Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao soaked mulberry and Chinese wingnut bark to try making coarse paper, hoping to create a useful product she could sell. She then prepared to head up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs after persuading Ernie to keep her meat bun.

• Su Qiao stirred the bark soaking in three vats and covered them again as she prepared to make paper.
• Ernie asked whether the bark could earn money, and Su Qiao said the finished paper could sell well.
• Ernie offered Su Qiao her meat bun, but Su Qiao declined and claimed she had already eaten other food in town.
• Ernie accepted the bun back, and Su Qiao picked up her basket and hoe to go search the mountain for medicinal herbs.

Su Qiao traveled to the southern mountain to gather pine resin and medicinal herbs for her plans. She returned home with a full basket and intended to dry the herbs in the heated brick bed’s flue before preparing them.

• Ernie offered to accompany Su Qiao, but Su Qiao left alone after telling her she would only gather herbs nearby.
• Su Qiao found the pine grove from her childhood, collected resin crystals from the trunks, and cut into the trees to encourage more resin to form.
• Su Qiao gathered medicinal herbs until her basket was full and hurried home near nightfall.
• Su Qiao explained to Little Four that she planned to dry the herbs in the heated brick bed’s flue so she could prepare them without raising suspicion.

Feng Han brooded over Su Qiao’s apparent disdain while his White Tiger failed to please him. The next morning, Su Qiao left home with a woodcutter’s knife to bring back meat for lunch, promising her mother she would return before noon.

• Feng Han plucked apart a peach blossom and remarked that Su Qiao looked down on him.
• Feng Han called over the White Tiger, shoved it away, and left the grove with Yuan Wu.
• Old Master Su took the family to harvest wheat, while Zhou Lihua and the injured Su Qiao stayed home.
• Su Qiao changed into work clothes, took a woodcutter’s knife, and told Zhou Lihua she was going to bring back meat.
• Zhou Lihua eagerly agreed to boil water and wait for Su Qiao.

Su Qiao went to North Mountain to hunt for meat and worried about how to help her timid eldest brother, Su Yichen, become more capable. After finding wild boar tracks by the stream, she asked Little Four to scan for nearby boars.

• Zhou Lihua urged Su Qiao to hurry to North Mountain after hearing there would be meat.
• Su Qiao considered training Su Yichen by secretly leaving him in the deep mountains, but worried he might be hurt or starve before the family found him.
• Su Qiao decided to focus on hunting and told Little Four to search the stream banks for wild boar signs.
• Su Qiao found wild boar dung and hoofprints near the stream, then asked Little Four to scan for boars nearby.

Su Qiao hunted a wild boar and carried it back down the mountain, where she ran into Yuan Wu and Yuan Liu. After she left, Yuan Wu questioned how she had managed to hunt and carry such a heavy animal.

• With 444’s help, Su Qiao tracked down a wild boar and killed it with her Wood Chopping Knife.
• Su Qiao decided not to hunt more boars, hoisted her catch onto her shoulder, and headed home to prepare dinner.
• Su Qiao encountered Yuan Wu and Yuan Liu, brushed off Yuan Liu’s remark about her appearance, and continued down the mountain.
• Yuan Wu warned Yuan Liu to treat Su Qiao politely because Overlord would punish him otherwise.
• Yuan Wu wondered how Su Qiao had hunted and carried a wild boar by herself.

Yuan Wu and Little Six investigated Su’s reputation in Willow Tree Village and returned to report to Feng Han. After hearing that Su had carried a wild boar down the mountain, Feng Han grew less convinced by the villagers’ rumors.

• Yuan Wu and Little Six hurried to Guyin Temple and discreetly investigated Su’s reputation in the village.
• Feng Han scolded them for taking so long, then asked what they had learned about Su.
• Yuan Wu reported that Su had a poor reputation, and Little Six listed the villagers’ accusations against her.
• Little Six said he and Yuan Wu had encountered Su carrying a wild boar weighing over a hundred jin and argued that she had no reason to steal vegetables.
• Feng Han’s frown eased as he asked Yuan Wu whether he had actually run into Su.

Feng Han rejected his subordinates’ suspicions about Su Qiao and refused to have her brought to him, while they mistakenly assumed he wanted her as a concubine. He left them uncertain about why he valued her, though he privately found the Su family intriguing.

• Yuan Liu praised Su Qiao’s strength, and Feng Han ordered his subordinates to stop spreading rumors about her.
• Yuan Wu and Xiao Liu urged Feng Han to test Su Qiao’s skills, but he refused and said he knew what he was doing.
• Feng Han reasoned that Su Qiao and Old Master Su had shown no interest in currying favor with him, and found the family interesting.
• Yuan Wu and Xiao Liu suggested bringing Su Qiao to Feng Han so he could train and nurture her, but Feng Han denied intending to do so.
• Yuan Wu concluded that Feng Han wanted Su Qiao as a concubine and worried that Old Master Su would refuse, while noting that Su Qiao did not seem to care about Feng Han.

Feng Han punished Yuan Wu and ordered Xiao Liu to administer thirty lashes after Yuan Wu spoke out of turn about his feelings for Miss Su. Yuan Wu explained that Feng Han appreciated her rather than intending to train her as a subordinate, leaving Xiao Liu to consider what that meant.

• Feng Han furiously rebuked Yuan Wu for meddling in his affairs and ordered him to receive punishment.
• Feng Han ordered Xiao Liu to give Yuan Wu thirty lashes, and Xiao Liu reluctantly agreed.
• After they left, Xiao Liu questioned Yuan Wu about why he had brought up Feng Han’s taboo regarding his inability to marry or have children.
• Yuan Wu said Feng Han valued Miss Su because he appreciated her, not because he wanted to groom her into a subordinate.
• Xiao Liu argued that appreciation did not mean Feng Han had to marry Miss Su.

Yuan Wu and Xiao Liu discussed their master’s feelings for Miss Su and realized he did not want to force her to come to him. Yuan Wu then accepted punishment for testing their master’s feelings.

• Xiao Liu suggested that their master could bring Miss Su home if he wanted, but Yuan Wu said she likely wanted nothing to do with him.
• Yuan Wu explained that their master had waited for Miss Su to visit and had gone to town after growing restless.
• Xiao Liu said their master could use his power to make Miss Su come, but Yuan Wu suspected their master would not compel her.
• Yuan Wu recalled that their master had grown furious when he suggested Miss Su was unworthy, then went to the punishment room and lay down for his beating.
• Xiao Liu took down the whip, and Yuan Wu warned him that their master had ordered him to carry out the punishment as a warning.

Su Qiao brought a giant wild boar home and quickly butchered it while Zhou Lihua prepared hot water and firewood. They cooked braised pork and bamboo shoot stir-fry, and the kitchen filled with the smell of meat as Zhou Lihua waited eagerly to eat.

• Yuan Wu's explanation made a man understand why he needed to respect Su Qiao and avoid discussing her relationship with the Overlord.
• Su Qiao carried a huge wild boar through the village and dropped it beside the well at home.
• Zhou Lihua was astonished to see the boar, then hurried to heat water so Su Qiao could butcher it.
• Su Qiao swiftly skinned and gutted the boar, chopped the meat, and told Zhou Lihua to blanch it.
• Su Qiao prepared braised pork and bamboo shoot stir-fry with pork slices while Zhou Lihua fed the fire and waited for the food to be ready.

Su Qiao cooked a large meal and brought it with drinks to her family working in the fields. She told her grandmother that she had found a little wild boar on the mountain, after the older woman suspected they had killed a chicken.

• Su Qiao cooked braised pork, bamboo shoots with pork, pork kidneys, and houttuynia while Zhou Lihua eagerly ate the braised pork.
• Su Qiao ate her fill, packed food and drinks into a back basket and wooden bucket, and told Zhou Lihua to guard the remaining meat at home.
• Su Qiao arrived at the fields, where Madam Liu and the others stopped work to greet her and prepare to eat.
• Su Qiao told her grandmother that she had found a little wild boar on the mountain when the old woman accused Zhou Lihua of staying home to cook after killing a chicken.

Su Qiao brought the Su family braised wild boar and several dishes while they worked in the fields, startling everyone by revealing she had killed the boar herself. The family learned she was exceptionally strong and had often gone hungry, and they began sharing the food and tea.

• Su Qiao showed the gathered family a basin of braised wild boar and several other dishes.
• Su Qiao explained that she had killed the charging boar with one swing of her woodcutter's axe.
• Little Haozi told everyone that Su Qiao could lift the courtyard's millstone and had often been hungry.
• Old Master Su and the old lady regretted that Su Qiao had gone without enough food, and Su Qiao urged them to eat.
• The old lady took Su Qiao's jar of tea, poured a bowl for Old Master Su, and began distributing the food.

Su Qiao joined the wheat harvest and, after getting used to the sickle, began cutting the wheat at astonishing speed. Her family and the neighboring workers watched in amazement as Ernie called their attention to it.

• Su Qiao took a sickle into the fields to help harvest the wheat assigned to Su Yaohui and Su Yichen.
• Su Huai'an and the old man urged Su Qiao to avoid straining the wound on her hand, while Su Yaohui dismissed her efforts as play.
• Su Qiao struggled at first with the unfamiliar sickle as 444 criticized her slow pace.
• Su Qiao adapted to the sickle and cut the wheat faster and faster with her strength and nimble hands.
• Ernie called to Grandpa and Grandma in amazement as the wheat fell in patches around Su Qiao.

Su Qiao impressed the village with how quickly she harvested wheat, while Old Master Su told Village Chief Xia that his second daughter had helped save him from the mine accident. The chapter ended with Village Chief Xia confused and Old Master Su criticizing his daughter’s honesty.

• Su Qiao harvested wheat so quickly that her family and neighboring workers stopped to watch.
• Village Chief Xia praised Su Qiao’s strength and asked Old Master Su how the family had come by the wild boar meat.
• Old Master Su said Su Qiao had killed the boar and carried him back from the coal mountain after his second daughter warned her in time.
• Village Chief Xia was startled to learn that his second daughter had been involved, and Old Master Su told him to ask her for the details.

After learning that Xia Xiaodie had interfered in the coal mine incident, Old Master Xia confronted her and warned the family that the powerful person investigating the disaster could punish them all. The Xia family was left terrified as he blamed Xia Xiaodie for putting them in grave danger.

• Village Chief Xia returned home in a cold sweat after the old master warned him that everyone involved in the mine matter could be held responsible.
• Old Master Xia summoned Xia Xiaodie and threw a teacup at her when she entered, but Liu Yuehong pulled her out of its path.
• Old Master Xia demanded to know what Xia Xiaodie had done on the day of the mine incident, and she denied doing anything.
• Old Master Xia told the family that Xia Xiaodie had caused Danie of the Old Su Family to go to the mine and warned that the whole family could be imprisoned or executed.
• Old Master Xia described the powerful figure’s response to the mine disaster and accused Xia Xiaodie of putting the Xia family in danger.

The Xia Family feared that Xia Xiaodie’s role in leading Danie toward the Coal Mine would bring ruin on them if the authorities investigated the collapse. Xia Xiaodie denied responsibility, but her family condemned her and compared her unfavorably with Danie.

• Old Master Xia warned that an investigation into the Coal Mine collapse could destroy the Xia Family once the authorities had the manpower to pursue it.
• Xia Qiang struck Xia Xiaodie and demanded to know what she had done; she insisted she had only mentioned the coal cinders and had not told Danie to enter the mine.
• Old Master Xia accused Xia Xiaodie of acting deliberately because he had already warned the family to stay away from the Coal Mine.
• Xia Xiaodie insulted Danie, prompting Old Master Xia and the old madam to praise Danie's strength and skill in the fields.
• Liu Yuehong, resentful that her in-laws praised Danie, jabbed Xia Xiaodie and berated her for harboring malicious thoughts against her.

The Xia Family learned that Xia Xiaodie had secretly gone shopping with Zhou Tianyou, the county magistrate’s eldest son, whom she called Brother Zhou. Village Chief Xia forbade her from leaving her room until she was married.

• Xia Xiaodie defended herself, saying the girl who went to the Coal Mine had acted out of greed and deserved what happened.
• Xia Yubin identified Brother Zhou as his classmate, Zhou Tianyou, who was staying in town with his maternal grandfather to study.
• Xia Yubin said Xia Xiaodie had met Zhou Tianyou when she visited town to look for him.
• Under questioning, Xia Xiaodie admitted that she and Zhou Tianyou had gone shopping twice, though she said his personal servant had accompanied them.
• Village Chief Xia ordered Xia Xiaodie to stay in her room and not go outside until she was married.

Xia Xiaodie pleaded with Liu Yuehong to help her marry Zhou Lihua’s son, but Liu Yuehong warned that she could only become his concubine and told her to stop seeing him. Meanwhile, Old Master Xia decided the family would visit the Old Su Family that night to apologize.

• Liu Yuehong scolded Xia Xiaodie for admitting to secretly meeting a man and warned that gossip could ruin her future.
• Xia Xiaodie asked Liu Yuehong to help her marry Brother Zhou, hoping to become an official’s wife.
• Liu Yuehong said the families were mismatched, rejected the idea of Xia Xiaodie becoming a concubine, and told her to stop associating with Young Master Zhou.
• Old Master Xia told his family to bring cured meat and candy to the Old Su Family that night to apologize.

Old Master Xia made his family prepare gifts to apologize to the Su Family for Erya’s role in the coal mine incident. After learning Zhou Tianyou was the male lead destined to marry Xia Xiaodie, Su Qiao decided to separate them.

• Old Master Xia blamed Erya for the Su Family’s near-deaths and ordered his family to take cured meat and sugar as an apology.
• Su Qiao told 444 that Zhou Tianyou was not actually coming to propose to her.
• 444 revealed that Zhou Tianyou was the male lead, who would marry Xia Xiaodie and rise to become prime minister.
• Su Qiao decided to separate Zhou Tianyou and Xia Xiaodie because she was jealous.

Su Qiao returned to gathering medicinal herbs after her family stopped her from working in the fields, then encountered Yuan Wu, Yuan Liu, and their group near the mountain. Yuan Wu relayed that his master wanted to speak with her, but Su Qiao declined to enter the carriage.

• Madam Liu and Su Huai'an urged Su Qiao to rest and protect her injured hand while the Su Family worked in the fields.
• Village Chief Xia visited the Su Family with his son, and the old man accepted their gifts without promising how he would respond.
• The old man stopped Su Qiao and Su Yihe from working more than half a day, so Su Qiao went up the mountain the next day to gather herbs.
• Su Qiao collected a full Back Basket and a rattan bag of medicinal herbs, then met Yuan Wu, Yuan Liu, and their group at the foot of the mountain.
• Yuan Wu told Su Qiao that his master invited her into the carriage, but she refused, saying she would dirty it.