Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Physician Liu discovers that Shen Yangge’s neck is badly bruised, apparently from a bite. He treats the injury with acupuncture and gives the Crown Prince Spring Balm, instructing him to apply it after Shen Yangge bathes.
• The Crown Prince orders Shen Yangge to remain in the Eastern Palace for several days and says he will notify Shen Yangge’s mother. Shen objects but cannot refuse.
• After considering how poorly the original owner was treated at the Shen Residence, Shen Yangge settles into his assigned room.
• The Crown Prince then announces he will spend the night there, insisting Shen Yangge is safest beside him. Shen Yangge doubts this and hopes to sleep elsewhere.
• After dinner and a bath, Shen Yangge is summoned to the Crown Prince’s bedchamber. The Crown Prince tells him to sit on the bed, but Shen repeatedly refuses, calling it improper. The chapter ends with the Crown Prince’s growing impatience.

Character developments

• Shen Yangge remains outwardly deferential but is openly irreverent in his private thoughts. He is anxious about the Crown Prince’s intentions and wants to avoid both physical danger and further punishment.
• The Crown Prince continues to exert control over Shen Yangge, but also takes responsibility for his care and insists on keeping him close. His concern is difficult to distinguish from possessiveness or threat.
• Physician Liu recognizes the seriousness of Shen Yangge’s injury, treats it professionally, and leaves the Crown Prince responsible for applying the ointment.

Significant themes

• Power and coercion: The Crown Prince’s authority leaves Shen Yangge little room to refuse, even when he tries to maintain polite objections.
• Care mixed with danger: The Crown Prince arranges treatment and claims Shen is safest with him, while Shen believes proximity to him is itself dangerous.
• Performance and private thoughts: Shen Yangge’s respectful words sharply contrast with his sarcastic inner commentary, adding humor to the tense relationship.

Character interactions

• Physician Liu treats Shen Yangge while the Crown Prince watches and then accepts responsibility for the ointment.
• The Crown Prince overrules Shen Yangge’s attempt to leave the Eastern Palace and insists on staying near him overnight.
• In the bedchamber, Shen Yangge refuses to sit on the Crown Prince’s bed; the Crown Prince presses him to comply, leaving their uneasy, controlling dynamic unresolved.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Yangge tries to refuse the Crown Prince’s orders but gives in to preserve his role. The Crown Prince insists he drink medicine, dismissing Shen’s claim that he is injured rather than ill.
• Green Willow mocks Shen for being afraid of bitter medicine and suggests serving candied treats afterward. The Crown Prince takes the suggestion literally, orders pastries, and eats them himself—leaving Shen disappointed and annoyed.
• After Shen drinks the medicine, the Crown Prince orders Spring Jade Balm and tells him to hold out his hand, apparently intending to treat his injury.
• Shen’s internal conversation with System 615 turns toward his plan to die by the Crown Prince’s hand. The system suggests stabbing the Crown Prince while he is incapacitated, then fleeing so the hidden guards will witness it. Shen eagerly agrees to proceed.

Character developments

• Shen Yangge remains outwardly compliant but inwardly resents being treated like a pet. His frustration shifts into enthusiasm once the system offers a way to provoke his desired death.
• The Crown Prince shows a possessive, controlling kind of attentiveness: he orders Shen to take medicine and prepares to treat him, while remaining emotionally inscrutable. His childish interest in the pastries also irritates Shen.
• Green Willow conceals her hostility beneath a gentle manner. After her attempt to manipulate the situation fails, she decides to enlist the eunuchs who also want Shen dead.

Significant themes

• Performance versus inner truth: Shen obeys outwardly while privately resisting and plotting.
• Power and control: The Crown Prince dictates Shen’s care, reinforcing Shen’s feeling that he has little agency.
• Jealousy and rivalry: Green Willow’s resentment of Shen drives her to seek allies against him.
• Dark comedy: Shen’s dramatic inner complaints, the Crown Prince eating the pastries himself, and the system’s murder advice create humor amid the threat of violence.

Character interactions

• The Crown Prince overrides Shen’s protests and personally directs his care; Shen reluctantly drinks the medicine and then offers his arm for treatment.
• Green Willow tries to shame Shen and ingratiate herself with the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince’s orders frustrate her. She hides her anger and turns to the hostile eunuchs.
• Shen and System 615 privately discuss how to engineer the Crown Prince’s retaliation, with the system providing a plan that Shen accepts.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• The Crown Prince treats Shen Yangge’s wrist wound with ointment, then points out another injury on Shen’s back that he cannot easily reach.
• Shen’s surprise at the Crown Prince’s touch makes him blush; System 615 explains that the body Shen occupies has several unusually sensitive spots.
• Shen insists on treating the remaining wounds himself. The Crown Prince has Green Willow leave, despite Shen’s attempt to use her presence as a reason to go.
• Under the Crown Prince’s watch, Shen awkwardly applies ointment to his neck, lower back, back, ankle, and calf, eager to finish and escape the embarrassing situation.
• Shen returns to his room and falls asleep without removing his shoes. An alarm from the system wakes him just as an assassin attacks. He dodges the sword, leaving the assassin startled; the chapter ends as the assassin prepares to strike again.

Character developments

• Shen Yangge tries to cultivate the Crown Prince’s favor for his own protection, but grows flustered by the Crown Prince’s attention and by his body’s sensitivity. Despite his scholarly appearance, he reacts quickly to danger.
• The Crown Prince remains composed and attentive while treating Shen’s injuries. His brief, nearly imperceptible reaction to Shen’s bruised leg hints at an unspoken concern or interest.
• Green Willow is dismissed at the Crown Prince’s command and leaves reluctantly, undermining Shen’s assumption that she holds a uniquely favored position.
• System 615 provides information about Shen’s body and later alerts him to the assassination attempt, though it cannot interpret the Crown Prince’s unusual glance.

Significant themes

• Comedic contrast: Shen’s self-serving thoughts and anxious efforts to manage the Crown Prince clash with his visible embarrassment.
• Uncertainty about identity and relationships: Shen’s expectations about the Crown Prince’s favored companions do not match what he sees, leaving him unsure how to interpret events.
• Vulnerability and danger: The intimate care of Shen’s wounds gives way abruptly to a life-threatening attack, showing how precarious his situation remains.
• Appearance versus capability: Shen looks delicate and scholarly, but his quick response to the assassin suggests he is more capable than he appears.

Character interactions

• The Crown Prince gently treats Shen’s wrist and watches as he applies the rest of the ointment, while Shen tries to preserve his modesty and maintain a safe distance.
• Shen invokes Green Willow’s presence to avoid being treated in front of the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince sends her away; Green Willow departs visibly aggrieved.
• System 615 explains Shen’s sensitive spots and later warns him of the assassin, enabling him to evade the first strike.

Key plot points and events

• A black-clad guard saves Shen Yangge from an assassin, killing the attacker after a brief fight. Shen learns the Crown Prince had arranged for protection—and apparently knew assassination attempts were coming.
• The guard introduces himself as Su Shang and advises Shen to take refuge in the Crown Prince’s bedchamber, where weaker assassins cannot enter. Shen refuses, preferring to stay put rather than swallow his pride and return after previously declining the Crown Prince’s offer.
• That night, multiple groups of assassins enter the Eastern Palace from different directions. Shen hides beneath his bed, dagger ready.
• One assassin unexpectedly crawls under the bed, and Shen stabs him in the shoulder. The intruder is kicked back out and later killed by another assassin.
• A man claiming to be Su Shang calls Shen out, but System 615 warns that he is an impostor. The stranger then offers to take Shen away, promising, “I’ll keep you alive for the rest of your life.”

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Yangge remains determined to avoid dependence on the Crown Prince, despite the danger. He is frightened but resourceful, striking the assassin who appears beneath his bed.
• Su Shang is a capable, blunt protector. He tries to persuade Shen to seek safer shelter, but Shen insists on relying on him and fate instead.
• The Crown Prince remains offstage but looms over events: his protection of Shen seems deliberate, and Shen suspects the assassination plot is part of a lesson or larger scheme.
• System 615 continues urging Shen to build a closer relationship with the Crown Prince, while also alerting him to the impostor’s deception.
• The impostor uses Su Shang’s identity to lure Shen out, then reveals a different voice and claims more assassins are approaching.

Significant themes

• Pride versus survival: Shen refuses the safest refuge because returning to the Crown Prince feels humiliating.
• Trust and deception: In a palace full of threats, even a familiar voice may be a trap.
• Fate and agency: Shen speaks as though life and death are matters of fate, yet he repeatedly acts to protect himself.
• Unwanted dependence: Shen resists the Crown Prince’s protection even as his circumstances make it increasingly necessary.

Plot points and events

• Shen Yangge refuses Su Shang’s offer to help him escape, claiming he cannot abandon the Crown Prince. Privately, he fears leaving would put him in even greater danger and remains resigned to the possibility that the Crown Prince may eventually kill him.
• Su Shang accepts his refusal, then warns him to stay in his room because the Crown Prince has sent guards to protect him. Su Shang leaves through a window before Shen can question him.
• Outside the Crown Prince’s bedchamber, assassins attack. The Crown Prince defeats them with startling speed and skill, using a hidden weapon and killing their leader before the hidden guards emerge.
• The Crown Prince reprimands Su Shang for disobeying his order to stay in the side hall and sends him to receive punishment.
• Shen remains hidden under the bed, complaining to System 615 about his sore back and doubting the system’s plan. The Crown Prince enters, finds him, and pulls him out by the neck, noticing a red mark.
• The Crown Prince proposes that Shen share his bed for protection. Shen responds with exaggerated gratitude while privately mocking him and recalling that the previous “accident” nearly got him killed.

Character developments

• Shen Yangge continues to conceal his fear and resentment behind loyal, flattering words. He refuses escape and survives the night by hiding, while remaining skeptical of System 615’s plan.
• The Crown Prince is revealed as far more formidable than his “mad” reputation suggests: he calmly destroys the attackers and has hidden guards positioned nearby. His concern for Shen is expressed possessively and awkwardly, and he remains physically overfamiliar.
• Su Shang shows concern for Shen by offering him a chance to leave and arranging protection, but his disobedience earns him the Crown Prince’s punishment.
• System 615 remains encouraging but not especially reassuring; Shen doubts its confidence and the reliability of its plan.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The Crown Prince’s reputation as mad masks his lethal competence, while Shen’s declarations of loyalty hide fear and hostility.
• Power and protection: The Crown Prince can defend Shen from outside threats, yet his control and intrusive behavior also make Shen feel unsafe.
• Survival through performance: Shen relies on flattery, concealment, and careful self-presentation to navigate danger.
• Bitter comedy: Shen’s grim inner commentary contrasts with his polite speech and the dramatic violence around him.

Character interactions

• Shen refuses Su Shang’s escape offer, and Su Shang leaves after warning him to stay put.
• The Crown Prince punishes Su Shang for leaving his assigned post, despite Su Shang’s protective actions toward Shen.
• The Crown Prince pulls Shen from beneath the bed and suggests sharing his bed; Shen outwardly praises the offer but inwardly resents both the Crown Prince and the danger he associates with him.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• After Shen Yangge says he has no right to seek the Crown Prince’s protection again, the Crown Prince turns to leave—then abruptly grabs him and takes him to his bedchamber.
• Shen settles on a low couch, unaware that the Crown Prince seems displeased. Later, in the pitch-black room, he discovers the Crown Prince standing beside his bed and watching him.
• The Crown Prince is in one of his “mad” episodes. He pins Shen in place, bites his ear, and chases him around the dark chamber. Shen eventually stops and persuades him to play a different game, though the Crown Prince insists he must be able to see Shen.
• Shen spends the rest of the night telling him stories. The Crown Prince remains attentive, and Shen gets a chance to use the privy near dawn.
• Shen tries to exploit the Crown Prince’s obedience during the episode by asking him to issue a death sentence against him. The Crown Prince refuses, insisting that Shen cannot die because he would kill people if he could no longer see him.
• Shen asks why the Crown Prince keeps the lamps unlit. The Crown Prince says light brings bad things. Shen gently argues that nothing bad is happening now, and a flicker of awareness appears in the Crown Prince’s eyes.

Character developments

• Shen Yangge remains frightened and sarcastic, but shows resourcefulness: he redirects the Crown Prince’s dangerous behavior into games and storytelling. He also continues to look for a way to provoke his own execution, though the Crown Prince blocks him.
• The Crown Prince is unpredictable and dangerous during his episode, yet unusually fixated on keeping Shen near and in sight. His refusal to let Shen die—and his brief response to Shen’s reassurance—suggest that Shen may affect him more deeply than Shen realizes.
• System 615 observes that the Crown Prince behaves strangely around Shen, while Shen dismisses the signs and misunderstands the situation.

Significant themes

• Danger mixed with intimacy: The Crown Prince’s threatening behavior coexists with a protective-seeming refusal to let Shen die.
• Misunderstanding and dramatic irony: Shen assumes the Crown Prince has mistaken him for someone else and treats his attachment as part of madness; the reader is left to question that interpretation.
• Trauma and fear: The Crown Prince associates lamplight with catastrophe, hinting at a painful past event.
• Survival through improvisation: Shen’s humor, bargaining, and storytelling help him manage an unpredictable threat.

Character interactions

• Shen and the Crown Prince shift from a tense journey to a nighttime chase, then to a strange game and storytelling session.
• Shen tries to persuade the Crown Prince to turn away, but the Crown Prince refuses because he cannot bear to lose sight of him.
• When Shen requests his own death decree, the Crown Prince firmly refuses and repeats that Shen must live.
• Shen offers reassurance about the lamps, prompting a subtle sign that his words may be reaching the Crown Prince.

Key plot points and events

• The Crown Prince regains his lucidity but remembers nothing of what happened while he was out of his mind. When Shen Yangge asks whether he is lucid, he says no, letting Shen believe he still cannot understand him.
• Shen comforts him, urging him not to fear the dark and promising, “I’m here.” The Crown Prince is deeply moved by Shen’s warmth and sees him as a guiding light.
• Shen falls asleep. The Crown Prince joins him in bed, restrains Shen’s wandering hand, then imitates the gesture by laying an arm across Shen’s throat. Shen wakes up nearly suffocating.
• Green Willow enters with washing water, sees them in bed together, and drops the basin. The Crown Prince dismisses her from his bedchamber.
• Green Willow begs for another chance, then grabs Shen’s leg and asks him to intervene. Shen refuses to get involved, and hidden guards drag her away. The Crown Prince remains unmoved and turns to his official work.

Character developments

• Shen Yangge shows compassion and offers sincere reassurance, even while privately assuming the lucid Crown Prince will not remember it. He remains wary of the Crown Prince and irritated by his behavior, but avoids antagonizing him because he wants to preserve his favorability.
• The Crown Prince is emotionally affected by Shen’s kindness and clearly values his presence. His possessiveness and harsh authority surface when he dismisses Green Willow, though he gives Shen no explanation.
• Green Willow shifts from confidence in her place at the Crown Prince’s side to desperation and resentment. Seeing Shen with him, she concludes Shen is an obstacle and must be eliminated.

Significant themes

• Light and darkness: Shen frames hope and kindness as a light that can guide someone away from despair; the Crown Prince privately embraces that image.
• Affection and possessiveness: The Crown Prince’s attachment to Shen is expressed through closeness and control rather than open confession.
• Power and vulnerability: Green Willow’s pleas and status cannot overcome the Crown Prince’s authority, while Shen is caught between the two.
• Dramatic irony: Shen believes the Crown Prince cannot understand him or remember their exchange, but the Crown Prince is lucid and hears everything.

Character interactions

• Shen offers the Crown Prince gentle encouragement, while the Crown Prince responds with quiet attention and later lies beside him.
• Shen wakes to the Crown Prince’s arm on his throat and masks his irritation with a polite greeting.
• Green Willow attempts to use Shen to reverse her dismissal; Shen disengages, and the Crown Prince has her removed without reconsidering.

Key plot points

• Half a month after the earlier events, Shen Yangge is abducted while returning from the palace. His captors discuss a promised payment of seven hundred taels for delivering him safely, and dismiss the risk of angering the Crown Prince.
• Shen learns he has been taken out of the capital and, after being shoved into a room full of crying children, realizes the kidnappers intend to sell him.
• The children help pull the gag from his mouth. Before he can learn much about them, the traffickers discover that someone has found their hideout and move everyone into an underground tunnel.
• The Crown Prince’s shadow guards locate the hideout and report that Shen and the children are in the tunnel. The Crown Prince orders them to pursue, despite the danger. Alone afterward, he shows mounting anxiety beneath his composed exterior, destroying valuables and gripping the table hard enough to nearly damage it.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen stays remarkably practical and irreverent in danger: he briefly considers bargaining for part of the payment, then focuses on escape. He also tries to maintain his original persona despite his pain and fear.
• System 615 admits it can only advise him on courting death, then goes offline, leaving Shen to fend for himself.
• The frightened children look to Shen as an older, reassuring figure, help free him, and call out to him when they are taken away.
• The Crown Prince’s reaction reveals how much Shen’s disappearance affects him, contradicting the kidnappers’ belief that Shen is merely an expendable minor official. His fear remains concealed behind a chilling, controlled smile.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The Crown Prince appears calm and ruthless, but his actions expose deep concern; Shen’s comic thoughts contrast with genuine danger.
• Vulnerability and care: Shen is physically helpless, yet the children help him, while he instinctively feels responsible for them.
• Power and disregard for life: The traffickers treat children and Shen as commodities, while the Crown Prince’s guards accept lethal risks to recover him.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Yangge is thrown from the traffickers’ hideout in a burlap sack as they try to avoid being caught by the Crown Prince’s forces.
• Shadow guards find and rescue him. He asks them to prioritize the abducted children still inside, and they agree to protect them while arresting the traffickers.
• At home, Madam Shen is distressed by his injuries and insists he be examined. The Crown Prince sends Physician Liu, who treats Shen and leaves his young apprentice, Little Bamboo Shoot, to prepare medicine.
• That night, the Crown Prince enters Shen’s room while he sleeps and examines his injured arm. The system wakes Shen to alert him that his powerful “backer” has arrived. Before Shen can react, the Crown Prince lifts him into his arms.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Yangge remains considerate despite his own ordeal, focusing on the abducted children’s safety. He also shows a dry, irreverent sense of humor about being stuffed into a sack.
• Madam Shen responds to her son’s injuries with fierce concern and insists on proper medical care.
• The Crown Prince shows personal concern by sending an imperial physician and later visiting Shen himself, though his intimate attention to Shen’s wounds is striking.
• The shadow guards treat Shen respectfully and follow his request to protect the children.
• Physician Liu and Little Bamboo Shoot provide care, with the young apprentice introduced as unusually serious and obedient.

Significant themes

• Compassion amid danger: Shen’s concern for the abducted children reflects his empathy even while injured.
• Protection and authority: The Crown Prince’s resources and influence secure Shen’s treatment and rescue.
• Vulnerability and intimacy: Shen is physically helpless after the kidnapping, while the Crown Prince’s late-night visit suggests a growing personal attachment.

• Key events: The Crown Prince secretly carries the injured Shen Yangge out of the palace and takes him beyond the city. Shen Yangge assumes the Crown Prince is behaving irrationally, partly because the prince admits he is “not” in his right mind and gives a stiff, one-word answer about a game they played. At a ruined hut, Shen Yangge discovers the two men who kidnapped him. With the Crown Prince’s help, he bags them and sends them tumbling down a hillside as payback. The Crown Prince says they will later be returned to the authorities.
• Character developments: Shen Yangge moves from confusion and unease to delight when he realizes he can punish his kidnappers himself. He remains unaware that the Crown Prince is not actually acting as irrationally as he believes. The Crown Prince quietly indulges Shen Yangge’s desire for revenge and chooses not to correct his misunderstanding, wanting to preserve the candid way Shen Yangge treats him.
• Character interactions: The Crown Prince carries and cares for Shen Yangge, slowing down when his injuries hurt. Shen Yangge chats freely, teases him, and gives him direct orders, treating him as the supposedly mad version of the prince. The Crown Prince follows along without complaint, while concealing his true motives.
• Themes: The chapter blends comic misunderstanding with tenderness and intimacy. Shen Yangge’s mistaken belief that the Crown Prince is out of his senses lets him behave with unusual frankness; the Crown Prince values that openness. Revenge is presented as playful, controlled retribution, balanced by the promise that the kidnappers will face official justice too.

Plot points

• Shen Yangge escorts the Crown Prince back toward the palace, but refuses to enter with him, fearing the consequences of breaking palace rules.
• Su Shang explains that the Crown Prince left the palace specifically to stay with Shen Yangge and will not return without him. Shen eventually agrees to take him to his own residence instead.
• As they travel through the deserted capital before dawn, they hear a baby crying. The carriage lantern goes out, the carriage stops, and Shen Yangge panics in the darkness.
• Shen Yangge feels something cold at his feet and throws himself into the Crown Prince’s arms. When the lantern is relit, they discover a white snake in the carriage. The Crown Prince kills it with his sword.
• Embarrassed and frightened, Shen Yangge retreats to his seat and offers his life as atonement for having clung to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince asks why Shen wants to die; Shen insists that he does not, despite his private thoughts to the contrary.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Yangge remains outwardly respectful and dutiful while inwardly complaining, scheming, and expressing a desire for a quiet death. His fear of the dark and snake briefly overwhelms his caution, making him cling to the Crown Prince. He quickly returns to formal self-effacement afterward.
• The Crown Prince insists on keeping Shen Yangge close and appears amused by his panic. He lets Shen cling to him, then calmly kills the snake. Though he claims he is not lucid, he seems composed, leaving Shen to suspect that he is lying.
• Su Shang acts as the intermediary, revealing how determined the Crown Prince is to remain with Shen Yangge.

Significant themes

• Duty versus personal safety: Shen Yangge fears that association with the Crown Prince could bring serious political consequences.
• Appearance versus inner thoughts: Shen’s deferential words conceal exasperation and darkly comic death wishes.
• Fear and intimacy: The supernatural-feeling journey and snake force an unexpected moment of physical closeness between Shen and the Crown Prince, who appears to welcome it.
• Power and attachment: The Crown Prince’s authority makes it difficult for Shen to refuse him, while his insistence on Shen’s company suggests a personal fixation.

Key plot points and events

• The Crown Prince decides Shen Yangge’s earlier offense does not deserve death and pardons him, despite Shen’s private certainty that the Prince is cruel.
• Shen takes the Crown Prince back to his residence after an assassin’s attack interrupts their journey. With the guest room unusable, he gives the Prince his bed and sleeps in a chair.
• The next morning, Shen wakes up in the Crown Prince’s arms. System 615 reveals that Shen sleepwalked into the bed, clung to the Prince, and sang loudly.
• Embarrassed, Shen apologizes, but the Crown Prince excuses his behavior as a reaction to fright and questions him about whether he sleepwalks regularly.
• When Shen tries to send the Prince back to the palace, the Prince instead invites him to visit an entertaining place in the capital. Shen pretends to feel ill to avoid going.

Character developments

• Shen Yangge remains terrified of the Crown Prince and desperate to avoid death, while hiding his fear behind respectful speech and furious inner complaints. His sleepwalking creates an awkward, unexpectedly intimate situation.
• The Crown Prince shows surprising restraint by forgiving Shen and not reproaching him for climbing into his bed. His intense attention to Shen, and apparent amusement at Shen’s excuses, suggest growing personal interest.

Significant themes

• Contrast between appearances and thoughts: Shen’s polite outward behavior clashes with his irreverent inner monologue.
• Fear and comic embarrassment: Shen interprets ordinary gestures as threats, while his sleepwalking turns his attempt to keep the Prince at a distance into an intimate mishap.
• Power and reluctant companionship: The Crown Prince’s invitations sound optional, but Shen feels unable to refuse him.

Character interactions

• The Crown Prince pardons Shen, then questions him about his nighttime behavior and insists that he look up at him.
• Shen responds with apologies and excuses, carefully concealing his resentment and fear.
• System 615 reports Shen’s sleepwalking antics, heightening his embarrassment.
• Su Shang briefly reports dealing with an assassin before continuing to drive the pair home.

Plot points and events

• The Crown Prince accepts Shen Yangge’s claim that he is unwell and leaves without pressing him.
• Xue Qian visits Shen Yangge with wine to celebrate his move from the Shen Residence. He reports that people are curious about Shen Yangge—especially about his looks, marital status, and whether he is attracted to men.
• Their friendly conversation lasts until evening. After Xue Qian leaves, members of the Shen Residence arrive at Shen Yangge’s home, shouting accusations and destroying plants and furnishings.
• A haughty woman from the Shen Residence accuses Shen Yangge of stealing land deeds. She presents two former servants as witnesses, though neither speaks. Shen Yangge denies the charge.
• When the woman insults Shen Yangge’s mother, he slaps her. Her guards restrain him, and she strikes him back, claiming the stolen deeds are worth enough to warrant his death.
• Shen Yangge’s mother insists they are being framed. System 615 urges him to seek help from Shen Zhi, but Shen Yangge refuses.

Character developments

• Shen Yangge welcomes Xue Qian as his first friend in this world and shows concern for his mother’s future, recognizing that she needs to become more assertive.
• His mother, usually timid, stands up for him and denies the accusation. Shen Yangge is encouraged by her resolve and shields her from the attackers.
• Shen Yangge proves fiercely protective of his mother, refusing to tolerate insults against her even when it puts him in danger.
• Xue Qian’s cheerful manner and apparent embarrassment suggest a growing personal interest in Shen Yangge.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and protection: Shen Yangge defends his mother despite the consequences.
• Power and injustice: The Shen Residence uses intimidation, dubious witnesses, and a serious accusation to target him.
• Independence and pride: Shen Yangge refuses to rely on Shen Zhi, even when the system advises him to ask for help.
• Reputation and appearance: Shen Yangge’s beauty attracts gossip and unwanted speculation.

Character interactions

• Shen Yangge and Xue Qian bond through an easy, friendly conversation, though Xue Qian’s blushing hints at attraction.
• Shen Yangge reassures and protects his mother, while her unexpected defense of him shows their relationship beginning to shift.
• The confrontation with the Shen Residence woman escalates from accusation to physical violence, with her guards restraining Shen Yangge and enabling her retaliation.
• Shen Yangge rejects the system’s advice to seek Shen Zhi’s help, choosing to face the crisis without him.

Plot points

• Shen Yangge refuses to ask Shen Zhi for help, fearing that doing so would undermine his decision to sever ties with the Shen Residence and give Shen Zhi leverage to question him about the Crown Prince.
• The system punishes him for breaking character. He bleeds from his nose, ears, and eyes, alarming the people around him and getting him taken to the government office.
• Shen Yangge refuses to confess to any crime, so the magistrate locks him up while seeking evidence. In his cell, an unusually large rat offers him half a steamed bun.
• The punishment turns out not to be an electric shock: Shen Yangge transforms into a kitten for fifteen days. He hides in the rat’s tunnel as officials arrive.
• The system tells him the male lead has proved his innocence and sent people to release him. Worried his escape might endanger his mother, Shen Yangge confirms the officials have already left, then crawls out of jail through the tunnel.
• Outside, a child admires him, but her mother warns that he is a palace “little master.” A beggar kicks him; Shen Yangge scratches the man and escapes to hide.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Yangge remains stubbornly protective of his independence and secrets, even when facing danger. As a kitten, however, he is physically vulnerable and must improvise to survive.
• System 615 is unable to prevent the punishment but stays with him, explains what is happening, and guides him through the tunnels.
• Mother Shen is distraught by his apparent collapse. The male lead’s informants have kept watch, and the male lead acts quickly to secure Shen Yangge’s release.
• The rat briefly helps Shen Yangge by sharing food, then flees when the transformed human-cat enters its tunnel. Strangers react to Shen Yangge with a mix of wonder, fear, and cruelty.

Significant themes

• Autonomy and trust: Shen Yangge refuses help that might compromise his independence or expose his secrets.
• Powerlessness and adaptation: A supernatural punishment strips him of his human form, forcing him to survive through quick thinking.
• Hidden protection: The male lead’s unseen surveillance helps Shen Yangge, though he does not know the full extent of it.
• Appearance and status: People interpret the kitten as either a palace creature or merely an animal, with those assumptions shaping their behavior.

Plot points and events

• Punished to spend fifteen days as a cat and barred from returning to the Shen Residence, Shen Yangge worries that his disappearance will attract suspicion.
• On System 615’s advice, he seeks shelter at the Xue Residence, hoping to find Xue Qian.
• He sneaks in through a hole in the wall but is caught by Xue Pingyuan, a celebrated general who decides to keep him as a pet.
• Shen Yangge adjusts to a comfortable life of goat’s milk, steamed fish, and teasing, and even wonders whether the punishment is so bad after all.
• Xue Pingyuan carries him out as he heads to the palace. There, Xue Qian asks whether his brother has found Shen Yangge. Xue Pingyuan says there are no clues and warns Xue Qian against getting involved because Shen is close to the Crown Prince.
• Shen Yangge bites Xue Pingyuan in anger at the warning. Meanwhile, palace guards report that their search for Shen has found nothing, and the Crown Prince remains furious and intimidating.

Character developments

• Shen Yangge moves from anxious and lost to surprisingly content as a cat, though he remains protective of his friend and resents Xue Pingyuan’s dismissive advice.
• Xue Pingyuan emerges as a powerful, accomplished general with an unexpectedly playful affection for cats. He is generous toward Shen Yangge but also physically teases him and is cautious about Xue Qian’s political ties.
• Xue Qian remains concerned about his missing friend and seeks help from his older brother.
• The Crown Prince is shown as a threatening presence, still searching for Shen Yangge.

Significant themes

• Disguise and vulnerability: Shen Yangge’s transformation leaves him unable to explain who he is or control his situation.
• Comfort amid danger: His pleasant new life contrasts with the exhaustion he associates with human life and the Crown Prince.
• Friendship and political risk: Xue Qian’s loyalty to Shen conflicts with Xue Pingyuan’s warning that involvement could be dangerous.

Character interactions

• System 615 guides Shen Yangge toward the Xue Residence.
• Xue Pingyuan catches, adopts, feeds, carries, and playfully torments Shen Yangge; Shen responds with sulking and a bite.
• Xue Qian asks Xue Pingyuan for news of Shen, and Xue Pingyuan warns him not to become entangled in the matter.

Plot points and events

• The exhausted Crown Prince orders his shadow guards to keep searching for someone missing, vowing to find them.
• General Xue Pingyuan visits the emperor with Shen Yangge hidden in his sleeve. The kitten slips out, forcing Xue to introduce him as his new pet, “Yangyang.” Shen obeys the emperor’s gentle attention to avoid causing trouble.
• On the way out, Xue is summoned to Wanci Palace by Consort Xue. She has Shen handed to her maid while she speaks privately with Xue.
• A young prince demands to hold Shen. The maid serving him slaps Shaoyao when she hesitates, and Shen escapes from the child’s arms.
• Shen recognizes the boy as the eleventh prince, Chu Hengchuan, a future animal-abusing villain in the novel. He flees through the palace gardens and hides in a hole, but becomes lost.
• A dog finds and attacks him, leaving him badly wounded. After he hides and loses consciousness, a shadow guard discovers him and carries him toward the Eastern Palace, intending first to report news about Lord Shen to the Crown Prince.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Yangge is bored and resentful of being concealed, but stays docile around the emperor because he understands the danger of offending him. He is wary of Chu Hengchuan and resourceful in escaping, though his escape leaves him injured and lost.
• Xue Pingyuan tries to keep Shen’s identity and presence discreet, but twice has to reveal him—first to the emperor, then to Consort Xue. He is protective enough to bring Shen along, while still entrusting him to others during his private conversation.
• The emperor finds Shen charming and treats him kindly, allowing Xue to leave without incident.
• Consort Xue is affectionate toward Xue and the kitten, but becomes serious when preparing to speak privately with Xue.
• Chu Hengchuan is shown as demanding and ill-tempered; his attendant uses violence against Shaoyao to satisfy his wishes.
• The Crown Prince is revealed to be exhausted and intensely determined to find someone, setting up a parallel search that may connect to Shen’s fate.

Significant themes

• Vulnerability and danger: Shen’s small size and dependence on others make the palace’s seemingly ordinary spaces perilous.
• Power and cruelty: The prince’s entitlement and the maid’s slap show how rank can excuse or enable mistreatment.
• Disguise and concealment: Shen’s hidden identity and his passage through the palace create tension, while his eventual discovery by the shadow guard shifts him into the Crown Prince’s orbit.
• Persistence and attachment: The Crown Prince’s sleepless search contrasts with Shen’s immediate wish to escape palace life and return to familiar comforts.

Plot points and events

• Shen Yangge is missing and appears to have transformed into an injured kitten. A prisoner had reported seeing white light around him before he vanished, but the shadow guard dismissed the account and executed the prisoner without investigating.
• The Crown Prince, furious at the guard’s negligence, orders him punished—until he recognizes the kitten the guard found near Wanci Palace. Learning it may have been attacked by Consort Ru’s vicious dog, he cancels the punishment and orders the dog killed, its remains sent to Consort Ru.
• The Crown Prince summons Physician Liu to treat the kitten. He insists on gentleness and personally shaves fur around the wound so it can be bandaged.
• After the physician leaves, the Crown Prince carefully cleans the kitten and settles him into a new cat bed. Shen Yangge wakes, in pain and confused, and System 615 tells him he is alive in the Crown Prince’s bedchamber.

Character developments

• The Crown Prince reveals deep concern and unusual tenderness toward the kitten, contrasting with his earlier anger and fear over Shen Yangge’s disappearance. His careful actions hint at a gentler side beneath his fearsome reputation.
• Shen Yangge remains unaware of the danger he faced, then regains consciousness as a kitten and realizes he has not died.
• The shadow guard is shown to have made a grave error by failing to investigate the prisoner’s report, though the Crown Prince ultimately spares him.
• Physician Liu is surprised by the Crown Prince’s care for an animal and begins to recognize that the prince may be more compassionate than his reputation suggests.

Character interactions

• The Crown Prince rebukes the shadow guard for executing the prisoner without questioning him, then questions him about the kitten and takes it into his care.
• The Crown Prince orders the guard to find an imperial physician and punishes Consort Ru’s dog for its suspected attack.
• Physician Liu treats the kitten under the Crown Prince’s watchful direction, adjusting his handling when told to be gentler.
• Alone with the kitten, the Crown Prince tends to him personally; when Shen Yangge wakes, he communicates with System 615.

Significant themes

• Hidden tenderness: The Crown Prince’s gentle care challenges his savage public image.
• Negligence and accountability: The guard’s failure to investigate has serious consequences, even as the prince later shows mercy.
• Identity and transformation: Shen Yangge’s change into a kitten leaves him vulnerable and dependent on the Crown Prince.
• Power and cruelty: The Crown Prince’s swift response to Consort Ru’s dog reflects both his authority and his anger at abuses within the palace.

Plot points and events

• Shen Yangge wakes up as a kitten in the Crown Prince’s bedchamber. He panics at finding himself with the man he despises, but the system warns that dying during his punishment would erase his data and prevent him from returning to his original world.
• The Crown Prince tries to quiet him, teasing that he will shave off his fur and offering him mice. Shen rejects the idea and longs to return to Xue Pingyuan.
• At dinner, the Crown Prince provides an elaborate meal—including the foods Shen craves—and feeds him by hand. Shen eats, is groomed and petted, and eventually falls asleep.
• Meanwhile, Xue Pingyuan searches anxiously for the missing kitten. Consort Xue promises to help, while the palace maid who let the kitten disappear is punished. Xue worries the kitten may be hungry or frightened.
• Five days later, Xue learns the Crown Prince has found the cat and goes to the Eastern Palace to ask for him back. He arrives as the Crown Prince is teasing and feeding Shen dried fish. Shen is thrilled to see Xue, but the Crown Prince pinches his mouth shut before he can call out.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Yangge remains furious and homesick, but his hunger and the Crown Prince’s affectionate attention repeatedly undercut his resistance. He wants Xue to rescue him, even as he involuntarily enjoys being petted.
• The Crown Prince shows a possessive, playful fondness for the kitten, caring for him closely while teasing him. Crucially, he can hear Shen’s thoughts, though Shen does not know it.
• Xue Pingyuan grows deeply attached to the kitten despite having known him only briefly. His worry reveals how humanlike and important the cat seems to him. He is also hesitant to challenge the Crown Prince directly.
• The Crown Prince and Shen’s interaction is defined by a comic mismatch: Shen’s internal insults contrast with his outward meows and purring. Xue’s arrival sets up a likely negotiation over who gets to keep him.

Significant themes

• Identity and belonging: Shen is trapped in a cat’s body and longs for the home and person he has come to regard as his own.
• Affection and attachment: Both powerful men become attached to the kitten, while Shen’s own feelings emerge despite his protests.
• Dramatic irony and comedy: The Crown Prince understands Shen’s private thoughts, creating a sharp contrast between what Shen says aloud and what he means.

Key plot points

• Xue Pingyuan visits the Crown Prince and recognizes the injured kitten as Yangyang. The Crown Prince falsely claims he has owned the cat for half a year and refuses to return him. Xue leaves, unconvinced that the story makes sense.
• Shen Yangge, trapped in kitten form, tries to signal that he belongs with Xue Pingyuan, but the Crown Prince keeps pinching, stroking, and playing with him.
• At the Shen residence, Mother Shen recovers from the shock of learning her son is alive. She begins investigating businesses funded by her dowry, preparing to reclaim her assets and openly break with Shen Zhi, who betrayed her and neglected their son.
• Shen Yangge remains unable to contact his family because the Crown Prince keeps him close at all times—even during private routines. At dinner, he discovers that the Crown Prince is serving only vegetables and can only speculate, absurdly, that the prince has been jilted.
• The Crown Prince declares Yangyang his cat, says the name suits him, and takes him to sleep in his bedchamber. Shen Yangge protests furiously but is powerless to resist.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Yangge grows increasingly frustrated and homesick. His attempts to communicate with Xue and escape the Crown Prince fail, while his inner monologue remains sarcastic and indignant.
• The Crown Prince becomes openly possessive, inventing a history with Yangyang to keep Xue from taking him. His constant attention seems affectionate to him but invasive to Shen Yangge.
• Xue Pingyuan suspects the Crown Prince’s account is false, especially after seeing Yangyang’s distressed expression, but leaves without confronting him.
• Mother Shen shifts from fear and grief to resolve, preparing to reclaim control of her dowry and retaliate against Shen Zhi.
• System 615 briefly teases Shen Yangge about the Crown Prince’s looks, then stays quiet as Shen invents a theory about the prince’s green-vegetable menu.

Significant themes

• Captivity and control: The Crown Prince’s claim over Yangyang contrasts with Shen Yangge’s insistence that he is not the prince’s pet.
• Betrayal and self-determination: Mother Shen’s plans mark her refusal to keep supporting a husband who has betrayed her.
• Miscommunication and dramatic irony: Shen Yangge’s thoughts and protests are clear to readers but understood only as cat behavior by others.
• Powerlessness and humor: Shen Yangge’s furious resistance, paired with his limited ability to act, creates much of the chapter’s comedy.

Key plot points and events

• Before dawn, the Crown Prince wakes Shen Yangge and insists on taking him to court. Officials are surprised—and distracted—by the beautiful white kitten in the future emperor’s arms.
• Court hears that plague and famine have devastated Lingnan. The emperor sends the Crown Prince there to investigate and provide relief, despite an official’s warning that the journey is dangerous and the region harsh.
• Shen Yangge privately condemns the emperor for endangering his own son. His tail curls around the Crown Prince’s arm, and the Crown Prince seems comforted by the contact.
• After court, officials crowd around to ask about the cat. Shen Yangge lashes out when one suggests finding him a mate; the Crown Prince calmly insists that Yangyang is well behaved.
• General Xue urges the Crown Prince to reconsider the assignment and offers to care for the kitten while he is away. The Crown Prince refuses both suggestions: he will obey the imperial order and take Shen Yangge with him.

Character developments

• The Crown Prince appears dutiful and composed in public, accepting a dangerous assignment without protest. Yet he shows a softer, more vulnerable side through his attachment to Shen Yangge and his refusal to leave him behind.
• Shen Yangge is sleepy, outspoken in his thoughts, and protective of the Crown Prince. Though he resents being taken along, he instinctively comforts him and plans to avoid the trip once he can turn human again.
• General Xue shows concern for the Crown Prince, warning him about Lingnan and offering to shelter the kitten.
• The emperor is portrayed as cold and willing to send his son into danger.

Significant themes

• The cruelty of imperial family politics: The emperor treats the Crown Prince less like a son than a political instrument.
• Duty versus care: The Crown Prince obeys the sovereign’s order, while Shen Yangge and General Xue respond with concern for his safety.
• Companionship and comfort: Even as a cat, Shen Yangge offers the Crown Prince quiet emotional support.
• Humor and contrast: Shen Yangge’s irreverent inner monologue and the officials’ fascination with the kitten offset the grim danger of the Lingnan mission.

Character interactions

• The Crown Prince carries and pets Shen Yangge, who reacts to the Lingnan assignment by curling his tail around the prince’s arm.
• Officials approach the Crown Prince about his cat; Shen Yangge’s swipes abruptly end their questions, and the prince defends him.
• General Xue tries to dissuade the Crown Prince from going and offers to take the kitten, but the prince insists on bringing him along.