In the seventh month, the currents beneath Jiankang's surface shifted like treacherous waves and clouds. The Chen Commandery Xie Clan and the Wu Commandery Lu Clan, two great houses of the north and south, both faced deeply awkward predicaments. Lu Shi had set his heart on making his niece Lu Weiwei empress, but Empress Dowager Chongde's opposition had shaken Emperor Sima Yi's resolve to bring her into the palace. Huan Wen had also specifically sent Li Jingshu and Xi Chao's wife to visit Lu Weiwei, bringing word that Chen Caozhi would return safely to the country. This was tantamount to declaring Huan Wen's opposition to the Lu lady's entry into the palace. Emperor Sima Yi appeared full of bluster in private, but when it came to actually confronting Huan Wen at court, his courage deserted him. Lu Shi could neither advance nor retreat and had suffered considerable loss of face. Fortunately, news now emerged that Xie Daoyun had taken office disguised as a man, allowing the Lu Clan, caught at the heart of the storm of public criticism, to breathe a sigh of relief. It was as though the Chen Commandery Xie Clan had come to help hold up the falling sky. Was that Xie lady not also hopelessly in love with Chen Caozhi? And she had even dared to show her face in public and take office-far more brazen and reckless than the lady of his own Lu Clan!
The pressure on the Chen Commandery Xie Clan was no less severe. Although the Western Headquarters and the Ministry of Personnel had not immediately stripped Zhu Yingtai of office, Xie Daoyun, who had assumed that name, was a woman after all. Now that her identity had been exposed, there was absolutely no justification for her to remain an official. Xie