Recaps

The Third Prince escaped prison through a dog hole with help from Yoshikawa Kudan and Yoshikawa Haruyo, after Xue Yuanyu pulled him free when he got stuck. He reunited with Mr. Snow and Mister Ouyang and met the Wa warriors sent to support him, while resolving to reclaim the throne.

• Yoshikawa Kudan and Yoshikawa Haruyo delivered Mr. Snow’s letter and offered to guide the Third Prince through a dog hole to safety.
• The Third Prince got stuck in the narrow tunnel, and Xue Yuanyu pulled him out before slipping through the hole himself.
• Yoshikawa Kudan widened the tunnel, allowing the Third Prince to escape and reunite with Mr. Snow, Mister Ouyang, and his guards.
• Yoshikawa Haruyo introduced Honda Sanlunzi, Yamagata Xiao Chi, and Tokugawa Dajiao as warriors sent by the Wa emperor to serve the Third Prince.
• The Wa warriors swore loyalty to the Third Prince as he stood above them, looking toward the moon with dread.

The First Imperial Prince escaped to Smeedah to build a new dynasty, while the Prince of the Southwest ordered an investigation into his heir’s death and prepared to challenge the emperor. The Third Prince headed for Coiling Dragon Mountain with the Wa warriors, discovering that their tallest warhorse barely reached his waist.

• The First Imperial Prince thanked the Third Prince for rescuing him, gave him a cloth token, and rode east with his advisers to claim Smeedah.
• Shang Kedao learned that his heir, the Heir Apparent’s Consort, and Tenth Young Miss had died after encountering the Fifth Miss of the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence.
• Shang Kedao sent Gao Shou to investigate the deaths, ordered him to kill the culprit and Shi Fan, and sent letters to the Princes of Zhennan and the Southeast threatening the emperor.
• The Third Prince prepared to regroup on Coiling Dragon Mountain, where Mister Ouyang’s formations would protect his guards.
• Yoshikawa Kudan presented the Third Prince with a Kiso Horse, and the Third Prince mounted it while the Wa warriors praised his strength.

After escaping prison, Xue Yuanyu brought Xue Yingxuan to the Eldest Princess’s Residence, expecting the Eldest Princess to forgive him. He interrupted her demon-hunting performance, where she was flirting with handsome male demons, and left her comparing him unfavorably with them.

• Xue Yuanyu escaped prison, returned to his family, and announced that he would take Xue Yingxuan to the Eldest Princess’s Residence to win the Eldest Princess’s help.
• Dantai Mo ignored the Black Tortoise System’s invitation until it mentioned the Fifth Miss, then went to watch the performance.
• The Eldest Princess and Jian Ruonan acted in a demon-hunting play, while Dantai Mo watched as the Eldest Princess fought and flirted with a series of handsome male demons.
• Xue Yuanyu and Xue Yingxuan interrupted the Eldest Princess’s scene with the Peach Blossom Spirit, and the Eldest Princess denied knowing Xue Yuanyu.
• The Eldest Princess compared Xue Yuanyu’s old, scrawny appearance with the young demons and wondered why she had once loved him so intensely.

Xue Yuanyu dramatically reunited with the Eldest Princess, but Jian Ruonan’s Light Screen exposed the couple’s past and humiliated them both. As the spirit-catching performance resumed, Dantai Mo caught Jian Ruonan and earned conquest points, though she mistook him for a secret character before recognizing him as the Fourth Prince.

• Xue Yuanyu claimed he had escaped prison after enduring countless hardships to see the Eldest Princess, who questioned his sanity.
• Jian Ruonan’s Light Screen revealed the Eldest Princess had once asked her to prove that her husband did not love her, then showed the couple’s passionate past.
• The Eldest Princess ordered Xue Yuanyu and Xue Yingxuan thrown out and gagged Xue Yuanyu, then stopped the Light Screen before it could show more embarrassing memories.
• The spirit-catching play resumed, and the male spirits intensified their performances as they competed to impress the audience.
• The Bull Demon hurled Jian Ruonan, and Dantai Mo caught her; his emotional reaction earned him twenty conquest points before Jian Ruonan realized he was the Fourth Prince.

The Third Prince enjoyed feeling tall among the Wa warriors on Coiling Dragon Mountain while planning how to fund his campaign for the throne. Jian Chuxue proposed making Daughter Coal and developing weapons and cavalry equipment, while the Wa warriors suggested selling flatbreads and establishing a monopoly.

• The Third Prince drilled with the Wa warriors and marveled at how easily he mounted a horse compared with them.
• At a strategy meeting, the Third Prince asked Jian Chuxue for ideas to cover the expenses of his mountain camp and future army.
• Jian Chuxue identified Jian Ruonan’s Daughter Coal as briquette coal and proposed making it herself, along with developing saddles, stirrups, and stronger weapons.
• The Third Prince urged Jian Chuxue to continue developing gunpowder, and she vowed to create weapons powerful enough to counter Jian Ruonan’s gas-canister bombs.
• Honda Sanlunzi, Yamagata Xiao Chi, Tokugawa Dajiao, and Yoshikawa Haruyo proposed selling flatbreads and monopolizing the trade to raise money.

Jian Chuxue and the Wa Kingdom generals tried to make money with coal and flatbread, but their ventures repeatedly failed. She then sent Honda Sanlunzi to steal Jian Ruonan’s spatial storage, believing it held the secret to Jian Ruonan’s inventions.

• Dantai Huai named Jian Chuxue’s briquette coal “Huai Xue Coal” and assigned the Wa Kingdom generals to dig for the Previous Dynasty Treasure and make flatbread.
• Jian Chuxue and the generals tested their smoky coal in a hut, nearly dying from carbon monoxide before Yoshikawa Kudan opened the door.
• The generals ate all the flatbread they had made, and Jian Chuxue’s coal and flatbread business plans stalled amid growing friction between them.
• Jian Chuxue abandoned her attempts to make coal, explosives, glass, iron, and cement after repeated failures and injuries.
• Jian Chuxue told Honda Sanlunzi that Jian Ruonan’s pink spatial-storage pouch enabled her inventions, then sent him and the generals to retrieve it.
• In the Golden Hall, Emperor Deyuan and the court watched the Wa Kingdom generals discuss their flatbread plans on the Light Screen, though none of them understood Japanese.

During the Spring Examination, Jian Ruonan caught cheaters and encountered Wang Defa, who finished early and later placed in the top ten. Dantai Mo took an examination paper while the Black Tortoise System tried to help him court Jian Ruonan, leaving him unaware that she had lost interest after learning he was a virgin.

• Jian Ruonan caught several candidates cheating while proctoring the Spring Examination.
• Jian Ruonan found Wang Defa cooking hot pot in the examination hall, warned him to stop, and later learned he ranked in the top ten.
• Dantai Mo asked for an examination paper and began answering it beside Jian Ruonan.
• The Black Tortoise System told Jian Ruonan that Dantai Mo was trying to court her and praised his looks and virtue.
• The Black Tortoise System revealed that Dantai Mo was a virgin, causing Jian Ruonan's brief romantic interest to vanish.
• Dantai Mo noticed Jian Ruonan's flushed cheeks, and the Black Tortoise System assured him that she was about to swoon over him.

After the Third Prince and the First Imperial Prince escaped, Emperor Deyuan summoned Jian Ruonan to court to learn their whereabouts. The Light Screen revealed the Third Prince searching for the Previous Dynasty Treasure, but Jian Ruonan realized he had removed the height inserts needed to find it, leaving Emperor Deyuan’s throne safe for now.

• Emperor Deyuan ordered his men to capture the escaped Third Prince and First Imperial Prince, but both princes evaded them.
• Jian Ruonan dressed in her new third-rank uniform and went to court with the Fourth Prince, while Teng took a jade jue from him.
• At the afternoon court session, the Light Screen showed the Third Prince searching the mountains for the Previous Dynasty Treasure with Mister Ouyang and Wa Kingdom warriors.
• Jian Ruonan noticed that the Third Prince was not wearing his height inserts and explained that they were the key to finding the treasure.
• Emperor Deyuan wiped away his cold sweat when Jian Ruonan realized the Third Prince would not find the treasure anytime soon.

Jian Ruonan learned of the First Imperial Prince’s conquest of Smeedah and agreed to help capture Zheng, while Jian Chuxue’s starving warriors turned to banditry. As Jian Ruonan prepared to leave, a thief stole the maids’ intimate clothing from the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence.

• The screen showed the First Imperial Prince conquering Silla, declaring Goguryeo independent, and promoting Great Xia’s culture; Jian Ruonan reacted with outrage to Smeedah’s traditional attire and the system’s Mosaic censorship.
• Emperor Deyuan asked who would capture Zheng, and Dantai Mo and Jian Ruonan volunteered; he ordered them to prepare for three days before setting out.
• On Coiling Dragon Mountain, Jian Chuxue’s money-making venture ran short of food and funds, so the fierce Wa Kingdom warriors became bandits and robbed women and children in Tong County.
• Honda Sanlunzi and Yamagata Xiao Chi sneaked into the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence, where Jian Ruonan was packing for her expedition.
• Xiaoyu told Jian Ruonan that a thief had entered the courtyard, and the maids reported that their bellybands, handkerchiefs, and undergarments had been stolen; Jian Ruonan said she would divine the culprit.

Jian Ruonan identified Honda Sanlunzi and Yamagata Xiao Chi as the thieves Jian Chuxue sent to steal her purse, then set a trap for them. While her family discussed the upcoming weddings, the hungry intruders found and ate the Roach Eggs hidden in a storeroom, leaving the family horrified.

• Jian Ruonan watched the Light Screen reveal Honda Sanlunzi and Yamagata Xiao Chi sneaking into the Jinyang Marquis's Residence and stealing the maids' red belongings.
• Jian Ruonan learned that Jian Chuxue had sent the thieves after her purse, drew their faces, and had the portraits circulated throughout the estate.
• After the Imperial Guard located the thieves, Jian Ruonan put a Mousetrap in her pink purse and whispered instructions to a maid.
• Jian Ruonan gave Jian Huayuan a poetry crash-course book while the family discussed his and Jian Xilu's upcoming weddings.
• Honda Sanlunzi and Yamagata Xiao Chi searched a storeroom for food, found the Roach Eggs, and began eating them as Jian Ruonan's family watched the Light Screen.

Jian Ruonan agreed to let Teng join her bandit-suppression trip after he begged, and assigned Wang Defa to capture one of the Japanese thieves. The thieves fell into a trap while trying to steal Jian Ruonan’s pouch, leaving them caught in the enormous pit.

• Jian Ruonan asked Teng to have Wang Defa capture one of the two Japanese thieves and let the other go.
• Teng begged to join Jian Ruonan’s bandit-suppression trip, and she persuaded Min to let him come along as a study tour.
• After assigning Wang Defa the capture task, Jian Ruonan stopped worrying about the Japanese thieves.
• Honda Sanlunzi and Yamagata Xiao Chi followed Xiaoyu to the Rear Corridor after she hung Jian Ruonan’s pouch on a drying rack.
• Honda Sanlunzi and Yamagata Xiao Chi tried to take the pouch but fell into an enormous pit.

Jian Ruonan rallied the Maiden Army and set out to suppress the bandits, dig up treasure, and capture the Third Prince. Meanwhile, Jian Chuxue tried to steal Jian Ruonan’s pouch and got her hand caught in a mousetrap.

• Honda Sanlunzi and Yamagata Xiao Chi fell into a pit trap, but Yamagata escaped and left Honda behind with his leg caught in a mousetrap.
• Jian Ruonan gave a fiery speech to the Maiden Army, displayed her fluency in Japanese, and denounced Honda Sanlunzi as a prisoner of war.
• Jian Ruonan activated her Tesla Coil and led the fired-up Maiden Army into battle.
• Jian Chuxue took Jian Ruonan’s pink pouch and caught her hand in a mousetrap hidden inside it.

Jian Chuxue suffered through a series of humiliating mishaps with the Wa Kingdom warriors, who prized cockroach eggs and her grandmother’s dudou. Meanwhile, Jian Ruonan demonstrated the Divine Staff’s power, leaving Dantai Mo awestruck and earning points from the Black Tortoise System; the chapter ended as the system urged him to smile at her.

• Jian Chuxue freed her hand from the Mousetrap, stepped on it, and demanded to know where Honda Sanlunzi was; Yamagata Xiao Chi claimed he had died for his country.
• Yamagata Xiao Chi showed the Wa Kingdom warriors a bundle of cockroach eggs, which they ate and praised as a delicacy.
• Yamagata Xiao Chi and the warriors passed around a red dudou embroidered with the name Yi Qiao, while Jian Chuxue realized it had belonged to her grandmother, Shi Yiqiao.
• Jian Ruonan raised the Divine Staff and called down lightning, shocking Dantai Mo and triggering repeated point rewards.
• Dantai Mo wondered if Jian Ruonan was a goddess, but the Black Tortoise System told him she was human and urged him to smile at her for more points.

Jian Ruonan used her Lightning Staff to force Honda Sanlunzi to admit that the staff and divine pouch belonged to her, then prepared to lead the Maiden Army on a bandit-suppression campaign. She set out with an extravagant entourage and accepted Commandery Princess Jiarou after learning she had brought military funds.

• Jian Ruonan repeatedly electrocuted Honda Sanlunzi until he called Mr. Snow the thief and acknowledged that the Lightning Staff and divine pouch belonged to her.
• Jian Ruonan announced that the Maiden Army would use the mountain bandits for practice, and Emperor Deyuan tearfully saw her off.
• Captain Xue distributed baskets of food and supplies to the soldiers, while Jian Ruonan warned Honda Sanlunzi not to touch the live pigs loaded onto his cart.
• Jian Ruonan prepared to bring an enormous entourage, including Tangyuan, Plum Blossom, Chen Pozi, Wu Yehe, her son Gas Canister, and household staff.
• Jian Ruonan initially refused Commandery Princess Jiarou's request to join the expedition, then changed her mind when Jiarou's servants presented chests of gold as military funds.

Jian Ruonan set out with Commandery Princess Jiarou and her companions, while Dantai Mo joined their carriage and discovered they were playing mahjong. The journey continued with Jian Ruonan winning the first hand after Dantai Mo discarded a tile that helped her, leaving him embarrassed when Commandery Princess Jiarou exposed his play.

• Jian Ruonan escorted Commandery Princess Jiarou into the carriage after accepting her military funds, and the Maiden Army departed Capital City.
• Dantai Mo joined Jian Ruonan's carriage, stopped pretending to be paralyzed, and took Wang Defa's seat beside her.
• Jian Ruonan introduced mahjong as a strategy game called Building the Great Wall and collected silver as military funding.
• Jian Ruonan called pong on Dantai Mo's discarded three of characters, preventing Commandery Princess Jiarou from winning.
• Jian Ruonan won with an all-one-suit, all-triplets hand, and Commandery Princess Jiarou revealed that Dantai Mo had discarded a tile from a useful sequence.

Jian Ruonan won big at mahjong while Commandery Princess Jiarou learned that the Third Prince might betray her. Meanwhile, the Great Circle Army prepared to face the Maiden Army, dismissing its camp as a picnic as Jian Chuxue plotted to seize Jian Ruonan’s space.

• Teng shuffled tiles for Jian Ruonan, who won several rounds with Dantai Mo feeding her tiles.
• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts revealed that the Third Prince would swindle Commandery Princess Jiarou and leave her to die in the Cold Palace, alarming Jiarou.
• Teng suggested that Jiarou team up with Wang Defa, and they argued over who would assist whom.
• The Great Circle Army’s scout reported that the Maiden Army was setting up camp five li from Coiling Dragon Mountain and preparing a feast.
• Le Yu mocked the Maiden Army and vowed to defeat it, while Jian Chuxue resolved to take Jian Ruonan’s space.

Jian Ruonan’s army prepared a lavish meal and tested her new popcorn machine while Dantai Mo cooked for her, hoping to win her affection. The popcorn cannon’s first deafening blast startled Tokugawa Dajiao, Yoshikawa Kudan, and Le Yu, who had secretly approached the camp.

• Jian Ruonan stopped Commandery Princess Jiarou and Wang Defa from continuing their mahjong game, then learned Dantai Mo had gone to the kitchen.
• Dantai Mo prepared Sichuan dishes for Jian Ruonan while she watched him cook, and the Maiden Army prepared fresh meat for lunch.
• Jian Ruonan brought out her All-in-One Popcorn Cannon Machine and taught Abbot Li to operate it as Wu Yehe held Gas Canister.
• Abbot Li heated the machine until it reached ten units of pressure, then fired it and burst the popcorn out with a loud bang.
• Tokugawa Dajiao, Yoshikawa Kudan, and Le Yu approached the camp, and Le Yu wondered what the supposed picnic was doing.

Jian Ruonan tested a popcorn cannon by blasting a whole chicken, which flew across the camp and landed in Le Yu’s mouth. Honda Sanlunzi’s rescue went awry as he lost his chance to eat the chicken and grew furious with Le Yu.

• Le Yu mistook the noise of Jian Ruonan’s popcorn cannon for an enemy cooking accident and ordered the Great Circle Army to charge.
• Jian Ruonan and Abbot Li made puffed rice and popcorn, while Dantai Mo realized the lightweight, long-lasting food could serve as military rations.
• At Teng’s request, Jian Ruonan had Abbot Li blast a whole chicken from the cannon, then sent everyone to search for it when it disappeared.
• Tokugawa Dajiao and Yoshikawa Kudan planned to drug the camp while Le Yu went to rescue Honda Sanlunzi, who was reluctant to leave because he enjoyed the food.
• The flying chicken struck and went into Le Yu’s mouth as Honda Sanlunzi tried to catch it, leaving Sanlunzi furious that Le Yu had eaten his chicken.

Le Yu was captured by Jian Ruonan after a chicken stretched his mouth, and she mistook him and two Japanese infiltrators for Indians. The chapter ended with Le Yu leading Tokugawa Dajiao and Yoshikawa Kudan in a song and dance to avoid execution while Jian Ruonan and her companions ate.

• A chicken stretched Le Yu's mouth, and soldiers brought him before Jian Ruonan as a suspected spy.
• Jian Ruonan ordered Le Yu beheaded, but paused when he claimed his father came from India and demanded that he prove it by singing and dancing.
• Commander Wang brought in Tokugawa Dajiao and Yoshikawa Kudan, who had tried to put Knockout Drug in the food.
• Jian Ruonan decided the three men were Indians and threatened to behead them unless they performed before the meal.
• Le Yu led Tokugawa Dajiao and Yoshikawa Kudan in a song and dance while Jian Ruonan and the others ate.

Jian Ruonan turned three enemy captives into performers for the Maiden Army by convincing them they had swallowed deadly poison. After revealing the “pills” were ordinary candy and their stomachaches came from overeating chicken, she founded the Maiden Army Song and Dance Troupe and ordered them to perform daily.

• Le Yu and the two Wa Kingdom generals finished their bizarre performance, and Jian Ruonan explained who the captives were while everyone ate.
• Jian Ruonan proposed keeping the men as a song and dance troupe, then fed them ordinary candy while claiming it was a Gut-Rotting Death Pill.
• Le Yu and the two generals developed stomachaches after eating a whole chicken following years without meat, and Jian Ruonan explained the real cause to the others.
• Jian Ruonan ordered the captives to perform two songs every day, establishing the Maiden Army Song and Dance Troupe with Le Yu as lead singer.

Jian Chuxue planned to use a Fire Ox Formation against Jian Ruonan’s Maiden Army, but ordered a feigned surrender while scrambling to obtain the thousands of oxen she needed. Meanwhile, the four defected lords suffered in the Maiden Army’s pigpen and clutched their stomachs after eating.

• Jian Chuxue learned that Le Yu, Tokugawa Dajiao, Yoshikawa Kudan, and Honda Sanlunzi had defected to the Maiden Army and been made to sing and dance.
• Jian Chuxue announced the Fire Ox Formation, then told Ge Ou to offer a feigned surrender to catch the Maiden Army off guard.
• Jian Chuxue explained that the formation required at least five thousand oxen, and she gave Ge Ou her savings to help acquire them.
• In the Maiden Army camp, the four defected lords ate leftover food in a pigpen and discussed rehearsing their song and dance.
• The four lords suddenly clutched their stomachs and cried out for the antidote.

Jian Ruonan uncovered Jian Chuxue’s plan to feign surrender while gathering cattle for a Fire Ox Formation, but she stayed relaxed as the Maiden Army prepared. Five days later, she revealed her countermeasure: dose the cattle’s fodder with an aphrodisiac and Multiple-Birth Pills.

• Jian Ruonan learned that the Great Circle Army had submitted a surrender letter, then used her glowing gossip screen to discover Jian Chuxue was buying cattle for a Fire Ox Formation.
• Jian Ruonan had Ge Ou imprisoned with Le Yu and the Wa warriors, while Commander Wang and his officers spent the night studying the formation and decided to avoid it.
• Jian Ruonan ignored Captain Xue’s warnings about the Fire Ox Formation while playing mahjong and enjoying time with her pandas.
• After five days of waiting, Jian Ruonan ordered the Marquis's Brother-in-law, Captain Xue, Commander Wang, Dantai Mo, and Wang Defa to mix a potent aphrodisiac into the cattle’s fodder.
• Jian Ruonan added Multiple-Birth Pills to the plan, ordering her officers to crush them and mix them into the cattle’s feed as well.

Jian Ruonan prepared rare Multiple-Birth Pills for the cattle and promised Captain Xue help with his family’s heirs, while the Maiden Army anticipated a beef feast. The Wa Kingdom’s generals and Le Yu learned that their Indian cover story meant they could not eat beef, and a quarrel over their loyalties erupted after Ge Ou revealed the Fire Ox Formation.

• Jian Ruonan explained that the Multiple-Birth Pills could ensure conception and multiple births, and Captain Xue secretly tried to take some for himself.
• Jian Ruonan promised to find a solution for Captain Xue’s family and ordered the Maiden Army to prepare radishes, potatoes, and seasonings for a beef feast.
• The Maiden Army and their Wa Kingdom allies eagerly anticipated eating beef, but Le Yu reminded the Wa generals that their Indian disguise meant they could not eat cattle.
• Ge Ou revealed that Mr. Snow had feigned surrender and planned to use the Fire Ox Formation against the Maiden Army, then berated the Wa generals for being won over by food.
• Honda Sanlunzi struck at Ge Ou, and the dispute over food and loyalty turned into a fight.

Jian Chuxue prepared five thousand armed cattle for a Fire Ox Formation, but Jian Ruonan sabotaged their fodder with drugs that sent the bulls into a mating frenzy. The cattle slaughtered one another, destroying the formation and allowing the Maiden Army to defeat it without losing a soldier.

• Jian Chuxue learned that the Maiden Army was celebrating and planned to launch her Fire Ox Formation at Flat-Top Slope.
• Jian Ruonan had Wang Defa and Honda Sanlunzi tunnel to the cattle and drug their fodder.
• The drugged cattle turned on one another, and the armed bulls fought over the cows until most were dead.
• The surviving Great Circle Army soldiers fled, and the Maiden Army broke the Fire Ox Formation without losing anyone.

After Jian Ruonan’s scheme broke the Fire Ox Formation, she woke to an all-beef feast and heard how the enemy had been defeated. She arranged for Tong County locals to care for the surviving cattle, then had suspicious captives eat the beef first to confirm it was safe.

• Jian Ruonan woke at noon, learned that Le Yu and Ge Ou had been captured, and heard how exhausted cattle and Jian Chuxue’s injury had ended the enemy’s attack.
• Teng, Captain Xue, and other subordinates praised Jian Ruonan, who proposed paying locals to tend the surviving cattle and use the remaining bulls to plow their fields.
• Jian Ruonan explained that the drugged cattle’s effects had mostly worn off and suggested testing the beef on the Wa Kingdom warriors and Great Circle Army captives.
• Captain Xue threatened to behead anyone who refused, and the Wa Kingdom warriors and Le Yu theatrically ate the beef while pretending to be Indian natives.