Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao refused to flee with Jin Canghan because Jin Moli could use their escape to target her family, and she argued they needed to remain in the palace. She proposed that Jin Canghan take Jin Moli’s place as emperor, leaving him to consider whether the Empress Dowager would oppose it.

• Jin Canghan carried Su Qiao toward the bed, but she stopped him because spies were watching Jingren Palace.
• Su Qiao explained that Jin Moli would pursue them and threaten the Su family if they fled the palace.
• Jin Canghan offered to destroy his face so Jin Moli would no longer see him as a rival, but Su Qiao rejected the idea.
• Su Qiao suggested they destroy Jin Moli’s face and have Jin Canghan replace him.
• Jin Canghan worried that the Empress Dowager would object, and Su Qiao argued that she would accept either son becoming emperor.

Su Qiao explained how she had recognized Jin Canghan beneath Jin Moli’s identity, and Jin Canghan began mobilizing his followers to seize the throne. The chapter ended with Jin Canghan rushing into Su Qiao’s bedroom, where she warned him that the incense contained a sedative.

• Su Qiao told Jin Canghan she had suspected his identity after their wedding night and became mostly certain when he approached her disguised as a eunuch.
• Su Qiao described the differences between Jin Canghan and Jin Moli, including their auras, expressions, a mole behind Jin Canghan’s ear, and their builds.
• After the truth was laid bare, Su Qiao avoided Jin Moli, while Jin Canghan secretly mobilized his followers to seize the throne.
• Jin Moli noticed Jin Canghan’s actions, and Su Qiao sensed something was wrong when she entered her bedroom that evening.
• Jin Canghan rushed in through the window to help Su Qiao, who told him the incense contained a sedative and caught him as he staggered.

Su Qiao escaped Jingren Palace with Jin Canghan after learning Jin Moli planned to kill him and imprison her. In the Imperial Garden, Jin Moli admitted to the Empress Dowager that he loved Su Qiao and could not let her go.

• Su Qiao gave Jin Canghan an antidote and learned from 444 that Jin Moli was coming to catch them together and kill him.
• Su Qiao and Jin Canghan escaped through a window, and Su Qiao carried him with her Lightness Skill.
• Su Qiao and Jin Canghan stopped in the Imperial Garden after learning the Empress Dowager had intercepted Jin Moli there.
• The Empress Dowager urged Jin Moli not to harm Su Qiao or his younger brother, but Jin Moli said he would rather destroy Su Qiao than lose her.
• Jin Moli told the Empress Dowager that he loved Su Qiao and would regret letting her go.

Jin Moli confirmed that he would accept Su Qiao despite her past, while the Empress Dowager pleaded for him to spare Jin Canghan. Su Qiao and Jin Canghan visited the Su family home to reveal what had happened and ask for help, leaving Grand Tutor Su and the old madam devastated.

• Jin Moli told the Empress Dowager he would bear the consequences of what he had done and continued to Jingren Palace.
• The Empress Dowager asked Jin Moli to spare Jin Canghan, but Jin Moli left without answering.
• Su Qiao reassured Jin Canghan that he did not need anyone else, and he resolved to live for himself and protect her.
• Su Qiao and Jin Canghan went to the Su family home, where Su Qiao removed his Human Skin Mask and explained the truth and her plans to Grand Tutor Su and the old madam.
• The old madam begged Grand Tutor Su to help Su Qiao, grieving over the deception surrounding her marriage.

After the Su family decided to protect themselves from Jin Moli, Su Qiao and Jin Canghan returned to Jingren Palace, where Jin Moli confronted them. Jin Canghan revealed his disguise, and Jin Moli demanded that Su Qiao choose between them.

• Su Qiao’s family condemned Jin Moli, and Grand Tutor Su agreed that they had to protect the Su family.
• Jin Moli waited for Su Qiao and Jin Canghan at Jingren Palace and asked where they had gone.
• Jin Moli offered to let Su Qiao raise Consort Wan’s child, but Su Qiao refused and asked him to leave.
• Jin Moli said he wanted to stay the night, so Jin Canghan removed his Human Skin Mask and challenged him.
• Jin Moli accepted the confrontation and demanded that Su Qiao choose between him and Jin Canghan.

Jin Moli offered to make Su Qiao Empress and spare the Su family, but she rejected his attempt to confine her and reassured Jin Canghan that she had not hesitated. Jin Moli later learned from Imperial Physician Wang that his health had recovered, though he had taken no medicine.

• Jin Moli promised Su Qiao the throne and the Su family's safety, then left hidden guards around Jingren Palace after warning her not to get close to Jin Canghan.
• Su Qiao knocked out the hidden guards with a fire and powder, then told Jin Canghan she could not break with Jin Moli yet because of her plan.
• Jin Canghan worried that Su Qiao might choose Jin Moli, but she called him into the inner room and reassured him.
• Jin Canghan grew angry at the mention of Jin Moli and tore off his clothes.
• Jin Moli secretly asked Imperial Physician Wang to examine him, and Wang confirmed that his health had recovered despite his taking no medicine.

Imperial Physician Wang told Jin Moli that his impotence came from a psychological barrier and that his feelings for one woman showed he could accept her. As Gu Wanting went into labor, Su Qiao prepared to expose Jin Moli and put her family’s plan into motion.

• Imperial Physician Wang explained that Jin Moli’s illness had likely stemmed from emotional trauma, and Jin Moli wondered whether he had misunderstood Su Qiao.
• Su Qiao confirmed that a storm was expected that night, disguised herself as a palace maid, added powder to incense, and installed lightning rods on the roofs of Mingren Palace and Qian Yuan Hall.
• Su Qiao said she had given Gu Wanting labor-inducing medicine because Gu Wanting wanted to give birth sooner, and she learned that Gu Wanting had gone into labor.
• Su Qiao confirmed that the Su family was ready, including her father returning from the border with troops, and told Jin Canghan to hide men outside Minghe Palace.
• Jin Canghan left to mobilize the men while Su Qiao stayed behind, and the Empress Dowager, Jin Moli, and the imperial concubines went to Minghe Palace for Gu Wanting’s labor.

Su Qiao arrived at Minghe Palace as Consort Wan was expected to give birth, but a violent storm and apparent earthquake sent everyone fleeing. The chapter ended as a baby cried from the side hall and an Old Wet Nurse announced that Consort Wan had given birth to a Prince.

• Jin Canghan escorted Su Qiao to Minghe Palace, where she ignored the Empress Dowager and waited for the hour of the Boar.
• Su Qiao left the hall, and the palace began to tremble as a fierce storm struck Minghe Palace.
• The Empress Dowager, Jin Moli, and the Imperial Concubines fled outside as lightning repeatedly hit the palace roof.
• A baby's cry came from the side hall, and an Old Wet Nurse announced that Consort Wan had given birth to a Prince before lightning frightened her to the ground.

After lightning struck both Consort Wan’s residence and Qian Yuan Hall, palace witnesses called Consort Wan and her child demons and questioned Jin Moli’s legitimacy. Su Qiao and the ministers stopped him from ordering a massacre, while Jin Moli realized the night’s events were a conspiracy against him.

• Palace servants blamed the lightning strikes at Minghe Palace and Qian Yuan Hall on Consort Wan and her child, then questioned whether Jin Moli was the true Son of Heaven.
• Jin Moli ordered the guards to kill anyone spreading such rumors, but Su Qiao warned him that more violence could bring Heaven’s wrath upon the Black Obsidian Nation.
• Su Qiao rejected Jin Moli’s demand for an answer, and Jin Canghan stepped in front of her as the two men faced off.
• Grand Tutor Su and the senior ministers arrived, and Su Qiao asked them to stop Jin Moli from executing the witnesses.
• The ministers urged Jin Moli not to provoke Heaven further, and he accused them of conspiring against him before ordering the guards to kill a remonstrating official.

Grand Tutor Su accused Jin Moli of usurping the throne and demanded that he restore it to Jin Canghan. Su Qiao revealed that she had known Jin Moli was an impostor from the start and hinted that the Former Emperor had also known about the Empress Dowager’s schemes.

• Grand Tutor Su blamed Heaven’s wrath on the palace and petitioned Jin Moli to abdicate in favor of Jin Canghan.
• Jin Moli ordered the guards to seize Grand Tutor Su, but they hesitated after witnessing Heaven’s wrath.
• Jin Moli summoned hidden guards as Su Qiao accused him of imprisoning Jin Canghan and forging the succession decree.
• Su Qiao said she had pretended to be ill since her wedding because she knew Jin Moli was an impostor.
• Su Qiao told the Empress Dowager that the Former Emperor had seen through her scheme, leaving the Empress Dowager pale and shaken.

Su Qiao presented evidence that the Former Emperor had known Jin Canghan was his son and had secretly chosen him to inherit the throne. Jin Canghan learned that his existence had been accepted by his father, and he broke down in tears.

• Su Qiao told the Empress Dowager that the Former Emperor had known about Jin Canghan and had issued a decree naming him heir.
• Jin Moli demanded proof, and Su Qiao presented an Imperial Decree and a white jade seal for the officials to examine.
• Su Qiao gave Jin Canghan secret records showing that the Former Emperor had known about him and had not intended to kill him.
• Jin Canghan realized that his father had silently watched him grow and that he had never been unwanted.
• Su Qiao told the tearful Jin Canghan to have some dignity.

Jin Canghan revealed his identity and exposed Jin Moli’s crimes, including forging the succession decree and poisoning the Former Emperor. After Su Qiao defeated Jin Moli, the ministers asked Jin Canghan to ascend the throne.

• Jin Canghan removed his Human Skin Mask and showed the ministers that he looked exactly like Jin Moli.
• Jin Canghan gave Grand Tutor Su evidence of Jin Moli’s crimes and the Former Emperor’s notes, along with the succession decree and white jade seal.
• Jin Moli realized he had lost and tried to attack Su Qiao, but she kicked him away and slashed his face with a guard’s sword.
• Jin Canghan took the sword from Su Qiao and led her aside, telling her not to charge ahead next time.
• Grand Tutor Su and Grand Tutor Liu knelt and asked Jin Canghan to follow the Former Emperor’s wishes and ascend the throne, and the other ministers joined them.

Jin Canghan learned that Su Qiao had cured his infertility and that she might be pregnant, while Su Qiao exposed Jin Moli’s past schemes. Jin Canghan ordered the Empress Dowager to guard the Former Emperor’s mausoleum and sent Jin Moli to death row, then announced his enthronement and Su Qiao’s appointment as empress.

• Su Qiao accused Jin Moli of deceiving her, manipulating her wedding, and trying to destroy the child she had conceived with Jin Canghan.
• Jin Canghan wondered whether Su Qiao was truly pregnant, and she told him she had cured the poison and Secret Medicine that had made him infertile.
• At Grand Tutor Su’s urging, Jin Canghan addressed the crisis and ordered the Empress Dowager to guard the Former Emperor’s mausoleum.
• Jin Canghan sent Jin Moli to death row pending discussion with the ministers.
• Jin Canghan announced that he would ascend the throne in three days and confer the title of empress on Su Qiao at the same ceremony.

After Jin Canghan ascended the throne and Su Qiao became Empress, they dealt with the fallen court and visited Jin Moli in prison. The story ended with Su Qiao and Jin Canghan ruling peacefully with their two children as the Black Obsidian Nation grew stronger and secured lasting peace with its neighbors.

• Gu Jun was arrested and his household was confiscated, while Gu Wanting learned that Jin Canghan had taken the throne and Su Qiao had become Empress; she later went insane and was sent back to her family.
• Su Qiao arranged for Gu Wanting's son to be raised by a childless philanthropist and allowed the other Imperial Concubines to return to their families.
• Su Qiao visited Jin Moli in prison, where he asked whether she had ever sincerely meant her past words to him, and she said no.
• Jin Moli hanged himself in prison before Jin Canghan and the ministers could judge him.
• The Empress Dowager was sent to guard the Imperial Mausoleum, and Old Grand Tutor Su retired; Su Qiao's younger brother later founded a kingdom overseas and was beaten back when he tried to take her away.
• Su Qiao and Jin Canghan had a son and a daughter, and their prosperous nation later secured alliances and a hundred-year peace treaty with the surrounding great nations.

Su Qiao regained consciousness in the body of another clone after her previous body was shot and killed, and learned that this plane had two Soul Fragments. She found herself at a press conference in Hai City, where she was the second female lead in the film “Peerless Beauty.”

• Su Qiao woke while falling from a cliff after being shot, and 444 warned her that she was about to die.
• Su Qiao regained consciousness in another clone and learned that 444 had collected the Soul Fragment from her dead body.
• Su Qiao examined her new body and surroundings as 444 told her to deal with the situation in front of her.
• Su Qiao recognized the gathering as a press conference, and 444 confirmed she was the second female lead in “Peerless Beauty.”

Su Qiao entered the body of Su Man, an aspiring actress attending a Republic of China-era film press conference, and learned that the original Su Man’s poor performance there had ruined her career. She suspected that the famous reporter Shen Biwei was behind the trouble and spotted her watching from the crowd.

• 444 explained that Su Man was a little-known actress cast as the Second Female Lead in a Republic of China-era film.
• Su Qiao examined Su Man’s clothes and surroundings, then wondered why she had been seated at the edge beside the glamorous Jiang Aiyun.
• Su Qiao asked 444 whether she could leave the press conference to merge the two Soul Fragments, but 444 warned that the original Su Man had been harassed there and later removed from the cast.
• 444 identified Shen Biwei as a celebrated reporter and the Female Lead, whose family was influential and who had studied in France.
• Su Qiao noticed a stylish young woman in a beige top hat and checkered suit repeatedly looking her way and suspected she was Shen Biwei.

Su Qiao, now living as Su Man, learned that refusing to cohabit had made her seem old-fashioned in the era’s fashionable circles. At a press conference for Peerless Beauty, Shen Biwei challenged her, and Su Qiao decided to outshine her as an admired woman of the new era.

• Su Qiao was shocked to learn that Su Man’s refusal to live with Pei Yulou had been judged pedantic, while cohabitation and separation were fashionable subjects for public notices.
• Shen Biwei drew the reporters’ attention to Su Man and asked whether she had a different opinion from Miss Jiang and whether she had clashed with Peerless Beauty’s screenwriter.
• 444 reminded Su Qiao that she was now Su Man and sent her information about Peerless Beauty.
• Su Qiao calmly looked at Shen Biwei and decided to follow the Female Lead’s path by becoming an even more admired independent woman of the new era.
• Shen Biwei accused Su Man of looking down on Peerless Beauty and spacing out during the press conference.

Su Qiao handled Shen Biwei’s pointed questions about rumors that Su Man had refused to appear in Peerless Beauty. She explained her disagreement with the screenwriter as a difference in interpretation and described the independent woman she believed the character should portray.

• Su Qiao told Shen Biwei she had been thinking carefully about how to answer, and Director Yu praised her remarks about the film’s significance.
• Su Qiao denied that Su Man had refused a film directed by Director Yu, joking that an unknown actress would never turn down such an opportunity.
• Shen Biwei pressed Su Qiao about the rumor and her disagreement with the screenwriter.
• Su Qiao said they had different understandings and described her vision of a rational, confident, self-reliant woman who could thrive without depending on anyone.

At a press conference, Su Qiao criticized the Second Female Lead in Peerless Beauty for depending on men and making reckless choices in love. Shen Biwei challenged her in English about unmarried cohabitation, and Su Qiao began answering fluently.

• Su Qiao described the character as extravagant, financially dependent on men, and repeatedly hurt by her lovers.
• Su Qiao argued that the character could have avoided much of her pain by judging potential partners carefully before living with them.
• Shen Biwei asked whether Su Qiao opposed unmarried cohabitation and used English to suggest that Su Qiao's views were backward.
• Director Yu prepared to intervene, but Jiang Aiyun warned him that interrupting would make the group seem uncultured.
• Su Qiao responded in fluent English: “Promises are often like butterflies, disappearing after a beautiful hover.”

Su Qiao challenged Shen Biwei’s defense of her relationship with Pei Yulou, arguing that promises and love could change and that people should consider the risks to themselves. Shen Biwei lost composure after Su Qiao exposed the private dispute in public.

• Su Qiao spoke fluent English, questioning whether Shen Biwei could be certain that what she held would never change.
• Su Qiao explained that she valued herself and considered the risks and consequences of living with someone before committing.
• Shen Biwei accused Su Qiao of being narrow-minded and of sowing discord in other people’s love.
• Su Qiao told Shen Biwei to take Pei Yulou, calling him immature and irresponsible, and asked her to address the mostly Chinese audience in Mandarin.
• Shen Biwei realized she had made herself look foolish by bringing the private dispute into public.