Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Jian Ruonan has the Black Tortoise System write melodramatic battle poems and persuades the Fourth Prince, Dantai Mo, to recite them through a loudspeaker while she coordinates the weapons.
• The poems embarrass Dantai Mo and bewilder the Maiden Army, but the enemy mistakes the defenders’ odd taunts for bluster and grows overconfident.
• The Wa Kingdom forces prepare to attack. Jian Chuxue’s improvised interceptor explosives fail to stop the first gas-cylinder rocket, which detonates on the summit and kills many generals.
• Jian Ruonan follows with a pressure-cooker rocket launcher. Its unstable explosives cause more destruction, including among enemy survivors who had escaped the first blast.
• The defenders declare a sweeping victory before the Maiden Army has even deployed. Jian Ruonan orders her troops up the mountain to capture the remaining enemy and seize the treasure.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan shows confidence in her unconventional weapons and delegates freely, using Dantai Mo’s imposing presence for the challenge while she manages the attack.
• Dantai Mo dutifully recites the poems despite finding them mortifying; he later realizes the Black Tortoise System composed them and secretly coordinated with the Dog System.
• Jian Chuxue has learned from an earlier defeat and developed interceptor explosives, though they prove inaccurate and cannot stop the rocket.
• The Maiden Army shifts from confusion and disbelief to awe as the unfamiliar weapons reshape their understanding of warfare.
• Mechuan Yaokuzi and his generals mock the defenders and celebrate prematurely, then are caught off guard by the rockets. Commandery Princess Jiarou comes to understand why Jian Ruonan was so untroubled by the enemy’s presence.

Significant themes

• Technological disruption: Improvised modern weapons overturn conventional military expectations and make traditional troop deployment unnecessary.
• Overconfidence and misjudgment: The Wa Kingdom forces underestimate their opponents and mistake theatrical taunts for weakness.
• Comedy through contrast: Dantai Mo’s dignified image clashes with the embarrassing poems, while ordinary household objects become terrifying weapons.

Plot points and events

• The Maiden Army defeats the remaining rebels and climbs Green-Eye Mountain to recover the Previous Dynasty’s treasure. Jian Ruonan refuses to climb on foot, so soldiers carry her in a mountain sedan; Teng joins her, while Commandery Princess Jiarou reluctantly pays for a sedan of her own.
• Jian Ruonan’s soldiers eagerly take turns carrying her, treating the honor as a reward after witnessing her powerful Italian Cannon. Jiarou’s objections about luxury and military propriety go nowhere.
• At the summit, the enemy forces are defeated, but Mechuan Yaokuzi and Jian Chuxue are missing. The searchers find them together: Mechuan is stuck by his foot and treasured height-boosting insole, while Jian Chuxue refuses to abandon him. Jian Ruonan arrests them and locates the treasure.
• The army returns in triumph, with twenty prisoners of war and two Maiden Army members suffering only minor scrapes.
• On the journey back, Jian Ruonan gives Jiarou an oddly pointed warning that late-arriving affection is “worth less than grass.” Soon afterward, Jiarou finds herself in a pigpen listening to Mechuan declare his love. Meanwhile, gossip-loving onlookers crowd nearby, but Jiarou is excluded from their group chat.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan is shamelessly confident now that she expects to possess the treasure. She enjoys her soldiers’ devotion and trades playful barbs with Jiarou, while her priorities remain firmly on collecting the riches.
• Jiarou pushes back against Jian Ruonan’s extravagance and boasts, but repeatedly loses their verbal sparring. Her furtive behavior before Mechuan’s confession hints at an undisclosed connection or concern.
• Teng continues to flatter Jian Ruonan and playfully teases Prince Rui’s pride; Dantai Mo silently regrets giving him a Jade Jue.
• Mechuan Yaokuzi and Jian Chuxue are captured together. Their affectionate exchange suggests a bond, though Mechuan’s declarations of love to Jiarou create a comic complication.
• The soldiers’ worship of Jian Ruonan contrasts with Jiarou’s insistence on proper military conduct, while the gossipers’ exclusion of Jiarou adds another layer of teasing.

Significant themes

• Power and changing status: Jian Ruonan’s expected wealth transforms her attitude toward military funding and social rank.
• Pride versus practicality: Prince Rui’s embarrassment and Mechuan’s attachment to his insole both make characters look foolish.
• Romance and timing: Jian Ruonan’s warning about belated affection becomes an ironic lens for Mechuan’s confession.
• Comedy through contrast: The chapter pairs battlefield victory and a powerful weapon with petty vanity, luxury, bickering, and gossip.

Plot points

• On a cold spring night, Jian Ruonan disguises herself and follows Commandery Princess Jiarou, hoping to witness some gossip. The Black Tortoise System tries to lure Dantai Mo out to watch too, but he first confronts it about secretly sharing information with the Dog System.
• Black Tortoise admits it has told Jian Ruonan some of Dantai Mo’s preferences to help her pursue him. Dantai makes it promise to get his permission before contacting the Dog System again, then heads out—only to find a crowd already gathered.
• Jian Ruonan, Wang Defa, and the Marquis’s Brother-in-law organize the “Scavenger Group” to watch Jiarou visit the pigsty. Dantai Mo quietly takes Wang Defa’s place beside Jian Ruonan.
• Jiarou brings Mechuan Yaokuzi a warm flatbread, aware that prisoners are hungry. Mechuan, who has been too proud to eat alongside the pigs and his men, is starving—but first tries to win Jiarou back.
• Mechuan claims he has realized she is the person he cares about most and recalls a romantic memory beneath an apricot tree. Jian Ruonan and the other listeners privately mock his sudden declarations as self-serving and greasy. The chapter ends with him attempting to build a romantic mood in the cramped, noisy pigsty.

Character developments and interactions

• Dantai Mo is jealous and guarded, especially where Jian Ruonan is concerned, but his composure slips when she is involved. His interaction with Black Tortoise reveals both his suspicion and his susceptibility to matters of the heart.
• Black Tortoise manipulates Dantai with gossip and romantic teasing, while trying to conceal how much it has helped Jian Ruonan.
• Jian Ruonan takes the role of an eager gossip-hunter and helps coordinate the observers, though her mute-the-subject ability means Jiarou cannot hear her thoughts.
• Jiarou shows lingering compassion for Mechuan despite their past; she brings him food but does not appear persuaded by his confession.
• Mechuan uses affection and shared memories to appeal to Jiarou, but his timing and circumstances make his sincerity questionable.

Significant themes

• Gossip as social entertainment: the characters turn a private encounter into a group spectacle.
• Romance versus self-interest: Mechuan’s declaration is undercut by his vulnerable position and apparent need for Jiarou’s help.
• Jealousy and hidden feelings: Dantai’s quiet claim to a place beside Jian Ruonan hints at his attachment.
• Comic contrast: Mechuan’s grand romantic speech clashes with the pigsty’s cramped, noisy, and undignified setting.

Plot points and events

• Captives Mechuan Yaokuzi and Jian Chuxue are held separately while the soldiers watch their increasingly messy romantic drama. Jian Chuxue appears asleep but is secretly listening.
• Mechuan confesses his love to Commandery Princess Jiarou, despite having recently been involved with Mr. Snow. When Jiarou asks about Mr. Snow, Mechuan dodges the question and claims Mr. Snow is only his adviser.
• Mechuan tries to persuade Jiarou to escape with him to the Wa Kingdom, promising to make her queen and avoid taking a concubine until they have a legitimate son. Jiarou is tempted, but his promises leave her feeling strangely diminished—an effect of Jian Ruonan’s earlier warning about him.
• Jian Ruonan and the others worry that Jiarou is being manipulated. Ruonan suggests finding her a better suitor. Teng volunteers, but is too young; the Fourth Prince instead nominates Young Master Wang.
• Wang Defa is abruptly kicked out of the group of spectators and finds himself face-to-face with Jiarou. Pressured into the role, he announces that he has come to confess his love to her.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiarou is torn between her old ambition to marry Mechuan and growing suspicion about his divided affections. Her repeated questions show she is no longer accepting his evasions without challenge.
• Mechuan proves opportunistic: he treats Jiarou’s jealousy as a chance to escape and offers grand promises while avoiding a direct explanation of his relationship with Mr. Snow.
• Jian Ruonan defends Jiarou from blame, arguing that Mechuan is the one pursuing her, and tries to steer her toward a more trustworthy match.
• Jian Chuxue silently listens to Mechuan’s confession, visibly reacting when he dismisses her as merely an adviser.
• Teng shows possessive concern for Jiarou’s wealth and eagerness to protect her from Mechuan, even volunteering to court her himself.
• Wang Defa and Captain Xue are both ejected from the gossip group for different reasons: Captain Xue’s views on relationships offend Ruonan, while Wang is pushed into becoming Jiarou’s prospective suitor. The Fourth Prince helps set that match in motion.

Significant themes

• The chapter satirizes romantic manipulation and the grand, self-serving promises of a would-be ruler.
• It emphasizes that Jiarou is not responsible for Mechuan’s flirtation and that the person pursuing multiple partners should answer for it.
• The gossiping onlookers turn private romantic trouble into comic entertainment, while also trying—sometimes absurdly—to protect Jiarou from being deceived.

Plot points and events

• Wang Defa confesses to Commandery Princess Jiarou, leaving her stunned. Mechuan Yaokuzi, imprisoned in a pig cage, immediately sees him as a romantic rival.
• Jian Ruonan and the others watch and gossip. Teng reveals that Wang Defa and Jiarou had seemed interested in each other during earlier mahjong games, recalling a moment when he touched her hand and she only gave him a look.
• Jiarou asks whether Wang Defa likes Fifth Miss. He admits he does, but clarifies that his feelings for Fifth Miss are friendship—the same kind of affection Jiarou herself feels for her. This reassures her and removes the threatening pressure Dantai Mo had been directing at him.
• Yaokuzi warns Jiarou that Wang Defa is after her money. Wang admits that her wealth first caught his attention, but says he admires her generosity and frankness and believes their temperaments would make them compatible. Jiarou blushes.
• Wang counters that Yaokuzi is projecting his own greed. He asks whether Yaokuzi would still love Jiarou if she gave all her money to Fifth Miss rather than rescuing him. Yaokuzi insists his love would not change. Wang then turns the pig cage, revealing Jian Chuxue, setting up a test of Yaokuzi’s claim.

Character developments

• Jiarou moves from disbelief and suspicion toward being touched by Wang’s frank, personal compliment.
• Wang Defa proves both candid and quick-witted: he acknowledges his attraction to Jiarou’s wealth without hiding it, then explains what he values about her.
• Yaokuzi becomes increasingly desperate to keep Jiarou from trusting Wang, while insisting his own love is unconditional.
• Jian Ruonan and Teng act as an amused audience; Teng’s eager gossip contrasts with Ruonan’s practical focus on the unfolding scene.

Themes and interactions

• The chapter playfully contrasts sincere affection with suspicion and self-interest, asking whether love can survive the loss of wealth.
• Directness is presented as both Wang’s defining trait and his romantic advantage, while the others’ gossip turns the confession into a public spectacle.
• Wang and Yaokuzi verbally spar over who is truly exploiting Jiarou. The final reveal of Jian Chuxue puts Yaokuzi’s declaration to an immediate test.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Chuxue overhears Mechuan Yaokuzi confessing his love for Commandery Princess Jiarou. Though devastated and jealous, she urges him to put the greater good first.
• After a comically dramatic bout of anguish—and being bitten by a pig—Mechuan chooses Jian Chuxue, admitting he still cannot let her go. Jiarou, disillusioned by their foolish romance, tells them to be together. Mechuan then awkwardly asks her to lock him in the same cage as Jian, which she refuses.
• The next day, the Maiden Army continues its victorious return to the capital. Meanwhile, Shang Er, newly made heir of the Prince of the Southwest, meets Zi Azha, heir of the Prince of Zhennan.
• Zi Azha dismisses General Jian’s victory as the Fourth Prince’s doing and boasts that the Fourth Prince’s paralysis spells trouble for the dynasty. Shang Er reports that Gao Shou has infiltrated the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence, and the two heirs plan to work together on a larger scheme.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Chuxue reveals how deeply she loves Mechuan, trying to suppress her heartbreak for the sake of duty before finally breaking down.
• Mechuan Yaokuzi remains torn between Jiarou and Jian, but ultimately chooses Jian; his melodramatic behavior turns the love triangle into farce.
• Jiarou recognizes the pair’s absurd, unhealthy devotion and withdraws from the romance.
• Shang Er and Zi Azha emerge as allied political schemers. Shang Er is cautious because of his family’s mysterious deaths, while Zi Azha is arrogant and underestimates General Jian.

Significant themes

• Love versus duty: Jian Chuxue tries to put the “greater good” ahead of her feelings, while Mechuan’s choice exposes the conflict between political convenience and personal attachment.
• Comedy amid drama: The chapter repeatedly punctures romantic anguish with absurd jokes, especially the pig-cage antics and the bystanders’ reactions.
• Overconfidence and hidden threats: Zi Azha’s contempt for General Jian contrasts with Shang Er’s caution, while Gao Shou’s infiltration signals danger ahead.

Key plot points and events

• In the capital, Emperor Deyuan learns that General Jian Ruonan’s Maiden Army defeated the bandits, captured more than twenty prisoners, and seized five thousand war oxen. Ruonan left two thousand live oxen in disaster-stricken Tong County and plans to establish a cattle farm there to provide work.
• Impressed by her victory and practical plan, the emperor promotes her to Dragon-Tiger General of the Principal Second Rank. Some ministers object, disparaging women’s military leadership and questioning her rapid rise.
• The scout explains that the bandits used a dangerous Fire Ox Formation. The court fears the Maiden Army suffered heavy losses, but the scout announces that it won without losing a single soldier.
• The emperor and court go to welcome the returning army. Ruonan arrives dramatically on a motorcycle, with Teng riding behind her, music blaring, and the Maiden Army marching in high spirits. Prisoners of war, including Jian Chuxue, follow on a cart.
• Ruonan jokingly presents her motorcycle as a divine object made from the restless souls of the slain war oxen. The emperor and officials are astonished; Chuxue recognizes it as an ordinary motorcycle, but a soldier threatens her for insulting the general.
• Asked how she defeated the Fire Ox Formation, Ruonan modestly claims it was luck, then points out a minister who had said even a pig could lead the army to victory. The scout identifies him by that insult, leaving the minister speechless.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan reinforces her reputation as a capable, resourceful commander while using humor, spectacle, and calculated modesty to manage her public image. She also remembers which officials criticized her.
• Emperor Deyuan shows strong affection and confidence in Ruonan, rewards her, and eagerly welcomes her home.
• Teng shares the triumphant return, riding proudly behind Ruonan.
• Jian Chuxue remains bitter and envious, resentful that Ruonan receives the recognition she believes she deserves.
• The Maiden Army’s soldiers display fierce loyalty, defending Ruonan’s honor and regarding her as exceptionally capable.

Significant themes

• Women’s competence versus prejudice: The ministers’ sexism is directly challenged by the Maiden Army’s decisive, casualty-free victory.
• Reputation and perception: Ruonan’s motorcycle and playful story turn an ordinary object into a “divine” spectacle, while her troops’ admiration amplifies her legend.
• Leadership and public service: Her plan for a cattle farm links military success to rebuilding a disaster-struck county and supporting ordinary people.
• Humor and power: Ruonan uses wit and theatrical flair to unsettle her critics and expose their earlier contempt.

Character interactions

• The emperor praises and promotes Ruonan, then asks her to explain her victory.
• The court’s skeptical ministers question her rank and ability; Ruonan answers their prejudice indirectly by calling attention to one critic’s own words.
• The scout loudly reports the army’s success and names the offending minister, reinforcing Ruonan’s defense.
• A Maiden Army soldier silences Chuxue when she mocks Ruonan, showing the troops’ devotion and Chuxue’s vulnerability as a prisoner.

Key plot points and events

• At court, Emperor Deyuan challenges ministers who had criticized General Jian Ruonan to offer real strategies against the enemy. He gives them the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
• Bureau Director Sun proposes avoiding the enemy’s charge, circling around, and attacking from behind. Ruonan praises the tactic aloud but mocks it in her thoughts as timid and useless.
• When Ruonan wonders whether Sun has deserted before, a supernatural Light Screen exposes a series of his failures: abandoning a classmate, abandoning a former lover to marry someone else, avoiding family disputes, and neglecting a concubine because of his sexual inadequacy. The system reveals that he lasts no more than four seconds, and the officials give him the humiliating nickname “Sun Four Seconds.”
• After Sun withdraws, another critic, Official Ren, proposes opening ranks to let charging cavalry pass before closing them again. The emperor points out that this would leave the army’s provisions and baggage vulnerable.
• Ruonan’s inner commentary then exposes Ren as a fortune-seeking opportunist who married a wealthy older widow and gained his post through her family’s influence. Other ministers add that his stepson is older than he is.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan is established as sharp-tongued, vindictive, and gleefully shameless: she compliments officials publicly while privately tearing apart their ideas and personal lives. Her magical gossip screen turns her private judgments into public humiliation.
• Emperor Deyuan uses the critics’ own challenge to make them demonstrate their competence, while clearly enjoying their embarrassment.
• Sun is revealed as habitually cowardly in friendship, romance, family life, and sex; his ill-considered military suggestion only reinforces Ruonan’s contempt.
• Ren appears learned and confident, but his proposed tactic is impractical, and the revelations about his marriage and career undermine his self-image as an expert.

Significant themes

• Talk versus competence: The ministers who criticized Ruonan struggle to produce sound plans when challenged.
• Public exposure and humiliation: The Light Screen transforms private shortcomings into court-wide spectacle.
• Hypocrisy and self-interest: Sun and Ren’s personal histories contradict the authority with which they speak.
• Power and reputation: Ruonan’s influence lies not only in her military rank but also in her ability to control the court’s attention and expose its members.

Character interactions

• Emperor Deyuan directly presses the ministers to justify their criticism with workable strategies.
• Ruonan’s polite praise of Sun and Ren sharply contrasts with her scathing inner thoughts, which the Light Screen makes audible to everyone.
• The officials react with collective laughter and gossip, amplifying each man’s embarrassment.
• Ren’s confidence is challenged both by the emperor’s practical question about supplies and by Ruonan’s revelations about his dependence on his wealthy wife.

Key plot points and events

• Emperor Deyuan asks his ministers how they would counter the enemy’s five-thousand-cattle charge. Official Wu proposes frightening the herd with noise, though the plan risks heavy casualties and is unreliable.
• The court’s Scout explains how Jian Ruonan actually defeated the formation: she recognized the enemy’s surrender as a feint, then used the lull to prepare medicines.
• Jian had secretly mixed a potent aphrodisiac and Multiple-Birth Pills into the cattle’s fodder. The bulls fought over the cows, while the cows became pregnant, rendering the herd unable to charge. A magical Light Screen shows the chaotic result.
• The court praises her ingenuity and medical skill. Emperor Deyuan promotes her from second-rank Dragon-Tiger General to first-rank General Zhaowu.
• The Emperor then raises a new matter: Jian has apparently seized the Previous Dynasty Treasure. She immediately denies that it ever happened.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan presents herself modestly, but the court’s account highlights her strategic insight, knowledge of the enemy, and unusual medical expertise. Her private thoughts also reveal her playful, irreverent attitude toward courtly praise.
• Official Wu, who previously made a sexist remark about women leading troops, is now anxious and ingratiating. He offers a more plausible countermeasure, praises Jian, and is relieved when she leaves his “juicy secrets” alone.
• The Scout acts as Jian’s enthusiastic narrator, explaining her plan to the court and emphasizing her achievements.
• Emperor Deyuan delights in drawing ministers into conversation and learning court gossip, then rewards Jian with a higher title.
• The ministers and Jian’s supporters react with astonishment and admiration, while others struggle to reconcile the bizarre medicines with a battlefield strategy.

Significant themes

• Ingenuity and unconventional strategy: Jian defeats a military threat by exploiting animal behavior rather than meeting force with force.
• Competence beyond expectations: Her success combines military judgment, knowledge of the enemy, and medical skill.
• Gender and authority: Wu’s earlier sexism contrasts with Jian’s proven abilities and formal promotion.
• Comedy and courtly spectacle: The absurd strategy, vivid magical display, and ministers’ reactions turn military history into gossip and entertainment.
• Reward and suspicion: Jian’s promotion is immediately followed by scrutiny over the treasure she supposedly captured.

Key plot points and events

• Emperor Deyuan suspects Jian Ruonan found the Previous Dynasty Treasure during the Maiden Army’s bandit-suppression campaign. Ruonan denies it, and her companions—including Dantai Mo, Jiarou, Wang Defa, Teng, and the soldiers—back her up. She has secretly hidden the treasure in her storage space.
• The emperor tries to pin down who told him about the treasure, but no one admits to it. The soldiers’ coordinated denial impresses Ruonan, who decides they deserve another pay raise.
• Ruonan returns to the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence with Teng. Her family welcomes her warmly, though Min fusses almost exclusively over Ruonan and brushes off Teng.
• At the welcome banquet, Young Shi-shi criticizes Ruonan’s placement between her grandparents and warns that her fame and achievements could make her a target. Her confidence stems from her daughter Jian Chuyun’s impending marriage to the Zhennan heir; she plans to schedule Chuyun’s wedding on the same day as Jian Xilu’s to embarrass the Elder Branch.
• Ruonan responds to the lecture by offering to perform a sword dance for Old Madam. Her chaotic, unskilled sword-swinging nearly hits Young Shi-shi, who accuses Ruonan of trying to kill her. Chuyun calls for someone to condemn Ruonan, and Teng steps forward, beginning a counterargument.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan remains bold, mischievous, and politically shrewd: she conceals the treasure, ensures her allies keep quiet, and uses a deliberately absurd display of filial piety to deflect criticism.
• Dantai Mo publicly supports Ruonan despite the emperor’s pressure, though Ruonan’s wink makes him visibly flustered.
• Teng shows his playful jealousy at being overlooked by Min, then bravely volunteers to defend Ruonan.
• Young Shi-shi grows more openly antagonistic, emboldened by Chuyun’s marriage prospects and her plan to undermine the Elder Branch.
• Emperor Deyuan remains suspicious but cannot prove Ruonan has the treasure.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and collective solidarity: Ruonan’s companions and soldiers protect her by maintaining a united denial.
• Power, reputation, and restraint: Young Shi-shi warns that high achievement can invite danger, while using that warning to attack Ruonan.
• Family rivalry and social maneuvering: The planned wedding-day clash reflects the branches’ ongoing competition.
• Humor and subversion: Ruonan turns a lecture about filial duty into a ridiculous sword performance, exposing the absurdity of the criticism.

Character interactions

• Ruonan and Deyuan engage in a comic battle of suspicion and denial, with the emperor unsuccessfully testing each companion.
• Ruonan’s private wink unsettles Dantai Mo, while the Black Tortoise System jokes about his racing heartbeat.
• Min’s affectionate reunion with Ruonan contrasts with her dismissive treatment of Teng.
• Young Shi-shi challenges Ruonan at the banquet; Ruonan’s sword dance nearly injures her, and Teng begins defending his sister just as the scene ends.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan returns from suppressing bandits and clashes with her second aunt, Young Shi-shi, who accuses her of being rude. Ruonan invokes her imperial authority—raising the emperor’s sword and threatening, through her manner, to flip the table—until the Old Madam tells Young Shi-shi to stop provoking trouble.
• Jian Chuyun mocks Ruonan’s roughness and warns that no one will marry her. Young Shi-shi reveals that Chuyun is engaged to become the Prince of Zhennan’s heir apparent’s consort, a high-ranking position. Chuyun uses the match to act superior and win the Old Madam’s sympathy.
• Ruonan appears to congratulate Chuyun, but her private thoughts reveal that she sees the marriage as a chance for Chuyun to cause trouble in the Prince of Zhennan’s household. She even jokes that she could marry the elderly prince herself.
• The family discusses upcoming weddings. Chuyun’s wedding is set for the eleventh of next month, the same month as Jian Xilu’s. Young Shi-shi boasts that the heir apparent’s status might entitle him to be treated as the older brother of Top Graduate Hou.
• Ruonan counters by pointing out that the heir apparent is thirty-eight—twenty years older than Hou—and mocks the idea that Chuyun’s much older fiancé will “cherish” her. Her joke that a sixty-eight-year-old would cherish Chuyun “all the way to heaven” makes the family laugh and leaves Chuyun furious.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains bold, irreverent, and protective of her standing in the family. She mixes mock deference with intimidation, while her inner monologue turns every dispute into a joke or a military metaphor.
• Jian Chuyun presents herself as delicate and superior, emphasizing her future rank and criticizing Ruonan’s unmarried, martial lifestyle. Her composure cracks under Ruonan’s taunts.
• Young Shi-shi tries to defend her daughter and flaunt the prestige of the match, but the Old Madam reprimands her.
• The Old Madam favors Chuyun emotionally but sides with Ruonan in the immediate quarrel, partly because Ruonan’s imperial sword and unpredictable temper make resistance risky.
• Teng, Min, and Xilu react to Ruonan’s comments with amusement or alarm, reinforcing the scene’s teasing, family-comedy tone.

Significant themes

• Power and status: Imperial authority, family rank, and marriage titles shape how characters speak and behave.
• Marriage and women’s roles: Chuyun insists that women must marry and be demure; Ruonan rejects the idea and ridicules it.
• Family favoritism and rivalry: The Old Madam’s affection for Chuyun coexists with Ruonan’s ability to sway the room.
• Humor as a weapon: Ruonan uses sarcasm and pointed jokes to puncture Chuyun’s pretensions and Young Shi-shi’s boasting.

• Jian Chuyun’s proposed marriage becomes a source of ridicule. Jian Ruonan mocks her sister’s match with Zi Azha, the thirty-eight-year-old heir of the Prince of Zhennan, noting his older children and joking about his age. Her inner thoughts also reveal that he has already lost two wives and has five legitimate sons. Jian Chuyun’s mother, Young Shi-shi, and the other relatives are horrified by Ruonan’s unfiltered commentary, while Chuyun grows furious and tries to silence her.
• The heir arrives in person. Zi Azha visits the Jinyang Marquis’s household after reaching the capital. Jian Chuyun, initially excited and bashful, peeks at him from behind a screen. Ruonan thinks he looks like a Komodo dragon, and a magical “Light Screen” displays the comparison for everyone to see. She also jokes that his handsome appearance is only convincing beside the unattractive young men accompanying him. Teng joins in by comparing Zi Azha unfavorably with other male relatives.
• Zi Azha brings lavish gifts. He presents a tray of valuable southern trinkets, impressing Young Shi-shi and Jian Lang, who take the gifts as further proof that the marriage is advantageous. When the family invites the children to choose items, Ruonan eagerly insists that the concubines’ children be included too, provoking Chuyun’s criticism. Chuyun then accuses Ruonan of trying to seduce the heir, prompting another comic exchange.
• Character developments and interactions: Chuyun’s eagerness to meet her prospective husband clashes with her growing embarrassment and anger at Ruonan’s remarks. Ruonan remains irreverent, quick-witted, and focused on gossip, while Teng gleefully echoes her judgments. Young Shi-shi and Jian Lang prioritize the marriage’s status and wealth; the Old Marquis is relieved not to have provoked Ruonan earlier.
• Themes: The chapter uses family banter and the supernatural display of Ruonan’s thoughts for comedy. It also exposes the transactional nature of arranged marriage: the household values Zi Azha’s status and gifts, while his prior marriages and large family raise uncomfortable questions that social decorum tries to conceal.

Plot points and events

• During the greeting-gift selection, Jian Ruonan arranges for the Elder and Third Branches’ concubine-born children to join the line. The growing crowd worries Young Shi-shi, who fears the gifts will run out.
• Little Teng, the Elder Branch’s second legitimate son, chooses a jade pendant and takes a hollow gold ball for Jian Ruonan, knowing she likes it. Zi Azha notices her and remarks on her reputation as a young general.
• Young Shi-shi dismisses Jian Ruonan as a playful child, while Min defends her and criticizes Jian Chuyun’s temperament. Their verbal sparring is interrupted by Zi Azha’s attention to Jian Ruonan.
• Jian Ruonan leaves the Flower Hall. Jian Chuyun follows and accuses her of trying to seduce Zi Azha because he spoke to her and defended her.
• Jian Ruonan responds with an extravagant barrage of insults, insisting Zi Azha was the one pursuing her. Teng backs her up, explains her metaphor about “swill,” and joins in teasing Jian Chuyun until she flees in tears.
• Back in her courtyard, Jian Chuyun tells Young Shi-shi what happened. Young Shi-shi considers spreading rumors to ruin Jian Ruonan’s marriage prospects, but learns the full, especially vulgar details of the insults and realizes they cannot be repeated publicly.

Character development and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains bold, irreverent, and quick-witted. She cares more about claiming a gift than about impressing Zi Azha, and refuses to accept Jian Chuyun’s accusation without fighting back.
• Jian Chuyun shows jealousy and insecurity over Zi Azha’s attention to Jian Ruonan. Her confidence collapses under Ruonan’s insults, and she turns to her mother for comfort and retaliation.
• Teng is affectionate and loyal to Jian Ruonan: he gives her the gold ball, cheers her on, and helps translate her insults for Jian Chuyun.
• Young Shi-shi tries to belittle Jian Ruonan while supporting her own daughter, then plots to damage Ruonan’s reputation. Her plan is complicated by the very language she would need to publicize.
• Min defends Jian Ruonan and challenges Young Shi-shi’s criticism, adding to the tension between the women.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and rivalry: Jian Chuyun interprets Zi Azha’s interest in Jian Ruonan as deliberate seduction.
• Reputation and social control: Young Shi-shi hopes to use gossip to limit Jian Ruonan’s marriage prospects, reflecting the pressure placed on unmarried women.
• Sharp-tongued defiance and comic reversal: Jian Ruonan turns an accusation against her into a humiliating counterattack, while the final exchange reveals that her insults are too scandalous for her opponents to repeat.

Plot and key events

• The Prince of Zhennan’s heir, Zi Azha, stays overnight at the Jinyang Marquis’s estate. Second Miss Jian Chuyun visits him late at night to warn that the emperor plans to abolish the fiefs.
• Chuyun can’t explain how she learned this because an unexplained “beep” interrupts her whenever she tries to reveal too much. She instead tells Zi Azha that her fifth sister, Jian Ruonan, seems unusually interested in him.
• Zi Azha mistakes this for romantic interest, becomes secretly pleased, and promises Chuyun he will firmly reject Ruonan if she behaves improperly.
• The next morning, Zi Azha waits outside Ruonan’s courtyard, hoping to charm her with a poetic performance and peach blossoms. He has also learned that Ruonan, not the official Anti-Gambling Commissioner Shi Fan, is really directing the operation.
• When Ruonan finally comes out, she sees Zi Azha pounding a tree and mistakes it for an eccentric exercise routine. He claims the setting has inspired him to recite poetry.
• Just as Zi Azha begins his romantic verse, a maid accidentally splashes liquid manure into his mouth while fertilizing the peach tree. Ruonan turns the mishap into a crude comic poem, then finishes Zi Azha’s poem with a scatological parody.

Character developments

• Jian Chuyun is anxious to protect her sister and alert Zi Azha to danger, but her inability to speak freely leaves her flustered. She also appears to believe Ruonan’s supposed attraction could cause trouble.
• Zi Azha reveals himself as vain, calculating, and easily flattered. He intends to use Ruonan’s presumed affection to gain access to the emperor’s secrets, but his carefully staged seduction collapses into humiliation.
• Jian Ruonan remains blunt, irreverent, and unimpressed by Zi Azha’s looks or status. She treats his romantic overture as an opportunity for mockery rather than courtship.

Themes and character interactions

• Comic reversals and punctured vanity: Zi Azha’s carefully choreographed display is ruined by an accidental splash of manure, exposing the gap between his grand self-image and reality.
• Miscommunication and mistaken assumptions: Chuyun’s warning about Ruonan’s interest is misread by Zi Azha as romantic admiration, while Ruonan interprets his tree-pounding as exercise.
• Power and concealed motives: Zi Azha plans to exploit Ruonan for political intelligence, while Ruonan’s actual influence is greater than her official position suggests.
• The chapter’s main exchanges contrast Zi Azha’s practiced charm and self-importance with Ruonan’s direct, gleefully vulgar humor.

Key plot points and events

• After winning praise for her comic poem about the heir apparent eating dung, Jian Ruonan leaves him behind and visits her mother, Min.
• Min is anxious about choosing a “woman of complete blessings” for Xilu’s wedding. The Eldest Princess has offered, but her family circumstances make her unsuitable. Ruonan promises to turn her down, then sends a blunt letter marked with “woman of complete blessings” and an X—much to Min’s dismay.
• The household’s fortunes have risen since Ruonan’s promotion, bringing a flood of invitations and marriage inquiries. Ruonan dresses in her first-rank general’s robes for the evening celebration.
• Minister Shi Fan privately asks Ruonan for Multiple-Birth Pills, hoping to have a child of his own. Ruonan refuses unless he gives his ministerial post to her father. Shi is unsettled but says he will consider it.
• Jian Chuyun confronts Ruonan, accusing her of pursuing the heir apparent. Ruonan mocks the heir’s dung-eating and denies any interest in him. When Chuyun tries to slap Ruonan’s maid Xiaoyu, Ruonan blocks her.
• Seeing approaching guests, Chuyun pretends Ruonan struck her and collapses, hoping to disgrace her. Ruonan responds by throwing herself onto Chuyun and claiming that Chuyun hit her.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains irreverent, confident, and quick-witted. She treats social conventions casually, bargains boldly with Shi Fan, and refuses to let Chuyun bully her maid.
• Min is practical and concerned with propriety, but Ruonan’s “help” repeatedly leaves her uneasy.
• Shi Fan reveals his deep loneliness and longing for a biological child, making him willing to consider a drastic bargain.
• Jian Chuyun is jealous of Ruonan’s supposed connection to the heir apparent. Despite preparing for a verbal fight, she resorts to public deception when challenged.
• Xiaoyu supports Ruonan and joins in mocking the heir apparent, while Ruonan protects her from Chuyun.
• Ruonan and Chuyun turn the confrontation into a comic contest of feigned victimhood before an arriving audience.

Significant themes

• Satire of social status and etiquette: Ruonan’s blunt letter and outrageous bargaining clash with the formal expectations around weddings and rank.
• Reputation and public performance: Both sisters try to control how others see them, especially when witnesses appear.
• Family, fertility, and loneliness: Shi Fan’s request exposes the emotional cost of his childlessness, while the wedding’s “complete blessings” requirement reflects the importance placed on family fortune.
• Loyalty and protection: Ruonan’s defense of Xiaoyu contrasts with Chuyun’s attempt to silence and strike her.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan stages a dramatic “accident” by falling on top of Jian Chuyun and refusing to get up until Chuyun apologizes. The onlookers mistake the scene for childish play and criticize Chuyun’s manners.
• Ruonan forces Chuyun to apologize for spreading rumors about her and the Prince of Zhennan’s heir. She mockingly blesses the couple, and Chuyun runs away in tears while Ruonan calls after her.
• Later, Ruonan meets Dantai Mo, Prince Rui, privately. He is now able to stand and reveals that he had been pretending his legs were still impaired while investigating who caused his fall from a horse.
• Dantai Mo gives Ruonan a chest of gold as payment for her acupuncture. He has discovered that the three princes of the fiefs were involved, but Ruonan’s private “lookup” reveals the specific plot: the Prince of the Southwest had someone from Miao territory use gu on the horses.
• Dantai Mo asks Ruonan to continue treating his legs, claiming he still feels discomfort. When she wonders why they are not fully healed and accuses the Black Tortoise System of keeping the energy she supplied, Dantai Mo realizes she knows about the system and its role.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains mischievous, confident, and fiercely practical. She turns Chuyun’s attempt to smear her into a public humiliation, then eagerly accepts the gold and displays unexpectedly detailed knowledge of Dantai Mo’s case.
• Jian Chuyun is outmaneuvered and embarrassed. Her attempt to control the scene backfires, leaving her dirty, disheveled, and forced to apologize.
• Dantai Mo reveals his strategic side: he had concealed his recovery to investigate the attack. His interest in spending more time with Ruonan grows, though he keeps his intentions composed.
• The Black Tortoise System is exposed as a source of information—and possibly as having withheld healing energy. Its usual banter with Dantai Mo becomes dangerous when Ruonan openly questions it.

Significant themes

• Reputation and social judgment: Bystanders misread the struggle and judge Chuyun rather than recognizing Ruonan’s manipulation.
• Cunning and reversal: Ruonan turns an attempted insult into an apology and a public embarrassment.
• Secrets and hidden knowledge: Dantai Mo’s feigned disability and Ruonan’s access to concealed information drive the political mystery.
• Comedy and romantic tension: Dantai Mo’s pretext for continued treatment, the system’s teasing, and Ruonan’s blunt inner thoughts create humor alongside growing intimacy.

Key plot points and events

• Dantai Mo realizes the Black Tortoise System has likely told Jian Ruonan that he stole lamp oil, and his humiliation sends his corruption value soaring.
• Jian Ruonan, unaware of his embarrassment, prepares to treat his legs. She studies acupuncture instructions in her mind as she works, hoping to maintain her reputation as a medical expert.
• Black Tortoise intervenes to calm the crisis: it tells Jian Ruonan that Dantai Mo is becoming agitated and urges her to massage his legs. It also reassures Dantai Mo that she does not know about the lamp oil, while teasing him about her efforts to help.
• Jian Ruonan massages and examines Dantai Mo’s legs, then follows a tutorial to locate several acupuncture points. Each touch lowers his corruption value slightly, though his face grows increasingly flushed.
• Nervous about making a mistake, Jian Ruonan stops short of inserting needles and instead applies moxibustion. Dantai Mo insists he is not hot, despite his visible blush and perspiration.
• Dantai Mo’s emotional reaction earns him 1,000 points.

Character developments and interactions

• Dantai Mo is deeply embarrassed and angry at Black Tortoise’s apparent betrayal, but Jian Ruonan’s care quickly distracts him. He remains composed outwardly while becoming increasingly flustered by her touch.
• Jian Ruonan shows genuine initiative in trying to help Dantai Mo, though she is improvising and learning acupuncture as she goes. She believes physical contact will reduce his corruption.
• Black Tortoise tries to protect itself from Dantai Mo’s wrath by manipulating both sides: it urges Jian Ruonan to soothe him and persuades Dantai Mo to focus on her rather than the betrayal.
• Jian Ruonan and Dantai Mo’s treatment session becomes an awkwardly intimate exchange: she handles and measures his legs and fingers, while he tries to hide how strongly he reacts.

Significant themes

• Pride versus vulnerability: Dantai Mo’s concern for his dignity makes the lamp-oil secret especially painful, even as his feelings leave him unable to stay angry.
• Deception and self-preservation: Black Tortoise conceals, reframes, and exaggerates information to protect itself.
• Care expressed through physical closeness: Jian Ruonan’s earnest treatment both helps Dantai Mo and unsettles him emotionally.
• Comedy through dramatic irony: Jian Ruonan misunderstands Dantai Mo’s reactions as signs of corruption or treatment progress, while he is actually flustered by her attention.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan’s leg treatment triggers huge point gains. Dantai Mo’s Black Tortoise System admits it secretly arranged for him to give Jian points in exchange for the energy needed to heal his legs.
• When Jian presses and massages Dantai Mo’s legs, his emotional reactions produce thousands more points, and his corruption value drops sharply. She happily pays off her debt and has enough points left to upgrade the Dog System.
• After leaving the room, Jian encounters Zi Azha, who makes a snide remark about her being alone with Dantai Mo. He is stunned to see Dantai walking normally and realizes Jian healed him.
• Eager to claim Jian’s medical skill for himself, Zi Azha asks her to treat him and offers valuable treasures as a consultation fee. Jian accepts once she sees the payment.
• Dantai secretly follows, growing jealous when Jian agrees to treat Zi Azha. Her private thoughts compare Zi Azha to a sawfish; a screen displaying the fish frightens Dantai.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan discovers that physical contact with Dantai can generate large point rewards. Her focus shifts quickly from treatment to maximizing her gains, though she remains willing to provide care when paid.
• Dantai Mo is grateful to Jian but irritated that his system takes credit for his recovery. He also becomes jealous of her attention to Zi Azha, despite trying to hide it.
• Black Tortoise System reveals its role in arranging the points and teases Dantai about jealousy. It also gossips with the Dog System about Jian’s “treatment.”
• Zi Azha moves from suspicion and shock to ambition: seeing Dantai healed convinces him Jian is exceptionally valuable, so he seeks her treatment.
• The Dog System is drawn into the systems’ gossip and reacts with embarrassment.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and romantic tension: Dantai’s possessiveness emerges as Jian treats him and then turns her attention to another man.
• Transactional care and reward: Jian’s healing work is intertwined with point gains, while Zi Azha secures her help with gifts.
• Comic misunderstandings and hidden thoughts: Private inner monologues, system conversations, and the sawfish comparison repeatedly undermine characters’ attempts to appear composed.

Key plot points and events

• After Jian Ruonan leaves, Zi Azha orders his men to prepare Harmony Incense for her and takes an antidote, assuming he can control her once it takes effect. When a subordinate doubts that Ruonan likes him, Zi Azha insists her insults are merely a tactic to attract his attention.
• Shaken by the Sawfish, Ruonan rides her Harley to Jian Chuyun’s courtyard and asks her sister to come inspect it, hoping to avoid being mistaken for someone trying to steal her seafood.
• Chuyun, still smarting from their earlier argument, gathers her sharp-tongued attendants to confront Ruonan. Granny Wang opens with moralizing and insinuations about Ruonan’s chastity.
• Ruonan counters through her revealing inner commentary, exposing Granny Wang’s history: her husband repeatedly pressured her to seduce men while secretly watching. The unexpected scandal leaves the women stunned and their appetite for the confrontation dwindling.
• Ruonan’s thoughts hint that there is more to Granny Wang’s story, leaving the argument—and the gossip—unfinished.

Character developments

• Zi Azha is overconfident and delusional, interpreting Ruonan’s contempt as romantic interest and believing his scheme will succeed.
• Jian Ruonan recognizes she is outnumbered and chooses to uncover her opponents’ vulnerabilities rather than trade insults directly.
• Jian Chuyun returns to the confrontation feeling prepared and confident, but the revelations quickly undermine her side.
• Granny Wang shifts from aggressive scolder to embarrassed target of gossip, though she remains outwardly thick-skinned.

Significant themes

• Misread intentions: Zi Azha mistakes hostility for flirtation, while Chuyun expects a straightforward verbal showdown.
• Gossip as power: Ruonan’s revelations derail the confrontation more effectively than insults could.
• Hypocrisy and sexual double standards: Granny Wang’s attack on Ruonan’s conduct is undercut by her own complicated past.
• Comic reversal: Those who arrive ready to shame Ruonan become the subjects of scrutiny themselves.

Character interactions

• Zi Azha dismisses his subordinate’s sensible doubts and presents his plan as a lesson in seduction.
• Ruonan approaches Chuyun with a practical request, but Chuyun interprets her arrival as a challenge and mobilizes her attendants.
• Granny Wang tries to shame Ruonan; Ruonan’s inner voice instead exposes Granny Wang’s private history, turning the gathered women from attackers into eager listeners.

Plot and Events

At Clearwave Courtyard, Granny Wang tries to stop Jian Ruonan’s gossip-filled inner thoughts by charging at her and screaming. Jian Ruonan knocks her into the bushes with her motorcycle, then jokingly demands money from Jian Chuyun for “exorcising” the granny and turns Chuyun’s moral criticism back on her.
Chuyun sends three more grannies to confront Ruonan. Ruonan’s thoughts expose an affair-swapping cycle between Chen Pozi and Granny Zhang, whose husbands each had an affair with the other during pregnancy. The revelations provoke the two women into fighting one another, while Granny Li quietly enjoys the gossip. With all four attendants neutralized or distracted, Chuyun gives up the confrontation.
Ruonan explains that she has come because the Heir asked her to examine him, and she invited Chuyun along to avoid suspicion. When Chuyun questions why the apparently healthy Heir needs an examination, Ruonan recalls seeing him exercise and uses the Light Screen to reveal his morning routine: he dances Latin. The onlookers are stunned.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains irreverent and quick-witted, turning attacks into jokes and using her gossip-revealing inner voice to disarm Chuyun’s attendants.
• Jian Chuyun tries to control the encounter through her servants and moral condemnation, but loses the advantage as they are exposed, distracted, or defeated. She is left wary of Ruonan.
• Granny Wang attempts to silence Ruonan, gets knocked into the bushes, and pretends to be dead.
• Chen Pozi and Granny Zhang go from preparing to insult Ruonan to accusing and fighting each other after their mutual marital betrayals are revealed.
• Granny Li acts as an amused audience rather than joining the confrontation.
• The Heir does not appear in person, but his request for an examination and surprising Latin-dance workout become the chapter’s final revelation.

Significant Themes

The chapter plays with gossip as power: Ruonan’s ability to expose secrets repeatedly shifts control of the conflict. It also satirizes moral grandstanding and hypocrisy, using exaggerated physical comedy, tangled adultery, and the Heir’s unexpected dance routine for humor.