Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan’s Scavenger Group grows rapidly as she investigates gossip, while the Marquis’s Brother-in-law and Wang Defa wait outside the inner courtyard, eager to hear it.
• Teng leads them toward Clearwave Courtyard, where they secretly witness Zi Azha performing a bizarre strength exercise: he suspends himself from a bar by a rope tied to his genitals. Jian Ruonan silently praises the feat, and Teng misunderstands it as a form of “cock-strength” training.
• Jian Ruonan invites her Second Sister, Jian Chuyun, to visit the heir. Chuyun spends over two hours dressing up and dousing herself in perfume, hoping to impress him.
• Jian Ruonan waits for her, then takes her on the Harley motorcycle to Zi Azha’s residence. She jokes that the ride will air out Chuyun’s overpowering perfume.
• Zi Azha has waited for hours, convinced that Jian Ruonan is deliberately keeping him in suspense. When the sisters arrive, he is surprised that Chuyun has come too, but welcomes them inside.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains irreverent and self-assured. Her familiarity with extraordinary spectacles has made Zi Azha’s performance less startling, and she teases Chuyun while taking charge of their visit.
• Jian Chuyun reveals her romantic interest in Zi Azha: she carefully dresses and perfumes herself to make a lasting impression, and worries when she hears he is unwell. Her bashfulness contrasts with Ruonan’s blunt humor.
• Zi Azha is vain and confident in his appeal, interpreting the long delay as deliberate flirting. He is proud of his physical prowess but also shows signs of age when his back begins to ache.
• Teng and the onlookers react with shock and fascination. Teng’s childlike misunderstanding turns the performance into a comic spectacle, while the adults’ stunned reactions expose how outrageous it is.

Significant themes

• Comic misunderstanding and exaggeration: Characters interpret the same event in wildly different ways, driving the chapter’s humor.
• Courtship and self-presentation: Chuyun’s elaborate preparations and Zi Azha’s carefully staged pose show both sides trying to shape how they are perceived.
• Public gossip and private spectacle: The Scavenger Group’s popularity and the hidden audience at Clearwave Courtyard highlight the social appetite for scandal and entertainment.

Plot and events

• Jian Ruonan and her sister Jian Chuyun enter the guest room to examine Zi Azha, who is convinced Ruonan is interested in him.
• The Fourth Prince, Teng, Hou Lixie, and Wang Defa arrive and refuse to leave, turning the examination into a crowded spectacle.
• Chuyun suspects Ruonan is trying to attract Zi Azha. Ruonan denies it, joking that he resembles a sawfish. She draws one as proof, and the comparison embarrasses everyone except Zi Azha, who misreads the insult as flirtation.
• Ruonan demands her consultation fee before treatment and happily accepts the gold and silver Zi Azha had prepared.
• When Chuyun grows jealous at the prospect of Ruonan touching Zi Azha’s wrist, Ruonan uses a silk thread to examine his pulse instead. She then warns him not to tug on his testicles while dancing Latin.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains practical, irreverent, and shamelessly business-minded. She repeatedly rejects any romantic interest in Zi Azha, while her teasing and unusual diagnostic performance entertain the onlookers.
• Jian Chuyun continues to misread Ruonan’s actions as romantic pursuit and becomes jealous. She is relieved when the silk-thread technique avoids direct contact.
• Zi Azha is vain and delusional, interpreting Ruonan’s mockery and professional actions as attempts to win his attention.
• Dantai Mo (the Fourth Prince) silently watches Ruonan, grows displeased when she is about to touch Zi Azha, and is pleased when she switches to the thread method—though he attributes her choice to consideration for Chuyun.
• Teng and the others openly indulge their curiosity, pretending to visit out of concern while staying to witness the examination.

Significant themes

• Comic dramatic irony: Zi Azha’s confidence clashes with everyone else’s awareness that Ruonan is insulting him.
• Jealousy and mistaken assumptions: Chuyun and Dantai Mo react emotionally to Ruonan’s possible contact with Zi Azha, while Ruonan herself remains focused on the examination.
• Practicality over romance: Ruonan treats the encounter as paid work, prioritizing her fee and a theatrical diagnosis over flirtation.

Key plot points and events

• Zi Azha misunderstands Jian Ruonan’s crude explanation of his “morning exercises,” taking “Latin” as the name of his swinging-on-a-bar stunt.
• Jian Ruonan’s Light Screen publicly displays an exaggerated image of him performing the move. Rather than feel embarrassed, Zi Azha decides the exposure will help advertise his prowess.
• Jian Chuyun worries that the violent exercise has injured Zi Azha and asks Jian Ruonan to treat him. Ruonan claims acupuncture is her specialty, while Teng and Dantai Mo confirm she has treated the Fourth Prince before.
• Ruonan prepares her equipment, but another Light Screen reveals that she is watching an acupuncture tutorial as she works. She privately wonders whether Zi Azha has an illness or merely unusual fetishes, and decides to discard her needles afterward.
• When Ruonan asks him to remove his clothes, Zi Azha eagerly strips to a bright-red, flower-embroidered men’s bellyband and poses for her. Ruonan is horrified and thinks he is sexually harassing her like a sawfish.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan remains blunt and practical, focused on the fee and unimpressed by Zi Azha’s antics. Her supposed medical expertise is undercut by her need to learn acupuncture on the spot.
• Zi Azha grows more convinced that Ruonan secretly adores him, interpreting her drawings, exposure of his stunt, and offer of treatment as signs of affection. His self-confidence turns embarrassment into self-promotion.
• Jian Chuyun shifts from confusion about Ruonan’s terminology to genuine concern for Zi Azha’s health, and is reassured by the claim that Ruonan is a skilled healer.
• Teng continues to puncture Zi Azha’s romantic fantasies with sharp, cynical commentary.
• Dantai Mo reacts coldly as Ruonan prepares to treat Zi Azha, recalling her earlier examination of him.
• Black Tortoise adds irreverent commentary and bickers with Dantai Mo about his overprotectiveness.

Significant themes

• Comic misunderstanding: Ruonan’s euphemisms and Zi Azha’s wishful interpretation create escalating confusion.
• Delusion versus reality: Zi Azha reads ordinary or embarrassing events as proof of romance, while everyone else sees the absurdity.
• Public exposure and performance: The Light Screen turns private thoughts and actions into a spectacle, which Zi Azha embraces as a chance to show off.
• Appearance versus competence: Ruonan presents herself as a medical expert, but the tutorial reveals the gap between her persona and her actual preparation.

Character interactions

• Ruonan and Chuyun discuss the meaning of “Latin,” with Teng helping Chuyun understand the innuendo.
• Zi Azha’s swagger clashes with Teng’s mocking observations and the tea-serving subordinate’s increasingly dire assessment of his delusions.
• Chuyun entrusts Zi Azha’s treatment to Ruonan, while Dantai Mo watches uneasily.
• The chapter ends with Ruonan’s clinical request prompting Zi Azha to overenthusiastically undress and pose, provoking her horrified reaction.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan agrees to give Zi Azha acupuncture, but avoids touching him by claiming his illness must be treated at its root. She calls her blowgun a “flying-needle” technique and heated needles “fire needling,” while intending to scare him away.
• After gaining points from Zi Azha’s emotional reaction, Ruonan blindfolds him and fires a barrage of needles. He endures the treatment without a sound, but afterward realizes she has no romantic interest in him. He blames Jian Chuyun for encouraging his hopes and angrily pushes her away.
• The next afternoon, Ruonan visits the palace to thank Emperor Deyuan for his rewards. The emperor is investigating a string of sexual assaults targeting wealthy households, apparently carried out by an organized group. He has been berating the city commanders, but warmly welcomes Ruonan and praises her blunt suggestion to catch and behead the perpetrators.
• Commander Yin Yushu explains the case and asks Ruonan for her insights. She recognizes his name and recalls gossip that he has fifteen concubines, ten of whom are unfaithful—setting up her next revelation.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains resourceful and shamelessly improvises medical explanations to avoid contact with Zi Azha. At court, she enjoys the emperor’s extraordinary favor and is expected to use her gossip-based abilities to solve the investigation.
• Zi Azha shifts from hopeful flirtation to anger when he understands Ruonan’s lack of interest. His stubborn silence during the needling briefly sustains his confidence, but the treatment finally restores his “sense.”
• Jian Chuyun helps blindfold Zi Azha, still believing Ruonan can be trusted, but becomes the target of his resentment afterward.
• Dantai Mo privately delights in Ruonan’s treatment of Zi Azha and interprets her willingness to needle him as evidence that she treats Dantai differently. The Black Tortoise System mocks his jealousy and self-delusion.
• Emperor Deyuan favors Ruonan conspicuously, while the ministers recognize that her gossip system—not her short, obvious advice—is what makes her valuable. Yin Yushu, by contrast, approaches her skeptically and resentfully.

Significant themes

• Comedy through deception and misunderstanding: Ruonan’s fake medical expertise, Zi Azha’s romantic delusions, and Dantai Mo’s jealousy drive the humor.
• Power and favoritism: Ruonan’s privileged place at court contrasts with the officials’ frustration at being overlooked.
• Gossip as influence: Private scandals and hidden information are presented as tools that can expose crime and shape political outcomes.

Key events

• During an Imperial Study meeting about catching a sexual predator, General Jian Ruonan’s thoughts expose the scandalous state of Lord Yin’s household, much to the delight of Emperor Deyuan, the Six Ministers, and the newly arrived city garrison commanders.
• Lord Yin has fifteen concubines, all brought in by his wife, Lady Yin—not because the family is wealthy, but because she has a plan to counter his favoritism toward his cousin, the favored concubine.
• Lord Yin had told Lady Yin to care for his widowed mother, effectively outsourcing his own filial duty. Lady Yin, in turn, arranged for the concubines to serve the old madam, teaching them that winning the mother’s affection would help them win Lord Yin’s.
• The arrangement initially gives the old madam a comfortable life, but the crowded household becomes competitive. Lord Yin has little time for the concubines, and his favored cousin often monopolizes his attention. Some neglected concubines begin affairs, and the favored cousin even helps bring their lovers into the household.
• The chapter ends as Jian Ruonan compares Lord Yin to her own father, accusing him of similar foolishness in favoring a concubine. This triggers alarm from Jian Zhang and the ministers, suggesting another family scandal is about to emerge.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan dominates the scene by bluntly narrating private household affairs as though conducting an investigation. Her sharp moral judgments—especially about “outsourcing” filial duty—win over the officials.
• Lord Yin becomes increasingly mortified as his private life is exposed. He initially objects to the gossip, then realizes that resisting only draws more attention.
• Lady Yin emerges as clever and resourceful: she turns Lord Yin’s neglect into a system that benefits his mother while giving herself a comfortable life.
• The favored cousin holds household authority because Lord Yin favors her over his wife, and uses that position to undermine the other concubines.
• Emperor Deyuan and the officials enthusiastically join the gossip, reacting to Jian Ruonan’s account with amusement and outrage. Their responses turn the formal meeting into a comic public dissection of Lord Yin’s household.

Significant themes

• Filial responsibility: Jian Ruonan argues that caring for one’s own parent cannot simply be delegated to a wife or other household members.
• Power and favoritism: Lord Yin’s preference for his cousin leaves Lady Yin sidelined and gives the favored concubine control over the household.
• Marriage and domestic strategy: Lady Yin responds to her husband’s behavior with an elaborate, pragmatic scheme rather than open confrontation.
• Public judgment and private conduct: The chapter humorously shows how an official’s domestic life becomes fair game when exposed before the court.

Key plot points

• In the Imperial Study, Jian Ruonan’s thoughts reveal that Lord Yin’s household troubles stem partly from his mother favoring her niece, Concubine Shanshan, and Lord Yin’s weak attempts to obey his mother. Jian argues that filial devotion does not mean blindly supporting a parent’s wrongdoing.
• Asked to help catch a serial sexual predator, Jian casually divines that he will not strike that night because tighter security has driven him into the mountains. She plans to catch him when he returns.
• Just as court is dismissed, Jian’s thoughts reveal that several of Lord Yin’s concubines are currently having affairs. Lord Yin races home, pursued by Jian, the ministers, and commanders eager to witness the scandal.
• Finding some concubines absent, Lord Yin interrogates the household staff and learns that several have been meeting lovers. He counts nine offenders and goes to the teahouse to beg Jian for help.
• Jian identifies one more: Shanshan’s lover is the maid beside her. The chapter ends with Jian revealing that the “maid” is actually a man.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan remains blunt, playful, and remarkably effective. Her divination impresses the city commanders, while her inner commentary exposes the deeper family dynamics behind Lord Yin’s household.
• Lord Yin shifts from defensive embarrassment to desperate cooperation. He recognizes that his household is out of control and is willing to ask Jian for help, though he still struggles to challenge his mother.
• The Old Madam is shown as domineering and protective of her niece, even when that loyalty enables injustice.
• The ministers and officials become enthusiastic spectators, treating the scandal as entertainment and trusting Jian’s judgment.

Significant themes

• Filial piety versus moral responsibility: Respecting parents does not require obeying them when they are wrong.
• Household authority and favoritism: A husband’s failure to support his wife, combined with an elder’s favoritism toward a concubine, breeds disorder.
• Appearances versus truth: Shanshan’s tearful display of innocence makes even the officials doubt the evidence, but Jian sees through it.
• Public duty mixed with gossip: The officials move between serious criminal investigations and eagerly following private scandal.

Character interactions

• Jian challenges the idea of blind obedience, while Lord Yin’s mother and favored cousin illustrate how family hierarchy can distort judgment.
• The ministers follow Lord Yin home under the pretense of offering help, then watch events from a teahouse.
• At the residence, Shanshan protests her innocence and the Old Madam attacks those accusing her; Jian cuts through their performance by naming the person beside Shanshan as her lover.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan exposes the household attendant Qiu Lu as a man disguised as a woman, despite the Old Madam and Official Yin initially dismissing her claim.
• After the Old Madam’s tantrum derails the discussion, Jian flips a table to silence the room. The Minister of War explains that her imperial commission permits “Edict-Authorized Table-Flipping.”
• Two senior servant women examine Qiu Lu and confirm he is male. The high-ranking concubine, Shanshan, immediately begs for mercy, revealing her awareness of the deception.
• Shanshan claims she only recently learned the truth and hid Qiu Lu out of compassion because he had escaped a male brothel. The narration’s private thoughts suggest she knew much earlier and kept him because she preferred him to Official Yin.
• The Old Madam tries to shield her niece with only six months’ confinement, but Official Yin overrules her: the guilty concubines are to be sent to the authorities, his mother is to be kept under supervision, and household management is transferred to Madam Zhu.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan proves decisive and unflappable, using her authority and boldness to cut through the household’s chaos.
• Official Yin moves from confusion and embarrassment to taking control of his household, though he initially tries to end the inquiry once Qiu Lu is exposed.
• Shanshan shifts from apparent confidence to panic and pleading; her story of compassion is contradicted by the chapter’s pointed inner commentary.
• The Old Madam is exposed as indulgent toward her niece and unable to manage the household fairly. Her authority is curtailed.
• Madam Zhu, long accustomed to being blamed, watches the scandal unfold with amusement and gains control of household affairs.
• The Minister of War encourages the investigation largely because he wants to keep watching the gossip unfold.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus truth: Qiu Lu’s feminine appearance conceals his identity, while Shanshan’s tearful account conceals her motives.
• Abuse of authority and favoritism: The Old Madam protects her niece while imposing weak consequences, prompting Official Yin to intervene.
• Public exposure and accountability: Jian Ruonan’s intervention turns private misconduct into an unavoidable reckoning.
• Comedy through scandal: The chapter mixes a serious household deception with exaggerated reactions, irreverent inner thoughts, and the running joke of Jian’s sanctioned table-flipping.

Key plot points

• After being struck by Jian Ruonan’s needles, Prince of Zhennan’s heir, Zi Azha, realizes Jian Ruonan had been making a fool of him. He angrily berates Jian Chuyun and leaves the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence.
• Chuyun spends several days crying. Her mother, Young Shi-shi, blames Jian Ruonan and gathers allies to confront her.
• Young Shi-shi’s sister-in-law, Wu-shi, has recently gained the prospect of joining Minister Shi’s family through an adoption arrangement. Young Shi-shi sees this new status as an opportunity to match Jian Ruonan with Wu-shi’s eldest son.
• The Old Madam is persuaded to consider the match, hoping it will give her more control over Ruonan. She summons Min without telling Ruonan beforehand.
• Ruonan arrives after hearing that Young Shi-shi is stirring up trouble. When told the discussion concerns her marriage, she refuses to be embarrassed and says she is unsuited to the hardships of marriage.
• Young Shi-shi describes her nephew as handsome, accomplished, and respectable. Ruonan checks the facts through her “Melon Patch,” discovering that he is indeed handsome—but has no maid because his family is poor.
• Ruonan then uncovers the decisive complication: the young man is already secretly pledged to another woman, who is pregnant. The couple are planning to meet their families that day.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains confident, irreverent, and difficult to manipulate. She counters marriage pressure with an elaborate list of impossible-sounding preferences and exposes the truth behind Young Shi-shi’s praise.
• Jian Chuyun remains resentful of Ruonan but recognizes that she cannot defeat her in a verbal confrontation. She tries instead to appeal to Min’s maternal hopes for her daughter.
• Young Shi-shi is ambitious and opportunistic: she wants to secure Chuyun’s match with Zi Azha and use Ruonan’s marriage to advance her relatives. Her plan falters as Ruonan sees through the proposed match.
• Wu-shi is caught between the family’s hopes for improved status and the embarrassing reality of her son’s secret relationship.
• The Old Madam is torn between wanting to control Ruonan and fearing the consequences of provoking her.

Significant themes

• Marriage as family strategy: The adults treat marriage as a tool for status, influence, and financial gain, while Ruonan insists on her own terms.
• Truth versus matchmaking embellishment: Young Shi-shi’s glowing sales pitch collapses under Ruonan’s access to gossip and hidden facts.
• Female agency and social expectations: Ruonan rejects the assumption that every woman must marry and have children, responding that she would enjoy the blessings herself.
• Satirical family politics: The chapter mocks scheming relatives, social climbing, and the gap between polished public stories and private realities.

Plot points and events

• Wu and Young Shi-shi initially reject Jian Ruonan’s private thought that Shi Jiang has secretly exchanged pledges with someone. They believe he is honorable and describe his impressive education, examination success, and prospects.
• Jian Ruonan pretends to be smitten with Shi Jiang and asks to see him from a distance. Wu and Young Shi-shi welcome the chance, hoping she will consider him as a husband.
• At Five Peace Private School, Shi Jiang receives praise for his examination results, then slips away after a stone is tossed onto his desk. In a hidden grove, he meets someone he calls Qingqing, apologizes for staying away, and promises to take Qingqing to meet his parents.
• Jian Ruonan insists the party enter by the back gate so Shi Jiang will not be embarrassed if she rejects him. They find two figures in the bamboo grove. Wu and Young Shi-shi insist the taller one cannot be Shi Jiang, but Jian Chuyun recognizes him.
• Jian Ruonan silences the “gossip subject” through her mysterious backend. The group watches as Shi Jiang holds the other person’s hand, then embraces and kisses them. Wu and Young Shi-shi scramble to explain away what they see, even inventing a fish-bone emergency.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan uses feigned romantic interest to uncover the truth and delights in watching the family’s explanations collapse. Her sharp, irreverent humor contrasts with the others’ attempts to preserve appearances.
• Wu is proud of Shi Jiang and invested in securing an advantageous match for him. Faced with clear evidence, she becomes increasingly defensive and refuses to accept what is happening.
• Young Shi-shi shares Wu’s confidence in Shi Jiang, but her certainty is shaken as the scene unfolds.
• Shi Jiang is revealed to have a secret romantic attachment, despite his family’s belief that he would never make private promises. He appears affectionate and committed to Qingqing.
• Jian Chuyun notices what the older women miss and identifies Shi Jiang.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Shi Jiang’s polished public image conflicts with his secret romance.
• Family ambition and marriage: Wu sees a prestigious match as a way to improve the family’s standing.
• Denial and reputation: The elders invent excuses rather than confront evidence that threatens their expectations.
• Gossip and comic exposure: Jian Ruonan turns a planned matchmaking visit into an inadvertent discovery.

Character interactions

• Jian Ruonan flatters Wu’s son to persuade the family to take her to see him, while quietly setting up a chance to observe him.
• Wu and Young Shi-shi praise Shi Jiang and encourage Jian Ruonan’s supposed interest, hoping to advance a match.
• Shi Jiang speaks tenderly to Qingqing, reassures them that he has not forgotten them, and promises an introduction to his parents.
• The family watches in hiding, with Jian Ruonan’s pointed commentary and Wu’s increasingly strained excuses turning the discovery into farce.

Plot points and events

• The household’s gossip-watchers catch Shi Jiang passionately kissing A Yan. Wu-shi rushes in, hoping to stop the relationship and revive her plan to marry him to Jian Ruonan.
• Ruonan mocks Wu-shi’s matchmaking attempt with a biting rhyme. Shi Jiang explains that A Yan is a girl, his former tutor’s granddaughter and fellow student, and that they fell in love while she helped him with his studies.
• Wu-shi rejects the match because A Yan is poor and lacks influential family. Shi Jiang insists he will marry no one else and threatens to leave the capital with her.
• Ruonan’s thoughts reveal that A Yan’s identity holds a secret—she is supposedly “his daughter”—but the chapter does not yet identify whose daughter she is. The others speculate that she may be a princess or another noblewoman.
• Misled by the possibility of A Yan’s prestigious origins, Wu-shi softens and agrees to meet A Yan’s mother before deciding. As the group follows them, Ruonan hints that an even bigger revelation is coming and sends her aide to fetch someone.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Jiang shows resolve and loyalty, openly defending A Yan and accepting the risk of defying his mother.
• A Yan is presented as gentle, clever, and important to Shi Jiang’s academic success; her background remains mysterious.
• Wu-shi shifts from rejecting A Yan to considering the match once she suspects A Yan may be high-born. Her hopes remain driven largely by status and her son’s prospects.
• Jian Ruonan drives the scene with sharp humor and concealed knowledge, while the other women eagerly follow the unfolding gossip.
• Old Madam initially tries to leave but stays when Ruonan suggests the real drama is still ahead.

Significant themes

• Love versus family ambition: Shi Jiang prioritizes his chosen partner over his mother’s arranged match.
• Status and social class: Wu-shi judges A Yan by her apparent poverty, then becomes receptive when she imagines A Yan may be noble.
• Secrets and mistaken assumptions: A Yan’s unexplained identity fuels speculation and sets up the next revelation.
• Gossip as comedy and social spectacle: The family’s observers turn a private confrontation into a collective entertainment.

Plot points

• Shi Jiang brings A Yan and his mother, Wu-shi, to meet A Yan’s teacher and discuss marriage. The families are summoned, including Shi Jiang’s father, Shi Hong.
• Shi Hong recognizes A Yan’s mother, Li Wei. Jian Ruonan’s inner thoughts reveal that Li Wei once saved Shi Hong, and the two had a relationship that resulted in a child.
• The gossiping onlookers realize A Yan is Shi Hong’s illegitimate daughter. Shi Hong initially objects to the young couple’s relationship, then softens when he learns A Yan is Li Wei’s child and sees their union as a chance to repay his old debt.
• Li Wei refuses the marriage and tries to take A Yan away. A Yan reveals she is carrying Shi Jiang’s child.
• Wu-shi points out the decisive obstacle: A Yan and Shi Jiang are blood siblings. Li Wei confirms that A Yan is Shi Hong’s daughter, leaving the couple—and their parents—stunned.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Hong moves from anger at Shi Jiang to tentative acceptance, then shock when he learns the truth about A Yan’s parentage.
• Li Wei is furious and guarded upon seeing Shi Hong. Though she initially refuses the marriage, her refusal reflects the devastating reality of the siblings’ relationship.
• A Yan and Shi Jiang begin the chapter devoted to each other, but their romance collapses when they discover they share a father. A Yan’s pregnancy raises the stakes.
• Wu-shi opposes the match and ultimately identifies the legal and familial barrier.
• Jian Ruonan and the other onlookers provide comic commentary, piecing together Shi Hong and Li Wei’s past through Jian Ruonan’s unspoken thoughts.

Significant themes

• Secrets and unintended consequences: A past relationship and years of separation reshape the present.
• Fate and family ties: What Shi Hong briefly interprets as a chance to repay a debt becomes a tragic revelation.
• Comedy colliding with melodrama: The onlookers’ gossip and reactions contrast sharply with the lovers’ sudden heartbreak.

Key plot points and events

• A Yan learns that her father’s death and her family’s past were not as she understood them. Overwhelmed, she faints and later says she no longer wants to live.
• Jian Ruonan’s inner voice reveals that Shi Jiang and A Yan are not biological siblings, prompting the assembled “gossip badgers” to stay and investigate.
• Shi Wu’ai, Shi Hong’s close friend, arrives. Ruonan asks whether he would consent to Shi Jiang and A Yan’s marriage. Though he says he has no authority, the group suspects he may be Shi Jiang’s biological father.
• Li Wei notices Shi Jiang resembles Shi Wu’ai, and Shi Hong reaches the same conclusion, accusing his friend of having an affair with Wu-shi. Both Wu-shi and Shi Wu’ai deny it.
• Ruonan stages a theatrical “divination” and makes Shi Wu’ai swear he never violated Wu-shi. Thunder crashes, but Ruonan explains that he did sleep with a maid while drunk—without realizing she was Wu-shi in disguise.
• A magical screen begins showing Wu-shi entering the drunken Shi Wu’ai’s room dressed as a maid and seducing him. The chapter ends as the scene unfolds.

Character developments

• A Yan swings between despair and hope as the possibility that she and Shi Jiang are unrelated emerges.
• Shi Jiang is stunned by the revelation but visibly hopeful about marrying A Yan.
• Shi Hong is shaken by the resemblance between Shi Jiang and Shi Wu’ai and quickly turns to suspicion.
• Shi Wu’ai insists he never knowingly betrayed Shi Hong; he is bewildered to learn he may have fathered Shi Jiang during an encounter he does not remember.
• Jian Ruonan combines compassion for the young couple with her enthusiasm for uncovering scandal, using a comic performance to expose the truth.

Significant themes

• Misunderstanding and hidden identity: The central family relationships turn on concealed facts and an encounter one participant does not remember.
• Hope amid despair: The possibility that Shi Jiang and A Yan are not siblings revives hope for their relationship.
• Truth and spectacle: Ruonan’s “divination” and the light-screen revelation turn a painful family secret into a public spectacle, blending drama with comedy.
• Consent and deception: Wu-shi’s disguise and manipulation of a drunken man complicate the chapter’s claims of betrayal and responsibility.

Character interactions

• Li Wei comforts A Yan as she reacts to the revelations.
• Jian Ruonan’s inner voice and bold questions guide the crowd’s suspicions and prompt Shi Hong to confront Shi Wu’ai.
• Shi Hong accuses his friend; Shi Wu’ai and Wu-shi deny wrongdoing and appeal to Ruonan for help.
• Shi Jiang and A Yan ask Ruonan to clarify their past, while the crowd watches eagerly and reacts to every new revelation.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan exposes Wu-shi’s affair with Shi Wu’ai on the night of the Dragon Boat Festival twenty-one years earlier. Her vivid account persuades Wu-shi to confess that Shi Jiang is Shi Wu’ai’s son.
• With Shi Jiang and A Yan revealed not to be siblings, Jian Ruonan says they can marry. Shi Hong is left to accept that his eldest son is not biologically his, while gaining a daughter and a successful graduate through the tangled family revelations.
• Back at Deer Song Courtyard, Jian Ruonan uses her newly earned points to pay off her loan and upgrade the Dog System.
• The upgrade does not remove the system’s censorship of intimate scenes, but it raises its level enough to detect Black Tortoise’s activities and potentially hear conversations with the Fourth Prince. It also alerts Jian Ruonan that the Fourth Prince is about to arrive.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan uses her supernatural certainty and theatrical storytelling to force Wu-shi’s confession, then decides she will keep the Shi family in mind as a source of future gossip. She remains sharp-tongued and eager to exploit the system’s new abilities.
• Wu-shi breaks under Jian Ruonan’s humiliatingly detailed revelations and confesses.
• Shi Wu’ai accepts that he slept with Wu-shi, though he appears to remember the encounter less clearly than Jian Ruonan does.
• Shi Jiang and A Yan are relieved to learn they are not siblings and can be together.
• Shi Hong is stunned and resentful about his wife’s affair and Shi Jiang’s parentage, but decides to acknowledge Shi Jiang’s achievements rather than openly divorce Wu-shi.
• The Dog System, now renamed the Hou System, celebrates its upgrade and boasts about its increased power. Its banter with Jian Ruonan remains irreverent and affectionate.

Significant themes

• Truth exposed through gossip: Jian Ruonan’s knowledge turns private misconduct into public evidence and forces a resolution.
• Family and identity: The revelations reshape parentage and relationships, yet the family chooses a pragmatic, if uncomfortable, settlement.
• Comedy and spectacle: The gossip audience’s reactions and Jian Ruonan’s irreverence make scandal entertaining, while the system’s censorship supplies a running joke.
• Power through information: The Hou System’s new ability to eavesdrop may give Jian Ruonan an advantage in future intrigue.

Plot points

• After Jian Ruonan’s promotion, the Maiden Army receives promotions, raises, and two months’ extra pay. Its success makes other military units envious, while a rush of suitors at the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence alarms Dantai Mo.
• Dantai fears Emperor Deyuan may arrange a marriage for him. Consort Yan, noticing his reluctance to marry, tries to discover whom he likes. Dantai hints that it is the Fifth Miss of the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence; Consort Yan agrees to stall the emperor but says Dantai must win Jian over himself.
• Dantai obtains permission to help Jian catch a sexual predator, then visits her residence. Jian keeps him waiting for hours while secretly listening to him and the Black Tortoise System.
• The Black Tortoise System cannot scan Jian or contact her Hou System. It jokes that Jian is probably asleep, while Dantai grows suspicious. Their conversation reveals that the Black Tortoise System once stole Hou System’s energy.
• After an upgrade, Jian and Hou System can hear Dantai and the Black Tortoise System, though the latter can no longer hear their conversation. Jian realizes the two had been able to hear her system-talk before.

Character developments and interactions

• Dantai Mo is increasingly serious about Jian and anxious to avoid a marriage that would prevent him from pursuing her. He stays composed outwardly, though his system’s advice and teasing frustrate him.
• Consort Yan shifts from seeking an ideal daughter-in-law to accepting that Dantai’s choice is the only one that matters—even if it is Jian, whom she recognizes as difficult to marry.
• Jian Ruonan remains playful and wary, choosing to eavesdrop rather than meet Dantai. She and Hou System conceal their discovery from him and his system.
• The Black Tortoise System boasts about its abilities and needles Dantai, but its failure to detect Jian exposes a new power imbalance.

Significant themes

• Romance versus duty: Dantai’s affection clashes with the possibility of an imperial marriage decree.
• Power and ambition: Jian’s military success reshapes the Maiden Army’s status and makes her a highly sought-after match.
• Secrecy and shifting advantage: The systems’ changing ability to overhear one another turns private conversations into a source of comic tension.
• Humor through contrast: Dantai’s restrained devotion is repeatedly undercut by the Black Tortoise System’s outrageous commentary.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan discovers that her Hou System can now hear conversations between Dantai Mo and his Black Tortoise System, though they can no longer hear her and Hou. She and Hou decide to eavesdrop in return.
• Dantai Mo visits at the emperor’s order to help Jian Ruonan catch a sexual predator. Black Tortoise keeps urging him to flirt with her, show off his looks, and boast about his “kidney power.” Jian feels more sympathy for Dantai than anger, and the two agree to visit the Five City Garrison Command.
• They arrive together—Jian on her Harley and Dantai on a striking white horse. Black Tortoise continues pestering Dantai with flirtatious instructions and poetry, while Jian and Hou admire Dantai’s composure.
• At the command, the five Commanders treat Jian with respect. She admits she cannot read the case file’s small seal script and asks someone to translate it, despite their assumption that she is merely being modest.
• Qu Huacan, a young lieutenant general seconded from the Golden Guards, silently insults Jian and the Five City Garrison Command. When introduced, Jian recognizes him as the Chief Censor’s son and knows he plans to flee an arranged marriage for a man who likes wearing women’s clothes.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian’s irritation with Dantai’s eavesdropping gives way to pity when she hears how disrespectfully Black Tortoise treats him. She also remains unimpressed by the system’s crude matchmaking schemes.
• Dantai stays calm and dignified despite Black Tortoise’s constant, embarrassing interference; his riding beside Jian also marks a public display of his recovered ability to stand and ride.
• Hou and Jian bond over their sympathy for Dantai and their mutual dislike of Black Tortoise.
• The Commanders show loyalty and deference to Jian, while their knowing reactions suggest they understand her bluntness and are ready to support her.
• Qu Huacan’s contempt sets him up as a likely source of conflict, while Jian’s knowledge of his private plans gives her an unexpected advantage.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Jian is assumed to be a learned physician and modest official, but openly admits what she cannot do; Qu’s polished appearance conceals a secret personal conflict.
• Companionship and loyalty: Jian’s sympathy for Dantai grows as she witnesses his treatment by Black Tortoise.
• Power and interference: The systems intrude on their hosts’ private lives, creating comedy while revealing the strain of being bound to another’s influence.
• Gender and personal choice: Qu’s intended escape from an arranged marriage foreshadows tensions between family expectations and individual desire.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan joins the investigation into a string of sexual assaults around the capital. The victims describe multiple pockmarked men with an unfamiliar accent, but the Five City Garrison Command has made little progress.
• Qu Huacan, a Golden Guard, proposes investigating the victims’ past enemies, suspecting revenge by rejected suitors. Jian dismisses this approach as too slow and hints that she already knows more.
• Through her unusual insight, Jian realizes the pockmarked attackers have had smallpox and are using the assaults as cover to spread the disease—possibly on behalf of a prince from a fief.
• She immediately orders people to keep away from anyone exposed, calls for masks, and demands that the victims’ households be isolated. The commanders act at once and send word to the palace.
• Reports confirm her warning: several victims have recovered from pox, while others have developed pustules, fever, or vomiting. Jian and Prince Rui, Dantai Mo, then go to brief Emperor Deyuan.
• In the Imperial Study, Jian finds the emperor and the six ministers wearing novelty “kinis,” ending the chapter on a comic visual gag.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan proves unexpectedly perceptive and decisive. Though she jokes and initially complains that a conventional investigation would be tedious, she recognizes the public-health threat and takes command of the response.
• Qu Huacan shifts from smug skepticism to stunned disbelief when Jian’s deduction is confirmed. He is also privately anxious that his beloved Ruan may be a man, as Jian’s thoughts suggest.
• The five commanders move from ineffective speculation to rapid, coordinated action once Jian gives clear orders.
• Dantai Mo supports Jian by interpreting the case file and accompanying her to report the outbreak.

Significant themes

• Competence versus appearances: Jian’s casual, irreverent manner conceals sharp investigative judgment; the supposedly capable Qu and commanders initially fail to see what she does.
• Public health and collective responsibility: Recognizing the outbreak transforms a criminal investigation into an urgent effort to prevent wider infection.
• Comedy and dramatic irony: Jian’s private thoughts about romance, “tops” and “bottoms,” and the commanders’ and Qu’s reactions repeatedly undercut the danger of the case.
• Authority and trust: The commanders’ prompt obedience contrasts with Qu’s demand for evidence, while the confirmed outbreak validates Jian’s authority.

Character interactions

• Jian teases and needles Qu, while his cold remarks and disbelief clash with her confidence. Her inner commentary about his romantic future further embarrasses and unsettles him.
• The commanders flatter Jian, but also respond efficiently to her emergency instructions; their thoughts reveal both their relief at avoiding exposure and their amusement at Qu being proved wrong.
• Dantai Mo acts as Jian’s practical ally, helping present the case to the emperor.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan enters the Imperial Study and is startled by Emperor Deyuan and his senior officials wearing brightly colored ceremonial “Bikinis” and Facekinis. Their strange appearance nearly makes her fall, and the Fourth Prince catches her.
• She learns the court donned the garments as protection against smallpox, believing they held divine power. Jian explains that ordinary Face Masks are far more effective at preventing infection and teaches the Imperial Physicians how to make three-layer gauze masks. She distributes her own masks and instructs everyone to use and return them properly. The Emperor and ministers wear masks beneath their Bikinis.
• Information from the Melon Patch reveals that a Prince of a Fief sent infected men to spread smallpox during the Longevity Celebration. The resulting epidemic could kill the Emperor, destabilize the court, and let the prince seize power.
• The Imperial Medical Academy reports that variolation is practiced in the Southwest, though its effectiveness and safety are uncertain. Jian’s inner thoughts explain that it can cause deaths and still spread infection—but that cowpox inoculation is safe and fully effective.
• The Emperor eagerly asks Jian for her solution, setting up the chapter’s next development.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan shifts from being overwhelmed by the court’s absurd costumes to taking practical command of the epidemic response, introducing masks and explaining their use.
• Emperor Deyuan is exposed as both comically superstitious and genuinely frightened of smallpox. Once the conspiracy is revealed, he relies heavily on Jian’s knowledge.
• The Fourth Prince quietly supports Jian, catching her when she stumbles and wearing a mask alongside her.
• The Minister of War earns Jian’s approval by suggesting the Emperor use both a mask and his protective Bikini.
• The Imperial Physicians and ministers move from confusion or faith in ritual protection toward adopting Jian’s practical precautions.

Significant themes

• Practical knowledge versus superstition: The court trusts ceremonial garments, but effective protection comes from masks and medical understanding.
• Public health and political power: Smallpox is not only a medical threat but a weapon in a plot to destabilize the dynasty.
• Risk and prevention: The chapter contrasts dangerous, uncertain variolation with the safer promise of cowpox inoculation.
• Comedy amid crisis: The court’s ridiculous appearance provides humor even as the characters confront a deadly epidemic.

Character interactions

• Jian and the Emperor exchange explanations about masks and the Bikinis, with the Emperor quickly accepting her advice.
• Jian’s inner thoughts—and the Black Tortoise System’s teasing commentary—provide comic contrast to the solemn court proceedings.
• The Emperor consults the Academy Director about smallpox treatment, then turns to Jian for a better answer.
• The Fourth Prince’s steadying gesture and shared mask underscore his quiet attentiveness to Jian.

Plot points and events

• Emperor Deyuan asks Jian Ruonan how to stop the pox outbreak. She pretends to divine the answer, then proposes an altar ritual so she can present cowpox inoculation as Heaven’s will and avoid resistance.
• With the court convinced by her earlier supernatural act, the emperor orders the ritual immediately. Jian stages an elaborate spectacle with Daoist priests, special effects, and fireworks while her aides prepare an infected cow.
• At Pockmark Den, Zi Azha plans to spread smallpox through the capital before the emperor’s Longevity Celebration, hoping to infect the emperor and earn credit. When he learns the sick households are quarantined and pockmarked people are being screened, he decides to smuggle infectious material into the city himself.
• After the ritual, Jian explains cowpox inoculation to the Imperial Physicians. Officials and palace residents are inoculated, and the campaign rapidly spreads. The emperor, reassured by his own inoculation, orders Zi Azha arrested.
• Jian volunteers for the capture mission. Dantai Mo and Hou join her, as does Qu Huacan. Jian leads the party to a brothel, claiming they need to relax; when warned that officials cannot patronize prostitutes, she jokes that not paying would mean it does not count.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian uses deception pragmatically: her fake divination and ritual are a way to secure public acceptance for a lifesaving measure, not merely to show off. She remains lazy and irreverent, however, and her final brothel scheme reflects her commitment to her money-grubber persona.
• Emperor Deyuan trusts Jian’s supposed divine abilities and quickly backs her plans, first by ordering the ritual and then by launching the inoculation campaign and arrest order.
• Zi Azha shifts from romantic preoccupations to political ambition and becomes a deliberate biological threat. He underestimates Jian, dismissing her ritual as foolish even as her quarantine measures disrupt his plan.
• Jian’s colleagues admire—or suspect—her motives: the court eagerly seeks places on her mission, expecting entertaining gossip. Qu Huacan, in particular, is confused by her explanation for visiting the brothel.

Significant themes

• Public health and collective responsibility: Inoculation is presented as necessary not just for individuals but to protect the wider population from those who refuse prevention.
• Power of belief and performance: Jian exploits the court’s faith in divine authority to overcome fear of an unfamiliar medical practice.
• Pragmatism and satire: The chapter contrasts a serious epidemic threat with Jian’s comic schemes and exposes the absurdity of rigid rules and political superstition.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan and her companions enter a pleasure house while secretly investigating suspected traitors. They avoid announcing an official inspection so the suspects will not flee—and, as Top Graduate Hou privately admits, so they can enjoy the gossip.
• The madam requires them to answer a couplet before admitting them. The Black Tortoise System proposes a crude, lewd response, but Top Graduate Hou supplies the matching line instead.
• Jian Ruonan chooses to watch the contest for courtesan queen. Dantai Mo pays for two hundred flower tokens, despite Black Tortoise’s teasing that he is being overly generous to her.
• The newcomer Miss Yan Yu arrives and performs a famous, evocative poem. The audience is captivated, and Qu Huacan—who clearly knows her—reacts with intense emotion. Dantai Mo hides Qu beneath a tablecloth before Yan Yu can recognize him.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains focused on the investigation but is also eager to observe the pleasure house’s spectacle. She quickly notices Qu Huacan’s reaction to Yan Yu.
• Dantai Mo quietly accommodates Jian Ruonan, paying for the tokens and shielding Qu Huacan. He endures Black Tortoise’s constant mockery with restrained irritation.
• Qu Huacan is revealed to have a personal connection with Yan Yu, apparently the woman he eloped with. Her talent moves him deeply and strengthens his determination to escape his arranged marriage.
• Top Graduate Hou proves more capable than Black Tortoise at composing the entrance couplet and takes a lively interest in the group’s gossip.
• Black Tortoise provides comic relief through lewd suggestions and teasing, while the Hou System and Jian Ruonan discuss whether he can be separated from Dantai Mo.

Significant themes

• Artistry and recognition: Yan Yu’s poetic performance wins the crowd’s admiration and reveals a side of her beyond her beauty or status as a courtesan.
• Concealment and performance: The group disguises its investigative purpose, while Qu must literally hide his identity beneath a tablecloth.
• Romance and personal freedom: Qu’s feelings for Yan Yu deepen his resolve to resist an arranged marriage.
• Comic contrast: The characters’ serious investigation is repeatedly undercut by the systems’ irreverence, Black Tortoise’s vulgarity, and the group’s appetite for gossip.

Plot points

• Yan Yu wins the evening’s flower tokens after reciting a poem and leaves the stage.
• Jian Ruonan wants to meet her, but refuses to pay the madam’s steep fee, insisting on writing a poem instead. She challenges the Black Tortoise System to a contest over whose poem will bring Yan Yu out.
• Dantai Mo and Top Graduate Hou decline to write, saying they have no interest in Yan Yu.
• Jian Ruonan recognizes Fu Yongsi and Gao Yang at a neighboring table. Their old grievances resurface: Gao blames Jian for his broken engagement, while Fu resents her for embarrassing him and profiting from stories about him.
• Jian Ruonan’s supernatural gossip exposes Fu’s humiliating private life—his violent marriage, failed folk remedy, and lack of sexual function. The guests become more interested in the gossip than in the poems.
• Overwhelmed by the revelations, Fu Yongsi screams and leaps from the second floor. The chapter ends with the brothel’s guests still focused on gossip, while Yan Yu wonders why no one is concentrating on meeting her.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains sharp, irreverent, and unwilling to spend money; she turns Fu’s attempt to posture into a public humiliation.
• Fu Yongsi arrives proudly presenting himself as an adviser to the Duke of Pingguo, but his confidence collapses as Jian exposes his secrets. His leap suggests desperation, though the extent of his injuries is not stated.
• Gao Yang signals his men and remains hostile toward Jian, but Fu becomes the focus of the scene.
• Dantai Mo and Top Graduate Hou both politely reject the chance to pursue Yan Yu; the system playfully praises their responses.
• The Black Tortoise System offers to write Jian’s poem, but she rejects its help and challenges it instead.
• The guests shift from composing poems to eagerly listening to Fu’s scandalous disclosures.

Significant themes

• Public image versus private reality: Fu’s scholarly status and confident appearance conceal a deeply embarrassing home life.
• Gossip as spectacle and power: Jian’s knowledge turns private shame into public entertainment—and derails the evening’s formal pursuit of poetry.
• Satire of masculinity and status: Fu’s efforts to preserve his pride only invite further ridicule, while the story mocks the social importance placed on masculine prestige.
• Comic irreverence: The chapter repeatedly twists poetic language and familiar idioms into crude jokes, contrasting literary performance with bawdy humor.