu Cheng set out for Niuzhu to prepare for the meeting.