Chapter Summaries

After Zhai Huan returned to Qudian and set a wedding date with his fiancée, she died under suspicious circumstances, and he brought her body back to Zhai Manor for funeral rites. On the seventh day, he learned that Princess Shuji had sent an envoy to court him, and he met the envoy with a cold response.

• Princess Shuji spotted Zhai Huan and Zhai Le returning by boat and decided she wanted them, despite learning Zhai Huan was betrothed.
• Zhai Huan visited his fiancée, agreed on a wedding date within six months, and later rode away to handle clan affairs.
• Zhai Le told Zhai Huan to accept his condolences, and Zhai Huan rushed home to find his fiancée dead with a mark around her neck.
• Zhai Huan suspected his fiancée had been murdered, carried her body to Zhai Manor, and insisted that the Zhai family hold her funeral as their Clan Wife.
• On the sixth day of the funeral, Princess Shuji's envoy proposed that Zhai Huan and Zhai Le serve her, and Zhai Le tried to keep the visit from Zhai Huan.
• On the seventh day, Zhai Huan emerged from seclusion and confronted Shuji's envoy, declaring that he never shared anything with anyone.

After Princess Shuji’s envoy threatened the Zhai Clan at Zhai Huan’s wife’s mourning rites, Zhai Huan completed his Way of the Scholar and secretly arranged to seize the Shen throne. On the wedding day meant to bind Princess Shuji to Zhai Le, Zhai Huan took control of the palace and had the Sovereign executed.

• Princess Shuji’s envoy insulted the Zhai Clan and threatened Zhai Le at the mourning hall, while Zhai Huan restrained his relatives and sent him away.
• The envoy persuaded Princess Shuji to pursue Zhai Le, and the Zhai Clan Head beat Zhai Huan for failing to resist the royal house.
• Zhai Huan revealed that his Way of the Scholar had reached completion through his grief over A Jing, allowing him to alter people’s memories of the past.
• Zhai Huan told his father that Princess Shuji’s marriage proposal to Zhai Le would give the clan an opportunity to enter the Capital City and seize the troops guarding it.
• On the wedding day, Zhai Huan used his power to make the commander believe he was the rightful Sovereign, then surrounded the palace with tens of thousands of soldiers.
• The Sovereign handed Zhai Huan the National Seal under the influence of his Word Spirit, and the commander beheaded him at Zhai Huan’s order.

After Zhai Huan killed the false Sovereign, he punished Princess Shuji for her role in A Jing’s death and took control of Shen Country without claiming the throne. He installed the infant Xun King as Sovereign and faced a court too short of loyal officials to restore order, while Zhai Le suggested seeking help from the Xunnan Zhao Clan.

• Zhai Huan defended the Zhai Clan’s loyalty to Shen Country and dismissed an elder’s rebuke for the Sovereign’s murder.
• Zhai Le brought Princess Shuji to the hall, where Zhai Huan mocked the royal family’s scandals and learned the Queen Dowager was confined in her chamber.
• Princess Shuji tried to attack Zhai Huan and threatened A Jing, so he ordered her taken away and allowed her former servants to torment her.
• Zhai Huan persuaded the Sovereign’s maternal uncle to support Xun King as the new Sovereign and shared government duties among himself and high ministers.
• The Sovereign’s maternal uncle died seven days later, while the Queen Dowager died of fright; Zhai Huan then struggled to staff the government as officials stayed away.
• Zhai Le proposed winning over the Xunnan Zhao Clan to provide people who could serve the new government.

Zhai Le and Zhao Clan Third Daughter agreed to marry, giving the Zhai Clan a powerful ally as Zhai Huan struggled to stabilize Shen Country. Meanwhile, Shen Tang celebrated a prosperous New Year in Fugu City, where the Second New Year Sports Meet opened before a lively crowd.

• Zhai Le agreed to marry Zhao Clan Third Daughter to secure the Zhao Clan’s support, and Zhai Huan accepted his choice.
• After hearing that Zhai Le’s wedding to Princess Shuji had been canceled and she was dead, Zhao Clan Third Daughter met with Zhai Le and agreed to marry him.
• The Zhai and Zhao Clans formed an alliance, helping quiet the old factions as the Zhai forces crushed a military rebellion.
• Heyin’s premium pork became a regional success, and Shen Tang accepted a New Year’s pig from grateful farmers while promoting standardized pig farming.
• Shen Tang celebrated the opening of Fugu City’s Second New Year Sports Meet with visitors from Shang Nan and gave Jiang Sheng lucky money.

Jiang Sheng settled into Fugu City with his family, and Gu Chi arranged extra support after realizing Shen Tang’s low salaries strained households with dependents. Shen Tang then persuaded Xu Xie to turn velvet flowers into a business, and he prepared a batch to promote among Wu Xian’s wives.

• Shen Tang gave Jiang Sheng a red cord for New Year's, and he told her his wife was eager to meet her.
• Jiang Sheng bought gifts for his family and learned his wife wanted embroidery thread and instructions for making velvet flowers to sell.
• Jiang Sheng discovered his salary was too low to support his family, so Gu Chi arranged extra provisions and tickets for his household.
• Jiang Sheng's wife learned to make velvet flowers, which Fugu General Store bought from local craftswomen.
• Shen Tang summoned Xu Xie and proposed selling velvet flowers in Shang Nan, and he obtained silk thread to make them.
• Xu Xie chose the finest velvet flowers to give to several of his lord Wu Xian's wives as a way to promote them.

Wu Xian discussed adopting Shen Tang’s earthen kangs and planned to promote them across neighboring territories, while the velvet flowers Shen Tang sent to his household caused a sensation at the wintersweet banquet. Xu Xie later brought kang-building craftsmen to Tianhai, including an official from Da Yi who had become remarkably skilled at the work.

• Wu Xian admired Consort Mi’s velvet flower, discussed earthen kangs with her, and decided to write Shen Tang about acquiring the method and involving Shang Nan and Yiru.
• Wu Xian told Consort Mi to wear her peony velvet flower to the wintersweet banquet, but she warned that doing so could offend the principal wife and the other noblewomen.
• The velvet flowers drew attention and sold in great numbers at the wintersweet banquet, while Xu Xie objected to Shen Tang’s expensive marketing claims.
• Xu Xie went to Heyin after the New Year, arranged to take kang-building craftsmen to Tianhai, and agreed to help promote Shen Tang’s bamboo paper.
• Wu Xian was surprised when Xu Xie’s lead kang-building craftsman turned out to be an official under Da Yi, who explained that Heyin’s praise and wages had drawn him into the work.

Wu Xian learned that Zhao Feng had been building earthen kangs to repay Shen Tang, then arranged to spread the craft among the people while remaining suspicious of Shen Tang’s intentions. In Heyin, Shen Tang explained to Miss Lu how she planned to prepare the commoners as a hidden reserve force, but the chapter ended with spring plowing and a hint that their peaceful days would soon end.

• Wu Xian heard from Zhao Feng’s aide that Zhao Feng had been building kangs and worried that Shen Tang was mistreating him, but learned Zhao Feng was thriving.
• Wu Xian instructed his people to support the aide, then suspected Shen Tang had profited from sending her own men as kang-building craftsmen.
• Zhao Feng’s aide taught craftsmen to build kangs, and Wu Xian promoted the invention among commoner families.
• Miss Lu asked Shen Tang why Heyin had so few soldiers, and Shen Tang claimed she could recruit fifteen thousand men in an emergency.
• Shen Tang planned with Chu Yao to keep few troops visible while improving commoners’ lives and preparing them to defend Heyin if war came.
• Miss Lu befriended Bai Su, Jiang Sheng compared Bai Su’s attentiveness with Shen Tang’s, and spring plowing arrived as the calm period neared its end.

Bai Su caught a thief in Fugu City before helping inspect Heyin’s waterways, where she met Lin Feng returning from a farmland survey. Lin Feng demonstrated that she could grow wheat with her literary qi, leaving Shen Tang astonished and eager to share the harvest with her trusted aides and officials.

• Bai Su caught a thief stealing a merchant’s money pouch and had him taken away for questioning.
• Gongshu Wu assigned Bai Su to inspect Heyin’s canals, reservoirs, and waterways ahead of spring plowing.
• Bai Su met Lin Feng and Yu Zi on the road and joined them as they reported to Shen Tang.
• Lin Feng used literary qi and verses to grow twelve wheat stalks, nine of which produced ears of grain.
• Lin Feng explained how she discovered and tested her ability to grow wheat, and Shen Tang ordered the Eastern Kitchen to make porridge for her aides and officials.

Shen Tang revealed that Lin Feng could use her Word Spirit to grow wheat, prompting the group to consider its military and agricultural potential. Lin Feng chose to pursue both aims, and Shen Tang assigned her farmland and a role in the Spring Ploughing Sacrifice.

• Chu Yao and the others received bowls of thin wheat porridge, and Shen Tang later revealed that Lin Feng had grown the wheat with her Word Spirit.
• Chu Yao explained that Lin Feng’s ability could supply an elite force and enable raids without the burden of carrying provisions.
• Lin Feng resolved to develop her ability so she could fight abroad and help bring peace to the people at home.
• Shen Tang assigned Lin Feng several mu of farmland to test her wheat seeds and appointed her assistant at the Spring Ploughing Sacrifice.

At the Spring Ploughing Sacrifice, Shen Tang’s Word Spirit drained her and her allies while unexpectedly boosting Lin Feng’s Literary Qi. After the ceremony, Jiang Sheng’s mistaken belief about Shen Tang’s sex led to a fight with Qi Shan, and the chapter ended as a royal edict stirred Fugu City.

• Shen Tang led the Spring Ploughing Sacrifice and used a Word Spirit that drained her Literary Qi, then consumed Chu Yao’s and Jiang Sheng’s as well.
• Lin Feng offered incense, saw the Agriculture Hall in her Literary Palace, and gained a surge of Literary Qi.
• Shen Tang explained her farming-related ability to Jiang Sheng, who realized it was connected to her status as a feudal lord.
• Jiang Sheng mistakenly claimed Shen Tang was a eunuch, and Qi Shan and the others revealed she was a woman, prompting Jiang Sheng to fight Qi Shan.
• Shen Tang punished Jiang Sheng and Qi Shan for their brawl, and the two continued feuding through their cats and dogs.
• As midsummer arrived, an edict from the King’s court caused an uproar in Fugu City.

After Zheng Qiao transferred Shen Tang to Longwu Commandery and ordered her to escort a princess to the Ten Crows, she negotiated time to finish the harvest and recommended Xu Xie as Heyin’s successor. Shen Tang accepted the dangerous posting, resolved to defend Longwu, and promised her people she would return to Heyin.

• Shen Tang learned that the royal court had transferred her to Longwu Commandery, a frontier post threatened by the Ten Crows, and struggled to contain her anger.
• Kang Shi confronted Yan An, accusing him of arranging Shen Tang’s transfer, while Yan An argued that Longwu had to be defended and revealed that he knew who held Xin Country’s missing National Seal.
• Shen Tang entered the meeting, ordered Kang Shi to sheath his sword, and secured time to complete the autumn harvest before taking up her post.
• Shen Tang recommended Xu Xie as Heyin’s successor and questioned whether Zheng Qiao was an enlightened lord; Yan An answered that such a lord must embrace universal love for all under heaven.
• Shen Tang left with Kang Shi, accepted that she had to go to Longwu, and vowed that they would return to Heyin.

Shen Tang prepared to leave Heyin for Longwu Commandery, arranging the transfer of authority and choosing Xu Xie as Heyin’s new governor. After Xu Xie pledged to protect Heyin, Shen Tang briefed him on the commandery’s affairs, and he offered to recommend a powerful guard for her journey.

• Shen Tang told Heyin’s officials to remain at their posts and announced that Xu Xie would take over as commandery governor rather than having them follow her.
• Shen Tang arranged to exchange the commoners’ strips, document Heyin’s affairs, recruit soldiers, and secretly gather girls for Bai Su’s planned women’s unit.
• Wu Xian learned that Shen Tang had recommended Xu Xie and, moved by her trust, sent ten thousand dan of provisions to Heyin.
• Shen Tang welcomed Xu Xie and explained why she had entrusted Heyin to him; Xu Xie swore to protect the commandery.
• Shen Tang walked Xu Xie through Heyin’s plans and resources, and Xu Xie offered to recommend a formidable Martial Gall Warrior to guard her on the road to Longwu.

Shen Tang prepared to leave Heyin for Longwu Commandery, refusing to uproot its common folk and entrusting them to Xu Xie. After the autumn harvest, she departed with her troops and provisions, while Xu Xie’s young cousin arrived to join her.

• Shen Tang agreed to take Xu Xie’s sixteen-year-old cousin into her service after Xu Xie recommended him.
• Xu Xie questioned why Shen Tang was not taking Heyin’s common folk to Longwu, and Shen Tang explained she would not disrupt the lives they had rebuilt.
• Elder Physician Dong threatened to kill himself unless Shen Tang took him along, and she agreed to bring him with students to care for him.
• Captain Yang asked to accompany Shen Tang, saying he would rather die near a battlefield than live a mediocre life, and she accepted.
• Heyin enjoyed a bountiful autumn harvest, and Shen Tang entrusted its people to Xu Xie before the hurried harvest work was completed.
• Shen Tang set out for Longwu with troops and provisions, and Xu Xie brought his younger cousin to meet her.

Shen Tang accepted Xu Quan into her service and departed Fu Gu for Longwu Commandery amid an emotional farewell from the people of Heyin. At court, Zheng Qiao learned of her transfer and wondered what his senior brother was planning.

• Xu Xie brought his younger cousin Xu Quan to Shen Tang, and Xu Quan accepted her as his lord after learning she was close to Gongxi Chou.
• Shen Tang and Xu Xie hosted Xu Quan for a meal, while Shen Tang planned to humble him and bring him around to her service.
• Shen Tang led her troops out of Fu Gu, and the people followed them with gifts and tearful farewells as Xu Xie took over Heyin Commandery.
• Xu Quan rode beside Shen Tang and reconsidered her after witnessing how deeply the common people cherished her.
• Zheng Qiao received news that Shen Tang was heading to Longwu and questioned what his senior brother intended; a young visitor complained about the strict searches at the palace.

Zheng Qiao considered Yan An a threat but refused to let him resign, while Yan An quietly searched for a way to protect his family and considered recruiting the boy who resembled Zheng Qiao. The story then shifted to a border village in Longwu Commandery, where bandits began slaughtering and looting its inhabitants.

• The boy advised Zheng Qiao to kill Yan An, but Zheng Qiao said he could not kill his senior brother so easily.
• Yan An encountered the boy, then told Zheng Qiao he wanted to resign; Zheng Qiao refused and only allowed him to return home to recuperate.
• Yan An learned that Zheng Qiao had disrupted his plans to protect his family and considered asking the boy for help.
• Yan An accepted that he had little time left as his health continued to deteriorate, while his wife worried about their daughter.
• A hundred bandits attacked a border village in Longwu Commandery, killing villagers, burning homes, and carrying off valuables and women.

Ten Crows bandits raided a village in Longwu Commandery and captured its women, but Shen Tang and Xu Quan found their camp while pursuing them. Shen Tang and Xu Quan defeated the raiders and moved to rescue the captives, leaving the bandits subdued in the darkness.

• Ten Crows bandits massacred a village, seized its women, and rode away with their spoils.
• The bandits camped for the night, and the young raiders prepared to assault their captives despite the old bandit's warning.
• Shen Tang and Xu Quan arrived at the camp while looking for a pack of rats, and the bandit leader questioned them.
• The bandits ambushed Shen Tang and Xu Quan, but Shen Tang's martial armor deflected the arrows and Xu Quan summoned Martial Qi Soldiers.
• Xu Quan ordered his soldiers to protect the captives and capture the bandits alive, while Shen Tang and Xu Quan overwhelmed the raiders.

Shen Tang rescued the abducted women of Sangouli Village and brought the captured horse bandits back under guard. She rejected Bai Su’s suggestion to execute them and build a Jingguan, promising the bandits a fate worse than death; the chapter then ended with an author’s complaint about Yuewen’s new Female Section benefits.

• Shen Tang learned that Xu Quan had captured seventy-nine horse bandits and executed the rest, then went to reassure the women they had abducted.
• Shen Tang freed the women, shared the bandits’ food with them, and told them to take the bandits’ clothing against the cold.
• Bai Su arrived with several hundred soldiers and took charge of escorting the bandits and rescued women back to the administrative seat.
• Bai Su suggested killing the bandits and building a Jingguan, but Shen Tang said they deserved a punishment worse than death.
• The author criticized Yuewen’s new Female Section benefits, arguing that they disadvantaged long-running books and favored studios that manipulated rankings.

Shen Tang arrived in the devastated Rurong and learned that the Ten Crows had slaughtered its officials and left the local troops demoralized and underfunded. She ordered captured bandits humiliated, sent grain to the troops guarding the passes, and began rebuilding the city; five days later, returning refugees barely recognized it.

• Bai Su and Xu Quan discussed brutal punishments for the captured bandits, and Shen Tang ordered them buried with their heads exposed so Longwu's commoners could kick them.
• Shen Tang reached Rurong and learned from Chu Yao that the Ten Crows had massacred the administrative staff, while the royal court's inaction had left local troops disillusioned and short of supplies.
• Gu Chi suggested adding humiliating punishments to the burial pits, and Shen Tang ordered guards, a notice inviting commoners to kick the bandits, and a millet reward for pulling out their hair.
• Shen Tang told Yu Zi and Lin Feng to set aside two thousand shi of grain for the troops guarding the passes, hoping to establish goodwill before using force if necessary.
• Shen Tang's army repaired Rurong's defenses and cleared the ruins, transforming the city in five days until returning refugees scarcely recognized it.

Shen Tang’s new administration in Longwu rebuilt Yuyao and aided starving survivors, while the struggling garrison at Yonggu Pass received its first major shipment of provisions from her. The soldiers accepted the supplies, though the clerk remained suspicious of Shen Tang’s motives.

• Lü Jue offered hungry refugees food and paid work rebuilding Yuyao, and one man later found his children safe in Shen Tang’s Relief House.
• The garrison at Yonggu Pass endured worsening shortages, cold, and harassment by the Ten Crows.
• A delivery arrived at Yonggu Pass containing two thousand dan of grain, dried meat, pickled vegetables, winter clothing, arrows, and wine.
• The army clerk learned that Shen Tang had sent the supplies and ordered them accepted, then arranged an extra meal for the soldiers.

Shen Tang rebuilt Ruyáo while clashing with the hostile officers at Yonggu Pass over military supplies. After receiving their letter pleading poverty without acknowledging her authority, she agreed to send Chu Yao to investigate, with Xu Quan and Lü Jue escorting him.

• The clerk sent a messenger with a letter to test Prefect Shen’s intentions, while the general at Yonggu Pass refused to acknowledge Shen Tang as governor but accepted her supplies for the soldiers.
• Shen Tang recruited refugees to rebuild Ruyáo, hunted mounted bandits, and rewarded commoners with millet for taking the bandits’ hair.
• Xu Quan reported Longwu Commandery’s changes to Xu Xie, who recognized the threat posed by the former governor’s confidant at Yonggu Pass.
• Shen Tang read the clerk’s reply, recognized its hostility and demands for supplies, and agreed that Chu Yao should go to Yonggu Pass to assess the situation.
• Chu Yao prepared to travel with Xu Quan, Lü Jue, and a hundred soldiers, prompting Xu Quan to suspect the mission might turn into a fight.