Recaps

During a heavy storm, Xiao Wuge went to Chunhe Garden for breakfast with Chen Yi, while Xiao Wan'er struggled to smooth over her awkwardness with her brother-in-law. Chen Yi left for Guiyun Academy, and Xiao Wan'er resolved to try again to mend their relationship later.

• Xiao Wuge woke in Jiaxing Garden and asked Xiao Wan'er to take him to Chunhe Garden to eat with Chen Yi before he left for Guiyun Academy.
• Xiao Wan'er reflected on her earlier remarks to Chen Yi, wondered if she had overreacted, and asked Xiao Wuge whether she looked unwell.
• At breakfast, Chen Yi offered to arrange a meeting with Shopkeeper Wang, and Xiao Wan'er decided to write a reply to her Second Sister.
• Xiao Wan'er told Xiao Wuge to dress formally for his etiquette teacher, then watched Chen Yi leave and resolved to make peace with him another time.
• Chen Yi went to the front courtyard and found Ge Laosan being teased by the Armored Soldiers before he set out for Guiyun Academy.

Chen Yi learned that Liu Jing’s death had nearly driven the Xiao and Liu families into conflict, then went to Guiyun Academy amid the growing fame of Ma Guan’s calligraphy achievement. He discovered that a crowd had gathered for his lesson and tried to leave rather than face them.

• Chen Yi heard that the Wan Family might have arranged Liu Jing’s death to set the Xiao and Liu families against each other, and Ge Laosan explained the Liu Family of Jingzhou’s extensive influence.
• Ge Laosan told Chen Yi that Ma Guan’s achievement in the Way of Calligraphy had made Chen Yi famous across Shuzhou and beyond.
• Chen Yi arrived at Guiyun Academy, where students praised his casual manner as a mark of his character as a teacher.
• Ma Guan told Chen Yi that the calligraphy lesson had been moved, then led him to a study hall filled with one hundred people.
• Chen Yi cursed Mr. Yue Ming for letting the crowd gather and told He Ming to ask the dean for leave, claiming he had forgotten clothes at home.

Chen Yi stopped the influx of students into his calligraphy lessons by setting rules with Mr. Yue Ming, including a limit of one hundred students and a requirement that those accomplished in the Way of Calligraphy benefit Shuzhou. After Mr. Yue Ming and Mr. Zhuo Ying also became accomplished, Chen Yi went to Hundred Herbs Hall to prepare for a meeting with the Xiao Family’s Eldest Miss and plan the hall’s expansion.

• Chen Yi confronted Mr. Yue Ming for admitting students without his approval, then secured agreement to cap the study hall at one hundred, review future applicants, and require accomplished students to benefit Shuzhou.
• Mr. Yue Ming announced the rules to the study hall, and Chen Yi continued teaching without slowing down for the new students.
• After attending Chen Yi’s lesson, Mr. Yue Ming and Mr. Zhuo Ying understood the flaws in their calligraphy and became accomplished in the Way of Calligraphy through practice.
• Chen Yi told Mr. Yue Ming and Mr. Zhuo Ying that they also had to benefit Shuzhou, and Mr. Yue Ming agreed to do one hundred good deeds while Mr. Zhuo Ying promised two.
• Word spread through Guiyun Academy about the two gentlemen’s accomplishments, and the other gentlemen discussed how Chen Yi’s students might build his reputation among the people of Shuzhou.
• At Hundred Herbs Hall, Chen Yi told Wang Ji to prepare accounts and an expansion plan before his meeting with the Xiao Family’s Eldest Miss in five days, then asked Wang Ji to summon Liu Lang.

Chen Yi learned from Liu Lang that someone had offered Black Tooth a fortune to burn the Three Towns, and he ordered Liu Lang to investigate the mastermind and secretly warn the Xiao Family. After returning to Chunhe Garden, Chen Yi tried to turn away visitors asking him to help with the academy, but Xiao Wan'er arrived after hearing he was ill.

• Chen Yi considered the Liu Family's probing and the Xiao Family's need to keep Hundred Herbs Hall open while staying hidden elsewhere.
• Liu Lang told Chen Yi that an unidentified party had offered Black Tooth at least ten thousand taels of gold to burn the Three Towns, and that Black Tooth had invited him into the scheme.
• Chen Yi told Liu Lang to accept Black Tooth's offer long enough to discover who was behind it, and to pass the warning to the Xiao Family.
• Liu Lang explained that Granny Shan's presence kept powerful outsiders from causing trouble in Shuzhou, then left after Chen Yi gave him further instructions.
• Chen Yi returned to the Xiao Family and told Xiao Die to say he was ill so he could avoid visitors seeking his help with the academy.
• Xiao Wan'er came to Chunhe Garden with medicinal soup and asked Chen Yi if he was sick.

Chen Yi prepared medicines and went out in disguise to listen in on a secret meeting near a tailor shop, while several groups searched West Market for him. He hid nearby and watched two black-clothed figures arrive, recognizing Ge Laosan as one of them.

• Xiao Wan'er mistook Chen Yi's hunger for an illness, so he drank ginger tea and ate porridge before asking Xiao Die to bring him more food.
• Chen Yi wrote a letter to Xiao Jinghong, prepared four bottles of Immortal's Draught and a new paralyzing powder called Qingfeng Zui, then disguised himself and left Chunhe Garden.
• Chen Yi overheard Fang Hongxiu and the Judicial Department group questioning the official verdict about Liu Jing's murder, then spotted Huan'er and two martial wanderers searching for a man matching his build.
• Ning Yu recognized Chen Yi's build and pursued him, but Chen Yi avoided the group and hid beneath the eaves near the Tailor Shop to observe the meeting.
• After waiting through the rainy night, Chen Yi saw two black-clothed figures approach the Tailor Shop, including Ge Laosan, an armored soldier of Xiao Manor.

Chen Yi eavesdropped on Ge Laosan and Female Tiger discussing a plan to destabilize Shuzhou, then learned more about the Hidden Guards’ identities and schemes. As he headed toward Xiao Manor, Fang Hongxiu and three Judicial Officers confronted him in the rain.

• Chen Yi recognized the woman meeting Ge Laosan at the Tailor Shop as Female Tiger and secretly listened to their conversation.
• Female Tiger explained that the Xiao Family’s preparations threatened their plans, while Ge Laosan agreed to help Gray Wolf burn the Three Towns’ Summer Grain and proposed taking a thirty-thousand-tael contract from Black Tooth.
• Ge Laosan told Female Tiger that Luanfeng had come to Shuzhou with the Pavilion Master’s White Tiger Token and had promised Gray Wolf she would blame Liu Jing’s death on the Xiao Family.
• After Ge Laosan and Female Tiger left, Chen Yi identified Gray Wolf as Xiao Dongchen, Harrier Eagle as Ge Laosan, and Luanfeng as Cui Qingwu, while noting that Female Tiger’s identity remained unknown.
• Chen Yi encountered Fang Hongxiu and three Judicial Officers on his way toward Xiao Manor, and Fang Hongxiu recognized him and drew her saber.

Chen Yi escaped Fang Hongxiu and her Judicial Officers by poisoning them, then plotted to use the Burning of Three Towns' Summer Grain to deal with Liu Lang and the Xiao Family’s internal threats. Two days later, as his reputation for calligraphy spread through Shu Prefecture, Wang Ji visited him at Chunhe Garden.

• Chen Yi lured Fang Hongxiu and three Judicial Officers into a dead-end alley, where Qingfeng Zui left them unable to move, then taunted them and escaped into the rain.
• After returning to Chunhe Garden, Chen Yi mapped out the Xiao Family’s threats and decided to use the Burning of Three Towns' Summer Grain to get rid of Liu Lang.
• Chen Yi burned his notes, and two days passed as the rain eased over Shu Prefecture City.
• Wang Ji brought account books to Xiao Manor and then visited Chen Yi, reflecting on the public praise for Chen Qingzhou and the restrictions keeping people from seeking his instruction.

Chen Yi advised Wang Ji to focus on expanding Hundred Herbs Hall, while Xiao Wan'er discussed the business’s profits and a possible gift for its incoming boss. After reading Liu Lang’s warning that other people planned to join Black Tooth’s operation, Chen Yi prepared to investigate and deal with the threat, then began cultivating for a breakthrough into the Middle Three Grades.

• Chen Yi told Wang Ji that expanding Hundred Herbs Hall mattered more than worrying about a seasonal dip in tea sales, and Wang Ji delivered Liu Yun’s letter saying his injuries had healed.
• Xiao Wan'er reviewed the accounts and considered gifts for Hundred Herbs Hall’s arriving boss; Chen Yi described the costly fishing set A Touch of Cold Plum, which he wanted for himself.
• Xiao Wan'er asked Chen Yi to meet Chen Yu, Hundred Herbs Hall’s boss, but Chen Yi said he would be at the academy and planned to find an excuse to stay away from the mansion.
• Chen Yi read Liu Lang’s letter saying Black Stones expected other participants in the operation and that Blackie wanted Liu to meet someone the next night; Chen Yi suspected the Hidden Guard or a powerful employer and decided to visit Hundred Herbs Hall.
• Xiao Wuge told Chen Yi that her cultivation had reached the middle eighth rank, and Chen Yi returned to his room that night to cultivate the Four Symbols Technique and break through into the Middle Three Grades.

Chen Yi opened the Four Symbols Technique’s four Divine Seats and advanced to the Lower Sixth Rank, while Xie Tingyun sensed a brief disturbance in the spiritual energy. The Xiao Family’s Old Master learned that the Shadow Guards near the Black Market had been eliminated and ordered preparations for the arrival of the Liu Family of Jingzhou.

• Chen Yi completed the Four Symbols Technique’s circulation, opened four Divine Seats, and reached the Lower Sixth Rank.
• Xie Tingyun sensed what seemed like a breakthrough in the surrounding spiritual energy but could not identify its source.
• The Black-clad Man told the Old Master that the Shadow Guards near the Black Market had been removed, and the Old Master ordered him to investigate Black Tooth and the other families.
• The Black-clad Man reported that Cui Qingwu stayed in Tingyu Pavilion when Chen Yunfan was away and that the Xiao Family’s unknown helper was likely near West Market.
• The Black-clad Man reported that Liu Yu, Liu Wen, and Liu Zhaoxue would soon arrive in the Prefectural City, and the Old Master ordered close surveillance of them and Liu Hong.
• The Old Master warned that the Liu Family might challenge the grain-tax settlement and said the Xiao Family might have to answer with force.

After advancing his cultivation, Chen Yi went out with Xiao Wan'er and the others to shop for gifts for Chen Yu. He planned to visit Jishi Pharmacy in East Market to see Ma Liangcai receive a divine physician plaque, and the group headed there after finishing their shopping.

• Chen Yi broke through his Cultivation Base and used Fortune to raise his Spear Dao to the Great Accomplishment Realm.
• Xiao Die told Chen Yi that the Xiao family’s masters had begun praising him after his calligraphy teaching at Guiyun Academy drew visitors.
• Chen Yi agreed to accompany Xiao Wan'er to shop for gifts for Chen Yu, and Xiao Wuge joined them while Pei Guanli stayed home.
• Xiao Wan'er chose gifts for Chen Yu, and Chen Yi suggested adding a qin because he had heard Boss Chen enjoyed playing the qin and using Blade Technique.
• Xiao Wan'er told Chen Yi that visitors were flocking to Guiyun Academy and that Mr. Yue Ming had refused offers of gold for student places.
• After shopping on Kanning Street, Chen Yi suggested visiting Jishi Pharmacy, and Xiao Wan'er agreed to stop at a restaurant in East Market as well.

Chen Yi stopped a suspicious procession from presenting Ma Liangcai with a divine physician plaque, then promised to investigate who was behind it. He rejoined Xiao Wan'er and the others for a meal, while two people in a lavish carriage watched them and one called the failed scheme a small meeting gift for his wife.

• A procession arrived at Jishi Pharmacy claiming Ma Liangcai had saved their young master near Wumeng Mountain and brought him a divine physician plaque.
• Chen Yi rejected the plaque, sent the visitors away, and privately told Ma Liangcai to keep a low profile while he investigated.
• Chen Yi reassured the Medicine Hall staff and arranged for Liu Quan to advance them silver coins before leaving.
• Chen Yi joined Xiao Wan'er and the others at a restaurant, unaware that two people in a lavish carriage had watched them.
• One person in the carriage said his plan had been a small meeting gift for his wife and proposed going to greet them.

Chen Yi and Xiao Wan'er’s party ate at a restaurant, where Liu Wen and Liu Zhaoxue arrived and Liu Wen provoked Xiao Wan'er over a marriage proposal. Chen Yi soothed Xiao Wan'er after they left, while Liu Wen learned more about Chen Yi and resolved to compete with him.

• Liu Wen and Liu Zhaoxue arrived in Shuzhou, and Liu Wen spoke of proposing marriage to Xiao Wan'er.
• Chen Yi’s group recalled Xiao Wan'er’s childhood visit to the restaurant as they waited for their food.
• Liu Wen approached Xiao Wan'er, hinted at a marriage between them, and was ordered to leave by Xiao Wan'er.
• Liu Zhaoxue pulled Liu Wen away after warning him that Xie Tingyun and Shen Huatang were powerful Tianshan Sect disciples.
• Chen Yi encouraged Xiao Wan'er to stay for lunch and patted her hand, lifting her spirits.
• Liu Zhaoxue reminded Liu Wen of his rivalry with Chen Yi, and Liu Wen decided to compete with him if he got the chance.

Xiao Wan'er feared the Liu Family of Jingzhou would arrange a marriage alliance with the Xiao Family, and she openly rejected the proposal when Liu Yu suggested Liu Wen as her match. Old Master postponed his decision until he could consult the Liu Family’s main branch, leaving Xiao Wan'er and Xiao Wuge to speak with him afterward.

• Disturbed by Liu Wen's earlier mention of a marriage proposal, Xiao Wan'er returned to the Marquis's mansion in low spirits while Chen Yi went to West Market.
• Xiao Wan'er and Xiao Wuge waited outside Qingjing Residence as Old Master spoke with Liu Yu of the Liu Family of Jingzhou.
• Liu Yu asked Old Master to consider a marriage alliance and proposed Liu Wen as a match for Xiao Wan'er.
• Xiao Wan'er said she did not agree, and Old Master temporarily declined the proposal pending correspondence with the Liu Family's main branch.
• After Liu Yu left, Xiao Wuge told Old Master he also opposed the proposal and began explaining what Chen Yi had said about the Xiao Family attracting attention.

Elder Master Xiao reassured Xiao Wan'er about the Liu Family and learned that Chen Yi had recognized the Xiao Family’s weakness and treated her illness. Meanwhile, Chen Yi prepared to investigate the Liu Family’s plans through Liu Lang and decided to accompany him to meet the mission’s participants.

• Elder Master Xiao questioned Xiao Wuge about Chen Yi’s insight into the Xiao Family’s position and realized Chen Yi might be more perceptive than he appeared.
• Xiao Wan'er worried about marriage, but Elder Master Xiao assured her the Xiao Family would not marry her to Liu Wen and said he would handle the Liu Family.
• Xiao Wuge told Elder Master Xiao that Chen Yi had cured Xiao Wan'er and praised Chen Yi’s medical skills and talents.
• Elder Master Xiao ordered the Shadow Guard to watch the Liu Family, then decided against having Chen Yi followed.
• Chen Yi reasoned that Liu Hong and Liu Zhen were central to the Liu Family’s plans, while Liu Lang reported Black Tooth’s movements and the deaths of suspected Xiao Family guards.
• Chen Yi told Liu Lang to take him along that night to meet the mission’s participants.

Chen Yi decided to accompany Liu Lang to Black Tooth’s gathering by posing as a gold master who wanted the Three Towns’ summer grain burned, though he withheld his proposed justification. After gathering information about Black Tooth and Bright Moon Tower, Chen Yi returned to the Xiao Family and found Xiao Wuge being lectured by Sun Fu.

• Liu Lang warned Chen Yi that Black Tooth required participants to carry an Identity Token and that the gathering could be dangerous.
• Liu Lang suggested Chen Yi could attend as a gold master without a token if he gave Black Tooth a convincing reason to fund the Burning of Three Towns' Summer Grain.
• Chen Yi told Liu Lang to prepare to meet him before the hour of the Boar, but refused to reveal his reason in advance.
• Chen Yi asked Liu Lang about Black Tooth, Bright Moon Tower, and martial-world figures in Shuzhou, then left after their conversation.
• Chen Yi removed his disguise, walked through West Market, bought candied hawthorn skewers, and returned to the Xiao Family.
• Chen Yi found Xiao Wuge in Chunhe Garden as Sun Fu lectured him, and Xiao Wuge silently pleaded for help.

Chen Yi’s calligraphy reached perfection as he wrote Sun Fu a poem that revealed a vivid painting of Sun Fu in Jinling. After Sun Fu departed, Chen Yi reaffirmed his loyalty to the Xiao Family and prepared to meet Black Tooth and the others with Liu Lang.

• Sun Fu told Chen Yi that he and his family would leave for Jinling, and Chen Yi promised him the calligraphy copybooks.
• Chen Yi wrote Farewell to Duke Changming in Shu Prefecture, whose characters revealed a painting of Sun Fu and advanced Chen Yi’s Way of Calligraphy to perfection.
• Sun Fu treasured the poem and copybook, praised Chen Yi’s calligraphy, and asked about his plans; Chen Yi said he stood with the Xiao Family as its live-in son-in-law.
• Chen Yi learned that Old Master had refused Liu Yu of the Liu Family, then scolded Xiao Wuge for revealing his secrets and threatened to add more subjects to his lessons.
• After reflecting on the forces surrounding the Xiao Family, Chen Yi dressed in black, gathered his weapons and medical supplies, and prepared to follow Liu Lang to meet Black Tooth and the others.

Chen Yi disguised himself and went with Liu Lang to meet Black Tooth, using the Liu Family of Jingzhou as his cover. At Chunyu Tower, he discovered that the masked woman accompanying Black Tooth was the Hidden Guard known as Female Tiger.

• Chen Yi slipped through West Market in the rain, avoiding Fang Hongxiu and her Judicial Officers as they patrolled for him.
• Chen Yi had Zhang Dabao disguise him as a gloomy, sinister man, then told Liu Lang he would pose as someone from the Liu Family of Jingzhou.
• Chen Yi and Liu Lang passed a secret checkpoint and followed a guide to Chunyu Tower, where Black Tooth was hiding.
• Black Tooth entered the room with a petite masked woman, who questioned whether Liu Lang had followed Black Tooth's rules by bringing Chen Yi.
• Chen Yi recognized the woman as Female Tiger, the Hidden Guard.

Chen Yi posed as Liu Wu, a member of the Liu Family of Jingzhou, to negotiate with Black Tooth and Lou Yuxue about Bright Moon Tower's transaction. After proving his claimed ties to Liu Wen and his medical skill, he declared that his business was finished and prepared to question them about theirs.

• Chen Yi claimed to be Liu Wu of the Liu Family of Jingzhou and confronted Black Tooth over the failed transaction and Liu Jing's death.
• Chen Yi laid out ten thousand taels in Silver Notes and claimed to serve Liu Wen, whose purpose in Shuzhou included seeking a marriage alliance with the Eldest Miss Xiao.
• Chen Yi told Black Tooth that the transaction was Liu Wen's betrothal gift and that it had to succeed, so Black Tooth accepted the Silver Notes and agreed their aims aligned.
• Lou Yuxue questioned how Liu Lang had joined Liu Wu, and Chen Yi claimed he had cured Liu Lang's injuries.
• Chen Yi demonstrated his medical skill by controlling a Silver Needle with True Essence, convincing Black Tooth and Lou Yuxue of his identity.
• Chen Yi said his business was finished and turned the conversation toward Black Tooth and Lou Yuxue's business.

Chen Yi and Liu Lang attended a gathering for the summer-grain burning deal, where Chen Yi revealed his Great Accomplishment Fist Dao and impressed the gathered Unorthodox Path members. After they donned masks and entered the meeting room, Chen Yi recognized an old acquaintance among the participants.

• Black Tooth and Lou Yuxue left Chen Yi and Liu Lang to wait while the remaining participants gathered, and Chen Yi considered the Hidden Guards’ plans and the unidentified Gold Master.
• Old Demon Fang tried to intimidate the room with his Fist Intent, but Liu Lang’s Blade Intent and Chen Yi’s Great Accomplishment Fist Dao suppressed his pressure.
• Black Tooth stopped Old Demon Fang and told the group that Chen Yi was both a Medical Saint Hand and essential to the deal, prompting the others to praise him.
• A black-clad attendant delivered masks, and Liu Lang explained Bright Moon Tower’s rule that only the deal’s initiator knew everyone’s identity beforehand.
• Chen Yi and Liu Lang put on masks and entered a hidden meeting room, where Chen Yi recognized an old acquaintance among the masked participants.

Chen Yi and Liu Lang attended Bright Moon Tower’s meeting about an operation targeting the Three Towns, where they learned that the Unorthodox Path practitioners would serve as a diversion while inside agents handled the main attack. After leaving, they were followed through the storm, and Old Demon Fang confronted them in an alley, declaring that anyone who offended him had to die.

• Chen Yi recognized Ge Laosan and identified the other martial artists gathered at Bright Moon Tower before receiving intelligence about their meeting.
• Black Tooth explained that Bright Moon Tower would take thirty percent of the reward and proposed dividing the rest equally, prompting Old Demon Fang and Elder Demon Jia to argue over shares.
• Chen Yi challenged the group’s chances of success, and Lou Yuxue revealed that they would draw the Xiao Family’s attention while inside agents in the Three Towns carried out the main operation.
• After Chen Yi and Liu Lang left, Black Tooth and Lou Yuxue discussed whether the pair might disrupt the plan and agreed to verify the Liu Family’s purpose for coming.
• Chen Yi and Liu Lang walked through the storm and discovered Old Demon Fang following them; he confronted them in an alley and threatened to kill anyone who offended him.

Chen Yi and Liu Lang survived Old Demon Fang’s attack while Chen Yi’s drug incapacitated the conspirators, earning him a reward that raised Collapsing Mountain Fist to Earth Rank. Back at their residence, Chen Yi planned their next moves and sent Xiao Jinghong a warning about Bright Moon Tower’s scheme to burn the Three Towns’ summer grain.

• Liu Lang’s Blade Intent forced Old Demon Fang back, but Chen Yi called for Black Tooth, who stopped the fight and sent Old Demon Fang away.
• Old Demon Fang collapsed after Chen Yi’s knockout drug took effect, and Black Tooth found more than a dozen incapacitated conspirators, including Lou Yuxue, along the street.
• Black Tooth killed Old Demon Fang for bringing disgrace on Bright Moon Tower, then ordered Lou Yuxue to clean up the scene.
• Chen Yi received a Fortune reward that raised Collapsing Mountain Fist to Earth Rank and returned with Liu Lang to their temporary residence.
• Chen Yi told Liu Lang to locate the Liu Family of Jingzhou’s Second Young Master and wrote a warning to Xiao Jinghong about the plot to burn the Three Towns’ summer grain and a possible inside agent among the soldiers.

Chen Yi arranged for Pei Guanli to secretly deliver his warning letter to Xiao Jinghong while keeping his own involvement hidden. Sun Fu showed Marquis Xiao a calligraphy work by Chen Yi that revealed his extraordinary talent, leaving Marquis Xiao both pleased and worried about what it might mean for the Xiao Family.

• Chen Yi decided that Pei Guanli should carry his letter to Xiao Jinghong under the cover of visiting her clan, and instructed her to conceal how she obtained it.
• Zhang Dabao explained the Thieves' Sect's disguise techniques to Chen Yi, who then told him to arrange new residences in East Market and North City.
• Chen Yi returned to Chunhe Garden and gave Pei Guanli detailed instructions for delivering the letter without arousing Xiao Jinghong's suspicion.
• Sun Fu visited Marquis Xiao before leaving for Jinling and revealed Chen Yi's calligraphy, which displayed an impressive illusory scene and bore Chen Yi's name.
• Marquis Xiao worried that Chen Yi's growing talent could bring trouble for the Xiao Family, but Sun Fu reassured him that Chen Yi had no designs on them.

Chen Yi taught his students to develop calligraphy that reflected their own nature, then learned that the Xiao and Liu Families’ dispute over the Three Towns’ Summer Grain had escalated again. He went to meet Xiao Wan’er in disguise to discuss expanding Hundred Herbs Hall, but she unexpectedly ordered him to enter alone.

• Chen Yi saw Sun Fu off and admitted that he had written the parting verse for him, then wrote Xiao Jinghong a letter and sent Pei Guanli back to her tribe with gifts.
• At the academy, Chen Yi taught Tang Ye to let his natural temperament shape his calligraphy and gave the students homework to write in a style true to themselves.
• Mr. Yue Ming asked Chen Yi to allow a student to enter the study hall through a family’s favor; Chen Yi agreed only if another student was removed.
• Chen Yi read Li Huaigu’s letter reporting that the Provincial Administration had raised the grain-tax rate on the Three Towns’ Summer Grain from one in twenty to one in ten, and told Mr. Yue Ming to follow their existing plan and delay Li Huaigu’s journey.
• Chen Yi met Wang Ji in disguise and instructed him to explain the plan to expand Hundred Herbs Hall to Xiao Wan’er, but her attendant said Chen Yi should enter alone.

Chen Yi met Xiao Wan'er at the Marquis Dingyuan Estate disguised as Chen Yu and presented Hundred Herbs Hall's plan to expand across the Great Wei Dynasty. He left after she agreed to consult her grandfather, while Xiao Wan'er remained unsettled by how much Chen Yu reminded her of her brother-in-law.

• Chen Yi entered the Wooden Tower with Shen Huatang and greeted Xiao Wan'er as Chen Yu, but she froze because his bearing and appearance seemed familiar.
• Xiao Wan'er gave Chen Yi a zither and a saber, and they discussed Hundred Herbs Hall's cooperation with the Xiao Family Medicine Hall.
• Chen Yi presented a plan to expand Hundred Herbs Hall through profit-sharing with the Xiao Family and local Aristocratic Families, and he explained how to address unsuitable prescriptions and dishonest partners.
• Xiao Wan'er said she needed her grandfather's approval and accepted Chen Yi's warning to keep the plan from the Liu Family.
• Chen Yi left the estate with Wang Ji and Zhang Dabao, while Xiao Wan'er asked Shen Huatang and Xie Tingyun whether Chen Yu looked like her brother-in-law; they denied it, and she asked them to invite him to dinner when he returned.

Xiao Wan'er presented Chen Yu's Hundred Herbs Hall expansion plan to the old master, who agreed the Xiao Family could cooperate after investigating Chen Yu and the business. The old master then ordered the Shadow Guard to watch the Liu Family and uncover what Bright Moon Tower was planning in the Black Market.

• Xiao Wan'er brought the expansion plan to the old master and explained that Chen Yu wanted to cooperate with the Xiao Family.
• The old master judged that the plan could benefit both sides, but warned that expanding through Shuzhou would require managing local clans and their interests.
• The old master agreed to the venture in principle, but said the Xiao Family must first investigate Chen Yu and Hundred Herbs Hall.
• After Xiao Wan'er left, the old master ordered a subordinate to investigate Chen Yu and keep watch on the Liu Family of Jingzhou.
• A Shadow Guard reported that Old Demon Fang had died at Black Tooth's hands and that Evil Demons had gathered at Chunyu Tower, prompting the old master to order an investigation into Bright Moon Tower's plans.