Chapter Summaries

Jiang Nuan visited a teahouse with Yun Shining and An Yan, where Guagua revealed that two examination candidates were not as close as they appeared. Wu Hongcai alone seemed able to hear Guagua’s revelations, and he learned that Shi Yongfu secretly resented him.

• Tao Ying recommended romance novels to Ji Anxian and embarrassed Mao Zhonglin by recalling his childhood reading habits.
• Jiang Nuan and Yun Shining planned to visit a teahouse, while An Yan returned to the shop with ingredients for a special meal for her waiting companion.
• After court, Jiang Nuan, Yun Shining, and An Yan found the teahouse crowded with scholars preparing for the Spring Examination and listened to a storyteller perform one of Jiang Nuan’s novels.
• Guagua identified Wu Hongcai and Shi Yongfu as provincial examination candidates who had grown up together, then revealed that Shi secretly hated Wu.
• Wu Hongcai dropped his teacup after hearing Guagua and wondered whether he alone could hear what it said.
• Guagua explained that Wu’s childhood brilliance had overshadowed Shi, causing Shi’s resentment, though he had not yet acted against Wu.

Jiang Nuan uncovered schemes targeting Wu Hongcai and the deceptive courtship between Qian Yangxi and Wei Xinyuan. Qian Yangxi overheard the gossip about her future, including a prediction that she would dig wild greens for eighteen years, as the story turned to what happened after the Spring Examination results.

• Jiang Nuan learned that Shi Yongfu planned to sabotage Wu Hongcai in the Spring Examination and decided to warn him by turning the plot into a Storybook.
• Guagua told Jiang Nuan that Qian Yangxi had fallen for Wei Xinyuan, who had staged their meeting and hired someone to write the poetry that impressed her.
• Jiang Nuan learned that Qian Yangyue had arranged the match to spite Qian Yangxi, and that Qian Yangxi had agreed to sever ties with her father to be with Wei Xinyuan.
• Qian Yangxi overheard Jiang Nuan's thoughts and was baffled by the prediction that she would dig wild greens for eighteen years.
• Jiang Nuan learned that Qian Yangxi and Wei Xinyuan's sweet days together would change after the Spring Examination results were posted.

Qian Yangxi heard Jiang Nuan’s voice warn her that Wei Xinyuan would exploit and betray her, and she began questioning their relationship. After Wei Xinyuan left to meet a friend, Qian Yangxi followed her curiosity about the voices and stepped outside.

• Qian Yangxi heard Jiang Nuan condemn Wei Xinyuan and realized he could not hear the voice herself.
• Qian Yangxi decided the voice might be a warning from her ancestors and told Wei Xinyuan they should stop seeing each other until he earned her father’s approval.
• Wei Xinyuan promised to pass the Spring Examination, then made an excuse to leave and seek out Qian Yangyue.
• Jiang Nuan and Guagua discussed arranging for Qian Yangxi to catch Wei Xinyuan and Qian Yangyue conspiring together.
• Qian Yangxi wondered why the voices continued and left the private room to investigate.

Jiang Nuan learned that Lin Mingxu was struggling to save his ill mother and resolved to protect him from a fraudulent physician and keep him from serving the Fifth Prince. Lin Mingxu recognized her as the Ninth Princess and begged her to save his mother, offering his service in return.

• Jiang Nuan wondered whether officials were helping people cheat in the imperial examinations, and Guagua said they had refused bribes because they feared her exposing their secrets.
• Guagua revealed that the storyteller was Lin Mingxu, a talented scholar who had abandoned his studies to earn money for his sick mother.
• Guagua explained that a fraudulent physician had worsened Lin Mingxu's mother's illness in his previous life, leading Lin Mingxu to become the Fifth Prince's strategist after her death.
• Jiang Nuan decided to ask Grandpa Gu to treat Lin Mingxu's mother and hoped Lin Mingxu would support her Crown Prince brother instead of the Fifth Prince.
• Jiang Nuan waited outside the teahouse and was surprised to learn that the handsome young man approaching her was Lin Mingxu in disguise.
• Lin Mingxu knelt before Jiang Nuan and begged her to save his mother, promising to serve her in return.

Lin Mingxu begged Jiang Nuan to save his sick mother, and Jiang Nuan arranged for Gu Qingfeng to treat her. At Gu Qingfeng’s residence, Mu Xuan became the disciple of Jiang Nuan’s maids, the two spring blossoms and autumn moons.

• Lin Mingxu knelt before Jiang Nuan and begged her to save his mother, and she agreed to arrange a visit from Gu Qingfeng and gave him silver.
• Gu Qingfeng examined Lin Mingxu’s mother and found her serious illness treatable.
• Mu Xuan asked Jiang Nuan’s maids to teach her martial arts, and the two agreed to become her masters.
• The two spring blossoms and autumn moons assessed Mu Xuan’s health and began planning her training.
• Mu Zhiye returned and apologized to Jiang Nuan for Mu Xuan’s unruly behavior, then Mu Xuan told him she had masters now.

Mu Xuan introduced her new masters, the former Shadow Twin Assassins Chunhua and Qiuyue, while Jiang Nuan delivered medical materials to Gu Qingfeng and then went shopping with Mu Xuan. In the Capital City, Qian Yangxi recognized Jiang Nuan as the source of the mysterious voice and asked her for directions to Fuzhong Alley, where Wei Xinyuan was going to meet Qian Yangyue.

• Mu Xuan introduced Chunhua and Qiuyue as her masters, and Mu Zhiye recognized them as the former Shadow Twin Assassins.
• Gu Qingfeng briefly considered learning martial arts before Chunhua discouraged him, then eagerly took the medical materials Jiang Nuan had brought.
• Jiang Nuan and Mu Xuan went shopping together after Mu Zhiye allowed his daughter to go.
• Jiang Nuan spotted Qian Yangxi at a woodcarving stall, and Guagua warned that Wei Xinyuan was heading to Fuzhong Alley to meet Qian Yangyue.
• Qian Yangxi approached Jiang Nuan to ask for directions to Fuzhong Alley and recognized her as the voice that had been warning her.

Qian Yangxi discovered that her fiancé, Wei Xinyuan, and her younger sister, Qian Yangyue, were conspiring against her. From the roof, she and Jiang Nuan and Mu Xuan overheard them plan to lure Qian Yangxi out and force her into a relationship with Wei Xinyuan.

• Qian Yangxi told Jiang Nuan that her friend suspected her fiancé was involved with her younger sister, and Jiang Nuan agreed to investigate with her and Mu Xuan.
• With Guagua guiding them, Jiang Nuan, Mu Xuan, and Qian Yangxi reached the courtyard and watched Wei Xinyuan meet Qian Yangyue from the roof.
• Qian Yangyue gave Wei Xinyuan ten thousand taels and questioned him about why Qian Yangxi had suddenly become cold toward him.
• Wei Xinyuan insisted he had told Qian Yangyue everything, and she suggested he coax Qian Yangxi with gifts.
• Qian Yangyue and Wei Xinyuan decided he would invite Qian Yangxi out the next day and force the relationship forward, while Qian Yangxi overheard their plan.

Qian Yangxi overheard Qian Yangyue and Wei Xinyuan plotting to drug and abduct her, then confronted them and exposed their scheme. After Chunhua and Qiuyue subdued the conspirators and their maids, Qian Yangxi left with Jiang Nuan and the others.

• Qian Yangyue told Wei Xinyuan to stage an abduction and rescue for Qian Yangxi, giving him a drug to use in the scheme.
• Qian Yangxi and her companions overheard the plot from the roof, but a loose tile revealed their presence.
• Qian Yangxi accused Qian Yangyue and Wei Xinyuan of conspiring against her, and Wei Xinyuan decided to attack her immediately.
• Chunhua and Qiuyue knocked out Qian Yangyue's two maids, then captured Qian Yangyue and Wei Xinyuan.
• Qian Yangxi left with Jiang Nuan, Mu Xuan, Chunhua, and Qiuyue, and Qiuyue struck Wei Xinyuan with a pebble as they departed.

Qian Yangxi denied drugging Qian Yangyue and urged Qian Shuo to investigate the rare drug after Qian Yangyue was found with Wei Xinyuan. In the palace, Jiang Nuan learned that the scandal would lead to Qian Yangyue’s unhappy marriage, then took a day off from exposing gossip after Guagua exhausted the handbook’s cases.

• Qian Yangxi overheard servants discussing Qian Yangyue’s scandal and went to the ancestral hall at Qian Shuo’s summons.
• Qian Shuo punished Qian Yangyue and planned to marry her to Wei Xinyuan, while Qian Yangyue blamed Qian Yangxi for drugging them.
• Qian Yangxi denied the accusation and asked Qian Shuo to investigate the rare drug’s source, saying Qian Yangyue had reaped what she sowed.
• Jiang Nuan heard Guagua predict that Qian Yangyue and Wei Xinyuan would become a bitter, resentful couple after his failed Spring Examination.
• Guagua reported that it had finished going through everyone’s gossip, so Jiang Nuan decided to take a day off from exposing scandals.

Jiang Nuan’s thoughts turned a debate over Japanese pirates into a decision to invade Japan after she revealed the island’s vast silver reserves and recalled a future massacre. Great Xia prepared a naval expedition, while Jiang Nuan planned to accelerate shipbuilding and weapons development.

• Wei Guangliang requested permission to lead troops against Japanese pirates, while Minister Sun proposed a maritime ban that Jiang Nuan warned would damage coastal livelihoods and trade.
• Jiang Nuan suggested conquering Japan and revealed that it held the world’s largest silver mine, prompting ministers to support an invasion.
• Jiang Yunsheng ordered Wei Guangliang to command Jiangnan’s naval forces and deploy against Japan in three months.
• Jiang Nuan recalled a future massacre in Nanjing, and the ministers’ anger toward Japan intensified.
• Jiang Nuan planned to speed up steamship construction and give the Alchemists blueprints for the Red Barbarian Cannon.

Jiang Nuan presented the newly developed Hand Cannons to Jiang Yunsheng and the court, claiming their blueprint came from a reclusive master. The weapon’s devastating demonstration convinced Jiang Yunsheng of its potential, while the military officers turned their eager attention to Jiang Nuan.

• Jiang Nuan told Jiang Yunsheng that a reclusive master had given her a blueprint and invited him to inspect the finished weapon.
• Jiang Yunsheng brought Jiang Nuan and the ministers to the capital’s Martial Arts Training Ground, where the Alchemists displayed ten New-Model Hand Cannons.
• Jiang Yunsheng lit a Hand Cannon’s fuse, and its projectile shattered a cluster of rocks and left a large crater.
• The ministers marveled at the Hand Cannon’s destructive power and discussed its uses in defense and sieges.
• Jiang Yunsheng declared that he now believed the weapon could help Great Xia unite the world, and the military officers fixed their attention on Jiang Nuan.

Jiang Nuan introduced hand cannons and telescopes to Jiang Yunsheng and the ministers, and Jiang Yunsheng arranged for Wei Guangliang to receive priority shipments for an invasion of Japan. A telescope revealed a suspicious man near the Martial Arts Training Ground, and Jiang Nuan learned he was a Goryeo spy.

• Jiang Nuan told the officers that the New-Model Hand Cannons were limited in number and described the production capacity for new weapons.
• Jiang Yunsheng ordered production to begin and gave Wei Guangliang priority for the next batches, tasking him with taking Japan in three months with minimal casualties.
• Jiang Nuan showed the ministers telescopes, and they used them to spot a person on a distant mountain.
• The ministers had the suspicious man arrested, and he tried to kill himself before an officer dislocated his jaw.
• Jiang Nuan asked Guagua about the man and learned he was a Goryeo spy investigating Great Xia's upgraded weapons.
• The ministers recognized the telescopes' value for watching enemy movements and preparing defenses.

Jiang Nuan received a title and a wealthy fief for her contributions to the Hand Cannon and Telescope, then traveled to Auspicious Peace County. There, she watched Qing Yu discover too late that the martial contest he had entered was meant to choose Lin Shu’s husband.

• Jiang Yunsheng granted Jiang Nuan the title Auspicious Harmony, the fief of Auspicious Peace County, and revenues from three thousand households.
• Jiang Yunsheng made Yin Jiayu and Guliang Tu barons for their work on the Hand Cannon and Telescope, and the court encouraged craftsmen and farmers to submit useful innovations.
• Jiang Nuan traveled to Auspicious Peace County on her day off to see her new fief.
• Jiang Nuan followed a crowd to the county magistrate’s residence, where Lin Shu’s martial contest to choose a husband was underway.
• Qing Yu of Green Mountain Sword Manor entered the contest thinking it was an ordinary martial competition and kicked each challenger from the arena.
• As the challengers dwindled, Qing Yu worried that he would have to lose on purpose, even though his competitive nature made him unable to hold back.

Qing Yu won the contest for Lin Shu’s hand after beating Hou Ping, who had insulted Green Mountain Sword Manor. Jiang Nuan learned Hou Ping planned to assault Lin Shu that night and decided to catch him in the act, unaware that he would encounter Lin Shu’s hidden twin brother, Lin Xingheng.

• Qing Yu abandoned his plan to lose and defeated Hou Ping after Hou Ping mocked Green Mountain Sword Manor.
• With no challengers willing to face him, Qing Yu was declared the winner of the contest for the bride’s hand.
• Guagua told Jiang Nuan that Hou Ping was a flower thief who planned to sneak into Lin Shu’s bedchamber that night.
• Guagua revealed that Lin Shu had a twin brother, Lin Xingheng, who sometimes took her place and had foiled Hou Ping in the previous life.
• Jiang Nuan decided to wait for Hou Ping that night and catch him assaulting Lin Shu red-handed.

After the martial tournament, Jiang Nuan and the Lin siblings used Lin Xingheng as bait to catch Hou Ping, a flower thief who had targeted Lin Shu. Hou Ping was arrested after confessing to his crimes, and Lin Xingheng asked Lin Shu how she had become involved with him.

• Jiang Nuan told Lin Shu about the plan to catch Hou Ping, and Lin Xingheng agreed to help after learning Hou Ping had targeted his sister.
• Hou Ping drugged the courtyard maids and entered the bedroom, believing Lin Shu was asleep there.
• Lin Xingheng, disguised as Lin Shu, seized Hou Ping and frightened him until Hou Ping's attempt to use internal energy left him weakened.
• Jiang Nuan, Lin Shu, and several officers entered, and an officer read Hou Ping's crimes to him.
• Hou Ping confessed and was taken away by the officers.
• Lin Xingheng asked Lin Shu how she had gotten mixed up with Hou Ping.

Lin Xingheng learned why Lin Shu had been targeted and discovered that their father, Lin Zhe, had arranged the marriage tournament to punish her for resisting his plans. Guagua exposed Lin Zhe’s abuses as county magistrate, while Lin Xingheng and Lin Shu grew furious at his treatment of both his daughter and the people of Auspicious Peace County.

• Lin Shu told Lin Xingheng that Qing Yu had entered the marriage tournament by mistake and had not intended to marry her, prompting Lin Xingheng to angrily defend his sister.
• Guagua revealed that Lin Zhe had tried to force Lin Shu to become an old man’s concubine, and that she had cut her wrist rather than comply.
• Guagua explained that Lin Zhe had arranged for a local thug to enter the tournament so he could ruin Lin Shu for defying him.
• Lin Xingheng questioned why Lin Zhe would risk his reputation by marrying Lin Shu to a thug, and Guagua explained that Lin Zhe wanted to punish her and could claim he had honored the tournament’s agreement.
• At Jiang Nuan’s request, Guagua revealed that Lin Zhe overtaxed residents, falsified harvest reports, and colluded with bandits to extort villages.

Jiang Nuan learned that Lin Zhe had committed horrific crimes and conspired with bandits to plunder villages, so she arranged with Lin Xingheng and his sister to help expose him. She overheard Lin Zhe demanding more loot from the bandit chief, and resolved to bring him to justice.

• Guagua revealed that Lin Zhe had forced pregnant women to bear children so he could have them aborted and believed this would cleanse his sins.
• Lin Xingheng offered to help Jiang Nuan and promised to give her the evidence he had collected against his father.
• Jiang Nuan instructed Lin Xingheng and his sister to carry out a plan, then waited for Lin Zhe to meet the bandit chief at the Fortune Inn.
• Jiang Nuan used the emperor's token to gain access to the Fortune Inn's third floor and listened from the room beside Lin Zhe and Yang Zhongxian.
• Yang Zhongxian offered Lin Zhe silver taken from Green Creek Village, and Lin Zhe demanded more and urged the bandits to raid additional villages.

Lin Shu exposed Lin Zhe’s collusion with the Bandits chief Yang Zhongxian, but most of Auspicious Peace County’s officials denied hearing the incriminating conversation. Xia Yuanguang and Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon testified against Lin Zhe, and an official ordered Xiao Tai to arrest the two women.

• Lin Zhe told Yang Zhongxian to plunder villages again, including ones he had previously forbidden the Bandits to raid, and Yang agreed.
• Lin Zhe and Yang Zhongxian left their private room and found Auspicious Peace County officials gathered outside after Lin Shu had summoned them to hear their conversation.
• Lin Shu accused Lin Zhe of colluding with the Bandits, but Lin Zhe and the officials denied the charge and claimed Yang Zhongxian was an ordinary commoner.
• Xia Yuanguang stepped forward to testify that he had heard Lin Zhe and Yang Zhongxian’s conversation, while another official accused him of seeking revenge over his lack of promotion.
• Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon also testified, and an official ordered Xiao Tai to bring men and arrest them for slandering imperial officials.

Jiang Nuan revealed that she was Princess Auspicious Harmony, but Magistrate Lin Zhe denied her identity and plotted with his officials and Yang Zhongxian to kill her and blame the Bandits. Chunhua and Qiuyue defeated the soldiers sent to arrest them, while Lin Zhe warned that they would not escape Auspicious Peace County.

• Chunhua and Qiuyue challenged Lin Zhe and showed him Jiang Nuan’s Imperial Token, but he accused them of forging it and ordered soldiers to surround them.
• Jiang Nuan identified herself as Princess Auspicious Harmony, and Lin Zhe recognized that her claim was likely true but decided to silence her to hide his crimes.
• Lin Zhe ordered his officials to deny seeing a princess and planned to blame the Bandits for her death, while Yang Zhongxian agreed to help.
• Lin Zhe sent the soldiers to arrest Jiang Nuan and her companions, but Chunhua and Qiuyue quickly knocked them down.
• Lin Zhe warned Chunhua and Qiuyue that they would never escape Auspicious Peace County.

Jiang Nuan arrested Lin Zhe and the corrupt officials in Auspicious Peace County, then ordered them to build a canal as punishment. Back in Capital City, Qing Yu challenged Yun Shining to spar and was quickly beaten again.

• Jiang Nuan’s hidden allies surrounded Lin Zhe’s soldiers, and she had Lin Zhe and his accomplices arrested while praising Xia Yuanguang for standing up to them.
• Xia Yuanguang gathered evidence of the officials’ crimes, which Jiang Nuan had posted publicly, and she sent the offenders to build a canal instead of executing them.
• Jiang Nuan set off for Capital City with Qing Yu, whose martial contest to choose a husband had ended after Lin Zhe’s arrest.
• At the Milk Tea Shop, Qing Yu challenged Yun Shining to a spar, and she beat him outside the shop.
• Jiang Nuan asked Yun Shining whether she and Qing Yu knew each other.