Recaps

Qian Shuo unexpectedly agreed to arrange Qian Yangxi’s marriage to Lin Mingxu after learning that Lin was a leading Spring Examination candidate. While Jiang Nuan stayed at the inn, she overheard Cai Jingheng and his lackey discussing a change of plans involving the examination.

• Qian Shuo arrived at the inn worried that Qian Yangxi had gone to see Wei Xinyuan, but found her with Qian Chunhe, Jiang Nuan, and the Lin family.
• Lin Mother proposed a match between Qian Yangxi and Lin Mingxu, and Qian Shuo asked Lin Mingxu about his name and Spring Examination candidacy.
• After recognizing Lin Mingxu as a regional Top Candidate, Qian Shuo agreed to the match and arranged for both families to discuss the wedding that evening.
• Qian Shuo left with Qian Yangxi, Qian Chunhe, and Lin Mother, while Jiang Nuan stayed behind to order food.
• Jiang Nuan noticed Cai Jingheng enter the adjoining room and overheard his lackey ask about plans to secure examination success.
• Cai Jingheng said there had been a change of plans, and Jiang Nuan began listening more closely.

Cai Jingheng worried that his uncle, Cai Guangyuan, had withdrawn his promise to adopt him and help him pass the Spring Examination, while Jiang Nuan learned why Cai Guangyuan had abandoned his plan to cheat. After returning to the palace, Jiang Nuan decided to visit her imperial aunt for incense to help her sleepless mother.

• Cai Jingheng suspected Cai Guangyuan might have chosen another nephew to adopt, and he hinted that he would deal with any rival.
• Ding Qi changed the subject, and Jiang Nuan stopped listening to the two men.
• Guagua told Jiang Nuan that Cai Guangyuan had once vowed to do good deeds after consulting a spiritual master, but had considered helping Cai Jingheng cheat because he wanted an adopted son.
• Cai Guangyuan abandoned his plan to leak examination questions after a princess's gossip handbook made him feel guilty, and he considered adopting a successful jinshi who had lost both parents instead.
• Jiang Nuan finished her meal and returned to the palace, where she spent the next few days resting and keeping her mother company.
• Jiang Nuan decided to visit her imperial aunt to seek soothing incense for her mother's unexplained insomnia.

Jiang Nuan visited Jin Yueyi’s shop to find sleep-aiding sachets for her mother and agreed to join her aunt for peach-picking the next day. On the way to the peach grove, Jiang Nuan discovered a poetry gathering was drawing young scholars there and realized Jiang Yan had dressed up because he feared they might catch Jin Yueyi’s eye.

• Jiang Nuan visited Jin Yueyi’s shop, where Jiang Yan was working and struggling to stay awake.
• Jin Yueyi gave Jiang Nuan several sleep-aiding sachets for her mother and invited her to pick peach blossoms the next day.
• Jiang Nuan agreed to go with Jin Yueyi, while Jiang Yan tried unsuccessfully to convince them to take him along.
• Jiang Nuan found Jiang Yan dressed in a pale pink robe when she arrived the next morning, and he joined them in the carriage despite not being invited.
• Jiang Nuan learned from a scholar that a Peach Grove Poetry Gathering was taking place and realized Jiang Yan was nervous about young scholars meeting Jin Yueyi.
• Jiang Yan flushed when Jiang Nuan guessed that he had dressed up to keep the scholars from outshining him.

Jiang Nuan, Jiang Yan, and Jin Yueyi visited the Peach Garden Poetry Gathering, where Jiang Yan grew jealous as Jin Yueyi admired other men. Nearby, Xiang Ge and Xiang Ru tried to comfort Xiang Sicong about his examination results, with Xiang Ge eventually defending his grandson from his father’s scolding.

• Jiang Nuan and her companions entered a viewing terrace at the peach garden to watch the gathering before picking blossoms.
• Jiang Nuan admired the handsome attendees, while Jiang Yan criticized each man and claimed he was a better match for Jin Yueyi.
• Jin Yueyi told Jiang Yan to stop criticizing people or go home, and he fell silent rather than leave.
• Xiang Ge and Xiang Ru encouraged the gloomy Xiang Sicong, who had been blaming himself for possible mistakes on the examination.
• Xiang Ru began scolding Xiang Sicong for not studying more, but Xiang Ge flicked him on the head and reassured his grandson about the results and his future.

Xiang Ge reassured Xiang Sicong that he could choose farming, then mocked Xiang Ru for failing the Tongsheng examination. At a poetry gathering, Jiang Nuan learned that Tang Miaoling had betrayed her brother in a previous life and resolved to stop their possible betrothal before it was decreed.

• Xiang Ge told Xiang Sicong he would support him even if he became a farmer, while recalling how Xiang Ru had failed to pass the Tongsheng examination.
• Jiang Nuan noticed Tang Miaoling at the gathering, and Guagua revealed that she had been the Crown Prince's prospective bride in a previous life.
• Guagua told Jiang Nuan that Tang Miaoling had later fabricated evidence against the Crown Prince and cut ties with him.
• Jiang Nuan learned that her Empress Mother planned to discuss a betrothal with Tang Miaoling's mother in three days, and she decided to persuade her Empress Mother against it.
• Jiang Nuan searched the crowd for her sister and Sister Yun after recognizing the uniforms worn by the shop's employees, and she found them.

Jiang Nuan met An Yan and Yun Shining at their milk tea booth during the Peach Grove Poetry Gathering and agreed that their next school should be built in Auspicious Peace County. The gathering began with new poetry themes and prizes, including an Immortal Garment Pavilion outfit that stirred the crowd’s excitement.

• Jiang Nuan joined An Yan and Yun Shining, who had set up a milk tea counter to promote their peach blossom drinks.
• An Yan revealed that she would offer a limited-edition peach blossom outfit as a poetry gathering prize, and she asked Jiang Nuan about opening another school.
• Jiang Nuan agreed to a new school and proposed building it in Auspicious Peace County, and An Yan planned to find a site the next day.
• The peach grove owner announced poetry contests on peach blossoms and beautiful women, with prizes including silver, poems featured on milk tea cups, and a limited-edition outfit.
• The owner unveiled the outfit, and the crowd gasped at its beauty while one attendee urged her brother to win it for her.

At a peach-blossom poetry gathering, Jiang Nuan recognized a scholar reciting famous poems she had only thought of, and watched others expose him for claiming them as his own. His escape left her wondering who the transmigrator was.

• Jiang Nuan mentally recited poems about peach blossoms and beautiful women, and An Yan, Yun Shining, and the scholars who heard her thoughts were impressed.
• A lightly dressed scholar recited Cui Hu's “At the South Village of the Capital” and Li Bai's “Qingping Melody,” claiming both poems as his own.
• Jiang Nuan recognized the poems, and another scholar challenged the man for stealing them.
• More people demanded that the poem thief explain how he had composed the verses, but he could not answer and fled through the crowd.
• Jiang Nuan concluded that the fleeing scholar probably was not a transmigrator, then lost interest in the contest as she wondered who the transmigrator was.

Jiang Nuan persuaded Xiao Xiao to investigate Tang Miaoling after learning she had brutally abused and killed her maids. Meanwhile, Prince Xin Jiang Xiangyang headed for the capital, believing rumors and Jiang Yunsheng’s letter meant he might be offered the throne.

• Jiang Nuan instructed An Yan and Yun Shining to direct anyone asking for the shop owner to her, hoping to find the transmigrator.
• Xiao Xiao showed Jiang Nuan a portrait of Tang Miaoling as a potential Crown Princess, and Jiang Nuan urged her mother not to approve the match.
• Guagua told Jiang Nuan that Tang Miaoling had killed two beautiful childhood maids and inflicted deadly abuse on other servants.
• Jiang Nuan asked Xiao Xiao to investigate Tang Miaoling, and Xiao Xiao agreed to look into her further.
• Prince Xin Jiang Xiangyang traveled toward the capital after intercepted reports made him believe Crown Prince Jiang Chengze was near death and Jiang Yunsheng might offer him the throne.

Jiang Xiangyang misread Jiang Yunsheng’s letter as a promise of the Imperial Throne and hurried to Capital City with his family, where Jiang Nuan discovered his plans and learned more about his household. Jiang Nuan decided to approach his Heir Apparent about helping remove his father, and learned that her cousin Jiang Mengqing led a martial-world intelligence organization.

• Jiang Xiangyang interpreted Jiang Yunsheng’s praise as a sign that he would inherit the throne, then traveled to Capital City with his Princess Consort and Heir Apparent.
• At a milk tea shop, Jiang Nuan recognized Prince Xin and learned through Guagua that he planned to meet Xing Yuanzheng and flee if anything seemed wrong.
• Jiang Nuan learned that Prince Xin intended to use his wife and Heir Apparent as hostages, while the Heir Apparent had secretly gained support among his father’s people.
• Jiang Nuan and Guagua decided to intercept the Heir Apparent that night and persuade him to cooperate against Prince Xin.
• Guagua revealed that the Heir Apparent planned to visit an intelligence organization, whose head was Jiang Nuan’s cousin Jiang Mengqing.

Jiang Xuanming paid Jiang Mengqing for intelligence about Prince Xin’s summons and discovered that Jiang Nuan had exposed his father’s spies. Jiang Nuan proposed partnering with Jiang Mengqing’s Thousand-Mile Eye, leaving Guagua excited about earning money through the arrangement.

• Jiang Xuanming learned that every one of Prince Xin’s spies at court had been arrested and that His Majesty had summoned Prince Xin to the capital to seize him.
• Jiang Mengqing declined to identify who had uncovered the spies, and Jiang Nuan revealed that she had gathered the evidence and sent it to the Court of Judicial Review.
• Jiang Xuanming asked two more questions and paid Jiang Mengqing the remaining thirty thousand taels.
• Guagua suggested that Jiang Nuan establish an intelligence bureau, but Jiang Nuan explained that they lacked staff and customers.
• Jiang Nuan proposed splitting the earnings from a partnership with Jiang Mengqing’s Thousand-Mile Eye, and Guagua eagerly agreed.

Jiang Nuan followed Jiang Xuanming to spy on Prince Xin and Xing Yuanzheng, where Guagua exposed the truth behind Prince Xin’s old love letters. Xing Yuanzheng confronted Jiang Xiangyang about their letters, leaving Jiang Xiangyang struggling to keep up his act.

• Jiang Mengqing offered Jiang Xuanming free information about Prince Xin meeting Xing Yuanzheng, and Jiang Nuan secretly followed him.
• Jiang Nuan reached the meeting place before Jiang Xuanming and watched from the roof as Jiang Xiangyang and Xing Yuanzheng arrived.
• Guagua revealed that Jiang Xiangyang had copied love letters written by his subordinates, while Xing Yuanzheng had treasured them as genuine expressions of affection.
• Xing Yuanzheng nearly lost his footing after realizing the truth, and Jiang Xiangyang pretended to care for him.
• Xing Yuanzheng asked why Jiang Xiangyang no longer used the affectionate names from their letters, forcing Jiang Xiangyang to search his memory and steel himself to reply.

Jiang Xiangyang returned to the Capital City believing Jiang Yunsheng might entrust him with the throne, but Jiang Yunsheng confronted him with evidence of his network of agents. Jiang Xiangyang admitted defeat and asked what his imperial brother intended to do with him.

• Jiang Xiangyang questioned Xing Yuanzheng about the Capital City, then concluded that the other princes were unfit to inherit the throne and that Jiang Yunsheng might choose him.
• Jiang Xiangyang questioned his secret agents, rested, and went to the Imperial Palace with Princess Consort Xin and the Heir Apparent.
• Jiang Yunsheng suggested that Jiang Xiangyang stay in the Capital City and revealed that he knew about Jiang Xiangyang's close contact with Xing Yuanzheng.
• Jiang Yunsheng brought out Xing Yuanzheng and Jiang Xiangyang's secret agents, showing that his network had been uncovered.
• Jiang Xiangyang stopped denying his involvement, sat down, and asked Jiang Yunsheng what he intended to do with him.

Jiang Xiangyang threatened Jiang Yunsheng with his army, but Jiang Xuanming exposed his secret forces and claim to the throne. Jiang Yunsheng chose to confine him to a mountain under guard, leaving Jiang Xuanming to handle the matter.

• Jiang Xiangyang threatened to march his troops on Capital City if his daily letters stopped, but Jiang Xuanming revealed that Lin Zhuo now worked for him.
• Jiang Xuanming reported that Jiang Xiangyang kept a private army and had a dragon robe made, and a palace search uncovered the dragon robe and a Phoenix Robe.
• Jiang Xuanming explained that the Princess Consort had brought both robes to Capital City and said Lin Zhuo had turned against Jiang Xiangyang after learning his youngest son was Jiang Xiangyang's.
• Guagua revealed that Jiang Xiangyang planned to spread rumors portraying Jiang Yunsheng as a tyrant if he faced execution.
• Jiang Yunsheng said he would spare Jiang Xiangyang but send him to live in the mountains under guard, then asked Jiang Xuanming to handle it.

Jiang Xuanming surrendered his military tally and returned to Ba-Shu to carry out reforms, while Jiang Nuan watched the Spring Examination results and arranged for unsuccessful candidates to remain available for government posts. As the Palace Examination began, Jiang Nuan eagerly awaited the new candidates, whose minds were already being reached by her voice.

• Jiang Xuanming handed Jiang Yunsheng the military tally, then returned to Ba-Shu and reformed his household, punishing the mother and son who had influenced Prince Xin.
• Jiang Nuan attended the Spring Examination results posting and saw familiar names, including Lin Mingxu and Wu Hongcai, among the successful candidates.
• Fan Jin passed the examination and went mad with joy until his elder brother slapped him and brought him back to his senses.
• Jiang Nuan reasoned that the court’s vacant posts would benefit unsuccessful candidates, and the court announced they should stay until positions were assigned.
• A month later, Jiang Nuan waited for the hundred Gongshi to enter the Palace Examination hall, and her voice rang in their ears.

During the Palace Examination, Jiang Nuan discovered that candidate Xia Gaoyang was Xia Quanqiao’s long-lost son, abducted as a child and raised by a wealthy merchant in Jiangnan. Xia Quanqiao learned his son had lived comfortably, while Xia Gaoyang remained shocked by the revelation.

• Jiang Yunsheng tested the Palace Examination candidates, and Jiang Nuan asked Guagua about the standout candidate Xia Gaoyang.
• Guagua revealed that Xia Gaoyang was Xia Quanqiao’s youngest son, who had been abducted at age three and never found.
• Xia Quanqiao and Xia Gaoyang reacted with shock as Guagua explained how the family had searched for him and eventually lost hope.
• Guagua revealed that a wealthy Jiangnan merchant had raised Xia Gaoyang as his only child, giving him a comfortable life rather than hardship.
• Jiang Nuan questioned why Xia Gaoyang had no memories of his family, and Guagua explained that the trafficker had lied about his origins while Xia Quanqiao was away on a secret campaign.

Jiang Nuan uncovered why commoners wished Feng Ziming had died twenty years earlier: the cause was connected to his son Feng Qiuyan, who had done something good. Guagua began recounting Feng Qiuyan’s love of farming and how Feng Ziming tried to stop it.

• Xia Gaoyang and Xia Quanqiao reflected on Xia Gaoyang’s happy upbringing with his adoptive parents and the difficulty of reclaiming him.
• Jiang Nuan noticed Feng Qiuyan resembled Feng Ziming and learned he was Feng Ziming’s second son.
• Guagua found that Feng Ziming had done nothing wrong and that the curse against him stemmed from Feng Qiuyan’s actions.
• Guagua explained that Feng Qiuyan grew up loving farming with his grandparents, but Feng Ziming later forbade the hobby and watched him closely after he discovered Feng Qiuyan was secretly growing plants.

Jiang Nuan learned that Feng Qiuyan would become the Little Sage of Agriculture, but his father’s opposition would delay his farming work. Feng Ziming agreed to stop obstructing him, and Jiang Yunsheng considered supporting Feng Qiuyan’s agricultural talent.

• Guagua revealed that Feng Qiuyan would develop rice yielding thirty percent more and be honored as the Little Sage of Agriculture, with statues of his mother and wife at his temple.
• Guagua explained that commoners would place Feng Ziming’s bronze statue outside the temple as a guard because he had repeatedly stopped Feng Qiuyan from farming.
• Jiang Nuan suggested that Jiang Yunsheng talk sense into Feng Ziming, and Feng Ziming resolved to let his son pursue agriculture.
• Jiang Yunsheng considered whether Feng Ziming might also have agricultural talent, while the Agricultural Administration pressed to recruit Feng Qiuyan.
• Jiang Yunsheng privately decided Feng Qiuyan’s appointment, and Jiang Nuan thought about finding him after court.

During the Palace Examination, Jiang Nuan uncovered that Min Guangyao believed Grand Commandant Zhai Ruizhen had destroyed his family, but Guagua revealed that Min Guangyao’s master had fabricated the feud after his own schemes failed. The chapter ended with the revelation that Min Guangyao may be Zhai Ruizhen’s supposedly deceased third son, switched as a child.

• Feng Qiuyan worried that the others’ high expectations would crush him if he could not produce high-yielding rice.
• Jiang Nuan chose the inconspicuous Min Guangyao for her next gossip, and Guagua revealed that he had spent years preparing to avenge his family against Zhai Ruizhen.
• The court reacted with sympathy for Min Guangyao and alarm that Jiang Nuan had exposed his secret, while Zhai Ruizhen denied knowing of any such massacre.
• Guagua clarified that Min Guangyao’s master, Nie Jinglun, had blamed Zhai Ruizhen after his own family’s crimes led to their property being confiscated and the family exiled.
• Guagua revealed that Nie Jinglun had managed to switch children, leaving Jiang Nuan and Zhai Ruizhen to suspect that Min Guangyao was Zhai Ruizhen’s third son, who had supposedly died young.

Jiang Nuan revealed that Nie Jinglun had switched Min Guangyao with Zhai Ruizhen’s newborn son and raised him to hate his father. Min Guangyao learned how he had destroyed his family in the previous life, but realized there was still time to change his fate, while those around him recognized his newfound status as Zhai Ruizhen’s son.

• Jiang Nuan and Guagua revealed that Nie Jinglun had swapped Min Guangyao for Zhai Ruizhen’s newborn son and had manipulated Min Guangyao into hating his father.
• Guagua explained that in the previous life Min Guangyao had framed Zhai Ruizhen for rebellion, then killed Nie Jinglun and himself after learning the truth.
• Min Guangyao sank into despair over his past-life actions, but Jiang Nuan’s inner voice reminded him that those events had not happened yet.
• Zhai Ruizhen showed concern for Min Guangyao, and the two reassured each other with a look and a smile.
• The people around Min Guangyao realized that he was now the Grand Commandant’s son and that his status had risen far above theirs.

Jiang Nuan uncovered the story behind Huang Chao’s name and learned that his previous-life counterpart had fought for Great Xia before dying in battle. Huang Chao’s prospects in the current court improved as the ministers realized he had reached the Palace Examination without being obstructed.

• Jiang Nuan chose Huang Chao as the next person whose gossip she wanted Guagua to reveal.
• Guagua explained that Huang Chao had repeatedly failed the Imperial Examination but had reached the Palace Examination this time without interference.
• Jiang Nuan recalled the historical Huang Chao, whose rebellion had devastated the Tang dynasty, prompting aristocratic ministers to glare at Huang Chao.
• Guagua clarified that the two Huang Chaos shared little beyond their names and similar backgrounds, and that Huang Chao’s previous-life self had fought an enemy nation before dying in battle.
• Huang Chao felt relieved, and the ministers became friendlier after deciding he would be employed in Great Xia.

During the Palace Examination, Jiang Yunsheng asked how the candidates would handle a child left alive after a revenge killing, and Jiang Nuan’s ruthless schemes impressed him. He decided to send approved candidates to Auspicious Peace County, compensate Jiang Nuan for its false prosperity, and investigate the realm’s tax revenues.

• Jiang Yunsheng asked the candidates whether they would spare or kill a child found after taking revenge on the child’s family.
• Candidates argued for sparing the child out of mercy or killing him to prevent future revenge.
• Jiang Nuan imagined sparing the child to expose his allies before eliminating them, and joked about tricking him into lowering his guard; Guagua joined her laughter.
• Jiang Yunsheng approved of Jiang Nuan’s decisive thinking and decided she no longer needed the extra lessons he had arranged.
• Jiang Yunsheng considered sending approved candidates to Auspicious Peace County and giving Jiang Nuan another tract of land after learning its tax prosperity had been fabricated.
• Jiang Yunsheng began considering an investigation into tax revenues across Great Xia.

After Zhang Gaoyang, Wu Hongcai, and Lin Mingxu placed first, second, and third in the Palace Examination, northern scholars accused the exam of favoring southern candidates and demanded an investigation. Jiang Nuan went to the Hall of Diligent Governance, where Jiang Yunsheng asked the assembled ministers to respond to the unrest.

• Three days after the Palace Examination, Zhang Gaoyang, Wu Hongcai, and Lin Mingxu were announced as the top three, and Zhang Gaoyang reunited with his birth family while preserving ties with his adoptive parents.
• During Zhang Gaoyang’s celebratory procession, northern candidates accused the Imperial Examination of corruption because no northern scholars had passed.
• Zhang Gaoyang demanded evidence, and the candidates pointed to the all-southern list of successful scholars as proof of favoritism.
• The Capital Prefect calmed the protesters, who moved to an open square to await the emperor’s explanation.
• A young eunuch summoned Jiang Nuan to the Hall of Diligent Governance, where Jiang Yunsheng asked the ministers for their thoughts on the protest.
• The northern ministers suspected the southern ministers of bias, while the southern ministers searched among themselves for whoever might have caused the scandal.

After finding no cheating or favoritism in the Imperial Examination, Jiang Yunsheng and his ministers sought a way to address the northern scholars’ complaints. They established separate Southern and Northern Lists and ordered safeguards against candidates claiming false regional identities.

• Jiang Nuan and Guagua confirmed that no one had cheated or shown favoritism in the examination.
• Jiang Yunsheng and the ministers considered comparing essays, but Chi Hengji warned that subjective judgments could worsen tensions between northern and southern scholars.
• A southern minister proposed separate Southern and Northern Lists, and Jiang Nuan agreed that the approach could reduce disparities between regions.
• Jiang Yunsheng ordered An Laiyun to select outstanding northern candidates for a Northern List and decreed separate lists for future examinations.
• Chi Hengji warned that candidates might use false regional identities, so Jiang Yunsheng tasked him with drafting household-registration rules to prevent abuse.

Jiang Nuan inspected the crops she had brought from the modern world and showed Feng Qiuyan the high-yielding Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes. Feng Qiuyan realized they could help Great Xia overcome hunger, while Jiang Nuan noted that the small seed supply would delay widespread planting and considered seeking more seeds in the West.

• After learning the imperial examination fraud case had ended with separate northern and southern rankings, Jiang Nuan visited her farmland and doubled the workers’ wages for their thriving crops.
• Jiang Nuan admired the Potato and Sweet Potato plots and hoped their high yields would help prevent starvation in Great Xia.
• A servant brought Feng Qiuyan to meet Jiang Nuan, and he marveled at the unfamiliar crops in her fields.
• Jiang Nuan told Feng Qiuyan that Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes could yield thousands of jin per mu, with carefully tended crops producing over ten thousand jin.
• Feng Qiuyan called the crops divine gifts and hoped they would spread across Great Xia, while Jiang Nuan explained that the limited seed stock meant expansion would take years.
• Jiang Nuan wondered whether she could find more Potato and Sweet Potato seeds in the West.

Jiang Nuan gave Feng Qiuyan advice on crossbreeding beans, then learned that Goryeo’s envoys had arrived to challenge Great Xia to a contest for five cities. The chapter ended with Jiang Nuan asking Guagua to uncover the envoys’ plan before Jiang Yunsheng answered.

• Jiang Nuan dismissed the idea of sending people to the Western Ocean and showed Feng Qiuyan two bean varieties with contrasting strengths.
• Jiang Nuan explained a method for combining desirable traits, and Feng Qiuyan left with three plants to study.
• Jiang Nuan noticed new officials at court as an envoy from Goryeo announced a proposed friendly exchange between the two nations.
• The Goryeo leader proposed three contests, wagering five cities against Great Xia’s cities, and Jiang Nuan suspected a trap.
• Jiang Nuan asked Guagua to investigate Goryeo’s intentions while the officials waited to hear what she would reveal.