Recaps

After Consort Ru’s death, Shen Yangge tried to find a way out of the palace, but an assassin searching for the dragon child pursued him through the Imperial Medical Bureau. Shen Yangge escaped by raising an alarm about stolen medicinal herbs, only to run into Chu Xuanzhen.

• Chu Xuanzhen ordered his subordinate to chop Consort Ru’s body to pieces and feed it to the dogs.
• Shen Yangge convinced Xiao Zhi that growing horns was normal and decided he needed to escape the palace.
• Shen Yangge secretly visited Little Bamboo Shoot to ask for help leaving the palace, but Little Bamboo Shoot had no plan.
• An assassin broke into Little Bamboo Shoot’s room and called Shen Yangge a dragon child, so Shen Yangge stabbed him and fled.
• Shen Yangge shouted that someone was stealing medicinal herbs, prompting the Imperial Medical Bureau’s elders and the guards to pursue the assassin.
• After escaping, Shen Yangge saw Chu Xuanzhen and stopped in alarm.

Shen Yangge tried to escape Chu Xuanzhen after the Imperial Guards caught the assassin, but Chu Xuanzhen tracked him down and exposed his golden eyes. Chu Xuanzhen held him and declared that he had caught him.

• Yong Guanghui returned with the captured assassin and told Chu Xuanzhen that Shen Yangge had run in a particular direction.
• Shen Yangge tried to flee through a dog hole, but Chu Xuanzhen caught him by the back of his clothes.
• Shen Yangge claimed he had been looking for other assassins and tried to distract Chu Xuanzhen with extravagant compliments.
• Chu Xuanzhen lifted Shen Yangge into his arms, raised his chin, and saw his golden eyes.
• Chu Xuanzhen held Shen Yangge and said, "I've caught you."

Chu Xuanzhen carried Shen Yangge back to the Eastern Palace and confronted him about trying to leave, while Shen Yangge worried that Chu Xuanzhen’s condition was worsening. Shen Yangge embraced him until Chu Xuanzhen seemed to recover, but Chu Xuanzhen still questioned when he would return to normal.

• Chu Xuanzhen carried Shen Yangge away from the Imperial Medical Bureau despite an Old Imperial Physician asking where he was taking his apprentice.
• Chu Xuanzhen brought Shen Yangge to the candle-filled palace hall and threw him onto a wooden bed.
• Shen Yangge noticed Chu Xuanzhen seemed unable to see clearly and hugged him, calling his name repeatedly.
• Chu Xuanzhen closed his eyes, pulled Shen Yangge close, and asked where he had thought he could run.
• Shen Yangge denied trying to escape and asked whether Chu Xuanzhen felt unwell, while Chu Xuanzhen asked when he would turn back into a normal person.

Shen Yangge tried to change the subject as Chu Xuanzhen interrogated him about running away, but their confrontation ended when Shen Yangge fainted. Chu Xuanzhen insisted he would not let Shen Yangge die and summoned an imperial physician.

• Shen Yangge complained that the candlelit palace was stuffy, but Chu Xuanzhen pressed him about whether he would run away again.
• Shen Yangge tried to strike Chu Xuanzhen with his Dragon Horns, then pleaded to be put down and was returned to the bed.
• Chu Xuanzhen demanded that Shen Yangge tell the truth and asked why he wanted to die; Shen Yangge insisted he did not want to die.
• Shen Yangge fainted, and Chu Xuanzhen knocked over the oil lamps before declaring he would not let him die.
• Chu Xuanzhen ordered his death sworn guards to summon an imperial physician and extinguished the palace lights.

After Shen Yangge fainted from heatstroke, Chu Xuanzhen’s madness intensified, and he seemed to sense System 615 nearby. Physician Cui examined Shen Yangge, discovered his golden horns, and watched him wake with golden eyes.

• Chu Xuanzhen ordered an unseen presence to come out and drove his sword into the bed beside Shen Yangge’s face, frightening System 615.
• Physician Cui entered the dark hall, saw its wreckage, and mistook Chu Xuanzhen’s questions about Physician Liu for a threat.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked Physician Cui to keep quiet about what he saw and directed him to examine Shen Yangge.
• Physician Cui found golden horns on Shen Yangge, diagnosed mild heatstroke, and had the windows opened to bring in fresh air.
• Shen Yangge opened his golden eyes, leaving Physician Cui stunned.

Shen Yangge woke after fainting and was examined by Imperial Physician Cui, who prescribed medicine for the itching and pressure around his horns and eyes. After the physician left, Chu Xuanzhen transformed Shen Yangge into a dragon by squeezing his horns, then covered them both and fell asleep with Shen Yangge curled around him.

• Imperial Physician Cui examined Shen Yangge, asked about his symptoms, and prescribed ointment and medicine for him.
• After Imperial Physician Cui and his apprentice left, Shen Yangge asked Chu Xuanzhen whether he was well, and Chu Xuanzhen accused him of wanting to take his life.
• Chu Xuanzhen squeezed Shen Yangge's horns, transforming him into a golden dragon.
• Chu Xuanzhen pulled the covers over himself and Shen Yangge, then fell asleep while Shen Yangge protested the heat.
• Shen Yangge eventually got used to the warmth and slept curled around Chu Xuanzhen for the rest of the night.

Shen Yangge woke to find himself tangled with Chu Xuanzhen and endured another humiliating encounter before Chu Xuanzhen left to handle official business. Shen Yangge tried to leave the palace, only to discover Chu Xuanzhen had ordered the guards to keep him inside.

• Shen Yangge woke with his dragon body tangled in Chu Xuanzhen's clothes and his tail caught at Chu Xuanzhen's thigh.
• Chu Xuanzhen woke, stopped Shen Yangge from moving, and later carried him to the mirror to wash his face.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked whether Shen Yangge wanted to stay with him, then told him to behave while he handled official business.
• Shen Yangge tried to leave the palace after Chu Xuanzhen departed, but the death sworn guards blocked him under Chu Xuanzhen's orders.

Shen Yangge escaped his palace after Ministry of Justice fighters and intruders searched for him, then made his way to the Golden Throne Hall. There he found the First Prince accusing Chu Xuanzhen of poisoning the emperor and claiming a child with golden Dragon Horns had chosen him as ruler, while Chu Xuanzhen denied that the child was the Dragon Child.

• Shen Yangge hid from intruders who entered his palace through the roof and searched for him.
• Shen Yangge escaped through a window in an Imperial Medical Bureau attendant's uniform and followed System 615's directions through the palace.
• Shen Yangge reached the Golden Throne Hall and saw Chu Xuanzhen facing the First Prince, who held a child with golden Dragon Horns.
• The First Prince accused Chu Xuanzhen of poisoning the emperor and claimed the Dragon Child had chosen him to rule Great Chu.
• Chu Xuanzhen declared that the child in the First Prince's arms was not the Dragon Child.

Shen Yangge emerged during the First Prince’s failed bid to seize power and revealed himself as the true Dragon Child. He transformed into a golden dragon beside Chu Xuanzhen, exposing the child held by the First Prince as an impostor.

• The First Prince ordered his men to capture Chu Xuanzhen, while Shen Yangge hid and watched the battle unfold.
• Yong Guanghui and the Imperial Guards joined Chu Xuanzhen’s side, but masked fighters in white and purple overwhelmed them until the Eighth Prince arrived with reinforcements.
• After the First Prince’s faction lost the battle, he used the child in his arms to urge the ministers to recognize him as Heaven’s chosen ruler, and some ministers knelt.
• Shen Yangge ran to Chu Xuanzhen, declared himself the true Dragon Child, and pressed Chu Xuanzhen’s hand to his Dragon Horns.
• Shen Yangge transformed into a golden dragon coiled around Chu Xuanzhen and denounced the First Prince’s child as an impostor.

Shen Yangge revealed himself as a divine Golden Dragon and declared the First Prince unfit to be the Chosen One, ending the palace coup in Chu Xuanzhen’s favor. After the First Prince’s faction was taken away, Chu Xuanzhen rejected a minister’s offer to find the dragon a place to rest, while the minister began to mention Dragonkind’s love of treasure.

• Shen Yangge appeared as a divine Golden Dragon, and the ministers and guards knelt before him.
• The First Prince tried to attack Chu Xuanzhen, but a minister tripped him and Shen Yangge’s warriors restrained him.
• Shen Yangge listed the First Prince’s crimes and declared that he was not qualified to be the Chosen One.
• Chu Xuanzhen ordered the First Prince taken to the Heavenly Prison, and Imperial Guards led away his faction.
• Shen Yangge silenced a minister who challenged his support for Chu Xuanzhen, and the ministers then acknowledged the Crown Prince.
• Chu Xuanzhen refused a minister’s offer to find Shen Yangge somewhere to rest as the minister began to mention Dragonkind’s love of gold, silver, and jewels.

After Shen Yangge’s appearance as a dragon sparked a frenzy across Great Chu, he remained confined with Chu Xuanzhen and sulked over his lost chance at wealth. Chu Xuanzhen returned to apply ointment to Shen Yangge’s horns, and their intimate moment was interrupted by a knock at the hall door.

• Chu Xuanzhen rebuked a minister for suggesting the dragon might be a slander, and the ministers left after admiring Shen Yangge.
• Word spread through Great Chu’s Capital City that a divine dragon had chosen Chu Xuanzhen, prompting people to flock to the palace and commission dragon paintings.
• Shen Yangge sat by the hall entrance, watched the courtyard birds, and wondered why Chu Xuanzhen had been away for several days.
• Chu Xuanzhen returned, carried Shen Yangge inside, and applied ointment to his Dragon Horns while teasing him about sleeping alone.
• Someone knocked at the hall’s door after Chu Xuanzhen finished applying the ointment.

Chu Xuanzhen ordered the Eighth Prince to accompany a new magistrate to Lingnan, but the prince avoided the assignment by raising concerns about foreign envoys arriving together. After Shen Yangge was attacked by an envoy who wanted to meet the dragon child, Chu Xuanzhen agreed to take him to the Shen Residence, and Shen Yangge cautiously asked for a few days off.

• Chu Xuanzhen ordered the Eighth Prince to accompany a newly appointed county magistrate to Lingnan, but the Eighth Prince tried to refuse.
• The Eighth Prince warned Chu Xuanzhen that envoys from several small countries were arriving together, and Chu Xuanzhen ordered him to investigate.
• At night, an envoy from Hanpu entered Shen Yangge's room, and Shen Yangge knocked him down before the Death Soldiers seized him.
• Chu Xuanzhen returned, carried Shen Yangge back inside, and wiped the dust from his bare feet.
• Chu Xuanzhen agreed to take Shen Yangge to the Shen Residence, and Shen Yangge asked for a few days off while promising not to run away.

Shen Yangge left the palace under the Eighth Prince’s protection as foreign envoys and political factions intensified their pressure on Great Chu. System 615 warned that the plot was advancing early and revealed that a database failure could prevent Shen Yangge from returning to his original world if he delayed his mission.

• The Eighth Prince took Shen Yangge out of the palace in a carriage, hid him from onlookers, and brought him to his mansion because the palace was unsafe.
• Envoys from other countries gathered outside the Eighth Prince's Mansion to demand an audience with the Divine Dragon, while the Eighth Prince worried about threats from foreign powers and rival factions.
• System 615 urged Shen Yangge to leave before the female lead appeared and warned that the male lead might ascend the throne ahead of schedule.
• System 615 revealed that it could not contact the Main System and suspected a database problem that had caused plot events to happen early.
• System 615 warned that a crash could leave Shen Yangge unable to return to his original world, leaving him stunned and uncertain.

Shen Yangge decided to reveal himself to the envoys gathered outside the Eighth Prince's Mansion, while secretly planning to leave Chu Xuanzhen before their feelings deepened. He planned to appear at sunset, when he could blend into the departing crowds.

• System 615 apologized after accidentally disconnecting and warned Shen Yangge that it would notify him a day before breaking down.
• Savage wilderness envoys grew angry when the Eighth Prince refused to receive them, then pounded and kicked his gates as commoners looked on.
• The commoners defended the Eighth Prince and mocked the envoys, who stopped kicking the gates but vowed to wait outside.
• The Eighth Prince asked Shen Yangge whether he wanted to show himself, and Shen Yangge agreed despite his private plan to leave Chu Xuanzhen.
• Shen Yangge chose sunset for his appearance so he could slip into the crowd, and the Eighth Prince went to prepare for the outing.

Shen Yangge paraded through the streets in a ceremonial carriage, winning the awe of the common people and the foreign envoys. When the crowd surged and fell into chaos, he saw a chance to escape.

• The Eighth Prince prepared a street procession for Shen Yangge, who asked that it remain welcoming rather than overly solemn.
• Shen Yangge rode out in a lantern-lit carriage as the common people knelt to honor him, and he told them to rise.
• Young women scattered petals and sweets while Shen Yangge revealed his golden eyes and Dragon Horns to the crowd.
• Foreign envoys, frightened by the real dragon child, hurried after the carriage to apologize and offer tribute, but Shen Yangge ignored them.
• The procession turned chaotic as people chased after Shen Yangge, and he recognized the confusion as his best chance to leave.

Shen Yangge disguised himself and fled the parade, evading the Eighth Prince and Chu Xuanzhen’s search. He hid in Capital City’s largest beggars’ den to wait out the night, unaware that someone had arrived beside him.

• Little Dragon disappeared from the carriage, and the Eighth Prince sent guards to search while reassuring the crowd that the dragon child had returned to his dragon palace.
• Chu Xuanzhen heard Shen Yangge was missing and raced toward the palace gates, leaving his death sworn guards struggling to keep up.
• Shen Yangge concealed his golden eyes and Dragon Horns, dirtied his face and clothes, and avoided the guards searching the alley.
• System 615 warned Shen Yangge that Chu Xuanzhen might be watching the city gates, so Shen Yangge decided to hide until morning.
• Shen Yangge followed System 615’s directions to the largest beggars’ den, covered his head, and closed his eyes without noticing someone arrive.

Shen Yangge disguised himself as a beggar named Wang Gousheng to evade the search for him, then encountered Su Huaihuan while waiting near the city gate. He recognized her as the woman connected to a dying man’s hairpin, but had left the hairpin behind and expected to leave the Capital City without returning it.

• Shen Yangge told the investigators he was a beggar named Wang Gousheng and denied seeing any children his age, convincing them to leave.
• Shen Yangge stayed in the beggars’ den overnight, traded malt sugar candy for a small knife, and cut his clothes to make them look ragged.
• Shen Yangge avoided search parties and spotted the Eighth Prince guarding the city gate, then waited in an alley for his punishment to end.
• Su Huaihuan offered Shen Yangge a steamed bun and invited him to come live at the Su residence.
• Shen Yangge recognized Su Huaihuan but realized he had left her hairpin in the Eastern Palace; he declined the bun, and she urged him to take it anyway.

Shen Yangge tried to avoid being recognized while his punishment turned him into a child, but a fleeing thug took him hostage and carried him beyond the city. As the punishment neared its end, Shen Yangge escaped the thug and hid in bushes while his pursuers approached.

• Shen Yangge noticed the Eighth Prince's soldiers investigating a street disturbance and worried they would expose his identity.
• A fleeing thug grabbed Shen Yangge as a hostage, and Su Huaihuan stopped the soldiers from attacking by claiming he belonged to the Su household.
• The thug escaped through the city gate with Shen Yangge, despite the Eighth Prince threatening him with a bow and arrow.
• The thug fled on horseback, but Shen Yangge clung to him and convinced him to carry him along until the pursuers were farther away.
• The thug eventually threw Shen Yangge onto the grass, and Shen Yangge hid in bushes as the approaching hoofbeats drew near.

Shen Yangge escaped Capital City and reached a small town, while Chu Xuanzhen realized the Dragon Child had fled and pursued the trail of a little beggar. After questioning Su Huaihuan about the beggar, Chu Xuanzhen learned what had happened before Shen Yangge left.

• Shen Yangge changed back to his adult body, left Capital City, and reached a small town after a day of travel.
• Shen Yangge tried to find work, then considered begging but lacked even a bowl; a local beggar showed him how to beg.
• Chu Xuanzhen found Shen Yangge’s discarded robe, recognized that the little figure he had seen was his little liar, and ordered his death soldiers to gather the beggars in Capital City.
• Chu Xuanzhen found Shen Yangge among none of the beggars and concluded that he had left Capital City.
• Chu Xuanzhen learned that a criminal and a little beggar had left the city, then ordered Su Huaihuan brought to him.
• Su Huaihuan explained that she had found the little beggar, offered to take him into her household, and later saw him taken hostage by a criminal.

Chu Xuanzhen learned the emperor had killed Prince Anping and that he himself was not the emperor’s son, then left Capital City to search for Shen Yangge. Shen Yangge sensed he was being watched and fled Hibiscus Mountain under cover of night.

• Chu Xuanzhen found a scrap of cloth on the country path and concluded that the missing boy had already left the outskirts of Capital City.
• Chu Xuanzhen gave the Eighth Prince portraits of Shen Yangge and ordered him to capture Shen Yangge without injuring him.
• The emperor revealed that Chu Xuanzhen was Prince Anping’s son, not his own, and admitted responsibility for Prince Anping’s death and the South Seas Curse-Head Sorcery.
• Chu Xuanzhen left the emperor’s bedside, while the emperor later lost consciousness and Chu Xuanzhen rejected the ministers’ pleas to ascend the throne.
• After a Death Soldier reported that Shen Yangge had stayed in Hibiscus Mountain, Chu Xuanzhen left Capital City and rode toward the town.
• Shen Yangge suspected his identity had been exposed and fled Hibiscus Mountain at night.

Shen Yangge fled far from Capital City and built a new life as a bookkeeper, hoping to complete his mission and escape the world before Chu Xuanzhen found him. After a month, he was sent to welcome an honored visitor and discovered that Chu Xuanzhen had tracked him down.

• Shen Yangge traveled through the night, passed a village, and rested in a tree before continuing his journey.
• After several days, Shen Yangge reached a border city, entered with help from a young lady, and decided to abandon his disguise.
• Shen Yangge found work as a bookkeeper in a wealthy household and gradually gained the trust of two stewards while planning to provoke his own death.
• A month later, Shen Yangge was assigned to attend the household master as he welcomed an honored visitor from out of town.
• At the city gate, Shen Yangge recognized the honored visitor as Chu Xuanzhen, who had tracked him there.

Shen Yangge tried to escape the estate after spotting Chu Xuanzhen, but he was caught sneaking out through the back gate. Zhang Xiaoshi ordered him to go see Steward Zuo, leaving Shen Yangge's escape in jeopardy.

• Shen Yangge spotted Chu Xuanzhen arriving and fled into the crowd before the man could confront him.
• Shen Yangge returned to his quarters, packed his belongings, and stayed inside when he heard Chu Xuanzhen approaching the estate.
• Shen Yangge spent the afternoon hiding and learned from another servant that Chu Xuanzhen was an important guest from Capital City.
• Shen Yangge tried to sneak out through the back gate during the banquet, but Zhang Xiaoshi caught him with his bundle and told him to see Steward Zuo.

Shen Yangge escaped the estate and hid overnight, but Chu Xuanzhen’s men ambushed him outside the city gates the next morning. Chu Xuanzhen caught up with him and declared that he had nowhere left to run.

• Shen Yangge tricked Zhang Xiaoshi and fled the estate, prompting Steward Zuo to report his escape to the master.
• Chu Xuanzhen ordered his guards to pursue Shen Yangge, frightening the master and his guests.
• Shen Yangge found the city gates closed and hid beneath an offering table in a ruined shrine for the night.
• At dawn, Shen Yangge blended into the crowd leaving through the city gate, but Chu Xuanzhen’s men emerged from hiding and surrounded him.
• Chu Xuanzhen stepped on Shen Yangge’s bundle, gripped his cheeks, and told him he had nowhere left to run.

Chu Xuanzhen brought Shen Yangge back from Ji Guangchun’s estate after finding him disguised as a servant named Wang Gousheng. Back in their room, Chu Xuanzhen kissed him insistently, while Shen Yangge tried to stop things from going further.

• Chu Xuanzhen carried Shen Yangge back into Ji Guangchun’s estate after finding him there.
• The Eighth Prince told Ji Guangchun that the servant Wang Gousheng was Shen Yangge, the court official favored by Chu Xuanzhen, and warned everyone not to disturb them.
• Chu Xuanzhen carried Shen Yangge to a room and kissed him repeatedly.
• Shen Yangge bit Chu Xuanzhen’s lip, clutched his clothes, and begged him not to continue.
• Chu Xuanzhen said he did not mind Shen Yangge’s lack of interest, leaving Shen Yangge inwardly furious.

Chu Xuanzhen cornered Shen Yangge and tried to make him promise not to run away again, while Shen Yangge resisted his possessive advances. A flashback revealed how Chu Xuanzhen had tracked him down and how anxiously he had prepared for their reunion.

• Shen Yangge tried to reason with Chu Xuanzhen, but Chu Xuanzhen pulled him back when he tried to flee and called him a little liar.
• Chu Xuanzhen wiped away Shen Yangge’s disguise and demanded to know whether he meant his promise not to run away again.
• Shen Yangge cursed and kicked Chu Xuanzhen as he refused to stop kissing him, while the Eighth Prince waited outside the room and left.
• Half a month earlier, Chu Xuanzhen had sealed escape routes around the small city and enlisted the Ji Mansion’s informants to find Shen Yangge.
• Chu Xuanzhen had arrived at the city gate, spotted Shen Yangge in the crowd, and restrained himself from confronting him too harshly.