Chapter Summaries

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.

Qi Shan and a young scholar witnessed Ning Yan intervene in a violent dispute involving a widow and her daughter, one of Ning Yan’s students. The old woman involved then beat the government office’s drum to accuse the widow and Ning Yan, and Shen Tang went to hear the case.

• The young scholar demanded that Qi Shan repay his past losses, but Qi Shan said he had no money and refused to offer his life because his lord would not agree.
• Qi Shan and the others saw an old woman beating and humiliating a widow whose daughter had been chosen to learn a trade.
• The widow’s daughter stepped in to defend her mother, and the old woman insulted her as a child of mixed Ten Crows ancestry before threatening to beat her too.
• Ning Yan arrived, identified the girl as her student, and ordered the old woman, her daughter-in-law, and the other people involved taken to the government office.
• The young scholar praised Ning Yan’s courage and said he wanted to befriend her, while Qi Shan warned him not to pursue her.
• The old woman beat the government office’s drum and accused the widow of trying to seduce her son and harm her grandson; Shen Tang heard the complaint and went to investigate.

Shen Tang heard a grievance accusing Widow Zhuo of harming a newborn, but the dispute turned out to rest on the superstition that receiving a knife during pregnancy caused the baby’s cleft lip. Shen Tang remained confused as Widow Zhuo and the family gave their accounts, leaving the case unresolved.

• Curious commoners gathered to see Shen Tang preside over court, while Qi Shan warned a young scholar not to speak carelessly about his lord.
• An old woman accused Widow Zhuo of trying to seduce her son and harming her newborn grandson, and she accused Dean Ning of framing her family.
• Ning Yan explained that the old woman had long harassed Widow Zhuo and had made a baseless accusation after the baby was born with jaundice and a cleft lip.
• Shen Tang examined the baby and, confused by the accusation, advised the family to give the child water, sunlight, and medical care if needed.
• Ning Yan clarified that the family blamed a knife Widow Zhuo had delivered to the pregnant daughter-in-law for causing the cleft lip.
• Widow Zhuo and the young woman explained that the knife had been delivered as a favor, while the young woman said she had felt a stomach pain afterward; Shen Tang asked what sort of harm they meant.

Shen Tang investigated Widow Zhuo’s alleged role in injuring a newborn and uncovered the household’s abuse of the infant’s mother. She exposed the old woman’s hypocrisy in court, leaving the family facing scrutiny over whether their own actions caused the harm.

• The crowd condemned Widow Zhuo, but Shen Tang silenced them and warned them against disrupting her court.
• Ning Yan asked Widow Zhuo which blacksmith’s shop supplied the knife, while Shen Tang summoned the shopkeeper and neighbors as witnesses.
• The blacksmith confirmed Widow Zhuo had ordered one knife, and Old Woman’s Son had ordered another.
• Neighbors testified that the young wife did the household’s cooking, laundry, firewood chopping, and mending, even while pregnant, and described her mother-in-law and husband’s abuse.
• Shen Tang challenged the old woman to explain how the baby could have been harmed by Widow Zhuo’s knife when the young wife handled knives and needles throughout her pregnancy.

Shen Tang exposed a family’s false accusation against Widow Zhuo and sentenced them for their roles in it. After she warned the crowd about the harm words could cause, auspicious clouds gathered above the young scholar and Qi Shan.

• Shen Tang challenged the old woman and her daughter-in-law to prove that Widow Zhuo had harmed the child, while Gu Chi explained the penalties for false accusations.
• The young woman admitted she had blamed Widow Zhuo out of fear, and Shen Tang argued that the child’s condition could have had other causes.
• Shen Tang sentenced the old woman to ten strokes, three years of mill work, and seven days paraded through the streets; she gave the young woman the same sentence, waiving thirty strokes because she had recently given birth.
• Shen Tang sentenced the husband to fifty strokes, three years of hard labor, and seven days paraded through the streets for failing to stop the false accusation.
• After Gu Chi approved the sentences, Shen Tang warned the crowd that words could kill, and auspicious clouds and rosy light gathered above the young scholar and Qi Shan.

After Shen Tang’s judgment triggered an auspicious sign, she fainted and entered a dreamlike Literary Palace. She explored its Sacred Land and found countless spheres of glowing texts, while her companions waited for her to wake.

• An auspicious sign appeared after Shen Tang’s ruling, and the crowd took it as Heaven’s approval of her judgment.
• A young Literary Scholar told Shen Tang that her enlightened teaching had stirred Heaven and earth, but she fainted before she could understand what he meant.
• Gu Chi found Shen Tang’s meridians and Dantian full of Literary Qi and Martial Qi, and Qi Shan summoned the rest of their staff.
• Shen Tang’s companions waited for six hours while she slept, and Elder Physician Dong found nothing wrong with her.
• In her dream, Shen Tang followed a silent guide through a misty landscape, learned that it was her Literary Palace, and entered a Sacred Land palace filled with glowing spheres of texts.

After fainting, Shen Tang woke from a vision of a strange Literary Palace and learned her strength had increased. The young Literary Scholar explained that she had likely traveled in spirit to Mountain Sea Sacred Land, where she encountered the work Tian Gong Kai Wu.

• Ning Yan told Shen Tang she had slept for six shichen and that the commoners had accepted her ruling.
• Chu Yao and the others noticed Shen Tang’s Heaven and Earth Qi had increased, and she described the glowing orb and rivers of writing she had seen.
• Shen Tang recalled grabbing characters that read Tian Gong Kai Wu, prompting the young Literary Scholar to ask whether she was certain.
• The young Literary Scholar explained that Shen Tang’s vision resembled a known spiritual journey to Mountain Sea Sacred Land, not her own Literary Palace.

After recovering, Shen Tang welcomed Liao Jia Shao Mei into her service and proposed using trade and internal divisions to weaken the Ten Crows instead of launching another invasion. Liao Jia and the Zhao Family Young Lady ended up lodging at Qi Shan’s residence, where Liao Jia insisted on sharing his bed.

• After confirming Shen Tang was well, Chu Yao and the others ate with her and Liao Jia, who introduced himself as a Literary Scholar from Fengxi County and offered his services.
• Shen Tang enthusiastically accepted Liao Jia, while he decided to stay partly because Qi Shan looked displeased.
• Shen Tang called for a morning meeting and proposed dividing the Ten Crows from within and impoverishing them through trade, drawing on the surviving pages of Tian Gong Kai Wu.
• Jiang Sheng and Gu Chi supported Shen Tang’s plan, and the group agreed to prepare for the Ten Crows’ future recovery.
• Liao Jia and the Zhao Family Young Lady went to stay at Qi Shan’s residence, where Liao Jia proposed that he and Qi Shan share a bed.

Zhao Family Young Lady stayed in Longwu Commandery after Liao Jia joined Lord Shen’s service, but her attempt to keep her identity hidden ended when Xu Quan recognized her. Xu Quan revealed her name and gender in front of Liao Jia and Qi Shan, leaving her furious and at risk of being discovered.

• Liao Jia said he would stay in Longwu Commandery after joining Lord Shen’s service, and Zhao Family Young Lady decided to remain there rather than return home.
• Liao Jia urged Zhao Family Young Lady to send her family word that she was safe, but she hesitated.
• Zhao Family Young Lady accompanied Liao Jia and Qi Shan to the commandery offices, where Xu Quan recognized her and called her Da Wei.
• Zhao Family Young Lady threatened Xu Quan for revealing she was a woman, while Xu Quan insisted her disguise had already been seen through.
• Liao Jia introduced himself to Xu Quan, who explained that he knew Zhao Wei through their families and asked if she had fled after repeated marriage rejections.

Shen Tang’s group discussed Zhao Wei’s defiance and the implications of women gaining recognition under Shen Tang’s rule. Shen Tang then proposed using techniques from Tian Gong Kai Wu and Qi Min Yao Shu to produce salt, cloth, and grain for Ten Crows rather than buying and reselling goods.

• Xu Quan teased Zhao Wei, who challenged him to fight after duty, and Liao Jia calmed her before he and Qi Shan entered the government office.
• Liao Jia told Qi Shan that he had learned Shen Tang was a woman and wondered whether her rule allowed talented women to condense a Literary Heart or Martial Gall.
• Qi Shan confirmed that recognition could make such cultivation possible, and Liao Jia reacted bitterly as he recalled the female teacher who had once helped him and later died in despair.
• Shen Tang said the National Border Barrier would make cloth, salt, and grain prices rise in Ten Crows, then proposed using Tian Gong Kai Wu’s sericulture, weaving, and salt-extraction techniques.
• Shen Tang said Lin Feng’s grain reserves and Qi Min Yao Shu could help supply Ten Crows, with Lin Feng receiving a share of the profits.

Shen Tang planned ways to make salt and develop sericulture in Longwu Commandery, including refining coarse salt for profit and testing whether Word Spirits could summon seawater. She then proposed that students unsuited for government service earn a living through farming, leaving Ning Yan startled by the idea.

• Xun Zhen explained that Longwu Commandery could produce Well Salt and Mineral Salt, while Liao Jia asked about Pool Salt, which Wu Xian and Xu Xie controlled.
• Shen Tang proposed refining local salt for the Ten Crows and testing whether she and Lingde could summon seawater with Word Spirits to make salt.
• Chu Yao and Gu Chi suggested other profitable plans, including buying coarse salt from Xu Xie, refining it, and selling it at a higher price.
• Shen Tang discussed buying silkworm eggs from Wenzhu but noted that Longwu Commandery lacked mature mulberry trees and would need a Word Spirit to solve the problem.
• Shen Tang asked Ning Yan whether the students could make a living through farming, and Ning Yan questioned the proposal.