That evening, Chen Family Cove held a lavish feast. The halls in all four towers-east, south, west, and north-were filled to capacity. Naturally, the clan chiefs and family heads of the Qiantang Gentry and the cold-gate commoner clans did not dine together, but gathered in separate halls. Even so, a gathering like this was truly unprecedented. The cold-gate commoner clans were naturally overjoyed: this hinted that their standing had risen, that they could actually face the gentry clans as equals. The Qiantang Gentry, led by the Quan Clan and Ding Clan, privately grumbled a little that the Chen Clan had invited them along with the cold-gate commoner clans, but were not overly displeased. They were still astonished by the simultaneous arrival of Xie Xuan and Registrar Zong, an official under the governor of Yangzhou. Chen Caozhi's brilliant gifts, broad learning, and outstanding distinction seemed already beyond dispute, but no matter how great his reputation, nothing could change the fact that he came from a newly admitted gentry clan. Yet Grand Marshal Huan, whose power overshadowed court and country, and Wang Shu, governor of Yangzhou and a member of the Taiyuan Wang Clan, were actually vying to recruit him. Not even the sons of the Wang and Xie clans enjoyed such glory!
Astonishment aside, the arrival of Xie Xuan and Registrar Zong undoubtedly gave the Qiantang Chen Clan's reputation an enormous boost. Among the Eight Clans of Qiantang, the Chen Clan had quietly come to the fore. An outstanding descendant truly could revive an entire clan.
Chen Caozhi had eaten neither meat nor fish for more than two years. Although he could end that abstinence today, he dared not eat much, taking only a large bowl of white rice and a bowl of meat stew. Xie Xuan and Registrar Zong ate