Chapter Summaries

Chen Caozhi visited his ill sister-in-law Ding Youwei and examined her pulse while arranging for her children to visit. After Doctor Qin prescribed a remedy she could barely stomach, Chen offered a gentler prescription, which Ding Youwei agreed to take.

• Chen Caozhi and Ding Chunqiu waited in Ding Youwei’s study while she recovered from vomiting, and Chen reflected on her loneliness and longstanding illness.
• Ding Youwei joined them, and Chen told her that Zongzhi and Run’er would come to stay for three days; she worried they might hear she was ill.
• Chen examined Ding Youwei’s pulse and found signs of blood deficiency and cold in her spleen and stomach.
• Ding Chunqiu brought Doctor Qin, who diagnosed disrupted stomach qi and prescribed blue cloth, deer antler, and burnt hair.
• Ding Youwei retched at Doctor Qin’s ingredients, so Chen wrote a warming herbal prescription, which she gladly chose to take.

Chen Caozhi toured the Ding Clan Villa and decided that building a large estate could help him achieve his ambitions. After tending to Ding Youwei, he proposed writing a collection of anecdotes titled A Volume of Ice and Snow Prose, and she praised his first entry before asking to speak with him privately about something important.

• Ding Chunqiu showed Chen Caozhi around the Ding Clan Villa, whose extensive lands and households made Chen reflect on the power and role of gentry estates.
• Lai De and Ran Sheng said Chen Caozhi should someday own an estate, and Chen suggested acquiring Mingsheng Lake and its surrounding farmland.
• Chen Caozhi encouraged Ding Youwei to eat white rice congee after she felt better from drinking poria and lotus seed soup.
• Chen Caozhi explained his plan to write a collection of anecdotes about notable scholars, including stories about the Qiantang Chen Clan and his ancestor Duke Changwen.
• Ding Youwei named the collection A Volume of Ice and Snow Prose, and Chen wrote an anecdote about Wang Rong discerning that roadside plums were bitter.
• Ding Youwei sent A Xiu and Rain Swallow to the side room so she could privately ask Chen Caozhi something important.

Chen Caozhi confided his love for Lu Weiwei to Ding Youwei, who encouraged him while warning him to keep their feelings private until he had standing. After a happy visit with Zongzhi and Run'er, Chen Caozhi left for home, planning another trip to Wu Commandery before the Dragon Boat Festival.

• Ding Youwei asked Chen Caozhi about Lu Weiwei, and he admitted that they liked each other and recounted how they had grown close.
• Chen Caozhi said he wanted to establish himself before discussing marriage, and Ding Youwei promised to support him while cautioning him against public gossip.
• Ding Youwei reflected on the gulf between the Chen and Lu families and prayed that Lu Weiwei would share her resolve in love.
• Chen Caozhi welcomed Zongzhi and Run'er to Ding Clan Villa, where the family spent three happy days together.
• Chen Caozhi departed with Zongzhi and Run'er and told Ding Youwei he would return from Wu Commandery before the Dragon Boat Festival.

Chen Caozhi traveled with Liu Shangzhi and Ding Chunqiu to Wu Commandery, where they settled at Peach Grove Cottage and enjoyed the spring scenery while awaiting their ranking assessments. That night, they encountered He Zhu hurrying through the moonlit peach grove, and Ding Chunqiu explained that he was walking off the effects of Five-Stone Powder.

• Liu Shangzhi invited Chen Caozhi to travel with him to Wu Commandery for their ranking assessments, and Ding Chunqiu joined their party.
• On the journey, Liu Shangzhi asked Chen Caozhi to borrow Lu Ji's Pingfu Tie from Governor Lu, and Chen Caozhi agreed to ask about it.
• Chen Caozhi visited Daoist Li, who said Lu Weiwei had paid a hundred thousand cash for Chen's painting to fund repairs at Zhenqing Daoist Abbey.
• The travelers found the Xu Clan Thatched Cottage empty, then arrived at Peach Grove Cottage and gave Lao Mangtou tips for keeping it ready.
• Ding Chunqiu told Chen Caozhi about his father's plans to visit Wu Commandery and the Ding Clan's efforts to maintain its standing against the Chu Clan.
• While strolling beneath the peach trees at night, Chen Caozhi, Liu Shangzhi, and Ding Chunqiu saw He Zhu hurry past, and Ding explained that He was walking off Five-Stone Powder.

Chen Caozhi warned Ding Chunqiu and Liu Shangzhi about the dangers of Five-Stone Powder, then visited Lu Na and learned of the Lu and Gu families’ past. He left without seeing Lu Weiwei, but wondered whether she had gone to Huating expecting him.

• Chen Caozhi discouraged Ding Chunqiu from taking Five-Stone Powder by describing its harmful effects, and Ding Chunqiu dropped the idea of imitating He Zhu.
• Chen Caozhi ran around Little Mirror Lake and climbed Lion Mountain with Lai De and Ran Sheng, while Liu Shangzhi and Ding Chunqiu followed to hear him play the xiao.
• At the Governor’s Residence, Lu Na asked Chen Caozhi to copy Lu Ji’s poem in One-Stroke Script, praised his calligraphy, and said he would ask Lu Qin about showing him the original Pingfu Tie.
• Chen Caozhi asked after Lu Weiwei, but Lu Na said she had recently gone to Huating to admire plum blossoms and orchids and asked Chen Caozhi to treat his son Changsheng, whose illness stemmed from Cold-Stone Powder.
• After leaving the residence without seeing Lu Weiwei, Chen Caozhi wondered whether she had gone to Huating to wait for him.

Chen Caozhi traveled to the Lu Clan’s Huating estate after Lu Weiwei summoned him to save a supposedly withering Lotus Petal spring orchid. He discovered the orchid appeared healthy, agreed to stay and treat it, and encountered the Lu household’s mistress, Lady Zhang.

• Chen Caozhi reflected on his uncertain feelings for Lu Weiwei, then decided to take their relationship as it came.
• A Lu household steward summoned Chen Caozhi to Huating to save Lu Weiwei’s dying orchid, and Chen set out with Ran Sheng.
• Chen Caozhi reached the Lu Clan’s expansive Huating estate and went directly to Little Cherished Garden to see Lu Weiwei.
• Lu Weiwei greeted Chen Caozhi and showed him the Lotus Petal spring orchid, whose supposed yellow spots he recognized as gamboge pigment.
• Chen Caozhi said he would stay overnight to treat the orchid and asked for a brush and ink so he could paint it.
• As Chen Caozhi left the garden, the steward introduced him to Lady Zhang, the Lu household’s mistress.

Chen Caozhi visited Lu Weiwei at Plum Ridge, where he met Lady Lu Su Wenwan and sought her guidance on his orchid painting. Back at the Xu Clan School, he learned that Zhu Yingtai had overwhelmed Xu Miao in debate and prepared to face the formidable newcomer.

• Chen Caozhi climbed Plum Ridge with Ran Sheng and spoke privately with Lu Weiwei, who revealed she had summoned him to treat her orchid.
• Lady Zhang met Chen Caozhi, and he brought his Lotus-Petal Spring Orchid painting to Lady Lu Su Wenwan for her guidance.
• Chen Caozhi returned to Wu Commandery and learned that Zhu Yingtai and Zhu Yingting had challenged Xu Miao to a debate.
• Liu Shangzhi told Chen Caozhi that Zhu Yingtai had left Xu Miao struggling to answer, while Chen Caozhi wondered whether Zhu Yingtai was the legendary woman disguised as a man.

Chen Caozhi arrived at the Xu Clan School and debated Zhu Yingtai over the Dao De Jing, recognizing him as a formidable intellectual equal. After they called the debate a draw, Chen Caozhi wondered whether Zhu Yingtai was actually a woman and speculated that Liang Shanbo might soon come to study there.

• Chen Caozhi arrived at the Thatched Cottage, where Xu Miao introduced him to the Zhu brothers after admitting he could not outdebate them.
• Chen Caozhi recognized Zhu Yingting as the young gentleman who had once listened to him play the xiao at Seven-Li Bridge, though Zhu Yingting said nothing about their earlier meeting.
• Chen Caozhi challenged Zhu Yingtai's use of natural analogies in philosophical argument, and the two exchanged closely reasoned views on spontaneity and emulating nature.
• When a servant announced Master Xu's return, Chen Caozhi and Zhu Yingtai agreed to call their debate a draw and continue another day.
• Zhu Yingting worried that Xu Miao might prevent the brothers from entering the school, and Chen Caozhi rebuked him for suspecting Xianmin of jealousy.
• After the Zhu brothers left, Chen Caozhi privately wondered whether Zhu Yingtai was a woman and whether Liang Shanbo might soon come to study at the school.

Chen Caozhi prepared for the Xu Clan School’s new term, studied and painted the spring blossoms, and encountered the Zhu brothers. The chapter ended with him reading Zhu Yingtai’s invitation to meet for a game of go and converse by hand.

• Xu Miao told Chen Caozhi, Liu Shangzhi, and Ding Chunqiu that Yu Xi had become Grand Zhongzheng of Yangzhou, and Chen urged them to focus on their studies.
• Chen Caozhi climbed Lion Mountain, admired the spring blossoms, and ran around the lake with his servants, where He Zhu and Zhu Yingtai joked about his habits.
• Chen Caozhi reviewed the Book of Rites, practiced calligraphy, and later began a panoramic painting of Peach Grove Cottage and the peach blossoms.
• Chen Caozhi wondered privately whether Zhu Yingtai was a woman, then continued working on his painting until he finished its preliminary drawing.
• After Chen Caozhi bathed, Ding Chunqiu told him that Zhu Yingtai had sent an invitation to play go; Chen read the note and admired its calligraphy.

Chen Caozhi and his companions visited Zhu Yingtai and Zhu Yingting by moonlight for a game of go. After Ding Chunqiu was outplayed and mocked, Chen Caozhi took over his doomed position and challenged Zhu Yingting to continue.

• Chen Caozhi, Ding Chunqiu, and Liu Shangzhi visited the Zhu brothers, who welcomed them into a newly refined farmhouse.
• Ding Chunqiu and Zhu Yingting began a go game after Chen Caozhi agreed to watch first.
• Ding Chunqiu opened at tengen, and Chen Caozhi defended the unconventional move while Zhu Yingting questioned it.
• Zhu Yingting surrounded Ding Chunqiu’s stones, declared the group dead, and mocked him until he conceded.
• Chen Caozhi took Ding Chunqiu’s place and insisted the game could still be won; Zhu Yingting resumed play by blocking the white stones’ escape.

Chen Caozhi defeated Zhu Yingting in a Go game by exploiting his opponent’s anger, then witnessed the Zhu brothers clash with He Zhu at the Xu Clan School. After several quiet days, Chen Caozhi saw Lu Weiwei return to Peach Grove Cottage while he was painting.

• Chen Caozhi used a ko to free Ding Chunqiu’s central stones, and Zhu Yingting conceded after realizing his rash play had turned the game against him.
• Zhu Yingtai invited Chen Caozhi to play Go, but Chen declined because he had to attend lectures the next morning and left with Liu Shangzhi and Ding Chunqiu.
• He Zhu tried to challenge the Zhu brothers at the Xu Clan School, but Zhu Yingtai and Zhu Yingting rebuffed him, and Zhu Yingting shoved him away when he attacked their table.
• Xu Zao warned He Zhu and the Zhu brothers not to quarrel again at school, and they agreed to behave.
• While Chen Caozhi painted Peach Blossoms at Green Creek at Peach Grove Cottage, Lu Weiwei arrived with Duan Chu and Zanhua.

Lu Weiwei visited Chen Caozhi at Peach Grove Cottage to paint peach blossoms, and he suggested a window-framed scene for her. After she left with one of his paintings, Zhu Yingtai showed Chen Caozhi a portrait of them playing Go and challenged him to prove that his own work had something special.

• Lu Weiwei arrived at the peach grove with her maids and met Chen Caozhi, who invited her to advise him on his painting.
• Lu Weiwei helped Chen Caozhi with his painting and walked with him to find a scene for her own work.
• Chen Caozhi suggested that Lu Weiwei paint peach blossoms framed by the cottage window, then gave her his painting Snowy Mountain Retreat to take home.
• Zhu Yingtai and Zhu Yingting approached, mistook Lu Weiwei for a courtesan, and learned that she was the Flower Fanatic.
• After Lu Weiwei left, Zhu Yingtai displayed his painting of himself and Chen Caozhi playing Go and said he would watch Chen paint.

Chen Caozhi painted a peach grove using an unfamiliar technique, impressing Zhu Yingtai, who later challenged him to Go. After Zhu Yingtai lost the opening of their rainy-night game and resigned, Chen Caozhi saw the Zhu brothers off with a flute tune.

• Chen Caozhi teased Zhu Yingtai during a debate, then began painting while the Zhu brothers watched.
• Zhu Yingting saw a servant break a staff against a peach tree, scattering its blossoms into the stream.
• Chen Caozhi painted a vivid peach grove, and Zhu Yingtai praised his unfamiliar technique before inviting him and his friends to play Go.
• Chen Caozhi decided to keep the Go appointment despite the heavy rain, and Zhu Yingtai arrived at the cottage with the Go board and stones.
• Chen Caozhi took black and won a decisive advantage in the opening; Zhu Yingtai resigned after forty-one moves.
• Zhu Yingtai asked Chen Caozhi to play his vertical flute, and Chen watched the brothers' lanterns disappear into the rain.

Chen Caozhi and Lu Weiwei confessed their feelings and agreed that she would wait for him to marry her, while he continued cultivating his painting and calligraphy and visited the Lu residence. The chapter ended with Ding Chunqiu warning Chen Caozhi that Chen Liu had been seen heading toward Wu Commandery and might be plotting against him.

• At Zhenqing Daoist Abbey, Chen Caozhi held Lu Weiwei’s hand and asked her not to marry anyone else, and she agreed to wait for him.
• Chen Caozhi visited Lu Na and received the Huashan Stele rubbing and a copy of the Pingfu Tie, then showed Lu Na his painting Peach Blossoms at Green Creek.
• Lu Weiwei and Zhang Wenwan joined Chen Caozhi to view and discuss the painting, and Lu Weiwei later shared a discreet touch with him as he departed.
• Ding Yi and Ding Chunqiu visited Lu Na, where Ding Yi and Chen Caozhi exchanged greetings.
• Ding Chunqiu warned Chen Caozhi that Chen Liu had been seen heading toward Wu Commandery and might intend him harm.

Chen Caozhi worried that Chen Liu and the Chu Clan would use his impending grading to damage him, but Ran Sheng injured Chen Liu outside the Chu residence and risked giving them grounds to retaliate. After seeking Governor Lu Na’s help, Chen Caozhi returned to Peach Grove Cottage, where he vowed not to yield to the Chu Clan.

• Chen Caozhi discussed Chen Liu’s arrival and the Chu Clan’s hostility with Liu Shangzhi and Xu Miao, while remaining wary of their plans.
• Zhu Yingtai noticed Chen Caozhi’s distraction after their debate and game, and Chen Caozhi played a troubled farewell on his Keting Flute.
• Ran Sheng found Chen Liu leaving the Chu residence with a household steward and struck him with a club, breaking his shoulder blade before fleeing.
• Chen Caozhi brought Ran Sheng to Xu Zao, who warned that Chu Jian might exploit the assault, then accompanied them to Governor Lu Na.
• Lu Na told Chen Caozhi to take Ran Sheng home and promised to make inquiries at Chu Jian’s residence the next day.
• Chen Caozhi wrote, “The great road is like the blue sky, yet I alone cannot emerge,” then told Ran Sheng that he would never let the Chu Clan crush him.

Chen Caozhi began copying the Dao De Jing at Zhenqing Daoist Abbey to honor his mother and build public support against Chu Jian’s schemes. As his fame spread, Chen Liu prepared to accuse him before Yu Xi, while Chen Caozhi remained unaware of the coming challenge.

• After Chu Jian denied that Ran Sheng had attacked Chen Liu, Chen Caozhi decided to counter the threat by copying the Dao De Jing for his mother’s birthday.
• Chen Caozhi received leave from Master Xu and began copying three volumes a day at Zhenqing Daoist Abbey, drawing growing crowds and donations for the abbey.
• Lu Weiwei visited Chen Caozhi and ground ink for him, while Zhu Yingtai saw their exchange and left the abbey.
• Chen Liu, badly injured by Ran Sheng, agreed to accuse Chen Caozhi before Yu Xi and vowed not to reveal the Chu Clan’s involvement.
• Chu Wenbin warned Chen Liu to keep the Chu Clan’s role secret, while Chen Liu believed Lu Clerk was protecting his family.

Chen Caozhi arrived in Wu Commandery for his rank assessment, while Yu Xi used Chen Liu’s accusation to discredit him. The assessment began with Yu Xi ordering Chen Caozhi to withdraw, and Chen Caozhi demanded to know what had supposedly made his character vile.

• Yu Xi encountered Chen Liu on the road, accepted his accusation that Chen Caozhi had seized fields and arranged his beating, and decided to report the matter to Sima Yu.
• Chen Xian arrived in Wu Commandery, saw Chen Caozhi’s popularity at Zhenqing Daoist Abbey, and learned that Chen Liu had allied with Chu Jian and disappeared after Ran Sheng injured him.
• Chen Caozhi walked beneath the moon with Zhu Yingtai, shared an engaging conversation, and escorted her back toward Little Mirror Lake.
• At the Wu Commandery rank assessment, Yu Xi ordered Chen Caozhi to leave the hall and await disposition, calling his character vile.
• Chen Caozhi asked Yu Xi to explain the accusation and demanded an opportunity to establish his innocence.

Chen Caozhi endured Yu Xi’s biased appraisal, answered his increasingly difficult questions, and cleared himself of accusations brought by Chen Liu. Yu Xi’s Five-Stone Powder suddenly took effect, and Lu Na assured Chen Caozhi that his ranking would face no difficulty; as Chen Caozhi left with his companions, Ran Sheng pointed out the Young Lady of the Lu Family watching him.

• Yu Xi tried to expel Chen Caozhi, but Lu Na persuaded him to let Chen Caozhi take the examination.
• Chen Caozhi submitted a strong essay and answered Yu Xi’s questions on the Book of Changes despite Yu Xi turning the examination into a debate.
• Yu Xi summoned Chen Liu and accused Chen Caozhi of having Ran Sheng beat him and sheltering a refugee, but Chen Caozhi called the Chen patriarch to answer the charges.
• Chen Xian explained Chen Liu’s expulsion and the plot against Chen Caozhi, while Feng Mengxiong corroborated his account.
• Yu Xi began behaving wildly after his Five-Stone Powder failed to disperse, and Lu Na told Chen Caozhi that his ranking would proceed without difficulty.
• Chen Caozhi left the office with his companions, thanked the Zhu siblings for helping him improve through debate, and saw the Young Lady of the Lu Family beneath a cypress tree.

After Chen Caozhi’s debate with Yu Xi, Lu Weiwei gave him two Tiger Hill Peony Paintings and asked him to visit her father, while Zhu Yingtai invited him on a moonlit stroll. Chen Caozhi learned that the candidates had been assigned ranks, though his certificate was delayed, and arrived at Lu Na’s residence as agreed, where Lu Weiwei announced that she had not yet left for Tiger Hill.

• Lu Weiwei gave Chen Caozhi two peony paintings and asked him to bring them to Lu Na’s residence the day after tomorrow.
• Chen Caozhi and his companions discussed Yu Xi’s illness and the likely effect of the examination on Chen Caozhi’s rank assessment.
• At Peach Grove Cottage, Zhu Yingtai identified Lu Weiwei’s painting, and the group compared her talent with Xie Daoyun’s.
• Zhu Yingtai invited Chen Caozhi and the others on a moonlit walk, where Zhu Yingting played the yu and Chen Caozhi performed Invitation to a Fine Night on his flute.
• A notice said all ninety-six candidates had been assigned ranks, but Yu Xi’s illness delayed the rank certificates.
• Chen Caozhi returned the paintings to Lu Na, who told him Lu Weiwei and Aunt Zhang planned to compare them with the peonies at Tiger Hill; Lu Weiwei then called from the corridor that they had not yet set out.

Lu Weiwei and Chen Caozhi spent a joyful day together at Tiger Hill, where they shared their feelings and agreed she would wait for him to return. After He Xi’s proposal to the Lu Clan failed, Chen continued his studies and went to Tongxuan Temple on the anniversary of the merging of his past and present lives.

• Zhang Wenwan asked Chen Caozhi to judge her and Lu Weiwei’s peony paintings before she left for home, leaving Lu Weiwei and Chen Caozhi to visit Tiger Hill together.
• Lu Weiwei and Chen Caozhi waded barefoot across a stream, held hands, admired the peonies, and later promised to keep their future marriage in mind when he returned from Qiantang.
• Chen Caozhi rebuffed Zhu Yingtai’s challenge to paint a competing Sword Pool Peony Painting, and Zhu Yingtai watched him and Lu Weiwei depart in anger.
• He Xi proposed a marriage between his son He Zhu and Lu Weiwei, but Lu Na rejected the alliance because He Zhu took mineral powder.
• Chen Caozhi continued visiting Lu Na’s residence and studying with Master Xu, then traveled to Tongxuan Temple on the eighth day of the fourth month to worship Buddha.