Recaps

Chen Caozhi explained why he could not ask Palace Attendant Quan to help Ding Youwei return to Chen Family Cove, while Ding Youwei secured permission to send two maids and arrange future visits. That night, she urged Chen Caozhi to attend the Riverside Gathering in the ninth month, where he might make a name for himself.

• Chen Caozhi told Ding Youwei that Palace Attendant Quan’s courtesy did not mean he could ask him for help without risking humiliation.
• Ding Youwei took Chen Caozhi’s copied musical score to Ding Yi, while Chen Caozhi exercised with Zongzhi and Run’er and heard Lai Fu and Lai De report on recruiting tenant farmers.
• Ding Youwei told the household that Ding Yi had agreed to let Xiao Chan and Qingzhi go to Chen Family Cove and to allow Chen Caozhi, Zongzhi, and Run’er to visit her in the ninth month and twice a year afterward.
• That night, Ding Youwei found Chen Caozhi copying Liu Shao’s The Characters and noticed that his writing had left his fingers sore.
• Ding Youwei urged Chen Caozhi to attend the Riverside Gathering in the ninth month, explaining that Palace Attendant Quan might oversee the Nine-Rank System assessments in Wu Commandery; Chen Caozhi agreed.

Chen Caozhi visited Feng Mengxiong to seek help protecting Lai Fu’s family during the coming household register inspection. He learned that Lu Clerk was secretly making his clan impersonate the gentry, while Feng promised to arrange for Lai Fu’s family to remain at Chen Family Cove as tenant farmers.

• Chen Caozhi traveled to Qiantang County with Lai Fu and Lai De, intending to ask Feng Mengxiong about the household register inspection and Lai Fu’s protected status.
• Feng Mengxiong welcomed Chen Caozhi and introduced him to Feng Lingbo, whose family appeared to be considering a marriage between them.
• Chen Caozhi questioned Feng Mengxiong about the inspection and learned that Lu Clerk was secretly falsifying his clan’s status to make them gentry.
• Feng Mengxiong warned Chen Caozhi not to use the forgery as leverage against Lu Clerk, since the Chen Clan could lose its foothold in Qiantang.
• Feng Mengxiong offered to register Lai Fu’s family as tenant farmers in the county so they could continue farming at Chen Family Cove, though they would owe taxes and service.

Chen Caozhi hired tenant farmers, noticed a disabled old man and a large boy he might employ, and helped Lai De obtain a Go set by solving a life-and-death problem. He left the scholars’ board and stones behind, citing his mother’s prohibition on gambling.

• Chen Caozhi said farewell to Sun Shi, who sent gifts and asked him to visit again.
• Chen Caozhi hired two tenant households at a reduced rent and told Lai Fu to check later whether anyone had hired the one-armed old man and the boy.
• Lai De found two scholars playing Go and learned they would give him their set if he solved their problem.
• Chen Caozhi identified the nineteen-line board, correctly called the game’s score, and solved the Big Pig's Snout problem.
• The scholars offered Chen Caozhi their Go board and stones, but he refused them and returned to the ox cart.

Chen Caozhi returned to Chen Family Cove with his nephew and niece, bringing books and a growing reputation after defeating Chu Wenqian in calligraphy. Before the Dragon Boat Festival, he went to Ge Ridge to seek Ge Hong, but learned that the Daoist was away gathering herbs and left a poem before returning home.

• Ding Youwei tearfully bade farewell to Zongzhi, Run'er, Chen Caozhi, and the two maids as they departed for Chen Family Cove, and Chen Caozhi taught the children a poem about parting on the way.
• Lady Li welcomed the children and maids home, while news of Chen Caozhi’s calligraphy victory spread through Qiantang and Chu Wenqian began plotting against the Chen Clan after his uncle reprimanded him.
• Chen Caozhi resumed his studies and daily exercise, then climbed Nine Luminaries Mountain with Lai De to try painting the lakeside scenery before deciding to visit Precious Stone Mountain.
• Chen Caozhi and Lai De reached a Daoist retreat on Ge Ridge, where a boy told them that his master, Baopuzi—Ge Hong—had gone to gather medicinal herbs.
• After waiting nearly four hours without Ge Hong’s return, Chen Caozhi left a twenty-character poem with the Daoist boy and headed home.

On Duanwu, Chen Caozhi observed festival customs with his family before Ge Hong invited him to Chuyang Terrace and tested his understanding of Daoist teachings. Their lively discussion established a friendship, and Ge Hong welcomed Chen Caozhi to return and borrow books.

• Xiao Chan and Qingzhi bathed Chen Caozhi in orchid water, and Lady Li tied a five-colored Long-Life Thread around his arm.
• Two days later, Ge Hong sent an attendant to invite Chen Caozhi to his retreat on Ge Ridge.
• Chen Caozhi answered Ge Hong’s challenge about fate and immortality, then persuaded him to discuss a second question inside.
• Chen Caozhi asked to borrow Ge Hong’s books, and Ge Hong agreed to lend them one scroll at a time.
• Chen Caozhi and Ge Hong debated Daoist teachings until dusk, when Chen Caozhi left to return to his waiting mother.

Lai Fu returned to Chen Family Cove with Jing Nu and Ran Sheng, then met Chen Caozhi on the road back from Precious Stone Mountain. Chen Caozhi reassured Lai Fu about the threat to his family’s registration, but Chen Liu raised a new threat over the Chen Clan’s land assessment.

• Lai Fu brought Jing Nu and Ran Sheng to Chen Family Cove, where Lady Li agreed to let them stay.
• Lai Fu set out with the two newcomers to find Chen Caozhi and met him returning from Precious Stone Mountain.
• Lai Fu told Chen Caozhi that Lu Clerk was blocking household registration and wanted unregistered Protected Households resettled in Qiao Province.
• Chen Caozhi promised to protect Lai Fu’s family and said he would make the Qiantang Lu Clan pay for meddling with the Qiantang Chen Clan.
• Lady Li welcomed Chen Caozhi home, and Chen Liu warned that county officials would soon reassess the Chen Clan’s farmland grades.

Chen Caozhi learned that Lu Clerk would oversee a land assessment and suspected Chen Liu was using the threat to extort the West Tower family. After seeing Ran Sheng display extraordinary speed and strength, Chen Caozhi confronted Chen Liu and invited him to the ancestral hall.

• Lady Li warned Chen Caozhi that Chen Liu might be scheming to take the West Tower family's land, and Chen Caozhi said he would speak with Fourth Uncle.
• Chen Caozhi climbed Nine Luminaries Mountain with Lai De and Ran Sheng, who outran them both.
• Ran Sheng lifted a massive rock to his chest, astonishing Chen Caozhi and Lai De.
• Chen Caozhi asked Chen Liu who would oversee the land assessment, and Chen Liu named Lu Clerk.
• Chen Liu demanded a deed transferring ten qing of land in exchange for interceding, but Chen Caozhi calmly walked away and told him to wait for an invitation to the ancestral hall.

Chen Caozhi exposed Chen Liu’s attempt to seize West Tower property and asked the clan to judge him. Chen Xian expelled Chen Liu from the Qiantang Chen Clan, leaving him to return to town angry and frightened without his clan’s protection.

• Chen Caozhi asked Chen Xian to gather the clan elders and adult men in the ancestral hall to discuss the clan’s future.
• Chen Caozhi told the story of Xu Wu, then accused Chen Liu of demanding ten qing of West Tower land to bribe Lu Clerk.
• Chen Liu admitted Lu Clerk wanted to fleece the West Tower, but could not explain why he had demanded the land.
• Chen Man ordered Chen Liu to apologize, but Chen Liu defied him and threatened Chen Caozhi.
• Chen Xian expelled Chen Liu from the Qiantang Chen Clan and reclaimed the property allotted to him.
• Chen Liu left Chen Family Cove for Qiantang County town, seething with resentment and fearful of being without clan support.

After Chen Liu was expelled from the Chen Clan, Chen Caozhi learned that his mother’s worry over Lai Fu’s family had made her seriously ill. He hurried through the night to seek Ge Hong’s help and returned with the physician.

• Chen Xian defended Chen Caozhi, secured the clan’s approval to expel Chen Liu, and warned that Lu Clerk might threaten the Chen Clan and Lai Fu’s Protected Household status.
• Chen Caozhi told Chen Xian that Lu Clerk might be colluding with Chu Wenqian and had fraudulently registered as a member of the gentry.
• Lady Li worried that Lai Fu’s family might have to leave Chen Family Cove, and she fell seriously ill the following night.
• After Lai De reminded him that Ge Hong was a physician, Chen Caozhi set out with Lai De and Ran Sheng to seek his help.
• Ge Hong opened the monastery gate, learned that Lady Li was ill, and immediately took his medicines to accompany Chen Caozhi back to Chen Family Fort.

Ge Hong treated Lady Li and drove away the government runners who threatened Chen Family Cove, easing the danger troubling Chen Caozhi’s mother. Magistrate Wang later visited Ge Hong, who revealed that he had invited him to meet Chen Caozhi and was mentoring the young scholar.

• Ge Hong diagnosed Lady Li’s illness as stemming from worry and prescribed a remedy, telling Chen Caozhi to ease her heart.
• Two government runners tried to inspect Chen Family Cove and seize Jing Nu, but Ran Sheng knocked them down and Ge Hong ordered a deaf, burly man to slap them.
• The runners complained to Lu Clerk, who decided to wait until the seventh-month inspection to target Lai Fu, while Magistrate Wang eagerly accepted Ge Hong’s invitation.
• After more than ten days of rain, Magistrate Wang visited Ge Hong at the Chuyang Terrace Daoist temple and learned that the youth studying with him was Chen Caozhi.
• Ge Hong explained that he was lending Chen Caozhi the volumes of Baopuzi and testing his understanding, and he praised Chen Caozhi’s filial devotion and talent.

Chen Caozhi studied Confucianism and Xuanxue under Ge Hong while building a library and improving his calligraphy, but he remained determined to seek worldly standing to protect his family. He formally became Ge Hong’s disciple and agreed to teach Ran Sheng to read as the household faced another registration inspection.

• Wang Deyi allowed the Qiantang Chen Clan to keep one protected household while he remained magistrate, easing Lai Fu and his family’s fears.
• Chen Caozhi followed a daily routine of studying classics, practicing calligraphy, copying books, and visiting Ge Hong to discuss difficult passages.
• Ge Hong advised Chen Caozhi to abandon worldly office and pursue the Dao and lasting writings, but Chen Caozhi remained intent on changing his fate and protecting his family.
• Chen Caozhi formally became Ge Hong’s disciple five days later, without agreeing to retreat into the mountains to cultivate the Dao.
• Jing Nu begged Chen Caozhi to teach Ran Sheng to read, and Ran Sheng reluctantly agreed despite worrying that the coming household registration inspection would force them to flee again.

During the household-register inspection, Chen Caozhi sheltered Jing Nu and Ran Sheng at Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery, and the Chen family passed inspection without trouble. Meanwhile, Clerk Lu and Chen Liu plotted to ruin Chen Caozhi’s reputation at the ninth-month literary gathering, while Chen Caozhi celebrated Qixi with his family by telling the Cowherd and Weaver Girl story.

• Chen Caozhi arranged for Jing Nu and Ran Sheng to stay at Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery, where Ge Hong gave them lodging and discussed the golden elixir with Chen Caozhi.
• County runners inspected the Chen household registers, accepted Lai Fu’s family as a protected household, and left without causing trouble.
• Chu Wenqian visited Clerk Lu and expressed interest in humiliating Chen Caozhi after his defeat in the calligraphy contest.
• Clerk Lu told Chen Liu that Chu Wenqian wanted to disgrace Chen Caozhi at the ninth-month literary gathering, and Chen Liu agreed to help.
• Chen Caozhi celebrated Qixi with his family and companions, told Zongzhi and Run'er the Cowherd and Weaver Girl story, and taught them a poem about the pair.

Chen Caozhi continued his studies through the summer and autumn, then traveled with his nephew and niece to Ding Youwei’s villa before an elegant mountain-climbing gathering. Ding Youwei praised his progress and explained how rectifiers selected men for rank, leaving Chen Caozhi preparing to seek recognition despite the system’s preference for gentry families.

• Chen Caozhi studied calligraphy and classics daily as summer gave way to autumn.
• Chen Caozhi and his family crossed the Qiantang River, where he played the Keting Flute and so absorbed the boatman that the boat drifted downstream.
• Chen Caozhi arrived at Ding Youwei’s villa, where Zongzhi and Run'er showed their mother how much they had learned during their four months apart.
• Ding Youwei congratulated Chen Caozhi on studying under Master Ge and agreed that he could remain at home rather than travel to study under Xu Zao.
• Chen Caozhi asked Ding Youwei how rectifiers selected talented men, and she explained the assessment process and encouraged him to seek a rank.

On the Double Ninth Festival, Chen Caozhi set out for the Qiyun Mountain gathering, where the Qiantang Chen Clan would take part in scholarly debates. After a young woman chose his cart following an accident, he refused to help her, and she rode with the Ding brothers instead as their carts raced toward town.

• Chen Caozhi prepared for the festival and told Zongzhi and Run'er they would attend the gathering when they were older.
• Chen Caozhi traveled toward Qiyun Mountain with Lai Fu, Lai De, and Ran Sheng, while Ding Chunqiu passed them in another cart.
• The Ding brothers found an overturned cart and offered a ride to the young woman who gave her surname as Jiang.
• The young woman chose Chen Caozhi's cart, but he ordered the carts ahead to make way and drove off without her.
• Ding Chunqiu insulted Chen Caozhi, gave the young woman his cart, and recited verses to impress her.
• The young woman's cart sped after Chen Caozhi's, and the Ding brothers followed until their carts overtook his on the way to town.

Chen Caozhi climbed Qiyun Mountain for the county’s ninth-day gathering and passed Magistrate Wang’s checkpoint by answering a question from the Analects. After Chu Wenbin challenged his preferential treatment, a suspicious young woman caught up with Chen Caozhi, who led her back down the mountain.

• Chen Caozhi climbed Qiyun Mountain with Lai Fu and Ran Sheng while the gathered scholars scrutinized the unfamiliar young man.
• At Yicui Pavilion, Wang De first let Chen Caozhi pass without a question, but Chu Wenbin objected that a humble-born scholar should be tested.
• Wang De asked Chen Caozhi to explain “A gentleman is not a vessel,” and Chen Caozhi answered, “I am no match for an old farmer,” satisfying the magistrate.
• Chen Caozhi greeted Feng Lingbo and continued toward Guanlan Terrace, then recognized the finely dressed young woman whose oxcart had overturned earlier.
• Suspecting the young woman had an ulterior motive, Chen Caozhi said he had been looking for her and led her down the mountain.

Chen Caozhi avoided a scheme to ruin his reputation and handled Ding Chunqiu’s outburst without retaliating. At the Wu Commandery grading gathering, Quan Li singled him out, and Chen Caozhi won first place with an original interpretation of the Analects.

• A finely dressed young woman pursued Chen Caozhi, but he recognized the likely scheme and arranged for Lai Fu to escort her away.
• Ding Chunqiu kicked over a food hamper, and Ran Sheng grabbed him before Chen Caozhi stopped the confrontation and spared the Ding brothers from public disgrace.
• Quan Li arrived, greeted Chen Caozhi warmly, and invited him to climb the mountain and share his mat at the feast.
• At Guanlan Terrace, Quan Li tested the gathered scholars on the meaning of Confucius’s words, “I am with Dian.”
• Chen Caozhi argued that Confucius agreed with Zeng Xi’s wish to live freely while still cherishing the ambition to save the world, and Quan Li ranked his discourse first.

Chen Caozhi won recognition at the Qiyun Mountain gathering through his knowledge of the classics and his flute playing, and Quan Li promised to recommend him for a sixth-rank assessment. He returned home to a changed reception from the Ding brothers, while Feng Lingbo’s father considered arranging a family visit on her behalf.

• Chen Caozhi’s flute performance moved the gathering, including Feng Lingbo, and made him famous among the assembled scholars.
• Quan Li praised Chen Caozhi’s talent, offered to raise him to the sixth rank, and invited him to Wu Commandery for assessment the following spring.
• Feng Mengxiong offered Chen Caozhi a place to stay, and later asked Feng Lingbo whether her mother should visit Chen Caozhi’s family; she insisted the visit remain purely friendly.
• Ding Youwei waited with Zongzhi and Run’er for Chen Caozhi, while Ding Yi and his sons arrived and unexpectedly greeted her warmly.
• Chen Caozhi returned home, and Ran Sheng told Ding Youwei that Quan Li had held his hand and that the gathering had gone well.
• Ding Xiashang and Ding Chunqiu visited Chen Caozhi, and Ding Chunqiu asked about the young woman he had seen with him.

Chen Caozhi returned to Chen Family Cove after learning that Quan had provisionally ranked him sixth, and his clan celebrated the honor. He then hurried to Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery, where Ge Hong announced he was returning to Lingnan and gave Chen letters of recommendation and instructions for his studies in Wu Commandery.

• Chen Caozhi told Ding Youwei that he had received the sixth rank and explained how Chen Liu, Lu Clerk, and the Qiantang Chu Clan had tried to frame him.
• Lai Zhen summoned Chen Caozhi to Master Ge, so he left Ding Youwei and returned to Chen Family Cove with Zongzhi and Run'er.
• Chen Xian took Chen Caozhi to the ancestral hall, where the Qiantang Chen Clan celebrated his provisional sixth-rank placement.
• Chen Caozhi went to Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery and found Ge Hong preparing to leave for Lingnan.
• Ge Hong told Chen Caozhi he would be away for one to three years and gave him letters recommending him to Lu Na and Xu Zao, urging him to study with Xu Zao and learn Luoyang Standard Pronunciation.

Chen Caozhi prepared to leave Chen Family Cove for Wu Commandery to study, carrying Ge Hong’s cryptic warning not to travel after the fifth month of the following year. His family encouraged the journey, and he learned that Liu Shangzhi would travel with him, while Jing Nu decided to remain behind with Ran Sheng.

• At their parting, Ge Hong advised Chen Caozhi to study under Xu Zao, practice Luoyang pronunciation, and avoid traveling after the fifth month next year.
• Chen Caozhi showed Lady Li Ge Hong’s recommendation letters and decided to leave for Wu Commandery on the twentieth, while keeping Ge Hong’s warning from her.
• Chen Caozhi comforted Zongzhi and Run’er by explaining that he would scout the way beyond the mountains and return, while they stayed to keep Lady Li company.
• Chen Xian told Chen Caozhi that his local assessment was excellent and that Liu Shangzhi would travel with him to Wu Commandery.
• Lai Fu told Chen Caozhi that Jing Nu had wanted to go to Wu Commandery but gave up after Ran Sheng objected, and Chen Caozhi said not to investigate their background.

Chen Caozhi left Chen Family Cove with Liu Shangzhi to study in Wu Commandery, saying goodbye to his family and rejecting Xiao Chan’s hope of accompanying him. On the road, he met Feng Mengxiong’s family and worried that his mother might arrange his marriage before he returned.

• Chen Caozhi taught Zongzhi and Run'er and instructed them on their studies before his departure.
• Liu Shangzhi visited Chen Caozhi, asked to travel with him to Wu Commandery, and requested recorder lessons.
• Chen Caozhi declined Lady Li’s suggestion that Xiao Chan accompany him, leaving her heartbroken as he departed with Liu Shangzhi.
• Chen Caozhi said goodbye to his family and clanspeople, telling Run'er he would return when the heavy snow fell.
• Chen Caozhi and Liu Shangzhi met Feng Mengxiong, Sun Shi, and Feng Lingbo at Maple Forest Ferry as the family traveled to visit Lady Li.
• Chen Caozhi continued toward Qiantang County town and worried that his mother might arrange his marriage while he was away.

Chen Caozhi set out for Wu Commandery to study, stopping in Yuhang with Liu Shangzhi and his servants. After discussing his studies and plans for his family’s reputations, he escaped a nearby fire with his companions, while Liu Shangzhi carried A Jiao from the inn.

• Chen Caozhi told Ding Youwei he was leaving for Wu Commandery, then departed after briefly greeting Ding Chunqiu.
• Chen Caozhi and Liu Shangzhi reached Yuhang, where Ran Sheng teased Liu Shangzhi about his indulgent behavior toward A Jiao.
• Chen Caozhi copied Biographies of Eminent Recluses and considered how to write distinguished biographies of his father and elder brother.
• Liu Shangzhi discussed their upcoming studies with Chen Caozhi while A Jiao tapped on the adjoining room’s partition.
• A thatched cottage caught fire, and Chen Caozhi sent Ran Sheng and Lai De to carry out the book chest as Liu Shangzhi fled with A Jiao in his arms.

Chen Caozhi and Liu Shangzhi reached Huating, where the cranes recalled Lu Ji’s last lament, and Chen reflected on the fates of the region’s famous families. The next morning, he reunited with Lu Weiwei after her ink chrysanthemum broke, advised her how to save it, and left as she pleaded for him to stay.

• Chen Caozhi and Liu Shangzhi watched cranes rise over the Song River while a boatman explained that the Lu family was honoring Lu Ji and Lu Yun.
• Chen Caozhi thought about Zhang Han’s retreat from public life and Lu Ji’s disastrous pursuit of fame and unsuitable friendships.
• The next morning, a flowerpot fell from the Lu family procession, breaking Lu Weiwei’s ink chrysanthemum and bringing her to tears.
• Chen Caozhi recognized Lu Weiwei from their earlier meeting and told her to join the stem with beeswax, replant it, and support it with bamboo splints.
• A young Lu gentleman questioned Chen Caozhi, who answered coolly and continued on his way while Lu Weiwei called after him.
• A dignified middle-aged man reproached Lu Weiwei for calling after Chen Caozhi, but she protested that he could save her chrysanthemum.

Chen Caozhi and Liu Shangzhi traveled to Xu Zao’s Thatched Cottage to seek instruction and faced Xu Miao’s entrance questions. Chen Caozhi passed both questions, including the one Liu Shangzhi could not answer, and the pair were admitted to the school.

• Chen Caozhi and Liu Shangzhi arrived at the Thatched Cottage with their servants and tuition gifts, while A Jiao waited in the ox cart.
• Xu Miao introduced himself as Professor Xu’s son and tested the two visitors before allowing them to meet his father.
• Xu Miao asked Chen Caozhi to interpret a line from Mao Poetry, and Chen Caozhi answered to Xu Miao’s approval.
• Xu Miao asked Liu Shangzhi to explain a saying from the Dao De Jing using the Zhuangzi, but Liu Shangzhi could not answer.
• Chen Caozhi offered to answer for Liu Shangzhi and cited a passage from the Zhuangzi, earning Xu Miao’s approval and passing the test.

Chen Caozhi and Xu Miao quickly became friends, and Xu Zao learned of Chen Caozhi’s talent and Ge Hong’s recommendation. After hearing that Chu Jian had tried to block Chen Caozhi’s admission by threatening Xu Zao and his son, Xu Zao decided to admit Chen Caozhi despite the trouble it might bring.

• Xu Miao welcomed Chen Caozhi and Liu Shangzhi at the Xu Clan School, and he and Chen Caozhi bonded over their studies during a walk around Little Mirror Lake.
• Xu Miao accepted their tuition gifts and invited Chen Caozhi to meet Xu Zao the next day, passing along Ge Hong’s letter of recommendation.
• Xu Zao praised Chen Caozhi’s abilities after reading Ge Hong’s letter and hearing Xu Miao describe their conversation.
• Xu Zao told Xu Miao that Chu Jian had asked him to humiliate Chen Caozhi and deny him admission, while threatening Xu Miao’s prospects for rank.
• Xu Miao urged his father to defy Chu Jian, and Xu Zao said they would neither flatter the powerful nor act recklessly, but would continue doing what was right.

Chen Caozhi began studying at Xu Zao’s school, impressed Xu with his quick mastery of Luoyang Standard Pronunciation, and learned that Xu would protect him from the Chu Clan’s troubles. Meanwhile, Chu Wenbin tried to turn Lu Qin against Chen, and Lu Qin concluded that Chen was unfit to enter the Lu Clan’s estate, despite his sister’s request that Chen treat her chrysanthemum.

• Chen Caozhi and Liu Shangzhi began lessons at the Xu family’s Thatched Cottage, where Chen quickly mastered Xu Zao’s Luoyang-style chanting.
• Liu Shangzhi left to arrange lodging, and Xu Zao invited Chen to stay with him and reassured him after hearing about the Chu Clan’s grievances.
• Xu Zao suggested that Liu rent a room from a farming household at Gu Clan Manor instead of building a lakeside house.
• Chu Wenbin arrived hoping to see Chen rejected, but grew furious when Xu Zao treated Chen warmly and summoned him for a private talk.
• Chu Wenbin spoke with Lu Qin and slandered Chen, prompting Lu Qin to say Chen’s conduct made him unsuitable for the Lu Clan’s country estate, where his sister had hoped he would treat her chrysanthemum, Jade Edition.