Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan learns that the two Japanese intruders, Honda Sanlunzi and Yamagata Xiao Chi, have been eating Roach’s eggs. Disgusted by their unusual appetites, she decides she would rather have them caught and sent away than keep watching them.
• She asks Teng to arrange for Wang Defa to capture one intruder and let the other return to Japan.
• Teng uses exaggerated concern, flattery, and cute behavior to persuade Jian Ruonan to let him join her upcoming bandit-suppression trip. Though Min objects, Jian Ruonan agrees, calling it a study tour; Teng is delighted.
• The next night, the intruders sneak into the estate to steal Jian Ruonan’s pouch. Xiaoyu and Chunxue deliberately hang a decoy pouch where the pair can find it. As the intruders approach, they fall into a concealed pit.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan remains practical and decisive, delegating the capture to Wang Defa and accepting Teng’s request once she judges the trip safe.
• Teng shows himself to be a clever, shameless schemer: he disguises his wish for adventure as concern for his sister, then wins permission through persistence and charm.
• Min is protective and insists Teng should not go, especially given his fearfulness and schooling.
• Wang Defa is introduced as resourceful enough to handle the intruders, though he has not yet appeared in person.

Character interactions

• Teng’s attentiveness—shelling pine nuts and tending Jian Ruonan’s tea—turns out to be a calculated prelude to asking for permission to join the trip.
• Min and Teng argue over whether he can accompany Jian Ruonan; Teng contrasts her willingness to bring a “flower bear” with her refusal to bring him.
• Jian Xilu and Jian Huayuan watch Teng’s antics with amusement and exasperation, while the siblings trade playful disdain.
• Xiaoyu and Chunxue work together to bait the intruders, who eagerly take the lure and fall into the trap.

Significant themes

• Family affection mixed with teasing: Teng’s antics frustrate his relatives but also show his attachment to Jian Ruonan.
• Cunning and misdirection: Both Teng’s persuasion and the decoy pouch rely on performance and deception.
• Comic contrast: The chapter pairs the intruders’ bizarre behavior and confidence with the family’s dry reactions and the trap’s abrupt payoff.

Plot points and events

• Trapped in a pit, Honda Sanlunzi gets his leg caught in a hidden mousetrap. Yamagata Xiao Chi escapes by climbing over Honda, leaving him behind to be captured.
• After three days of preparation, Jian Ruonan leads the Maiden Army into the mountains to suppress bandits, seek treasure, and capture the rebel Third Prince.
• At the send-off, Jian gives a deliberately rousing speech, framing the expedition as training for future wars against foreign powers. She then reveals Honda as a prisoner and warns the troops not to show their enemies mercy.
• Honda boasts in Japanese that his people will never surrender and that Prince Mechuan Yaokuzi will invade. Jian answers fluently in Japanese, impressing the court and confirming her claimed language skills.
• Jian’s dramatic display of her modified Tesla Coil, which produces lightning, sends the soldiers’ morale soaring. The Maiden Army charges out as if led by a god of electricity.
• Elsewhere, Jian Chuxue steals Jian Ruonan’s pink pouch, hoping to learn its secrets, but a mousetrap catches her hand. Jian’s insulting note warns her not to steal again.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan combines theatrical showmanship with strategic morale-building. Her fluency in Japanese surprises the officials, while her lightning device strengthens her troops’ belief in her.
• Honda Sanlunzi shifts from a would-be escapee to a captured prisoner. Though frightened, he tries to maintain his warrior pride by boasting to the troops.
• Yamagata Xiao Chi proves resourceful but abandons Honda to save himself.
• Jian Chuxue remains determined to outwit Jian Ruonan, but her attempted theft ends in humiliation and a sharp warning.
• Dantai Mo watches Jian Ruonan admiringly; the emperor, ministers, and Jian family react with astonishment and pride during her send-off.

Significant themes

• Leadership and morale: Jian uses rhetoric, spectacle, and shared purpose to inspire her troops.
• Deception and ingenuity: Traps and gadgets thwart both the Japanese warriors and Jian Chuxue’s theft.
• Nationalism and resistance: Jian presents the campaign as preparation to defend Great Xia against foreign aggression.
• Comedy through contrast: Grand military ceremony and divine imagery are undercut by mouse noises, mousetraps, and exaggerated reactions.

Plot points and events

• Jian Chuxue’s injured hand gets caught in a mousetrap. The Wa warriors cheer instead of helping, so she angrily frees herself—then steps on the trap and injures her foot too. She tears up a humiliating note and demands to know where Honda Sanlunzi is.
• Yamagata Xiao Chi says Honda “died for his country,” though the scene suggests he was simply captured or killed on Great Xia soil. Xiao Chi soon stops mourning to eat flatbread.
• Xiao Chi unveils his “delicacies”: cockroach eggs he and Honda found at the Marquis’s Estate. Some have hatched and fly out; the Wa warriors eat the remaining eggs and praise them.
• The red cloth holding the eggs turns out to be a woman’s dudou. The men pass it around and sniff it, believing the embroidered characters, “Yi Qiao,” are its owner’s name. Jian Chuxue recognizes it as her grandmother Shi Yiqiao’s garment and is horrified.
• Meanwhile, Jian Ruonan raises the Divine Staff and chants theatrical magic phrases. Lightning gathers around it, stunning everyone present.
• Dantai Mo is deeply impressed and gains repeated conquest-system points. He wonders if Jian Ruonan is a goddess; the Black Tortoise System explains that the staff uses advanced technology and urges him to smile at her.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Chuxue grows increasingly furious and mentally overwhelmed by the Wa warriors’ incompetence and depravity. Her hope of relying on them fades, and she resolves to persuade the Third Prince to cut ties with them after the throne struggle.
• Yamagata Xiao Chi presents himself as a devoted, grieving comrade and generous provider, but his behavior quickly turns to gluttony and sleazy enthusiasm.
• The Wa warriors remain oblivious to Jian Chuxue’s distress, enthusiastically praising the mousetrap, eating cockroach eggs, and handling her grandmother’s garment.
• Jian Ruonan displays the Divine Staff’s impressive power, though her dramatic incantations are more theatrical than genuinely magical.
• Dantai Mo shifts from awe to melancholy, feeling unworthy of Jian Ruonan because he thinks she is divine. The system corrects his misunderstanding and encourages him to use the moment to build rapport.

Significant themes

• Absurdity and comic misfortune: Jian Chuxue’s injuries and the Wa warriors’ reactions turn an already humiliating situation into farce.
• Cultural misunderstanding and crude behavior: The Wa men misread objects and customs, while Jian Chuxue’s horrified perspective highlights the clash.
• Appearance versus reality: Jian Ruonan seems to wield divine power, but the effect comes from advanced technology; Dantai Mo’s awe rests on a mistaken interpretation.
• Power and status: Jian Chuxue’s worsening relationship with the Wa warriors contrasts with Jian Ruonan’s growing influence over Dantai Mo.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan’s lightning staff shocks Honda Sanlunzi repeatedly, earning her more than two thousand system points and paying off a fifth of her debt.
• Honda claims the staff and pouch belong to “Mr. Snow.” Jian demands he identify the real thief, then electrocutes him until he admits that Mr. Snow is the thief.
• Jian prepares to lead the Maiden Army on a bandit-clearing expedition—but intends to use it as practice for a broader campaign against Little Japan and Smeedah.
• The troops set out laden with provisions, live animals, cooks, and an unusually large entourage, including Jian’s bears, household staff, a new mother and her baby, and even her bed.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou asks to join. Jian initially refuses, but changes her mind immediately when Jiarou offers chests of gold to fund the campaign.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan is confident, theatrical, and ruthless toward enemies. She uses intimidation and humor to force Honda’s confession, then treats military campaigning as both a grand adventure and an opportunity to display her power.
• Honda Sanlunzi begins defiant and insists Jian is a thief, but his resolve collapses under repeated electrocution. He ultimately condemns Mr. Snow and begs for mercy.
• The soldiers have become unusually loyal and motivated under Jian. Better pay, regular meat, and performance rewards have given them hope and made them trust her eccentric decisions.
• Dantai Mo briefly admires Honda’s apparent toughness, only to revise that judgment when Honda quickly gives in.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou shows initiative by offering substantial military funds, winning Jian’s enthusiastic welcome.

Significant themes

• Power and performance: Jian uses her lightning staff not just as a weapon but as a spectacle that reinforces her authority and earns system points.
• Loyalty through care and reward: Improved wages, food, and incentives strengthen the soldiers’ commitment to Jian.
• Comic contrast: Jian calls the expedition a war while preparing it like a lavish spring outing, complete with food, animals, household staff, and bedding.
• Money’s influence: Jian’s sudden reversal on Jiarou’s participation makes clear that practical funding can override her stated objections.

Character interactions

• Jian and Honda clash over the ownership of the staff and pouch; her threats and shocks compel his confession.
• Jian’s extravagant leadership amuses Emperor Deyuan and puzzles the court, while the soldiers trust her plans and follow orders eagerly.
• Jian’s warning to Honda not to eat her pigs extends their antagonistic dynamic into the expedition.
• Jiarou’s offer of gold transforms her from an unwanted companion into a welcomed ally in Jian’s eyes.

Key plot points

• Commandery Princess Jiarou joins Jian Ruonan’s military campaign, bringing valuable military funds. Ruonan welcomes her warmly and privately sees keeping Jiarou close as a way to protect her from the Third Prince, who exploited her in the original story.
• The Maiden Army sets out, carrying chickens, ducks, and oversized baskets that Ruonan jokingly says can hold vegetables, treasure, or captured enemy soldiers.
• On the journey, Dantai Mo joins Ruonan’s carriage. Though he has been pretending to be paralyzed, he walks normally when he wants the seat beside her.
• Ruonan introduces mahjong as “Building the Great Wall,” a strategic game about defending the nation, and collects silver as “military funding.” Dantai Mo believes her framing; the others quickly understand they are gambling.
• Ruonan avoids using her system to see the others’ tiles, but repeatedly calls Dantai Mo’s discards, thwarting Jiarou’s chances. Dantai secretly discards a tile that helps Ruonan win, and Jiarou exposes his hand, revealing that he could have used it himself.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan is charming, opportunistic, and protective of Jiarou. She uses patriotic language to disguise a gambling game and turns the journey into a lively contest.
• Jiarou appears to have lost interest in the Third Prince and is beginning to bond with Ruonan. She quickly learns mahjong, competes enthusiastically, and calls out Dantai’s suspicious play.
• Dantai Mo drops his paralysis act and shows clear jealousy over who sits beside Ruonan. He also plays along with her, even sacrificing a good tile to help her win.
• Wang Defa gives up his seat beside Ruonan under Dantai’s intimidating gaze; Teng silently judges him, while also helping Jiarou learn the game.
• The Black Tortoise System teases Dantai, exposing his romantic motives and calling his helpful discards “love tiles.”

Significant themes

• Romantic rivalry and jealousy: Dantai’s concern about propriety masks his desire to be close to Ruonan, and his play reveals his affection.
• Rewriting fate and protecting others: Ruonan aims to keep Jiarou from repeating her tragic original-story fate.
• Humor through deception and wordplay: Mahjong becomes a “battlefield,” wagers become “military funds,” and gambling is presented as national defense.
• Power, money, and loyalty: Jiarou’s funds support the campaign, while the story recalls how the Third Prince once exploited her wealth and devotion.

Plot points and events

• During a mahjong game, Teng eagerly shuffles tiles for Jian Ruonan, while Commandery Princess Jiarou and Wang Defa compete over who should partner with whom. With Dantai Mo quietly feeding her tiles, Jian Ruonan wins handily.
• Jiarou challenges Dantai Mo’s claim that his poor play is a military “tactic.” Jian Ruonan jokes that he is an experienced commander; Jiarou is unconvinced.
• Jian Ruonan’s unspoken thoughts reveal that Jiarou may be headed for disaster: the Third Prince could swindle her out of her fortune and leave her to die in the Cold Palace. Jiarou realizes she has recently received a romantic letter from him and had hoped to meet him, leaving her alarmed and conflicted.
• The narrative shifts to the Great Circle Army, a rebel force that has risen in disaster-stricken Tong County. After relief aid arrived late, rebels seized government offices and relief silver, took Tong Pass, and attracted refugees with promises of equal land. Their ranks also include bandits.
• The rebels’ leaders learn that the imperial Maiden Army is camped nearby. A scout reports that it is preparing an elaborate feast, prompting the rebel leaders to mock it as an unserious army. Jian Chuxue, however, focuses on Jian Ruonan’s mysterious space and resolves to seize it. Le Yu rallies the rebels to attack.

Character developments and interactions

• Teng’s affection and loyalty toward Jian Ruonan show in his eagerness to help her; he also tries to serve Jiarou, earning Jian Ruonan’s amused approval.
• Dantai Mo remains outwardly composed while helping Jian Ruonan win, though he bristles at the system’s teasing.
• Jiarou’s confident, competitive manner gives way to shock when she learns of the possible betrayal by the Third Prince. Her romantic hopes make her especially vulnerable.
• Jian Chuxue is increasingly resentful of Jian Ruonan and covets her space, believing she could use it more effectively. Le Yu and the other rebel leaders underestimate the Maiden Army, setting up a clash.

Significant themes

• Deception and misplaced trust: Jiarou’s attraction to the Third Prince may blind her to his past behavior.
• Appearance versus ability: The rebels dismiss the Maiden Army as frivolous because of its feast and unusual name, potentially misjudging its strength.
• Ambition and envy: Jian Chuxue’s desire to take Jian Ruonan’s space reveals her resentment and hunger for power.
• Satire and comic contrast: The lighthearted mahjong game and the army’s lavish preparations contrast with the serious political rebellion and looming battle.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan, Commandery Princess Jiarou, and Wang Defa arrive at camp after a mahjong game. Dantai Mo had used careful tile-counting and strategic play to help Jian win, leaving Jiarou eager for a rematch.
• Jian refuses to play after lunch because she plans to nap. Jiarou questions whether Jian is treating the bandit campaign like a spring picnic, but Jian confidently trusts Prince Rui to deal with any attackers.
• Dantai Mo goes to the makeshift kitchen to cook two Sichuan dishes for Jian: water-boiled pork slices and twice-cooked pork. Jian watches him work, surprised by how domestic he seems compared with his dangerous, emotionally troubled reputation.
• The Maiden Army prepares a lavish meal of fresh meat and fish. Grateful for better food than their usual rations, the soldiers become even more devoted to Jian and work hard.
• Jian brings out an All-in-One Popcorn Cannon Machine to entertain the troops. Abbot Li operates it under her instruction while Wu Yehe watches with her month-old baby, Gas Canister. The baby grips Teng’s finger with surprising strength.
• Jian explains that she brought Gas Canister because he survived extraordinary dangers before birth and is destined to become a formidable general.
• The popcorn machine builds pressure and fires with a tremendous bang. At that moment, enemy leaders Tokugawa Dajiao, Yoshikawa Kudan, and Le Yu have secretly brought their men near the camp. Le Yu is baffled by the explosion, having expected a picnic.

Character developments and interactions

• Dantai Mo shows his attentiveness through both his clever mahjong play and his effort to cook Jian’s favorite food. He hopes she will remember his cooking, even if she does not return his feelings.
• Jian Ruonan remains carefree and confident, prioritizing naps, food, and fun even during a military campaign. Yet she inspires fierce loyalty among her troops by ensuring they are well fed.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou is competitive and frustrated by her mahjong loss, and she doubts Jian’s relaxed approach to the campaign. She also feels less special when she sees how much attention Jian gives others.
• Wu Yehe, Abbot Li, and Teng share the camp’s lighthearted atmosphere, while their reactions to Gas Canister emphasize the baby’s unusual strength.
• The Black Tortoise System enthusiastically urges Dantai Mo to win Jian over through cooking, while teasing him about her tendency to value him only when she needs something.

Significant themes

• Affection expressed through practical care: Dantai Mo’s cooking and Jian’s attention to her troops show care through service rather than declarations.
• Food and loyalty: The Maiden Army’s improved meals strengthen morale and devotion.
• Humor amid danger: The contrast between a relaxed “picnic” atmosphere and an approaching enemy creates comic tension.
• Unexpected strength and potential: Gas Canister’s survival and grip suggest the extraordinary future Jian imagines for him.

Key events

• Le Yu’s scouts mistake the loud reports from Jian Ruonan’s cooking for an enemy stove exploding. After finding puffed rice, they decide the opposing army is distracted by a picnic and prepare to attack.
• The noise actually comes from Jian Ruonan’s popcorn cannon. She makes puffed rice and popcorn for the soldiers, who are impressed by both the food and the machine.
• Dantai Mo realizes that puffed rice keeps well and could serve as lightweight, ready-to-eat military rations—but the System scolds him for thinking about logistics while his food is burning.
• At Teng’s request, the group tries roasting a whole chicken in the cannon. The chicken blasts away at high speed, and everyone sets off to find it.
• Le Yu and the Wa Kingdom warriors divide their rescue plan: Le Yu will free Honda Sanlunzi, while Tokugawa Dajiao and Yoshikawa Kudan dig a tunnel so they can drug the enemy.
• Le Yu breaks Honda out of his pig pen, but Honda is reluctant to leave because even the army’s leftovers are far better than the food he is used to.
• The flying chicken suddenly arrives. Honda tries to catch it, but it lands in Le Yu’s mouth, and Le Yu swallows it whole. Honda is left furious and hungry.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan shows off her inventive, practical side, using the cannon for cooking as well as spectacle. Her casual “probably not” when Teng worries about safety adds to the comic tension.
• Dantai Mo thinks strategically, quickly spotting puffed rice’s potential as military food, even while cooking.
• Teng is eager to experiment and initially excited to see a chicken blasted from the cannon, but becomes nervous when asked to catch it.
• Honda Sanlunzi has grown attached to the plentiful food in captivity. His hunger outweighs his desire for rescue, and the lost chicken turns his disappointment into resentment toward Le Yu.
• Le Yu misreads the cannon’s blasts as trivial cooking noise, then accidentally takes the meal Honda desperately wanted. His rescue attempt consequently worsens their relationship.
• The soldiers admire Jian Ruonan’s cannon, interpreting even her cooking equipment as an impressive invention.

Significant themes

• Food as power and military resource: Puffed rice’s portability and shelf life make it useful for marching and ambushes, while access to meat shapes Honda’s loyalties.
• Misunderstanding and comic irony: Le Yu mistakes cooking for an enemy’s failure; the chicken’s unpredictable flight turns a rescue into a food disaster.
• The absurdity of war: Plans involving tunnels, knockout drugs, and military strategy are repeatedly overshadowed by snacks and a runaway chicken.

Key plot points and events

• Le Yu is caught after a chicken is forcibly pulled from his mouth, leaving it swollen and difficult to speak. He claims to be a local villager and demands compensation.
• Jian Ruonan recognizes him as Le Yu, leader of the rebel Great Circle Army, and orders his execution before properly questioning him. He narrowly avoids it by claiming his father came from India.
• Jian Ruonan decides the claim is plausible only if Le Yu proves his Indian heritage by singing and dancing. When two captured Japanese operatives—Tokugawa Dajiao and Yoshikawa Kudan—are brought in, Le Yu insists they are Indian too.
• The three men are threatened with execution unless they perform before the meal. They put on a comic song-and-dance routine for Jian Ruonan and her companions as the soldiers eat.

Character developments and interactions

• Le Yu shifts from angry, self-assured bluffing to panic as Jian Ruonan repeatedly threatens to behead him. He improvises the Indian-father story to survive, then recruits the two Japanese captives into his cover.
• Jian Ruonan is portrayed as impulsive, ruthless, and easily amused: she laughs at Le Yu’s swollen mouth, dismisses his explanations, and treats execution as a casual threat, even while presenting herself as compassionate.
• Tokugawa Dajiao and Yoshikawa Kudan are captured while trying to drug the food. They go along with Le Yu’s desperate claim and join the performance.
• The soldiers and commanders—including Teng, Wang Defa, Jiarou, and Dantai Mo—share in the laughter, turning the interrogation into a spectacle.

Significant themes

• Comic absurdity and farce: A botched chicken mishap drives the capture, interrogation, and forced performance.
• Power and arbitrary justice: Jian Ruonan’s authority allows her to threaten execution on flimsy grounds, leaving the captives to survive through improvisation.
• Deception as survival: Le Yu’s increasingly elaborate lies, and the Japanese captives’ cooperation, become their only defense.
• Public humiliation: The captives’ song and dance transforms a life-or-death interrogation into entertainment for their captors.

Key plot points and events

• Le Yu, leader of the Great Circle Army, and two Wa Kingdom generals are forced to perform a lively song and dance. The bizarre spectacle leaves the onlookers stunned and disrupts dinner.
• Jian Ruonan explains that the prisoners are enemy leaders, not Indian performers. The Third Prince has been stripped of his title and renamed Mechuan Yaokuzi.
• Over dinner, Jian proposes turning the three captives into an evening-entertainment troupe for the Maiden Army. To keep them compliant, she gives them ordinary candy while claiming it is a deadly poison requiring an antidote every three days.
• The captives develop stomachaches after eating a whole chicken following years of subsisting on flatbread, then immediately singing and dancing. Jian reveals the harmless truth to her companions.
• Jian orders the prisoners to perform two songs a day in exchange for food and protection. The Maiden Army Song and Dance Troupe is formed, with Le Yu as lead singer and the three generals in supporting roles.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan shows her resourcefulness and theatrical cruelty, using medical knowledge and a convincing bluff to control the captives without actually poisoning them.
• Le Yu and the Wa generals go from captured enemies to unwilling entertainers, their performance talent becoming a means of keeping them useful—and alive.
• Teng remains an enthusiastic admirer of Jian, interpreting her schemes as further proof of her brilliance.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou is both appalled by Jian’s methods and quick to reward her when she hears the explanation.
• Dantai Mo quietly tracks how much Jian enjoys his cooking, while feeling overlooked compared with Jiarou.

Significant themes

• Humor through deception: Jian’s “death pills” are just candy, and the captives’ symptoms have an ordinary explanation.
• Power and survival: Jian turns prisoners into useful performers through threats, bluffing, and control of food.
• Unexpected talents and role reversals: Enemy generals become entertainers for the army.
• Food and camaraderie: The meal provides a setting for teasing, gossip, and the group’s reactions to Jian’s schemes.

Character interactions

• Jian teases Jiarou about whether she still loves the former Third Prince, prompting an awkward silence.
• Teng praises Jian’s “powers,” while Jiarou and Wang Defa privately recognize how easily he is taken in.
• Jian’s companions crowd around to hear her explanation of the captives’ stomachaches.
• Dantai Mo’s inner thoughts reveal his desire for Jian’s appreciation, contrasted with Jiarou’s ability to win her attention with gold.

Plot points and events

• The Great Circle Army remnants report that four Wa Kingdom leaders—Le Yu, Tokugawa Dajiao, Yoshikawa Kudan, and Honda Sanlunzi—have defected to Jian Ruonan’s Maiden Army and been forced into a song-and-dance troupe. Jian Chuxue is stunned when the soldiers demonstrate the troupe’s catchy song.
• Chuxue announces her plan to use a Fire Ox Formation against the Maiden Army, then orders Ge Ou to offer a feigned surrender as cover for a surprise attack.
• The plan requires 5,000 oxen, but the army is nearly broke. Chuxue reluctantly spends her private savings, earned from selling soap, to buy them; the army intends to steal what it can and pay for the rest.
• In the Maiden Army camp, the four defectors are confined to a pigpen. Their food is far better than before, but they bicker over it and are expected to perform again that night. Their stomachs suddenly begin hurting, and they demand an antidote.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Chuxue swings between theatrical confidence in her supposedly brilliant strategy and practical improvisation. Despite her contempt for the others’ ignorance, she must sacrifice her own savings to make the plan possible.
• Ge Ou is relieved by the idea of a feigned surrender and praises Chuxue’s ingenuity, though he also points out the plan’s logistical problems.
• The four defectors have adjusted uneasily to life in the Maiden Army: they enjoy improved meals but resent their confinement and forced performances. Le Yu remains exasperated, while Honda is especially possessive of his food; the others tease and defer to Le Yu as their supposed Indian troupe leader.
• Chuxue’s rivalry with Jian Ruonan drives her preparations, while the defectors’ interactions provide comic contrast to the looming battle.

Significant themes

• War as deception: Chuxue plans to disguise an attack as surrender, treating trickery as a legitimate part of warfare.
• Ambition versus reality: Her grand historical aspirations collide with shortages of money, animals, and resources.
• Absurdity and coercion: Defection leads not to freedom but to forced musical performances, while catchy songs, language confusion, and food disputes undercut the military drama with comedy.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan orders the captured Wa warriors fed warm leftovers and moved out of the pigpen after their stomachs rebel; she also makes them rehearse for a performance. Soon afterward, the Great Circle Army submits an unconditional surrender.
• Jian Ruonan suspects the surrender is a ruse. Using her supernatural “gossip screen,” she discovers that Jian Chuxue is secretly buying thousands of cattle to prepare a Fire Ox Formation.
• Ge Ou, the surrender messenger, is captured and thrown in with Le Yu and the Wa warriors. Jian Ruonan’s threats and harsh treatment convince him that Le Yu was right to defect.
• The Maiden Army’s officers spend a night trying to devise a defense, ultimately concluding that they should avoid the formation. Jian Ruonan, however, appears unconcerned, spending her days playing mahjong, cuddling pandas, and enjoying the camp’s performances.
• After Jian Chuxue has had five days to acquire the cattle, Jian Ruonan reveals her countermeasure: secretly mix a potent aphrodisiac into their feed, along with pills that increase the chance of multiple births.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains playful, eccentric, and seemingly carefree, but her gossip screen gives her crucial intelligence, and she eventually produces an unconventional plan. Her subordinates mistake her calmness for proof of a master strategy.
• Jian Chuxue is revealed to be feigning surrender while preparing a cattle-based attack.
• Ge Ou arrives skeptical of Le Yu’s defection, then quickly learns why Le Yu left and becomes another captive forced into the performance.
• The Maiden Army’s officers, especially Captain Xue and Commander Wang, are anxious about the formation and repeatedly interpret Jian Ruonan’s leisure as evidence that she has a hidden solution.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou bickers and plays mahjong with Jian Ruonan, while Teng reassures others that the general must have a plan. The Marquis’s Brother-in-law correctly understands Jian Ruonan’s proposal when Captain Xue misunderstands it.
• Dantai Mo and the Black Tortoise System speculate about Jian Ruonan’s abilities; the system accidentally hints that she may be its host too, then dodges further questions.

Significant themes

• Comedy through contrast: The officers treat the looming battle as a grave crisis while Jian Ruonan focuses on food, mahjong, pandas, and absurd schemes.
• Deception and intelligence: The surrender is a trap, but Jian Ruonan’s supernatural access to hidden information exposes it.
• Unorthodox warfare: The chapter’s solution is deliberately ridiculous, turning the enemy’s cattle-based strategy against them through reproductive interference.
• Perception versus reality: Jian Ruonan’s apparent idleness is taken as confidence and genius, though the actual countermeasure is far from a conventional military plan.

• Jian Ruonan prepares for the cattle attack: She gives Captain Xue a rare Multiple-Birth Pill, explaining that it guarantees conception and can produce up to eight healthy offspring. The pill is meant for the cattle, but Xue—whose family has had only one son per generation for nine generations—secretly tries to take some for himself. Jian catches him and promises to help later, while warning him not to steal the pills or the potent aphrodisiac.
• The army anticipates a feast: Jian orders extra vegetables and cooking supplies, expecting the five thousand cattle to fight violently during mating. She cheerfully plans beef dishes, including hot pot, and the Maiden Army eagerly prepares for a rare meal: Great Xia’s laws forbid slaughtering draft cattle, but cattle that die accidentally may be eaten.
• The prisoners celebrate—and then panic: The captured Wa Kingdom generals are delighted to hear beef is on the menu, especially since their recent meals have been far better than what they ate with the Third Prince. Their enthusiasm is interrupted when Le Yu points out that they have been posing as Indians, who traditionally regard cattle as sacred and therefore cannot plausibly eat beef. The group laments their predicament and considers pretending not to know what the meat is.
• A military revelation sparks a quarrel: Ge Ou explains that Mr. Snow’s apparent surrender is a feint and that he plans to attack with the powerful Fire Ox Formation. He expects the Maiden Army to be routed, leaving the prisoners free to seize its food. Ge then berates the Wa generals and Le Yu for letting good meals soften them. Honda Sanlunzi, who already resents Ge’s greedy eating and hypocrisy, attacks him, and the prisoners’ argument turns into a fight.
  Character developments and interactions: Jian remains practical and confident, balancing military preparations with comic enthusiasm for the coming feast. Captain Xue’s urgent wish for an heir reveals the pressure of his family’s fragile lineage. The Wa generals’ food-driven excitement clashes with Le Yu’s concern about their cover story, while Ge Ou’s scorn and Honda’s resentment expose divisions among the prisoners.
  Themes: The chapter uses food and the prospect of beef for comedy while highlighting cultural identity, family continuity, and the danger of complacency. Beneath the feast preparations, Ge Ou’s warning introduces the threat of deception and an impending battle.

Plot points

• Jian Chuxue gathers 5,000 cattle and prepares them for a flaming cattle attack, assuming Jian Ruonan has been fooled by a surrender letter and is distracted by celebration.
• Unbeknownst to her, Jian Ruonan has arranged for Wang Defa and Honda Sanlunzi to sneak into the cattle camp and drug the animals’ feed.
• The next morning, the drugs send the cattle into a mating frenzy. The armed bulls fight one another for access to the cows, turning the planned formation into chaos.
• The fighting kills or injures many of the Great Circle Army and Wa warriors; the survivors flee. The Maiden Army defeats the tactic without losing a soldier.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Chuxue’s confidence in her deception—and her contempt for Jian Ruonan—leaves her unprepared for the scheme’s failure.
• Jian Ruonan remains composed and strategic, secretly monitoring events through her light screen while playing mahjong and resting.
• Wang Defa and Honda Sanlunzi work together on the tunnel operation. Honda cooperates eagerly when promised beef.
• The Maiden Army and Jian Ruonan’s companions watch the unfolding disaster with astonishment. Commandery Princess Jiarou tries to shield the child Teng from the spectacle.

Significant themes

• Deception and overconfidence: Jian Chuxue’s certainty that her enemy is foolish helps make her own plan vulnerable.
• Resourcefulness and unconventional warfare: Jian Ruonan defeats a powerful attack through stealth and an unexpected use of drugs.
• Absurdity amid violence: The chapter turns a military strategy into grotesque, dark comedy, mixing battlefield danger with an utterly uncontrolled mating frenzy.

Plot points and events

• After the Fire Ox Formation collapses, Jian Ruonan sleeps through the morning, waking at noon to a beef feast made from the battle’s dead cattle.
• Her officers report that the Great Circle Army’s leaders, Le Yu and Ge Ou, were captured, while many enemy officers died in the chaos. Jian Chuxue tried to revive the formation with the exhausted surviving cattle, was injured by a bull, then fled when the Maiden Army arrived.
• The army must decide what to do with roughly two thousand surviving cows. Jian Ruonan proposes paying local residents to care for them and use the bulls to plow fields, then returning with calves the following year to establish a livestock farm.
• Before serving the beef, Captain Xue worries that the cattle were drugged. Jian Ruonan explains why the meat should be safe and suggests testing it on captives and foreign warriors first.
• The Wa Kingdom warriors and Le Yu theatrically resist eating beef, pretending they are Indian natives forbidden to eat it. Once Captain Xue threatens to behead anyone who refuses, they eagerly devour the meal while pretending to weep.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan is revealed as both strategically capable and comically hungry for praise. She enjoys her subordinates’ compliments, privately urges them to continue, and turns the surplus cattle into a plan for local employment and future farming.
• Teng, Captain Xue, and the Maiden Army officers enthusiastically praise Jian Ruonan’s victory and ingenuity. The Commandery Princess, Jiarou, is amused and wary of feeding Jian Ruonan’s already enormous ego.
• Jian Chuxue is shown as stubborn and increasingly desperate: she persists with the failed cattle tactic, is injured, and escapes.
• Le Yu, Ge Ou, and the Wa Kingdom warriors reveal their opportunism and comic hypocrisy. Ge Ou eats first, while the others loudly resist until threatened; they then compete to eat while maintaining their performance.
• Jian Ruonan and Jiarou joke about the surviving bulls as “mating kings,” extending the chapter’s bawdy humor.

Significant themes

• Ingenuity and practical governance: Jian Ruonan converts a battlefield victory into a plan for livelihoods, agriculture, and future prosperity.
• Pride and flattery: Her strategic success is undercut by her delight in praise, a trait the other characters notice.
• Comic hypocrisy and survival: The captives’ claims of principle vanish when food—and a threat—are involved.
• Absurdity after battle: The chapter shifts from a deadly military clash to cattle management, beef preparation, and farcical food theatrics.

Plot and events

• After the Wa Kingdom’s warriors and the Great Circle Army finish eating beef, Captain Xue separates the prisoners and has them guarded. The Maiden Army briefly worries that the warriors might be put in the pigpen while the drugged men are still riled up; Captain Xue explains that the general feared they might attack the pigs. When no such behavior occurs, the prisoners are returned to the pigpen.
• Jian Chuxue, already wounded, cuts her hand while handling a bull. Her attendants save her, but her forces suffer heavy losses despite escaping the bulls by digging underground. Expecting eventual capture, she abandons Coiling Dragon Mountain and retreats to seek refuge with Mechuan Yaokuzi.
• The Maiden Army sets out to capture Mechuan Yaokuzi. Meanwhile, Jian Ruonan plays mahjong with Commandery Princess Jiarou, whose skills and teamwork with Wang Defa have improved.
• Concerned that Jian Ruonan’s victory has made her careless, several officers decide to advise her. They confront her about her indulgence in leisure and urge her to keep studying tactics and never underestimate the enemy.
• Jian Ruonan welcomes their advice—but privately turns the occasion into a chance to gossip about Captain Xue. Her investigation reveals that he has one son, blames his wife for not having more, and comes from a family with many daughters. The officers and others listen in, shocked and increasingly embarrassed by the gossip.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan appears lazy, indulgent, and arrogant, but she listens to her officers and uses the meeting to assess their personalities. Her intrusive gossip, however, undercuts the respectability of her response.
• The officers, led by Commander Wang and including Captains Li, Zhang, and Xue, show loyalty by challenging their general rather than staying silent. They initially mistake her promise of a “pitou” reward for encouragement, then grow uneasy as the gossip becomes personal.
• Captain Xue is revealed as a capable officer with a poor temper and unfair expectations of his wife regarding male heirs. He becomes an unwilling target of Jian Ruonan’s private commentary.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou teases Teng about Jian Ruonan’s supposed arrogance; Teng defends her in his own blunt, affectionate way. Dantai Mo also admires Jian Ruonan’s authenticity, while Wang Defa’s proximity to her prompts a brief, jealous reaction from Dantai Mo.
• Jian Chuxue’s retreat marks a setback for the Wa Kingdom’s forces and sets up the Maiden Army’s campaign against Mechuan Yaokuzi.

Significant themes

• Leadership and caution: The officers stress that victory can breed overconfidence, and that vigilance and preparation remain essential.
• Loyalty through honest criticism: The officers see frank advice as a way to help their general succeed.
• Comedy through contrast and gossip: Serious military concerns repeatedly collide with Jian Ruonan’s irreverent inner monologue and the group’s appetite for secrets.
• Gender and family expectations: The chapter challenges the assumption that sons matter more than daughters and points out that a child’s sex is determined by the father, not the mother.
• The costs of conflict: Jian Chuxue’s injury, the Wa warriors’ losses, and their retreat show the campaign’s real dangers beneath the comic tone.

Plot points and events

• The officers gather to remonstrate with General Jian Ruonan, but Captain Xue loses his nerve when Jian’s inner thoughts expose a startling family secret: his father is actually his mother, a woman who inherited the family business disguised as a man. Jian concludes that the Xue family’s celebrated line of nine generations of only sons has already ended.
• Rather than criticize Jian, Xue showers her with extravagant praise. Amused and pleased, Jian encourages him to work hard; Teng and Commandery Princess Jiarou mock his retreat.
• Commander Wang is left exposed when the other officers step back. Asked what he wants to say, he asks about Jian’s plans for the next stage of the campaign. Jian privately admits she has no formal strategy, but her principle is to cut down anyone who gets in her way. In public, she assures the officers that she and Prince Rui have a foolproof plan, and Dantai Mo offers to answer questions.
• Jian’s thoughts uncover Wang’s background: he is the legitimate eldest son of the Duke of An, but was expelled from the family estate. The revelation turns into scandalous gossip when Jian discovers he is in love with his father’s concubine. The chapter ends with Jian concluding that love is hard to hide.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains confident and theatrically composed, even as her inner thoughts reveal her lack of military training and reckless approach. Her supernatural ability to uncover private secrets leaves the officers intimidated and turns their attempted criticism into comedy.
• Captain Xue goes from reluctant participant to frightened flatterer after Jian exposes his family history. His sudden shift earns him Jian’s favor but makes him a target of teasing.
• Commander Wang tries to maintain his dignity by asking about military tactics, only to have his aristocratic origins and romantic scandal exposed in front of the group.
• Teng and Jiarou provide a running chorus of mockery and gossip, while Dantai Mo calmly supports Jian’s public claim that a plan exists.
• The officers’ collective retreat leaves Wang isolated, showing how Jian’s reputation and mind-reading-like insight have shifted the balance of power between her and her subordinates.

Significant themes

• Public composure versus private thoughts: Jian speaks like a capable commander while privately admitting uncertainty and imagining a brutally simple strategy.
• Secrets and unexpected identities: Xue’s family history and Wang’s forbidden love reveal how little the characters’ outward roles tell the whole story.
• Power, fear, and loyalty: Jian’s ability to expose secrets discourages dissent, while her officers try to survive the encounter through flattery or retreat.
• Comedy through gossip: Serious military concerns repeatedly give way to outrageous revelations and teasing.

Key plot points

• Commander Wang’s humiliating past is exposed: he once hid beneath a bed while his father, the Duke of An, was with a concubine. He was discovered when he farted.
• Jian Ruonan’s supernatural gossip screen reveals the incident in embarrassing detail. Although Commander Wang tries to hurry the army onward, Jian refuses to stop watching until the story is over.
• The Maiden Army’s officers carry Commander Wang away so he cannot interrupt, while the rest of the group settles in to watch. The episode ends with the army celebrating Jian as flawless, even though she remains lazy and self-indulgent.
• During the march, Jian monitors Mechuan Yaokuzi, who has reunited with the fugitive Jian Chuxue. Alarmed by the presence of several tall officers, Mechuan secretly makes enormous height-boosting insoles to seem taller.
• After Jian Chuxue discovers that Mechuan promised Commandery Princess Jiarou the position of principal wife, she angrily runs off. Mechuan chases her in his absurdly tall insoles, twists his ankle, and stumbles upon the tomb of the Previous Dynasty imperial family.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan prioritizes entertaining gossip over military urgency, but also uses her knowledge of the original story to track Mechuan and hasten the treasure’s discovery.
• Commander Wang is mortified by the revelation and repeatedly tries to end the viewing; his discomfort only makes the gossip more entertaining to the others.
• Mechuan Yaokuzi is insecure about his height and determined to appear impressive, with comic and consequential results.
• Jian Chuxue reunites emotionally with Mechuan but turns furious when she learns of his promise to Jiarou.
• The surrounding officers and gossip hounds enthusiastically join Jian in watching the screen, then lavish exaggerated praise on her.

Significant themes

• Gossip and public embarrassment: Private secrets become communal entertainment.
• Comedy through vanity and misfortune: Mechuan’s insecurity and over-the-top insoles lead directly to his discovery.
• Fate and foreknowledge: Jian’s awareness of the original story lets her anticipate events and influence their timing.
• Appearance versus reality: Characters try to control how they are seen, but their hidden motives and ridiculous choices are exposed.

Key plot points and events

• The Maiden Army reaches Greenbrow Mountain, but Mechuan Yaokuzi has spent three days courting Jian Chuxue instead of searching for the Previous Dynasty Treasure.
• Jian Ruonan privately tests her officers’ loyalty by asking what they would do if they found a fortune. They insist the treasure should belong to her, and she approves Captain Kong’s plan to send a discreet group up the mountain while the rest prepare to trap the rebels.
• Snakes are discovered on the mountain. Rather than execute the captured foreign prisoners, Jian orders them to stage a snake-charming performance.
• The prisoners—Wa warriors and Great Circle Army leaders—argue over who is responsible for their predicament, then reluctantly rehearse with harmless green snakes. One prisoner is bitten but discovers the snake is nonvenomous.
• Jian’s soldiers also feed the prisoners wild mushrooms of uncertain safety, using them as test subjects before the army eats any.
• Later, four prisoners appear to have been poisoned. Jian finds them acting deliriously while handling and kissing the snakes. She refuses to call the army physician and orders a chair and brazier so she can watch the performance.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan is shrewd and self-serving about the treasure, but also playful and opportunistic. She treats prisoners as both experimental subjects and entertainment.
• The officers demonstrate their devotion to Jian, enthusiastically arguing that the treasure—and even the army’s prosperity—are owed to her.
• The prisoners remain divided and resentful, especially over Le Yu’s past decisions, but fear of punishment forces them to cooperate. Their squabbling gives way to reluctant teamwork.
• The soldiers enforce Jian’s orders and keep the prisoners in line, while the prisoners’ predicament becomes a source of comedy.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and authority: The officers’ answers reveal the army’s personal allegiance to Jian.
• Power and exploitation: The captured men are compelled to risk snakes and unknown mushrooms for their captors’ amusement and safety.
• Comic reversal: Jian’s supposedly sensible military preparations are repeatedly overshadowed by romance, greed, and absurd spectacle.

Plot points and events

• While waiting at camp, the Indian allies eat wild mushrooms and are made to perform with snakes. Yoshikawa Kudan warns that one snake is an immortal who wants chicken-and-mushroom stew; Jian Ruonan dismisses the claim and has him fed the remaining poisonous mushrooms. Honda Sanlunzi and Le Yu complain privately about her, but she spots them and makes them accompany the snake act with music.
• On Greenbrow Mountain, Mechuan Yaokuzi and Jian Chuxue finish digging into the Previous Dynasty’s tomb and uncover a vast treasure. Their celebration is cut short when they learn the Maiden Army has arrived.
• Jian Chuxue reveals that she has developed powerful, though unreliable, explosives and plans to defend the mountain with them and her tunnel-digging Wa Kingdom warriors.
• Jian Ruonan initially refuses to get out of bed despite the approaching enemy. Once she learns the treasure has been hidden in a cave behind the mountain, she orders her Italian Cannon prepared.
• To raise morale, Ruonan stages a chicken-blessing ritual and uses her amplified loudspeaker to demand the rebels surrender, then plays crude, rhyming threats on repeat.
• Jian Chuxue’s forces use a long lever to fling an explosive down the mountain. The blast creates a large crater and frightens the baby bears into Ruonan’s arms. Chuxue boasts about applying the lever principle; Ruonan responds with a melodramatic slogan.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains lazy and irreverent, but acts decisively once she knows her treasure is safe. Her theatrical announcements turn the camp’s anxiety into morale—though her concern for the treasure matters more to her than the danger.
• Jian Chuxue emerges as a capable, resourceful rival: she has secured the treasure, developed explosives, and uses terrain and basic mechanics to attack. Her confidence grows as her defenses prove powerful.
• Mechuan Yaokuzi and Jian Chuxue celebrate the treasure as the promise of a future together, then unite against the approaching army.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou chides Ruonan for sleeping through a crisis and pushes her to take command, while still encouraging her to make a show of leadership.
• Honda Sanlunzi and Le Yu resent Ruonan’s treatment but are too intimidated to openly resist; their attempt to keep quiet fails, and they are forced into the performance.

Significant themes

• The chapter uses comedy and parody to undercut the drama of a military confrontation, especially through Ruonan’s laziness, absurd threats, and the mushroom-and-snake spectacle.
• Resourcefulness and technology drive the conflict: Chuxue’s explosives and lever tactics challenge Ruonan’s cannon and loudspeaker.
• Greed, loyalty, and ambition intersect as the treasure inspires both the couple’s hopes and Ruonan’s determination to protect it.
• The chapter closes by breaking the fourth wall: the narrator jokes that readers have abandoned the gossip while the battle is underway.