At the end of Eastern Han Dynasty， Liu Biao sent Xinye， one of the counties under his reign to his cousin Liu Bei as the base for his troops. Together they can fight against Cao Cao， a warlord from the north
　　Liu Biao planned to pass his reign to his younger son Liu Cong. Liu Qi， the elder boy of Liu Biao， thought that he was in danger. So he asked Zhuge Liang， the strategist serving Liu Bei， for advices. He invited Zhuge Liang to the second floor of his home for dinner， in which he ordered his men to remove the ladder connecting the two floors.
　　When Liu Qi asked Zhuge Liang for advices， Zhuge refused and said： “This is your family fair. I， as an outsider， cannot meddle in. Other people knowing this will speak ill of me.” Liu Qi answered： “The ladder has been removed. Nobody can go upstairs and eavesdrop us.”
　　So， Zhuge Liang told him to go to Jiangxia as the magistrate， with which Liu Qi escaped from the danger.