Chapter Summaries

Chen Caozhi refused a lucrative debate challenge involving Zhu Yingtai, while the Gu family considered using Gu Kaizhi’s painting to reconcile with the Lu Clan. At Waguansi, Lu Weiwei met Feng Lingbo and Xie Daoyun, and Chen Caozhi joked with Xie Daoyun about the rejected debate.

• Feng Lingbo heard Xiao Chan’s account of Chen Caozhi and Lu Weiwei and hoped to meet Lu Weiwei.
• Yuan Tong and Zhuge Zeng invited Chen Caozhi to debate Zhu Yingtai for six hundred thousand cash, but Chen Caozhi refused.
• Gu Yuezhi examined Gu Kaizhi’s Painting of Jiangdong’s Three Talents and agreed to let Zhang Andao mediate a possible reconciliation with the Lu Clan.
• Lu Weiwei and Zhang Tongyun went to Waguansi, where Lu Weiwei met Feng Lingbo while Chen Caozhi and Gu Kaizhi completed their murals.
• Xie Daoyun arrived at Waguansi, and Chen Caozhi joked that he had refused the debate because he feared losing and missing out on the prize.

Chen Caozhi and Gu Kaizhi completed their temple murals, while Lu Weiwei and Xie Daoyun each spent time with Chen Caozhi. Lu Qin confronted Lu Weiwei about her visits to Waguansi, leaving her hurt and wronged.

• Chen Caozhi revealed his Eightfold Heavenly Dragon Image, and the visitors admired its figures and vivid colors.
• Zhu Fatai and Gu Kaizhi praised Chen Caozhi’s mural before everyone viewed Gu Kaizhi’s Vimalakirti Image, which still lacked its pupils.
• Lu Weiwei and Zhang Tongyun left Waguansi, and Gu Kaizhi arranged to send Lu Weiwei the portraits of Cao Buxing through Banli.
• Xie Daoyun walked with Chen Caozhi and persuaded him to agree to a private debate before she went to Gushu.
• Lu Qin confronted Lu Weiwei about visiting Waguansi to meet Chen Caozhi, and Lu Weiwei said her father and Aunt Zhang knew about her visits.

After Chen Caozhi calmly rejected Lu Qin’s insults and threats over his desire to marry Lu Weiwei, Lu Qin was sent by the Prince of Langya to visit Lu Song in Xuzhou. Meanwhile, Lu Shi and Lu Na began reconciling the Lu and Gu clans and regretted that Wei Rui had not been matched with Gu Kaizhi.

• Lu Qin confronted Chen Caozhi near Qingxi Gate, accusing him of seducing Lu Weiwei and threatening to bring charges against him.
• Chen Caozhi defended his right to marry Lu Weiwei, answered Lu Qin’s insults, and left with his companions while Ran Sheng cleared the way.
• After returning home, Lu Qin learned that Lu Shi and Lu Na were away, then accepted Sima Yi’s order to travel to Xuzhou and visit Lu Song.
• Lu Qin returned and found Lu Shi and Lu Na discussing reconciliation with the Gu Clan after seeing Gu Kaizhi’s Painting of the Three Talents.
• Lu Shi praised the painting and lamented that Wei Rui had not been betrothed to Gu Kaizhi two years earlier.

Lu Shi and Lu Na tried to separate Wei Rui from Chen Caozhi, while Xie Daoyun prepared to leave Jiankang for Wucheng. Xie Daoyun arranged a debate between Zhu Yingtai and Chen Caozhi at Waguansi on Buddha’s Birthday, where Chen planned to defend his reputation without eclipsing Zhu’s.

• Lu Qin told Lu Shi and Lu Na that Wei Rui had been meeting Chen Caozhi at Waguansi, and Lu Shi ordered Lu Na to keep her away from Chen.
• Xie An summoned Liu Dan and Xie Daoyun to Wucheng, and Xie Daoyun agreed to go while asking to see A'e first.
• Xie Daoyun wrote to Yuan Tong as Zhu Yingtai, then used their correspondence to invite Chen Caozhi to debate at Waguansi on the eighth day of the fourth month.
• Chen Caozhi accepted Zhu Yingtai’s invitation and told Wang Xianzhi he could not decline the debate.
• Feng Lingbo reassured Chen Caozhi that Lu Weiwei was well, and Lu Weiwei planned to wait for him to fulfill their Three-Year Promise.
• Chen Caozhi told Gu Kaizhi and Xu Miao that he would debate brilliantly without simply yielding to Zhu Yingtai.

Ding Youwei and her children went to Lingyin Temple on Buddha’s Birthday while awaiting Chen Caozhi’s letters and gifts from Jiankang. After A Zhu arrived with them, the chapter shifted to Waguansi, where Gu Kaizhi prepared to consecrate his Vimalakirti mural and raise funds for a new hall.

• Ding Youwei, Zongzhi, and Run'er traveled to Lingyin Temple with Jing Nu and household soldiers, while the chapter recounted how Jing Nu had organized the Chen Clan’s guard force.
• Run'er worried that Chen Caozhi would forget her and Ding Youwei’s upcoming birthdays, but Zongzhi and Ding Youwei assured her that he would send gifts.
• On their return, Ding Youwei’s party met A Zhu, who had brought letters and presents from Chen Caozhi and Lu.
• Run'er read Ran Sheng’s letter to Jing Nu, who was moved by his concern for the arm Jing Nu had injured.
• At Waguansi in Jiankang, Gu Kaizhi prepared to dot the eyes of his Vimalakirti mural and promised to fund the Hall of the Heavenly Kings himself if worshippers found the completed painting unimpressive.

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.