Chapter Summaries

Chen Caozhi and Zhu Yingtai learned that Huan Wen had punished the Prince of Pengcheng to enforce Tuduan, while Lu Shu and He Zhu discussed resisting the measure and targeting Chen. Chen then traveled to Yuyao to persuade Yu Yu, who initially refused to meet him but agreed to hear him after Yu Xiaofu intervened.

• At the Commandery Office, officials heard that Sima Xuan, Prince of Pengcheng, had been sent to the Minister of Justice for hiding fifty households, and Dai Shu ordered them to help enforce Tuduan.
• Lu Shu told He Zhu about the directive, and they agreed to wait for Lu Shi’s letter while considering how to remove Chen Caozhi from office.
• Chen Caozhi and Zhu Yingtai set out for Yuyao with Yu Xiaofu, while Zhu Yingtai left the party at Dongguan Town for the Xie Clan estate at Dongshan.
• On the way to Yuyao, Chen Caozhi discussed astronomy with Yu Xiaofu, who grew increasingly impressed by Chen’s learning and character.
• After receiving Lu Shu’s warning about Chen Caozhi, Yu Yu decided he would not meet him, but Yu Xiaofu persuaded him that refusing could make him appear to obstruct Tuduan.
• Yu Yu agreed to receive Chen Caozhi and prepared to test the supposed peddler of empty talk.

Chen Caozhi impressed Yu Yu with his new cosmological theory and urged him to prepare for drought and support the land registration review, then left Yuyao without securing the Yu Clan’s cooperation. On the road back, the first snow fell as Chen reached Cao'e Pavilion, where he learned Dai Andao was staying at the Xie estate and might expose Xie Daoyun’s male disguise.

• Chen Caozhi explained astronomy to Yu Yu and Yu Xiaofu, who were astonished by his account of the heavens and the earth.
• Chen Caozhi warned Yu Yu of a future drought and epidemic and urged him to prepare irrigation works and support the land registration review.
• Chen Caozhi left the Yu estate the next morning without asking directly about the clan’s stance, while privately considering force against resistant clans after the twenty-third day of the eleventh month.
• Ran Sheng argued that they should seize hidden households by force, but Chen Caozhi said he wanted to avoid making enemies of Kuaiji’s gentry clans.
• As Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng rode toward the Xie estate, snow began falling, and a Xie household soldier told Chen that Dai Andao was staying there.
• Chen Caozhi realized that Dai Andao might expose Xie Daoyun’s disguise and suspected she had sent the warning to keep him from meeting Dai.

Chen Caozhi stayed at the Xie Clan Manor, where he and Xie Daoyun devised a way to keep Dai Kui from discovering her identity as Zhu Yingtai. After visiting Xie Yi’s grave with Xie Daoyun, Chen Caozhi realized she had remembered his birthday and prepared a special meal for him.

• Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng reached the Xie Clan Manor and learned that Xie Daoyun was away, so they met Dai Kui and accepted his invitation to stay.
• Xie Daoyun told Chen Caozhi that Dai Kui planned to accompany her to Jiankang, risking the discovery that she was Zhu Yingtai, and Chen Caozhi persuaded Dai Kui to postpone his trip.
• Chen Caozhi and Dai Kui discussed music, calligraphy, and painting, while Xie Daoyun listened from behind a curtain and announced that she would travel to Jiankang without Dai Kui.
• Chen Caozhi visited Xie Yi’s grave at dawn, where Xie Daoyun joined him to pour wine in tribute and said she would follow him to Shanyin a day later.
• After eating the Chive-Leaf Shuiyin Pancakes Xie Daoyun had prepared, Chen Caozhi remembered that it was his birthday and realized she had remembered when he had not remembered hers.

Chen Caozhi’s campaign to recover hidden households gained support from the Yu and Wei Clans, enraging Lu Shu and He Zhu. He Zhu’s investigators returned from Qiantang with information about the Chen Clan’s land purchases, but their findings had not yet established wrongdoing.

• Chen Caozhi reached Shanyin with Xie Daoyun and received birthday gifts and a letter from Lu Weiwei.
• Dai Shu discussed Chen Caozhi’s efforts with the Yu Clan, and Yu Xiaofu submitted registers for seven hundred households.
• Lu Shu confronted Yu Xiaofu, then plotted with He Zhu and Wei Bo to resist Chen Caozhi and find evidence against him.
• The Wei Clan submitted registers for four hundred hidden households, leaving He Zhu furious and Lu Shu focused on investigating the Qiantang Chen Clan.
• He Zhu’s investigators reported that the Chen Clan had acquired land from owner-farmers, who willingly became tenants in exchange for protection against taxes and rents during bad harvests.

Lu Shu and He Zhu plotted to undermine Chen Caozhi’s Tuduan work by accusing the Qiantang Chen Clan of misappropriating taxable fields and seizing a farmer’s land. Xie Daoyun went to Qiantang to investigate the clan’s estate records and protect Chen Caozhi, leaving the inquiry pending as the county clerks and runners searched the protected households.

• The Dianji advised Lu Shu and He Zhu to use bribed tenant witnesses and a farmer who claimed the Chen Clan had pressured him into selling his land to build charges against Chen Caozhi.
• Lu Shu sent an urgent secret report to the capital, while He Zhu agreed that the He Clan would surrender two hundred hidden households after Chen Caozhi was dismissed.
• Dai Shu warned Chen Caozhi that Lu Shu had sent a secret dispatch, and Xie Daoyun advised him to return to Qiantang and check whether his clansmen had violated any prohibitions.
• Chen Caozhi asked Xie Daoyun to investigate the clan in his place, and she set out for Qiantang with Jing Nu and Lai Zhen.
• Xie Daoyun enlisted Feng Mengxiong’s clerks and runners, met Chen Xian and Chen Man at Maple Forest Ferry, and ordered an inquiry into the Chen Clan’s protected households.
• Xie Daoyun reviewed the clan’s estate records and instructed Chen Chang to create a separate register of tenant-contributed taxable fields, then waited for the county investigators to return.

Xie Daoyun advised the Chen Clan on how to investigate possible abuses and guard against accusations while Tuduan proceedings continued. At Chen Family Cove, Run’er questioned Master Zhu about her uncle and Xie Daoyun, then Xie Daoyun’s manner and appearance led Ding Youwei to worry about her connection to the family.

• Qiantang officials and runners reported that Chen Clan tenants had praised the clan, while Chen Xian and Xie Daoyun discussed possible accusations and ordered inquiries into the clan’s conduct.
• Xie Daoyun urged Chen Xian and Chen Man to question the clan’s stewards and protected households, and she stayed in the Tower of Auspicious Arrival.
• Run’er asked Master Zhu when her Uncle Chou would return and whether Master Zhu would marry Xie Daoyun; Xie Daoyun said she had not yet debated the Lady of the Xie Family.
• Xie Daoyun explained a passage from Zuo's Spring and Autumn Annals to Ding Youwei, and Run’er objected to its disparaging view of women.
• Run’er said Master Zhu seemed like a woman, but Ding Youwei dismissed the suspicion and privately wondered about Xie Daoyun’s identity and feelings for her young brother-in-law.

Xie Daoyun uncovered the He Clan’s scheme to frame Chen Caozhi and helped the Chen Clan resolve the land dispute at Chen Family Cove. Back in Shanyin, she reunited with Chen Caozhi and learned that the land registration campaign had gained momentum, while the He Clan still awaited his dismissal.

• Xie Daoyun told Chen Xian to investigate coerced land sales and devised a staged complaint to learn how the He Clan planned to frame Chen Caozhi.
• Huang Datong reported that Ni Taibin had urged him to join a lawsuit against the Chen Clan and revealed that the He Clan meant to accuse them over Tenant Household Tang’s 160 mu of farmland.
• Xie Daoyun ordered the Chen Clan to return Tenant Household Tang’s land, and Chen Xian personally returned the deed and registers.
• Run’er and Zongzhi traveled with Xie Daoyun to Shanyin, where they surprised Chen Caozhi upon his return to the post station.
• Chen Caozhi read Chen Xian’s letter offering his youngest daughter to serve Zhu Yingtai, and Xie Daoyun understood his regret that she could not marry into the Chen Clan.
• Chen Caozhi told Xie Daoyun that Kuaiji landowners had newly surrendered more than seven thousand hidden households, while the He Clan had yet to comply; Xie Daoyun said Lu Shi’s weakening could improve Chen Caozhi’s prospects of marrying the Lu Clan Lady.

Lu Shi maneuvered to remove Chen Caozhi from his Kuaiji Tuduan post after gentry clans accused him of abuse, but Chen and Xie Daoyun continued planning the search of the He Clan’s estates. With Dai Shu secretly cooperating, Chen prepared to leave for Shan County while the deadline for Tuduan approached.

• Lu Shi and Lu Qin sought to have Chen Caozhi punished, and Sima Yu agreed to discuss the accusations at court.
• At Taicheng, Lu Shi secured Chen Caozhi’s removal as Kuaiji Tuduan Commissioner, while Xi Chao and Xie An challenged the accusations against him.
• Lu Shu read the removal order to Chen, who calmly said Deputy Commissioner Zhu Yingtai would take over the reverification.
• Lu Shu promised He Zhu that the He Clan need surrender only a hundred hidden households and that detained households would be released.
• Chen told Xie Daoyun that he would visit Shan County, then secretly return before the deadline to search the He Clan’s estates with Dai Shu’s support.
• After Dai Shu secretly met with them, Chen and Xie Daoyun walked beneath the moon as snow began to fall, and Xie offered to write him a piece of ice-and-snow prose.

Chen Caozhi traveled with Zongzhi and Run'er to visit Dai Kui, while Lu Shu and He Zhu plotted against him and the Tuduan continued to expose hidden households. After returning to Shanyin, Chen Caozhi led an inspection of the He Clan estate and confronted He Sui and He Zhu over their resistance to the search.

• Chen Caozhi departed by boat for Shan County with Zongzhi, Run'er, and his attendants, leaving Ran Sheng in Kuaiji to assist with the Tuduan.
• Lu Shu and He Zhu discussed framing Chen Caozhi in the Chen Clan land-encroachment case and undermining the Qiantang Chen Clan.
• Chen Caozhi spent five days at Dai Kui's cottage, enjoying the scenery and collaborating with Dai Kui on a painting before returning to Shanyin.
• Xie Daoyun and Dai Shu reported that Kuaiji's Tuduan had uncovered 9,720 hidden households and that the He Clan had surrendered a hundred destitute households while withholding their belongings.
• Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun led officials and soldiers to inspect the He Clan estate; Chen Caozhi warned He Sui against resisting the law as He Zhu challenged his authority.

Chen Caozhi confronted the He Clan over its obstruction of the Tuduan, invoking Minister He Xun’s legacy to expose the clan’s conduct and seize three key household-register officials. He left for the commandery offices with the officials in custody, while He Sui and He Zhu hurried after him to seek help from Dai Shu and Lu Shu.

• He Zhu insulted Chen Caozhi at the He Clan Manor, but Chen praised Minister He Xun before accusing He Sui and He Zhu of betraying their ancestor’s legacy.
• Chen Caozhi blamed the He Clan for reclaiming Jian Lake, concealing households, and mistreating the families forced from the manor, leaving He Sui and He Zhu unable to answer.
• He Sui invited Chen Caozhi into the hall, but Chen ordered Ran Sheng to seize three He Clan functionaries who managed the manor’s land and household registers.
• Chen Caozhi withdrew with his men and the three functionaries, while He Sui and He Zhu followed in a carriage toward the commandery offices to consult Dai Shu and Lu Shu.
• Xie Daoyun praised Chen Caozhi’s argument and told him that the He Clan’s tradition of taking Cold-Food Powder had begun when He Xun used it to avoid serving Chen Min.

Chen Caozhi exposed the He Clan’s concealment of fifteen hundred hidden households while Lu Shu and He Zhu tried to use the Qiantang Chen Clan’s land-occupation case to make him back down. The Chen Clan was cleared of the accusations, and the court ordered He Sui sent to Jiankang as Wen Ji arrived in Kuaiji to hear the He Clan’s case.

• Lu Shu learned that Chen Caozhi had arrested the He Clan’s stewards and Dianji, then joined He Sui and He Zhu in trying to prevent the clan’s conviction.
• He Zhu offered Chen Caozhi four hundred more hidden households and help with the Chen Clan’s case in exchange for the stewards’ release, but Chen Caozhi refused.
• Ran Sheng and the Kuaiji Court Clerk obtained confessions that the He Clan concealed fifteen hundred households, and Dai Shu sent Chen Caozhi’s memorials to Jiankang.
• Ni Taibin accused the Qiantang Chen Clan of land violations, but Wen Ji found the allegations false and uncovered that Ni Taibin and others had framed the clan at the instigation of the He Clan.
• Xie Xuan told Chen Caozhi that the Wuxing reverification had uncovered 5,150 hidden households, and an edict ordered He Sui sent to Jiankang and the He Clan to surrender its fifteen hundred hidden households.
• Wen Ji imprisoned Ni Taibin and the other accusers, then hurried to Kuaiji to hear the He Clan’s case.

Chen Caozhi completed the tuduan and waterworks arrangements in Kuaiji, then set out for Qiantang with his family and companions. After learning that Xie Daoyun’s twentieth birthday was the next day, he rode back through the cold to meet her at Haokou, where they reunited over wine.

• Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun toured Jian Lake, persuaded Kuaiji’s clans to restore obstructed waterways, and helped launch large-scale waterworks funded by the commandery and local clans.
• The He Clan surrendered its hidden households, while Lu Shu left for the capital to consult his family about the consequences of the tuduan.
• Chen Caozhi departed Kuaiji with his family and Ran Sheng, and Xie Xuan and Xie Daoyun accompanied him partway toward Qiantang.
• Xiao Chan told Chen Caozhi that Xie Daoyun’s birthday was the next day, so he turned back toward Shanyin with Ran Sheng to celebrate it.
• Chen Caozhi sent Xie Daoyun a note inviting her to share wine, and she joined him and Xie Xuan at Hanyin Inn.

Chen Caozhi gave Xie Daoyun a new zither score for her twentieth birthday, and she played “Flowing Water” for him before he departed. In Qingdian, a rabid dog attacked Run’er, and Xiao Chan was bitten while protecting her; Chen Caozhi killed the dog and treated her wounds, leaving her to wait through the danger period.

• Chen Caozhi presented Xie Daoyun with his eight-section “Flowing Water” score, and she recognized it as a reworking of “High Mountains and Flowing Water.”
• Xie Daoyun played “Flowing Water” on her Banana-Leaf Zither beneath the inn eaves as Chen Caozhi listened, then he left for Qingdian.
• Run’er and Zongzhi went with Xiao Chan to a plum grove, where a rabid dog lunged at Run’er and bit Xiao Chan as she defended the children.
• Chen Caozhi learned that the dog belonged to the Fang family and had bitten several people, so he led a search party into the grove.
• Ran Sheng killed the dog with an arrow, and Chen Caozhi washed Xiao Chan’s bites with chive-leaf juice and applied the dog’s brains as a remedy.

Chen Caozhi returned to Chen Family Cove after the landholding case, tending to Xiao Chan after a dog bite and worrying over her health. He reunited with his friends and received Huan Wen’s praise and orders to report to Gushu, while the Chen and Ding Clans prepared another marriage alliance.

• Chen Chang told Chen Caozhi that Ni Taibin had been exiled and the three farming households had been sentenced, while the He and Lu Clans escaped further investigation.
• Chen Caozhi treated Xiao Chan’s dog bites, and she dreamed of being surrounded by vicious dogs before waking and clinging to him in fear.
• Chen Caozhi’s party reached Chen Family Cove on the eighteenth; Run’er had a fever, and Ding Youwei told him that Qingzhi was about to give birth while Lai De was still away.
• Liu Shangzhi praised Chen Caozhi’s results in the Tuduan, and Ding Yi, Ding Chunqiu, Xu Miao, Gu Kaizhi, Zhang Tongyun, and Lai De arrived.
• Chen Caozhi read Huan Wen’s letter praising his handling of Kuaiji’s clans and ordering him to reach Gushu in the first ten days of the second month.
• Ding Yi prepared to discuss the marriage of Ding Huilan and Chen Tan with Chen Xian.

Chen Caozhi and the Chen Clan attended Ding Chunqiu’s wedding, arranged a marriage between Chen Tan and Ding Huilan, and learned that Lu Weiwei would travel with Chen Caozhi to the capital. After returning to Chen Family Cove, they celebrated Qingzhi’s safe delivery and visited the Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery, where Chen Caozhi remembered Ge Hong.

• The Fang Clan approved the match between Chen Tan and Ding Huilan after Ding Youwei praised the girl’s beauty and character.
• Chen Caozhi hosted Gu Kaizhi and Zhang Tongyun, and Zhang told Ding Youwei that Lu Weiwei would travel with Chen Caozhi to the capital in the coming year.
• Chen Caozhi and his companions attended Ding Chunqiu’s lavish wedding, then Gu Kaizhi and Zhang Tongyun departed for Wu Commandery.
• The Chen party returned to Chen Family Cove and learned that Qingzhi had given birth to a healthy boy.
• Chen Caozhi, Liu Shangzhi, Xu Zao, and Xu Miao brought supplies to Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery, where Chen Caozhi recalled Ge Hong among the blooming plum trees.

Chen Caozhi continued building the Chen Clan’s scholarly resources while its members prepared to move into the Tower of Auspicious Arrival. In Crane-Crying Hall, Ding Youwei advised him to help the Lu Clan despite their opposition to his marriage to Wei Rui, then asked him who Zhu Yingtai was.

• Chen Caozhi read through nearly a thousand books copied by Ge Hong and reflected on why he had abandoned plans to popularize books through printing.
• The Chen Clan prepared to move into the Tower of Auspicious Arrival, and Chen Mo and Chen Tan visited Chen Caozhi to ask about their studies.
• Ding Youwei summoned Chen Caozhi and told him she was anxious about his marriage as he approached his twentieth birthday.
• Chen Caozhi explained that Lu Shi and his sons opposed his marriage to Wei Rui and that Lu Shi’s conflict with Grand Marshal Huan might create an opportunity.
• Ding Youwei urged Chen Caozhi to help the Lu Clan rather than let Lu Shi fall without support, and Chen Caozhi promised to remember her counsel.
• Ding Youwei then asked Chen Caozhi who Zhu Yingtai was.

Ding Youwei questioned Chen Caozhi about his bond with Xie Daoyun, and he insisted that he loved Lu Weiwei while struggling with the weight of Xie Daoyun’s affection. As the Chen clan celebrated its new home, the court rewarded the Tuduan officials, while Lu Shi and Lu Shu resented Chen Caozhi and began considering how to target Weiwei.

• Ding Youwei confronted Chen Caozhi about Zhu Yingtai’s identity and his relationship with Xie Daoyun, and he recounted their history.
• Chen Caozhi told Ding Youwei that he loved only Lu Weiwei and regarded Xie Daoyun as a cherished friend, while admitting that he felt unworthy of her affection.
• The Chen clan moved into the Tower of Auspicious Arrival and celebrated the New Year at Chen Family Cove.
• Huan Wen secured Zhou Chu’s appointment as Inspector of Yizhou, and Emperor Sima Yi’s court issued a new era name and changed Sima Yu’s princely title.
• The court rewarded Chen Caozhi, Xie Xuan, Zhu Yingtai, and other Tuduan officials, while punishing obstructive officials including Lu Shu.
• Lu Shi and Lu Shu felt humiliated by the Tuduan’s consequences and considered targeting Weiwei to strike back at Chen Caozhi.

Chen Caozhi left Qiantang for the Western Headquarters with Xie Daoyun, Xie Xuan, Liu Shangzhi, and their entourages after visiting Kong Wang’s wedding and showing his guests the Chen estate’s agricultural improvements. When Chen Caozhi proposed stopping in Wu Commandery to invite Chang Kang and travel with the Lu Clan Lady, Xie Daoyun and Xie Xuan chose to take a separate route through Wuxing.

• Chen Caozhi learned that He Sui and He Zhu had been punished, while appointments to prestigious posts placated the Kuaiji gentry clans.
• Chen Caozhi, Xu Miao, Liu Shangzhi, and Xie Xuan attended Kong Wang’s wedding, then met Xie Daoyun on their way back to Qiantang.
• Chen Caozhi showed Xie Daoyun the estate’s irrigation works and experimental rice fields, and reassured her that Ding Youwei would keep her secret.
• Chen Caozhi left Chen Family Cove for the Western Headquarters, saying farewell to his family and arranging for Zongzhi to travel to Wu Commandery for study.
• On the road, Chen Caozhi decided to pass through Wu Commandery to invite Chang Kang and accompany the Lu Clan Lady; Xie Daoyun and Xie Xuan chose the Wuxing route instead.

Xie Xuan persuaded Xie Daoyun to travel through Wu Commandery with the party rather than avoid Lu Weiwei, while privately resolving to help his sister marry Chen Caozhi. In Wu County, Fan Wang praised Ran Sheng’s insight into command and invited him and Liu Laozhi to test their martial skills.

• Xie Xuan reminded Xie Daoyun that avoiding Lu Weiwei could invite speculation and that their route also allowed a visit to Fan Wang, so she agreed to continue with the party.
• Chen Caozhi, Xie Daoyun, Xie Xuan, Liu Shangzhi, and their companions reached Gu Kaizhi’s manor in Wu County, where Gu Kaizhi said he had accepted a clerk’s post at the Western Headquarters.
• Xie Xuan, Chen Caozhi, and Ran Sheng visited Fan Wang, who found that Xie Xuan shared Chen Caozhi’s views on Huan Wen and rebuilding the Beifu Army.
• Liu Laozhi arrived, challenged Ran Sheng, and was reproached by Fan Wang for answering impulsively.
• Ran Sheng explained that righteousness was absent from a general’s five qualities because warfare relied on deception, earning Fan Wang’s praise.
• Liu Laozhi, unconvinced, followed Fan Wang’s invitation to test martial skills with Ran Sheng in the rear garden, while Fan Ning went along to prevent them from hurting each other.

Chen Caozhi met Liu Laozhi at Fan Wang’s villa, where the two young men became friends after wrestling and competing in archery. Anxious about the obstacles to marrying Lu Weiwei, Chen met her at Zhenqing Daoist Abbey, and her reassurance calmed him as they prepared to travel together.

• Ran Sheng and Liu Laozhi wrestled at Fan Wang’s villa; after their first match was called a draw, Ran Sheng won their rematch, and the two became fast friends after competing in archery.
• Fan Wang predicted that the North Mansion Army would one day be rebuilt, while Liu Laozhi lamented that Ran Sheng served in the Western Headquarters.
• Gu Kaizhi told Xie Xuan and Chen Caozhi that Lu Weiwei was traveling to Wu County, and Banli later informed Chen that she had arrived and wanted to meet him at Zhenqing Daoist Abbey.
• Chen Caozhi rode to the abbey with Ran Sheng, wrote Ge Hong’s poem “Medicine-Washing Pool” for Daoist Huang, and went out to greet Lu Weiwei when she arrived.
• Lu Weiwei noticed the restlessness in Chen Caozhi’s calligraphy and asked whether he feared their marriage had become harder; Chen admitted it was difficult, and she reassured him that she was waiting for him.