Chapter Summaries

Key events

• The Crown Prince initially hesitates to share a meal with Cui Rong, admitting he has never eaten with anyone before. Cui Rong serves him congee and deboned fish, and the prince enjoys the meal deeply.
• Noticing Cui Rong hasn’t eaten, the Crown Prince serves him food in return. Cui Rong is touched by the boy’s thoughtfulness and resolves to bring him more substantial food next time.
• Outside the Imperial Study, eunuchs harass Dantai Yunheng, mistaking his shabby appearance for evidence that he lacks favor. Xiao Yu intervenes, and Eunuch De orders them away.
• Dantai Yunheng refuses at first to approach Xiao Yu, hoping Xiao Yu will coax him, but follows when Xiao Yu begins to leave and pushes his wheelchair.
• Dantai Yunheng asks whether Xiao Yu hates or likes him, insisting that Xiao Yu must like only him. Xiao Yu says he cannot know what will happen in six years and might fall for someone else, upsetting Dantai.
• As Dantai Yunheng asks to hug Xiao Yu, Emperor Jinyuan interrupts, calls the request improper, and invites both men into the Imperial Study.

Character developments and interactions

• The Crown Prince’s guardedness softens: he shows gratitude toward Cui Rong and reciprocates his care, while Cui Rong grows warmly protective of him.
• Dantai Yunheng’s attachment to Xiao Yu appears possessive and emotionally vulnerable. He wants reassurance and affection, but also sulks when he feels neglected.
• Xiao Yu is compassionate enough to defend Dantai, yet avoids promising future romantic feelings; Dantai’s distress makes him visibly uncomfortable.
• Eunuch De protects Xiao Yu’s authority and tactfully pretends not to hear the intimate exchange. Emperor Jinyuan reacts with jealousy and suspicion toward Dantai, whom he regards as shameless.

Significant themes

• Care expressed through ordinary gestures: sharing food and serving one another build trust and affection.
• Loneliness and longing: the Crown Prince’s unfamiliarity with companionship and Dantai’s fear of rejection both drive their behavior.
• Affection versus possessiveness: Dantai seeks closeness but demands exclusivity, while Xiao Yu resists making promises about the future.
• Power and status: the eunuchs’ treatment of Dantai shifts once Xiao Yu intervenes, exposing how palace respect depends on perceived favor.

Key plot points

• Emperor Jinyuan questions Dantai Yunheng about the time reversal and learns that, six years in the future, Xiao Yu (Qi’an) was injured in an ambush. Yunheng tried to stabilize his soul with spiritual energy, but the Heaven and Earth Mirror cast him away.
• Yunheng admits he is a cultivator, confirming Xiao Yu’s suspicion that another cultivator—and likely the attacker—was involved.
• Xiao Yu and Yunheng reveal that neither can reverse time again while their powers remain weak. Their only possible lead is the legendary Divine Herb Ganzha. Jinyuan is dismayed at having to repeat six years of governing.
• Jinyuan orders Xiao Yu to attend lessons at the Hall of Diligent Study, insisting that he live as an ordinary child. He appoints Yunheng as his study companion.
• Yunheng fears Xiao Yu does not want him, but Xiao Yu accepts him. Yunheng eagerly pushes his wheelchair as they leave, while Jinyuan goes to find his Empress.

Character developments and interactions

• Yunheng is remorseful over failing to protect Xiao Yu and remains wary of revealing secrets to Jinyuan. When he thinks Xiao Yu may reject him, he falls into self-pity; Xiao Yu’s acceptance quickly reassures him.
• Xiao Yu grows more trusting of Jinyuan after seeing his genuine concern, and confirms the Heaven and Earth Mirror’s role in the reversal. He resists going to school but ultimately leaves with Yunheng.
• Jinyuan is angry at Yunheng for Xiao Yu’s future injury, yet accepts the explanation and shows a more considerate side by giving Xiao Yu the ordinary childhood he believes he deserves. He is also comically jealous of the closeness between the two.

Significant themes

• Protection and guilt: Yunheng blames himself for Xiao Yu’s injury, while Jinyuan’s anger comes from his own concern for his brother.
• Trust and suspicion: The characters must decide what secrets to share, especially given the Mirror’s power and the unknown attacker.
• Fate and uncertainty: The time reversal has stranded them in the past, with their powers diminished and the way home unclear.
• Ordinary life and affection: Jinyuan’s insistence on schooling contrasts with the characters’ extraordinary circumstances, while the scene’s teasing and tenderness highlight their growing bonds.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Yu arrives at the princes’ archery lesson with Dantai Yunheng and is introduced as their Little Imperial Uncle. The Sixth Prince challenges his status, while the Second Prince’s companion insults him.
• Xiao Yu asserts his seniority and suggests they ask the Emperor to revoke the appointment. The Sixth Prince backs down rather than risk displeasing his father.
• Xiao Yu realizes the princes are using the Crown Prince as an archery target. After the Sixth Prince mocks his disability, Xiao Yu demonstrates his skill by shooting an arrow through the Sixth Prince’s collar and pinning him to a tree.
• Xiao Yu then pins the Second Prince beside him, forcing both princes to experience the danger they imposed on the Crown Prince.
• Guards arrive, but Xiao Yu displays the Emperor’s gold token, which authorizes him to act in the Emperor’s place. The guards obey him.
• Xiao Yu gives the token to the Crown Prince as a first-meeting gift, provoking the Sixth Prince’s outrage and the Second Prince’s jealousy.

Character developments

• Xiao Yu establishes himself as calm, confident, and willing to use both his authority and archery skills to protect the Crown Prince. He appears indifferent to the princes’ approval.
• The Sixth Prince, accustomed to being favored, is unsettled by Xiao Yu’s status and loses confidence when shown the Emperor’s token. His resentment intensifies when Xiao Yu gives it away.
• The Second Prince is revealed as involved in the dangerous target practice. Being pinned by Xiao Yu humiliates him, and he becomes increasingly hostile toward the Crown Prince.
• The Crown Prince is initially treated as a target but responds obediently to Xiao Yu, who intervenes on his behalf and gives him a powerful token.
• Dantai Yunheng remains protective of Xiao Yu, his expression softening when Xiao Yu looks back at him. He shows discomfort when Xiao Yu gives the token to the Crown Prince.

Significant themes

• Authority and legitimacy: Xiao Yu’s imperial rank and the Emperor’s token override the princes’ doubts and the guards’ objections.
• Protection and justice: Xiao Yu turns the princes’ cruel “practice” back on them, defending the Crown Prince and making them confront the risk they imposed on him.
• Favoritism and jealousy: The princes measure their standing through the Emperor’s favor, and the token’s transfer sharpens their rivalry.
• Power and restraint: Xiao Yu acts decisively but frames his actions as a lesson, while remaining notably unconcerned about the consequences for himself.

Character interactions

• Xiao Yu coolly rebukes the Sixth Prince’s disrespect and uses the Emperor’s authority to make him retreat.
• He confronts both princes over their treatment of the Crown Prince, pinning them with arrows without seriously injuring them.
• The Crown Prince accepts Xiao Yu’s protection and gift, while the Sixth Prince protests and the Second Prince silently grows more resentful.
• Dantai Yunheng supports Xiao Yu and watches the exchange with protective intensity.

Key plot points and events

• After returning from the training grounds, Dantai Yunheng is withdrawn and upset. He complains that Xiao Yu has always seemed especially kind to the Crown Prince, whether in the present or six years in the future.
• Xiao Yu assumes Dantai Yunheng wants the gold token, but learns that Yunheng’s real sadness comes from wanting to return to the future and worrying about Xiao Yu there, whom he calls An An.
• Xiao Yu offers to ask the Heaven and Earth Mirror to send them back and tries to comfort Yunheng. Yunheng asks for a kiss; after teasing hesitation, Xiao Yu gives in to his sulking.
• The Crown Prince arrives to return the gold token, overhears their affectionate exchange, and flees in embarrassment, mistakenly concluding that Xiao Yu and Yunheng are romantically involved. Yunheng is annoyed that Xiao Yu watches him go and insists that their feelings are mutual.

Character developments and interactions

• Dantai Yunheng reveals that his jealousy is rooted less in the token than in Xiao Yu’s attention to the Crown Prince. His longing for the future and concern for Xiao Yu there also become clear. He turns his insecurity into playful, persistent demands for affection.
• Xiao Yu shows tenderness toward Yunheng, offering to help him return and soothing his mood, though he is unsettled by Yunheng’s reference to his future self and embarrassed by the kiss request.
• The Crown Prince tries to return the valuable token, but his accidental interruption leaves him flustered and convinced he has discovered a secret relationship.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and insecurity: Yunheng’s complaint exposes his desire for Xiao Yu’s exclusive attention.
• Identity and separation: Xiao Yu struggles with Yunheng’s concern for a future version of him who is both himself and somehow not himself.
• Affection expressed through teasing: Their banter and Yunheng’s insistence on a kiss show growing intimacy, while leaving their relationship’s meaning playfully ambiguous.

Plot points

• Cui Rong encounters the Crown Prince, who is delighted to see him. Flustered by his feelings, Cui Rong gives the Crown Prince the steamed buns he had brought for the Sixth Prince and quickly leaves.
• The Sixth Prince comes looking for his meat buns, but Cui Rong—unable to explain what happened—promises to bring more next time. The Sixth Prince feels that his day has become even worse, following his mother’s demotion and his belief that the Emperor no longer favors him.
• At the Chancellor’s residence, Cui Rong kneels in the ancestral hall to repent. He tells his mother that he has fallen in love with someone he believes he should not.
• His mother initially assumes the person is a woman, then a young man. When she learns the beloved is someone from the Palace and mistakenly concludes he is a eunuch, she joins Cui Rong in mourning their family’s fate and urges him to love someone else instead. Cui Rong reluctantly agrees.

Character developments and interactions

• Cui Rong realizes his feelings for the Crown Prince are powerful enough to unsettle him. His instinctive generosity toward the Crown Prince—and his embarrassed retreat—show how deeply he is affected. He sees these feelings as shameful or forbidden.
• The Crown Prince is openly happy to see Cui Rong and quietly cherishes the warm buns he receives, though he does not understand Cui Rong’s sudden awkwardness.
• The Sixth Prince remains preoccupied with his misfortunes and his love of meat buns, unaware that Cui Rong gave them away because of his feelings for the Crown Prince.
• The Chancellor’s Wife tries to comfort her son but misunderstands whom he loves. Her response mixes maternal concern with comic alarm, while Cui Rong hides the truth.

Significant themes

• Forbidden or socially constrained love: Cui Rong believes his affection is wrong, and his family’s assumptions reinforce the sense that it cannot be openly acknowledged.
• Affection expressed through small gestures: Giving away the buns conveys what Cui Rong cannot say aloud.
• Irony and misunderstanding: The reader knows Cui Rong loves the Crown Prince, while his mother mistakes the situation and reacts to a false conclusion.
• Contrasting moods: Cui Rong’s private turmoil plays against the Sixth Prince’s comic self-pity.

Plot points

• Cui Rong leaves at dawn with a lavish breakfast for the young prince he believes needs support, assuring his mother that he will keep his feelings restrained. The Chancellor’s wife realizes whom he means and lets him go, though she worries his feelings could complicate the family’s politics.
• In the past, Qi Yunheng wakes beside Xiao Yu and remembers their kiss. Xiao Yu recognizes that the younger Qi Yunheng is now in control, while the older version has returned to his own time.
• Xiao Yu introduces himself again, but Qi Yunheng insists he will never fall for him and plans to marry a woman when he grows up. He leaves in a huff, convinced Xiao Yu only cares for his future self.
• In Southern Zhao, the older Dantai Yunheng wakes beside Xiao Yu. They reunite affectionately and explain that the Heaven and Earth Mirror sent Yunheng back to the past, where he visited Xiao Yu as a child. He regrets leaving without saying goodbye, but accepts that the younger Xiao Yu and the present one are the same person.

Character development and interactions

• Cui Rong acts on his feelings by caring for the prince, while presenting his devotion as practical help. His mother is both supportive of his happiness and anxious about the consequences.
• Young Qi Yunheng is defensive and embarrassed, masking uncertainty with firm denials and a jealous-sounding belief that Xiao Yu prefers his older self.
• Xiao Yu is hurt by the younger boy’s unfamiliarity but stays composed and confident that their bond will form in time.
• Older Yunheng and Xiao Yu reaffirm their love and trust through their reunion.

Themes

• The chapter contrasts youthful uncertainty with mature affection, showing how the same relationship can feel very different across time.
• Care and devotion appear in practical gestures as well as romantic declarations.
• Family bonds and political status complicate private feelings, while memory and identity connect past and present selves.

Plot points

• Six years earlier, Qi Yunheng hears that his mother has been framed and confined in Southern Zhao. Having decided he owes her nothing after she sent him to the Jin Kingdom as a hostage, he refuses to intervene directly.
• He nevertheless orders Uncle Fu to find the Eleventh Prince and, if possible, rescue him and his mother—or arrange a safe home for the child. Qi Yunheng remains in the Jin Kingdom because he still wants to watch Xiao Yu.
• Three years later, Qi Yunheng sees Xiao Yu eating with Shen Zhijie and becomes jealous of their closeness. He wedges himself between them, eats Xiao Yu’s noodles, and grows more upset when Xiao Yu says he barely knows him.
• Xiao Yu tells Qi Yunheng to stop following him, saying he is interfering with his marriage prospects. When Xiao Yu mentions arranging a betrothal, Qi Yunheng blurts out that Xiao Yu already has him.
• Xiao Yu reminds him that he once insisted he would never love him and would marry someone else. Qi Yunheng admits he was wrong, asks to reconcile, and embraces Xiao Yu.
• Xiao Yu says he wants a child someday. Qi Yunheng reacts possessively, insisting that Xiao Yu can only have a child with him. Xiao Yu drags him away in embarrassment, and Qi Yunheng ends by declaring that Xiao Yu must be with him.

Character developments and interactions

• Qi Yunheng remains jealous and emotionally attached to Xiao Yu, despite having once rejected him. He shows a more compassionate side by arranging help for the Eleventh Prince, while still choosing not to rescue his mother himself.
• Xiao Yu remains outwardly cool and teasing, but his reminder of Qi Yunheng’s past rejection reveals lingering hurt. He tries to push Qi Yunheng away, yet is flustered by his public declarations.
• Shen Zhijie notices Qi Yunheng’s jealousy and is briefly caught in the middle; Shen Yuzhu tactfully treats the situation as Xiao Yu’s private business.
• Qi Yunheng’s possessive outbursts contrast with Xiao Yu’s controlled responses, making their unresolved romantic tension the center of their interactions.

Significant themes

• Regret and reconciliation: Qi Yunheng wants to undo his earlier rejection, but Xiao Yu has not simply forgotten it.
• Jealousy and possessiveness: Qi Yunheng’s feelings emerge through his interference, sulking, and dramatic declarations.
• Responsibility and chosen loyalty: Qi Yunheng distances himself from his mother’s political troubles but takes steps to protect the Eleventh Prince and remains near Xiao Yu.

Key plot points

• Six years later, the Crown Prince is under pressure from his parents to choose a Crown Princess. He admits to Cui Rong that he has not chosen yet.
• Both men secretly wish he would not marry: Cui Rong fears losing Yuanruo, while the Crown Prince does not want to choose anyone. Neither can voice this desire because of the Crown Prince’s duty to the kingdom and royal succession.
• Cui Rong advises him to choose Princess Ning’an, citing her qualities and the political support her connections could bring. He insists he will support the Crown Prince whatever he decides.
• The next morning, Cui Rong’s mother finds him spending the night kneeling in the ancestral hall. He confesses that he does not want the Crown Prince to appoint a Crown Princess and asks how to stop it.
• His mother suggests he find someone else, but Cui Rong says he cannot. Though he says he will not visit the Eastern Palace that morning, he decides to go in the afternoon and reaffirms his commitment to protect the Crown Prince.

Character developments

• Cui Rong is torn between jealousy and devotion. He bitterly sees the prospective brides as rivals, but restrains himself and puts the Crown Prince’s interests first. His love has become a vow of lifelong loyalty.
• The Crown Prince privately longs to avoid marriage but feels bound by his role as heir and by his parents’ expectations. His guilt and silence reveal how deeply he is conflicted.
• The Chancellor’s Wife sympathizes with her son while recognizing the political necessity of the Crown Prince’s marriage. She is exasperated by Cui Rong’s inability to let go.

Character interactions

• Cui Rong and the Crown Prince share an unspoken conflict: each hides his true feelings to protect the other and fulfill his obligations. Cui Rong offers practical marriage advice despite his pain.
• The Chancellor’s Wife comforts Cui Rong and tries to persuade him to move on, but he remains steadfast in his love and loyalty.

Significant themes

• Duty versus personal desire: Both men suppress their wishes because of political and familial responsibilities.
• Unrequited or impossible love: Cui Rong’s devotion brings him pain, yet he cannot imagine loving someone else.
• Loyalty and self-sacrifice: He chooses to support and protect the Crown Prince even when that means accepting the possibility of his marriage.
• Power and succession: The Crown Prince’s marriage is treated not merely as a personal choice but as a matter of state and political alliances.

Plot and key events

• Cui Rong arrives at the Eastern Palace and sees the Crown Prince laughing with Princess Ning’an, the woman proposed as his Crown Princess. Overcome by jealousy and humiliation, he leaves before the Crown Prince notices him.
• The Crown Prince asks Xiao Zhiyu whether she is truly willing to become his Crown Princess. She agrees to help him through the political situation, while he promises to restore her freedom once the court is stable.
• Xiao Zhiyu advises him to speak with his imperial uncles before accepting the arrangement. She also offers her support and asks him to treat her to a meal.
• Later, the Crown Prince waits in his study for his “Little Uncle,” Cui Rong, but he does not appear. The Crown Prince reflects on how distant freedom feels.
• Cui Rong eventually arrives. He catches the Crown Prince when he stumbles, then asks whether he has chosen a Crown Princess. Cui Rong urges him to stop calling him “Little Uncle,” address him as Xuanzhi, and asks to be made Crown Princess himself. He confesses that he is in love with the Crown Prince.

Character developments and interactions

• Cui Rong shifts from silently enduring his feelings to openly declaring them, despite the likely opposition of the Chancellor. His jealousy at seeing the Crown Prince with Xiao Zhiyu appears to prompt this decisive move.
• The Crown Prince is weighed down by the political limits on his freedom and is disappointed when Cui Rong fails to visit. Cui Rong’s confession brings him visible warmth and embarrassment, though he hesitates over the political consequences.
• Xiao Zhiyu is willing to enter the Crown Princess arrangement as a temporary act of support, while encouraging the Crown Prince to consider other options. Her relationship with him is friendly and familial through their shared connection to Qi’an.

Significant themes

• Love and jealousy: Cui Rong’s concealed affection becomes impossible to ignore after he sees the Crown Prince with another potential bride.
• Freedom versus duty: The Crown Prince’s position constrains his choices, and his promise to restore Xiao Zhiyu’s freedom echoes his own longing for liberty.
• Political marriage and personal choice: Both the proposed match with Xiao Zhiyu and Cui Rong’s unexpected offer raise the question of whether marriage can be separated from court necessity.
• Risk and candor: Cui Rong’s confession breaks through the silence between them, but leaves their future uncertain.

Plot points

• Cui Rong tells the Crown Prince, Yuanruo, that he loves him and insists he means it.
• Yuanruo assumes Cui Rong is drunk and tries to stop him from speaking. Cui Rong asks permission to do something “disrespectful,” then kisses him.
• Yuanruo shyly returns the kiss. They remain close afterward, and Cui Rong repeatedly murmurs Yuanruo’s title.
• Yuanruo accidentally calls him “Xuanzhi.” Cui Rong asks him to say it again, then embraces him and asks to become his Crown Princess, pledging to share both life and death with him.
• Yuanruo accepts, privately resolving not to let Cui Rong take back the proposal.

Character developments and interactions

• Cui Rong openly reveals his love and desire for a life together. Though he presents himself as drunk, his thoughts show that he is sober and has deliberately used the moment to keep Yuanruo from being given to someone else.
• Yuanruo moves from embarrassed disbelief to reciprocating the kiss and accepting Cui Rong’s proposal. His flustered reactions give way to quiet determination.
• Their interaction shifts from restrained affection to mutual intimacy: Cui Rong confesses and asks for commitment, while Yuanruo responds through a kiss, a tender personal name, and his acceptance.

Significant themes

• Love and commitment: Cui Rong seeks not only affection but a lifelong bond.
• Vulnerability and consent: He asks permission before kissing Yuanruo, who willingly responds.
• Deception in service of desire: Cui Rong pretends to be drunk to voice his feelings and secure a chance at their future together.
• Mutual resolve: Both recognize the moment may be difficult to undo—and neither wants to undo it.

Plot points

• Emperor Jinyuan and the Empress secretly leave the palace, confident that their adult son Chang can rule. The Empress regrets leaving before he has chosen a Crown Princess, but the Emperor insists their children must make their own choices. Their four-year-old daughter Xiyue accompanies them and comically interrupts their romantic plans.
• The next morning, Chang receives the abdication decree and becomes Emperor Jing of Jin. Ten days into governing, he is still adjusting to his father’s sudden handover of the throne.
• Southern Zhao invites him and his family to the wedding of its king and queen. Eager to attend—especially because the wedding concerns his “Little Imperial Uncle”—the new emperor arranges for Prince Xuan to govern in his absence, with Chancellor Cui and the Minister of Judicial Review assisting. Chief Minister Su also requests leave to attend.
• The ministers worry that Emperor Jing is postponing his formal Enthronement Ceremony, which traditionally involves honoring the ancestors. He remains unconcerned and says he is in no hurry.
• That night, Cui Rong asks why the emperor entrusted the realm to Prince Xuan and whether he means to give him the throne. Emperor Jing says he would let his brother have it if he wanted it, then reassures Cui Rong that he is his only family. The two share a tender, playful exchange and affirm their love.

Character developments and interactions

• Emperor Jinyuan and the Empress leave the throne—and the palace—behind to focus on their life together. Their affectionate banter is undercut by Xiyue’s innocent, amusing presence.
• Emperor Jing shows confidence in delegating power, but also a youthful, impulsive side: he is eager to travel and visibly flustered by Cui Rong’s affection. His willingness to surrender the throne to Prince Xuan suggests he is not attached to power.
• Cui Rong reveals anxiety about the emperor’s trust in Prince Xuan and his own position, but is reassured by the emperor’s declaration of love. Their relationship is intimate, devoted, and teasing.
• The ministers serve as a practical counterpoint to the emperor’s casual approach, worrying about continuity of government and proper accession rites.

Significant themes

• Family and personal happiness over duty or status: The retired emperor prioritizes his marriage, while the new emperor calls Cui Rong his family.
• Trust and the burdens of rule: Emperor Jing delegates authority and appears willing to relinquish the throne, contrasting with the ministers’ concern for political stability.
• Love expressed through humor and tenderness: Romantic moments are repeatedly softened by teasing, embarrassment, and playful interruptions.

Plot points and events

• In March, the Jin and Southern Zhao wedding parties meet at the border. To retrieve Xiao Yu, Dantai Yunheng must identify him among ten masked men dressed alike.
• Yunheng chooses the seventh man, recognizing Xiao Yu by instinct. Though the man’s revealed face is unfamiliar, his voice gives him away; Xiao Yu then restores his real appearance.
• Yunheng explains that he recognized Xiao Yu by his faint herbal fragrance. After the Prince of Zhennan urges them to keep to the auspicious schedule, Yunheng carries Xiao Yu to the wedding procession and hurries toward Southern Zhao.
• As the couple rides through streets lined with peach blossoms, Yunheng says he cannot wait to begin their wedding rites. The crowds cheer and offer their congratulations.

Character development and interactions

• Dantai Yunheng is joyful and impatient to marry Xiao Yu. His confidence in recognizing his beloved—even by scent—shows how closely he knows him. He is also possessive in a playful way, insisting on carrying Xiao Yu himself.
• Xiao Yu playfully tests Yunheng with a disguise, then reveals himself. Their affectionate teasing reflects their comfort and trust.
• Su Xun, Emperor Jing, and the others help stage the identification test and escort the groom, though Yunheng’s eagerness quickly overtakes the formal proceedings.

Significant themes

• Intimacy and recognition: Deep affection lets Yunheng identify Xiao Yu beyond appearance, through familiar presence, voice, and scent.
• Commitment and shared future: The peach blossoms echo the couple’s promise to grow old together, while the wedding marks the public beginning of their life as spouses.
• Celebration and unity: The peaceful, festive wedding contrasts with the armies’ imposing formation, turning a scene that resembles a military standoff into a joyful procession.

Plot points

• Xiao Yu has been back on Spirit Mountain for over a month, still searching for A-Heng. Unable to sleep without him, he is exhausted and unsettled.
• While bathing, Xiao Yu accidentally touches an Azure Dragon, who invites him to pet its head. Feeling unexpectedly comforted, Xiao Yu falls asleep against the dragon.
• The dragon transforms into a man—Tan Tai Heng, who looks remarkably like the A-Heng Xiao Yu remembers. He covers and carries the sleeping Xiao Yu, wanting to take him to his cave.
• Little Seven warns that the dragon has triggered Spirit Mountain’s protective formation and urges him to leave. Tan Tai Heng refuses to let Xiao Yu go.
• Immortal Venerable Yuheng arrives and confronts Tan Tai Heng, believing he has harmed his disciple. Tan Tai Heng claims Xiao Yu is his.
• When Tan Tai Heng asks Xiao Yu to come with him, the sleeping Xiao Yu embraces him. Tan Tai Heng takes this as an answer and leaves with him.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Yu’s continued insomnia and longing show how deeply he depends on A-Heng. Even without recognizing Tan Tai Heng, he instinctively feels safe with him and reaches for him.
• Tan Tai Heng has forgotten their time in the Mortal Realm, but his attraction and attachment to Xiao Yu remain. His declaration that Xiao Yu is “his” and his refusal to release him reveal a possessive, determined side.
• Little Seven recognizes the pair’s recurring bond and worries that their relationship will bring danger, given the conflict between humans and demons.
• Yuheng’s protective anger clashes with Tan Tai Heng’s possessiveness. Xiao Yu’s unconscious embrace tips the confrontation in Tan Tai Heng’s favor.

Significant themes

• Love beyond memory: Tan Tai Heng no longer remembers their shared past, yet is still drawn to Xiao Yu.
• Instinctive recognition and comfort: Xiao Yu responds to Tan Tai Heng without knowing who he is.
• Longing and reunion: Xiao Yu’s search ends in a reunion that begins before he is even awake.
• Possession versus protection: Yuheng sees himself as Xiao Yu’s guardian, while Tan Tai Heng claims a deeper bond with him.

Plot points and events

• In the Jin Kingdom, fifteen-year-old Emperor Xuan resents being left to rule after his elder brother departed for Southern Zhao and sent back an abdication edict. His mother, Empress Dowager Cui, first jokes about wearing his imperial robes, then asks to leave the palace so she can live freely and pursue relationships. He warns that she will give up her status as empress dowager; she accepts, and he grants her wish.
• In Southern Zhao, Yun Cheng struggles under a towering pile of memorials and longs for his elder brother and sister-in-law to return.
• In Jiangnan, Xiao Yu and Dantai Yunheng continue their honeymoon, three months after their wedding. Xiao Yu worries that they left Yun Cheng to manage Southern Zhao, but Dantai Yunheng insists Yun Cheng needs to grow into his responsibilities. The couple decide they are happy to go wherever they can be together.

Character developments and interactions

• Emperor Xuan’s frustration reveals how unprepared and unhappy he is about becoming emperor so young, but he nevertheless makes a considerate decision about his mother’s future.
• Empress Dowager Cui chooses personal freedom over the security and prestige of palace life. Her irreverent banter with her son gives way to a sincere declaration that she is tired of being confined.
• Yun Cheng is overwhelmed by his new duties and misses the support of his family.
• Dantai Yunheng is openly affectionate and possessive of Xiao Yu, while Xiao Yu responds with warmth and devotion. Their exchange emphasizes their closeness.

Significant themes

• Freedom and self-determination: Cui leaves palace status behind to reclaim her life.
• Growing into responsibility: Yun Cheng must learn to govern without his brother’s help.
• Love and companionship: Xiao Yu and Dantai Yunheng value being together above any particular destination.
  The chapter closes the story on a peaceful note, with the leads setting off together on their continuing honeymoon.