Chapter Summaries

Shen Yangge hid from Chu Xuanzhen overnight, then disguised himself as an apprentice to evade an inspection at the Imperial Medical Bureau. He found himself trapped in the inspection group just as Chu Xuanzhen arrived to conduct it personally.

• Shen Yangge stayed hidden while Chu Xuanzhen searched the room, then told Little Bamboo Shoot that people wanted to eat him to become immortal.
• The next morning, Little Bamboo Shoot learned that the apprentices would be inspected and warned Shen Yangge that Ministry of Justice staff would search the rooms.
• Little Bamboo Shoot brought Shen Yangge to join the gathered apprentices, suggesting he blend in with a newly assigned group of children.
• An apprentice mistook Shen Yangge for Xiao Zhi and called him the third junior brother, and Shen Yangge reluctantly went along with the lie.
• Shen Yangge recognized Chu Xuanzhen at the courtyard entrance and realized the Crown Prince was personally conducting the inspection.

Shen Yangge avoided being exposed during the Imperial Medical Bureau inspection and took Xiao Zhi’s place in his room, where he met the real Xiao Zhi and convinced him to stay inside. At the Vast Orchid Palace, Chu Xuanzhen discovered that someone had presented an impostor as the missing young master.

• Shen Yangge and Little Bamboo Shoot stayed quiet as the Crown Prince’s men searched the Imperial Medical Bureau for the abducted child.
• Chu Xuanzhen began checking the children, but news that the young master was at the Vast Orchid Palace drew him away before Shen Yangge’s turn.
• Shen Yangge returned to Xiao Zhi’s room and found the real Xiao Zhi hiding under the bed.
• Shen Yangge persuaded Xiao Zhi that dangerous monsters were outside and told him not to open the door to strangers.
• At the Vast Orchid Palace, Chu Xuanzhen saw a child being presented as the young master, kicked a eunuch, and accused them of using an impostor.

Chu Xuanzhen and Su Shang uncovered a disguised child and learned that Consort Ru had ordered the eunuch to help, but the eunuch died before revealing more. With Shen Yangge still missing, Chu Xuanzhen ordered Su Shang to find the mastermind and returned to the Imperial Medical Bureau to question its steward about the captured assassins.

• Su Shang removed the child’s human-skin mask and discovered that the eunuch had followed Consort Ru’s orders.
• Chu Xuanzhen killed the eunuch when he tried to attack with a vial of poison, then ordered Su Shang to identify the mastermind by the middle of the month.
• Su Shang went to the Shen Residence looking for Lord Shen but found that he was not there.
• Chu Xuanzhen returned to the Imperial Medical Bureau and learned that its two captured assassins had been handed over to the Ministry of Justice.
• Chu Xuanzhen told the steward to notify him immediately if the Imperial Medical Bureau discovered anything.

Chu Xuanzhen left the Imperial Medical Bureau after failing to hear Shen Yangge’s thoughts and went to the Ministry of Justice. While Shen Yangge hid Xiao Zhi and covered his Dragon Horns, Consort Ru panicked after learning she had been exposed, until Chu Xuanzhen arrived to confront her.

• Chu Xuanzhen ordered the assassins kept alive, waited in the Imperial Medical Bureau for Shen Yangge’s thoughts, then left for the Ministry of Justice.
• Shen Yangge instructed Xiao Zhi to hide from the Ministry of Justice and helped him rest in their room.
• When Xiao Zhi’s eldest senior brother brought osmanthus cakes, Shen Yangge pretended to be ill, and Xiao Zhi later spotted Shen Yangge’s Dragon Horns.
• Consort Ru learned her identity had been exposed, suspected the human-skin mask had revealed her, and ordered the maid who brought it seized.
• Consort Ru beat her palace maids while demanding to know who had betrayed her, then cowered when Chu Xuanzhen arrived.

Chu Xuanzhen interrogated Consort Ru about the plot to switch the child he had brought back, but the Empress interrupted and realized she had been used as a scapegoat. Consort Ru suddenly died of poison, and the Empress tried to leave after Chu Xuanzhen accused Consort Ru of harboring assassins and colluding with traitors.

• Chu Xuanzhen threatened Consort Ru until she confessed that an unfamiliar palace maid had promised to help her become a noble consort in exchange for switching the child at his side.
• The Empress entered Consort Ru’s palace and reprimanded Chu Xuanzhen for barging into the harem, then realized he had summoned her as a scapegoat.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked the Empress whether she thought he would kill Consort Ru, and she understood that he had been interrogating her.
• Consort Ru screamed, vomited black blood, and died; Chu Xuanzhen ordered someone to examine her body, which showed signs of poisoning.
• Chu Xuanzhen accused Consort Ru of harboring assassins and colluding with traitors, then insisted that an imperial physician examine the Empress when she tried to leave.

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.