Recaps

Gu Wanning continued preparing for independence through corn cultivation while Xu Weibei struggled with her wish to leave him. After Meng He abducted her to negotiate with Xu Weibei, she was rescued and returned home, where Xu Weibei began preparing for a threat from the Qiang State.

• Gu Wanning showed Gu Yuanshi her corn and explained that she hoped its success would help her gain the emperor’s approval for a mutual divorce, while Xu Weibei overheard her plans.
• Xu Weibei tried to make Gu Wanning spend her savings by asking Third Concubine to request money for Old Madam Gu’s medicine, but Gu Wanning continued working on a corn-growing booklet and tending to the household.
• At Yuhong Temple, an edict from the Empress accused Gu Wanning of extravagance, and impostors posing as Imperial Guards took her away.
• Meng He revealed that he had abducted Gu Wanning to negotiate with Xu Weibei, demanding grain in exchange for peace and territory as a buffer for the Qiang State.
• Xu Weibei arrived with cavalry as Meng He held Gu Wanning at knifepoint, and Gu Yuanshi and Gu Anqi also came to the scene.
• Gu Wanning ducked as Xu Weibei kicked Meng He down, and the guards subdued the attackers before Xu Weibei sent Meng He to the emperor.
• Back at the residence, Gu Wanning reunited with the concubines and told Xu Weibei she still intended to divorce him, while he ordered Gao Lan to make sure she received no money.
• Xu Weibei warned Gu Wanning about the Qiang State’s queen and shared a secret plan, while Gu Wanning harvested and secured the ripe corn before Third Concubine asked for her pulse to be checked.

Gu Wanning navigated the Grand Princess’s schemes, protected Third Concubine, and grew closer to Xu Weibei while helping manage the household and its affairs. After a disastrous birth and a frost-damaged harvest, she brought Shitou back to the residence, where Gu Yuanshi hurried to meet them.

• Gu Wanning learned that the Grand Princess had spread rumors about her chastity, while Xu Weibei confronted his grandmother and promised to stop the gossip.
• Gu Wanning visited Princess Qingyi, then returned to find Xu Weibei interrogating the concubines over a missing item and stopped Third Concubine from falsely confessing to its theft.
• Gu Wanning discovered Third Concubine’s intimate items in a locked box, comforted her, and invented an excuse that let Xu Weibei drop the matter.
• Xu Weibei explained that the supposed loss of the Tiger Tally was part of his scheme, then accompanied Gu Wanning and the concubines on an outing where he burned his arm shielding her from spilled tea.
• After Linglong fell into the water and later gave birth to a daughter, Xu Weibei told Gu Wanning that the Grand Princess had ordered the midwife to kill the baby if it was a boy.
• Gu Wanning and Xu Weibei inspected the frost-damaged corn and harvested an average of more than 1,500 jin per mu, while Gu Wanning planned how to store and use the crop.
• Gu Wanning met Shitou at the Estate, learned that he still hoped his parents would return, and persuaded Xu Weibei to let her bring the boy to the residence.
• Gu Wanning revealed that Zhi Nu had been murdered by his kidnappers, welcomed Shitou into her care, and met Gu Yuanshi as he hurried to see her.

Gu Wanning secured her divorce from Xu Weibei and returned to her family, where Shitou was recognized as the missing Zhi Nu. As she began a new life, she helped Gu Wanqing confront her grief and welcomed visits from people at the Marquis’s Residence.

• Gu Wanning learned that the emperor would let her decide whether to remain married, then asked him to grant her a divorce despite Xu Weibei’s objections.
• Gu Wanning returned to the Marquis’s Residence to collect her belongings, saw Xu Weibei’s birthday display of ice flowers, and left with Er Ya and Shitou.
• Wei Shi recognized Shitou as the missing Zhi Nu, and Gu Wanning moved him into the Gu family while Gu Anqi began reviewing the old case records.
• The Gu family held a banquet to welcome Zhi Nu, while Xu Weibei gave up trying to stop Gu Wanning’s departure and arranged for her to receive the money from Baoji’s sales.
• Gu Wanning reunited with Gu Wanqing at the banquet and later rejected Wei Shi’s suggestion that Zhi Nu be adopted into her line.
• Gu Wanning comforted Gu Wanqing over her miscarriage, returned her two hundred taels, warned her about possible plots, and revealed she knew Gu Wanqing was not their parents’ biological daughter.
• Fourth Concubine visited Gu Wanning with stolen garlic, and Zhou Yaya later brought her food before sneaking back into the Marquis’s Residence, where Xu Weibei spotted her surrounded by dogs.

Gu Wanning stayed determined not to marry Xu Weibei, while building a new life through land purchases and sugar-making. Xu Weibei tried to win her back and manage the people around him, but Linglong's request for help left Gu Wanning unmoved.

• Gu Wanning told Er Ya that she wanted Xu Weibei exclusively but would not ask him to send away the women who depended on his household, and she still refused to marry him.
• Xu Weibei resolved to address Gu Wanning's concerns, but at the temple fair he grew jealous when she spoke with Fang Tingxiu, whose past love for the Xu family's daughter came to light.
• Gu Wanning bought a tract of land, hired Xu Qiaoqiao to teach her sugar-making, and enlisted her household to press sugarcane while Xu Weibei helped with the work.
• Gu Wanning made white sugar using yellow-clay water, planned to sell the recipe to Baoji, and began drawing plans for a water-powered mill.
• Xu Weibei refused the Grand Princess's marriage plans and rejected Linglong's request to enter his household, then ordered Gao Lan to warn her against betraying his trust again.
• Xu Weibei arranged for men to gather river snails for Gu Wanning, and he ate her river-snail rice noodles despite disliking them.
• Xu Weibei tried to approach Gu Anwei after court, hoping to improve his chances of bringing Gu Wanning back sooner.
• Linglong asked Gu Wanning to persuade Xu Weibei to give A Yi proper status, but Gu Wanning refused and ordered her to leave.