Chapter Summaries

Plot and key events

• Sixty-one-year-old Minister Shi Fan resists his clan chief’s repeated demands that he adopt an heir. Hoping Little Treasure the Estate-Raider’s miraculous medicine might let him father a child, Shi Fan instead takes the clan chief to meet Jian Ruonan, the Jinyang Marquis’s Fifth Miss.
• They find several other men waiting for Ruonan, including Captain Xue and Master Zeng, who have come to ask her for sons. The clan chief is bewildered by their faith in an unmarried young woman.
• When Ruonan finally wakes, Shi Fan asks her to divine whether the clan chief’s proposed heirs—Shi Hong’s family—are suitable. The clan chief objects to her involvement, but Ruonan immediately rejects the match.
• Ruonan reveals that Shi Jiang is not Shi Hong’s biological son, and that Shi Jiang’s fiancée, A Yan, is Shi Hong’s biological daughter. She also points out that none of Shi Fan’s five supposed sons were actually his.
• Ruonan’s inner thoughts expose the clan chief’s real motive: Shi Wushu wants Shi Fan to adopt Shi Jiang because Shi Jiang is descended from Shi Wushu’s own illegitimate son, Shi Wu’ai. Worse, Shi Wushu has multiple illegitimate children, while his legitimate son is not biologically his.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Fan is initially weary and eager to avoid the adoption discussion, but becomes hopeful about the chance to father a child. He trusts Ruonan’s abilities and is pleased to see the clan chief’s scheme exposed.
• Shi Wushu presents himself as carefully choosing an outstanding family, but is revealed as manipulative: he is trying to place his own bloodline in Shi Fan’s household. His confidence collapses when Ruonan’s revelations become apparent.
• Jian Ruonan is sleepy and casual, yet uncannily perceptive. She exposes hidden family relationships and motives without needing to investigate or perform a formal divination.
• Master Zeng and Captain Xue treat Ruonan as someone capable of helping them have sons. Master Zeng also sympathizes with Shi Fan and criticizes the clan chief for failing to investigate the proposed heirs.

Significant themes

• Bloodline and family identity: The chapter repeatedly undermines assumptions about biological parentage and inheritance.
• Hypocrisy and retribution: Shi Wushu exploits family duty to advance his own interests, only for his own tangled family secrets to bring him down.
• Knowledge and power: Ruonan’s insight gives her control over the room, while the others’ reactions provide much of the chapter’s humor.
• Heirs and social pressure: Shi Fan’s struggle reflects the clan’s expectations, even as the supposed solutions prove more complicated than they appear.

Key plot points and events

• Shi Wushu learns that the acknowledged son in his household may not be his biological child. Desperate for an answer, he shakes his ailing wife awake to question her; she dies without telling him, leaving him uncertain and distressed.
• At the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence, Jian Ruonan gives Shi Fan a Fertility Pill. She has found that giving it to male animals can produce ordinary pregnancies rather than multiple births. Shi Fan promises to step down and recommend Jian Ruonan’s father, Jian Zhang, as Minister of Rites once he has a biological son.
• Soon, several men connected to Jian Ruonan report pregnancies in their households. Their celebrations—and the public’s growing belief in Jian Ruonan’s power to grant children—make her famous as Great Xia’s “Child-Seeking Guanyin.” She redirects worshippers from the Marquis’s Residence to her family’s Taoist temple.
• Xuan Xiaowu enjoys a comfortable life moving between Prince Rui’s and the Marquis’s residences until Commandery Princess Jiarou arrives with an IOU for the five thousand taels he borrowed and lost gambling.
• Jian Ruonan agrees to repay the debt, then shuts the doors, summons her maids, and announces that she will discipline Xuan Xiaowu for all his accumulated misdeeds. Jiarou helps restrain him as Jian Ruonan beats him with a cane.

Character developments

• Shi Wushu becomes consumed by suspicion about his son’s parentage, but his reckless confrontation ends with his wife’s death and no answers.
• Jian Ruonan shows both practical ingenuity—testing the Fertility Pill on cattle—and a forceful, authoritative side as she takes responsibility for disciplining Xuan Xiaowu.
• Shi Fan is willing to use the promise of an heir to make political arrangements benefiting Jian Zhang.
• Xuan Xiaowu has grown bold and mischievous in his well-protected routine, but his gambling debt and past conduct finally catch up with him.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou expects trouble collecting the debt, then realizes Jian Ruonan’s willingness to pay does not mean she will spare Xuan Xiaowu.

Significant themes

• The consequences of secrecy and suspicion: Shi Wushu’s fixation on uncertain paternity destroys his chance to get an answer.
• Fertility, family, and social status: The pill’s effects bring heirs, political promises, and widespread public devotion.
• Reputation and superstition: Jian Ruonan’s successes turn her into a folk religious figure, despite the practical origins of her influence.
• Accountability and discipline: Jian Ruonan treats Xuan Xiaowu’s debt as only one part of a larger reckoning for his behavior.

Character interactions

• Shi Wushu confronts his wife, but her death leaves their relationship—and the truth about their son—unresolved.
• Jian Ruonan and Shi Fan strike a bargain linking fertility to a potential political appointment.
• The public approaches Jian Ruonan as a divine child-granting figure, while she redirects their devotion toward her family’s temple.
• Jiarou brings Xuan Xiaowu’s IOU to Jian Ruonan; Jian Ruonan pays the debt but then turns the encounter into a confrontation over his broader misbehavior.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan has Xuan Xiaowu beaten for gambling, accumulating a 5,000-tael debt, stealing his brother’s identity, and spreading rumors about her and the Fourth Prince. She then explains each offense and makes him acknowledge his wrongdoing.
• Xiaowu reveals that the Black Tortoise clan’s young grow up without knowing their parents. He has little sense of family ties, helping explain his careless behavior.
• Jian assigns him the responsibility of repaying his debt himself, refuses to let the Fourth Prince cover it, and imposes a 500-tael fine for spreading rumors. She waives confinement but gives him seven days to correct the rumors.
• Xiaowu visits relatives, households, and the imperial court to set the record straight. He is then put to work in Jian Ruonan’s factory, given a teacher and daily study time, and made to work weekends as a wish-granting turtle to help repay Jiarou.

Character development

• Xiaowu moves from pleading and hoping to escape punishment to sincerely recognizing the harm he caused and promising not to repeat it. He begins learning discipline and responsibility.
• Jian Ruonan is shown as severe but principled: she uses punishment to teach, explains the real consequences of his actions, and provides structure and work rather than simply dismissing him.
• Jiarou initially worries that Jian’s punishment is excessive, but accepts that Xiaowu’s rumor-spreading could have seriously harmed an ordinary woman’s life.

Significant themes

• Accountability and reform: Xiaowu must repair the damage and pay his own debt rather than rely on others.
• The consequences of rumors: Jian stresses how gossip can devastate a woman’s reputation and future.
• Upbringing and belonging: Xiaowu’s clan’s lack of parental bonds helps explain his behavior, without excusing it.
• Discipline as care: Jian frames punishment, education, and work as ways to guide Xiaowu toward better choices.

Character interactions

• Jian confronts Xiaowu with each offense and makes him answer for it; he eventually apologizes to her directly.
• Jiarou challenges Jian’s harshness and worries about recovering her money, while Jian insists Xiaowu can repay it through work.
• Xiaowu’s apology and subsequent visits show him taking responsibility not only toward Jian but also toward everyone affected by his rumors.

Plot points and events

• Emperor Deyuan faces mounting threats from the Northern Kingdom and the Three Feudatories. The Wa Kingdom adds to the tension by demanding the release of its captured warriors, including Mechuan Yaokuzi.
• Three haughty Wa envoys offer no payment for the prisoners’ release, but promise the Wa Kingdom’s supposedly peerless beauty as a consort for the emperor. Deyuan postpones his answer until a banquet the following afternoon.
• The court’s senior officials support waiting and hope Jian Ruonan will reveal the Wa Kingdom’s real situation through her strange ability to expose people’s thoughts and circumstances.
• At the banquet, Jian arrives in her official robes and suggests Indian performers as a display of Great Xia’s openness. Deyuan welcomes her warmly and seats her beside him.
• As the envoys boast about Wa wealth, Jian’s inner commentary ridicules their poverty. A supernatural screen then shows the powerful Hōjō family eating rice soup and treating one extra spoonful of soybean paste as ruinous extravagance.
• The envoys switch to praising the Wa Kingdom’s great beauty. When Jian sees her, she reacts in horror; her voice triggers another image, and the officials cry out at the sight of the portrait.

Character developments and interactions

• Emperor Deyuan is anxious about Great Xia’s precarious position, but trusts Jian to uncover what the envoys are hiding. His eagerness to see the promised beauty also shows his vanity and enthusiasm for attractive women.
• Jian Ruonan is reluctant to leave her new work as a family doctor, but becomes animated when she hears the envoys are from Wa. She uses her irreverent inner monologue and supernatural revelations to puncture their boasts.
• The Wa envoys remain arrogant, first presenting their country as wealthy and powerful, then touting its beauty. Their claims collapse under Jian’s revelations, though the chapter ends before the portrait’s implications are explained.
• Court officials initially fear foreign conflict, but are reassured by Jian’s interventions. They regard her with a mix of gratitude, affection, and dread because she has a habit of exposing secrets.

Significant themes

• Boasts versus evidence: The Wa envoys’ grand claims are undercut by the images Jian reveals.
• Power through hidden knowledge: Jian’s ability to expose private realities gives Great Xia an advantage amid diplomatic uncertainty.
• Comic irreverence: Anachronistic, slang-filled inner commentary contrasts with court ceremony and turns a tense diplomatic encounter into farce.
• Public image and deception: Both the Wa Kingdom’s wealth and its promised beauty are presented as tools of persuasion, setting up the chapter’s cliffhanger about what lies behind the claims.

Key plot points and events

• A Wa Kingdom envoy presents the kingdom’s “greatest beauty” to Emperor Deyuan. Her startling appearance horrifies the court, while the envoys insist she is beautiful. The emperor quickly orders the banquet’s entertainment to resume.
• The envoys try to restore their prestige by boasting that Wa Kingdom has a powerful army, formidable warriors, and ringing-hoofed warhorses.
• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts trigger a Light Screen showing Wa raiders riding small, doglike animals. The court mocks the supposed warhorses and warriors.
• Jian’s thoughts also reveal the Wa custom of “night crawling,” which shocks and disgusts the Great Xia officials and emperor.
• The envoys angrily protest that Wa Kingdom is being slandered and begin praising famous warriors and generals.
• The banquet then presents men dressed in aprons performing the song “I’m a Kid from India.” The envoys recognize them as descendants of the warriors they admire, leaving them speechless.
• Jian openly asks whether the performers are supposed to be Indian children or Wa warriors, and caps her mockery by laughing at the envoys’ claims.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains irreverent and quick-witted, turning the envoys’ boasts into a public spectacle through her internal commentary and pointed questions.
• Emperor Deyuan is initially frightened by the supposed beauty, then joins in the court’s ridicule and enjoys Jian’s remarks.
• The Wa envoys move from confident self-promotion to humiliation and fury as their claims are repeatedly undercut.
• The Great Xia officials share Jian’s reactions, mocking the Wa presentation and treating the performance as a final punchline.

Significant themes

• National pride and propaganda: The envoys’ grand claims about Wa Kingdom’s beauty and military strength collapse under scrutiny.
• Mockery as political humiliation: Jian’s humor—and the staged performance—undermines the envoys more effectively than a direct argument.
• Cultural judgment and spectacle: The chapter uses exaggerated contrasts between Wa Kingdom’s customs and Great Xia’s reactions for comic effect.

Plot points and events

• The Wa envoys watch their supposed “mighty generals” perform a ridiculous dance and deny knowing them, even as Great Xia’s officials recognize the resemblance. They soon resume boasting about Wa.
• Jian Ruonan persuades Emperor Deyuan to have the envoys arrested as suspected spies. In prison, the envoys admit they are “Indian friends” and perform the dance before being released.
• Jian demands that Wa cede land and pay 500,000 taels plus a mine in exchange for Mechuan Yaokuzi. The envoys are sent home with the ransom terms; Mechuan remains guarded at the Farm Estate, where he and Jian Chuxue work the fields together.
• Jian has gained the trust of the three Fang brothers as their family physician. She is suddenly summoned to the Fang residence and arrives in disguise with several companions.
• At the residence, Jian learns that Chen Shi, the brothers’ stepmother, has been drugged. The three brothers accuse one another of causing it and argue over who should serve as her “antidote.” Their dispute turns into a fistfight, and Jian rushes in to intervene.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan uses shameless bluffing and comic improvisation to manipulate both the emperor and Wa’s envoys, while remaining composed during the abrupt summons.
• Emperor Deyuan plays along with Jian’s implausible spy story and orders the arrests, respecting the diplomatic constraint against harming envoys.
• The Wa envoys cling to national pride, deny the obvious, and ultimately accept Jian’s humiliating terms.
• Jian’s companions accompany her to the Fang household: Wang Defa presents himself as her disciple, while Xuan Xiaowu—now more obedient—wants to hear the ensuing gossip.
• The Fang brothers openly distrust one another and compete over their stepmother’s “cure,” revealing the household’s tense, scandalous dynamics.

Significant themes

• Satire and humiliation: National boasting is undercut by ridiculous performances and Jian’s irreverent treatment of the envoys.
• Power and leverage: Great Xia turns its advantage into a ransom demand, while Jian uses wit rather than force to control events.
• Gossip and comedy: Jian’s inner commentary and her companions’ curiosity turn political and domestic intrigue into farce.
• Family rivalry and suspicion: The Fang brothers’ accusations show how competition has poisoned their relationships.

Key plot points and events

• The three Fang brothers erupt into a clumsy martial-arts fight while vying over how to help their drugged, feverish stepmother, Chen Shi.
• Jian Ruonan tries to manage the crisis, calling for cold water and eventually splashing it on Chen Shi to restore some clarity. Chen Shi briefly manages to tell the brothers to stop fighting.
• The brothers ask Jian Ruonan what to do. She recommends a cold bath and hot water to drink, while privately recognizing that the men have less innocent motives.
• The youngest brother carries Chen Shi toward the bathing chamber, but his brothers intervene, reigniting the scuffle. Jian Ruonan warns them not to turn against each other while their father’s body is barely cold.
• The brothers ultimately carry Chen Shi into the bath together and shut Jian Ruonan out, claiming they can handle things themselves. She is left indignant at being dismissed after helping.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains practical and outspoken, but her efforts to act as a doctor are repeatedly undermined by the brothers’ bickering and by the onlookers’ gossip. Her attempt to break up the fight also seems to satisfy her own taste for drama.
• The Fang brothers reveal their rivalry and impulsiveness through their competition over Chen Shi. Their martial-arts postures are comically ineffective, and even when they agree to help, they quarrel over who should take charge.
• Chen Shi is barely conscious under the drug’s effects. She briefly regains enough awareness after the cold-water splash to stop the fighting, then is carried away by the brothers.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou, Wang Defa, and Dantai Mo watch and trade teasing observations. Dantai maintains a composed, protective pose beside Jian Ruonan, apparently hoping to impress her; Jiarou and Wang focus on the gossip.

Significant themes

• Farce amid danger: Chen Shi’s vulnerable condition is serious, but the scene is driven by slapstick fighting, interruptions, and comic misunderstandings.
• Rivalry and impropriety: The brothers’ competition over their stepmother raises questions of family loyalty and decorum, sharpened by Jian Ruonan’s reminder that their father has only just died.
• Gossip and romantic subtext: The onlookers treat the chaos as entertainment, while Dantai’s behavior hints at growing interest in Jian Ruonan.
• Professional frustration: Jian Ruonan tries to fulfill her role as a doctor, only to be excluded once the brothers decide they can manage without her.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan, Wang Defa, and Commandery Princess Jiarou eavesdrop while Madam Chen is treated in a bath by her three stepsons, the Fang brothers. Jian sells stethoscope “rentals” to Jiarou and Wang, turning gossip into a profitable venture. Prince Rui refuses to listen, prompting Jiarou to praise his virtue.
• The eavesdroppers hear splashing and Madam Chen’s distressed-sounding protests, and Jian anxiously warns the brothers not to drown her. Unable to see inside, Jian interrogates a maid about the family’s usual behavior, learning that Madam Chen and the brothers treat one another with deep affection and respect.
• After more than an hour, Madam Chen emerges recovered and dressed. The brothers remain at odds but behave more civilly. Jian, absorbed in the excitement, gets a nosebleed.
• Back at Jian’s rented courtyard, the group rehashes the incident over sunflower seeds. Jiarou asks to accompany Jian on future consultations because she has rented a stethoscope for five years; Jian says she will charge extra.
• During dinner, Jian eats quickly and says little. Two serving women arrive with an urgent call for the physician. They carry Jian off mid-meal, and the gossip squad follows—somehow bringing their food along.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan is shown as an entrepreneurial, shamelessly curious gossip-lover who monetizes her friends’ interest and treats an emergency call as no reason to miss a meal.
• Jiarou enthusiastically embraces the gossip and spending, and eagerly wants to join future consultations.
• Wang Defa understands how the stethoscope works but still buys one, joins the pursuit, and remains comically jealous of Prince Rui’s reputation.
• Prince Rui maintains his restraint and propriety, standing apart from the eavesdropping—though he later follows the group with food.
• Madam Chen and the Fang brothers are revealed to share a genuinely affectionate, filial family bond, despite the brothers’ mutual rivalry.

Significant themes

• Gossip as entertainment and business: The group turns a medical visit into a spectacle, while Jian turns their curiosity into income.
• Comic contrast between scandal and reality: The overheard sounds invite lurid assumptions, but the maid’s account and the brothers’ care point to a close, respectful family.
• Loyalty and togetherness: Even amid rivalry, the Fang brothers unite to care for Madam Chen; Jian’s companions likewise follow her wherever she goes.
• Everyday priorities: The chapter’s running joke is that the group will pursue any new incident without abandoning their bowls of food.

Character interactions

• Jian teases Jiarou and Wang over their purchases and Wang’s interest in Jiarou’s spending; Jiarou praises Prince Rui while Wang resents being outshone.
• Jian pressures the maid for family details, disguising gossip-seeking as part of diagnosis.
• The three Fang brothers cooperate to help Madam Chen, while their conflict cools somewhat afterward.
• When Jian is summoned, Jiarou, Wang, and Prince Rui all follow—carrying rice and food—turning the urgent consultation into a group outing.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan’s party arrives at Prince Anping’s Residence, where the Thousand-Household Commander is smashing tableware and blaming his servants because Concubine Lü wants to leave.
• A steward explains that the concubine is well and that the commander is the one who is ill. Jian immediately diagnoses a stomach ailment, relying on her familiarity with domineering-romance tropes rather than an examination.
• Jian prescribes no medicine: she tells the household to have Lü feed the commander soup. When he demands to be fed mouth-to-mouth, Jian invents a story about saliva’s medicinal powers to persuade Lü.
• The commander eagerly takes soup from Lü’s mouth, and his “stomach ailment” quickly disappears. He rewards her with five taels and asks Jian to check Lü’s pulse.
• Jian discovers that Lü is pregnant. The commander celebrates, but Lü is distressed because his principal wife has not yet conceived. Jian’s thoughts suggest that fleeing while pregnant may be her best option.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan shows confidence and comic improvisation, using her knowledge of romance conventions to manage the household and secure access to gossip. Her pregnancy diagnosis, however, reveals a serious complication beneath the farce.
• Concubine Lü remains reluctant and unhappy throughout. Her distress deepens when she learns she is pregnant, suggesting that the child may put her in a vulnerable position.
• The Thousand-Household Commander is volatile and possessive: he blames his servants, pressures Lü into intimate contact, then celebrates the pregnancy as though it were inevitable.
• Jiarou, Wang Defa, and Dantai Mo serve as amused observers. Jiarou is fascinated by the “domineering CEO” type, while Dantai Mo remains frustrated that none of the men he observes offers useful lessons in romance.

Significant themes

• Romance tropes turned into comedy: Jian treats the commander’s behavior and illness as predictable genre conventions.
• Power and consent: Lü’s silence and reluctance contrast with the commander’s forcefulness and the household’s pressure on her.
• Women’s vulnerability in a hierarchical household: Lü’s pregnancy is not simply happy news; her concern for the principal wife’s status makes it a potential danger.
• Gossip as entertainment and “research”: The group observes the household drama, each reacting according to their own interests.

Character interactions

• Jian mocks the commander’s tantrum while the household staff are left to clean up after him.
• The servants, steward, and Jian all pressure Lü to feed the commander; Jian’s fabricated medical explanation helps overcome Lü’s hesitation.
• The commander’s forceful behavior during the feeding makes the imbalance between them explicit.
• After diagnosing Lü’s pregnancy, Jian’s lighthearted inner commentary clashes with Lü’s visible fear and the observers’ shock.

• Concubine Lu’s pregnancy: A physician confirms that Concubine Lu is expecting twins, a boy and a girl. The Thousand-Household Commander is overjoyed, boasts about his virility, and showers the household with rewards—making the pregnancy impossible to keep quiet. His enthusiasm threatens to anger his childless principal wife and stir up trouble between their families.
• The wife’s request: After the consultation, Jian Ruonan is summoned to the commander’s wife. When the wife offers her a tray of gold, Jian assumes she is being paid to end the pregnancy. She accepts the money, alarming the gossip group—but the wife then makes clear that she wants Jian to protect the babies.
• The romantic twist: Jian discovers that Concubine Lu is bisexual and that the commander’s wife is in love with her. The wife’s payment is meant to ensure Lu and her twins’ safety, not to harm them.
• Jian’s justification: On the ride home, Jian says that accepting the gold would have let her reassure the wife and prevent her from hiring someone else if her intentions had been dangerous. Jiarou calls this taking money under false pretenses, while Dantai Mo defends Jian.
• A future escape: Jian predicts that Concubine Lu will soon flee while pregnant, then return six years later with twins who resemble the commander. Jiarou laments that this means six years without gossip about him; Wang Defa agrees it will be lonely.
  Character developments and interactions: Jian remains clever, theatrical, and opportunistic, using her medical role to navigate a potentially dangerous household conflict. The commander’s public devotion to Lu contrasts with the wife’s hidden love for her, revealing an unexpected emotional triangle. Jiarou challenges Jian’s dubious reasoning, while Dantai Mo’s steadfast defense of Jian—and his jealous attention to Jiarou and Wang Defa’s closeness—highlights his growing attachment to Jian and rivalry with Wang.
  Themes: The chapter plays with melodrama and gossip, upending expectations about jealousy and pregnancy. It also explores the risks of women’s restricted choices in marriage, the precarious position of concubines, and the blurred line between clever survival and morally questionable scheming.

• Six-year time jump: Jian Ruonan has spent the years since the previous events living comfortably and avoiding her assigned mission. She still dislikes heat so much that Deer Song Courtyard is packed with eighteen basins of ice, leaving the new maids astonished by the freezing room.
• Family visit: Min arrives with Xuan Xiaowu and little An Jie’er, the daughter of Jian Ruonan’s eldest brother and Pei Shaoyi. An Jie’er recites a playful poem teasing her aunt’s icy courtyard. Jian Ruonan praises it, while privately suspecting Xuan Xiaowu helped write it.
• Xiaowu’s prospects: At fourteen, Xuan Xiaowu has repaid his debt, grown into a handsome young man, and become a popular match because of his connection to the now-Crown Prince, Dantai Mo. Governor-General Xu’s daughter is interested in him. Jian Ruonan jokingly proposes taking Xiaowu to visit her so that his terrible poetry and conversation will put the girl off. Xiaowu objects that he may instead become more memorable.
• Marriage worries: Min initially frets that Jian Ruonan remains unmarried while the other young women in the family have married and had children. She then decides that marriage brings too many troubles and stops worrying—unaware that Jian Ruonan has not noticed her change of heart.
• The mission resurfaces: Xiaowu angrily reminds Jian Ruonan that she promised to complete her mission and send him home. She has neglected it for six years, and he fears he may soon be old enough to marry and start a family. Jian Ruonan finally declares that they will act—but not by marrying Dantai Mo. She says Jian Chuxue is giving birth that day, and believes the child’s arrival will complete the central romance of the story and therefore fulfill the mission.
  Character developments and interactions: Jian Ruonan remains carefree and evasive, treating the mission casually; Xiaowu has matured physically and gained social prospects but retains his comic vanity and frustration with her; Min shifts from anxious matchmaking to accepting Jian Ruonan’s independent life. Their teasing exchanges—especially over Xiaowu’s suitors and the long-neglected mission—drive the chapter.
  Themes: The chapter contrasts duty with personal comfort, pokes fun at matchmaking and social expectations, and emphasizes how time and family circumstances change while Jian Ruonan remains largely unchanged.

Key plot points and events

• The Wa Kingdom agrees to trade a silver mine for the release of its captive, Mechuan Yaokuzi. To guard against betrayal, Jian Ruonan ensures he will not be freed until the mine is exhausted.
• Yaokuzi and Jian Chuxue, who married at the Farm Estate and are now under guard there, have their first child. Jian Ruonan expects the birth to complete her mission.
• On the way to the estate, Jian Ruonan plays mahjong with Commandery Princess Jiarou, her husband Wang Defa, and Xuan Xiaowu. They pass Dantai Mo drilling cavalry; Jiarou hints that he is showing off for Jian Ruonan, but Jian remains focused on his looks and the inconvenience of the dust.
• Jian Chuxue survives a dangerous labor, but gives birth to a daughter. The mission does not complete because Chuxue had hoped for a son and believes only a son would make their love “perfect.”

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan is confident and delighted at the prospect of an easy mission reward, yet remains oblivious to Dantai Mo’s apparent efforts to attract her attention. She offers Chuxue practical comfort, despite not liking her especially.
• Jiarou and Wang Defa show their affectionate, considerate partnership, while teasing Jian Ruonan and trying to steer her toward noticing Dantai Mo.
• Dantai Mo appears as a capable, imposing Crown Prince and military leader. His conspicuous presence seems intended to impress Jian Ruonan, though she barely registers it.
• Chuxue’s exhaustion and tears after childbirth reveal that her hopes—and the mission’s completion—are tied to having a son.

Significant themes

• The chapter satirizes the preference for sons, exposing how a daughter’s birth is treated as insufficient even after a life-threatening delivery.
• It contrasts warm family life and romantic devotion with transactional thinking: the hostage exchange, the mission system, and Chuxue’s belief that love needs a son to be complete.
• Comedy comes from Jian Ruonan’s blunt pragmatism and romantic obliviousness, especially beside others’ attempts to draw her attention to Dantai Mo.

Key events

• Jian Chuxue gives birth to a daughter, but is distressed that she has not produced the son Mechuan Yaokuzi needs to inherit the throne. She declares she will try again as soon as she recovers.
• Jian Ruonan’s inner thoughts predict that Chuxue’s next three children will also be girls. Hearing this, Chuxue faints; when revived, she vows to risk her health to have a son.
• Ruonan leaves the birthing room furious, while Xuan Xiaowu teases her for claiming she can win without acting. She remains confident that she can simply wait.
• The Hou System warns that Yaokuzi and Chuxue’s romance is progressing too smoothly compared with the original story’s many ordeals. Ruonan considers eliminating the problem by attacking Wa and ending the throne’s succession issue, then rushes back to discuss it.
• Chuxue names her daughter Mechuan Zhaodizi, prompting Ruonan to privately condemn the name and give up trying to change Chuxue’s mind.
• Chuxue dismisses her attendants and asks Ruonan for a Fertility Pill, offering to pay handsomely. When Ruonan claims it could produce eight babies at once, Chuxue is delighted, reasoning that one of them would surely be a boy.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains sharp-tongued, irreverent, and committed to avoiding marriage. Though she is angered by Chuxue’s fixation on producing a male heir, she eventually decides not to interfere—until she briefly contemplates conquering Wa to remove the pressure.
• Jian Chuxue is consumed by the need to bear Yaokuzi a son. Her initial resolve collapses under Ruonan’s prediction, but she quickly renews it and pursues increasingly extreme solutions, including a fertility drug that might create octuplets.
• Xuan Xiaowu mocks Ruonan’s promise of an effortless victory, reminding her that waiting may leave him unmarried and alone.
• The Hou System contrasts the couple’s unusually smooth romance with the original novel’s much harsher trials. Ruonan’s schemes and Chuxue’s demands leave it exasperated.

Significant themes

• The chapter satirizes son preference and dynastic succession, showing how the need for a male heir distorts Chuxue’s priorities.
• It parodies romance-novel suffering and misunderstandings: instead of dramatic romantic obstacles, the couple’s “torment” is their inability to produce a son.
• Fate versus interference drives the comedy, as Ruonan’s predictions and impulsive plans collide with Chuxue’s determination.
• The story’s irreverent humor comes from the contrast between grand political stakes and absurdly personal concerns.

Plot points and events

• Jian Chuxue insists she needs a son to feel secure in her marriage to Mechuan Yaokuzi, whom she believes is an attractive, high-potential emperor whom other women might pursue. Jian Ruonan mocks the couple’s poverty and Jian Chuxue’s romantic view of her husband, then tells her to seek the costly fertility pills only after raising the money.
• Outside the Farm Estate, Jian Ruonan meets Crown Prince Dantai Mo, who is training his soldiers. He is visibly nervous around her and becomes flustered when she steps close to identify the faint fragrance on him.
• Dantai Mo mistakenly thinks Jian Ruonan has invited him to share her carriage. She clarifies that it cannot fit everyone and tells him to ride his horse. Xuan Xiaowu and Princess Jiarou offer to free space, but Jian Ruonan refuses to let Xiaowu leave the carriage.
• On the ride home, Xiaowu laments that Dantai Mo is lonely and unmarried. He proposes that Jian Ruonan and Dantai Mo enter a fake marriage: it would quiet gossip about her being unmarried and help Dantai Mo shed his bachelor reputation.
• Dantai Mo appears at the carriage window and enthusiastically approves the plan, leaving Jian Ruonan speechless.

Character developments

• Jian Chuxue’s anxiety about securing her marriage and her idealized faith in Yaokuzi contrast with Jian Ruonan’s blunt, practical outlook.
• Dantai Mo remains deeply attracted to Jian Ruonan; his composure falters around her, and he eagerly seizes on Xiaowu’s marriage proposal.
• Xiaowu shows concern for Jian Ruonan’s reputation and tries to help, though his dramatic teasing and matchmaking are part of his usual personality.
• Jian Ruonan remains independent and resistant to marriage pressure, treating both romance and social gossip with humor and skepticism.

Significant themes

• Marriage and social expectations: Jian Chuxue seeks security through motherhood, while Xiaowu suggests a fake marriage as a way to answer society’s demands.
• Romantic longing and misunderstanding: Dantai Mo reads too much into Jian Ruonan’s casual remarks, revealing his feelings.
• Humor and satire: The chapter uses teasing, exaggeration, and modern slang to poke fun at poverty, status, gossip, and romantic schemes.

Character interactions

• Jian Ruonan sharply challenges Jian Chuxue’s view of Yaokuzi and refuses to indulge her romantic fantasies.
• Jian Ruonan and Dantai Mo share a playful but awkward exchange, with his nervousness contrasting with her teasing ease.
• Xiaowu jokes with Jian Ruonan about Dantai Mo’s loneliness, then pitches the fake-marriage idea; Dantai Mo’s sudden endorsement turns the conversation into a surprise proposal-like moment.

Plot points

• Dantai Mo (the Crown Prince) proposes that he and Jian Ruonan enter a sham marriage. He becomes embarrassed after making the suggestion and rides off, amusing Jian Ruonan.
• Xuan Xiaowu and Commandery Princess Jiarou try to persuade Jian Ruonan that marrying the Crown Prince would be convenient: she could adopt Xiaowu as their eldest son, avoid pressure to have children, and enjoy the privileges of the Eastern Palace.
• Jian Ruonan is initially impressed by the arrangement’s many advantages. But she realizes that Xiaowu, as an adopted eldest son, might one day inherit the throne.
• Xiaowu is thrilled by the prospect of becoming the Imperial Grandson—until Jian Ruonan points out that if he leaves, the Crown Prince would still need an heir, and she would again face pressure to bear children. She loses interest, and Xiaowu begs to postpone leaving so he can enjoy his newfound status.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan remains practical and irreverent, weighing marriage in terms of its real costs—especially the expectation of childbirth—rather than its prestige.
• Dantai Mo appears composed, but his physical tension and flustered reaction reveal how nervous and hopeful he is about Jian Ruonan accepting his proposal.
• Xuan Xiaowu shifts from matchmaking strategist to excited potential heir, then crashes back to disappointment when the plan’s flaw is exposed.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou sympathizes with Jian Ruonan’s concerns, sharing her painful experience of childbirth before being redirected back to the discussion.

Significant themes

• The humor comes from the contrast between royal grandeur and ordinary concerns: marriage, childbirth, and personal freedom.
• The chapter questions the cost of status, showing that becoming Crown Princess could bring obligations and scrutiny alongside privilege.
• Family succession and political power are treated comically, as a sham marriage and adoption could unexpectedly place the throne within reach of someone with a different surname.

Character interactions

• Jian Ruonan teases Dantai Mo’s abrupt retreat, while he quietly returns beside the carriage to listen to the others promote his proposal.
• Xiaowu and Jiarou enthusiastically make the case for the marriage, but Jian Ruonan repeatedly punctures their excitement with practical objections.
• Xiaowu’s alliance with Jian Ruonan briefly seems to promise them both a convenient arrangement—and him a path to royal status—before her concern about future pressure to have children derails it.

Key plot points

• Xuan Xiaowu complains about his hard life—working to repay debts and posing as a wish-granting turtle—and worries that completing his mission will force both him and the Hou System to leave.
• He persuades the Hou System to call him “Big Brother Xiaowu” before promising to find a solution. Jian Ruonan accepts money from Commandery Princess Jiarou to explain Xiaowu’s impending departure.
• Xiaowu says his birth parents will collect him on Jian Ruonan and Crown Prince Dantai Mo’s wedding day. Jian explains that the marriage benefits her but could cost Dantai Mo his only principal-consort position.
• Jiarou provocatively questions why Dantai Mo has no concubines. Dantai declares he will not take any, while Xiaowu claims he wants lifelong monogamy and jokingly describes him as a “pure, untouched virgin.” Their teasing leaves Dantai embarrassed and frustrated.
• In Five Willow Alley, Jian recognizes Concubine Lü, who disappeared six years earlier while pregnant. She has returned with two children who resemble the Thousand-Household Commander. Jian suspects he does not know and heads to the Private Residence, anticipating an explosive reunion.
• After the group arrives, Dantai asks the others to leave. Alone with Jian, he confesses, “Fifth Miss, I have fallen for you.”

Character developments and interactions

• Xuan Xiaowu remains playful and self-interested, but his planned departure weighs on him—and on the Hou System, which now wants to stay as well.
• Jian Ruonan is practical and alert to both financial opportunity and potential household chaos. She also continues to assess Dantai with irreverent suspicion.
• Dantai Mo makes his commitment to having no concubines explicit and, after the group’s teasing, finally speaks directly about his feelings for Jian.
• Jiarou is blunt and meddlesome, raising the possibility that Dantai has a physical problem; Xiaowu’s teasing intensifies the embarrassment. The exchanges reveal the contrast between Dantai’s sincerity and his companions’ chaotic humor.

Significant themes

• Love and exclusivity: Dantai rejects the expected custom of taking concubines and values a single lifelong partnership.
• Duty, separation, and uncertain futures: Xiaowu’s mission and scheduled departure threaten to disrupt the group’s new bonds.
• Comedy through gossip and misunderstanding: teasing about Dantai’s chastity and the speculation surrounding Concubine Lü lighten the chapter while setting up dramatic developments.

Key plot points and events

• Dantai Mo confesses that he loves Jian Ruonan while they are discussing a sham marriage. Jian Ruonan is caught off guard and insists that marriage—and especially being Crown Princess—would be too burdensome.
• She tries to have the housekeeper interrupt, but Xuan Xiaowu, Commandery Princess Jiarou, and Wang Defa restrain Chen Pozi so the conversation can continue.
• Dantai Mo says his feelings are his own and that he would not consider a sham marriage a loss. He then proposes asking the Emperor for a marriage decree, presenting it as a way for Jian Ruonan to enjoy a comfortable life.
• Jian Ruonan rejects the sudden leap to an imperial marriage. Dantai Mo teasingly suggests that her silence means she may love him too.
• After studying his flustered but determined demeanor, Jian Ruonan challenges him to kiss her. The chapter ends with the eavesdroppers eagerly urging Dantai Mo to act.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan begins flustered by Dantai Mo’s sincerity, but regains her composure and turns the exchange into a playful test of his courage.
• Dantai Mo shows unusual boldness, openly confessing and advocating for marriage, despite being intensely nervous beneath his calm exterior.
• Xuan Xiaowu, Jiarou, and Wang Defa act as enthusiastic, meddlesome spectators, while Chen Pozi is caught between obeying Jian Ruonan and the group’s interference.

Significant themes

• The contrast between a practical, supposedly sham arrangement and genuine romantic feelings.
• The gap between outward composure and inner anxiety: Dantai Mo puts on a brave front, while Jian Ruonan uses teasing to manage her own surprise.
• Humor and matchmaking through the group’s intrusive enthusiasm.

Character interactions

• Jian Ruonan and Dantai Mo trade increasingly direct remarks: he turns her concern about his “loss” into a confession, and she challenges him to prove his nerve with a kiss.
• The three onlookers block Chen Pozi from interrupting and silently root for the couple, turning a private conversation into a comic spectacle.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Dantai Mo asks Jian Ruonan whether he may kiss her. She encourages him, but just as he seems ready, he panics, grips her shoulders, and flees without kissing her.
• Jian Ruonan remains composed afterward, claiming she knew he would not dare. Xuan Xiaowu realizes she was bluffing: her private thoughts reveal that she was relieved because she, too, had no idea what to do.
• Overcome with embarrassment and agitation, Dantai Mo returns to the military camp and puts the soldiers through another round of drills, laughing unnervingly as he does so.
• Later, Dantai Mo tells his mother, Consort Yan, that she can begin preparing for his wedding. His smile convinces her that Jian Ruonan has agreed to marry him, and she excitedly starts sending gifts and arranging celebrations.
• Xuan Xiaowu warns that the marriage may not be settled. Commandery Princess Jiarou explains what happened, leaving Consort Yan stunned by her son’s cowardice.
• Dantai Mo privately interprets his retreat as proof of his “male virtue”: he believes Jian Ruonan was testing him and that he passed by saving his first kiss for after marriage.

Character developments

• Dantai Mo reveals that beneath his formidable, disciplined public image, he is inexperienced and easily flustered around Jian Ruonan. He also confidently—and wrongly—assumes that she has agreed to marry him.
• Jian Ruonan maintains an air of mysterious confidence, teasing Dantai Mo and convincing the onlookers that she anticipated his retreat. Her inner thoughts show she is just as inexperienced and nervous.
• Xuan Xiaowu acts as an amused observer and reluctant truth-teller, recognizing that both romantic leads are “rookies.” He has learned to be cautious about speaking directly to Dantai Mo.
• Consort Yan is overjoyed at the prospect of her son’s marriage, then shocked to learn how little has actually been settled.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou provides the explanation that punctures Consort Yan’s assumptions.

Character interactions

• Jian Ruonan’s calm encouragement contrasts with Dantai Mo’s awkwardness, turning the near-kiss into a comic standoff.
• The hidden spectators—Xuan Xiaowu, Jiarou, and others—silently judge and tease Dantai Mo’s retreat.
• Consort Yan mistakes Dantai Mo’s pleased expression for evidence of an accepted proposal and immediately begins wedding preparations.
• Xuan Xiaowu tries to correct her, while Dantai Mo’s private thoughts reveal a completely different—and self-serving—interpretation of the encounter.

Significant themes

• Romantic inexperience: Both Jian Ruonan and Dantai Mo are nervous novices despite their differing outward confidence.
• Appearance versus reality: Jian Ruonan’s “foresight,” Dantai Mo’s stoicism, and his supposed romantic success all conceal uncertainty or misunderstanding.
• Comic miscommunication: Dantai Mo, Jian Ruonan, and Consort Yan each interpret events differently, allowing hopes and assumptions to outrun reality.
• Reputation and virtue: Dantai Mo reframes his fear as moral restraint, creating the chapter’s central joke about his “male virtue.”

Plot points and events

• Six years earlier, after Lü Xinxiang vanished, the Thousand-Household Commander stopped eating and drinking, devastated by her loss. His father, Commandery Prince Anping, admitted he had arranged to send her away; bandits attacked the party, and Xinxiang disappeared.
• As the Commander neared death, Jian Ruonan arrived to treat him. Threats from the prince and princess consort triggered a strange, supernatural choking spell. Jian broke it with a nonsensical phrase, establishing her reputation for “Talk Therapy.”
• Jian then told the Commander a Nine-Character Mantra would ensure Xinxiang’s safe return: “She flees, you chase; even with wings, she can’t escape!” A vision on a Light Screen showed Xinxiang safe with twin boys. The Commander began reciting the mantra and continued for six years.
• In the present, Xinxiang has returned to the capital with her twins. She is tending to one son, who has been badly bullied at school by children from powerful families. Jian comes to treat him, accompanied by an unexpectedly large group of followers, including the Eldest Princess and Wang Defa.

Character developments and interactions

• The Commander’s despair reveals how deeply he loves Xinxiang; learning she may be safe restores his will to live.
• Commandery Prince Anping admits his interference caused the crisis and regrets trying to control his son’s relationship. His wife, initially furious, becomes desperate to save their son.
• Jian remains irreverent and resourceful, using comic “therapy” and a prophetic vision to intervene when ordinary treatment seems useless.
• Xinxiang returns as a protective mother, focused on her son’s injuries and distress. The chapter ends as Jian’s entourage gathers at her residence, setting up a reunion and further complications.

Significant themes

• Love versus parental control: The prince’s attempt to manage his son’s relationship has devastating consequences.
• Despair and hope: The Commander’s belief that Xinxiang might return revives him.
• Power and vulnerability: Xinxiang’s son is harmed by privileged classmates, while his mother must advocate for him.
• Comedy amid crisis: Threats, supernatural effects, and Jian’s absurd remedies turn serious events into farce.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan receives a crowd of eager onlookers, including the Eldest Princess, Commandery Princess Jiarou, and Crown Prince Dantai Mo. They are there to witness the return of Lü Xinxiang, whose past romance with the now-powerful Commandery Prince’s Heir has fueled years of gossip.
• The group learns that the former Thousand-Household Commander has risen to become the Heir after eliminating his elder brothers. Dantai Mo also hopes to discuss marriage plans with Jian Ruonan, but postpones the conversation to enjoy the unfolding drama.
• Jian examines Lü Xinxiang’s son Nianshu, treating a cut on his face and noting other hidden injuries. Nianshu is frightened when visitors arrive because the boy he believes bullied him has the surname Li.
• A woman and a well-dressed official arrive with their injured child, accusing Nianshu of pushing him and demanding an apology. The official’s companion threatens Lü Xinxiang with debt and sexual coercion.
• Before the dispute can be resolved, another man enters and confronts Lü Xinxiang. The gossip-watchers identify him as Dai Lümao, her former fiancé—whom the Commandery Prince’s Heir once displaced—revealing that the situation involves a far more complicated romantic history than expected.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan remains composed and focused on treating Nianshu, even as the surrounding crowd turns his case into entertainment.
• Dantai Mo shows continued devotion to Jian: he is preparing for their marriage and defends her reputation, while keeping his intentions private.
• Lü Xinxiang is portrayed as a protective, distressed mother facing her son’s injuries and public accusations.
• Nianshu appears fearful and vulnerable, suggesting the schoolyard conflict may involve more than a simple accident.
• The Eldest Princess and the gossip-watchers eagerly treat the encounter as a spectacle, with their comic commentary contrasting sharply with the seriousness of the threats.

Significant themes

• Gossip as entertainment: The crowd interprets a family crisis through the lens of romantic intrigue and familiar story tropes.
• Power and social vulnerability: Wealthy or influential men use status to intimidate Lü Xinxiang, while she has little means to defend herself.
• The gap between appearance and truth: Accusations against Nianshu and the adults’ claims remain unresolved, while the sudden arrival of Dai Lümao suggests a deeper history.
• Romance and ambition: The Commandery Prince’s Heir’s rise in rank is linked to the six years he spent rebuilding his career after Lü Xinxiang’s departure.

Character interactions

• Jian treats Nianshu and gives Lü Xinxiang practical wound-care advice.
• Lü Xinxiang comforts her son, then faces accusations from the other child’s mother and threats from the accompanying official.
• The gossip-watchers trade guesses and commentary, while Dantai Mo uses the occasion to express loyalty to Jian.
• Dai Lümao’s arrival shifts attention from the children’s dispute to Lü Xinxiang’s past, setting up a tangled confrontation.