As the saying went, "More skills never weigh you down." Only now did Chen Caozhi deeply appreciate the benefits of knowing a little medicine: he could visit Lu Weiwei at the Governor's Residence every day. He remembered that among the books Master Ge had left at Chuyang Terrace were the ten volumes of the Pulse Classic by Wang Shuhe, chief imperial physician of the Western Jin. On this trip home, he would fetch them to study; at least afterward he would be able to offer some explanation when taking a pulse, rather than merely enjoying that subtle contact as he did now.
With dozens of maids and serving women in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Chen Caozhi and Lu Weiwei could hardly say anything to each other. Their eyes met while he took her pulse: truly, a scant foot of space lay between them, their tender gazes unable to speak.
On the First Day of the Twelfth Month, the north wind bit fiercely. That afternoon, Xu Zao and Chen Caozhi went into the city together to bid Lu Na farewell at the Governor's Residence. Chen Caozhi planned to leave for Qiantang the next day, while Xu Zao would take his son Xu Miao back to Jingkou the day after.
After a few words of conversation, Lu Na asked Xu Zao, "Brother Zijian, how has my nephew Lu Qin progressed in his studies over the past six months?"
Xu Zao was rigorous and upright. He always spoke truthfully about the academic performance of the students at the Xu Clan School and never gilded his words. At this, he said, "Lu Qin did well enough during the first two months. He attended lectures on phonology, Luoyang-style Chant, the Classic of Filial Piety, and Zhuangzi. But in the last two months, I have only