Chapter Summaries

Gu Wanning told Er Ya that she wanted Xu Weibei to have no other women, but believed she had no right to demand it and feared disrupting the lives of his concubines. Xu Weibei overheard her confession, realized she cared for him, and welcomed her wish, while Gu Wanning remained reluctant to ask.

• Gu Wanning explained that she wanted to be the only woman by Xu Weibei’s side, with no concubines, maids, or mistresses.
• Er Ya said Gu Wanning’s wish was reasonable and suggested Xu Weibei might agree to it.
• Xu Weibei overheard them and realized Gu Wanning wanted him exclusively because she liked him.
• Gu Wanning said she would not ask Xu Weibei to send the other women away because they depended on the household and she did not want to disrupt their lives.
• Er Ya reassured Gu Wanning that the concubines could continue to live well if Gu Wanning looked after them.

Gu Wanning explained to Er Ya why she preferred to remain unmarried, citing the burdens of concubinage, family expectations, and the political conflict between Xu Weibei and her family. Xu Weibei heard her reasons but still believed they could be overcome, and returned to the Marquis's Residence nearly frozen after listening outside.

• Gu Wanning told Er Ya she did not want to share Xu Weibei with other women or bear the burdens expected of a noble wife.
• Gu Wanning said marriage to Xu Weibei would entangle her feelings with the political rivalry between him and her father and brothers.
• Gu Wanning firmly told Er Ya she did not want to marry, even though Xu Weibei believed their obstacles could be resolved.
• Zhi Nu promised to care for Gu Wanning when she grew old, and Gu Wanning joked that she would adopt children to farm with.
• Xu Weibei returned to the Marquis's Residence in the latter half of the night, almost frozen from eavesdropping.

Xu Weibei reflected on Gu Wanning’s distrust, resolved to earn her security, and decided to join the women at the temple fair. On New Year’s Day, Gu Wanning prepared to take Zhi Nu to the fair, but Gu Anqi insisted on accompanying them.

• Xu Weibei decided Gu Wanning had good reason to hold back and resolved to address her concerns.
• Xu Weibei requested hot pot and said he would go to the temple fair with the women.
• Gu Wanning sent Zhi Nu to visit the Gu family, then promised to take him to the temple fair.
• Zhi Nu returned with Gu Anqi, who offered to accompany Gu Wanning to the fair.
• Gu Wanning tried to refuse, but Gu Anqi said he had finished his New Year visits and told her to get ready.

Xu Weibei took his four concubines and Jiaoniang to meet Gu Wanning at the temple fair after Linglong appeared at the residence with A Yi. Gu Wanning arrived first and sent her brother to attend to his business while she took Zhi Nu to buy candied hawthorn.

• Xu Weibei hurried the four concubines to get ready for the temple fair, where he planned to meet Gu Wanning and Qin Lie.
• Linglong arrived with A Yi and knelt to pay New Year's respects to Xu Weibei, who left without welcoming her.
• The four concubines discussed Linglong and her prospects as their carriage followed Xu Weibei to the fair.
• Gao Lan warned the concubines that Xu Weibei had heard their conversation about Linglong.
• Gu Wanning reached the busy temple fair and told her elder brother to attend to his business while she took Zhi Nu to buy candied hawthorn.

At the temple fair, Gu Wanning met Gu Anqi’s colleague Fang Tingxiu, the Tanhua, and began asking about sugar-making after learning how expensive sugar was. The meeting was interrupted when Xu Weibei arrived and saw her speaking with Fang Tingxiu, leaving his mood sour.

• Gu Wanning bought candied hawthorns and learned that white sugar cost two hundred copper coins per jin, prompting her to think of a way to profit.
• Gu Anqi introduced his younger sister to Fang Tingxiu, the Tanhua who worked with him at the Hanlin Academy.
• Gu Wanning asked Fang Tingxiu about boiling sugar after he said he had seen it done in the south.
• Er Ya spotted the four concubines and Xu Weibei, while Gu Anqi warned Gu Wanning and Fang Tingxiu not to approach the Marquis because of his temper.
• Xu Weibei saw Gu Wanning talking with Fang Tingxiu and grew displeased when he recognized him as the Tanhua.

At a temple fair, Xu Weibei tried to keep Fang Tingxiu away from Gu Wanning while Gu Wanning remained focused on her own plans and reunited with her companions. The group eventually found a quiet food stall run by a young woman and decided to try her hometown rice noodles.

• Xu Weibei approached Gu Wanning, pulled her cloak closer, and questioned her about candied hawthorn while she kept her distance.
• Gu Anqi suggested they leave, but Xu Weibei invited him, Fang Tingxiu, and Qin Lie to tea to separate Fang Tingxiu from Gu Wanning.
• Qin Lie gave First Concubine rabbit-fur hand warmers from his mother, and she accepted them after he threatened to throw them away.
• After the men left, Gu Wanning handed out New Year red envelopes, and Zhi Nu persuaded Jiaoniang to accept one.
• Fourth Concubine led the group through the crowded temple fair to a quiet stall, where Gu Wanning learned that the young stallholder sold rice noodles for ten copper coins a bowl.

Gu Wanning learned that Xu Qiaoqiao’s family made brown sugar but knew nothing of refining white sugar with yellow mud, and she saw an opportunity to develop the method. Meanwhile, Xu Weibei stalled Gu Anqi and Fang Tingxiu and wondered whether the Gu family required a prospective son-in-law to have lost both parents.

• Gu Wanning shared rice noodles with Xu Qiaoqiao and Xi'er, learned they had come from Zhen'an Prefecture to find a relative, and gave Xu Qiaoqiao extra coins.
• Gu Wanning asked Xu Qiaoqiao about sugarcane and white sugar, then realized the Yellow-Mud Water-Leaching Method was unknown to her and left her address in case she wanted help.
• Xu Qiaoqiao told Xi'er that they would return home once they had enough money, as long as the person she cared about was all right.
• Xu Weibei kept Gu Anqi and Fang Tingxiu at the teahouse, where Gu Anqi mentioned that Fang Tingxiu's parents had died and Fang explained why he had not returned home to honor them.
• Xu Weibei wondered whether the Gu family required a son-in-law whose parents were both dead.

Xu Weibei learned that his grandmother had shown interest in the Xie family's ninth young lady and worried she would arrange another marriage for him. Back at the table, he sparred with Gu Anqi over Fang Tingxiu's prospects while insisting to himself that he wanted Gu Wanning.

• A guard told Xu Weibei that the Grand Princess praised the Xie family's ninth young lady as a potential granddaughter-in-law, and Old Madam Xie gave no answer.
• Xu Weibei ordered a guard to watch his grandmother and resolved to reject any match she arranged, because he wanted Gu Wanning.
• Xu Weibei returned upstairs and dismissed the news as unimportant when Qin Lie asked about it.
• Gu Anqi pointed out that Fang Tingxiu had no family to burden him, while Xu Weibei privately took the remark as a jab at himself.
• Fang Tingxiu explained that a county magistrate's assistant had paid for his education, and Xu Weibei speculated that he might have been promised the benefactor's daughter.
• Gu Anqi mocked Xu Weibei for making up stories about Fang Tingxiu.

Fang Tingxiu explained to Gu Anqi why he had never married and revealed the promise tying him to the Xu family. He left Gu Anqi knowing Fang's heart belonged to a woman who had once chosen another man.

• Gu Anqi proposed that Fang Tingxiu marry his sister, but Fang said someone else already held his heart.
• Fang told Gu Anqi that his mother had cut ties with her family and, before dying, promised him to the county assistant magistrate's daughter.
• Fang explained that the Xu family had supported his studies and that he had rejected other marriage proposals because the Xu daughter was dissatisfied with their arrangement.
• Fang recalled how the Xu girl had called him her future husband as a child and protected him, then fell in love with a young fisherman when she was fourteen.
• Fang kept his heartbreak secret and studied harder, hoping to become worthy enough to win her heart back.

Fang Tingxiu decided to keep waiting for the woman he loved, while Gu Wanning arranged to learn how to boil sugar from sugarcane. After buying supplies and a stone roller, she revealed she planned to purchase the house she was renting.

• Fang Tingxiu told Gu Anqi he would wait until the woman he loved married before considering his own affairs, and Gu Anqi decided his past feelings ruled him out as a match for his sister.
• Gu Wanning asked Gu Anqi to buy a cartload of sugarcane and hired Xu Qiaoqiao for two days to teach her how to boil sugar.
• Xu Qiaoqiao agreed to help and listed the supplies Gu Wanning needed to prepare.
• Gu Wanning returned home, stored the sugarcane, and had a heavy stone roller carried into the courtyard.
• Gu Wanning told He Shi that she had arranged to buy the house and would transfer ownership after the fifteenth.

Gu Wanning gathered family and friends to peel and press sugarcane, but the stubborn donkey could not turn the mill. Xu Weibei arrived and did the hard work himself, leaving Gu Anqi wary that he was trying to win Gu Wanning back.

• Xu Qiaoqiao, Third Concubine, Fourth Concubine, Wei Shi, He Shi, and He Ge joined Gu Wanning to peel a cartload of sugarcane.
• Gu Wanning and Er Ya tried to press the sugarcane with the family donkey, but it refused to move.
• Xu Weibei arrived with his new pony, refused to lend either horse, and took over the stone mill after seeing Gu Wanning's injured hand.
• Xu Weibei spent most of the day pressing the sugarcane and then stirred the syrup as it boiled.
• Gu Anqi came to watch and suspected Xu Weibei was working so hard to persuade Gu Wanning to change her mind about him.

Gu Anqi persuaded Gu Anfang to help Gu Wanning make sugar, while Xu Weibei continued working beside her despite her efforts to send him away. The chapter left them preparing a second batch together, with Gu Wanning focused on the sugar and Xu Weibei refusing to leave.

• Gu Anqi told Gu Anfang that Xu Weibei had designs on Gu Wanning and persuaded him to help her instead.
• Gu Anfang collided with Third Concubine, spilling her basin of water and soaking them both.
• Gu Wanning lent Third Concubine clothes and had her warm up while Er Ya prepared ginger soup.
• Gu Anfang returned just as the first batch of sugar finished cooling and poured the filtered sugarcane juice into the pot for the next batch.
• Xu Weibei called Gu Anfang his third brother, but Gu Anfang rejected the title, and Gu Wanning awkwardly told Xu Weibei he could leave if he had other business.

Gu Wanning learned to boil sugar with Xu Qiaoqiao, then spent the evening trying to get Xu Weibei to leave while Gu Anfang made amends to Third Concubine. Xu Weibei left planning to return, and Gu Anfang remained impressed by his horse.

• Gu Wanning paid Xu Qiaoqiao five taels after learning how to make sugar, and Xu Qiaoqiao agreed to visit again.
• Gu Wanning found Xu Weibei waiting in her room, and he stayed for dinner despite her wish for him to leave.
• Gu Anfang apologized to Third Concubine for bumping into her and asked Gu Wanning to buy her ointment.
• Xu Weibei asked to help boil sugar the next day, but Gu Wanning gave him reasons she would be unavailable.
• Xu Weibei left on his fine horse, and Gu Anfang asked Gu Wanning to buy medicine for Third Concubine.

Gu Wanning and Er Ya made white sugar from sugarcane, and Gu Wanning began planning a water-powered mill to improve production. The chapter left her preparing to adapt the mill for pressing sugarcane juice.

• Gu Wanning agreed to let Gu Anfang take the pony home and care for it, while Zhi Nu said he was willing to part with it.
• Gu Wanning told Er Ya they would stay home the next day to make sugar instead of visiting the Princess's Residence.
• Gu Wanning boiled the sugar syrup, let it settle with yellow clay water, and later boiled the clarified syrup again.
• Er Ya spotted white sugar crystals, and Gu Wanning noted that the result still contained some impurities.
• Gu Wanning recalled diagrams from the Agricultural Book and drew a water-powered mill, intending to modify it to press sugarcane juice.

Gu Wanning decided to sell her white sugar recipe to Baoji rather than try to produce sugar on a large scale, then made candied hawthorns to share with her family. Xu Weibei came to see her after missing her at the Princess's Residence, and followed her to visit the Gu family and see the pony.

• Gu Wanning explained to Er Ya that they lacked the resources to run a sugar workshop and planned to offer the recipe to Baoji for ten thousand taels of silver.
• Gu Wanning told Er Ya to keep the recipe secret, then made candied hawthorns with her household.
• Xu Weibei confronted Gu Wanning for not going to the Princess's Residence, where he had waited all day hoping to encounter her.
• Gu Wanning invited Xu Weibei to accompany her to the Gu family with candied hawthorns, and he said he wanted to see the pony.
• Xu Weibei visited the Gu family and privately felt relieved that Gu Wanning lived separately and did not have to eat their meager meals.

Xu Weibei visited the Gu family and later faced the Grand Princess’s objections to his marriage plans, while he privately hoped to reunite with Gu Wanning. The Grand Princess warned him that Linglong might cause trouble if she entered his household.

• Gu Anfang showed Xu Weibei the pony he had kept warm in his room, while Gu Wanning left them to talk.
• Gu Wanning returned home and asked Er Ya to send the remaining tanghulu to Xu Weibei for the others to try.
• The Grand Princess summoned Xu Weibei and said she planned to arrange a marriage for him, but he refused.
• Xu Weibei explained that he had visited the Gu family to discuss the Green Sprouts Law and reassured the Grand Princess that he had not argued with Gu Yuanshi.
• The Grand Princess asked about Linglong, and Xu Weibei said he had refused her request to enter his household.
• The Grand Princess warned Xu Weibei that Linglong might stir up trouble, while he thought about sending his household members away so he and Gu Wanning could live together.

Xu Weibei questioned Third Concubine about who was informing the Grand Princess and learned that Linglong had been passing along information. He ordered Gao Lan to warn Linglong that she would lose access to A Yi if she did it again.

• The Grand Princess criticized Linglong for trying to return to the residence despite knowing A Yi was not Xu Weibei's daughter.
• Xu Weibei questioned Third Concubine about whether she was the Grand Princess's informant, and she told him that someone had coaxed information from Gao Lan.
• Xu Weibei confronted Gao Lan, who eventually suspected Linglong had shared information while hoping to secure a future for A Yi.
• Gao Lan explained that he had tried to persuade Linglong not to return to the residence, and Xu Weibei realized she had appealed to his grandmother after he refused her.
• Xu Weibei ordered Gao Lan to tell Linglong that another betrayal would keep her from seeing A Yi again.
• Gao Lan asked Xu Weibei how he had known the information had leaked through him.

Xu Weibei had Gao Lan keep watch on Gu Wanning and arrange for river snails after learning she wanted to eat them. Gu Wanning cooked river snail rice noodles, but their strong smell drove everyone away, leaving Xu Weibei to bravely try a bite.

• Xu Weibei told Gao Lan to report Gu Wanning's activities and asked Second Concubine to sort out the Ministry of Revenue accounts.
• Gao Lan reported that Gu Wanning had gone looking for river snails and found only one, so Xu Weibei sent men to gather more for her.
• Gu Wanning received the river snails, suspected someone was watching her, and decided to cook river snail rice noodles.
• Xu Weibei arrived to find the courtyard filled with the noodles' smell and refused to eat them at first.
• Gu Wanning's household members declined to try the noodles, but Xu Weibei sat down and took a mouthful.

Xu Weibei tried to support Gu Yuanshi’s reforms at court but lost his temper during their debate. Afterward, he attempted to befriend Gu Anwei, who politely declined his invitation and left.

• Gu Wanning enjoyed the river-snail rice noodles, while Xu Weibei finished his bowl despite disliking them.
• At court, Xu Weibei argued with Gu Yuanshi over his radical reforms, though he privately wanted to help them succeed.
• The emperor dismissed court after hours of debate, exhausted from sitting on the throne.
• Xu Weibei hurried to approach Gu Anwei and invited him to see some new horses.
• Gu Anwei declined, explaining that he knew nothing about horses, then left after Xu Weibei asked whether he had been busy.

Linglong visited Gu Wanning to ask her to help secure a proper status for A Yi, but Gu Wanning refused to intervene in Xu Weibei’s affairs. Meanwhile, Xu Weibei said he wanted to bring Gu Wanning back sooner because of her difficult family.

• Gao Lan saw Xu Weibei’s displeasure and suggested that the imperial son-in-law might not like horses, while Xu Weibei said he wanted to bring Gu Wanning back sooner.
• Gu Wanning ate luosifen at home and joked with Er Ya while Zhi Nu practiced writing.
• Er Ya told Gu Wanning that Linglong had arrived with A Yi, and Gu Wanning received her in the reception hall.
• Linglong asked Gu Wanning to persuade Xu Weibei to give A Yi a proper status, saying the Marquis had refused her request.
• Gu Wanning refused to help, reminded Linglong that they were divorced, and ordered her to leave.
• Linglong left without gaining Gu Wanning’s help, and Er Ya wondered why Xu Weibei favored an outside woman over Linglong.