Chapter Summaries

Gu Wanning visited Princess Qingyi with a lively procession from the Marquis’s Residence, while Xu Weibei put Linglong under house arrest after she sought Gu Wanning’s help. At the Princess’s Residence, Qingyi welcomed the guests and recalled how she had unexpectedly married Gu Anwei.

• Gu Wanning planned a visit to Princess Qingyi and decided to bring the concubines and children from the Marquis’s Residence.
• Xu Weibei learned Linglong had asked Gu Wanning for help and ordered Gao Lan to keep Linglong and her daughter from leaving without permission.
• Gu Wanning traveled to the Princess’s Residence with Er Ya, Zhi Nu, and a large group from the Marquis’s household.
• Princess Qingyi welcomed the visitors, gave Jiaoniang and Zhi Nu gifts, and felt envious of their presence.
• Princess Qingyi recalled that she had expected to marry someone like Xu Weibei but had unexpectedly become Gu Anwei’s wife.

Princess Qingyi worried that she could not conceive, so Third Concubine examined her and discovered that her husband always withdrew before finishing. The conversation revealed how isolated Qingyi felt and left Gu Wanning feeling sorry for her.

• Second Concubine and First Concubine took Fourth Concubine outside while Third Concubine examined Princess Qingyi's pulse.
• Third Concubine told Princess Qingyi that her childhood frailty made pregnancy more difficult but not impossible.
• Third Concubine asked about Qingyi and Gu Anwei's intimacy and said she might need to examine him.
• Princess Qingyi revealed that Gu Anwei always finished outside and that she had never asked anyone about it.
• Gu Wanning realized Qingyi had no confidante and understood why Gu Anwei often asked her to visit.

Gu Wanning visited Princess Qingyi, helped her learn mahjong, and reassured her when the Grand Princess arrived. The Grand Princess introduced Xie Yun as a future family member, but Gu Wanning ignored her pointed hint.

• Gu Wanning explained to Princess Qingyi that conceiving through the method her husband used would be difficult, and Princess Qingyi resolved to talk with him about having a child.
• Gu Wanning and the concubines taught Princess Qingyi to play mahjong, and the group enjoyed several rounds together.
• A maid announced the Grand Princess's arrival, so Princess Qingyi sent the concubines and Jiaoniang to hide while Gu Wanning stayed with Zhi Nu.
• The Grand Princess arrived with the ninth young lady of the Xie Residence, introduced as Xie Yun, and told Princess Qingyi that they would all be family.
• The Grand Princess demanded to know whether Gu Wanning understood her hint, while Gu Wanning continued playing with Princess Qingyi's cat.

Gu Wanning confronted the Grand Princess after she tried to provoke and humiliate her over Xu Weibei’s possible remarriage. When the Grand Princess threw scalding tea at Gu Wanning, Princess Qingyi shielded her and was burned; Gu Anwei arrived and challenged the Grand Princess.

• Princess Qingyi and Gu Wanning prepared to leave, but the Grand Princess ordered Gu Wanning to stay and accused her of avoiding her out of guilt.
• Gu Wanning told the Grand Princess not to flaunt Xu Weibei’s possible new marriage and to ask the Marquis what he wanted first.
• The Grand Princess hurled a cup of hot tea at Gu Wanning, and Princess Qingyi shielded her, scalding her own arm.
• Gu Wanning cooled Princess Qingyi’s burn while Gu Anwei returned and comforted his wife.
• Gu Anwei confronted the Grand Princess for attacking Princess Qingyi, and the Grand Princess claimed she had been teaching Gu Wanning a lesson.

Gu Anwei challenged the Grand Princess for mistreating Gu Wanning, while the concubines and Xie Yun became entangled in a dispute over Gu Wanning’s status and a possible marriage to Xu Weibei. The Grand Princess insisted that Xie Yun would marry the Marquis, and Gu Anwei threatened to take the conflict before the emperor.

• Gu Anwei stopped Gu Wanning from speaking and demanded that the Marquis of Yingchuan come explain the Grand Princess’s private punishment of her.
• Second Concubine, Third Concubine, and First Concubine knelt and declared their loyalty to Gu Wanning and the Marquis, while Fourth Concubine went to fetch the Marquis.
• The Grand Princess praised Xie Yun and urged her to marry the Marquis, but Xie Yun said it was not suitable to discuss another marriage under the circumstances.
• Gu Anwei rejected the Grand Princess’s attempt to arrange a marriage at the Gu residence and challenged her to bring the dispute before the emperor.

Gu Wanning and her family confronted the Grand Princess when she insulted Gu Wanning’s second brother, and Xu Weibei arrived to stop the dispute. He defended Gu Wanning and promised to protect her companions as the Grand Princess left, while Xie Yun continued to imply that Gu Wanning had misunderstood his relationship with Xu Weibei.

• The Grand Princess mocked Gu Wanning’s second brother and accused him of arrogance, so Gu Wanning spoke back and challenged the Grand Princess’s motives.
• The Grand Princess called for her guards, but none of them stepped forward because they feared Xu Weibei’s response.
• Xu Weibei arrived, checked that Gu Wanning was unharmed, and ignored Xie Yun when he tried to explain himself.
• Xu Weibei asked his grandmother to discuss the matter later, while Gu Anwei asked him to keep his family from troubling Gu Wanning again.
• Gu Wanning left after asking Xu Weibei not to punish the four concubines, and he promised to keep them safe.
• The Grand Princess departed with Xie Yun, who continued claiming that Gu Wanning had misunderstood his relationship with Xu Weibei.

Gu Wanning and her family resisted the Grand Princess’s attempt to pressure her, while Xu Weibei made clear that he wanted no one but Gu Wanning. The chapter ended with Xu Weibei telling his grandmother not to interfere in his marriage or trouble Gu Wanning again.

• Gu Anwei sent Gu Wanning inside and firmly defended her against the Grand Princess and Xie Yun.
• Xu Weibei took the Grand Princess away and told the four concubines to wait for him.
• Gu Wanning scolded the concubines for provoking the visitors, then resumed playing mahjong with them and Princess Qingyi.
• Gu Anwei warned Gu Wanning against trying to reconcile with the Grand Princess, and Gu Wanning agreed.
• Xu Weibei told the Grand Princess that he wanted no one but Gu Wanning and forbade her from using family ties to interfere.

Xu Weibei told the Grand Princess he would marry no one but Gu Wanning, but Gu Wanning made clear that their divorce was final and asked him to stop letting the Marquis’s Residence disturb her life. He left devastated, while Gu Wanning and Er Ya discussed how Second Brother had defended her.

• The Grand Princess urged Xu Weibei to give up on Gu Wanning, but he insisted he would wait for her and have no children with anyone else.
• Xu Weibei threatened to marry into the Gu family if his grandmother kept arranging matches, then went to seek Gu Wanning.
• Xu Weibei found Gu Wanning and heard her ask him to tell the Grand Princess, his household, and the women around him to stop interfering in her life.
• Xu Weibei left Gu Wanning’s home deathly pale, and Er Ya said she felt sorry for him.
• Gu Wanning said Xu Weibei still did not understand that she truly wanted the divorce, then remarked that she had not expected Second Brother to defend her.

Gu Wanning negotiated with Baoji to sell her white sugar recipe for three thousand taels, then learned that Xu Weibei had supposedly thrown himself into a frozen lake after she sent Er Ya to check on his concubines. The chapter ends with a Baoji shopkeeper visiting a pale, sick Xu Weibei, who demands to know what he wants.

• Gu Wanning learned that Xu Weibei had confined his four concubines and threatened to have them beaten if they visited her.
• Gu Wanning offered Baoji her white sugar recipe for five thousand taels, then lowered her final asking price to three thousand taels.
• Gu Wanning heard from Er Ya that Xu Weibei had thrown himself into the lake, though she doubted the story and wondered whether someone had pushed him.
• Gao Lan told Xu Weibei that the Baoji shopkeeper had arrived, and Xu Weibei impatiently asked what he wanted.

Xu Weibei, ill after falling through the ice, ordered Baoji to pay Gu Wanning five thousand taels for her white sugar recipe while insisting business and personal feelings were separate. Curious about Xu Weibei’s fall, Gu Wanning asked her brother Gu Anfang whether he had truly jumped into the lake, and he said Xu Weibei had accidentally fallen in while practicing swordplay.

• Xu Weibei refused his medicine and complained that Gu Wanning had drawn a clear line between them after he fell through the ice and became ill.
• Gao Lan told Xu Weibei that Gu Wanning had gone to Baoji to sell her white sugar recipe, and Xu Weibei said Baoji should pay her fairly.
• Xu Weibei raised Baoji’s offer from three thousand taels to five thousand taels, and Gao Lan devised an excuse to explain the higher payment to Gu Wanning.
• Gu Wanning asked Er Ya to invite Gu Anfang over so she could learn about Xu Weibei’s fall without seeming concerned about him.
• Gu Anfang told Gu Wanning that Xu Weibei had not jumped into the lake but had accidentally fallen in while practicing swordplay.

When He Shi heard that something had happened to Gu Anqi, Gu Wanning and the others rushed to find out what was wrong. They discovered Gu Anfang had been beaten after a dispute involving Gu Wanning’s recent divorce from Xu Weibei.

• He Shi arrived at Gu Wanning’s home in a panic after hearing that something had happened to Gu Anqi.
• Gu Wanning, Er Ya, and Zhi Nu set out to learn what had happened, while He Shi stayed behind.
• They found Gu Anqi supporting an injured Gu Anfang, who protested that his opponents had ganged up on him.
• Gu Anqi reassured He Shi and brought everyone home to explain the situation.
• Gu Wanning learned that the incident stemmed from Xu Weibei’s former subordinates being unhappy that their master had divorced her by mutual agreement.

Gu Wanning arranged for Third Concubine to treat Gu Anfang after their father beat him for starting a fight over her divorce. When Xu Weibei arrived, Gu Anfang wanted to confront him, but Gu Wanning held him back and went to meet the marquis herself.

• Gu Wanning asked Third Concubine to examine Gu Anfang's injuries and treat the wound on his forehead.
• Gu Anfang protested that he was fine, while Third Concubine urged him to rest so he could recover and return to duty.
• Zhi Nu announced that Xu Weibei had arrived, and Gu Anfang angrily tried to go confront him over the renewed gossip about Gu Wanning's divorce.
• Gu Wanning stopped Gu Anfang and said she should speak with Xu Weibei herself.

Xu Weibei apologized to Gu Wanning for the rumors and offered to marry her again, but she refused and took him outside to stop Gu Anfang from objecting. Back in the room, Gu Anfang was mortified when Third Concubine found his hidden erotic book, but she calmly tended to his injuries.

• Xu Weibei explained that he had punished the soldiers who spread rumors about Gu Wanning and promised it would not happen again.
• Xu Weibei offered to follow the proper rites and marry Gu Wanning again, but Gu Wanning refused and led him outside.
• Gu Wanning left Third Concubine to tend to Gu Anfang, who continued trying to confront Xu Weibei.
• Third Concubine picked up Gu Anfang's copy of the Three Hundred Poems and discovered it contained explicit illustrations.
• Gu Anfang hid the book in shame, then lay face down while Third Concubine applied medicine to his injured back.

Gu Wanning and Xu Weibei put their earlier misunderstanding behind them, but Xu Weibei left Third Concubine to care for Gu Anfang, forcing him to face the embarrassing incident again. Later, Third Concubine told Gu Wanning that the Grand Princess seemed ready to match Xie Yun with Xu Weibei, and Gu Wanning chose not to involve herself in her ex’s affairs.

• Third Concubine treated Gu Anfang’s injury while Gu Wanning waited outside with Xu Weibei, who explained that work inspecting canal construction had left him exhausted.
• Xu Weibei noticed Gu Xiaoxiao listening nearby, and Gu Wanning dismissed her while Xu Weibei warned that she would eventually cause trouble.
• Xu Weibei left for the palace and ordered Third Concubine to stay at Gu Wanning’s residence to care for Gu Anfang.
• Gu Wanning and Third Concubine shared a bed and discussed Gu Anfang’s lack of a marriage match before Third Concubine mentioned that the Grand Princess seemed to be preparing to match Xie Yun with Xu Weibei.
• Gu Wanning decided that Xu Weibei’s possible match with Xie Yun was none of her concern.

Gu Wanning encouraged Third Concubine to consider leaving the Marquis's Residence and relying on her medical skills, while assuring her that the Gu family would help protect her. Third Concubine worried Gu Wanning might return to the residence, but Gu Wanning firmly said she would not marry Xu Weibei, leaving Third Concubine to think over her future.

• Gu Wanning offered to help Third Concubine leave the Marquis's Residence and establish herself, but Third Concubine feared she would still have to depend on Gu Wanning for protection.
• Gu Wanning warned that leaving could become harder if Xie Yun entered the residence and the marriage was settled.
• Third Concubine admitted she feared regretting her departure if Gu Wanning returned to the residence someday.
• Gu Wanning explained that she would not marry Xu Weibei because she wanted an equal, faithful partner and did not want to lose herself in a difficult marriage.
• Gu Wanning urged Third Concubine not to base her future plans on the assumption that Gu Wanning would return, and Third Concubine agreed to think carefully.

Xu Weibei rebuked his generals for meddling in his private affairs and declared that he would only accept Gu Wanning as his wife. He planned to visit her with pastries after court, but court dragged on as officials discussed spring plowing.

• Xu Weibei summoned his former generals and threatened them for interfering with his efforts to win Gu Wanning back.
• Xu Weibei told the generals that Gu Wanning was the only woman who could become marchioness and warned them not to disrespect her.
• Xu Weibei ordered several men connected to the Xie family to report his words to them.
• Xu Weibei sent Gao Lan to wake First Concubine and have her prepare Gu Wanning's favorite pastries.
• Xu Weibei waited through court, hoping to take the pastries to Gu Wanning, while her father discussed spring plowing.

Xu Weibei urged the emperor to let his former subordinates oversee the Green Sprouts Law, and Gu Yuanshi supported the proposal, leaving the emperor to consider it. Meanwhile, Xie Yun visited Gu Wanning and admonished her to stop drawing the Marquis into trouble.

• Xu Weibei warned that local resistance could undermine the reforms and offered to disperse his former subordinates to supervise the Green Sprouts Law.
• Gu Yuanshi endorsed Xu Weibei's proposal, but the emperor postponed his decision for further consideration.
• Xie Yun arrived at Gu Wanning's home and told her to conduct herself properly.
• Gu Wanning mocked Xie Yun's vague advice, and Xie Yun urged her to stop putting the Marquis at the heart of the storm.

Xie Yun confronted Gu Wanning and told her to stay away from Xu Weibei, but Gu Wanning sent her away with a scolding. Xu Weibei later came to explain that he would marry neither Xie Yun nor anyone else, while Gu Wanning remained focused on her own plans.

• Xie Yun accused Gu Wanning of damaging Xu Weibei’s reputation, and Gu Wanning rebuked her for acting like his future wife.
• Xie Yun left in defeat, and Gu Wanning decided not to summon Xu Weibei, then discussed arranging a visit to inspect land with the concubines.
• Gu Wanning reviewed Second Concubine’s accounts and planned to buy land as a personal test field.
• Xu Weibei arrived, asked about Xie Yun’s visit, and helped Gu Wanning dig in the courtyard.
• Xu Weibei told Gu Wanning that he would not marry Xie Yun or anyone else, and Gu Wanning merely acknowledged him.

Gu Wanning learned that Xu Weibei had torn down the Xie Residence’s gate to thwart a proposed marriage between the Xie family and the Marquis. The Grand Princess punished him, but the Xie family let the matter rest.

• Xu Weibei explained to Gu Wanning that he had sent trusted men to help implement Gu Yuanshi’s reforms and protect the corn from sabotage.
• Gu Wanning went to inspect land with a broker, and the four concubines arrived.
• Fourth Concubine told Gu Wanning that Xu Weibei had torn down the Xie Residence’s main gate and nearly led his men inside to smash their pots.
• Third Concubine said Xu Weibei had acted after hearing that the Grand Princess wanted to arrange a marriage with the Xie family.
• Fourth Concubine said the Grand Princess scolded and beat Xu Weibei after he refused to apologize to the Xie family, which then let the matter rest.

Gu Wanning bought fertile land with the concubines’ help, while Qin Lie showed his growing desire for First Concubine. On the journey back, Gu Wanning discussed Zhi Nu’s decision to study at the Imperial College, and he explained that he wanted to become capable and live without fearing others’ opinions.

• Fourth Concubine admitted that she had brought the other concubines to visit Gu Wanning despite the Marquis’s warning, and Second Concubine negotiated the price of the land down to twelve hundred taels.
• Qin Lie met Gu Wanning and offered to register the land at the yamen, while Fourth Concubine warned him not to pursue First Concubine.
• Qin Lie helped Gu Wanning and the others go to a restaurant, then they traveled back by carriage.
• Gu Wanning told Jiaoniang that Zhi Nu had decided to try studying at the Imperial College.
• Gu Wanning asked what had changed Zhi Nu’s mind, and he said he wanted to become capable like the Marquis and stop fearing what others thought.