Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Jian Ruonan confronts Official Wu after learning he has embezzled heavily and insulted her colleagues and family. She beats him with a plank, then orders the Ministry of Revenue’s doors shut.
• Jian reveals detailed knowledge of Wu’s corruption—including the amounts stolen and where his ledger is hidden—and says she will search his home and behead him.
• Wu pretends to beg for mercy, but secretly intends to kill her. As his murderous hostility rises, he suddenly suffers a supernatural punishment and passes out. Jian concludes that the stronger someone’s malice toward her, the harsher the punishment.
• Jian celebrates her apparent protection, though the System cautions that she should not assume it works on everyone. Her colleagues, touched by her defense of them, embrace her as their “grand-auntie.”
• Elsewhere, Master Wu discovers that 100,000 taels have vanished from a gambling den’s hidden room. He demands an explanation from Wang Wu and Triangle Eyes, who have been badly beaten, setting up a separate mystery.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan shows fierce loyalty to her colleagues, acting boldly against Official Wu. Her confidence swells after witnessing the apparent heavenly punishment, though the System urges caution.
• Official Wu shifts from swaggering defiance to panic and false submission. His concealed murderous intent triggers the punishment, leaving him unconscious.
• Jian’s colleagues move from shock and concern to gratitude and active support, closing the doors and offering to help her.
• The System acts as Jian’s cautious adviser; Jian praises it, then immediately lets her excitement get the better of her.
• Master Wu arrives at the gambling den to find its money missing and interrogates the battered Wang Wu and Triangle Eyes.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and solidarity: Jian risks consequences to defend her coworkers from abuse.
• Corruption and justice: Official Wu’s embezzlement is exposed, and Jian intends to bring him to account.
• Malice and supernatural retribution: Wu’s hostile intentions appear to provoke a force that punishes him.
• Power and caution: Jian’s newfound confidence is tempered by uncertainty about the limits of her protection.
• Hidden wrongdoing: The missing gambling-den fortune introduces another concealed scheme.

Plot points and events

• Master Wu investigates the destruction of his gambling den. Triangle Eyes can explain events only through mysterious “beeps,” while Wang Wu admits he was away sleeping with his brother’s wife. Master Wu pieces together that an unseen woman exposed the affair and vows to find her.
• Two days after reopening, the teahouse fills with people—but they come for gossip about Wang Wu and Triangle Eyes, not to gamble. Master Wu, alarmed that the casino has effectively become a gossip venue, sends a request for help to the powerful Heavenly Secret Pavilion.
• At Prince Rui’s residence, Tangyuan waits for Auntie, but turns away when Dantai Mo arrives. Dantai wonders why the Fifth Miss has stopped visiting; the Black Tortoise System privately understands it is because his identity has been exposed.
• Dantai plans another attempt to contact Big System at the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence. The Black Tortoise proposes confessing his connection to the Fifth Miss in hopes of gaining energy and helping Dantai stand again. Dantai rejects the plan, irritated by the system’s blunt teasing.
• That night, the two systems make contact. Following a script prepared by Nan Nan, Big System challenges Black Tortoise for lying and demands to know its mission. Black Tortoise agrees, after securing a promise that Big System will keep talking to it and providing energy, and reveals its mission: help its host recover physically.

Character developments and interactions

• Master Wu shifts from trying to understand the casino’s destruction to actively hunting the mysterious woman, then becomes frustrated when his customers care more about scandal than gambling.
• Wang Wu is exposed as an adulterer, while Triangle Eyes remains unable to clearly explain what happened.
• Dantai Mo wants to contact Big System but resists the Black Tortoise’s proposed confession, valuing his pride and privacy despite the possibility of recovery.
• Black Tortoise System shows eagerness to help Dantai recover, though its “stratagem” mostly provokes him. It eventually trusts Big System enough to reveal its mission.
• Big System keeps control of the conversation, using Nan Nan’s prepared script to make Black Tortoise admit its deception and disclose its purpose.

Significant themes

• Gossip as social power: The casino’s scandal draws a crowd and displaces gambling, showing how quickly rumors can reshape public attention.
• Trust and honesty: Black Tortoise’s contact with Big System depends on admitting it lied and revealing its mission.
• Pride versus vulnerability: Dantai’s reluctance to confess reflects his discomfort with exposing his humiliating secrets, even when honesty might help him recover.

Key events

• The Black Tortoise System insists it is a high-ranking system, but Big System suspects it is lying and trying to steal energy. After receiving a small energy transfer, Black Tortoise sends its authentic ID and photos, proving its identity.
• Big System apologizes and promises to obey Black Tortoise. Black Tortoise orders it not to tell Nannan about his mission: helping his host, the Fourth Prince, recover physically.
• Black Tortoise asks Big System to bring Fifth Miss Nannan to the Fourth Prince’s home regularly. He then realizes Big System already knew who his host was—and that Nannan had used Big System to investigate him.
• Big System confesses that Nannan deliberately prompted it to seek a Link and had taught it how to trick another system. Black Tortoise makes Big System swear not to reveal his identity or connection to the Fourth Prince.
• Worried that Nannan will eventually discover the truth anyway, Black Tortoise decides to help the Fourth Prince win her over. He tells Big System to claim the Fourth Prince has “skin hunger syndrome,” so touching him will raise his affection—and earn Nannan rewards.
• Learning that Nannan wants iron for Wu Yehe’s firearm-making plans, Black Tortoise promises to arrange iron as a reward. He also asks Big System what sort of man Nannan likes.

Character developments and interactions

• Black Tortoise System shifts from defensive indignation to smug authority once his identity is confirmed. Though he regrets that his host may have been exposed, he cares more about helping the Fourth Prince court Nannan.
• Big System is caught between its promise to tell Nannan everything and its oath of secrecy to Black Tortoise. It admits Nannan’s earlier deception, then reluctantly agrees to keep the Fourth Prince’s identity secret.
• Nannan does not appear directly, but her clever manipulation of Big System impresses—and unsettles—Black Tortoise. Her desire for iron becomes central to his plan.
• The systems’ exchange mixes suspicion, bargaining, and mutual scheming: Black Tortoise uses his authority to secure secrecy, while Big System tries to navigate conflicting loyalties.

Significant themes

• Trust and deception: Big System initially doubts Black Tortoise, while Nannan’s cleverness has already shaped the situation behind the scenes.
• Loyalty and divided obligations: Big System struggles to honor both Nannan and Black Tortoise.
• Romance through strategy: Black Tortoise treats matchmaking as a practical mission, devising a deliberately convenient excuse to bring Nannan and the Fourth Prince closer.
• Power and resources: Energy transfers and access to controlled iron drive the systems’ negotiations and the characters’ plans.

Plot points and events

• After a long night meeting, Dantai Mo suddenly regains feeling and strength in his legs. He stands and walks to his carriage by himself, astonishing himself and his system.
• Jian Ruonan plans to expand Ruonan Printing House by hiring illustrators, creating age-rated editions, and developing Gossip Weekly into a broader publication with news, household advice, and farming tips. Its growing reach gives it considerable influence over public opinion.
• Brother-in-law Hou reports that Wu Zhi has died and that officials recovered large sums of gold and silver from his estate. The emperor is pleased and orders Jian Ruonan to attend court the next day.
• Jian Xilu sneaks in to see her prospective husband, Hou. He reveals that his courtesy name is Lixie, leading Jian Ruonan to privately joke about how it sounds like a swear.
• Huayuan visits before leaving for Sea City. The family discusses whether he can return for Xilu’s wedding.
• Jian Zhang tries to teach Teng to uphold his principles, but Teng cheerfully admits he is devoted to flattering Jian Ruonan because it may benefit him later. Jian Zhang’s own claim to be upright is undermined when Ruonan’s thoughts expose his past flattery of superiors.
• The system asks what kind of man Ruonan likes. She says she likes good-looking men, but has no clear preferences beyond that—except that she once liked “ATM slaves.” The chapter ends with a joke that the newly recovered Fourth Prince may be made to serve her.

Character developments and interactions

• Dantai Mo experiences a major physical breakthrough, though he remains skeptical of his boastful system.
• Jian Ruonan shows her business ambition and awareness of the power her publishing house could wield. She also makes clear that admiration of handsome men does not mean she wants to marry.
• Jian Xilu and Hou grow closer: she is shy around him, and he invites her to use his courtesy name.
• Teng displays sharp, calculating social instincts and unabashed loyalty to Ruonan. His teasing exchange with Jian Zhang turns the attempted lesson into a comic exposure of their father’s hypocrisy.
• Jian Zhang, Min, Huayuan, and Xilu share a family discussion that highlights concern over Ruonan’s future marriage, even as Ruonan herself seems uninterested.

Significant themes

• Ambition and influence: Ruonan’s publishing business is becoming a powerful channel for shaping public opinion, with political risks as well as commercial promise.
• Family affection and comic loyalty: Teng’s over-the-top devotion to Ruonan contrasts with Jian Zhang’s attempts to discipline him.
• Marriage expectations versus personal choice: The family worries about Ruonan’s prospects, while she treats marriage as a very distant concern.
• Hypocrisy and social maneuvering: Teng openly admits to flattery, while Jian Zhang’s supposedly upright image is humorously exposed as equally strategic.

Key plot points

• Jian Ruonan and Big System discuss the Fourth Prince and a tip from the mysterious “Junk System”: touching him may raise his affection and earn points. Ruonan agrees to try touching his hand, but suspects the system’s unusual insistence on the prince may hide something.
• Min takes Ruonan and Xilu to the Golden Age Jewelry House so Xilu can finish preparing her dowry and Ruonan can choose jewelry she likes. Ruonan admires the beautiful pieces, though she prefers collecting them to wearing heavy ornaments.
• Gao Shan, the Duke of Ping’s eldest legitimate daughter and wife of the Heir of Marquis Wuyang, repeatedly takes the jewelry Xilu and Ruonan select. Her family blames the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence for exposing Gao Yang’s mistresses, helping ruin his engagement to the Pei family.
• Though Xilu urges the family to leave rather than provoke Gao Shan’s powerful household, Ruonan stays. She keeps pointing out pieces, and Gao Shan claims each one. Ruonan then feigns distress, while privately wondering whether her shopping spree will earn her a sales commission.

Character developments and interactions

• Ruonan is playful, sharp, and quietly defiant: she resists being intimidated, turning Gao Shan’s bullying into an opportunity to sell more jewelry.
• Min and Xilu are protective of Ruonan but cautious about confronting a politically powerful family. Xilu tries to avoid escalation.
• Gao Shan uses her status to antagonize the family, apparently targeting them over the broken engagement and its aftermath.
• Big System is eager to help Ruonan earn affection points but awkwardly conceals how it learned the information from Junk System. Ruonan remains suspicious of its motives.

Significant themes

• Power and social hierarchy: Rank and influential family connections limit how openly the Jinyang household can respond to Gao Shan.
• Hidden motives and manipulation: The systems’ advice may serve a purpose they have not disclosed, while Gao Shan’s shopping appears to be a form of deliberate provocation.
• Humor and resourcefulness: Ruonan meets intimidation with mischief, reframing a hostile encounter as a possible business opportunity.

Plot points and events

• At the Golden Tower, Jian Ruonan and Gao Shan start bidding against each other for jewelry. Ruonan pretends to be desperate to buy, while her brother Teng secretly arranges with the shopkeeper to split the extra profits.
• Gao Shan takes every challenge and repeatedly outbids Ruonan, ultimately purchasing years’ worth of outdated jewelry at wildly inflated prices. Ruonan’s siblings lend her their purses to help sustain the act.
• Once Gao Shan has spent heavily, Ruonan prompts the crowd to inspect her purchases. The ladies mock the unfashionable designs, and Gao Shan realizes she has been deliberately manipulated.
• Gao Shan tries to refuse payment, but the shop insists she honor the prices she named. To avoid further humiliation, she orders someone to fetch the money from her husband, the Marquis Wuyang’s heir apparent.
• Gao Shan’s companions defend her marriage, but Ruonan’s private thoughts reveal that Gao Shan and her husband are not close—and hint at a scandalous relationship between Gao Shan and her father-in-law.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan turns a public quarrel into a calculated scheme, convincingly playing the humiliated, impulsive shopper while privately delighting in her profit.
• Teng helps execute the plan and supports Ruonan, first by arranging the shopkeeper’s deal and later by joining in the crowd’s teasing.
• Jian Xilu and Teng show affection and solidarity by offering Ruonan their money.
• Gao Shan begins as a confident, status-conscious bully, but her pride makes her easy to provoke. She ends up trapped by her own bids and publicly embarrassed.
• Min, watching silently, knows Ruonan’s act is a performance and is relieved that others cannot hear her thoughts.
• The crowd shifts from spectators to critics, laughing at Gao Shan’s purchases and reinforcing her humiliation.

Significant themes

• Pride and manipulation: Gao Shan’s need to win makes her vulnerable to Ruonan’s strategy.
• Public image and social status: The episode’s real cost is not only the money but the ridicule attached to buying conspicuously unfashionable jewelry.
• Family loyalty and complicity: Ruonan’s siblings support her scheme, while Gao Shan’s companions defend her with claims of marital devotion.
• Hidden truths beneath appearances: Ruonan’s gossip reveals a stark contrast between the respectable image Gao Shan’s allies promote and the scandalous reality she suspects.

Plot and key events

• After the Marquis Wuyang’s heir apparent fails to appear at the Golden Tower, Gao Shan saves face by inviting everyone to a flower-viewing banquet at Marquis Wuyang’s Residence the next day.
• Jian Ruonan is thrilled by the prospect of a major scandal and the Jinyang Marquis’s household eagerly accepts Gao Shan’s invitation, despite suspecting the invitation is meant to give Gao Shan a chance to humiliate them.
• Ruonan spends her commission on gifts for Min, Jian Xilu, and Teng, then carefully picks a subdued outfit so she can blend in while watching the gossip.
• The family realizes Ruonan is due at court during the banquet. Ruonan considers taking leave, and Teng also wants to skip school so they can attend.
• In a startling aside, Ruonan’s inner thoughts mention that the Third Prince may rebel. The family takes this apparent revelation seriously and worries about whether their household might be endangered.
• Ruonan proposes claiming she must meet a prospective husband, giving her a reason to miss court. Min is delighted that Ruonan is finally willing to consider marriage, while Teng offers to recruit Brother Fa as cover.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains consumed by gossip, even willing to dress up, evade court, and pretend to pursue marriage for the chance to witness it. Her casual thoughts also reveal potentially dangerous political information.
• Min indulges Ruonan’s enthusiasm but tries to maintain some dignity and parental authority. She is especially pleased that Ruonan seems open to meeting a suitor.
• Teng shares Ruonan’s gossip obsession and impulsively wants to skip school; he also frets that the Third Prince’s rebellion could threaten the family.
• Jian Xilu voices the practical objection that deceiving the emperor is a serious offense, but still hopes to hear every detail from the banquet.
• Gao Shan uses her invitation both to recover face after the heir apparent’s absence and to set up a possible social humiliation.

Significant themes

• Gossip as irresistible entertainment: The characters treat scandal as worth risking embarrassment, school, and official duties.
• Family affection and comic complicity: Min, Teng, and Jian Xilu react to Ruonan’s schemes with exasperation, concern, and reluctant participation.
• Personal amusement colliding with political danger: A lighthearted plan to attend a banquet suddenly becomes complicated by the possibility of rebellion.
• Status and face: Gao Shan’s efforts to restore her dignity reflect the importance of reputation and social maneuvering.

Plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan’s family plans a day off to attend the Flower Banquet at Marquis Wuyang’s Residence and enjoy the matchmaking gossip. They deliberately leave Jian Zhang out, knowing he would disapprove.
• Emperor Deyuan learns that Jian Ruonan has helped raid a gambling den, uncovering 100,000 taels of silver and assets linked to a corrupt official. The raid has also driven gamblers away, disrupting the den’s business.
• The emperor connects the gambling dens to the separatist princes, who use them to raise money and pass intelligence. He hopes Jian Ruonan’s enforcement campaign may help him eventually abolish their fiefs, and orders extra guards to protect her.
• On hearing that Jian Ruonan will attend the Flower Banquet to meet potential partners, the emperor orders several princes—including the four-year-old Ninth Prince—to attend.
• The Fourth Prince, Dantai Mo, learns of the event and considers going. His legs are nearly healed, but he continues to use a wheelchair while investigating who arranged the attack that injured him. His system urges him to reveal his recovery and compete for Jian Ruonan’s attention.
• The next morning, Jian Ruonan’s family arrives at the banquet after her mother insists on dressing her up. Gao Yang approaches Jian Xilu, assuming she came to see him; Jian Ruonan is disgusted and wants him out of the way.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains irreverent and gossip-loving, but her work against gambling is proving politically consequential. She resists the matchmaking preparations and mocks Gao Yang internally.
• Emperor Deyuan shifts from admiration of her anti-gambling success to scheming about how her work could weaken the rebellious princes. He also becomes invested in her romantic prospects and tries to bring his sons into the running.
• Dantai Mo faces a choice between hiding his improving health for safety and revealing himself to attract Jian Ruonan. His system pushes him toward the latter, while he remains cautious about the attack on him.
• The Jinyang Marquis’s Elder Branch acts as a united, mischievous group, prioritizing the banquet’s gossip over including Jian Zhang.
• Min takes charge of Jian Ruonan’s appearance, while Jian Ruonan tries to avoid being dressed up.

Significant themes

• Gossip as entertainment and influence: The family treats gossip as a shared mission, while Jian Ruonan’s gossip-centered disruption even damages a gambling den’s business.
• Personal antics amid political danger: The matchmaking comedy unfolds against a serious struggle involving corrupt officials, hostile princes, and threats to the emperor’s authority.
• Romance and competition: The banquet becomes a prospective contest for Jian Ruonan’s attention, with the emperor and Dantai Mo both maneuvering around it.
• Secrecy and vulnerability: Dantai Mo’s concealed recovery reflects the danger he faces while trying to identify his would-be killer.

Key plot points and events

• Gao Yang mistakes the Jinyang Marquis’s party’s attendance at Marquis Wuyang’s flower-viewing banquet for a sign that Jian Xilu still loves him. He ignores Xilu’s denial and keeps trying to approach her.
• Jian Huayuan warns Gao Yang that Xilu is engaged by imperial decree. When Gao Yang still will not take the hint, Jian Ruonan trips him. The family steps over him on their way inside, with Teng accidentally stomping on his face.
• At Marquis Wuyang’s residence, Jian Ruonan spots Gao Shan speaking privately with Marquis Wuyang. Their lingering looks raise suspicions that their relationship is more than that of a father-in-law and daughter-in-law.
• The banquet draws an unexpectedly powerful crowd: court ministers, princes, and even Prince Rui. The Emperor postpones court rather than interrupt Jian Ruonan’s flower-viewing outing.
• The Jinyang party is seated in an ignored corner, which suits Jian Ruonan’s wish to observe the gossip unnoticed. Gao Shan’s eldest son, Li Ming, approaches Jian Ruonan and asks if she is Jian Ruonan.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan remains sharp-tongued and eager for gossip. She bluntly handles Gao Yang’s unwanted advances and quickly suspects impropriety between Gao Shan and Marquis Wuyang.
• Jian Xilu stays composed when rejecting Gao Yang, but his absurd persistence makes her laugh. She is embarrassed by the apparent intimacy between Gao Shan and Marquis Wuyang.
• Gao Yang displays delusional confidence, interpreting hostility and even Xilu’s laughter as proof of affection. The Jinyang family’s contempt—and their decision to step over him—makes their rejection unmistakable.
• Jian Huayuan protects his sister and tries to set a clear boundary with Gao Yang; Teng watches the suspected affair with fascination, while Min cautions him not to stare.
• Marquis Wuyang and Gao Shan behave publicly as concerned in-laws, but their attention to one another appears unusually intimate. The marquise accompanies the guests, though it remains unclear whether she knows anything.
• The gathered officials reveal competing motives: some seek political reconciliation or marriage prospects, while Jian Ruonan suspects many are really there for gossip.

Significant themes

• Gossip as social observation: Jian Ruonan’s inner commentary turns subtle looks and public behavior into clues.
• Self-deception and rejection: Gao Yang’s distorted reading of events contrasts with everyone else’s clear understanding.
• Public respectability versus private conduct: Marquis Wuyang and Gao Shan’s seemingly proper interaction hints at a concealed relationship.
• Power and spectacle: The banquet’s large, high-ranking audience—and the Emperor’s willingness to delay court—show how gossip and social events can draw influential people together.

Key events

• Ten-year-old Li Ming confronts Jian Ruonan, insulting her for being ambitious and warning her that his father will retaliate. Jian Ruonan answers sharply, then realizes through her private thoughts that Li Ming’s family relationships are far more tangled than he understands.
• Dantai Mo, the Fourth Prince, arrives and overhears Jian Ruonan’s revealing gossip about Marquis Wuyang’s household. The Jinyang Marquis’s party eagerly listens in, while Wang Defa tries—and fails—to hear Jian Ruonan’s thoughts.
• Jian Ruonan’s system urges her to touch Dantai Mo as part of a mission. After some embarrassed misunderstanding about what “down below” means, Dantai Mo leaves the crowded hall alone, and Jian Ruonan follows.
• In private, Jian Ruonan offers to try a remedy on Dantai Mo’s legs. When she touches his thigh, his leg suddenly straightens and kicks her, revealing that his paralysis may be cured.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan stays quick-witted and unbothered by Li Ming’s insults. Her curiosity about Dantai Mo’s appearance shifts into a willingness to approach him, though she believes she is testing a remedy.
• Li Ming arrives eager to defend his mother, but Jian Ruonan’s retort and unsettlingly sympathetic gaze leave him confused and wary.
• Dantai Mo is intrigued by Jian Ruonan’s thoughts and quietly pleased that only he can hear them—until the system punctures his sense of being special. He is embarrassed by the proposed touch, but still arranges to be alone with her.
• Min suspects Jian Ruonan may be developing an interest in Dantai Mo and worries about her daughter’s unusual marriage preferences. Teng wants to follow Jian Ruonan, but Min keeps him behind.
• The systems act as comic instigators, urging the pair toward the encounter and teasing Dantai Mo about his reactions.

Significant themes

• Gossip and hidden truths: Jian Ruonan’s unspoken thoughts expose private family scandals and drive the scene’s humor.
• Misunderstanding and comic embarrassment: The systems’ blunt advice, Dantai Mo’s misinterpretation, and the family’s speculation create farcical tension.
• Unexpected healing and possibility: The final movement of Dantai Mo’s leg hints at a dramatic change in his condition—and possibly in his relationship with Jian Ruonan.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan examines the Fourth Prince, Dantai Mo, after discovering his supposedly paralyzed legs feel unusually firm. When she lifts his trouser leg and squeezes his calf, his foot kicks up, confirming that he can move it.
• Touching him triggers her system’s reward: she gains 20 points, then earns 200 points by continuing the “treatment” in a guest room.
• Meanwhile, Li Ming insults the Jinyang Marquis’s family, implying they are so poor they need a woman to support them. Teng and Wang Defa lure the Ninth Prince into hearing that Li Ming bullied Jian Ruonan.
• The Ninth Prince retaliates by making Li Ming serve as his “warhorse.” When Jian returns, Li Ming crawls to her with the prince riding on his back, leaving her delighted.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan is delighted by the discovery that Dantai Mo can move his leg, but her excitement quickly turns to enthusiasm for earning system points. She also sees the possibility that he is pretending to be paralyzed out of laziness.
• Dantai Mo’s hidden mobility is exposed, while his flustered reactions to Jian’s touch suggest he is unusually sensitive to her attention. He remains silent as his system teases him.
• The Ninth Prince shows affection for Jian and readily takes revenge on her behalf, though Teng and Wang Defa manipulate him into doing so.
• Teng and Wang Defa demonstrate their loyalty to Jian through a mischievous scheme to embarrass Li Ming.

Character interactions

• Jian and Dantai Mo’s examination becomes an intimate, comedic encounter: she treats it as both medical investigation and a way to earn points, while his system mocks his reactions.
• Dantai Mo’s guards are astonished that he permits Jian to touch his legs, but assume she is simply examining him as a physician.
• Teng and Wang Defa provoke the Ninth Prince into punishing Li Ming, who ends up crawling before Jian.

Significant themes

• Deception and hidden truths: Dantai Mo may have concealed his recovery by pretending to remain paralyzed.
• Laziness and humor: Jian and the systems joke that Dantai Mo’s apparent disability may simply be an excuse to avoid walking.
• Loyalty and retaliation: Jian’s companions and the Ninth Prince protect her, turning Li Ming’s insult into a comic punishment.
• Growing intimacy: Physical contact brings Jian and Dantai Mo closer, even as both the characters and their systems frame the encounter as comedy.

Key events

• At Marquis Wuyang’s banquet, Jian Ruonan notices that the marquis looks nothing like his eldest son. Her private thoughts reveal that the second son is not his biological child either—and, according to Min’s knowledge, neither is the third. Li Ming, however, is Marquis Wuyang’s biological son, meaning the succession will remain with the marquis’s own child.
• Li Ming mistakenly calls his “third uncle” and “father” his relatives. Jian Ruonan’s thoughts—and the others’ quick deductions—suggest he is actually surrounded by half-siblings whose parentage is not what he thinks.
• Seated in a drafty corner, Jian Ruonan’s family becomes the center of attention after she diagnoses Madam Wang’s headaches as pollen allergies and gives practical advice. The ladies then crowd around to consult her.
• Gao Shan and Wei try to embarrass Jian Ruonan by asking her to examine Wei’s Pekingese, Lion Ball. Jian Ruonan reveals the dog has been eating cat droppings and is healthy, then warns Wei against kissing him on the mouth.
• As the meal begins, Jian Ruonan senses something is wrong with the wine Marquis Wuyang is about to drink.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan’s sharp observations and irreverent inner monologue expose the Wuyang family’s tangled parentage, while her medical knowledge wins her unexpected respect.
• Min contributes useful knowledge about the family, and Teng and Jian Xilu eagerly join in the gossip—often answering one another’s thoughts—while Min struggles to rein them in.
• Li Ming is proud and defensive of his family, but remains oblivious to the truth about his relatives.
• Gao Shan and Wei’s attempt to humiliate Jian Ruonan backfires, leaving Wei embarrassed in front of the guests.
• The banquet shifts from gossip and comic consultations to possible danger with the suspicious wine.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The Wuyang family’s relationships are far less straightforward than they seem.
• Gossip as revelation: Jian Ruonan’s private thoughts uncover truths others do not know.
• Expertise and social status: Her medical skill earns her influence, even after she is assigned an inferior seat.
• Comedy and humiliation: Attempts to insult Jian Ruonan repeatedly rebound on those who make them.
• Suspense: The warning about Marquis Wuyang’s wine ends the chapter on a looming threat.

Plot points and events

• At a banquet hosted by Marquis Wuyang, Jian Ruonan’s family learns that the wine in the marquis’s cup contains an aphrodisiac. Gao Shan, who helps serve the wine, keeps watching Ruonan.
• The Jinyang Marquis’s family suspects their own drinks or food might also be tampered with. Ruonan confirms the food and their wine are safe, but the family still discreetly avoids drinking. Wang Defa fakes a drink by pouring his wine over his shoulder, nearly hitting a neighboring guest; young Teng is made to drink vegetable soup instead.
• The family watches Marquis Wuyang as the drug appears to take effect. They notice meaningful looks between him and Gao Shan and wonder who arranged the drugging.
• Ruonan realizes Gao Shan had intended the spiked wine for her, and the family is outraged that she was targeted. They speculate about how the marquis ended up drinking it instead.
• Ruonan discovers that Marquise Wuyang switched the wine. She has long known about Gao Shan’s affair with Marquis Wuyang and planned to expose them before the banquet’s wealthy and influential guests. The family settles in to watch the confrontation unfold.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan shifts from enjoying the feast to investigating the drugging, then becomes excited when she learns the marquise’s plan.
• The Jinyang Marquis’s family reacts protectively to Ruonan’s danger. Their whispered guesses reveal their close-knit, gossip-loving dynamic; Teng is particularly devoted to Ruonan and quick to agree with her.
• Min protects Teng by taking away his wine and giving him vegetable soup. Wang Defa, excluded from Ruonan’s unspoken gossip, grows increasingly curious and improvises his own way of avoiding the wine.
• Marquise Wuyang emerges as a patient schemer, using the banquet to expose Gao Shan’s affair. Gao Shan appears to have targeted Ruonan with the drug, while Marquis Wuyang unknowingly drinks the spiked wine.
• The Black Tortoise System correctly guesses the marquise’s role and celebrates its victory; Dantai Mo remains bemused by its excitement and talk of spicy strips.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and revenge: The drugging plot is tied to Gao Shan’s affair, while the marquise’s response appears designed to publicly reveal the betrayal.
• Family loyalty and protection: Ruonan’s relatives act together to shield her, even amid their comedic speculation.
• Gossip as a shared pastime: Characters treat the unfolding scandal like a mystery to solve, creating humor alongside the banquet’s tense undercurrent.

Key plot points and events

• At a banquet hosted by the Marquis of Wuyang, Jian Ruonan’s gossip reveals that the Marquis and Gao Shan’s husband, the marquis’s heir, had both spent the previous night in compromising company. The heir now performs concern for Gao Shan, who appears unwell after drinking.
• The gossip about the heir and a live crayfish is so disturbing that it ruins several guests’ appetites and leaves the gathered nobles stunned.
• Gao Shan refuses to rest, partly because she wants to witness the Jinyang Marquis’s household being embarrassed. At the marquis’s wife’s insistence, however, she is led away.
• Jian Ruonan suspects the marquis’s wife is about to expose an affair and uses a medical checkup for the Fourth Prince as an excuse to head toward the Outer Study. The guests quickly invent reasons to follow her, while the marquis’s wife seems relieved that the crowd will make it harder to identify who arranged the spectacle.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan treats gossip as entertainment alongside her meal, but the crayfish revelation makes even her lose her appetite. She becomes eager to witness the apparent scandal firsthand.
• Min tries to shield her young son, Teng, from the increasingly explicit gossip, but Teng is fascinated and keeps demanding more details. Jian Huayuan offers a more restrained explanation, which only prompts more questions.
• Gao Shan maintains a dutiful, composed front despite feeling unwell and resents having to leave before she can see her rivals humiliated.
• The marquis’s wife acts solicitous toward her husband and daughter-in-law, while quietly steering events and welcoming the anonymity created by the departing guests.
• Dantai Mo, the Fourth Prince, asks Jian Ruonan to examine him again, inadvertently giving her a convenient pretext to approach the Outer Study. The guests, including the Jinyang household, follow under various excuses.

Significant themes

• Public respectability versus private behavior: Affectionate gestures and dutiful manners conceal scandalous conduct and ulterior motives.
• Gossip as social entertainment and a force for exposure: Jian Ruonan’s thoughts captivate the banquet and draw the guests toward a likely confrontation.
• Curiosity and complicity: Though shocked by what they hear, the guests eagerly follow in hopes of witnessing the scandal themselves.
• Family loyalty and protection: Min tries to keep Teng from hearing inappropriate details, while the household members coordinate around Jian Ruonan’s movements.

Key plot points

• Marquis Wuyang lies awake, feverish and unsettled. When Gao Shan is brought into his study, her secret hand signals reveal that she has arranged to return to him. The two are soon heard together in a compromising encounter.
• Gao Shan dismisses the maid Xiaoyu, who later sneaks back to listen at the study door.
• Jian Ruonan is supposed to take the Fourth Prince, Dantai Mo, to the guest room, but she is distracted by the nearby study and eager to uncover gossip. She invents a story about losing a hairpin and guides him toward the study.
• Hearing Marquis Wuyang and Gao Shan inside, Jian spots a window that offers a view. The narrow, muddy path makes it difficult to bring Dantai’s wheelchair there.
• Dantai unexpectedly stands, carries his wheelchair through the grove, and sits beneath the window. Jian is stunned both by his strength and by his striking appearance.

Character developments and interactions

• Gao Shan appears calculating and controlling: she signals Marquis Wuyang, then sends Xiaoyu away and watches to ensure she is gone before returning to the study.
• Marquis Wuyang realizes Gao Shan has somehow intensified his feverish agitation and welcomes her return.
• Jian Ruonan is driven by curiosity and comic opportunism; despite her concern about moving Dantai’s wheelchair, she is determined to reach the gossip. Her plan also leaves her visibly flustered by Dantai’s looks.
• Dantai Mo reveals that he is not truly unable to stand. He chooses to help Jian reach the window rather than explain himself, surprising her. Their interaction is filtered through the Black Tortoise System’s teasing advice, which Dantai repeatedly rejects.
• Xiaoyu is a minor but curious participant, secretly eavesdropping after Gao Shan dismisses her.

Significant themes

• Gossip and voyeurism: Several characters maneuver to overhear the Marquis and Gao Shan, turning their private encounter into the chapter’s comic spectacle.
• Hidden abilities and deception: Dantai’s apparent paralysis conceals his physical strength, while Jian’s lost-hairpin excuse hides her real aim.
• Comic romantic tension: Jian’s fascination with gossip collides with her sudden attraction to Dantai, while the system’s matchmaking commentary adds humor.

Key plot points and events

• Jian Ruonan is so eager to watch the scandal inside the study that she barely notices Dantai Mo’s sudden ability to stand—or his unusually gentle manner toward her.
• Too short to see through the window, Jian climbs onto the armrest of Dantai’s wheelchair. He refuses to stand again, claiming the chair would tip, and uses Jian’s desire for gossip to keep the Black Tortoise System quiet.
• Wang Defa and the gossip-loving crowd arrive and arrange themselves by height at the window. Dantai lifts the short Teng onto the other armrest so he can watch, despite the System’s protests.
• Jian initially covers Teng’s eyes, but he explains that Marquise Wuyang sent them to look for a red fox. The spectators instead glimpse Marquis Wuyang and Gao Shan tangled together in the study, and eagerly trade rumors about their apparent affair.
• When word comes that Marquise Wuyang is approaching to catch the pair, the crowd rushes to the study entrance. Jian and Teng jump down and join them, leaving Dantai behind.
• Marquise Wuyang arrives with the crowd. They claim to have seen a rare red fox, and she orders the study door kicked open. The group finds Marquis Wuyang and Gao Shan together on the bed. Marquise Wuyang bursts into tears and demands to know what they are doing.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan is almost entirely absorbed by gossip. Her excitement overrides her surprise at Dantai’s apparent recovery and his attentiveness toward her.
• Dantai Mo shows a softer, more considerate side, helping Jian and Teng get a view. He also enjoys teasing the System by withholding the view it craves.
• The Black Tortoise System is just as desperate to witness the scandal, but Dantai keeps it in check by threatening to deny it gossip.
• Teng admires Dantai for helping him see, while Jian tries to shield him from the scene.
• Marquise Wuyang moves from searching for the supposed fox to confronting her husband and Gao Shan, whose apparent betrayal leaves her devastated.

Significant themes

• Gossip as irresistible entertainment: It motivates Jian, the System, and the entire crowd, even overcoming pain, embarrassment, and ordinary priorities.
• Comic hypocrisy and spectacle: The crowd disguises its voyeurism as a search for an auspicious fox, then eagerly rushes to witness a public confrontation.
• Unexpected kindness and attachment: Dantai’s practical care for Jian and Teng reveals a warmer, more protective side beneath his usual reserve.

Key events

• The Marquise discovers Marquis Wuyang in bed with Gao Shan and tries to expose him, but he hides Gao Shan and insists she is only a maid.
• A crowd, stirred by Jian Ruonan’s pointed inner voice, demands to see Wuyang’s heir apparent and hunts for a supposed “fire fox.” When the heir apparent arrives, he initially believes the rumor and is tempted to inspect the quilt.
• Teng pulls it away, revealing Gao Shan. The crowd sees her, though Wuyang continues denying anything improper.
• Li Ming arrives looking for his mother. His resemblance to Wuyang prompts Jian Ruonan’s inner voice to reveal that Wuyang is his biological father. The crowd quickly infers that Gao Shan and Wuyang have a child together.
• Wuyang denies the accusation, but his heir apparent collapses in shock and anger. The Marquise slaps Wuyang, while the crowd cheers for a fight; an Imperial Physician interrupts to treat the heir.

Character developments and interactions

• Marquis Wuyang shifts from panic to bluster, trying to control the guests and deny the affair. His composure falters as the scandal becomes public.
• The Marquise (Zixin) moves from stunned silence to open anger, defending her son and striking her husband.
• The heir apparent enters confused, briefly accepts the “fire fox” rumor, then faints when the crowd exposes the implications of his father’s relationship with Gao Shan.
• Gao Shan remains hidden beneath the quilt until Teng exposes her; she covers her face as the guests see her.
• Li Ming innocently searches for his mother, unintentionally confirming the scandal through his striking resemblance to Wuyang.
• Jian Ruonan fuels the revelations through her inner commentary, while Teng acts on her wish to have someone pull away the quilt.

Significant themes

• Public gossip and humiliation: A private affair becomes a spectacle, with the crowd eager to expose and discuss it.
• Family betrayal and household disorder: Wuyang’s relationship with Gao Shan threatens his marriage and devastates his heir.
• Rumor versus denial: Wuyang’s attempts to dismiss the claims fail as visible evidence and family resemblance persuade the crowd.
• Comic absurdity: The search for a mythical fox masks a very human scandal, and the crowd treats the unfolding crisis like entertainment.

Key plot points and events

• Gao Shan wakes in Marquis Wuyang’s study, realizes she has likely drunk the drugged wine herself, and insists she was framed.
• The heir apparent collapses in agony. Jian Ruonan offers to help, but Marquise Wuyang sends her away so the Imperial Physician can treat him.
• Jian Ruonan’s inner thoughts reveal the cause: a crayfish is lodged in the heir apparent’s backside. The Imperial Physician discovers it while examining him and gets pinched during the extraction.
• The heir apparent regains consciousness and asks his family not to make a public issue of the affair.
• Just as the scandal seems about to be dropped, Wang Defa argues that the incident may have been an attempt on the heir apparent’s life. Prince Rui is therefore pressed to investigate.

Character developments

• Jian Ruonan demonstrates that her medical knowledge is genuine, though the adults dismiss her offer to help. Her private commentary also supplies the key diagnosis.
• Dantai Mo, the Fourth Prince, remains a patient, clean-conscious observer but lets Jian Ruonan and Teng stand on his wheelchair so they can see better.
• The heir apparent appears to tolerate Gao Shan’s conduct, admitting that their private relationship is less innocent than their public image suggests. He prefers to avoid a scandal.
• Wang Defa proves adept at keeping events moving by framing the incident as a possible crime.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The family’s respectable public image hides complicated private relationships.
• Gossip and spectacle: The crowd eagerly follows the scandal, and the absurd medical emergency turns it into an even bigger spectacle.
• Dismissed expertise: Jian Ruonan is excluded despite knowing medicine, while the Imperial Physician ultimately confirms her diagnosis.
• Comic irony: The crayfish causes the crisis, pinches the physician, and prevents the family from quietly burying the affair.

Character interactions

• Gao Shan pleads with Marquise Wuyang, who rejects her claim to be a daughter-in-law.
• Jian Ruonan volunteers to treat the heir apparent, but Marquise Wuyang and the Imperial Physician prioritize the official physician’s care.
• Teng defends Jian Ruonan’s medical ability, while Dantai Mo accommodates them at the window.
• The heir apparent urges his mother and wife to let the affair go; Wang Defa counters by calling for an investigation, forcing the matter to continue.

Key plot points and events

• The Marquis Wuyang household tries to bury the scandal after a crayfish is found inside heir Li Xu. Li Xu refuses to expose his father, Marquis Wuyang, whose private abuse and debauchery have long hurt the family, because he still depends on him for his official career.
• The furious Marquise is appalled that her son will stay silent. When the crowd gathers, young Li Ming tries to drive them away and nearly kicks Prince Rui, Dantai Mo. An Imperial Guard knocks him down; Dantai Mo pardons him.
• Marquis Wuyang attempts to send the prince away, but Dantai Mo insists the heir’s sudden collapse may indicate poisoning. Pressed to explain, Li Xu claims the crayfish somehow crawled into his intestines while he was relieving himself. The physician confirms the crayfish was there but cannot explain how it got in.
• The Marquise kneels and demands a thorough investigation. Gao Shan, Li Xu’s wife, then accuses her mother-in-law of drugging her wine and kneels for an inquiry as well. Dantai Mo orders the Embroidered Uniform Guard to establish the facts within half an incense stick.
• While they wait, the crowd gossips and Jian Ruonan laments that the crayfish has been so abused it is no longer fit to eat.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Xu chooses family silence over confronting his father, revealing his dependence and weak resolve. He reluctantly gives an absurd explanation for the crayfish.
• The Marquise shifts from furious frustration with her son to openly seeking an investigation, seemingly eager to expose the household’s wrongs.
• Gao Shan turns against the Marquise after realizing she may have been drugged, using the demand for an inquiry to challenge her mother-in-law.
• Marquis Wuyang tries to contain the scandal and protect the family’s standing, while subtly pressuring Li Xu to cooperate.
• Dantai Mo uses his authority to prevent the matter from being dismissed as private business and orders an official investigation.
• Li Ming reacts with shame and anger, but his attempt to stop the crowd brings him into conflict with the prince.

Significant themes

• Public reputation versus private abuse: The household prioritizes concealment, even as its respectable image hides cruelty and wrongdoing.
• Power and dependence: Li Xu’s reliance on his father’s influence keeps him from acting against him.
• Justice through scrutiny: The gossiping crowd’s attention helps prevent the family from quietly suppressing the case.
• Dark comedy: The increasingly implausible crayfish explanation and the crowd’s fixation on the animal turn a family crisis into farce.

Plot points

• The Embroidered Uniform Guard confirms that Gao Shan drugged the wine, intending to harm the Jinyang Marquis’s household—especially eleven-year-old Jian Ruonan. The Marquise discovered the plot and switched the wine, preventing anyone from being harmed.
• Dantai Mo orders Gao Shan punished with sixty strokes. Jian Ruonan pretends to worry that the punishment is too severe, then cheerfully suggests sixty-six as an auspicious number. Gao Shan is dragged away after admitting guilt.
• As the crowd begins to disperse, Dantai Mo raises the unresolved mystery of how a crayfish ended up inside Marquis Wuyang’s heir apparent. Pressed to explain, the heir apparent admits he was experimenting after reading a medical book: he believed the intestines could absorb moisture and hoped to make dried crayfish. The living crayfish still crawling nearby proves the experiment failed.
• Jian Ruonan checks the gossip patch and learns the heir apparent is a repeat offender—and that his other exploits may be even stranger. The chapter ends as the crowd eagerly waits to hear more.

Character developments and interactions

• Jian Ruonan keeps up a timid, merciful appearance while her thoughts reveal her vindictive humor. She lets Dantai Mo decide Gao Shan’s fate, then playfully raises the punishment to sixty-six strokes.
• Dantai Mo takes charge of the investigation and punishment, emphasizing the danger of Gao Shan’s scheme. Though normally decisive, he awkwardly asks about the crayfish because Jian Ruonan wants justice for it.
• Gao Shan shifts from denying wrongdoing to admitting guilt once her plot is exposed. Marquis Wuyang, who earlier called her his darling, makes no effort to defend her.
• The heir apparent reveals an absurdly reckless curiosity, presenting his crayfish experiment as a medical inquiry.
• The spectators move from assuming Jian Ruonan is forgiving to recognizing her sharp-edged humor; they also eagerly join in pressing the heir apparent for an explanation.

Significant themes

• Justice and accountability: A failed plot is still treated as a grave offense because it could have ruined lives.
• Appearance versus reality: Jian Ruonan’s gentle manner conceals a mischievous, punitive streak.
• Absurdity and gossip: The serious investigation gives way to farcical revelations, with the crowd and the gossip patch turning scandal into spectacle.