Chapter Summaries

Shen Yangge, trapped in a kitten’s body, endured the Crown Prince’s teasing and tried to steal his dinner, leaving himself scalded and the Crown Prince worried enough to summon a physician.

• Xue Pingyuan offered the Crown Prince help on his trip to Lingnan, asked about the scratches on his arm, and watched him leave with Yangyang.
• Back at the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince teased Shen Yangge with an expensive cat wand, then threatened to tether him when he refused to keep playing.
• Shen Yangge expected a fish-and-meat dinner, but the Crown Prince gave him no food, so he tried to knock over the prince’s fish-head soup.
• The soup scalded Shen Yangge’s back and the Crown Prince’s hand; the Crown Prince tended the kitten and ordered the soup taken away.
• When Shen Yangge closed his eyes and did not respond, the Crown Prince summoned Physician Liu, who arrived with his case and prepared to shave the kitten’s fur.

Shen Yangge avoided having his fur shaved while the Crown Prince treated his burns, then watched the Crown Prince defeat three assassins. As Shen Yangge escaped the Eastern Palace to avoid transforming back into a human in front of the Crown Prince, someone caught him.

• The Crown Prince persuaded Physician Liu to teach him how to change Shen Yangge’s dressings instead of shaving off his fur.
• The Crown Prince treated Shen Yangge’s wounds, then fought off three assassins who attacked his bedchamber, killing them with help from his shadow guards.
• Shen Yangge realized the Crown Prince had faked the severity of his arm injury and struggled as the Crown Prince resumed treating him.
• As his transformation back into a human drew near, Shen Yangge slipped free of his tether and escaped the Eastern Palace through a rat hole.
• An angry man grabbed Shen Yangge and threatened to skin him.

The Eleventh Prince tortured Shen Yangge after taking him from the Eastern Palace, while the Crown Prince ordered the deaths of the palace servants who had failed to protect the kitten. The Crown Prince confronted Consort Xue, and the chapter ended as she questioned the Eleventh Prince about taking his cat.

• The Eleventh Prince carried Shen Yangge away and threatened to hurt him.
• Green Willow blamed another maid for Shen Yangge's disappearance, but the Crown Prince ordered the servants beaten to death despite her attempt to plead for their lives.
• The Eleventh Prince repeatedly stabbed Shen Yangge with silver needles until the Crown Prince arrived at Consort Xue's residence.
• Consort Xue summoned the Eleventh Prince and asked whether he had taken the Crown Prince's cat.

The Crown Prince exposed the Eleventh Prince’s role in stealing and injuring his kitten, then rescued the badly weakened animal. The emperor ordered the Eleventh Prince to apologize and the maid to be executed, while Shen Yangge remained unconscious and close to death.

• The Eleventh Prince denied taking the Crown Prince’s cat, but the Crown Prince found cat fur in his quarters and detected the scent of blood on the maid behind him.
• The Crown Prince cut off the maid’s ear, and she revealed the kitten hidden in her sleeve and blamed the Eleventh Prince for ordering the theft.
• When the Eleventh Prince tried to kick the maid, the Crown Prince knocked him down, took the kitten, and severed the maid’s hand.
• The emperor arrived, ordered the Eleventh Prince to apologize, and commanded that the maid be beheaded.
• The Crown Prince ignored the apology and the emperor, summoned Physician Liu to treat the kitten, and Shen Yangge continued to suffer while unconscious.

Physician Liu discovered that the kitten’s hidden needle wounds had left him gravely injured, and the emperor handed the Eleventh Prince over to the Crown Prince for discipline. After Shen Yangge woke from a fever, he watched the Crown Prince have silver needles driven into Chu Hengchuan’s limbs.

• Physician Liu found tiny needle marks on Shen Yangge and warned that his internal injuries left little hope of recovery.
• The emperor’s anger faded when Consort Xue pleaded for Chu Hengchuan, but the Crown Prince took the Eleventh Prince and accepted the emperor’s permission to discipline him.
• Shen Yangge developed a high fever, then woke to find the Crown Prince beside him and realized he had been rescued from Chu Hengchuan.
• The Crown Prince ordered palace maids to stab Chu Hengchuan’s hands and legs with silver needles while avoiding his vital points.
• Shen Yangge felt both satisfaction and fear as he watched the Crown Prince inflict the same kind of torture on Chu Hengchuan.

After escaping the Crown Prince’s cage as a kitten, Shen Yangge turned human and fled into the palace, then got lost while trying to return. Xue Pingyuan spotted him and suspected he was connected to the kitten he had once picked up.

• The Crown Prince kept Shen Yangge caged for several days, then let him out after Physician Liu warned that confinement could make him seriously ill.
• Shen Yangge used a tight chain to make the Crown Prince unfasten him, escaped the bedchamber, and turned human as his punishment ended.
• Shen Yangge climbed over the Eastern Palace wall and ran through the palace, but feared being caught by the guards and became lost.
• Xue Pingyuan saw Shen Yangge jump down from a wall, noticed his furry ears, and secretly followed him, wondering if he was the kitten he had once picked up.

Shen Yangge fled the Imperial Guards and ended up outside Guangming Palace, where the Crown Prince rescued him and claimed he was a minor official who attended him. The Crown Prince took Shen Yangge away, leaving Xue Pingyuan captivated by the boy and suspicious of their relationship.

• Xue Pingyuan saw Shen Yangge in prison clothes and was struck by his beauty and catlike ears.
• Shen Yangge accidentally reached Guangming Palace and was spotted by patrolling Imperial Guards, who chased him and split up to surround him.
• The Crown Prince pulled Shen Yangge into his arms as the guards caught up, and Commander Yong Guanghui saluted him.
• The Crown Prince told Yong Guanghui that Shen Yangge was a minor official who attended him, then refused Xue Pingyuan's offer of help.
• Xue Pingyuan asked Shen Yangge whether he was called Shen Zhuanxie, but the Crown Prince grabbed his wrist and took him back to retire.

The Crown Prince brought Shen Yangge back to the Eastern Palace, ordered him to undress and bathe, then approached him with an unsettling gaze. The chapter ended with the Crown Prince raising a hand toward Shen Yangge, who expected him to strangle him.

• Shen Yangge warned Xue Pingyuan to leave the palace, and the Crown Prince carried Shen Yangge back to the Eastern Palace.
• The Crown Prince ordered Shen Yangge to strip, then told him to bathe and change after inspecting him.
• Shen Yangge nearly drowned after becoming dizzy in the bath, and the Crown Prince watched him from nearby.
• After Shen Yangge dressed, the Crown Prince moved close and stared at his neck before raising a hand.

After Shen Yangge returned from fifteen days missing, the Crown Prince questioned him about his healed neck wound and brought him to bed. Shen Yangge tried to keep his distance, but the Crown Prince pressed close, and Shen Yangge began climbing over him when something mortifying happened.

• The Crown Prince touched Shen Yangge’s hair and neck, while Shen Yangge claimed he had escaped from a villain who held him captive for fifteen days.
• Shen Yangge tripped on his long robe and accidentally exposed himself, then hurried out when the Crown Prince told him to leave.
• The Crown Prince bathed in the used water and rested his head where Shen Yangge had leaned.
• The Crown Prince caught Shen Yangge and asked when the wound on his neck had healed; Shen Yangge said he was healthy and did not know why the scar had vanished.
• The Crown Prince pulled Shen Yangge onto the bed and told him to move inside, then pressed close as Shen Yangge tried to climb over him.

Shen Yangge accidentally loosened the Crown Prince’s underrobe and feared he would be punished, but the Crown Prince seized his foot and threatened to cut off his leg to keep him by his side. Shen Yangge tried to save his leg by pleading that he was useful as a chronicler, while the Crown Prince continued holding him.

• Shen Yangge’s toes caught on the Crown Prince’s underrobe ties, and he accidentally loosened them while trying to step away.
• Shen Yangge pulled his foot back, opening the underrobe, then hurriedly pulled it closed again.
• The Crown Prince took Shen Yangge’s foot and rubbed the mole on his ankle, making Shen Yangge shudder.
• The Crown Prince asked whether Shen Yangge would behave and stay by his side if he lost a leg.
• Shen Yangge caught the Crown Prince’s reaching hand and argued that he needed his leg to serve as the Crown Prince’s chronicler.
• The Crown Prince kept kneading Shen Yangge’s foot as Shen Yangge begged him to execute him quickly instead.

The Crown Prince teased Shen Yangge before five assassins attacked them in the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince killed one attacker, and Shen Yangge taunted the remaining four while clinging to him.

• The Crown Prince held Shen Yangge’s foot and called him catlike, while Shen Yangge worried that he had discovered his secret.
• System 615 noted that the Crown Prince should have been suffering an episode and that his beloved palace maid would likely return to the inner chambers soon.
• An assassin plunged a sword toward the bed, and the Crown Prince swept Shen Yangge into his arms as five attackers surrounded them.
• Shen Yangge clung to the Crown Prince as the assassins declared that they intended to kill the Crown Prince and take Shen Yangge.
• The Crown Prince killed one assassin with a dagger, and Shen Yangge taunted the four survivors.

Shen Yangge and the Crown Prince survived an assassin attack, but the Crown Prince bit Shen Yangge’s neck, prompting Shen Yangge to bite him back and trigger a characterization penalty. As the punishment countdown ended, Shen Yangge fled to use the privy, with the Crown Prince following him.

• The Crown Prince killed several assassins who attacked them, becoming especially vicious after one cut Shen Yangge’s neck.
• The remaining four assassins fled, but the Crown Prince activated a hidden mechanism that shot arrows and killed them.
• The Crown Prince bit Shen Yangge’s neck, and Shen Yangge fought back by biting the Crown Prince’s ear, triggering a system warning and penalty countdown.
• Shen Yangge reminded himself to stay in character and asked to use the privy while waiting for the penalty.
• With only seconds left before the punishment, Shen Yangge ran for the door, and the Crown Prince followed him.

Shen Yangge suffered a fifteen-day skin hunger punishment that made him struggle to breathe unless someone held his hand. The Crown Prince kept him close and insisted he use the toilet in his bedchamber, leaving Shen Yangge unable to relieve himself in private.

• System 615 told Shen Yangge that his skin hunger punishment required him to find someone to hold hands with or risk suffocating.
• The Crown Prince caught Shen Yangge by the wrist, easing his symptoms, and declared that Shen Yangge belonged to him.
• The Crown Prince led Shen Yangge back to his bedchamber and ordered him to use the toilet there.
• Shen Yangge refused and made excuses, but the Crown Prince offered to help and said he would wait outside.
• Shen Yangge began to relieve himself behind the screen, then spotted the Crown Prince still standing just beyond it.

Shen Yangge’s skin-hunger punishment struck again, forcing the Crown Prince to catch and comfort him before summoning Physician Liu. The Crown Prince refused Shen Yangge’s request for leave and ordered him to remain within sight; at dawn, Yong Guanghui arrived with Imperial Guards to escort Shen out, and the Crown Prince challenged his authority.

• Shen Yangge nearly suffocated after relieving himself, and the Crown Prince caught him and brought him to bed.
• The Crown Prince summoned Physician Liu, but Shen Yangge insisted he was well and the physician left without understanding the problem.
• Shen Yangge asked for time off, but the Crown Prince refused and warned him not to leave his sight.
• Yong Guanghui arrived with Imperial Guards to escort Shen Yangge out of the Eastern Palace, and the Crown Prince demanded to know who had authorized him.

Shen Yangge left the palace for his family home with the Crown Prince, who insisted on accompanying him. There, Shen Mother planned to reclaim the family businesses from Shen Zhi, and the next morning Shen Yangge realized he had apparently shared a bed with the Crown Prince again.

• Shen Yangge asked to leave the palace, and the Crown Prince agreed only on the condition that he would go with him.
• Shen Yangge returned to the Shen residence with the Crown Prince, where Shen Mother tearfully welcomed him.
• Shen Mother told Shen Yangge she planned to reclaim the Jinxiu Xian Tian Fragrance House and Dragon Silk Workshop from Shen Zhi, and Shen Yangge offered to accompany her.
• The next morning, Shen Yangge woke to find the Crown Prince beside his bed and suspected they had shared it overnight.
• System 615 explained that a database problem had kept it from reminding Shen Yangge about his Skin Hunger Syndrome.

Shen Yangge returned to the Shen Residence with the Crown Prince to demand Shen Mother's dowry, and confronted Shen Zhi's wife at the gates. After a little girl named Ming Yan kissed his cheek, the jealous Crown Prince cornered him in the corridor.

• Shen Yangge brought Shen Mother and the Crown Prince to the Shen Residence and demanded the return of her dowry and its accumulated income.
• Shen Zhi's wife insulted Shen Mother, so the disguised Crown Prince held a sword to her neck and wounded her before they entered the residence.
• While Shen Yangge waited for Shen Zhi, Ming Yan climbed onto his lap and kissed his cheek.
• The Crown Prince's jealousy darkened his expression, and he later pinched Shen Yangge's cheek and asked whether Ming Yan's lips had been soft.

Shen Yangge and the Crown Prince fought before Shen Mother confronted Shen Zhi over the family’s treatment of her and demanded control of her businesses. The chapter ended with Shen Yangge challenging Shen Zhi to face an investigation by the emperor.

• The Crown Prince bit Shen Yangge’s cheek, and Shen Yangge grabbed his hair until Shen Zhi’s voice interrupted them.
• Shen Zhi insulted Shen Mother and Shen Yangge, but Shen Mother stood up to him and declared she would never return to the Shen Residence.
• Shen Mother demanded the deeds and control of the Jinxiu Xian Tian Fragrance House and the Dragon Silk Workshop in Capital City.
• Shen Zhi refused to give up the businesses and tried to slap Shen Yangge, who knocked his hand aside.
• Shen Yangge threatened to take the dispute to the Government Office or the emperor and reminded Shen Zhi that the Crown Prince had given him his official post.

The Crown Prince revealed his identity and stopped Shen Zhi from having Shen Yangge and the others seized. He punished Shen Zhi by taking his family’s businesses and ordering them to leave their residence, which he gave to Shen Zhuanxie.

• Shen Zhi ordered his guards to seize Shen Mother, Shen Yangge, and the others, but Shen Yangge claimed the Crown Prince was among them.
• Shen Zhi accused the veiled man of impersonating the Crown Prince and pointed a sword at him.
• The Crown Prince revealed himself, made Shen Zhi and the guards kneel, and accused them of deceiving the sovereign.
• The Crown Prince threatened to send Shen Zhi’s entire family to Lingnan, and Shen Zhi offered up his businesses to escape that fate.
• The Crown Prince claimed the Jinxiu Xian Tian Fragrance House and Dragon Silk Workshop, ordered Shen Zhi’s family to pack, and gave their residence to Shen Zhuanxie.

After the Crown Prince seized control of the Shen Residence, Shen Yangge and Shen Mother took charge of its accounts while Shen Zhi secretly waited for the prince to leave. On the journey to the palace, the Crown Prince admitted he could not stand Shen Yangge getting close to others, leaving Shen Yangge to assume it was jealousy over a kiss.

• The Crown Prince humiliated the Shen Residence women who had defied him, while Shen Zhi stayed silent and Shen Susu fled to send a letter about marrying Yun.
• Soldiers surrounded the Shen Residence, and the Crown Prince ordered its account books handed to Shen Yangge as the new master of the household.
• Shen Yangge discovered he could not read the accounts, so Shen Mother checked them and agreed to manage the household's affairs.
• Shen Zhi glared at Shen Yangge and Shen Mother and secretly anticipated the Crown Prince's departure, but the prince noticed his calculating look.
• The Crown Prince and Shen Yangge traveled to the palace after the guards were killed and the crying woman's face was slashed.
• The Crown Prince asked why he had bitten Shen Yangge, then said he could not stand seeing him get close to others; Shen Yangge promised to keep his distance and guessed the prince disliked someone else kissing him.

Shen Yangge learned that Chu Xuanzhen would take him on a dangerous journey to Lingnan, where the Crown Prince promised his mother he would keep him safe. During a rest on the road, Shen Yangge discovered that Chu Xuanzhen was also bringing Shen Zhi and the Shen family along for punishment.

• After securing the emperor's agreement to punish Shen Zhi, Chu Xuanzhen ordered supplies prepared for the journey to Lingnan.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge he would accompany him to Lingnan, then went with him to inform Mother Shen and promised she would not lose her son while he lived.
• Mother Shen warned Shen Yangge about Lingnan's famine, bandits, local tyrants, and plague, but accepted that the royal command could not be refused.
• When they departed, Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge to use his name outside the capital, and Shen Yangge nervously called him Chu Xuanzhen.
• At a roadside stop, Shen Yangge saw Shen Zhi and the Shen family traveling with them; Chu Xuanzhen clarified that they had been spared death, not punishment.