Recaps

Chen Caozhi arrived at Lu Na’s residence as the way cleared for him to marry Lu Weiwei, but Xie An and Lu Na both asked Emperor Sima Yu to arrange marriages between Chen Caozhi and their respective kin. Xie An proposed that Chen marry both Lu Weiwei and Xie Daoyun as Left and Right Wives, and Lu Na considered the compromise.

• Chen Caozhi arrived at Lu Na’s residence, where Banli told him that Lu Na’s wife and Wei Rui had stayed behind in Jiankang.
• Xie An asked Emperor Sima Yu to issue an edict marrying Xie Daoyun to Chen Caozhi, and the emperor worried about offending the Lu Clan.
• Lu Na arrived and also asked the emperor to marry Wei Rui to Chen Caozhi, then objected when he learned of Xie An’s request.
• Xie An proposed that Chen Caozhi take both women as wives, citing precedents for a Left Wife and a Right Wife.
• Lu Na considered the proposal as a way to satisfy both clans, while Emperor Sima Yu remained silent.

Emperor Sima Yu, Xie An, and Lu Na agreed to seek an imperial grant allowing Chen Caozhi to marry both Xie Daoyun and Lu Weiwei, leaving the question of which would be wife of the left to Empress Dowager Chongde. At the Lu residence, Zhang Wenwan wondered how Chen Caozhi would handle the choice, while Lu Weiwei calmly said she cared only about her relationship with him; Chen Caozhi then arrived.

• Xie An warned that Huan Chong had a marriageable daughter, prompting Emperor Sima Yu to urge Xie An and Lu Na to secure Chen Caozhi’s marriages before Huan Wen could intervene.
• Lu Na and Xie An petitioned Emperor Sima Yu to grant their daughters’ marriages to Chen Caozhi, and agreed to leave their precedence to Empress Dowager Chongde.
• Emperor Sima Yu decided to summon Chen Caozhi, Lu Weiwei, and Xie Daoyun the next day, while wondering how Huan Wen would react to news of the double marriage.
• At the Lu residence, Zhang Wenwan asked Lu Weiwei what she thought of Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun, and Lu Weiwei said she focused on her own relationship with Chen Caozhi.
• A maid announced that Chen Caozhi had arrived at the Lu residence.

Chen Caozhi told Lu Weiwei and Zhang Wenwan that Xie An proposed an imperial decree allowing Lu Weiwei and Xie Daoyun to marry him as Left and Right Wives. Lu Weiwei accepted the arrangement, and after Lu Na confirmed the emperor’s approval, Chen Caozhi sent word that Xie Daoyun should visit Lu Weiwei before the Empress Dowager summoned them the next day.

• Chen Caozhi explained Xie An’s proposal to Zhang Wenwan, who agreed not to oppose the double marriage if Lu Weiwei’s father and the emperor consented.
• Chen Caozhi told Lu Weiwei he still had feelings for Xie Daoyun, and Lu Weiwei accepted marrying him without competing with Xie Daoyun.
• Lu Na told Zhang Wenwan that the emperor had agreed to the marriage decree and that Empress Dowager Chongde would summon Lu Weiwei and Xie Daoyun the next day.
• Chen Caozhi saw Yinfeng waiting at the Chen Residence and told her to ask Xie Daoyun to visit Lu Weiwei at Hengtang immediately.

Empress Dowager Chu summoned Lu Weiwei and Xie Daoyun and bestowed them both in marriage to Chen Caozhi, using a passage from Admonitions for Women to decide which would be Left Wife and which Right Wife. The news delighted Jiankang, while Sima Daofu grieved over losing her hopes of marrying Chen Caozhi, and Sima Yu wondered why Huan Wen had instigated the plot that exposed Xie Daoyun’s disguise.

• Xie An urged Xie Daoyun not to feel indebted to Lu Weiwei and to accept marrying Chen Caozhi alongside her.
• Empress Dowager Chu summoned Lu Weiwei and Xie Daoyun to the palace, recalled Xie Daoyun’s earlier disguise as Zhu Yingtai, and asked whether they were willing to marry Chen Caozhi; both agreed.
• Empress Dowager Chu used passages from Admonitions for Women to determine their positions, making Lu Weiwei the Left Wife and Xie Daoyun the Right Wife.
• News of the bestowed marriage spread through Jiankang, where gentry and commoners celebrated Chen Caozhi’s good fortune.
• Sima Daofu wept before Sima Yu and confessed that Li Jingshu had told her to expose Xie Daoyun’s disguise; Sima Yu suspected Huan Wen had directed the scheme and wondered at his motives.

Emperor Sima Yu told Chen Caozhi that Li Jingshu had used Sima Daofu to spread the news about Xie Daoyun, deepening Chen Caozhi’s suspicion of Huan Wen. At Huan Wen’s banquet, Chen met Huan Shixiu and learned that Fu Jian faced a rebellion by four members of the Fu clan, while Huan Wen decided Jin would wait and watch Qin and Yan.

• Emperor Sima Yu summoned Chen Caozhi, confirmed the marriage decree uniting him with the Lu and Xie daughters, and revealed that Li Jingshu had incited Sima Daofu to expose Xie Daoyun’s identity.
• Chen Caozhi concluded that Huan Wen had sent Li Jingshu to provoke Lu Weiwei and thought that their dealings were based on mutual deception.
• Chen Caozhi returned to the Chen Residence, where Xiao Chan, Su Qi, and Jing Nu celebrated his coming marriages, then accepted Huan Wen’s invitation to a banquet.
• Huan Wen introduced Huan Shixiu as Si Province’s Assistant Administrator, and Chen Caozhi recognized that Huan Wen intended to keep the Beifu Army under Huan control.
• Huan Wen told Chen Caozhi that Fu Jian had sought an alliance with Jin as four Fu leaders rebelled; Chen Caozhi advised accepting Fu Jian’s overture and watching the conflict with the Murong Clan.
• Huan Shixiu argued that Murong Ke would understand Huan Wen was occupied with affairs in Jiankang, and Huan Wen agreed to wait for further news while Huan Xi felt resentful of his cousin.

Huan Wen demoted Sima Yi and tightened his grip on the court while Xie Xuan returned to Jiankang fearing that Xie Daoyun was dying. He found her recovering under Chen Caozhi’s care and learned that Empress Dowager Chongde had betrothed them, leaving Xie Daoyun shyly adjusting to her future marriage.

• Huan Wen had Sima Yi demoted to Duke of Haixi County and sent to live under guard in Wu County.
• Xie Xuan escorted Sima Xun and his followers to Jiankang after learning that Xie Daoyun was gravely ill.
• Xie Xuan found Xie Daoyun recovering, and Yinfeng told him that Chen Caozhi had treated her lung illness.
• Yinfeng revealed that Empress Dowager Chongde had betrothed Xie Daoyun to Chen Caozhi as his Right Wife, with Lu Weiwei as his Left Wife.
• Xie Xuan welcomed Chen Caozhi and left him with Xie Daoyun, who discussed her recovery and his planned return to Qiantang.
• Chen Caozhi asked Xie Daoyun to call him husband, but she was too embarrassed to do so.

Xie Xuan returned to Jiankang, reported his victory over Sima Xun’s rebellion, and learned of the political changes surrounding Huan Wen and the Beifu Army. Chen Caozhi treated Tao Yi and met his three-year-old son Tao Qian, leaving the child’s future uncertain.

• Xie Xuan reported Sima Xun’s capture to Huan Wen, who described Fu Jian’s efforts to suppress the four Fus and the Xianbei advance toward Guanzhong.
• Huan Wen recommended that Tao Yi seek treatment from Chen Caozhi, and Xie Xuan later discussed the Beifu Army and Chen Caozhi’s political risks with Xie Daoyun.
• Xie Xuan visited Chen Caozhi’s residence, and the two men talked through the night about metaphysics after Chen Caozhi asked about Tao Qian.
• Xie Xuan accompanied Huan Wen to report the rebellion’s suppression to Emperor Sima Yu and received promotion to General of Jianwu and Supervisor of Military Affairs North of the Yangtze.
• Chen Caozhi examined Tao Yi, diagnosed gastric bleeding, and prescribed a stomach-nourishing remedy while telling him to stop drinking wine.
• Chen Caozhi met Tao Yi’s three-year-old son Tao Qian, noticed his runny nose, and told Xie Xuan that the boy’s prospects remained open.

Chen Caozhi left Jiankang for Qiantang and spent a moonlit evening with Lu Weiwei, sharing music and affection as they looked forward to marrying. Back at his lodgings, he opened Xie Daoyun’s birthday gifts and found her loving letter, handmade shoes, and valuable research for rebuilding the Beifu Army.

• Chen Caozhi departed Jiankang for Qiantang while the Lu household set out for their ancestral homes, and he stopped to visit Zhi Daolin at Dong'an Temple.
• At Meilong Lake, Chen Caozhi played the Keting Flute for Lu Weiwei, who recalled hearing the same music in earlier years.
• Chen Caozhi and Lu Weiwei embraced and kissed beneath a willow, then spoke of their love and his bond with Xie Daoyun as he escorted her back.
• Chen Caozhi opened Xie Daoyun’s brocade box and read her birthday letter, tried on the cloth shoes she had sewn, and examined her research on the Two Huai Regions and Yu Province’s former generals.

Chen Caozhi learned that Ding Youwei and Run'er had come to Wu Commandery to celebrate his twentieth birthday, and he hurried there with Lu Weiwei and the Lu family. He reunited with his sister-in-law and niece at Peach Grove Cottage, while Lu Weiwei recalled the moment she had fallen in love with him five years earlier.

• Lai Fu and Lai De told Chen Caozhi that Ding Youwei and Run'er were waiting for him in Wu Commandery for his birthday.
• The Gu Clan steward arranged boats across Taihu Lake, and Chen Caozhi and the Lu family reached Wu Commandery the following night.
• Chen Caozhi set out with Lu Weiwei to visit Ding Youwei, riding with Lu Weiwei before him on his horse.
• Chen Caozhi and Lu Weiwei reunited with Ding Youwei and Run'er at Peach Grove Cottage, where Run'er greeted Lu Weiwei as her aunt.
• Chen Mo, Chen Tan, Chen Zongzhi, and Master Xu arrived, and Lu Weiwei remembered falling in love with Chen Caozhi when she first saw him five years earlier.

Chen Caozhi returned to Wu Commandery with his family, reunited with Lu Weiwei, and arranged relief for drought victims before visiting Fan Wang. Fan Wang agreed to resume office and help Chen Caozhi recruit promising men to rebuild the Beifu Army.

• Lady Lu sent carriages to welcome Ding Youwei and her party, and Chen Caozhi reunited with Lu Weiwei at Zhenqing Daoist Abbey.
• Chen Caozhi and Lu Weiwei donated one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand coins respectively to provide porridge for drought victims.
• Crowds welcomed Chen Caozhi and his nephew Chen Zongzhi, and young girls tossed sachets to Zongzhi as Huang Xiaotong collected them.
• Lady Lu hosted Ding Youwei and her family at the Lu Residence, where Ding Youwei, Zongzhi, Run'er, and Lu Weiwei presented Chen Caozhi with birthday gifts.
• Chen Caozhi told Fan Wang of the court's summons, and Fan Wang agreed to return to office and help rebuild the Beifu Army.
• Fan Wang offered to introduce Chen Caozhi to Liu Laozhi, He Qian, and Sun Wuzhong as recruits for the army.

Chen Caozhi returned to Chen Family Cove after his northern mission, celebrated his marriage decree to Lu Weiwei and Xie Daoyun, and mourned his mother at her grave. As the clan prepared to travel to Jiankang for the marriage rites, Chen Caozhi strengthened ties with the Kuaiji gentry and led his family’s convoy toward the capital.

• Chen Caozhi and his party left Wu County, traveled through Huating, and reached Qiantang on the twelfth of the twelfth month, where Feng Lingbo, Feng Mengxiong, and Ding Yi welcomed them.
• Run'er named Huang Xiaotong’s white falcons Reaching the Sky and Whirling Upward, then tested Ran Sheng on history and warfare and praised his answers.
• Chen Caozhi visited Quan Li and Du Zigong in Qiantang, reassuring Du Zigong on behalf of Emperor Sima Yu and delivering the emperor’s gifts.
• Chen Caozhi crossed the Qiantang River to Chen Family Cove, reported his northern mission to Chen Xian, and paid respects at his mother Lady Li’s grave with his family and attendants.
• Chen Family Cove’s clanspeople prepared for the marriage rites and journey to Jiankang while Chen Caozhi visited the Kong, Wei, and Xie clan heads and Dai Shu in Shanyin.
• Chen Caozhi led a convoy of nearly a hundred people across the Qiantang River on the ninth of the first month and spent the night at the Ding Clan Villa.

Chen Caozhi gathered military allies at Fan Wang’s manor and learned that Yu Xi might be plotting after stealing North Mansion Army supplies. He reached Wu Commandery, where he shared a tender moment with Lu Weiwei before their journey to the capital.

• Chen Caozhi met Fan Ning, Liu Laozhi, and Sun Wuzhong at Fan Wang’s manor, recruited them for the North Mansion Army, and discussed the Northern Expedition.
• He Qian arrived and reported that Yu Xi had allegedly stolen large quantities of military supplies, so Chen Caozhi urged an investigation.
• Chen Caozhi agreed that He Qian would investigate the theft in Jingkou, then left for the Lu Residence after learning his family had arrived in Wu Commandery.
• Chen Caozhi visited Lu Weiwei in the Cherished Garden and asked to paint her as his betrothal gift; she agreed.
• Lu Weiwei reminded Chen Caozhi that a rescued jade edition chrysanthemum had brought them together, and he said flowers had been their matchmaker.

Chen Caozhi returned to Jiankang and reunited with Xie Daoyun, then showed his family their newly completed Eastern Garden. His uncles began arranging his marriages, visiting the Lu Residence first and preparing to visit the Xie family.

• Chen Caozhi arrived in Jiankang and greeted Xie Daoyun and her brothers outside the Chen Residence.
• Chen Caozhi showed Run'er the Eastern Garden, where she and Ding Youwei would live.
• Chen Xian and Chen Man decided to visit the Lu Residence first and arranged for Xi Chao to serve as matchmaker for the Lu family.
• Chen Caozhi and Lu Na agreed that the matchmaker would visit on the first day of the second month and that the betrothal ceremonies would follow the next day.
• Chen Xian and Chen Man left the Lu Residence to visit the Xie Residence, while Ding Youwei and Run'er set out to pay their respects to Lady Xie, Liu Dan, and Xie Daoyun.

Chen Caozhi arranged to court Xie Daoyun and Lu Weiwei at the same time, shared a tender moment with Daoyun, and secured imperial support and two matchmakers. The marriage rites began simultaneously at the Lu and Xie residences, with the initial gifts presented to both families.

• Chen Caozhi agreed that the Lu and Xie marriage rites would proceed on the same day, though he could fetch only one bride before the other.
• Chen Caozhi visited Xie Daoyun, spoke with her about the music that had bound them, and kissed her before joining the banquet.
• Chen Caozhi asked Xi Chao and Zhang Ping to serve as matchmakers, and Xi Chao warned that Yu Xi might cause trouble over the North Mansion Army supplies.
• Emperor Sima Yu granted Chen Caozhi eight hundred bolts of silk as an engagement gift and made appointments for Fan Ning and He Qian.
• Xi Chao and Zhang Ping sought the Lu and Xie families' consent, then presented the initial marriage gifts at both residences.

Chen Caozhi and the Lu and Xie clans settled the arrangements for his double marriage, with Empress Dowager Chongde agreeing to receive both brides before he brought them home together. As he prepared to leave for military duties, Ding Youwei urged him to take Xiao Chan as a concubine, and Princess Sima Daofu confronted him with her unhappiness over his marriages.

• Chen Xian, Xie An, Lu Na, Xi Chao, Zhang Ping, and Chen Caozhi agreed that both brides would marry on the same day and be brought from Chongde Palace together.
• Chen Xian obtained an auspicious date of the eighth day of the eighth month, which the Xie household accepted and the Lu household welcomed as Lu Weiwei's birthday.
• Chen Caozhi took leave of Xie Xuan, then discussed the family's travel and household plans with Chen Xian, Chen Man, Chen Shang, Ding Youwei, and others.
• Ding Youwei urged Chen Caozhi to take Xiao Chan as a concubine after marrying Lu Weiwei and Xie Daoyun, and he murmured his assent.
• Chen Caozhi took leave of Emperor Sima Yu, then encountered Princess Sima Daofu, who told him she was unhappy that he would marry both Lu and Xie ladies.

Chen Caozhi arrived in Gushu, helped Huan Wen plan the Beifu Army, and advised him against taking Five-Stone Powder. After Li Jingshu visited him, Chen Caozhi confronted her about her past and she prepared to reveal her innermost thoughts.

• Chen Caozhi and his companions arrived in Gushu, where Huan Wen appointed Liu Laozhi and Sun Wuzhong Military Advisers of the Northern Headquarters.
• Huan Shixiu reported on the fighting between Qin and Yan and the rebellions of the four Fus, and Chen Caozhi predicted that the turmoil had weakened Former Qin.
• Chen Caozhi examined Huan Wen and advised him to seek acupuncture and moxibustion treatment and avoid Five-Stone Powder.
• Huan Wen outlined plans to establish the Beifu Army and prepare a Northern Expedition, assigning Huan Xi three thousand elite cavalry to train.
• Li Jingshu visited Chen Caozhi to congratulate him on his marriage, and Chen Caozhi confronted her about her lingering loyalty to the fallen Cheng Han.
• Li Jingshu acknowledged that Chen Caozhi understood her and began to share what she had kept inside.

Li Jingshu tried to seduce Chen Caozhi and was rejected, then left after learning Huan Xi was visiting. Chen Caozhi traveled toward Jingkou with Huan Xi and others, where he heard that Li Jingshu was pregnant with Huan Wen’s child.

• Li Jingshu told Chen Caozhi about her resentment over Cheng Han’s fall, then leaned in to kiss him, and Chen Caozhi slapped her and ordered her to leave.
• Li Jingshu wished Chen Caozhi success in the Northern Expedition and hinted that he might bring the Xianbei Princess Qinghe back as a concubine before Huan Xi arrived.
• Chen Caozhi declined Huan Xi’s banquet invitation and later hosted Huan Xi, Huan Shixiu, and others at a tavern, where Huan Xi drunkenly declared he would claim Princess Qinghe after the expedition.
• Chen Caozhi and Huan Xi boarded a warship for Jingkou with their companions, and Chen Caozhi heard that Li Jingshu was pregnant with Huan Wen’s child.

Huan Xi began rebuilding the Beifu Army in Jingkou while He Qian investigated Yu Xi’s theft of military supplies. After Yu Xi escaped to Hailing and defeated the troops sent to capture him, he agreed to launch a night raid on Jingkou and seize Huan Xi.

• Huan Xi arrived in Jingkou, welcomed Su Qi and Shen Chiqian, appointed Shen Chiqian Household Troops Commander, and promised supplies for his five hundred recruits.
• He Qian reported evidence that Yu Xi had stolen military supplies worth about ten million cash, and Huan Xi sent He Qian and Zuo Lang to Jiankang to seek an arrest edict.
• Huan Xi organized Shen Chiqian’s recruits and dispatched Chen Caozhi, Liu Laozhi, and Su Qi north to recruit more soldiers.
• Yu Xi fled across the river to Hailing with more than a thousand followers before He Qian and Zuo Lang returned with news from Jiankang.
• Yu Xi’s ambush routed Zhou Shaosun and Liu Shi’s two thousand soldiers, and Wu Zun persuaded Yu Xi to raid Jingkou and use Huan Xi as a hostage.

Huan Xi brooded over Chen Caozhi and Li Jingshu, then entertained himself by teaching a courtesan to sing a dirge. Yu Xi’s night attack on Jingkou interrupted him, and after Shen Chiqian’s troops fought the rebels, Huan Xi and his allies withdrew from the city.

• Huan Xi watched Jingkou’s wrestling contests while thinking resentfully about Chen Caozhi’s success and his closeness to Li Jingshu.
• Huan Xi summoned two courtesans, taught one to sing “Hao Li,” and tried to make love to her.
• Bian Dan reported that Yu Xi’s rebels had taken the north gate, so Huan Xi, Bian Dan, Xie Yan, and Shen Chiqian fled toward the southern camp.
• Shen Chiqian led his five hundred Wuxing warriors back toward Jingkou and used their formation to push back Wu Zun’s soldiers.
• Wu Zun shot Huan Xi in the face, but Xie Yan confirmed he had survived; after Yu Xi arrived with reinforcements, Bian Dan ordered a retreat to Qu’a.

Chen Caozhi returned to Jingkou after Yu Xi’s rebellion and helped coordinate the effort to suppress it while guarding against Yuan Zhen’s involvement. After Su Qi intercepted Yu Xi’s son and a secret letter to Yuan Zhen, Xi Yizhi feared Huan Wen would use the evidence to attack Yuan Zhen.

• Shen Chiqian escorted Huan Xi and the others to Qu'a, where Fan Ning and He Qian later reunited with them, and defended his actions during Huan Xi’s angry reprimand.
• The court mobilized troops after learning Jingkou had fallen, while Yu Xi withdrew there and resisted the forces surrounding the city.
• Chen Caozhi traveled through the Two Huai Regions to recruit support from powerful fortified clans, but returned when he learned of Yu Xi’s revolt.
• Chen Caozhi sent Su Qi to intercept messengers traveling toward Shouzhou, then joined Xi Yizhi and Shen Chiqian outside besieged Jingkou.
• Su Qi returned with Yu Youzhi and a secret letter from Yu Xi to Yuan Zhen, leading Xi Yizhi to fear Huan Wen would turn against Yuan Zhen after the rebellion was crushed.

After suppressing Yu Xi’s rebellion, Huan Wen’s forces captured or killed the rebels and executed Yu Xi and several relatives, while Huan Lian secured pardons for her husband and the Yu You household. Yuan Zhen sent his son to Jiankang to affirm his loyalty, and Huan Wen chose not to provoke him as Chen Caozhi had advised; Chen Caozhi and his companions returned to the Liu Clan’s manor.

• Yu Xi’s men burned Jingkou and fled, but Liu Clan soldiers captured Yu Xi, Yu Miao, and their companions on the north bank, while Wu Zun died resisting pursuit.
• Huan Xi, Xie Yan, and Chen Caozhi helped Jingkou’s inhabitants recover, and Huan Xi accepted Chen Caozhi’s proposal to incorporate most of the surrendered rebels into the North Mansion Army.
• Huan Wen ordered Yu Xi, Yu Miao, Yu Youzhi, and two others executed, but pardoned Huan Lian’s husband and the Yu You household after Huan Lian pleaded with him.
• Yu Yun drank poison after learning his brothers had been executed, while Huan Wen spared Yu Yun’s sons.
• Yuan Zhen sent Yuan Jin to Jiankang to declare loyalty and seek a post, and Huan Wen reassured him and sent him back to Shouzhou.
• Chen Caozhi, Su Qi, Liu Laozhi, and their party returned to the Liu Clan’s fortified manor in Xiaxiang County.

Chen Caozhi traveled to Xiapi to persuade Tian Luo, leader of the powerful Lulong Tian Clan, to join the rebuilding North Mansion Army. Tian Luo rejected the appointment at first, but Chen Caozhi challenged his assumptions about the Qin-Yan war and warned that surrendering to Yan would bring him little; the chapter ended with Chen predicting Murong Ke would soon withdraw.

• Tian Luo welcomed Chen Caozhi and his party at Xiapi with a thousand elite soldiers and heard that Chen had come to recruit him for the North Mansion Army.
• Chen Caozhi presented Tian Luo with an imperial decree appointing him General of the Flying Dragon, but Tian Luo refused the commission and offered his guests hospitality instead.
• Chen Caozhi asked Tian Luo about the Qin-Yan war, and Tian Luo predicted that Yan would conquer Guanzhong because Murong Ke and Murong Chui commanded superior forces.
• Tian Luo said his clan would preserve itself by surrendering to Yan if Jin fell, and Chen Caozhi warned that the Xianbei would grant him no better rank than his Jin appointment.
• Chen Caozhi urged Tian Luo to join the resistance and predicted that Murong Ke would withdraw from the campaign within ten days or a fortnight.

Chen Caozhi persuaded Tian Luo and other refugee leaders to join the effort to rebuild the North Mansion Army by predicting Murong Ke’s withdrawal and promising a chance to reclaim their ancestral lands. By the chapter’s end, nineteen fortified-manor leaders had gathered at the Tian Clan Fortified Manor and were receptive to his terms.

• Tian Luo hosted Chen Caozhi and invited refugee leaders from nearby fortified manors to gather and discuss rebuilding the North Mansion Army.
• Chen Caozhi trained Reaching the Sky and Whirling Upward to track soldiers dressed in Xianbei armor, and Liu Laozhi recognized their value as scouts.
• Scouts brought news that Murong Ke had withdrawn, confirming Chen Caozhi’s prediction; Chen said Murong Ke would die before the year’s end and urged Tian Luo to support a Northern Expedition.
• Dai Xun, Guo Quan, and seventeen other refugee leaders arrived at the Tian Clan Fortified Manor, bringing forces that included over two hundred thousand refugees and nearly forty thousand private soldiers.
• Chen Caozhi offered the leaders military ranks and provisions while letting them retain command of their private soldiers, and they responded favorably to joining the North Mansion Army.

Chen Caozhi traveled toward Runan to organize the North Mansion Army while Su Qi hoped to arrange for his sister Su Hui to become Chen’s concubine. Su Daozhi decided to accept the Cai Clan’s marriage proposal instead, unaware that Su Hui had feelings for Chen.

• Chen Caozhi and the refugee leaders agreed that the leaders would recruit troops and bring them to Guangling at the end of the sixth month.
• Su Qi told Chen Caozhi that Su Family Fort could provide a thousand-man unit and privately hoped Chen would marry Su Hui as a concubine.
• The Cai Clan proposed that Su Hui marry Cai Feng’s son, and Zou Shi rejected the idea of her becoming Chen Caozhi’s concubine.
• Su Daozhi watched Su Hui weave brocade and decided to accept the Cai Clan’s proposal rather than give his daughter to Chen as a concubine.
• Su Hui told her maid Qinghu that one person could decipher her palindrome poems, then changed the subject before the maids understood her feelings.

Su Hui learned that her family was considering a match with Cai Tao rather than making her Chen Caozhi’s concubine, while Chen Caozhi recruited the Cai Clan to support the North Mansion Army. The party left Cai Family Fort after Cai Feng pledged soldiers and Chen Caozhi promised to seek the clan’s restoration to the gentry register, then saw someone pursuing them.

• Su Daozhi learned Chen Caozhi’s party would arrive and worried that Su Qi might have offered Su Hui as a concubine; Zou Shi told Su Hui about the Cai Clan’s proposal and the possibility of becoming Chen Caozhi’s concubine.
• Su Hui reacted strongly to the thought of Chen Caozhi taking her as a concubine, but resolved she would not accept that position and grieved over her unreturned feelings for him.
• Su Qi told Su Daozhi he had not yet raised the matter with Chen Caozhi, and learned that his parents and Su Hui opposed it and that Cai Tao had been proposed as a husband for her.
• Chen Caozhi and Su Qi visited Cai Feng at Cai Family Fort, where Chen Caozhi returned the Keting Flute, played for Cai Feng, and gained permission to browse the Cai Clan library.
• Cai Feng agreed to send Cai Guang and three thousand private soldiers to Guangling, while Chen Caozhi promised to petition for the Cai Clan’s restoration to the gentry register.
• As Chen Caozhi, Su Qi, and their party headed northeast from Cai Family Fort, they saw someone pursuing them.