At this gathering for painting flowers and trees in the Lu residence's Cherished Garden, Gu Kaizhi's "Daoist Abbey Camellias" ranked first, Lu Weiwei's "Cold Rain Camellia Painting" second, and Chen Caozhi's "Ink Orchid Painting" third. The Wu Commandery painters present accepted the first two rankings wholeheartedly; they could hardly do otherwise, since Gu and Lu came from distinguished families and had studied under renowned masters. But they could make no sense of third-place Chen Caozhi. He came from a humble family in Qiantang and was said to be Wei Xie's disciple, yet they had never heard of him before. Moreover, most of the painters thought his "Ink Orchid Painting" crude and sketchy. How could a mere handful of leaves compare with their painstakingly depicted camellias, plum blossoms, and cold orchids? But with Governor Lu presiding and the two great masters Wei Xie and Zhang Mo determining the rankings, even those painters who disagreed dared only grumble inwardly or put their heads together and complain in whispers.
That evening, Governor Lu Na held a grand banquet for his guests at his residence. Maidservants sang "Calling of the Deer": "I have honored guests; strike the zithers, blow the reed pipes... I have fine wine, to feast and delight my honored guests..."
Lamps blazed brightly, and servants came and went. Behind a bamboo curtain, Lu Weiwei, Wu Commandery’s Premier Lady, who had just reached the age of the hairpin ceremony, watched the lively scene in the hall. Her heart bobbed and leaped, refusing to settle. There was something wonderfully sweet that she dared not dwell on, afraid that the moment she concentrated on it, it would dissolve like morning mist meeting the sun. Thus she herself was not quite sure what that wonderful thing was. She merely felt restless and happy within, a