Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Chu Yunfeng arrives at Chu Youning’s feast, claiming he wants to see the capital and follow medical advice to exercise. Chu Youning suspects he has another motive, while Xie Ciyan becomes wary that he may be interested in Jiang Wanrong.
• During the gathering, everyone socializes peacefully. Xie Ciyan repeatedly serves Jiang Wanrong food, while Jiang Li and Lin Qingrao get along. Chu Youning worries about how to help her brother Jiang He.
• Later, Chu Youning overhears Chu Yunfeng thanking Jiang Wanrong for saving him and offering her a bracelet. Xie Ciyan intervenes, explaining that the bracelet belonged to Yunfeng’s late mother and was meant for the woman he loved.
• Yunfeng admits he felt Jiang Wanrong seemed like a fairy, but says his frail health keeps him from pursuing marriage. Xie Ciyan then declares that he and Jiang Wanrong were promised to one another before birth and that he intends to marry only her.
• Jiang Wanrong blushes, and Yunfeng understands their feelings. He withdraws the bracelet offer and says he will choose another gift. Xie Ciyan leaves with Jiang Wanrong, pleased that he has made his intentions clear.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Youning enjoys the romantic drama and considers whether Chu Yunfeng’s congenital weakness might be treatable through her System’s shop.
• Xie Ciyan shifts from watchful jealousy to openly claiming his commitment to Jiang Wanrong, physically placing himself between her and Yunfeng.
• Jiang Wanrong blushes at Xie Ciyan’s declaration and does not deny his feelings, suggesting their bond is deepening.
• Chu Yunfeng shows sincere admiration for Jiang Wanrong but graciously backs away when he recognizes her connection with Xie Ciyan.
• Chu Youning and Xie Ciyan remain linked through her thoughts: he hears her private speculation and becomes anxious when she considers Yunfeng as another possible suitor.

Significant themes

• Romance and rivalry: Yunfeng’s gift prompts Xie Ciyan to reveal his commitment.
• Sacrifice and restraint: Yunfeng’s poor health makes him reluctant to burden someone with marriage, and he accepts Jiang Wanrong’s apparent preference.
• Family bonds and matchmaking: Chu Youning watches over her relatives and takes delight in their romantic prospects.

Plot points and events

• Chu Yunfeng accepts that Jiang Wanrong is not suited to the bracelet and lets go of the idea of giving it to her. He had hoped only to become her friend.
• Chu Youning comforts her nephew, promising that she has found a way to treat his congenital deficiency and that he may someday meet someone suited to the bracelet. He doubts the promise but appreciates her affection.
• Back in the private room, Chu Youning keeps drinking, singing badly, and trying to coax Qing Qianxue into singing with her.
• When she disappears, the group discovers she is drunk and behaving like a cat: prowling along walls and roofs, evading Qing Qianxue, and darting through the night.
• Qing Qianxue tries to lure her with grilled fish, but she runs off. System urges her to sober up, while she insists she is a clearheaded “kitty.”
• After an anxious search, Qing Qianxue finds her watching stray cats fight at an abandoned residence and catches her by the collar. She protests with a furious “meow.”

Character developments

• Chu Yunfeng shows emotional maturity: he can appreciate Jiang Wanrong’s kindness without mistaking it for love and can accept disappointment without bitterness.
• Chu Youning is affectionate toward Chu Yunfeng, but once drunk she becomes playful, impulsive, and convinced she is a cat.
• Qing Qianxue remains patient and practical, organizing the search and trying both reason and grilled fish to retrieve Chu Youning.
• System is exasperated and powerless, eventually recording the episode in case Chu Youning blames it later.

Significant themes

• Letting go and emotional clarity: Chu Yunfeng distinguishes a favorable impression from love and accepts that the bracelet need not be given away.
• Family affection: Chu Youning’s reassurance shows her care for her nephew, even if he does not fully believe her.
• Comic disorder: Her drunken cat antics turn a family gathering into a chaotic nighttime search, punctuated by a frightened child mistaking her for a cat demon.

Character interactions

• Chu Youning comforts and takes Chu Yunfeng back to the gathering.
• She repeatedly tries to make Qing Qianxue sing, while he declines patiently.
• Qing Qianxue, the others, and System all try to manage her drunken escape; in the end, Qing Qianxue catches her while she watches the stray cats.

Key plot points and events

• Qing Qianxue takes the drunken Chu Youning to a bright spot by the lake and removes his mask. She recognizes his appearance vaguely, flirts with him, and asks if he will “keep” her in exchange for two dried fish.
• Qing agrees, and Chu Youning throws her arms around his neck. Worried that taking her back to the palace in this state could cause trouble, he carries her instead to the Jiang family’s residence.
• He settles her into bed, removes her boots, and tucks her in. When she asks to share the bed, he gently refuses and offers to sing her to sleep instead.
• His song reminds Qing of his mother, who taught it to him. Chu Youning comforts him, and he sings the song eighteen times before she falls asleep.
• Watching her sleep, Qing realizes he has fallen in love with her. He leaves quietly and arranges for a maid to stay with Chu Youning, for several other young royals and nobles to spend the night at the residence, and for the palace to be informed.

Character developments

• Qing Qianxue shifts from flustered caretaker to someone openly recognizing his feelings for Chu Youning. The song also reveals his lingering sadness and longing for his mother.
• Chu Youning is affectionate and uninhibited while drunk, behaving like a playful “kitty.” Though she is intoxicated, she shows sympathy when she senses Qing’s sadness.
• Qian Miao and Qian Yan provide comic relief: Qian Miao is ecstatic about the apparent romance, while Qian Yan is more restrained and exasperated.

Significant themes

• Emerging romance and tenderness: Qing’s patient care and his private confession mark a turning point in his feelings.
• Vulnerability and comfort: A childhood song exposes Qing’s grief, and Chu Youning responds with simple compassion.
• Humor and mischief: Chu Youning’s drunken catlike behavior and the brothers’ excited banter lighten the intimate scene.

Character interactions

• Chu Youning’s teasing closeness leaves Qing visibly flustered, but he responds with care and restraint.
• She asks Qing to sing, listens to him, and comforts him when he speaks of his mother; he strokes her head and keeps singing until she sleeps.
• Qian Miao celebrates Qing’s apparent romantic progress, while Qian Yan tries—and fails—to rein in his older brother’s enthusiasm.

Key plot points and events

• Chu Youning, Princess Yongning, and the Eighth Prince stay overnight at the Jiang Residence after a tiring day. Their absence gives Emperor Chu Wenzong a chance to spend more time with Empress Cui Zhao’an.
• The emperor recalls the unexplained death of the Seventh Prince, Chu Haoze: he was burned beyond recognition, though investigators believe he was stabbed through the heart. Wenzong briefly suspects his younger sister, but Zhao’an persuades him that the timid princess is unlikely to be capable of murder.
• In Jiangnan, Chu Zhaohua learns that Chu Haoze is dead. She orders a Clothes Tomb made for him and paper money burned, showing little outward grief.
• Zhaohua reflects on his birth and upbringing: she despised his Jialan bloodline and once tried to abort him, but he survived. After his birth, she sent him to the palace—partly because she could not bear to see him, and partly to drive a wedge between Wenzong and Zhao’an. She later helped the Cui Family undermine their relationship.
• The next morning, Youning wakes beside her Bed Consort with a hangover and no clear memory of how she got there. The system says she became drunk, despite her belief that she could remain sober after a thousand cups.

Character developments

• Chu Wenzong is suspicious of Youning’s unusual behavior after Haoze’s death, but readily accepts Zhao’an’s defense of her.
• Cui Zhao’an remains composed and gently redirects Wenzong’s suspicions.
• Chu Zhaohua reveals a cold, conflicted history as Haoze’s mother: she once tried to end the pregnancy, later spared him, and ultimately treated his death with resignation rather than visible sorrow.
• Chu Youning wakes confused and physically exhausted, unable to account for the previous night.

Significant themes

• Family, resentment, and manipulation: Zhaohua deliberately used Haoze’s presence to damage the Emperor and Empress’s marriage.
• Maternal ambivalence and fate: Despite Zhaohua’s hatred and attempted abortion, Haoze survived and lived for years; she frames his death as the end of an undeservedly extended life.
• Suspicion and incomplete knowledge: The investigation into Haoze’s death remains unresolved, while both Wenzong and the system lack key information.

Character interactions

• Wenzong shares his concerns about Haoze’s death with Zhao’an, who calmly challenges his suspicions about Youning.
• Zhaohua answers her attendant’s question about revenge by ordering funeral rites, then privately reflects on her past with Haoze.
• Youning questions the system about waking in her bed; it confirms she was drunk but admits it stopped recording before learning what happened afterward.

Key plot points and events

• Chu Youning wakes after getting drunk and learns Qing Qianxue, the State Preceptor, carried her home. Jiang Wanrong reveals that Youning had called herself a stray cat and wandered around the capital until Qing Qianxue found her.
• The system offers Youning a recording of her drunken behavior. Though mortified by what she sees, she resolves to finish her exchange with Qing Qianxue once the antidote is ready and avoid seeing him again.
• Youning keeps to Cining Palace for several days. Meanwhile, Jiang Wanrong and Ye Tianque develop both a slower-acting antidote made with Snow Wolf Blood and a suppressant that does not require it. The court rewards them and organizes mass production through the Imperial Medical Academy.
• Ten days later, evil-incense outbreaks are reported in multiple regions, including near West Pass Mountain and in Jiangnan. People become listless, some fight over the drug’s inflated price, and local physicians cannot identify a solution. Chu Wenzong sends medical aid and supplies.
• The emperor angrily blames his aunt for endangering the kingdom. Youning privately wonders whether Chu Zhaohua is behind the outbreaks, but senses that something about the situation is off.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Youning is embarrassed by her drunken antics and tries to distance herself from Qing Qianxue, but she remains observant and suspicious when the crisis escalates.
• Jiang Wanrong teases and cares for Youning, then works with Ye Tianque to create treatments for evil-incense addiction.
• Ye Tianque collaborates with Jiang Wanrong, helping produce two promising medicines.
• Qing Qianxue is shown to have looked after Youning while she was drunk; his role becomes a source of her embarrassment.
• Chu Wenzong praises the antidote-makers but grows furious when outbreaks spread across the kingdom.

Significant themes

• Consequences and vulnerability: Youning’s loss of control while drunk contrasts with her usual composure.
• Public health and responsibility: The court’s coordinated response highlights the scale of the evil-incense crisis and the importance of medical cooperation.
• Suspicion and political intrigue: The outbreaks may be deliberate revenge, but Youning senses a hidden complication beyond the obvious suspect.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Qingyuan decides she must go to Jiangnan to confront Chu Zhaohua and demand an explanation for the evil-incense crisis. Chu Wenzong objects, but agrees there is no one else likely to manage Zhaohua safely.
• Chu Youning volunteers to accompany her, officially to visit her fief and organize South River’s wealth for relief efforts. She privately intends to bring her Snow Wolf, whose ability to detect poisonous insects could protect them.
• Chu Wenzong publicly sends Xie Ciyan and Jiang Li to investigate. In secret, Chu Youning travels the next day with Wu Qingyuan, Jiang He, and Jiang Wanrong, accompanied by elite guards.
• Qing Qianxue, unable to make the journey, sees Chu Youning off and sends Hidden Guards ahead under Qian Miao. When their eyes meet, Chu Youning’s heartbeat quickens; the System says her heart is healthy and attributes the change to emotion. She wonders whether she is nervous around him, while he smiles at her reaction.
• During the five-day journey, Chu Youning and Jiang Wanrong visit affected counties and give magistrates a prescription to suppress the evil incense.
• On reaching South River, Wu Qingyuan asks Jiang He to protect Chu Youning. Jiang Wanrong is to continue with Wu Qingyuan toward Jiangnan, while Jiang He accompanies Chu Youning in South River.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Youning presents herself as obedient and practical, but her thoughts reveal that she is also concerned for her family’s safety and wants to help wherever South River’s resources are needed. Her unexplained nervousness around Qing Qianxue hints at growing feelings she has not acknowledged.
• Wu Qingyuan takes charge of the dangerous mission and protects her daughter by keeping her close rather than trying to forbid her from going.
• Chu Wenzong reluctantly accepts Wu Qingyuan’s judgment and is moved by Chu Youning’s concern for her family.
• Qing Qianxue quietly wishes Chu Youning a safe journey and supports the group from afar; her reaction to him contrasts with her insistence that she feels nothing.
• Jiang He and Jiang Wanrong share responsibility for the women’s safety, with the party splitting at South River to pursue its separate missions.

Significant themes

• Duty and public responsibility: The characters mobilize to investigate the crisis and provide relief to affected communities.
• Family trust and protection: Wu Qingyuan and Chu Wenzong balance concern for Chu Youning with respect for her determination.
• Unacknowledged affection: Chu Youning’s physical reaction to Qing Qianxue suggests feelings she cannot yet explain.
• Preparation amid danger: Guards, divination, medicine, and the Snow Wolf’s abilities all reflect the group’s efforts to anticipate threats.

Plot points and events

• Chu Youning travels south with her second brother, Jiang He. She asks him to send medicinal ingredients to West Pass Mountain, where their eldest brother, Jiang Yunzhou, is stationed amid growing unrest.
• Though Chu Youning privately longs to visit him, she and Jiang He make Prince Anhe’s residence their first stop to address the Evil Incense crisis.
• Prince Anhe recognizes Chu Youning’s jade pendant and hurries to greet her. His daughter, County Lady Baojin, rushes forward so eagerly that she knocks her father into the gate and gives him a bump on the head.
• Chu Youning asks Baojin to keep her visit quiet and call her “Ningning.” The party enters the unusually rustic residence, whose courtyard is planted with fruits and vegetables rather than ornamental flowers.
• The visitors settle in, enjoy South River’s seasonal fruit, and learn about local customs. After hearing why they have come, Prince Anhe agrees to help: although the Emperor has taken over the mineral veins in Chu Youning’s fief, he offers to gather as many needed medicinal ingredients as South River can provide.

Character developments

• Chu Youning balances her affection for her family—especially her wish to see Jiang Yunzhou—with the urgent Evil Incense mission. Her excitement over inexpensive lychees adds a playful, down-to-earth side to her status as a princess.
• Jiang He supports Chu Youning and shares her concern for their eldest brother, while remaining focused on the mission.
• Prince Anhe is relieved to have returned safely to his fief after his relatively light punishment for deceiving the Emperor. He remains humble and committed to farming, and readily offers practical help.
• Baojin is delighted to see Chu Youning and treats her warmly as a friend, though her exuberance leaves her father with a head injury.

Significant themes

• Family devotion: Chu Youning worries about her brothers, and Jiang He looks out for her.
• Cooperation in a crisis: Prince Anhe offers local resources to support the effort against Evil Incense.
• Humor and everyday life: Baojin’s collision, the servant’s practiced discretion, the vegetable-filled princely courtyard, and Chu Youning’s enthusiasm for fruit bring levity to the serious mission.
• Status versus simplicity: Despite the characters’ noble rank, Prince Anhe’s home reflects an unpretentious, rural way of life.

Character interactions

• Chu Youning and Jiang He discuss helping Jiang Yunzhou while prioritizing the Evil Incense crisis.
• Baojin greets Chu Youning with unrestrained affection; Chu Youning gently asks her to conceal the visit.
• Prince Anhe and Baojin’s affectionate but chaotic father-daughter dynamic is revealed when Baojin accidentally knocks him aside.
• Jiang He and Chu Youning respond with polite restraint, while Prince Anhe’s servant tactfully pretends not to notice the mishap.

Plot points and events

• Chu Youning thanks Prince Anhe, having come to admire his concern for the people of his domain.
• That night, a maid named Qianyu reveals she is a Hidden Guard from the Shadow Pavilion, assigned by Qing Qianxue to protect Chu Youning. She delivers his letter, which offers help through the Pavilion’s agents and urges Chu to stay safe.
• Qianyu explains that half the Pavilion’s Hidden Guards have entered South River, and that she and Qian Miao are inside the prince’s residence. Their agents have already eliminated several groups of skilled fighters and cleared the route ahead, explaining why Chu’s family’s Death Squad met little resistance.
• Chu wonders whether Qing Qianxue is protecting her only because she is essential to obtaining his antidote. She briefly considers asking the System for an explanation, then decides not to dwell on it.
• Chu dreams that she is a kitten who mischievously takes liberties with Qing Qianxue, while he begs her to stop. County Lady Baojin wakes her and notices her puckered lips. Embarrassed, Chu claims she was dreaming about braised pork; Baojin cheerfully offers to have some made.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu’s admiration for Prince Anhe deepens, while her feelings about Qing Qianxue remain confused: his extensive precautions unsettle her because she cannot tell whether they reflect personal concern or self-interest.
• Qianyu is eager to protect Chu and impress her master, even hoping her service will earn her a promotion. She reports the Shadow Pavilion’s work openly and respectfully.
• The System dismisses Qing Qianxue’s efforts as self-preservation, but neither it nor Chu can explain why he has not pursued another possible way to cure his poison.
• Baojin remains warm and carefree, missing the meaning behind Chu’s embarrassment and taking her excuse literally.

Significant themes

• Ambiguous affection: Qing Qianxue’s protective actions can be read as devotion or as a desperate bid for survival, leaving Chu uncertain.
• Duty and hidden protection: The Shadow Pavilion’s agents work behind the scenes to shield Chu and her party from danger.
• Romantic tension and embarrassment: Chu’s dream reveals feelings—or impulses—she is reluctant to acknowledge, while her waking response is comic denial.

Key plot points and events

• Chu Youning travels with County Lady Baojin and Jiang He to inspect the three commanderies granted to Baojin. The region is sparsely populated to keep its rich mineral deposits secret.
• The Snow Wolf senses something amiss, so Jiang He investigates while the women continue to a restaurant. He later returns safely.
• On the road to the post station, armed men ambush their carriage. Qianyu and Shadow Pavilion assassins quickly defeat them, leaving one survivor for questioning.
• A Truth-Telling Pill reveals the attackers came from Feng County and had joined a powerful man in Peach Grove. His followers’ tattoo marked them as subordinates, and they had been ordered to kidnap children.
• Learning that the evil-incense outbreak has also reached Feng County, Chu Youning recognizes that the danger may be much broader than initially believed. She orders a letter sent to the Emperor at once.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Youning keeps her attention on the investigation despite lingering embarrassment from a strange dream about Qing Qianxue, which also makes the honeyed pork difficult for her to eat.
• Baojin remains friendly and enthusiastic about showing Chu Youning the local specialty, but becomes anxious when the Snow Wolf alerts them to possible danger. She jokes that her guards can hold off trouble while the two of them flee.
• Jiang He takes the Snow Wolf to investigate, while Qianyu later reassures Chu Youning that he is safe and then helps manage the aftermath of the ambush.
• Chu Youning acts decisively: she questions the captive, connects his information to the spreading outbreak, and moves to alert the Emperor.

Significant themes

• Escalating danger: What seemed like a localized or possibly fabricated crisis is linked to multiple places and organized criminal activity.
• Secrecy and power: The hidden mineral wealth and the mysterious powerful man both point to forces operating behind the scenes.
• Duty amid personal distraction: Chu Youning sets aside her awkward private feelings to respond to a serious threat.

Key plot points

• Jiang He reports that the evil-incense production base has been destroyed and its people eliminated. The team also found a black-clad man whose hand tattoo matches one worn by a dancer taken by the Crown Prince. Recently abducted children were rescued and sent to the Commandery Governor.
• Chu Youning has already alerted the capital. She and Jiang He plan to patrol South River with the Snow Wolf until they are sure it is safe.
• Over the next two days, Chu spends her counted gold and silver on medicinal herbs for areas affected by the evil incense and continues patrolling.
• On her fifth day in South River, the system warns her that soldiers and miners at an eastern ore vein have been knocked unconscious. Chu enters the mine invisibly to find the intruder.
• Deep underground, she discovers a badly injured woman in black recovering at a site with especially favorable feng shui. When the woman attacks, Chu evades and uses medicinal powder to incapacitate her.
• The system explains that the mine’s “damaged dragon vein” is simply a place with good feng shui, and detects an outsider’s aura on the woman. Chu suspects she may be the notorious woman from the Flourishing Kingdom.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Youning shifts from managing the aftermath of the evil incense crisis to personally investigating a threat to her mine. She is cautious and resourceful, relying on the system, invisibility, and prepared medicine; her curiosity and humor remain evident even in danger.
• Jiang He remains a trusted partner, reporting the mission’s findings and agreeing to continue securing South River.
• The woman in black appears formidable and intensely wary, but her severe wounds leave her vulnerable. Her sudden attack forces Chu to respond defensively.
• Chu and the intruder briefly confront one another: Chu explains why she came, but the woman interprets Chu’s strange-sounding thoughts as a reason to distrust her.

Significant themes

• Public duty and protection: Chu directs resources toward healing people harmed by the evil incense and works to keep South River safe.
• Caution amid uncertainty: The mine encounter reveals a new, unexplained danger, and Chu balances curiosity with practical safeguards.
• Mystery and fantasy: The dragon-vein idea is demystified as feng shui, while the woman’s outsider aura opens a larger question about her identity and origins.

Plot points and events

• After consulting her book, Chu Youning realizes Su Fuling’s story: a powerful woman who was gravely wounded after attracting the imperial family’s suspicion, and who intends to seize the South River ore to raise an army and rebel.
• Fearing what will happen if Su Fuling takes the ore, Chu Youning spends 100,000 points to unlock the system’s ability to transport objects through the void. She empties the entire deposit into her expanded inventory, leaving South River with only two poorer deposits.
• Chu Youning decides not to abandon the unconscious Su Fuling. She takes her to a cave, treats her external wounds, and cooks instant noodles.
• Su Fuling awakens to Chu Youning singing a song that recalls her dead younger sister, who used to care for her and sing it after the apocalypse. Chu Youning’s name for herself, “Yu’er,” matches her sister’s name, deepening Su Fuling’s emotional response.
• Mistaking Chu Youning for a return of her sister, Su Fuling drops her hostility and agrees to obey her. Chu Youning warns her not to attack or move because her internal injuries are severe, then feeds her.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Youning acts pragmatically to protect herself, removing the ore before Su Fuling can use it. Despite her fear and uncertainty, she also treats Su Fuling kindly and gives her food.
• Su Fuling shifts from a dangerous, wounded stranger to a vulnerable, affectionate patient. Her grief and memories of her sister make her receptive to Chu Youning, whom she calls “Yu’er.”
• Their interaction is shaped by a mistaken identity: Chu Youning intends simple care, while Su Fuling interprets her song, name, and kindness as echoes of her lost sister. Chu Youning notices Su Fuling’s sudden change in attitude but does not understand its cause.

Significant themes

• Misunderstanding and emotional projection: Su Fuling sees her sister in Chu Youning, creating an immediate bond based on resemblance rather than shared history.
• Grief and memory: A familiar song and name briefly revive Su Fuling’s most cherished memory of her sister.
• Self-preservation versus compassion: Chu Youning protects herself by taking the ore, yet still chooses to rescue and care for the woman whose plans threaten her.

Key plot points and events

• Su Fuling becomes convinced that Chu Youning is her younger sister, Yuer, and asks about her life in the Yu Kingdom. Youning is confused and wary, but tells her a partly invented account.
• Su Fuling apologizes for having attacked her by mistake. She later falls asleep, while Youning questions her system about the sudden change in her behavior.
• The system reveals that Su Fuling’s own system has gone dormant for an upgrade, leaving only its storage function active. This helps explain why Su Fuling has struggled to recover from her injuries.
• The next morning, Youning offers to take the injured Su Fuling to the relay station for medical care. Su Fuling agrees, despite briefly considering the nearby gold mine.
• Jiang He is alarmed when Youning’s thoughts reveal that Su Fuling may overthrow the Flourishing Kingdom and become its female emperor. He wonders whether she should be killed while injured.
• Su Fuling overhears Youning’s thoughts and is moved by Youning’s admiration for the idea of a female emperor. She imagines bringing Youning to her side and caring for her.
• Over the following days, Youning’s companions call her “Yuer” at her request, and the medicine she secretly provides helps Su Fuling recover. Once Su Fuling is well, Youning prepares to leave to check on her mother and sister, who are in Jiangnan because of the Evil Incense.

Character developments

• Chu Youning: Remains suspicious of Su Fuling, but helps her recover and tries to secure a favor in return. Her private thoughts reveal both her political concerns and her admiration for female rule.
• Su Fuling: Moves from mistaken hostility to tenderness, treating Youning as her sister and feeling guilt over their earlier encounter. She becomes increasingly attached to Youning.
• Jiang He: Shifts from confusion about the stranger to fear of her future political ambitions, considering whether she poses a threat to the Yu Kingdom.

Significant themes

• Misunderstanding and kinship: Su Fuling’s belief that Youning is her sister transforms a tense encounter into a family-like bond.
• Private thoughts versus outward behavior: Youning’s candid inner monologue repeatedly shapes others’ reactions, even when she does not know they can hear it.
• Power and political ambition: The possibility of Su Fuling becoming emperor raises questions of legitimacy, loyalty, and the danger she may pose to neighboring states.
• Care and obligation: Youning’s medical help and Su Fuling’s growing affection create the basis for a lasting bond and possible future alliance.

Character interactions

• Su Fuling apologizes to Youning and listens as she shares stories about her life.
• Youning cautiously offers Su Fuling medical help, while Su Fuling responds with warmth and calls her “little sister.”
• Jiang He questions Youning about the stranger; Youning’s reassuring words contrast with her thoughts about Su Fuling’s possible rise to power.
• Su Fuling overhears those thoughts, interpreting Youning’s admiration as encouragement and imagining a future together.

• Su Fuling and Chu Youning part ways: Su Fuling prepares to leave South River and asks to hug Chu Youning. Chu accepts, thinking privately that Su has been kind to her—but worrying that Su may eventually discover how extensively she has depleted South River’s mines. Out of guilt, Chu considers leaving her a clue to a rich mineral deposit and medicinal herbs near the Flourishing Kingdom’s western border.
• A promise of support—and a warning: Su leaves Chu a note at her waist and promises to help if Chu ever faces trouble. Chu appreciates having such a powerful ally, but silently hopes Su will not retaliate against her or the Yu Kingdom. She also reflects on Su’s predicted future: falling for a man because of a portrait, pursuing and poisoning him, then abandoning her empire after realizing her feelings were misdirected and becoming obsessed with his substitute.
• Su’s characterization collapses: On the carriage ride home, Su turns Chu’s thoughts over in her mind. She suspects Chu may know the future through her own system and is horrified by the prospect of becoming the kind of foolish romantic she once mocked. Thinking of the men she keeps as substitutes, she becomes nauseated and vomits. The system announces that Su’s characterization has collapsed by 93%, earning Chu rewards and praising her ability to trigger the change with a simple farewell. Chu is astonished that the breakup of Su’s established character could happen so quickly.
• The group separates: After Su’s carriage departs, Chu visits the prince’s residence and parts from Jiang He while County Lady Baojin watches tearfully. Equipped with medicine, Jiang He leads a group toward West Pass Mountain. Chu then dismisses everyone else and heads into Jiangnan with the Hidden Guards from all three factions.
  Character developments and interactions: Su’s affectionate farewell reveals her genuine fondness for Chu, while Chu’s concern for Su’s future—and offer of a valuable resource—shows her underlying kindness despite her schemes and worries. Su’s shock at Chu’s apparent foreknowledge forces her to question her romantic attachments and the direction of her life. Their warm farewell is therefore also the catalyst for a dramatic internal shift.
  Themes: The chapter plays on the conflict between romantic obsession and political responsibility, the danger of losing oneself to a destructive love, and the contrast between outward manipulation and inward compassion. It also uses dramatic irony: Chu’s private thoughts, meant as anxious commentary, reach Su and reshape her understanding of herself.

Key plot points and events

• In Jiangnan, Wu Qingyuan learns that Zhaohua is still claiming to be ill and refusing visitors, while her Fifth Young Lady has gone to help people affected by the evil incense outbreak. Wu orders protection for the girl and decides to visit Zhaohua herself.
• Racing toward Jiangnan, Chu Youning suddenly starts crying uncontrollably. The System explains that this is a side effect of her upgraded Light as a Swallow skill; she will feel sorrow and cry while using it, but suffers no other harm.
• After entering Jiangnan, Chu searches for her mother and sister. The city is in turmoil from evil incense, and the System directs her to an underground casino where something is wrong.
• Crying and increasingly irritated, Chu forces the casino’s gamblers to confront their neglect and losses, then drives them out and fights its managers and thugs. The casino burns down, while the fire mysteriously leaves surrounding buildings untouched.
• Chu discovers that Jiangnan has many sites producing evil incense. Guided by the System, she burns more than a dozen of them before learning where Jiang Wanrong is and heading there.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu remains determined and action-oriented despite her distress, adapting to her involuntary tears by wearing a bamboo hat and wiping her face as she travels and fights.
• The System explains the skill’s side effect and guides Chu through the city; it privately finds her sudden “little crybaby” state amusing.
• Wu Qingyuan’s concern for the Fifth Young Lady is shown through her order to arrange protection.
• At the casino, Chu’s sorrowful mood spills over onto the gamblers, whose loud confessions and self-reproaches briefly drown out her own sobbing.

Significant themes

• Unintended costs of power: Chu’s upgraded ability brings an emotional side effect she cannot control.
• Duty amid personal distress: She continues searching for her family and tackling the evil-incense crisis even while overwhelmed by grief.
• Justice and moral reckoning: The casino scene turns its patrons’ wrongdoing into public self-reproach, while Chu’s destruction of evil-incense sites suggests her resolve to confront the outbreak at its source.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Wanrong is distributing medicine at the Medicine Hall with Xie Ciyan when she hears Chu Youning’s thoughts and spots her nearby. Youning has arrived in Jiangnan without warning, crying uncontrollably.
• Youning explains that the tears are an unexpected side effect of her new flying ability, Light as a Swallow. Wanrong takes her home, where Youning cries for four more hours before her tears finally stop. Wanrong comforts her with boiled eggs for her swollen eyes.
• At the nunnery, Grand Princess Chu Zhaohua learns that every Evil Incense Stronghold in Jiangnan has been burned. A formidable woman wielding a whip is suspected, and Zhaohua orders an investigation before going to meet Wu Qingyuan.
• Later, Youning receives a message claiming that the Empress Dowager is in Zhaohua’s hands and summoning Youning to the nunnery. Recognizing Zhaohua’s handwriting, Youning sets out with Qian Miao by boat.

Character developments and interactions

• Youning is embarrassed and distressed by her uncontrollable crying, but remains composed when summoned, reasoning that Zhaohua likely does not intend to attack her.
• Wanrong reacts with immediate concern, comforts her sister, and helps her recover—while privately finding Youning’s predicament amusing.
• Xie Ciyan is helping Wanrong distribute medicine, prompting Youning’s jealous, tearful thoughts about his closeness with her sister.
• Qian Miao accompanies Youning and promises to protect her, even at the cost of her own life. Youning reassures her that Zhaohua’s invitation makes an attack unlikely.
• Chu Zhaohua remains controlled and inquisitive, investigating the mysterious attacker while preparing to meet her visitor.

Significant themes

• Family care: Wanrong’s tenderness and practical help counter Youning’s comic misfortune.
• Humor amid danger: Youning’s tear-soaked ordeal and jealous inner commentary contrast with the political and martial threats around her.
• Trust and calculated risk: Youning’s decision to meet Zhaohua rests on her reading of the invitation and Zhaohua’s powers.
• Unresolved intrigue: The burned strongholds, the mysterious whip-wielding woman, and the Empress Dowager’s alleged capture all set up further conflict.

Key events

• Chu Youning arrives at a convent in Jiangnan, where an elderly nun tells her the abbess, Chu Zhaohua, wants to meet her alone. Qian Miao stays behind on the boat.
• On the way, Chu Youning notices the neighborhood has fallen unusually quiet, with doors shut. The nun explains that two persimmon trees in the convent courtyard were planted by children who later became officials; they still visit the abbess, but will never taste the fruit.
• Chu Youning meets Chu Zhaohua painting a lotus scene. When Youning questions the black fish breaking the lotus stems, Zhaohua paints them red, turning them into dead fish and making the image ominous. Neither Youning nor System understands the painting’s intended meaning.
• Zhaohua acknowledges that Youning quickly detected the Snow Wolf’s problem and helped produce medicine against evil incense. She then announces that their “game” has officially begun: Youning has half a month to find and destroy every secret evil-incense production site.
• If Youning succeeds, Zhaohua will consider the imperial family’s grievances settled and return Youning’s mother healthy. Zhaohua warns that Youning must not try to take her mother by force, threatening that she would leave with only a corpse.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Youning remains direct and curious, but Zhaohua’s cryptic painting and threats leave her wary and confused. She begins calculating how she might rescue her mother, though she accepts Zhaohua’s challenge for now.
• Chu Zhaohua reveals herself as a controlled, formidable opponent. She has noticed Youning’s competence and gives her a high-stakes test, using Youning’s mother as leverage.
• System assures Youning there is no immediate danger, then offers an uncertain interpretation of the painting as a warning of a fight to the bitter end.
• The brief exchange about the convent’s former child visitors hints at Zhaohua’s past connections and her influence, though her feelings remain difficult to read.

Significant themes

• Power and leverage: Zhaohua controls the terms of the challenge and uses Youning’s mother to enforce them.
• Ambiguity and unreadable intentions: The painting and Zhaohua’s words leave Youning—and the reader—unsure what she truly means.
• Competence under pressure: Youning’s earlier actions have earned Zhaohua’s attention, but now she must prove herself against a strict deadline.
• Beauty and menace: The serene lotus painting becomes disturbing when the fish are turned into corpses, echoing the threat beneath the encounter’s calm surface.

Key plot points and events

• After studying Chu Zhaohua’s painting, Chu Youning leaves the convent and finds Lique Spring poisoned in an alley. She revives him with Snow Wolf Blood and orders him to guard her mother, who is safe inside the convent. She gives him a Command Token that compels the Former Emperor’s Death Squad to obey its bearer.
• Chu Youning returns to Qian Miao and the assembled Shadow Pavilion guards. She worries that, without the Snow Wolf—sent with Jiang He to keep him safe—she may not be able to find and destroy every evil-incense base within two weeks.
• She explains Chu Zhaohua’s game to her companions and shows them the painting, but no one can interpret it. Jiang Wanrong warns that the venomous insects are beyond her expertise and recommends playing along for now. If they have no solution by the next day, Chu Youning proposes mobilizing the provinces to search every household.
• Alone in her room, Chu Youning finds a note hidden in her belt. It claims the mastermind behind the evil incense comes from the Flourishing Kingdom and has been spreading it through Yu Kingdom, contradicting her understanding that Chu Zhaohua brought it from Jialan.
• Little Food Bucket lands on the painting and leaves two claw marks. Chu Youning chases the mocking bird; the chase ends with her hitting her head, but she manages to pluck one of its brightest feathers.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Youning takes charge under mounting pressure, protects her mother by assigning Lique Spring to guard her, and struggles to reconcile the note’s revelation with what she thought she knew. Her exhaustion and confusion give way to comic irritation when Little Food Bucket damages the painting.
• Lique Spring wakes, recognizes Chu Youning as “Your Highness,” and accepts her orders without question.
• Qian Miao and the Hidden Guards await Chu Youning’s return and are ready to intervene if needed.
• Jiang Wanrong acknowledges the limits of her poison knowledge and urges caution; Xie Ciyan voices frustration at having to clean up the Grand Princess’s mess.
• Little Food Bucket teases Chu Youning and provokes a playful, chaotic scuffle.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and hidden truths: The note challenges Chu Youning’s assumptions about the evil incense and its origins.
• Duty amid limited time: Chu Youning must protect her family while racing to uncover and destroy the incense bases.
• Trust and obedience: The Command Token gives her authority over the Death Squad, while her companions weigh whether to obey Chu Zhaohua’s game or resist it.
• Comic relief: The bird’s antics briefly break the tension of the political and supernatural crisis.

Key plot points and events

• Little Food Bucket’s claw marks reveal hidden writing on the damaged lotus painting. With ash, Chu Youning brings out a list of place names—including the Capital, South River, and Jiangnan—and suspects Chu Zhaohua may have deliberately left her useful clues.
• Chu Youning shares the locations with the others. She and Jiang Wanrong lead separate groups along routes that converge at West Pass Mountain, while their forces investigate the listed sites.
• During the journey, Chu Youning uses Light as a Swallow to travel quickly, drawing attention for her dramatic, eccentric behavior. Stories of her group reach the Capital, where Chu Wenzong is startled by their descriptions.
• After seven days, Chu Youning reaches West Pass Mountain City. Jiang He and Jiang Yunzhou arrive to welcome her. She formally greets her brothers, but Jiang Yunzhou embraces her so tightly that she can hardly breathe.

Character developments

• Chu Youning shows resourcefulness by uncovering and acting on the hidden place names. She remains irreverent and funny, even while preparing to meet her brothers.
• Little Food Bucket goes from being threatened for spoiling the painting to eagerly helping reveal its message in exchange for food.
• Jiang Yunzhou appears stern and imposing, but his emotional reunion with Chu Youning reveals how deeply he missed her.
• Jiang He is excited to see Chu Youning, though her private comparison of him unfavorably with Jiang Yunzhou irritates him.

Significant themes

• Trust and uncertainty: Chu Youning wonders whether Chu Zhaohua may be a better person than she assumed, but the System cannot confirm this.
• Family reunion and affection: The brothers’ welcome shows the emotional bonds beneath their different temperaments.
• Humor amid danger and travel: Chu Youning’s threats, food bribes, theatrical reputation, and awkward reunion keep the chapter light despite the ongoing investigation.

Character interactions

• Chu Youning alternates between threatening and bribing Little Food Bucket, eventually persuading him to help uncover the writing.
• She consults the System about Chu Zhaohua, then organizes the newly discovered locations for the group.
• At West Pass Mountain, Chu Youning greets Jiang He and Jiang Yunzhou formally. Jiang Yunzhou immediately pulls her into a heartfelt but painfully tight embrace, while Jiang He reacts to her unspoken teasing comparison.

Key plot points and events

• Chu Youning reunites with her elder brothers, Jiang Yunzhou and Jiang He, at Xiguan Mountain. Her eyes keep streaming because of a side effect from using Qinggong too long, but the brothers mistake her tears for distress.
• Jiang He immediately offers to punish whoever supposedly hurt her, while Jiang Yunzhou worries that he squeezed her too hard during their embrace. Youning claims she is crying because she missed them and “can’t control” herself, which delights Yunzhou.
• Yunzhou promises to take leave to spend time with her. Jiang He teases him for neglecting him in favor of their sister; nearby guards are astonished to see their stern general fussing over a crying girl, until their captain explains she is his sister.
• At the sparse, military-focused General’s Residence, Yunzhou steers Youning away from soldiers sparring and orders them to dress properly so they won’t frighten her. Youning privately finds the men attractive and wants to spar with them, especially after becoming fond of wielding a whip.
• Jiang He hears her thoughts and becomes alarmed, resolving to keep a close eye on her. Youning tries to soothe her eyes with eggs, and the brothers ask her attendant, Qian Miao, to explain what happened during the journey. Qian Miao eagerly prepares to present the Shadow Pavilion’s help in a favorable light.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Youning conceals the real cause of her tears with a sentimental excuse, while her irreverent thoughts contrast with her brothers’ protective assumptions. She remains eager for action and sparring.
• Jiang Yunzhou is affectionate and indulgent, quickly shifting from worry to happiness when Youning says she missed him.
• Jiang He is fiercely protective and perceptive enough to recognize the risks implied by Youning’s interest in the soldiers and her whip.
• Qian Miao sees the reunion as a chance to impress Youning’s brothers and earn recognition for the Shadow Pavilion.
• The guards’ gossip highlights the contrast between Yunzhou’s intimidating public reputation and his tender behavior toward his sister.

Significant themes

• Sibling affection and favoritism: Both brothers dote on Youning, though Jiang He jokes about being overlooked.
• Appearance versus reality: The brothers interpret Youning’s physical side effect as emotional distress, while her tearful exterior hides amused, adventurous thoughts.
• Protectiveness versus independence: Yunzhou and Jiang He try to shield her, even as Youning wants to join in the soldiers’ rough-and-tumble world.

Key plot points and events

• Qian Miao recounts what happened after Chu Youning and Jiang He separated, sharing extensive stories about Chu Youning and Qian Xue with Jiang Yunzhou.
• Jiang He realizes Qian Miao is flattering Jiang Yunzhou and tries to interrupt him—first by dragging him off under the pretense of needing to pee, then by challenging him to a fight. Qianyu’s own praise of their master and the Shadow Pavilion also leaves Jiang Yunzhou deeply impressed.
• Jiang Yunzhou is moved by what he hears and says he wants to meet Qian Xue, become her sworn sibling, and drink with her. Jiang He is exasperated that Qian Miao’s stories have so thoroughly won over his eldest brother.
• Jiang Yunzhou plans to welcome his sister Rong’er outside the city himself, acknowledging the suffering she endured in the past. Chu Youning and Jiang He insist on accompanying him.
• Over dinner, Jiang Yunzhou reassures Chu Youning that she will always be the little sister who clung to him for sweets, and urges her not to be formal with him.
• After drinking, Jiang He reveals that he was the one who told Jiang Yunzhou about Chu Youning’s identity. Jiang Yunzhou initially thought he was lying, beat him, and later exhausted himself fighting soldiers before crying in private. Jiang Yunzhou threatens him for exposing the story, and the scene ends with Jiang Yunzhou taking the meat Jiang He had been given.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yunzhou shows renewed warmth toward Chu Youning and a strong desire to reconnect with his family. Hearing about Qian Xue also makes him eager to meet and honor her.
• Chu Youning is touched by Jiang Yunzhou’s affection and reassurance. Her playful teasing of Jiang He shows the family’s growing ease with one another.
• Jiang He is protective of his eldest brother’s privacy and increasingly comical in his frustration with Qian Miao. His teasing also exposes how deeply Jiang Yunzhou’s reunion with Chu Youning affected him.
• Qian Miao and Qianyu act as enthusiastic storytellers and flatterers, helping Jiang Yunzhou appreciate Chu Youning and Qian Xue.

Significant themes

• Family reconciliation and belonging: Jiang Yunzhou’s promise that Chu Youning will always be his little sister affirms their bond despite the years and hardships between them.
• Loyalty and care: The brothers’ concern for one another, and Qian Miao and Qianyu’s devotion to their master, emerge through their actions and stories.
• Humor and affection: Teasing, mock fights, and the meal’s playful ending soften the chapter’s emotional material and show the family becoming comfortable together again.