Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao received a phonograph, recording equipment, and a pocket watch from Chu Yihan, accepting them because they were useful while explaining that his earlier gifts had upset her. She set up a private singing practice room and decided to let Sister Jin handle the recordings for now.

• Nanny Wu told Su Qiao that Chu Yihan had sent her a phonograph, recording equipment, and a fashionable pocket watch.
• Su Qiao kept the gifts, saying she had refused Chu Yihan’s earlier presents because he had given similar things to other people.
• Nanny Wu cleared Yingzi’s room to make it Su Qiao’s private singing practice room, then helped move the equipment inside.
• 444 suggested recording Su Qiao’s songs onto blank records and selling them, but Su Qiao said Sister Jin could handle it for now.

Su Qiao prepared recording equipment and dismissed Nanny Wu’s concern about Yingzi, who had returned to begging after being injured. That night, Su Qiao put on black clothes and waited beneath a courtyard wall, ready to act again.

• Su Qiao explained that she wanted people to know she was blind so they would underestimate her, not because she needed money.
• Nanny Wu thought about Yingzi’s injured, impoverished state but decided not to tell Su Qiao about her.
• Su Qiao reflected on how Yingzi had betrayed her by selling information and helping Tang Meina harm and poison her.
• Su Qiao adjusted her equipment and practiced her new song, though its sound quality remained poor.
• That night, Su Qiao waited beneath a courtyard wall in black clothes after the dogs had been knocked out by fumes.

Su Qiao broke into Third Master Zhu’s room and killed him for his part in her father Su Hu and godfather Cheng Wenmo’s deaths. She then considered where to put his body and searched for useful evidence in the room.

• 444 searched the Zhu Residence and confirmed it was safe before Su Qiao entered.
• Su Qiao picked a lock, entered Third Master Zhu’s room, and cut him across the lower body.
• Su Qiao revealed herself and accused Third Master Zhu of conspiring with Ninth Master Tian, Ge Zhihao, Manager Qian, and foreigners to kill Su Hu and Cheng Wenmo.
• Su Qiao slit Third Master Zhu’s throat and killed him.
• Su Qiao decided not to hang the body at Xianle Mansion and searched the room, where she found a safe under the bed containing account books.

Su Qiao stole account books and valuables from the Zhu Residence, then followed a suspicious shipment to the docks. There, she spotted Chu Yihan secretly trailing a group of powerful men and prepared to rescue him without exposing herself.

• Su Qiao found gold, jewelry, jade, and account books recording opium and smuggled Cultural Relics beneath a floor tile in the Zhu Residence, then took them and erased her traces.
• Su Qiao used the account books to locate a dock warehouse linked to a recent shipment and went there to investigate.
• 444 identified Chu Qingyun, Ninth Master Tian, and Deputy Director Ge Zhihao among the men heading toward the warehouse with two foreigners.
• Su Qiao noticed Chu Yihan secretly following the group and realized he was in danger near the warehouse.
• Su Qiao decided to save Chu Yihan carefully so she would not expose herself.

Su Qiao set fire to a warehouse storing opium after 444 confirmed its contents, then rushed to rescue Chu Yihan when he was discovered. She got him out of the dock and left him in an alley.

• Su Qiao entered the warehouse through a skylight and found oil barrels after 444 identified the opium and reported that its owners were raising prices.
• Su Qiao poured oil over the wooden crates and set them alight when 444 warned that Chu Yihan had been discovered and was being chased.
• The warehouse occupants abandoned their goods to fight the spreading fire, and Chu Yihan’s pursuers turned back to the dock.
• Su Qiao grabbed Chu Yihan and ran out of the dock with him.
• In a small alley, Su Qiao called Chu Yihan an idiot and ran off, leaving him behind.

Su Qiao escaped after warning Chu Yihan that Chu Qingyun was smuggling opium, while Chu Yihan returned home to report what he had seen. Marshal Chu and Madam Chu dismissed his accusation, leaving him unable to convince them to investigate.

• Su Qiao told Chu Yihan that the warehouse held opium and that Chu Qingyun was smuggling it with foreigners, then escaped over a wall.
• Chu Yihan fled the wharf after Su Qiao disappeared, and Su Qiao asked 444 to check whether he had left safely.
• Chu Yihan returned home at dawn and told Marshal Chu what he had seen at the wharf.
• Marshal Chu refused to believe Chu Yihan and warned him against making a capital accusation against his elder brother.
• Madam Chu also sided with Chu Qingyun, and Chu Yihan was met with stern, disapproving looks despite asking for an investigation.

Chu Yihan accused Chu Qingyun of smuggling opium, but Madam Chu and Marshal Chu believed Qingyun and condemned Yihan. Marshal Chu disowned Yihan if he chose to marry the blind dancer, leaving Yihan isolated from his family.

• Madam Chu questioned how Chu Yihan had entered and escaped the secret warehouse, and he said he had followed a patrol team in before being discovered.
• Chu Yihan recognized the mysterious person from the warehouse as the one who had killed Wang Siming and Manager Qian of Wanli Bank.
• Madam Chu defended Chu Qingyun and accused Chu Yihan of making the allegation out of jealousy.
• Chu Qingyun denied involvement with opium, and Marshal Chu praised him for remembering his warning against it.
• Marshal Chu rebuked Chu Yihan and said he would no longer interfere in his affairs, but that Yihan must stop claiming to be his son if he married the blind dancer.

Chu Yihan confronted Marshal Chu and Madam Chu, demanding to know who his biological parents were and accusing Madam Chu of deliberately misleading him while favoring his elder brother. He exposed specific ways she had discouraged his education and encouraged his recklessness, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Chu Yihan blocked Marshal Chu and demanded to know who his biological parents were and where they were.
• Marshal Chu called Chu Yihan ungrateful and slapped him, but Chu Yihan stood firm.
• Madam Chu acted heartbroken and asked whether Chu Yihan was disowning her because she had not supported him.
• Chu Yihan accused Madam Chu of pretending to care for him and deliberately indulging him to ruin him.
• Chu Yihan described how Madam Chu discouraged his studies and studying abroad while secretly urging his elder brother to study and sending him overseas.
• Chu Yihan contrasted Madam Chu's encouragement of his own frivolous behavior with her warnings to his elder brother to stay pure and avoid lowly women.

Chu Yihan confronted Marshal Chu about his birth mother and learned Madam Chu’s claim that she had been a dancer who abandoned him. He doubted the story and challenged Madam Chu’s explanation, leaving the truth unresolved.

• Chu Yihan told Marshal Chu that he understood the different ways his parents had treated him and his elder brother, and demanded that his father stop lying.
• Marshal Chu angrily rebuked Madam Chu, then asked Chu Yihan why he insisted on bringing up his birth mother.
• Madam Chu said Chu Yihan’s birth mother had been a dancer who left the residence with a merchant after giving birth.
• Chu Yihan questioned how a woman who had gained security and status in the Chu family could have chosen to leave with a merchant.
• Madam Chu accused Chu Yihan of suggesting she could not tolerate his mother, and Chu Yihan pointed out that four concubines still lived in the residence.

Chu Yihan confronted Madam Chu over the claim that his mother had been unfaithful, then realized she may have falsely confessed to protect him. He left the family determined to clear his deceased mother's name, and found comfort in believing she had loved him.

• Chu Yihan pointed out that none of Marshal Chu's concubines had borne him a child, making him question Madam Chu's account.
• Madam Chu insisted Chu Yihan was the son of his mother's lover and said his mother had admitted it before taking her own life.
• Marshal Chu ordered Chu Yihan to leave the family and said he no longer wanted to see him.
• Chu Yihan argued that his mother would not have abandoned him if he were truly the wealthy merchant's son, and said she had confessed to protect him.
• Chu Yihan decided to leave and clear his mother's name, finding comfort in the belief that she had sacrificed herself for him.

Chu Yihan challenged his family to verify his parentage with a DNA test, then went to find Su Qiao and learned she was out shopping. After discovering evidence that Chu Qingyun may have been involved in a deadly opium fire, Marshal Chu ordered him watched, while Third Master Zhu’s death sent shockwaves through the city.

• Chu Yihan told Marshal Chu that a DNA test could establish whether he was his son, then left Chu Manor to look for Su Qiao.
• Chu Yihan found Su Qiao’s place empty because she had gone shopping with Nanny Wu, while Marshal Chu drove Madam Chu and Chu Qingyun from the hall.
• The adjutant reported that Third Master Zhu had been killed and a dockside warehouse fire had left opium residue.
• Marshal Chu suspected Chu Qingyun had gone to the docks and ordered the adjutant to keep an eye on him.
• Third Master Zhu’s death shocked countless people.

After Third Master Zhu’s murder threw Haicheng into chaos, Su Qiao returned to her apartment, where a drunken Chu Yihan arrived and lamented that his wealth, status, and family background did not make him better than her. The chapter ended with Chu Yihan beginning to confide in Su Qiao.

• Third Master Zhu’s death left the Hong Gang fighting over leadership and its businesses vulnerable to rival forces.
• The Police Department imposed martial law and searched Haicheng for the killer, while Su Qiao believed the city’s powerful figures were beginning to suspect they were being targeted.
• Su Qiao returned to her apartment with Nanny Wu, who worried that the club would remain closed while the Hong Gang struggled to settle its leadership.
• Chu Yihan arrived drunk at Su Qiao’s apartment, and she had Nanny Wu help him onto the sofa.
• Chu Yihan told Su Qiao that he felt inferior to her despite his wealth, status, and family background.

Chu Yihan arrived drunk at Su Qiao’s home and revealed that he had learned Madam Chu was not his biological mother and that his father despised his birth mother. He blamed his family’s rejection on his mother’s status as a dancer, while Su Qiao challenged him for looking down on dancers.

• Chu Yihan came to Su Qiao’s home drunk and lamented that his life was worse than a stray dog’s.
• Chu Yihan told Su Qiao that Madam Chu was not his biological mother and that his real mother had been a dancer.
• Chu Yihan said his father had despised his mother and treated him as inferior to Chu Qingyun because of his parentage.
• Su Qiao asked whether Chu Yihan looked down on dancers and on her.
• Chu Yihan denied looking down on Su Qiao and said she was the one who thought little of him.

Drunk Chu Yihan told Su Qiao about his mother's love and promised to become family to her. He revealed that his mother had died by suicide to protect him, and vowed to compete with his elder brother despite his complicated feelings toward Madam Chu.

• Su Qiao pressed Chu Yihan down on the sofa as he tried to get up, and he spoke about how his mother had endured abuse and accusations for his sake.
• Chu Yihan asked Su Qiao to confirm that he was lucky to have been loved by his mother, and she agreed to appease him.
• Chu Yihan promised to be Su Qiao's family and take care of her because she had no family of her own.
• Su Qiao asked where Chu Yihan's mother was, and he said she was dead after killing herself to save his life.
• Chu Yihan blamed Madam Chu for threatening his mother and forcing her into a situation that led to her death, then vowed to compete with his elder brother.
• Su Qiao understood that Chu Yihan hated Madam Chu but might struggle to act against her because she had also shown him some care.

Su Qiao cared for the drunk Chu Yihan and secretly collected his hair and blood to arrange a paternity test, hoping to take him away if he was not Marshal Chu’s son. Nanny Wu returned with news that the Hong Gang was in turmoil and warned Su Qiao to prepare for the uncertain future of Xianle Mansion.

• Su Qiao put the drunken Chu Yihan to sleep after he rambled about missing Little Blind One.
• Su Qiao told Nanny Wu to check whether the club would open, and Nanny Wu covered Chu Yihan with a blanket before leaving.
• Su Qiao collected Chu Yihan’s hair and blood for a paternity test and told 444 she would take him away if he was not related to Marshal Chu.
• Nanny Wu reported that the Hong Gang was in disarray and Sister Jin had gone to learn what was happening.
• Nanny Wu warned Su Qiao that the gang might be taken over by another force, leaving the future of Xianle Mansion uncertain.

Su Qiao and Nanny Wu discussed the danger posed by Ninth Master Tian and the chance to escape Xianle Mansion. Nanny Wu agreed to leave with Su Qiao if necessary, and they decided to wait and see how events developed before making their move.

• Nanny Wu warned Su Qiao that Ninth Master Tian was dangerous and advised her to escape Haicheng with her Bond of Indenture or a new identity.
• Su Qiao asked Nanny Wu to leave with her rather than remain at Xianle Mansion as its future grew uncertain.
• Nanny Wu chose to accompany Su Qiao, concerned that the blind young woman could not travel safely alone.
• Su Qiao thanked Nanny Wu, and they agreed to wait a day or two before leaving if things did not work out.
• Nanny Wu suggested asking the sleeping Young Master Chu to help them travel partway and hide their whereabouts.

Chu Yihan woke up at Su Qiao’s place after drinking and learned that he had confessed his feelings while drunk. When he demanded a clear answer about whether she accepted his feelings, Su Qiao said no, leaving him defeated.

• Su Qiao postponed investigating Chairman Tian because she worried Chu Yihan might wake during the night.
• Chu Yihan woke on Su Qiao’s sofa, confused about how he had gotten there, and asked if he had said anything embarrassing.
• Su Qiao told Chu Yihan that he had talked about his mother and the past and repeatedly said he liked her.
• Chu Yihan admitted that he liked Su Qiao and insisted it was his own business, but she said that not objecting did not mean she accepted him.
• Chu Yihan demanded a clear yes or no, and Su Qiao answered no.

Chu Yihan urged Su Qiao to have her eyes treated and tried to persuade her to be with him, insisting they were compatible. Su Qiao questioned what he liked about her and pointed out that she had never said she liked him.

• Chu Yihan told Su Qiao he wanted her to have her eyes treated so she could see the world and his handsome face.
• Su Qiao rebuffed his boasts and called him immature, conceited, and obnoxious.
• Chu Yihan insisted that plenty of girls wanted to marry him, but he had chosen only her.
• When Su Qiao asked why he liked her, Chu Yihan said he could not explain it and argued that they were compatible.
• Su Qiao considered the difference in their identities and asked when she had ever said she liked the look of him.

Chu Yihan learned that Third Master Zhu had been killed and celebrated, then decided to raise money to take Su Qiao abroad for treatment. Su Qiao refused to leave for now, while Chu Yihan remained unaware that she was the mysterious woman who had rescued him.

• Chu Yihan insisted Su Qiao should have her eyes treated and offered to take her abroad at his expense.
• Su Qiao told Chu Yihan that Third Master Zhu had been killed, and he celebrated the news without asking who had done it.
• Chu Yihan recalled the slender woman who rescued him at the docks and suspected she resembled Su Qiao, but dismissed the idea because Su Qiao was blind.
• Su Qiao refused to go abroad, giving unrest in other countries as her reason.
• Chu Yihan left to raise money for Su Qiao’s treatment and urged her to stay inside, skipping breakfast because he considered the matter urgent.

Su Qiao faced questions from Deputy Director Ge about Third Master Zhu’s death and denied that Zhu had tried to force her into a relationship. She explained that their disagreement had been about his offer to send her abroad for treatment for her eyes, leaving Ge to assess her account.

• Sister Jin reopened the club, and Su Qiao decided to stay and see what happened.
• Sister Jin brought Deputy Director Ge, his subordinate, and a foreign doctor into the dressing room to question Su Qiao.
• Ge asked whether Third Master Zhu had tried to force Su Qiao into a relationship, as Luo Meina had reported.
• Su Qiao denied the allegation and said Zhu had offered to send her abroad for eye treatment, but she had refused because she did not want to owe him.