Kong Wang, a son of the Kuaiji Kong clan, had sought Lu Weiwei's hand in the tenth month of the fourth year of Shengping and received the consent of Lu Shi, the Lu Clan Chief. But Lu Weiwei had sworn not to marry him, and the gentry and commoners of Jiankang had voiced much criticism of Kong Wang. Ashamed, he had withdrawn from the marriage and returned to Kuaiji, which the Kong Clan considered a considerable disgrace-
The Kuaiji Kong clan was one of the Great Clans of Jiangdong, ranking just below the Lu, Gu, Yu, and He clans. Kong Wang's great-grandfather Kong Zhu had been Eastern Wu's governor of Yuzhang, his grandfather Kong Tian the governor of Xiangdong, his uncle Kong Kan had risen to Grand Minister of Agriculture, and his father Kong Yu had served as Pushe of the Department of State Affairs. Generation after generation, the Kong family had produced high officials and eminent men, yielding little to the Wu Commandery Lu Clan. Only since Kong Yu's death twenty years earlier had the Kuaiji Kong clan shown some decline. But Kong Wang was acclaimed as an outstanding member of its younger generation, capable of reviving the family's standing. Studious, principled, and ambitious, he also possessed refined, handsome features. Had Lu Weiwei not already met Chen Caozhi, a marriage between the Lu and Kong clans would have pleased everyone, and Lu Weiwei would not have been unhappy either. But such was the unreasonableness of worldly matches: Lu Weiwei had already met and fallen in love with Chen Caozhi, so however outstanding Kong Wang might be, he was hateful in her eyes. Forcing a marriage would bring only endless suffering.
Yet, for the sake of its reputation, the Kuaiji Kong clan did not want to give up so easily.