Recaps

After exposing Lanxiang, Shen Anxin earned Empress Wei’s gratitude and received a lavish reward, while the imperial family braced for the arrival of Southern Xia’s delegation. At court, Chacha revealed that Great Qi sought Southern Xia’s approval partly from inherited sentiment and suggested conquest instead, leaving Emperor Hongyao and the officials unsettled.

• Empress Wei took charge of punishing Lanxiang, then thanked Shen Anxin and decided to reward her with practical wealth rather than arrange a marriage to Xiao Yanchen.
• Lanxiang was sentenced to die after evidence emerged that she had resold palace property, and Xiao Yanchen brought her dying brother before her as punishment.
• Empress Wei sent Shen Anxin home with several wagonloads of rewards, and Shen Anxin used her points to buy modern necessities and snacks.
• As Shen Anxin passed the streets welcoming the Southern Xia delegation, she learned that ordinary people regarded the visitors as kin, though the delegation had hostile intentions toward Great Qi.
• At court, Chacha explained Great Qi’s inherited desire for Southern Xia’s approval and its practical need for Southern Xia’s resources, then proposed conquering it, alarming Emperor Hongyao and the officials.

At the state banquet, Southern Xia tried to humiliate Great Qi by presenting a durian and expecting the court to mistake it for rotten garbage. Shen Anxin recognized the fruit and Xiao Yanchen opened it, leaving Southern Xia’s delegation unable to spring its trap.

• Southern Xia’s delegation entered Great Qi’s palace, and Shen Anxin’s thoughts helped the court laugh off the envoys’ arrogance.
• Southern Xia presented a foul-smelling durian, hoping Great Qi would angrily question the strange-looking gift.
• Shen Anxin identified the fruit and revealed that Southern Xia had chosen it to exploit Great Qi’s unfamiliarity with durians.
• Emperor Hongyao declined to taste the fruit, and Xiao Yanchen accepted the challenge when Southern Xia pressed him to try it.
• Xiao Yanchen used gloves to pry open the durian and revealed its many pieces of flesh, thwarting Southern Xia’s plan to embarrass Great Qi.

At the state banquet, Shen Anxin’s thoughts revealed that Southern Xia’s phoenix-bird gift was actually a dyed rooster, and Xiao Yanfeng exposed the deception by splashing it with wine. Emperor Hongyao condemned the delegation, which knelt as the diplomatic dispute turned against Southern Xia.

• Xiao Yanchen shared Southern Xia’s durian with Shen Anxin and the Great Qi court, while the Southern Xia delegation failed to provoke a reaction.
• Southern Xia presented a rare phoenix bird, but Chacha revealed that it was a dyed, muted rooster secretly substituted by the brother-in-law of Southern Xia’s minister of rites.
• The Great Qi and Southern Xia delegations argued over the bird, while Shen Anxin and Chacha identified the culprit and explained the history of the deception.
• Xiao Yanfeng splashed wine on the bird, causing its dye to run and exposing it as a rooster.
• Emperor Hongyao accused Southern Xia of insulting Great Qi, and the Southern Xia delegation knelt as the Jixia Academy observers remained apart from the dispute.

Emperor Hongyao used Southern Xia’s mistaken phoenix gift to demand grain for Great Qi, securing a deal that would help prepare for a disaster. The banquet then turned tense when Southern Xia’s Grand General Xiong challenged Great Qi’s military officers, and Shen Anxin learned Great Qi might be at a disadvantage.

• Southern Xia blamed barbarians for the phoenix becoming a rooster, but Emperor Hongyao rejected the excuse and threatened to end the talks.
• Xiao Yanchen and Mr. Xun helped steer the dispute toward compensation, and Emperor Hongyao demanded grain from three border granaries in Guanshan Circuit.
• Southern Xia agreed to provide the grain, while its minister of rites began suspecting that his brother-in-law had switched the bird.
• Southern Xia’s Grand General Xiong challenged Great Qi’s military officers, and Xiao Yanchen explained that the court lacked its strongest commanders.
• General Wu and his young officers prepared to face Grand General Xiong as Shen Anxin asked Chacha for information and Chacha offered to reveal his secret.

Shen Anxin uncovered Grand General Xiong’s cruel past and the revenge plot his daughter and son-in-law had devised while General Wu fought him. The match continued as Great Qi’s officials struggled to use the scandal without evidence, and Shen Anxin learned that Grand General Xiong had driven his first wife to her death.

• Xiao Yanchen told General Wu to stall and study Grand General Xiong’s fighting style, and General Wu entered the ring to face him.
• Minister Zheng and the Southern Xia censor traded insults while Grand General Xiong boasted that he had never had the chance to prove himself.
• General Wu fought defensively as Shen Anxin learned that Deputy General Liu was Grand General Xiong’s son-in-law and secretly loved him, while Eldest Miss Xiong knew and supported his closeness to her father.
• Chacha revealed that Eldest Miss Xiong and Deputy General Liu were using their marriage to help her take revenge on Grand General Xiong.
• Chacha explained that Grand General Xiong had beaten his first wife and denied her medical care until she died, while his young daughter had been powerless to save her.

During General Wu and Grand General Xiong’s duel, Shen Anxin’s gossip exposed the affairs and secret revenge surrounding Xiong’s family, and Xiao Yanchen used the revelations to help General Wu. The censor’s hidden garment was exposed, setting off Xiong’s fury, and the censor ended the chapter by claiming Deputy General Liu had also been sneaking into Xiong’s room.

• Chacha told Shen Anxin that Grand General Xiong’s second wife’s children were fathered by the censor and that Eldest Miss Xiong helped conceal the affair as part of her revenge.
• Shen Anxin learned that Deputy General Liu had been sent into Grand General Xiong’s room, and the crowd realized Xiong was the one being taken advantage of.
• Chacha revealed that the censor had hidden the second wife’s intimate garment inside his robes, and Xiao Yanchen signaled General Wu to expose it during the duel.
• General Wu’s spear tore open the censor’s robe, and Grand General Xiong recognized the garment as his wife’s and chased the censor in a rage.
• Deputy General Liu tried to restrain Grand General Xiong, but the censor accused him of secretly lusting after Xiong and sneaking into his room with Eldest Miss Xiong’s help.

Grand General Xiong learned that Deputy General Liu, the censor, and his wife had betrayed him, and that his favored children were not his; the ensuing scandal wrecked Southern Xia’s delegation and prompted Great Qi to launch a campaign of public ridicule. Three days later, Southern Xia’s imperial preceptor offered to divine Great Qi’s fortunes, and Chacha identified him as the man who had blamed Great Qi for a coming disaster.

• Deputy General Liu confessed his feelings for Grand General Xiong, then revealed that the censor had secretly been meeting Xiong’s wife and that Xiong’s favored children were the censor’s.
• Deputy General Liu disclosed that Eldest Miss Xiong had secretly made Grand General Xiong unable to father children, and the state preceptor knocked Xiong unconscious as he attacked the censor.
• Emperor Hongyao rebuked Southern Xia’s delegation, and Xiao Yanchen gave them three days to settle their internal affairs before negotiations resumed.
• Southern Xia’s minister of rites returned to the delegation’s quarters while Grand General Xiong and Deputy General Liu later fought each other and were sent home injured.
• Emperor Hongyao ordered former court diarists to publish true and fictional accounts of Southern Xia’s officials, while Eldest Miss Xiong planned further revenge against her father.
• Three days later, Southern Xia’s imperial preceptor apologized and offered to divine Great Qi’s fortunes, and Chacha identified him as the source of the rumor blaming Great Qi for a future disaster.

Southern Xia’s imperial preceptor attempted to divine Great Qi’s national fortune, while Chacha revealed his plans to weaken Great Qi through disasters, rumors, and schemes to lure away its most capable people. The imperial preceptor’s ritual ended with him declaring that Great Qi’s altered fortune showed signs of a golden age.

• Emperor Hongyao allowed the imperial preceptor to perform his divination but warned him that bad news would be treated as Southern Xia’s hostility.
• Chacha revealed that the imperial preceptor had helped Southern Xia plan to spread rumors, obstruct Great Qi’s recovery, and entice wealthy and capable citizens to flee.
• Shen Anxin declared that she would stay in Great Qi, arguing that people who fled would face discrimination and hardship without their homeland’s protection.
• Chacha explained that many people who fled in the original future were exploited and eventually reduced to slavery, prompting officials to resolve to protect Great Qi and educate their descendants.
• The imperial preceptor spat blood, shattered his compass, and cried out that Great Qi’s national fortune had changed and now showed signs of a golden age.

At court, Southern Xia’s state preceptor prophesied a golden age for Great Qi, leaving its delegation in disarray and helping Great Qi secure favorable negotiations. Shen Anxin refused to reveal herself as a lucky star, but Jixia Academy then challenged Great Qi’s scholars to a public literary contest, and she admitted she could barely remember what she had studied.

• Southern Xia’s state preceptor declared that a lucky star would awaken and usher in a golden age, then fainted, while Emperor Hongyao ordered him treated well.
• Shen Anxin credited Chacha for helping Great Qi but refused to reveal her identity because she feared being burdened with work, and she planned to leave affairs to Shen Anlan.
• Great Qi’s officials negotiated with Southern Xia’s minister of rites while he was isolated, and after the talks he attacked the state preceptor, who said he would not return to Southern Xia.
• Xiao Yanchen heard that Jixia Academy had defeated White Horse Academy and arranged a public literary contest against Great Qi’s scholars for the following day.
• Chacha assured Shen Anxin she could handle Jixia Academy, but Shen Anxin admitted she had forgotten most of what she had studied.

Shen Anxin watched Jixia Academy humiliate Great Qi at a literary gathering, then exchanged points for famous works from her world when Mr. Xun insulted a poor scholar and Xiao Yanshu. She strode forward, ready to use Shen Anlan's name to challenge Jixia Academy.

• Xiao Yanchen explained that Emperor Hongyao hoped to persuade Jixia Academy to open a branch in Great Qi and share its books and traditions.
• At the Ten-Li Osmanthus Grove, Jixia Academy mocked local scholars and set a poem as the standard for entering the gathering.
• Jixia Academy's four great talents defeated Great Qi's challengers in poetry, lyrics, songs and fu, while Mr. Xun taunted Emperor Hongyao and the assembled scholars.
• Mr. Xun stopped a poor scholar from challenging and insulted his farming-family background, prompting Xiao Yanshu to defend him.
• Shen Anxin exchanged points for collections of Tang poems, Song ci, ancient prose, and songs and fu, then stepped forward to challenge Jixia Academy.

Shen Anxin defended Xiao Yanshu and a farmer’s son at Southern Xia’s literary gathering, exposing Mr. Xun’s contempt for common origins before the Jixia Academy talents humiliated both Great Qi contestants. The chapter ended with Shen Anxin declaring that she would compete in all four literary forms against the four great talents.

• Shen Anxin questioned Mr. Xun about his ancestors and mocked his claims about pure literary qi until the audience laughed and he lost his composure.
• Southern Xia’s minister of rites defended Mr. Xun, and Shen Anxin said she had come to compete alongside Xiao Yanshu and the farmer’s son.
• The shi talent harshly criticized the farmer’s son’s poem, then composed four poems that silenced the gathering and drove the young scholar from the stage in tears.
• The ci talent answered Xiao Yanshu’s poem with a superior work and advised him to study for two more years.
• Shen Anxin stepped onto the stage and announced that she would compete against all four great talents.

Shen Anxin challenged Jixia Academy’s four talents, and Xiao Yanchen and Emperor Hongyao agreed to a high-stakes wager over the academy’s influence in Great Qi. Shen Anxin stunned the hall by writing several celebrated poems, broke the poetry prodigy’s confidence, and moved on to challenge the ci poetry prodigy.

• Shen Anxin challenged Jixia Academy’s four talents and wagered that none of them would dare critique her writing.
• Xiao Yanchen set the terms: if Shen Anxin won, Jixia Academy would send staff and books to Great Qi; Mr. Xun demanded privileges for the academy if it won, and Emperor Hongyao accepted.
• Shen Anxin wrote “Bring in the Wine,” leaving the hall speechless as Xiao Yanchen read it aloud.
• When the poetry prodigy accused her of copying the poem and demanded another, Shen Anxin wrote “Ascending the Heights,” “Ascending the Stork Tower,” and “Early Departure from White Emperor City.”
• The poetry prodigy broke down and ran from the hall, and Shen Anxin confronted the ci poetry prodigy next.

Shen Anxin defeated Jixia Academy’s four scholars with celebrated works of poetry, ci, song, and fu, securing Great Qi’s victory in the wager. As Mr. Xun accused her of fraud, Shen Anxin admitted the works were not truly hers and pointed to the sky.

• Shen Anxin replaced her unfinished ci with a work about a fallen homeland, moving the audience and driving the ci poet to concede and flee.
• Shen Anxin recited “Song of My Thatched Roof Torn Apart by the Autumn Wind,” and its appeal to shelter poor scholars left the song scholar speechless.
• Shen Anxin wrote the Rhapsody on the Goddess of the Luo River, stunning the audience and prompting the fu scholar to snap his brush and give up writing fu.
• Xiao Yanchen told Mr. Xun that Great Qi had won and demanded that Jixia Academy honor the wager.
• Mr. Xun accused Shen Anxin of fraud and rushed at her, but Xiao Yanchen and the Brocade Guards stopped him.
• Shen Anxin said her works were not truly hers, then pointed at the sky.

Shen Anxin defended her sudden literary talent as heavenly inspiration while Xiao Yanchen exposed Jixia Academy’s narrow standards and Southern Xia’s Minister of Rites tried to discredit her. She answered with more famous poems and a final exhortation that left Mr. Xun spitting blood and fainting.

• Shen Anxin claimed heaven had inspired her to write her masterpieces so scholars could see poetry’s true splendor and help Shen Anlan avoid unwanted fame.
• Xiao Yanchen argued that Jixia Academy prized beauty and technique while avoiding works about the nation and its people, prompting its scholars to question their values.
• Southern Xia’s Minister of Rites suggested Shen Anxin’s works had been prepared as a conspiracy, so Shen Anxin offered to write on any topic and recited “Ode to Lime.”
• Shen Anxin recited a poem about beans born from the same root, silencing the Minister of Rites and upsetting officials who had ulterior motives against Great Qi.
• Shen Anxin urged the officials to put the people and nation before personal interests, then told Jixia Academy to stop straying from its purpose and recited her principles for scholars.
• Mr. Xun spat blood and fainted after Shen Anxin finished her final exhortation.

Shen Anxin received a fortune in gold and helped Emperor Hongyao arrange for her recited works to be published as Lingering Voices of Immortal Sages. As Jixia Academy prepared to fulfill its wager by copying its books first, Shen Anxin’s thoughts revealed movable-type printing, and Great Qi’s officials grasped how it could overturn Elder Han’s plan.

• Emperor Hongyao rewarded Shen Anxin with chests of gold, which she happily counted and shared with Eunuch Chen.
• Emperor Hongyao ordered the Hanlin Academy to compile Shen Anxin’s recited works as Lingering Voices of Immortal Sages, with no author’s name and with profits shared with her.
• Emperor Hongyao told Elder Han that Jixia Academy had two months to deliver the wagered books, and warned Southern Xia that Great Qi’s fifty guards would escort them.
• Elder Han decided Jixia Academy would quickly copy and sell its books to beat Great Qi to the market and preserve the academy’s standing.
• Shen Anxin discussed woodblock and movable-type printing with Chacha, and the Great Qi officials, including Xiao Yanchen and the minister of works, understood the method’s potential.

Shen Anlan and the Marquis of Shuoping learned that Shen Anxin’s disguise was known and protected by the imperial court, then hurried back toward the capital. At court, Shen Anxin’s thoughts about rewarding inventors inspired Emperor Hongyao to summon the woodblock-printing craftsman and his family for greater rewards.

• Shen Anlan and the Marquis of Shuoping discovered that Shen Anxin had posed as Shen Anlan and that her writings had made his name famous.
• Xiao Yanfeng and Xiao Yance met the Shen father and son with the Brocade Guard and explained that Emperor Hongyao and the officials knew of Shen Anxin’s disguise and valued her.
• Shen Anlan worried that Shen Anxin’s status as a lucky star might threaten her freedom and urged himself to return before she caused more trouble.
• At court, Shen Anxin learned that the minister of works had found a carpenter who had independently devised woodblock printing.
• After Chacha explained that inventors lacked recognition and protection, Shen Anxin thought about how proper rewards could encourage innovation.
• Emperor Hongyao ordered the carpenter and his entire family brought to the palace to receive rewards.

Emperor Hongyao established a system to reward and record people whose inventions or discoveries helped Great Qi, and the woodblock-printing artisan received lavish honors as its first entrant. As the new decree began inspiring people across the realm, Marquis Chengping presented a papermaking improvement, but Chacha revealed that the technique had actually come from his wife’s niece, not his son.

• Emperor Hongyao announced generous graded rewards for useful inventions, and Xiao Yanchen argued that the system should encourage useful knowledge across all professions while supporting farmers.
• The court agreed to establish a reward system and search among the people, then honored the woodblock-printing artisan with an earl’s title, wealth, land, and the first entry in the Welfare Chronicle.
• The decree spread through Great Qi, prompting a farmer to submit an improved plow, a blacksmith to submit a superior dagger, and a woman from Southern Xia to bring her medical discoveries to Great Qi.
• A young woman who had returned to the capital with Marquis Chengping brought her deceased parents’ books to him, and the next day he presented a papermaking technique that could cut production costs more than tenfold.
• When Marquis Chengping claimed his son had devised the method, Chacha revealed that his wife’s niece had actually brought it to him.

Marquis Chengping was exposed for claiming Yan Xuetong’s improved papermaking method as his son’s and arranging a supposed betrothal without her knowledge. Emperor Hongyao summoned his household and Yan Xuetong to the palace, while revelations about Marquis Chengping’s past with her mother, Su Lingyu, left the court stunned.

• Marquis Chengping claimed Yan Xuetong had willingly given the papermaking method to his son, but Xiao Yanchen asked whether she had consented to the credit being transferred.
• Chacha revealed that Yan Xuetong knew nothing of the supposed betrothal and that Marquis Chengping and his mother had privately discussed giving her credit to his son.
• Emperor Hongyao ordered the old madam, the marchioness, the eldest legitimate son, and Yan Xuetong brought to the palace for questioning.
• Marquis Chengping defended his actions by claiming Su Lingyu would have approved, prompting ministers to recall an old affair.
• Chacha revealed that Marquis Chengping had once been betrothed to Su Lingyu but married her younger sister, Su Xue'er, after she became pregnant.

Yan Xuetong was summoned to the palace with the Marquis of Chengping’s family over her parents’ improved papermaking method, while the old madam tried to claim its credit for Zhuo Lingqi. As Emperor Hongyao questioned Yan Xuetong, Chacha revealed that Su Xue’er had arranged the old betrothal change to help her sister escape the Marquis, whom she hated.

• The old madam warned Yan Xuetong to stay silent in the palace and revealed her plan to give Zhuo Lingqi credit for the papermaking method, but Su Xue'er and Zhuo Lingqi opposed her.
• The Marquis of Chengping insisted that he and Su Lingyu had shared an understanding, but Chacha revealed that Su Lingyu had never loved him and had not mourned their canceled betrothal.
• Emperor Hongyao asked Yan Xuetong whether her parents had developed the method, whether she had brought it, whether she was betrothed, and whether she had promised credit to Zhuo Lingqi; she confirmed the method was hers to present and denied the other claims.
• Emperor Hongyao promised that the improved method would be admitted to the Welfare Pavilion once verified, while Shen Anxin worried about Yan Xuetong being exploited by her relatives.
• Chacha revealed that Su Xue'er cared most about Yan Xuetong, loved her sister Su Lingyu above all, and had schemed over the betrothal to help Su Lingyu avoid marrying the Marquis of Chengping.

Chacha revealed how Su Xue'er had sacrificed herself to free her sister Su Lingyu from her engagement to Marquis Chengping, after he broke a promise and kept a mistress from Tiny Grass Hall. Su Xue'er admitted she had never loved the marquis, and Shen Anxin realized her pregnancy had been fabricated, leaving Zhuo Lingqi’s parentage in question.

• Chacha explained that Old Marquis Chengping had secured Su Lingyu’s marriage to his son through an imperial decree, believing she would benefit the household.
• Su Xue'er told Marquis Chengping she had only pretended to love him and asked to leave with Yan Xuetong and Lingqi.
• Su Xue'er revealed that she had initially resented anyone who would marry her sister, but changed her plans after Marquis Chengping broke his promise to Su Lingyu.
• Chacha explained that Marquis Chengping had kept a mistress from Tiny Grass Hall, where Su Lingyu taught and helped disadvantaged women.
• Chacha said Su Xue'er had falsely claimed to be pregnant to take her sister’s place in the engagement, and Shen Anxin realized the pregnancy was fake and questioned Zhuo Lingqi’s parentage.

Su Xue'er revealed that Zhuo Lingqi was not Marquis Chengping’s biological son and explained how she had deceived the marquis to protect her sister, Su Lingyu, from his pursuit. She left Marquis Chengping confronted with the truth that Su Lingyu had never loved him and had built a happy life with someone who respected her.

• Chacha confirmed that Zhuo Lingqi was not Marquis Chengping’s son, and Zhuo Lingqi bowed before the marquis in guilty silence.
• Su Xue'er admitted that she had taken revenge on Marquis Chengping for betraying Su Lingyu and humiliating her over his mistress.
• Zhuo Lingqi explained that Su Xue'er had brought him home and that he had kept the truth secret because she had saved his life.
• Su Xue'er revealed that she had lied about her pregnancy and staged a difficult birth to stop Marquis Chengping from pursuing Su Lingyu.
• Su Xue'er told Marquis Chengping that Su Lingyu had married a man who respected her, offered her security, and kept his promises.

Su Xue'er and Yan Xuetong rejected Marquis Chengping’s claims and honored Su Lingyu’s work to make books affordable through improved papermaking. Emperor Hongyao granted Su Xue'er and Marquis Chengping a mutual divorce, and Zhuo Lingqi chose to leave with his mother; the chapter ended with Chacha revealing that, in the original future, the papermaking method was destroyed and Yan Xuetong, Su Xue'er, and Zhuo Lingqi were assassinated.

• Marquis Chengping tried to make Su Xue'er doubt her decision by claiming Su Lingyu would have been better off as his co-wife, but Shen Anxin explained the vulnerability of concubines and Su Xue'er regained her resolve.
• Yan Xuetong told Marquis Chengping she would never have agreed to become his concubine or trade her parents’ contributions for status, and she affirmed that Su Lingyu had been happy with her family and work.
• Su Xue'er described Su Lingyu’s ambition to lower paper prices so everyone could afford books, and Chacha revealed that Su Lingyu had developed the improved papermaking method through years of work.
• Yan Xuetong offered the improved method to Emperor Hongyao in exchange for her aunt and cousin’s safety, and the emperor issued a decree granting Marquis Chengping and Su Xue'er a mutual divorce without pursuing past matters.
• Marquis Chengping asked Zhuo Lingqi to remain as his adopted son, but Zhuo Lingqi chose to follow Su Xue'er and help run the Tiny Grass Hall.
• Chacha revealed that in the original future the papermaking method was destroyed and Yan Xuetong, Su Xue'er, and Zhuo Lingqi were assassinated after returning to the capital.

Yan Xuetong learned that the three great papermaking workshops in Huai City had conspired to murder her parents and destroy their improved papermaking method. She accused them before Emperor Hongyao, who ordered the Court of Judicial Review to investigate and bring everyone involved to justice.

• Chacha explained that Yan Xuetong, Su Xue'er, and Zhuo Lingqi had been killed while testing the improved method, and that Yan Xuetong's caution had given their enemies a chance to strike.
• Yan Xuetong asked Emperor Hongyao to investigate her parents' deaths, and Chacha confirmed that they had been murdered.
• Yan Xuetong revealed that her mother had entrusted her with the improved method and warned her to keep it secret, prompting Su Xue'er to grieve over her sister's murder.
• Emperor Hongyao ordered the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to investigate and apprehend everyone involved.
• Chacha identified the three great papermaking workshops in Huai City as the conspirators, and Yan Xuetong accused them of murdering her parents to protect their paper monopoly.

Shen Anxin and the court learned that the forces behind the three major papermaking workshops had suppressed Su Lingyu’s improved paper to preserve their power and profits. Emperor Hongyao ordered a full investigation and the arrest of everyone involved, including Prince Huai.

• Chacha revealed that the Pei and Xiang Clans had helped suppress cheap books to preserve their influence and smuggle paper to their main families in Southern Xia.
• Chacha confirmed that the clans were deliberately holding Great Qi back and identified Prince Huai as the third power behind the workshops.
• Chacha explained that Prince Huai had tried to buy Su Lingyu’s method, then helped the other conspirators arrange her family’s murder and cover up the capital assassination.
• Emperor Hongyao ordered the Brocade Guard to assist the Court of Judicial Review, arrest everyone connected to the workshops, and bring them to justice without exception.

The Prince of Huai, the Pei family head, and the Xiang family head were arrested for their roles in Su Lingyu and her husband’s murder. Meanwhile, Emperor Hongyao and his ministers visited the Welfare Pavilion’s new workshops after Yan Xuetong successfully produced a trial batch of bamboo paper, while Shen Anxin worried about Shen Anlan’s career.

• The Prince of Huai reassured the Pei and Xiang family heads that he would protect them, but the Brocade Guard arrived with Emperor Hongyao’s order to arrest the suspects.
• The chief justice and Brocade Guard deputy commander interrogated the accused; the other suspects’ aides confessed, and the group was escorted to the capital.
• Yan Xuetong successfully produced a trial batch of bamboo paper at the Welfare Pavilion’s papermaking workshop.
• Emperor Hongyao and his ministers visited the production complex, where Shen Anxin was impressed by the court’s progress and the ministers’ hard work.
• Shen Anxin worried that Shen Anlan might be stuck in an easy post instead of gaining important duties and promotions, while Xiao Yanchen amusedly anticipated his reaction.