Recaps

Su Qiao searched her neglected courtyard and found poisonous herbs, then secretly hypnotized Nanny Gui to stir up an investigation into Su Yue’s background. She expected the Little Emperor’s suspicions to expose the story behind Su Yue’s sudden return and rise to Empress.

• Su Qiao woke after a restless night and found her courtyard overgrown and neglected.
• Su Qiao searched the weeds and found several rare poisonous herbs near the abandoned well.
• Su Qiao asked 444 to locate Nanny Gui and went out by a remote path.
• Su Qiao hypnotized Nanny Gui, hoping the Little Emperor’s investigation into Su Yue would uncover her background.
• Su Qiao recalled that the Su Prime Minister’s Estate had never acknowledged an eldest daughter, despite Su Yue returning after the estate was sealed and becoming Empress.

Su Qiao returned to her courtyard, endured the palace maids’ cold treatment, and cultivated until midnight. When an intruder climbed through her window, he revealed himself as her long-lost biological brother, Su Baiwen.

• Su Qiao decided she would make the Little Emperor believe Daoist He’s claim about her family relationship and returned to her courtyard.
• Two palace maids ignored Su Qiao and left, but she chose not to confront them.
• Su Qiao shut herself in, ate roast chicken, and cultivated until midnight.
• Little Four warned Su Qiao that someone was climbing through her window, and she prepared to attack the intruder.
• Su Baiwen revealed himself as Su Qiao’s brother, and Little Four confirmed that they shared the same mother.

Su Qiao confirmed that Su Baiwen was her older brother, and he explained why he had been absent since the fall of the Su family. He revealed that he had trained in martial arts for two years and had secretly entered the Imperial Palace to rescue her.

• Su Qiao confirmed Su Baiwen was her brother and told him her memories were unclear and thinking made her head hurt.
• Su Baiwen accused Su Yue of poisoning Su Qiao and tried to lead her out of the palace, but she asked how they would escape.
• Su Baiwen explained that he had been away roaming the martial world and had returned too late to save their father and family two years earlier.
• Su Baiwen said he had used money from the childhood Small Basement to buy a Peerless Secret Manual and trained in the mountains for a year and a half.
• Su Baiwen claimed he had spent six more months defeating Martial Arts Masters before breaking into the Imperial Palace to reach Su Qiao.

Su Qiao reunited with her older brother Su Baiwen, who had escaped and learned martial arts, and discovered he blamed the emperor, Su Yue, and Prince Jing for their father’s downfall. The siblings shared food and discussed training, while Su Qiao defended Prince Jing and worried over her brother’s accusations.

• Su Baiwen tried to prove his martial arts by climbing out the window, but Su Qiao stopped him and warned him to stay quiet.
• Su Qiao gave Su Baiwen roast chicken, and he ate after learning she had kept some for herself.
• Su Baiwen showed Su Qiao his martial arts manual and proposed that they train together and take revenge on their enemies.
• Su Baiwen accused Prince Jing of helping frame their father, while Su Qiao said Prince Jing was a good person.

Su Qiao warned Su Baiwen not to practice the Martial Arts Manual he had bought and promised him a more powerful one. She explained that a Gu Worm planted by Su Yue kept her from leaving the capital, so she needed to find a way to remove it first.

• Su Qiao reassured Su Baiwen that Prince Jing had treated her kindly, but Su Baiwen spat out the roast chicken because he feared it had been poisoned.
• Su Qiao urged Su Baiwen to stop practicing his Martial Arts Manual, and he insisted it was the best because he had paid forty thousand taels of silver for it.
• Su Qiao persuaded Su Baiwen to switch to a manual supposedly stolen from the Dog Emperor's treasury and worth one hundred thousand taels of gold.
• Su Baiwen asked why Su Qiao would not leave with him, and she explained that Su Yue had placed a Gu Worm in her head that could kill her if she left the capital.

Su Baiwen told Su Qiao that their mother had been the Saintess of Peach Blossom Valley and gave her the Myriad Poison Gu Scripture, which could help her deal with the mother gu. Su Qiao memorized the book and burned it to keep it out of Su Yue and He Zhou’s hands, promising to copy it after they escaped the Imperial Palace.

• Su Baiwen said their mother had been the Saintess of Peach Blossom Valley and admitted he had been unable to find the valley.
• Su Baiwen gave Su Qiao the Myriad Poison Gu Scripture their mother had left for her.
• Su Qiao had Little Four scan the scripture and memorized its contents.
• Su Qiao burned the scripture because Su Yue and He Zhou were also searching for it.
• Su Qiao promised Su Baiwen she would copy the scripture after they left the Imperial Palace.

Su Qiao sent Su Baiwen to gather medicinal ingredients to remove the gu in her mind while warning him not to target Prince Jing. After noticing Ye Jinghua had followed her brother, she learned he had secretly helped cover up Su Baiwen’s visit, and Ye Jinghua questioned whether Su Qiao was truly insane.

• Su Qiao gave Su Baiwen a list of medicinal ingredients and warned him not to cause trouble for Prince Jing.
• Su Baiwen left through the window, and Su Qiao told 444 that her brother probably would not reach Ye Jinghua before being killed.
• Su Qiao realized Ye Jinghua had followed Su Baiwen and confronted 444 for failing to tell her sooner.
• At Heavenly Heart Palace, Ye Jinghua ordered Xun Feng to lead the secret guards away from Su Baiwen.
• Xun Feng remarked that Su Qiao did not seem insane, and Ye Jinghua suspected the gu in her mind caused her madness.

Ye Beiyao investigated Su Yue’s background and had Nanny Gui brought to the palace for questioning. Su Qiao learned through 444 that the interrogation was underway and watched as Ye Beiyao confronted Nanny Gui about the Empress’s origins.

• Ye Jinghua told Xun Feng to keep searching for Peach Blossom Valley and secretly provide Su Qiao’s foolish brother with the medicinal ingredients he needed.
• A secret guard told Ye Beiyao that Li Xiaolian had once served Prime Minister Su’s wife, later gave birth to a girl named Su Yue, and had been helped by Nanny Gui.
• Ye Beiyao ordered Nanny Gui brought to him without alerting anyone.
• Su Qiao studied the Myriad Poison Gu Scripture, and 444 told her that Ye Beiyao had secretly abducted Nanny Gui to investigate Su Yue’s background.
• Ye Beiyao questioned Nanny Gui about the Empress’s origins and his suspicions about her connection to Daoist Priest He.

Ye Beiyao interrogated Nanny Gui after discovering her account of the Empress Dowager's origins was false. Nanny Gui revealed that Su Prime Minister's wife had given birth to a girl named Su Yue who died at birth, then claimed the Madam knew strange things and raised insects, leaving Ye Beiyao furious.

• Ye Beiyao confronted Nanny Gui with evidence that Su Prime Minister's Estate had never had a Concubine Li.
• Ye Beiyao threatened to bring Nanny Gui's son to force her to tell the truth, and she begged him not to hurt the boy.
• Nanny Gui admitted that the Madam had given birth to a girl named Su Yue, but the baby died at birth after the Madam was poisoned.
• Nanny Gui claimed the Madam had strange abilities and raised insects, and Ye Beiyao kicked her away and demanded that she repeat herself.

Su Qiao manipulated Nanny Gui into revealing that the Empress Dowager was Madam, then Nanny Gui died after begging Ye Beiyao to spare her son. Su Qiao explained how her poison worked, while Ye Jingcheng realized Su Yue was not the person she appeared to be and ordered Ye Jinghua's tracks cleaned up.

• Nanny Gui revealed that the Empress Dowager was Madam and begged Ye Beiyao to spare her son, but she died after slamming her head against a wall.
• Ye Beiyao vomited in shock after learning that the woman he had loved was an older woman.
• Su Qiao told 444 that Nanny Gui's poison had taken effect when it mixed with the dragon salvia incense used by the Little Emperor.
• Ye Jingcheng learned that Su Yue was not the Su Yue he had expected and found the hidden plot interesting.
• Ye Jinghua stopped Xun Feng from capturing the Empress and ordered him to clean up her tracks.

Ye Jinghua ordered food for Su Qiao and decided to visit her, while Su Qiao went hungry and was attacked by palace servants. She fought back and left the two eunuchs screaming on the ground.

• Ye Jinghua ordered pastries and roast chicken for Su Qiao and planned to visit her again.
• Su Qiao found no servants or food at noon and went out with her two chicken legs to look for money.
• Two palace maids and two eunuchs rushed at Su Qiao, knocked away her chicken legs, and taunted her.
• Su Qiao kicked the two palace maids away and beat the eunuchs for ruining her food.

Su Qiao fought off Consort Li and her attendants after they tried to attack her, and Ye Jinghua arrived as the beating ended. She was left worrying that her strength had exposed how much she differed from the frail original owner.

• Consort Li ordered her maids to seize Su Qiao and slash her face.
• Su Qiao charged at the palace attendants and knocked them down, then pinned Consort Li and beat her.
• Ye Jinghua arrived and dismissed Consort Li’s pleas for him to punish Su Qiao.
• Su Qiao realized she had broken character by fighting like someone far stronger than the original body.

Su Qiao pretended to be hurt and cried to Ye Jinghua about the chicken leg and Consort Li’s abuse. Ye Jinghua ordered Consort Li and everyone involved executed, leaving the courtyard quiet.

• Su Qiao clutched her head and claimed that the people who beat her had stolen and trampled the chicken leg Ye Jinghua had given her.
• Su Qiao tearfully accused Consort Li and her attendants of humiliating her and threatening to slash her face.
• Ye Jinghua comforted Su Qiao and promised to punish the people who had harmed her.
• Ye Jinghua ordered his men to execute everyone involved and commanded that Consort Li’s face be slashed first.
• A hidden guard gagged and dragged Consort Li away as Ye Jinghua’s men swiftly removed the others.

After Ye Jinghua beat the men who had bullied Su Qiao, he laughed with her and learned that she believed bugs in their brains caused their headaches. He gave her a food box as she left, while privately wondering how anyone could think he was a good person.

• Su Qiao said she was not scared of the beaten men because they could no longer steal her food and chicken legs.
• Ye Jinghua laughed with Su Qiao, then admitted his head hurt when she asked about the bug in his brain.
• Su Qiao said her mother had told her about the bug in her own head and promised to help remove Ye Jinghua's bug too.
• Su Qiao headed back because she was tired and hungry, and Ye Jinghua gave her a food box.
• Su Qiao called Ye Jinghua a wonderful person, and he felt heartsore that she ranked him behind her family.

Ye Jinghua arranged meals and protection for Su Qiao, while declaring that she belonged to him and deciding not to rush her. Su Qiao enjoyed the food and wondered whether Daoist Priest He came from the same place as her mother.

• Ye Jinghua ordered his people to provide Su Qiao with good meals and sent for Qing Feng to help ease her gu-poison symptoms.
• Ye Jinghua warned Xun Feng not to covet Su Qiao and said she belonged to him, but he wanted to approach her slowly so he would not scare her away.
• Ye Jinghua recalled Su Qiao's changing appearance and how her tears unsettled him.
• Su Qiao received meals from four skilled hidden guards sent by Ye Jinghua and happily ate the food.
• Su Qiao blamed the Dog Emperor, Su Yue, and Daoist Priest He for Ye Jinghua's poisoned condition, then wondered whether Daoist Priest He came from Peach Blossom Valley like her mother.

Su Qiao learned how Li Xiaolian’s jealousy and resentment helped ruin her family, then reunited with Su Baiwen when he brought her roast chicken. She turned down his offer to sneak her food every night, warning him that palace guards could use her to threaten him.

• Su Qiao learned that her mother had rescued Li Xiaolian and brought her into her service before secretly marrying Su Ruihe.
• Su Qiao learned that Li Xiaolian used her medical knowledge and poison skills to seduce Su Ruihe, who poisoned and expelled her without realizing she would survive and bear Su Yue.
• Su Baiwen returned after two days carrying a bundle and brought Su Qiao roast chicken.
• Su Baiwen offered to bring Su Qiao food every night so she would stop eating the Regent’s food, but she refused.
• Su Qiao explained that palace guards might capture her and use her to threaten Su Baiwen.

Su Qiao urged Su Baiwen to stay hidden while he trained, then gave him a powerful martial arts manual and received the medicinal herbs he had gathered. Su Baiwen also brought her satin bedding before leaving, while Su Qiao remained in the palace with her plans to remove the bug and escape.

• Su Qiao convinced Su Baiwen not to risk being discovered in the palace and promised they would leave once he improved his martial arts and she removed the bug in her head.
• Su Qiao gave Su Baiwen a Martial Arts Manual, and he eagerly decided to train so he could rescue her.
• Su Baiwen gave Su Qiao the medicinal herbs she had requested, explaining that he had taken money from wealthy landlords and merchants to buy them.
• Su Baiwen remembered another bundle and gave Su Qiao satin quilts and pillowcases, moved to tears over her difficult life in the palace.

Su Qiao reunited with her protective eldest brother, Su Baiwen, who refused to leave the Imperial Palace and promised to disguise himself. Ye Jinghua regretted missing the chance to give Su Qiao new bedding, while Xun Feng worried about the Emperor’s supposed Peerless Secret Manual.

• Su Baiwen reassured Su Qiao that he would protect her and would not let her suffer again.
• Su Qiao warned Su Baiwen that he would be discovered if he hid in the palace, but he insisted he could disguise himself as a eunuch and jumped out the window to change.
• Su Qiao replaced the bedding and ate half a roast chicken after Su Baiwen left.
• Xun Feng questioned whether the Emperor truly possessed a Peerless Secret Manual and apologized to Ye Jinghua for failing to uncover the supposed hidden forces behind it.
• Ye Jinghua complained that Xun Feng had not reminded him to change Su Qiao’s bedding, regretting that Su Baiwen had won her affection with the gesture.

Su Qiao finished preparing medicinal powders and treated the scars left by repeated blood draws, while waiting for her brother to visit. She sent her attendants away and slipped out into the night with two bottles, leaving her plans unknown.

• Ye Jinghua ordered Xun Feng to renovate Su Qiao's courtyard and replace all its furniture with the best available.
• Su Qiao spent the next day grinding medicinal herbs into powder and hid the finished supplies in bottles and a chest.
• Su Qiao applied scar-removing ointment to the wounds left by Su Yue and He Zhou's monthly blood draws, and 444 explained that her Sacred Blood made her special.
• When her brother still had not arrived, Su Qiao took two bottles and sent Fifteen and the other attendants back to their rooms.
• Su Qiao walked outside beneath the moon, thinking it was a perfect night to do something thrilling.

Su Qiao waited in the courtyard after preparing potions, but her brother, Su Baiwen, arrived and confronted Ye Jingwen. She tried to reassure her brother that Ye Jingwen had helped her, then changed the subject by complimenting Su Baiwen’s appearance.

• Su Qiao poured two potions into a vat, sprinkled powder over herself, and waited in the pavilion for poisonous creatures to arrive.
• Su Baiwen appeared while fighting Ye Jingwen outside the courtyard, then pushed Su Qiao back and told her to hide.
• Su Qiao told Su Baiwen that Ye Jingwen had come to play with her, but Su Baiwen warned her that the Ye family had killed their father and many others.
• Su Qiao argued that Ye Jingwen was a good person who had saved and helped her, and Su Baiwen agreed not to kill him but forbade him from approaching her.
• Su Qiao apologized to Ye Jingwen with a glance, then leaned close to Su Baiwen and complimented his handsome appearance.

Su Baiwen tried to warn Su Qiao against being taken in by Ye Jinghua’s looks and urged her to meet more men, while Ye Jinghua countered with food. Su Qiao eagerly ate the roast goose, and Su Baiwen rushed in to warn her it might be poisoned.

• Su Baiwen praised their mother’s beauty, then suspected Su Qiao had taken a liking to Ye Jinghua and warned her not to follow their mother’s example.
• Su Baiwen told Su Qiao she could marry several men if she returned to Grandma’s place and urged her to see more of the martial world.
• Ye Jinghua brought Su Qiao pastries and hot roast goose, which she happily carried into the pavilion and ate.
• Su Baiwen stormed into the pavilion, knocked on the table, and warned Su Qiao not to accept food from strangers in case it was poisoned.

Su Qiao reassured Su Baiwen that Ye Jinghua would not hurt her and explained that Su Yue, the Little Emperor, and a traitor surnamed He were to blame for her family’s suffering. She trusted Ye Jinghua because he had protected her and given her food, leaving Su Baiwen jealous and distressed.

• Su Baiwen scolded Su Qiao for being careless, then blamed himself when she said she had not eaten roast goose since their father’s misfortune.
• Su Qiao comforted Su Baiwen and named Su Yue, the Little Emperor, and a Taoist priest surnamed He as enemies of their family.
• Su Qiao told Su Baiwen that the man surnamed He was Su Yue’s mother’s lover and a traitor who had escaped from Peach Blossom Valley.
• Ye Jinghua asked Su Qiao why she believed he would not hurt her, and she said she trusted her instincts and recalled how he had protected and helped her.
• Su Baiwen complained that Ye Jinghua had won Su Qiao’s trust with three roast chickens, and Su Qiao called her brother silly.

Su Qiao ate the food Ye Jinghua had brought while Su Baiwen objected to their closeness and worried about her reputation. The argument was interrupted when Xun Feng spotted venomous snakes entering the courtyard and moved to protect Prince Jing.

• Su Qiao told Ye Jinghua that his kindness proved he genuinely cared for her, and he praised her cleverness.
• Su Baiwen insisted that he was Su Qiao’s real brother and argued that she should not have to marry into another family.
• Su Baiwen warned Su Qiao not to accept food from Ye Jinghua, but she shared the roast goose with him and suggested they destroy the evidence by eating it.
• Xun Feng spotted five or six venomous snakes crawling through the courtyard gate and drew his sword to protect Prince Jing.

Su Qiao used Poison Powder to gather poisonous creatures and begin refining a Gu, hoping to create a Gu King that could remove the Marrow-Devouring Gu in her mind. She told Ye Jinghua that medicine had temporarily put the Gu to sleep, keeping Su Yue and the others from killing her for now.

• Poisonous creatures swarmed into the courtyard, and Su Baiwen and Ye Jinghua rushed to protect Su Qiao.
• Su Qiao gave Su Baiwen and Ye Jinghua powder to protect themselves, then used another bottle to lure the poisonous creatures into a large water vat.
• Su Qiao covered the vat with a stone slab after the creatures had fought until nearly all movement stopped.
• Su Baiwen asked whether Su Qiao was refining Gu, and she said she needed to create a Gu King to remove the Marrow-Devouring Gu in her mind.
• Ye Jinghua asked whether the Gu was dangerous, and Su Qiao explained that medicine had temporarily put it to sleep.

Su Qiao sent Su Baiwen to gather venomous creatures so she could refine a parasite treatment, then Su Baiwen confronted Ye Jinghua and warned him to stay away from his sister. Ye Jinghua challenged Su Baiwen’s threats, while Su Baiwen insisted Su Qiao would reject him once she recovered.

• Su Qiao explained that removing the parasite too late could damage her memory and sanity, and asked Su Baiwen to gather venomous insects from the mountains and forests.
• Su Qiao gave Su Baiwen medicinal powder and instructions for refining the parasite, then sent him out before dawn to collect venomous creatures.
• After Ye Jinghua left Su Qiao’s courtyard, Su Baiwen appeared before him and warned him to stay away from his sister.
• Ye Jinghua taunted Su Baiwen and challenged him to pit his martial-world allies against Ye Jinghua’s soldiers.
• Su Baiwen insisted Su Qiao had only fallen for Ye Jinghua because the parasite muddled her mind, and said she would see through him once she recovered.