Chapter Summaries

Gu Wanning tried to stop Xu Weibei from forcing First Concubine to marry Qin Lie, but Xu Weibei insisted the match was her good fortune. First Concubine pleaded to remain in the Marquis's Residence, leaving Gu Wanning questioning why Xu Weibei wanted to give her away.

• First Concubine rushed to Gu Wanning and begged her to help, while Xu Weibei declared that she would do as he ordered.
• First Concubine said she did not want to marry and tried to dash herself against a wall, but Gu Wanning caught and restrained her.
• Xu Weibei explained that he had chosen Qin Lie for First Concubine, and Gu Wanning argued that First Concubine should be free to refuse.
• First Concubine said she would rather stay in the Marquis's Residence and work than marry Qin Lie.

Gu Wanning confronted Xu Weibei over his plan to give First Concubine to Qin Lie, arguing that First Concubine’s refusal mattered and offering to find another way to satisfy Qin Lie. She left Xu Weibei with a warning that she would resist his plans and ask her family to impeach him.

• First Concubine refused to marry Qin Lie and threatened to kill herself, so Gu Wanning sent her away with Er Ya and Jinxiu for the night.
• Xu Weibei told Gu Wanning to make First Concubine agree, but Gu Wanning argued that a forced marriage would not be a good choice for her.
• Xu Weibei explained that Qin Lie was a fierce general he liked, and Gu Wanning suggested finding Qin Lie someone else to marry.
• Gu Wanning warned that First Concubine might harm Qin Lie if Xu Weibei forced the marriage, and said she would put her up to it if necessary.
• Gu Wanning told Xu Weibei she would ask her father and brothers to impeach him and refused to let him bring another person into the household.

Gu Wanning refused to help Xu Weibei send the First Concubine to Qin Lie and warned she would oppose him if he forced the matter. She offered Xu Weibei the credit for her high-yield corn in hopes of changing his mind, but he rejected her offer, leaving Jinxiu’s fate uncertain.

• Gu Wanning told Xu Weibei that she would not help him force the First Concubine to marry Qin Lie and would stand against him if he proceeded.
• Xu Weibei accused Gu Wanning of turning against him, but she argued that Qin Lie’s feelings for the First Concubine should determine whether he would accept her.
• Gu Wanning explained that corn could feed many people and offered Xu Weibei credit for discovering and planting it if he reconsidered his plan.
• Xu Weibei refused the offer, and Gu Wanning doubted that her family’s petition could do more than earn him a reprimand and a small salary deduction.

Gu Wanning and the concubines searched for a way to prevent First Concubine from being married off to General Qin Lie, while First Concubine revealed that she had dreamed of him during her illness. The chapter ended as she began explaining her strange dreams to Gu Wanning.

• Gu Wanning gathered the concubines to discuss sending First Concubine away, but First Concubine said she had a plan of her own.
• First Concubine believed Qin Lie might withdraw if he learned she refused to marry him, and Er Ya offered to spread the news through beggars.
• Gu Wanning urged First Concubine to share any other ideas for saving herself, and First Concubine asked whether Gu Wanning believed in ghosts and gods.
• First Concubine revealed that she had repeatedly dreamed of people and events that seemed to happen later, then confessed that she had met Qin Lie in a dream.

First Concubine told Gu Wanning about a vivid dream in which the Marquis’s household and later the Gu family were destroyed, and Gu Wanning asked her to recount everything she remembered. The dream described accusations and tragedies awaiting the Gu family, leaving Gu Wanning with warnings about possible future events.

• First Concubine confessed that she had dreamed of becoming Qin Lie’s woman and seeing the Marquis’s and Gu households fall into ruin, and Gu Wanning asked her to explain the dream in detail.
• First Concubine said Xu Weibei would be imprisoned over an attempted assault on Gu Wanqing, die in prison after Gu Anqi visited him, and be disgraced even after death.
• First Concubine told Gu Wanning that Gu Yuanshi would be framed for soliciting bribes through calligraphy and for hiding gold in wine jars sent by a favored disciple.
• First Concubine said the Marquis’s death would also be blamed on Gu Anqi and that Gu Yuanshi’s reforms would first provoke an uprising before being praised more than ten years later.

First Concubine told Gu Wanning how Qin Lie had sought to marry her after Xu Weibei’s death and how she regretted treating him coldly before his final campaign. Gu Wanning urged her to accept Qin Lie this time, then learned that Xu Weibei had never touched any of his concubines, leaving her wondering what had happened to him.

• First Concubine recalled Qin Lie visiting Xu Weibei’s funeral and later proposing marriage, which Madam refused before Qin Lie eventually got his way.
• First Concubine wept as she confessed she had treated Qin Lie coldly and feared she had caused his death by bringing misfortune to her husbands.
• Gu Wanning told First Concubine that Qin Lie’s battlefield death was not her fault and promised to stay with her as she remembered more.
• Gu Wanning urged First Concubine to make things right with Qin Lie and live well with him, but First Concubine said she feared his intense desire and worried he would suffer again.
• First Concubine revealed that Xu Weibei had never touched her or the other concubines, prompting Gu Wanning to question whether he had been impotent or hiding something.

First Concubine revealed that Gu Wanning had been switched at birth with the Qin Prince’s Consort and shared more of her dream about the people around her. Gu Wanning urged First Concubine to accept Qin Lie, but she refused, and the chapter ended with Gu Wanning promising not to quarrel with the Marquis while joking that she would discuss selling First Concubine to Qin Lie.

• First Concubine told Gu Wanning that she had dreamed the Qin Prince’s Consort was not Gu Wanning’s sister by blood, but the daughter of the woman who had raised Gu Wanning at the Estate.
• First Concubine explained that Gu Wanning was the Gu family’s true daughter and that the babies had been switched at birth.
• First Concubine said many details of her dream matched reality, but Gu Wanning had changed after the Marquis returned.
• Gu Wanning pressed First Concubine to give Qin Lie another chance, but First Concubine refused because she feared harming him again and causing trouble between Gu Wanning and the Marquis.
• Before leaving, First Concubine begged Gu Wanning not to clash with the Marquis over her, and Gu Wanning replied that she would discuss selling her to Qin Lie for a good price.

Gu Wanning weighed her feelings about Qin Lie and the First Concubine while learning that Shitou and other children were being exploited by a beggar gang. She considered finding the children work at the Estate, but worried about their care and discipline, and remembered that Xu Weibei might retaliate after she angered him.

• The First Concubine left after Gu Wanning told her to make her own decision about Qin Lie.
• Er Ya told Gu Wanning that Shitou and the other children were controlled by a man who beat them and sometimes had them maimed to earn more alms.
• Gu Wanning reflected on the hardship of ordinary people and wondered how she could help Shitou and the children.
• Er Ya explained that rescuing the children would not solve the problem unless they had a safe way to support themselves.
• Gu Wanning suggested employing the older children at the Estate, but Er Ya raised concerns about theft, discipline, and responsibility.
• Gu Wanning decided to think further about helping the children and recalled that Xu Weibei might retaliate against her.

After court, Xu Weibei avoided returning to the residence at first, then waited in his outer study for Gu Wanning to admit she was wrong. Gao Lan tried to persuade him to see her actions as loyalty and kindness, leaving Xu Weibei somewhat calmer but still questioning who had pressured her.

• Gao Lan offered to take Xu Weibei to the residence or to visit Jiaoniang and Linglong, but Xu Weibei remained upset with Gu Wanning.
• Xu Weibei saw Gu Yuanshi leave court and glared at his father-in-law before riding off with Gao Lan.
• Xu Weibei returned to the Marquis's Residence but stayed in the outer study, expecting Gu Wanning to apologize; she did not know he had come back.
• Xu Weibei sent Gao Lan to ask whether Gu Wanning knew she was wrong, and Gao Lan instead praised her for standing up for the First Concubine.
• Gao Lan compared Gu Wanning's defiance to loyal soldiers Xu Weibei respected, which eased Xu Weibei's anger somewhat while making him wonder who had pressured her.

Gu Wanning and Xu Weibei cautiously reconsidered their conflict over Qin Lie, while Gao Lan tried to help them understand each other. The Grand Princess’s ultimatum left Xu Weibei sour, and Gu Wanning offered him tea as she prepared to ask for his help.

• Xu Weibei ordered Gao Lan to prepare for the rain and check that Gu Wanning’s corn would be safe.
• Gao Lan reassured Gu Wanning that the Marquis had sent someone to inspect her corn, and she told him a proper marriage for Qin Lie required First Concubine’s consent and the Three Letters and Six Betrothals.
• Gao Lan reported Gu Wanning’s words to Xu Weibei, who took them as a concession and felt better.
• The Grand Princess summoned Xu Weibei and forbade Qin Lie and the others from entering the Marquis’s Residence unless Gu Wanning agreed.
• Gu Wanning poured Xu Weibei tea, planning to ask for his help, while Xu Weibei considered that ignoring her after accepting it would make him look petty.

Gu Wanning agreed to bring Jiaoniang back and take responsibility for her care, while she and Xu Weibei arranged new homes and work for the children. She became more determined to help Xu Weibei avoid the tragic fate she had heard about, and the chapter ended with him returning drunk and catching her pretending to sleep.

• Gu Wanning persuaded Xu Weibei to bring Jiaoniang back first and offered to raise her, while Linglong remained away.
• Gu Wanning asked Xu Weibei to arrange help for Little Shitou and the other children, and he assigned Gao Lan to handle it.
• Gao Lan reported that the children had been placed in a charity home, an army camp, or the Estate, while six older children had gone to make their own way.
• Xu Weibei returned drunk in the middle of the night and teased Gu Wanning after realizing she was pretending to sleep.

Gu Wanning welcomed Jiaoniang to the Marquis’s Residence while keeping her distance, then learned her father’s birthday was approaching. She agreed to visit her family, hoping to discuss the stolen calligraphy and painting and the progress of her divorce.

• Xu Weibei told Gu Wanning that Qin Lie would still follow him despite giving up on marrying First Concubine, and accused Gu Wanning of interfering.
• Gu Wanning told First Concubine that Qin Lie had backed down and offered to let her visit Jiaoniang at her residence.
• Gao Lan brought Jiaoniang to the Marquis’s Residence, where Gu Wanning had Er Ya help the timid girl settle in.
• Gu Wanning told Xu Weibei she would take time to help Jiaoniang adjust and asked about taking her to kowtow to the Grand Princess, but Xu Weibei said his grandmother was away.
• Xu Weibei told Gu Wanning that her elder brother wanted her to return home for their father’s birthday, and she agreed to go.

Gu Wanning prepared to visit her father for his birthday and discussed a gift with Xu Weibei, while the two clashed over their families and their agreement to divorce by mutual consent. Xu Weibei ended the conversation by insisting they would see who begged whom after the divorce.

• Xu Weibei scolded Gu Wanning for wanting to return to her family, and she explained that she still needed their help to secure a divorce by mutual consent.
• Xu Weibei warned Gu Wanning that her elder sister would also attend her father's birthday celebration, but she misunderstood and invited him to go with her.
• Gu Wanning worried about finding an inexpensive but impressive birthday gift until Xu Weibei told her to use the residence's common funds and buy something if necessary.
• Xu Weibei claimed the Gu family had amassed wealth, and Gu Wanning rebuked him for repeating rumors before praising his tolerance.
• Gu Wanning reminded Xu Weibei that they had agreed to divorce by mutual consent, and Xu Weibei retorted that afterward they would see who begged whom.

Gu Wanning took First Concubine and Er Ya shopping while Fourth Concubine stayed home with severe menstrual pain and Second Concubine went to meet her younger brother. At a north-and-south goods shop, the clerk warmly welcomed Gu Wanning and offered home delivery, leaving her to consider the shop’s services as she dealt with its refusal to discount its expensive corn.

• Er Ya told Gu Wanning that Fourth Concubine was bedridden with menstrual pain and refused to take the medicine Third Concubine prescribed, so Gu Wanning arranged brown sugar, bird’s nest, and other supplies for her.
• Xu Weibei told Gu Wanning to take guards on the outing, and Second Concubine dressed as a man so she could see her younger brother and inspect the shops.
• Second Concubine promised to bring back pastries, while First Concubine and Er Ya accompanied Gu Wanning out.
• At the shop selling goods from north and south, the clerk thanked Gu Wanning for finding a place for the beggar children but refused to give her a discount.
• Er Ya accused the clerk of flattering Gu Wanning because she had brought guards, and the clerk offered to deliver goods to her home in the future.

Gu Wanning visited Baoji to discuss buying back corn and asked its assistant to search overseas for sweet potatoes. She saw the shop’s rare alpacas, learned they cost twenty thousand taels, and left without buying one to shop for fabric for her family.

• Gu Wanning offered to sell her corn back to Baoji for ten taels an ear, but the assistant refused because the shop relied on rarity and high prices.
• Gu Wanning gave the assistant a drawing of a sweet potato and asked Baoji to look for it overseas.
• The assistant took Gu Wanning upstairs, where she encountered two alpacas; one licked her, then spat at the guards when they tried to drive it away.
• Gu Wanning asked the alpacas’ price and learned the bidding started at twenty thousand taels, far beyond what she could afford.
• Gu Wanning left the alpacas behind and bought two bolts of satin and four bolts of jiaobu for her family.

Gu Wanning learned that the capable young woman she had noticed was Lü Fuyi, whom First Concubine remembered from her dream as a kind woman connected to Qin Lie. First Concubine mourned the possibility that Qin Lie might have lived if he had married Lü Fuyi, while Gu Wanning wondered who eventually married her.

• Gu Wanning saw a spirited young woman buying cloth and felt drawn to her.
• First Concubine recognized the woman as Miss Lü and grew tearful at the memory of her dream.
• First Concubine explained that Lü Fuyi was Lü Qian's granddaughter and that Lü Qian had wanted her to marry Qin Lie, who refused.
• First Concubine recalled that after Qin Lie died, Lü Fuyi helped her visit his grave and sent her things.
• Gu Wanning asked whom Lü Fuyi had married, and First Concubine said her husband was an official surnamed Wen whom Qin Lie had considered weak.

Gu Wanning learned that Xu Weibei had little affection for Jiaoniang, then prepared to visit her family for her father’s birthday. As she set out, she worried about meeting her relatives and facing the Chief Grand Secretary’s household for the first time.

• Gu Wanning told Xu Weibei about the shady shop, and he teased her for lacking worldly experience.
• Xu Weibei refused to visit Jiaoniang, saying Third Concubine was caring for her.
• Er Ya urged Gu Wanning to return early and gossiped about Eldest Master’s private behavior with First Madam.
• Gu Wanning prepared to visit her family for her father’s birthday and felt anxious about meeting everyone.

Gu Wanning returned to the cramped Gu Residence with Er Ya, who had gathered leftover household goods to take home. She reunited with her mother and family, then noticed a young woman whose place among them was unclear.

• Er Ya spent a long time collecting useful scraps and leftovers from the Marquis's Residence before Gu Wanning left by carriage.
• On the way home, Gu Wanning wondered whether her father, Gu Yuanshi, was truly principled or merely a treacherous minister.
• Ling Ge greeted Gu Wanning excitedly at the small Gu Residence gate, where Wei Shi, He Shi, and He Ge came out to welcome her.
• Wei Shi offered to stew Gu Wanning a pork hock with rock sugar, bringing back the memory of how the dish had become a joke used to mock her predecessor.
• The young woman supporting Wei Shi changed her expression and said she had thought Eldest Sister was returning, not Second Sister.

Gu Wanning returned to her family home for Gu Yuanshi’s birthday and confronted her cousin Gu Xiaoxiao, who was seeking a favorable marriage. Xu Weibei arrived, put Gu Xiaoxiao in her place, and joined the family inside, where Gu Wanning privately joked that even their dog had to yield to him.

• Gu Xiaoxiao claimed she had come to serve Gu Yuanshi and Wei Shi, and Gu Wanning questioned why she was staying in their home.
• Gu Xiaoxiao mocked Xu Weibei’s reputation and suggested Gu Wanning had suffered because of him, so Gu Wanning warned her that seeking a match through Xu Weibei could backfire.
• Xu Weibei arrived and declared that none of his subordinates were lowly enough to be matched with Gu Xiaoxiao.
• Xu Weibei explained that he had ridden ahead while Gu Wanning’s father and brother traveled by donkey, then teased Gu Wanning for defending him.
• Wei Shi welcomed Xu Weibei inside, and Gu Wanning remarked that the household dog had to make way for him.

Gu Wanning and Xu Weibei kept up a show of affection at the Gu family residence while navigating tensions with Gu Xiaoxiao. Wei Shi reassured Gu Wanning about the family’s complicated obligations and began discussing the plans she had heard from her eldest son, ending with a point of disagreement.

• Gu Wanning coaxed Xu Weibei into stopping their argument and pretending to be affectionate in front of Wei Shi.
• Xu Weibei looked around the Gu family residence, and He Ge took him to his room to talk while Gu Wanning went with Wei Shi.
• He Shi reminded Gu Xiaoxiao to observe proper etiquette around Xu Weibei, and Wei Shi supported He Shi when Gu Xiaoxiao protested.
• Wei Shi explained that Gu Yuanshi’s guilt toward his younger brother shaped the family’s patience with Gu Xiaoxiao, and Gu Wanning worried that Xiaoxiao’s temperament would make finding her a husband difficult.
• Wei Shi told Gu Wanning that she had heard about her plans from her eldest son and that there was one thing she did not agree with.