On the twenty-third day of the ninth month, the Tuduan Bureau dispatched twenty envoys to the ten commanderies of Yangzhou to review the Tuduan implementation. All carried edicts from the Chancellery of the Book of Documents and the Minister of Works' Office, empowering them to arrest those who violated the prohibitions during household-register inspections and send them to the Minister of Justice for trial. Xie Xuan and Liu Shangzhi went to Wuxing Commandery as chief and deputy envoys. The Chen Commandery Xie Clan had deep ties with Wuxing Commandery: Xie Wan and Xie An had both served as its governor, so Xie Xuan was the most suitable choice to review Tuduan there.
Xie Xuan had originally thought Chen Caozhi would go to Wu Commandery. Instead, Jia Bizhi was assigned there, while Chen Caozhi and his elder sister Xie Daoyun were to go to Kuaiji Commandery.
On the night before leaving the capital, Chen Caozhi visited Xie An in Wuyi Lane to seek advice on dealing with the great clans of Kuaiji who opposed Tuduan. Wearing a silk headscarf and a short robe, Xie Daoyun knelt beside Chen Caozhi, listening respectfully to her paternal uncle's instruction.
Xie An stroked a white Jade Ruyi in his hand as he watched his niece Xie Daoyun and Chen Caozhi treating each other with the courtesy of honored guests. A smile lingered on his lips, yet he shook his head slightly. He understood his niece's feelings and knew Chen Caozhi's resolve to marry no one but the Lu girl. Yet, for some reason, Xie An seemed unconcerned about his niece Xie Daoyun being with Chen Caozhi, and had raised no objection to their traveling to Kuaiji Commandery together. What considerations lay behind the actions of this wisest of Eastern Jin's celebrated scholars and eminent ministers?