Righteously Indignant Impropriety (Part Two) (This chapter is free)
Just then, a household servant reported that Yuan Tong of Chen Commandery and Zhuge Zeng of Langya sought an audience with Master Gu and Master Chen.
Ever since the elegant gathering at Mount Tianque, when he had conferred with Wen Lin about driving Zhu Yingtai away, Yuan Tong had wanted to speak with Chen Caozhi. He learned that Chen Caozhi was painting for Waguansi, while the Xie Residence had not invited the capital's scions of distinguished families to the elegant gathering on the fourteenth day of the third month. It seemed things really were as Zhu Yingtai had said: only by defeating her could they marry Xie Daoyun. To Yuan Tong, whether he married Xie Daoyun was secondary; this arrogant scion of a second-tier gentry clan, Zhu Yingtai, had to be taught a lesson. If Xie Wanshi proved muddleheaded and actually betrothed Xie Daoyun to Zhu Yingtai, it would be nothing short of humiliation for all of them who had once sought marriage with the Xie Clan. Thus, he and Zhuge Zeng temporarily set aside their past grievances and united against a common enemy. Knowing that Buddha's Birthday was approaching and Chen Caozhi's murals should be nearly finished, they arranged to visit Chen Caozhi together and proposed that he engage Zhu Yingtai in dialectical debate. So long as he defeated Zhu Yingtai, Yuan Tong and Zhuge Zeng would each contribute three hundred thousand Wuzhu coins, making a total gift of six hundred thousand coins to Chen Caozhi-
Gambling was rampant in Jiankang. Chupu, backgammon, coin betting-gamblers flocked to them like ducks. Historical records related that Huan Wen had been poor in his youth yet fond of gambling. Unskilled at it, he had piled up debts, and when his creditors pressed him