Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao persuaded Little Haozi to study and train so he could become a general, then began turning soaked tree bark into paper. She expected the paper-making process to finish the next day, when she was also due to visit Guyin Temple to make Feng Han clothes.

• Su Qiao convinced Little Haozi to learn the booklet’s characters and exercise, promising to keep the booklet safe until he could read it.
• Su Qiao told Little Haozi that he could pass the booklet and martial arts teachings down to his descendants, and 444 questioned her about misleading an eight-year-old.
• After returning home, Su Qiao wrote two characters beneath the chinaberry tree, and Little Haozi practiced them earnestly.
• Su Qiao cut softened mulberry and Chinese paper mulberry fibers into pieces and pounded them into pulp.
• Ernie asked when the paper-making would be finished, and Su Qiao said it should be done the next day.

Su Qiao prepared paper-making frames and set out early to meet Yuan Liu, who took her to Feng Han. Feng Han explained why he had kept her grandfather away from the coal mine excavation.

• Su Yihe showed Su Qiao the bamboo-mat frames he had made, and she confirmed they would work for making paper.
• Su Yihe told Su Qiao he would begin school after the day off, and she encouraged him to do his best.
• Su Qiao made wet paper with the frames, laid them out to dry, and left for North Mountain early the next morning.
• Su Qiao met Yuan Liu, who helped her into the carriage, where she found Feng Han waiting.
• Feng Han said he had come to inspect the coal mine excavation and explained that he had kept Su Qiao's grandfather away to avoid suspicion and protect him from being implicated.

Su Qiao explained to Feng Han that the strange objects in the mine passage were natural remains from the distant past and promised to show him how they formed. As they discussed their unusual pasts and Xiaobai, Feng Han asked her to choose clothes for him, and she declined to take home ornate shoes because they would draw attention in the village.

• Su Qiao told Feng Han that the objects in the mine passage were natural remnants and offered to make something the next day to demonstrate how they formed.
• Feng Han said Su Qiao sometimes seemed as if she were not from his world, and she claimed her differences came from unusual encounters in her youth.
• Su Qiao guessed that Xiaobai had saved Feng Han and said she had once raised a wolf, bringing the two of them closer.
• Feng Han asked Su Qiao to choose the colors and styles for his clothes, saying he would like whatever she picked.
• Feng Han asked why she had left behind the shoes he gave her, and Su Qiao said ornate shoes were unsuitable for wearing in the village.

Su Qiao and Feng Han traded teasing remarks as she accepted his offer of clothing and traveled with him to a villa near Guyin Temple. She chose wine-red fabric for his outfit, leaving Feng Han to hint that the color resembled wedding clothes.

• Feng Han presented Su Qiao with plain fabric and flirted with her, while Su Qiao reminded him that she was only fourteen.
• Su Qiao ate the porridge and pastries in the carriage as they traveled to the villa in the rear mountains of Guyin Temple.
• Su Qiao examined the fabrics at the villa and chose a bolt of wine-red cloth for Feng Han's clothes.
• Su Qiao explained that she planned to embroider auspicious silver patterns and add a black sash, while Feng Han teased her about choosing a wedding color.

Su Qiao chose burgundy fabric and began making clothes for Feng Han, while their conversation revealed that both had grown up in forests. Feng Han recalled how a wet nurse had left him in a stone cave with a young White Tiger, and Su Qiao sent him outside so he would stop blocking her light.

• Feng Han asked whether burgundy suited him, and Su Qiao told him to accept her choice of color.
• Su Qiao began cutting the fabric without taking Feng Han's measurements, and he teased her for observing him closely.
• Feng Han said he had grown up in the mountains and forests, and Su Qiao reflected that Little Four could not uncover details about his past.
• Feng Han remembered that his wet nurse had hidden him in a stone cave, where he played with a newborn White Tiger.
• Su Qiao pushed Feng Han aside and told him to go outside because he was blocking her light.

Su Qiao finished sewing Feng Han’s clothes and discussed his offer to help with her farm work. Their conversation left Feng Han hoping they would grow closer, while Su Qiao remained uncertain about the life he wanted for her.

• Su Qiao spent the morning sewing Feng Han’s clothes while he read nearby, then finished the garment after Feng Han urged her to take a break.
• Su Qiao explained that she had to prepare for planting rice and making a windmill after her family bought new fields.
• Feng Han offered to send people to help, and Su Qiao challenged him to come plant rice seedlings himself.
• Feng Han said he had worked in the fields before, surprising Su Qiao and prompting her to realize he had built his position from nothing.
• Feng Han suggested they spend more time together, but Su Qiao stayed silent as she weighed her peaceful country life against the imperial palace.
• Little Gui and the eunuchs served lunch, and Feng Han handed Su Qiao a damp cloth before they ate.

Su Qiao and Feng Han shared a meal after discussing her plans to take the clothes home, and Feng Han agreed she could sew at night as long as she did not stay up too late. When Su Qiao left, Feng Han saw her off and had medicinal herbs prepared for her to take home as an explanation for her absence.

• Su Qiao said she would take the clothes home to finish them, and Feng Han warned her not to sew late enough to hurt her eyes.
• Su Qiao reminded Feng Han to be careful with his affairs, and he reassured her that his previous injury had been an accident.
• After eating, Su Qiao gathered the clothes she had sewn, and Feng Han insisted on accompanying her home.
• Feng Han had Yuan Wu and Yuan Liu bring medicinal herbs for Su Qiao to take home, and she remarked that he had thought of everything.

Su Qiao rode with Feng Han and discussed tea, marriage, and what she wanted. When Feng Han offered to give her land, she insisted she wanted to earn her own silver and buy it herself.

• Su Qiao climbed into Feng Han’s carriage, and Little Gui drove it down the mountain with Yuan Wu and Yuan Liu following.
• Feng Han asked Su Qiao about girls getting engaged at fourteen and spoke of young Imperial Concubines who died in childbirth, making her suspicious of his concern for women.
• Feng Han served Su Qiao tea brewed with water from Jade Spring Peak, and she recognized the changed water after one sip.
• When Feng Han asked what she liked, Su Qiao said she liked silver and land.
• Feng Han offered to give Su Qiao land, but she said she wanted to earn her own silver and buy it herself.

Su Qiao accepted Feng Han’s wooden hairpin and two pairs of shoes before leaving the carriage near Willow Tree Village. Feng Han watched her go and wondered whether she would return with him when he had to leave Guyin Town for the capital.

• Feng Han gave Su Qiao an old sandalwood hairpin as a return gift, and she accepted it.
• Feng Han offered Su Qiao two plain-looking pairs of fine shoes, explaining that they would protect her feet when she went up the mountain.
• Su Qiao asked Feng Han to stop the carriage before it reached Willow Tree Village, then took her baskets and walked home without looking back.
• Feng Han watched Su Qiao leave and asked Little Gui whether she would be willing to return with him.
• Little Gui reassured Feng Han that Su Qiao would return because he had treated her well.

Feng Han asked Yuan Wu why Su Qiao might refuse to return with him, and Yuan Wu suggested she preferred the freedom of village life and hated the Imperial Palace. Feng Han was left considering the reason for her reluctance, while Yuan Liu’s assumptions about her were cut short.

• Yuan Liu argued that Su Qiao would agree to marry Feng Han and said her family could be brought to the capital.
• Feng Han asked Yuan Wu for his thoughts, and Yuan Wu warned that Su Qiao might not want to leave her family behind.
• Yuan Wu said Su Qiao carried herself with greater dignity than the Empress, surprising Yuan Liu.
• Feng Han asked why Su Qiao would refuse to return with him, and Yuan Wu said she seemed to prefer village freedom and hate palace life.
• Yuan Liu dismissed the idea that Su Qiao would choose poverty over a good life, and Feng Han ordered him to shut up.

Feng Han told Yuan Liu, Yuan Wu, and Little Gui that he loved Su Qiao and would let her choose the life she wanted. He decided to wait until next year before pursuing her again, then ordered his subordinates to keep their conversation secret.

• Yuan Liu criticized Su Qiao for not returning Feng Han’s affection, and Yuan Wu kicked him for overstepping.
• Feng Han explained that he indulged Su Qiao willingly and that status and power mattered less to her than a wild boar.
• Feng Han recalled Su Qiao’s fierce loyalty to her own people and said she rejected the restraints that came with power and wealth.
• Yuan Liu, Yuan Wu, and Little Gui urged Feng Han to give Su Qiao time, and Feng Han agreed to wait until next year.
• Feng Han left for the carriage after looking toward Willow Tree Village and ordered the three men not to repeat their conversation.

Su Qiao returned home and discovered that her first batch of coarse paper had dried successfully. She planned to use her new skills to build a brick house and asked 444 to find an old-looking manufacturing guide, leaving the search unresolved.

• Su Qiao hid the packages she had brought back, then reassured her grandparents that she had been gathering herbs and wild vegetables.
• Su Qiao checked the paper drying in wooden frames and found that both the mulberry-bark and Chinese-wingnut-bark sheets had turned out well.
• Su Qiao told 444 she would add more lime and boil the bark longer next time to make the paper finer and whiter.
• Su Qiao planned to burn lime, make cement, fire bricks, and produce ordinary roof tiles for her future house.
• Su Qiao told 444 to keep searching its system connections for an old-looking manufacturing book, and said she would write one herself if they could not find it.

Su Qiao considered making a book and learned from Xiaosi that she could create movable type for printing. When Su Yichen discovered her handmade paper and objected to her using it for the toilet, their argument brought Su Yaohui out of the study.

• Su Qiao realized that movable type printing could let her make books quickly, and Xiaosi explained how she could carve wooden or clay type.
• Su Yichen found two stacks of paper on the wooden door and asked Su Qiao if she had made them.
• Su Qiao said she had made the paper for going to the toilet, then demonstrated how to soften it.
• Su Yichen took both stacks away, insisting the valuable paper should not be wasted.
• Su Qiao argued that she needed the paper, while Su Yichen refused to give it back and called for Su Yaohui.
• Su Yaohui hurried out of the study with a writing brush to see what had happened.

Su Qiao explained that the paper she planned to use in the toilet was made from tree bark, astonishing her family. The courtyard fell silent as Su Yihe and Ernie confirmed they had watched her make it.

• Su Yichen told the family that Su Qiao wanted to use paper to relieve herself, prompting everyone to gather in the courtyard.
• Su Qiao explained that she had made the paper herself from tree bark for use in the toilet.
• Zhou Lihua recognized the paper and described how she and Xiao Hao had helped gather the bark and how Su Qiao had processed it.
• Su Yihe and Ernie confirmed that they had watched Su Qiao make the paper.
• The family stared at Su Qiao in astonishment after accepting that she had turned tree bark into paper.

Su Qiao explained her papermaking technique by claiming she had learned it from a book, leaving her family eager for her to find it. After hearing that the Liu family's store had been sealed over faulty products, the family decided to inspect the situation before resuming sales of their toothbrushes and dental powder.

• Su Qiao offered her family the new paper and said she could make coarser paper from wheat straw.
• Su Qiao claimed she had learned papermaking from a book she found years earlier, and her family urged her to remember where it was.
• Su Qiao hurried to her room while her family discussed how much the paper might sell for.
• Zhou Lihua reported that customers had demanded refunds at the Liu family's store, which authorities had sealed after people smashed it up.
• Ernie asked whether they could sell toothbrushes and dental powder again, and Su Qiao said they should inspect the situation first to protect their reputation.

Su Qiao proposed teaching paper-making to her second uncle, Su Huai'an, so he could earn a living with the craft. Her parents resented being passed over, but Su Qiao argued that the work suited her uncle and that his earnings would remain in the family.

• Ernie questioned whether Su Qiao had time to make paper, and the family agreed the process was too labor-intensive for her to handle alone.
• Su Qiao suggested teaching paper-making to Su Huai'an, who refused because he felt the craft was too valuable to accept from her.
• Zhou Lihua tried to pinch Su Qiao and complained that she favored outsiders, while Su Yaohui resented that she had not offered the craft to him.
• Su Qiao explained that paper-making required strength, care, and constant attention, and her parents calmed down as they realized they could not manage the work.
• Su Qiao argued that her grandfather had other duties, her second brother was starting private school, and she and her sister were girls, so Su Huai'an was the best choice.
• Zhou Lihua complained that Su Yaohui had nothing to do, while the old man considered that the craft could give his eldest son a respectable livelihood.

Su Qiao hinted that she had a plan for Su Yaohui that could bring fame and wealth to the Old Su Family, but said she needed half a month to test it. She returned to her room to think while 444 searched for a missing book, and the second branch promised to support her.

• Su Qiao rejected the idea of Su Yaohui opening a private school and said she had a different plan that could bring fame and wealth to the family.
• Su Qiao asked for half a month to make and test something, and Su Yaohui agreed to wait.
• Su Qiao told her grandfather that she remembered part of the missing book and that it could still be useful.
• Back in her room, Su Qiao told 444 that Movable Type Printing needed something more and refused to explain until 444 found the book.
• Zhou Lihua reminded Madam Liu that Su Qiao had given the second branch an important livelihood, and Madam Liu promised the family would support Su Qiao.

Madam Liu and Su Huai'an promised Zhou Lihua they would remember the eldest branch’s help and treat Su Qiao well. At Guyin Temple’s estate, Feng Han had the troublemakers who smashed Su Qiao’s shop arrested and kept locked up, then decided not to tell her about his intervention.

• Madam Liu resolved to treat the eldest branch and Su Qiao well after Zhou Lihua gave her family a valuable craft.
• Madam Liu and Su Huai'an promised Zhou Lihua they would not forget who had helped them.
• Yuan Wu reported that Su Qiao’s shop had been smashed, the authorities had sealed it, and the culprits had been arrested.
• Feng Han ordered the culprits kept locked up rather than eliminated.
• Feng Han considered whether Su Qiao would be touched by his help, but decided there was no need to tell her.
• Yuan Liu praised Su Qiao’s tooth powder over a lesser version, and Feng Han threatened to set Xiaobai on him for seeming to disagree.

Feng Han decided to visit Su Qiao after Yuan Wu suggested he get out for a walk, while Su Qiao and Ernie discussed their slow sales and plans to make more goods. Su Qiao had spent all their earnings on fabric, but still thought they might not have enough.

• Yuan Liu offered to invite Su Qiao, but Yuan Wu advised Feng Han to visit her himself.
• Feng Han agreed to take Xiao Bai for a walk and learned that Su Qiao had gone to town and should be home soon.
• Ernie worried that counterfeit goods from the Liu family shop had hurt their toothbrush and tooth powder sales.
• Su Qiao explained that she had limited the slippers, socks, and bags on sale to avoid giving embroidery workshops a chance to copy them.
• Su Qiao told Ernie to organize people to make more goods, then noted that the five bolts of fabric she had bought might not be enough.

Xia Xiaodie accused Su Qiao of arranging an attack on her maternal grandfather’s general store and begged her to spare the Xia family. As villagers gathered and argued over the stolen tooth-powder formula and the store’s destruction, Su Qiao and Ernie denied the accusation.

• Xia Xiaodie rushed toward Su Qiao and Ernie, and Su Qiao pulled Ernie aside to avoid her.
• Xia Xiaodie admitted that she had envied Su Qiao and arranged for her younger brother to trick Sanlang into revealing information about Su Qiao’s family.
• Xia Xiaodie claimed Su Qiao had hired people to smash her maternal grandfather’s general store and begged her to spare the family.
• Ernie denied the accusation, saying the store had been attacked because the Xia family’s goods had harmed people.
• Villagers gathered and discussed whether the Xia family had stolen the formula and whether Su Qiao had ordered the attack.