Recaps

Dantai Yunheng reassured Xiao Yu that he wanted to stay with him, then brought him to a banquet for Eastern Li’s envoys, where Princess Li Lanru proposed to Dantai Yunheng and insulted Xiao Yu. The chapter ended with Dantai Yunheng ordering guards to imprison Li Yingjie after he flirted with Xiao Yu.

• Xiao Yu moved Dantai Yunheng’s flowers outside, and Dantai Yunheng worried that Xiao Yu felt confined until Xiao Yu reassured him he wanted to stay by his side.
• Dantai Yunheng told Xiao Yu that Eastern Li’s envoys had arrived and asked him to attend their audience; Xiao Yu agreed.
• At the welcome banquet, Li Lanru proposed marriage to Dantai Yunheng, who told her she was blocking Xiao Yu’s light.
• Li Lanru insulted Xiao Yu and condemned Dantai Yunheng for making a man his Queen, prompting Dantai Yunheng to invoke the law against insulting the Queen.
• Li Yingjie slapped Li Lanru and apologized, then flirted with Xiao Yu, so Dantai Yunheng ordered the guards to take him to the dungeon.

At the banquet, Xiao Yu calmed Dantai Yun Heng after a confrontation with Li Yingjie and Li Lanru, then learned through Li Lanru’s thoughts that Eastern Li’s ruler might be using her as a pretext for war. Li Lanru began to fear her father’s intentions, while Li Yingjie watched the King and Queen with growing interest.

• Dantai Yun Heng threatened Li Yingjie and the Eastern Li envoys, but Xiao Yu soothed him and warned them not to cause trouble.
• Dantai Yun Heng dismissed Li Yingjie, Li Lanru, and the envoys, then focused on serving Xiao Yu at the banquet.
• Li Lanru heard Xiao Yu’s thoughts describing how Eastern Li’s ruler used his daughters to provoke other nations and justify invasions.
• Li Lanru recalled her elder sister’s fate and collapsed after hearing that she herself had been abused and abandoned in a previous life.
• Dantai Yun Heng warned that he would eliminate Li Lanru if she disturbed their peace, while Xiao Yu reassured him.
• Li Yingjie observed Xiao Yu and Dantai Yun Heng affectionately and decided his trip to Southern Zhao had been worthwhile.

Li Lanru discovered that her father had ordered her death and sought refuge with Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu refused to protect her, leaving her at his door with her danger unresolved.

• Li Lanru overheard Eastern Li envoys planning to poison her and make her death a pretext for war with Southern Zhao.
• Li Yingjie revealed that he had heard the plot and helped distract the envoys with a black cat.
• Li Lanru asked Li Yingjie to save her, and he directed her to seek protection from Xiao Yu.
• Li Yingjie brought Li Lanru safely to Xiao Yu's bedchamber, where she told Xiao Yu someone wanted to kill her.
• Xiao Yu denied that protecting Li Lanru was his duty and told her to leave his door.

Li Lanru sought protection in Xiao Yu’s chambers, and Dantai Yunheng let her stay in a nearby side hall after suspecting Eastern Li had a scheme. The couple discussed the danger before Dantai Yunheng tried to seduce Xiao Yu, who fell asleep before things went further.

• Li Lanru refused to leave Xiao Yu’s side, insisting that he was the only person she could trust.
• Dantai Yunheng arrived, accused Li Lanru of intruding, and threatened her with a guard’s sword when she refused to return to the Post Station.
• Xiao Yu stopped Dantai Yunheng and warned him not to fall for Eastern Li’s scheme, so Dantai Yunheng ordered Uncle Fu to place Li Lanru in the side hall.
• At the Post Station, Li Yingjie learned that Li Lanru had been allowed to stay in the palace and decided to wait and see what happened.
• Xiao Yu and Dantai Yunheng discussed Eastern Li’s possible plans, then turned their attention to bed, but Xiao Yu fell asleep while Dantai Yunheng was trying to seduce him.

At court, Xiao Yu gained authority to investigate Wang Liang’s alleged embezzlement after Dantai Yunheng declared him equal to the king. Wang Liang returned home and proposed to Xiaodie, who accepted, while the investigation and the threat from Minister Li remained unresolved.

• Minister Li accused Wang Liang of embezzling one million taels, while Wang Liang denied the charge and Xiao Yu learned that Minister Li and the Prince of Pingxi had conspired to frame him and seize the Wang Family’s fortune.
• Xiao Yu offered to investigate the Revenue Bureau’s accounts, and Dantai Yunheng rebuked Minister Li and granted Xiao Yu full authority over the investigation.
• Dantai Yunheng canceled the Lantern Festival palace banquet and ordered preparations for Xiao Yu’s Empress Coronation Ceremony to be expedited and announced to every kingdom.
• Wang Liang hurried after Xiao Yu and Dantai Yunheng after court but fled when Dantai Yunheng glared at him.
• Wang Liang returned to the Wang residence and proposed to Xiaodie, who accepted after he assured her that he wanted to spend his life with her.

Cui Rong won Emperor Jinyuan’s approval to become the Crown Prince’s Attendant, though the emperor remained wary of his motives. In the Eastern Palace, Little Xiyue coaxed the overworked Crown Prince into going outside, and he offered to guide Cui Rong to the Noble Consort’s chambers.

• Cui Rong told Emperor Jinyuan that serving the Crown Prince was his own wish and that Prince Xuan had also wanted him to return to Capital City.
• Emperor Jinyuan approved Cui Rong’s appointment as Crown Prince’s Attendant after the Lantern Festival, and Cui Rong asked to visit the Noble Consort.
• Little Xiyue brought the Crown Prince food and persuaded him to take a break from his work and go outside with her.
• Little Xiyue collided with Cui Rong at the doorway, and the Crown Prince checked that she was unharmed.
• The Crown Prince offered to guide Cui Rong to the Noble Consort’s chambers, and Cui Rong accepted.

On Lantern Festival, Dantai Yunheng gave Xiao Yu an intimate surprise in a chest and promised they would be buried together one day. After their passionate day together, he took Xiao Yu to a mountaintop hot spring and presented him with a mountainful of lanterns.

• Li Yingjie sprang out of a chest as Xiao Yu’s supposed Lantern Festival gift, and Dantai Yunheng ordered him sent back to Eastern Li.
• Uncle Fu brought Dantai Yunheng to Xiao Yu in a golden chest, and Dantai Yunheng asked Xiao Yu to accept him as his gift.
• Xiao Yu agreed to lie beside Dantai Yunheng in the chest, and they exchanged declarations of love and promised to be buried together.
• By nightfall, Xiao Yu knocked Dantai Yunheng unconscious to escape, but Dantai Yunheng soon caught him and refused to let him go alone.
• Dantai Yunheng took Xiao Yu to a mountaintop hot spring, where Xiao Yu rebuked him for overdoing their intimacy.
• Dantai Yunheng revealed a mountainful of decorative lanterns and wished Xiao Yu peace, joy, happiness, and lasting tranquility.

During the Lantern Festival, Xiao Yu offered Dantai Yunheng a wish, and Dantai Yunheng declared that Xiao Yu was his heart’s desire before they embraced beside the hot spring. In Jin Kingdom, the Crown Prince became separated from his companions in the crowd, reunited with Cui Rong, and let him hold his hand as they walked together.

• Xiao Yu offered to grant Dantai Yunheng any wish, and Dantai Yunheng told him that Xiao Yu was his heart’s desire.
• Fireworks lit the sky as Xiao Yu and Dantai Yunheng embraced beside the hot spring.
• At the Lantern Festival, Little Xiyue ran toward a Dragon Lantern Dance, and the Crown Prince sent Wei Yi after her when the crowd separated them.
• The Crown Prince stumbled into Cui Rong, who said he was looking for his Little Nephew, though the Crown Prince saw no child with him.
• The crowd separated the Crown Prince and Cui Rong, but they found each other again, and Cui Rong took the Crown Prince’s hand under the pretense of keeping him safe.

Cui Rong escorted the Crown Prince through the crowded streets and revealed to Chancellor Cui that he loved him and intended to serve in the Eastern Palace. After Chancellor Cui ordered him to kneel and then leave the residence, Cui Rong refused to abandon his plans.

• Cui Rong held the Crown Prince's hand as they made their way through the crowd, and the Crown Prince felt safe with him.
• Shen Zhijie and Su Xun found the Crown Prince, learned Cui Rong had rescued him, and joined them on their stroll.
• Cui Rong returned to the Chancellor's Residence, where Cui Sheng accused him of visiting his future aunt and a servant summoned him to the study.
• Chancellor Cui confronted Cui Rong about the proposed Eastern Palace appointment, and Cui Rong said he was in love with the Crown Prince.
• Chancellor Cui threw an inkstone at Cui Rong, ordered him to kneel in the Ancestral Hall, and then demanded he leave, but Cui Rong refused to change his plans to report for duty at the Eastern Palace.

After leaving the Chancellor’s residence, Cui Rong took up his appointment at the Eastern Palace and arrived while the Crown Prince was bathing. The Crown Prince offered him a place to stay, while Cui Rong sought to remain close to him as his steward and personal attendant.

• The Chancellor’s wife accepted Cui Rong’s love for the Crown Prince and watched him leave, while Chancellor Cui complained that she favored their son.
• Cui Rong told Changfeng to keep watching the assassins who had followed the Crown Prince at the lantern festival.
• Cui Rong entered the Crown Prince’s bath and startled him when he asked for help washing his back.
• Cui Rong showed the Crown Prince his appointment letter and said he had nowhere to stay after his father drove him out.
• The Crown Prince offered Cui Rong a place in the side hall, but Cui Rong said he wanted to serve as both steward and personal attendant.
• The Crown Prince asked whether Sixth Imperial Brother knew Cui Rong was joining the Eastern Palace.

Cui Rong struggled to hide his desire for the Crown Prince and left him alone in the room. In Southern Zhao, Xiao Yu turned the Prince of Pingxi’s attempted assault against him, but Dantai Yunheng arrived and found him tormenting the prince.

• Cui Rong helped the Crown Prince put on his slippers, then hurried outside when he realized he was lusting after him.
• The Crown Prince sat alone and felt hurt when Cui Rong left without making his bed.
• The Prince of Pingxi revealed that he had abducted Xiao Yu to punish him for interfering at court and threatened to assault him.
• Xiao Yu used his power to switch places with the Prince of Pingxi and retaliated by dripping candle wax on him.
• Dantai Yunheng arrived as Xiao Yu was tormenting the Prince of Pingxi, and Xiao Yu explained that he had only been teaching the man a lesson.

Dantai Yunheng killed the Prince of Pingxi after the prince revealed he had poisoned Xiao Yu and demanded his release in exchange for an antidote. Dantai Yunheng carried the unconscious Xiao Yu away, while Xiao Yu faintly responded to his promise to protect him.

• Dantai Yunheng threatened the Prince of Pingxi for coveting Xiao Yu, while Xiao Yu urged him not to kill the prince for political reasons.
• Xiao Yu suddenly spat blood as the poison given to the Prince of Pingxi by the Immortal Master took effect.
• The Prince of Pingxi demanded that Dantai Yunheng release him in exchange for the antidote, but Dantai Yunheng slit his throat instead.
• Uncle Fu found no antidote on the Prince of Pingxi, and Dantai Yunheng ordered the place burned down.
• Dantai Yunheng carried the unconscious Xiao Yu outside and promised not to let anything happen to him; Xiao Yu's eyelashes fluttered.

Dantai Yunheng was sent six years into the past by the Heaven and Earth Mirror and reunited with Xiao Yu, whom he remembered as An An. Xiao Yu rejected his claims about their future, but Dantai Yunheng fainted before he could leave.

• Dantai Yunheng woke in the Jin Kingdom's Cold Palace as an eleven-year-old and stabbed Li Chunlai with a hidden stone when he tried to kick him.
• Dantai Yunheng ordered Little Seven to deal with Li Chunlai and the others, then washed off the blood before hurrying to meet An An.
• Xiao Yu and Qinggeng approached the commotion, and Dantai Yunheng called Xiao Yu An An.
• Xiao Yu heard Dantai Yunheng's thoughts about wanting to hold and kiss him, then tried to leave in his wheelchair.
• Dantai Yunheng told Xiao Yu he was his A-Heng from the future and that they would become deeply devoted partners, but Xiao Yu rejected the claim.
• Xiao Yu softened when he saw Dantai Yunheng's distress, but Dantai Yunheng suddenly fainted.

Xiao Yu cared for the feverish Dantai Yunheng at the Eastern Palace and accepted his claim of coming from six years in the future, though he insisted their future romance was impossible. The next morning, the Crown Prince endured the Sixth Prince’s bullying until Cui Rong intervened and the Sixth Prince backed him up.

• Qinggeng carried the feverish Dantai Yunheng to the Eastern Palace, where Xiao Yu treated his wounds and cared for him through the night.
• The Crown Prince returned without an imperial physician, and Xiao Yu revealed that his legs were healthy as he treated Dantai Yunheng alongside the Crown Prince.
• After Dantai Yunheng woke, he asked Xiao Yu to sleep beside him, and Xiao Yu climbed into bed while denying any romantic feelings.
• At the Hall of Diligent Study, the Sixth Prince and his followers knocked down and trampled the Crown Prince’s book.
• Cui Rong ordered one of the boys to kneel for trampling the book, and the Sixth Prince kicked the boy and told him to obey his Little Uncle.

Cui Rong stood up for the Crown Prince at the Hall of Diligent Study, then noticed how poorly he lived and invited him to share a meal. Meanwhile, Emperor Jinyuan revealed that he had returned from six years in the future, and Xiao Yu confirmed that someone else had traveled back as well.

• Cui Rong stopped the Sixth Prince from bullying the Crown Prince, returned the Crown Prince's books, and began teaching the princes.
• Emperor Jinyuan told Xiao Yu that he had returned from six years in the future and asked how he could return to that time.
• Xiao Yu revealed that he knew he would become both Emperor Jinyuan's younger imperial brother and the Queen of Southern Zhao, and Emperor Jinyuan learned that someone else had come from the future.
• Dantai Yunheng woke to find Xiao Yu gone and set out to look for him.
• Cui Rong found the Crown Prince and Wei Yi digging up a bamboo shoot, then asked the Crown Prince to join him for a meal.

Cui Rong shared a meal with the Crown Prince, who eagerly returned his kindness. Outside the Imperial Study, Xiao Yu found Dantai Yunheng being mistreated by eunuchs, and their tense conversation about affection was interrupted by Emperor Jinyuan, who invited them inside.

• Cui Rong served the Crown Prince congee and deboned fish, and the Crown Prince thanked him and served him food in return.
• Xiao Yu heard eunuchs berating Dantai Yunheng outside the Imperial Study, and Eunuch De sent them back to their duties.
• Dantai Yunheng pushed Xiao Yu's wheelchair and asked whether Xiao Yu hated or liked him, insisting that Xiao Yu could only like him.
• Xiao Yu said he might fall for someone else, and Dantai Yunheng grew upset and asked to hug him.
• Emperor Jinyuan interrupted them, then invited Xiao Yu and Dantai Yunheng into the Imperial Study to talk.

Emperor Jinyuan questioned Dantai Yunheng about the time reversal and learned that An An had been injured in the future. Unable to return to their own time until Xiao Yu recovered his cultivation or they found the Divine Herb Ganzha, Xiao Yu and Dantai Yunheng were sent to the Hall of Diligent Study together.

• Emperor Jinyuan confronted Dantai Yunheng over his failure to protect An An, but Xiao Yu urged him to hear Dantai Yunheng's explanation.
• Dantai Yunheng explained that an ambush had left An An's Divine Soul unstable and that the Heaven and Earth Mirror had sent him away when he tried to help.
• Xiao Yu told Emperor Jinyuan that he and Dantai Yunheng could not return to the future until their spiritual energy recovered, unless they found the Divine Herb Ganzha.
• Emperor Jinyuan ordered Xiao Yu to attend lessons at the Hall of Diligent Study and named Dantai Yunheng his study companion.
• Xiao Yu accepted Dantai Yunheng as his companion, and the two left for the Hall of Diligent Study while Emperor Jinyuan went to find Wanwan.

At the princes’ archery lesson, Xiao Yu asserted his authority as their Little Imperial Uncle after the Sixth and Second Princes mistreated the Crown Prince as a target. He gave the Crown Prince the emperor’s gold token, leaving the other princes resentful.

• Dequan introduced Xiao Yu and Dantai Yunheng to the princes as their Little Imperial Uncle and his study companion.
• The Sixth Prince challenged Xiao Yu’s status, but Xiao Yu reminded him that he was their elder and could appeal to the emperor.
• Xiao Yu learned that the princes were using the Crown Prince as an archery target, then pinned the Sixth Prince and Second Prince to a tree with arrows.
• Xiao Yu showed the princes the emperor’s gold token, causing the guards to kneel and obey his order to withdraw.
• Xiao Yu gave the gold token to the Crown Prince as a first-meeting gift, provoking the Sixth Prince’s outrage and the Second Prince’s envy.

Xiao Yu tried to comfort Dantai Yunheng, who was upset that Xiao Yu treated the Crown Prince well and longed to return to the future. Their exchange turned intimate, and the Crown Prince overheard them before fleeing with a mistaken impression of their relationship.

• Xiao Yu asked Dantai Yunheng why he was downcast, and Dantai Yunheng complained that Xiao Yu was always good to the Crown Prince.
• Dantai Yunheng admitted he wanted to return to the future to find out whether An An had woken up, and Xiao Yu offered to ask the Heaven and Earth Mirror to send him back.
• Dantai Yunheng asked Xiao Yu for a kiss, and Xiao Yu agreed that their feelings were mutual.
• The Crown Prince arrived to return the gold token, overheard their intimate conversation, and ran away in embarrassment.
• Dantai Yunheng turned Xiao Yu's face back toward him, while the fleeing Crown Prince ran into something as someone warned him to watch out.

Cui Rong realized he had fallen for the Crown Prince after giving him the steamed buns he had brought for the Sixth Prince. He confessed his feelings to the Chancellor's Wife, who misunderstood the identity of the person he loved and agreed to reflect with him before urging him to choose someone else.

• Cui Rong gave the Crown Prince the buns and hurried away, unsettled by his racing heart.
• The Sixth Prince found Cui Rong and learned that his meat buns were gone, adding to his distress over his mother's demotion and the Emperor's changed affection.
• Cui Rong knelt in the ancestral hall and told the Chancellor's Wife he had fallen for someone he should not love.
• Cui Rong revealed that the person was neither a girl nor a young master, and the Chancellor's Wife concluded he was a eunuch from the Palace.
• The Chancellor's Wife knelt beside Cui Rong and suggested they reflect on their faults before finding someone else for him to love; Cui Rong reluctantly agreed.

Cui Rong left with breakfast for the prince he believed needed his help, while Xiao Yu and the younger Qi Yunheng argued over whether Qi Yunheng would fall for him. In Southern Zhao, Dantai Yunheng reunited with Xiao Yu and explained that the Heaven and Earth Mirror had sent him to see Xiao Yu six years earlier.

• Cui Rong assured the Chancellor's wife he would behave properly toward the young prince and left with a packed breakfast.
• Qi Yunheng woke beside Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yu realized that his younger self had awakened early and that the older Qi Yunheng had been sent back too.
• Xiao Yu introduced himself again, but Qi Yunheng insisted he would never fall for Xiao Yu and left the bedchamber.
• In Southern Zhao, Dantai Yunheng woke beside Xiao Yu and embraced him, relieved to see him well.
• Dantai Yunheng told Xiao Yu he had visited him six years earlier and regretted leaving without saying goodbye, but Xiao Yu reassured him that they were together now.

Six years earlier, Qi Yunheng decided to remain in the Jin Kingdom and arranged to protect the Eleventh Prince if possible. Three years later, he was still following Xiao Yu, whose plans for marriage drove Qi Yunheng to confess that he wanted Xiao Yu for himself.

• After learning that his mother had been confined to the Cold Palace, Qi Yunheng refused to involve himself in Southern Zhao's affairs but ordered Uncle Fu to check on the Eleventh Prince and his mother.
• Three years later, Qi Yunheng interrupted Xiao Yu and Shen Zhijie's meal, ate Xiao Yu's noodles, and followed him when he left.
• Xiao Yu told Qi Yunheng to stop following him and said Qi Yunheng was interfering with his plans to arrange a betrothal.
• Qi Yunheng insisted that Xiao Yu already had him, and Xiao Yu reminded him of his earlier claim that he would never like him.
• Qi Yunheng hugged Xiao Yu from behind and asked to make up, then declared that Xiao Yu could only have a baby with him.
• Embarrassed by Qi Yunheng's loud declaration, Xiao Yu dragged him away and told him not to say such things again.

Cui Rong and the Crown Prince struggled with their feelings after the Crown Prince was told to choose a Crown Princess. Cui Rong resolved to keep supporting and protecting him, even if he married someone else.

• The Crown Prince told Cui Rong that Emperor Father and Empress Mother had sent portraits for him to choose a Crown Princess, and admitted he had not chosen anyone.
• Cui Rong recommended Princess Ning'an for her qualities and influential allies, then assured the Crown Prince that he would support him.
• After the Crown Prince left, Cui Rong restrained his urge to destroy the portraits and left the Eastern Palace.
• The Chancellor's Wife found Cui Rong kneeling in the Ancestral Hall and heard him ask how he could stop the Crown Prince from appointing a Crown Princess.
• Cui Rong told the Chancellor's Wife that he could not love someone else and would continue visiting the Eastern Palace to stand behind and protect the Crown Prince.

Cui Rong saw the Crown Prince with Princess Ning'an and left, then later returned to ask whether the Crown Prince had chosen a Crown Princess. He confessed his love and offered himself for the position, leaving the Crown Prince visibly moved but concerned the Chancellor would object.

• Cui Rong arrived at the Eastern Palace and saw the Crown Prince laughing with Princess Ning'an, which made him turn away and leave.
• The Crown Prince and Xiao Zhiyu discussed her becoming his Crown Princess, and she agreed to support him while urging him to speak with his Imperial Uncle and the others.
• Xiao Zhiyu asked the Crown Prince to treat her to a meal at Fortune House, and he later returned to his study hoping his Little Uncle would visit.
• Cui Rong appeared in the Crown Prince's study, caught him when he stumbled, and asked whether he had chosen a Crown Princess.
• Cui Rong told the Crown Prince to call him Xuanzhi and asked to become his Crown Princess, then confessed that he was in love with him.

Cui Rong confessed his love to the Crown Prince, and the two shared their first kiss. Cui Rong asked to become the Crown Prince’s Crown Princess, and the Crown Prince agreed, leaving them committed to a life together.

• Cui Rong told the Crown Prince he loved him, but the Crown Prince assumed he was drunk.
• Cui Rong asked permission to do something disrespectful and kissed the Crown Prince, who returned the kiss.
• Afterward, the Crown Prince called Cui Rong “Xuanzhi,” and Cui Rong asked him to say it again.
• Cui Rong asked the Crown Prince to make him his Crown Princess and share a life together.
• The Crown Prince agreed and resolved not to let Cui Rong regret his words.