Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao defended Qi Jinghe after Li Dabao insulted him and threatened him, driving Li Dabao and the gossiping villagers away with her strength. She left the villagers stunned by her sudden change and the game she had caught for the Qi Family.

• Li Dabao insulted Qi Jinghe and approached him, but he threatened her with his Small Sickle.
• Su Qiao rushed over, kicked Li Dabao away, and threatened to knock out her teeth and cut out her tongue if she insulted Qi Jinghe again.
• Li Dabao fled after Su Qiao warned her not to harass Qi Jinghe again.
• Su Qiao warned the villagers not to gossip about the Qi Family, then snapped a tree in half and kicked its upper trunk into the vegetable plot.
• The villagers recoiled in fear and marveled at Su Qiao's strength, her wild boar and rabbits, and the fortune the Qi Family might make.

Su Qiao drove off the villagers after bringing down a wild boar, then tried to mend relations with Qi Jinghe and his family. She gave Old Man Liu medicine and approached the frightened Xiao Yue, promising she would not hit him.

• Su Qiao warned the crowd away from her wild boar, and they left in fear.
• Qi Jinghe insulted Su Qiao and walked away, while Old Man Liu apologized for his son’s stubbornness.
• Su Qiao gave Old Man Liu medicinal herbs and explained how to prepare them.
• Su Qiao picked up the tied rabbits and called Xiao Yue over, but he hid behind Old Man Liu in fear.
• Su Qiao gently promised Xiao Yue she would not hit him, and Old Man Liu encouraged him to approach her.

Su Qiao gave Qi Yue two rabbits and set out to sell a wild boar and buy food. Qi Jinghe remained suspicious of her change in behavior, while Qi Yue began to feel that his mother might be kind to him.

• Su Qiao carefully gave Qi Yue two little rabbits to raise, promising to make them a bamboo cage.
• Su Qiao put the other rabbits in Qi Jinghe’s basket and left to sell the wild boar and buy food.
• Old Man Liu warned Qi Jinghe not to do anything foolish because Su Qiao had changed.
• Qi Jinghe told Old Man Liu to take Qi Yue and leave if Su Qiao became dangerous again.
• Qi Yue told Qi Jinghe and Old Man Liu that Su Qiao had not hit him and had even patted his head.

Su Qiao sold a wild boar, bought food and clothes for her family, and encountered Jiang Qiuyan on the way home. She promised to repay her gambling debt by the day after tomorrow and asked Little Four to investigate Jiang Qiuyan.

• Qi Jinghe comforted the little boy and warned him that Su Qiao might have ulterior motives.
• Su Qiao sold the wild boar to a restaurant for five taels of silver, then bought rice, oil, salt, treats, clothes, and a back basket.
• Jiang Qiuyan confronted Su Qiao about her unpaid gambling debt, and Su Qiao promised to repay it by the day after tomorrow.
• Jiang Qiuyan let Su Qiao leave before the deadline and privately worried that Su Qiao had offended someone important.
• Su Qiao asked Little Four to keep an eye on Jiang Qiuyan and investigate her.

Su Qiao returned to the Qi Family with food, clothes, and silver after selling the wild boar, leaving Old Man Liu puzzled by her sudden change. She resolved to strengthen her family and help them protect themselves.

• Su Qiao arrived in the village, where people whispered about her bringing supplies back to the Qi Family.
• Old Man Liu greeted Su Qiao, and she gave him grain, oil, two sets of autumn clothes, snacks, candy, and one tael of silver.
• Old Man Liu asked what had changed, and Su Qiao said she had been mistaken before.
• Old Man Liu believed Su Qiao meant she had resented her mother's choice of husband, but Su Qiao thought her mother had been muddled.
• Su Qiao decided to replace sleep with cultivation and find ways to improve her family's health and teach them to protect themselves.

Su Qiao tried to show kindness to Qi Jinghe and Yue'er by giving them clothes, silver, pastries, and candy, but Qi Jinghe suspected she had an ulterior motive. The meal ended with Yue'er blushing after Su Qiao kissed his forehead.

• Old Man Liu gave Qi Jinghe the clothes and silver Su Qiao had bought, and Qi Jinghe accepted them while wondering what she intended.
• Su Qiao invited Yue'er to eat at the table and offered him candy, but Qi Jinghe assumed she was taking out her anger on the child and moved him to a chair beside himself.
• Su Qiao explained that she only wanted to give Yue'er candy, then placed the packet in front of him.
• Old Man Liu reminded Yue'er to thank his mother for her gifts, and Yue'er quietly thanked Su Qiao.
• Su Qiao kissed Yue'er on the forehead, leaving Qi Jinghe suspicious and Yue'er blushing with confusion.

Su Qiao warmly fed Little Yue'er and praised his father’s looks, leaving the man outside vexed and wondering whether she meant it. Little Yue'er accepted her kindness and decided to listen to her.

• Su Qiao served Little Yue'er rabbit meat and encouraged him to eat more.
• Su Qiao called the man handsome, prompting him to drop his chopsticks and storm outside.
• Little Yue'er told Su Qiao that people outside called his father ugly, and she defended him as handsome and promised to protect Yue'er.
• Old Man Liu backed up Su Qiao and added rabbit meat to Little Yue'er's bowl.
• Outside, the man touched his gaunt face and briefly wondered whether he really was handsome before dismissing Su Qiao's praise as deceit.

Su Qiao finished making Little Yue'er a bamboo cage, then returned to her room and found Qi Jinghe waiting there. He tried to persuade her to share a bed, leaving her wary and confused by his sudden change in behavior.

• Su Qiao wove a bamboo cage for Little Yue'er and put the two rabbits inside it.
• Little Yue'er thanked Su Qiao and carried the cage into the main room to find Grandpa.
• Su Qiao returned to her room and found Qi Jinghe standing beside the bed.
• Qi Jinghe approached Su Qiao and suggested that they share a bed because they were husband and wife.
• Su Qiao refused and tried to send Qi Jinghe back to his room, while he claimed she was looking down on him and said he was heartbroken.

Su Qiao avoided sharing a bed with Qi Jinghe and secretly bathed after he left. The next morning, she set out for the Dense Forest to find medicinal herbs and improve life for her family.

• Su Qiao made an excuse to keep Qi Jinghe from staying in her room, and he realized she was afraid to share a bed with him.
• Su Qiao waited until the household was asleep, then carried hot water to her room and bathed.
• Su Qiao told Old Man Liu she planned to enter the Dense Forest despite his warning about her mother's injury there.
• Su Qiao explained that she wanted to find Wild Ginseng, renovate the house, free Jing He from his daily stall work, and send Yue'er to a private school next year.

Su Qiao left for the mountains after promising to provide for Qi Jinghe and Yue'er, while Old Man Liu urged Qi Jinghe to trust her. Qi Jinghe remained suspicious of her sudden change, despite feeling a flicker of hope.

• Old Man Liu asked Su Qiao whether her promises were true, and she told him he would understand later.
• Su Qiao refused food, reminded Old Man Liu to take his medicine, and hurried toward the mountains.
• Old Man Liu told Qi Jinghe that Su Qiao had changed and repeated her plans to spare him the stall work and send Yue'er to school.
• Qi Jinghe questioned why Su Qiao had been cruel before and doubted that she had truly become a good person.

Qi Jinghe watched Little Yue'er grow excited about Su Qiao’s kindness and promises for his future, though he still struggled to trust her. Old Man Liu urged Qi Jinghe to let the past go and consider Little Yue'er’s welfare.

• Little Yue'er showed Qi Jinghe and Old Man Liu the rabbit cage Su Qiao had made and happily described her gifts and promises.
• Little Yue'er said Su Qiao planned to send him to school, teach him martial arts, and help Qi Jinghe open a storefront.
• Old Man Liu asked whether Little Yue'er resented his mother, and Little Yue'er said he liked the mother she was now.
• Old Man Liu told Qi Jinghe to let bygones be bygones and remember that Su Qiao’s kindness toward Little Yue'er was unusually generous.

Qi Jinghe struggled to forgive Da Qiao for how she had treated Yue'er, while Su Qiao searched the mountains for valuable herbs and returned with a wolf. Before she reached home, Jiang Qiuyan arrived with thugs to collect Da Qiao’s gambling debt, leaving the Qi family in danger.

• Qi Jinghe’s father urged him to be content and grateful to Da Qiao, but Qi Jinghe recalled her mistreatment of Yue'er and asked for time to think.
• Su Qiao headed into the mountains to search for Wild Ginseng and other rare medicinal herbs, planning to improve her family’s living conditions.
• After nearly two days in the Dense Forest, Su Qiao hurried home with a wolf over her shoulder and a Back Basket.
• Jiang Qiuyan and her thugs stormed the Qi family courtyard, demanding repayment of Da Qiao’s ten-tael debt to the gambling den.
• Qi Jinghe confronted Jiang Qiuyan while Old Man Liu explained that Da Qiao had gone hunting and asked for more time.

Jiang Qiuyan used Su Qiao’s signed debt agreement to seize five-and-a-half-year-old Qi Yue, while Qi Jinghe and Old Man Liu failed to stop her. The chapter ended with Qi Jinghe offering himself in his son’s place as the villagers watched without helping.

• Jiang Qiuyan dismissed Old Man Liu’s claim that Su Qiao had gone to the Dense Forest and ordered her people to seize Qi Yue.
• Qi Jinghe tried to protect his son, but Jiang Qiuyan’s people overwhelmed him and carried Qi Yue away.
• Jiang Qiuyan showed the villagers a paper bearing Su Qiao’s signature that said Qi Yue would settle the debt if the silver was not repaid on time.
• Old Man Liu fell after seeing the paper, while Qi Jinghe cursed Su Qiao and the villagers refused to intervene.
• Qi Jinghe offered to be sold instead of Qi Yue, who struggled and begged his father not to go.

Su Qiao returned to the Qi Family and found Jiang Qiuyan and her thugs hurting Qi Jinghe, Old Man Liu, and Qi Yue while demanding payment for a gambling debt. She rescued her family and beat Jiang Qiuyan and the thugs, then challenged Jiang Qiuyan's claim that she had run off without paying.

• Qi Jinghe tried to protect Qi Yue from Jiang Qiuyan, who threatened to sell the boy, while Old Man Liu was shoved down.
• Su Qiao heard Xiao Si's warning, rushed to the Qi Family, and attacked the thugs threatening Qi Jinghe and Qi Yue.
• Su Qiao broke the arm of the man holding Qi Yue, returned the child to Qi Jinghe, and crippled more than a dozen thugs.
• Su Qiao beat Jiang Qiuyan and accused her of bullying her family before the agreed repayment deadline.
• Jiang Qiuyan insisted she had come to collect Su Qiao's gambling debt, and Su Qiao demanded to know who had claimed she ran away.

Su Qiao challenged Jiang Qiuyan’s debt contract, demonstrated her literacy, and offered a hundred-year-old Wild Ginseng to repay what she owed. Jiang Qiuyan admitted she was in the wrong as the villagers noticed Su Qiao had returned from the Dense Forest with a wolf.

• Jiang Qiuyan showed Su Qiao the contract and insisted its fingerprint meant Su Qiao’s son could be taken to settle the debt.
• Su Qiao denied making the contract and wrote a poem on the courtyard gate to prove she could read and write.
• Jiang Qiuyan grew frightened as she recalled Su Qiao’s strength and suspected she had a powerful background.
• Su Qiao gave Jiang Qiuyan a hundred-year-old Wild Ginseng worth thirty taels, offering ten taels to cover her debt and asking for the rest to be delivered to her.
• The villagers recognized the ginseng and noticed Su Qiao had brought back a wolf from the Dense Forest.
• Jiang Qiuyan admitted she had been in the wrong and did not dare accept the ginseng.

Su Qiao accepted compensation from Jiang Qiuyan, warned her not to involve herself in the Underground Passage, and punished Li Dabao for bringing trouble to the Qi Family. After the wounded men were taken away, Su Qiao apologized to the Qi Family and revealed her true face, leaving them to ask what was going on.

• Su Qiao accepted fifty taels from Jiang Qiuyan and warned her to keep the Underground Passage conflict away from the Qi Family.
• Su Qiao kicked Li Dabao and beat him for helping Jiang Qiuyan find her, then stopped when Wang Guixiang intervened.
• Li Dabao fled, and Jiang Qiuyan paid villagers to remove the wounded men from the Qi Family courtyard.
• Su Qiao apologized to Qi Jinghe, Qi Yue, and Old Man Liu, wiped the medicinal liquid from her face, and revealed her delicate features.
• Su Qiao sat with the Qi Family and pulled her shaken son onto her lap as Old Man Liu asked what was happening.

Su Qiao told Old Man Liu and Qi Jinghe that her mother had been a Great General connected to the capital, and revealed that she had hidden her face with medicinal liquid. She took responsibility for protecting the family and prepared to use her Wild Ginseng to treat them, while Little Yue'er asked her to teach him to fly.

• Su Qiao explained that her mother had been a Great General connected to the capital and regretted that she had not trained people to protect them.
• Qi Jinghe worried that the enemies targeting Su Qiao were powerful, while she assured him she would handle the danger herself.
• Su Qiao revealed that her mother had used medicinal liquid to alter her face and gave Old Man Liu medicine for his injury and Qi Jinghe a remedy for bruises.
• Su Qiao brought down her Back Basket and offered four Wild Ginseng roots for money, medicine, and chicken stew.
• Little Yue'er admired Su Qiao's flight and asked her to teach him.

Su Qiao comforted Little Yue'er after the previous day's events and began teaching him to read and practice martial arts. The next day, as she prepared medicine and trained Yue'er at home, Qi Jinghe confronted her about Li Dabao's shattered kneecap, and she offered him silver so he could stop working at his stall.

• Su Qiao promised to teach Little Yue'er to read and practice martial arts, then carried him inside to make him something delicious.
• Little Yue'er said he was old enough to walk by himself, but Su Qiao insisted she could still hold and kiss him.
• Qi Jinghe took Yue'er from Su Qiao and told her not to teach him nonsense; Yue'er asked his father to be gentler, and Su Qiao said she liked Qi Jinghe as he was.
• The next day, Su Qiao brewed medicine for the household and taught Yue'er to exercise in the courtyard while Qi Jinghe brought home vegetables.
• Qi Jinghe told Su Qiao that Li Dabao's leg and kneecap had been shattered and accused her of doing it; Su Qiao denied leaving home and handed him silver so he would not need to run his stall.

Su Qiao gave Qi Jinghe the silver Jiang Qiuyan had paid her and assured him she considered Little Yue'er her son. Qi Jinghe remained suspicious of her past cruelty and warned her not to harm him or Little Yue'er, while their teasing left them both flustered.

• Su Qiao pushed the fifty taels of silver into Qi Jinghe's hands and said she would support him and regarded Little Yue'er as her son.
• Qi Jinghe privately doubted Su Qiao's claim, remembering how she had hurt Little Yue'er before.
• Qi Jinghe teased Su Qiao about her looks and dark heart, and she blushed before threatening to eat him.
• Qi Jinghe warned Su Qiao not to harm him or Little Yue'er and said her help the previous day did not earn his gratitude.
• Su Qiao told Qi Jinghe to use the silver as he wished and said he could wash off his fake freckles, but he insisted he liked the disguise.

Su Qiao sold a wolf pelt and wild ginseng, then went to town to buy supplies and a silver hairpin. After a shop assistant insulted her and drove her away, the shop’s female owner came out to ask what had happened.

• Su Qiao told Little Yue'er to rest, fed him pastries, and gave him homework after lunch.
• Su Qiao sold the wolf pelt for five taels of silver and a century-old wild ginseng for thirty-five taels.
• Su Qiao bought paper, brushes, ink, and a small dagger for self-defense.
• Su Qiao entered a jewelry shop and asked to see an eight-tael silver hairpin.
• The Shop Assistant mocked Su Qiao’s clothes and chased her out, and the woman in a green silk dress came out to ask what happened.