Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao gave her grandparents the ginseng and worried about how the family would earn money. At Guyin Temple, Feng Han learned that Su Qiao had refused his gifts and had been injured during their escape from the coal mine.

• Su Qiao urged her grandparents to keep the ginseng and use it to nourish themselves, and the old man agreed to let his wife keep it.
• Yuan Wu returned to Guyin Temple with the rejected gifts and one hundred Silver Dollars.
• Xiao Liu learned that Su Qiao had refused the money and followed Yuan Wu to report to Feng Han.
• Yuan Wu told Feng Han that Su Qiao had been frightened and suffered external injuries.
• Feng Han recalled their escape from the coal mine and realized he had mistaken Su Qiao's blood for someone else's.

Feng Han learned that Su had accepted only the medicinal herbs sent to her and refused the gifts and money. He ordered his men to send her a bottle of Scarless, leaving Xiao Liu shocked by his choice.

• Yuan Wu reported that Su had accepted the medicinal herbs but refused the gifts and money.
• Xiao Liu confirmed that Su had not taken any Silver Dollars and repeated her blunt response when he warned her he might be punished.
• Yuan Wu told Feng Han that Su seemed familiar with medicinal herbs, perhaps because her maternal grandfather had been a physician.
• Feng Han ordered his men to send Su a bottle of Scarless to repay her for saving him.
• Xiao Liu objected that Scarless was a rare healing medicine, and Feng Han told him he talked too much.

Feng Han reprimanded Little Six for commenting on Su Qiao and told his subordinates that she had saved his life. After Feng Han sent them away, Little Six still wondered why their master seemed to forbid anyone from describing her.

• Little Six knelt and asked Feng Han to punish him for overstepping his bounds.
• Feng Han asked whether Su Qiao was fat and dark, and Little Six denied it while calling her fair and thin.
• Feng Han ordered Little Six not to make such remarks about Su Qiao again.
• Feng Han told Little Six and Xiao Wu that Su Qiao had saved his life, then warned Xiao Wu not to make a display of it.
• Little Six and Xiao Wu left the inner hall, and Little Six asked Xiao Wu what Feng Han really meant.

Yuan Wu and Xiao Liu speculated about why their master had spared Su Qiao and sent her medicine, while Xiao Wu thought she might have saved him in the mine and be worth training. Su Qiao prepared a batch of tooth powder and joined the family meal at the main house for the first time.

• Xiao Liu and Xiao Wu discussed whether their master wanted to train Su Qiao, and Xiao Wu suggested she might have helped him in the mine.
• Yuan Wu fetched the sacred medicine and went back to Willow Tree Village to deliver it.
• Su Qiao ground the dried herbs, mixed in salt, and packed her homemade tooth powder into a bamboo tube.
• Second Aunt called Su Qiao to dinner, where the old master and Su Qiao received extra chicken soup and fried flatbread.

Su Qiao prepared to make toothbrushes after Second Brother Su Yihe brought her eleven smooth wooden handles and Little Haozi brought cow-tail hair for bristles. She trimmed the hair and fetched a Small Wooden Box, leaving her family curious about her plan.

• Su Qiao practiced writing beneath the Chinese toon tree to make others believe she was learning to read and write.
• Second Brother Su Yihe showed Su Qiao a carved toothbrush handle and gave her eleven handles he had made.
• Little Haozi returned with cow-tail hair he had secretly cut from the village head's cow.
• Su Qiao told Little Haozi not to cut off the cow's tail hair again, then trimmed the hair for toothbrush bristles.
• Su Qiao fetched a Small Wooden Box while Little Haozi, Su Yihe, and Ernie watched curiously.

Su Qiao made toothbrushes from pine resin and bristles, then showed Ernie, Little Haozi, and Su Yihe how to use them with her herbal tooth powder. The siblings wanted toothbrushes of their own, and Su Yichen asked Su Qiao to make one for his brother.

• Su Qiao explained that the pale crystals were pine resin and used them to attach trimmed bristles into toothbrush handles.
• Su Qiao made eleven toothbrushes, washed them, and demonstrated brushing her teeth with herbal tooth powder.
• Su Qiao explained the tooth powder’s ingredients and benefits, and Ernie confirmed that Su Qiao’s teeth looked whiter.
• Little Haozi asked to brush his teeth, while Ernie showed interest but hesitated to ask.
• Su Yichen asked Su Qiao to make a toothbrush set for his brother, Su Yihe.

Su Qiao persuaded her family to use toothbrushes and tooth powder to improve their hygiene, then proposed selling them in town. Su Yihe wondered whether bad breath could affect studies and even the imperial examinations.

• Su Yichen explained that his bad breath made him afraid to stand close to his teacher or speak to people.
• Su Qiao insisted that the whole family use tooth powder and explained that they could gather its ingredients in the mountains.
• Su Qiao persuaded Ernie to brush her teeth by warning that yellow teeth could hurt her chances of getting engaged.
• Ernie began brushing her teeth while Su Qiao proposed selling toothbrushes and tooth powder in town.
• Su Yihe questioned whether bad breath could seriously affect learning and the imperial examinations.

Su Qiao persuaded Su Yihe and Su Yichen to sell toothbrushes and tooth powder, hoping the products could become a source of income for their family. She set the prices and planned to make more tooth powder, leaving Su Yihe shocked by how much she intended to charge.

• Su Yihe asked whether they should tell their grandparents about the toothbrushes and tooth powder, and Su Qiao said they should first prove the products could sell.
• Su Qiao told Su Yihe to take their products to town when he went to sell baskets the next day.
• Su Qiao priced each toothbrush at one hundred wen and told Su Yihe to carve flowers into the handles.
• Su Qiao set the price of tooth powder at five hundred wen per tube, startling Su Yihe with the high price.
• Su Qiao decided to add medicinal ingredients and adjust the tooth powder formula to make it harder for others to copy.

Su Qiao planned to improve the presentation of her toothbrushes and tooth powder while her family eagerly tried brushing their teeth. Yuan Wu delivered a precious healing medicine from his master, leaving Su Qiao absorbed in examining it.

• Su Qiao explained that prettier porcelain bottles would make her products seem more high-end and told everyone to brush their teeth until they were white.
• Little Haozi, Su Yihe, Su Yichen, and Ernie eagerly went to brush their teeth again.
• Su Qiao gathered resin and was surprised when Yuan Wu appeared by flying over the courtyard wall.
• Yuan Wu gave Su Qiao an emerald bottle of rare healing medicine from his master and thanked her for saving him.
• Su Qiao accepted the medicine and focused on studying its contents while casually dismissing Yuan Wu's thanks.

Su Qiao accepted the Healing Sacred Medicine Yuan Wu delivered and discussed the gift’s implications with her grandfather. She reassured him she would be cautious, then returned to find her siblings testing their toothbrushes and tooth powder.

• Su Qiao accepted the ointment from Yuan Wu and thanked his master before Yuan Wu left.
• Su Qiao’s siblings worried that accepting the medicine might cause trouble, so she told them she would explain it to their grandfather.
• Su Qiao told her grandfather about the gift, and he agreed she should accept it but warned her to be careful around the lord.
• Su Qiao promised her grandfather she would discuss any future problems with him before acting.
• Su Qiao returned to the courtyard and found Ernie showing her brother how white her teeth looked after brushing.

Su Qiao reconciled with Ernie after whitening her teeth and confessed that she had once taken Ernie’s embroidered purses to buy candy. To prove her claim that she could eat ten jin of pork, Su Qiao went to the backyard and prepared to lift a heavy millstone, despite her brothers’ warnings about her injured hand.

• Su Yihe guessed that Ernie’s teeth had become whiter, and Su Qiao confirmed the whitening while examining her.
• Ernie thanked Su Qiao and promised not to glare at or curse her, while Su Qiao admitted she had taken Ernie’s embroidered purses to trade for candy.
• Su Qiao claimed she could eat ten jin of pork in one meal, prompting the others to doubt her.
• Su Qiao led Ernie and Little Haozi to the backyard and pointed out the heavy millstone.
• Su Qiao crouched to lift the millstone, but Su Yihe and Su Yichen warned her that the effort could reopen her injured hand.

Su Qiao demonstrated her unusual strength by lifting a millstone, then claimed she had always been hungry to explain her past behavior. Her family believed her and pitied her, while Ernie offered to support her if she could not marry.

• Su Qiao lifted and spun a millstone to show her strength, astonishing Ernie, Su Yihe, and Su Yichen.
• Little Haozi asked how she did it, and Su Qiao said she had been born strong and had never eaten her fill.
• Su Qiao explained to 444 that revealing her strength would help clear her reputation and forestall questions about carrying a grown man home from the coal mine.
• Little Haozi felt sorry for Su Qiao, and Ernie apologized for having misunderstood her past actions.
• Ernie offered to earn money and secretly help Su Qiao if she could not get married, leaving Su Qiao confused as Su Yihe and Su Yichen pitied her.

Su Qiao’s siblings promised to work hard to get her more food and agreed to keep her appetite a secret so she could still marry. The next morning, when the family missed their trip to town for lack of tooth powder, Su Qiao went up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs and wild vegetables.

• Su Yihe, Su Yichen, and Little Haozi each promised to earn or find food for Su Qiao, and Ernie and the others agreed to keep her appetite secret.
• Su Qiao decided that if her siblings would not spread the secret, she could spread it herself.
• Su Qiao went up the mountain before dawn with her Back Basket because she lacked enough medicinal herbs to make tooth powder.
• Su Qiao failed to catch any rabbits and gathered fish mint, wild chives, wild scallions, and fern shoots instead.
• 444 offered to scan the area for game while Su Qiao continued gathering food.

Su Qiao gathered herbs, wild vegetables, and bamboo shoots while preparing to make tooth powder in a hidden cave. She left with her basket packed full of peeled bamboo shoots, while 444 urged her to return before her family worried.

• Su Qiao and 444 searched for herbs, vegetables, and prey, and 444 found a small stream.
• Su Qiao washed the herbs and went to a concealed cave, where she remembered she needed bamboo tubes to store tooth powder.
• 444 found a nearby bamboo grove, and Su Qiao dug up a large pile of bamboo shoots.
• Su Qiao cut bamboo stalks into tubes, returned to the cave, and processed the herbs.
• Su Qiao peeled the bamboo shoots, packed them into her back basket, and tied them down with vines.

Su Qiao returned from the mountain with bamboo shoots and learned that Yuan Liu had come to take the old master away. After changing and bathing at her leisure, she met Yuan Liu in the main room, where he said his master wanted the old master to go with him.

• Su Qiao returned to the Su family home carrying bamboo shoots and medicinal herbs, and Madam Liu told her that someone had come looking for her.
• Su Qiao learned from Xiao Si that Yuan Liu had come, then bathed and changed before meeting him.
• Yuan Liu told Su Qiao that his master wanted the old master to go with him.
• Su Qiao sat down, poured herself tea, and asked Yuan Liu why he had waited for her if he only wanted the old master.

Su Qiao accompanied her injured grandfather, Su Dehong, to meet Feng Han at his mountain residence. Feng Han had tea and pastries prepared when he learned she was waiting outside, while Su Dehong nervously waited to hear why he had been summoned.

• Su Qiao agreed to accompany Su Dehong, and Yuan Liu took them by carriage toward Guyin Temple.
• At Feng Han's residence, Su Qiao waited outside while Su Dehong entered to meet the Overlord.
• Feng Han let Su Dehong rise and sit, then ordered tea and pastries after Yuan Liu told him Su Qiao was outside.
• Su Dehong asked Feng Han why he had summoned him.

Feng Han questioned Old Master Su about the mine collapse, but Su Dehong denied knowing what had happened and pleaded for his granddaughter’s safety. Feng Han learned Su Qiao had entered the rear courtyard to play with Little White and went to find her, where she landed near the White Tiger.

• Feng Han asked Su Dehong what he knew about the mine collapse, and Su Dehong claimed he had been knocked unconscious and knew nothing.
• Su Dehong begged Feng Han to spare his granddaughter, and Feng Han noticed how strongly he wanted to protect her.
• Yuan Wu told Feng Han that Miss Su had climbed over the wall into the rear courtyard to play with Little White.
• Feng Han invited Su Dehong to follow him to the rear courtyard.
• Su Qiao jumped over the wall into the peach grove, and 444 warned her that Little White was a White Tiger as she rolled across the grass.

Su Qiao tried to sneak around the courtyard but was chased through the peach blossom grove by a playful White Tiger. She realized it belonged to the missing Male Lead and struggled to get away as she hurried toward the front courtyard.

• Su Qiao climbed over the courtyard wall with 444's help and tried to jump down.
• A White Tiger charged out of the peach blossom grove and repeatedly pounced at Su Qiao as she dodged and threatened it.
• Su Qiao asked 444 where the White Tiger came from and guessed that it belonged to her man.
• 444 urged Su Qiao to head for the front courtyard, but the White Tiger kept chasing her.

Su Qiao tried to sneak away from Feng Han’s courtyard after distracting his White Tiger, but Feng Han arrived and caught her with the animal. They silently sized each other up, leaving their first proper encounter unresolved.

• Su Qiao tried to train the White Tiger to lie down so she could slip toward the courtyard wall.
• The White Tiger stood up when Su Qiao moved away, and she tried to coax it back into lying down.
• Feng Han arrived with Old Master Su and called the White Tiger back to him.
• Su Qiao recognized Feng Han in his Imperial Guards robe, while Feng Han admired her beauty.
• Su Qiao and Feng Han stood facing each other in silence among the peach blossoms.

Su Qiao met Feng Han in the peach grove after being caught trying to escape, and Feng Han treated her with unusual familiarity. He left to wait with Old Master Su while Su Qiao was told to wash and change.

• Old Master Su urged Su Qiao to pay her respects to Feng Han, who told her not to be formal when they were outside.
• White Tiger ran over to Su Qiao, and she pushed it away while it kept nuzzling her.
• Feng Han smiled at Su Qiao and ordered White Tiger's keepers to take it away to be cleaned.
• Feng Han ordered palace maids to prepare clean clothes for Su Qiao, but she refused and fixed her hair herself.
• Feng Han left, telling Su Qiao he would wait with her grandfather in the outer hall, and Su Qiao silently resented his overbearing manner.