Li Haochen, the third young master of the Minister of Works’ household, is obsessed with divination through the Book of Changes and the Eight Trigrams. He seems to make things up, yet his predictions are uncannily accurate. The young ladies and wives believe him, but his parents want him to take the proper path. He tells fortunes for a famous courtesan, producing one laughable prediction after another, then frightens the chancellor half to death with a reading. He even stops to inspect every dog he passes. The censor submits a memorial, giving the emperor a headache, so Li is sent to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to count stars every day, in the hope that he’ll stop spouting nonsense and unsettling the people.
