Chapter Summaries

The Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu returned to Guanzhong and discovered that rumors against the Western Regions were spreading among the people. After the Verdant Green Maiden questioned Liu Cailian about the rumors, she and Zhao Qingyu confronted Lantian County’s arrogant magistrate, who recognized the Defender of the State Grand Princess’s seal.

• Wei Qingping and Yue Qiu worried that harm to the delegation would make the Great Song’s court suspect them of murder.
• The Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu visited Liu Cailian and Yue Huan in Lantian County, where Liu Cailian asked whether Yue Qiu would return safely.
• Liu Cailian told the Verdant Green Maiden that rumors claiming the Western Regions were dangerous and should be abandoned had been circulating since the new emperor’s accession.
• The Verdant Green Maiden told Liu Cailian to reassure the people of Lantian County while protecting herself and waiting for Yue Qiu.
• The Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu visited the county office, where the magistrate called guards to arrest them.
• Zhao Qingyu showed the magistrate the Defender of the State Grand Princess’s seal, and he recognized its significance.

Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu arrived in Lantian County, where the magistrate revealed that court officials had ordered him to spread rumors about the Western Regions to sway public opinion against the military campaign. They left with his list of implicated officials, and Verdant Green Maiden promised to spare his life unless he had committed grave crimes.

• The Lantian County Magistrate recognized Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu as the Imperial Tutor and Grand Princess, then rebuked his bailiffs for nearly arresting them.
• Verdant Green Maiden confronted the magistrate about the rumors and threatened him unless he explained who was behind them.
• The Lantian County Magistrate confessed that Chancellor Lü, Chancellor Wang, and other court officials had ordered him to spread rumors about the Western Regions to influence His Majesty to withdraw the troops.
• Verdant Green Maiden ordered the magistrate to write down every official involved, and he produced a list beginning with Lü Mengzheng and including many court figures.
• Verdant Green Maiden promised to guarantee the magistrate's life, subject to investigating any grave wrongdoing, then left with Zhao Qingyu.

Verdant Green Maiden sent the Lantian County magistrate to help Liu Cailian suppress the rumors before she and Zhao Qingyu returned to Bianjing. They passed the Wu Duke's Residence, where mourning streamers marked Li Yu's death, but Verdant Green Maiden decided not to enter because their karma with the household had ended.

• Verdant Green Maiden ordered the Lantian County magistrate to assist the Marchioness of Lantian and promised to keep him alive after he lost his post.
• The Lantian County magistrate brought gifts to Liu Cailian and asked her to take charge of suppressing the rumors in Lantian County.
• Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu passed through Tong Pass and arrived in Bianjing, where Zhao Qingyu bought gifts for Binghong, Wei Qingping, Yue Qiu, and the others.
• Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu passed the Wu Duke's Residence and noticed its mourning streamers, prompting Zhao Qingyu to ask whether Li Yu had died.
• Verdant Green Maiden refused to enter the Wu Duke's Residence, saying their karma with the household had ended.

Zhao Qingyu and Verdant Green Maiden entered the Imperial City and confronted Zhao Heng over his decision to withdraw from the Western Regions. Verdant Green Maiden insisted that the Western Regions, Liaodong, and the Southern Frontier could not be abandoned, and challenged Zhao Heng over whether he cared only about preserving his family's rule.

• Zhao Qingyu asked Verdant Green Maiden to visit Noble Consort Zang with her after they entered the Imperial City.
• Zhao Qingyu and Verdant Green Maiden found Zhao Heng in the Imperial Study, where he was preparing to secure peace with the Khitan and Dali.
• Zhao Qingyu revealed her identity to Zhao Heng and introduced Verdant Green Maiden as her master, Shao Dian Qing Nü.
• Verdant Green Maiden questioned Zhao Heng about who had proposed withdrawing the troops, then demanded to know who he meant by “we” when he asked why she would not let them go.
• Zhao Heng argued that further campaigns would drain the people and risk empowering generals, while Verdant Green Maiden insisted the Western Regions, Liaodong, and the Southern Frontier must not be abandoned.
• Verdant Green Maiden asked Zhao Heng whether he would be satisfied if his family ruled only one city while foreign peoples spread across the realm.

Verdant Green Maiden challenged the court’s decision to withdraw troops from the Western Regions, arguing that holding the region and opening the Silk Road could bring wealth to Great Song. She left Zhao Heng and his ministers considering Zhao Qingyu’s proposal to replace grain taxes with government purchases directly from farmers.

• Zhao Heng summoned Li Hang and Wang Qinruo to hear Verdant Green Maiden question who had advised withdrawing the troops.
• Li Hang took responsibility for the proposal and praised Zhao Heng for prioritizing the people, while Verdant Green Maiden accused the officials of protecting their own power.
• Verdant Green Maiden argued that holding the Western Regions and opening trade routes would enrich Great Song and allow it to lower grain taxes.
• Li Hang insisted that grain taxes were essential because money could not feed the people, and Zhao Heng agreed with him.
• Zhao Qingyu suggested the court use commercial tax revenue to buy grain, then proposed buying directly from farmers instead of collecting grain taxes or relying on grain merchants.

Zhao Qingyu proposed replacing grain taxes with a gradual system of partial taxes and grain purchases, while Verdant Green Maiden pressured Zhao Heng’s court to support expansion into the Western Regions. Zhao Heng summoned the people on Verdant Green Maiden’s list, whose surviving members backed the campaigns, and Zhao Qingyu prepared to return to the Western Regions without her master.

• Zhao Qingyu suggested collecting some grain as taxes and having the court purchase the rest, but Li Hang and Wang Qinruo argued against the plan and warned that the Western Regions were too difficult to hold.
• Zhao Qingyu pointed out that preventing official embezzlement was the responsibility of Li Hang’s Privy Council and the Censorate.
• Verdant Green Maiden challenged Li Hang for claiming Great Song could not hold the Western Regions, then warned Zhao Heng that she could choose another ruler for the realm.
• Zhao Heng asked whether conquering the Western Regions would improve people’s lives, and Verdant Green Maiden argued that avoiding war would not prevent future deaths.
• Verdant Green Maiden gave Zhao Heng a list and demanded that everyone on it who remained in Bianjing appear before her; afterward, the surviving people supported campaigns in the Western Regions, Liaodong, and Dali.
• Zhao Qingyu packed supplies and carriages for her return to the Western Regions, while Verdant Green Maiden chose not to accompany her.

Zhao Qingyu left Bianjing for the Western Regions and met the traveling doctor Chunyu Tiying, who revealed she had served Verdant Green Maiden for about twelve hundred years. Chunyu Tiying showed Zhao Qingyu the name plaques of her two disciples, who had died centuries earlier.

• Verdant Green Maiden sent Zhao Qingyu off to travel on her own, while Zhao Heng arranged an escort and recalled the diplomatic mission.
• Near Chang'an County, Zhao Qingyu stopped her convoy and provided water so Chunyu Tiying could treat sick travelers.
• Zhao Qingyu learned that the doctor was Chunyu Tiying and introduced herself by name.
• Chunyu Tiying recognized Zhao Qingyu as Verdant Green Maiden's disciple and said she had followed the Goddess since Emperor Wen's time.
• Chunyu Tiying showed Zhao Qingyu the name plaques of her two disciples, who had died several hundred years earlier.

Zhao Qingyu met Chunyu Tiying, who agreed to travel with her to the Western Regions. Meanwhile, Verdant Green Maiden followed a heavenly anomaly to Bao Residence, where she believed Bao Zheng was about to be born and offered to help with a difficult delivery.

• Zhao Qingyu learned that Sun Simiao had been Chunyu Tiying’s disciple and that he was now known as the Medicine King.
• Chunyu Tiying agreed to accompany Zhao Qingyu to the Western Regions and teach medicine there.
• After receiving Chunyu Tiying’s letter, Verdant Green Maiden left Bianjing and reached Luzhou in the winter of the second year of Xianping.
• Verdant Green Maiden followed a heavenly anomaly to Bao Residence and suspected that Bao Zheng was being born.
• When Bao Lingyi’s wife suffered a difficult birth, Verdant Green Maiden offered to treat her, though Bao Residence’s household members doubted her ability.

Verdant Green Maiden saved Bao Lingyi’s wife and newborn son, then became the honored guest and prospective teacher of the Bao Household. The family named the child Bao Zheng, and Verdant Green Maiden returned with them to Bianjing.

• Verdant Green Maiden treated Bao Lingyi’s wife and saved both her and the baby.
• Bao Lingyi showed Verdant Green Maiden the crescent-shaped mark on his son’s forehead, and she called it a sign of profound fortune.
• Verdant Green Maiden asked to teach the child and suggested the name Bao Zheng, courtesy name Xi Ren.
• The Bao Household accepted the name, entered Bao Zheng into the genealogy, and welcomed Verdant Green Maiden as an honored guest.
• After Madam Zhang recovered, the family traveled back to Bianjing, where Verdant Green Maiden recognized the bustling city and said she had returned.

Verdant Green Maiden moved Bao Lingyi’s family into a better Bianjing residence and began teaching Bao Zheng. After assuring Bao Lingyi and Madam Zhang that she had a karmic bond with Bao Zheng, she impressed Bao Lingyi with the textbooks she had written.

• Verdant Green Maiden gave Bao Lingyi a bag of gold and jewels to buy a larger residence for herself and Bao Zheng’s family.
• When Bao Lingyi asked why the Censorate had stopped investigating the purchase, the censor insisted the house was legitimate and fled when Bao Lingyi tried to explain further.
• Bao Lingyi suspected Verdant Green Maiden had intervened and told Madam Zhang that her identity might be extraordinary.
• Verdant Green Maiden told Bao Lingyi and Madam Zhang that she and Bao Zheng shared Karma, easing their worries about their son studying under her.
• Over the next three years, Verdant Green Maiden taught Bao Zheng using clear, insightful textbooks she had written herself, astonishing Bao Lingyi.

Ten years after Great Song's campaigns transformed the Western Regions and defeated the Khitan, Zhao Heng faced the approaching submission of Dali and the Khitan while grieving the cost of years of war. The two delegations entered Bianjing and traded insults as they headed toward the palace.

• Yue Qiu, Zhao Qingyu, and the Great Song Imperial Guard defeated the Black Khanate, while Cao Bin died in the campaign and Zhao Heng honored his coffin in Bianjing.
• Great Song's long war crushed the Khitan, whose emperor Yelü Longxu renounced his imperial title and sought peace; Dali also requested annexation.
• Zhao Heng worried over the deaths of his five sons and told Zhao Shouyi to stay close to Zhao Qingyu, who had sent gifts from the Western Regions.
• Liu E told Zhao Heng that envoys from Dali and the Khitan would pledge allegiance at court the next day.
• The Dali and Khitan delegations entered Bianjing together, where their envoys argued and the city's residents watched them pass.

Verdant Green Maiden watched the Khitan envoy’s procession with Bao Zheng, who declared that he wanted to become an official and seek justice. After Bao Lingyi was reassigned to Hui’an County, Verdant Green Maiden moved with the Bao family, where she and Bao Zheng gathered and cooked seafood; the chapter ended with Bao Zheng spotting something floating on the sea.

• Verdant Green Maiden let Bao Zheng watch the Khitan delegation pass, and he said he wanted to take the imperial examinations and become an official who sought justice.
• Verdant Green Maiden read and answered Zhao Qingyu’s annual letter, then learned that Bao Lingyi had been reassigned to Hui’an County and revised her reply to reflect the move.
• The Bao family settled in Hui’an County, where Madam Zhang fell ill while Verdant Green Maiden adjusted easily to the coastal climate.
• Verdant Green Maiden gathered seafood and grilled it for Bao Zheng, who eventually begged to join her at the shore.
• Verdant Green Maiden took seafood from fishermen’s boats after leaving money, then cooked it on the shore with Bao Zheng.
• Bao Zheng noticed something floating on the sea and called Verdant Green Maiden’s attention to it.

Verdant Green Maiden rescued shipwrecked islanders and escorted them back to Meizhou Island, where she asked after the Lin family. She visited the family beneath the great banyan tree, and their baby, who had never cried since birth, finally began to wail.

• Verdant Green Maiden and Bao Zheng spotted shipwreck survivors, and she treated them before Bao Lingyi identified them as people from Meizhou Island.
• After the survivors woke, Verdant Green Maiden took them home and promised that the Hui'an County Office would provide replacement fishing boats.
• Verdant Green Maiden asked the islanders about the Lin family and learned that locals were spreading rumors about their newborn daughter.
• Verdant Green Maiden visited the Lin family, where the baby cried for the first time as Madam Wang and Lin Miaozhu watched in astonishment.
• Madam Wang invited Verdant Green Maiden to stay for a meal, and Verdant Green Maiden accepted.

Verdant Green Maiden became Lin Moniang’s master after the baby found her voice, giving her a gold longevity lock and promising monthly visits. Ten years passed, and as Bao Lingyi received an order to go to Nanjing, he asked whether his master would leave with him.

• Verdant Green Maiden visited the Lin Family and learned that Lin Moniang had been unable to speak since birth until she arrived.
• Verdant Green Maiden revealed herself as a Daoist priest and asked Lin Yuan to let her teach Lin Moniang; Lin Yuan agreed.
• Verdant Green Maiden gave Lin Moniang a gold longevity lock and promised to visit Meizhou Island each month.
• Verdant Green Maiden returned home late, and Bao Zheng welcomed her with a roast rabbit; she rewarded him with a day off from lessons.
• Verdant Green Maiden continued visiting Lin Moniang, and ten years passed before Zhao Heng died and Zhao Zhen ascended the throne under Empress Dowager Liu E’s regency.
• After ten years as County Magistrate in Hui'an County, Bao Lingyi received an order to go to Nanjing and asked his master whether she would leave with him.

Verdant Green Maiden taught Lin Moniang to read omens and understand the sea, then went to an island struck by an epidemic and helped Guihua return home. There, she discovered that the doctor who had controlled the outbreak was her martial niece.

• Bao Zheng promised Verdant Green Maiden that he would visit her and care for her in old age when he moved to Nanjing.
• Verdant Green Maiden promised Lin Moniang she would teach her real skills, then taught her to read the heavens, divine fortune and misfortune, and understand the sea.
• Lin Moniang became known as the Little Immortal Aunt, advising fishermen about their journeys.
• Verdant Green Maiden cured Guihua, the only survivor from a boat fleeing an epidemic, and accompanied her back to her island.
• Verdant Green Maiden found that a female miracle doctor had controlled the epidemic and recognized her as her martial niece.

The Verdant Green Maiden reunited with He Qiong, who had cured the island’s epidemic, and brought Guihua back to the Lin Family as Lin Yuyin. Years later, she left Lin Moniang, visited the dying Yue Qiu, and learned that Liu Cailian had also died as snow fell.

• The Verdant Green Maiden found He Qiong on the island, where He Qiong had treated the sick and brought the epidemic under control.
• Lin Yuan and Lin Moniang arrived on the island, met He Qiong, and Lin Moniang greeted her as her senior martial sister.
• The Verdant Green Maiden and the Lin Family took Guihua in, and the Verdant Green Maiden renamed her Lin Yuyin.
• After Lin Moniang came of age, the Verdant Green Maiden left with Old Yellow Ox and returned to Mount Tai.
• The Verdant Green Maiden visited the dying Yue Qiu, who asked her to pass a message to Old Li.
• Half a year after Yue Qiu was buried, Liu Cailian died, and the Verdant Green Maiden wondered why people always died when it snowed.

Verdant Green Maiden visited Bao Zheng before he left Bianjing for Luzhou, gave Li a wooden statue that could carry messages to her, and then encountered the drunken poet Liu Yong. After dragging him to an inn and helping him recover, she introduced herself as Shao Dian Qing Nü and told him he owed her One String of Coins.

• Yue Huan bowed to Verdant Green Maiden at the graves of Yue Qiu and his wife before she left Lantian County for Bianjing.
• Verdant Green Maiden treated Bao Zheng and Li to a meal to celebrate Bao Zheng passing the Presented Scholar examination and receiving an appointment in Luzhou.
• Verdant Green Maiden gave Li a wooden god statue and told her she could speak to it if she needed to reach her.
• After Bao Zheng and Li left for Luzhou, Verdant Green Maiden met the drunken Liu Sanbian in Bianjing's night market and dragged him to an inn.
• Liu Yong awoke the next morning, drank the cold Hangover Soup, and learned that he owed Shao Dian Qing Nü One String of Coins.

The Verdant Green Maiden forgave Liu Yong for his drunken behavior in exchange for his future handwritten lyrics and invited him to travel south with her. After Liu Yong parted from his sweetheart in Bianjing, they set off downriver, and he wrote “Rain Bell” before spotting an ox moving along the bank.

• The Verdant Green Maiden praised Liu Yong’s lyrics, waived his debt, and asked for his future original manuscripts in return.
• Liu Yong agreed to travel south with the Verdant Green Maiden, who offered to cover their expenses.
• Liu Yong visited his singing-girl sweetheart by a ferry landing, and the Verdant Green Maiden urged him to board before giving the girl an umbrella and money.
• Liu Yong and the Verdant Green Maiden traveled south by boat, and Liu wrote “Rain Bell” as they entered the Chu Lands.
• Liu Yong spotted what looked like an ox keeping pace with the boat along the riverbank.

Verdant Green Maiden and Liu Yong traveled through Jingchu, where Liu Yong composed a poem about Old Yellow Ox and learned how Dongting Lake’s Dragon Lord legend had changed over time. While boating on the lake, they met a Tea-Serving Lady whose reason for taking visitors out remained secret.

• Verdant Green Maiden sang to Old Yellow Ox, and Liu Yong composed “Magnolia Blossoms, Shortened Form: The Ox Arrives.”
• Verdant Green Maiden brought Old Yellow Ox along, and she and Liu Yong continued their journey across Jingchu with Liu riding a donkey.
• At Dongting Lake, Liu Yong learned that old stories of a Dragon Lord had become legends about Dragon Woman Third Lady.
• Verdant Green Maiden explained that myths change over time, and Liu Yong praised her insight.
• A Tea-Serving Lady guided Verdant Green Maiden and Liu Yong around Dongting Lake but did not explain why she offered the boat trips.
• Liu Yong apologized for asking about her reasons and assumed she served visitors because she loved the lake and its scenery.

Liu Yong and the Verdant Green Maiden left Dongting Lake and traveled down the Yangtze, sharing a playful journey through Poyang toward Xunyang. The chapter ended with Liu Yong recalling Bai Juyi’s lost poem and suggesting they visit the city where it was composed.

• The Verdant Green Maiden prepared to leave Dongting with Liu Yong, while the Tea-Serving Lady made an affectionate advance before bidding her farewell.
• Liu Yong returned and admitted he had not thought of a good lyric; three days later, he and the Verdant Green Maiden departed Dongting as a woman watched them go and wished her lord a safe journey.
• On the road, Liu Yong remarked that the Tea-Serving Lady seemed to love the Verdant Green Maiden, who said she respected others’ preferences but did not want romance imposed on her.
• The Verdant Green Maiden bought a boat, and she and Liu Yong sailed down the Yangtze while the old donkey and Old Yellow Ox brayed and mooed aboard.
• The Verdant Green Maiden beat Liu Yong at a board game as they traveled from Dongting to Poyang, correcting his mistaken guesses about the lakes and cities along the way.
• Liu Yong proposed visiting Xunyang, recalling that Bai Juyi had composed a long poem there whose true form had been lost.