Liu Kun and Sima Rui once studied together in Luoyang. He was friends with Sima Rui and Wang Dao, but compared to those two, he got on better with the bold, forthright and carefree Wang Dun, and could drink with him more easily. In his view, Sima Rui and Wang Dao were both too soft, although he had always greatly admired Wang Dao's wisdom.
He did not regard Sima Rui as a Great King who had carved out his own realm in Jiangnan, but still as a distant prince of the Jin Dynasty.
Liu Kun had the standing to do so, so as soon as he saw Sima Rui, after clasping his hands and bowing, he smiled and asked, "Great King, are you going to break off relations with Mao Hong?"
King Langya hurriedly asked, "Yue Shi, why do you say that?"
"As soon as I entered the city I heard that you have forcibly kept Mao Hong in your residence, so I ask."
King Langya hurried to explain, "Mao Hong is merely unwell, so I kept him in the residence to recuperate; there is no intent to confine him."
