Chapter Summaries

In prison, Eunuch Gui warned Duan Ziqian not to risk himself trying to free him and recommended Eunuch Lin as a trusted palace ally. He urged the emperor to stay cautious and, once the crisis was resolved, to let the Marquis of Anguo's Heir Apparent leave the palace.

• Eunuch Gui waited in the Court of Judicial Review prison, believing Duan Ziqian had imprisoned him to protect him from the Regent King's men.
• Duan Ziqian secretly visited Eunuch Gui with Eunuch Li and apologized that he could not yet free him.
• Eunuch Gui warned Duan Ziqian that the Regent King wanted to isolate him and plant an ally at his side.
• Eunuch Gui recommended Eunuch Lin of the Brocade Workshop as a reliable candidate to serve Duan Ziqian, despite his fondness for money.
• Eunuch Gui urged Duan Ziqian not to rescue him, explaining that his absence might expose the emperor's enemies, and asked him to let the Marquis of Anguo's Heir Apparent return home when the crisis passed.

Duan Ziqian accepted Eunuch Gui’s sacrifice and appointed Eunuch Lin, who brought him a protective garment entrusted by the late emperor, to serve at his side. As Eunuch Lin helped him retire, Duan Ziqian wondered what the Regent King was feeling after coming one move short.

• Eunuch Gui begged Duan Ziqian to release Eunuch Lin, then killed himself, saying he had threatened the emperor and deserved death.
• Duan Ziqian ordered Eunuch Li to arrange an honorable funeral for Eunuch Gui.
• Eunuch Lin presented Duan Ziqian with the Heavenly Silkworm Garment, which the late emperor had entrusted to his care.
• Duan Ziqian put on the garment and ordered Eunuch Lin to replace Eunuch Gui at his side.
• Duan Ziqian told Eunuch Lin that Eunuch Gui had died in his place and warned him to stay alert amid the threats around the court.
• As Eunuch Lin helped Duan Ziqian retire, Duan Ziqian looked toward Eunuch Gui’s usual place and wondered what the Regent King was feeling.

After Eunuch Gui died in prison, Duan Hongzhuo moved to place Xiao Xizi near the young emperor. Duan Ziqian accepted Xiao Xizi into the outer chambers but suspected his motives and decided to watch him.

• Duan Hongzhuo learned Eunuch Gui had taken his own life and ordered Xiao Xizi promoted to attract Duan Ziqian's attention.
• Duan Ziqian nearly fell while rising at dawn, and Xiao Xizi rushed in to break his fall.
• Xiao Xizi asked to serve Duan Ziqian, who granted him a place attending in the outer chambers.
• Duan Ziqian privately asked Eunuch Lin about Xiao Xizi and chose to let him prove himself for a few days.
• Duan Ziqian watched the shadowed corner of the room, contemplating the violence that would follow when he struck.

Yang Qing discovered that the Wandering Monk had secretly soaked a Fortune Pouch in azureleaf juice, which could help his chronic illness, and resolved to investigate the monk further. At the Spring Sacrifice, Duan Ziqian asserted his authority by presiding over the ceremony, then agreed with the abbot of Cloud Return Zen Temple to open the Spring Examination.

• Yang Qing found that the Fortune Pouch’s contents were azureleaf and that the pouch had been soaked in its beneficial juice.
• Yang Qing concluded that the Wandering Monk knew about his illness and said he would investigate the monk when they met again.
• Duan Ziqian presided over the Spring Sacrifice from the outset while Duan Hongzhuo watched calmly.
• The abbot of Cloud Return Zen Temple urged Duan Ziqian to open the Spring Examination, and Duan Ziqian agreed.

Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou learned that the Spring Examination might be held at the Spring Radiance Tower so the Regent King could recruit promising scholars. They decided to counter his move by targeting Lord Ding, while Jiang Zhizhou prepared to send someone to carry out Yang Qing’s plan.

• Yang Qing overheard rumors that the Spring Examination would take place at the Spring Radiance Tower and that successful candidates might become students of the Regent King’s Residence.
• Yang Qing told Jiang Zhizhou the rumor, and Jiang Zhizhou linked the tower to the Regent King through the Li Household and Lord Ding, the Minister of Revenue.
• Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou concluded that the Regent King was using the examination to recruit talent and agreed to watch for an opportunity to respond.
• Yang Qing proposed making a move against Lord Ding by exploiting his refined pastime, then quietly instructed Bu Er.
• Jiang Zhizhou agreed to send someone to see the matter through.

Yang Qing watched Chen Jingyu clash with Xiao He, who later secretly planted something in Chen Jingyu’s examination papers. When the Spring Examination results were posted, Chen Jingyu found his name on the Judgment Roll and learned he had been accused of bribing an examiner.

• Yang Qing noticed Xiao He provoking Chen Jingyu at the Rare Treasures Pavilion and told Bu Er to keep an eye on him.
• Chen Jingyu wrote a governance essay during the Spring Examination while Xiao He watched him from nearby.
• As the scholars left, Xiao He slipped something into Chen Jingyu’s papers without being seen.
• Xiao He congratulated Chen Jingyu in advance at the Rare Treasures Pavilion, leaving Yang Qing suspicious of his scheme.
• Chen Jingyu failed to find his name on the pass lists and saw it on the Judgment Roll instead.
• A minor official told Chen Jingyu that he had been accused of bribing an examiner.

After finding his name on the White List for allegedly bribing an examiner, Chen Jingyu insisted he was innocent and confronted the proctor at Spring Radiance Tower. He left determined to appeal to the emperor by striking the Grievance Drum, while Xiao He watched from the crowd with an unreadable expression.

• Xiao He mocked Chen Jingyu over his name on the White List, and Chen Jingyu seized him by the collar before rushing toward Spring Radiance Tower.
• The guards knocked Chen Jingyu down the steps when he tried to enter, but he climbed back up and asked to speak with the officials.
• Chen Jingyu questioned the proctor, who said a fifty-tael banknote bearing Chen Jingyu's personal seal had been found in his policy essay.
• The proctor said he would report Chen Jingyu to the emperor, but Chen Jingyu declared he would strike the Grievance Drum and endure its thirty-stroke punishment to clear his name.
• Chen Jingyu left to make his appeal, and Xiao He watched him depart with a dark, unreadable look.

Chen Jingyu went to strike the Grievance Drum to appeal his false accusation of bribing an examiner, despite knowing the punishment could kill him. Yang Qing heard about Chen Jingyu’s appeal and hurried to the north gate, where Chen Jingyu was being beaten and continued to proclaim his innocence.

• Chen Jingyu returned to the scholars' lodging, faced scorn from some scholars, and gave Brother Qi his belongings in case he did not survive the punishment.
• Chen Jingyu insisted he had been falsely accused and left for the north gate to plead his case before the emperor.
• Yang Qing heard that Chen Jingyu was going to strike the Grievance Drum and ordered Jiang Zhizhou to take him there.
• Chen Jingyu told the soldiers he had been falsely accused of bribing an examiner and accepted the thirty strokes of the military cudgel.
• As the cudgels struck and blood seeped through his clothes, Chen Jingyu repeatedly declared himself innocent and asked to see His Majesty.

Jiang Zhizhou rescued Chen Jingyu after he was beaten for striking the Grievance Drum, and learned that Chen’s case might expose corruption tied to Lord Ding and the Regent King. Yang Qing then revealed that Jiang Zhihuai had hired the First-Rank Residence for a task connected to Jiang Zhizhou.

• Jiang Zhizhou intervened to stop Chen Jingyu from being beaten further and arranged for him to be taken to the Medical Hall.
• Jiang Zhizhou waited until the physician confirmed Chen Jingyu was out of danger, then told Yang Qing about his condition.
• Yang Qing suggested Chen Jingyu’s examination case might involve Lord Ding and the Examination Supervision Office, prompting Jiang Zhizhou to recognize Chen’s importance.
• Yang Qing warned that people might try to kill Chen Jingyu and reassured Jiang Zhizhou that Bu Er was keeping watch at the Medical Hall.
• Yang Qing told Jiang Zhizhou that Jiang Zhihuai had hired the First-Rank Residence for a task connected to him, leaving Jiang Zhizhou startled.

Jiang Zhizhou and Yang Qing suspected Jiang Zhihuai was seeking the Regent King's support for ambitions beyond inheriting the Marquis title, and planned to trace the silver funding his dealings. They also resolved to protect Chen Jingyu and get him before the emperor, while anticipating another attempt to silence him.

• Jiang Zhizhou told Yang Qing he suspected Jiang Zhihuai's inquiries about his return were driven by more than the Heir Apparent position.
• Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou concluded Jiang Zhihuai might be seeking the Regent King's backing, and agreed to have Bei Chen trace the source of the silver.
• Jiang Zhizhou went to check on Chen Jingyu, while Yang Qing said they should secure him an imperial audience if he was well enough.
• Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou reasoned that Chen Jingyu had been deliberately framed to clear a place for another scholar seeking the emperor's favor.
• Jiang Zhizhou decided to guard Chen Jingyu at the Medical Hall and ensure his life was preserved.

Jiang Zhizhou learned that several groups of killers had targeted the badly injured Chen Jingyu, whose testimony could expose bribery in the Spring Examination. After Chen Jingyu awoke, he explained how examiners had falsely accused him of offering a bribe, and Jiang Zhizhou urged him to stay alive and clear his name.

• Jiang Zhizhou told the physician that Chen Jingyu had beaten the Grievance Drum after suffering injustice and urged him to do everything possible to save him.
• Bu Er reported that at least three groups of unknown assailants had come after Chen Jingyu, and Jiang Zhizhou stayed to guard him.
• Chen Jingyu remained unconscious for three days before waking as the physician changed his dressings.
• Chen Jingyu told Jiang Zhizhou that he believed he deserved a top-three place but had been put on the White List after examiners received a fifty-tael banknote supposedly from him.
• Chen Jingyu explained that the examiners rejected his efforts to prove his innocence, leaving him no choice but to beat the Grievance Drum.
• Jiang Zhizhou urged Chen Jingyu to protect his life if he wanted to clear his name.

Jiang Zhizhou arranged for the wounded Chen Jingyu to appeal to the emperor during the spring hunt and seek justice for the false accusation that ruined his future. Duan Ziqian sent the case to the Court of Judicial Review, where Chen Jingyu confronted proctor Xiao He.

• Jiang Zhizhou told Chen Jingyu that he could seek the emperor's attention along the route to Mang Mountain and promised to make the necessary arrangements.
• Duan Ziqian set out for the spring hunt with added security, wary of the Regent King Duan Hongzhuo's unusual silence.
• Chen Jingyu stopped the imperial procession, told Duan Ziqian he had been falsely accused by a Spring Examination proctor, and asked to clear his name.
• Duan Ziqian ordered the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to hear Chen Jingyu's case personally.
• At the Court of Judicial Review, Xiao He reacted angrily to seeing Chen Jingyu and challenged him for bringing charges against an examination proctor.

Chen Jingyu challenged the examiner’s bribery accusation before the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, who exposed the examiner’s failure to investigate and arrested him. As Xiao He tried to slip away, someone called out to him.

• Chen Jingyu rejected Xiao He’s advice to back down and recounted how the examiner had accused him of bribery.
• The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review summoned the examiner, who repeated his claim that Chen Jingyu had placed a banknote in his exam paper.
• Chen Jingyu accused the examiner of failing to investigate, and the examiner admitted he had not checked the banknote dispute or Chen Jingyu’s family circumstances.
• The examiner revealed that he had acted on a minister’s orders and threatened the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review with the influence behind the case.
• The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review ordered the bailiffs to arrest the examiner, while Xiao He tried to retreat and was called out by someone.

Chen Jingyu exposed Xiao He as the source of the bribery that had ruined his Spring Examination results, and Xiao He was taken away after his creditors filed a complaint. With Chen Jingyu’s name cleared, Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou celebrated, but Yang Qing received news of another development in the case less than two days later.

• Chen Jingyu stopped Xiao He from leaving and asked the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to investigate where the fifty taels of silver had come from.
• Chen Jingyu accused Xiao He of arranging the bribe to push him out of the top three and challenged him to face his creditors in court.
• The creditors who had lent Xiao He money filed a complaint against him, and the minister heard their testimony about his refusal to repay them.
• The minister had Xiao He taken away, and Chen Jingyu’s name was cleared as the truth behind the bribery case emerged.
• Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou rejoiced at Chen Jingyu’s vindication, but Yang Qing received news of a new development in the case less than two days later.

Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou learned that the imprisoned examination proctor claimed the emperor had ordered him to frame Chen Jingyu, and Chen Jingyu was murdered before they could reach him. Duan Ziqian closed the bribery case after a convincing forged imperial order surfaced, leaving Yang Qing to suspect a deeper conspiracy.

• Northern Hawk reported that the proctor claimed he had followed a handwritten order from Duan Ziqian, and Yang Qing ordered Bu Er to find Chen Jingyu.
• Bu Er reported that Chen Jingyu had been drugged and strangled in an abandoned temple, while local officials had treated his death as unreported and arranged for his burial.
• Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou realized the supposed imperial order had appeared after the minister's initial ruling and could no longer use Chen Jingyu's case to target Lord Ding.
• The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review released the proctor after a forged order surfaced, and Duan Ziqian forbade further discussion of the case while granting compensation to Chen Jingyu's family.
• The Spring Examination bribery case faded from public attention, while Yang Qing remained troubled by the hidden forces behind it.

Yang Qing lost consciousness after his illness flared, and the old physician treated him with a medicinal bath while warning that his condition was critical. As Bu Er watched over him, a Northern Hawk operative arrived with news that the organization had been attacked and two men were dead.

• Yang Qing collapsed after running out of his medicine, and Jiang Zhizhou went to fetch the old physician.
• The old physician arrived at the Rare Treasures Pavilion, secretly used a silver needle on Yang Qing, and ordered a medicinal bath to draw out the cold and hasten his recovery.
• Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er placed Yang Qing in the bath as the old physician warned them that his body was near its limit and that they must watch him closely.
• A Northern Hawk operative entered through the window and told Bu Er that the organization had suffered a surprise attack and lost two men.
• Bu Er sprang up in alarm after hearing the news, accidentally tightening his grip on Yang Qing before quickly easing it.

Bu Er learned that Northern Hawk had lost two operatives to a hidden attacker while Yang Qing was critically ill. After the old physician stabilized Yang Qing, he woke and insisted on hearing what had happened, leaving Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er to deal with the threat together.

• A Northern Hawk operative told Bu Er that two members had been lost without explanation, and Bu Er ordered him to investigate discreetly and keep the branch hidden.
• The old physician treated Yang Qing with a medicinal bath, stabilized his condition, and warned Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er to ensure Yang Qing took his medicine and avoided exhaustion.
• Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er discussed the danger to Northern Hawk, while Jiang Zhizhou suspected the losses were no coincidence.
• Yang Qing woke, overheard their conversation, and demanded to know what had happened to Northern Hawk.
• Jiang Zhizhou agreed to discuss the matter with Yang Qing after he returned to bed and rested.

Yang Qing investigated the deaths of two Northern Hawk members and suspected they had been drugged with Five-Stone Powder as part of a plot. Jiang Zhizhou investigated the vanished killers with Jiang Zhihuai’s help, then returned with an unexpected result he had not yet revealed.

• Yang Qing learned that two Northern Hawk members had died after fights, and a physician found signs that they had been poisoned with Five-Stone Powder.
• Bu Er reported that the two people who fought the Northern Hawk members had vanished, leading Yang Qing to suspect a deliberate attack.
• Yang Qing ordered the Northern Hawk to lie low and told Jiang Zhizhou to investigate the missing men instead of involving the Northern Hawk.
• Jiang Zhizhou devised a plan involving his brother Jiang Zhihuai, and Yang Qing warned him to be careful.
• Jiang Zhizhou investigated the case with Jiang Zhihuai’s help, then returned to Yang Qing and admitted that he had found an unexpected result.

Jiang Zhizhou learned that Jiang Zhihuai had targeted the Northern Hawk and decided to return to the Marquis's Residence despite Yang Qing's warning that he might be walking into a trap. After Bu Er reported that the First-Rank Residence had been sealed off and Bei Chen was missing, Yang Qing feared the unfolding events were connected and that Jiang Zhizhou was in danger.

• Jiang Zhizhou showed Yang Qing evidence that Jiang Zhihuai had ordered two Northern Hawk members targeted.
• Yang Qing warned Jiang Zhizhou that Jiang Zhihuai might be trying to draw him into danger by striking at men loyal to him.
• Jiang Zhizhou decided to return to the Marquis's Residence to warn his father and face Jiang Zhihuai's scheme.
• Yang Qing ordered Bu Er to investigate Bei Chen after noticing the Northern Hawk leader had taken no action.
• Bu Er told Yang Qing that the First-Rank Residence had been sealed off and Bei Chen's whereabouts were unknown.
• Yang Qing realized that his illness, the attack on the Northern Hawk, the sealed residence, and Bei Chen's disappearance might all be aimed at him, and worried for Jiang Zhizhou.

Jiang Zhizhou entered the Marquis of An's Residence hoping to find his father, but discovered that Jiang Zhihuai had surrounded the estate with hidden martial artists. Suspecting his father was missing and that Jiang Zhihuai had set a trap for him, Jiang Zhizhou fled the residence.

• Jiang Zhizhou sensed hidden martial artists throughout the residence and decided not to seek out the Marquis of Anguo.
• Jiang Zhihuai confronted Jiang Zhizhou and accused him of intruding, while waiting to hear how he would explain himself.
• Jiang Zhizhou stayed silent and ran toward the rear courtyard, avoiding the study as Jiang Zhihuai followed him.
• Jiang Zhizhou found no trace of his father and circled the rear courtyard before heading back toward the front.
• Jiang Zhihuai ordered his men to seize Jiang Zhizhou, but Jiang Zhizhou escaped over the wall before they could stop him.