Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao settled into a courtyard at Flying Eagle Fortress after Steward Shen arranged for a small staff to maintain it. She told Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan that Young Master Ye had kept her because her health was as poor as his, then prepared to rest.

• Nanny Wu promised Steward Shen that she would care for Su Qiao and the Young Master, and Steward Shen offered to arrange a courtyard and servants.
• Su Qiao refused to have maids assigned to serve inside, explaining that she wanted peace and quiet, so Steward Shen arranged only for the courtyard to be maintained.
• Steward Shen led Su Qiao, Nanny Wu, and Xiao Huan to a spacious residence and assigned servants to clean it and care for its garden and pond.
• Su Qiao handed the servants over to Nanny Wu, and Xiao Huan admired the courtyard before helping Su Qiao into the bedroom.
• Nanny Wu asked why Young Master Ye had kept Su Qiao, and Su Qiao said she thought it was because her health was as poor as his.
• Nanny Wu sent Xiao Huan to get hot water, but Su Qiao called her back.

Su Qiao told Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan to keep a low profile and quietly learn about Flying Eagle Fortress while she adjusted to her new quarters. After everyone went to bed, she blamed 444 for getting her trapped there and worried about how long it would take to recover her injuries and martial arts.

• Su Qiao warned Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan not to draw attention or provoke anyone in Flying Eagle Fortress.
• Su Qiao asked them to stay quietly in the compound and gather information about the fortress.
• Su Qiao bathed, ate a little dinner, and went to rest while Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan slept in the side room.
• Su Qiao confronted 444 over its idea that had left her stuck in Flying Eagle Fortress, unable to seek medicinal herbs or recover in seclusion.

Su Qiao decided to stay at the Flying Eagle Fortress to recover and avoid the Demon Cult, despite worrying that its people might discover she was not really Su Lian Yue. After planning to learn about Su Lian Yue’s past and imitate her, Su Qiao rested overnight and felt better by morning.

• Su Qiao rejected 444’s suggestion to get closer to Ye Shaoxuan, saying she might lose control and beat him.
• Su Qiao realized she could not leave the Flying Eagle Fortress safely with experts gathered there for the Martial Arts Convention.
• Su Qiao planned to hypnotize Xiao Huan to learn about Su Lian Yue’s past and agreed she needed to imitate Su Lian Yue’s behavior.
• Su Qiao cultivated to heal her injuries, then went to bed exhausted.
• Su Qiao woke feeling better, ate some breakfast, and had Nanny Wu take it away because it tasted bland.

Su Qiao concealed her lack of taste and kept recovering in the quiet rear courtyard at Flying Eagle Fortress. She went to stroll in the garden while practicing the delicate mannerisms required to maintain her disguise as a Skinny Horse.

• Su Qiao's loss of taste, caused by Old Poison Ghost testing poison on her, explained why she ate so little without raising Xiao Huan and Nanny Wu's suspicions.
• With the Martial Arts Convention bringing crowds to Flying Eagle Fortress, Su Qiao stayed in the secluded rear courtyard and recuperated as Steward Shen sent her meals.
• Su Qiao learned from Xiao Huan that Su Lian Yue had enjoyed music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and garden walks, and decided to stroll outside after lunch to avoid Nanny Wu's suspicion.
• Su Qiao asked 444 to scan farther away and gather gossip as she walked in the garden.
• 444 coached Su Qiao to walk with small, restrained steps and a swaying waist, and Su Qiao tried to imitate a delicate beauty despite finding the act ridiculous.

Su Qiao pretended to be ill to avoid scrutiny and hoped to obtain medicinal herbs, then followed 444’s directions to a pavilion. There, she saw a group carrying a bloodied man, and 444 drew her attention to a woman leading them.

• Su Qiao agreed with 444 that she needed to keep up her act until she recovered her martial arts.
• Su Qiao told Nanny Wu that she felt unwell, and Nanny Wu went to ask Steward Shen to call a physician.
• 444 urged Su Qiao to walk to a nearby pavilion after discovering something unusual.
• Su Qiao sat in the pavilion as a group crossed the stone bridge carrying a bloodied man on a stretcher.
• 444 asked Su Qiao whether she had noticed the woman at the front of the group.

At Flying Eagle Fortress, Su Qiao saw a woman whose face closely resembled her own and learned that she might be connected to the murder of her family and villagers. The woman was the plane’s Female Lead, and the unconscious man on the stretcher was its Male Lead, leaving Su Qiao facing two people with extraordinarily high Luck Value.

• Su Qiao recognized that the woman in the purple gauze dress looked almost identical to her.
• 444 suggested the woman might be a twin and could be linked to the deaths of Su Qiao’s parents, relatives, and fellow villagers.
• Su Qiao ordered 444 to investigate the woman.
• 444 warned Su Qiao that the woman was the Plane’s Female Lead and that her Luck Value was exceptionally high.
• Su Qiao asked about the unconscious man on the stretcher, and 444 identified him as the Male Lead.

Su Qiao decided she would stop Lin Hanyan and Ye from being together, then caught Lin Hanyan noticing her at Flying Eagle Fortress. Lin Hanyan ordered an investigation into Su Qiao, who overheard it and recognized the injured Young Alliance Leader as Huangfu Zhenlou.

• Su Qiao vowed to keep Lin Hanyan and Ye from being together.
• Lin Hanyan noticed Su Qiao and learned from Yuechan that she was the concubine Young Master Ye had chosen.
• Lin Hanyan dismissed Su Qiao as a plaything while the men from Gathering of Sages Villa carried their injured Young Alliance Leader away.
• Lin Hanyan told Yuechan to have Gong Jun investigate Su Qiao's background.
• Su Qiao overheard them and identified the Young Alliance Leader as Huangfu Zhenlou.

Su Qiao investigated Huangfu Zhenlou’s injury and learned that Lin Hanyan, the Kunwu Sect’s eldest young miss, had rescued him after an ambush. She suspected Lin Hanyan wanted to kill him, then heard that the physicians could not treat his severe wounds and his followers were begging Lin Hanyan for help.

• Su Qiao told 444 to investigate how Huangfu Zhenlou had been injured and keep watch on him and Lin Hanyan.
• Su Qiao returned to her room, pretended to be ill, and let a physician examine her.
• 444 reported that Lin Hanyan was the Kunwu Sect leader’s only daughter and had saved Huangfu Zhenlou after he was ambushed on the way to the Martial Arts Convention.
• Su Qiao and 444 agreed that Lin Hanyan’s gaze suggested murderous intent toward Huangfu Zhenlou, and Su Qiao decided to keep watching her.
• 444 told Su Qiao that three physicians had failed to treat Huangfu Zhenlou’s severe injuries and that his followers were pleading with Lin Hanyan to save him.

Su Qiao suspected that Lin Hanyan had been behind the village massacre and the many misfortunes that followed, including her capture and abuse as a Medicine Person. She believed Lin Hanyan had expected her to die, but Su Qiao had survived.

• Su Qiao learned that Lin Hanyan was skilled in medicine and poison and wondered whether she had harmed Su Qiao to seize the Kunwu Sect Leader position.
• Su Qiao dismissed that idea as too simple, since she had been only three or four when she was abandoned or lost and adopted in Niu Family Village.
• Su Qiao and 444 considered whether Lin Hanyan could have been reborn or possessed memories from another life, and Su Qiao suspected her schemes went beyond the Sect Leader position.
• Su Qiao connected Lin Hanyan to her capture by Old Poison Ghost, the rumors spread about her, and the years of torment she endured as a Medicine Person.
• Su Qiao reasoned that Lin Hanyan had tried to silence her during the village massacre, then had her captured after finding her two years later, expecting her to die in the valley.

Su Qiao and 444 watched Lin Hanyan try to save Huangfu Zhenlou, suspecting that her memories of a past life fueled a deep grudge against him. Lin Hanyan’s secret medicine revived Huangfu, leaving her baffled and Su Qiao wondering what he had done to her before.

• Su Qiao asked 444 to show her what Lin Hanyan was doing so she could assess the Kunwu Sect’s eldest daughter.
• The Gathering of Sages Villa’s people begged Lin Hanyan to treat the unconscious Huangfu Zhenlou, and she reluctantly gave him a treasured secret medicine.
• Lin Hanyan secretly altered the medicine as she fed it to Huangfu, but no one except Su Qiao and 444 noticed her movement.
• Huangfu spat out dark-red blood and slowly regained consciousness, prompting the villa’s people to praise Lin Hanyan’s medical skills.
• Su Qiao concluded that Lin Hanyan had been forced to save Huangfu despite wanting him dead, and 444 wondered whether Su Qiao had stolen him from her in a previous life.

Su Qiao and 444 suspected that Lin Hanyan had arranged the ambush on Huangfu Zhenlou before being forced to save him when his people arrived. The next morning, Su Qiao remained weak and discouraged as Nanny Wu found her sitting pale and listless in bed.

• Su Qiao dismissed 444’s worries but agreed that they should investigate who ambushed Huangfu Zhenlou and whether they left clues.
• Su Qiao reasoned that Lin Hanyan may have tried to kill Huangfu Zhenlou, then rescued him when Gathering of Sages Villa’s people arrived.
• Lin Hanyan had intended to kill the wounded Huangfu Zhenlou but changed her attack into a rescue when his people showed up.
• After a night of meditation failed to improve her injuries, Su Qiao sat in bed feeling unwell as heavy rain fell outside.
• Nanny Wu entered Su Qiao’s room, saw how pale she looked, and asked whether she was feeling ill.

Su Qiao woke after another sleepless night and tried to reassure Nanny Wu that she was not seriously ill. She took her medicine and ate little breakfast, while Nanny Wu worried about her health and noticed how much she had changed.

• Nanny Wu worried that Su Qiao had caught a chill and wrapped a quilt around her shoulders.
• Xiao Huan brought hot water, and Nanny Wu sent her to boil medicine for Su Qiao.
• Su Qiao said she felt better and explained that she had stayed awake thinking, though she planned to nap later.
• Nanny Wu helped Su Qiao dress and do her hair, then wondered why she no longer wanted Xiao Huan to warm her bed.
• Su Qiao drank her medicine and ate only a few bites of breakfast despite Nanny Wu urging her to eat more.

Su Qiao learned that Ye Shaoxuan was lying in the rain and went to find him despite her attendants’ worries. She arrived at a soaked lawn and saw him sprawled on the grass in the downpour.

• Su Qiao ate a little breakfast while Nanny Wu accepted that she could not manage more.
• 444 told Su Qiao that Ye Shaoxuan was lying in the rain with his attendants standing nearby.
• Su Qiao insisted on going out, and Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan gave her an umbrella and a fur coat.
• Su Qiao walked through the garden with Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan until they found Ye Shaoxuan lying spread-eagled on the rain-soaked lawn.

Su Qiao approached Ye Shaoxuan as he lay enjoying the pouring rain, despite warnings that he was eccentric and dangerous. She left him stunned by asking whether he had a hole in his head that he was trying to fill with rainwater.

• Su Qiao noticed Ye Shaoxuan lying in the rain while his attendants stood by without intervening.
• Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan tried to stop Su Qiao from approaching him, but Su Qiao told them to wait.
• Ye Shaoxuan's attendants moved to block Su Qiao, then stopped when she gave them a cold look.
• Su Qiao stood beside Ye Shaoxuan without covering him with her umbrella and wondered whether he truly wanted to die.
• Ye Shaoxuan threatened Su Qiao, and she calmly asked whether rain was meant to fill a hole in his head or drown him.

In the rain, Su Qiao clashed with Ye Shaoxuan, trading insults after he mistook her words and actions for an attempt to attract his attention. She tried to leave, but Ye Shaoxuan blocked her and threatened to kill her, while she calmly called him unpredictable.

• Ye Shaoxuan woke and asked Su Qiao if she had been cursing him.
• Su Qiao offered to help Ye Shaoxuan die and mocked his attempts to kill himself.
• Ye Shaoxuan called Su Qiao short, took her umbrella, and threw it aside.
• Su Qiao insulted Ye Shaoxuan's appearance and intelligence, then tried to leave.
• Ye Shaoxuan blocked Su Qiao and threatened to kill her, but she said she believed him and compared him to violent people on the street.

Su Qiao and Ye Shaoxuan argued over whether he was attractive, trading insults about their physiques and complexions. Ye Shaoxuan ended by scolding Su Qiao for discussing a man’s body in public.

• Su Qiao dismissed Ye Shaoxuan as looking like a madman and tried to walk away.
• Ye Shaoxuan grabbed Su Qiao’s arm and demanded to know why she had said he lacked appeal.
• Su Qiao questioned Ye Shaoxuan about his muscles, strength, and skin tone, insisting those traits made a man attractive.
• Ye Shaoxuan retaliated by calling Su Qiao pale and ugly, and Su Qiao claimed her poor complexion was only temporary.
• Ye Shaoxuan accused Su Qiao of having no shame and asked whether she had learned the Three Obediences and Four Virtues.

Su Qiao provoked Ye Shaoxuan to discourage his strange behavior, then left with Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan. Ye Shaoxuan learned that Su Qiao was the sickly concubine he had chosen and decided to let her insult go.

• Su Qiao mocked Ye Shaoxuan and suggested ways he could kill himself before leaving with Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan.
• 444 asked whether Su Qiao’s provocation tactic would work, and Su Qiao said she hoped it would stop Ye Shaoxuan from acting strangely.
• Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan worried that the rain would worsen Su Qiao’s illness and hurried her back to warm up and take medicine.
• Ye Shaoxuan ordered an attendant to identify Su Qiao and learned she was the concubine he had selected a few days earlier.
• Ye Shaoxuan recognized Su Qiao as the sickly woman who had caught a chill and decided to let her mockery go.

Ye Shaoxuan wondered whether Su preferred muscular men and grew indignant when his attendants suggested she might. Remembering her remark about eight-pack abs, he checked his own abdomen and ordered Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu to lift their clothes.

• Ye Shaoxuan asked whether he was skinny, then struck Xiao Liu for saying he was well-built.
• Xiao Wu explained that Su might prefer muscular men who seemed capable of protecting her.
• Ye Shaoxuan rejected the idea that physique mattered more than martial arts and complained that Su looked down on him.
• Ye Shaoxuan remembered Su's comment about eight-pack abs, felt his abdomen, and ordered Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu to lift their clothes.

Ye Shaoxuan decided to train his body after comparing his physique with Xiao Wu’s, though he denied that his motivation had anything to do with Su. He asked where Su lived, then dismissed Xiao Liu’s suggestion that Water Moon Pavilion was nearby because he feared she would interrupt his work again.

• Ye Shaoxuan inspected Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu’s bodies and envied Xiao Wu’s firm abs.
• Ye Shaoxuan ordered Xiao Wu to train with him so he could develop eight-pack abs, starting that day.
• Xiao Wu tried to dissuade Ye Shaoxuan by mentioning Su, but Ye Shaoxuan denied training for her sake.
• Xiao Liu told Ye Shaoxuan that Su’s Water Moon Pavilion was near his Autumn Phoenix Courtyard.
• Ye Shaoxuan knocked Xiao Liu aside and said he did not want Su disturbing him while he worked.

Su Qiao discussed with 444 how to deal with Lin Hanyan and Huangfu Zhenlou, who was recovering and had fallen for Lin Hanyan. She planned to let their feelings turn against them by exposing Lin Hanyan’s attempts to kill him, leaving 444 worried that events could get out of hand.

• Xiao Wu slapped Xiao Liu for telling their Young Master where Miss Su lived, realizing the Young Master was embarrassed by his own question.
• Su Qiao returned to her courtyard, warmed up, and read while Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan looked after her.
• 444 warned Su Qiao that Huangfu Zhenlou was recovering quickly and had fallen for Lin Hanyan, which could boost Lin Hanyan’s Luck Value.
• Su Qiao said she would wait for a critical moment and expose Lin Hanyan’s attempts to kill Huangfu Zhenlou, hoping to turn their love into hurt and hatred.