Recaps

An Yingying confronted Gu Qingshi about his neglect and his plan to take Bai Lian as a concubine, then asked to end their marriage. Meanwhile, Si Yunqi told Yan Wanning that a Western Rong princess would soon arrive for a marriage alliance and that they would return to the Capital after the start of spring.

• An Yingying told Gu Qingshi that their marriage had made her feel lonely and awkward, and that she had suffered under his grandmother’s treatment.
• Gu Qingshi apologized and promised not to take Bai Lian as a concubine, but An Yingying asked to part by mutual agreement.
• Gu Qingshi, unwilling to lose An Yingying, asked whether they could try again.
• Yan Wanning worried that Gu Qingshi might hit An Yingying, and Si Yunqi assured her that he would not.
• Si Yunqi told Yan Wanning that an envoy would bring a Western Rong princess to Ningguan City for a marriage alliance, and asked her to stay in the residence while he was busy.
• Si Yunqi offered to take Yan Wanning back to the Capital for the emperor’s birthday after the start of spring, and she wondered whether they would spend the New Year there and whether Grandmother would join them.

Si Yunqi hosted the Western Rong envoys and rejected Tamu’er’s attempted gift of a seductive dancer, declaring his devotion to Yan Wanning. After the banquet, Yan Wanning waited awake at the residence, embroidering a white robe.

• Yan Wanning felt sad that she and Si Yunqi would leave the old dowager princess alone for the New Year, and Si Yunqi promised they would return after the emperor’s birthday.
• The Western Rong envoys arrived, led by the fifth prince, Tamu’er, who was escorting his sister to Zhaoyuan for a marriage alliance.
• Si Yunqi received Tamu’er and the envoys at a banquet in the Fragrant Fullness Tower.
• Tamu’er presented Jiaoniang as a gift, but Si Yunqi refused her and said he already had a beloved wife.
• After the banquet, Yan Wanning returned to Anyuan Courtyard and embroidered a white robe while unable to sleep.

Yan Wanning mistook the scent of women’s powder on Si Yunqi for proof that he had held another woman and feared he planned to take a concubine. Si Yunqi explained that the scent came from dancers at a banquet and reassured her that he wanted no other woman, leaving them reconciled.

• Si Yunqi returned to Anyuan Courtyard and found Yan Wanning hiding something, but she pushed him away and wept.
• Yan Wanning accused Si Yunqi of smelling of another woman’s powder and asked whether he intended to take a concubine.
• Si Yunqi denied having another woman or wanting a concubine, explaining that dancers at a banquet had left the scent on him.
• Si Yunqi comforted Yan Wanning and told her he was happy she had cried out of jealousy.
• Yan Wanning smiled, nestled against Si Yunqi, and told him she liked him.

Yan Wanning and Si Yunqi reconciled and spent the night together, while Liyue persuaded Qin Shaoheng to accept her despite his fears about his disability. The next morning, Yan Wanning woke to find Si Yunqi still beside her, and he gently stopped her from teasing him.

• Si Yunqi and Yan Wanning shared an intimate reconciliation, and Xiao He and Yun Yin kept watch outside their room.
• Liyue teased Qin Shaoheng and insisted she would not regret being with him, despite his warning that others would mock her.
• Qin Shaoheng gave in to Liyue's advances, and they embraced.
• Yan Wanning woke late the next morning beside Si Yunqi, who caught her hand as she touched his neck and told her not to tease him.

Gu Qingshi missed the Western Rong envoys’ farewell to stay with his wife, but returned home to find An Yingying being mistreated by Old Madam Gu. Madam Gu intervened to protect Yingying, while Old Madam Gu insisted on forcing Gu Qingshi to take Bai Lian as an equal wife.

• Mu Ta'er asked after Prince Anbei, and Gu Qingshi told him the prince could not attend the envoys’ farewell because of an urgent matter.
• Mu Ta'er left for the Capital, saying he would seek Prince Anbei’s guidance there, and Gu Qingshi promised to pass on the message.
• Gu Qingshi stopped at a jewelry shop on his way home, then learned from Xue'er that Nanny Fang had taken An Yingying by force to Old Madam Gu’s courtyard.
• Old Madam Gu announced she would make Gu Qingshi take Bai Lian as an equal wife, while An Yingying knelt weakly before them.
• Madam Gu had Furong help An Yingying into a chair and declared she would take her away, ignoring Old Madam Gu’s protests.

Gu Qingshi refused Old Madam Gu’s demand that he take Bai Lian as an equal wife, while Madam Gu had Bai Lian escorted out. An Yingying fainted and was found to be pregnant, leaving Gu Qingshi and Old Madam Gu shaken as he vowed to protect Yingying and threatened to establish a separate household.

• Old Madam Gu demanded that Gu Qingshi take Bai Lian as an equal wife, but he refused and declared he would marry no one else.
• Madam Gu argued that making Bai Lian an equal wife would not repay the Gu family’s debt fairly, and ordered the servants to escort Bai Lian out.
• An Yingying fainted in Gu Qingshi’s arms, and Xue’er discovered that she was bleeding.
• The residence physician saved An Yingying’s pregnancy and revealed she was a little over a month pregnant, advising the family to give her medicine and help her regain her strength.
• Gu Qingshi blamed himself for An Yingying’s suffering and warned Old Madam Gu that he would take Yingying away and establish a separate household if she continued to make things difficult for her.

Si Yunqi explained how Qin Shaoheng’s war injuries left him unable to walk and why he had avoided marrying Liyue, while Yan Wanning planned to see An Yingying and Liyue at Old Madam Gu’s birthday celebration. The chapter ended with Qin Shaoheng’s lonely life after physicians failed to heal his legs.

• Old Madam Gu promised not to interfere in An Yingying’s affairs, and Madam Gu scolded Gu Qingshi for failing to protect his pregnant wife.
• Yan Wanning worried about An Yingying, and Si Yunqi told her she could see her at Old Madam Gu’s birthday celebration in three days.
• Yan Wanning asked about Liyue and Qin Shaoheng, and Si Yunqi explained that they loved each other but had not married since Qin Shaoheng’s injury.
• Si Yunqi recalled how Western Rong poisoned Qin Shaoheng’s knees in battle and an avalanche buried him beneath the snow.
• Liyue dug Qin Shaoheng out, but physicians could only save his life, leaving him unable to walk and isolated at the Qin residence.

Yan Wanning and Si Yunqi attended Old Madam Gu’s sixtieth birthday banquet, where Yan Wanning reunited with An Yingying and learned that Bai Lian had been betrothed to the Sun Family. The chapter left Yan Wanning preparing to tell An Yingying that she and Si Yunqi would soon return to the capital.

• Yan Wanning comforted Si Yunqi after learning that he had grown up as an orphan and promised that they would both live well.
• Three days later, Yan Wanning and Si Yunqi attended Old Madam Gu’s birthday banquet and split up for the separate men’s and women’s gatherings.
• Xue’er led Yan Wanning to Qinghe Court, where she found An Yingying pale and resting in bed with a chill.
• Yan Wanning learned that Bai Lian had been betrothed to the Sun Family and said the match could let An Yingying live in peace.
• Yan Wanning told An Yingying that she and Si Yunqi would soon return to the capital.

Yan Wanning attended a banquet at the Gu Residence, where she met Madam Gu and saw Liyue before getting drunk. On the carriage home, she clung to Si Yunqi and kissed him while Yun Yin and Xiao He shared a shy moment driving and riding along.

• Yan Wanning told An Yingying she did not know when she would return and left for the banquet at the Gu Residence.
• Madam Gu greeted Yan Wanning and quietly reflected that A Yuan could rest easy after seeing her.
• Yan Wanning saw Liyue at the banquet but became drunk, and Si Yunqi carried her to the carriage.
• Yan Wanning accused Si Yunqi of being bad, bit his Adam's apple, and asked him to kiss her as he kissed and fondled her in the carriage.
• Xiao He gave Yun Yin cotton to block out the sounds, and Yun Yin wondered why his heart raced whenever he spoke with her.

Si Yunqi and Yan Wanning left for the Capital after bidding farewell to the Old Princess Dowager and their friends. On the road, Yan Wanning missed her grandmother, and Si Yunqi comforted her as she slept in his arms.

• The Old Princess Dowager tearfully bade farewell to Yan Wanning and urged Si Yunqi to protect her in the Capital; he promised he would.
• Si Yunqi and Yan Wanning set out, and the Old Princess Dowager watched their party leave before returning inside with Lüyun.
• At the city gate, Yan Wanning learned that An Yingying was three months pregnant and gave her an heirloom jade bracelet for the child.
• After leaving the city, Yan Wanning had no appetite because she missed the Old Princess Dowager and went to sleep in the carriage.
• Si Yunqi joined Yan Wanning on the daybed and held her as she murmured for him to hold her.

After discovering that Yan Wanning was pregnant, Si Yunqi took extra care of her during their journey to Yucheng. He promised to take her to the city’s Lantern Festival night market, where the couple joined the crowds.

• Si Yunqi summoned a physician when Yan Wanning’s nausea and exhaustion worsened, and the physician confirmed she was more than a month pregnant.
• The physician said Yan Wanning and the baby were well but advised medicine to stabilize the pregnancy, which they would obtain after reaching Yucheng.
• Yan Wanning worried that Si Yunqi did not want her to be pregnant, but he reassured her and coaxed her into eating.
• After arriving at an inn in Yucheng, Yan Wanning agreed to take her medicine and eat properly so Si Yunqi would take her out that night.
• Si Yunqi took Yan Wanning to Yucheng’s Lantern Festival night market, where crowds of young men and women exchanged lanterns to show their feelings.

Yan Wanning and Si Yunqi explored Yucheng’s night market, winning riddle lanterns and watching an acrobatic performance together. The chapter ended as someone shouted for the crowd to make way.

• Yan Wanning and Si Yunqi walked through the night market together, drawing attention as they browsed the stalls.
• Yan Wanning solved a snake riddle and won a rabbit lantern, then solved a chicken riddle and won a horse lantern for Si Yunqi.
• Yan Wanning persuaded Si Yunqi to take her to a crowd gathered around an acrobatic performance, and he lifted her so she could see.
• Yan Wanning and Si Yunqi watched a performer smash a stone on a man’s chest; Si Yunqi donated silver and set Yan Wanning down.
• Someone shouted for the crowd to make way as Yan Wanning and Si Yunqi prepared to leave.

After Si Yunqi rescued Yan Wanning from a runaway carriage, the couple returned to the Capital, where Si Yunqi met with Emperor Jingyuan. Yan Wanning rested at the Prince of Anbei's residence and took her pregnancy medicine as the household was prepared for their arrival.

• Si Yunqi pulled Yan Wanning away from a runaway carriage, then controlled the horse and saved a child beneath its hooves.
• Si Yunqi carried the shaken Yan Wanning back, and they left Yucheng for the Capital after three days.
• Si Yunqi escorted Yan Wanning to the Prince of Anbei's residence, then went to the palace to meet Emperor Jingyuan.
• Emperor Jingyuan asked about Yan Wanning and praised Si Yunqi for promising not to let her down.
• Emperor Jingyuan and Si Yunqi discussed candidates for the Western Rong marriage alliance, and Si Yunqi agreed with the emperor's plan to choose an imperial clansman or a minister's legitimate son.
• Yan Wanning drank her pregnancy medicine and ate a sour plum while Xiao He arranged for the residence to be tidied.

Nanny Cheng handed Yan Wanning the keys to the prince's residence and reported on its affairs, then Si Yunqi received a letter from the Duke Yan Household. Yan Wanning decided to retrieve her late parents' belongings, and she and Si Yunqi arrived at the duke's residence, where Second Uncle greeted them uneasily.

• Nanny Cheng gave Yan Wanning the storeroom keys and began reporting on the residence, but Yan Wanning fell asleep before she finished.
• Xiao He brought Si Yunqi a letter from the Duke Yan Household, and he later gave it to Yan Wanning.
• Yan Wanning read the invitation from her relatives, dismissed their supposed longing, and asked Si Yunqi to accompany her to retrieve her parents' belongings.
• Si Yunqi agreed, and the next morning he took Yan Wanning by carriage to the Duke Yan Household.
• Duke Yan recognized the couple, sent a servant to alert the madam, and greeted Si Yunqi and Yan Wanning with a bow.

Yan Wanning returned to the Duke Yan Household with Si Yunqi to reclaim the dowry and belongings her parents had entrusted to her uncle and aunt. Duke Yan and Chen Shi admitted they remembered the entrusted property, but were alarmed because they had already spent most of it.

• Duke Yan welcomed Si Yunqi and Yan Wanning into the household, where Chen Shi and Yan Wanwen encountered them.
• Yan Wanwen tried to attract Si Yunqi’s attention, but he ignored her, and Xiao He rebuked Chen Shi and Yan Wanwen for slighting Yan Wanning.
• Si Yunqi said he had brought Yan Wanning for her customary return visit and to retrieve the things her parents had left behind.
• Yan Wanning showed Chen Shi the booklet recording the entrusted property and asked for everything to be returned that day.
• Duke Yan and Chen Shi grew anxious because the household had spent most of Yan Wanning’s inheritance, while Chen Shi had also kept some for Yan Wanwen’s dowry.

Yan Wanning demanded the return of the belongings her parents had left her, and an inspection revealed that Duke Yan and Chen Shi had taken most of them. Si Yunqi confronted the couple and ordered them to return everything on the inventory within three days as he led Yan Wanning away.

• Yan Wanning insisted that Duke Yan and Chen Shi return her parents' belongings, and Si Yunqi threatened to search their household or involve Yingtian Prefecture.
• Duke Yan pressured Chen Shi to produce the belongings and replace anything missing, and Chen Shi brought out more than a dozen chests.
• Yan Wanning had Xiao He check the chests against the inventory, and Xiao He found that less than half the listed items were there.
• Si Yunqi accused Duke Yan and Chen Shi of embezzlement, struck Duke Yan with a teacup, and rejected their claim that they had been wronged.
• Yan Wanwen defended her parents, but Yan Wanning argued that they had already been compensated for raising her and confronted them over their conduct.
• Si Yunqi protected Yan Wanning as they left and ordered Duke Yan and Chen Shi to produce everything on the inventory within three days.

After reclaiming the chests from Duke Yan’s residence, Yan Wanning shared memories of her late parents with Si Yunqi, who comforted her and reassured her about their child. They planned to tell the Old Princess Dowager about the pregnancy after three months and agreed to visit the palace; the chapter ended on a snowy morning as Yan Wanning prepared to leave.

• Duke Yan and Chen Shi worried that they would have to repay the missing belongings in silver.
• Si Yunqi comforted Yan Wanning when she cried and recalled losing her parents and being neglected by her uncle’s family.
• Si Yunqi reassured Yan Wanning about their unborn child, and they agreed to tell the Old Princess Dowager once she was three months pregnant.
• Si Yunqi suggested that he and Yan Wanning visit the emperor and empress, and she agreed despite feeling nervous about the palace.
• Snow covered the capital the next morning, and Xiao He helped Yan Wanning dress before the palace visit.

Yan Wanning entered the palace with Si Yunqi to pay respects to the empress, while he was summoned by the emperor and left her to meet the imperial women. The empress welcomed Yan Wanning, whose first audience was interrupted by barbed remarks from Consort Qiao and Noble Consort Hu.

• Si Yunqi bundled Yan Wanning against the cold and accompanied her by carriage to the palace.
• After the emperor summoned Si Yunqi, he delayed going and escorted Yan Wanning to Perching Phoenix Palace before leaving her there.
• Yan Wanning formally paid her respects to the empress, while Consort Qiao made a suggestive remark about her marriage to Si Yunqi.
• The empress rebuked Consort Qiao, and Yan Wanning greeted Consort Qiao and Noble Consort Hu before taking a seat.
• The empress praised Yan Wanning's appearance and said she and Si Yunqi made a good match.

Yan Wanning joined the emperor, empress, and crown prince for lunch, where Si Yunqi doted on her in front of the royal family. Later, Duke Yan and Chen Shi brought the remaining valuables and silver to the Prince of Anbei's residence, and Yan Wanning accepted the payment while warning them not to offend her again.

• The emperor arrived with Ye Muchen and Si Yunqi, and the emperor and empress invited everyone to lunch after meeting Yan Wanning.
• Noble Consort Hu left, and Consort Qiao hurried away to prepare tea and refreshments for the emperor.
• Si Yunqi served Yan Wanning fish, pork knuckle, ribs, and soup, astonishing the emperor and empress with his attentiveness.
• The empress pressed Ye Muchen about finding a crown princess, and he promised to marry one by the time Si Yunqi had a child.
• Duke Yan and Chen Shi delivered the valuables they had gathered, and Xiao He reported that more than ten items were missing.
• Duke Yan offered silver to cover the missing items, and Yan Wanning accepted it after warning the couple not to displease her again.

Yan Wanning gave Si Yunqi a moon-white robe she had embroidered herself, and he left for the New Year’s Eve palace banquet delighted with her gift. At the palace, he proudly told Ye Muchen that Yan Wanning had made it for him.

• As New Year’s Eve approached, Yan Wanning approved the residence’s holiday purchases and chose a peach-pink outfit for the palace banquet.
• Yan Wanning gave Si Yunqi a moon-white robe she had spent two or three months making, with gold embroidery and her name stitched over his chest.
• Si Yunqi thanked Yan Wanning, promised to think of her throughout the day, and left for the palace after she saw him off.
• Ye Muchen noticed Si Yunqi repeatedly touching his robe and smiling, then asked whether something happy had happened.
• Si Yunqi proudly told Ye Muchen that Yan Wanning had secretly made the robe for him.

On New Year’s Eve, Yan Wanning tried to cook soup for Si Yunqi but pricked her hand and had to leave the kitchen. After Si Yunqi returned, the couple shared dinner and spent the night together, with him promising to take her to see the fireworks.

• Si Yunqi teased Ye Muchen about his loving marriage, and the emperor scolded him for showing off.
• Yan Wanning insisted on making chicken-and-mushroom soup for Si Yunqi, but Xiao He kept her away from the cleaver and she pricked her hand while tending the fire.
• Xiao He persuaded Yan Wanning to leave the kitchen, and Yan Wanning decided she would make clothes instead.
• On New Year’s Eve, Yan Wanning waited at home for Si Yunqi and worried about the Old Princess Dowager.
• Si Yunqi returned late, comforted Yan Wanning, and joined her for New Year’s Eve dinner.
• Yan Wanning wanted to stay up for the New Year and watch the fireworks, and Si Yunqi promised to take her to see them before drawing her into an intimate embrace.

On New Year's Eve, Si Yunqi delighted Yan Wanning with fireworks spelling her name and an ice-blue jade hairpin. The next day, they visited the Duke Yan Household, where Yan Wanning noticed signs that Yan Wanwen might be pregnant before marriage and followed Chen Shi to retrieve a wedding dress allegedly made by her late mother.

• Si Yunqi carried Yan Wanning to watch fireworks and gave her an ice-blue jade hairpin, which he placed in her hair.
• Yan Wanning and Si Yunqi visited the Duke Yan Household to exchange New Year's greetings and share a meal with the family.
• Yan Wanwen vomited during the meal, and Yan Wanning saw her shield her belly and suspected she was pregnant.
• Duke Yan invited Yan Wanning to stay, and Chen Shi claimed Yan Wanning's late mother had left something for her.
• Yan Wanning asked Si Yunqi to wait at Clear Autumn Pavilion and followed Chen Shi, who said the item was a wedding dress her mother had made.

Yan Wanning discovered Chen Shi had used her mother's wedding dress as bait while Chen Shi and Yan Wanwen drugged Si Yunqi and tried to seduce him. Yan Wanning ordered Chen Shi and Yan Wanwen punished, then asked Yun Yin where Si Yunqi was.

• Yan Wanning challenged Chen Shi's claim that she had only just remembered her mother's wedding dress, but she did not believe her.
• Si Yunqi realized he had been drugged and ordered Yun Yin to bring water while he suppressed the drug with his internal energy.
• Yan Wanwen entered Si Yunqi's room and tried to seduce him, but Yun Yin kicked her away and threw her unconscious into the courtyard.
• Yan Wanning and Chen Shi arrived, and Yun Yin explained that Yan Wanwen had tried to seduce Si Yunqi and that Duke Yan's wife had drugged him.
• Yan Wanning ordered Chen Shi and Yan Wanwen to each receive fifty strokes of the board, warned others not to intervene, and asked Yun Yin where Si Yunqi was.

Yan Wanning and Si Yunqi left the Duke's Household after his drugging ordeal, then learned Yan Wanwen was two months pregnant and suspected the Duke's family had tried to make Si Yunqi the child's father. Back at the Prince's Residence, Si Yunqi reassured his pregnant wife and gave her two red envelopes, one for their unborn child.

• Yan Wanning found Si Yunqi fighting the effects of a drug in the Bathing Room, but he refused her offer to help and asked her to wait outside.
• A physician treated Si Yunqi, and after he recovered, he and Yan Wanning returned to the Prince's Residence.
• Yun Yin reported that Yan Wanwen was two months pregnant and had begun bleeding when the Duke's Household was about to punish her.
• Yan Wanning concluded that Yan Wanwen's family had tried to drug Si Yunqi so they could claim her child as his and force him to take her as a concubine.
• Si Yunqi reassured Yan Wanning that he only loved her and gave her two red envelopes, saying one was for their unborn child.

Yan Wanning attended the emperor’s birthday celebrations with Si Yunqi, met the empress’s youngest son, Ye Muqi, and joined the palace banquet. The chapter ended with Si Yunqi quietly holding Yan Wanning’s hand beneath the table as Chancellor Lu noticed and toasted him.

• Yan Wanning entered the palace with Si Yunqi and joined the empress at Perching Phoenix Palace.
• Yan Wanning shared rabbit-shaped cakes with the empress’s youngest son, Ye Muqi, and learned he was her brother-in-law.
• Si Yunqi took Yan Wanning to the emperor’s birthday banquet, where the emperor, empress, and crown prince arrived and the festivities began.
• Yan Wanning smiled at Si Yunqi, who wrapped her cloak tighter and held her hand beneath the table.
• Chancellor Lu noticed Si Yunqi holding Yan Wanning’s hand and raised his cup to him.