Chapter Summaries

Jian Ruonan used a drugged pastry to make Gao Yang’s horse bolt, giving her family a reason to enter his residence. They discovered Gao Yang’s mistress was struggling to give birth, and Jian Zhang and Min grew furious when they heard Gao Yang threaten the midwife.

• Jian Ruonan slipped an aphrodisiac into a pastry and persuaded Jian Zhang to feed it to Gao Yang’s chestnut horse.
• The horse went wild, and Jian Ruonan pretended it had kicked her so Jian Zhang would demand entry to the residence.
• Jian Ruonan quickly recovered, and she and her family waited in the reception room while Gao Yang remained with his mistress in labor.
• Jian Zhang led Min, Jian Xilu, and Jian Ruonan to the main courtyard after hearing that the labor had lasted for hours.
• Gao Yang threatened to have the midwife and servants buried if anything happened to Ping'er, enraging Jian Zhang and Min.

Jian Zhang caught Gao Yang at a colleague’s home while Ping’er was giving birth, ended Gao Yang’s betrothal to Jian Xilu, and learned that the affair was part of the Third Prince’s plot against the Duke of Ping. The family left with an explosive secret about Gao Yang’s colleague and Ping’er’s role in it.

• Gao Yang refused to leave Ping’er during her difficult labor until he learned that the visitor wore third-rank purple robes.
• Gao Yang discovered that the visitor was Jian Zhang, changed his story about Ping’er, and tried to excuse the affair as a trap.
• Jian Zhang kicked Gao Yang, announced he would return the Betrothal Certificate, and declared the marriage arrangement over.
• Gao Yang knelt, begged forgiveness, and claimed that he was a victim who still wanted to marry Jian Xilu.
• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts revealed that Gao Yang had pursued Ping’er and that her brother had helped arrange the affair.
• Jian Ruonan uncovered that Ping’er and Gao Yang’s colleague were planted by the Third Prince to gain leverage over the Duke of Ping.

Dantai Mo confirmed he could hear Jian Ruonan’s thoughts and followed her, hoping to learn more about the Third Prince’s plans. He left with the tourmaline beads in Jian Ruonan’s hands and heard her thoughts about shopping and pulling cards instead.

• Dantai Mo arrived at Gao Yang’s residence and confirmed he could hear Jian Ruonan’s thoughts, while the Black Tortoise System blamed its poor reception on running low on lamp oil.
• A red-bay horse that had eaten Jian Ruonan’s aphrodisiac-laced pastries mounted the Fourth Prince’s horse, giving Dantai Mo an excuse to enter the residence.
• Dantai Mo overheard Jian Ruonan’s thoughts about the Third Prince trying to win over the Duke of Ping, then gave her his tourmaline beads as a gift.
• Jian Zhang left with his family, determined to cancel Xilu’s marriage into the Duke of Pingguo Residence, while Dantai Mo followed Jian Ruonan’s carriage.
• Jian Ruonan bought a gold bracelet and pastries, then thought about pulling cards as Dantai Mo listened and wondered what the game was.

Jian Ruonan spent her card-draw winnings and considered how modern crops could help Great Xia, then learned that Min had given her farmland and shops. When Min tried to arrange lessons, Jian Ruonan challenged a nanny to an accounting contest to avoid studying the Four Books for Women, but she could not even read the account book.

• On the carriage ride home, Jian Ruonan shared a pastry with Jian Xilu and told her she kept snacks in her pouch.
• Jian Ruonan used twenty-five card draws, winning toilet paper, sanitary pads, medicines, and other items, then considered starting a grain business with modern crops.
• After her nap, Jian Ruonan learned that Min had given her a hundred mu of farmland and two shops, and Min asked her to choose what to study.
• Jian Ruonan refused to study the Four Books for Women and proposed an accounting contest with a household nanny to avoid the lessons.
• Nanny Zhou agreed to compete, but Jian Ruonan asked Min to explain how to read the account book before they began.

Jian Ruonan won an accounting contest with her fast, accurate calculations, then taught the household’s senior servants modern bookkeeping and introduced them to potatoes and corn. At the old madam’s court, she hinted that Second Uncle had been taken to the magistrate’s office, and Min decided to stay and watch the family learn the news.

• Jian Ruonan beat Nanny Zhou in an accounting contest, first using a checked account book and then proving herself with unchecked accounts.
• Jian Ruonan taught the senior servants to separate income and expenses, use Arabic numerals and multiplication tables, and manage the new crops she introduced.
• Jian Ruonan asked for Nanny Zhou to help manage her fields and explained how to plant potatoes and corn.
• Min brought Jian Ruonan and Jian Xilu to the old madam’s court, where Young Shi-shi made pointed remarks about Jian Ruonan’s place in the family.
• Jian Ruonan’s inner voice revealed that Second Uncle had been taken to the magistrate’s office, so Min stayed to await the servant who would report it.

At the old madam’s gathering, Jian Ruonan watched Jian Chuyun win praise for refusing grapes, then exposed the old madam’s unhygienic habits in a private whisper. Jian Chuyun was left speechless.

• Xue-shi brought tribute grapes, and Jian Ruonan eagerly ate several while Jian Chuyun refused hers to appear filial to the old madam.
• The old madam and her attendants praised Jian Chuyun and mocked Jian Ruonan, while Jian Xilu tried not to laugh at Jian Ruonan’s thoughts.
• The old madam fed the remaining grapes to Jian Chuyun, who smugly urged her grandmother to dote on Jian Ruonan as well.
• Jian Ruonan approached Jian Chuyun and whispered that the old madam had picked at her itchy, smelly athlete’s-foot and fed Jian Chuyun grapes without washing her hands, then asked whether they tasted sweet.
• Jian Chuyun was left speechless.

Jian Ruonan’s family gathered to enjoy the old madam’s humiliation, but the news that Jian Lang had been jailed for adultery turned the tables on her. The old madam discovered that she herself had ordered Jian Lang’s arrest, and Jian Ruonan’s thoughts exposed her attempt to blame Jian Zhang.

• Jian Chuyun vomited after Jian Ruonan pointed out the old madam’s foot flakes, then denied that the grapes had made her sick.
• Min stalled in the old madam’s room with Jian Ruonan and Jian Xilu until a servant announced that Jian Lang had spent the night in jail for adultery.
• The servant revealed that Jian Lang had been caught with Jian Zhang’s concubine, Concubine Wei, and that the old madam’s calling card had prompted the authorities to punish him severely.
• The old madam blamed Young Shi-shi for Jian Lang’s behavior, then realized she had ordered the severe punishment herself.
• Jian Zhang arrived, and the old madam accused him of trying to kill his brother; Jian Ruonan’s inner voice reminded him that the old madam had ordered him to use Grandfather’s calling card and report the affair.

Jian Zhang faced the old madam’s accusations and pressure to surrender the marquisate after Jian Lang was imprisoned for an affair with Concubine Wei. When the old madam tried to force Jian Zhang into submission by kneeling, Jian Ruonan staged a wild tantrum that stunned the household.

• The old madam blamed Jian Zhang for Jian Lang’s imprisonment, struck him with a teacup, and accused him of being unfit to inherit the marquisate.
• Jian Zhang pretended he had only just learned Jian Lang had been caught with Concubine Wei and ordered a servant to prepare a horse to secure his release.
• The old madam demanded that Jian Zhang give the marquisate to his younger brothers and tried to kneel before him, threatening his reputation for filial piety.
• Jian Zhang wavered under the pressure while the younger Shi-shi and Jian Chuyun anticipated gaining the title and rank.
• Jian Ruonan overturned a table, clung to Jian Zhang, and rolled on the floor crying that the old madam had hurt him; the old madam froze in fright.

Jian Ruonan pretended that the Queen Mother of the West had possessed her and used secret gossip to convince the household of her supernatural powers. She left the old madam frightened into another illness after threatening to expose a scandal from her past.

• The old madam accused Jian Ruonan of being possessed and ordered servants to drive her out, while Min, Jian Xilu, and Jian Zhang protected her.
• Jian Ruonan claimed the Queen Mother of the West had descended into her body and bewildered the household with English and Japanese phrases.
• Jian Ruonan exposed Granny Wang’s secret affair with the master, her son, and her grandsons, prompting Granny Wang to kneel and beg for mercy.
• Jian Ruonan revealed that Granny Li’s husband, Steward Wu, was Steward Zhang’s lover, and the household grew convinced she was an immortal.
• Jian Ruonan began to reveal the old madam’s secret with a groom from the stables, and Shi Yiqiao fainted from fright.
• The old madam was frightened into falling ill again that night.

Jian Ruonan frightened the old madam into fainting, then acted like a dutiful granddaughter while her family rescued the situation. After dinner, she agreed to visit Jian Zhang’s office the next morning and revealed that the old madam’s secret involved the Groom and his feet.

• Jian Zhang, Min, and Jian Xilu knelt and pleaded for the old madam, and Jian Ruonan declared she would spare her before fainting into Jian Zhang’s arms.
• The old madam and Jian Ruonan regained consciousness, and Jian Ruonan pretended to be worried about her grandmother as the family returned to Westglow Garden.
• Min promoted Wen Xue to first-class maid at Jian Ruonan’s request, and the family ate dinner while Jian Zhang kept his promise to abstain from meat for a year.
• Jian Ruonan agreed to accompany Jian Zhang to the Ministry of Justice Office after he promised she could wake at the start of Si Hour.
• Jian Ruonan revealed that the old madam’s secret involved the Groom and his large feet, leaving Jian Zhang, Min, and Jian Xilu stunned.

Jian Ruonan’s family listened as her gossip exposed the old madam’s affair and nearly revealed Jian Zhang’s own past, while her wish for better meat led her to imagine using Multiple-Birth Pills to raise cattle. At Snowsoft Palace, Dantai Mo learned that Jian Ruonan had no plans to approach him, though he believed seeing her again might help him regain the use of his legs.

• Jian Ruonan’s inner gossip revealed that the old madam had pursued the groom and that Second Uncle and Third Uncle were still Grandfather’s biological sons.
• Jian Ruonan’s gossip about Second Uncle and Concubine Wei nearly exposed Jian Zhang’s own affair, so he distracted her by asking what food she wanted.
• Jian Ruonan wished she could use Multiple-Birth Pills to make cattle produce eight calves and considered teaching the estate’s farmers to improve pig raising.
• Jian Zhang secretly considered how Great Xia might obtain Multiple-Birth Pills to expand cattle raising, while Jian Ruonan and the system argued over the cost of leveling up.
• Consort Yan urged Dantai Mo to consider marriage, but he refused and recalled that his legs had regained sensation after meeting Jian Ruonan.
• Dantai Mo asked his system what Jian Ruonan was doing and learned she was eating and gossiping rather than trying to win him over.

Dantai Mo decided to attend the Grand Princess’s flower-viewing gathering and invited Jian Ruonan, while Old Madam plotted against her after suspecting she had exposed the household’s secrets. The chapter ended with Jian Lang returning from prison badly beaten as Old Madam vowed to retaliate against Jian Zhang’s branch.

• Consort Yan encouraged Dantai Mo to attend the Grand Princess’s matchmaking gathering, and he invited the Fifth Miss of the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence.
• Jian Ruonan gained twenty points and resisted drawing cards so she could save them to upgrade her system.
• Old Madam told Daoist Li that Jian Ruonan had been possessed, and they agreed to lure her to Clear Void Abbey for an exorcism after making preparations.
• Old Madam suspected Jian Zhang had taught Jian Ruonan the household’s secrets and ordered an investigation into her upbringing and Westglow Garden.
• Jian Lang was carried home after receiving twenty strokes in prison, and he accused Jian Zhang of trying to ruin him.
• Old Madam promised Jian Lang she would not let him suffer for nothing and said Jian Zhang could not inherit the Marquis’s Estate while Shi Fan remained in office.

Jian Ruonan woke late and met her younger brother Jian Huateng, whose thoughts revealed that he had skipped school and hidden a mischievous streak behind his good manners. Min prepared to discipline him, but Jian Ruonan pleaded for him and sheltered him in her arms.

• Jian Xilu woke Jian Ruonan after she slept late, and Jian Ruonan met the young Jian Huateng while washing up.
• Jian Huateng fled from Jian Ruonan after hearing her thoughts, and Min realized that their ability to hear those thoughts could not be discussed aloud.
• Jian Ruonan's thoughts exposed that Jian Huateng had faked illness to skip a dull lesson at the Imperial College.
• Jian Huateng claimed he had already known the lesson, but Jian Ruonan's thoughts revealed his pranks and poor grasp of the material.
• Min called for a disciplinary ruler, but Jian Huateng clung to Jian Ruonan and asked her to save him.
• Jian Ruonan pleaded for Min to give Jian Huateng another chance and held him protectively while pinching his cheeks.

Jian Huateng won Min’s reprieve by acting adorable, then tried to use guilt and concern about marriage to tease Jian Ruonan. After he collapsed beside Emerald Wave Lake, Jian Ruonan learned through the system that he was faking and returned to confront him.

• Jian Huateng charmed Jian Ruonan into pleading for him, then recited his examination essay to earn Min’s forgiveness.
• Jian Huateng questioned why Jian Ruonan slept late and warned that her habits might displease her future husband, while Jian Ruonan said she did not want to marry.
• Jian Ruonan and Jian Huateng went to Emerald Wave Lake, where the maids went to fetch shrimp baskets.
• Jian Huateng collapsed and pretended to convulse, prompting Jian Ruonan to run for help and ask the system for emergency medicine.
• The system revealed gossip, and Jian Ruonan realized Jian Huateng was playing a trick and returned to the lake to confront him.

Jian Ruonan exposed Teng’s fake illness and spanked him, but he later followed her to the Ministry of Justice Office after hearing their father had been impeached. There, Jian Ruonan’s thoughts revealed that Censor Cao was secretly corrupt, leaving Jian Zhang and Teng stunned.

• Jian Ruonan saw through Teng’s trick and spanked him until Min and Jian Xilu agreed he deserved it.
• Teng overheard that Jian Zhang had been impeached and followed Jian Ruonan to the Ministry of Justice Office.
• Jian Zhang told Jian Ruonan that Censor Cao had accused him of failing to govern his household and causing his mother’s illness.
• A clerk delivered the impeachment memorial, and Jian Ruonan thought that Censor Cao secretly took bribes and hid gold in his ancestral hall.

Jian Ruonan’s private knowledge led Jian Zhang and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to raid Censor Cao’s home for hidden bribes. The search stalled at the ancestral hall, where Jian Ruonan’s thoughts revealed exactly where the gold bricks were hidden.

• Jian Zhang learned from Jian Ruonan’s thoughts that Censor Cao secretly served the First Imperial Prince and ordered a search of his residence.
• Teng comforted Jian Ruonan when the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrived, then suggested they go watch the raid.
• Jian Ruonan and Teng climbed over a neighboring wall to enter Censor Cao’s residence and reach the ancestral hall.
• Censor Cao threatened to kill himself if the Embroidered Uniform Guard entered the ancestral hall, while Madam Song insisted their household was poor.
• Deputy Commander Zhang and Jian Zhang began to doubt the accusation after the first search of the ancestral hall found nothing.
• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts revealed that Censor Cao had hidden the gold bricks beneath the stone tiles under the offering table.

Jian Zhang uncovered Censor Cao’s hidden bribes and learned of his concubine and mistress through Jian Ruonan’s inner voice. As Madam Song and Censor Cao fought, Prince Rui Dantai Mo arrived and heard Jian Ruonan urge her to help Madam Song.

• Jian Zhang found gold bars hidden beneath the Ancestral Hall’s offering table and accused Censor Cao of corruption.
• Jian Zhang led the group to the concubine’s room, where they found jewelry, jade ornaments, and banknotes.
• Jian Ruonan revealed through her inner voice that Censor Cao had bribed his concubine’s family and kept a lavishly housed mistress in Kitten Alley.
• Jian Zhang ordered the concubine’s brothers arrested and exposed the mistress’s residence, prompting Madam Song to attack Censor Cao.
• Jian Zhang let Madam Song and Censor Cao fight while the group watched, and Dantai Mo arrived as Jian Ruonan’s inner voice urged her to help Madam Song.

Prince Rui Dantai Mo joined Jian Zhang and Commissioner Zhang Ying as they discussed an unsolved case in which Emperor Deyuan had repeatedly been drugged. Jian Ruonan realized a eunuch had smuggled the drug into the palace in his anus, leaving the group on the verge of uncovering how the emperor had been dosed.

• Dantai Mo ordered Censor Cao taken to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and agreed to report the case to Emperor Deyuan.
• Jian Zhang took Jian Ruonan and Teng to Zhang Ying’s residence, where she asked for help with the palace drugging case.
• Zhang Ying explained that investigators had searched the palace and its staff but still could not discover how the drug had been brought inside.
• Jian Ruonan realized that a eunuch had smuggled the drug into the palace in his anus and suspected Emperor Deyuan had ingested it.

Jian Ruonan’s inner thoughts revealed that a young eunuch had been drugging the emperor in hopes of rekindling his affection, and Jian Zhang devised a plan to identify him. Meanwhile, Dantai Mo’s system tried to prove Jian Ruonan was meant to win his heart, but her thoughts suggested she had abandoned that goal.

• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts exposed a young eunuch’s secret crush on the emperor and his plan to use a stronger dose of medicine to make the emperor desire him again.
• Jian Zhang sent Teng home, then concluded the culprit was an eunuch who served the emperor and arranged searches of returning palace servants.
• Zhang Cairong visited and admired the Fourth Prince, while Jian Ruonan hoped she would become Prince Rui’s consort.
• The Black Tortoise System used its power to transmit Jian Ruonan’s conversation with her system to Dantai Mo, who heard that she had decided to give up on winning his heart.

Dantai Mo tried to keep the Black Tortoise System online while learning about Jian Ruonan’s mission and the suspicious accident that paralyzed him. Back at the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence, Jian Ruonan learned that members of the powerful Shi family had arrived and asked her system for their gossip.

• The Black Tortoise System repeatedly ran out of lamp oil, while Jian Ruonan gained and lost affection points from Dantai Mo’s changing feelings.
• Dantai Mo escorted Jian Ruonan home, and her question about whether his fall had been staged made him recall the suspicious wild horses and his unusually agitated horse.
• Dantai Mo took Jian Ruonan’s hand to help her from the carriage, bringing the Black Tortoise System back online, and accompanied her into the residence.
• Jian Ruonan hurried to greet Madam Zhang, the wife of Minister Shi Fan, while Teng pressed her for news and Min helped her dress.
• Jian Ruonan asked her system for gossip about the Shi family, and the system announced that it had a major story.