Chapter Summaries

Plot and key events

• After helping Qing Qianxue escape the rooftop danger, Jiang Yourning reminds him he owes her payment. Qing agrees to pay the next day. Qian Miao reports that the attackers at the Jiang Residence have been killed.
• At the palace banquet, Zheng Wanba grows impatient while waiting for word that officials’ families have been seized. Chu Wenzong lets him leave, while secretly watching him.
• Xie Ciyan reports that the real Zheng Wanba is dead and that the man at the banquet is an impostor. Chu orders his forces to wait for the right moment.
• The impostor returns with a frightened child and claims the boy is the emperor’s surviving son, allegedly switched at birth and raised by Zheng. He demands that Chu abdicate in the boy’s favor, revealing that his soldiers have surrounded the palace.
• Chu reveals he anticipated the coup. Imperial Guards and the emperor’s trained fighters emerge, but the impostor fires a signal arrow, apparently calling in additional allies.
• Jiang Li, Xie Ciyan, the Crown Prince, and Jiang He attack. Jiang Li knocks the dagger away from the child, who is tossed to safety, and they surround the impostor.
• Consort Zheng rushes into the fight and is stabbed by both the impostor and Xie. As she dies, she drives a hairpin into the impostor’s neck, accusing him of impersonating her brother. The chapter ends with him stunned that his expected reinforcements never arrived and that she saw through his disguise.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning remains practical and teasing, treating her rescue of Qing as a reason to collect payment.
• Qing Qianxue moves from momentary shock at being carried by Jiang to calmly agreeing to pay her.
• Chu Wenzong is composed and prepared, using the banquet to expose the plot rather than be caught off guard.
• The impostor shifts from confident blackmailer to a trapped fighter, relying on a false heir and a signal arrow to pressure the emperor.
• Consort Zheng reveals her loyalty and resolve in a final act of sacrifice, helping kill the impostor she recognizes as a fraud.
• Jiang Li, Xie Ciyan, the Crown Prince, and Jiang He work together against the impostor; Xie also serves as Chu’s trusted informant and attacker.

Significant themes

• Deception and identity: The impostor exploits a story of a switched-at-birth prince, but his own disguise is ultimately exposed.
• Preparedness and hidden power: Chu’s apparent calm masks a counter-plan and concealed forces.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: Consort Zheng risks her life to stop the impostor.
• Power and legitimacy: The coup uses royal blood and the threat of abdication as political weapons.

Key plot points and events

• Consort Zheng insists that the rebel who posed as her brother, General Zheng Wanba, was an impostor. She hopes her testimony will clear her brother, though she knows she may lose her place and favor at court.
• Imperial Guard commander Fan Chengfeng reports that the rebellion has been crushed, its accomplices captured, and the Zheng Family taken into custody.
• Zhao Yi removes the dead impostor’s human-skin mask. Jiang Li recognizes him as Xuan Lingzi, a disgraced former temple master who was sentenced to death five years earlier. His connection to the rebellion leaves the real General Zheng’s role uncertain.
• The Emperor ends the palace banquet and ensures the officials can return safely.
• He tells Cui Zhao’an that their son will be brought back from the Jiang Family the next morning and that the boy’s identity will be announced at court. Cui agrees to let the Empress Dowager choose the child’s name.
• At the Jiang home, the family gathers over roasted venison. Lin Xiangyin mourns that the boy she has raised will no longer be able to call her “Mother.” Jiang Yourning comforts her by emphasizing the family’s unusual good fortune and prestige.

Character developments and interactions

• Consort Zheng tries to protect her brother, even as her own future at court appears bleak.
• The Emperor and Cui Zhao’an share relief and tenderness over their son’s imminent return. The Emperor also feels guilty that he forgot to choose the boy a name and uses the Empress Dowager’s involvement to cover the oversight.
• Lin Xiangyin struggles with the impending separation from the child she has cared for, while Jiang Huai’an gently reminds her that their family has benefited from the arrangement.
• Jiang Yourning uses humor and a fresh perspective to lift her mother’s spirits; Lin gradually accepts the consolation.
• Jiang Li helps identify the masked conspirator, clarifying that the dead rebel was not necessarily the real General Zheng.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and family ties: Consort Zheng’s attempt to defend her brother contrasts with the uncertainty surrounding his alleged rebellion.
• Loss and attachment: Lin’s grief shows that parental bonds are built through care, not just blood.
• Fortune and social status: Yourning reframes the family’s painful situation as an extraordinary stroke of luck and a source of prestige.
• Uncertainty after crisis: Though the rebellion is over, the impostor’s identity leaves questions about the Zheng Family unresolved.

Plot and events

• Jiang Yourning asks Little Wukong to call her and the Jiang parents “Mom” and “Dad” once more before he returns to his birth family. He promises that, regardless of his name or biological parents, he will always regard them as his family.
• Lin Xiangyin is touched, while Jiang Huai’an nervously warns the boy not to call them his parents in public for fear of imperial punishment. Lin scolds him.
• Little Wukong dreads leaving Jiang Yourning and asks to sleep in her room. She agrees, though she is reluctant about visiting the palace.
• The next morning, the Jiang women escort him to the palace with a bundle of food. He greets Emperor Chu Wenzong, Empress Cui Zhao’an, and Princess Chu Lange, then enters the palace with Jiang Li.
• The Emperor and Empress invite the Jiang family to watch morning court so they can feel reassured. At court, Chu Wenzong publicly confirms that he and the Empress have a son who was raised away from them and later came to live with the Jiang family.
• In recognition of the Jiang family’s care, the Emperor awards Lin Xiangyin the title of second-rank titled lady.

Character developments and interactions

• Little Wukong shows deep loyalty and affection toward the Jiang family, while accepting his return to his birth family with good manners.
• Jiang Yourning comforts him but is plainly sad and uncertain about the separation; she also reacts wryly to the Emperor’s reward.
• Lin Xiangyin is moved by Little Wukong’s devotion and later delighted by her new title.
• Jiang Huai’an remains comically fearful of the Emperor, contrasting with Lin’s warmth and confidence.
• Chu Wenzong and Cui Zhao’an eagerly welcome their son and show gratitude to the Jiang family. Cui suggests inviting the Jiang women to court to reassure them.
• Chu Lange, newly learning she has a younger brother, watches him with astonishment and curiosity.

Significant themes

• Chosen family and enduring love: Little Wukong’s bond with the Jiangs remains meaningful despite his return to his birth parents.
• Separation and belonging: The chapter balances the sadness of leaving one home with the promise of joining another.
• Gratitude and recognition: The imperial family publicly acknowledges the Jiang family’s role, though Jiang Yourning suspects the honorary title is a convenient substitute for a more substantial reward.
• Humor amid emotion: Jiang Huai’an’s fear and Jiang Yourning’s irreverent thoughts keep the farewell and court proceedings lighthearted.

Plot points and events

• Emperor Chu Wenzong welcomes Empress Cui Zhao’an and the newly returned eighth prince, Little Wukong, at court. He praises the boy as gifted and eager to learn, then announces the Empress Dowager has named him Jinyuan.
• Jiang Yourning silently mocks the emperor’s exaggerated praise, pointing out that Little Wukong has recently angered his tutor. The emperor accepts the teasing without reacting and privately resolves not to get angry with someone who understands him so well.
• Citing the capture of the Zheng family and the prince’s return as “double blessings,” Chu Wenzong changes the court schedule: it will begin at 9 a.m., with one rest day every five days. The ministers enthusiastically approve, including the normally duty-bound Ministry of Rites officials.
• After court, the emperor rewards those who helped deal with the Zheng family with a palace banquet, attended by the Crown Prince. Jiang Li, Zhao Yi, and Xie Ciyan receive their customary free fish; the emperor also privately compensates the Jiang family with silver, fine cloth, and tea.
• At the Empress Dowager’s palace, Princess Chu Lange asks Jiang Yourning whether she had long known that Little Wukong was her biological younger brother. Jiang explains that she realized the truth when Wukong made a cryptic remark in the ancestral hall. Lange finally recalls the remark—and becomes indignant that he had called her silly.

Character development and interactions

• Chu Wenzong shows affection for his son and uses the celebrations to enact a change that benefits the court—though Jiang Yourning suspects he mainly wants to sleep in. He and Jiang share an unusually close, teasing understanding.
• Little Wukong/Jinyuan enjoys his father’s public praise and appears composed and respectful during the ceremony. His earlier words to Lange reveal that he already understood their shared family ties.
• Jiang Yourning remains sharp-eyed and irreverent, reading the emperor’s motives and helping Lange interpret Wukong’s earlier statement.
• Chu Lange moves from confusion about the family revelation to recognizing that the answer had been in front of her all along, then focuses on the insult she overlooked.
• Empress Cui Zhao’an notices Jiang Yourning’s closeness to the emperor and suspects they are siblings, given how well Jiang understands him.

Significant themes

• Family and recognition: Hidden or misunderstood family bonds come into focus, especially through Wukong’s attempt to explain them to Lange.
• Candor and mutual understanding: Jiang’s private observations expose the emperor’s real motives, while their familiarity lets him take her teasing in stride.
• Tradition versus practical reform: The emperor changes ancestral rules, and even officials responsible for ritual precedent choose improved working hours over protest.
• Power and performance: Courtly praise and ritual formality contrast with the characters’ private thoughts and familiar banter.

Key events

• Chu Lange enthusiastically declares that she and Jiang Yourning are now sisters, since her parents have accepted Jiang Yourning as family. Jiang Yourning is mortified and begs the imperial family to rein in Chu Lange’s bold promise that she can protect Jiang Yourning throughout the capital.
• The Empress Dowager reassures everyone that they are among family, and the tense moment passes.
• Su Xi brings out the Eighth Prince’s old belongings, including a worn red string the Empress Dowager once braided. When it is cut open, it reveals the character “Yuan,” showing that she had chosen Chu Jinyuan’s name before his birth. The family jokes about the terrible names Chu Wenzong had considered for his son.
• Jiang Yourning finds the red string strangely familiar. Jiang Wanrong remembers that a red string was once found with her little sister as a baby—and that she had told a nurse to throw it away. She worries that it might be the same string, which would suggest Jiang Yourning has royal blood. Though she fears losing her sister, she hopes the truth will remain hidden for a while.
• Chu Wenzong and Cui Zhao’an also react to the possibility, realizing that finding Jiang Yourning’s red string could reveal whether she is the Empress Dowager’s biological daughter.
• The family disperses: Lin Xiangyin stays to talk with the Empress Dowager and Empress, Chu Wenzong returns to deal with the Zheng family’s mess, and the children explore the palace.
• The system unexpectedly contacts Jiang Yourning. It claims it wants to serve her, but privately admits it is only checking in because its supervisors are auditing systems’ work and it fears punishment for slacking.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Lange is exuberant and impulsive, treating Jiang Yourning as a sister and promising to defend her—unaware of how alarming this sounds to the adults.
• Jiang Yourning remains skeptical and embarrassed by Chu Lange’s declaration, while the familiar red string stirs a vague suspicion about her origins.
• Jiang Wanrong reveals a deep attachment to Jiang Yourning: she fears the possibility of losing her to her birth family, even as she recognizes the red string may expose the truth.
• The imperial family shifts from amused family banter to anxious curiosity about Jiang Yourning’s possible connection to the Empress Dowager.
• The system is revealed as lazy and self-interested, resuming contact only because of an impending work inspection.

Significant themes

• Family and belonging: Jiang Yourning is embraced as family by both the Jiang household and Chu Lange, while her biological identity remains uncertain.
• Love versus possession: Jiang Wanrong’s fear of losing her sister complicates the search for Jiang Yourning’s origins.
• Clues to hidden identity: The matching red-string motif hints that Jiang Yourning may be connected to the imperial family.
• Comic contrast: Warm family scenes and emotional suspense are undercut by Chu Lange’s blunt enthusiasm and the system’s workplace-style complaints.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yourning initially doubts the system, but becomes eager when it reveals the secret-passage exit from Azure Cloud Temple to the Imperial Palace.
• She gathers Jiang Wanrong, Chu Lange, and Little Wukong to search the palace, following the system’s directions.
• The trail leads to the Imperial Study—an extremely restricted location. Yourning hesitates, so she suggests searching places the guards might have overlooked.
• Chu Lange explains that most areas have already been searched, but the Imperial Study was checked only by the emperor and Eunuch Fu Kang. Yourning persuades her to search it, joking that finding the passage would give Lange a year of teasing her father.
• The group enters the Imperial Study, where Chu Wenzong is meeting with Qing Qianxue, Xie Ciyan, Jiang He, Jiang Li, and Zhao Yi.
• Yourning hopes the witnesses will make it harder for the emperor to deny her reward. Qing Qianxue claims he has been unable to divine the exit’s location, although he already knows where it is.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning is driven by the promise of treasure, but grows uneasy when the system directs her to the Imperial Study. She uses playful logic to convince Chu Lange to lead the group inside.
• Jiang Wanrong readily understands her sister’s profit-seeking motive and tactfully suggests more plausible hidden locations.
• Chu Lange enthusiastically joins the search, trusts Yourning’s suggestion, and escorts everyone into the study.
• Little Wukong is eager to help, though his suggestion to search the privies prompts silent disbelief from Yourning and Wanrong.
• Qing Qianxue conceals that he already knows the passage’s location. His earlier visit to the temple was motivated by wanting private time with Jiang Yourning, not by investigating the passage.
• The group’s easy access to the study depends on Chu Lange’s status as princess; Fu Kang announces them to the emperor.

Significant themes

• Treasure and self-interest: Yourning’s search is chiefly motivated by the expected imperial reward.
• Secrets and concealment: The passage is hidden in the very place where one might expect it to be most protected.
• Dramatic irony: Yourning and the others search for information that Qing Qianxue already possesses, while he deliberately keeps silent.
• Playful family dynamics: The characters’ teasing, misunderstandings, and Yourning’s irreverent thoughts give the palace intrigue a comic tone.

Plot points and events

• After discovering that the secret passage’s exit is in the Imperial Study, Jiang Yourning and her companions are allowed to search the room, provided they do not damage anything. Chu Lange eagerly leads everyone into the inner chamber.
• The emperor dismisses his ministers. Xie Ciyan tries to stay near Jiang Wanrong under the pretext of wanting tea, but Chu Wenzong recognizes his motive and has eunuchs remove him. Jiang He’s attempt to discuss official business is cut short when the emperor grants him six months’ leave.
• Qing Qianxue appears ill, prompting Chu Wenzong to summon the imperial physicians and personally care for him. Once Qing seems stable, he encourages the emperor to attend to other business—giving Chu Wenzong a chance to hurry into the inner chamber.
• Inside, Chu Lange offers Jiang Yourning a valuable golden pavilion, assuming she can give away her father’s belongings. Little Wukong also suggests enlisting their mother to obtain it for her.
• Jiang Yourning focuses on finding the passage exit and earning her reward. Chu Wenzong, meanwhile, begins searching the same wall himself, hoping to find the exit before she does.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Wenzong is torn between affection for his children and frustration at their casual generosity with his possessions. He also tries to keep Xie Ciyan away from Jiang Wanrong, while competing with Jiang Yourning to find the passage exit.
• Jiang Yourning stays focused on her practical goal and privately mocks the emperor’s troubles with his children.
• Chu Lange and Little Wukong show their fondness for Jiang Yourning by offering her an expensive gift, though neither seems concerned about their father’s permission.
• Qing Qianxue uses a convincing spell of illness to keep Chu Wenzong nearby, then tactfully lets him go when he is eager to rejoin the search.
• Xie Ciyan tries to remain close to Jiang Wanrong, but Chu Wenzong’s intervention prevents him from doing so.

Significant themes

• Family affection mixed with exasperation: Chu Wenzong’s children are generous and loving toward Jiang Yourning, but their behavior tests his patience.
• Scheming and comic misdirection: Several characters use excuses or performances to get what they want, from Qing Qianxue’s feigned illness to Chu Wenzong’s sudden search.
• Possessions and self-interest: The golden pavilion and the secret passage turn the Imperial Study into a comic contest over who gets what—and who finds it first.

Key plot points and events

• While searching the Imperial Study for a secret-passage exit, Jiang Yourning realizes Chu Wenzong is shadowing her and mimicking her every move. Chu Lange and Little Wukong join in, turning the search into an absurd procession of people crawling and wriggling across the floor.
• Exasperated, Jiang Yourning takes a Whirlwind Little Spinning Top pill and a Strength Pill, spins over to the Dragon Bed, and breaks it with a punch—pretending she simply fell onto it.
• The collapse reveals the secret-passage exit beneath the bed. Chu Wenzong is stunned to learn he has been sleeping above it.
• Jiang Yourning asks for the promised reward. Though convinced she broke the bed deliberately, Chu Wenzong cannot prove it and offers her a gold miniature of the Flying Shadow Pavilion.
• Jiang Yourning happily accepts, privately deciding the prize and Chu Wenzong’s frustration make the ordeal worthwhile. Chu Wenzong orders the miniature packed for her and sends Chu Lange and Little Wukong back to Perching Phoenix Palace.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning grows impatient with Chu Wenzong’s close watching and uses quick thinking—and a staged accident—to uncover the passage and claim her reward. Her polite outward manner contrasts with her irreverent, scheming inner thoughts.
• Chu Wenzong goes from smiling, watchful companion to furious, heartbroken owner of a ruined Dragon Bed. He suspects Jiang Yourning’s guilt but restrains himself and honors his promise.
• Chu Lange and Little Wukong enthusiastically imitate Jiang Yourning’s crawling, adding to the chaos. Once Chu Wenzong’s anger becomes clear, Chu Lange quickly hustles them away.
• The group’s comic imitation contrasts with Chu Wenzong’s increasingly serious distress, while Jiang Wanrong reacts to the spectacle with horrified coughing.

Significant themes

• Comedy through imitation and escalation: A simple search becomes a ridiculous group performance.
• Cleverness and concealed motives: Jiang Yourning presents herself as innocent while engineering the outcome.
• Power, reward, and restraint: Chu Wenzong is an emperor, yet must swallow his suspicions and keep his promise.
• Unexpected discovery: The hidden passage was beneath the very bed that concealed it—and that the emperor regularly slept on.

Key plot points and events

• After leaving the Imperial Study, Jiang Yourning finds Qing Qianxue surrounded by imperial physicians. He says he caught a chill after standing in the wind, and she scolds him.
• Qing offers to send her the thousand taels of gold and red coral ornaments he had promised for finding the secret passage. Though confused about his motive, Jiang accepts the reward.
• On the ride home, Jiang asks her system about an antidote and a medicine that could change Qing’s sex, then abandons the idea out of concern for the Empress. She decides instead to find Qing a partner someday, convinced she is a gifted matchmaker.
• The system points out that Jiang’s supposed matchmaking has not gone well: her sister and Xie Ciyan are speaking less, her second brother and Jiang Wanrong have fallen out of contact after he stood her up, and her third brother has not seen his sweetheart. Worse, Sister Lin’s family may soon arrange a marriage for her.
• Alarmed, Jiang rushes to Jiang Li’s study, where he is discussing the aftermath of the Zheng Family affair with Zhao Yi. She believes his work is keeping him from pursuing his romance. Zhao Yi, sensing trouble, pretends to feel ill and leaves.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning remains energetic and meddlesome, but the system’s news shatters her confidence in her matchmaking skills and prompts her to act urgently.
• Qing Qianxue shows concern for Jiang by honoring his original reward promise, while disguising his intentions behind a practical explanation. Jiang interprets the gesture as evidence of his special regard for Chu Wenzong.
• Jiang Wanrong quietly begins to “ship” Jiang and Qing, while remaining puzzled by Jiang Yourning’s sudden distress.
• Jiang Li is tender toward his younger sister but absorbed in official work; Jiang sees his diligence as a threat to his romantic prospects.
• Zhao Yi recognizes that the casework can wait and tactfully escapes before Jiang Yourning can turn her attention to him.

Significant themes

• Love and matchmaking: Jiang’s confidence as a matchmaker contrasts humorously with the stalled or threatened relationships around her.
• Duty versus personal life: Jiang Li’s official responsibilities risk interfering with romance.
• Hidden affection and mistaken interpretations: Qing’s thoughtful gesture invites speculation, while Jiang misreads or overthinks the motives behind it.
• Comedic family meddling: Jiang’s internal commentary and urgent interference drive the chapter’s humor.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Yi takes his leave from Jiang Li and Jiang Yourning. As he departs, he panics at the thought that the Jiang family might discover he also wears green underpants like his father.
• Jiang Yourning learns that Jiang Li declined an invitation to the Lin family’s flower-viewing banquet because he was busy with official duties. She reveals that the banquet will include choosing potential husbands for Lin, prompting Jiang Li to realize he may lose his chance with her.
• Jiang Li admits he needs more time to finish a wooden carving for Lin. Jiang Yourning advises him to keep working on his best attempt, and he eagerly agrees.
• Zhao Yi is abducted and taken to a rooftop, where he is forced to watch his father in an intimate scene—his father’s green underpants unmistakable. Zhao’s horrified scream suggests this is deliberate revenge.
• Qian Yan and Qian Miao speculate that their master arranged the spectacle because Zhao once gave Jiang Yourning a parrot and the master is jealous.
• In a secret chamber, a cloaked marquis angrily learns that, despite Zheng Wanba’s death, his agents failed to identify the people investigating them. He orders a subordinate killed, then asks about Chu Haoze’s recovery.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning teases her brothers but also nudges Jiang Li to act before it is too late. She confidently takes charge of the conversation and leaves once he agrees to continue the carving.
• Jiang Li moves from complacency to alarm when he realizes Lin may be matched with someone else. His wooden carvings show how much effort—and hesitation—he has invested in expressing his feelings.
• Zhao Yi is caught between his embarrassment over his family’s underwear and the far worse humiliation of witnessing his father’s private encounter. His abduction appears to be part of someone’s personal scheme.
• Qian Miao and Qian Yan provide comic speculation about their mysterious master’s motives, mistaking a possible jealousy plot for certainty.
• The cloaked marquis is ruthless and focused on political and military advantage. Though Zheng Wanba’s death weakens Yu’s border defenses, the marquis remains frustrated by the investigation into his operation.

Significant themes

• Love and missed chances: Jiang Li’s delay in pursuing Lin may cost him an opportunity.
• Teasing and embarrassment: Humor repeatedly comes from private matters becoming public, especially Zhao Yi’s family secret.
• Hidden motives and intrigue: The master’s actions and the marquis’s plans suggest that personal schemes and larger political plots are unfolding at once.

Plot and events

• An unseen speaker reports that an unnamed person has survived and is no longer in danger. The other speaker orders them sent to Jiangnan, where they will make new plans.
• Two days later, Jiang Yourning’s family visits the Lin Residence. Lin Xiangyin is excited and repeatedly checks whether she looks suitably dignified as a Second-Rank Imperial Mandate Lady.
• The sisters join the young ladies’ gathering. The noblewomen eagerly welcome Jiang Wanrong, while Jiang Yourning watches from the sidelines because her reputation makes people wary of her.
• Lin Qingrao takes Jiang Yourning for a stroll, hoping to ask about Jiang Li. Yourning teases her, reveals that Jiang Li has been eagerly awaiting the gathering, and arranges for the two to meet privately.
• Yourning and Jiang Wanrong secretly watch the meeting. Both Jiang Li and Lin Qingrao are too shy to speak plainly, and each blames Yourning for arranging it.
• The awkwardness soon turns warm: Jiang Li tells amusing stories about Yourning’s childhood, including the time she got drunk at the Lantern Festival, pretended to be a flower, and had herself half-buried and watered.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning plays matchmaker for Jiang Li and Lin Qingrao, enjoying their flustered reactions even as they make her the scapegoat. Her mischievous reputation is reinforced by Jiang Li’s childhood anecdotes.
• Jiang Li and Lin Qingrao are bashful but clearly interested in each other. Their conversation grows more comfortable through their shared affection for Yourning.
• Jiang Wanrong receives enthusiastic attention at the gathering and later joins Yourning in watching the couple’s meeting.
• Lin Xiangyin is proud and anxious to make a strong impression among the Capital’s noblewomen.

Significant themes

• Romance and matchmaking: Yourning helps a shy couple overcome their hesitation.
• Family affection and teasing: The sisters’ closeness and Jiang Li’s fond stories reveal a warm, playful family dynamic.
• Reputation and social standing: Jiang Wanrong’s popularity contrasts with Yourning’s poor reputation, while Lin Xiangyin is keenly aware of her status.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Li finally gives Lin Qingrao a box of fifteen wooden carvings, all depicting her. He worries she’ll dislike them, but she insists on keeping them.
• Lin notices the cuts on Jiang Li’s fingers and assumes he got them while carving. Though he denies it, he blurts out that Jiang Yourning told him to do it—an awkward excuse that makes Lin believe the carvings caused his injuries.
• Hidden nearby, Jiang Yourning and Jiang Wanrong watch the exchange. Jiang Wanrong is pleased that the pair are getting along; Jiang Yourning is exasperated but accepts that her matchmaking efforts worked.
• As they leave, Jiang Wanrong pulls Jiang Yourning behind a wall to spy on a new scene: a finely dressed woman secretly pours a large amount of powder into a wine pot. Her maid says the “Cousin Young Master” is waiting in a side room.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Li shows his affection through the painstakingly made carvings, but remains shy and clumsy in conversation. Following Jiang Yourning’s advice to gloss over his injuries backfires when he names her as the reason for them.
• Lin Qingrao is moved by the gift and protective of Jiang Li, responding to his injured hands with concern and a firm request that he stop carving.
• Jiang Yourning shifts between embarrassment, frustration, and satisfaction as her brother’s courtship succeeds. Her thoughts reveal how tiring—and irritating—she finds being his unofficial “love adviser.”
• Jiang Wanrong affectionately teases Jiang Yourning and enjoys watching the couple grow closer, then draws her into another spying session.

Significant themes

• Affection expressed through effort: Jiang Li’s imperfect carvings matter because of the care and labor behind them.
• Comic miscommunication: Jiang Li’s awkward explanations undermine Jiang Yourning’s coaching while unintentionally strengthening Lin’s impression that he is devoted.
• Matchmaking and meddling: Jiang Yourning’s guidance helps bring the couple together, though she resents being credited—or blamed—for Jiang Li’s actions.
• A shift toward intrigue: The chapter ends with the apparent poisoning of a wine pot, introducing a possible new danger.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yourning and Jiang Wanrong follow a maid to a courtyard and secretly watch from the roof.
• Inside, a young man, Wen Jiuliang, uses “evil incense,” a substance that causes hallucinations and exploits people’s desires. A maid inhales it, hallucinates about selling a fattened animal to help her brother, and is thrown out by Wen.
• Jiang Wanrong explains that the incense affects ordinary people quickly; Wen appears immune because repeated use has depleted his vitality and made him tolerant.
• A woman arrives carrying a whip. Rather than being a victim, she is Wen’s sister. She angrily destroys the incense burner and beats him for using the drug despite her efforts to find a cure.
• After whipping him until he vomits blood, she breaks down and embraces him. Wen apologizes and urges her to keep punishing him.
• Jiang Wanrong reveals that Poison Heart Valley has struggled for years to develop an antidote, but she has been unable to make one.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning is curious and playful, imagining a familiar rescue plot, but follows her sister’s warning and wears a protective veil.
• Jiang Wanrong begins as an amused observer, then grows distressed as the scene exposes the drug’s harm. Her compassion turns into painful self-doubt over her failure to find a cure.
• Wen Jiuliang is contemptuous toward the maid but submissive and emotionally vulnerable with his sister, showing both the damage of addiction and his dependence on her.
• Wen’s sister is fierce and frustrated, yet her beating comes from fear and desperation to save him. Her grief makes their complicated bond clear.
• The sisters share the rooftop as observers; Jiang Yourning asks questions while Jiang Wanrong explains the incense and its effects.

Significant themes

• Addiction and loss of control: The incense pulls users into destructive behavior even when they know the danger.
• Compassion mixed with frustration: Wen’s sister’s harshness is rooted in love and helplessness.
• The limits of knowledge and power: Jiang Wanrong’s expertise cannot yet produce a cure, leaving her feeling inadequate.
• Hypocrisy and social contempt: Wen looks down on the maid while being trapped by his own dependence.

Key plot points and events

• After seeing Jiang Wanrong upset over the Evil Incense case, Jiang Yourning takes her to a quiet pavilion and comforts her, praising her, her master, and her senior sisters for their compassion.
• Yourning privately worries about how widely Evil Incense has spread and thinks that Chu Wenzong must act before it causes a disaster.
• Once calmer, Wanrong asks to be left alone. Yourning reluctantly goes, promising to help if needed.
• On her way, Yourning imagines she sees a “mountain of gold” and sneaks toward it, hoping to claim it.
• The “gold” is actually Qing Qianxue, who is playing a board game while his attendants, Qian Miao and Qian Yan, guard him. Yourning mistakes the two attendants for a flashy bird and a noisy duck, threatening them with comic insults.
• Yourning suddenly leaps into Qianxue’s arms, believing she has reached the gold. Confused and seemingly dazed, she calls him a talking gold-spirit, headbutts him, and bites his hand.
• Qianxue knocks her unconscious with a controlled strike. His attendants are left stunned and speculate—uneasily—that the episode was flirtation rather than a sign that something is wrong with her.

Character developments

• Jiang Wanrong remains deeply affected by the Evil Incense situation but accepts comfort from Yourning before asking for time alone.
• Jiang Yourning shows genuine tenderness and concern for her sister, alongside her usual impulsive, greedy, and irreverent humor. Her sudden fixation on imaginary gold makes her behavior seem bizarre.
• Qing Qianxue is caught off guard by Yourning’s attack and affection; he blushes when she jumps into his arms, then responds decisively when she bites him.
• Qian Miao and Qian Yan serve as comic observers. Qian Yan’s teasing laughter quickly turns to bewilderment, while Qian Miao tries to explain away the incident as flirtation.

Significant themes

• Compassion amid danger: Yourning’s reassurance to Wanrong highlights the characters’ commitment to helping others despite the threat of Evil Incense.
• Unresolved social threat: Evil Incense remains a growing mystery, with Yourning fearing its spread beyond the known case.
• Humor and tonal contrast: Serious concern about a dangerous substance gives way to chaotic comedy when Yourning mistakes Qianxue for treasure.
• Ambiguous affection: The attendants interpret Yourning’s physical closeness as romantic play, though her actions appear driven by delusion rather than deliberate flirtation.

Character interactions

• Yourning comforts Wanrong as a caring younger sister, then respects her request to be alone.
• She insults Qian Miao and Qian Yan, turning their guarded post into a comic exchange.
• Her sudden embrace, headbutt, and bite create an awkwardly intimate encounter with Qianxue, who catches and then restrains her.
• The attendants watch the incident and exchange uncertain, increasingly alarmed explanations.

Key plot points and events

• After Jiang Yourning disappears at the Lin Residence, her sister Jiang Wanrong discovers she may have inhaled Evil Incense and asks Xie Ciyan to help search. He alerts Madam Lin to look discreetly and joins the search.
• Meanwhile, Qing Qianxue has already brought the unconscious Jiang Yourning to the National Preceptor’s Residence. His attendants drag in the reluctant physician Ye Tianque, who had vowed not to treat her again.
• Ye examines Jiang Yourning, draws a small blood sample, and says she inhaled only a little Evil Incense. She is in no serious danger and will wake naturally, or can be roused by pressing above her upper lip.
• When Jiang Yourning wakes, she checks that she is unharmed and frets over a supposed “mountain of gold” she remembers seeing while under the incense’s influence.
• Qing Qianxue tells her she pounced on him, called him her “mountain of gold,” and bit his hand. The chapter ends as she freezes at this revelation.

Character developments and interactions

• Qing Qianxue is notably protective and anxious about Jiang Yourning’s safety, though he masks it with calmness and teasing. He also uses his authority to persuade Ye to treat her.
• Jiang Yourning wakes confused, comically suspicious that someone stole her imagined treasure, then becomes embarrassed when Qing recounts her behavior.
• Ye Tianque initially resists helping, but gives in when Qing threatens to withdraw his protection. His blunt teasing suggests familiarity with Qing’s concern for Jiang.
• Jiang Wanrong is alarmed and feels responsible for not checking her sister sooner. Xie Ciyan responds promptly and helps organize the search.

Significant themes

• Care hidden beneath banter: Qing’s dry remarks conceal genuine concern for Jiang Yourning.
• Comedy amid danger: The threat of Evil Incense gives way to Jiang’s absurd “mountain of gold” fixation and the awkward account of her pouncing and biting.
• Trust and dependence: Qing’s influence over Ye—and Ye’s eventual cooperation—shows how loyalty and protection shape their relationships.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yourning wakes at the National Preceptor’s residence and realizes that the “mountain of gold” and other strange visions were hallucinations caused by Evil Incense. She also recalls leaving bite marks on Qing Qianxue and is mortified.
• Learning it is already mid-afternoon, she rushes back to the Lin Family’s flower-viewing banquet.
• There she reunites with her mother, Lin Xiangyin, and sister Jiang Wanrong. Both had been absent from the luncheon, and Wanrong quietly worries that Yourning may have been in danger.
• Lin Xiangyin warns her daughters about suspicious drinks and careless maids, then reveals that a scandal involving adultery occurred at the Lin residence. Yourning regrets missing the spectacle.
• The family stops at a tavern to eat. Yourning asks after her third brother, but learns he has gone on official business.
• A little beggar arrives and begs the Jiang sisters to help find A-Qi, saying something may have happened to him. The sisters immediately respond.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning is embarrassed by her drug-induced behavior around Qing Qianxue, but hides the real reason for her absence from her family. Her playful curiosity about gossip remains strong.
• Qing Qianxue appears amused and mildly exasperated by Yourning’s antics, though he lets her leave without pressing her.
• Jiang Wanrong conceals her concern for her sister in front of their mother and reflects that Yourning’s encounter with the State Preceptor may have spared her from worse trouble.
• Lin Xiangyin is affectionate and protective, offering her daughters practical warnings about dangers at social gatherings.
• The beggar’s plea shifts the sisters’ attention from family gossip to an urgent search for A-Qi.

Significant themes

• Embarrassment and mistaken perceptions: Yourning’s vivid hallucinations leave her convinced she has made a fool of herself.
• Family care and guarded concern: Wanrong and Lin Xiangyin protect Yourning while avoiding alarming her.
• Hidden dangers beneath polite society: The banquet’s adultery scandal and Lin Xiangyin’s warnings suggest that social gatherings can conceal serious misconduct.
• Comedy giving way to suspense: The chapter moves from Yourning’s comic humiliation and missed gossip to the ominous news about A-Qi.

Plot points and events

• A-Qi disappears after telling Little Food Bucket he has found family and intends to visit them. When he fails to return for three days, Jiang Yourning asks Jiang He to help locate him.
• Jiang He brings A-Qi back to the Jiang residence. A physician examines him, and he appears physically unharmed, though shaken and withdrawn.
• A-Qi explains that his aunt, whom he had never met, returned to the Capital and sought him out. Because she resembled his late mother and treated him tenderly, he trusted her and agreed to go home with her.
• He overheard his aunt and uncle reveal their real motive: their sick son supposedly needed heart-blood from a young, close blood relative to make a cure. They kept A-Qi confined, but he eventually escaped with the Jiang family’s help.
• Before Jiang Yourning leaves, A-Qi offers her a closely guarded piece of Capital history. He reveals that his father’s death in the palace was not accidental: his father had overheard a secret conversation and, fearing he would not survive, left A-Qi’s mother a farewell letter through a trusted friend.

Character developments

• A-Qi is shown as vulnerable beneath his guarded exterior. His longing for the care he once received from his mother made him susceptible to his aunt’s deception, but he remained cautious enough to avoid confronting his captors until he could escape. He begins to trust Jiang Yourning with painful personal history.
• Jiang Yourning responds with compassion and practical action, arranging the search and giving A-Qi time to speak. Her love of gossip also makes her instantly receptive to his offer of a secret.
• Little Food Bucket helps locate A-Qi and eagerly collects its reward of spicy strips.
• Jiang He uses his men to find A-Qi and quietly gives him space to talk with Jiang Yourning.

Significant themes

• The need for family and affection: A-Qi’s desire for maternal warmth leaves him open to manipulation.
• Betrayal disguised as care: His relatives’ tenderness conceals a plan to exploit him.
• Trust and refuge: Jiang Yourning and her household offer A-Qi safety and a chance to speak freely.
• Hidden truths and dangerous secrets: A-Qi’s account hints that his father’s death was connected to palace intrigue.

Character interactions

• Little Food Bucket alerts Jiang Yourning to A-Qi’s disappearance, prompting her to enlist Jiang He.
• Jiang Yourning listens patiently as A-Qi recounts his aunt’s apparent kindness and subsequent betrayal.
• A-Qi thanks Jiang Yourning for helping him escape and draws her back with the promise of an intriguing secret.
• Jiang He supports the rescue while deliberately leaving A-Qi and Jiang Yourning alone.

Key plot points and events

• A-Qi reveals that his father uncovered a conspiracy involving the late emperor’s Empress—now the Empress Dowager. The conspirators used a prophecy about the “Purple Star” to persuade the pregnant Empress to visit a temple, intending to trigger an early birth and steal her child.
• A-Qi’s mother sent him out of the city for safety, but she was killed after his father was also targeted. He later learned that his aunt helped deliver the Empress’s baby and smuggled the child out through a secret passage, working for the conspirators in exchange for money.
• Jiang Yourning recognizes A-Qi’s desire for justice and offers him a chance to present his story to the Empress Dowager the following day. A-Qi is moved and grateful.
• Afterward, a comic interruption comes when Jiang discovers Little Food Bucket has been watching her bathe. As she gets dressed, she notices a red cord on her new dudou and recalls allowing Chun Tao to use a cord she had found in a cupboard.

Character developments and interactions

• A-Qi’s grief and anger surface as he describes his parents’ deaths and his aunt’s betrayal. He admits he hoped Jiang would help expose the truth, then fears he has overstepped.
• Jiang remains practical and guarded about their relationship, calling them business partners, but shows compassion by giving A-Qi a path to seek justice.
• Little Food Bucket’s teasing, inappropriate remarks provoke Jiang’s fury and briefly shift the chapter’s mood from tragic to comic.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and corruption: A-Qi’s aunt allegedly profited from the plot against her own family.
• Justice and accountability: A-Qi wants the guilty punished, and Jiang gives him an opportunity to pursue that goal.
• Grief and survival: A-Qi’s childhood escape came at the cost of losing both parents.
• Hidden clues and memory: The red cord’s significance is left unresolved, hinting that Jiang’s overlooked memory may connect to the larger mystery.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yourning removes her dudou and discovers the Red String hidden inside is embroidered with the character “Yu.” Since the item has appeared in her room before and the character seems unrelated to her, she wonders whether it points to a hidden identity.
• She jokingly tells the system she is a reincarnated Purple Star seeking revenge, then asks it for a million points. The system crashes and begins shutting down. Jiang Yourning decides not to exploit the malfunction and goes to sleep, still clutching the Red String.
• The next day, she takes the Red String to visit her mother, hoping to find out where it came from.
• The family is discussing Jiang Li’s marriage. He admits that things have worked out with Miss Lin, and the family agrees to have a matchmaker propose.
• Lin Xiangyin then scolds Jiang He for putting off marriage. She gives him a year to find someone he likes and bring her home, or he will be barred from returning to the Jiang residence. Jiang Huai’an backs her up.
• Jiang He privately considers asking Miss Wan’er to pretend to be his sweetheart. Jiang Yourning’s inner thoughts reveal the plan, startling him.

Character developments

• Jiang Yourning remains playful and irreverent, but her curiosity about the Red String suggests she is beginning to take its mysterious significance seriously.
• The system is shown to be overly earnest and fragile: Jiang Yourning’s elaborate story and shameless request are enough to trigger a malfunction.
• Jiang Li is shy but has made real progress toward marriage with Miss Lin.
• Jiang He tries to dodge his parents’ demand, then quietly devises a scheme involving Miss Wan’er. His plan is exposed through Jiang Yourning’s thoughts.
• Lin Xiangyin is affectionate toward her children but firm about their responsibilities; Jiang Huai’an supports her authority.

Significant themes

• Family and marriage: The family’s humorous argument reflects the pressure to marry and continue the family line.
• Hidden identity and fate: The mysterious “Yu” embroidery raises the possibility that the Red String is tied to Jiang Yourning’s past or future.
• Comedy and dramatic irony: Jiang Yourning’s outrageous claims, the system’s collapse, and her ability to expose Jiang He’s private thoughts drive the chapter’s humor.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yourning teases Jiang Li about Miss Lin, while the family celebrates their match.
• Lin Xiangyin confronts Jiang He over his years of avoiding marriage, and Jiang Huai’an joins in.
• Jiang He’s private plan is exposed by Jiang Yourning’s inner monologue; Jiang Wanrong hides her amusement, and Jiang Li enjoys seeing his older brother taken to task.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yourning notices the worn Red String she has kept and considers bringing it up. Jiang He takes it from her, prompting the family to examine it.
• Nanny Li reveals that the string belonged to Yourning from birth. Lin Xiangyin remembers ordering it discarded and fears Yourning may be seeking her birth family.
• Yourning reassures her adoptive mother, then points out that the string matches the one the Empress Dowager used to identify Little Wukong’s family: it bears the same design and the embroidered character “Yu.”
• Pressed by Jiang Wanrong, Nanny Li admits that Yourning is the Emperor’s younger sister and the Empress Dowager’s daughter. The family is stunned. Jiang Heng briefly celebrates the prospect of having a princess for a sister, earning slaps from his brothers.
• Nanny Li apologizes and says that, now that matters in the Capital have settled, she has nothing left to hide—setting up her explanation of the past.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning is shocked by the revelation and conflicted: she is curious about her origins but prefers her comfortable life with the Jiangs to returning to the Imperial Palace.
• Lin Xiangyin fears losing her daughter and worries she has failed her. Yourning comforts her and makes clear that she has treated her well.
• Nanny Li moves from silent keeper of the secret to openly confessing it, burdened by guilt over concealing Yourning’s identity.
• Jiang Wanrong recognizes the significance of the Red String and questions Nanny Li directly.
• Jiang He unintentionally brings the secret to light by taking the string. Jiang Huai’an and the brothers react with disbelief; Jiang Heng’s excitement is quickly checked by his siblings.

Significant themes

• Family and belonging: Yourning’s biological identity challenges—but does not erase—the love and security she has found with the Jiang family.
• Secrets and truth: A small keepsake exposes a long-hidden history once those who recognize it connect the clues.
• Conflicted identity: Yourning must weigh an elevated imperial birth against the life and relationships she already values.