Recaps

Su Luoqian got drunk and flirted with Lu Jingsi, who kissed her before she fell asleep just as he was about to go further. Later that night, she woke for water and returned to bed, where Lu Jingsi pulled her close and her lips brushed his chest.

• Su Luoqian offered Lu Jingsi a taste of green plum wine, and he kissed her fiercely.
• Su Luoqian kissed Lu Jingsi herself and asked whether the wine tasted good, so he carried her to the bed.
• Lu Jingsi asked whether Su Luoqian would remember being drunk, but she fell asleep before he could go further.
• Lu Jingsi ordered water for a bath, while Zelan helped Su Luoqian get ready for bed.
• After waking thirsty past one in the morning, Su Luoqian drank water and returned to bed, where Lu Jingsi pulled her into his arms.

Lu Jingsi confronted Su Luoqian about her drunken kiss and restrained her before they spent the night together. By dawn, he had helped her prepare for a bath, and she was left soaking in the water, exhausted and sleepy.

• Lu Jingsi reminded Su Luoqian of her drunken kiss at the waterside pavilion and drew her into his arms.
• Lu Jingsi pinned Su Luoqian’s hands with a curtain tie and kissed her as the storm continued outside.
• Lu Jingsi and Su Luoqian spent the night together, while the maid outside heard sounds from the room.
• At dawn, Lu Jingsi called for water and carried Su Luoqian to the bath after the servants had tidied the room.
• Su Luoqian told Lu Jingsi to leave, then entered the bath and closed her eyes for a short nap.

Su Luoqian woke after spending the night with Lu Jingsi, and he let her sleep through the day while the female corpse case was resolved. After Yan Bai visited to ask Su Luoqian for a poem, Lu Jingsi kept her asleep and accepted the Painting of a Walking Horse for her to inscribe later.

• Lu Jingsi carried Su Luoqian from the bath to bed and told her to sleep as long as she liked.
• Lu Jingsi questioned Su Luoqian about whether she liked being with him, then left her to sleep.
• Lu Jingsi had resolved the female corpse case, and Xu Jia confessed after being taken to prison.
• Yan Bai visited Lu Jingsi and explained how Su Luoqian had impressed the guests at Duke Xu's Residence with a poem.
• Yan Bai left the Painting of a Walking Horse at the prince's residence for Su Luoqian to inscribe when she woke.
• Fulin told Lu Jingsi that Su Luoqian had just awakened, and Lu Jingsi ordered dinner prepared.

Su Luoqian went with Lu Jingsi to his study to inscribe her poem on the Painting of a Walking Horse, but he guided her hand to protect the painting. Afterward, he noticed the red mark left by the strap that had bound her wrist.

• Su Luoqian refused dinner at first because she felt weak, but Lu Jingsi insisted she eat.
• Lu Jingsi told Su Luoqian that Grand Tutor Yan wanted her to inscribe her poem on the Painting of a Walking Horse, and she eagerly agreed to go to the study.
• Su Luoqian ground the ink and prepared to write, but Lu Jingsi covered her hand and guided the brush across the painting.
• Lu Jingsi finished the inscription, then pushed back Su Luoqian's sleeve and saw the red mark around her wrist.

Lu Jingsi misread Su Luoqian’s explanation that she was unwell and tried to examine her, while she resisted his advances. The chapter ended with him pinning her on the bed and beginning to inspect her undergarment as she pleaded with him to stop.

• Lu Jingsi rubbed the mark on Su Luoqian’s hand and blocked her from leaving the study.
• He tried to kiss Su Luoqian and suggested they return to the bedroom when she reminded him they were in the study.
• Su Luoqian said she was unwell, but Lu Jingsi misunderstood and tried to lift her robe, saying he needed to check whether she was hurt.
• Lu Jingsi carried Su Luoqian to the bedroom and dismissed the servants despite her protests.
• When Su Luoqian resisted, Lu Jingsi seized her ankle and pinned her on the bed, and she begged him to stop looking as he examined her undergarment.

Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi restrained themselves from going further, and he later gave her ointment to apply in private. After she suggested he sleep in the study for a few days, he ordered her to shut up and sleep.

• Lu Jingsi stopped touching Su Luoqian but kissed her passionately before pulling away and leaving the room to cool off.
• Su Luoqian opened a booklet from a wooden box and blushed as she read its contents, then hurriedly hid it when Lu Jingsi returned.
• Lu Jingsi gave Su Luoqian ointment from the residence physician, and she went behind the screen to apply it.
• Lu Jingsi joined Su Luoqian in bed and held and kissed her gently.
• Su Luoqian suggested that Lu Jingsi sleep in the study's side room for a few days, and he told her to shut up and sleep.

Lu Jingsi returned home hoping to dine with Su Luoqian, then tried to share her bed, but she persuaded him to wait because they had to pay their respects the next morning. The chapter ended with background on the widowed Grand Princess Zhou Anyun, whom they were going to visit.

• Lu Jingsi returned to the residence and learned that Su Luoqian had already eaten dinner.
• Lu Jingsi found Su Luoqian reading a storybook and left after seeing its title, “A Few Tales of the Jade-Faced, Innocent Young Prince and the Woman Bandit.”
• Su Luoqian went to bed early, telling Zelan that tradition called for husband and wife to sleep separately on the last day of the lunar month.
• Lu Jingsi entered Su Luoqian’s bed and kissed her, but she argued that they had to rise early to pay their respects, so he agreed to stop and said she would have to repay him later.
• The chapter described Zhou Anyun’s close ties to the emperor, her late husband Prince Consort Lu’s military service, and her quiet life after his death.

Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi visited Grand Princess Zhou Anyun before going to the palace, where the Empress took Su Luoqian and Crown Princess Qin Shuning for a walk in the imperial garden. The Empress hinted that Qin Shuning should seek a child, leaving the women with the familiar pressure of the succession.

• Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi paid their respects to Zhou Anyun and offered incense at Prince Consort Lu’s memorial tablet.
• Su Luoqian gave Zhou Anyun fine agarwood, and the two bonded over their knowledge of incense and discussed Su Luoqian’s parents.
• Zhou Anyun observed Lu Jingsi watching Su Luoqian and hoped their marriage and love life would go smoothly.
• Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi went to the palace and greeted the Empress, who invited Su Luoqian and Qin Shuning to walk in the imperial garden.
• The Empress pointed out pomegranate blossoms and suggested Qin Shuning put some in her room, indirectly urging her to have a child.

The empress urged Qin Shuning and Su Luoqian to have children, then saw Consort Shu scolding Zhou Jingmi while Pei Mu knelt nearby. After asking a maid to investigate, the empress heard praise for Su Luoqian’s wine-making before the matron returned with news of the incident.

• The empress arranged for nourishing herbs to be sent to the Eastern Palace and urged Qin Shuning to prioritize producing an heir.
• The empress told Su Luoqian that she and Lu Jingsi should also hurry to have children.
• The empress, Qin Shuning, and Su Luoqian saw Consort Shu lead Zhou Jingmi away while Pei Mu knelt in a pavilion.
• The empress asked a palace matron to find out what had happened between Consort Shu, Zhou Jingmi, and Pei Mu.
• The empress praised Su Luoqian’s green plum wine and spoke with her about brewing wine.
• The palace matron returned and told the empress she had learned what happened.

Su Luoqian learned that Consort Shu was forcing Zhou Jingmi to train in riding and archery, while the empress disapproved of the plan. At Prince Cheng'an's Residence, Nanny Liu's attempt to turn the Grand Princess against Su Luoqian failed, so she began cultivating a connection with Yinzhu instead.

• Su Luoqian heard that Consort Shu had arranged for Pei Mu to teach Zhou Jingmi riding and archery, and the empress criticized Consort Shu's conduct.
• Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi left the palace together in a carriage, and Su Luoqian watched the palace gates until they were out of sight.
• Nanny Liu complained about Su Luoqian to the Grand Princess, but Nanny Li relayed the Grand Princess's praise of the consort and warned Nanny Liu not to overstep.
• Nanny Liu collided with Yinzhu at the prince's residence and offered to bring medicine for the young maid's scraped hand.
• Nanny Liu urged Yinzhu to wait for her the next day, and Yinzhu accepted before hurrying back to the main courtyard.

Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi were alone in the tower, where he teased and kissed her as she tried to make him stop. He revealed that he knew she had disguised herself and entered Lin Yonghong's villa, leaving her startled that he had uncovered her secret.

• Su Luoqian went up to the rear courtyard tower with Zelan to watch the sunset, but found Lu Jingsi there when she turned around.
• Lu Jingsi moved close to Su Luoqian, kissed her, and teased her as she insisted they should go downstairs.
• Su Luoqian resisted when Lu Jingsi suggested they could enjoy the view from up high, and he continued to provoke her.
• Lu Jingsi asked whether she was thinking of how to deal with him, then revealed that he knew she had disguised herself and slipped into Lin Yonghong's villa.
• Su Luoqian realized Lu Jingsi had tricked her into confirming it, while he quietly loosened his hold on her.

Su Luoqian tried to avoid Lu Jingsi after their charged encounter in the pavilion, but he joined her in bed that night. The chapter ended with the servants keeping their distance as Lu Jingsi continued their passionate night past midnight.

• Su Luoqian ordered Fulin to prepare dinner after leaving the pavilion with Lu Jingsi.
• Lu Jingsi read Su Luoqian’s storybook, then went to the study while she bathed and read with Zelan.
• Su Luoqian believed Lu Jingsi would stay in the study and began changing for bed.
• Lu Jingsi entered the bedroom, pressed Su Luoqian onto the bed, and refused when she asked to stop.
• Fulin sent the servants farther away as Lu Jingsi and Su Luoqian continued through the night.

Su Luoqian learned that Nanny Liu had secretly approached Yinzhu and summoned the maid to ask what had happened. Yinzhu insisted she had refused Nanny Liu, but the chapter ended before she revealed the full conversation.

• Su Luoqian woke late after a tiring night with Lu Jingsi, then bathed, ate, and reviewed the household account books.
• Zelan told Su Luoqian she had overheard Nanny Liu speaking secretly with Yinzhu near the moon gate and asking her to do something.
• Su Luoqian suspected Nanny Liu was trying to influence people around her and ordered Zelan to bring the account books inside.
• Zelan brought Yinzhu to Su Luoqian, and the frightened maid knelt and begged forgiveness.
• Su Luoqian asked Yinzhu to recount everything, and Yinzhu said she had refused Nanny Liu and would never betray Su Luoqian.

Su Luoqian learned that Nanny Liu was trying to persuade Yinzhu to help her, so she instructed Yinzhu to pretend to agree and discover Nanny Liu’s plan. After a night with Lu Jingsi, Su Luoqian tried to stop his morning advances, but he insisted on checking the marks he had left on her.

• Yinzhu told Su Luoqian what Nanny Liu had said, and Su Luoqian asked her to pretend to agree so she could find out Nanny Liu’s plan.
• Yinzhu agreed to carry out Su Luoqian’s request, and Zelan worried that her timid nature might make the plan difficult.
• Su Luoqian rested, ate supper, and went to bed before Lu Jingsi returned to the residence.
• Lu Jingsi joined Su Luoqian in bed and held her while she slept.
• In the morning, Su Luoqian told Lu Jingsi he had been too excessive the previous day, but he pulled down her robe to inspect the marks on her body.

Su Luoqian arranged a scheme to expose Nanny Liu’s plot and invited Lu Jingsi to witness it. While he worked through the night on a case, Nanny Liu took advantage of Zelan’s absence to lead a lecherous man into Su Luoqian’s bedroom.

• Su Luoqian learned Nanny Liu’s plan and told Yinzhu to follow her instructions.
• Su Luoqian invited Lu Jingsi to watch a performance called “Catching adulterers in bed,” and he agreed to attend the next day.
• Lu Jingsi stayed out all night working on a case, while Su Luoqian went shopping and sent Zelan back to retrieve an item.
• Nanny Liu waited until Zelan had left, then brought a man through the side gate and led him toward Su Luoqian’s bedroom.
• Yinzhu pretended not to notice as Nanny Liu pointed the man toward the bedroom and told him to go in.

Nanny Liu brought a street crook into Su Luoqian’s bedroom to frame her, but the plot was exposed when the man found Lu Jingsi waiting in the bed. Lu Jingsi condemned Nanny Liu, while Su Luoqian ordered her punishment carried out elsewhere.

• Nanny Liu told the mustached man that Su Luoqian was a maid and led him into the principal residence while the courtyard was empty.
• The mustached man pulled back the canopy curtains and found Lu Jingsi instead of Su Luoqian; Lu Jingsi kicked him to the floor.
• Fulin, Yinzhu, and Zelan appeared to guard the room as Su Luoqian emerged and demanded that Nanny Liu explain herself.
• Nanny Liu accused Su Luoqian of being promiscuous and claimed she had brought the man in to reveal her true nature.
• Lu Jingsi called Nanny Liu utterly foolish and condemned her for conspiring to frame the princess consort.
• Su Luoqian told Lu Jingsi to have Nanny Liu beaten in another courtyard so her courtyard would not be dirtied.

Su Luoqian punished Nanny Liu and the mustached man after taking charge of their cases, while Lu Jingsi let her make the decisions. Once they were alone, Lu Jingsi asked Su Luoqian to help him undress and then invited her to take a nap with him.

• Lu Jingsi gave Su Luoqian full authority, and she sentenced Nanny Liu to fifty strokes and expulsion from the prince's residence.
• Nanny Liu lunged at Su Luoqian, but Yinzhu pushed her into a screen, and Su Luoqian ordered the kitchen's vegetable supplier replaced.
• Lu Jingsi warned Nanny Liu not to trouble the grand princess and left the mustached man's punishment to Su Luoqian, who ordered him sent to the palace to be castrated.
• After the servants removed Nanny Liu and the man and cleaned the room, Su Luoqian asked Lu Jingsi whether he would question her cousin.
• Lu Jingsi had Su Luoqian help undo his waist sash, removed her hair ornaments, and asked her to take a short nap with him.

Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi settled into a quieter routine as she visited her embroidery shop and he investigated a provincial examination cheating case. After Lu Jingsi questioned Su Youqing at the Su residence overnight, Su Luoqian learned that her parents were safe and told Lu Jingsi that other people were not important to her.

• Lu Jingsi teased Su Luoqian before holding her as they went to sleep through a thunderstorm.
• Nanny Liu was expelled from the prince's residence, and Su Luoqian chose a replacement screen and visited her embroidery shop.
• Zelan told Su Luoqian that Lu Jingsi had arrived at the Su residence with men and questioned Su Youqing overnight.
• Su Luoqian asked Lu Jingsi whether his visit had involved her parents or the Su Family, and he said it had not.
• Su Luoqian assured Lu Jingsi that other people were not important to her.

Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi shared an intimate morning, and Lu Jingsi later carried her into the bathing pool despite her fear of water. After he startled her by pulling her hand beneath the water, Su Luoqian hurriedly dressed and left the bathing room.

• Lu Jingsi kissed Su Luoqian and led her to bed, where they continued their intimacy.
• Su Luoqian felt scars on Lu Jingsi’s back and asked about them, but he gave no answer.
• Lu Jingsi carried Su Luoqian to the bathing room and reassured her despite her fear of the pool.
• Su Luoqian moved closer to Lu Jingsi in the water, and he pulled her hand beneath the surface to make her back away.
• Su Luoqian climbed out, wrapped herself in clean clothes, and left the bathing room.

Su Luoqian learned that Su Youqing had become entangled in an examiner’s suspicious death and wrote to Su Liangzhuo and Cui Anlan about him. At the Qixi Festival banquet, the emperor allowed Zhou Jingmi to join the royal family on an outing, and the group set off for the crowded eastern market.

• Su Luoqian heard that Su Youqing had been the last person to see the deceased examiner and criticized his failure to report what he knew.
• Su Luoqian wrote a letter to Su Liangzhuo and Cui Anlan and sent it back with their household servant.
• At the palace banquet, Zhou Jingmi recited poetry she had studied with Pei Mu under Grand Tutor Yan Bai.
• The emperor overruled Consort Shu and allowed Zhou Jingmi to leave the palace for the Qixi Festival festivities.
• Zhou Jingmi joined Qin Shuning and Su Luoqian in their carriage, and the group traveled to Anning Ward in the eastern market.

Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi went on a night outing at Bright Moon Lake with Zhou Xuheng, Qin Shuning, and Zhou Jingmi. After Zhou Jingmi left with Pei Mu, Lu Jingsi took Su Luoqian on a separate boat, where their shared memory of a tipsy encounter stirred his desire; he recalled that he had investigated her before asking the Emperor to arrange their marriage.

• Su Luoqian, Qin Shuning, and Zhou Jingmi admired the lively streets as their group traveled to Bright Moon Lake.
• Lu Jingsi watched Su Luoqian dote on Zhou Jingmi, then joined the others at the lake, where he and Zhou Xuheng hired separate pleasure boats.
• Zhou Jingmi met Pei Mu and asked Zhou Xuheng for permission to go out with him, and Zhou Xuheng agreed.
• Lu Jingsi led Su Luoqian onto his boat instead of letting her join Qin Shuning and Zhou Xuheng.
• Su Luoqian offered Lu Jingsi her green plum wine, and their awkward recollection of sharing wine stirred his thoughts as he drank.
• Lu Jingsi remembered that he had investigated Su Luoqian before asking the Emperor to grant their marriage.

Lu Jingsi and Su Luoqian spoke about her family and Su Youqing, and his growing desire for her soon overcame their conversation. Their intimate moment on the boat was interrupted when Chengying arrived with an important report.

• Su Luoqian told Lu Jingsi she wanted to visit her parents at the Su residence for the festival, and he offered to accompany her.
• Lu Jingsi asked Su Luoqian what she thought of Su Youqing, and she called him too timid and unfit for official life.
• Lu Jingsi teased Su Luoqian about their intimacy, making her blush and scold him for shamelessness.
• Lu Jingsi pulled Su Luoqian onto his lap and kissed her earlobe as they sat alone in the boat cabin.
• Chengying called for Lu Jingsi, who stopped and went outside to hear the important report.

Lu Jingsi left the Qiqiao Festival to handle Xu Bin’s death, while Su Luoqian stayed on the lake with Zelan and later welcomed Zhou Jingmi back from the festivities. The chapter ended with Lu Jingsi returning to find Su Luoqian and Zhou Jingmi asleep together on the daybed.

• Chengying told Lu Jingsi that Xu Bin had been killed by Qi Wenxuan at the Pavilion of Fragrant Flowers, and Lu Jingsi ordered the case sent to the Capital Prefecture.
• Lu Jingsi arranged for Zelan to attend Su Luoqian and left to deal with the case.
• Su Luoqian and Zelan shared wine and reminisced about their childhood at the Su residence.
• Pei Mu brought Zhou Jingmi back with a flower lantern and a painted clay figurine, then reminded her not to be late to Grand Tutor Yan’s class.
• Zhou Jingmi asked Su Luoqian for wine and lamented that Pei Mu would soon return to the border; Su Luoqian comforted her.
• Lu Jingsi returned and found Su Luoqian and Zhou Jingmi asleep together on the daybed.

Lu Jingsi returned to the pleasure boat after taking Zhou Jingmi to the crown prince and kissed the sleeping Su Luoqian, but she woke and accused him of visiting courtesans. He explained that he had gone to investigate a murder at the Pavilion of Fragrant Flowers, and after she realized her mistake, he remained angry and kissed her fiercely.

• Zhou Xuheng collected the sleeping Zhou Jingmi from Lu Jingsi and carried her back to the palace.
• Lu Jingsi returned to the cabin, removed Su Luoqian's hair ornaments, and kissed her while she slept.
• Su Luoqian woke, smelled perfume on Lu Jingsi's sleeve, and accused him of embracing brothel courtesans.
• Lu Jingsi explained that he had investigated a murder at the Pavilion of Fragrant Flowers and denied meeting courtesans.
• Su Luoqian realized she had misunderstood, apologized, and tried to appease him with a kiss.
• Lu Jingsi kissed Su Luoqian fiercely and pinned her hands above her head as she struggled on the beauty couch.

Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi spent the night together on a pleasure boat during the fireworks, then Lu Jingsi carried her back to the prince’s residence. Su Luoqian slept until early afternoon, woke to eat a little, and went back to sleep.

• Lu Jingsi told Su Luoqian that the little princess had already been sent back and kept her aboard the pleasure boat to watch the fireworks.
• As fireworks lit Bright Moon Lake, Lu Jingsi and Su Luoqian stayed together on the boat through the night.
• At dawn, Lu Jingsi dressed the sleeping Su Luoqian, carried her to the carriage, and told Chengying to have someone purchase the pleasure boat.
• Su Luoqian slept until early afternoon while Zelan checked on her, then drank lotus seed soup and went back to sleep.