Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yourning confronts Lord Wang over an eight-year-old loan: he borrowed 1,000 taels of gold and repaid only 200.
• Wang dismisses the debt and tries to make the children go away by giving Little Wukong a small silver coin. Jiang and Wukong respond by pretending to be his abandoned children, loudly pleading for him to visit their dying mother.
• Alarmed that the public might expose his real past and damage his reputation, Wang agrees to repay the remaining 800 taels.
• Once he promises payment, the children abruptly claim they mistook him for someone else, restoring his public image. Wukong keeps the silver as well.
• Wang arranges for the bank to send 800 taels of gold to the Jiang residence. As the siblings plan to change disguises and visit their next debtor, someone calls out, “Stop!”
• Meanwhile, Chu Lange hears about the supposed father-seeking girl and notes her resemblance to Jiang Yourning. She orders Yuan Ye to follow and investigate.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning proves resourceful and shamelessly theatrical, using public pressure rather than force to collect the debt.
• Little Wukong supports her convincingly, crying on cue and clinging to Wang before quickly switching to a polite apology. His opportunism shows in his decision to keep the coin.
• Lord Wang shifts from smug confidence to panic when the crowd’s suspicions threaten his carefully protected reputation. He pays to prevent scrutiny.
• Chu Lange becomes suspicious of the children’s identity and directs Yuan Ye to follow them.

Significant themes

• Debt and accountability: Jiang’s collection campaign forces powerful officials to answer for old obligations.
• Reputation and public opinion: Wang’s fear of scandal matters more than the gold he owes.
• Performance and deception: The siblings manipulate appearances, while the crowd quickly changes its judgment as the story changes.
• Power and leverage: Jiang and Wukong turn their apparent vulnerability into a means of pressuring an official.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yourning, disguised with a blackened face and coarse clothes, tries to avoid Chu Lange so Lord Wang will not recognize her. When Chu Lange calls her out, Jiang Yourning pretends to be a debt collector working on behalf of “Sixth Miss Jiang.”
• Chu Lange asks to share in Jiang Yourning’s fortune. Jiang Yourning initially assumes Chu will help her, but Chu instead proposes collecting the debts herself and taking half the recovered gold.
• Seeing the advantage of having a princess confront powerful debtors, Jiang Yourning agrees—on the condition that Chu try two households first. Chu takes the IOUs and heads to Vice Minister of War Yang’s home, leaving a servant to arrange a ride for Jiang Yourning and Little Wukong.
• Later, Jiang Yourning gives Little Wukong a primer to keep him occupied. At three o’clock, Chun Tao announces Chu’s return, and Chu storms in, furious.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning shows quick thinking and opportunism: she maintains her disguise, redirects Chu’s attention, and turns Chu’s eagerness for money into a useful way to collect debts. She is also exasperated but affectionate with Little Wukong.
• Chu Lange shifts from offended friend to enthusiastic business partner once she learns that collecting debts might earn her money. Her confidence and royal status make her eager to confront officials herself.
• Little Wukong innocently repeats an expression he learned from Jiang Yourning’s Fourth Brother, prompting a comic misunderstanding. He remains curious and talkative until the primer finally occupies him.
• The sisters’ friendship is warm but transactional: Chu expects a share of Jiang’s gains, while Jiang agrees because Chu’s position could make collection easier.

Significant themes

• Friendship and shared fortune: The chapter jokingly tests what friends owe one another, framing generosity alongside self-interest.
• Resourcefulness and social power: Jiang uses disguise and Chu’s royal rank to overcome the difficulty of collecting from influential people.
• Comic misunderstandings: Chu misreads Jiang’s situation, and Little Wukong misunderstands an idiom, driving much of the humor.

Key plot points and events

• After failing to collect money from several households, Chu Lange vents to Jiang Yourning, describing debtors who feigned poverty and one woman who threatened to harm herself.
• Jiang recruits Chu into a renewed debt-collection effort, offering her a share of recovered gold. Chu negotiates for twenty percent and agrees.
• The trio—Jiang, Chu, and Little Wukong—visit the powerful Sun household, which owes the Ministry of Revenue 3,500 taels of gold. Its political connections and Madam Sun’s resistance have kept the debt uncollected.
• Rather than openly demand repayment, Jiang tells Chu to present the visit as a friendly call to admire Madam Sun’s camellias. Chu instead uses her royal status to mock the household’s supposed poverty and threaten to complain about Consort Zheng’s stinginess.
• Madam Sun is trapped between contradicting the princess and risking Consort Zheng’s displeasure. She eventually offers to take Chu inside for tea and show her the garden. The chapter ends as Madam Sun mentions the imperial tea Consort Zheng sent.

Character developments

• Jiang Yourning shows her knack for reading people and devising schemes. She turns Chu’s failed collection attempt into an opportunity, and uses Chu’s rank to pressure a more formidable debtor.
• Chu Lange moves from frustrated failure to eager collaborator. Though she admits Jiang is better at this work, she proves adept at wielding her status and enjoys needling Consort Zheng’s family.
• Madam Sun appears politically cautious and practiced at resisting officials, but Chu’s unexpected remarks leave her flustered and unable to respond freely.

Significant themes

• Power and influence: The Sun family’s connections have shielded it from repayment, while Chu’s royal authority changes the balance.
• Debt collection as performance: Jiang’s strategy relies less on direct demands than on carefully staged social pressure.
• Hypocrisy and appearances: The Sun household’s claims of poverty conflict with its connections to a favored consort and its earlier display of fine clothing.
• Loyalty and rivalry: Chu uses the visit to take a small measure of revenge on Consort Zheng, who has insulted her and her mother.

Character interactions

• Jiang calms Chu with cola, then persuades her to join the collection effort through profit-sharing.
• Chu and Jiang establish a playful partnership: Jiang supplies the plan, while Chu supplies the royal clout.
• At the Sun residence, Chu’s barbed comments corner Madam Sun, while Jiang and Little Wukong quietly encourage her performance.

Plot points and events

• Princess Yongning (Chu Lange), Jiang Yourning, and Little Wukong visit Madam Sun’s residence. Chu Lange criticizes the tea, then suggests they go to the garden to see the flowers.
• Jiang Yourning admires a rare, unusually colored Mutant Eighteen Scholars camellia. Madam Sun proudly explains how carefully she grew it and how valuable her flowers are.
• Chu Lange pretends to lament that she has never tasted floral tea worth a thousand gold pieces. Madam Sun reluctantly offers them some petals from the camellias.
• Chu Lange immediately takes the offer literally—and extravagantly—ordering scissors and large baskets so she can share the flowers with her family and friends. She, Jiang Yourning, and Little Wukong begin cutting blossoms and branches.
• Madam Sun realizes they have come to collect money indirectly by threatening her prized garden. When Jiang Yourning points out that the rare camellia would make especially fragrant tea, Chu Lange moves to cut it too. Madam Sun finally cries, “Stop!”

Character developments

• Chu Lange reveals her familiar blend of shameless audacity, theatrical politeness, and quick opportunism. She turns Madam Sun’s reluctant generosity into permission to strip the garden.
• Jiang Yourning plays along, first drawing attention to the flowers’ value and then directing Chu Lange toward the rarest camellia. Her quiet participation helps escalate the pressure.
• Madam Sun shifts from hostessly confidence and pride in her collection to alarm and distress as she sees her invitation being used against her.
• Little Wukong joins the flower-cutting without hesitation, supporting Chu Lange and Jiang Yourning’s scheme.

Significant themes

• Politeness as leverage: Madam Sun’s courteous offer traps her when Chu Lange insists on taking it at face value.
• Indirect debt collection and social pressure: The trio never openly asks for money; instead, they threaten valuable property until Madam Sun understands their purpose.
• Status and material value: The scene humorously contrasts ordinary palace tea with rare flowers worth a fortune, exposing how pride in luxury can become a vulnerability.

Character interactions

Chu Lange needles Madam Sun over her tea, then uses Madam Sun’s hospitality and pride in her flowers to secure permission to pick them. Jiang Yourning strengthens the pressure by emphasizing the flowers’ value and suggesting the rarest one as the next target. Madam Sun tries to remain gracious until the destruction of her treasured garden forces her to intervene.

Plot points and events

• At Madam Sun’s residence, Chu Lange threatens her garden by cutting a prized camellia. Jiang Yourning uses the Sun family’s 3,500-gold debt—an IOU recently given to her by the emperor—to press Madam Sun for repayment.
• Madam Sun agrees to pay. Chu Lange and Jiang insist on waiting in the garden rather than trusting her to return, though Chu soon gives up on ruining the flowers and asks her guard Yuan Ye to cut a few for her.
• While they wait, Jiang explains why she has visited the State Preceptor: her mother once asked him to divine for her, and on another occasion he was helping Xie Ciyan pursue Jiang’s sister. Jiang suspects his presence at the empress’s birthday banquet may have been intended to impress Chu Lange’s father.
• Jiang shares what she remembers about Xie Ciyan’s interest in her sister, then privately wonders whether Yuan Ye is the loyal guard who, in the story she recalls, sacrifices himself to save Chu Lange.
• Madam Sun returns with over a hundred chests of silver and tells them they will have to count the money, apparently hoping the tedious task will spoil their victory.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning shows confidence and resourcefulness in collecting the debt, while also indulging her curiosity about the people around her. She denies being attracted to either the State Preceptor or Yuan Ye.
• Chu Lange is impulsive and fiercely protective of her garden and Yuan Ye. She admits she likes the masked State Preceptor’s looks but does not want to marry someone she believes would make for a dull partner. She also reveals that Yuan Ye is one of the people closest to her.
• Yuan Ye quietly obeys Chu Lange and stiffens almost imperceptibly when she calls him one of her favorites, hinting at feelings he does not express.
• Little Wukong teases Jiang by suggesting she is plotting something wicked, prompting her to pinch his cheek.
• Madam Sun maintains a gracious façade despite her anger and tries to make repayment as unpleasant as possible.

Significant themes

• Power and obligation: The emperor’s IOU gives Jiang leverage over a wealthy household, making debt collection surprisingly straightforward.
• Loyalty and affection: Chu’s closeness to Yuan Ye—and his subtle reaction to her words—hints at a deeper bond.
• Romance versus practicality: Chu can admire the State Preceptor’s appearance without wanting a life with him, while Jiang resists others’ assumptions about her romantic interests.
• Humor and social maneuvering: The characters’ banter and Madam Sun’s petty revenge turn a financial settlement into a comic contest of wills.

Key plot points and events

• Princess Yongning (Chu Lange) brings a group of accountants to help Jiang Yourning collect debts from Madam Sun. After paying up, Madam Sun returns home furious and accidentally smashes a favorite vase, then faints.
• Yourning and her companions convert the recovered silver into gold and divide the spoils. Yourning shares a chest with her family, and word of the successful collection spreads through the capital. Other debtors pay voluntarily.
• Qing Qianxue learns that assassins targeted Yourning and that the Duke’s Estate was behind the attack. He orders evidence planted where it can be found and predicts that the Fragrant Fate Pavilion will collapse after court the next day.
• At the palace, Emperor Chu Wenzong and Empress Cui Zhao’an hear how Yourning and her younger brother, Little Wukong, staged a street performance to collect debts. The emperor is jealous and angry at the thought of another man being treated as the boy’s father, while the empress is both amused by the siblings and relieved that their son seems to have been cared for.
• The emperor summons Third Young Master Jiang, who spends the night at the palace drinking tea. The next morning, Jiang Li returns home with Zhao Yi.
• Yourning, Little Wukong, and Jiang Wanrong are near the Fragrant Fate Pavilion when it collapses. They are frightened but unharmed; the episode ends as Yourning comforts her brother.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning grows more confident in her success, enjoying the wealth she earned and looking forward to spending it openly. Unaware of the assassination attempt, she remains focused on debt collection.
• Chu Lange enthusiastically teams up with Yourning and recounts their adventure to her parents, inadvertently revealing the siblings’ antics.
• Qing Qianxue shows unusual concern for Yourning by arranging protection and acting against the Duke’s Estate.
• Chu Wenzong feels conflicted: he admires Yourning’s effectiveness but regrets that the recovered money did not go to the state treasury. His deeper anger comes from jealousy over Little Wukong’s possible father figures, prompting him to summon Jiang Li.
• Cui Zhao’an responds warmly to the Jiang siblings and feels grateful that Little Wukong appears to have had a lively, reasonably happy childhood.
• Jiang Wanrong is proud of Yourning and comforts her after the collapse. Little Wukong playfully asks for the same affection.

Significant themes

• Justice and initiative: Yourning succeeds where government officials have failed, using direct action to recover debts.
• Family affection and belonging: The shared gold, the sisters’ pride and comfort, and the emperor and empress’s concern for Little Wukong all underscore family bonds.
• Jealousy and comic possessiveness: The emperor’s anxiety that he may have to “wait in line” to reclaim his son provides the chapter’s central humor.
• Hidden danger beneath comedy: The assassination plot and the building collapse foreshadow a more serious threat amid the lighthearted debt-collecting escapades.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yourning learns that the collapsed building is the Fragrant Fate Pavilion. Afraid of ghosts, she rushes to buy wooden fish drums and leads Jiang Wanrong and Little Wukong in prayer.
• Her inner thoughts reveal that the pavilion concealed a mass grave of children and that its prosperity was built on their deaths. She suspects the site is connected to the Duke’s Estate and offers to fund rites for the victims.
• Jiang Wanrong recognizes the significance of the discovery: the pavilion may be tied to Evil Incense, an addictive substance made using children and sold across Great Yu.
• Zhao Yi overhears Jiang Yourning’s thoughts and orders civilians evacuated, the site secured, and reinforcements summoned. Jiang Li tells the others to go home and gives Jiang Wanrong his salary.
• Back at the residence, Jiang Wanrong slips out to investigate. Jiang Yourning stays home, covering herself and Little Wukong with exorcism talismans and continuing to pray until she falls asleep.
• Authorities uncover thousands of skulls beneath the pavilion and find a ledger recording financial dealings with the Duke’s Estate. The emperor orders a full investigation, and officials surround the Duke’s residence.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning is comically terrified of ghosts, despite claiming not to believe in them; her fear drives her to seek protection through prayer, talismans, and Little Wukong’s chanting.
• Jiang Wanrong shifts from collecting a debt to pursuing the investigation, recognizing that the discovery may answer questions she came to the capital to resolve.
• Little Wukong obediently taps his drum and recites mantras to comfort his sister, even continuing to tap after falling asleep.
• Zhao Yi responds decisively to the suspected child murders, while Jiang Li protects his sisters by sending them home and giving Wanrong money.

Significant themes

• Hidden crimes and accountability: The pavilion’s wealth rests on the exploitation and deaths of children, and evidence points toward powerful perpetrators.
• Justice for the vulnerable: The mass grave and missing-child reports suggest a widespread crime that demands investigation.
• Fear and comic relief: Jiang Yourning’s supernatural panic contrasts with the grim revelations, while her siblings’ care adds warmth to the chapter.

Key plot points and events

• Duke Zhen learns that the Imperial Guards have surrounded his estate. He tries to appear calm, but Fan Chengfeng and Jiang Li make clear that his household is in serious trouble.
• Jiang Li orders a search without waiting for an imperial decree. Zhao Yi reveals why: the Fragrant Fate Pavilion has collapsed, exposing the skeletons of thousands of children and account books linking its profits to Duke Zhen.
• Duke Zhen insists the evidence could be a frame-up and expects the investigators to miss the secret chamber. Jiang Li’s men find it anyway, recovering a box of evidence and arresting people in the estate. Duke Zhen realizes the case against him is real.
• Meanwhile, Jiang Yourning searches for her sister, intending to give her protective talismans. She finds Jiang Wanrong safe and learns that the pavilion’s buried remains have frightened people.
• Jiang Wanrong reassures her sister, offers to stay with her that night, and hints that she has discovered evidence at the Zhen estate. Though it could bring Duke Zhen down, it has not yet revealed where the evil incense is made; she hopes Jiang Yourning may know more.

Character developments and interactions

• Duke Zhen shifts from confident denial to fear when he sees that Jiang Li has found the hidden evidence.
• Jiang Li is decisive and uncompromising, taking control of the search and arrests. Zhao Yi uses a friendlier manner, but his mockery underscores how grave the accusations are.
• Fan Chengfeng’s hostility is personal: his sister vanished near the pavilion, and he suspects her bones may have been used in the estate’s construction.
• Jiang Wanrong is protective and affectionate toward Jiang Yourning, while concealing her own investigation. Jiang Yourning is anxious about spirits but eager to be comforted by her sister; her thoughts provide comic contrast to the chapter’s grim revelations.

Significant themes

• Justice and exposure: hidden crimes become impossible to conceal once the pavilion collapses and evidence is uncovered.
• Grief and vengeance: Fan Chengfeng’s search for his missing sister fuels his desire for justice.
• Family care amid horror: the sisters’ tender, lightly humorous exchange offers warmth against the revelations of mass death and exploitation.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Wanrong tells Jiang Yourning about her past: abandoned as a baby, she was rescued and raised by the master of Poison Heart Valley.
• Her master fell into an unending sleep after testing remedies for evil incense. Jiang Wanrong came to the capital to uncover the incense’s origins, avenge her master, and prevent it from endangering Great Yu.
• Jiang Yourning comforts her and promises that the family—and especially her case-investigating third brother—will help. She also recalls a possible lead: a palace maid with a red mole who supplied evil incense to Chu Haoze, though she cannot identify the maid’s patron.
• The next morning, Chu Lange confronts Jiang Yourning for failing to meet her. Jiang Yourning explains that a building collapse frightened her so badly she forgot to send word. Though the story is exaggerated, Chu Lange believes her and switches from anger to concern.
• Chu Lange claims she waited only an hour before leaving, but Yuan Ye’s account reveals she stayed much longer, trusting that Jiang Yourning would come or send a message. She had been furious enough to threaten punishment and an end to their friendship, but her affection quickly wins out.

Character developments

• Jiang Wanrong opens up about her painful past and feels comforted by the support of her new family. She resolves to pursue the palace-maid lead.
• Jiang Yourning offers sincere emotional support, but also uses a dramatic, improvised excuse to escape Chu Lange’s anger.
• Chu Lange reveals how much she values Jiang Yourning: despite feeling deeply slighted, she is easily moved by concern for her friend.
• Yuan Ye quietly observes the contrast between the princess’s fierce threats and her forgiving behavior.

Significant themes

• Found family and belonging: Jiang Wanrong finds comfort in having people she can rely on.
• Justice and responsibility: The investigation into evil incense is framed as both personal vengeance and protection of the kingdom.
• Friendship and loyalty: Chu Lange’s long wait shows her trust in Jiang Yourning, while her concern outweighs her resentment.
• Comedy and dramatic irony: Jiang Yourning’s exaggerated tale succeeds, though those around her—and the reader—know she was not in danger.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yourning listens compassionately as Jiang Wanrong shares her history, then reassures her that she is no longer alone.
• Jiang Wanrong responds with gratitude and affection, promising to care for Jiang Yourning.
• Chu Lange storms in to scold Jiang Yourning, but becomes protective once she hears the story of the collapse.
• Yuan Ye’s silent recollection exposes Chu Lange’s concealed devotion and the real depth of her disappointment.

Key events

• After the Duke’s Estate is confiscated, Jiang Yourning learns its hidden treasure has gone to the national treasury. She’s relieved it won’t end up in the hands of someone she despises, though she has mixed feelings about the loss.
• After collecting ten thousand taels of gold with Chu Lange and Little Wukong, Jiang gives the money to families whose children were among the remains found at the Fragrant Fate Pavilion. Her generosity wins her a better reputation among ordinary people, even as angry nobles condemn her.
• Jiang Wanrong rushes to finish renovating the family tavern so Jiang Yourning will soon have an income.
• Meanwhile, Qing Qianxue’s people secretly bury gold ingots in Jiang’s courtyard. Jiang discovers them by accident and gleefully starts digging, convinced that good deeds have earned her a heavenly reward.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning shows unexpected compassion by giving away most of her gold, but her love of money remains strong: once she finds the buried ingots, she eagerly recruits Chun Tao and Little Wukong to dig for more.
• Chun Tao is astonished and moved by Jiang’s donation, though she suspects her mistress’s behavior is becoming increasingly strange.
• Little Wukong enthusiastically helps excavate the courtyard and asks how Jiang found the treasure. She tells him a fanciful story about Buddha rewarding her generosity.
• Chu Lange arrives to find the courtyard torn up and panics, mistaking the digging for an attempt to bury themselves alive.
• Qian Miao is pleased that his scheme has worked; Qian Yan remains scornful, judging Jiang as greedy despite her charitable act.

Themes

The chapter contrasts public generosity with private greed, showing how a single act of charity can transform Jiang’s reputation while not changing her delight in wealth. It also uses dramatic irony and comedy: readers know the gold was planted, while Jiang happily invents a divine explanation for finding it.

Plot points and events

• Chu Lange mistakes the earth collapsing into Jiang Yourning’s pit for an attempt to bury her alive. She falls in, lands on Jiang Yourning, and panics until Little Wukong shows her a gold ingot and explains that they are digging up buried treasure.
• Embarrassed by her misunderstanding, Chu Lange apologizes and offers to dig up the rest of the courtyard’s ingots for free. Jiang Yourning gladly takes her up on it, leaving Chu Lange with the shovel while she and Little Wukong climb out.
• Jiang Yourning asks for Yuan Ye to help Chu Lange dig. When Jiang Wanrong returns, she finds Jiang Yourning and Little Wukong relaxing with drinks while Chu Lange and Yuan Ye work in the pit.
• Jiang Wanrong worries that making a princess dig could bring trouble to the family. Jiang Yourning insists Chu Lange is doing it willingly, and Chu confirms this by refusing to let anyone else touch her “treasure.”
• Curious about the fun, Jiang Wanrong picks up a shovel. After uncovering ingots herself, she discovers that she enjoys the hunt too.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning turns the misunderstanding to her advantage, happily delegating the labor and embracing her preference for relaxing and counting treasure.
• Chu Lange goes from terrified and tearful to enthusiastic about digging. Her innocence and eagerness make her easy to recruit, though she is fiercely protective of the treasure hunt.
• Little Wukong helps clarify the situation and joins Jiang Yourning in enjoying the fruits of others’ labor.
• Jiang Wanrong shifts from alarm and suspicion to curiosity, then joins in once she experiences the excitement herself.
• The chapter’s humor comes from the contrast between Jiang Yourning’s laid-back scheming and Chu Lange’s sincere, childlike enthusiasm.

Significant themes

• Work versus leisure: Jiang Yourning jokes that she is unsuited to toil, while the others discover that digging can be rewarding.
• The simple pleasure of discovery: Unearthing each ingot turns hard work into a game, drawing even cautious Jiang Wanrong in.
• Innocence and comic misunderstanding: Chu Lange’s panic and immediate change of mood highlight her trusting, easily distracted nature.

Key plot points and events

• Chu Lange and Yuan Ye finish another day digging for gold with Jiang Yourning. Lange proudly calls the gold an empire she conquered for her friend, but refuses a share and plans to return the next day.
• Jiang Yourning’s prize draw finally yields a solar-powered phone after her luck reaches 361. She is thrilled—until she discovers it has no internet. The system then resets her luck and replaces the featured prize with an unlimited-data card, prompting her to accuse it of cheating and swear off future draws.
• After two more days of digging, the group uncovers twelve thousand taels of gold. Jiang Yourning treats her helpers to a shopping trip; for Little Wukong, she commissions a large gold wooden fish drum.
• Chu Lange thanks Jiang Yourning for teaching her how valuable a full purse is. Jiang Yourning affectionately praises her as a “promising pupil.”
• Less than two days later, the palace grounds are found torn up: all the paving bricks have been removed except for a narrow path. Emperor Chu Wenzong orders an investigation into who dared dig up the Imperial Palace.

Character developments

• Chu Lange is becoming more lively and content through her friendship and hands-on work with Jiang Yourning. She shows pride, generosity, and newfound appreciation for money.
• Jiang Yourning remains enthusiastic and impulsive, but shares the gold with her companions rather than keeping all the reward to herself. Her delight at the phone quickly turns to comic frustration with the system.
• Yuan Ye recognizes that Lange’s labor and companionship are making her happier, so he holds back his usual concern about her doing physical work.
• Jiang Wanrong quietly watches over her younger sister and is relieved when Yourning decides not to give away all the gold.

Significant themes and character interactions

• Friendship and belonging: Lange’s growing bond with Yourning gives her happiness she has lacked despite her royal status. Yourning’s fierce internal declaration that Lange is her best friend underscores how deeply she values the friendship.
• Wealth, generosity, and reward: The gold is shared through gifts and shopping, while Yourning reflects on doing good and receiving good fortune in return.
• Humor and irony: Yourning’s triumph over the phone is undercut by its lack of internet and the system’s reset of her luck. The chapter ends on a comic escalation as the palace itself appears to have become the group’s next digging site.
• Mentorship: Lange takes Yourning’s lesson about money to heart, while Yourning playfully approves her as a promising pupil.

Key plot points and events

• The consorts flee their residences after learning that Princess Yongning, Chu Lange, has ordered palace staff to dig up the Imperial Palace.
• Nanny Mei reports the uproar to Empress Cui Zhao’an, but Cui stays calm. She jokes that the forced exercise may stop the consorts from constantly seeking the emperor’s attention.
• Cui nevertheless goes to check on her daughter, concerned that digging through the palace might uncover something unpleasant.
• Chu Lange lounges comfortably while others work, enjoying the spectacle of palace staff digging.
• Emperor Chu Wenzong arrives furious and complains that there could be no treasure buried in the palace. Before he can finish, eunuchs report finding a hidden chamber beneath the abandoned Morning Dew Palace, filled with gold and silver.
• Lange immediately abandons her parents and rushes to the discovery. The emperor is left stunned and asks Cui whether one really can dig up treasure in the palace.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Lange shows her usual impulsive, treasure-seeking enthusiasm—and a newfound enjoyment of supervising others’ labor rather than digging herself. She ignores her parents when they arrive, then greets them cheerfully once they are directly in front of her.
• Empress Cui Zhao’an appears increasingly composed and perceptive. She recognizes Nanny Mei’s tactful attempt to provoke her and responds with dry humor instead of anger, while still keeping an eye on Lange.
• Emperor Chu Wenzong is exasperated by his daughter’s disruption and convinced her hunt is pointless, only to be humbled by the discovery.
• Nanny Mei tries to frame Lange’s actions as a serious disaster, though Cui sees through the emotional maneuvering.
• Lange’s parents react very differently: the emperor scolds her, while the empress remains calm; the treasure discovery cuts the confrontation short.

Significant themes

• Appearances versus reality: What seems like a foolish, disruptive scheme unexpectedly yields real treasure.
• Power and indulgence: Lange can mobilize palace staff because of her privileged position—and, as the chief eunuch silently notes, because the emperor himself has enabled her.
• Courtly rivalry and gendered competition: Cui humorously views the consorts’ constant attempts to attract the emperor as tiresome scheming.
• Composure amid chaos: Cui’s restraint contrasts with the panic of the consorts and the emperor’s anger.

Plot and key events

• Chu Wenzong and Empress Cui Zhao’an go to Morning Dew Palace, where Chu Lange has unearthed twelve chests of jewels. Lange sends half to her residence, half to her friend Jiang Yourning, and promises rewards to the palace staff who helped dig.
• Wenzong, jealous of the treasure being given away, pretends the heat is a reason to stop work. Once Lange leaves, he orders the servants to keep digging and send everything they find to Zichen Hall.
• The later excavations yield disturbing items—abortion pills, voodoo dolls, and buried bodies—instead of treasure. The diggers then uncover a hidden chamber in Liufang Palace containing a living man.
• The captive is brought before Wenzong. He is dressed well, pale from lack of sunlight, and resembles Duke Zhen. Wenzong recognizes the discovery as potentially connected to evidence against Consort Liang and laughs in shock.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Wenzong swings between fondness for Lange and possessive frustration over losing palace treasure. His attempt to halt the digging fails; he secretly continues it for his own gain, only to uncover a shocking scandal.
• Chu Lange remains energetic and generous, focused on her friend and the people helping her rather than her father’s claim to the treasure.
• Cui Zhao’an laughs at Wenzong’s antics and quietly observes his deep-seated love of wealth.
• Chu Haoze, at his residence, learns that Lange has dug up Morning Dew Palace’s hidden fortune. He becomes furious because he had expected to recover it himself and threatens those responsible for the loss.

Significant themes

• Greed and possessiveness: Wenzong’s paternal affection is repeatedly undercut by his distress over the jewels, while Haoze is equally enraged at losing the fortune.
• Comedy turning into scandal: The treasure hunt begins as a farcical contest over riches but exposes evidence of disturbing palace secrets and possible political wrongdoing.
• Loyalty and generosity: Lange shares her finds with her friend and the palace workers, contrasting with the self-interest of the emperor and prince.

Key plot points and events

• Emperor Chu Wenzong, reeling from proof that Consort Liang had been unfaithful with several men, orders her, her lover, and her son sent to the Court of Judicial Review. He also orders an investigation to determine the boy’s true parentage.
• At the National Preceptor’s Residence, Qian Yan reports the scandal and says the emperor has summoned Minister Jiang, Jiang Li, and Jiang Yourning. He assumes the summons concerns Princess Chu Lange’s excavation of palace treasures. Qing Qianxue punishes his gleeful attitude by assigning him three days of sock-washing.
• Jiang Yourning is helping Chu Lange dress up Little Wukong when Jiang Li arrives with the summons. Lange reveals she dug up more than half the Imperial Palace and gave Jiang Yourning half the treasure. Yourning panics that the emperor may punish the Jiang family, while Lange confidently promises to take the blame.
• Yourning brings Lange and Little Wukong along as “bodyguards.” On entering the palace, the group is shocked by its wrecked, graveyard-like condition.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Wenzong shifts from humiliation and self-disgust over Consort Liang’s betrayal to anger and suspicion. He also summons the Jiangs, hoping to learn what else has gone unnoticed in his palace.
• Jiang Yourning is anxious about being blamed for the palace’s destruction, though she tries to rely on Lange’s assurance. She even considers using Little Wukong as protection if the emperor turns on her.
• Chu Lange remains cheerful and proud of her treasure-hunting, treating the palace’s extensive excavation as an achievement rather than a danger. She offers to accept punishment for Yourning.
• Jiang Li is wary and visibly unsettled by both the summons and the palace’s condition.
• Qian Yan delights in the unfolding trouble but is quickly chastened by Qing Qianxue.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and wounded dignity: The emperor’s response to Consort Liang’s affair is driven as much by humiliation as by justice.
• Comic consequences and dramatic irony: The emperor’s palace is already in chaos, while the summoned visitors do not yet know how severe the damage is.
• Loyalty and protection: Lange’s willingness to take responsibility contrasts with Yourning’s nervous, practical plans for self-preservation.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yourning deduces that Emperor Chu Wenzong sent Princess Chu Lange away so he could supervise the palace workers digging without her noticing what was really going on.
• Yourning nearly says something embarrassing while correcting Lange, then covers it by explaining that she meant “outwardly obedient, inwardly defiant.” Her father and brother question where she learned the phrase; she feigns innocence, and her father offers to buy her more books.
• At Zichen Hall, Jiang Huai’an and Jiang Li are summoned to meet the Emperor, while Yourning and Lange are told to wait elsewhere. Lange instead takes Yourning and Little Wukong to visit the Empress.
• The Emperor questions Jiang Huai’an and Jiang Li about the palace excavation and reveals that a man was dug up at Consort Liang’s residence. Jiang Li promises to investigate, while Jiang Huai’an fears the discovery is a dangerous imperial secret.
• Hoping to hear Yourning’s thoughts, the Emperor orders her brought to him. He learns that Lange has taken her to the Perching Phoenix Palace.
• The chapter ends with Lange introducing Yourning and Little Wukong to the Empress, who is trimming flowers.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning shows quick insight into the Emperor’s motives, but her unfiltered inner thoughts nearly get her into trouble. She also tries to protect her reputation by acting innocent when challenged by her father and brother.
• Chu Lange remains energetic and trusting, interpreting her father’s actions as concern for her. She cheerfully takes charge of the visit and brings Yourning to see her mother.
• Jiang Li is protective of his sister, defending the palace work as useful maintenance and volunteering to uncover the truth behind the body.
• Jiang Huai’an is visibly frightened by the implication that the discovery concerns an imperial secret.
• Chu Wenzong is curious about Yourning’s thoughts and increasingly frustrated when he cannot hear them from inside the hall.
• Little Wukong follows Yourning’s lead, copying her formal greeting to the Empress.

Significant themes

• Hidden thoughts and appearances: Yourning’s private thoughts contrast with her careful outward innocence, while the Emperor’s excavation exposes secrets buried beneath the palace.
• Family protection and loyalty: Jiang Li shields his sister from blame, while Lange’s affection draws Yourning into her family’s orbit.
• Humor amid political tension: Yourning’s near-misstatement and the Emperor’s failed attempts to hear her thoughts provide comic relief alongside the ominous discovery of a body in the palace.

Key plot points and events

• Empress Cui Zhao’an is startled when Little Wukong calls himself her daughter’s subject, and she stares at him so intently that her scissors fall. She eventually welcomes Jiang Yourning and Wukong, offers them tea and food, and asks about the boy.
• Jiang explains that Wukong is a five-year-old novice monk she met at Huayin Temple and brought home. When Cui says he is the age her deceased son would have been, she invites him closer and plays with him.
• Emperor Chu Wenzong arrives, having overheard their conversation. He is eager to see Wukong—his and the Empress’s son, whom they believe is dead—but decides to let Cui spend time with the child before revealing the truth.
• The Emperor says he has come to speak with Jiang, not punish her. When he raises Princess Ge’er’s example of digging up the palace, Jiang offers to return the jewelry she received, which is waiting outside the palace gates.

Character developments

• Cui Zhao’an is moved by Wukong’s resemblance or age, though she does not yet recognize him as her son. Her tenderness toward him reveals her continuing grief and longing.
• Jiang Yourning worries that her involvement in the palace digging may get her in trouble, but remains protective of Wukong and accepts him as part of her family.
• Little Wukong behaves politely and looks to Jiang for reassurance before approaching the Empress, showing his trust in her.
• Chu Wenzong arrives angry at first, but his concern for Cui’s feelings softens him. He chooses to delay telling her Wukong’s identity so she can enjoy the reunion without distress.

Significant themes

• Family and reunion: The parents encounter their long-lost son without yet knowing the truth.
• Grief and hope: Cui’s sorrow over her presumed-dead child is stirred by Wukong’s presence.
• Care and protection: Jiang and Cui both instinctively look after the people around them.
• Deception and dramatic irony: The reader knows Wukong is the Emperor and Empress’s son, while Cui remains unaware and the Emperor silently manages the revelation.

Character interactions

• Cui welcomes Jiang and gently draws Wukong into conversation, while Jiang encourages him to approach her.
• Jiang and Cui share a warm exchange, with Cui subtly shielding Jiang when the Emperor arrives.
• Chu reassures Cui that he is not there to punish anyone, then questions Jiang about the jewelry and the Princess’s actions.

Key plot points and events

• Emperor Chu Wenzong accepts that the jewels Chu Lange found in the abandoned Morning Dew Palace are ownerless, allowing Jiang Yourning to keep them.
• Jiang’s unspoken thoughts reveal the backstory behind a scandal at Consort Liang’s quarters: Liang’s former lover was imprisoned in a secret chamber, while Duke Zhen mistakenly believed the Third Prince was his son and helped prepare him for power.
• The emperor realizes he was never Consort Liang’s lover after all and feels relieved that Duke Zhen, not he, was the true victim.
• The emperor encourages Jiang to bring Little Wukong to the palace more often, and asks how the boy came to live at the Jiang Residence.
• Jiang explains that he was found at Huayin Temple. Her thoughts reveal that the Empress Dowager secretly arranged for him to be sent away to save him, after the empress had already lost three sons.
• The emperor and empress are stunned by the revelations. The emperor leaves abruptly, overwhelmed by what he has learned.

Character developments

• Chu Wenzong shifts from probing Jiang for information to relief over the Consort Liang scandal, then is shaken by the discovery that his mother secretly saved his son—and may have lost a daughter.
• Cui Zhao’an realizes Little Wukong is her child and begins questioning the supposed accidents that took her three other sons. She also learns that the Empress Dowager, whom she thought disliked her, protected her family.
• Jiang Yourning remains outwardly polite while her inner commentary exposes the palace’s hidden scandals and her relief at leaving safely.
• Little Wukong is revealed to be the emperor and empress’s son, secretly protected by the Empress Dowager.

Significant themes

• Hidden truths and mistaken beliefs: The imperial family has misunderstood the identities, motives, and fates of those closest to them.
• Family protection and sacrifice: The Empress Dowager acted quietly to save her grandson despite her estrangement from the emperor.
• Power and vulnerability in the palace: The empress’s lost sons and Little Wukong’s rescue suggest that apparent accidents may conceal danger.
• Gossip as revelation: Jiang’s private thoughts expose truths that formal conversation cannot.

Character interactions

• Jiang’s candid inner monologue contrasts with her respectful answers to the emperor.
• The emperor and empress react together to her revelations, though they conceal their shock at first.
• Cui Zhao’an’s concern for Little Wukong prompts the emperor’s questions, while Jiang’s thoughts make clear that the child’s true parents are sitting before her.
• The chapter ends with the emperor withdrawing to process the discoveries, while Jiang is relieved to have escaped the encounter unharmed.

Plot points

• Cui Zhao’an, looking unwell after Chu Ge leaves, decides she must act quickly against people around her and seek answers from the Empress Dowager.
• Chu Lange takes Jiang Yourning and Little Wukong to the Imperial Garden, where much of the landscaping has been dug up in a search for treasure. Yuan Ye reports that only a few pieces of jewelry were found.
• Chu Lange spots Qing Qianxue and Xie Ciyan and sneaks over to watch them, openly admiring the State Preceptor.
• Little Wukong asks about eating unripe fruit; Jiang Yourning warns him it could end in a funeral feast, successfully putting him off.
• Qian Miao sneaks up behind the trio, startling them. His attempt at a friendly smile only makes Jiang Yourning and Chu Lange think he looks like a child trafficker.
• When Qing Qianxue calls after her, Jiang Yourning grabs Little Wukong and flees. Chu Lange laughs at how frightened she seems of the National Preceptor.

Character developments and interactions

• Cui Zhao’an grows more determined to uncover the truth, turning to the Empress Dowager as a possible source of answers.
• Chu Lange remains energetic and mischievous. Though she is fascinated by Qing Qianxue, she teases Jiang Yourning about her apparent fear of him.
• Jiang Yourning is wary of running into Qing Qianxue and tries to escape rather than explain herself. Her thoughts contrast Chu Lange’s admiration of Qing Qianxue with her own lack of interest.
• Little Wukong is curious about food and his surroundings, but Jiang Yourning’s warning makes him abandon the unripe fruit.
• Qian Miao tries to be courteous and answers Jiang Yourning honestly, but his eerie smile unsettles her and Chu Lange.
• Qing Qianxue and Xie Ciyan approach the group; Xie Ciyan notices Jiang Yourning’s reluctance, while Qing Qianxue calls after her as she runs away.

Themes

• Comic misunderstandings and embarrassment: Jiang Yourning’s exaggerated escape and Qian Miao’s awkward attempt to look friendly drive the chapter’s humor.
• Contrasting perspectives: Chu Lange sees Qing Qianxue as handsome and captivating, while Jiang Yourning sees him as someone to avoid.
• Hidden intrigue: Cui Zhao’an’s plans and the search for treasure hint at unresolved mysteries beneath the playful garden scenes.

Plot points and events

• After escaping the pit, Jiang Yourning leaves with Little Wukong, privately blaming Qing Qianxue for her bad luck. Qing, however, says he finds meeting her interesting, surprising Xie Ciyan and Chu Lange.
• At the Jiang Residence, the family is waiting anxiously for Jiang Yourning. Her father and Third Brother have not returned, but Jiang Wanrong persuades everyone to go inside.
• Jiang Yourning learns that Jiang Wanrong has personally cooked a feast to comfort her. Suspecting the food may be dangerous, she hopes Little Wukong will taste it first.
• Little Wukong eats the meat and praises it—though his exaggerated emphasis hints that he is only being polite. Reassured, Jiang Yourning tries a mushroom, finds it appalling, and collapses theatrically onto the table.
• Jiang Wanrong tastes her own food and realizes how terrible it is. She stops the family from eating and orders Chef Zhang to prepare something else.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yourning remains playful and dramatic, hiding her concern for her family behind comic suspicion and self-preservation. Despite her fears, she tries her sister’s cooking to please her.
• Jiang Wanrong shows genuine affection by cooking for Jiang Yourning, then responds with embarrassment and concern when she discovers the food is inedible.
• Little Wukong tries to protect Jiang Wanrong’s feelings by praising the meat, but his reassurance inadvertently convinces Jiang Yourning to taste the food.
• Qing Qianxue reveals an unexpected interest in Jiang Yourning, while Xie Ciyan and Chu Lange react with surprise and amusement.
• Lin Xiangyin and Jiang Wanrong worry about Jiang Yourning’s safety after her trip to the palace; the family’s concern emphasizes their close bonds.

Significant themes

• Family affection: The family waits for Jiang Yourning, and Jiang Wanrong’s well-meaning cooking is an earnest expression of love.
• Honesty versus kindness: Little Wukong’s attempt to spare Jiang Wanrong’s feelings creates a comic misunderstanding, while Jiang Wanrong ultimately faces the truth about her cooking.
• Comedy through contrast: Jiang Yourning’s dramatic inner monologue contrasts with the family’s sincere concern and the mundane disaster of a badly cooked meal.