Chapter Summaries

Zhou Yi discovered Xiao Wuzi and his jade-pendant ancestor plotting to restore the Great Shang Dynasty, then met Tang Mingyuan to plan a rebellion against the usurper Emperor. The chapter ended with a ghostly figure appearing before Tang Mingyuan, who fainted in terror.

• Zhou Yi put Eunuch An and Xiao Wuzi to sleep, while Xiao Wuzi secretly spoke with the ancestor in his jade pendant about infiltrating the rear palace and replacing the Emperor.
• Zhou Yi left the palace and forced a shopkeeper to reveal that Wang Trading House held the frost-sugar recipe.
• Zhou Yi met Tang Mingyuan and agreed that they should move against the usurper Emperor while his rule was still unstable.
• Tang Mingyuan told Zhou Yi that the eldest prince had gathered more than four thousand men from the capital's gangs, and Zhou Yi urged him to win over Eunuch Yuan.
• After Zhou Yi vanished, a ghostly gray figure appeared in Tang Mingyuan's study, and Tang Mingyuan fired his hand cannon before fainting in terror.

Tang Mingyuan learned that Director Zhou had obtained eternal life and received Old Lu’s Ghost Immortal Longevity Sutra. At the Eunuch Bureau, Eunuch Yuan endured humiliating work while secretly vowing to reclaim his former position.

• Old Lu told Tang Mingyuan about Director Zhou’s eternal life and revealed that he planned to make the secret public.
• Old Lu asked Tang Mingyuan to become his disciple and gave him the Ghost Immortal Longevity Sutra.
• Eunuch Yuan scrubbed chamber pots after Xiao Zhongzi assigned him the degrading task.
• Eunuch Yuan answered Old Lu through voice transmission and vowed to reclaim what belonged to him.

Zhou Yi agreed to support Zhao Mu if he broke through the palace gates, while Eunuch Yuan promised to help stabilize the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs. On Lantern Festival, Zhao Mu’s forces blasted open the eastern gate and stormed the imperial palace, leaving the defenders in disarray.

• Zhou Yi told Eunuch Yuan that Zhao Mu planned a palace coup, and Eunuch Yuan agreed to help if the First Prince broke through the palace gates.
• Eunuch Yuan endured Eunuch Su’s mockery and continued scrubbing chamber pots as the Lantern Festival approached.
• Zhou Yi watched the crowds across the river and judged that he would support Zhao Mu only if he could break into the palace.
• Zhao Mu’s forces fired explosive black spheres at the eastern gate, destroying it and blasting a wide breach through the palace wall.
• Disguised among performance troupes and festival crowds, several thousand armed men charged through the breach while the palace eunuchs failed to resist.
• Explosions killed a Pacification Office commander and an Imperial Guard commander, and their troops scattered.

Zhou Yi crushed Eunuch Zhong’s faction and joined Zhao Mu’s forces as they fought their way into the palace. They reached Emperor Longqing in the Hall of Diligent Governance, where the emperor faced Zhao Mu, Zhou Yi, and Tang Mingyuan.

• Zhou Yi entered the Directorate of Palace Attendants, killed Eunuch Shen, and terrified Eunuch Zhong into dying of fright.
• Zhou Yi ordered the Eunuch Bureau to join Zhao Mu and help eliminate traitors and restore the court.
• Zhao Mu and Tang Mingyuan led soldiers through the eastern gate, using crude bombs before meeting fierce resistance from palace eunuchs.
• Zhou Yi charged through the battlefield in giant form, then joined Zhao Mu as Eunuch Yuan pledged the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs to him.
• Zhao Mu, Zhou Yi, and their allies reached the Hall of Diligent Governance and confronted Emperor Longqing.

Emperor Longqing revealed that he came from a previous life in which the events of the current realm unfolded differently, and he explained why he had murdered the late emperor. After Eunuch Yuan killed him and urged Zhao Mu to take the throne, Zhou Yi joined in acclaiming the new emperor.

• Zhao Mu declared that he intended to depose Emperor Longqing, who insisted that he was the rightful emperor and accused Zhao Mu of having died in a previous life.
• Emperor Longqing asked Zhou Yi and Tang Mingyuan who they were, then said he was repaying debts from his previous life; Zhou Yi wondered where his immortality had come from.
• Emperor Longqing confessed that he had coerced Eunuch Hai into killing the late emperor by exploiting Eunuch Hai’s secret relationship with an imperial consort.
• Emperor Longqing explained that he had murdered the late emperor because the man’s survival had disrupted the future he remembered, including the deaths and political changes he believed should have occurred.
• Eunuch Yuan killed Emperor Longqing, then knelt and asked Zhao Mu to ascend the throne; Zhou Yi knelt and greeted Zhao Mu as emperor.

Zhao Mu took the throne and assigned eunuchs to secure the palace and consolidate his rule, while Tang Mingyuan was tasked with restoring the late Emperor’s tax reforms. At the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, Zhou Yi pursued the escaped Empress Dowager and ordered a crackdown on the Three Yang Sect as he sought a way to counter ghosts.

• Zhao Mu ascended the throne, sent Zhou Yi to deal with the Empress Dowager, and gave Eunuch Yuan authority to guard the palace and command the artillerymen.
• Zhao Mu assigned eunuchs to summon officials, strip King Who Pacifies the West of his military authority, and bring Zhao clan elders to support his accession.
• Tang Mingyuan urged Zhao Mu to restore the late Emperor’s tax system, and Zhao Mu made him Censor-in-chief, placed him in the Grand Secretariat, and granted him the Son of Heaven Sword while retaining the power to use the Surveillance Bureau.
• Zhou Yi found that the Empress Dowager had escaped, killed a eunuch who reported the news, and ordered the others to hunt down the Three Yang Sect and seize its cultivation texts.
• Eunuch Yuan confronted Zhou Yi at the palace, and Zhou Yi chose to leave rather than risk upsetting the balance of power.
• Eunuch Yuan went to inspect the palace gates and ordered an old eunuch to monitor Eunuch Su’s food, threatening to punish his clan.

After Zhao Mu took the throne, officials entered the palace under heavy scrutiny as the new court began purging suspected rivals and consolidating power. The Feng family escaped the capital and planned to seek military backing in the north, hoping to return later.

• Eunuchs accused Vice Minister Cui of carrying a dagger and killed him, then used the same trick to beat Vice Minister Qi to death.
• Zhao Mu received the officials in the Hall of Diligent Governance, accepted Yang Si’s proposed era name Tianshun, and warned that anyone linked to the rebels could be arrested and executed.
• Zhou Yi reported that King Who Pacifies the West had fled, and Zhao Mu ordered him to pursue the Feng family and monitor officials under the pretext of hunting rebels.
• King Who Pacifies the West and Feng Ze prepared to flee toward the northern frontier, where they intended to offer a Cannonball to the King Who Pacifies the North in exchange for a general’s post.

After Emperor Tianshun restored Emperor Zhengtong’s institutions, Zhou Yi returned to lead the Surveillance Bureau and pursued the Three Yang Sect. He also maneuvered around the emperor’s growing network of godsons, hoping the next roving official would be assigned to the Surveillance Bureau.

• Emperor Tianshun restored Emperor Zhengtong’s institutions, while Tang Mingyuan strengthened the new policies and backed the Surveillance Bureau’s power.
• Zhou Yi celebrated his return with his godsons and ordered Li Chao to interrogate prisoners until they revealed the Three Yang Sect’s hideout.
• Li Chao reported that an Innate Grandmaster had been hunting the Three Yang Sect, and Zhou Yi ordered him to keep questioning the prisoners.
• A eunuch told Zhou Yi that Emperor Tianshun had made Little Lu a godson and assigned him as a roving official at the Ministry of Revenue.
• Zhou Yi ordered his men to help Little Lu expose corrupt officials while secretly recording his every word and deed.
• Zhou Yi noted that the emperor had assigned eight godsons to roving posts and wondered whether the ninth would be sent to the Surveillance Bureau.

Emperor Tianshun’s failure to father an heir led Xiao Wuzi to arrange for a woman outside the palace to become pregnant, earning the emperor’s favor. Years later, Zhou Yi learned that Xiao Wuzi had been named an Eastern Depot operative and suspected that the court’s apparent harmony concealed a struggle for power.

• Emperor Tianshun lamented that he had no heir, while Xiao Wuzi secretly knew that an ancestor’s yin baleful chill had extinguished the emperor’s dragon essence.
• Xiao Wuzi proposed finding fertile women outside the palace, and Emperor Tianshun ordered Eunuch Yu to arrange it discreetly.
• By the third year of Tianshun, Tang Mingyuan’s reforms and military victories had expanded Qing Kingdom’s territory as the court’s factions maintained a tense balance.
• In the fourth year of Tianshun, Xiao Pingzi told Zhou Yi that the Three Yang Sect Leader and Holy Maiden had escaped after Eunuch Liu leaked news of the Eastern Depot’s operation.
• Zhou Yi learned that Xiao Wuzi had become Emperor Tianshun’s godson and that a woman arranged through his idea was pregnant; he then questioned whether the emperor truly wanted to rule with folded hands.

Zhou Yi let Eunuch Wu take up his post in the Eastern Depot while publicly presenting himself as ready to retire, and the resulting power vacuum fueled widespread extortion. When Wu visited the Eastern Depot, he asserted his authority after learning officials had impeached him and asked to borrow its dragon robe; the chapter ended with an author’s note about illness and writing plans.

• Zhou Yi rejected Xiao Pingzi’s plan to frame Eunuch Wu and said he would obey any order from Emperor Tianshun, while privately wishing to spend his remaining years in peace.
• Word of Zhou Yi’s apparent decline spread through the capital, and eunuchs began abusing their authority to extort officials, merchants, and commoners while Eunuch Yuan was in seclusion.
• After Noble Consort Shu became pregnant, Emperor Tianshun granted Eunuch Wu the title of Marquis Enze, and Wu took up his post in the Eastern Depot without entering it at first.
• Eunuch Wu and Zhou Yi exchanged exaggerated courtesies and sat together in the Eastern Depot’s main hall, where Wu praised Zhou’s portrait and tested the rumors that Zhou meant to retire.
• After the Secret Records Bureau chief reported that twenty-two officials had impeached him, Eunuch Wu declared that opposing his title meant defying the emperor and asked Zhou Yi to lend him the Eastern Depot’s dragon robe.

Minister Lu and his family were arrested after Eunuch Sun framed them with a dragon robe and armor, while a wounded woman fleeing Eastern Depot pursuers reached a poor couple’s courtyard. The old midwife discovered that the unconscious woman was pregnant.

• Minister Lu refused to seek Eunuch Yu’s help for Zhang Shi’s imprisoned family, explaining his support for Chancellor Tang’s new policies and his opposition to the Nine Attendants.
• Eunuch Sun led Eastern Depot Imperial Bodyguards into the Lu residence, killed a maid, accused Minister Lu of plotting rebellion, and arrested the Lu Family.
• A woman in blue robes fled a eunuch steward and his Imperial Bodyguards, who accused the Lu Family of secretly raising troops.
• The eunuch steward struck the woman with a poisoned flying claw, but she threw explosive balls that badly wounded the pursuers and escaped.
• The wounded woman collapsed in an elderly couple’s courtyard, where the old midwife examined her and found that she was carrying a baby.

After Minister Lu and his family were executed for treason, Zhou Yi confronted Tang Mingyuan with evidence that officials were abandoning the new policies and urged him to take control of their fate. Tang resolved to fight for the policies and avenge the Lu Family, while Zhou agreed to let him purge the palace attendants involved, including Eunuch Sun.

• Minister Lu and his descendants were executed as a cheering crowd watched, and Tang Mingyuan struggled to contain his grief.
• Zhou Yi met Tang Mingyuan at the execution grounds and gave him a list of officials who had defected from the new policies to the Six Ministries' roving officials.
• Zhou Yi argued that officials abandoned their ideals when their own lives and fortunes were at risk, and urged Tang to hold power in his own hands.
• After seeing Minister Lu's young grandson beheaded, Tang Mingyuan resolved to fight for the new policies and avenge the Lu Family.
• Tang demanded that every palace attendant involved in the case be punished, naming Eunuch Sun; Zhou agreed and said Sun would top the list.

Tang Mingyuan worried about joining forces with Zhou Yi but chose to remain in the capital and quietly prepare, while Emperor Tianshun rewarded his political concessions and celebrated military victories. The chapter ended with Liu Yu secretly coordinating Noble Consort Shu’s expected delivery with the Director of the Eastern Depot.

• Tang Mingyuan confided his fears to Su Yun'er, who advised him to stay wary of Zhou Yi and keep his family in the capital.
• Tang Mingyuan yielded to the Nine Attendants as Eunuch Lu imposed head taxes on newborns, while Emperor Tianshun rewarded Tang Mingyuan and ennobled Eunuch Lu.
• Tang Mingyuan promoted Minister Zeng to Deputy Chief Minister and sent a letter to General Xie in the Southern Frontier.
• General Xie defeated the barbarian king, and Emperor Tianshun celebrated the victory by executing the captive king and declaring himself heaven's mandate.
• After snow damaged the spring crops, Emperor Tianshun made Noble Consort Shu empress and ordered Liu Yu to monitor her pregnancy.
• Liu Yu told the Director of the Eastern Depot that Noble Consort Shu would give birth around midnight ten days later, concealing that his estimate was accurate to within fifteen minutes.

Emperor Tianshun planned to consolidate his power, court Commander Xie, and eventually move against the northern frontier and the Eastern Depot. While Noble Consort Shu’s childbirth unfolded under a plot to eliminate the birth mother, she secured the infant’s place as Crown Prince and killed Lǜyù after the strange delivery raised suspicions.

• Emperor Tianshun heard Lu Wei’s report on court factions and ordered him to leave the dissenting ministers alone.
• Emperor Tianshun decided to consider rewarding Commander Xie with a marquisate and a mission to inspect the northern border, but delayed sending word.
• Emperor Tianshun chose to visit Yi Chun Palace and its beauties instead of going directly to Noble Consort Shu.
• When the birth mother went into labor, Lǜyù told the midwife that Empress had ordered the Crown Prince to have only one mother, and the midwife began cutting the infant from the unconscious woman.
• A strange gust extinguished the lamps; when they were relit, the woman was dead and a newborn Crown Prince lay beside her with his umbilical cord already cut.
• Noble Consort Shu killed Lǜyù with a poisoned dagger after Lǜyù reported the unexplained delivery, declaring that she cared only about becoming Empress and Empress Dowager.

Zhou Yi told Tang Mingyuan that he had arranged for a newborn Lu Family descendant to replace Noble Consort Shu’s daughter, and nine bells announced Emperor Tianshun’s death. The ministers recognized the infant as heir, but the succession was immediately tested when Commander Xie entered with Prince Rui’s severed head.

• Zhou Yi revealed that Noble Consort Shu’s newborn son was a stolen infant descended from the Lu Family, and Tang Mingyuan agreed he could inherit the throne.
• Nine bells tolled, confirming Emperor Tianshun’s death after his indulgence with Noble Consort Shu.
• Tang Mingyuan declared that Noble Consort Shu’s infant should inherit the throne, while officials debated whether she should rule as regent or the child should be replaced by an imperial-clan heir.
• Commander Xie entered the Hall of Diligent Governance with Prince Rui’s severed head and reported that he had killed him for attempting to enter the palace amid the chaos.

After Prince Rui’s coup failed, Noble Consort Shu secured the infant Emperor Taichang’s succession and began sharing power among court officials. Eunuch Wu’s plans to make his child emperor collapsed, and Director Zhou had him arrested, while Zhou learned that Wu had never been castrated.

• Prince Rui died during his attempt to storm the palace, and Marshal Xie helped Noble Consort Shu secure recognition for the newborn Emperor Taichang.
• Tang Mingyuan proposed the reign title Taichang, and the Empress Dowager assigned him, Marshal Xie, and Minister Xu to handle Emperor Tianshun’s funeral.
• Eunuch Wu learned that the infant legitimate son had become emperor and destroyed the jade pendant containing his ancestor’s spirit, rejecting the restoration of Great Shang.
• Eunuch Wu’s ancestor revealed that Wu’s child was a princess, and Wu decided to flee before Director Zhou could investigate him.
• Eunuch Fu arrested Eunuch Wu and delivered him to Director Zhou, who ordered him executed and learned from the coroner that Wu had never passed through the castration chamber.

Emperor Taichang attended court for the first time as the Empress Dowager presided over a dispute involving a fabricated drought report and Eunuch Lu. Zhou Yi secured Lu’s release and won influence over the Six Ministries’ clerks, while Tang Mingyuan vowed to continue investigating the Six Attendants.

• At Emperor Taichang’s first court session, Assistant Director Jiang requested disaster relief for an alleged drought in Liang Province, and the Empress Dowager approved sending funds and grain.
• Vice Minister Li accused Jiang of fraud after pointing out that Liang Province was in its rainy season, and officials presented charges against Count Angong, Eunuch Lu.
• Tang Mingyuan recommended that Eunuch Lu be tried by the Ministry of Justice, but Zhou Yi argued that he should be investigated privately by the Eastern Depot.
• The Empress Dowager accepted Zhou Yi’s proposal, and Eunuch Lu was taken away for an investigation that was expected to end with a token fine.
• After court, Tang Mingyuan told Minister Du that he would keep investigating the Six Attendants, while Zhou Yi celebrated his growing influence over the Six Ministries.

Eunuch Hai and the Three Yang Sect’s Holy Maiden brought a coalition of Martial Grandmasters to the capital to kill Zhou Yi and seize the secret of immortality. Warned by Tang Mingyuan, Zhou Yi turned away from their trap but was ambushed by Hunter King and surrounded by eight Grandmasters.

• Eunuch Hai and the Holy Maiden discussed their plan to lure Zhou Yi to Prince Sheng’s residence, where gunpowder and several Martial Grandmasters awaited him.
• An Eastern Depot spy recognized Eunuch Hai, and the Director learned that the carriage had gone to Prince Sheng’s residence.
• Zhou Yi set out with the Eastern Depot forces, but Tang Mingyuan’s messenger delivered a note warning him of immortality, so Zhou Yi changed course and revealed where the hidden girl was staying.
• Hunter King shot Zhou Yi with Sunset Arrows, and Vajra Immortal and Tyrant Blade Huo Zong appeared to join the attack.
• Qingyang, the Holy Maiden, Eunuch Hai, True Spirit, and Great Master Benxin joined the other attackers, surrounding Zhou Yi with eight Martial Grandmasters.

Zhou Yi fought off the Martial Grandmasters who ambushed him for the promise of immortality, revealing immense strength and four additional true-qi arms. Wounded and furious that the Capital Garrison had not appeared, he prepared to escape.

• Vajra Immortal attacked Zhou Yi, but Zhou Yi transformed into a giant and sent him crashing through buildings.
• Huo Zong, the True Spirit Grand Master, the Three Yang Sect, Eunuch Hai, and others launched coordinated attacks on Zhou Yi.
• The True Spirit Grand Master shot Zhou Yi with an arrow and collected drops of his blood, believing it was the blood of immortality.
• Vajra Immortal repeatedly blocked Zhou Yi while Huo Zong and the True Spirit Grand Master attacked from behind.
• Zhou Yi grew four true-qi arms and tore off Huo Zong's right arm and much of the True Spirit Grand Master's thigh and waist.
• Wounded by the attackers and with no Capital Garrison in sight, Zhou Yi drew the Sunset Arrow and prepared to leave.

Zhou Yi fought nine Martial Grandmasters while trying to escape the capital, but Eunuch Yuan intervened and helped him break through the pursuit. Zhou Yi fled into the mountains and vanished, while the volume neared its end.

• Zhou Yi tried to flee toward the western gate, but He Chongxiao repeatedly blocked him with Golden Silk nets as the Grandmasters wounded him.
• At the western palace gate, Tang Mingyuan and Eunuch Lu discussed Zhou Yi’s fate and Tang’s determination to preserve his reforms.
• Eunuch Wei killed Hunter King at Miaojue Temple and took his Sunset Bow.
• Eunuch Yuan ambushed He Chongxiao, tore off his foot, and prevented him from obstructing Zhou Yi.
• Zhou Yi escaped the capital and ran for three days and nights until the pursuing Grandmasters exhausted their true qi, then disappeared into the mountains.