Chapter Summaries

Su Ziji comforted Ye Buhui about the hardships behind their rise and reassured her after she described meeting the Empress. As the couple drew closer, Su Ziji sent Little Fox out of the bedroom, leaving her lonely beneath the night sky.

• Su Ziji recited a poem to Ye Buhui and reminded her that power and rank had protected their family from dangers that once threatened them.
• Ye Buhui told Su Ziji that the Empress had summoned her, questioned her background and marriage, and grown warmer toward her during their conversation.
• Ye Buhui worried that their marriage had put Su Ziji in a difficult position, and he gently reassured her.
• As Su Ziji and Ye Buhui became intimate, he tossed Little Fox out of the bedroom and shut the door.
• Little Fox tried to get back inside, heard Big Fox mock her, and sat outside feeling lonely.

The empress went to the emperor after he summoned her and discussed the title Su Ziji should receive. She chose the Kingdom of Dai, and the emperor agreed to invest Su Ziji as the Marquis of Dai.

• The empress learned that Su Ziji had returned to the capital and moved into a residence in Wanglu Ward without being summoned by the emperor.
• The empress reflected on Ye Buhui and decided she would not interfere with her marriage to Su Ziji, but she intended to secure his rightful status and title.
• The empress traveled to the emperor’s palace, where she smelled the medicine in the air and saw that he appeared to have recovered.
• The emperor asked the empress to choose a state for Su Ziji’s first title, and she selected the Kingdom of Dai.
• The emperor agreed to invest Su Ziji as the Marquis of Dai.

The emperor completed an edict naming someone Marquis of Dai, then reminisced with the empress about their early love and asked her to stay the night. The chapter ended with him ordering her to attend him in bed, leaving her unable to openly refuse.

• The emperor summoned the chief eunuch and finished the edict by writing in the title Marquis of Dai.
• The empress watched the edict being carried away and recalled her youth, when she and the emperor first met and fell in love.
• The empress remembered the death of their eldest legitimate son and the emperor’s later refusal to see her when she begged at the palace gates.
• The emperor reminisced about their marriage and asked the empress to stay with him that night.
• The empress gently declined, but the emperor ordered the chief eunuch to have her attend him in bed.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Emperor summons the Empress to spend the night with him, an unprecedented event in more than a decade. The palace officials carefully record the occasion according to harem regulations.
• After they retire, the Emperor reflects nostalgically on his youth and on his former love for the Empress. He longs to regain his vitality and even dreams of achieving immortality, believing that becoming the true “Son of Heaven” will allow him to restore the Empress’s happiness.
• While asleep, the Emperor murmurs that he wishes he could return to the past and sheds a tear. The Empress hears him and realizes that, despite everything between them, he still regrets what happened.
• The Empress meditates on her mother’s advice to remain still and avoid competing for favor. She now understands that, as Empress, struggling with the concubines would ultimately mean struggling against the Emperor himself—and would only destroy what affection remains.
• Her thoughts turn to past tragedies, especially Afu’s death and the destruction of Afu’s family. She regrets both failing to protect them and ever becoming involved with the Emperor. Although love belongs to the past, her hatred and grief remain unresolved.
• At Prince Qi’s Residence, Prince Qi learns that the Emperor has granted Su Ziji the name-character “Zong” and has apparently entered him into the imperial clan. Enraged, Prince Qi smashes a cup and fears the Emperor may be considering Su Ziji as a possible heir.
• Prince Qi’s advisers and military supporters take the news seriously, but they are no longer shocked by his frequent outbursts. His faction has suffered repeated setbacks, including political demotions, failed cooperation with the Demon Race, the survival and elevation of the Dragon Maiden, and the loss of an important residence official.

Character Developments

• The Emperor: Reveals deep nostalgia, fear of aging, and an obsessive desire for renewed youth and immortality. His dream shows that he still loves and regrets losing the Empress, though his past actions have caused lasting damage.
• The Empress: Demonstrates emotional restraint and greater political wisdom. She recognizes the futility of competing for the Emperor’s affection and confronts the painful truth that her marriage became a “trap of lies.” Her feelings toward the Emperor are conflicted, combining compassion, regret, lingering love, and enduring hatred.
• Prince Qi: Becomes increasingly unstable and desperate as his political position weakens. His fury over Su Ziji’s elevation reveals his fear of being displaced in the succession.
• Prince Qi’s advisers: Remain wary but increasingly accustomed to his anger. They understand that his emotional outbursts threaten to deepen divisions within his faction.

Significant Themes

• Regret and the irreversibility of the past: Both the Emperor and Empress wish to return to earlier times, but each understands that the past cannot be reclaimed.
• Love transformed into resentment: The chapter emphasizes how affection can decay into grief and hatred when betrayal, death, and political cruelty intervene.
• Power and emotional restraint: The Empress’s philosophy of “not contending” reflects her recognition that true authority can come from stillness rather than open rivalry.
• Aging and the fear of death: The Emperor’s longing for youth and immortality exposes his terror of decline and his refusal to accept human limitations.
• Political succession and factional instability: Su Ziji’s new name and imperial recognition alarm Prince Qi, suggesting a potential shift in the struggle for the throne.

Character Interactions

• The Emperor and Empress share an outwardly quiet but emotionally charged night together. Their physical closeness contrasts with the distance created by years of resentment.
• The Emperor’s sleeping confession and tear briefly reconnect the couple through their shared memories, though the Empress remains guarded.
• Prince Qi’s advisers respond to his anger with subdued concern rather than panic, reflecting both their familiarity with his volatility and their growing anxiety over his weakening faction.

Prince Qi and Prince Shu reacted to Su Ziji’s impending entry into the imperial clan register, while Prince Shu argued that the emperor intended to balance the princes against one another. The chapter ended with Prince Shu confident that the emperor would preserve the three-way balance rather than remove him from the contest.

• Wen Xunpeng warned Prince Qi that Su Ziji’s status and the emperor’s favor could draw ministers to his side, and Prince Qi ordered his supporters to impeach him.
• Prince Shu read a secret letter about Su Ziji’s registration and burned it, then joked about Prince Qi’s anger.
• Min Quyi urged Prince Shu to take Su Ziji’s growing status and the ongoing dike-breach investigation seriously.
• Prince Shu suspected Prince Qi had framed him over the dike breach and said the emperor was using Su Ziji to check both princes.
• Prince Shu concluded that the emperor would not remove him, since Su Ziji’s presence helped maintain a three-way balance.

Prince Shu decided to comply with the emperor’s plan to bring Su Ziji into the political balance, choosing a discreet gift and planning to meet him in person. Meanwhile, officials’ gifts began pouring into Su Ziji’s new residence, and steward Zhao Zhu hurried to ask him how to handle them.

• Prince Shu reflected that the crown prince’s death had taught the princes to build their own power, then agreed with his advisers to follow the emperor’s wishes and avoid opposing Su Ziji’s introduction.
• Prince Shu decided to visit Su Ziji and send him a set of handwritten records by a former dynasty’s prime minister, which his advisers considered an appropriate gift.
• Su Ziji left the plaque above his new residence empty because he expected to receive a title and have it replaced.
• Officials’ households sent a steady stream of gifts to the Su Residence, keeping steward Zhao Zhu busy receiving visitors and reviewing gift lists.
• Alarmed by the gifts and the powerful families behind them, Zhao Zhu hurried to the main courtyard, where Su Ziji asked what had happened.

Su Ziji managed the flood of congratulatory gifts at his new residence and discovered that his Rosewood Pendant no longer gave him experience from classical texts, though paintings and calligraphy still improved his skills. When he tried to absorb a Daoist scripture copied by Zheng Mingqiu of Xianyu, the pendant reacted in an unusually strong way.

• Zhao Zhu asked Su Ziji how to handle the many gifts and visiting officials, and Su Ziji instructed him to receive them in an orderly fashion.
• Su Ziji greeted the guests and accepted an ancient calligraphy album and several paintings and calligraphy works presented by officials.
• Su Ziji absorbed the Yu Family Exegesis but gained no experience, then absorbed calligraphy and paintings to raise his Calligraphy and Painting levels.
• Su Ziji recognized the Clearwind Daoist Scripture as a calligraphy album copied by Zheng Mingqiu of Xianyu.
• The Rosewood Pendant trembled as Su Ziji considered absorbing the Clearwind Daoist Scripture, and it prompted him to confirm the absorption.

Su Ziji absorbed the spiritual imprint in Zheng Mingqiu of Xianyu’s Daoist scripture, advancing his cultivation before Prince Zhong arrived with an imperial decree. The decree formally recognized him as an imperial grandson, named him Ji Zizong, and granted him the title Marquis of Dai.

• Su Ziji gained 2,000 experience in the Crimson Palace True Inscription Elixir Method and sensed spiritual energy around him.
• Su Ziji went to the gate and met Prince Zhong, who had come to oversee his entry into the imperial clan records.
• Prince Zhong ordered Su Ziji and the gathered officials to receive the emperor’s decree.
• Prince Zhong read the decree granting Su Ziji the name Zizong, the title Marquis of Dai, and an allotment of fifteen hundred households.
• Su Ziji accepted the decree as Ji Zizong, and the assembled guests bowed to him as Marquis of Dai.

Chapter Summary: “Cloud Qi Fusion”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The imperial edict is proclaimed before the Su Residence, officially revealing that Su Ziji is the Crown Prince’s son and a royal grandson.
• Several onlookers, including Zhou Yao, observe the ceremony from a distance. Zhou realizes that her father had previously encouraged her connection with Ye Buhui because Su Ziji’s royal identity could eventually give that friendship importance and protection.
• A mysterious voice had repeatedly urged Zhou Yao to watch Su Ziji and Ye Buhui, apparently because it had already sensed Su Ziji’s royal bloodline.
• After Su Ziji accepts the edict, a powerful force suddenly transports his consciousness back to the Dragon Palace beneath Coiling Dragon Lake.
• The Dragon Palace has dramatically changed: formerly ruined halls and broken structures have been restored, with coral-lined paths, glowing pearls, jade steps, clouds, and mist giving it the appearance of a prosperous royal palace.
• The Shell Maiden greets Su Ziji in formal palace attire. She recognizes that something extraordinary is happening within him when two opposing currents of Cloud Aura emerge.
• A powerful golden Cloud Aura representing Great Zheng attacks the weaker pale Cloud Aura belonging to Former Wei. Their battle causes Su Ziji immense physical and spiritual pain because the Former Wei aura is connected to his bloodline.
• The Rosewood Pendant intervenes, halting the struggle. The two Cloud Auras then merge within Su Ziji, forming a small dragon-shaped entity and transforming into a unified force resembling Ji Jun’s fate, though with a different nature.
• The fusion revitalizes the Dragon Palace. Bare dragon plum trees suddenly bloom, while the palace’s spiritual atmosphere stabilizes and becomes harmonious.

Character Developments

• Su Ziji: His imperial identity is publicly confirmed, and he undergoes a major spiritual transformation. He learns that his body contains the conflicting legacies of Great Zheng and Former Wei. Rather than one destroying the other, the two Cloud Auras eventually fuse, suggesting that Su Ziji may embody or reconcile the destinies of both states.
• Zhou Yao: She demonstrates her intelligence and perceptiveness by quickly understanding the political reasons behind her father’s actions. Her feelings toward Su Ziji remain ambiguous to others, though her own thoughts focus primarily on the value of her friendship with Ye Buhui and her future security.
• The Shell Maiden: She appears more like a palace attendant of the Dragon Lord’s former era and reacts with awe and fear to Su Ziji’s Cloud Aura. Her observations reveal the significance of his royal and spiritual heritage.
• Zhou Yao’s maid: She becomes suspicious that Zhou Yao may have developed feelings for the married Su Ziji. Concerned that this could cause trouble, she decides to report her suspicions to Zhou Yao’s parents.

Significant Themes

• Royal bloodline and destiny: The edict reveals Su Ziji’s hidden imperial heritage, while the Cloud Aura confirms that his identity is connected to multiple dynasties and competing lines of fate.
• Conflict and reconciliation: Great Zheng and Former Wei’s Cloud Auras initially battle violently, symbolizing historical and political conflict. Their eventual fusion suggests the possibility of unity, transformation, or a new destiny beyond either state alone.
• The burden of power: Su Ziji suffers directly from the clash of the two forces, emphasizing that inherited power and political legacy carry immense personal costs.
• Hidden knowledge and fate: The mysterious voice, Zhou Yao’s father, and the Shell Maiden all possess partial knowledge of Su Ziji’s importance, while Su Ziji himself is only gradually discovering the truth.
• Renewal and restoration: The Dragon Palace’s revival and the blooming dragon plum trees mirror Su Ziji’s spiritual stabilization and the emergence of a new, unified power.

Character Interactions

• Prince Zhong and Su Ziji: Prince Zhong formally reads the imperial edict, while Su Ziji accepts it, marking his public recognition as a royal descendant.
• Zhou Yao and Su Ziji: Zhou Yao watches him from afar and reassesses his identity and political significance. Her maid misinterprets her thoughtful gaze as romantic interest.
• Zhou Yao and her father: Zhou Yao realizes that her father’s earlier actions were meant to protect her future by associating her with Ye Buhui and, indirectly, with Su Ziji’s rising royal status.
• Su Ziji and the Shell Maiden: The Shell Maiden greets and observes him in the Dragon Palace, acting as a witness to the violent clash and eventual fusion of his Cloud Auras.
• Su Ziji and the two Cloud Auras: Though the forces battle independently, their conflict is experienced through Su Ziji’s body and soul. The Rosewood Pendant ultimately enables their coexistence and fusion.

After being invested as Marquis of Dai, Su Ziji experienced a painful transformation that lifted Great Zheng’s suppression and strengthened his connection to the Dragon Maiden. As Prince Shu approached, Su Ziji focused on advancing the Way of Governance so he could seize the position of Imperial Grandson and survive the next emperor’s reign.

• Su Ziji noticed that the Dragon Palace’s heavens had grown thicker, while the Water Demons’ auras had become faint after the imperial court’s investiture.
• Su Ziji thanked the emperor for his grace, endured the transformation’s pain, and felt the oppressive force that had weighed on him in the capital disappear.
• Prince Zhong visited Su Ziji, advised him to recruit household staff, gave him a jade pendant, and warned him to be careful of his two princely uncles.
• Su Ziji accepted the Seed of Humanity into the Coiling Dragon Heart Method, gaining enough experience to unlock eligibility for level 15.
• Ye Buhui told Su Ziji that she had felt uneasy and that he seemed unfamiliar during the decree’s arrival, and he reassured her before Zhao Zhu announced Prince Shu’s impending visit.
• Su Ziji went to receive Prince Shu and resolved to break through in the Way of Governance to pursue the position of Imperial Grandson.

Prince Shu visited Su Ziji at the Dai Marquis Residence and gave him Shi Gaoyi’s handwritten writings, which Su Ziji absorbed to advance his Way of Governance and clarify his path to becoming Imperial Grandson. Prince Shu left uneasy after a follower sensed an ill omen connected to the gift, though neither understood why.

• Prince Shu arrived at the Dai Marquis Residence and praised Su Ziji before presenting him with a set of ancient writings.
• Su Ziji absorbed the writings’ contents, gaining Way of Governance experience and raising his aptitude from 16 to 17.
• Su Ziji leveled up his Way of Governance to 11 and realized how to pursue the position of Imperial Grandson.
• Su Ziji saw Prince Shu off, privately resolving to use the political stratagems he had gained against Prince Shu and Prince Qi.
• Prince Shu asked a follower for his thoughts, and the follower reported sensing an ill omen connected to The Shi Family's Direct Commentary.

Summary: “Great Treachery Masked as Loyalty”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Cao Yiyan performs a solemn sacrificial ritual in a hidden ancestral hall dedicated to the emperors of Great Wei.
• After reciting his prayer for Great Wei’s restoration, the memorial tablets of more than twenty former emperors emit golden Cloud Aura, which flows into him.
• Cao interprets this supernatural sign as proof that he possesses Heaven’s Mandate and is destined to revive Great Wei. His doubts disappear, and he resolves to unite the scattered remnants of Great Wei under his command.
• He ends the ritual, orders his subordinates to continue hunting the fox demon, and leaves to pursue his larger political ambitions.
• At the Dai Marquis Residence, Su Ziji awakens and reviews the growth of his abilities through the Rosewood Pendant. His Painting and Book of Documents Method have advanced greatly, while his Way of Governance has improved more modestly.
• Su concludes that he has developed a viable strategy for competing for the position of Imperial Grandson.

Character Developments

• Cao Yiyan becomes fully convinced of his divine legitimacy. The Cloud Aura strengthens his confidence and transforms uncertainty into determination to restore Great Wei.
• Su Ziji demonstrates increasing political sophistication. Rather than relying solely on military power or hidden schemes, he plans to appear filial, morally upright, and nonthreatening to the Emperor.
• Su recognizes that excessive brilliance or ruthless efficiency would provoke imperial suspicion. He therefore intends to appear capable but restrained, using apparent weakness to gain favor and resources.
• Su also shows self-awareness, joking that his strategy amounts to “great treachery masked as loyalty.”

Significant Themes

• Heavenly legitimacy and political ambition: Cao sees supernatural confirmation as evidence that destiny supports his restorationist cause.
• Loyalty versus treachery: Su’s plan depends on disguising personal ambition as filial devotion and service to the throne.
• Managing imperial suspicion: The chapter emphasizes that succession struggles require not only ability but also careful moderation and emotional presentation.
• Appearances and manipulation: Both men interpret signs and behavior strategically—Cao treats Cloud Aura as a divine omen, while Su plans to construct an image of harmless virtue.
• Power through restraint: Su believes that appearing to lose or suffer can secure greater imperial support than openly demonstrating superiority.

Character Interactions

• Cao interacts indirectly with the ancestors of Great Wei through the sacrificial ritual, interpreting the Cloud Aura as their blessing.
• He commands his subordinates to continue pursuing the fox demon while he turns toward political consolidation.
• Su mentally compares his intended conduct with historical examples, especially Li Zhi’s filial devotion, using them to shape his strategy toward the Emperor.
• The two foxes at Su’s bedside provide a humorous contrast to his elaborate political calculations: while Su schemes to build power, they lazily enjoy stolen food, leaving him to wonder what they have eaten.

Chapter Summary: “Private Soldiers”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ye Buhui awakates before dawn with a vague sense of unease. Su Ziji comforts her, attributing it to the unfamiliar surroundings, and suggests she invite trusted women—including the consorts of Prince Qi and Prince Shu—for a gathering.
• Su Ziji goes to the front courtyard, where his three loyal followers—Wild Daoist (Lu Fengyun), Jian Qu, and Cen Rubai—formally greet him as the newly recognized Marquis of Dai.
• Each man expresses sincere loyalty, though their motivations differ:
  • Lu Fengyun is grateful for the opportunity to rise from obscurity.
  • Jian Qu sees Su Ziji’s imperial status as a means of fulfilling his own ambitions.
  • Cen Rubai remains devoted to restoring the imperial grandson to the position he believes he deserves.
• Su Ziji assigns them official positions in the marquis residence:
  • Lu Fengyun becomes Household Steward, overseeing general and Shang-related affairs.
  • Cen Rubai becomes Residence Assistant, responsible for personnel and recruitment.
  • Jian Qu becomes Clerk, organizing the residence’s documents.
• The post of Residence Commandant remains vacant. This position is significant because it grants the right to maintain a small private military force—up to ten armored soldiers, with weapons and horses.
• Cen Rubai recommends Zeng Nianzhen, an old servant of the Eastern Palace, for the position. Su Ziji is surprised and pleased to learn that Zeng has secretly arrived in the capital.
• Zeng Nianzhen enters the hall, and his familiar appearance causes both him and Su Ziji to become visibly stunned, suggesting a deeply significant shared history.

Character Developments

• Su Ziji demonstrates growing authority and political foresight. He rewards his earliest supporters while assigning roles according to loyalty, seniority, and ability. He also recognizes the strategic importance of controlling armed retainers.
• Ye Buhui shows emotional sensitivity and anxiety about their new circumstances. Her unease may foreshadow future danger or political complications.
• Lu Fengyun experiences a major elevation in status, moving from a troubled past into an official position within a noble household.
• Jian Qu becomes more firmly committed to Su Ziji, believing his lord may eventually compete for the throne and provide him with a path to fulfill his ambitions.
• Cen Rubai remains the most idealistic and devoted of the three. His loyalty is tied not only to Su Ziji personally but also to the late Crown Prince and the restoration of what he sees as Su’s rightful imperial dignity.
• Zeng Nianzhen’s arrival introduces a potentially important figure from Su Ziji’s family and Eastern Palace past.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and hierarchy: The men’s formal obeisance emphasizes the distinction between sovereign and subject and their sincere acceptance of Su Ziji’s leadership.
• Restoration of rightful status: Su Ziji’s return to the imperial register is treated as only the beginning of his recovery of honor and power.
• Political power and military privilege: The Residence Commandant position reveals how the ability to maintain even a small armed force marks entry into the ruling elite.
• Ambition and destiny: Several followers believe Su Ziji may eventually contend for the throne, linking their own futures to his rise.
• Trust and patronage: Su Ziji strengthens his inner circle by rewarding loyal followers with official roles, building the institutional foundation of his marquisate.

Character Interactions

• Su Ziji gently reassures Ye Buhui and encourages her to form social connections, showing consideration for her anxiety while remaining aware of court politics.
• His three followers demonstrate their devotion through ritual obeisance and verbal pledges of service.
• Su Ziji responds by personally appointing each man, reinforcing mutual trust and establishing their roles within his household.
• Cen Rubai acts as the link between Su Ziji and Zeng Nianzhen, whose entrance produces an emotionally charged moment of recognition between the old servant and the newly ennobled marquis.

Chapter Summary: “Old Retainers Come to Pledge Allegiance”

• Zeng Nianzhen recognizes Su Ziji’s true identity. Zeng, formerly a deputy captain of the Crown Prince’s Residence, had once served under Su Ziji without realizing that he was the Crown Prince’s surviving son. When he learns the truth, he kneels emotionally and pledges allegiance as the young lord. He regrets having left Su Ziji in the past, but Su reassures him that his ignorance was understandable and invites him to remain at his side.
• The surviving Eastern Palace retainers are discussed. Su asks Zeng about the former Crown Prince’s loyal followers. Zeng explains that most were minor officials or household guards who lost their livelihoods after the Crown Prince’s downfall. Many refused to serve another master out of gratitude and loyalty, living in poverty; some have died, while others remain destitute. Three men were falsely imprisoned by local officials and only recently released. Zeng has supported them as best he can and brought them near the capital so he can continue to care for them.
• Su receives a list of the old retainers. Zeng presents a carefully prepared list of twenty-three households still connected to him. Most are former guards, and only one—Sun Ping, once an Eastern Palace captain—held an official rank. Su is saddened by how few loyal retainers remain but also moved by their enduring faithfulness. He decides to personally visit Sun Ping and believes the small number of surviving retainers will make it less likely that the Emperor will view them as a threat.
• Su, Zeng, and Cen travel through the snow. Su leaves the residence with Zeng and Cen Rubai to visit Sun Ping outside the capital. Along the way, they pass a local shrine, prompting a discussion of official state sacrifices, City God temples, folk shrines, and the political and ritual principles underlying the court’s religious system.
• Su gives Zeng a crucial assignment. While walking through the snowy countryside, Su explains that he deliberately did not appoint Zeng as residence commandant. Instead, he intends to entrust him with a more important task because of his martial reputation as “One Sword, Spring Chill.” Su asks Zeng to recruit and train five hundred soldiers on an overseas island.
• Strategic lesson from the Crown Prince’s downfall. Zeng immediately understands Su’s reasoning: the former Eastern Palace possessed a large force, but when the Emperor issued an order against the Crown Prince, those soldiers were compelled to obey the imperial command and could not protect him. Su therefore wants an independent force of his own, positioned beyond the direct reach of the court.

Character Development and Interactions

• Su Ziji demonstrates compassion toward former retainers, political caution, and growing strategic ambition. He honors loyalty but also learns from the Crown Prince’s helplessness and seeks to build a military foundation that cannot be easily controlled by the Emperor.
• Zeng Nianzhen shifts from regretful former retainer to renewed loyal subordinate. His knowledge of the old Eastern Palace network and his martial reputation make him valuable to Su’s plans.
• Cen Rubai continues to act as a trusted intermediary and companion, providing information about the former retainers and explaining matters of court ritual.
• Su and Zeng’s reunion is marked by mutual respect: Zeng feels shame for failing to recognize Su, while Su responds with understanding rather than blame.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty surviving political ruin: The former retainers remain devoted despite poverty, imprisonment, and years of hardship.
• Regret and redemption: Zeng’s failure to recognize Su becomes an opportunity to make amends through renewed service.
• The dangers of dependence on imperial power: The Crown Prince’s soldiers were ultimately powerless because they were subject to the Emperor’s command.
• Political survival and preparation: Su combines compassion for the past with practical preparations for future conflict, beginning to build an independent power base.

Chapter Summary: “Veteran Guards”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Ziji and Zeng Nianzhen discuss the need to build an elite force of roughly five hundred men. Su emphasizes that these must be loyal soldiers willing to risk their lives, not merely assassins.
• Because secretly recruiting such a force within the empire would be dangerous, Su decides that Zeng should seek recruits overseas, where the court’s control is weaker.
• The group visits the impoverished household of Sun Ping, a former squad leader of the Eastern Palace and one of the Crown Prince’s surviving retainers.
• Sun Ping recognizes Su Ziji as the Crown Prince’s son and kneels, addressing him as the Young Master. Su immediately honors him as a former loyal retainer and offers him the position of estate commandant in the Dai Marquis Residence.
• Sun Ping accepts emotionally, explaining that he and his family have survived by making and selling kites. He admits that illness and poverty have prevented him from maintaining strong ties with the other former Eastern Palace retainers.
• Su reassures him that their loyalty matters more than their present usefulness and asks him to help recruit and organize the remaining veterans.
• Sun Ping’s two adult sons formally pay respects to Su. Though trustworthy and physically capable, they lack the education and talent necessary to command troops and will likely serve as ordinary guards.
• Su appoints Sun Ping to establish the household troops, gives him thirty taels for moving expenses, and asks him to produce results within three months.
• After leaving, Su instructs Cen Rubai to give each of the other twenty-two former Eastern Palace households ten taels and invite them to the residence. Veteran soldiers will serve as officers for the newly formed household army.

Character Developments

• Su Ziji demonstrates strategic foresight and political realism. He understands that influence without military strength is fragile and begins building a private force loyal to him.
• He also reveals compassion and filial loyalty by honoring his father’s old retainers despite their age, poverty, and declining abilities.
• Zeng Nianzhen proves his devotion to Su and the Eastern Palace by accepting the dangerous task of recruiting soldiers overseas.
• Sun Ping shifts from an impoverished, discouraged former soldier to Su’s newly appointed estate commandant. His loyalty, long suppressed by hardship, is restored by Su’s recognition and trust.
• Sun Ping’s sons are shown to be honest and capable of serving as guards, though not suitable for leadership.
• Cen Rubai continues to act as a trusted aide, helping Su support and gather the surviving retainers.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty enduring through hardship: The former Eastern Palace retainers remain faithful to the Crown Prince more than a decade after his death, despite poverty, persecution, and age.
• The importance of military power: Political status alone cannot guarantee survival. Su recognizes that a small, elite, loyal force can change the outcome of a political struggle.
• Filial duty and restoration: Su seeks to restore dignity to his father’s former followers, treating their loyalty as a moral debt rather than judging them by their current usefulness.
• The value of trustworthiness over talent: Although the veterans and their families may not possess exceptional abilities, their reliability makes them valuable as household troops and guards.
• Renewal after political disaster: The Dai Marquis Residence becomes the starting point for rebuilding the Eastern Palace’s lost network and influence.

Character Interactions

• Su and Zeng discuss the practical requirements of creating a private army, with Su assigning Zeng responsibility for overseas recruitment.
• Sun Ping initially reacts with awe and grief upon meeting Su, recognizing the resemblance to the Crown Prince.
• Su treats Sun Ping with respect and reassurance, transforming their meeting from a formal audience into a reunion between the heir and his father’s loyal servant.
• Sun Ping’s emotional tribute to the Crown Prince highlights his belief that Su has fulfilled his father’s hopes.
• Su speaks with Sun Ping’s sons and accepts their limitations without rejecting them, assigning them a future role suited to their abilities.
• Su and Cen conclude the chapter by planning how to support and recruit the remaining Eastern Palace veterans.

Su Ziji decided to bring former Eastern Palace soldiers and their families into the Dai Marquis Residence as guards and household staff, accepting the expense to repay their loyalty. Meanwhile, the emperor learned that only a small remnant of the Eastern Palace’s former people remained and ordered Su Ziji watched.

• Su Ziji insisted that the old former Eastern Palace soldiers serve as guards, with their families filling the residence’s other household roles.
• Cen Rubai recognized that the plan would provide trusted staff, strengthen the household over time, and protect Su Ziji’s reputation, but warned that it would be costly.
• Su Ziji took responsibility for the expenses and said he would not let the former soldiers continue living in poverty.
• The emperor read reports that Su Ziji had recruited twenty-three households of former Eastern Palace members and asked how many others remained.
• Eunuch Zhao explained that most former Eastern Palace officials and soldiers had died, fled, or been removed from service, leaving only a small number.
• The emperor ordered Eunuch Zhao to continue watching Su Ziji and report any further moves.

Chapter Summary: Revival of the Marquis of Dai

Key Plot Points and Events

• A plainly dressed woman named A Xiu arrives at the heavily guarded Dai Marquis Residence in an ox cart. Nervous and uncertain, she is mistaken by an older maidservant for a new worker and ushered inside without being questioned.
• Inside, A Xiu discovers that the residence is unusually lively. Former Eastern Palace retainers and their families have moved in, filling the manor with cleaning, sewing, cooking, and medical activity.
• Ye Buhui, the young mistress of the residence, encounters A Xiu and gently questions her. A Xiu explains that she has traveled a great distance to find Zeng Nianzhen, who came to the Capital to serve the Marquis.
• Ye Buhui realizes that A Xiu is likely an unmarried woman pursuing Zeng Nianzhen after receiving news of his departure—possibly one of his romantic entanglements. She treats A Xiu kindly, offers her refreshments, and sends someone to locate Zeng.
• Meanwhile, at Gathered Distance Tower, Su Ziji discusses expanding the restaurant business in the Capital. He proposes opening three to five additional locations, while Wild Daoist warns that the city already has many restaurants and that expansion could be financially risky.
• Zeng Nianzhen is present with Su Ziji and Wild Daoist during this business discussion, unaware that A Xiu has arrived at the residence looking for him.

Character Developments

• A Xiu is introduced as modest, cautious, and socially intimidated by wealth and authority, but also determined and resilient. Her journey to the Capital shows her courage and devotion to Zeng Nianzhen.
• Ye Buhui demonstrates compassion, perceptiveness, and authority as mistress of the household. Rather than humiliating A Xiu for entering by mistake, she welcomes her and takes responsibility for helping her meet Zeng.
• Zeng Nianzhen is suggested to have a complicated romantic past or at least an unexpected personal connection with A Xiu. His importance to Su Ziji is also reinforced, since Ye Buhui notes that her husband values him.
• Su Ziji appears practical and ambitious but measured, seeking controlled commercial growth rather than reckless expansion.
• Wild Daoist acts as a cautious administrator, emphasizing financial realities and the dangers of overextending the marquis residence’s resources.

Significant Themes

• Belonging and rebuilding: The Dai Marquis Residence has become a refuge and new community for displaced Eastern Palace retainers and their families.
• Compassion across social boundaries: Ye Buhui treats a seemingly ordinary woman with respect, showing that kindness and dignity are not limited by rank.
• Determination and loyalty: A Xiu’s long journey reflects her willingness to pursue someone important to her despite uncertainty and social obstacles.
• Post-crisis reconstruction: The household’s medical examinations, sewing, cooking, and organization suggest efforts to restore stability after political upheaval.
• Prudence versus ambition: The discussion about expanding Gathered Distance Tower highlights the tension between economic opportunity and responsible management.

Character Interactions

• The older maidservant’s mistaken assumption brings A Xiu into the residence and reveals the household’s busy, communal atmosphere.
• A Xiu and Ye Buhui form the chapter’s central interaction: Ye Buhui’s gentle questioning allows A Xiu to explain her purpose without shame.
• Ye Buhui immediately takes practical action by ordering a maid to find Zeng Nianzhen.
• At Gathered Distance Tower, Su Ziji and Wild Daoist debate the restaurant’s future, with Su advocating limited expansion and Wild Daoist warning against financial risk.
• The chapter ends with A Xiu waiting for Zeng while he remains engaged in business matters elsewhere, setting up their eventual confrontation or reunion.

Chapter Summary: “Winning Through Ingredients”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Ziji reviews the Dai Marquis Residence’s finances with Wild Daoist. Maintaining the household costs roughly six thousand taels of silver annually, while social obligations and unexpected expenses could raise the total.
• Recognizing that the residence needs new income sources, Su Ziji plans to expand its restaurant business. Gathered Distance Tower, renamed and reorganized under Wild Daoist, has become a stable and profitable enterprise.
• Because the residence has enough trained managers and attendants, Su Ziji decides to open three to five additional restaurants. He understands that large commercial ventures require political and social protection, which the marquis residence can now provide.
• Zeng Nianzhen is informed that A Xiu has traveled a great distance to find him. Su Ziji teases him about the situation but then compassionately orders that A Xiu be housed properly and encourages Zeng to settle their relationship rather than leave her waiting.
• Su Ziji gives Zeng three thousand taels to fund his assigned work, promising to cover future expenses. Zeng expresses gratitude and renewed loyalty.
• Wild Daoist raises concerns about the cost of recruiting and maintaining five hundred men—possibly thirty thousand taels in the first year. Su Ziji explains that recruitment will happen in stages: fifty men first, followed by two hundred, and eventually five hundred over about two years.
• The restaurant expansion faces a shortage of elite chefs. Su Ziji accepts that second-rate chefs will suffice if the new establishments offer distinctive foods unavailable elsewhere.
• He proposes competing through superior or unusual ingredients rather than relying solely on location or culinary skill.
• To acquire these ingredients, Su Ziji abruptly arranges a journey to the docks and plans to travel by ship through the canal’s sea outlet. He takes Wild Daoist and several guards with him, while sending word to Ye Buhui.

Character Developments

• Su Ziji demonstrates strategic patience and practical leadership. He looks beyond immediate expenses, planning gradual military recruitment and diversified commercial income. His confidence shows that he has already anticipated solutions to Wild Daoist’s concerns.
• He also reveals a compassionate and paternal side by encouraging Zeng Nianzhen to acknowledge A Xiu’s feelings and arrange their future properly.
• Wild Daoist/Lu Fengyun continues to function as Su Ziji’s trusted financial and administrative adviser. He identifies practical obstacles involving costs, staffing, and chefs, while increasingly recognizing the deeper logic behind Su Ziji’s plans.
• Zeng Nianzhen becomes more emotionally vulnerable when A Xiu’s arrival is revealed. His gratitude after receiving funding reinforces his loyalty to Su Ziji, while his embarrassment suggests he can no longer avoid confronting his relationship with A Xiu.
• A Xiu does not appear directly, but her long journey to find Zeng shows determination and devotion.
• Ye Buhui remains part of Su Ziji’s trusted household network and is informed of his sudden departure.

Significant Themes

• Financial independence and self-sufficiency: The marquis residence cannot rely solely on inherited status; it must create reliable income to support its household and larger ambitions.
• Strategic planning and gradual expansion: Su Ziji avoids overextending his resources, whether in opening restaurants or recruiting soldiers.
• Innovation within historical limits: The chapter presents chain-style businesses as possible but constrained by poor communication, local power structures, official influence, and organized crime.
• Power and protection: Commercial success requires not only skill and capital but also political backing. Su Ziji’s title gives his businesses the protection ordinary merchants lack.
• Loyalty and responsibility: Su Ziji rewards Zeng’s service materially while also reminding him to take responsibility for A Xiu’s feelings.
• Adaptability and resourcefulness: When elite chefs are unavailable, Su Ziji shifts the strategy toward rare or distinctive ingredients, turning a weakness into a possible competitive advantage.

Character Interactions

• Su Ziji and Wild Daoist discuss household finances, staffing, restaurant expansion, military recruitment, and the difficulty of finding skilled chefs. Their exchange shows mutual trust, with Wild Daoist raising practical concerns and Su Ziji providing broader strategic direction.
• Su Ziji playfully teases Zeng Nianzhen about A Xiu but then gives him sincere emotional advice and financial support.
• Zeng responds with formal gratitude and renewed commitment, though his quiet embarrassment indicates the personal impact of A Xiu’s arrival.
• The chapter closes with Su Ziji taking decisive action: rather than merely discussing solutions, he immediately leads Wild Daoist toward the docks to obtain the ingredients needed for the new restaurants.

Chapter Summary: “Raising Fish with Bellows”

Plot Points and Events

• Su Ziji and Wild Daoist travel by fast boat from the canal to the coast to investigate opportunities for their planned restaurant.
• At the seaside market, Su Ziji considers making fresh seafood the restaurant’s specialty, noting that seafood is abundant and extremely cheap at the coast but expensive in the Capital City.
• Wild Daoist explains the logistical problems:
  • Most sea fish die quickly outside seawater and spoil easily.
  • Transporting them to the Capital City takes too long, especially in warm weather.
  • Frozen or salted fish would not satisfy wealthy customers.
  • Carrying fish in seawater is impractical because the water is too heavy and the fish require considerable space.
• Su Ziji reveals a solution: inserting a bamboo tube into a seawater container and using bellows to pump air into the water. This oxygenation can keep fish alive for several days during transport.
• Wild Daoist realizes that the method could allow them to sell genuinely fresh sea fish in the Capital City and compete with Skyglow Tower, the city’s leading seafood restaurant. He immediately begins thinking about protecting the technique and using loyal guards to manage the fish.
• Su Ziji stops him from acting too quickly, explaining that their visit has another purpose.
• He searches the beach, digs into the sand, and retrieves a strange, fat, wriggling worm, which Wild Daoist finds disgusting and cannot identify.

Character Development

• Su Ziji demonstrates practical ingenuity and commercial vision. Rather than accepting the traditional limitations on seafood trade, he applies a simple technological innovation—using bellows to aerate seawater—to create a profitable business opportunity.
• He also shows that his plans extend beyond immediate profit. His search for the worm suggests he has a broader, undisclosed objective.
• Wild Daoist proves himself a thoughtful and realistic business adviser. He understands transportation costs, spoilage, customer expectations, and market competition, tempering Su Ziji’s enthusiasm with practical concerns.
• Once Su Ziji offers a workable solution, Wild Daoist quickly shifts from skepticism to enthusiastic strategic planning, including ideas about secrecy, security, and competing with Skyglow Tower.

Significant Themes

• Innovation overcoming material limitations: The chapter emphasizes that earlier societies were not unintelligent; their inability to develop large-scale seafood trade resulted from technological and logistical constraints.
• Commerce and opportunity: Su Ziji recognizes the gap between low coastal prices and high inland demand, turning a transportation problem into a potential fortune.
• Technology as economic power: A basic device like the bellows can transform an entire industry by making live seafood transport possible.
• Class and consumer expectations: Frozen or salted fish might satisfy ordinary people, but elite customers demand freshness and novelty, revealing how luxury markets shape business decisions.
• Control of knowledge and resources: Wild Daoist immediately considers how to keep the fish-transport technique secret and protect their advantage from competitors.

Character Interactions

• Su Ziji and Wild Daoist engage in a practical, respectful exchange: Su Ziji proposes the business idea, while Wild Daoist challenges it with detailed objections.
• Su Ziji’s confidence and creativity gradually persuade Wild Daoist, whose initial caution turns into excitement about challenging Skyglow Tower.
• Their relationship reflects mutual trust: Wild Daoist accepts that Su Ziji has a solution even before hearing it, while Su Ziji relies on Wild Daoist’s market knowledge.
• The chapter ends with Wild Daoist’s confusion and disgust when Su Ziji produces the mysterious worm, creating suspense about its importance.

Chapter Summary: “Sea Intestine”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Ziji identifies an ugly, worm-like sea creature as Sea Intestine, a delicacy from his original world with an extremely strong umami flavor.
• He explains that Sea Intestine can be dried, ground into powder, soaked, and dried again to create a seasoning more potent than chicken stock. This offers a cheap alternative to the laborious process of making refined broth.
• Su Ziji instructs the Wild Daoist and several men to secretly experiment with:
  • Keeping sea fish alive during transport using the Bellows Fish-Keeping method.
  • Processing Sea Intestine into a seasoning for their future restaurant.
• He returns to the Capital City by fast boat, taking only two guards and leaving the others behind to assist with the experiments.
• During the journey, Su Ziji decides not to sell the seasoning openly. Without patents, others could easily imitate it, and widespread use might disrupt the culinary industry and attract dangerous attention.
• Instead, he plans to use the powder secretly in his own restaurant while publicly presenting the business as one that specializes in transporting live seafood.
• Su Ziji reflects that immense profits must remain proportionate to his power. Even as a marquis—or potentially a prince—he could not safely control a fortune large enough to transform the entire country’s economy.
• His thoughts turn to his wife, Ye Buhui, whose long worry and separation from him strengthen his determination to succeed. He believes that only by claiming the throne can he escape being manipulated as a political pawn and protect her.
• Meanwhile, at the Dai Marquis Residence, Ye Buhui welcomes Zhou Yao, who has come to play the zither.
• The two women move to Ye Buhui’s newly arranged tea room. Zhou Yao notices the residence’s two foxes and briefly connects the larger fox to one she sensed near the Zhou Residence months earlier.
• As Zhou Yao begins playing, the mysterious voice detects something unusual. The Little Fox reacts strongly to the music, while Ye Buhui, unable to hear the difference, scolds it for making noise.

Character Developments

• Su Ziji demonstrates practical intelligence and restraint. Rather than pursue immediate, enormous profits from Sea Intestine seasoning, he chooses a slower and safer business strategy.
• His political ambitions become more explicit: he sees the throne as the only way to gain genuine freedom and shield Ye Buhui from danger.
• The Wild Daoist continues to prove himself a loyal and capable subordinate, recognizing the economic importance of Su Ziji’s plans and promising to protect their secrecy.
• Ye Buhui has begun cultivating interests of her own, learning the zither and creating a refined tea room. Her life remains shaped by concern for Su Ziji, but she also finds small moments of leisure.
• Zhou Yao is portrayed as musically talented and perceptive. Her zither playing appears to possess effects or qualities beyond ordinary music, drawing an unusual response from the foxes and the mysterious voice.
• The Little Fox reacts intensely to Zhou Yao’s performance, suggesting that the music may have spiritual, emotional, or supernatural significance.

Significant Themes

• Controlled ambition and risk management: Su Ziji understands that profit must match one’s strength and social position. Excessive success can create enemies and make one vulnerable.
• Secrecy as survival: Both the live-seafood technique and Sea Intestine seasoning must remain hidden to prevent imitation, exploitation, or political trouble.
• Innovation and adaptation: Su Ziji applies knowledge from his former world to solve economic and culinary problems in the present one.
• Power and freedom: Su Ziji believes that political authority is necessary to stop being used as a chess piece and to protect those he loves.
• Love expressed through responsibility: His concern for Ye Buhui motivates his economic schemes and political aspirations.
• The hidden supernatural world: The foxes, mysterious voice, and strange reaction to Zhou Yao’s music hint at forces and abilities not yet fully revealed.

Important Character Interactions

• Su Ziji and the Wild Daoist discuss the discovery, processing, and secrecy of Sea Intestine. Their exchange highlights mutual trust and their shared goal of making the Dai Marquis Residence financially secure.
• Su Ziji privately reflects on Ye Buhui’s suffering and his desire to protect her, revealing the emotional foundation behind his larger ambitions.
• Ye Buhui and Zhou Yao interact warmly as teacher and student, with Ye Buhui showing genuine appreciation for Zhou Yao’s music.
• Zhou Yao’s presence draws attention to the two foxes, indirectly linking the Dai Marquis Residence to the mysterious events near the Zhou Residence.
• Zhou Yao’s zither performance affects the Little Fox and attracts commentary from the mysterious voice, creating a moment where ordinary social interaction overlaps with the supernatural.