At the hour of the Dragon on the fourteenth day of the tenth month, four oxcarts drove out through the heavy blue oak gates of Chen Family Cove. Riding in them were Chen Xian, the Chen Clan chief, and his elderly wife, Lady Dong; Lady Zhou of the East Tower and her maid; Ding Youwei of the West Tower and her two children; and, in the last cart, Rain Swallow, A Xiu, and Yinggu-
Jing Nu, over sixty but still robust, led eight Chen Clan private soldiers as their escort. Several Chen Clan servants accompanied them as well. The party headed for Maple Forest Ferry, twenty li away, intending to attend tomorrow's celebration of the Water Official Emperor's birthday at Du Zigong's Taoist ritual site. Chen Man of the North Tower did not follow the Way of the Celestial Masters, so he did not go.
Chen Xian was not particularly devoted to the Way of the Celestial Masters either. He was merely taking this opportunity to visit Feng Mengxiong in the county town and ask for news of his nephew Chen Caozhi. Every fortnight, the County Office received court bulletins brought by fast horse from Wu Commandery. These bulletins had originated in the Western Han: the emperor's instructions and edicts, officials' memorials, and major court affairs were written on silk and delivered by designated couriers to the provinces and commanderies, after which commandery clerks copied them for distribution to the counties under their jurisdiction. A household register inspection on the scale of the Gengxu Tuduan would certainly require a review. As Left Inspector of the Tuduan Bureau, Chen Caozhi would presumably have to visit the provinces and commanderies, and the court bulletins ought to carry advance word. Chen Xian wondered whether Caozhi would come to Wu Commandery to review the