Chapter Summaries

Xi Muyan visited Su Qiao to ask about her relationship with the Crown Prince and whether she had cured his illness. Su Qiao confirmed that she had found the Crown Prince’s condition in her mother’s medical books, leaving Xi Muyan with the answer he had come to verify.

• Xi Muyan expressed concern about Su Qiao’s leg, but she said the Crown Prince had already arranged for an imperial physician to examine her.
• Xi Muyan asked whether the Crown Prince was treating Su Qiao well, and she praised his handsome appearance, ability, and gentle nature.
• Xi Muyan questioned why Su Qiao had not sent him updates, and she pointed out that the Crown Prince had become steady and gained the Emperor’s approval, as Xi Muyan had wanted.
• Xi Muyan asked whether Su Qiao had discovered and cured the Crown Prince’s illness, and she confirmed that she had found a similar condition in her mother’s medical books.

Su Qiao pressed Xi Muyan about the credit for curing the Crown Prince, while he urged her to keep close to Xi Hanzhou and promised to marry her as a secondary consort. Their conversation left Xi Muyan's intentions and future marriage plans under scrutiny.

• Su Qiao offered to credit Xi Muyan before the Emperor, but he insisted she take the credit and asked her not to mention him.
• Su Qiao asked whether she could stop looking after Xi Hanzhou, and Xi Muyan told her not to distance herself from the Crown Prince.
• Xi Muyan promised to marry Su Qiao after the new year, though he said he could not make her his Primary Consort.
• Su Qiao asked whether Xi Muyan intended to marry her second younger sister, and he said the Emperor would decide his marriage.
• Xi Muyan assured Su Qiao that even if Xiao Xin became his Primary Consort, he would treat Su Qiao well.

Su Qiao used Xi Muyan’s visit to provoke Su Yuxin by telling her that the Fourth Prince might make her a Secondary Consort. Su Yuxin refused to believe her and confronted the prospect of sharing him with other women.

• Xi Muyan told Su Qiao he could not stay long, promised to visit again, and urged her to work on the Crown Prince before leaving.
• Su Yuxin rushed into Su Qiao’s courtyard and warned her to stay away from the Fourth Prince.
• Su Qiao said Xi Muyan had promised to marry her with ten miles of red bridal gifts and asked whether he would take Su Yuxin as his consort.
• Su Qiao claimed Xi Muyan would obey the Emperor’s marriage arrangements and might make Su Yuxin a Secondary Consort after taking a Primary Consort.
• Su Yuxin called Su Qiao a liar, while Su Qiao pointed out that an imperial son could have multiple wives and concubines.

Su Qiao challenged Su Yuxin’s belief that the Fourth Prince loved her apart from his rank, and his silence confirmed her fears. Su Yuxin fled the courtyard with Xi Muyan chasing after her, while the onlookers doubted she could ever be his only woman.

• Su Yuxin insisted that she would love Xi Muyan even if he were an ordinary man, while Su Qiao argued that his power and status were central to her feelings.
• Su Yuxin ran into her personal maid and Xi Muyan at the courtyard gate and demanded to know whether he would obey the Emperor and marry someone else.
• Xi Muyan stayed silent because promising to marry only Su Yuxin could harm his chances of becoming Emperor and anger his supporters.
• Su Yuxin accused Xi Muyan of playing her, then ran from the courtyard with him in pursuit.
• The maids and Wet Nurses/Nannies watched in stunned silence and noted that the Fourth Prince already had several women in his rear residence.

Su Yuxin confronted Xi Muyan about the uncertainty of their future, and he promised that he would marry only her and ignore any other wives imposed by court custom. Meanwhile, the Emperor questioned Su Qiao about the plays and storybooks she had written, leaving her to stall for time as she expected Xi Hanzhou to come.

• Su Yuxin struggled against Xi Muyan and demanded to know why she should keep waiting when he could not decide his own marriage.
• Xi Muyan promised to marry only Su Yuxin and said any other women required by ancestral rules would be ornaments he would neither touch nor attend to.
• Su Yuxin calmed down and warned Xi Muyan not to forget his promise.
• Xi Hanzhou learned that Xi Muyan had visited Su Qiao and went to the prime minister's residence, but discovered that the Emperor had summoned her to the palace.
• The Emperor showed Su Qiao her storybooks and asked whether she had written them, and Su Qiao admitted she had made them up for fun and to earn spending money.

Su Qiao tried to hide the truth about her plays and storybooks when the Emperor questioned whether she had traveled overseas. The Emperor pressed her about deceiving him, and Su Qiao offered him half her profits to settle the matter.

• The Emperor asked Su Qiao whether she had been overseas, and she insisted she had never left the capital.
• Su Qiao claimed she had gathered stories from teahouse storytellers and street merchants, then embellished them for her books.
• The Emperor accused Su Qiao of deceiving him, while she argued that he would not quibble over harmless entertainment.
• Su Qiao offered the Emperor half her profits, lamenting that she had already given Xi Hanzhou thirty percent.

Su Qiao discussed her earnings and her dealings with Xi Hanzhou with the Emperor, then learned that her late mother’s dowry should be returned to her. The Emperor recognized that Su Qiao’s stepmother likely had the dowry and prompted her to claim it.

• Su Qiao considered developing the Printing Technique because her bookshop could not keep up with demand for her books.
• The Emperor was surprised that Xi Hanzhou had charged Su Qiao money to run away, and Su Qiao defended keeping money matters clear.
• Su Qiao sat down to eat the Emperor’s refreshments and praised him by repeating what Xi Hanzhou supposedly said about him.
• The Emperor asked Su Qiao about her mother’s dowry, and she said it was likely in her stepmother’s hands.
• The Emperor said Su Qiao’s dowry ought to be returned to her, and Su Qiao thanked him with a deep bow.

The Emperor ordered the Gu Corporation to return Su Qiao’s mother’s dowry, then talked with Su Qiao about martial-world stories and her own ambitions. The chapter left them joking about her dreams of becoming a heroine while the Emperor teased her about her lack of martial skill.

• The Emperor sent Eunuch Liu to the Prime Minister's Residence with an order for the Gu Corporation to return Su Qiao’s mother’s dowry.
• The Emperor questioned Su Qiao about Rivers and Lakes Storm and learned that she knew a great deal about the martial world.
• Su Qiao explained that she wanted to roam the world as a heroine and even become an overseas bandit chief to rob foreign pirates.
• The Emperor told Su Qiao to stay in the capital and get married, then tapped her on the head when she claimed she could become unbeatable with a zither.

Su Qiao examined Xi Hanzhou and explained that the poison he had taken for years had strained his body and might shorten his lifespan. She reassured the Emperor that Xi Hanzhou’s recovery and her restorative medicine should limit the damage.

• Xi Hanzhou hurried to the palace after learning Xi Muyan had gone to the Chancellor’s residence to see Su Qiao.
• At the Emperor’s request, Su Qiao checked Xi Hanzhou’s pulse and had 444 scan his body.
• Su Qiao explained that the poison had accelerated Xi Hanzhou’s circulation and exhausted his vitality, potentially shortening his life.
• Xi Hanzhou accepted the risk and quietly held Su Qiao’s hand, valuing a future with her more than the throne.
• The Emperor grew furious at the people who had poisoned Xi Hanzhou, while Su Qiao said her medicine should help restore his health and limit the damage.

Xi Hanzhou reassured the emperor about the damage caused by ten years of poisoning, and Su Qiao helped lift the emperor’s spirits. The emperor sent Xi Hanzhou and Su Qiao to stroll in the Imperial Garden, while keeping the books Su Qiao had brought him.

• Xi Hanzhou comforted the emperor by saying he would live to fifty and hoped they could travel together when they were old.
• Su Qiao joked that she would drive their carriage, and the emperor teased her about being too thin and old to manage it.
• The emperor told Xi Hanzhou to take Su Qiao for a stroll in the Imperial Garden and offered them the books on his table.
• Su Qiao urged the emperor to keep the books for entertainment and praised him for bearing the burdens of ruling the country.
• The emperor smiled again and called Su Qiao glib-tongued.

Xi Hanzhou and Su Qiao received the Emperor’s tacit approval of their relationship, and Su Qiao began to suspect that he had been poisoned in her previous life. Xi Hanzhou agreed to go with her to retrieve detoxifying medicine, leaving them to investigate the Emperor’s past illness.

• Xi Hanzhou defended Su Qiao’s manners before the Emperor, who learned about her difficult childhood and grew kinder toward her.
• The Emperor ordered two wet nurses to teach Su Qiao palace etiquette, signaling his approval of her and Xi Hanzhou.
• Xi Hanzhou and Su Qiao chose to visit his palace and discussed why the Emperor had confined him in Su Qiao’s previous life.
• Su Qiao suspected the Emperor had been poisoned after Xi Hanzhou recalled seeing an imperial physician secretly brewing medicine for him.
• Xi Hanzhou stopped Su Qiao from leaving alone and offered to accompany her to retrieve potent detoxifying medicine.

After the Emperor forced the Fourth Prince to marry into a rival family, Su Qiao mocked his displeasure and prepared to reclaim her mother's dowry. She left her courtyard to confront the main house.

• The Emperor granted the Fourth Prince a Primary Consort from Grand Tutor Jiang's family and two Secondary Consorts, including Su Yuxin.
• Su Qiao laughed at the Emperor's politically shrewd choice and noted that the Fourth Prince had been unable to change the decree.
• Little Ya told Su Qiao that the Fourth Prince was arguing with Imperial Noble Consort Yun after leaving the Emperor's presence.
• Su Qiao decided to reclaim her mother's dowry and left her courtyard for the main house.

Su Qiao pressured Madam Su to return her mother's dowry and arranged for it to be counted. She then revealed that the Emperor had arranged for Su Yuxin to marry the Fourth Prince, leaving Madam Su and Su Yuxin stunned as they awaited the Imperial Decree.

• Su Qiao reminded Madam Su that the Emperor had ordered her mother's dowry returned and warned that the Crown Prince could send people to take inventory.
• Madam Su gave Su Qiao the dowry inventory and said Nanny Wang and Nanny Lin were ready to count the items in the storeroom.
• Su Qiao sent Xiao Lan to fetch two experienced elder ladies to accompany the inventory count.
• Su Qiao told Madam Su and Su Yuxin that the Emperor had arranged for Su Yuxin to marry the Fourth Prince and that the Imperial Decree would soon arrive.

Su Qiao told Madam Su and Su Yuxin that an imperial decree made Su Yuxin the Fourth Prince’s Secondary Consort, while Grand Tutor Jiang’s granddaughter would be his Primary Consort. Su Yuxin broke down after Su Qiao left, fearing what her new position meant.

• Su Qiao announced that the emperor had appointed Su Yuxin as the Fourth Prince’s Secondary Consort and Grand Tutor Jiang’s granddaughter as his Primary Consort.
• Su Yuxin protested that the Fourth Prince had promised to make her his Primary Consort, but Su Qiao explained that he could not neglect Grand Tutor Jiang’s granddaughter.
• Madam Su defended Su Yuxin’s standing as a legitimate imperial daughter-in-law, while Su Qiao agreed and pointed out that she would still outrank an untitled concubine.
• Su Yuxin accused Su Qiao of wanting to humiliate her and claimed the Fourth Prince loved only her, but Su Qiao said she had never wanted to marry him.
• Madam Su sent Su Qiao to check her mother’s dowry, and Su Yuxin collapsed into her mother’s arms in tears after Su Qiao left.

Madam Su persuaded Su Yuxin to accept the Imperial Decree and urged her to remove anyone standing in her way, while Su Yuxin remained frightened by the thought of killing. After Su Yuxin left to prepare, Madam Su questioned whether Su Qiao had a leg problem.

• Madam Su told Su Yuxin to secure a man's heart and eliminate obstacles to her rise.
• Su Yuxin hesitated at the idea of killing and worried that someone from Grand Tutor Jiang's Estate was formidable.
• Madam Su reassured Su Yuxin and persuaded her to prepare to receive the Imperial Decree.
• Madam Su explained to herself why she wanted Su Yuxin to become a Primary Consort, then sent her to wash and change.
• Madam Su asked Nanny Lai about Su Qiao's legs, and Nanny Lai mentioned Xiaoyu's height-increasing insoles.
• Madam Su said Su Qiao's natural gait seemed inconsistent with having a leg problem.

Nanny Lai and Imperial Noble Consort Yun planned to test the First Young Lady and prevent her from marrying the Crown Prince. At the Eastern Palace, Xi Hanzhou mocked Xi Muyan for believing Su Qiao liked him and revealed that she had known about his scheme all along.

• Nanny Lai suggested testing the First Young Lady, and Imperial Noble Consort Yun agreed they had to block her marriage to the Crown Prince.
• Xi Muyan went to the Eastern Palace and accused Xi Hanzhou of taking Su Qiao, whom he claimed was his future side consort.
• Xi Hanzhou challenged Xi Muyan’s claim, pointing out that Su Qiao had never been engaged or married to him and did not like him.
• Xi Hanzhou admitted he had taken Su Qiao from Xi Muyan and said she had pretended to be interested because she was bored and wanted to toy with him.
• Xi Hanzhou laughed at Xi Muyan for falling into their trap without realizing it.

Xi Hanzhou confronted Xi Muyan over the poisoning and ordered Ling to protect Su Qiao. The next morning, Su Qiao went with her family to a temple and realized her stepmother and Su Yuxin were planning a familiar trick.

• Xi Hanzhou threatened Xi Muyan and said he could find someone to testify against him despite Eunuch Yu's death.
• Xi Muyan left after arguing with Xi Hanzhou and blaming Su Qiao for humiliating him.
• Xi Hanzhou ordered Ling to take men and protect Su Qiao.
• Madam Su summoned Su Qiao to accompany the family to a temple to fulfill a vow and draw a marriage lot for her elder daughter.
• 444 warned Su Qiao that the coachman looked suspicious and that Su Yuxin seemed guilty, and Su Qiao suspected they planned to use the same trick again.

Su Qiao caused Su Yuxin’s carriage to crash down a rocky slope, leaving Su Yuxin with severe fractures. The chapter ended with Su Yuxin waking to learn her leg might never fully recover and fainting again after her screams threw the Prime Minister’s residence into chaos.

• Su Qiao startled the horses pulling her and Su Yuxin’s carriages, sending both coaches racing toward a rocky slope.
• Su Qiao leaped safely from her carriage, while Su Yuxin fell beneath hers and suffered severe leg injuries.
• Madam Su and the guards rescued Su Yuxin, and 444 determined that her fractures could leave her limping.
• Su Qiao returned to her courtyard pretending she had narrowly escaped harm, while the household summoned physicians for Su Yuxin.
• Su Yuxin woke in the evening, learned her leg might never fully recover, and fainted again after screaming in rage.

Su Qiao visited the injured Su Yuxin, who blamed her and revealed that she had known Su Qiao's carriage would run out of control. The chapter left Madam Su trying to calm Su Yuxin while the others in the room reacted to her words.

• Su Yuxin continued throwing tantrums as Madam Su cared for her, while the Second Prince, Third Prince, and Fifth Prince sent physicians and herbs that Madam Su refused.
• The Fourth Prince visited the Prime Minister's residence almost every day, but Su Yuxin refused to see him because she feared her injury had ruined her hopes of becoming his primary wife.
• Xi Hanzhou repeatedly sent physicians, soup, and medicinal dishes to Su Qiao and insisted that she rest in bed.
• After three days, Su Qiao visited Su Yuxin, who accused her of being happy that she could no longer marry into the Fourth Prince's residence and threw a pillow at her.
• Su Qiao asked whether Su Yuxin had known before the accident that her carriage would run out of control, alarming the maid, wet nurse, and Madam Su.
• Madam Su scolded Su Yuxin and reassured her that her leg would heal and that the Fourth Prince would not let her suffer a lasting defect.

Su Qiao stoked Su Yuxin’s fears about her injured leg, prompting another outburst before Madam Su sent her away. After learning that Nanny Lai was likely behind multiple plots against her and her family, Su Qiao decided the situation would be easy to handle.

• Su Qiao reminded Su Yuxin that her own broken leg had failed to heal properly, making Su Yuxin fear she would become disabled.
• Su Yuxin panicked, smashed the things around her bed, and ordered everyone out.
• Madam Su blamed Su Qiao for upsetting Su Yuxin and told her to leave, while Su Qiao said she wanted to take a walk in the countryside.
• Su Qiao’s inner voice identified Nanny Lai as Gu Qirou’s former wet nurse and suspected her of arranging attacks on Su Qiao and her mother.
• Su Qiao decided Nanny Lai would be easy to deal with, since she had worried the woman might otherwise take the blame for Gu Qirou.