Recaps

Gu Kaizhi completed the Vimalakirti mural at Waguansi, and Empress Dowager Chu Suanzi visited the temple, met the young artists, and learned about Chen Caozhi’s romance with Lu Weiwei. After hearing about the planned debate between Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun, she arranged to attend and offered silk as a prize, leaving the debate about to begin.

• Zhang Mo, Zhang Wenwan, Wang Xianzhi, Wang Yun, Xie Lang, Cai Xin, and Zhou Jiong announced donations to Waguansi, and Gu Kaizhi dotted the eyes of his Vimalakirti mural.
• Empress Dowager Chu Suanzi arrived with Sima Yu and other officials, praised Gu Kaizhi’s work, and pledged one hundred thousand cash to the temple.
• Chu Suanzi summoned Chen Caozhi, Lu Weiwei, and Zhang Tongyun, but gave them jade and silk rather than intervening in the marriage between Chen Caozhi and Lu Weiwei.
• Sima Yu told Chu Suanzi about Chen Caozhi’s planned debate with Zhu Yingtai, and Chu Suanzi asked to hear it herself.
• Xie Daoyun arrived to meet Chu Suanzi and Sima Yu, who announced that the Minister of Works’ Office would reward the debate’s victor with three hundred bolts of silk and forbade either debater from making vows about seclusion or marriage.

At Waguansi, Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun debated poetry and the Dao, gradually reaching a shared understanding of “Reversal is the movement of the Way.” Empress Dowager Chu declared them both victors, while the gathering further strengthened the expectation that Chen Caozhi would marry Lu Weiwei.

• Empress Dowager Chu allowed the assembled officials and guests to attend Chen Caozhi and Zhu Yingtai’s debate at Waguansi.
• Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun explained the differences between comparison and evocation, earning Empress Dowager Chu’s praise.
• Sima Yu set “Reversal is the movement of the Way” as the next topic, and Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun argued over the meaning of reversal and return.
• Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun’s arguments gradually converged on a new understanding, and Sima Yu praised their debate.
• Empress Dowager Chu named both debaters victors and awarded each three hundred bolts of silk.
• The gathering dispersed, and onlookers continued to expect Chen Caozhi’s marriage to Lu Weiwei while Yuan Tong, Zhuge Zeng, Wen Lin, and Cai Xin complained that Zhu Yingtai remained in Jiankang.

Xie Daoyun gave Chen Caozhi a million cash in gold and planned to join him at Huan Wen’s Western Headquarters. Chen Caozhi received his own appointment and learned that Xie Daoyun had also been summoned, leaving Xie Xuan furious and determined to confront his sister.

• Xie Daoyun brought Chen Caozhi a record of their debate, discussed her prospects at the Western Headquarters, and gave him a million cash in gold.
• Chen Caozhi asked Xiao Chan to store the gold and said he planned to build a residence by the Qinhuai River for his family.
• Ding Chunqiu arrived in Jiankang, and Chen Caozhi agreed to send a letter home with him as Gu Kaizhi offered help with the new residence.
• Xie Xuan arrived with Huan Wen’s signed appointment naming Chen Caozhi a registrar and asked him to leave for Gushu on the eighteenth.
• Xie Xuan told Chen Caozhi that Huan Wen had also summoned Zhu Yingtai, learned Chen Caozhi already knew, and left angrily to see his elder sister.

Xie Xuan learned that Xie Daoyun intended to enter the Western Headquarters as Zhu Yingtai and tried to stop her. He urged Chen Caozhi to marry her instead, but Chen refused, insisting that he would marry Lu Weiwei and saw Xie Daoyun only as a close friend.

• Xie Xuan returned to the Xie Clan mansion and confronted Xie Daoyun about her appointment as a staff officer under the name Zhu Yingtai.
• Xie Daoyun refused to withdraw from the appointment, despite Xie Xuan warning that serving as an official could harm her reputation and prospects for marriage.
• Xie Xuan went to see Chen Caozhi and argued that Xie Daoyun was entering public service because she could not be his friend openly as a woman.
• Xie Xuan proposed that Chen Caozhi ask for Xie Daoyun's hand to prevent her from joining the Western Headquarters.
• Chen Caozhi refused, saying he had promised to grow old with Lu Weiwei and regarded Xie Daoyun only as a close friend.
• Xie Xuan angrily questioned whether Chen Caozhi truly saw Xie Daoyun only as a friend.

Xie Xuan told Chen Caozhi how deeply Xie Daoyun loved him, but Chen reaffirmed his resolve to marry Lu Weiwei. With Xie Daoyun facing pressure to remain at home or join Huan Wen’s Western Headquarters, she asked Chen to help her travel west; Xi Chao later arrived and discussed recruiting her.

• Xie Xuan recounted Xie Daoyun’s sacrifices for Chen Caozhi, and Chen said he could not betray Lu Weiwei by abandoning their marriage.
• Xie Xuan returned home and learned that Xie Daoyun planned to join the Western Headquarters rather than be sent to Wucheng.
• Xie Daoyun secretly sent Chen Caozhi a letter asking him to help her journey west as Yingtai.
• Chen Caozhi learned that Xie Daoyun had been scolded and resolved to help her when Xi Jiabin arrived.
• Xi Chao arrived in Jiankang for Gu Kaizhi’s wedding, where Chen Caozhi learned Lu Weiwei could not come to see him off before his departure for Gushu.
• Xi Chao discussed Zhu Yingtai’s recruitment with Chen Caozhi, who suggested that Xi write to Xie Anshi about Huan Wen’s desire to recruit her.

Xi Chao planned to recruit Zhu Yingtai into official service and said he would seek help from the Zhu Clan if Lord Anshi refused. Chen Caozhi suspected Xi Chao knew Zhu Yingtai’s true identity and believed the Xie Clan would have to let Xie Daoyun enter official service to avoid exposing the disguise.

• Xi Chao said he would send Lord Anshi a letter asking him to let Zhu Yingtai enter official service.
• Xi Chao said he would invite the Zhu Clan’s patriarch from Shangyu if Lord Anshi refused.
• Chen Caozhi thought Xi Chao’s plan would leave the Xie Clan little choice but to let Xie Daoyun enter official service.
• Chen Caozhi suspected Xi Chao knew Zhu Yingtai’s true identity.

Chen Caozhi and Xi Chao discussed Huan Wen’s planned Northern Expedition before visiting the Xie Residence, where Chen met Xie Daoyun behind a screen. With Huan Wen determined to recruit Zhu Yingtai and Xi Chao preparing to investigate the supposed Zhu clan, Xie Xuan argued that Daoyun should take office in disguise rather than risk exposure by refusing.

• Xi Chao told Chen Caozhi that Huan Wen had shelved the capital move and resolved to launch another Northern Expedition, and Chen advised waiting until Qin and Yan were weakened by internal strife.
• Chen Caozhi and Xi Chao agreed to visit Zhu Yingtai, while Xi Chao said Xie Youdu could accompany Chen to Gushu and discussed the difficulty of Chen marrying into the Lu or Xie clans.
• Xi Chao told Xie Wan that Huan Wen wanted Zhu Yingtai recruited into the Western Headquarters and planned to invite the Zhu clan patriarch, leaving Xie Wan afraid the deception would be uncovered.
• Xie Xuan brought Chen Caozhi to meet Xie Daoyun behind a gauze curtain, where Chen affirmed that he respected her choice to take office and said they would meet again in Gushu.
• After Chen and Xi Chao left, Xie Xuan urged Xie Wan to let Daoyun take office in disguise, arguing that refusal would expose her sooner and damage the Xie Clan.

Xie Wan reluctantly agreed that Xie Daoyun could serve in Huan Wen's Military Headquarters temporarily if she could not be dissuaded. Xie Xuan privately accepted that she would be difficult to bring home and hoped that she and Chen Caozhi might eventually marry.

• Xie Wan said Xie Daoyun could gain experience at Huan Wen's Military Headquarters for six months or a year before retiring.
• Xie Xuan thought that once Xie Daoyun entered the Western Headquarters, they would be unable to call her back.
• Xie Xuan imagined that Xie Daoyun and Chen Caozhi might grow close while serving together.
• Xie Xuan hoped Xie Daoyun and Chen Caozhi would marry, since he admired Chen Caozhi and knew his sister's feelings.

Sima Yu summoned Chen Caozhi to assess Huan Wen’s planned Northern Expedition, and Chen Caozhi advised that the court appease Huan Wen while delaying both the campaign and any capital relocation. After the court granted Huan Wen sweeping military and civil authority, Chen Caozhi set out for the Western Headquarters, leaving the story with Wei Rui’s handmade summer clothes and his promise to write to her.

• Wang Shu warned Sima Yu that Huan Wen’s sixty thousand troops might be meant to coerce Jiankang, and Gao Song suggested consulting Chen Caozhi.
• Chen Caozhi told Sima Yu that Huan Wen’s expedition was premature and likely intended to prepare for moving the capital and silence his critics; Sima Yu asked him to guide Huan Wen in the country’s interests.
• Sima Yu and his advisers secretly discussed the threat, then Empress Dowager Chu issued Huan Wen appointments granting him command of all military affairs and control of the Department of State Affairs.
• Xi Chao learned that the court had also appointed Yuan Zhen and Yu Xi to commands meant to check Huan Wen, while the court considered summoning Xie An.
• Chen Caozhi entrusted gold to Chen Shang to begin building the family residence, then left Jiankang with Wang Tanzhi and Xie Xuan for the Western Headquarters.
• At New Pavilion, Jiang Kai invited Chen Caozhi to resume a game with Jiang Sixuan, and Banli and Duan Chu delivered Wei Rui’s letter and two sets of clothes she had sewn; Chen Caozhi promised to write to her from Gushu.

As Chen Caozhi prepared to leave for Huan Wen’s Western Headquarters, news that Emperor Sima Pi was gravely ill sent Sima Yu and other officials back to Jiankang. Chen Caozhi and Xie Xuan continued their journey, discussing Xie Daoyun’s possible service and the people Chen Caozhi would need to handle at headquarters.

• A messenger summoned Sima Yu to the palace because Emperor Sima Pi was gravely ill, and Jiang Sixuan abandoned his unfinished game with Chen Caozhi.
• Chen Caozhi explained that his attack had already decided the go game, then bade farewell to his companions and set out with Xie Xuan.
• At an inn, Chen Caozhi supported Xie Daoyun entering official service, and Xie Xuan said she might join the Western Headquarters in disguise.
• As they traveled toward the Western Headquarters, Xie Xuan warned Chen Caozhi about Hao Long, Li Jingshu, and Huan Xi.
• Chen Caozhi learned that Huan Zhongdao and the Princess of Xin'an were away in Jingzhou and speculated that Li Jingshu might be Huan Xuan’s mother.

Chen Caozhi arrived in Gushu with Xie Xuan and Wang Tanzhi, met Huan Wen, and joined the Western Headquarters. When Hao Long challenged him to prove his learning, Chen Caozhi mocked Hao Long’s claim that his belly held books and began answering Hao Long’s first question about Huan Wen and Lord Mengchang.

• Chen Caozhi and his party reached Gushu, where Huan Wen welcomed Wang Tanzhi and received the emperor’s edict and Deputy Yellow Battle-Axe.
• Huan Wen praised Ran Sheng’s potential and ordered him appointed Squad Leader, but Ran Sheng refused because he wanted to stay with Chen Caozhi.
• At a banquet, Hao Long announced that new members of the Western Headquarters had to answer three challenges, and Huan Wen agreed to let him test Chen Caozhi.
• Chen Caozhi ridiculed Hao Long’s story about airing books from his belly, and Hao Long angrily agreed to exchange three questions with him.
• Hao Long asked Chen Caozhi to compare Huan Wen with Lord Mengchang, and Chen Caozhi began his reply by asking about Lord Mengchang’s cock-crower and dog-thief retainers.

Chen Caozhi argued that Lord Mengchang attracted petty tricksters rather than worthy men, and challenged Military Adviser Hao’s comparison of the Duke of Huan Commandery to him. Hao Long was left speechless.

• Chen Caozhi said Lord Mengchang’s reputation for attracting worthy men was mistaken.
• Chen Caozhi argued that Lord Mengchang’s followers were merely rooster-crowers and dog-thieves, and that a truly worthy man could have helped him confront Qin.
• Chen Caozhi said such petty followers had kept worthy men away from Lord Mengchang.
• Chen Caozhi asked whether Military Adviser Hao was gravely wrong to compare the Duke of Huan Commandery to Lord Mengchang.
• Hao Long turned red and stood speechless.

Chen Caozhi impressed Huan Wen by answering Hao Long’s challenges on military training and Luoyang’s defense, then urged Huan Wen to send Shen Jin to reinforce the city. After passing the test, Chen Caozhi finally posed Hao Long a question about Shi Chong’s bean porridge at Golden Valley Garden.

• Chen Caozhi cited military texts to defend Ziyu’s strict troop-training methods, leaving Hao Long unable to answer his counterquestion.
• Hao Long asked whether Luoyang could be held, and Chen Caozhi proposed lifting the ban on Shen Jin, giving him troops, and sending him to help defend the city.
• Xie Xuan supported Chen Caozhi’s proposal, and Huan Wen praised Chen Caozhi for passing the challenges.
• Hao Long insisted that Chen Caozhi pose challenges in return, so Chen Caozhi asked why Shi Chong’s bean porridge at Golden Valley Garden was ready as soon as it was ordered.

Chen Caozhi earned the Western Headquarters’ respect by defeating Hao Long in debate, then met Huan Wen, who praised his joining the staff and sought his counsel on Zhu Yingtai and a court appointment. Huan Wen became convinced Chen understood his ambitions, while Zhu Yingtai was still expected to arrive at the headquarters.

• Chen Caozhi exposed Hao Long’s ignorance about Shi Chong’s bean porridge, and Hao Long withdrew in humiliation.
• Chen Caozhi received comfortable lodgings near Phoenix Mountain and settled in with Xiao Chan and his attendants.
• Huan Wen summoned Chen Caozhi for a private nighttime conversation and declared that he valued him alongside Xi Chao.
• Huan Wen asked whether Chen Caozhi had written Zhu Yingtai’s Three Strategies for Restoration, and Chen urged him to test Zhu’s abilities himself.
• Huan Wen asked whether to accept the post of Director of the Department of State Affairs, and Chen advised him to decline it for now.

Chen Caozhi impressed Huan Wen with seven proposals for governing the state, then helped secure Shen Jin’s return to service and a military appointment. Huan Wen prepared to resign his post overseeing the imperial secretariat as his Western Headquarters gathered more talented staff.

• Chen Caozhi discussed seven administrative reforms with Huan Wen, who asked him to prepare them as a memorial, but Chen suggested waiting for Zhu Yingtai and Xi Chao to review them.
• Huan Wen learned Shen Jin was leaving for Huainan and sent Chen Caozhi to bring him back, promising to ask the court to lift Shen’s ban from office.
• Chen Caozhi and Xie Xuan caught up with Shen Jin and persuaded him and his followers to return to Gushu.
• Huan Wen recommended Shen Jin for a seventh-rank post assisting General Chen You in the defense of Luoyang, and Shen Jin gratefully accepted.
• Huan Wen told Wang Tanzhi that he planned to resign his post supervising the imperial secretariat, then led his staff in seeing Wang off the next morning.

Huan Wen praised Xie Xuan and Chen Caozhi as future leaders, predicting Xie would command armies and Chen would become a Black-Headed Duke. Chen understood that Huan Wen’s prediction for him depended on Huan Wen founding a new dynasty and becoming emperor.

• The chapter recounted Wang Huizhi’s exchanges with Huan Chong, in which Wang showed little knowledge of his official duties.
• Huan Wen summoned Xie Xuan and Chen Caozhi daily to discuss affairs and praised their abilities.
• Huan Wen predicted Xie Xuan would wield military authority by forty and Chen Caozhi would become a Black-Headed Duke.
• Chen Caozhi realized that reaching the Three Excellencies from humble beginnings would require a change of dynasty and Huan Wen becoming emperor.

Chen Caozhi visited Xi Chao’s residence to play the recorder for Zhou Lin and a hidden female guest, then attended Huan Wen’s military drill in Gushu. Huan Wen asked whether his army could recover the Central Plains, and Chen Caozhi affirmed his ambition.

• Zhou Lin visited Chen Caozhi to thank him on behalf of his sister, Zhou Matou, and asked to hear his recorder playing.
• Chen Caozhi played two pieces at Xi Chao’s residence, where a mysterious female guest arrived behind a screen and sighed at the music.
• Zhou Lin asked Chen Caozhi to teach him the recorder, but Chen Caozhi offered to copy him several scores instead.
• Xie Xuan warned Chen Caozhi not to provoke Li Jingshu, whom he suspected was the female guest at Zhou Matou’s residence.
• Huan Wen summoned the Western Headquarters’ officers to watch two thousand infantrymen and five hundred cavalrymen drill in Gushu’s Inner City.
• Huan Wen asked Chen Caozhi whether his army could recover the Central Plains, and Chen Caozhi said it would fulfill Huan Wen’s ambition.

Chen Caozhi and Xie Xuan inspected the Western Headquarters’ armory and weapons production, then drafted a practical military reform plan for Huan Wen. On Dragon Boat Festival, news arrived that Emperor Sima Pi had died, and Chen Caozhi wondered whether the succession would accelerate the changes in history.

• Chen Caozhi and Xie Xuan toured the armory, where Chen Caozhi noted the cavalry’s single stirrups and the limits of the water-powered bellows used in weapon forging.
• Chen Caozhi and Xie Xuan wrote the “Strong Army Policy,” proposing expanded iron mining, better bellows, heavily armored cavalry, and greater rewards and status for military officers.
• Xie Xuan praised Chen Caozhi’s practical abilities and hoped his rising standing would help him marry Xie Daoyun.
• Xiao Chan prepared Chen Caozhi’s Dragon Boat Festival bath, tied a five-colored cord on his arm, and gave him a pouch, while Chen Caozhi chose to wear Lu Weiwei’s sachet.
• A messenger sent by Xi Chao told Huan Wen’s procession that Emperor Sima Pi had died; Huan Wen ordered the naval exercises to continue before mourning.
• Chen Caozhi suspected that Xi Chao might be influencing the selection of a new emperor and worried that history was changing unpredictably.

After helping Xie Xuan present the Strong Army Policy, Chen Caozhi rejected Huan Wen’s request to teach a concubine music and enjoyed swimming at Gushu Creek. He ended the chapter confronted by the beautiful concubine, who had stolen his clothes and demanded a promise.

• Chen Caozhi and Xie Xuan presented the Strong Army Policy, and Huan Wen ordered a search for iron near Wuchang and summoned Lai De to make military bellows.
• Chen Caozhi refused to teach music to one of Huan Wen’s concubines, insisting he was serving the state rather than acting as an entertainer.
• Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng went swimming at Gushu Creek after they could not find Xie Xuan, who was away on official business.
• Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng discovered their clothes had vanished when they came ashore, and Ran Sheng went looking for the thief.
• A woman in white appeared and admitted she had taken Chen Caozhi’s clothes, offering to return them if he promised her one thing.

Chen Caozhi agreed to teach Li Jingshu the recorder after she took his clothes and threatened to damage his reputation. Back at his lodgings, he was joyfully reunited with Jing Nu and Lai De and read letters from his family in Qiantang.

• Li Jingshu held Chen Caozhi's clothes until he agreed to formally teach her the recorder, then returned them after he exposed himself to make her turn away.
• Chen Caozhi told Xie Xuan what had happened, and Xie Xuan advised him to keep Li Jingshu at a calm distance and accept her as a student.
• Jing Nu and Lai De arrived at Chen Caozhi's lodgings with A Zhu, four Chen Clan soldiers, money, and letters from Qiantang.
• Chen Caozhi read letters from Chen Xian, Ding Youwei, Zongzhi, and Run'er, learning about the family's affairs and Run'er's studies and painting.

Jing Nu revealed that Ran Sheng was Ran Yu, the youngest son of the King of Wei, and told him about his family’s fate. After Ran Sheng fled in shock, Chen Caozhi and Jing Nu rode after him and discussed how to handle his newfound identity.

• Ran Sheng happily read Run'er's letter while Jing Nu decided the time had come to reveal his origins.
• Jing Nu spoke privately with Ran Sheng, who let out an anguished howl, ran from the house, and disappeared into the stormy night.
• Chen Caozhi and Jing Nu rode out to find Ran Sheng, and Jing Nu confessed that he had concealed the young man's identity.
• Chen Caozhi revealed that he had long suspected Ran Sheng was descended from the King of Wei and cautioned Jing Nu to keep the secret guarded.
• Jing Nu identified Ran Sheng as Ran Yu, the King of Wei's youngest son, and asked Chen Caozhi to help them seek vengeance.
• Chen Caozhi said Ran Sheng might struggle to accept the revelation and urged Jing Nu to find him first so he could talk to him.

After learning that Ran Min was his father and the Murong Clan had killed his family, Ran Sheng gave way to grief and rage. Chen Caozhi guided him toward a future in the army, concealed his identity by naming him Chen Yu, and introduced him to Huan Shiqian, where Chen Yu demonstrated his great strength.

• Ran Sheng learned that Ran Min was his father and that the Murong Clan had killed his family, then smashed through the willow grove in a storm.
• Chen Caozhi brought Ran Sheng back and urged him to bury his hatred for now and pursue a life in the army.
• Ran Sheng agreed to enlist, and Chen Caozhi gave him the name Chen Yu, courtesy name Zisheng, and claimed him as a distant younger cousin.
• Chen Caozhi read Lu Weiwei's diary-letter, then took Chen Yu to join the army under Huan Shiqian.
• Huan Shiqian tested Chen Yu against one of his guards, and Chen Yu lifted and threw the man with ease.

Ran Sheng joined the army and was promised rapid promotion, while Chen Caozhi, Huan Shiqian, and Xie Xuan went to a banquet at the General's Residence. As Chen Caozhi rode away, he watched Ran Sheng remain at the city gate and reflected on the youth's sudden departure from his former life.

• Huan Shiqian told Chen Caozhi that Ran Sheng would begin as a squad leader and could become a company commander after three months.
• A subordinate of Wei Chang invited Huan Shiqian, Xie Xuan, and Chen Caozhi to the Grand Marshal's banquet.
• Chen Caozhi went to the General's Residence with Huan Shiqian and Xie Xuan, while Ran Sheng stayed in the Inner City.
• Chen Caozhi rode away and saw Ran Sheng watching him from before the city gate.

Huan Wen advanced his political and military plans while Chen Caozhi weighed whether serving him could secure Chen Caozhi’s future. After the imperial funeral, Chen Caozhi was ordered to Jiankang to recruit Zhu Yingtai and would have a chance to see the Lu Clan Lady.

• Huan Wen accepted Xi Chao’s recommendations to pursue a household census and tuduan, and considered using Xie Xuan, Chen Caozhi, and Zhu Yingtai to carry them out.
• Huan Wen sent Shen Jin north with his thousand-odd volunteers to defend Luoyang, while Chen Caozhi worried that Huan Wen had given him too few men and considered the risks of serving Huan Wen.
• Huan Wen appointed Lai De to make Back-and-Forth Bellows, and the first large bellows greatly strengthened the Western Headquarters’ forge.
• After the imperial funeral, Huan Wen declined the court post of Director of the Department of State Affairs and submitted his seven practical proposals for implementation.
• Li Jingshu sent Chen Caozhi gifts for taking him as her teacher, making clear that she still expected him to teach her the Recorder.
• Xi Chao told Chen Caozhi to travel with him to Jiankang and recruit Zhu Yingtai for the Western Headquarters, adding that Chen Caozhi could also visit the Lu Clan Lady.

Chen Caozhi accepted Huan Wen’s insistence that he teach Li Jingshu the recorder, then continued his journey to Jiankang with Xi Chao. Delayed by rain, he planned to ride ahead to meet Lu Weiwei at New Pavilion, while preparing to recruit Zhu Yingtai and seek Xie An’s support.

• Chen Caozhi told Xi Chao about Li Jingshu’s advances, and Xi Chao accompanied him to Huan Wen to return her apprenticeship gifts.
• Huan Wen revealed that Li Jingshu had already told him about Gushu Creek and insisted Chen Caozhi teach her; Li Jingshu performed the “Red Bean Song” and asked to see his Keting Flute.
• Chen Caozhi and Xi Chao set out for Jiankang with Zhou Matou, Zhou Lin, Lai Zhen, Huang Xiaotong, and Ran Sheng, while Xie Xuan entrusted Chen with a letter for Xie Wan and asked him to protect Xie Daoyun’s identity.
• Chen Caozhi sent Lai Zhen ahead to arrange a meeting with Lu Weiwei at New Pavilion, but heavy rain delayed the party’s journey.
• At Old Sheng Inn, Xi Chao urged Chen Caozhi to ride ahead to meet Lu Weiwei and told him Xie An had returned to Jiankang, where Chen should seek his help recruiting Zhu Yingtai.
• Chen Caozhi finished copying The General’s Garden, explained its military teachings to Ran Sheng, and fell asleep hoping the rain would clear before his meeting with Lu Weiwei.