Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yu intervened when Xie Guifan tried to force Shen Yuzhu into marriage and discovered that her father and Duan Wu had conspired to sell her. He left the Shen siblings behind and had the Imperial Guards seize Xie Guifan, who begged to be released.

• Shen Zhijie punched Xie Guifan after he taunted Shen Yuzhu with their Marriage Contract, but Shen Yuzhu stopped Zhijie from striking him again.
• Xiao Yu learned that Duan Wu and Second Uncle Shen had schemed with Xie Guifan to marry Yuzhu for status, leaving her heartbroken by her father's betrayal.
• Xiao Yu confronted Xie Guifan and declared that he had taken a liking to him, while Imperial Guards blocked Xie Guifan's servants from intervening.
• Xiao Yu ordered the Imperial Guards to escort Xie Guifan to his Private Residence, and Xie Guifan resisted and pleaded to be released.

Xiao Yu defended Shen Yuzhu from Xie Guifan, but accidentally tore Xie Guifan’s robe and sparked rumors that he had assaulted him. After advising Shen Yuzhu that marriage should depend on mutual affection, Xiao Yu returned to the palace, where Emperor’s anger awaited him.

• Xiao Yu grabbed Xie Guifan to stop him, accidentally tearing his robe, and Xie Guifan fled in humiliation while onlookers drew their own conclusions.
• Xiao Yu told Shen Yuzhu to consider whether she wanted to marry Xie Guifan and assured her that her happiness mattered more than other people’s opinions.
• Shen Yuzhu thanked Xiao Yu and invited him to eat noodles before he returned to the palace.
• The Crown Prince told Xiao Yu that the Marquis of Pingxi had accused him of violating Xie Guifan and demanded an explanation from Emperor.
• Dequan stopped the Crown Prince from entering the Imperial Study, and Xiao Yu went in to face Emperor while the Crown Prince waited outside.

Xiao Yu defended his abduction of Xie Guifan before Emperor Jinyuan, who ordered him confined to the Eastern Palace after scolding him over his conduct. In Southern Zhao, Qi Yunheng learned that Xiao Yu’s actions had stirred the Jin Kingdom’s Southern Border Army and smashed his desk in anger.

• Xiao Yu entered the Imperial Study and clashed with the Marquis of Pingxi, who accused him of wrongdoing.
• Xiao Yu said Heir Xie had tried to abduct a woman and that he had abducted Xie in return, prompting Emperor Jinyuan to demand the marquis answer for his grandson’s conduct.
• The Marquis of Pingxi fainted after hearing Xiao Yu’s thoughts about Xie Guifan’s future, and Emperor Jinyuan sent him to the Imperial Medical Bureau.
• Emperor Jinyuan showed Xiao Yu impeachment memorials and a warning from his father, then ordered him to remain in the Eastern Palace.
• In Southern Zhao, Uncle Fu told Qi Yunheng that the Jin Kingdom’s Southern Border Army was agitated because Xiao Yu had abducted a man in Capital City, and Qi Yunheng smashed his desk.

Qi Yunheng sent Xiao Yu poison over rumors that Xiao Yu had sullied his reputation, but Xiao Yu refused to drink it and sent back a letter declaring his love. Qi Yunheng replied with an insult, and Xiao Yu ended the exchange by throwing Fuxi and Xiao Ba out of his room.

• Qi Yunheng angrily called Xiao Yu a liar and ordered Uncle Fu not to mention him again.
• Fuxi arrived in the Jin Kingdom with poison from Qi Yunheng, ordering Xiao Yu to end his life.
• Xiao Yu refused the poison and sent Qi Yunheng a letter explaining himself.
• Qi Yunheng read Xiao Yu's declaration of love, blushed, and struggled to write a reply before sending back the word “Wan.ton.”
• Xiao Yu threw the letter and Fuxi out the window, then sent Xiao Ba back to Qi Yunheng and shut the window.

Qi Yunheng and Xiao Yu exchanged letters through their birds, with Xiao Yu teasing Qi Yunheng as he tried to draw a reply from him. Qi Yunheng ended the chapter blushing over Xiao Yu calling him “Ah Heng” and deciding to visit Jin Kingdom once Southern Zhao was settled.

• In Southern Zhao, Qi Yunheng worried that Xiao Yu had stopped replying, then sent Xiao Ba back with another letter asking why.
• Xiao Yu comforted Xiao Ba, read Qi Yunheng’s question, and replied that he did not want to answer; when Qi Yunheng asked why, Xiao Yu asked if he had nothing better to do.
• Qi Yunheng wrote that he was busy but still made time to reply, and Xiao Yu sent back a message telling him to wash up and go to bed early.
• Qi Yunheng angrily corrected Xiao Yu’s “Little brat” insult, while Little Eleven mistook the character he wrote for “Huo” and was ordered to copy it fifty times.
• Qi Yunheng read Xiao Yu’s teasing offer to call him “Ah Heng,” blushed, and told Uncle Fu he wanted to visit Jin Kingdom after Southern Zhao was settled.

Three years later, Prince Yu Xiao Yu tried to capture a face-changing mask maker at Fortune House, but the target escaped when the masked Qi Yunheng crashed into his room. Xiao Yu treated Qi Yunheng’s abdominal wound without recognizing him, while Qi Yunheng silently judged Xiao Yu for his flirtatious reputation.

• Xiao Yu used himself as bait at Fortune House to lure the face-changing mask maker, but the man escaped when a dagger flew into the room.
• Qi Yunheng, wearing a Ghost Mask and wounded in the abdomen, collapsed onto Xiao Yu after entering through the window.
• Xiao Yu asked Shen Zhijie to bring hot water and medicine, then sent him away when Qi Yunheng refused to let him treat the wound.
• Xiao Yu cleaned Qi Yunheng’s wound and stopped him from removing his mask, then insisted that he liked women.
• Qi Yunheng blushed and privately thought Xiao Yu was wicked and frivolous, based on rumors and their first encounter.

Qi Yunheng reunited with Xiao Yu after six years, but Xiao Yu did not recognize him and treated him as a stranger. Their tense dinner with Su Xun ended when Qi Yunheng left after being challenged over his right to control Xiao Yu.

• Qi Yunheng resented Xiao Yu's warmth toward him, then learned from Xiao Yu's thoughts that he remembered their old friendship and was thinking of writing to Ah Heng.
• Xiao Yu worried about Qi Yunheng's wound and invited him to eat; Qi Yunheng gave his courtesy name, Yuchu, and agreed to go with him.
• Xiao Yu and Qi Yunheng ran into Su Xun, who invited them to dine together at Spring Drunk House.
• When a male courtesan approached Xiao Yu, Qi Yunheng ordered him away and asked whether Xiao Yu came there often.
• Su Xun challenged Qi Yunheng's right to control Xiao Yu, and Qi Yunheng left through the window into the night.

Xiao Yu told Su Xun he planned to leave the palace and establish his own household, then secured Emperor Jinyuan’s permission to move into Prince Yu’s Residence after the autumn hunt. He told the disappointed Crown Prince that it was time for him to take a Crown Princess.

• After Qi Yunheng left, Su Xun teased Xiao Yu about their relationship, then asked what he planned to do next.
• Xiao Yu told Su Xun he wanted to leave the palace and establish his own household, and asked him to reassure their grandfather that he knew what he was doing.
• Xiao Yu asked Emperor Jinyuan for permission to move into Prince Yu’s Residence, and the emperor agreed he could leave after the autumn hunt.
• Emperor Jinyuan reminisced about Xiao Yu after he left the Imperial Study.
• Xiao Yu told the Crown Prince that he was happy to be moving out, then said it was time for the Crown Prince to take a Crown Princess.

Xiao Yu protected the Crown Prince from an assassin, who wounded him with a poisoned arrow, and treated the injury while the Crown Prince nearly confessed his feelings. Xiao Yu learned the poison required the poisoner's blood to cure, then received a jealous letter from Qi Yunheng as he tried to discover whether Qi Yunheng had come to the Jin Kingdom.

• The Crown Prince confessed that he did not want to take a Crown Princess, and Xiao Yu promised no one would force him while Xiao Yu was there.
• Yuchu attacked Xiao Yu and the Crown Prince with arrows, and the Crown Prince was struck while shielding Xiao Yu.
• Xiao Yu carried the wounded Crown Prince inside, removed the arrowhead, and discovered the wound had been poisoned.
• Xiao Ba identified the poison as a Southern Zhao gu poison that required the poisoner's blood as a catalyst for the cure.
• Xiao Yu caught Fuxi and questioned it about Qi Yunheng's arrival in the Jin Kingdom, then read Qi Yunheng's jealous letter about his closeness with the Crown Prince.

Xiao Yu realized that Yuchu was Qi Yunheng and tracked him to the abandoned residence where he had once lived as a hostage. After confronting him about their past and the rumors Xiao Yu had spread, Qi Yunheng began to say what he wanted.

• Xiao Yu suspected Yuchu was Qi Yunheng, then threatened Fuxi until the bird revealed Qi Yunheng's whereabouts.
• Xiao Yu left Qinggeng to watch over the Crown Prince and went to the ruined residence where Qi Yunheng had lived as a hostage.
• Xiao Yu found Qi Yunheng in the dark, recognized his mask, and dragged him outside by the arm.
• Qi Yunheng accused Xiao Yu of being forward and recalled how Xiao Yu had claimed to love and pursue him.
• Xiao Yu admitted the rumors he had spread had been his fault and asked Qi Yunheng what he wanted.

Xiao Yu gave Qi Yunheng the kiss he demanded, but Qi Yunheng turned it into a bloody kiss and fled after Xiao Yu bit him back. At his private residence, Qi Yunheng confessed to Uncle Fu that Xiao Yu had kissed him and asked how he should kiss properly.

• Qi Yunheng demanded that Xiao Yu kiss him and confronted him with storybooks depicting Xiao Yu’s romantic entanglements.
• Xiao Yu kissed Qi Yunheng on the cheek, but Qi Yunheng grabbed him and kissed him fiercely on the lips.
• Xiao Yu bit Qi Yunheng back, drawing blood, and Qi Yunheng released him and disappeared into the night.
• Xiao Yu wiped his injured lips and planned to test the medicinal catalyst with his blood.
• Qi Yunheng returned to the private residence, told Uncle Fu that Xiao Yu had kissed him, and asked how he should kiss properly.

At morning court, Xiao Yu’s defense against accusations of improper conduct exposed Advising Grandee Ma Shang’s affairs and crimes, leading to his arrest and execution order. Emperor Jinyuan dismissed court and ordered Xiao Yu to reflect at home for several days.

• Advising Grandee Ma Shang and Censor Lu accused Xiao Yu of disgraceful conduct, and Emperor Jinyuan asked him to answer the charges.
• Xiao Yu questioned Ma Shang about seducing married women, then revealed through his thoughts Ma Shang’s affair with Censor Lu’s wife and his involvement in her death.
• Censor Lu struck Ma Shang, and Yin Huizhou attacked him after learning Ma Shang had also been involved with his mistress.
• Censor Lu and Yin Huizhou called for Ma Shang’s dismissal and punishment, and Emperor Jinyuan ordered guards to imprison him and execute him on a date to be set.
• Emperor Jinyuan told Xiao Yu to stay home and reflect instead of attending court for the next few days.

Qi Yunheng tried to learn about kissing on the road, then visited Xiao Yu in the Eastern Palace and grew angry when Xiao Yu offered to help him find a queen. Qi Yunheng left after smashing a table, while Xiao Yu told the Crown Prince to send a sturdier replacement.

• Qi Yunheng made Gongsun Yun and Yan Mu kiss, and Zi Ying demonstrated by kissing Gongsun Yun before Qi Yunheng released the scholars and left.
• Gongsun Yun declared that he had fallen in love with Zi Ying and chased after her, while Yan Mu warned him that his family might object.
• Xiao Yu hid Qi Yunheng's storybook when Qi Yunheng entered his bedchamber and asked whether Qi Yunheng had come to the Jin Kingdom to see him.
• Qi Yunheng said he still needed a queen, but Xiao Yu offered to find unmarried women for him to meet.
• Qi Yunheng smashed a table and left, and Xiao Yu told the Crown Prince to find a replacement sturdy enough to withstand a beating.

Xiao Yu cared for the injured Crown Prince while Little Xiyue arrived after sneaking away and exposed her relatives’ thoughts about their relationship. Xiao Yu and the Crown Prince realized they could both hear her thoughts, and the Crown Prince took Little Xiyue away, leaving Xiao Yu wondering whether the Crown Prince liked him.

• Xiao Yu told the Crown Prince to rest, but Little Xiyue arrived alone after sneaking away from Nanny Fang.
• Xiao Yu scolded Little Xiyue for putting herself in danger, then carried her while she privately imagined herself as his future daughter.
• Little Xiyue discovered Xiao Yu’s romance storybooks and wondered why they did not feature the Crown Prince.
• After Little Xiyue speculated about Xiao Yu and the Crown Prince’s relationship, both men realized they could hear her thoughts and became embarrassed.
• The Crown Prince took Little Xiyue back to the Empress, and Xiao Yu wondered whether the Crown Prince liked him.

Little Xiyue was returned safely to the Empress after secretly leaving to find Xiao Yu, while the Crown Prince discovered that his attendant Wei Yi had gone missing. At the Eastern Palace, Wu Langxing disguised himself as Wei Yi and pursued Xiao Yu until Qi Yunheng arrived and saw them together.

• The Crown Prince brought Little Xiyue to the Empress, who scolded her for wandering off before forgiving her and asking Nanny Fang not to blame herself.
• The Crown Prince learned that Wei Yi had not reached the Empress and left for the Ministry of Rites, asking his mother to send Wei Yi to meet him if he appeared.
• Wu Langxing, disguised as Wei Yi, arrived at Xiao Yu's quarters and made advances, so Xiao Yu knocked him unconscious.
• Wu Langxing woke, admitted he had taken Wei Yi's face to enter the palace, and refused to change back so he could stay with Xiao Yu.
• Qi Yunheng entered, saw Xiao Yu holding the naked Wu Langxing, and threatened to kill him.

Qi Yunheng found Xiao Yu with Wu Langxing, killed Wu Langxing, and then helped Xiao Yu confront the shapeshifting monster. After Wu Langxing escaped, Qi Yunheng kissed Xiao Yu, while the Crown Prince witnessed them and left heartbroken.

• Qi Yunheng attacked Xiao Yu after finding him with Wu Langxing, severed Wu Langxing's head, and chased Xiao Yu.
• Wu Langxing reattached his head, transformed his arm into a blade, and lunged at Qi Yunheng, but Xiao Yu broke off the attack and shielded Qi Yunheng.
• Qi Yunheng embraced Xiao Yu as Wu Langxing demanded a kiss in exchange for releasing Wei Yi; Xiao Yu refused to negotiate and demanded that Wu Langxing return Wei Yi.
• Wu Langxing fled when he heard guards returning, and Qi Yunheng reminded Xiao Yu that he had seen his unmasked face before and demanded a kiss.
• Qi Yunheng kissed Xiao Yu, who did not push him away, while the Crown Prince watched from outside, dismissed the guards, and left in sorrow.

At the Autumn Hunt, Xiao Yu rebuffed the Sixth Prince and hunted with Shen Zhijie before Su Xun sought his help against a Tulao. Xiao Yu pinned the beast’s horns with spirit-powered arrows and let Xiao Ba swallow it.

• The Sixth Prince taunted Xiao Yu, but Xiao Yu mocked him and rode off to hunt with Shen Zhijie.
• Cui Rong advised the Sixth Prince to court Xiao Yu and focus on eliminating the Crown Prince, and the Sixth Prince agreed.
• Xiao Yu shot a wild goat and asked Shen Zhijie about Shen Yuzhu and Xie Guifan.
• Su Xun jumped onto Xiao Yu’s horse to escape a Tulao, while Shen Zhijie’s frightened horse ran off.
• Xiao Yu’s ordinary arrow failed to pierce the Tulao, so he summoned Xiao Ba and pinned the beast’s four horns with spirit-powered arrows.
• Xiao Ba swallowed the hornless Tulao, leaving Xiao Yu pleased that he had saved the cost of another meal.

Xiao Yu learned that the Crown Prince had been acting strangely and went to find him, while the Crown Prince confronted Qi Yunheng about his relationship with Xiao Yu. When assassins attacked, Qi Yunheng protected the Crown Prince, but Xiao Yu arrived and shielded the Crown Prince from Qi Yunheng, who asked whether Xiao Yu regretted their relationship.

• Su Xun admitted that he had angered Tulao by tugging on one of its horns, and Xiao Yu warned him not to provoke dangerous creatures.
• Su Xun told Xiao Yu that the Crown Prince had seemed agitated, and Xiao Yu went to look for him.
• The Crown Prince asked Qi Yunheng about his relationship with Xiao Yu, and Qi Yunheng said that Xiao Yu was his.
• Men in black surrounded the Crown Prince, and Wei Yi left to get reinforcements after the Crown Prince ordered him to go.
• Qi Yunheng stepped in front of the Crown Prince and fought the assassins, while Xiao Yu rushed toward the sounds of the battle.
• Xiao Yu arrived, saw Qi Yunheng and the Crown Prince covered in blood, and shielded the Crown Prince; Qi Yunheng asked Xiao Yu if he regretted it.

Xiao Yu learned that Qi Yunheng had saved the Crown Prince, then tracked him down to apologize for misunderstanding him. They reconciled by the lakeside, where Qi Yunheng asked to kiss Xiao Yu and pushed for more.

• The Crown Prince told Xiao Yu that Qi Yunheng had saved him and affirmed that Xiao Yu would always be his Little Imperial Uncle.
• Xiao Yu left Shen Zhijie to protect the Crown Prince and followed Qi Yunheng using a Tracking Talisman.
• At the lakeside, Qi Yunheng mistook Xiao Yu for an illusion and tried to cut himself, but Xiao Yu stopped him.
• Xiao Yu apologized and promised not to doubt Qi Yunheng again, and Qi Yunheng gradually accepted his reassurance.
• Qi Yunheng called Xiao Yu Qi'an and asked to kiss him for two hours, prompting Xiao Yu to warn him not to push his luck.

Xiao Yu and Qi Yunheng shared a passionate kiss, and Xiao Yu admitted his feelings by inviting Qi Yunheng to return with him as his consort. They arrived at the Hunting Grounds Palace hand in hand, where Emperor Jinyuan and a group of ministers overheard Xiao Yu’s introduction.

• Xiao Yu and Qi Yunheng kissed until night fell, and Qi Yunheng confessed that he had grown fond of Xiao Yu.
• Xiao Yu reassured Qi Yunheng when he had to leave, then turned back and invited him to come with him as his beloved consort.
• The Crown Prince worried that Xiao Yu might have encountered more assassins, while Su Xun said nobody could hurt him.
• Xiao Yu entered the palace holding Qi Yunheng’s hand and introduced him to the others as his consort.
• Emperor Jinyuan arrived with Censor Lu and several ministers, overheard Xiao Yu’s introduction, and left Xiao Yu speechless.