Chapter Summaries

After learning that Lin Yunwan had been mistreated at Ci'en Temple, Qi Lingheng enlisted her maternal uncle, Zhao Jingyi, to confront Lin Huabin. Zhao Jingyi went to warn Lin Huabin, who had just heard Zheng Shi's version of the dispute.

• A Fu told Qi Lingheng that Lin Yunjiao had berated Lin Yunwan at Ci'en Temple and that Zheng Shi had left Lin Yunwan behind.
• Qi Lingheng went to Zhao Jingyi and explained how Lin Huabin's family had treated Lin Yunwan.
• Qi Lingheng persuaded Zhao Jingyi that Lin Huabin's behavior insulted Zhao Jingyi's reputation, prompting Zhao Jingyi to go warn him.
• Zheng Shi told Lin Huabin that Lin Yunwan had refused to give way to Lin Yunjiao, and Lin Huabin initially dismissed the quarrel as unimportant.
• A servant announced Zhao Jingyi's arrival, and Lin Huabin hurried to receive him.

Zhao Jingyi scolded Lin Huabin for the Lin family’s treatment of Yun Wan at Ci'en Temple, prompting Lin Huabin to question Zheng Shi about what happened. After Zheng Shi explained herself, Lin Huabin remained uneasy and summoned Nanny Zhao to hear her account.

• Lin Huabin welcomed Zhao Jingyi, who angrily accused him of treating their friendship lightly and mistreating Yun Wan.
• Zhao Jingyi said Zheng Shi had caused trouble with the Lin daughters at Ci'en Temple and warned Lin Huabin to prevent a repeat.
• Lin Huabin asked Zheng Shi what had happened at Ci'en Temple and said the incident had damaged his chance to ask Zhao Jingyi about the Prince.
• Zheng Shi said Yun Wan’s past and the gossip at the temple had led to the commotion, then explained that she had sent everyone away and brought her daughters home.
• Lin Huabin comforted Zheng Shi and said he would ask Zhao Jingyi again about the Prince, while Zheng Shi wondered about the prince's residence’s plans for a marriage.
• After reflecting on Zheng Shi’s account, Lin Huabin summoned Nanny Zhao to hear her version of what happened.

Lin Huabin learned that Zheng Shi had treated Lin Yunwan unfairly in public, but his attempt to persuade Zheng Shi to support her led to another quarrel. Lin Yunwan continued lessons with Lin Yunjiao, who bragged about being taken to meet Prince Huan, and the chapter ended with Qi Ling finding a maid Zheng Shi had driven away years earlier.

• Nanny Zhao told Lin Huabin what had happened at Ci'en Temple and said Zheng Shi should not have rebuked Lin Yunwan in public.
• Lin Huabin tried to win Zheng Shi over with the promise of Purple Pearls, but she accused him of only doing it for Lin Yunwan and they quarreled before making up.
• Lin Yunjiao taunted Lin Yunwan before lessons, and Lin Yunwan answered with a cutting remark about death.
• After lessons, Lin Yunjiao boasted that Madam had taken her to meet Prince Huan, but Lin Yunwan asked whether she had actually met him and left.
• Lin Yunwan told Xiruo that the Old Madam likely disapproved of Zheng Shi, and Qi Ling found the maid Zheng Shi had driven away years earlier.

Lin Yunwan went to the Jiangqian flower market to meet Lingxiang, the maid who had been sent away from Zheng Shi’s side. Lingxiang confessed that Zheng Shi had forced her to kick Lin Yunwan, confirming Lin Yunwan’s suspicion that Zheng Shi had deliberately tried to drive her away.

• Nanny Fan encouraged Lin Yunwan and Lin Yunjiao to visit the April flower market, and Lin Yunwan asked Xiruo to arrange a meeting with Lingxiang there.
• Xiruo delivered Lin Yunwan’s calligraphy to Qi Lingheng and told him where Lin Yunwan wanted to meet Lingxiang; he arranged for Xiruo to stay at a garden near the market.
• Lin Huabin gave Zheng Shi his calling card, allowing her and the two young ladies to enter the Zhao family’s private garden during the crowded flower market.
• After Lin Yunjiao went exploring with Zheng Shi, Xiruo led Lin Yunwan to the garden’s restricted courtyard, where Qi Lingheng directed her to Lingxiang.
• Lin Yunwan confronted Lingxiang about kicking her, and Lingxiang wept and confessed that Zheng Shi had forced her to do it.

Lin Yunwan questioned Lingxiang about the incident that led to Miss Lin being driven from the Lin family, and Lingxiang confessed that Zheng Shi had ordered her to kick the child and then framed her. Lingxiang revealed that she had hidden the prescription used to provoke bleeding in Bixi Hall, and Lin Yunwan promised to help her bring a complaint to the prefectural yamen.

• Lin Yunwan asked Lingxiang to recount what happened, and Lingxiang said Zheng Shi had promised to make her Lin Huabin's concubine in exchange for helping her.
• Lingxiang confessed that Zheng Shi ordered her to kick Miss Lin and accuse the child of running into Zheng Shi's pregnant belly.
• Lingxiang said Nanny Fan later gagged her and sold her to a human trafficker, after Zheng Shi had her confined and led her to expect a reward.
• Lingxiang revealed that she had obtained medicine to cause bleeding and hidden the physician's prescription beneath a wall in Bixi Hall.
• Lin Yunwan promised to find the prescription and help Lingxiang lodge a complaint at the prefectural yamen in exchange for testimony and evidence.

Lin Yunwan arranged for Lingxiang to accuse the Second Madam of the Lin Residence and uncovered an old prescription as evidence. When Lin Huabin tried to handle the complaint privately, Lin Yunwan planned to confront the Lin family during Old Madam Lin’s incense offering, while Qi Lingheng prepared to intensify the confrontation.

• Lin Yunwan told Qi Lingheng she would report Lingxiang’s case to the authorities, and he agreed to have A Fu assist her.
• Xiruo dug up the buried leather packet, and Lin Yunwan confirmed that the prescription inside supported Lingxiang’s account.
• Lingxiang submitted a written complaint at the Jiangqian Prefecture yamen but withheld the prescription, and the prefect sent word to Lin Huabin instead of pursuing the matter.
• Lin Huabin told his wife he would not settle accounts with her until after Old Madam Lin’s birthday and ordered that Lingxiang be found.
• Lin Yunwan arranged for Lingxiang to appear at Ci'en Temple during the Lin family’s incense offering and decided to bring her before Old Madam Lin.
• Qi Lingheng ordered A Fu to bring Old Madam Lin into the Main Buddha Hall during the offering.

Lin Yunwan received clothes and hairpins for the trip to Ci'en Temple, while Lin Huabin and Zheng Shi remained troubled by the missing maid Lingxiang. The Lin family arrived at the temple for the Old Madam’s birthday celebration, where the large gathering from both residences put pressure on Lin Huabin to face the situation.

• Lin Yunwan told Nanny Zhao to deliver the Eldest Miss’s gifts before the Second Miss’s, then finished flower drawings that Nanny Fan praised.
• Lin Yunjiao questioned Lin Yunwan about the flower market and later went to pay her respects to Zheng Shi, but Lin Yunwan warned her that Lin Huabin was upset.
• Lin Huabin and Zheng Shi argued over Lingxiang’s disappearance, and Lin Huabin ordered his aides to keep searching for her.
• Lin Huabin instructed guards to watch for Lingxiang and secure the Old Madam’s quarters at Ci'en Temple.
• Lin Yunwan arrived at Ci'en Temple and saw congee being distributed as the East Lin and West Lin families gathered in large numbers.

At Ci'en Temple, Lin Yunwan saw how rumors had made the West Lin household distance itself from her, while Lin Huabin and Zheng Shi tried to prevent Lingxiang from disrupting Old Madam Lin’s birthday rites. Lingxiang reached the Main Buddha Hall and appealed to Old Madam Lin for justice, leaving Lin Huabin and Zheng Shi aghast.

• The West Lin household’s mistress treated Lin Yunwan coolly after learning she was Lin Huabin’s daughter, while the other young ladies kept their distance from her.
• Lin Yunwan realized that Zheng Shi and Lin Yunjiao had let rumors about her spread, and she went toward the Main Buddha Hall with Xiruo.
• After learning Lingxiang had entered the temple, Zheng Shi urged Lin Huabin to bribe her and have her sent to the prefectural yamen; Lin Huabin ordered guards to seize and silence her.
• Lin Yunwan watched the guards search for Lingxiang and suggested that Lin Huabin and Zheng Shi had lost their chance to clear Lin Yunwan’s name.
• As Old Madam Lin prepared to offer the First Incense, Lingxiang rushed into the Main Buddha Hall, knelt before her, and begged her to see justice done.

Lingxiang interrupted Old Madam Lin’s birthday incense ceremony to expose Zheng Shi’s plot against Lin Yunwan. She presented an old prescription and testified that Zheng Shi had made her frame the four-year-old Lin Yunwan for causing her miscarriage.

• Lingxiang refused to leave until she could clear her name, but Old Madam Lin persuaded her to wait until the incense ceremony was over.
• Old Madam Lin finished the ceremony and invited the madams of both Lin residences to hear Lingxiang’s grievance.
• Nanny Fan recognized Lingxiang as Zheng Shi’s former dowry maid and feared that she would reveal what had happened years earlier.
• Lingxiang accused Zheng Shi of plotting to harm Lin Yunwan and produced a prescription for medicine that induced bleeding.
• Lingxiang testified that Zheng Shi had forced her to kick Lin Yunwan and then framed the child for Zheng Shi’s bleeding.

Lingxiang accused Zheng Shi of arranging the old plot that injured Lin Yunwan, but Zheng Shi blamed Lingxiang and denied responsibility. Old Madam Lin dismissed Lingxiang after hearing her out, acknowledged Lin Yunwan had been wronged, and turned her anger on Lin Huabin, leaving Zheng Shi kneeling as the others were sent out.

• Lingxiang revealed that Zheng Shi had ordered her to make Zheng Shi bleed and kick Lin Yunwan so the child would be sent away, but Zheng Shi accused Lingxiang of drugging her and plotting for favor.
• Lingxiang tried to run into a pillar, and the maidservants stopped her before she broke down in tears.
• Old Madam Lin said Lingxiang had been rightfully punished for kicking Lin Yunwan, but believed her remorse and ordered the Eldest Madam to give her silver and let her go.
• Old Madam Lin told Lin Yunwan that she had never harmed Zheng Shi and should not have been left in the countryside, while the Mistress of West Lin Residence affirmed her innocence.
• Lin Huabin protested Old Madam Lin's decision, and she rebuked him for failing as a father before the First Branch Madam sent everyone else outside.

Old Madam Lin confronted Lin Huabin over his treatment of Lin Yunwan and arranged to investigate Lingxiang’s case. When Lin Yunwan visited Lingxiang, Lingxiang revealed that Zheng Shi had allegedly orchestrated events to drive Lin Yunwan away and seize her late mother’s enormous dowry.

• Old Madam Lin warned Lin Huabin that his treatment of Lin Yunwan could damage his reputation, but he complained that she favored his brothers.
• Lin Huabin and Zheng Shi left, and Old Madam Lin coughed up blood before admitting she blamed herself for how her son had turned out.
• Old Madam Lin decided to investigate Lingxiang’s case so Zheng Shi could not cause further trouble for Lin Yunwan.
• Lin Yunwan met Lingxiang alone, and Lingxiang claimed Zheng Shi had drugged herself to drive Lin Yunwan away and gain access to her late mother’s dowry.

At Old Madam Lin’s birthday celebrations, Lin Yunwan’s reputation improved and she encouraged Dong Shuangshuang to help herself rather than intervene for her. After Lin Yunjiao confronted her, Yunwan suggested that Zheng Shi might have endangered Yunjiao before she was born, leaving Yunjiao rushing to confront her mother.

• Old Madam Lin warmly welcomed her family at the banquet and praised Lin Huabin, while Zheng Shi left after being snubbed.
• Lin Yunwan listened to guests speculate about Qi Lingheng’s absence, then met Dong Shuangshuang and urged her to find a way to help herself; Dong Shuangshuang offered to testify about Yunwan’s stepmother.
• After the birthday celebrations, Nanny Fan praised Lin Yunwan’s pattern tracing and said Old Madam Lin hoped she would make her a forehead band.
• Lin Yunjiao confronted Lin Yunwan, insisting that Yunwan could not take what belonged to her, and Yunwan told her to ask Zheng Shi whether she had drugged herself despite the danger to Yunjiao.
• Lin Yunjiao ran to Zheng Shi’s courtyard in tears, while Lin Yunwan returned to Bixi Hall to consider finding a suitable husband.

Old Madam Lin questioned the wet nurse and Taoist fortune-teller about the scheme that had harmed Lin Yunwan, exposing Zheng Shi’s role. Lin Huabin returned home and slapped Zheng Shi, while Lin Yunwan met her former wet nurse before the woman left the Lin residence.

• Old Madam Lin questioned the wet nurse, who said someone serving Madam had drugged her so she slept through Lin Yunwan’s injury.
• The Taoist fortune-teller confessed that Second Madam had paid her twenty taels to falsely claim Lin Yunwan was fated to bring calamity upon her parents.
• Old Madam Lin ordered the fortune-teller sent to the authorities, and Lin Huabin admitted he had been deceived and pleaded for Zheng Shi’s punishment to remain private.
• Old Madam Lin warned Lin Huabin to conduct himself properly, and he returned to his residence and slapped Zheng Shi.
• Lin Yunwan agreed to see the wet nurse, who praised her, kowtowed, and left; Xiruo escorted her out and asked about Lin Yunwan’s birth mother and dowry.

Lin Yunwan learned that Lingxiang had returned to her family and chose not to investigate further, then prepared to visit Ci'en Temple after receiving an invitation from Madam Dong. Zheng Shi tried to regain Lin Huabin’s favor by offering to arrange Lin Yunwan’s marriage, but he refused and warned her to stay out of it.

• Lin Yunwan asked Xiruo to check on Lingxiang, and the Eldest Madam let Lingxiang leave the Lin Residence with silver while secretly having her followed.
• Lingxiang returned to her hometown, reunited with her family, and chose to stay to care for her deaf father; after learning she met no one, Old Madam Lin ended the investigation.
• Lin Yunwan decided not to pursue Lingxiang and accepted Madam Dong’s invitation to meet at Ci'en Temple, arranging to go offer an Eternal Light Lamp for her late mother.
• Lin Huabin visited Zheng Shi, whose face was scarred from an accidental cut during their quarrel, and cautioned her against causing more trouble.
• Zheng Shi offered to arrange a good marriage for Lin Yunwan to restore their reputations, but Lin Huabin refused and ordered her to stay out of Lin Yunwan’s marriage.

Lin Yunwan went to Ci'en Temple hoping to meet Dong Shuangshuang, but learned that Dong was unable to come after being abused by her husband. Lin Yunwan decided Dong was still suited to help with an important task: finding Lin Yunwan a husband.

• Lin Yunwan stopped attending Nanny Fan's lessons and heard that Lin Yunjiao was still ill.
• Lin Yunwan visited Ci'en Temple to pray for her family and wait for Dong Shuangshuang, but Dong missed their appointment.
• Dong Shuangshuang's maid claimed the couple's daughter had choked, while hiding that Dong's husband had beaten her after gambling away money and risking their daughter's marriage as collateral.
• Lin Yunwan sent the maid home and reflected that Dong's husband needed to be stopped at the root, not merely beaten.
• Lin Yunwan told Xiruo that Dong was well suited to discreetly choose a husband for her.

Lin Yunwan decided to choose her own husband and rejected the idea of marrying Qi Lingheng, both to protect him and because the imperial family would not accept her past. After she encountered Xia Jin in Jiangqian, she stayed cautious about being recognized and sent word to Qi Lingheng that she was safe, while Xiruo urged him to understand how reluctant Lin Yunwan was to ask for help.

• Lin Yunwan told Xiruo she wanted a shrewd, responsible husband from a respectable family, but would not marry Qi Lingheng because doing so could harm him and invite the emperor and empress's wrath.
• Lin Yunwan and Xiruo left Ci'en Temple and encountered Xia Jin, who seemed to recognize Lin Yunwan; she decided he would not expose her because he had no proof.
• Back at Bixi Hall, Lin Yunwan waited for Shuangshuang and anticipated that Zheng Shi would try to arrange her marriage.
• Lin Yunwan wrote to Qi Lingheng and instructed Xiruo to report only that they were safe, refusing to ask him for help with Madam Dong's affairs.
• Xiruo told Qi Lingheng that Lin Yunwan repaid kindness but feared troubling others, and that he could not learn whether she was well merely by questioning her maid.

Lin Yunwan learned that Dong Shuangshuang was being abused by her gambling husband and feared for her daughter’s future, while Dong Shuangshuang’s booklet listed suitable Jiangqian families. The next day, Dong Shuangshuang returned in tears after discovering Lu Rong had taken her daughter to the creditor not to end the engagement, but to use the girl to bargain over his debt.

• Dong Shuangshuang showed Lin Yunwan her bruised face and explained that Lu Rong had wagered their daughter’s engagement, while claiming he would end it and handle his debt.
• Lin Yunwan questioned whether Dong Shuangshuang could trust a gambler and said she would need to act decisively to protect her daughter.
• Dong Shuangshuang left Lin Yunwan a booklet detailing prominent Jiangqian families and eligible young men.
• The next day, Dong Shuangshuang arrived with her daughter and told Lin Yunwan that Lu Rong had lied about breaking off the engagement.
• Dong Shuangshuang recounted how Lu Rong demanded that the creditor accept repayment of only the original three thousand taels after revealing the creditor’s son was disabled.
• The creditor agreed to accept the original loan, but Lu Rong refused, having brought his daughter to the creditor to bargain over his gambling debt.

Lu Rong traded his daughter’s future for gambling money, prompting Dong Shuangshuang to seek Lin Yunwan’s help. Lin Yunwan planned to use one of Lu Rong’s ruthless creditors against him while preparing for Zheng Shi’s attempt to arrange a match for her.

• Lu Rong demanded another two thousand taels from his creditor and signed a marriage contract promising his daughter to the creditor’s simple-minded son, then took the money to gamble.
• Dong Shuangshuang brought her frightened daughter to Lin Yunwan and admitted she had decided to act against Lu Rong; Lin Yunwan asked about his creditors, especially the loan sharks.
• Lin Yunwan whispered a plan to Dong Shuangshuang, and Xiruo kept watch while Dong Shuangshuang left with her sleeping daughter.
• Xiruo learned that Zheng Shi’s relatives had visited the Lin Residence, and Lin Yunwan concluded Zheng Shi wanted to arrange a match for her.
• Lin Yunwan told Xiruo that Master had always approved the household’s major decisions and said she would make things unpleasant for Zheng Shi if Zheng Shi moved against her.

Zheng Shi proposed her eighteen-year-old xiucai nephew as a husband for Yun Wan, while Lin Huabin considered using the match to gauge Zhao Jingyi’s attitude. Lin Huabin agreed to ask Yun Wan first, but Zheng Shi secretly resolved to force her approval and arranged a banquet for the meeting.

• Zheng Shi told Lin Huabin that her young, unmarried xiucai nephew needed a match and praised his prospects of passing the juren examination.
• Zheng Shi suggested that the nephew marry Yun Wan, and Lin Huabin angrily reminded her that Yun Wan’s marriage was not her concern.
• Lin Huabin reconsidered the proposal as a possible way to test Zhao Jingyi’s attitude and said they should ask Yun Wan what she wanted.
• Zheng Shi told Nanny Fan that Yun Wan would have to agree and ordered a banquet where Yun Wan would meet the Zheng relatives.

Lin Yunwan learned that Zheng Shi had arranged a banquet to introduce her to a xiucai from her natal family, so she visited Lin Yunjiao before the gathering. While Lin Yunjiao caused a scene with Zheng Shi’s relatives, Lin Yunwan went with Old Madam Lin to Ci'en Temple, leaving the banquet in chaos.

• Nanny Fan told Lin Yunwan to wear Zheng Shi’s new clothes to welcome relatives, but Lin Yunwan questioned the arrangement and asked whether Lin Yunjiao would attend too.
• Lin Yunwan visited Lin Yunjiao and said something privately that left her silent for the rest of the evening.
• Zheng Shi grew anxious when her bangle cracked, then ordered Nanny Fan to prepare the banquet and hurry Lin Yunwan along.
• A maid told Zheng Shi that Lin Yunjiao had attacked Zheng Shi’s sister-in-law and other relatives with scissors, accusing them of wearing her clothes and sleeping in her bed.
• Zheng Shi rushed to the fight and demanded to know where Lin Yunwan was, while Lin Yunwan had already gone to Ci'en Temple with Old Madam Lin.
• Old Madam Lin praised Lin Yunwan’s talents and led her to sit in a cool place, as chaos continued at the Lin Residence.