Recaps

Shen Tang captured Chaoli Pass, confronted the devastation Zheng Qiao left in Yanzhou, and led the Alliance Army toward a showdown with him. She maneuvered around Zheng Qiao’s forces by entrusting the National Seal to Kang Shi, then ambushed Tao Yan’s troops during their Miao River crossing, where a mysterious fish struck Tao Yan before he could be captured.

• Chu Yao convinced Wei Shou to join Shen Tang, and Luan Xin killed Li He to avenge the attack that had crippled him.
• Wei Shou betrayed Chaoli Pass’s defending general, allowing the Alliance Army to capture the pass and secure his troops’ loyalty to Shen Tang.
• Ning Yan told Shen Tang she wanted to kill Zheng Qiao to avenge Yan An, while Huang Lie divided the Alliance Army into three routes to seize Yanzhou.
• Shen Tang found Yanzhou’s civilians starving after Zheng Qiao’s scorched-earth retreat, arranged relief, and clashed with Tao Yan over her efforts to help them.
• A Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao attacked the Alliance Army, but Zheng Qiao’s arrival forced him to retreat and made Shen Tang’s allies fear that Zheng Qiao had detected her National Seal.
• Shen Tang entrusted the National Seal to Kang Shi and led an elite force west along the Miao River, while Gu Chi revealed that Zheng Qiao had secretly offered Tao Yan what he wanted most.
• Zheng Qiao ordered an ambush against Shen Tang after concluding she did not carry the National Seal, while Shen Tang prepared to attack Tao Yan’s forces during their river crossing.
• Shen Tang’s forces trapped Tao Yan’s troops among the rafts and attacked from the riverbanks, but a mysterious fish struck Tao Yan before Wei Shou could capture him alive.

Shen Tang’s forces captured key positions and joined the Alliance Army in battle against Zheng Qiao, while the conflict over the Great Strength God Pills exposed Huang Lie’s ambitions. Zheng Qiao’s flight ended when Ning Yan confronted him and Jiang Sheng beheaded him, but Qi Cang warned that greater trouble was still ahead.

• Gu Chi burned Tao Yan alive for his family’s deaths, then Shen Tang’s troops captured a stronghold through an ambush and a disguise.
• Xie Qi arrived in Cunshan with Yan Xingning’s remains and Zheng Qiao’s broken sword, which Shen Tang discovered contained a National Seal.
• Shen Tang accepted Xie Qi’s daughters as Ning Yan’s pupils and received a map of Ganzhou’s granaries.
• Shen Tang led an elite force across the Miao River cliffs and captured Zheng Qiao’s camp in a surprise attack.
• Huang Lie’s allies froze the Miao River, and Zheng Qiao’s fighters faced the Alliance Army in a series of duels before Gongxi Chou confronted Qi Cang.
• The armies clashed across the frozen river, then Zheng Qiao’s troops routed after rumors spread that their granaries had been breached.
• Shen Tang joined Ning Yan at Zheng Qiao’s abandoned school, where he revealed he had taken poison and defended his past actions.
• Ning Yan gave her sword to Jiang Sheng, who beheaded Zheng Qiao, and Qi Cang buried the body before warning that greater conflict was coming.

As National Seals changed hands and floods and war devastated Yanzhou, Shen Tang’s allies faced political upheaval, a brutal defeat, and separation from Chu Yao. Shen Tang reached Chaoli Pass, learned Chu Yao was missing, and set out to find him.

• Shen Tang rejected Qi Cang’s offer, while Zheng Qiao’s hidden message sent the last National Seal toward a new recipient and the scattered seals stirred hostility across Ganzhou.
• Chu Yao and Xie Qi rescued former Xin officials from a burial pit, where Luan Xin reunited with his adopted nephew Luan Cheng and confronted his former tormentor.
• Shen Tang’s group traveled disguised among refugees, rescued people from soldiers and bandits, and took in Qian Yong after the National Seal rejected Shen Tang and Cui bound it to his fan.
• Northern Lady Monarch built a cotton gin for Lin Feng, who hired her to improve farming tools, while Zhai Le inherited Qu’s throne after Zhai Huan died and Wu Xian’s alliance with Zhao Feng frayed.
• Huang Lie defeated Gu Ren’s forces in a battle that killed Gu Ren and many soldiers, while Shao Bai rescued Chao Lian, Shao Chong, and Sixth Brother after lightning scattered them into the central region.
• Kang Shi took Chaoli Pass and received grain, but Shen Tang’s party arrived without Chu Yao, after finding evidence that enemy forces pursued him, Shen Tang set out with Wei Shou and Gongxi Chou to find him.
• Chu Yao’s troops abandoned their provisions to escape pursuit, and Chu Yao considered giving up the National Seal until Luan Xin remembered that hope remained.

Shen Tang reunited with Wu Xian, aided his campaign, and strengthened her territories while facing a breakthrough and welcoming new allies. As Huang Lie and Zhang Yongqing’s supply troubles worsened, Qi Yuanliang’s schemes against Qin Li came to light.

• Gongxi Chou returned the National Seal to Shen Tang after luring Zhang He’s forces away, and Shen Tang persuaded Cui Xiao to join her.
• When Wu Xian asked for help against Huang Lie, Shen Tang sent Cui Xiao, Luan Xin, Zhao Wei, Xu Quan, and Gongxi Chou, and Cui Xiao revealed that Shen Tang was a woman.
• Shen Tang worked with Wu Xian against Huang Lie, organized flood and plague relief, and began growing corn after discovering seeds in a clerk’s box.
• Shen Tang fought her evil thought during a breakthrough, and the clash left her badly injured and without her hair.
• Cui Xiao helped Shen Tang improve the corn crop, while Shen Zhi confronted Li Lang and rejected his attempt to revive their relationship.
• Gongxi Chou found Luan Xin’s family and recruited Yun Ce, who later accepted Shen Tang’s offer to stay after seeing her fields and villages.
• Shen Tang intercepted Zhang Yongqing’s grain convoy as Huang Lie struggled with supplies, then discussed an attack with Wu Xian.
• Gu Chi told Shen Tang that Qi Yuanliang had orchestrated conflicts over grain deliveries to weaken Qin Li’s standing with Wu Xian, and Shen Tang received Qi Yuanliang’s letter detailing the scheme.