Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Fourth Prince Dantai Mo brings pandas Plum Blossom and Tangyuan to a purpose-built courtyard for Jian Ruonan and the Eldest Princess to see.
• The pandas ignore the Eldest Princess’s calls, but Jian Ruonan gets their attention by speaking fluent Sichuanese. She feeds and pets both animals, astonishing the others with her language skills.
• After the Eldest Princess leaves, Jian Ruonan reveals her unabashed “auntie” enthusiasm: she cuddles and kisses Plum Blossom and tries to coax Tangyuan down from a tree with exaggerated tales of pandas being put to hard labor or sent to war. The pandas are frightened by the contrast between her gentle appearance and wild inner thoughts.
• Dantai Mo tests the saddles and stirrups Jian Ruonan designed. They help inexperienced riders control their horses and substantially improve trained cavalry’s effectiveness. Impressed, he orders more than ten thousand sets and plans to form an elite cavalry camp.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan shows her playful, affectionate side around the pandas, along with her unusual knowledge of Sichuanese and panda culture. She also proves her practical ingenuity through the military equipment she designed.
• Dantai Mo is eager to please Jian Ruonan and delighted when she enjoys the pandas. He is also decisive and ambitious, moving quickly to turn the successful equipment trial into a military project.
• The Eldest Princess is charmed by the pandas but baffled when they respond to Jian Ruonan instead of her.
• Plum Blossom and Tangyuan shift from cautious curiosity to alarm once Jian Ruonan’s enthusiastic cuddling—and threats disguised as encouragement—becomes clear.

Significant themes

• Comedy through contrast: Jian Ruonan looks mild and proper but is exuberant and relentless in her affection.
• Inventiveness and practical skill: A seemingly simple design improvement can have major military consequences.
• Dantai Mo’s pursuit of Jian Ruonan: His efforts to win her favor are repeatedly undercut by the system, which notes that his emotional fluctuations keep earning points.
• Animal cuteness and human enthusiasm: The pandas’ bewilderment provides much of the chapter’s humor.

Plot and key events

• Jian Ruonan prepares for her first New Year in Great Xia and is due to begin work at the Ministry of Revenue after the holiday. Her family is eagerly awaiting her eldest brother’s return.
• Daoist Zhang’s pig-castration technique becomes a market success, driving down demand for pork from uncastrated pigs. The butcher decides to learn the technique, but his nearly mature pigs are much harder to handle than piglets.
• The butcher’s pregnant daughter forces the Top Scholar and his mother, Madam Fu, to help with the grueling work. The Top Scholar protests that it is beneath his scholarly dignity; his wife slaps him and sends him to the pigsty. Madam Fu is also pressed into service and berated despite her attempts to stay quiet.
• Meanwhile, Wu Yehe’s health and pregnancy improve at the Farm Estate, where she is cared for by attendants. Madam Fu begs her to return, but the estate’s staff turn her away. The satirical book about the Top Scholar and his “whopping slaps” continues selling well, enriching Jian Ruonan.
• Wu Yehe and Abbot Li develop a land mine using explosives and a bamboo fuse. Jian Ruonan attends its first successful test and considers seeking iron from the Fourth Prince to improve the device and develop other weapons, as well as iron farming tools.
• The Black Tortoise System visits the Big System to investigate whether it has been pushing its host to complete missions. It learns that Jian Ruonan has recently won over a target, but her unpredictable choices have made the Big System’s reports unreliable.
• The systems discuss Jian Ruonan’s possible plans—irrigation technology, land mines, or iron-ore locations—without reaching clarity. The Black Tortoise System then tries to obtain lamp oil by claiming it needs energy for a major project, but the Big System grows suspicious because energy went missing before.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan is increasingly focused on practical innovation and self-defense, quietly planning how to secure iron and expand weapons production.
• Wu Yehe is recovering and thriving, while also proving resilient and inventive through her work with Abbot Li.
• The Top Scholar’s pretensions are undercut by his humiliating new labor; his wife now firmly controls him and Madam Fu, who has learned that silence is no protection.
• The Black Tortoise System is manipulative and taunting, while Dantai Mo struggles to control his anger and gains corruption points when provoked. Their bickering contrasts with the Black Tortoise’s calculated attempt to exploit the Big System.

Significant themes

• Reversal and comeuppance: The Top Scholar’s family faces the consequences of its earlier behavior, while Wu Yehe prospers away from them.
• Practical ingenuity: Technical knowledge—from pig castration to explosives and farming tools—has real economic and political power.
• Unpredictability and manipulation: Jian Ruonan’s plans resist easy prediction, and both systems try to outmaneuver one another.
• Power and control: The chapter repeatedly shows who can command whom, from the butcher’s daughter directing her in-laws to the systems attempting to manipulate their hosts and rivals.

Plot points and events

• The Black Tortoise System pressures Big System to hand over energy, promising to explain the Enhanced Gossip Button. Big System stalls and consults Jian Ruonan.
• Jian Ruonan suspects the supposed Black Tortoise is a scammer, pointing out that it has offered no proof of its identity and may have targeted Big System after researching its circumstances.
• Though wary, Jian proposes sending a small amount of energy to win the system’s trust and learn what it knows. Big System transfers one-fifth of its energy.
• The Black Tortoise System explains the button’s functions: summon knowledgeable gossip followers, later manage them through a Scavenger Group, punish people with malice toward the gossip subject, and mute the subject from the scavengers during gossip.
• Energized by the transfer, the Black Tortoise System uses its power to help Dantai Mo stand. He manages two difficult steps, giving him hope.

Character developments and interactions

• Big System is trusting and intimidated by the Black Tortoise System’s reputation, but Jian’s warnings make it question the system and report their exchanges to her. It remains nervous, though willing to follow her plan.
• Jian Ruonan takes charge, framing the encounter as a money scam and turning Big System’s potential loss into a deliberate tactic. Her blunt, teasing advice shows both protectiveness and resourcefulness.
• The Black Tortoise System is boastful and manipulative, withholding information until it receives energy. Its actual knowledge of the button is useful, but the chapter leaves its identity and motives uncertain.
• Dantai Mo endures the system’s noisy presence but is overjoyed when its help lets him stand and walk two steps, restoring his sense of hope.

Significant themes

• Trust and deception: Reputation and claims are not proof; even apparently powerful figures may be scammers.
• Cunning and risk: Jian chooses a controlled, limited sacrifice to gather information and expose the other system.
• Hope through small progress: Dantai Mo’s two difficult steps mark a meaningful turning point, despite the absurd and irritating circumstances surrounding them.

Plot points and events

• In Westglow Garden, Teng wins Jian Ruonan’s permission to accompany her when she searches for the Previous Dynasty’s treasure, claiming he only wants the experience. He hopes to take a small share of the treasure.
• The Big System admits it gave energy to the Black Tortoise System, which grew louder and boastful afterward. Jian Ruonan concludes the system is a fraud with accomplices and tells the Big System to report any further contact.
• Jian Ruonan turns off the Enhanced Gossip Button before hearing gossip about her eldest brother, Jian Huayuan.
• Huayuan returns to the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence with heavily laden carriages and a pregnant woman. Although he is engaged to Imperial Physician Yin’s daughter, he brings this woman home and takes her to speak with their parents.
• Gossip confirms the woman is his mistress and that he intends to break off his engagement to marry her. Jian Ruonan, Jian Xilu, and Teng rush to the study to hear the confrontation.

Character developments and interactions

• Teng continues to flatter and serve Jian Ruonan to get what he wants, then eagerly joins her in pursuing gossip. He and Jian Xilu share her outrage at their eldest brother.
• Jian Ruonan is indulgent toward Teng but sharp-eyed about his motives. She also takes charge of the Big System’s response to being deceived.
• Jian Xilu condemns Huayuan’s conduct, especially because it resembles the behavior of her own unfaithful fiancé.
• Jian Huayuan appears caring toward the pregnant woman, but his plan to abandon his engagement casts him as disloyal and scandalous.

Significant themes

• Gossip as entertainment and power: The siblings use hidden information to uncover family scandals and rush toward the action.
• Deception and trust: The Big System’s mistaken faith in the Black Tortoise System parallels the family’s concern about romantic betrayal.
• Family honor and loyalty: Huayuan’s intended broken engagement threatens the household’s reputation and provokes his younger siblings’ condemnation.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan, Teng, and Jian Xilu sneak into the study to overhear Jian Huayuan argue with their parents. Huayuan admits Luo Shuirong is pregnant and insists he cannot abandon her, even offering to seek forgiveness from the Yin family and asking to break his engagement.
• Jian Ruonan’s unspoken thoughts mock the men of the household as foolish and predict the family’s decline. Her remarks reassure Jian Zhang and Min: she reveals that Huayuan is not the child’s father, leaving the engagement crisis more salvageable than they feared.
• Jian Zhang invites the children inside rather than sending them away, despite Huayuan’s discomfort. Teng complains that Huayuan expects to create a scandal while keeping his siblings from watching.
• Huayuan threatens to leave the household with Shuirong if his parents refuse to end his engagement. Ruonan predicts that Shuirong will cry and ask to leave—and Shuirong immediately does so, almost exactly as Ruonan foresaw.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan shows sharp insight and a mischievous, self-assured sense of humor, proudly calling herself a “veteran prophet.” Her family’s concern for her also becomes clear when Jian Zhang worries she is cold.
• Jian Zhang and Min remain angry at Huayuan’s choices, but Ruonan’s thoughts give them reason to hope the situation can still be resolved.
• Jian Huayuan appears stubbornly devoted to Shuirong, willing to defy his parents and abandon his engagement despite the family consequences. He also begins to hear Ruonan’s thoughts, though the others do not realize it.
• Teng is proud of being called the household’s one “normal” male and eagerly supports Ruonan’s commentary.

Significant themes

• Love versus judgment: Huayuan’s infatuation leads him to defy family expectations and ignore the damage his choices may cause.
• Appearance and deception: Shuirong’s apparent innocence contrasts with Ruonan’s claim that she has skillfully placed the pregnancy blame on Huayuan.
• Family responsibility and reputation: Huayuan’s choices threaten to turn a marriage alliance into a feud with the Yin family.
• Comic dramatic irony: Ruonan’s private thoughts reveal information and predict behavior that the others cannot openly discuss, turning a serious family dispute into comedy.

Character interactions

• Jian Zhang reprimands Huayuan while Min voices concern about the Yin family; Huayuan pleads with them to accept Shuirong.
• Jian Zhang prioritizes Ruonan’s comfort, welcoming the children and giving them treats, while Huayuan is embarrassed by their presence.
• Teng and Ruonan tease Huayuan through their thoughts, and Xilu struggles not to laugh.
• Ruonan’s accurate prediction of Shuirong’s plea leaves the family astonished and confirms her confidence in her own prophetic ability.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Huayuan brings Luo Shuirong, a pregnant woman he intends to marry, before his family. He defends her against his father’s anger and threatens to leave home with her.
• Jian Ruonan’s unspoken thoughts—heard only by her family—paint Shuirong as a schemer who is pretending to be helpless. Ruonan claims the baby is not Huayuan’s and that Shuirong chose him as an easy target so she could enter the Marquis’s household.
• Shuirong repeatedly insists Huayuan should let her go to protect his reputation, but Ruonan predicts she will stay. Shuirong promptly faints into Huayuan’s arms, seemingly confirming Ruonan’s assessment.
• In the family study, Huayuan explains that he met Shuirong while on official business in Sea City. She cooked for him, and he gradually fell for her. He says they never crossed proper boundaries, though he once woke to find her beside him after drinking.
• Ruonan mocks Huayuan’s belief that sharing a bed—or even touching a hand—could have caused a pregnancy. The family becomes doubtful of his story, and young Teng hands him a turtle, jokingly treating him as a “green-haired” cuckold.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan acts as the sharp-tongued observer, exposing what she believes is Shuirong’s manipulation while teasing her lovesick eldest brother.
• Jian Huayuan remains deeply devoted to Shuirong and willing to defy his parents, but his account reveals startling naïveté about intimacy and pregnancy.
• Luo Shuirong presents herself as self-sacrificing and distressed; her words and strategic fainting contrast with Ruonan’s interpretation of her motives.
• Jian Zhang and Min initially challenge Huayuan’s choice, then grow suspicious as Ruonan’s thoughts reveal how little he understands about what happened.
• Teng misunderstands the adult situation, then joins the teasing by giving Huayuan a turtle. Jian Xilu tries to stop Teng’s confused questions.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus truth: Shuirong’s apparent helplessness may conceal calculated intentions.
• Love and gullibility: Huayuan’s devotion leaves him vulnerable, while his family doubts his version of events.
• Family as an audience and safeguard: The relatives hear Ruonan’s private thoughts and use them to reassess a situation Huayuan cannot see clearly.
• Comedic misunderstanding: Sexual ignorance, Teng’s childlike confusion, and the turtle joke turn a serious family conflict into farce.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Huayuan insists he knows he slept with Luo Shuirong three months earlier, after drinking heavily. His family gathers to hear his account, while six-year-old Teng is sent out because the discussion is too scandalous for him.
• Ruonan points out that Shuirong is nearly five months pregnant—an impossible timeline if Huayuan’s encounter was the cause. Huayuan argues that he remembers waking to stains on his clothes and sheets, but Ruonan identifies it as an erotic dream and wet dream, not sex.
• The family learns Huayuan never touched Shuirong afterward. His mother and father conclude the child cannot be his.
• Ruonan’s thoughts reveal the real story: Shuirong is pregnant by the First Imperial Prince, who paid her to leave but then pushed her toward Huayuan when she wanted a respectable marriage. The prince is exploiting Huayuan’s loyalty and shipbuilding work for a secret maritime-trade venture.
• Ruonan also foresees that the prince’s followers will cheat in the Spring Examination, blame Huayuan, and leave him imprisoned and exiled while Shuirong and the child reunite with the prince. Overwhelmed by this revelation, Huayuan collapses.

Character developments

• Jian Huayuan begins furious and certain of himself, but the evidence—and Ruonan’s revelations—gradually undermine his confidence. He realizes his trusted connection to the prince may be a trap.
• Jian Ruonan again acts as the family’s sharp-eyed investigator, using her medical knowledge and prophetic inner thoughts to expose the truth and warn of future danger.
• Jian Zhang and Min initially consider Huayuan’s claims, but come to accept Ruonan’s judgment. Min is especially exasperated by Huayuan’s refusal to understand the evidence.
• Teng resents being excluded, boasting internally that he has already heard scandalous gossip before.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus truth: Huayuan mistakes a wet dream for a real encounter, while the pregnancy’s timing exposes the lie.
• Manipulation and misplaced trust: The First Imperial Prince uses Huayuan’s loyalty and reputation for his own political benefit.
• Family support and frustration: The family tries to protect Huayuan, even as they mock his stubbornness and poor judgment.
• Comedy amid danger: Ruonan’s irreverent commentary turns a serious conspiracy and a tragic future into farce.

Character interactions

• Huayuan seeks his family’s belief, but Ruonan bluntly refuses to trust his account. His parents question him, while her observations dismantle his certainty.
• Min and Jian Zhang listen closely to Ruonan’s internal revelations, which expose both the child’s paternity and the prince’s scheme.
• The family’s teasing and Huayuan’s growing shock culminate in his collapse, prompting Jian Zhang to joke that Ruonan’s gossip finally overwhelmed him.

Key plot points

• The Imperial Physician confirms Luo Shuirong is more than five months pregnant, although Jian Huayuan had been with her only three months earlier. Jian Huayuan faints from shock.
• The family realizes the unborn child is not Huayuan’s but the First Imperial Prince’s. Ruonan had also warned that the prince was behind the affair and connected to a Spring Examination cheating scandal.
• Fearing political retaliation, Jian Zhang plans for Huayuan to leave the estate with Luo Shuirong while the family investigates quietly. He also intends to visit the Yin family, since Huayuan’s engagement may now be ruined.
• The next day, Huayuan visits Ruonan for advice. Her private thoughts reveal that Luo has contagious nail fungus, prompting Huayuan to rush off and wash his hands.
• After hearing that the family plans to let the matter rest for now, Ruonan asks Huayuan whether he will accept the humiliation. She then decides to visit the Fourth Prince, taking her Farmland Irrigation Method with her.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Huayuan moves from disbelief and lovesick confusion toward recognizing that he has been used by the First Imperial Prince. Though intimidated by the prince’s power, he admits he cannot simply swallow the insult.
• Jian Zhang takes charge, prioritizing caution and secrecy while trying to protect the family from political danger.
• Min comforts Luo Shuirong but keeps her away from Ruonan, apparently to prevent her from discovering that Ruonan’s thoughts can be heard. She also supports and protects her children.
• Jian Ruonan remains unusually sharp and unconventional: she uses her thoughts to expose the truth, punctures Huayuan’s infatuation with a comic medical revelation, and takes the initiative to seek political help.
• Huayuan’s family discusses the scandal carefully, balancing his reputation and engagement against the danger of confronting a powerful prince.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and exploitation: Huayuan has been manipulated into taking responsibility for another man’s child.
• Family loyalty and protection: The household acts together to shield Huayuan and manage the fallout.
• Power and political risk: The First Imperial Prince’s influence makes exposing the truth dangerous.
• Comedy amid crisis: Ruonan’s irreverent inner commentary, especially about nail fungus, sharply contrasts with the serious political stakes.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan reflects that the story has diverged from its original plot: her mother was not framed, she reunited with her family earlier, Jian Chuxue was sent away, and her eldest sister avoided a disastrous marriage. She concludes that the plot is no longer forcing events and that people’s choices matter.
• Wanting to protect her eldest brother from a tragic fate, Ruonan decides to ask the Fourth Prince for help. She travels to his residence, reasoning that her many gifts should entitle her to one favor.
• Dantai Mo, who has regained enough strength to stand and take a few steps, exercises diligently. When his system announces Ruonan’s arrival, he immediately prepares to bathe, dress, and receive her—despite insisting she must be there for points or to see the pandas.
• On the way to meet the prince, Ruonan diverts to the Bamboo Garden to visit Plum Blossom and Tangyuan. The pandas are squabbling; Tangyuan climbs a tree and knocks Plum Blossom down, and Ruonan catches her.
• Ruonan enthusiastically cuddles and kisses Plum Blossom while Tangyuan hides in the tree. Dantai Mo eventually comes looking for her and finds her preparing to climb up after Tangyuan, whose imagined commentary labels her a “magical menace.”

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan shows growing affection for her new family and a desire to prevent her brother’s suffering. Her visit also reveals that her devotion to the pandas easily distracts her from her purpose.
• Dantai Mo is steadily recovering and remains committed to his exercises. His eagerness to prepare for Ruonan’s arrival contrasts with his dismissive claims about why she came.
• The Black Tortoise System teases Dantai Mo about his appearance and Ruonan’s motives, calling him “Xiaosi” and puncturing his attempts to act indifferent.
• Plum Blossom and Tangyuan react warily to Ruonan’s affection: Tangyuan escapes up a tree, while Plum Blossom is caught and subjected to an exuberant cuddle-and-kiss routine. Their squabbling adds comic energy to the visit.

Significant themes

• Choice versus fate: Ruonan recognizes that the original story’s outcomes have changed and believes human effort can shape events.
• Belonging and family: Her memories of growing up without an intact family deepen her attachment to the Jinyang Marquis’s household.
• Comedy and affection: Ruonan’s sincere concern for her relatives sits alongside her comically overwhelming affection for the pandas and Dantai Mo’s concealed anticipation of her arrival.

Key plot points

• Jian Ruonan cannot coax Tangyuan down from a tree. The Fourth Prince, Dantai Mo, arranges for an Embroidered Uniform Guard to retrieve the panda, allowing Jian to pet it before she leaves.
• Dantai Mo realizes the pandas could give him an easy way to connect with Jian and plans to visit them more often.
• At his residence, Jian presents Dantai Mo with Farmland Irrigation Technology. He recognizes its potential to reduce both floods and droughts, and his strong reaction earns her 50 system points.
• Jian declines a cash reward and proposes an overseas silk-and-pottery business. She suggests her eldest brother handle the ships and crews; Dantai Mo agrees to discuss the partnership, though Jian privately hopes to take most—or all—of the profits.
• Before leaving, Jian raises a new matter: Pu Jingyi’s supposed adopted son, Shu Zijing, is not his relative after all. Pu actually has a niece named Luo Shuirong.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan remains outwardly polite but privately excitable, calculating, and fixated on pandas and profit. Her irrigation gift and business proposal show that she is also actively helping Dantai Mo strengthen his position.
• Dantai Mo is increasingly impressed by Jian and interprets her actions as signs of loyalty and concern. He also begins looking for personal common ground with her, though his system repeatedly reminds him that she is meant to win him over.
• The pandas are terrified of Jian’s enthusiasm, especially Tangyuan, who clings to the tree and fears being handled.

Character interactions

• Jian’s restrained courtesy contrasts with her wild inner thoughts, which Dantai Mo can hear; their unspoken exchange often undercuts his dignified composure.
• Dantai Mo’s efforts to help Jian pet Tangyuan win her gratitude, while her admiration for the guard who retrieves it briefly makes him jealous or dismayed.
• Jian and Dantai negotiate the proposed trade venture, with Dantai treating it as a serious strategic opportunity and Jian privately eyeing the returns.
• The Black Tortoise System comments on their misunderstandings and Jian’s mercenary priorities, while Dantai increasingly dismisses its warnings.

Significant themes

• Public composure versus private thoughts: Jian’s polite exterior hides blunt, chaotic thoughts that shape the scene’s humor.
• Mutual misreading and growing trust: Dantai mistakes Jian’s practical actions for personal devotion, while she genuinely provides valuable help—though partly for her own gain.
• Pragmatism and governance: Irrigation and overseas trade connect personal ambitions with the broader needs and resources of the state.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan asks Fourth Prince Dantai Mo to pass information to Eastern Depot chief Pu Jingyi without revealing her involvement, claiming she fears trouble with Shu Zijing.
• She gives Dantai Mo a book on irrigation and invents a story that it came from a wandering master and a treasure map. He is skeptical but sends people to investigate.
• Dantai Mo learns that Jian Ruonan’s eldest brother, Jian Huayuan, brought home pregnant Luo Shuirong, argued with his family, and then abruptly changed his attitude toward her.
• Dantai Mo suspects the unborn child belongs to the First Imperial Prince. He also recognizes that Jian Ruonan may be using him and Pu Jingyi to divert attention from the Marquis’s household and undermine the First Imperial Prince’s plans.
• Jian Ruonan returns home hoping Dantai Mo will tolerate her scheme because of the valuable gifts she has offered. She believes the household should stay quiet while powerful figures clash.
• On the way home, she runs into Wang Defa, who accompanies her to the estate. There, he notices the family’s anxiety and offers to help, but Jian Ruonan refuses to explain the problem.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan shows strategic skill and nerve, disguising her intentions behind an innocent, greedy persona. However, she is anxious about the risks of manipulating Dantai Mo and would rather avoid further conflict.
• Dantai Mo is shrewd enough to see through much of Jian Ruonan’s performance and form a theory about her larger plan. Despite his suspicion, whether he will assist her remains uncertain.
• Wang Defa is more confident and capable than before. He is observant, persistent, and eager to prove his usefulness to Jian Ruonan.
• Jian Huayuan remains distressed by the family crisis surrounding Luo Shuirong, while Min worries about the situation but cannot discuss it openly in front of their guest.

Significant themes

• Strategy and misdirection: Jian Ruonan uses gifts, fabricated explanations, and carefully chosen leaks to steer other people’s attention and actions.
• Trust and suspicion: Dantai Mo recognizes the manipulation beneath Jian Ruonan’s cheerful act, while still weighing whether to cooperate.
• Power and collateral consequences: The pregnancy and possible connection to the First Imperial Prince could entangle several influential households.
• Avoiding danger: Jian Ruonan’s preferred outcome is to let powerful players fight while her family stays out of sight.

Character interactions

• Jian Ruonan bargains with Dantai Mo, concealing her role and presenting a false story about her treasures.
• Dantai Mo privately analyzes her motives and directs an investigation, while the Black Tortoise System teases him about being outmaneuvered.
• Wang Defa joins Jian Ruonan’s journey home and questions her about the household’s troubles; she resists his probing, but he offers to help and turns to Teng when she will not confide in him.

Plot points and events

• Heavily pregnant Luo Shuirong waits anxiously for Jian Guiyi after he is beaten. Her maid, Cui’er, assures her that his position as the Marquis’s heir’s eldest legitimate son will eventually secure her a formal marriage and high status.
• Shuirong has little appetite for the rich, oily food served at the estate. A letter hidden in her food box bears the First Imperial Prince’s mark; she reads it, burns it, and sets out under the pretext of buying medicine for Guiyi.
• Jian Ruonan hears that Shuirong is leaving and eagerly prepares her “battle robes,” hoping to see what happens. She briefly speaks with her younger brother Teng, who is on his way to study with Wang Defa, and warns him to keep proper boundaries.
• At the Eastern Depot Governor’s residence, Pu Jingyi has his troublesome godson Shu Zijing dragged away. Pu has learned that Shu is not his sister’s son: his sister’s missing daughter was replaced by a boy who was actually Pu’s brother-in-law’s child from another relationship.
• Pu receives word that his biological niece is Shuirong, now living at the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence and pregnant with Guiyi’s child. He decides to retrieve her himself, dismissing the Marquis household as no obstacle.
• Eastern Depot officials ride through the marketplace, shouting for bystanders to clear the way.

Character developments and interactions

• Shuirong remains focused on her relationship with Guiyi and trusts that he will marry her properly, though the letter’s contents and her sudden departure suggest a secret plan or urgent business.
• Cui’er is loyal and protective, encouraging Shuirong’s hopes while helping conceal her movements.
• Ruonan is delighted by the prospect of unfolding drama and remains a playful, observant presence.
• Pu Jingyi shifts from indulgent godfather to decisive authority after learning Shu’s true parentage and discovering his niece is nearby. His possessive reaction to Shuirong’s pregnancy foreshadows a confrontation with the Marquis’s household.
• Teng continues growing close to Wang Defa and responds obediently to Ruonan’s advice.
• Pu’s command to remove Shu contrasts sharply with his earlier habit of helping the young man evade consequences.

Significant themes

• Family, blood, and mistaken identity: Shu’s assumed kinship is exposed, while Pu discovers a long-lost biological niece.
• Power and social status: Shuirong and Cui’er rely on Guiyi’s rank to imagine a secure future, while Pu’s authority makes him confident he can claim her.
• Secrecy and suspense: The hidden letter, Shuirong’s unexplained errand, and Pu’s sudden pursuit set up an impending collision.
• Care and control: Shuirong’s pregnancy is treated as both a personal vulnerability and a source of political and familial leverage.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Shuirong leaves home after receiving a letter from Tantai Ji, the First Imperial Prince, despite her maid Cui’er warning that she should stop seeing him. She travels through an apothecary and then takes a sedan chair to a secluded courtyard.
• Jian Ruonan follows with her eldest brother, Jian Huayuan. Huayuan already knows about Luo’s lover and wants to go home, but stays out of concern for Ruonan.
• Teng and Wang Defa arrive. Ruonan discovers that Wang has impersonated the First Imperial Prince to lure Luo to the courtyard, with Teng helping him. The courtyard belongs to the prince, though Wang claims it is empty and watched by a vulnerable old gatekeeper.
• Ruonan warns Wang that Luo is the niece of Pu Jingyi, director of the Eastern Depot. Before they can act further, Luo and Cui’er cry out: they have slipped in a filthy mess and are covered in feces.
• Pu Jingyi arrives outside the courtyard with eighteen subordinates, bringing the group’s prank—and their attempt to observe the affair—into immediate danger.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan is both an eager gossip-seeker and the most alert to the risks. She scolds Wang’s recklessness and tries to keep the others safe, while using the system’s “Mute the Gossip Subject” function to avoid being overheard.
• Jian Huayuan has accepted the truth about Luo Shuirong and shows concern for his sister, though he is reluctant to remain near a dangerous situation.
• Teng gleefully treats everyone’s secrets as fair game, including his eldest brother’s. His prank appears motivated by resentment that Luo deceived Huayuan and left the family unable to complain openly; once he learns Pu Jingyi is involved, his bravado gives way to fear.
• Wang Defa is daring and calculating, convinced Luo will be too ashamed to expose what happened. His scheme is also strikingly reckless given the prince’s connection to the property and Pu Jingyi’s family tie to Luo.
• Luo Shuirong is anxious about her secret relationship and harshly silences Cui’er’s warnings. Cui’er is loyal but blunt, and remains at her mistress’s side.
• The group’s exchanges highlight the contrast between Ruonan’s caution, Wang’s audacity, and Teng’s mischievous appetite for scandal. Huayuan is caught between concern for his family and the absurdity of his younger siblings’ gossip-hunting.

Significant themes

• Gossip as entertainment and danger: The characters treat private affairs as spectacle, but their curiosity leads them into politically perilous territory.
• Recklessness and consequences: Wang and Teng’s prank spirals beyond their control once Luo’s connection to Pu Jingyi is revealed.
• Secrets, shame, and power: Wang assumes Luo will hide the incident rather than challenge him, reflecting how social vulnerability can silence people.
• Family loyalty and meddling: Huayuan stays to protect Ruonan, while Teng’s prank is framed as a misguided defense of his brother.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• To punish Luo Shuirong, Jian Ruonan, Wang Defa, and their companions rig an abandoned residence with buckets of excrement and an icy floor. Luo Shuirong and her maid are repeatedly drenched and unable to stand.
• The group watches from safety, amused by the prank. Their teasing turns to Jian Huayuan, whom they suspect may have kissed Luo Shuirong; he insists he has only touched her hand.
• Pu Jingyi arrives with a grand Eastern Depot procession to rescue Luo Shuirong. His guards charge into the room without realizing it is full of filth, crash into one another, and are all drenched by the trap.
• Jian Ruonan and the others flee before they can be caught, each preparing an alibi. She then meets the Eldest Princess and takes her to Princess Qile’s painted boat, where men entertain women.
• The Eldest Princess assumes they have come for pleasure, but Jian Ruonan says their purpose is to find men who are in the trade unwillingly and help them leave it for respectable lives.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan is mischievous and delighted by the elaborate humiliation of Luo Shuirong and Pu Jingyi. She also presents herself as compassionate, reframing the visit to the boat as a chance to rescue men in difficult circumstances.
• Teng enthusiastically joins the prank and affectionately seeks Jian Huayuan’s attention, though he quickly flatters him when his thoughts offend.
• Jian Huayuan is embarrassed by his siblings’ suspicions and teasing, and protests that his relationship with Luo Shuirong has gone no further than holding her hand.
• Wang Defa helps devise and set up the trap, showing practical ingenuity.
• Pu Jingyi arrives with intimidating authority and theatrical pomp, but the trap turns his entrance into a humiliating disaster. He lashes out at his guards.
• The Eldest Princess doubts Jian Ruonan’s plan at first, mistaking it for a lowbrow outing, but listens as Jian Ruonan explains its charitable intent.

Significant themes

• Pomp versus humiliation: The Eastern Depot’s fearsome public display collapses into slapstick when its agents charge into the trap.
• Mischief and consequences: Jian Ruonan’s group enjoys the prank, but must quickly scatter and invent alibis to evade official punishment.
• Compassion beneath comedy: The chapter’s final turn contrasts the crude practical joke with Jian Ruonan’s stated wish to help men trapped in an exploitative livelihood.
• Family affection and teasing: The siblings’ banter—especially around Jian Huayuan and Teng—shows their closeness, even as it embarrasses Jian Huayuan.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan persuades the Eldest Princess to visit a pleasure boat, framing their mission as rescuing men forced into sexual work and scolding those who choose it despite their education.
• Though Jian Ruonan privately admits she mainly wants to see the handsome men, the princess accepts her argument and joins her aboard.
• After meeting the boat’s polished steward, Huang, the two inspect a group of young men. None impresses them much, and they doubt the first man they meet is being held against his will.
• A disturbance upstairs reveals Yan Yichun, an 18-year-old scholar, bound and beaten for allegedly stealing. Jian Ruonan orders him untied and given warmer clothes.
• The women learn that Yan came to the boat seeking costly ginseng and money to treat his critically ill mother. He says he was misled about the contract and did not understand he was agreeing to sell himself. The staff maintain that he signed willingly and now owes them repayment.
• Yan admits he cannot return the ginseng or money because they were used for his mother’s treatment. He promises to repay the debt. Jian Ruonan and the princess interpret his remorse and filial motive as proof he deserves saving.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan uses righteous rhetoric to persuade the princess, but her private enthusiasm for finding handsome men undercuts her lofty mission. She is quick to take charge when she sees Yan mistreated.
• The Eldest Princess is eager to serve Great Xia and increasingly sympathizes with men she believes are trapped or unjustly treated. She views Yan’s sacrifice for his mother as exemplary filial devotion.
• Yan Yichun is introduced as proud, stubborn, and unwilling to accept the boat’s demands, yet also remorseful about his debt and devoted to his mother.
• Steward Huang and the older women present a courteous public face, but the rough treatment of Yan—and the conflicting accounts of his contract—cast doubt on the boat’s fairness.

Themes and interactions

• Rescue and self-deception: The women present their visit as a moral intervention, while their private thoughts reveal a strong attraction to handsome men.
• Consent, debt, and exploitation: Yan’s claim that he was misled contrasts with the staff’s insistence that he freely signed a binding contract.
• Filial duty and moral judgment: Yan’s sacrifice for his mother makes the princess and Jian Ruonan overlook his broken agreement.
• Appearance and sympathy: His delicate, distressed appearance immediately convinces the two women that he is innocent, before they hear his full story.
• Key interactions: Jian Ruonan asserts authority over the boat’s staff; the princess supports her investigation; and the women interpret Yan’s explanations sympathetically, while the staff portray him as dishonest and ungrateful.

• Yan Yichun is cleared of theft. Jian Ruonan learns that the proud young scholar was framed and tricked into Princess Qile’s pleasure boat after losing his eligibility for the Spring Examination. She and the Eldest Princess insist he be untied, despite the steward’s doubts.
• Yan’s defiance wins his would-be rescuers over. He refuses to show gratitude and recites a poem rather than submit. When Steward Huang strikes him, both women angrily defend him. A rival entertainer tries to impress them with poetry, but they remain more taken with Yan’s looks. Jian tips the staff and encourages Yan to tell the Eldest Princess about his troubles.
• Yan’s position changes when he hears his exam status might be restored. He assumes the women want to make him a kept favorite and would rather die than yield. But when the Eldest Princess offers to investigate his case and restore his eligibility if he was framed, his resistance softens, and he eagerly tells them what happened. The chapter’s closing clarification stresses that the women are only playing along and intend to enjoy themselves, not literally rescue him.
• Dantai Mo makes plans for Shu’s growth. With abundant harvests drawing refugees to his fief, he plans to expand his guard forces, strengthen his cavalry, pursue maritime trade, and keep watch on the First Imperial Prince. He intends to give Jian Ruonan nine-tenths of the trade venture’s shares, seeing it as a gift she brought him.
• Dantai Mo’s loyalty—and the system’s exasperation—are highlighted. The black tortoise system calls him foolish for taking so little and reminds him that maintaining troops costs money. Dantai counters that the system owes Jian Ruonan for the lamp oil it stole. The system insists the oil was for Dantai, underscoring their bickering and its frustration with his devotion.
• The chapter ends on a misunderstanding. Dantai learns Jian Ruonan and the Eldest Princess are aboard a pleasure boat and wonders what they are doing there. The system assumes they are simply indulging themselves and mocks Dantai’s belief that Jian cares about him; it then offers to take over, setting up the next scene.
  Themes and interactions: The chapter plays comic contrasts between Yan’s scholarly pride and his vulnerability, and between Dantai’s serious political ambitions and his lovestruck generosity. Jian and the Eldest Princess bond over defending Yan, while Yan’s hostility turns to hopeful cooperation once offered a path back to the examinations.

Key plot points

• Yan Yichun opens up to the Eldest Princess about his recent hardships, and she comforts him. They bond over poetry, music, travel, and their ambitions.
• The Eldest Princess assumes that helping Yan means taking him away from the pleasure boat. Jian Ruonan clarifies that their goal was simply to persuade him to turn over a new leaf—and argues that leaving him there avoids the complications of bringing him home.
• Big System signals again. Jian Ruonan suspects the other system must be nearby and considers Jian Chuxue or the Third Prince as possible hosts.
• She rushes to inspect the shore but finds no one, unknowingly missing Dantai Mo, who is hiding in a hut nearby.
• Jian Ruonan tells Big System to pretend it lacks energy and to use the conversation with the other system to estimate its location. Dantai Mo, meanwhile, warns Black Tortoise System not to request energy, fearing Jian Ruonan has detected them.
• The systems resume contact. Big System reports that Jian Ruonan is eager to complete tasks and plans to visit the Fourth Prince’s residence. It then offers to establish a link so it can transfer future energy, and Black Tortoise System accepts.

Character developments

• Yan Yichun softens from his earlier resistance, trusts the Eldest Princess, and speaks openly about his life and aspirations.
• The Eldest Princess enjoys the sincere intellectual companionship and feels compassion for Yan, but remains uncertain about the consequences of taking him home.
• Jian Ruonan proves perceptive and strategic, quickly connecting the system signals to a nearby hidden presence and coaching Big System through a cautious deception.
• Dantai Mo grows increasingly suspicious and anxious, while Black Tortoise System is overconfident in Big System’s apparent loyalty.

Character interactions

• Jian Ruonan advises the Eldest Princess and gently exposes the difference between genuinely rescuing Yan and simply enjoying his company.
• Yan and the Eldest Princess connect through heartfelt conversation, while Jian Ruonan manages the situation behind the scenes.
• Dantai Mo and Black Tortoise System argue over whether their cover has been compromised; he threatens to kill himself to prevent the system from endangering him.
• Big System and Black Tortoise System maintain a polite exchange, but Big System’s offer to share energy may be part of Jian Ruonan’s effort to gather information.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus intention: The language of “saving” Yan masks a more ambiguous visit, and Jian Ruonan forces the Eldest Princess to confront the distinction.
• Trust and manipulation: Characters—and systems—present friendly faces while pursuing hidden goals.
• Companionship and desire: The Eldest Princess distinguishes the emotional satisfaction of conversation from physical pleasure, though the two remain entangled in her thinking.
• Caution and suspicion: Both sides try to uncover the other’s position while avoiding exposing themselves.

Key plot points and events

• Big System successfully links with the Black Tortoise System. The link works only when the two systems are nearby, but it will let them detect one another—and their hosts—during future encounters.
• Jian Ruonan returns home to check whether anyone in her family is bound to the Black Tortoise System. She waits for the family banquet, where she can quietly observe everyone at once.
• Min asks what happened to Luo Shuirong. Jian Ruonan explains that Teng and Wang Defa played a prank on her, and reveals Luo’s connection to Pu Jingyi. Min worries about the danger of involving powerful figures; Jian Ruonan agrees Teng needs a lesson.
• Teng tries to escape punishment by acting remorseful and adorable, successfully persuading Jian Ruonan to pinch his cheeks—but she still gives him a beating.
• At the banquet, Jian Ruonan’s system detects no other system-bound family member. The Old Madam sits alone because the family fears catching her athlete’s foot.
• Jian Chuyun claims she has a cough to excuse herself from sitting near the Old Madam. Jian Ruonan takes her pulse and declares her healthy, while Teng reminds everyone that Jian Ruonan is known for her medical skill. Jian Ruonan then challenges the other relatives to admit if they are also ill.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan is confident and pragmatic, using the banquet to investigate without alarming the family. She also remains playful and physically affectionate with Teng, while refusing to let his cuteness erase his punishment.
• Teng shows his clever, manipulative side: he anticipates Jian Ruonan’s fondness for his cheeks and performs contrition, but underestimates her determination to discipline him.
• Min is protective and concerned by the risks Teng’s actions create, though she recognizes his antics—and can no longer control her grown children.
• Jian Chuyun tries to preserve her image of filial devotion while avoiding the Old Madam. Jian Ruonan and Teng expose her excuse in front of the family.
• Dantai Mo learns that Jian Ruonan may return to his residence to see the panda. He briefly hopes she might be visiting him, but the Black Tortoise System bluntly punctures that hope.

Significant themes

• Family affection and discipline: Jian Ruonan’s fondness for Teng coexists with her insistence that he face consequences.
• Appearance versus reality: Teng’s remorse and Jian Chuyun’s filial concern are performances, while the family’s apparent closeness is undermined by fear and avoidance.
• Gossip, secrecy, and political danger: Luo Shuirong’s disappearance and Teng’s involvement could have serious consequences because powerful people are implicated.
• Comedy through bluntness: The systems’ bickering, Dantai Mo’s thwarted romantic hopes, and the family’s awkward avoidance of the Old Madam turn potentially tense situations into farce.

Chapter summary

Key plot points

• At the New Year’s family banquet, Jian Ruonan’s reputation for getting results without lifting a finger is reinforced: the younger and third branches’ descendants recover as soon as she glances their way.
• The family notices Jian Huayuan sitting gingerly. He claims his father beat him for a mistake, though he is exaggerating his injuries to hide the real scandal: he has brought home a pregnant young woman despite being engaged to Imperial Physician Yin’s daughter.
• Jian Lang tries to exploit the scandal and embarrass the Elder Branch. Jian Ruonan stops him by flipping his table. Teng loudly praises her, even urging everyone to applaud her “imperially authorized” signature move. Jian Ruonan threatens to fetch her Imperial Sword, and the younger and third branches promptly fall silent.
• After dinner, Min asks Jian Xilu how she feels about Top Graduate Hou as a prospective husband. Xilu leaves the decision to her mother. Jian Ruonan and Teng eavesdrop and suggest approaching Hou directly, but Min sends them away.
• That night, Jian Ruonan hears what sounds like a kitten and searches the courtyard. Instead, she finds Jian Chuxue, who has secretly returned from the farm estate. Chuxue claims they are alike, using phrases and references associated with Jian Ruonan’s apparent modern background, and proposes that they work together.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains formidable and quick to act, using humor, intimidation, and her Imperial Sword’s reputation to shut down family politicking. She is cautious around Chuxue, however, and deliberately keeps her thoughts controlled.
• Teng enthusiastically flatters Ruonan—even though she recently beat him. His praise is so excessive that Jian Huayuan wonders if Teng is destined to become a treacherous minister. Teng also tries to take charge of the conversation about Xilu’s match.
• Jian Huayuan conceals the true extent of his injuries and his scandal, while observing how effectively Ruonan commands the room.
• Min takes practical steps toward arranging Xilu’s marriage but objects to Ruonan and Teng’s impulsive matchmaking tactics.
• Jian Chuxue returns without permission and approaches Ruonan with apparent confidence, suggesting she knows something about Ruonan’s origins or identity.

Significant themes

• Power and family politics: Ruonan’s influence turns the branches’ attempts to embarrass one another into immediate submission.
• Flattery, loyalty, and comic opportunism: Teng’s extravagant praise contrasts with the family’s fear of provoking Ruonan.
• Marriage and family expectations: Xilu’s prospective match is treated as a matter for family planning, while Ruonan and Teng challenge the usual cautious approach.
• Shared identity and secrecy: Chuxue’s claim that she and Ruonan are “from the same hometown” introduces a mysterious connection and sets up possible cooperation.

Key events

• Jian Chuxue urges Jian Ruonan to join her in building a “golden age,” revealing that she, too, is a transmigrator. She knows several modern inventions and dreams of using them to gain wealth and power—possibly even becoming empress.
• Jian Ruonan rejects the idea. She insists that her inventions and unexpected government post are conveniences, not steps toward ambition; she wants money, freedom, and an easy life. Chuxue decides to pursue her plans without her and leaves the Marquis’s Estate.
• Afterward, Jian Ruonan asks Big System whether Chuxue is the person she has been searching for. The answer is no. The system reports that Chuxue has already met the Third Prince and will enter his household as an adviser, providing plans for a Fire Crossbow. Though she had just declared a careerist ambition, she is apparently headed into a romance with him.
• Big System warns that the Third Prince is plotting to seize the throne. Jian Ruonan is briefly alarmed, but quickly turns to the system for more gossip, including a revelation about the prince’s parentage.
• On Lunar New Year’s Eve, Jian Ruonan is invited to the palace banquet as an official. Min explains the complicated etiquette, but Ruonan is sleepy and focuses mainly on the banquet’s food.
• At the palace gates, official Bian Yingyi discusses the stalled succession question and his intention to speak up about famine relief. Censor An Honghui tries to warn him to keep quiet, but Bian remains determined—and An ultimately encourages him to act.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains firmly unambitious and self-deprecating, preferring comfort and gossip to political influence. Her exchange with Chuxue exposes the gulf between their goals.
• Jian Chuxue presents herself as a would-be nation-builder, but her connection to the Third Prince suggests her plans may be entangled with romance and court politics. She dismisses Ruonan as a potential hindrance.
• Big System serves as Ruonan’s source of plot-critical information, warning her about the Third Prince’s coup ambitions even as she prefers sensational gossip.
• Min tries to prepare Ruonan for palace protocol, only to discover that Ruonan has retained the instructions about food more than etiquette.
• Bian Yingyi and An Honghui provide a comic but consequential contrast: An cautiously tries to protect his colleague, while Bian remains outspoken about famine and government priorities.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus contentment: Chuxue seeks power and transformation; Ruonan values a secure, comfortable life.
• Comedy through conflicting priorities: Ruonan repeatedly treats serious matters—official duty, palace etiquette, and political danger—as secondary to sleep, food, and gossip.
• Court danger and political responsibility: The Third Prince’s coup plotting and Bian’s planned remonstrance establish the risks facing those involved in palace politics.
• Romance versus career: Chuxue’s stated revolutionary ambitions are undercut by the prospect of a dramatic romance with the prince.