Chapter Summaries

Yang Junnan’s merchant fraud was exposed, and the enraged merchants beat him before Jiang Yunsheng. Guagua revealed Yang Junnan’s other crimes, including making wine cups from victims’ skulls and feeding their remains to fish, while Jiang Yunsheng obtained Yang Junnan’s diary as evidence.

• The merchants learned Yang Junnan had fabricated his connection to the Chancellor and attacked him in front of Jiang Yunsheng.
• Guagua revealed that Yang Junnan had extorted the merchants and commoners and made a victim’s skull into a wine cup.
• Guagua disclosed that Yang Junnan had made more skull cups and thrown the remaining bodies and bones into the pond, whose fish may have been served to guests.
• Jiang Nuan wanted Yang Junnan’s crimes exposed, and Guagua revealed that his diary recorded them all and was hidden beneath a vase of lilies.
• Jiang Yunsheng’s Shadow Guard delivered the diary after Jiang Yunsheng had ordered a search of Yang Junnan’s residence.

Jiang Yunsheng exposed Yang Junnan’s crimes, while Jiang Nuan and Cen Xue resolved to gather evidence against the merchants and have them punished. Guagua then revealed a bald merchant’s embarrassing attempts to regrow his hair, and a gust of wind sent his wig flying in front of everyone.

• Jiang Yunsheng read Yang Junnan’s diary, exposed his theft of disaster relief and his use of human remains, and struck him with a wine cup.
• Yang Junnan admitted that his guests had drunk from skull cups and eaten fish fed on remains, prompting the diners to retch.
• Guagua revealed the merchants’ crimes, and Jiang Nuan and Cen Xue decided to gather evidence and send it to Jiang Nuan’s imperial father so the offenders could be arrested and made to build a dike.
• Guagua told Jiang Nuan and Cen Xue that a portly merchant had lost his hair and resorted to wearing a wig after bizarre attempts to regrow it.
• A gust blew the merchant’s wig away, and he chased after it before retrieving it and facing the crowd’s suppressed laughter.

Jiang Nuan and Jiang Yunsheng agreed to visit Great River Village after learning that a flood and plague would kill Feng Jierui’s family and many villagers. Before they departed, Cen Xue chose to return to Capital City to study for the imperial examinations, leaving Jiang Nuan saddened despite arranging for Chunhua to accompany her.

• Guagua revealed that a flood would devastate Great River Village in three months, killing Feng Jierui’s family, and that a plague would later kill him.
• Jiang Nuan asked Guagua for more details and decided that they should visit Great River Village to investigate and prepare for the disaster.
• Feng Jierui invited Jiang Yunsheng to attend the village’s dragon boat race, and Jiang Yunsheng agreed to go the next morning.
• Jiang Yunsheng handed corrupt merchants over to an official for punishment and arranged for the group to leave Qingshui County.
• Cen Xue told Jiang Nuan that she was returning to Capital City to study, and Jiang Nuan arranged for Chunhua to travel with her.
• Cen Xue and Chunhua departed toward Capital City while Jiang Nuan watched them go and felt downcast.

Jiang Nuan learned that Song Quan planned to bring his fiancée, Huo Qianlan, to Jade Spring Village to be sacrificed in place of his sister. After overhearing the warning, Huo Qianlan resolved not to return with him and began looking for a chance to escape.

• Jiang Nuan welcomed Song Quan, Huo Qianlan, and their two maidservants to camp after confirming with Guagua that they posed no danger to her party.
• Guagua discovered that Song Quan intended to offer Huo Qianlan as a living sacrifice to save his younger sister from Jade Spring Village's ritual.
• Huo Qianlan overheard Guagua's revelation and recognized Song Quan's urgency to reach the village before the sacrifice deadline.
• Huo Qianlan suggested resting in the next city because of her injured foot, but Song Quan immediately refused and claimed his parents were expecting them.
• Huo Qianlan decided to keep Song Quan calm and escape when she found a suitable opportunity.

Jiang Nuan secretly warned Huo Qianlan that Song Quan was taking her to be a live sacrifice, and Huo Qianlan arranged for her brother to come rescue her. When Huo Qianyong arrived, Huo Qianlan called for help and confronted Song Quan about his true intentions.

• Jiang Nuan decided to warn Huo Qianlan, and that night a note appeared in Huo Qianlan’s hand telling her to run from the live sacrifice.
• Huo Qianlan burned the note and sent a letter to her older brother, while Jiang Nuan and Guagua discussed a plan to stop Jade Spring Village from making future sacrifices.
• The next day, Jiang Nuan learned that Huo Qianlan’s brother was on his way, and she decided to go to Jade Spring Village with Qiuyue to carry out her plan.
• Song Quan’s uncles and cousins arrived to watch Huo Qianlan, but Huo Qianyong soon appeared with armed men.
• Huo Qianlan slipped toward Huo Qianyong, called out for him to save her, and accused Song Quan of hiding his real reason for taking her back.

Huo Qianlan exposed Song Quan’s plan to make her a living sacrifice, and Huo Qianyong’s men beat Song Quan and his companions before taking her home. Song Li went to the sacrificial altar in Huo Qianlan’s place, while Jiang Nuan and Qiuyue watched from a nearby mountain.

• Huo Qianlan confronted Song Quan about trying to make her a living sacrifice, and Huo Qianyong realized she was telling the truth.
• Huo Qianyong and the merchants beat Song Quan and his companions, while Huo Qianlan warned her brother not to kill anyone and kicked Song Quan before leaving.
• Huo Qianlan thanked Jiang Nuan for helping her escape and invited her to visit the Huo Escort Agency in Moon City.
• Song Quan and his companions returned to Jade Spring Village, where Song Quan’s Father told them that Song Li had been locked in the ancestral hall for the sacrifice.
• Song Li calmly stepped onto the sacrificial altar the next morning, as Jiang Nuan and Qiuyue watched from the mountain nearby.

Jiang Nuan interrupted Jade Spring Village’s sacrifice of Song Li by appearing as an immortal and frightening the villagers with a staged miracle. After the villagers and High Priest Yu Chong knelt to her, she began confronting them, leaving everyone afraid of her divine wrath.

• Jiang Nuan sent Qiuyue behind the mountain, changed into ornate clothes, activated Invisibility mode, and hurried to the sacrificial altar.
• As Song Li tried to jump into the river, Jiang Nuan pulled her back and then appeared on the altar, stopping the sacrifice.
• When a villager called Jiang Nuan a ghost, she summoned a bucket of water to douse him, prompting another villager to declare it a divine miracle.
• Yu Chong introduced himself as Jade Spring Village’s High Priest and knelt before Jiang Nuan, followed by the villagers.
• Jiang Nuan asked why she had appeared, scraped a sword across the altar to signal her anger, and left the frightened villagers looking to Yu Chong to speak for them.

Jiang Nuan exposed the High Priest’s fraud and the villagers’ wrongful sacrifices, then left Jade Spring Village after warning them never to sacrifice people again. She reunited with Qiuyue and prepared to head back.

• Jiang Nuan told the villagers that she had been resting in the river and exposed the High Priest’s false claims about human sacrifices.
• Jiang Nuan revealed that the High Priest had framed Xiang Jie out of jealousy, and Xiang Jie’s father and the villagers beat the High Priest to death.
• Jiang Nuan told the villagers she disliked bloody scenes, and they removed the High Priest’s body and cleaned the blood.
• Jiang Nuan warned the villagers not to make offerings to immortals and invented Teng Snake as a threat before vanishing.
• Jiang Nuan changed clothes, found Qiuyue, and told her they were heading back.

Jiang Nuan reached Great River Village and used Guagua’s gossip to map out the likely flood zone and plan possible defenses. A merchant arranged an opera performance to bring villagers from nearby settlements together, giving her a chance to gather information without traveling from village to village.

• Jiang Nuan and the others learned that Jade Spring Village had recast the deity’s appearance as guidance and avoided mentioning its living sacrifices.
• Feng Jierui brought Jiang Nuan and the group to Great River Village, where villagers welcomed him and found lodging for them.
• Jiang Nuan and Guagua mapped the villages likely to be affected by the flood, and Jiang Nuan drafted preliminary plans for levees, wider river channels, and reservoirs.
• Qiuyue told Jiang Nuan that a merchant had hired an opera troupe, which would draw villagers from nearby settlements to Great River Village.
• Jiang Nuan wrote precautions against plague after flooding and went to the opera venue after lunch.

Jiang Nuan appeared before the people of Great River Village disguised as an immortal and warned them that a flood would strike in three months. She gave them construction, evacuation, and sanitation instructions, then left them to prepare for the disaster.

• Jiang Nuan disguised herself in a white gown and gilded mask, then appeared onstage after the opera ended.
• The villagers knelt before Jiang Nuan, and Guagua scattered silver among them.
• Jiang Nuan warned the villagers that a flood would arrive in three months and instructed them to build a reservoir, embankments, and a wider river channel.
• Jiang Nuan told the villagers which areas might need to evacuate and gave them precautions against disease after the flood.
• Jiang Nuan ordered Yang Zhe to write down her instructions and post them at the village entrance, then vanished.

After Jiang Nuan reported the deity’s flood and epidemic warnings, Jiang Yunsheng approved the recommended preparations and sent for Zhoufeng County’s magistrate. Meanwhile, the village chief of Great River Village tried to warn the magistrate but was dismissed as delusional until Eunuch Wang’s messenger arrived.

• Jiang Nuan returned to Qiuyue, pretended not to know about the deity’s appearance, and learned what the deity had told the villagers.
• Jiang Nuan told Jiang Yunsheng about the flood and epidemic warnings, and he ordered Eunuch Wang to summon the Zhoufeng County magistrate.
• The village chief of Great River Village and his companions tried to report the deity’s warning at the county magistrate’s residence, but the gatekeeper refused to admit them.
• Zhou Hongyuan heard their claims and mistook the villagers for people with mental problems, telling the gatekeeper to take them to a clinic.
• As Zhou Hongyuan prepared to have the villagers taken away by force, Eunuch Wang’s messenger arrived at the residence.

Zhou Hongyuan learned that Jiang Nuan had foreseen the flood and agreed to carry out her plans after Jiang Yunsheng promised funding. As Jiang Nuan’s party resumed its journey, they encountered a fight between bandits and a merchant caravan, where a young man and woman were trapped.

• Jiang Chun presented an imperial token, and Zhou Hongyuan followed him to meet Jiang Yunsheng and Jiang Nuan about the coming floods.
• Eunuch Wang explained Jiang Nuan’s warning, and Zhou Hongyuan accepted her plans despite Zhoufeng County’s lack of funds.
• Jiang Yunsheng promised to have the Crown Prince provide silver, and Zhou Hongyuan thanked him and left to put the plans into action.
• After checking that the work was proceeding, Jiang Nuan’s party continued its journey and learned that bandits had attacked a merchant caravan ahead.
• Jiang Yunsheng went to confront the bandits, while Jiang Nuan watched as they overwhelmed the caravan’s defenders and threatened a young man beside Yingying.

Gong Xingwei’s plan to stage a bandit kidnapping and rescue Zhao Yingxiu collapsed when the real bandits captured them both. As Zhao Yingxiu and her guards fought to survive, someone noticed Jiang Nuan’s party waiting behind the hillside.

• Gong Xingwei accidentally revealed that he had brought the bandits, and the bandits confirmed he had hired them to fake a kidnapping so he could rescue Zhao Yingxiu and win her favor.
• Guagua explained to Jiang Nuan that Gong Xingwei wanted the Zhao Trading Company’s support in his struggle to become heir of the Gong Trading Company, but the bandits had decided to kidnap their captives for ransom instead.
• The bandit leader ordered his men to tie up Gong Xingwei and Zhao Yingxiu, and the bandits mocked Gong Xingwei when he threatened to withhold their payment.
• Zhao Yingxiu joined her guards in fighting the bandits and refused to abandon them, while Gong Xingwei begged her to save him and dismissed the guards’ lives.
• Someone spotted Jiang Nuan’s party behind the hillside.

Jiang Yunsheng's party rescued the Zhao and Gong Trading Companies from bandits, and Zhao Yingxiu arranged for them to travel together toward Kaiyang County. Gong Xingwei blamed Jiang Yunsheng's party for ruining his plans and secretly began plotting against them.

• Li Yin called on Jiang Nuan's party for help when bandits attacked the Zhao Trading Company, while Gong Xingwei threatened Jiang Yunsheng not to leave.
• Jiang Yunsheng's guards defeated the bandits, and Gong Xingwei kicked the man who untied him before claiming he had been ready to protect Zhao Yingxiu.
• Zhao Yingxiu rejected Gong Xingwei's familiar address and warned him to leave, while Jiang Nuan admired her.
• Zhao Yingxiu offered Jiang Yunsheng five times the market rate to travel with her group toward Kaiyang County, and he agreed.
• Jiang Nuan, Chunhua, and Qiuyue helped Zhao Yingxiu bandage the wounded as Gong Xingwei resented Jiang Yunsheng's party and plotted to deal with them after they returned to the city.

Zhao Yingxiu befriended Jiang Nuan and invited her group to stay at a vacant house in Kaiyang County. At dinner, Gong Zhen accused Jiang Yunsheng of stealing an heirloom plaque, but Zhao Yingxiu revealed that Gong Xingwei had admitted to summoning the bandits.

• Zhao Yingxiu encouraged Jiang Nuan to take the provincial examination, and the two grew close as Gong Xingwei grew resentful.
• After arriving in Kaiyang County, Jiang Nuan's group accepted Zhao Yingxiu's offer to stay in a vacant house beside the Zhao Residence.
• Zhao Yingxiu paid Jiang Yunsheng twice the agreed amount for escorting her home, and he gave the extra silver to Jiang Nuan.
• Gong Zhen arrived at the Zhao Residence and accused Jiang Yunsheng of taking the Gong family's Wushi Plaque and other missing valuables.
• When Gong Zhen suggested Jiang Yunsheng's group had summoned the bandits, Zhao Yingxiu revealed that Gong Xingwei had confessed to summoning them himself.

Gong Zhen accused Jiang Nuan and her companions of stealing his Wushi Plaque and threatened the Zhao Trading Company, but Jiang Yunsheng promised they would be protected. When the county magistrate and three trading-company heads arrived to help Gong Zhen seize the Zhao Trading Company's assets, armored soldiers surrounded their residences, and Yang Hetai recognized Jiang Yunsheng as the emperor.

• Gong Zhen tried to pass off his accusation about the missing Wushi Plaque as a misunderstanding, while Jiang Nuan learned from Guagua that Gong Xingwei had lied to his father.
• Jiang Nuan rejected Gong Zhen's accusation, and Zhao Shanyi vowed to protect her and her companions despite Gong Zhen's threats against the Zhao Trading Company.
• Jiang Yunsheng reassured Zhao Shanyi that no one could harm him, even as Gong Zhen threatened to enlist the county magistrate and the other major trading companies.
• The county magistrate and three trading-company heads arrived, and Chen Shu proposed dividing the Zhao Trading Company's assets.
• Jiang Yunsheng's men surrounded the newcomers' residences with armored soldiers, and Yang Hetai recognized Jiang Yunsheng as the emperor.

Jiang Yunsheng revealed himself as emperor, turning Gong Zhen’s attempt to seize the Zhao Trading Company against him. Guagua then revealed that Gong Zhen was close to uncovering the former dynasty’s treasure near Kaiyang County, and Jiang Nuan planned to claim it first.

• Gong Zhen and his companions realized Jiang Yunsheng was the emperor, while Jiang Nuan reassured Zhao Yingxiu that the Zhao Trading Company would be safe and urged her to take advantage of her rivals’ downfall.
• Guagua revealed that Gong Zhen had spent years locating and digging toward the former dynasty’s treasure after moving his base to Kaiyang County.
• Guagua told Jiang Nuan that the treasure lay beneath the tallest of five hills fifty li outside Kaiyang County, under earth piled up during an old water-channel project.
• Jiang Nuan agreed to wait two days, when Gong Zhen’s workers would likely reach the treasure chamber, and take the treasure before they could claim it.

Jiang Nuan used her Invisibility skill to enter the former dynasty’s underground treasury and secretly take its most valuable treasures. After collecting half the treasure’s total value, she prepared to lead Jiang Yunsheng to the site without revealing her involvement.

• Jiang Nuan decided to use her Invisibility skill to take treasure before Jiang Yunsheng learned about the treasury, leaving him a share as a fee for his trouble.
• Jiang Nuan rode with a merchant caravan to the five hills and followed Guagua through the tunnel Gong Zhen’s workers were digging.
• Jiang Nuan learned that Gong Zhen planned to kill the workers once they finished the tunnel, and she was glad he had already been arrested.
• Jiang Nuan passed through the sealed door and its traps, then entered the underground palace and found its vast collection of treasures.
• Jiang Nuan and Guagua filled the System Space with valuables, and she later moved more treasure to a warehouse each night.
• Jiang Nuan carried away half the treasury’s total value and began planning how Jiang Yunsheng could discover the site without learning she had taken anything.

Jiang Nuan intervened when a butcher humiliated fifteen-year-old Han Xin, whom Guagua identified as a future general who would defect to an enemy nation. With Jiang Nuan backing him, Han Xin stood up to the butcher, and Magistrate Gao punished his nephew and accepted a six-month salary forfeiture.

• Jiang Nuan and Jiang Yunsheng encountered a crowd blocking their carriage, and Guagua urged Jiang Nuan to help Han Xin.
• The butcher taunted Han Xin and demanded that he crawl between his legs, while Guagua revealed Han Xin's future as a celebrated general who would defect to an enemy nation.
• Jiang Nuan confronted the butcher, and Magistrate Gao arrived, apologized, and asked Han Xin to forgive his nephew.
• Han Xin rejected their appeal and mocked the butcher and magistrate by asking whether they would crawl between his legs as a joke.
• Jiang Nuan fined Magistrate Gao six months' salary for failing to maintain order and left him to deal with his nephew.

Jiang Yunsheng recruited Han Xin for the northern army camp, while Jiang Nuan learned the butcher who had bullied him would meet a grim fate. As Jiang Nuan’s party continued its journey, they encountered a man being hunted by his own brothers.

• Jiang Yunsheng tested Han Xin in a sparring match, then gave him a letter of recommendation for the northern army camp.
• Guagua told Jiang Nuan that Magistrate Gao had scolded his nephew, the butcher, who later was castrated, lost a leg, and died in despair.
• Han Xin set out for the army camp at dawn, hopeful that he could fulfill his ambitions and support his elderly mother.
• Jiang Nuan’s party heard hoofbeats and weapons ahead, and Guagua explained that a man was being pursued by his older and younger brothers after his protectors had been killed.