Chapter Summaries

Shen Tang and the Panda Righteous Warrior agreed to cooperate on reincarnation plans, while Shen Tang received news that Zhai Xiaofang was willing to surrender if he could meet her. Zhai Le prepared for negotiations after dreaming that his brother Zhai Huan had been trapped in the Investiture of the Gods and was now going to be reincarnated.

• Shen Tang and the Panda Righteous Warrior reached an agreement, and Shen Tang began surveying people about which animals they would want to become in another life.
• Shen Tang learned that Zhai Xiaofang would surrender on conditions and wanted to meet her, despite her advisers warning that the meeting could be dangerous.
• Shen Tang traveled to the front lines with Shen De, who playfully tormented Gongxi Chou during the journey.
• Zhai Le told Yu Hai that Zhai Huan had visited him in a dream and said he was leaving the Investiture of the Gods to be reincarnated.
• Zhai Le decided to meet Shen Tang to learn whether Zhai Huan's dream was real, and Yu Hai volunteered to begin preliminary negotiations with Kang Shi.
• Yu Hai asked Tan Qu to accompany him and gave him newly finished clothes before setting out.

Yu Hai brought Tan Qu to Kang for negotiations and provoked Qi Shan with an ornament taken from a burial site. Tan Qu intervened to keep the two sides from fighting, leaving the delegation to enter camp with Qi Shan still furious at Yu Hai.

• Yu Hai persuaded Tan Qu to join Qu’s delegation, while refusing to exploit Tan Qu’s ability to control the plague patients as weapons.
• Yu Hai and Tan Qu traveled to Kang, where Xu Quan met the delegation and escorted them toward the camp.
• Yu Hai sent Qi Shan an old ornament and demanded that Qi Shan greet him in person, prompting Qi Shan to gallop out in anger.
• Yu Hai taunted Qi Shan about Lord Shen’s grave-robbing and withheld information about where his master’s body had been buried.
• Tan Qu offered to lead Qi Shan’s horse and urged both chancellors not to let their personal grudge harm the common folk.

Tan Qu attended the Qu and Kang delegations’ chaotic negotiations, then met Qi Miao and Shen Tang at the military canteen. His encounter with Qi Miao left her puzzled by his name and resemblance to her father, while Shen Tang mistakenly believed Qi Shan had overcome his fixation on Tan Qu.

• Yu Hai brought Tan Qu to the negotiations, where Qu and Kang officials argued and brawled until Tan Qu lost his illusions about courtly decorum.
• Tan Qu skipped the afternoon negotiations and went to Kang Country’s military infirmary to get medicine for bruises and sore throats.
• Qi Miao met Tan Qu, noticed his resemblance to herself and his shared name with her father, and grew closer to him as they talked.
• Qi Miao brought Tan Qu to the military canteen, where they sat with Shen Tang and a chubby little girl.
• Tan Qu gently fed the girl, and when Shen Tang asked about Qi Shan, he said Qi Shan seemed to have put their past behind him.
• Shen Tang concluded that Qi Shan’s apparent acceptance meant he was close to recovering from his mental illness.

Shen Tang reunited with Tan Qu, whose incomplete True Spirit had reincarnated without its memories, and arranged for Qi Shan to meet him. Qi Shan recognized Tan Qu as his long-lost friend Le Zheng, and Tan Qu recovered his memories as the real Qi Shan embraced him.

• Shen Tang learned that Tan Qu had chosen reincarnation despite having only half a True Spirit, and she saw him alive in the Qu delegation.
• Qi Miao invited Tan Qu to watch a soldiers’ cuju match, and the two enjoyed the spectacle together.
• Shen Tang sent Qi Shan to escort Qi Miao, expecting him to encounter Tan Qu, and Qi Shan fled in shock when he recognized the young man.
• Qi Shan returned and asked Tan Qu his name, then embraced him when he heard the name Le Zheng.
• Tan Qu regained his memories and recognized Qi Shan, while Yu Hai arrived cursing and threw a wooden clog at them.

Qi Shan and Yu Hai confronted their old grievances after Yu Hai found Tan Qu’s corpse, while Tan Qu returned to the living with his memories. Qi Shan and Tan Qu reconciled, but Tan Qu’s half-living state remained uncertain, and Yu Hai ended the night resentful of Kang’s continued strength.

• Shen Tang learned how Qi Shan had once stolen Yu Hai’s bride and later swindled him while disguised as a tea seller, worsening Yu Hai’s aversion to women and fueling his revenge plot.
• Yu Hai revealed that he had found Tan Qu’s corpse in the Mountain Sea Sacred Land and had hoped to use Tan Qu to force Qi Shan to apologize, but Qi Shan admitted his guilt and thanked Yu Hai for helping Tan Qu return.
• Qi Shan explained to Tan Qu that he had adopted Qi Miao to honor their bond, and Tan Qu accepted that Qi Shan had not been living in the past.
• Qi Miao and Qi Shan teased each other about their hundreds of dependents, and Tan Qu learned about Qi Shan’s many disguises, jobs, and exploits since his death.
• Tan Qu urged Qi Shan to reclaim the name Le Zheng, but Qi Shan refused and instead promised to let Tan Qu become known as a little sage.
• Yu Hai lamented that Shen Youli remained alive and Kang’s strength endured, then blamed the Heavenly Dao for his defeat.

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.