diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/routes/journal.py b/src/fabledassistant/routes/journal.py
index 462e840..910a9b0 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/routes/journal.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/routes/journal.py
@@ -407,8 +407,14 @@ async def _day_payload(*, user_id: int, day_date: datetime.date):
             .order_by(Message.created_at)
         )
         messages = (await session.execute(msgs_stmt)).scalars().all()
+        # conv.to_dict() recomputes message_count from the `messages`
+        # relationship, which isn't eager-loaded here, so it would report 0.
+        # We already have the real list — override with the known count, same
+        # convention the chat-list path uses (services/chat.py).
+        conv_dict = conv.to_dict()
+        conv_dict["message_count"] = len(messages)
         return jsonify({
             "day_date": day_date.isoformat(),
-            "conversation": conv.to_dict(),
+            "conversation": conv_dict,
             "messages": [m.to_dict() for m in messages],
         })
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/services/journal_prep.py b/src/fabledassistant/services/journal_prep.py
index f1d9dcf..c661dcf 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/services/journal_prep.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/services/journal_prep.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import datetime
 import logging
+import re
 from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
 
 from sqlalchemy import select
@@ -249,7 +250,9 @@ async def _open_threads(*, user_id: int, day_date: datetime.date) -> list[dict]:
 def _render_task_line(t: dict, *, include_due: bool, include_overdue: bool) -> str:
     line = f"  - {t.get('title', '?')}"
     if include_overdue and t.get("days_overdue"):
-        line += f" (due {t['due_date']}, {t['days_overdue']} days ago)"
+        n = t["days_overdue"]
+        unit = "day" if n == 1 else "days"
+        line += f" (was due {t['due_date']}, {n} {unit} overdue)"
     elif include_due and t.get("due_date"):
         line += f" (due {t['due_date']})"
     if t.get("priority") and t["priority"] not in (None, "none"):
@@ -277,7 +280,7 @@ def _render_sections_for_prompt(sections: dict) -> str:
             lines.append(_render_task_line(t, include_due=True, include_overdue=False))
         lines.append("")
     if overdue:
-        lines.append("OVERDUE TASKS (still on the list, not currently due):")
+        lines.append("OVERDUE TASKS (past their due date, still open — backlog, not today's work):")
         for t in overdue[:8]:
             lines.append(_render_task_line(t, include_due=False, include_overdue=True))
         lines.append("")
@@ -312,6 +315,17 @@ def _render_sections_for_prompt(sections: dict) -> str:
                 bits.append(f"{precip}% chance of precipitation")
             lines.append("  - " + ", ".join(bits))
         lines.append("")
+    else:
+        # Explicit absent-marker. A silently-omitted weather block leaves a
+        # small model an unanchored void it tends to fill with plausible
+        # fabricated weather (observed: invented "68°F, 15% rain" with an
+        # empty weather section). A concrete "none" line + directive holds
+        # far better than relying on a negative system-prompt rule alone.
+        lines.append(
+            "WEATHER: none available — no weather, temperature, or precipitation "
+            "data exists for today. Do NOT mention weather in any form."
+        )
+        lines.append("")
 
     projects = sections.get("projects") or []
     if projects:
@@ -342,8 +356,14 @@ def _render_sections_for_prompt(sections: dict) -> str:
             lines.append(f"  - [{day}] {content}")
         lines.append("")
 
-    if not lines:
-        return "(No data for today — quiet morning.)"
+    # The weather-none marker is always emitted, so `lines` is never empty;
+    # a quiet day is one with no *substantive* sections beyond that marker.
+    substantive = [ln for ln in lines if ln and not ln.startswith("WEATHER: none")]
+    if not substantive:
+        return (
+            "(No tasks, events, or notable data for today — a quiet day. "
+            "Do not invent weather or any other details.)"
+        )
     return "\n".join(lines).rstrip()
 
 
@@ -360,15 +380,19 @@ _PREP_SYSTEM_PROMPT = (
     "greetings unless the actual content warrants two clauses' worth.\n"
     "- TASK BUCKETS — three sections may appear: TASKS DUE TODAY, UPCOMING TASKS, "
     "OVERDUE TASKS. Lead with TASKS DUE TODAY when present. Do NOT call overdue items "
-    "\"due today\" — they aren't. When OVERDUE TASKS appears, surface it with the "
-    "staleness duration (\"still on the list 68 days\") and frame it as something to "
-    "revisit, not as today's work. If the only data is overdue, lead with it but "
-    "frame it as a backlog reminder.\n"
+    "\"due today\" — they aren't. When OVERDUE TASKS appears, state the overdue "
+    "duration exactly as given (e.g. \"3 days overdue\") and frame it as backlog to "
+    "revisit, not as today's work. Do NOT echo the parenthetical section labels "
+    "verbatim. If the only data is overdue, lead with it but frame it as a backlog "
+    "reminder.\n"
     "- If RECENT JOURNAL MOMENTS or OPEN THREADS are present, mention one or two BRIEFLY "
     "at the end as context — not as the lead. Skip them if nothing notable.\n"
     "- Close with one short invitation to journal: \"What's on your mind?\", "
     "\"Anything to set down?\", \"How's the morning shaping up?\" — pick one, keep it under 8 words.\n"
-    "- Don't fabricate. Skip categories with no data; don't acknowledge their absence.\n"
+    "- Use ONLY the data below. A category marked 'none' (or absent) genuinely has no "
+    "data — do not invent it and do not mention it. In particular, NEVER state weather, "
+    "temperature, or precipitation unless an explicit WEATHER section with numbers "
+    "appears below.\n"
     "- Voice is competent assistant briefing the user. Not a friend writing a letter."
 )
 
@@ -379,6 +403,40 @@ def _fallback_prep_text(day_date: datetime.date) -> str:
     return f"{weekday}, {day_date.isoformat()}. What's on your mind?"
 
 
+# Strong, low-false-positive weather signals. Deliberately NOT bare words like
+# "rain"/"sunny"/"weather" (those legitimately appear in task/event titles —
+# "buy rain boots"). Targets the concrete phrasings small models actually
+# emit when fabricating ("partly cloudy with a high of 68°F and a 15% chance
+# of rain"): temperature glyphs, "high/low of N", "chance of <precip>",
+# "(partly|mostly) (cloudy|sunny)", "overcast", "precipitation", "forecast".
+_WEATHER_SIGNAL_RE = re.compile(
+    r"""
+      \d{1,3}\s?°
+    | \b\d{1,3}\s?°?\s?(?:degrees|fahrenheit|celsius)\b
+    | \b(?:high|low)\s+of\s+\d
+    | \bchance\s+of\s+(?:rain|showers?|precipitation|snow|sleet|storms?|thunder)
+    | \b(?:partly|mostly)\s+(?:cloudy|sunny)\b
+    | \bovercast\b
+    | \bprecipitation\b
+    | \bforecast\b
+    """,
+    re.IGNORECASE | re.VERBOSE,
+)
+
+
+def _prose_fabricated_weather(prose: str, sections: dict) -> bool:
+    """True when the prose talks weather but no weather data was gathered.
+
+    The deterministic backstop for the system-prompt rule: an 8–14B model
+    still invents weather on quiet days even when told not to. If the
+    WEATHER section is genuinely empty and the prose trips a strong weather
+    signal, that text is fabricated.
+    """
+    if sections.get("weather"):
+        return False
+    return bool(_WEATHER_SIGNAL_RE.search(prose or ""))
+
+
 async def _generate_prep_prose(
     *,
     sections: dict,
@@ -400,25 +458,54 @@ async def _generate_prep_prose(
         f"Write the opener for today's journal."
     )
 
-    messages = [
-        {"role": "system", "content": _PREP_SYSTEM_PROMPT},
-        {"role": "user", "content": user_trigger},
-    ]
+    _WEATHER_CORRECTION = (
+        "\n\nIMPORTANT: there is NO weather data for today. Do not mention "
+        "weather, temperature, sky conditions, or precipitation in any form."
+    )
 
-    try:
-        prose = await generate_completion(
-            messages=messages,
-            model=model,
-            max_tokens=400,
-        )
-    except Exception:
-        logger.exception("Daily prep prose generation failed for day %s", day_date)
-        return _fallback_prep_text(day_date)
+    # Up to 2 attempts: if the first trips the fabricated-weather guard, retry
+    # once with an explicit corrective appended to the user turn. A 14B model
+    # almost always complies on the corrected pass; if it still doesn't we log
+    # and accept (surgically excising a sentence risks breaking prose flow —
+    # better a rare stray clause than mangled output, and the log lets us
+    # measure whether a model bump is actually warranted).
+    prose = ""
+    for attempt in (1, 2):
+        trigger = user_trigger
+        if attempt == 2:
+            trigger = user_trigger + _WEATHER_CORRECTION
+        messages = [
+            {"role": "system", "content": _PREP_SYSTEM_PROMPT},
+            {"role": "user", "content": trigger},
+        ]
+        try:
+            raw = await generate_completion(
+                messages=messages,
+                model=model,
+                max_tokens=400,
+            )
+        except Exception:
+            logger.exception("Daily prep prose generation failed for day %s", day_date)
+            return _fallback_prep_text(day_date)
 
-    prose = (prose or "").strip()
-    if not prose:
-        logger.warning("LLM returned empty prep prose for day %s — using fallback", day_date)
-        return _fallback_prep_text(day_date)
+        prose = (raw or "").strip()
+        if not prose:
+            logger.warning("LLM returned empty prep prose for day %s — using fallback", day_date)
+            return _fallback_prep_text(day_date)
+
+        if not _prose_fabricated_weather(prose, sections):
+            return prose
+
+        if attempt == 1:
+            logger.warning(
+                "daily_prep: fabricated weather detected for day %s (no weather "
+                "data gathered) — regenerating with corrective", day_date,
+            )
+        else:
+            logger.error(
+                "daily_prep: weather still fabricated after corrective retry "
+                "for day %s — accepting prose as-is", day_date,
+            )
     return prose
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_journal_message_count.py b/tests/test_journal_message_count.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4975791
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_journal_message_count.py
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+"""Regression coverage for the journal `message_count: 0` bug.
+
+`_day_payload` (routes/journal.py) loads messages in a separate query and
+serializes the Conversation with `conv.to_dict()`. `Conversation.to_dict()`
+derives `message_count` from the `messages` relationship, which is NOT
+eager-loaded on that instance — so it silently fell back to 0 for every
+journal day (observed via the fable MCP: conversation #291 reported
+message_count 0 with 9 messages present).
+
+Full HTTP coverage of `_day_payload` needs a live DB (not available in the
+unit-test env — see test_events_routes.py). These tests pin the model-level
+contract that necessitates the route-side override.
+"""
+from datetime import date, datetime, timezone
+
+from fabledassistant.models.conversation import Conversation, Message
+
+
+def _conv() -> Conversation:
+    now = datetime(2026, 5, 19, 9, 0, tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+    return Conversation(
+        user_id=1,
+        conversation_type="journal",
+        day_date=date(2026, 5, 19),
+        title="2026-05-19",
+        created_at=now,
+        updated_at=now,
+    )
+
+
+def test_to_dict_reports_zero_when_messages_relationship_not_loaded():
+    """The trap: an untouched `messages` relationship is absent from the
+    instance state, so to_dict() reports 0 regardless of DB rows. This is
+    exactly the journal path's situation and why the route must override."""
+    conv = _conv()
+    assert conv.to_dict()["message_count"] == 0
+
+
+def test_to_dict_counts_when_messages_loaded():
+    """When the relationship IS populated the count is correct — confirming
+    the model isn't broken, the journal path just never loaded it."""
+    conv = _conv()
+    conv.messages = [
+        Message(conversation_id=1, role="assistant", content="prep"),
+        Message(conversation_id=1, role="user", content="hi"),
+    ]
+    assert conv.to_dict()["message_count"] == 2
+
+
+def test_day_payload_override_yields_true_count():
+    """Pins the fix contract: _day_payload already holds the real message
+    list and overrides message_count with len(messages), the same way the
+    chat-list path (services/chat.py) supplies its own count."""
+    conv = _conv()  # messages relationship deliberately not loaded
+    messages = [object(), object(), object()]  # stand-ins for the loaded rows
+
+    conv_dict = conv.to_dict()
+    conv_dict["message_count"] = len(messages)
+
+    assert conv_dict["message_count"] == 3
diff --git a/tests/test_journal_prep_filtering.py b/tests/test_journal_prep_filtering.py
index 58f68fe..362dca3 100644
--- a/tests/test_journal_prep_filtering.py
+++ b/tests/test_journal_prep_filtering.py
@@ -145,7 +145,9 @@ def test_render_overdue_includes_staleness_duration():
     }
     rendered = _render_sections_for_prompt(sections)
     assert "OVERDUE TASKS" in rendered
-    assert "68 days ago" in rendered
+    # Unambiguous overdue phrasing (replaced the old "68 days ago", which the
+    # model parroted alongside the header into a self-contradiction).
+    assert "68 days overdue" in rendered
     assert "2026-02-20" in rendered
     # Crucially, NOT framed as due today.
     assert "DUE TODAY" not in rendered
diff --git a/tests/test_journal_prep_hardening.py b/tests/test_journal_prep_hardening.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5b50e21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_journal_prep_hardening.py
@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+"""Coverage for the daily-prep hardening pass.
+
+Targets the two prep-quality defects observed via the fable MCP on
+2026-05-19 (conversation #291):
+
+  1. Fabricated weather ("partly cloudy with a high of 68°F and a 15%
+     chance of rain") emitted with an empty weather section.
+  2. Self-contradictory overdue phrasing ("still on the list, not
+     currently due, 88 days ago"; "1 days ago").
+
+All targets are pure sync functions — no DB / LLM needed.
+"""
+import datetime
+
+from fabledassistant.services.journal_prep import (
+    _prose_fabricated_weather,
+    _render_sections_for_prompt,
+    _render_task_line,
+)
+
+TODAY = datetime.date(2026, 5, 19)
+
+
+# ── Overdue phrasing ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_overdue_line_singular_day():
+    line = _render_task_line(
+        {"title": "Change my oil", "due_date": "2026-05-18", "days_overdue": 1},
+        include_due=False, include_overdue=True,
+    )
+    assert "1 day overdue" in line
+    assert "1 days" not in line  # the old ungrammatical form is gone
+
+
+def test_overdue_line_plural_days_no_contradiction():
+    line = _render_task_line(
+        {"title": "Research X", "due_date": "2026-02-20", "days_overdue": 88},
+        include_due=False, include_overdue=True,
+    )
+    assert "88 days overdue" in line
+    assert "was due 2026-02-20" in line
+    assert "days ago" not in line  # replaced by unambiguous "overdue"
+
+
+def test_overdue_section_header_is_unambiguous():
+    out = _render_sections_for_prompt({
+        "tasks_overdue": [
+            {"title": "Research X", "due_date": "2026-02-20", "days_overdue": 88},
+        ],
+    })
+    assert "past their due date, still open" in out
+    # The phrase that the model parroted into the self-contradiction is gone.
+    assert "not currently due" not in out
+
+
+# ── Weather absent-marker ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_empty_weather_emits_explicit_none_marker():
+    out = _render_sections_for_prompt({
+        "tasks_overdue": [
+            {"title": "Change my oil", "due_date": "2026-05-18", "days_overdue": 1},
+        ],
+        "weather": [],
+    })
+    assert "WEATHER: none available" in out
+    assert "Do NOT mention weather" in out
+
+
+def test_present_weather_renders_data_not_marker():
+    out = _render_sections_for_prompt({
+        "tasks_due_today": [{"title": "Ship it"}],
+        "weather": [{
+            "location_label": "Home",
+            "forecast_json": {"daily": {
+                "temperature_2m_max": [70],
+                "temperature_2m_min": [52],
+                "precipitation_probability_max": [10],
+            }},
+        }],
+    })
+    assert "WEATHER:" in out
+    assert "none available" not in out
+    assert "high 70°" in out
+
+
+def test_quiet_day_returns_fabrication_forbidding_text():
+    out = _render_sections_for_prompt({})
+    assert "quiet day" in out
+    assert "Do not invent weather" in out
+
+
+# ── Fabricated-weather guard ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_guard_flags_the_real_observed_hallucination():
+    prose = (
+        "You have two overdue tasks. The weather today is partly cloudy "
+        "with a high of 68°F and a 15% chance of rain. What's on your mind?"
+    )
+    assert _prose_fabricated_weather(prose, {"weather": []}) is True
+
+
+def test_guard_flags_bare_temperature_glyph():
+    assert _prose_fabricated_weather("Expect around 72° later.", {"weather": []}) is True
+
+
+def test_guard_passes_clean_prose():
+    prose = "Two tasks are overdue and nothing is due today. What's on your mind?"
+    assert _prose_fabricated_weather(prose, {"weather": []}) is False
+
+
+def test_guard_no_false_positive_on_rain_in_task_title():
+    # Bare "rain" must NOT trip the guard — only "chance of rain" etc. does.
+    prose = "Don't forget to buy rain boots and finish the training module."
+    assert _prose_fabricated_weather(prose, {"weather": []}) is False
+
+
+def test_guard_allows_weather_when_data_present():
+    prose = "Home is 70°F with a 10% chance of rain."
+    sections = {"weather": [{"location_label": "Home"}]}
+    assert _prose_fabricated_weather(prose, sections) is False