Recaps

Xun Zhen learned that Shen Tang was a woman and, after arguing with Qi Shan, accepted the revelation and returned to work. Shen Tang visited the drill grounds, where Xu Quan mistook her for a young woman and whistled at her, then provoked her by commenting on her appearance; she thrust her sword at him.

• Kang Shi told Xun Zhen that Shen Tang was a woman, and Qi Shan argued that her gender did not diminish her ability to lead.
• Xun Zhen called Qi Shan vulgar, then composed himself and continued working.
• Shen Tang went to the military camp’s drill grounds and watched Xu Quan defeat Tu Rong.
• Xu Quan mistook Shen Tang for a young woman, whistled at her, and boasted to Tu Rong about his appeal to women.
• Tu Rong warned Xu Quan that the woman he had whistled at was their lord, and Shen Tang revealed herself.
• Xu Quan commented on Shen Tang’s outfit and figure, prompting her to thrust her sword toward his face.

Xu Quan learned that Shen Tang was a woman after she beat him for flirting with her and insulting her figure, then wrote a long complaint to his cousin Xu Xie. At Zhao Feng’s farewell banquet, Shen Tang offered to accompany his song as he prepared to leave.

• Gongshu Wu learned from Tu Rong that Shen Tang had beaten Xu Quan after he flirted with her and criticized her figure.
• Gongshu Wu told Xu Quan that Shen Tang had always been a woman, leaving Xu Quan stunned and mortified.
• Xu Quan wrote more than twenty pages of complaints to Xu Xie and included a request for extra grain seeds for Shen Tang.
• A Second-Class Shangzao carried Xu Quan’s letters toward Heyin, while Shen Tang asked Xu Quan to seek grain seeds from his cousin.
• At Zhao Feng’s farewell banquet, Zhao Feng began to sing, and Shen Tang offered to accompany him.

At Zhao Feng’s farewell banquet, Qi Shan prevented Shen Tang from singing, and the guests drank late into the night. Shen Tang found Shen Zhi waiting by the bathhouse and learned that she feared she was an aberration because she could retain Heaven and Earth Qi; Shen Tang suspected the change was connected to Yonggu Pass.

• Qi Shan took the chance to accompany Zhao Feng’s farewell song, sparing Shen Tang from singing before the guests.
• Zhao Feng sang a folk tune, and the banquet grew noisy as the Martial Gall Warriors drank heavily.
• Shen Tang found Shen Zhi dozing outside the bathhouse after Shen Zhi had arranged hot water and hangover soup for the guests.
• Shen Tang insisted Shen Zhi return to her room and pressed her to explain what was troubling her.
• Shen Zhi said she was a woman who could now retain Heaven and Earth Qi, and Shen Tang wondered if the change was linked to Yonggu Pass.

Shen Tang learned that Shen Zhi could refine and store Heaven and Earth Qi, reassured her about her pregnancy, and wondered whether other women might gain the same ability. After seeing Zhao Feng off, Shen Tang called her officials together for a serious meeting.

• Shen Zhi told Shen Tang she had discovered her ability shortly after Shen Tang's surprise attack on the Ten Crows' capital.
• Shen Tang confirmed Shen Zhi had brought Heaven and Earth Qi under control, calmed her fears, and urged her to rest and carry the child safely to term.
• Shen Tang wondered whether Shen Zhi's new ability came from her service to Shen Tang or from being a subject of Kang, and stayed awake until dawn considering the possibilities.
• Shen Tang joined her officials to bid farewell to Zhao Feng, who thanked her and led his men and provision-laden carts away from Ru Yao City.
• Shen Tang turned back with her officials and called a meeting, while Gu Chi signaled that the matter was serious and Jiang Sheng anticipated more work.

Shen Tang revealed to her officers that she was a woman, then told them Shen Zhi had begun cultivating and warned that other women might be able to do the same. She asked the group to devise a discreet way to find and guide talented women in Longwu Commandery while keeping the discovery secret.

• Shen Tang convened a meeting with her trusted staff and disclosed to the two officers from Yonggu Pass that she had always been a woman.
• Chu Yao explained that Yu Zi was also a woman and suggested Chief Clerk Yu likely knew Shen Tang's secret.
• Shen Tang told the meeting that Shen Zhi had begun cultivating, possibly after the National Border Barrier restarted.
• Shen Tang worried that women across Longwu Commandery might also be able to cultivate and that their growing numbers could expose the commandery.
• Shen Tang asked her staff to find a quiet way to gather and guide these women so they could cultivate without attracting outside attention.

Shen Tang and her advisers devised ways to identify talented women in Longwu Commandery by establishing a school and hiring older women, while debating how to fund the effort. The chapter left Shen Tang proposing free medical checkups for the entire population as cover for screening, alarming her advisers with the scale of the plan.

• Chu Yao reported that the census had registered 23,333 households and 42,114 women, with many more likely to be found through a full census.
• Xianyu Jian proposed recruiting girls through a wandering knight sect, but the scholars rejected the idea because of the sects' poor reputation.
• Lin Feng suggested establishing a private school, and Shen Tang proposed admitting selected girls while offering their households schooling and practical benefits for boys.
• Shen Tang suggested using smuggling with the Ten Crows to raise funds, and Gu Chi persuaded the generals that the money could support their soldiers.
• Jiang Sheng proposed hiring older women for the Prefectural Government, and Shen Tang suggested free medical checkups for everyone in Longwu Commandery to screen for talent without drawing attention.

Shen Tang ordered commandery-wide medical checkups for Longwu’s hundred thousand people, despite her staff’s concerns about money and manpower. After preparations and a chaotic launch, a guarded convoy carrying Ning Yan and a young man entered the commandery and noted its desolation alongside improving security.

• Shen Tang insisted on screening Longwu Commandery’s population and won Gu Chi’s support by using Jiang Xian Deng’s Way of the Scholar to help identify people needing further checks.
• Shen Tang’s administration mobilized soldiers and county officials to deliver notices while Elder Physician Dong agreed to provide free consultations and medicine funded by the Prefectural Government.
• After five days of preparations, the commandery-wide checkups began, drawing crowds of commoners eager for free care and placing the heaviest workload on Jiang Sheng.
• A guarded convoy entered Longwu Commandery as the checkups proceeded, and a young man traveling with Ning Yan remarked on the region’s barrenness and improved security.

Ning Yan and her party entered Longwu Commandery, where they discovered Shen Tang’s government had organized farmwork and a free clinic. Elder Physician Dong found unusual pulses in Ning Yan and her daughter and sent them to a bamboo shed, where a weary-looking scholar waited.

• The youth noticed that fields near Longwu Commandery had been plowed despite the shortage of men, oxen, and tools, and Ning Yan explained that Shen Tang had dispatched Martial Gall Warriors to help farmers.
• A crowd gathered for a government-run free clinic, and Ning Yan joined the line after a soldier invited the travelers to be examined.
• Elder Physician Dong examined Ning Yan’s daughter and said her pulse was unusual, then asked that she be taken to the bamboo shed for further examination.
• Elder Physician Dong examined Ning Yan too and said her pulse also needed closer attention, so she accompanied her daughter to the shed.
• Ning Yan saw a weary middle-aged scholar inside the guarded bamboo shed and doubted that he looked like a physician.

Ning Yan and her daughter met Jiang Sheng during a talent examination, and he recognized their unusual aptitude before learning she was carrying seed grain for Shen Tang. Kang Shi recognized Ning Yan and welcomed her daughter, while Shen Tang returned to the village with a herd of piglets.

• Jiang Sheng examined Ning Yan's daughter and tested Ning Yan with literary energy, prompting her to confront him about what he was doing.
• Ning Yan explained that she had come at Xu Wenzhu's request to deliver something to Lord Shen, and Jiang Sheng brought her and the youth to his village lodging.
• Kang Shi recognized Ning Yan, gave her daughter a Jade Pendant, and learned that Ning Yan had brought enough seed grain for the spring planting.
• Kang Shi and Jiang Sheng prepared to report the seed grain to Shen Tang, who arrived nearby arguing about an overpriced piglet purchase.

Ning Yan brought Shen Tang seed grain from Xu Xie on favorable business terms and then privately asked whether Shen Tang was a man or a woman. The chapter ended with Shen Tang asking what Ning Yan would do if she were a woman.

• Shen Tang returned with piglets and greeted Ning Yan, who introduced herself as Yan An’s widow and explained she had come to help with Longwu’s seed-grain shortage.
• Ning Yan said Xu Xie had sent seed grain on the condition that Shen Tang pay for it, and Shen Tang signed the contract.
• Shen Tang arranged for Kang Shi to care for Ning Yan’s daughter and for Jiang Sheng to count and store the seed grain.
• Ning Yan privately asked Shen Tang whether she was a man or a woman, saying that if Shen Tang were a woman, she would be unmatched under Heaven and peerless in this age.
• Shen Tang asked Ning Yan what she would do if Shen Tang were a woman.

Shen Tang questioned whether Ning Yan had chosen to serve her only because she was a woman, while Jiang Sheng tried to reassure her. After more than ten days away, Ning Yan returned to her daughter with a Literary Heart seal, showing she had acted decisively to become a Literary Scholar.

• Ning Yan pledged her devotion to Shen Tang, explaining that her late husband had admired Shen Tang and that she had come because of what Shen Tang represented as a woman.
• Shen Tang told Jiang Sheng she worried Ning Yan had made a rash choice based on her gender and might regret it.
• Kang Shi cared for Ning Yan's daughter while Ning Yan was away for more than ten days on important business.
• The girl cried in the night, fearing Ning Yan had left her as her father had.
• Ning Yan returned and took her daughter into her arms, and Kang Shi noticed a Literary Heart seal at her waist.

Kang Shi learned that Ning Yan had forcefully condensed a Literary Heart Sigil to overcome her fading talent and pursue a chance to regain her sight. The next day, Shen Tang began planning how to educate the talented women according to their abilities.

• Kang Shi confronted Ning Yan about her genuine Literary Heart Sigil and questioned why she had chosen such a dangerous path.
• Ning Yan explained that age had worn down her talent, that she could not bear to keep waiting for a chance to see, and that she refused to rely on her late husband’s inheritance.
• Ning Yan said condensing a Literary Heart was the only way to prove she was no mediocrity, then took her daughter inside.
• Kang Shi noticed Ning Yan’s sigil closely resembled Yan Xingning’s and reflected on their relationship before going to sleep.
• Shen Tang reviewed the roster of talented women and ordered them sorted into categories so they could be taught according to their abilities.

Ning Yan arrived at Shen Tang’s official offices as a newly condensed Literary Scholar, and Shen Tang asked her to head an academy for seventy-two girls with cultivation talent. Ning Yan accepted the importance of the mission, but the academy still lacked teachers, so Shen Tang asked her for recommendations.

• Jiang Sheng welcomed Ning Yan to the official offices and introduced her to Shen Tang’s principal confidants, including Qi Shan, whom Ning Yan recognized from their youth.
• Shen Tang summoned Ning Yan and appointed her to lead an academy intended to teach female students with cultivation talent.
• Ning Yan hesitated because she lacked practical cultivation experience, but Shen Tang explained that all seventy-two prospective students were girls whose lives might be changed by the opportunity.
• Shen Tang revealed that the academy could be built cheaply beside the official offices, while Chu Yao clarified that finding teachers—not funding—was the real problem.
• Shen Tang asked Ning Yan to recommend suitable teachers, preferably from Xu Xie’s circle.

Shen Tang planned a school for girls and asked Ning Yan to recruit reliable female teachers, since male teachers might face resistance. With the students and location settled, construction was ready to begin, though Qi Shan took over the school’s design before Shen Tang could show off her artistic skills.

• Shen Tang turned to Ning Yan and Yan An’s social circle for teacher recommendations after the local gentry’s flight and hostility made ordinary teachers hard to recruit.
• Ning Yan proposed hiring educated female teachers to teach the students their rudiments and reassure parents, and Shen Tang assigned her to find suitable candidates.
• Ning Yan said she could ask old friends and Junior Brother Xu to help recruit female teachers.
• Shen Tang added the school’s construction to the agenda, but Qi Shan volunteered to handle the design to spare Gongshu Wu and the others from having to redo the building.
• Shen Tang decided to reuse materials from the abandoned gentry estates to build a bright, spacious school.

Xu Xie learned that Ning Yan had stayed in Longwu Commandery to raise her daughter near her late husband’s final resting place, and he began arranging support and female teachers for her. He discovered that Tianhai families were stirring trouble through his household and ended the chapter meeting the similarly sidelined Zhao Feng.

• Xu Xie read Ning Yan’s letter and learned she planned to stay in Longwu Commandery with her children, so he arranged to send money and find female teachers.
• Xu Xie explained to Madam Yan that Ning Yan might be planning an academy for girls, but the couple argued over Madam Yan’s suspicions and she left in distress.
• Xu Xie learned that families from Tianhai had been influencing Madam Yan in an effort to disrupt his household and gain influence in Heyin Commandery.
• Xu Xie visited Tianhai and indirectly warned Wu Xian about the families’ schemes, but Wu Xian gave no clear response.
• Xu Xie encountered Zhao Feng, who had been excluded by his former colleagues and faced being sent to lead troops in farming.

Xu Xie confided in Zhao Feng about Heyin’s prosperity and Shen Tang’s preparations to defend it, as well as Wu Xian’s apparent attempt to gain control of the commandery. He remained determined to serve Wu Xian while refusing to surrender Heyin’s real authority.

• Zhao Feng noticed Xu Xie’s troubled expression and invited him to his residence to drink and talk.
• As they shared wine, Zhao Feng asked what was troubling Xu Xie, and Xu Xie explained that Wu Xian seemed to be deliberately allowing the conflict over Heyin to unfold.
• Xu Xie described how Shen Tang had built Heyin into a prosperous commandery of more than eighty thousand households and trained villagers to defend their land in groups.
• Xu Xie realized Heyin’s people could form a formidable force, and that Tianhai would likely be the first target if conflict came.
• Xu Xie told Zhao Feng he would remain Wu Xian’s subordinate but would not hand over Heyin’s authority, though he hoped to find a way to satisfy both sides.

Xu Xie refused to surrender Heyin's real power despite Wu Xian's growing suspicions, while he and Zhao Feng shared their troubles over wine. Their conversation ended when Zhao Feng's wife revealed that his daughter had gone missing and left a letter.

• Zhao Feng warned Xu Xie that resisting Wu Xian could deepen his lord's resentment, but Xu Xie firmly refused to compromise over Heyin's commoners.
• Xu Xie recognized that Zhao Feng was troubled by returning to Tianhai with only two thousand soldiers and facing resentment from his fellow generals.
• Xu Xie and Zhao Feng traded complaints about finding female teachers for an academy and Zhao Feng's daughter refusing a marriage proposal.
• Zhao Feng dismissed taking in a son-in-law and joked that his daughter could keep a lover instead.
• Zhao Feng's wife rushed in and announced that his daughter had gone missing, leaving a letter.

Zhao Feng learned that his daughter had run away to avoid an arranged marriage, and he joined a frantic search for her. The searchers discovered she had carefully prepared to travel to Heyin, leaving Zhao Feng and Xu Xie to pursue the lead.

• Zhao Feng received a letter about his missing daughter and argued with his wife over their attempt to arrange her marriage.
• Zhao Feng set out with troops to search, and Wu Xian ordered Tianhai sealed and searched for young women of her age.
• Qin Li reassured Zhao Feng and advised checking what his daughter had taken and how she had traveled.
• Xu Xie learned that Zhao Feng's daughter had rented a donkey cart, packed provisions and men's clothes, and hired an escort.
• The carriage-rental shop reported that Zhao Feng's daughter had said she was going to Heyin, and Qin Li explained that it was among the safest nearby destinations.

Xu Xie returned from Tianhai after poaching the clans’ female teachers, but his search found no sign of Zhao Feng’s daughter in Heyin. A visit from an old friend from Fengxi County stirred Xu Xie’s memories, and he discovered that the friend had moved his family-letter box and left a flower in his study.

• Zhao Feng asked Xu Xie to help find his runaway daughter, and Xu Xie agreed to send word if she appeared in Heyin.
• Qin Li warned Zhao Feng that his daughter might be using a diversion and urged him to block roads toward Yiru and Shang Nan and ask Wu Xian for help if needed.
• Xu Xie poached the female teachers hired by several Tianhai clans, then returned to Heyin with them.
• Xu Xie learned that no girl matching Zhao Feng’s daughter had appeared in Heyin and considered that the report she had gone there might have been a trick.
• Xu Xie heard that a friend from Fengxi County had visited while he was away and recognized him as an old acquaintance.
• Xu Xie searched his residence for missing belongings and found his family-letter box moved and a flower left beside it.

The Zhao Family Young Lady escaped home by disguising herself as a young man and joining a merchant caravan, where she met a strange Literary Scholar. After he helped defeat a bandit attack, she questioned how he had taken a merchant’s gold ornament, and his reply revealed his mischievous nature.

• The Zhao Family Young Lady misled her pursuers, paid off her escorts, and joined a merchant caravan as a guard.
• She was placed on a cart beside a red-robed Literary Scholar, whose Literary Heart Sigil marked him as a powerful scholar.
• When the scholar sensed petty thieves ahead, the Zhao Family Young Lady warned the caravan, and bandits attacked with more than fifty men.
• The Literary Scholar shielded the caravan from arrows with literary qi and helped drive off the bandits, then returned the merchant’s missing gold ornament.
• The Zhao Family Young Lady asked how the scholar had taken the ornament, and he replied that he was no gentleman.

Zhao Family Young Lady, who had run away to avoid an arranged marriage, met a young Literary Scholar after he saved her merchant caravan. She agreed to travel with him to Longwu Commandery, where he planned to visit an old acquaintance and she hoped to find a chance to make her own way.

• The young Literary Scholar reassured Zhao Family Young Lady that he did not want her spear or money, then learned she had fled an arranged marriage.
• After Zhao Family Young Lady admitted she had no destination or real plan, the young Literary Scholar offered to travel with her to keep her safe.
• The young Literary Scholar explained that Longwu Commandery offered better prospects for someone of humble birth than nearby factions, and revealed he was heading there to visit an old acquaintance.
• Zhao Family Young Lady worried that going to Longwu might cause trouble because of her father's relationship with Lord Shen and Wu Xian's jealousy.
• Zhao Family Young Lady decided to go to Longwu Commandery with the young Literary Scholar.

The young Literary Scholar and the Zhao Family Young Lady traveled to Longwu Commandery, where they encountered Young Lady Lu arresting a murderous fugitive. After learning the scholar was connected to Qi Shan, Young Lady Lu recognized him as the renowned scholar invited to take office.

• The Zhao Family Young Lady gradually trusted the young Literary Scholar as they traveled toward Longwu Commandery, though she remained unsure whether to contact her father about her engagement.
• At a teahouse in Longwu, the young Literary Scholar remarked that the commandery had recovered enough from last winter’s battle for spring plowing to proceed.
• Young Lady Lu pursued a fleeing man into the teahouse and subdued him, then explained that he and two accomplices had committed brutal murders across neighboring regions.
• Young Lady Lu checked the Zhao Family Young Lady and the young Literary Scholar’s travel documents and asked why they had come to Longwu.
• The young Literary Scholar said he had come to seek refuge with Qi Shan, and Young Lady Lu recognized him as the scholar Qi Shan had invited to take office.

The daughter of the former Prefect of Luxia hosted a young scholar and Zhao Family Young Lady in Ruyao while explaining how Shen Tang’s policies protected farmers from losing time to unpaid corvée labor. While showing her guests around the rebuilt city, she spotted a familiar scholar with a cat, leaving the young scholar’s reaction unresolved.

• The young man led the young scholar and Zhao Family Young Lady toward her home, and Zhao Family Young Lady explained that Shen Tang’s workers were paid and martial artists handled the hardest labor so spring plowing could continue.
• Zhao Feng’s words about earning a living through either battle or farm work helped Zhao Family Young Lady understand why her father had worked in the fields.
• The young man welcomed her guests into her home and introduced them to her nephew and household.
• The next morning, she practiced with her hammer, went to military roll call, and later watched Zhao Family Young Lady practice spear forms.
• After learning Clerk Qi would not return until afternoon, she invited the young scholar and Zhao Family Young Lady to tour Ruyao.
• At an eatery, the young scholar noticed a familiar scholar with a cat on his shoulder, and the young man followed his gaze.

Qi Shan ran into a red-robed scholar who held Su Shang hostage to demand repayment of a long-standing debt. After they moved to a private room, the scholar revealed that Qi Shan owed him an entire kingdom.

• Qi Shan bought dried fish for Su Shang and planned to shop for live prey next.
• A red-robed scholar suddenly took Su Shang from Qi Shan and held her at knifepoint, demanding repayment.
• Qi Shan lowered his sword and agreed to settle their grievances in a private room, where the Zhao Family Young Lady and the youth followed them.
• The scholar asked how Qi Shan had been and learned he was satisfied serving Lord Shen.
• The scholar demanded payment, and when the Zhao Family Young Lady asked how much Qi Shan owed, he said it was an entire kingdom.

A young Literary Scholar explained how Qi Yuanliang used a flood and a chain of contracts to ruin his homeland, though the state had already been weakened by its ruler’s policies and hunger. He revealed that he had once saved Qi Yuanliang and let his scheme proceed, hoping the country’s destruction would allow it to be rebuilt, but Qi Yuanliang left without bringing the promised peace.

• The young Literary Scholar described Guan Zhong’s stratagems of using trade in cloth, deer, and fox pelts to weaken rival states.
• He explained that Qi Yuanliang copied those tactics by arranging flower preorders and exploiting a flood, causing merchants and neighboring states to turn against his homeland.
• The boy and Zhao Family Young Lady learned that the young Literary Scholar blamed Qi Yuanliang for destroying his country after he had saved him.
• The young Literary Scholar recalled his corrupt biological father’s policies, which had forced the people to buy expensive grain and left many to starve.
• The young Literary Scholar revealed that he had knowingly allowed Qi Yuanliang’s plan to proceed, hoping the country could be rebuilt after its destruction, but Qi Yuanliang had abandoned it.