Chapter Summaries

Fang Yun went incognito to learn how people viewed the blockade of Yingfang Pavilion and listened as scholars debated Ge Yiming’s support for Hua Qingniang. He explained that Ge Yiming was acting as a mouthpiece for powerful interests and began arguing that he had little reason to fear the contempt of humble students.

• Fang Yun reviewed Xiang Prefecture’s documents and decided to continue making incognito visits to understand local opinion.
• Disguised as a Licentiate, Fang Yun saw hundreds of people still blockading Yingfang Pavilion and entered a nearby tavern.
• Fang Yun listened as Zhang Zongshi and other patrons condemned Ge Yiming for praising the Qing Lord and supporting Hua Qingniang.
• Fang Yun argued that Ge Yiming was speaking for Ge Million and the powerful figures behind the Qing River Trading Company.
• Fang Yun explained that Ge Yiming would not fear the contempt of humble students because their influence was too weak to threaten him.

Fang Yun explained why Ge Yiming’s support for Hua Qingniang revealed his loyalties, and urged the scholars to judge people by their actions and their own interests. The gathering ended with Zhang Zongshi vowing to boycott Hua Qingniang’s business, while Fang Yun noticed a subtle change in his expression.

• Fang Yun argued that Ge Yiming had supported powerful interests over ordinary people of the Jing Kingdom and was therefore unworthy of being its man.
• Fang Yun told the gathered scholars that he would choose the Jing Kingdom over the Qing Kingdom because it would not treat him as an inferior or alien.
• Zhang Zongshi said scholars should judge famous figures by their words and actions and decide who their friends and enemies were.
• Zhang Zongshi explained that he opposed Hua Qingniang because she had insulted and attacked her customers, and he vowed to avoid her pavilion and the Qing River Trading Company.
• The restaurant crowd cheered Zhang Zongshi, and Fang Yun’s expression changed subtly.

After Fang Yun’s remarks about choosing friends and enemies unsettled the crowd, he hurried toward the river and was ambushed in an alley by Qiu Academy Student and his men. Qiu revealed their ties to Ge Yiming and the Qing River Trading Company, while Fang Yun warned that they were bringing disaster upon the company.

• Zhang Zongshi wondered about Fang Yun’s background and left with his friends to look for him by the river.
• Fang Yun took a shortcut through Baling City’s alleys and found Qiu Academy Student and several men blocking both ends.
• Fang Yun recalled being attacked in the past and warned Qiu that the people who cornered him had met miserable ends.
• Qiu admitted that Fang Yun’s words about friends and enemies had made him view Fang Yun as an enemy who could ruin Ge Yiming’s plans.
• Qiu claimed the ambush was meant to teach Fang Yun not to provoke Ge Yiming or the Qing River Trading Company, and Fang Yun warned that they were inviting disaster.

Fang Yun was attacked in an alley by Qiu Academy Student and men from the Qing River Trading Company, but he revealed his formidable literary power and defeated them. After writing “Spring Dawn” in Qiu Academy Student’s blood, Fang Yun released a voice of the sacred way that led Baling City’s scholars to realize the disguised Licentiate was Void Sage Fang.

• Qiu Academy Student ordered his men to attack Fang Yun, while Zhang Zongshi rushed toward the alley to help him.
• Fang Yun spoke with overwhelming heavenly might and sent Qiu Academy Student and the eight attackers flying.
• Fang Yun used Qiu Academy Student’s blood to write “Spring Dawn” on the wall, revealing that he was the poem’s author and had reached Ink Forms Bone.
• Fang Yun produced the Ji King's Seal and released a voice of the sacred way declaring, “Who are our friends, and who are our enemies? This is the foremost question!”
• Scholars in Baling City recognized the voice as Void Sage Fang’s and concluded that the Licentiate Fang had been in disguise.
• The restaurant’s patrons rushed outside to witness the spectacle, but the proprietor stopped them to demand payment.

Fang Yun manifested a towering Dragon Gate Phantom and used his authority as the Literary Star Dragon Noble to confront the Dongting Flood Dragon King. He forced the king to acknowledge his status and serve as a rainfall envoy until Fang Yun’s term as governor-general ended.

• Fang Yun summoned a ten-zhang Dragon Gate Phantom, drawing hundreds of millions of river fish and water demons to leap toward it.
• A massive wave threatened people and vessels on the Yangtze, but Fang Yun dispersed it with literary qi from the Temple of Sages.
• Fang Yun invoked dragon race law against the Dongting Flood Dragon King, and his True Dragon Literary Platform killed millions of hostile water demons below Demon Marquis rank in Dongting Lake.
• After ten breaths, the Dongting Flood Dragon King emerged, bowed to Fang Yun, and admitted he had been negligent in allowing the slaughter.
• Fang Yun ordered the Dongting Flood Dragon King to serve as special envoy for rainfall at the governor-general’s office, and the people of Baling City cheered.

Fang Yun received the Eastern Sea Dragon Sage’s decree granting him a three-thousand-year fief over waters near Baling, forcing the Dongting Flood Dragon King to submit. The people of Xiang Prefecture celebrated as Wei Dongshan praised Fang Yun for confronting the water race and bringing hope of protection.

• Dong Wencong explained that the Dongting Flood Dragon King was testing Fang Yun and trying to prevent him from gaining influence over the water race.
• Fang Yun sent a drop of blood into the river, stilling the Yangtze and summoning the dragon race’s attention.
• The Eastern Sea Dragon Sage issued a decree establishing the waters between two gates as Fang Yun’s temporary fief for three thousand years.
• The Dongting Flood Dragon King bowed as the decree overruled the Flood Dragon Palace’s control of the waters.
• The people of Baling City cheered, and elderly residents of Xiang Prefecture wept at the prospect of protection from water demons.
• Wei Dongshan publicly praised Fang Yun for confronting the water race and restoring order in Xiang Prefecture.

Fang Yun made the Dongting Flood Dragon King submit to daily roll call and oversee flood and drought prevention in Xiang Prefecture, winning support from Baling residents. The chapter ended with Deputy Prefect Huo Long revealing that Ge Yiming had asked him to explain a matter and resolve a misunderstanding with Fang Yun.

• Dai Li publicly supported Fang Yun and vowed to protect him in Baling City.
• Fang Yun ordered the Dongting Flood Dragon King to report for roll call and manage flood and drought prevention, and the king agreed after Fang Yun mentioned Ao Huang.
• The Dongting Flood Dragon King took human form, reported to the prefectural government office, and left reluctantly.
• Fang Yun returned to his courtyard, where Deputy Prefect Huo Long asked forgiveness before explaining a private matter.
• Huo Long told Fang Yun that Ge Yiming had sent him to resolve a misunderstanding.

Fang Yun settled the dispute over the Yingfang Pavilion incident and assessed the threats surrounding Xiang Prefecture. He left the story preparing to guard against the Flood Dragon Sage Palace while prioritizing stability and Jing Kingdom’s control of the prefecture.

• Huo Long told Fang Yun that Ge Yiming had disavowed involvement in the attack and arranged for the managers and Academy Students to face discreet punishment.
• Fang Yun questioned Huo Long’s claim that the incident would be kept out of the Xiang Prefecture Gazette and ordered the case sent to the Xiang Prefecture Procuratorate and Judicial Office, with the facts recorded truthfully.
• Fang Yun decided that maintaining stability and strengthening Jing Kingdom’s control of Xiang Prefecture were his foremost governing priorities.
• Fang Yun marked Dongting Lake as a manageable concern but identified the Flood Dragon Sage Palace as a threat and considered asking Ao Qingyue or Ao Huang to visit it.
• Fang Yun marked Demon-Grinding Mountain as a serious danger and noted the Saint Xun Family’s influence in neighboring Xi Prefecture.

Fang Yun assessed the threats around Xiang Prefecture and ordered the Dongting Flood Dragon King to bring controlled rain to Yong Prefecture, while the flood dragon chose to intimidate its governor. As protests over Yingfang Pavilion’s homage to the Qing Lord continued, Dong Wencong sought Fang Yun’s guidance, and Fang Yun argued that the authorities must answer the people’s concerns; he had not yet said how Yingfang Pavilion should be punished.

• Fang Yun considered the political dangers bordering Xiang Prefecture and sent the Dongting Flood Dragon King to bring three days of rain to Yong Prefecture without causing floods.
• The Dongting Flood Dragon King consulted the Turtle Chancellor, then flew to Yong Prefecture and threatened its governor when ordered to stop the rain.
• Fang Yun reviewed the situation around Xiang Prefecture and continued familiarizing himself with the prefecture instead of acting hastily.
• Three days after Yingfang Pavilion’s apology, protesters continued petitioning because Hua Qingniang had not appeared in person.
• Dong Wencong proposed having the county magistrate summon Hua Qingniang for a formal talk, but Fang Yun said the authorities also had to give the people an accounting and win back their trust.

Fang Yun responded to the Qing Army’s invasion and plundering of Xiang Prefecture by seeking access to the Military Governor’s Office and proposing a Temporary Military Affairs Office. The chapter ended with his plan poised to give him control over Xiang Prefecture’s military affairs.

• Fang Yun and Dong Wencong learned that the Qing Army had crossed into Xiang Prefecture and was heading toward Demon-Grinding Mountain, while Qu Che’s report had delayed their response.
• Fang Yun and Dong Wencong went to the Military Governor’s Office, where a Metropolitan Graduate general barred Fang Yun from entering without a permit.
• Fang Yun obtained a temporary entry permit from the Marshal’s Office in fewer than thirty breaths and entered the office with Fang Shouye.
• Fang Yun proposed that Xiang Prefecture establish a Temporary Military Affairs Office to handle the Qing Army’s passage through the territory.
• Fang Yun’s proposal would allow him to assume the chief role in the new office and become Xiang Prefecture’s highest military authority.

Fang Yun organized Xiang Prefecture’s response to the Qing Army’s invasion and urged officials to “seek compromise through struggle.” As he waited for word from the capital, a pro-Qing article sparked nationwide outrage and protests across Xiang Prefecture.

• Fang Yun proposed a Temporary Military Affairs Office and listened as generals debated how to aid plundered civilians and deter further Qing attacks.
• Fang Yun declared that the Jing Kingdom should “seek compromise through struggle,” and Dong Wencong outlined three possible strategies for retaliation.
• Fang Yun waited for the capital’s decision and learned that the Qing Army at Demon-Grinding Mountain was the Xuanwu Army, commanded by five Grand Academicians.
• Guan Yi published “Let Him Have Three Feet,” arguing that Jing should give disputed townships to the Qing Kingdom, and readers denounced him as a traitor.
• Civilians in twenty-two Xiang Prefecture cities protested against Qing-owned businesses, and rioting broke out in five cities.

Fang Yun and Dong Wencong assessed the demonstrations in Xiang Prefecture and recognized them as an attempt to divert anger from the Qing Kingdom and undermine opposition to it. The Ministry of Rites reprimanded Fang Yun, Dong Wencong, and Fang Shouye for their alleged inaction, and Fang Yun calmly began to write.

• Crowds in four cities continued blockading Qing Kingdom shops until hunger drove them away, leaving more than 1.2 million taels in direct damage.
• Ge Songxiao gained fame on the Discourse Ranking by condemning the Xiang Bandits and promising to defend Qing Kingdom shops, while a few scholars exposed his ties to Qing interests.
• Fang Yun read reports of the unrest as Dong Wencong described the officials’ failures and the difficulty of investigating Qing Officials in Xiang Prefecture.
• Fang Yun and Dong Wencong concluded that the demonstrations had shifted public attention from the Qing army’s looting and Yingfang Pavilion toward condemning those who opposed the Qing Kingdom.
• The Ministry of Rites reprimanded Fang Yun, Dong Wencong, and Fang Shouye for failing to prevent the demonstrations, and Fang Yun calmly picked up his brush.

Fang Yun proposed an Office for Qing Affairs and confronted a pro-Qing supplement to the Xiang Prefecture Gazette. He arranged for the Sacred Academy's Hall of Punishment to investigate the publication and went to welcome its special envoy.

• Fang Yun submitted a memorial proposing an Office for Qing Affairs and blamed the Grand Secretariat's neglect for the unrest in Xiang Prefecture.
• Jiang Hechuan and Cao Dean supported Fang Yun at an emergency Grand Secretariat meeting, while rumors accused Fang Yun of inciting the protests.
• The Xiang Prefecture Rites Office distributed a Gazette supplement praising the Qing Kingdom and denouncing Jing supporters as Xiang Bandits.
• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong that control of the press was crucial and instructed him to arrange a face-to-face request for a Hall of Punishment investigation.
• After the Sacred Academy confirmed that investigators were coming, Fang Yun and Dong Wencong set out to welcome the special envoy.

Fang Yun challenged the Hall of Punishment’s authority to investigate the Xiang Prefecture Gazette and demanded that Xiang Prefecture handle the matter first. Every official present backed him, and Han Zhengyang left to report their resistance to the Hall of Punishment.

• Han Zhengyang arrived as the Hall of Punishment’s special envoy to investigate the supplementary issue of the Xiang Prefecture Gazette.
• Fang Yun argued that Xiang Prefecture should investigate first and that the Hall of Punishment should only review the results afterward.
• Han Zhengyang insisted that the Hall of Punishment alone had the authority to investigate and adjudicate the matter.
• Fang Yun declared that he would resist the Hall of Punishment to protect Xiang Prefecture and demanded it refrain from confiscating the supplementary issue.
• Dong Wencong, Fang Shouye, and then every other official present stood behind Fang Yun.
• Han Zhengyang concluded that the officials were resisting the Hall of Punishment and left to report them, warning they would pay for it.

Fang Yun saw Han Zhengyang off, then announced that he had applied to establish a nongovernmental People's Gazette in Xiang Prefecture as a pilot project. The officials recognized that the proposal was part of a far-reaching plan backed by the Fang Clan Library, while Nie Changju feared what Fang Yun might do next.

• Fang Yun sent Han Zhengyang a message promising to offer a toast in apology, and Han Zhengyang realized Fang Yun was behind the affair.
• Fang Yun told the officials that the Hall of Punishment had no right to interfere in Xiang Prefecture's internal affairs and praised their unity.
• Fang Yun announced that he had applied to establish a self-supporting People's Gazette for ordinary people, beginning with Xiang Prefecture.
• Dong Wencong realized the project could help him leave his name in history and understood that Fang Yun's Fang Clan Libraries could support the Gazette's expansion.
• Nie Changju grew uneasy as the officials suspected Fang Yun was preparing a major undertaking.

Fang Yun accepted three relatively light penalties from the Hall of Punishment after the Xiang Prefecture Gazette controversy. The Sacred Academy then approved a trial launch of the People's Gazette in Xiang Prefecture, provoking opposition from Miscellaneous School scholars.

• Nie Changju weighed how to oppose Fang Yun without driving the Qing Officials into a ruinous conflict, while hoping the Hall of Punishment would punish Fang Yun harshly.
• Fang Shouye stationed soldiers at printing houses and required authorization for large-scale printing, leaving the Qing Officials unwilling to use the Xiang Prefecture Gazette against Fang Yun again.
• The Hall of Punishment stripped Fang Yun of thirty percent of his military merit, confiscated ninety percent of his Saint Origin Continent income for ten years, and ordered him to undertake Expanding Frontiers in an Ancient Land before advancing to Great Scholar.
• The Hall of Punishment also barred officials who had supported Fang Yun from promotion for five years, and Fang Yun's voluntary acceptance of the penalties puzzled many scholars.
• The Sacred Academy's halls and pavilions approved a trial launch of the People's Gazette in Xiang Prefecture, and Miscellaneous School scholars began attacking Fang Yun and opposing the plan.

Dong Wencong reflected on Fang Yun’s strategy and visited him just as Fang Yun prepared a challenge against the Qing Kingdom and the Xuanwu Army. Fang Yun then gave Dong Wencong the pretext to crack down on businesses tied to Qing Kingdom spies, leaving him to begin a broad cleanup of Xiang Prefecture.

• Dong Wencong admired Fang Yun’s handling of the People’s Gazette and realized that attention had shifted away from Yingfang Pavilion’s tribute to the Qing Lord.
• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong he was writing a challenge for the Qing Kingdom and the Xuanwu Army, accusing its soldiers of plundering Xiang Prefecture and challenging them to compete against him in slaying demons and barbarians.
• Dong Wencong explained how Fang Yun’s challenge would expose the Left Prime Minister’s obstruction, reassure the people, and damage the Qing Kingdom’s reputation if Fang Yun won.
• Fang Yun berated Dong Wencong over the pleasure boats and brothels outside Yueyang Tower, prompting Dong Wencong to announce a cleanup of all Xiang Prefecture.
• Dong Wencong realized the cleanup could close Yingfang Pavilion and businesses connected to the Qing River Trading Company, which had cooperated with Qing Kingdom spies.

Fang Yun’s crackdown on the Qing River Trading Company spread across Xiang Prefecture and sparked a public debate over loyalty to Jing and Qing. He then ordered the establishment of the People’s Gazette, and officials across the prefecture immediately sent in messages about it.

• Baling City’s bailiffs arrested seventeen tipsters and sealed the Qing River Trading Company’s brothels and pleasure boats, detaining people suspected of ties to the Qing Kingdom.
• News spread that inspections would extend across Xiang Prefecture, while neutral scholars publicly supported the crackdown.
• Ge Songxiao published an article condemning Dong Wencong and Fang Shouye, and a Xiang Prefecture scholar replied that Jing’s rulers had to suppress forces destabilizing the country.
• Fang Yun read the debate and considered letters of recommendation from officials across the prefecture.
• Fang Yun issued a directive to establish the People’s Gazette in Xiang Prefecture, and officials promptly flooded the Hall of Punishment’s Correspondence Office with messages.

Fang Yun challenged Guan Yi’s support for the People’s Gazette and exposed his contradictory record during a heated meeting of Xiang Prefecture officials. After punishing Yan Xiao for disrupting the meeting, Fang Yun questioned Guan Yi about the limits of lawful punishment, leaving the officials to realize Guan Yi feared he was the next target.

• Fang Yun read the officials’ proposals and convened a meeting to debate who would establish, oversee, and review the People’s Gazette.
• Yan Xiao called the Xiang Prefecture Gazette a petty news sheet, and Guan Yi angrily defended it.
• Fang Yun confronted Guan Yi with the Gazette’s inconsistent coverage of paper-making workshops and Guan Yi’s past arguments about disputed land.
• Fang Yun punished Yan Xiao with three days of house arrest, ten days of silence, and ten copies of the Thirteen Classics after Yan Xiao admitted his offense.
• Fang Yun asked Guan Yi whether disrupting a nation should be punished under its laws, and Guan Yi carefully defended Fang Yun’s authority while avoiding a direct contradiction.

Fang Yun confronted Guan Yi in court over his advocacy of surrendering Jing territory, exposing the bias behind his arguments and the true meaning of the poem “Let Him Have Three Feet.” He ended by demanding to know what gave Guan Yi the authority to urge Jing to give up land it had reclaimed.

• Guan Yi defended his right as a Metropolitan Graduate to speak freely, while Fang Yun questioned whether biased, harmful speech could count as wrongdoing.
• Fang Yun asked Guan Yi about the story behind “Let Him Have Three Feet,” and Guan Yi said he believed it was written to counsel neighbors to settle a land dispute.
• Fang Yun explained that he had exchanged the poem for the Fang and Lu households’ voluntary reconciliation, without pressuring either side to yield against their interests.
• Fang Yun argued that Jing had no reason to cede border territory after reclaiming Xiang Prefecture and rebuked Guan Yi for urging the kingdom to surrender land.