Recaps

Chen Yunfan recalled his complicated childhood rivalry with Chen Yi and planned to attend a poetry gathering in Shuzhou, while Chen Yi tried to understand his elder brother’s intentions and the people gathering in Shuzhou. After exploring North City, Chen Yi returned to Chunhe Garden and was surprised to find someone waiting outside.

• Chen Yunfan reminisced to Chunying about Chen Yi’s talent and their childhood grievances, then arranged to attend a poetry gathering at Guiyun Academy instead of the Right Provincial Administrator’s banquet.
• Chen Yi reflected on Chen Yunfan’s carefully proper behavior and suspected that his rise in Shuzhou would require more than family status.
• Chen Yi took Xiao Wuge and Xiao Die around North City, where he bought a set of Silver Needles for Acupuncture on Kanning Street.
• After lunch, Chen Yi returned to the residence and found a bare-footed figure waiting beneath the corridor outside Chunhe Garden.

Chen Yi helped Pei Guanli prepare a birthday gift for the Xiao Family's Old Master, then assisted Xiao Wan'er in receiving guests at the estate. The afternoon ended with Xiao Wan'er flustered by Chen Yi's easy rapport with the visitors, while he wondered why she had glared at him.

• Pei Guanli told Chen Yi that Xiao Jinghong had let her attend the Old Master's birthday banquet, and she asked him to prepare a gift for her.
• Chen Yi wrote a calligraphy piece for Pei Guanli and sent her to the Mounting Shop with Xiao Die, unaware that their carriage driver had once led her to Liu Si'er's room.
• Shen Huatang asked Chen Yi to help Xiao Wan'er receive the Xiao Family's visiting relatives, and he quickly put the guests at ease.
• Xiao Wan'er endured relatives' teasing about her marriage and dismissed a cousin's love poem, thinking of Chen Yi's poetic talent.
• Xiao Wan'er spotted Chen Yi chatting amiably with the guests, blushed when she met his gaze, and left for the rear kitchen; Chen Yi wondered why she had glared at him.

At Old Marquis Xiao’s birthday banquet, the Xiao Family hosted guests while Chen Yi advanced his Martial Dao Body and practiced new techniques. Xiao Wan’er decided to involve him in the manor’s medicine-hall affairs, leaving Xiao Jinghong to learn that her husband was about to take on something new.

• Old Marquis Xiao welcomed birthday guests, while he, Zhang Xuan, and Sun Fu discussed the banquet and Zhang Xuan’s plans to stay for the Birthday Ode.
• Chen Yi and Xiao Wan’er saw off the guests, and Xiao Wan’er asked Chen Yi to help with the remaining banquet duties.
• Xiao Wan’er decided to invite the managers of the medicine halls to the manor after the birthday banquet, hoping Chen Yi could assist her.
• Chen Yi spent 123 Fortune to raise Martial Dao Body to Major Accomplishment, then advanced Great Spear Stance Cultivation to Mastery Level and increased his strength.
• Chen Yi practiced the Mysterious Turtle Breath Concealment Art, learning to suppress every trace of Qi from his body.
• Xiao Jinghong returned with Su Zhenyue and, after speaking with Xiao Wan’er, learned that Chen Yi was about to have something to do.

Liu Si'er discovered that Pei Guanli was the Mountain Tribe girl he had been ordered to kill, but hesitated to act and decided to seek help at Guiyun Academy. Pei Guanli returned to the estate with her brother-in-law’s mounted calligraphy and became interested when Xiao Die spotted his elder brother near Guiyun Academy.

• Liu Si'er learned from Old Luo that Pei Guanli was inside the Mounting Shop with Xiao Die and secretly watched them from across the street.
• Xiao Die and Pei Guanli waited until the shopkeeper finished mounting the calligraphy, then left with the birthday gift.
• Pei Guanli returned to the shop briefly, and Liu Si'er recognized her as Granny Shan’s granddaughter and realized she was the person he had been ordered to kill.
• Liu Si'er read a note directing him to meet someone at Guiyun Academy and chose to seek that person’s help.
• Pei Guanli rode south with Xiao Die, carrying the calligraphy and listening eagerly to stories about her brother-in-law.
• Xiao Die spotted the son-in-law’s elder brother near Guiyun Academy, and Pei Guanli asked how he got along with her brother-in-law while reaching for medicinal powder.

Pei Guanli went to Guiyun Academy to deliver a calligraphy copybook and waited in the garden for Chen Yunfan, while Chen Yunfan learned that the academy’s teachers planned to visit the Xiao family to see Chen Yi’s calligraphy. He left stunned by the claim that Chen Yi’s writing had the splendor of Calligraphy Artistic Conception.

• Pei Guanli persuaded Xiao Die to let her visit the Poetry Gathering alone and left her waiting in the carriage.
• Pei Guanli entered Guiyun Academy with the copybook, waited in a garden pavilion, and chased off a scholar who approached her.
• Chen Yunfan arrived at a private gathering with Li Huaigu and the academy teachers, declining their invitation to appraise the students’ poems.
• Li Huaigu told Chen Yunfan that the teachers planned to visit Marquis Dingyuan to see Chen Yi’s calligraphy.
• Chen Yunfan heard the teachers debate whether Chen Yi’s New Style Characters truly displayed Calligraphy Artistic Conception and was left in disbelief.

Pei Guanli avenged Chen Yi by drugging and slashing Chen Yunfan's clothes, while Chen Yunfan learned the attack stemmed from Chen Yi's calligraphy and decided to let it go after hearing how dangerous the Mountain Tribe was. Back at Xiao Manor, Chen Yi sent the damaged copybook to be mounted and received a warning of turmoil at Xiao Yuan's Birthday Banquet.

• Chen Yunfan speculated about Chen Yi's calligraphy and poetry before Pei Guanli drugged him and cut his robe and sash to pieces.
• Pei Guanli returned to Xiao Manor with Xiao Die, and the two agreed to blame their delay on the Mounting Shop.
• Chunying showed Chen Yunfan Chen Yi's signature on the calligraphy copybook, revealing why Pei Guanli had attacked him, and warned him against seeking revenge on the Mountain Tribe.
• Chen Yunfan decided to spare Pei Guanli and waited for Harrier Eagle, who was exchanging intelligence with an Iron Banner Officer.
• At Xiao Manor, Chen Yi dismissed Pei Guanli and Xiao Die's apologies, then sent the damaged copybook to the Mounting Shop for repairs.
• Chen Yi received a warning that Xiao Yuan's Birthday Banquet would bring a day of turmoil and several fortunes.

Chen Yi prepared for the coming birthday banquet, where his fortune forecast promised turmoil, while Xiao Jinghong reflected on their growing bond. As the manor began its preparations before dawn, Chen Yi caught Xiao Jinghong dressing up and teased her, leaving her flustered.

• Chen Yi decided to show some ability at Marquis Dingyuan's birthday banquet while avoiding drawing too much attention, and he reflected on how the Mysterious Turtle Breath Concealment Art steadily increased his qi.
• Xiao Jinghong watched Chen Yi return to his room and thought that his confidence and steadiness complemented her; she went to bed thinking of him as her husband.
• Old Marquis Xiao kept his birthday celebration at Xiao Manor to comply with ritual rules, and Xiao Wang inspected a hundred guards before ordering them to welcome guests.
• Chen Yi rose before dawn and saw Xiao Jinghong preparing for the occasion; she ordered Su Zhenyue to wake Guanli and help her dress in Mountain Tribe clothing.
• Chen Yi laughed when Xiao Jinghong awkwardly shut the window, and she blushed, unsure how to handle the teasing.

At the Xiao Family’s ancestral rites before the Old Marquis’s birthday banquet, Chen Yi faced provocation from General Li Changqing over fleeing his wedding to Xiao Jinghong. Chen Yi turned the exchange back on Li and drew support from Sun Fu and Zhang Xuan, leaving the onlookers unsettled as the banquet preparations continued.

• Old Marquis Xiao took Xiao Wuge, Xiao Wan'er, and Xiao Jinghong into the ancestral hall to pay respects, while Chen Yi waited outside with the guests.
• Li Changqing introduced himself to Chen Yi and mocked him for fleeing his wedding to Xiao Jinghong.
• Chen Yi calmly offered to bring Xiao Jinghong and gifts to Li Changqing’s home to apologize, provoking Li until Pang Xuan and another general pulled him back.
• Xiao Wang silenced the group, and Pang Xuan apologized to Chen Yi for Li Changqing’s behavior.
• Sun Fu defended Chen Yi’s right to speak against the repeated mockery, while Zhang Xuan noted how sharply the scholars had insulted their critics without using vulgar words.

After Chen Yi impressed Zhang Xuan and Sun Fu with his poem, Li Changqing faced criticism for provoking him and was ordered by Xiao Jinghong to receive a hundred strokes of the military rod. Xiao Jinghong stood beside Chen Yi as they went to welcome the birthday guests, and he felt more at home in his new life.

• Zhang Xuan and Sun Fu praised Chen Yi's poem, while Zhang Xuan offered to pay handsomely for his work and Sun Fu warned him against selling it.
• Pang Xuan and Ma Kui reprimanded Li Changqing for provoking Chen Yi and reminded him that his behavior had disrespected the Old Marquis's birthday.
• The Old Marquis returned and invited everyone to the central courtyard, where Xiao Jinghong ordered Li Changqing to accept a hundred strokes of the military rod.
• Chen Yi felt grateful that Xiao Jinghong had defended him, and she asked him to join her in welcoming the guests.
• As Chen Yi walked beside Xiao Jinghong, he decided he could accept reasonable requests from her and felt his sense of belonging grow.

Chen Yi and Xiao Jinghong received guests at Marquis Dingyuan's Estate for the Old Marquis's birthday, where Chen Yunfan arrived after his dispute with Chen Yi the previous day. After Chen Yi explained the exaggerated rumors about Xiao Jinghong's appearance, she asked whether they had also caused him to flee their marriage, leaving him flustered.

• Chen Yi and Xiao Jinghong welcomed birthday guests, and Xiao Jinghong quietly taught Chen Yi about their identities and connections.
• Xiao Jinghong offered to handle Chen Yunfan if he used their disagreement to cause trouble, while Chen Yi said his elder brother was more perceptive than he seemed.
• Chen Yunfan arrived with Chunying, exchanged pointed remarks with Chen Yi, and formally greeted Xiao Jinghong before entering the estate.
• Xiao Jinghong asked how people in Jinling described her, and Chen Yi privately told her the outlandish rumor about her appearance.
• Xiao Jinghong asked whether that rumor was why Chen Yi had fled their marriage, and Chen Yi denied it as she said she believed him.

Chen Yi and Xiao Jinghong received Guiyun Academy’s teachers at Marquis Dingyuan’s birthday celebration after Mr. Yue Ming sought out the author of a calligraphy copybook. As they headed for the central courtyard, an Imperial Edict arrived.

• Chen Yunfan planned to present a matching calligraphy copybook to Old Marquis to provoke the Mountain Tribe girl who had toyed with him.
• Chen Yi and Xiao Jinghong greeted visiting officials and prominent Shuzhou families while waiting to enter the central courtyard.
• Mr. Yue Ming arrived with Li Huaigu and five other Guiyun Academy teachers, then asked Chen Yi whether he had written the calligraphy copybook.
• Xiao Jinghong told Chen Yi that Mr. Yue Ming had once loved her grandmother, who later married Old Marquis, creating an old grudge between him and the Xiao Family.
• As Chen Yi and Xiao Jinghong walked toward the central courtyard, someone announced that an Imperial Edict had arrived.

On Marquis Dingyuan's sixtieth birthday, Feng Erbao delivered an Imperial Edict honoring Xiao Yuan and a separate Oral Decree for Chen Yi. The emperor offered Chen Yi special permission to sit the next Imperial Examination, leaving Chen Yi trying to decline while Feng Erbao refused to carry his answer back.

• Xiao Jinghong arranged for the Xiao Family to receive Feng Erbao and the Imperial Edict, and she asked Chen Yi to accompany her.
• Feng Erbao announced that he had brought an Oral Decree for Chen Yi alone, prompting Xiao Wang to apologize after being told to leave the decree's contents unheard.
• Feng Erbao read the Imperial Edict granting Xiao Yuan birthday gifts in recognition of his service guarding Shuzhou.
• Feng Erbao relayed the emperor's praise for Chen Yi's talent and offered him special permission to take the next Imperial Examination.
• Chen Yi claimed his learning was ordinary and tried to decline, but Feng Erbao said he would not carry a reply back.

After the Emperor issued an oral decree allowing Chen Yi to take the Imperial Examination, Chen Yi tried to persuade Xiao Jinghong to let him remain an idle son-in-law, but she refused to believe he lacked talent. As rumors about the decree spread through the birthday banquet, Pei Guanli secretly drugged guests who spoke ill of him, and Chen Yi rushed out to confront her.

• Chen Yi asked Xiao Jinghong to let him avoid the Imperial Examination, official service, and hard labor, but she agreed only that he could remain idle and said Eldest Sister had already arranged for him to help her.
• Guests at the birthday banquet heard about the Emperor's decree, and Chen Yunfan, Li Huaigu, and others discussed Chen Yi's learning and his words about water carrying and capsizing a boat.
• Xiao Wang told Xiao Qiuyun that Chen Yi's marriage into the Xiao Family had changed the family's fortunes, while other guests gossiped about Chen Yi's past.
• Pei Guanli secretly gave delayed-acting powders to guests who disparaged Chen Yi, prompting Chen Yunfan to warn him that she was poisoning the guests.
• Chen Yi hurried out of the main hall and called Pei Guanli over after she cheerfully identified herself among the crowd.

At Old Marquis Xiao’s birthday banquet, Chen Yi managed Pei Guanli’s poisoned guests and exchanged guarded words with Chen Yunfan. When Chen Yi presented his calligraphy copybook, Mr. Yue Ming insisted it be opened, and its radiant characters astonished the guests.

• Chen Yi learned that Pei Guanli had poisoned guests who gossiped about him, then persuaded her to give them antidotes and avoid causing trouble at the banquet.
• Chen Yi spoke with Chen Yunfan about His Majesty’s oral decree and suspected that his elder brother was concealing his martial abilities.
• Pei Guanli and Chen Yunfan presented identical calligraphy copybooks, and Chen Yi realized they had met the previous night.
• The guests presented birthday gifts to Old Marquis Xiao, and Chen Yi offered his calligraphy copybook.
• Mr. Yue Ming asked Old Marquis Xiao to open Chen Yi’s copybook, and its bold characters shone with a jade-like glow, prompting a guest to exclaim that the characters revealed brilliance.

At Marquis Dingyuan Xiao Yuan’s birthday banquet, Chen Yi’s New Style Calligraphy Copybook stunned the guests and won him widespread admiration, though the attention worried him. On the way back to Chunhe Garden, he gained an Earth Rank Spear Technique and Fortune, while Xiao Jinghong announced that Pei Guanli would return with her to the Mountain Tribe.

• Chen Yi’s Calligraphy Copybook amazed the guests and Guiyun Academy’s teachers, and Xiao Jinghong quieted the crowd so the birthday feast could continue.
• The guests praised Chen Yi’s talent, while Pang Xuan warned Li Changqing to keep his thoughts to himself.
• Chen Yi helped Xiao Jinghong and the Old Marquis see off the distinguished guests, promised Li Huaigu he would attend his wedding feast, and spoke with Chen Yunfan before the banquet ended.
• The Light Screen awarded Chen Yi the Earth Rank Spear Technique—Falling Dragon and Fortune, which he decided to save until he had practiced the technique.
• On the way back to Chunhe Garden, Xiao Jinghong said she would take Pei Guanli back to the Mountain Tribe in a few days, and Pei Guanli clung to Chen Yi while Xiao Jinghong told him to step aside.

After the birthday banquet, Chen Yi considered the attention his calligraphy had attracted and returned to fishing, while Old Master explained the Xiao Family’s strained relationship with the emperor and its duty to defend the Central Plains. Xiao Jinghong and Xiao Wan'er took charge of the manor and army until Xiao Wu Ge returned, and Jinghong said Chen Yi had agreed to help Wan'er.

• Xiao Jinghong and Su Zhenyue left to handle business, while Chen Yi sent Xiao Wuge and Xiao Die to rest and reflected on the banquet’s consequences as he fished.
• Old Master directed Xiao Wan'er and Xiao Jinghong to sort the birthday gifts and explained that the Xiao Family needed funds for the Dingyuan Army’s Mutual Market with the Mountain Tribe.
• Old Master told Xiao Jinghong that the emperor was wary of the Xiao Family and had been restricting the Dingyuan Army’s resources, but reminded her that the family defended the Central Plains from the Barbarian Tribe.
• Old Master placed the Marquis’s mansion and Dingyuan Army in the hands of Xiao Jinghong and Xiao Wan'er until Xiao Wu Ge returned from Jinling, and said he would hold on for another ten years.
• Xiao Jinghong told Xiao Wan'er that Chen Yi had agreed to help her and promised to find him another position if he performed well.

Chen Yi practiced with Pei Guanli, demonstrated the Earth Rank Falling Dragon Spear Art, and discovered it drained his Qi because he lacked the cultivation to use it safely. He planned to train with the Mysterious Turtle Breath Concealment Art and remembered to ask Xiao Jinghong to let Pei Guanli stay; a new intelligence notice revealed Xiao Wan'er would reprimand a pharmacy manager at noon.

• Chen Yi agreed to try persuading Xiao Jinghong to let Pei Guanli remain, after learning Pei Guanli did not want to return to the Mountain Tribe and her parents had been away for years.
• Chen Yi used Playful Dragon Teases Phoenix footwork to strike Pei Guanli during their sparring and advised her to reserve some strength for adapting.
• Chen Yi performed the eight stances of the Falling Dragon Spear Art with a Purple Bamboo staff and learned the Earth Rank technique, but exhausted his Qi.
• Chen Yi used Fortune to raise his Spear Dao and realized the spear art drew on Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi, making it unsuitable for his current cultivation level.
• Chen Yi decided to test the Mysterious Turtle Breath Concealment Art while practicing the spear, then received intelligence that Xiao Wan'er would reprimand a pharmacy manager at Jiaxing Garden the next day.

Chen Yi heard that his calligraphy had become the talk of Shuzhou City, then spent the morning fishing unsuccessfully while Xiao Wuge caught one Golden-haired Carp after another. When Xiao Qiuyun and Zhang Heng arrived to take their leave, Chen Yi exchanged barbed remarks with them before the elders settled in to fish.

• Xiao Die told Chen Yi that Shuzhou City’s aristocratic sons had been visiting the Marquis’s mansion to copy his Calligraphy Copybook.
• Chen Yi took Xiao Wuge’s fishing rod when she hooked a Golden-haired Carp, but the fish escaped as soon as he took over.
• Chen Yi prepared to visit Jiaxing Garden, but Zhang Xuan, Sun Fu, Xiao Qiuyun, and Zhang Heng arrived in Chunhe Garden.
• Chen Yi greeted Xiao Qiuyun after she prompted him, then learned she and Zhang Heng were leaving for Guangyue Prefecture and would pass a message to Xiao Jinghong.
• Zhang Heng called Chen Yi a shameless runaway groom as he left, and Chen Yi told Zhang Xuan and Sun Fu they were even.
• Zhang Xuan spotted Xiao Wuge fishing and went with Sun Fu to join her, while Chen Yi left for Jiaxing Garden.

Chen Yi attended a meeting where Xiao Wan'er disciplined several Medicine Hall managers and appointed him to replace the corrupt Shopkeeper Wang. After learning the Imperial Court had disrupted the Dingyuan Army’s finances and threatened the Xiao Family’s plans for a Mutual Market, Chen Yi left the larger troubles to others and went to fish.

• Xiao Wan'er reviewed the five Medicine Halls’ accounts, praised two managers, reprimanded two for harsh prescriptions, and had Wang Ji removed for stealing.
• Xiao Wan'er named Chen Yi as the new Medicine Hall shopkeeper, and Chen Yi accepted the position.
• Xiao Wan'er told Chen Yi that the Dingyuan Army lacked money and grain and that Grandfather had sold many birthday gifts to help Xiao Jinghong build a Mutual Market with the Mountain Tribe.
• Chen Yi concluded that the Imperial Court was obstructing the Xiao Family’s plans, but decided the family’s powerful members could handle it.
• Chen Yi called to Xiao Die and ordered her to find Zhang Fishing Net so he could go after trash fish.

Chen Yi watched Xiao Wuge’s uncanny fishing success and began managing the Medicine Hall accounts, while Xiao Jinghong prepared to travel to the Mountain Tribe to negotiate a Mutual Market. The chapter ended with Xiao Jinghong telling Pei Guanli she would leave the next day, despite Pei’s protests.

• Xiao Wuge tossed a ruined net into the pond, and the Golden-haired Carp crowded into it, astonishing Chen Yi, Zhang Xuan, and Sun Fu.
• Sun Fu left Chunhe Garden with Duke Zhang without asking Chen Yi for a calligraphy copybook, deciding to delay his departure from Marquis Dingyuan's Estate.
• Shen Huatang delivered the Medicine Hall accounts that Xiao Wan'er had prepared for Chen Yi, and Pei Guanli thought Shen seemed familiar.
• Xiao Jinghong refused Chen Yi’s request to let Pei Guanli stay, explaining that she needed Pei’s help negotiating the Mutual Market with Granny Shan.
• Xiao Jinghong told Pei Guanli she could return with her after the negotiations, then announced that she would leave for the Mountain Tribe the next day.

Chen Yi learned that he had been appointed shopkeeper of Jishi Pharmacy and spoke with Xiao Jinghong about her upcoming months away overseeing the Mutual Market. Before she left, he wrote her the poem “Magpie Bridge Immortal,” giving her something to keep so they would not feel like strangers when she returned.

• Pei Guanli lamented that she had to return to her clan, while Xiao Jinghong took her and Su Zhenyue back to the Wooden Tower after dinner.
• Chen Yi read the regulations and accounts for Jishi Pharmacy, learning that its former shopkeeper, Wang Ji, had cheated customers and falsified the books.
• Xiao Jinghong told Chen Yi she would leave after the Mao hour to oversee the Mutual Market, possibly for several months, and said she had asked the Xiao elders not to treat him too harshly.
• Xiao Jinghong asked Chen Yi for calligraphy to keep for herself, explaining that she did not want them to feel like strangers when she returned.
• Chen Yi wrote “Magpie Bridge Immortal” for Xiao Jinghong, who read the poem and was deeply moved by it.

Xiao Jinghong left Chunhe Garden with Pei Guanli and a large escort to negotiate with the Mountain Tribe, while Chen Yi remained behind. Uncle Gui later reported to Harrier Eagle that Xiao Jinghong had departed and Chen Yi had been assigned to manage a pharmacy, prompting Harrier Eagle to consider giving Chen Yi another task.

• Chen Yi watched Xiao Jinghong prepare to leave, noticing that she had carefully packed the calligraphy copybook he wrote for her.
• Xiao Jinghong, Pei Guanli, Su Zhenyue, and their escort departed in five carriages for the Mountain Tribe after Xiao Jinghong asked Xiao Xuanshuo not to test Chen Yi's Martial Path.
• Xiao Wan'er returned to Qingjing Residence and told her grandfather that Xiao Jinghong had set off.
• Uncle Gui met Harrier Eagle in an underground chamber and reported Xiao Jinghong's departure and Chen Yi's new pharmacy-shopkeeper position.
• Harrier Eagle remarked that Chen Yi's talent was being wasted and decided it was time to find him something to do.

Chen Yi dealt with Sun Fu’s attempt to recruit Xiao Wuge as a student, then practiced martial arts and confirmed he could train the Falling Dragon Spear without drawing on Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi. A midnight intelligence alert revealed a Hidden Guard had hidden a secret letter in Sifang Zhai, and Chen Yi decided to investigate the next night.

• Sun Fu tried to persuade Chen Yi to help him take Xiao Wuge as a student, while Duke Zhang struggled to follow their conversation.
• Chen Yi agreed to write Sun Fu a Birthday Ode in exchange for peace and quiet, then brought Xiao Wuge back to Chunhe Garden with Xiao Die.
• Chen Yi practiced the Great Spear Stance Cultivation and Falling Dragon Spear, using the Mysterious Turtle Breath Concealment Art to prevent the spear from connecting to Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi.
• Chen Yi received intelligence that a Hidden Guard had concealed a secret letter in Sifang Zhai, Xiao Dongchen’s residence.
• Chen Yi wondered why the Hidden Guards appeared after Xiao Jinghong left and decided to investigate Sifang Zhai the next night.

On a stormy day, Chen Yi visited Xiao Wan'er and learned that a shipment of medicinal herbs had been delayed by rain and threatened by bandits. As Shen Huatang rode out to meet it, Chen Yi discussed the Xiao Family’s medicine halls with Xiao Wan'er and realized the family’s finances were strained.

• Chen Yi practiced calligraphy while Xiao Die asked whether he worried about Xiao Jinghong, and he said his wife could handle herself.
• Chen Yi took Xiao Wuge to Jiaxing Garden and saw Xiao Wan'er send Shen Huatang and several Armored Soldiers to meet a troubled shipment of medicinal herbs.
• Xiao Wan'er explained that heavy rain had blocked the water route to Shuzhou and bandits threatened the land route.
• During lunch, Chen Yi asked how the Xiao Family’s five medicine halls were managed and learned that their shopkeepers handled routine decisions independently.
• Chen Yi estimated that the family’s medicine halls brought in modest profits and that little remained after the Xiao Family’s expenses.

Chen Yi practiced martial arts before sneaking into Sifang Zhai to investigate the Hidden Guard’s secret message. He discovered Xiao Dongchen was the Hidden Guard, retrieved and memorized the coded letter, then ran into Xiao Wan'er on his way back.

• Xiao Wan'er urged Xiao Wuge to learn poetry, prose, or calligraphy from Chen Yi, and Xiao Wuge agreed to ask him the next day.
• Chen Yi practiced Great Spear Stance Cultivation and the Mysterious Turtle Breath Concealment Art, then prepared to visit Jishi Pharmacy with Xiao Die and Xiao Wuge the following morning.
• After nightfall, Chen Yi sneaked into Sifang Zhai and hid in a tree while watching Xiao Dongchen leave the building.
• Xiao Dongchen hid a cloth bundle containing a coded Secret Letter in the tree hollow, and Chen Yi realized he was the Hidden Guard.
• Chen Yi memorized the cipher, replaced the letter, and headed back toward Chunhe Garden before Xiao Wan'er spotted him in a dark pavilion.