As they approached the Little Pine Grove smithy, Chen Caozhi got down from the ox cart to walk and tapped lightly on the wall of Xie Daoyun's carriage. Her maid Liu Xu lifted the curtain, poked her head out, and asked with a smile, "Master Chen, what is it?"
Chen Caozhi glanced inside. Xie Daoyun was applying powder to her face. He said, "Brother Yingtai, may I ask your advice on something?"
Liu Xu said, "Then why not come aboard, Master Chen?"
Xie Daoyun shot Liu Xu a sideways glance and thought, The carriage is so cramped. How could I share it with Zizhong? She ordered the driver to stop, got down, and walked beside Chen Caozhi. "Zizhong, what is it?"
Chen Caozhi told her about the discord between his Sixth Uncle Chen Man's family in the North Tower and the rest of the Chen Clan. "Brother Yingtai, you come from a great clan and have a wealth of experience. Surely you have some guidance for me?"
Seeing Chen Caozhi seek her advice on his family's private affairs, Xie Daoyun knew he clearly regarded her as a close confidant. She considered for a moment, then said, "Back in Wu Commandery that year, I heard how Chen Liu framed you. Chen Liu was your Sixth Uncle's son. Though he was expelled from the clan and has since died, your Sixth Uncle clearly still harbors resentment. Zizhong, do you rarely speak with your Sixth Uncle either?"
Though Chen Caozhi was gentle and composed, he truly had no fondness for his Sixth Uncle's family in the North Tower. Four years earlier, urged on by his son Chen Liu, Sixth Uncle had tried to seize the West Tower's farmland. Such bullying of an orphan and his widowed mother was truly contemptible, so Chen Caozhi