Recaps

Shen Yangge returned to the Shen Residence to reassure his family after leaving the palace, then sent a hairpin to Miss Su. Chu Xuanzhen secretly came to him that night, and Shen Yangge tearfully asked why he had taken so long.

• Shen Yangge walked from the palace to the Shen Residence, where Shen Mother welcomed him home and embraced him in tears.
• Shen Yangge learned that Shen Mother had taken in He Yimo and He Nuan, and explained that he had returned to protect his family from rumors about his identity.
• Shen Yangge sent a hairpin to the Su Residence, saying it came from an old acquaintance from Lingnan.
• Chu Xuanzhen entered Shen Yangge's room through the window and joined him in the bath.
• Shen Yangge woke in Chu Xuanzhen's arms, hugged him, and tearfully asked why he had taken so long.

Shen Yangge woke after spending the night with Chu Xuanzhen, but Shen Mother noticed the marks on his wrist and asked him to explain. Meanwhile, Chu Xuanzhen learned that the death soldiers pursuing the prince of the Western Regions had been wiped out, and Xue Pingyuan was summoned before news arrived that Xue Qian had fainted.

• Shen Yangge and Chu Xuanzhen shared a tender kiss after Chu Xuanzhen apologized for arriving too late.
• Shen Yangge woke sore and found Chu Xuanzhen had already left, then covered the marks on his neck and wrists before going to breakfast.
• Shen Mother spotted the marks on Shen Yangge's wrist and told him to speak with her after the meal.
• Chu Xuanzhen read a report that the death soldiers sent after the prince of the Western Regions had all been wiped out and summoned Xue Pingyuan.
• An eunuch reported that Xue Qian had fainted after waking with a headache, prompting Xue Pingyuan to demand an explanation.

Xue Pingyuan brought his injured brother to the Shen Residence, where Su Huaihuan was visiting Shen Yangge. After hearing that Shen Yangge had company there, Chu Xuanzhen set out to catch his supposed cheating spouse in the act.

• Xue Pingyuan asked Chu Xuanzhen where Shen Yangge was so he could bring Xue Qian to him, but learned Shen Yangge had taken leave and was away from the palace.
• Xue Pingyuan carried the unconscious Xue Qian to the Shen Residence and recognized a carriage from the Su Residence outside.
• After hearing that a visitor was at the Shen Residence, Chu Xuanzhen asked his eunuch what he would do if his wife were entangled with someone else, then left to catch Shen Yangge in the act.
• At the Shen Residence, Shen Mother chatted with Su Huaihuan while Shen Yangge sat aside, and Xue Pingyuan dropped off Xue Qian before fleeing.
• Shen Mother asked Su Huaihuan what she thought of Shen Yangge, making Shen Yangge spit out his tea.

Chu Xuanzhen arrived at the Shen Residence and grew jealous after seeing Su Huaihuan’s box and hearing her call it a token of love from her childhood sweetheart. The chapter ended with him asking Shen Yangge whether he had secretly pledged himself to someone else.

• Shen Yangge coughed as Shen Mother noticed red marks concealed around his neck.
• Chu Xuanzhen arrived at the Shen Residence, and Shen Yangge nervously tried to appease him with tea.
• Chu Xuanzhen noticed the box Su Huaihuan was holding and hinted that Shen Yangge was a romantic.
• Su Huaihuan explained that the box was a token of love from her childhood sweetheart.
• Chu Xuanzhen leaned close to Shen Yangge and asked if he had secretly pledged himself to someone else.

Shen Yangge clarified to Chu Xuanzhen and Su Huaihuan that he had no romantic attachment to Su and already loved someone. After Shen Mother and Su Huaihuan left, Shen Yangge declared his love directly to Chu Xuanzhen.

• Chu Xuanzhen’s jealous assumptions embarrassed Shen Yangge and Su Huaihuan, so Shen Yangge explained that Su had come to thank him for returning something belonging to the man she loved.
• Shen Yangge told everyone he already loved someone, prompting Shen Mother to ask who the woman was.
• Su Huaihuan told Shen Mother she would rather remain unmarried than wed someone she did not love, then left the hall.
• After Shen Mother and Su Huaihuan departed, Shen Yangge teased Chu Xuanzhen for being jealous, and they kissed.
• Shen Yangge told Chu Xuanzhen that the person he loved was the one before him.

Chu Xuanzhen carried Shen Yangge to his room, but Shen Yangge fought to keep him from closing the door by wedging himself across the doorway. As servants gossiped and Shen Mother came to visit, Shen Yangge remained stuck there while the maids rushed to help him.

• Chu Xuanzhen carried Shen Yangge back to his room, and Shen Yangge braced himself against the door to stop him.
• Servants gossiped about Chu Xuanzhen's closeness with Shen Yangge and his ties to General Xue while Su Shang listened from the shadows.
• Shen Yangge stretched across the doorway to resist Chu Xuanzhen, and Su Shang covered He Yimo's eyes before taking the crying boy aside.
• News of Shen Yangge's predicament reached Shen Mother, who sent two maids ahead to announce her visit.
• The maids found Shen Yangge still stuck in the doorway and called for help before he fell.

Shen Yangge balanced his love for Chu Xuanzhen with his wish to spare Shen Mother distress, reassuring her while refusing the marriage she proposed. After Shen Mother left, Shen Yangge thanked Chu Xuanzhen for understanding and the two shared a kiss.

• Chu Xuanzhen stopped the maids from approaching Shen Yangge, and Shen Yangge steadied himself as Shen Mother entered the courtyard.
• Shen Yangge helped Shen Mother aside and listened as she warned him against improper closeness with the Crown Prince and urged him to avoid political entanglements.
• Shen Yangge reassured Shen Mother that Chu Xuanzhen was a good man and asked her to see a physician, but she insisted she was well.
• Chu Xuanzhen stayed quiet while Shen Mother apologized to him, and Shen Yangge tried to keep the two comfortable.
• When Shen Mother raised the subject of marriage, Shen Yangge said he loved someone and would never take a wife, so she left to rest.
• Shen Yangge kissed Chu Xuanzhen and thanked him for not forcing Shen Mother to choose, and Chu Xuanzhen drew him into another kiss.

Shen Yangge discovered that his blood could ease Xue Qian’s Gu Poison and wondered whether this connected him to the Original Novel Heroine. Meanwhile, Chu Xuanzhi tried to persuade his torturer, Chu Tianyin, to join forces with him.

• Chu Xuanzhen visited Shen Yangge, who refused his advances because he was still sore, and shortened Shen Yangge’s leave so he would return to the palace the following afternoon.
• After Xue Qian visited, Shen Yangge suspected his blood had something to do with the disappearance of Chu Xuanzhen’s South Seas Curse-Head Sorcery symptoms.
• When Xue Qian suffered a sudden headache, Shen Yangge gave him a drop of his blood, which quickly eased his pain.
• Xue Qian thanked Shen Yangge and asked about his older brother, while Shen Yangge explained that Xue Qian had to remain in the Capital City because of his Gu Poison.
• Chu Xuanzhi endured another whipping from Chu Tianyin and proposed that they join forces against Chu Xuanzhen.
• Chu Tianyin rejected the proposal, and Chu Xuanzhi teased him about still holding a grudge over an old incident.

Chu Tianyin confronted Chu Xuanzhi in the cell, but learned little about the danger surrounding Chu Xuanzhen. Shen Yangge went to the palace to test whether his blood could help Xue Qian, only for the system to show a huge red exclamation mark.

• Chu Tianyin shoved Chu Xuanzhi away from an attempted kiss, then grew uneasy when Chu Xuanzhi lay motionless.
• Chu Xuanzhi tricked Chu Tianyin into falling, but Chu Tianyin overpowered him and demanded to know what he knew about Chu Xuanzhen.
• Chu Xuanzhi warned that they were out of time and that Chu Xuanzhen was too lucky to confront directly, but Chu Tianyin left to investigate.
• Shen Yangge went to the palace to confirm whether his blood could help Xue Qian with his gu poison.
• As Shen Yangge approached the Imperial Study to see Chu Xuanzhen, the system interface appeared with a huge red exclamation mark.

After Database punished Shen Yangge for failing to help Chu Xuanzhen ascend the throne, the punishment somehow transformed Chu Xuanzhen into a child. Shen Yangge hid the Crown Prince from visitors and picked him up, while Chu Xuanzhen silently considered biting him.

• System 615 punished Shen Yangge for fifteen days after accusing him of failing to complete his mission.
• Shen Yangge entered the Imperial Study and found Chu Xuanzhen transformed into a five- or six-year-old child.
• Chu Xuanzhen refused to see the Minister of Rites, and Shen Yangge sent the minister away by claiming the Crown Prince was unwell.
• Chu Xuanzhen ordered Shen Yangge to pick him up, and Shen Yangge lifted him while secretly stroking his back and neck.

After Chu Xuanzhen shrank into a child, Shen Yangge helped him hide his condition and summoned Su Shang, who was tasked with finding someone to impersonate the Crown Prince. Consort Xue arrived seeking an audience, and Shen Yangge went out to meet her while Chu Xuanzhen remained hidden in the Imperial Study.

• Shen Yangge reassured the shrunken Chu Xuanzhen, who told him to summon Su Shang and prepare clothes that would conceal his condition.
• Shen Yangge brought Su Shang into the Imperial Study, where Su Shang recoiled at Chu Xuanzhen's appearance and was ordered to receive twenty strokes and roll on nails before Chu Xuanzhen relented.
• Chu Xuanzhen ordered Su Shang to find someone to temporarily impersonate him, and Su Shang accepted the task and left.
• A guard announced that Consort Xue requested an audience, so Shen Yangge left the Imperial Study to meet her and keep Chu Xuanzhen hidden.

Shen Yangge kept Consort Xue from discovering that the shrunken Crown Prince was unwell and helped Chu Xuanzhen send a letter to Xue Pingyuan. That night, Shen Yangge secretly brought Chu Xuanzhen to the Eastern Palace and began preparing a bath for him.

• Shen Yangge greeted Consort Xue and insisted that Chu Xuanzhen had only caught a cold, so she left without questioning the Crown Prince further.
• Shen Yangge returned to the Imperial Study, where Chu Xuanzhen asked him to hold down paper as he wrote a letter for Xue Pingyuan.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge to deliver the sealed letter himself because Xue Pingyuan would doubt its authenticity if Su Shang carried it.
• Shen Yangge secretly brought Chu Xuanzhen back to the Eastern Palace after nightfall and pinched his cheek, drawing a stern look from the Crown Prince.
• Chu Xuanzhen ordered Shen Yangge to help him bathe, and Shen Yangge carried buckets of hot water behind a screen and poured them into the tub.

Shen Yangge helped the shrunken Chu Xuanzhen bathe, teasing him as he washed his hair and upper body. After Chu Xuanzhen insisted on washing himself, he fell into the tub while trying to put on his underpants.

• Shen Yangge finished preparing the bath and carried Chu Xuanzhen into the tub.
• Shen Yangge washed Chu Xuanzhen's hair and upper body, laughing when he accidentally dunked the back of Chu Xuanzhen's head.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge to leave so he could wash himself, and Shen Yangge waited outside the screen.
• Chu Xuanzhen called Shen Yangge back for his underpants and ordered him to turn around.
• Chu Xuanzhen fell into the water while trying to dress himself, and Shen Yangge turned back in alarm.

Shen Yangge discovered that someone had poisoned the Eastern Palace and that Chu Xuanzhen was suffering from South Seas Curse-Head Sorcery. He gave Chu Xuanzhen a medicinal catalyst, then endured its painful effects with him through the night.

• Shen Yangge rescued Chu Xuanzhen from the bath, noticed the incense making them dizzy, and extinguished it.
• Shen Yangge found bloodied soil in a porcelain container and recalled that a maid accompanying Consort Xue had dirt on her shoes.
• Shen Yangge discovered that Chu Xuanzhen had a high fever, and Chu Xuanzhen directed him to a hidden compartment containing a red pill.
• Chu Xuanzhen identified the pill as a medicinal catalyst that suppressed South Seas Curse-Head Sorcery, but Shen Yangge insisted on knowing its effects before giving it to him.
• Shen Yangge licked the pill and fed it to Chu Xuanzhen, then suffered intense waves of heat, cold, and pain while Chu Xuanzhen held him through the night.
• By dawn, Shen Yangge's agony had begun to subside, and Chu Xuanzhen remained beside him.

After Chu Xuanzhen woke in miniature form, Shen Yangge cared for him and tried to conceal his condition from Consort Xue and the Imperial Physician. Su Shang later reported what Consort Xue had learned and revealed that he had found a double, but an unexpected event disrupted their plan.

• Chu Xuanzhen woke beside Shen Yangge, who dismissed Consort Xue and dressed and cared for the shrunken Crown Prince.
• Shen Yangge discovered that he had mangled Chu Xuanzhen's letter and blamed the damage on Chu Xuanzhen's illness when questioned.
• Shen Yangge hid Chu Xuanzhen behind the bed curtains while the Old Imperial Physician examined him and prescribed medicine.
• Consort Xue questioned the Old Imperial Physician, and Su Shang listened before secretly returning to report what he had heard to Chu Xuanzhen.
• Su Shang told Chu Xuanzhen that he had found a double, but an unexpected turn of events followed.

Rumors in Great Chu weakened Crown Prince Chu Xuanzhen as Fourth Prince Chu Tianyin secretly exploited Consort Xue, while Ruthis learned that rival princes were joining forces against the Crown Prince. At the frontier, Ruthis cared for the feverish Nan Jiaxi, who loved him and had tried to disappear rather than hold back his journey.

• Rumors portrayed the Crown Prince as unfilial and suggested Consort Xue might be seeking chances to harm him or leak information.
• Chu Tianyin revealed that Consort Xue was unknowingly his puppet and began writing a secret letter.
• Ruthis arrived at the Northern States frontier with the unconscious Nan Jiaxi and ordered a military doctor to examine him.
• Ruthis read that the Fourth Prince and Second Prince's factions had united against the Crown Prince, while an unnamed court official was secretly encouraging other princes to join them.
• When Nan Jiaxi coughed in a soldier's rough hold, Ruthis carried him to bed and demanded care; Nan Jiaxi recalled fleeing while ill because he feared delaying Ruthis, then breaking down when Ruthis brought him back.

Ruthis stayed beside the tearful Nan Jiaxi and assigned an army physician to oversee his treatment. Su Shang met the disguise expert Liang Wenjin, while Chu Xuanzhen insisted on treating Shen Yangge’s bruised waist himself.

• Ruthis wiped Nan Jiaxi’s tears, ordered an army physician to oversee his treatment, and stayed when Nan Jiaxi begged him not to leave.
• Su Shang met Liang Wenjin, whose disguise closely resembled Su Shang, and said he would investigate Liang Wenjin before assigning him a job.
• Su Shang reported his meeting with Liang Wenjin to Chu Xuanzhen, while Shen Yangge distractedly struck his waist against a table.
• Chu Xuanzhen noticed Shen Yangge’s pain and insisted on lifting his clothes to examine the bruised waist.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge to stay seated while he fetched medicine from his bedchamber to apply to the injury.

Shen Yangge discovered that the giant rat was System 615, which had been forced offline and trapped in the rat’s body after encountering a virus. 615 began explaining Shen Yangge’s connection to the world and hinted at a revelation about it.

• Shen Yangge noticed the familiar giant rat watching him while Chu Xuanzhen treated his waist injury.
• Shen Yangge searched the side hall for anything suspicious but found only a rat hole.
• The giant rat startled Shen Yangge in the bath and revealed itself as System 615.
• System 615 explained that it had been forced offline and ended up in a rat’s body while dealing with a virus from the Main God Hall.
• System 615 said Shen Yangge had a slight connection to this world and began to explain further.

Shen Yangge learned from System 615 that he had transmigrated into a real world, not a novel, and that a virus had altered the information he received. As he reconsidered his mission and his feelings for Chu Xuanzhen, Chu Xuanzhen caught him hiding something, leaving Shen Yangge to wonder if he was the one Chu Xuanzhen loved.

• Shen Yangge took System 615 aside, and it revealed that he had entered a real world rather than the original novel and that a virus had tampered with the story information.
• System 615 explained that the virus could not fully control its functions, and Shen Yangge learned that failing his death mission might not destroy his soul.
• Shen Yangge considered eliminating the virus as a way to choose between returning home and staying with Chu Xuanzhen, and planned to find a new body for System 615.
• Chu Xuanzhen appeared and asked what Shen Yangge had been communicating with, but Shen Yangge denied talking to anyone.
• Shen Yangge realized his ideas about the novel's idealized romance might have been invented, then wondered if he was actually Chu Xuanzhen's unforgettable beloved.

Shen Yangge helped System 615 attempt to transfer from the giant rat into a Little Orange Cat while Chu Xuanzhen secretly investigated the romantic phrases Shen Yangge had mentioned. The chapter ended as System 615 began its transfer in Shen Yangge’s bedchamber.

• System 615 hid in a mouse hole, frightened by Chu Xuanzhen’s murderous gaze.
• Chu Xuanzhen wiped Shen Yangge’s face and fingers, then asked what books he read as he led him out of the Side Hall.
• Chu Xuanzhen wrote down “White moonlight, cinnabar mole, palm lines” and gave the note to Su Shang to investigate.
• Two days later, Su Shang reported his findings, and Chu Xuanzhen eagerly headed to his bedchamber to see Shen Yangge.
• Shen Yangge brought System 615 a Little Orange Cat body and watched as it began trying to transfer into it.

Shen Yangge tried to hide System 615’s identity after it switched from a huge rat into a Little Orange Cat, but Chu Xuanzhen caught them in the act. The system remained disguised as an injured kitten, terrified that Chu Xuanzhen would recognize and eliminate it.

• Shen Yangge watched System 615 switch forms, and the huge rat and Little Orange Cat both leaped toward him as Chu Xuanzhen entered and pulled him back.
• The huge rat ran toward Chu Xuanzhen, who kicked it away, while the Little Orange Cat hid by Shen Yangge’s feet.
• Chu Xuanzhen questioned where the Little Orange Cat came from and why Shen Yangge was holding it, so Shen Yangge claimed he had rescued it because it resembled his childhood cat.
• System 615 pretended its front legs were broken, and Shen Yangge backed up the lie by claiming the kitten was only temporarily injured.
• Chu Xuanzhen challenged Shen Yangge’s ability to treat animals, while System 615 stayed curled in his arms and cried from fear.

Shen Yangge watched Liang Jinwen impersonate Chu Xuanzhen while the real Chu Xuanzhen struggled with jealousy. On the final day, the ministers urged Chu Xuanzhen to ascend the throne, leaving Shen Yangge wondering whether he would have to choose a side.

• Chu Xuanzhen took System 615, disguised as a ginger cat, from Shen Yangge and made him hand it to a palace maid before Shen Yangge bathed.
• Shen Yangge mistook Liang Jinwen, who was impersonating Chu Xuanzhen, for a possible stand-in and reached to test his identity.
• The real Chu Xuanzhen interrupted them, objected that Liang Jinwen had stood too close to Shen Yangge, and assigned Liang Jinwen to impersonate him for ten days.
• Liang Jinwen met with Great Chu's officials over the following days without arousing suspicion, while Consort Xue remained ill in her palace chambers.
• On the final day, the ministers petitioned Chu Xuanzhen to ascend the throne, and Shen Yangge wondered whether it was time to choose.

Shen Yangge resolved to hunt down the other bugs in the world, keeping his dangerous plan from Chu Xuanzhen as he sought leave to return to the Shen Residence. After Chu Xuanzhen agreed to let him go for four days and regained his adult form, Shen Yangge embraced him and vowed to return.

• Shen Yangge realized he could not bear to leave Chu Xuanzhen and Shen Mother, but remembered that killing the other bug might give him another way to survive.
• Shen Yangge used System 615 to identify targets and planned to assassinate the prince from the Western Regions before going after Chu Xuanzhi.
• System 615 warned Shen Yangge that Chu Xuanzhen might confine him if he learned the truth, so Shen Yangge decided to conceal his plan and slip away from the Shen Residence.
• Shen Yangge persuaded Chu Xuanzhen to let him take leave, and Chu Xuanzhen agreed to four days despite suspecting his reason for going.
• Chu Xuanzhen returned to his adult form, and Shen Yangge embraced and kissed him, resolving that he had to come back.

Chu Xuanzhen kept Shen Yangge with him through a long, exhausting night, then arranged for him to return to the Shen Residence. Shen Yangge left the palace in a palanquin and continued home in a carriage, while officials speculated about his closeness to Chu Xuanzhen.

• Chu Xuanzhen kissed Shen Yangge and ignored his attempts to slow things down, telling him to behave.
• After another round of intimacy that night, Shen Yangge woke sore and exhausted, then prepared to leave for the Shen Residence.
• A servant told Shen Yangge that Chu Xuanzhen had ordered a palanquin for him, and Shen Yangge agreed to ride in it.
• Shen Yangge warned System 615 not to climb on him because he was in pain, then boarded the palanquin.
• Officials saw Shen Yangge's palanquin and speculated that Chu Xuanzhen favored him because they were close.
• Shen Yangge boarded a cushioned carriage arranged by Chu Xuanzhen and grew drowsy on the way to the Shen Residence.

Shen Yangge returned to the Shen Residence, hid the truth about his relationship with Chu Xuanzhen from Shen Mother, and prepared to leave for Ruthis. When Chu Xuanzhen’s watchers blocked his way, Shen Yangge tried to disguise himself by asking a servant to take off his clothes.

• Shen Yangge arrived at the Shen Residence and let Shen Mother believe that His Highness had caned him.
• Shen Yangge told his Younger Sister that he and His Highness were in a relationship, and she agreed to keep it from Shen Mother.
• Shen Yangge greeted He Yimo and He Nuan, then went to bed exhausted.
• At dawn, Shen Yangge discovered Chu Xuanzhen’s people watching his door and decided to trick them so he could leave for Ruthis.
• Shen Yangge ordered a servant to take off his clothes, but the frightened servant misunderstood his request.