Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yu faced the court with Qi Yunheng at his side and defended their relationship before the ministers and nobles. When Xiao Yu revealed the danger awaiting Marquis Yongchang’s family, the marquis collapsed in terror.

• Emperor Jinyuan arrived at the gathering, and Xiao Yu stood protectively in front of Qi Yunheng while acknowledging him as the person he would cherish.
• Xiao Yu threatened the ministers for staring at Qi Yunheng, and Marquis Yongchang, Gongsun Yi, challenged his arrogance.
• Shen Zhijie identified Gongsun Yi, and Xiao Yu’s thoughts revealed that a mountain ghost would soon deceive the marquis’s son and target Gongsun Yi.
• Xiao Yu revealed that the mountain ghost would falsely accuse Gongsun Yi, prompting Lady Gongsun to beat her husband to death by mistake.
• Gongsun Yi turned pale and collapsed after hearing what would happen to him.

The Marquis Yongchang accepted Xiao Yu’s offer to stay at Prince Yu’s Residence after being rejected by Emperor Jinyuan and the ministers. Immortal Venerable Yuheng contacted Xiao Yu after six years, learned that Xiao Yu had chosen a male Dao companion, and pretended to be his younger brother before asking to meet him.

• The Marquis Yongchang wept and asked Emperor Jinyuan to take him in, but the emperor and ministers refused.
• Xiao Yu offered the Marquis Yongchang a place at Prince Yu’s Residence, and the Marquis Yongchang called Xiao Yu his brother and second parent.
• Immortal Venerable Yuheng contacted Xiao Yu in the form of a mosquito and asked him to return to Spirit Mountain, but Xiao Yu said he could not leave yet.
• Xiao Yu told Immortal Venerable Yuheng that he wanted a male Dao companion, causing Yuheng to fall and revert to human form.
• Immortal Venerable Yuheng told Emperor Jinyuan and the others that the mosquito had been his younger brother, then asked Xiao Yu whether the masked man was his future Dao companion.

Xiao Yu chose to pursue a romance with Qi Yunheng despite knowing that their mortal and immortal lifespans would differ, and Immortal Venerable Yuheng gave them his blessing. In the mortal realm, the Crown Prince met Princess Ning'an, who hurried ahead to reunite with Qi'an.

• Immortal Venerable Yuheng warned Xiao Yu that Qi Yunheng’s mortal lifespan could leave him heartbroken, but Xiao Yu resolved to love him and asked for his master’s blessing.
• Immortal Venerable Yuheng blessed Xiao Yu and Qi Yunheng, then agreed to investigate reports of ferocious beasts entering the Mortal Realm.
• The Crown Prince waited outside the capital to meet the person Qi'an had sent him to collect.
• Princess Ning'an arrived late after encountering assassins, and the Crown Prince recognized her as Xiao Yu’s elder sister.
• Princess Ning'an rode ahead to see Qi'an, while the Crown Prince rebuked Wei Yi for calling her rude.

Xiao Yu discussed his relationship with Qi Yunheng and Emperor Jinyuan warned him not to treat him as a male favorite. Consort Cui visited the Imperial Study, and Xiao Yu revealed that his elder sister Princess Ning'an had arrived in the capital, prompting Emperor Jinyuan to say he would go meet her.

• Emperor Jinyuan questioned Xiao Yu about Immortal Venerable Wuli and his relationship with Qi Yunheng, then insisted he follow proper marriage procedures.
• Consort Cui overheard Xiao Yu's thoughts about her past-life defiance and decided to stay in the palace rather than visit her family.
• Consort Cui greeted Emperor Jinyuan and claimed she had come because she missed him, while Xiao Yu's thoughts made the emperor wary of her ambition.
• Xiao Yu told Emperor Jinyuan that Princess Ning'an had arrived and that the Crown Prince had gone to meet her.
• Emperor Jinyuan said he would accompany Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yu asked whether he had met Princess Ning'an before.

Xiao Zhiyu arrived in the Eastern Palace and learned that Qi Yunheng was the man Xiao Yu loved. After Emperor Jinyuan welcomed her, Xiao Yu and Qi Yunheng shared a farewell beneath the stars, where Xiao Yu refused to leave Jin Kingdom with him.

• Qi Yunheng broke into the Eastern Palace and was confronted by Xiao Zhiyu, who mistook him for Qi'an's little pet and questioned whether Qi'an liked men.
• Xiao Yu introduced Qi Yunheng as the man he loved and introduced Xiao Zhiyu as his elder sister.
• Emperor Jinyuan recognized Xiao Zhiyu as Princess Ning'an and invited her to a welcoming banquet, leaving Xiao Yu and Qi Yunheng alone.
• Xiao Yu took Qi Yunheng to the bell tower, where Qi Yunheng said he had to return to Southern Zhao and asked Xiao Yu to come with him.
• Xiao Yu apologized and explained that his family and duties prevented him from leaving Jin Kingdom, then promised to write and think of Qi Yunheng often.
• Qi Yunheng answered that he would not miss Xiao Yu.

Qi Yunheng returned to Southern Zhao and discovered someone had tried to poison him through the pastries Little Eleven ate. In Jin Kingdom, Lady Gongsun heard Xiao Yu’s thoughts about her husband and their son’s mountain-spirit sweetheart, then decided she needed help persuading her son.

• Qi Yunheng began writing a letter to Qi'an, but Little Eleven ate his pastries and collapsed from poison.
• Qi Yunheng called for an imperial physician and realized someone had tried to poison him while he was away.
• Lady Gongsun visited Xiao Yu to take Marquis Yongchang home and heard his thoughts about her husband and their son’s mountain-spirit sweetheart.
• Marquis Yongchang returned with a fish, and Lady Gongsun urged him to come home and promised to treat him better.
• Lady Gongsun worried that her son would not listen to her about the mountain spirit and wondered if he could hear Xiao Yu’s thoughts too.

Lady Gongsun invited Xiao Yu to the marquis’s residence, where he met Gongsun Yun and learned that the heir was devoted to Zi Ying, a mountain ghost. Xiao Yu revealed Gongsun Yun’s disastrous future, just as Zi Ying arrived to greet him.

• Lady Gongsun invited Xiao Yu to a banquet at the marquis’s residence, and he agreed to go.
• Gongsun Yun welcomed Marquis Yongchang home, then learned Xiao Yu was visiting and challenged him to a fight.
• Xiao Yu offered Gongsun Yun five thousand taels to call him uncle, and Gongsun Yun accepted the money.
• Xiao Yu’s thoughts revealed that Zi Ying would draw Gongsun Yun into a doomed quest for the Four Seasons Flower, where a sea demon would eat him.
• Zi Ying arrived at the residence and called Gongsun Yun her darling.

Xiao Yu exposed Zi Ying as a mountain ghost and revealed the tragic fate and hidden feelings of Gongsun Yun’s childhood companion, Yan Mu. The chapter ended with Gongsun Yun asking Yan Mu if he truly liked him.

• Zi Ying arrived and showed interest in Xiao Yu after learning he was full of spiritual energy.
• Xiao Yu struck Zi Ying, revealing her monstrous mountain ghost form, and Gongsun Yun fled in terror.
• Yan Mu arrived and comforted Gongsun Yun while Xiao Yu revealed Yan Mu’s devotion and tragic future through his thoughts.
• Yan Mu tried to leave in embarrassment, but Gongsun Yun stopped him and asked whether he really liked him.

Yan Mu confessed his feelings to Gongsun Yun, who reassured him, while Xiao Yu thought of A-Heng. In Southern Zhao, Qi Yunheng reunited with Little Eleven and received a letter from Xiao Yu that prompted him to write back.

• Yan Mu asked whether Gongsun Yun would hate him if he liked him, and Gongsun Yun said there was nothing wrong with liking someone.
• Yan Mu praised Gongsun Yun and confessed that he adored him, leaving Gongsun Yun flustered.
• Xiao Yu watched the pair and thought about missing A-Heng in Southern Zhao.
• Qi Yunheng initially refused to visit the recovering Little Eleven, but Little Eleven came to him and asked him to stay.
• Uncle Fu brought Qi Yunheng a letter from the Jin Kingdom, and its affectionate message from Xiao Yu made Qi Yunheng hurry to write back.
• Little Eleven asked Qi Yunheng to tell Sister-in-Law that he missed him too, but Qi Yunheng denied that he did.

At Xiao Yu's housewarming banquet, Second Uncle Xiao left the seventh prince in his care while trying to draw Xiao Yu into supporting her claim to the throne. After Xiao Yu warned her about her maternal grandfather and promised she had his protection, the seventh prince broke down in tears.

• After the banquet, the Crown Prince asked to keep visiting Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yu welcomed him to Prince Yu's Residence.
• Second Uncle Xiao introduced the seventh prince as Yun'er and tried to make her call Xiao Yu Cousin-Uncle, but Xiao Yu told her to address him as Young Imperial Uncle.
• Second Uncle Xiao insisted the seventh prince stay overnight, and Xiao Yu suspected he wanted him to support her claim to the throne.
• When Xiao Yu asked whether she wanted the throne, the seventh prince admitted she felt forced to fight to protect her mother and maternal family from execution.
• Xiao Yu warned the seventh prince not to trust Second Uncle too much, and she learned how cruelly he had treated her mother in the past and intended to use her for power.
• The seventh prince began crying, and Xiao Yu comforted her by promising she had him.

After Xiao Yu comforted the Seventh Prince, who had been forced to live disguised as a boy, he received a brief letter from A-Heng and sent Qinggeng to Southern Zhao with Voice Transmission Talismans because he wanted to hear A-Heng's voice. The next morning, Su Xun arrived to invite Xiao Yu to lunch and was shocked to find the Seventh Prince staying at his residence.

• The Seventh Prince thanked Xiao Yu after he exposed her identity, and Xiao Zhiyu took her to rest for the night.
• Xiao Yu received a two-word letter from A-Heng in Southern Zhao and asked Qinggeng to deliver Voice Transmission Talismans so he could hear A-Heng's voice.
• The next morning, Su Xun tossed buns to Xiao Yu over the wall and invited him to lunch with their Maternal Grandfather.
• The Seventh Prince appeared, startling Su Xun into falling from the wall, and Xiao Yu explained that Little Seven had stayed with him overnight.
• Su Xun quietly asked whether Xiao Yu had fallen out with the Crown Prince, and Xiao Yu assured him that they were doing fine.

Xiao Yu sent Qi Yunheng a Voice Transmission Talisman through Qinggeng, who accidentally carried the Eleventh Prince back to the Jin Kingdom. Qi Yunheng used the talisman to tell Xiao Yu he longed for him, leaving Xiao Yu flustered in front of his family.

• Xiao Yu took the Seventh Prince back to the palace and planned to speak with Emperor Jinyuan, who worried that Qi'an had grown distant from him.
• Qinggeng arrived at the Southern Zhao palace, where Little Eleven mistook him for a friendly bird and led him to Qi Yunheng.
• Qi Yunheng sent the ministers away, then accepted a Voice Transmission Talisman from Qinggeng after learning Xiao Yu had not come himself.
• Qinggeng flew off carrying Little Eleven, and Qi Yunheng ordered Uncle Fu to help snatch the prince back while wishing he had gone along too.
• Qi Yunheng spoke into the talisman, telling Xiao Yu that he longed for him, and Xiao Yu blushed as his family looked toward him.

Xiao Yu returned to the Su Residence after exchanging intimate voice messages with Yun Heng, then rejected Second Uncle Xiao’s attempt to arrange a marriage between Xiao Wenjun and Su Jingxue. He left Second Uncle Xiao unable to defend Wenjun, while Su Jingxue heard Xiao Yu’s fierce support from the adjoining room.

• Xiao Yu fled the gathering after Yun Heng’s intimate voice messages played aloud, then replied that he was at the Su Residence and would return that night.
• Second Uncle Xiao proposed that Xiao Wenjun marry Su Jingxue and asked Xiao Yu to persuade the old Grand Tutor.
• Xiao Yu learned that Xiao Wenjun had a mistress and a child, and stopped Second Uncle Xiao from pressing the proposal.
• Xiao Yu called Xiao Wenjun unworthy of Su Jingxue and defended her against Second Uncle Xiao’s claim that she was too old to find a husband.

Su Jingxue agreed to avoid going out alone after Xiao Yu warned her about Xiao Wenjun, while Xiao Zhiyu and Su Xun tried to learn more about the mysterious man from Southern Zhao. Xiao Yu returned to his residence and discovered a child who looked like Qi Yunheng, prompting him to wonder whether Qi Yunheng already had a child.

• Su Jingxue worried that Xiao Yu had offended Second Uncle, but Xiao Yu reassured her and asked whether she cared for Xiao Wenjun.
• Xiao Yu recalled Xiao Wenjun's past mistresses and warned Su Jingxue not to go out alone; she agreed to stay home.
• Su Xun teased Xiao Yu about calling Su Jingxue affectionately, and Xiao Zhiyu asked who the man calling himself “This King” had been; Xiao Yu evaded them and left.
• Xiao Zhiyu explained that Southern Zhao's fourth prince had won the internal conflict and was nearing the throne, while Su Xun suspected the sovereign might seek a marriage alliance with Xiao Yu.
• Xiao Yu returned to Prince Yu's Residence, where Qinggeng showed him a young boy; Xiao Yu noticed the child resembled Qi Yunheng and asked whether Qi Yunheng had a child that old.

Xiao Yu met Yun Cheng, Qi Yunheng’s youngest brother, who had secretly traveled to see him and revealed that Qi Yunheng slept with Xiao Yu’s robe. In Southern Zhao, Qi Yunheng presented the robe on a dummy as his Queen, declared his love for a man from Jin, and left the ministers wondering who that man was.

• Yun Cheng ran to Xiao Yu, called him his royal sister-in-law, and explained that Qi Yunheng was his royal brother.
• Yun Cheng admitted he had secretly ridden on Qinggeng to find Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yu warned him not to take such a risk again.
• Yun Cheng whispered that Qi Yunheng had taken Xiao Yu’s robe to Southern Zhao and hugged it every night.
• At morning court, Qi Yunheng displayed Xiao Yu’s robe on a dummy as the Queen, shocking the ministers.
• Qi Yunheng told the ministers the Queen was from Jin and said only the man he loved could be his Queen.
• The chancellor suggested a marriage alliance, but Qi Yunheng said the man might refuse, leaving the ministers to wonder who he was.

Xiao Yu’s Second Aunt tried to arrange a marriage meeting with Xiao Qiuxin and Wei Zhiyan, but Little Yun Cheng interrupted by calling Xiao Yu his father and insisting he not take another mother. Xiao Yu left with the boy, while Wei Zhiyan remained determined to pursue him.

• Second Aunt Xiao told Xiao Yu she had arranged for him to meet suitable young women, despite his warning that she knew the rumors about him.
• Xiao Qiuxin and Wei Zhiyan arrived, and Xiao Qiuxin asked Xiao Yu what sort of woman he liked.
• Little Yun Cheng burst into the room, called Xiao Yu his daddy, and begged him not to abandon him for another mother.
• Xiao Yu picked up Little Yun Cheng, clarified that he had not invited Wei Zhiyan, and asked Second Aunt Xiao not to arrange more marriage meetings.
• Wei Zhiyan said she would not give up, while Xiao Yu left Fortune House with Little Yun Cheng and warned him against chasing every bird or beast.

Wu Lifeng went to meet Shen Yuzhu, hoping to win her favor, but their meeting was interrupted when Black Crane ran up and called him “Daddy.” Wu Lifeng took the child ashore to demand an explanation, while Black Crane wondered why imitating a mortal child had not worked.

• Madam Wu arranged for Wu Lifeng to meet Shen Yuzhu and persuaded him to dress up and charter a pleasure boat.
• Wu Lifeng nervously met Shen Yuzhu, and she seemed to find his quiet, guileless manner endearing.
• Madam Wu and Madam Shen asked Shen Yuzhu what she thought of Wu Lifeng, but a child rushed in and called him “Daddy.”
• Wu Lifeng pushed the child away, assured Shen Yuzhu he would explain, and carried him ashore.
• Black Crane wondered why calling Wu Lifeng “Daddy,” as a mortal child had done, had not made his benefactor take him home.

Wu Lifeng confronted Black Crane, who explained that he had come to repay a kindness from a past life. After learning Black Crane's history and accepting his pearls, Wu Lifeng still tried to send him away, while Little Yun Cheng urged Xiao Yu to take him home.

• Wu Lifeng grabbed Black Crane and demanded to know who had sent him, but Black Crane insisted he had come to repay Wu Lifeng's kindness.
• Xiao Yu and Little Yun Cheng encountered Wu Lifeng and Black Crane, and Little Yun Cheng recognized Black Crane's scent.
• Wu Lifeng learned that Black Crane had spent lifetimes searching for him after Wu Lifeng saved him as a boy, and recalled that both had died gruesomely in a previous life.
• Wu Lifeng told Black Crane to return to his own world, but Black Crane insisted on repaying him and asked to be taken home.
• Black Crane gave Wu Lifeng a bag of pearls, which Wu Lifeng accepted, and then asked Xiao Yu to take him home.

Xiao Yu brought Little Yun Cheng and Black Crane to Prince Yu's Residence, then took Little Yun Cheng to reunite with Qi Yunheng in Southern Zhao. Qi Yunheng eagerly embraced Xiao Yu, while Little Yun Cheng tried to claim a place between them for the night.

• Xiao Zhiyu agreed to let Black Crane stay and learned that Little Yun Cheng had come to find Xiao Yu on his own.
• Xiao Yu decided to take Little Yun Cheng to see Qi Yunheng, who had been missing him while working in Southern Zhao's Diligent Governance Hall.
• After Xiao Yu sent a voice message saying he missed him and asking him to open the window, Qi Yunheng opened it and saw Xiao Yu waiting beneath the begonia tree.
• Little Yun Cheng greeted Qi Yunheng, but Qi Yunheng ran past him to embrace Xiao Yu, then said he wanted to kiss him.
• Little Yun Cheng asked to sleep with Xiao Yu and Qi Yunheng, but Qi Yunheng refused and had Uncle Fu take him away.

Xiao Yu and Qi Yunheng reconciled over their painful past, shared an intimate moment, and teased each other about jealousy. Little Yun Cheng interrupted them and called them to bed, leaving the three of them to sleep together.

• Xiao Yu told Qi Yunheng that Little Yun Cheng had missed him, and he joined the brothers' hands before they agreed to sleep together.
• Qi Yunheng apologized for burying Xiao Yu in the past, and Xiao Yu told him to put the matter behind them.
• Qi Yunheng urged Xiao Yu to bite him as revenge, and Xiao Yu bit his jaw and cheek before kissing him.
• Xiao Yu and Qi Yunheng teased each other about whether either had smelled or been approached by women, and Qi Yunheng insisted he had never touched them.
• Little Yun Cheng finished bathing, climbed into Qi Yunheng's bed, and called Xiao Yu and Qi Yunheng to join him.