Recaps

Shen Tang and Qi Shan discussed Zhai Yuewen’s reincarnation and the coming negotiations with Zhai Le, who soon met Shen Tang to ask about his brother. Their rooftop conversation ended with Zhai Le recalling a promise from their past and recognizing that he would now be the only one with nothing to do.

• Qi Shan admitted he feared his reunion with Qi Yun had been a dream, while Shen Tang complained that Shen De had woken her by climbing into her tent.
• Shen Tang told Qi Shan that Zhai Yuewen’s True Spirit had reincarnated and offered to reveal where the other half of Qi Shan’s friend’s True Spirit had been reborn.
• Zhai Le arrived for negotiations and asked Shen Tang about the Investiture of the Gods and whether Zhai Yuewen could be reincarnated into his family.
• Shen Tang refused to alter Zhai Yuewen’s fate but agreed to discuss his whereabouts over wine with Zhai Le.
• On a rooftop, Zhai Le recalled Shen Tang’s old words, “One bright moon shines on two idle souls,” and said he would now be the only idle soul.

Shen Tang forced Zhai Le to abandon his plan to retire and pressed him to help Kang integrate Qu. The chapter left Zhai Le agreeing to provide records and cooperate with Kang’s personnel and land reforms.

• Zhai Le offered the Duke of State title to a member of his family, but refused it himself because he felt he had failed his elder brother and the people of Qu.
• Shen Tang silenced Zhai Le and threatened to hold him responsible for his elder brother, Zhai Yuewen, unless he worked for Kang.
• Shen Tang argued that Kang urgently needed capable officials, and Zhai Le gave up on becoming an idle man.
• Shen Tang demanded that Zhai Le identify Qu officials worth retaining and provide records of powerful clans to help Kang reorganize Qu’s administration.
• Zhai Le agreed to provide the information and accepted that Qu would follow Kang’s land policies and undergo new household registration and land measurement.
• Shen Tang explained that Kang would settle Qu officials’ wages and offer additional compensation to those it did not rehire.

Shen Tang negotiated Qu’s surrender by offering its officials generous compensation, forcing Xun Zhen to devise safeguards for Kang’s strained treasury. As the handover proceeded, Tan Qu set out with Xinglin Physicians to help thousands of patients on an isolated island, while Zhai Le prepared to leave office.

• Qi Shan questioned whether Kang could afford Shen Tang’s N+1 compensation offer, and Zhai Le gathered Qu’s officials, who accepted the terms but asked whether retained officials would also receive compensation.
• Xun Zhen objected to the expense, so Shen Tang arranged installment payments and barred officials who received compensation from holding office for three years.
• Xun Zhen and the Ministry of Revenue examined Qu’s salary registers while Shen Tang and her advisers selected officials to retain, then drafted a promotion list and planned a second screening.
• Tan Qu asked Qi Shan for medical help for thousands of patients on an isolated island, and Qi Shan arranged for Xinglin Physicians to accompany him.
• Zhai Le praised Shen Tang’s ability to choose capable officials, cooperated with the handover, and remembered that he no longer needed to attend court before taking his daughter to visit his younger brother.

Zhai Le arranged for Zhai Huan to be cared for in his new life and took a poor girl as his Adopted Daughter, while Shen Tang oversaw Qu’s peaceful surrender and Kang’s preparations for unification. As Kang debated its new Reign Title and capital, Shen Tang remained reluctant to move from Fengluo.

• Zhai Le found baby Zhai Huan, gave him the name Huan and courtesy name Yuewen, and chose not to become his godfather after meeting his gaze.
• Zhai Le searched for Zhai Huan’s reincarnated wife, then followed Shen Tang’s address and brought back a poor girl as his Adopted Daughter.
• Qu surrendered to Kang without casualties, and Shen Tang chose Yanhuang as the next Reign Title after Yuanhuang.
• Shen Tang and her officials focused on integrating Qu and restoring livelihoods while postponing the conquest of the remaining Northeast Continent because the treasury was strained.
• The officials raised the question of moving the capital, and Shen Tang asked where it should go after admitting she did not want to leave Fengluo.

Shen Tang and her ministers chose a site for Kang’s new capital, naming it Huang Ting, while she reviewed a startling proposal from Luan Xin about strengthening the Crown Princess’s political support. The chapter left Shen Tang listening as Luan Xin explained why he wanted her to persuade elderly officials to have children.

• Shen Tang rejected the Central Continent as a capital site, and the ministers debated the merits and drawbacks of locations across the realm.
• Cui Zhi warned that typhoons and flooding made the Southeast a poor choice, while the ministers noted Fengluo’s advantages but agreed Kang needed a more centrally located capital.
• Shen Tang and the ministers selected a war-scarred plain, and Shen Tang named the planned capital Huang Ting and ordered its waterways and infrastructure restored.
• Officials discussed land speculation around the new capital, while Shen Tang said profiteers who defied the royal land plan would face severe punishment.
• Shen Tang told Chu Yao that her cultivation would recover within three to five months, and Shen De left to find her friends after eating.
• Shen Tang summoned Luan Xin after reading his proposal that she persuade Wei Lou, Wei Cheng, and others to have children, and Luan Xin explained that the Crown Princess needed powerful allies to protect Prince Yuan and the future heir.

Luan Xin proposed that men with hidden ailments could use the same method as Gongyang Yongye to have daughters, giving Crown Princess Yuan future allies. Shen Tang considered whether this exception could safely become a broader practice, then asked Gongyang Yongye’s daughter to become Ru Gui’s study companion.

• Luan Xin explained that his idea came from Gongyang Yongye, who had given birth to a daughter after deliberately activating a Gu Worm to loosen his cultivation bottleneck.
• Gongyang Yongye described how he delivered his daughter, arranged for a wet nurse, and later helped Luan Xin identify other men who might be willing to do the same.
• Luan Xin argued that daughters born through this method could support Crown Princess Yuan among future court officials, but Shen Tang worried that frequent exceptions might violate the world’s laws around creating life.
• Shen Tang watched Shen De and young Gongyang play, then proposed that Gongyang Yongye’s daughter become Ru Gui’s study companion.
• Shen Tang urged Gongyang Yongye to bring his daughter to visit Wei Lou and said that potential candidates would have to come to her themselves.

Gongyang Yongye brought Wei Cheng and Wei Lou news of his daughter and the power that had enabled him to give birth, drawing other childless warriors to seek the same blessing. Shen Tang planned to turn their prayers into labor for ambitious construction projects, but envoys from the Northeastern Kingdoms arrived before work could begin.

• Gongyang Yongye introduced Little Friend as his biological daughter and explained that he had carried and given birth to her himself.
• Gongyang Yongye revealed that Shen Tang wanted Little Friend to become her daughter's founding retainer, then suggested Wei Cheng might also want a child through Jimò Shao Bai's gift of the power to create.
• Wei Cheng realized he could not have a child as a skeleton, while Wei Lou reacted with displeasure.
• Gongyang Yongye spread the news among childless warriors, and many traveled to Shen Tang to seek the chance to have children.
• Shen Tang said she would use their blessings as labor for waterways, mountain-moving, and a vast granary project to support a population of two billion.
• A large delegation from the Northeastern Kingdoms arrived before Shen Tang's grand project could begin.

Shen Tang rejected the Northeastern Kingdoms’ attempt to submit as vassals and refused their living gifts, then detained their delegation after hearing the envoy curse her. She declared that Kang Country would conquer the kingdoms instead, leaving their leaders to choose between fighting and surrendering.

• Qin Li told Shen Tang that a delegation of 721 people from the Northeastern Kingdoms had arrived seeking vassal status, and she agreed to meet them for their rare treasures.
• Shen Tang rejected the delegation’s handsome men and beautiful women, accepting the other gifts while returning every living person untouched.
• The Northeastern Kingdoms’ envoy renewed his request to become vassals, but Shen Tang revealed she had heard him curse her in his thoughts.
• Shen Tang ordered the envoy and the rest of the delegation detained, then told the Northeastern Kingdoms that Kang Country would choose a date to conquer them.

Shen Tang consolidated Kang’s rule, restored the war-ravaged Central region, and prepared to move the court to its new capital. The chapter ended with Shen Tang returning to the capital and reuniting with Ning Yan and her daughter, Shen De.

• Zhai Le urged Shen Tang to give dismissed Qu officials room to adjust, and she agreed to hear their requests about profiting from Kang’s out-of-season produce and trade plans.
• Shen Tang recognized that transporting regional crops could benefit the kingdom, while Shen Zhi’s lychee cultivation had begun as an effort to secure ingredients for her cosmetics business.
• Shen Tang and Lin Feng oversaw recovery in the Central region, where agricultural work and aid kept famine deaths below thirty thousand and helped restore cultivation.
• Lin Feng discussed crop pests and her hopes of attaining perfection with Shen Tang, who encouraged her by pointing to the kingdom’s land-reclamation progress.
• Ning Yan informed Shen Tang that the new capital was ready, and Shen Tang led the court there after preparations and a long journey.
• Shen Tang raced ahead of her officials to the new capital, where Shen De waited with Ning Yan, and announced that she had returned.

A celestial phenomenon buried the Secretariat Hall in golden grain, and Lin Feng emerged unharmed as officials gathered the harvest. After returning home and learning a matchmaker had approached her family about Lin Chun, Lin Feng received a summons to a celebration where Shen Tang congratulated her on perfecting the Way of the Scholar.

• Auspicious rain and golden grain flooded the Secretariat Hall and nearby offices while Lin Feng was inside.
• Lin Feng emerged through the grain, told the officials to gather it for seed, and accepted the publisher's parcel of books and royalties.
• Lin Feng returned to her new home and learned that a Ministry of Rites matchmaker had approached her family about arranging a match for Lin Chun.
• Lin Feng discovered that Pig Castration Manual, co-written with Shen Tang, had become a bestseller, and prepared teaching materials for Her Highness Yuan.
• A bluebird delivered Lin Feng a letter, and she attended a surprise celebration where Shen Tang congratulated her on completing the Way of the Scholar.

After celebrating Lin Feng’s achievement, the Lin family raised marriage plans for Lin Chun and debated whether he should enter a union marriage. Lin Feng heard her family’s arguments but left the final decision about her brother’s future unresolved.

• Shen Tang hosted a feast for Lin Feng and made Luan Xin pay twenty percent of the bill.
• Lin Feng returned home and learned her family had discussed a potential match for Lin Chun, but the match had fallen through.
• Father Lin proposed that Lin Chun marry into another family, while Lin Feng’s great-grandfather preferred a union marriage.
• Lin Feng asked Lin Chun what he wanted, and he said he would leave the decision to her.

Lin Feng arranged for her elder brother Lin Chun to meet potential marriage partners, and Lu Ji’s interest led to a frank discussion of a Union Marriage. The match appeared promising as Shen Tang considered using it to advance marriage reforms, while Lin Feng told her she had no desire to marry or have children.

• Lin Feng confided to Shen Zhi that she was troubled by her family’s plans for Lin Chun’s marriage, and Shen Zhi offered to find him a suitable match.
• Lin Feng urged Lin Chun to follow his own wishes, then quietly prevented their relatives’ efforts to unite the two Lin branches from causing a public disturbance.
• A Ministry of Rites matchmaker told Lin Feng that Lu Ji wanted to meet Lin Chun, and Lin Feng agreed to the meeting.
• Lu Ji took Lin Chun to the Pear Garden, discussed her expectations for a Union Marriage and care for her nephew, and said she wanted to settle the matter if they got along.
• Shen Tang sought Lin Feng’s cooperation in using the marriage to advance laws on marriage and concubinage, then encouraged Lin Feng to choose her own path instead of marrying or having children.

Lu Ji and Lin Chun went horse racing, where Zhao Wei mistook Lin Chun for a prospective blind date arranged by her father, Zhao Feng. After the misunderstanding was cleared up, they uncovered a colleague’s scheme to sabotage Lin Chun’s engagement and exploit his connection to Lin Feng.

• Lin Chun asked Lu Ji to vary their outings, and they chose to go horse racing together.
• Zhao Wei hid with Lu Ji and explained that Zhao Feng had arranged a string of blind dates for her, then revealed that her latest prospect was Lin Feng’s eldest brother.
• Zhao Wei realized Lin Chun was the man she had been sent to meet and rode off to confront Zhao Feng, while Lu Ji and Lin Chun followed.
• Lu Ji explained her engagement to Lin Chun to Zhao Feng, who realized someone had used him to interfere with their marriage.
• Lu Ji investigated the scheme and learned that Lin Chun’s colleague had acted out of jealousy and regret over missing a chance to marry Zhao Wei.

Qin Li visited Zhao Feng and tried to curb his obsessive matchmaking for Zhao Wei, learning that Zhao Feng genuinely believed his daughter looked like his elaborate disguises. As the Zhao family gathered for a banquet, Xu Xie arrived unexpectedly before Zhao Wei returned.

• Qin Li told Zhao Feng that Zhao Wei could wait to marry, while Zhao Feng lamented missing the chance to match her with Lin Chun.
• Qin Li realized Zhao Feng truly believed Zhao Wei looked like him when dressed up, and concluded Zhao Feng needed an eye examination.
• Qin Li met Zhao Feng's family, spoke with his adopted son about his studies, and declined an offer to adopt the youngest grandchild.
• Zhao Feng noticed Zhao Wei had not returned and sent someone to find her before the family banquet.
• The steward announced that Xu Xie had arrived, surprising Zhao Feng.

Xu Quan asked Zhao Feng and Wang Xiu for Zhao Wei’s hand, then explained how his childhood friendship with Zhao Wei had turned into a relationship years earlier. The elders learned that Zhao Wei had already been with Xu Quan for more than four years, and Shen Tang revealed she had known about their relationship all along.

• Xu Xie and Xu Quan visited Zhao Feng’s family banquet, where Xu Xie awkwardly proposed that Xu Quan marry Zhao Wei.
• Zhao Feng questioned why Xu Quan had waited until the banquet to ask, and Wang Xiu demanded that he explain the relationship honestly.
• Xu Quan recounted how a sparring match and an encounter in a mountain stream changed his friendship with Zhao Wei into a physical relationship that lasted more than four years.
• Xu Quan said Zhao Wei had resisted making their relationship official, though she eventually learned that Zhao Feng’s reaction to the news was reasonable.
• Shen Tang said she had already heard about Zhao Wei and Xu Quan from Gongxi Chou and had assumed both families knew.

A scholar visited Wei Lou and Wei Cheng to beg Wei Lou to return to Kang Country, where civil and military officials were fighting over policy and regional resources. Wei Lou agreed to take Asheng to Huang Ting, leaving their quiet town for the capital.

• A scholar arrived seeking Duke Wei, and Asheng led him to Wei Cheng and Wei Lou while Wei Lou played chess.
• The scholar explained that Kang Country's officials were repeatedly fighting over drought relief, school funding, and regional allocations, and begged Wei Lou to restore order.
• Wei Lou rejected the scholar's appeal and resented the court for expecting him to serve as a stabilizing force.
• The scholar suggested that Asheng's talents would be wasted in the remote town, prompting Wei Lou to ask whether she enjoyed school.
• Asheng said she was not having fun with the other children, and Wei Lou decided to take her to Huang Ting.

Wei Lou and Wei Cheng returned to Huang Ting with Wei Sheng, and Shen Tang welcomed them into Kang Country’s capital and court. Wei Lou’s first Great Court ended amid arguments over cloud sales and the prospect of a palace brawl, leaving him to realize why officials received spare robes.

• Wei Lou noticed Huang Ting’s prosperity and moved into a residence with Wei Cheng and Wei Sheng.
• Shen Tang visited, and Wei Sheng immediately warmed to her; Wei Lou reflected on how he had found and adopted the reincarnated Jimò Cong.
• Wei Lou accepted a Nominal Title, and Wei Sheng enrolled in the local school, where she placed first in the entrance exam and entered a cultivation class.
• Wei Lou and Wei Cheng began attending court, where officials argued over taxes on locally sold rain clouds and past gray-market trades.
• Wei Lou sensed officials using [Silence and Seize the Voice] during Great Court and was nearly dragged into a confrontation afterward.
• Wei Lou returned home to find Wei Sheng had torn her sleeve, and he realized official robes were treated as consumables.

Shen Tang’s two-month suspension of Court Sessions sparked rumors after the outer court hall collapsed, while the officials continued exhausting remote sessions through DingTalk. The chapter followed Imperial Recorder 18.0’s young son, who studied using multiple copies of himself and entered the Imperial Academy, where the dean noticed that his literary aura resembled his own master’s.

• Rumors spread that Shen Tang was ill or poisoned, though the real reason Court Sessions moved online was that the outer court hall had collapsed and needed rebuilding.
• Officials described how Shen Tang’s punishing DingTalk schedule and provincial inspections had driven through eighteen Imperial Recorders.
• Imperial Recorder 18.0’s gifted young son studied through the night and used multiple copies of himself to keep up with his lessons and cultivation.
• Wei Cheng took Wei Sheng and the young master to the academy, where the dean urged them to consider special admission to the Imperial Academy.
• The dean watched the young master use “Seize Speech” and noticed that his literary aura closely resembled his master’s.

Wei Sheng and Xingning began their studies at the Imperial Academy, while Wei Cheng worried about Asheng living in the dorms. Xingning settled in, then met Yan Miaohua in the cafeteria and learned that she was Yan An’s daughter.

• Wei Cheng worried that the young Wei Sheng would be bullied at the Imperial Academy, but Wei Lou dismissed his fears and said Xingning was more likely to be picked on.
• Imperial Recorder 18.0 saw Xingning off to the Imperial Academy and worried about his son’s unusual Literary Heart Sigil and his shared name with Yan An.
• Xingning completed enrollment, settled into his dormitory, and used Zixu Wuyou to make two doppelgängers review the next day’s lessons.
• Xingning registered at the cafeteria using his Literary Heart Sigil and sat with a senior student who asked about his name.
• Xingning inadvertently recited a line about Xingning Tower, and Yan Miaohua realized he shared her late father Yan An’s name.
• Yan Miaohua reassured the embarrassed Xingning and advised him to eat well during his growth spurt.

Ning Yan proposed using martial soldiers to care for young children so their parents could work, while privately reflecting on Yan An’s reincarnation as Xingning. Months later, Xingning met Ning Yan and, stirred by an inexplicable feeling, asked what it meant to seek the Dao; he left wanting spiritual likeness rather than outward resemblance.

• Ning Yan told Yan Sui that rising birth rates brought childcare problems and proposed government-run centers staffed by martial soldiers.
• Ning Yan recalled Yan An’s dream visit, in which he said he would be reincarnated and urged her to look ahead; she chose not to seek out Xingning or interfere with his new life.
• During the New Year, Xingning accompanied the Imperial Recorder 18.0 to visit colleagues, many of whom remarked that he resembled Yan An.
• When Xingning visited Ning Yan, he asked what the Way of the Scholar sought, and she answered that it was to seek one’s true heart and bring peace to the world.
• After returning home, Xingning told the Imperial Recorder 18.0 that he wanted to seek spiritual likeness rather than outward resemblance.

During the King’s inspection of the Northwest, Luan Xin reunited with an old friend who ran a martial arts school and learned about a girl seeking vengeance for her family’s deaths. Luan Xin agreed to teach her, leaving the girl to begin studying under him.

• The King and officials inspected the Northwest, where corruption was rare and the visiting officials found traces of their old carvings before joining a river rafting attraction.
• The Ministry of Personnel officials discovered that the rafting attraction was approved by the authorities and run by an Eleventh Rank Right Shu Chang who knew their superior, Luan Xin.
• Luan Xin’s old friend explained that the martial arts school had built the attraction to support its disciples and described how Martial Gall Warriors had found a place in peaceful times.
• The school owner told Luan Xin that a disciple had rescued an orphan girl whose family had been destroyed by debt collectors and local bullies, and who wanted every person involved punished.
• Luan Xin approached the girl during training and promised to teach her written characters and the principles of gain and loss for the next year.

During Shen Tang’s inspection tour of Ganzhou, she learned how the prefecture had turned Gongxi Chou’s endorsement into a profitable attraction. Gongxi Chou stayed away from home and encountered Qi Cang and a young student named Qiao Zi, whose presence stirred memories of an old friend.

• Shen Tang learned that Ganzhou had paid Gongxi Chou to promote itself as his hometown, and Jimò Qiu said he had confiscated the fee for her treasury.
• Jimò Qiu explained that Gongxi Chou had run away after Xun Ding called him an extra, and he decided he might have to bring his younger brother home.
• Gongxi Chou met Qi Cang while boating and fishing, then followed him to the mountain private school where Qi Cang helped feed and teach the students.
• Qi Cang scolded Qiao Zi for sitting on a grave, while Gongxi Chou sensed that the boy carried the aura of an old friend.

Qiao Zi learned that he was connected to Zheng Qiao’s legacy, while Shen Tang’s inspection of the Northern and Mo provinces brought her to a teahouse where two reincarnated figures had found a new family. The chapter ended with Shen Tang accepting Madam Shen’s belief that the siblings could mend their past lives.

• Qiao Zi tried to dig up Zheng Qiao’s grave, and Qi Cang and Gongxi Chou stopped him and explained his connection to Zheng Qiao.
• Qi Cang told Qiao Zi that he could live differently from Zheng Qiao, then punished him with a heavier pebble-carrying assignment after Qiao Zi teased him about being Zheng Qiao’s lover.
• Gongxi Chou confronted Jimò Qiu aboard the Imperial Ship and complained that his brother had not searched for him after he ran away.
• During Shen Tang’s inspection tour, Queen Gongshu told Shen Tang and Gongshu Wu that something strange had happened at her mother’s grave.
• Madam Shen celebrated after her adopted siblings, Cheng and Guan, both gained admission to an academy; Gongshu Wu recognized Cheng as the lookalike of his long-secluded nephew.
• Madam Shen explained how she had adopted Cheng and Guan, and Shen Tang agreed that reincarnation offered them a chance to mend their ways.

In Year Thirteen of Yanhuang, ten young wandering knights attacked the Dragon Banner while trying to report officials who had violated Kang’s Three Mutual Law. Shen Tang investigated their accusation and vowed to enforce the law, while the Duke of Yi took a special interest in the boys, who resembled his late relatives.

• An official panicked when she learned that wandering knights from her jurisdiction had shot an arrow toward the Dragon Banner during Shen Tang’s inspection.
• Shen Tang questioned the ten captured boys, and their leader explained that they followed the Gongxi Chou Child Protection Association’s teachings and had tried to report an official’s illegal appointment.
• The Duke of Yi was shaken by the boys’ resemblance to his father and uncles, and the leader’s words reminded him of his family’s past.
• The leader explained that the boys had reported officials for violating the Three Mutual Law, but their complaints had been ignored and their families threatened.
• Shen Tang summoned the accused officials and ordered that the law be enforced, while the Duke of Yi asked which school the boys attended and offered to support them.

Shen Tang punished the ten boys who had attacked the Dragon Banner, while Gu Ziyi’s former sworn brothers and family rushed to see the young wanderer who resembled him. The Old Matriarch’s reunion with the boy stirred his memories, and he told her, “I’m back, aren’t I?”

• Shen Tang stopped the young wandering knight from killing himself and sentenced all ten boys to write ten sets of summer homework under Duke Yi’s supervision.
• Duke Yi took the boys away, and Shao Chong, Chao Lian, and Fang Yan each arrived in turn, embracing the young wandering knight and repeatedly ruining his homework.
• The young wandering knight realized the three men were reacting to his resemblance to the late Duke Ziyi, and Fang Yan offered to ask Shen Tang to cancel the punishment instead of tutoring the boys.
• After the royal court’s inspection ended, Gu Ziyi’s children and the Old Matriarch came to see the young wandering knight.
• The young wandering knight wiped the Old Matriarch’s tears and, as memories surged back, told her that he had returned.