Chapter Summaries

Consort Liu accused Consort Wan of secretly loving her childhood companion Sun Wenxun and presented poems in Consort Wan’s handwriting as evidence. Consort Wan admitted the poems were hers but gave no explanation, leaving Emperor Jinyuan jealous and Sun Wenxun convinced she returned his feelings.

• Emperor Jinyuan dismissed Consort Liu’s rumor, but she accused Consort Wan of betraying him with Sun Wenxun.
• Consort Liu brought Sun Wenxun before the gathered royals, and he gazed affectionately at Consort Wan.
• Emperor Jinyuan angrily warned Consort Liu against slander, but she claimed to have evidence.
• Consort Liu showed Emperor Jinyuan poems found in Consort Wan’s room and said they were love poems addressed to Sun Wenxun.
• Consort Wan recognized her handwriting, put the poems away, and said she had nothing to say.
• Sun Wenxun took Consort Wan’s silence as confirmation that she loved him.

Consort Wan explained that her manuscripts reflected an old, unrequited admiration for the General of Zhennan, not an affair with Sun Wenxun, and Sun Wenxun confirmed their relationship had always remained proper. Consort Liu's accusation collapsed, while Emperor Jinyuan learned that Consort Wan had once admired Xiao Yu's father.

• Consort Liu demanded that Emperor Jinyuan punish Consort Wan after she admitted the manuscripts were hers, but Emperor Jinyuan ordered Consort Liu to stay silent and let Consort Wan explain.
• The Crown Prince called Consort Wan "Mother," and she tearfully acknowledged him before clarifying that she had written the manuscripts before becoming Crown Princess.
• Consort Wan revealed that she had admired the General of Zhennan, Xiao Yu's father, and said she had forgotten those feelings after he married.
• Xiao Yu fell from his wheelchair when he realized his father had been the man Consort Wan admired, and Emperor Jinyuan recognized him as a romantic rival.
• Sun Wenxun told Emperor Jinyuan that he and Consort Wan had always remained within the bounds of propriety and asked him not to believe the accusation.
• Consort Liu angrily protested as Sun Wenxun defended Consort Wan.

Emperor Jinyuan charged Consort Liu with deceiving the emperor for slandering Consort Wan, but Consort Wan stopped Liu’s attempt to attack her herself. The chapter ended with Xiao Yu revealing that Guard Shen had sacrificed his ambitions to remain near the woman he loved.

• Emperor Jinyuan declared that Consort Liu’s slander of Consort Wan constituted the crime of deceiving the emperor and demanded that she admit her guilt.
• Consort Liu denied the charge, blamed Consort Wan, and resolved to kill her.
• Emperor Jinyuan, the Crown Prince, and Sun Wenxun rushed to protect Consort Wan, but she sent Consort Liu flying with a single attack.
• Guard Shen rushed to Consort Liu’s side, and Xiao Yu recognized him as Shen Zhuocheng, who had entered the palace to protect her.
• Sun Wenxun recalled that he and Shen Zhuocheng had once shared ambitions to serve the Jin Kingdom before their love for women changed their lives.

Emperor Jinyuan ordered Consort Liu executed after Xiao Yu revealed the terrible fate she had planned for the Crown Prince. Shen Zhuocheng tried to save her by taking Xiao Yu hostage, leaving the palace forces facing a standoff.

• Emperor Jinyuan confronted Shen Zhuocheng over his closeness to Consort Liu, while Consort Liu insisted she barely knew him and tried to appeal to the emperor.
• After Xiao Yu's thoughts revealed Consort Liu's future crimes and plot to poison the Crown Prince, Emperor Jinyuan ordered the guards to beat her to death.
• Shen Zhuocheng begged for Consort Liu's life, and Emperor Jinyuan refused to withdraw his decree, though he promised not to implicate the second prince.
• Shen Zhuocheng held Xiao Yu at knifepoint and threatened to kill him unless Emperor Jinyuan spared Consort Liu.
• The Crown Prince moved to intervene, but Emperor Jinyuan stopped him, and Consort Wan led him to safety.
• Emperor Jinyuan told Shen Zhuocheng that taking Xiao Yu hostage would not save Consort Liu, as the Imperial Guards had surrounded him.

Xiao Yu thwarted Consort Liu and Shen Zhuocheng’s hostage attempt, defended his father’s loyalty, and left the pair facing death. Shen Zhuocheng accepted their defeat and prepared to die alongside Liu Ruomei.

• Xiao Yu rebuked Shen Zhuocheng for holding a sword on him, and Emperor Jinyuan warned Xiao Yu not to insult him again.
• Consort Liu demanded to know why Emperor Jinyuan had never loved her, and he said he had always rejected her.
• Consort Liu held a hairpin to Xiao Yu’s throat and threatened to provoke the Prince of Zhennan into rebellion.
• Qinggeng struck Consort Liu, but Shen Zhuocheng stopped her by threatening Xiao Yu; Xiao Yu then knocked away Shen Zhuocheng’s sword and kicked him down.
• Xiao Yu gave Shen Zhuocheng a sword and told him to end his own life, and Shen Zhuocheng held Liu Ruomei as they prepared to die together.

After the palace intrigue ended, Xiao Yu encountered a masked boy and his venomous snake, Little Eight. He followed the snake to the Cold Palace, where a fire had broken out at the Southern Zhao hostage’s residence, and rescued it, believing its master Qi Yunheng had already left.

• Emperor Jinyuan buried Consort Liu and Shen Zhuocheng together, confined the consorts who had watched the spectacle, and sent Sun Wenxun back to his county with a dangerous assignment.
• Sun Wenxun resolved to make his county prosper so he could someday return to the capital and help Wanwan.
• Xiao Yu caught a venomous snake on the Eastern Palace roof and met a masked boy who demanded it back, then fled after Xiao Yu remarked that he smelled nice.
• When the boy did not return, Xiao Yu followed the snake’s directions and realized they were heading to the Cold Palace.
• Xiao Yu learned that the burning residence belonged to the Southern Zhao hostage, entered the flames, and rescued the nearly lifeless snake.
• Xiao Yu took the snake in and promised to bring it to its master in the Southern Border someday.

Emperor Jinyuan questioned Xiao Yu about the Southern Zhao hostages’ deaths and faced ministers’ objections to Fang becoming empress. Xiao Yu challenged the ministers to explain how virtuous their own marriages were, leaving them speechless.

• Emperor Jinyuan asked Xiao Yu what he thought of the Southern Zhao hostages dying in a fire, and Xiao Yu concealed that they had escaped.
• Xiao Yu recalled that Qi Yunheng might return to Southern Zhao and later join the Prince of Zhennan, while Emperor Jinyuan learned that Cao Lin had forged the decree that led to the prince’s death in another timeline.
• Emperor Jinyuan kept Xiao Yu in the Imperial Study when the Censor-in-Chief, the Minister of Rites, and the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau arrived to oppose Fang’s coronation.
• The ministers argued that Fang brought ill fortune and was not virtuous enough to be empress, and Emperor Jinyuan angrily defended her.
• Xiao Yu praised the ministers’ talk of virtuous wives and asked them to describe their own exemplary marriages, leaving them speechless.

Xiao Yu exposed the officials’ marital scandals when they challenged Emperor Jinyuan over the Empress’s appointment, driving them from the Imperial Study. After Emperor Jinyuan offered him a reward, Xiao Yu asked to leave the palace.

• Emperor Jinyuan praised Censor Lu’s marriage, and Xiao Yu revealed that none of Lu’s sons were his, causing the censor to collapse.
• Emperor Jinyuan introduced Director Yin Huizhou as another example of a devoted husband, but Xiao Yu exposed Yin’s secret mistress and hypocrisy about taking a concubine.
• Yin Huizhou fled the Imperial Study, and the minister of rites promised to ensure the Empress’s investiture went smoothly before leaving too.
• Emperor Jinyuan offered Xiao Yu a reward, and Xiao Yu asked to leave the palace, leaving the emperor speechless.

Xiao Yu persuaded Emperor Jinyuan to let him leave the palace and explored the capital with Qinggeng and Xiao Ba. After a stranger helped him get his change back from a bun vendor, Xiao Yu insisted on returning the favor and invited him to eat noodles.

• Xiao Yu convinced Emperor Jinyuan to give him a token to leave the palace, and Emperor Jinyuan worried that Qi'an would eventually leave him.
• Qinggeng argued with Xiao Ba until Xiao Yu returned and explained that the snake was only staying with him temporarily.
• Xiao Yu took Qinggeng and Xiao Ba into the capital, where Qinggeng eagerly bought meat buns.
• A stranger named Shen Zhijie returned Xiao Yu's silver and explained that the buns cost only sixty coppers.
• Xiao Yu offered to treat Shen Zhijie to a meal, and they sat down at the Ruyi Noodle Stall for noodles with gravy.

Xiao Yu went with Shen Zhijie to find Shen Wuji, only to learn that Shen Zhijie and Shen Yuzhu were his children. After Xiao Yu’s thoughts revealed that a fake father would ruin both cousins’ lives, Shen Zhijie resolved to protect his family and brought Xiao Yu to meet Shen Wuji.

• Shen Yuzhu mistook Xiao Yu for a kidnapped child before he revealed that he was Prince Yu.
• Xiao Yu told Shen Zhijie that he had come to thank Shen Wuji for donating a hundred thousand taels, and Shen Zhijie revealed that Shen Wuji was his father.
• Xiao Yu’s thoughts described how an impostor would deceive Shen Zhijie and Shen Yuzhu, leading to their deaths.
• Enraged by the future he heard, Shen Zhijie split a table in two and decided to take Xiao Yu to his father immediately.
• Shen Zhijie brought Xiao Yu to the Shen Residence and shouted for Shen Wuji, who angrily called for him to come to the study.

Shen Zhijie tested whether his father had been replaced, then Xiao Yu visited the Shen household and asked about recent changes. Shen Yuzhu learned that her absent father had built a new family and resolved to rely on the relatives who had raised her.

• Shen Zhijie questioned Shen Wuji about personal memories, confirmed he was his real father, and introduced Xiao Yu.
• Xiao Yu gave Shen Wuji a thousand taels on behalf of the emperor and asked whether anything unusual had happened in the household.
• Shen Wuji mentioned a letter from his younger brother, and Shen Zhijie complained that his uncle had been away for years and had not visited Yuzhu.
• Xiao Yu thought that Second Uncle Shen had a wife, concubines, and children elsewhere, and Shen Yuzhu overheard him when she returned with food.
• Shen Yuzhu remembered that her father had left her with Shen Wuji and his wife without even naming her, and decided she no longer wanted him.

Xiao Yu comforted Shen Wuji after Yuzhu’s distress and met Madam Shen, whose thoughts revealed that Duan Wu planned to steal Shen Wuji’s identity using a human-skin mask. Shen Wuji resolved to stop Duan Wu, only to learn that he had arrived at the estate.

• Shen Wuji sent Shen Zhijie to find Madam Shen and remind him that Yuzhu would always belong to their family.
• Xiao Yu told Shen Wuji that he missed his parents and siblings, and Shen Wuji offered to help him if needed.
• Madam Shen joined Shen Wuji and Xiao Yu, and her thoughts revealed that Duan Wu coveted her and planned to impersonate Shen Wuji with a human-skin mask.
• Shen Wuji decided to go to the Court of Judicial Review and have Duan Wu and the mask-maker caught before they could switch faces.
• The steward announced that Duan Wu had arrived at the estate, and Shen Wuji furiously ordered him to leave.

Xiao Yu visited the Shen Residence, where Su Yan reunited warmly with him, while Emperor Jinyuan learned of their meeting and waited for Xiao Yu to return. At the chancellor’s residence, Chancellor Cui urged the Sixth Prince to endure rather than rush into revenge against Xiao Yu.

• Shen Wuji reluctantly admitted Su Yan, who greeted Xiao Yu and lifted his nephew into his arms after Xiao Yu initially ignored him.
• Emperor Jinyuan heard that Xiao Yu had given Shen Wuji one thousand taels and that Su Yan had visited the Shen Residence, then ordered the palace gates closed an hour later.
• The Sixth Prince asked Chancellor Cui to help him avenge Xiao Yu for the injuries he had suffered.
• Chancellor Cui told Xuan'er to be patient and learn to endure until he grew up.

The Sixth Prince returned to the palace after Chancellor Cui urged him to follow his guidance, but Xiao Yu’s dismissal further angered him. Xiao Yu then protected Qinggeng and Xiao Ba from Commandant Cao’s search of the Eastern Palace, leaving Cao to withdraw without finding them.

• Chancellor Cui told the Sixth Prince that the palace would eventually be his if he obeyed, and the Sixth Prince agreed.
• At the palace gates, the Sixth Prince encountered Xiao Yu, restrained his anger, and carried Xiao Yu’s message to the Emperor.
• The Crown Prince waited anxiously for Xiao Yu, who returned and reassured him after he worried Xiao Yu had abandoned him.
• Qinggeng warned Xiao Yu that Cao Lin had recognized him, so Xiao Yu hid Qinggeng and Xiao Ba inside the Sealing Scroll.
• Cao Lin sought permission to search the Eastern Palace, but Xiao Yu threatened him and his men with fifty strokes if they found nothing.
• Cao Lin withdrew with his men, while Xiao Yu resolved to find a future chance to punish them for killing his father in his previous life.

Empress Fang gave birth to a healthy princess, and Emperor Jinyuan named her Xiyue after hearing her thoughts approve the simpler name. Xiyue realized she had been reborn into a novel as a palace princess, and her family welcomed her.

• Three years after Emperor Jinyuan and Empress Fang's wedding, the Empress went into labor while Emperor Jinyuan, Xiao Yu, and the Crown Prince waited anxiously outside.
• An elderly matron announced that the Empress had delivered a healthy little princess, and Emperor Jinyuan hurried to see the Empress before holding his daughter.
• Xiao Yu introduced the baby to the Crown Prince and himself, while Xiyue privately wondered if she had transmigrated into the novel she had been reading.
• Emperor Jinyuan first proposed Xi as the baby's name, but changed it to Xiyue after hearing her thoughts complain that Xi had too many strokes.
• The Empress held Xiyue and welcomed her into the family as Emperor Jinyuan and the others reacted to the baby's candid thoughts.

Xiao Yu asked Emperor Jinyuan to let him leave the palace, but Emperor Jinyuan instead proposed that he marry the infant Princess Xiyue. Xiao Yu fabricated a story about loving a man to escape the betrothal, and Emperor Jinyuan agreed to drop the marriage proposal while postponing Xiao Yu’s move until Prince Yu’s Residence was built.

• Xiao Yu asked Emperor Jinyuan to let him move out of the palace, but Emperor Jinyuan refused because he did not want Xiao Yu away from him.
• The Empress brought Little Xiyue to the Imperial Study and tried to mediate between Emperor Jinyuan and Xiao Yu.
• Emperor Jinyuan proposed a childhood betrothal between Xiao Yu and Xiyue, with them to marry when she turned fifteen, and Xiao Yu objected to the plan.
• Xiao Yu claimed that he preferred men and had fallen in love with the former Southern Zhao Hostage, then admitted that the story was made up.
• Emperor Jinyuan dropped the betrothal proposal and said they could discuss Xiao Yu leaving after Prince Yu’s Residence was built.

Qi Yunheng exposed the Eighth Prince’s attempt to poison him and turned the poisoned pastries against the boy. After the Eighth Prince confessed that the Eldest Imperial Brother had ordered the poisoning, Qi Shi arrived and accused Qi Yunheng, leaving him to confront her over how she had treated him.

• Qi Yunheng read memorials accusing him of killing his father and brothers, then granted the Grand Tutor leave to join them.
• The Eighth Prince brought Qi Yunheng pastries laced with poison, but Qi Yunheng ate them without appearing harmed.
• When Qi Yunheng challenged him, the Eighth Prince ate the remaining pastries and soon collapsed in pain, accusing Qi Yunheng of poisoning him.
• Qi Yunheng confronted the Eighth Prince about trying to kill him, and the boy admitted that the Eldest Imperial Brother had ordered him to poison Qi Yunheng.
• Qi Shi arrived, accused Qi Yunheng of poisoning Yunqin, and he demanded to know whether she had ever worried about him as her child.

Qi Yunheng confronted Lady Qi over the poison and her affair, then wounded himself after she called him a demon and denied he was her son. He ordered her and the unconscious eighth prince expelled from the palace, but Uncle Fu knocked him unconscious to stop him from bleeding to death.

• Lady Qi demanded the antidote, and Qi Yunheng accused her lover and the eighth prince of plotting against him.
• Lady Qi slapped Qi Yunheng and cursed him, saying she regretted giving birth to him.
• Qi Yunheng cut his arm and begged Lady Qi to accept him, but she stabbed him in the chest with his dagger.
• Qi Yunheng ordered the guards to remove Lady Qi from the palace and told Uncle Fu to throw out the unconscious eighth prince.
• Qi Yunheng refused treatment so his blood could drain away, and Uncle Fu knocked him unconscious to save his life.

After lying unconscious for three days, Qi Yunheng woke when Uncle Fu enraged him with news about Xiao Yu and Little Eight. He then mistook Little Eleven’s candy for poison and ordered Uncle Fu to remove the frightened boy from his bedchamber.

• Uncle Fu cared for Qi Yunheng and, hoping to rouse him, told him Xiao Ba had changed loyalties and Xiao Yu had confessed his love for him.
• Qi Yunheng woke in a fury and ordered Little Seven to have Little Eight bite Xiao Yu, then cursed everyone for betraying him.
• Alone, Qi Yunheng recalled his encounters with Xiao Yu and angrily decided the prince had harbored indecent intentions toward him.
• Little Eleven came to visit Qi Yunheng and offered him candy, but Qi Yunheng shoved him down and accused him of trying to poison him.
• Little Eleven ate the fallen candy to prove it was safe, but Qi Yunheng still ordered Uncle Fu to carry him out.

Xiao Yu discovered that rumors about his supposed taste for men had spread through the Jin Kingdom and went with Shen Zhijie to help Shen Yuzhu. There, they learned that Xie Guifan claimed Shen Yuzhu was his fiancée, and Xiao Yu recognized him as the abusive man from his previous life.

• Xiao Yu realized people were staring because rumors that he liked men had spread, and he asked Shen Zhijie to investigate who had started them.
• Xiao Yu and Shen Zhijie hurried to the Ruyi Noodle Shop after seeing Xie Guifan pressuring Shen Yuzhu to marry him.
• Shen Yuzhu rejected Xie Guifan's argument that marriage was the proper path for her and said she could support herself.
• Shen Zhijie defended Shen Yuzhu and insisted she would always have a place in his home, even after he married.
• Xie Guifan produced a marriage contract allegedly written with Shen Yuzhu's father's consent and claimed she was his rightful fiancée.
• Xiao Yu recognized Xie Guifan as the man who had abused Shen Yuzhu and tried to sell her to a brothel in his previous life.