Chapter Summaries

Shi Fan brought the Shi clan chief to Jian Ruonan, hoping she would divine whether the family he had chosen was suitable for adoption. Jian Ruonan exposed the family’s tangled parentage and revealed that the clan chief had secretly maneuvered to make Shi Fan adopt his own illegitimate grandson.

• Shi Fan refused the clan chief’s push to adopt Shi Hong’s family and took him to the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence to consult Jian Ruonan.
• While waiting for Jian Ruonan, Shi Fan met Master Zeng and Captain Xue, who had also come seeking help having sons.
• Jian Ruonan said Shi Hong and Shi Jiang were unsuitable because Shi Jiang was Shi Wu'ai’s son and his fiancée, A Yan, was Shi Hong’s daughter.
• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts revealed that Shi Wu'ai was Shi Wushu’s illegitimate son and that Shi Wushu had chosen the family so Shi Fan would adopt his own grandson.
• Jian Ruonan also revealed that Shi Wushu’s legitimate son was not biologically his, leaving Shi Fan furious at the clan chief.

Jian Ruonan became famous as Great Xia’s Child-Seeking Guanyin after several families conceived, then began punishing Xuan Xiaowu for his misdeeds after Commandery Princess Jiarou brought her his debt. The chapter ended with Jian Ruonan beating the frightened turtle while Jiarou held him down.

• Shi Wushu learned that his legitimate son might not be his biological child, but his bedridden wife died before he could question her.
• Jian Ruonan gave Shi Fan a Fertility Pill and agreed to help him secure an heir and advance Jian Zhang’s career.
• Master Zeng’s concubines, Shi Fan’s concubine, and Captain Xue’s wife conceived, prompting people to worship Jian Ruonan as the Child-Seeking Guanyin.
• Jian Ruonan redirected worshippers from the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence to her family’s Taoist Temple.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou brought Jian Ruonan an IOU for the five thousand taels Xuan Xiaowu had borrowed, and Jian Ruonan agreed to repay it with interest.
• Jian Ruonan shut the Flower Hall doors and used a yellow vitex rod to punish Xuan Xiaowu for his accumulated misdeeds while Jiarou held him down.

Jian Ruonan disciplined Xuan Xiaowu for spreading rumors and gambling, then made him take responsibility by correcting the rumors and working to repay his debt. Xuan Xiaowu began his new routine of factory work, study, and earning money as a wish-granting turtle.

• Jian Ruonan beat Xuan Xiaowu, then questioned him about stealing his brother's identity, spreading rumors, and gambling up five thousand taels.
• Xuan Xiaowu learned how his rumors could have ruined Jian Ruonan's reputation and admitted that he was wrong.
• Jian Ruonan ordered Xuan Xiaowu to clear up the rumors within seven days and repay Commandery Princess Jiarou by earning the money himself.
• Xuan Xiaowu visited the Jian family, Top Graduate Hou's residence, and the Imperial Palace to correct the rumors.
• Jian Ruonan assigned Xuan Xiaowu factory work, lessons, and a part-time job as a wish-granting turtle so he could repay the debt.

Emperor Deyuan hosted the Wa envoys while Jian Ruonan exposed the poverty behind their claims of wealth. When the envoys praised the beauty they offered as his consort, Jian Ruonan saw her portrait and reacted in horror, leaving the court stunned.

• The Wa envoys demanded that Emperor Deyuan release Mechuan Yaokuzi and other captured warriors in exchange for a beautiful nobleman's daughter.
• Emperor Deyuan and his ministers delayed their answer and arranged a banquet at the Purple Light Pavilion, expecting Jian Ruonan to reveal the Wa Kingdom's true circumstances.
• Jian Ruonan arrived at the banquet and arranged for Indian friends to perform, then took her place beside Emperor Deyuan.
• Jian Ruonan's inner voice and Light Screen exposed the Wa Kingdom's meager food and showed Hōjō Ujimasa's family eating rice with soybean-paste soup.
• The Wa envoys praised their kingdom's greatest beauty, but Jian Ruonan screamed when her portrait appeared on the Light Screen, and the officials cried out in alarm.

At a banquet, Jian Ruonan mocked Wa Kingdom’s beauty, military claims, customs, and revered warriors, while Emperor Deyuan and the court joined in. The Wa envoys’ pride collapsed when their supposed mighty warriors appeared in aprons to perform “I’m a Kid from India,” and Jian Ruonan challenged them to explain the spectacle.

• Wa Kingdom’s painted beauty terrified Emperor Deyuan and the court, who mocked the Wa envoys for presenting her as a great beauty.
• The Wa envoys boasted of Wa Kingdom’s mighty soldiers and warhorses, but Jian Ruonan’s Light Screen showed tiny raiders riding doglike animals.
• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts exposed Wa Kingdom’s “night crawling” custom, enraging the Wa envoys as Emperor Deyuan and the officials ridiculed them.
• The Wa envoys praised famous Wa generals and eagerly welcomed their descendants, who appeared in aprons and performed “I’m a Kid from India.”
• Jian Ruonan asked whether the performers were Indian children or Wa warriors telling the envoys to leave, then laughed at their humiliation.

Jian Ruonan had the Wa envoys arrested, then released them with a demand for reparations in exchange for Mechuan Yaokuzi. Later, she was summoned to the Fang household, where she discovered the three Fang brothers fighting over their drugged stepmother and rushed in to intervene.

• The Wa envoys denied knowing the dancing generals, but Emperor Deyuan ordered the Golden Guards to arrest them as suspected spies at Jian Ruonan’s suggestion.
• The envoys admitted they were Indian friends, performed “doo-doo da-da-da,” and were released with a demand that Great Wa pay five hundred thousand taels and surrender a mine to ransom Mechuan Yaokuzi.
• Jian Ruonan continued working as the Fang family’s physician and was carried off by serving women while washing her feet; Wang Defa, Commandery Princess Jiarou, Dantai Mo, and Xuan Xiaowu joined her disguised as attendants.
• At the Fang Residence, Jian Ruonan found Chen Shi flushed and suffering while her three stepsons accused one another of drugging her and fought over who would serve as her antidote.
• Jian Ruonan entered the room and told Madam Fang to make the brothers stop fighting.

Jian Ruonan tried to help Chen Shi after a drug made her lose control, while the three Fang brothers fought over what to do with her. The brothers carried Chen Shi into the bathing chamber and shut Jian Ruonan out.

• The three Fang brothers fought clumsily as Chen Shi succumbed to the drug, and Jian Ruonan called for cold water.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou, Wang Defa, and Dantai Mo arrived with basins, while Jiarou teased Wang Defa and Dantai Mo about looking at Chen Shi.
• Jian Ruonan splashed cold water on Chen Shi, who briefly regained clarity and told the Fang brothers to stop fighting.
• Jian Ruonan advised the brothers to use cold water and have Chen Shi drink hot water, but they began fighting again over who would care for her.
• The three Fang brothers carried Chen Shi into the bathing chamber together and shut the door on Jian Ruonan.

Jian Ruonan and her companions eavesdropped on Madam Chen and the three Fang brothers, then left the Fang residence to gossip at Jian Ruonan’s courtyard. Before they could finish dinner, an urgent consultation sent the whole group rushing out with their food.

• Jian Ruonan rented stethoscopes to Commandery Princess Jiarou and Wang Defa while they listened outside the bathroom, and Dantai Mo refused to eavesdrop.
• Jian Ruonan questioned a maid about Madam Chen’s relationship with the three Fang brothers while they waited for the family to emerge.
• Madam Chen recovered enough to leave the bathroom with the three brothers, who treated one another more civilly than before.
• Jian Ruonan returned to her rented courtyard, where her companions joined her to share gossip and eat.
• Two serving women carried Jian Ruonan off to an urgent consultation as Chen Pozi and the others followed with medicine, makeup, and bowls of food.

Jian Ruonan visited Prince Anping's Residence and diagnosed the Thousand-Household Commander with a stomach ailment, which he claimed to cure by making Lü Xinxiang feed him soup mouth-to-mouth. When Jian Ruonan discovered Lü Xinxiang was pregnant, the concubine worried about the consequences because the principal wife was not pregnant.

• Jian Ruonan and her companions arrived at Prince Anping's Residence, where the Thousand-Household Commander was blaming his servants because Lü Xinxiang wanted to leave again.
• Jian Ruonan declared that the Thousand-Household Commander had a stomach ailment and told Lü Xinxiang to feed him the soup she had made.
• The Thousand-Household Commander insisted on being fed mouth-to-mouth, and Jian Ruonan convinced Lü Xinxiang that her saliva would help cure him.
• The Thousand-Household Commander said his stomach ailment was cured and rewarded Lü Xinxiang with silver.
• Jian Ruonan checked Lü Xinxiang's pulse and announced that she was pregnant, leaving Lü Xinxiang distraught because the principal wife was not pregnant yet.

Jian Ruonan learned that Concubine Lu was pregnant with twins, then discovered the commander's wife had secretly paid her to protect the pregnancy because she loved Concubine Lu. On the way home, Jian Ruonan revealed that Concubine Lu was about to run away pregnant, leaving the gossip group lamenting that the commander’s household would provide no gossip for six years.

• The Thousand-Household Commander celebrated Concubine Lu’s pregnancy, and Jian Ruonan announced she was carrying twins, a boy and a girl.
• The commander’s wife summoned Jian Ruonan and offered her gold, prompting Jian Ruonan to fear she was being paid to end the pregnancy.
• Jian Ruonan accepted the gold, then learned the wife wanted her to ensure the babies survived because the wife loved Concubine Lu.
• Jian Ruonan explained to Commandery Princess Jiarou that taking the gold would have prevented the wife from hiring someone else to harm Concubine Lu.
• Jian Ruonan revealed that Concubine Lu was about to flee while pregnant and would return six years later with twins.

Six years later, Jian Ruonan still lived carefree and had made no progress on her mission, while Xuan Xiaowu urged her to remember it. She finally set out to complete the mission by going to see Jian Chuxue give birth, believing the event would conclude the leads’ romance.

• Jian Ruonan woke late in a room packed with ice and welcomed Min, Xuan Xiaowu, and her niece An Jie'er.
• Min told Jian Ruonan that Governor-General Xu's daughter had asked whether Xuan Xiaowu was engaged, and Jian Ruonan offered to make the girl lose interest by having Xiaowu recite poems.
• Min worried about Jian Ruonan's refusal to marry, but changed her mind after considering the troubles marriage would bring.
• Xuan Xiaowu reminded Jian Ruonan that she had promised to complete her mission and send him home, and complained that six years had passed without her trying.
• Jian Ruonan declared that she would complete the mission and revealed that Jian Chuxue was giving birth that day.

Jian Ruonan visited Jian Chuxue after she gave birth, expecting the mission to be complete, but learned that the baby was a girl and Jian Chuxue still wanted a son. The mission remained unfinished.

• The Wa Kingdom agreed to trade a silver mine for Mechuan Yaokuzi, who would remain a hostage until the mine was exhausted.
• Jian Ruonan took Xuan Xiaowu and Commandery Princess Jiarou with her husband to the Farm Estate, stopping to play mahjong along the way.
• The group saw Dantai Mo drilling cavalry near the estate, and Jian Ruonan remarked on his appearance and the dusty road.
• Jian Ruonan reached the Farm Estate and found that Jian Chuxue had safely given birth to a daughter, though Jian Chuxue had suffered heavy bleeding.
• Jian Chuxue said she wanted to bear Mechuan Yaokuzi a son, so Jian Ruonan's mission did not complete.

Jian Chuxue resolved to keep trying for a son after giving birth to a daughter, while Jian Ruonan’s predictions that her next three children would also be girls made her faint. Jian Chuxue later asked Jian Ruonan for Fertility Pills, and she eagerly accepted the warning that they could produce eight babies at once.

• Jian Chuxue drank chicken soup and vowed to recover so she could try for a son, but Jian Ruonan predicted that her next three children would all be daughters, causing her to faint.
• After waking, Jian Chuxue declared that she would risk her health to bear Mechuan Yaokuzi a son, while Jian Ruonan left the birthing room frustrated.
• Jian Ruonan considered attacking the Wa Kingdom to remove Mechuan Yaokuzi’s need for an heir, then returned to find Jian Chuxue naming the baby Mechuan Zhaodizi.
• Jian Chuxue dismissed the maids and asked Jian Ruonan to sell her a Fertility Pill, believing it might help her have a son.
• Jian Ruonan said the pill could result in eight babies in one pregnancy, and Jian Chuxue happily concluded that at least one would surely be a boy.

Jian Ruonan visited Jian Chuxue, then encountered Dantai Mo on the road and returned toward the residence with Xuan Xiaowu. Xuan Xiaowu proposed that Jian Ruonan and Dantai Mo enter a fake marriage, and Dantai Mo unexpectedly agreed.

• Jian Chuxue told Jian Ruonan she wanted a son so she could feel secure, and Jian Ruonan told her to gather the gold for fertility pills.
• Jian Ruonan met Dantai Mo after leaving the Farm Estate and teased him about his fragrance and his plan to ride in her carriage.
• Xuan Xiaowu and Commandery Princess Jiarou offered to leave the carriage so Dantai Mo could join them, but Jian Ruonan refused and brought Xuan Xiaowu inside.
• Xuan Xiaowu proposed a fake marriage between Jian Ruonan and Dantai Mo to quiet gossip and fulfill the mission.
• Dantai Mo appeared at the carriage window and said he thought the fake-marriage idea was ingenious.

Xuan Xiaowu tried to persuade Jian Ruonan to enter a sham marriage with Dantai Mo, listing its benefits and proposing to be adopted as their eldest son. Jian Ruonan considered the arrangement, then rejected its appeal when she realized Xuan Xiaowu would eventually leave and she would still face pressure to have children.

• After Dantai Mo rode away, Jian Ruonan joked with Commandery Princess Jiarou about the burdens of marriage and childbirth.
• Xuan Xiaowu proposed that Jian Ruonan and Dantai Mo have a sham marriage and adopt him as their eldest son.
• Xuan Xiaowu praised the benefits of marrying Dantai Mo while Dantai Mo secretly listened from beside the carriage.
• Jian Ruonan realized that adoption could make Xuan Xiaowu heir to the throne, and Xuan Xiaowu eagerly imagined becoming the Imperial Grandson.
• Jian Ruonan remembered Xuan Xiaowu would eventually leave, so she decided the marriage would not spare her from pressure to have children.
• Xuan Xiaowu begged to stay long enough to enjoy being the Imperial Grandson for a few years.

Jian Ruonan and Dantai Mo traveled with Xuan Xiaowu and Commandery Princess Jiarou, discussing Xuan Xiaowu’s departure and Dantai Mo’s refusal to take concubines. After they spotted the returned Concubine Lü, Dantai Mo sent the others away and confessed his feelings to Jian Ruonan.

• Xuan Xiaowu told Jian Ruonan and Commandery Princess Jiarou that his birth parents would collect him on the day Jian Ruonan married Dantai Mo.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou questioned why Dantai Mo had no concubines, and he declared that he would not take any.
• Xuan Xiaowu claimed Dantai Mo wanted one partner for life and described him as an untouched virgin, embarrassing the Crown Prince.
• Jian Ruonan spotted Concubine Lü with two children in Five Willow Alley and decided to go to the Private Residence in case the Thousand-Household Commander learned she had returned.
• Dantai Mo asked Commandery Princess Jiarou, Wang Defa, and Xuan Xiaowu to leave the Flower Hall, then confessed to Jian Ruonan that he had fallen for her.

Dantai Mo confessed his love to Jian Ruonan and proposed asking the emperor to decree their marriage, leaving her to challenge him to kiss her. Their friends and Chen Pozi watched anxiously from outside the Flower Hall.

• Dantai Mo told Jian Ruonan that he loved her and would not lose out in a sham marriage.
• Dantai Mo suggested requesting an imperial marriage decree, but Jian Ruonan loudly refused.
• Dantai Mo asked whether Jian Ruonan had feelings for him, and she wondered if he was putting on a brave front.
• Jian Ruonan stood up and asked Dantai Mo if he dared to kiss her, while their friends urged him on outside.

Dantai Mo fled instead of kissing Jian Ruonan, then told Consort Yan that she had agreed to marry him. After Commandery Princess Jiarou recounted what happened, his family realized he had mistaken Jian Ruonan’s teasing for a sign of their imminent wedding.

• Jian Ruonan invited Dantai Mo to kiss her, but he nervously fled after squeezing her shoulders.
• Jian Ruonan told Xuan Xiaowu and the others that she had known Dantai Mo would not dare kiss her.
• Dantai Mo went to the military camp and ordered the soldiers to drill again, laughing as they trained.
• Dantai Mo told Consort Yan to begin preparing for his wedding, leading her to send gifts to the Jinyang Marquis's Residence and celebrate.
• Xuan Xiaowu warned Consort Yan that the wedding might not happen, and Commandery Princess Jiarou explained how Dantai Mo had fled from Jian Ruonan.
• Dantai Mo insisted that refusing the kiss had proved his male virtue and said that all that remained was to propose.

Six years after Lü Xinxiang disappeared, the Thousand-Household Commander learned through Jian Ruonan that she was safe and spent six years reciting a mantra for her return. Lü Xinxiang came back to Capital City with twin sons, and Jian Ruonan arrived to treat one of them after he was bullied at school.

• After Lü Xinxiang vanished, the Thousand-Household Commander refused food and drink until Commandery Prince Anping admitted he had sent her away and that bandits had abducted her.
• Jian Ruonan used Talk Therapy to help Commandery Prince Anping and his consort breathe again, then told the Thousand-Household Commander a mantra that would supposedly bring Lü Xinxiang back safely.
• A Light Screen showed the Thousand-Household Commander that Lü Xinxiang was safe in Capital City with twin boys who resembled him.
• For six years, Third Uncle Three recited Jian Ruonan's mantra, and Lü Xinxiang eventually returned to Capital City with her twins.
• Lü Xinxiang kept vigil beside her injured son after classmates from influential families bullied him at school, and a servant announced Jian Ruonan's arrival.
• Jian Ruonan arrived with Chen Pozi, while the Eldest Princess, Wang Defa, Commandery Princess Jiarou, Top Graduate Hou, Xuan Xiaowu, and Dantai Mo followed behind.

Jian Ruonan and the gossip-loving crowd visited Lü Xinxiang, where she treated her injured son Nianshu. A man who accused Nianshu of hurting his own son threatened Lü Xinxiang, but the arrival of her former fiancé Dai Lümao revealed a connection to her past with Third Master.

• The Eldest Princess, Commandery Princess Jiarou, Dantai Mo, and others followed Jian Ruonan to Lü Xinxiang's home to watch the gossip unfold.
• Jian Ruonan examined Nianshu's cuts and hidden injuries, and advised Lü Xinxiang on caring for his wounds.
• A middle-aged woman and an Office Secretary brought in the injured Li child, who accused Nianshu of pushing him.
• The woman demanded an apology, and the Office Secretary threatened Lü Xinxiang with a debt and demanded she repay it with her body.
• Dai Lümao arrived and confronted Lü Xinxiang, and the group learned he was her former fiancé whom Third Master had once displaced.