Chapter Summaries

Jian Ruonan’s new gossip function revealed secrets in the Imperial Study, leading Emperor Deyuan to expose Minister of Revenue Hang Zhenghe’s embezzlement. The chapter ended with Jian Ruonan’s thoughts exposing an eunuch who had drugged the emperor, while Teng braced for more trouble.

• Jian Ruonan tried the gossip system’s new functions, and One-Tap Groundhog Summon began adding groundhogs whenever people heard her thoughts.
• Emperor Deyuan realized Jian Ruonan’s inner voice had exposed corrupt officials, and the ministers and Second Prince Dantai Jing heard her thoughts as well.
• Jian Ruonan revealed that Minister of Rites Shi Fan’s five sons were not biologically his, and Shi Fan interrupted before she could explain further.
• Jian Ruonan exposed Hang Zhenghe’s embezzlement and described his hidden wealth, so Emperor Deyuan ordered Dantai Mo to search his properties.
• The Embroidered Uniform Guard took Hang Zhenghe away, and Jian Ruonan’s thoughts then revealed that an eunuch had hidden drugs and given Emperor Deyuan an aphrodisiac.

Emperor Deyuan learned that Jian Ruonan’s inner thoughts could expose secrets and that harming her brought him unbearable pain, so he treated her with exaggerated care. After she revealed the possible location of a rebel’s treasure and received an offer of a reward, she decided she wanted to play Blindfolded Consort Hunt with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

• Emperor Deyuan tried to punish Jian Ruonan for her wild thoughts, but a crushing pain forced him to cancel the order and offer her a seat instead.
• Jian Ruonan’s inner voice revealed that a treasure from the Previous Dynasty could help a male lead rebel, startling Emperor Deyuan and the ministers.
• The Embroidered Uniform Guard reported finding gold hidden beneath cabbages at Hang Zhenghe’s ancestral home, while the other properties still needed to be located.
• Jian Ruonan’s inner voice exposed gossip about Minister of War Pei Junfei and Minister of Works Pang Lianggong, and Emperor Deyuan stopped Pei from interrupting her.
• Emperor Deyuan asked Jian Ruonan to divine a difficult matter, but she claimed she could not perform divinations after suffering a backlash.
• Emperor Deyuan offered Jian Ruonan a reward for exposing Prince Consort Xue Yuanyu, and she decided she wanted to play Blindfolded Consort Hunt with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Jian Ruonan received an imperial decree allowing her to flip tables without punishment, while Emperor Deyuan investigated who could hear her inner thoughts and summoned her back to court. At the Jinyang Marquis's Residence, she used her new decree to flip the old madam's table.

• Jian Ruonan asked Emperor Deyuan for permission to flip tables at will, and he issued a decree granting her request.
• Min welcomed Jian Ruonan, Jian Xilu, and Teng home, while Jian Xilu and Teng silently blamed Jian Ruonan for their distress at the palace.
• Emperor Deyuan discovered that his ministers could neither speak nor write about Jian Ruonan's inner thoughts, then ordered her and a wider circle of officials to return in a few days.
• Dantai Mo learned that Jian Ruonan's system had accidentally enabled more people to hear her gossip thoughts, while the Black Tortoise System promised to hide his mission and lamp-oil thefts.
• The old madam summoned Min and the children and complained that Jian Ruonan had not brought the second and third girls to the palace.
• Jian Ruonan put on her gloves and flipped the table in front of the old madam.

Jian Ruonan used an imperial edict to mock Old Madam Shi, then derailed a proposed match for Jian Xilu by exposing the prospective groom’s flaws. Her unfiltered inner voice also revealed that Shi Fan had been abusing Madam Zhang, leaving the women stunned.

• Jian Ruonan presented Emperor Deyuan’s edict granting her immunity for flipping tables and made Old Madam Shi praise her table-flipping.
• Old Madam Shi announced that Madam Zhang and Madam Wang would discuss a prospective match for Jian Xilu with the third son of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
• Jian Ruonan’s inner voice revealed that Old Madam Shi had contagious athlete’s foot, and Little Teng threw away the pastries he had offered her.
• Jian Ruonan exposed the third young master as stingy, timid, fat, and unsuccessful, prompting Min to reject the match for Jian Xilu.
• Jian Ruonan revealed that Shi Fan’s five sons were not his biological children and that he drugged Madam Zhang and let his clansmen assault her, shocking Madam Zhang and the others.

Madam Zhang learned that Shi Fan had fathered her five sons with different Shi clan relatives and rushed to confront him, while Jian Ruonan and the others hurried after her to watch. At the Shi residence, Shi Fan defended himself by claiming he had deceived Madam Zhang for her own good because she had been desperate to bear a son.

• Madam Zhang realized her five sons resembled different Shi clan men, and Jian Ruonan’s thoughts revealed that Shi Fan had drugged her and fathered the boys with his relatives.
• Madam Zhang overturned a table and rushed off to confront Shi Fan, while Little Teng persuaded Min and Jian Ruonan to follow her.
• Old Madam Shi, Min, Young Shi-shi, Jian Ruonan, Jian Xilu, Little Teng, and Madam Wang hurried to the Shi residence as the Zhang family gathered there.
• Madam Zhang confronted Shi Fan with members of the Zhang family while he stood with his five sons and Shi clan uncles.
• Shi Fan claimed he had acted for Madam Zhang’s sake because she had been distressed by her inability to conceive a son.

Shi Fan tried to excuse the scandal of raising five sons fathered by other men, but Jian Ruonan’s whispered gossip drove the Zhang Family to attack him and exposed his motives and affairs. Meanwhile, Emperor Deyuan heard that Hang Zhenghe’s stolen wealth had been recovered and began considering how to make use of Jian Ruonan, asking how many unmarried sons he had left.

• Shi Fan argued that Madam Zhang had benefited from raising five sons, and a clan uncle urged the Zhang Family to let the scandal go.
• Teng pushed Jian Ruonan toward the Zhang Family, whose members attacked Shi Fan and the clan uncle after her inner voice called on them to defend Madam Zhang.
• Shi Fan’s five sons hesitated over whom to help when Jian Ruonan’s inner voice revealed that Shi Fan was not their biological father and cast doubt on their parentage.
• Jian Ruonan’s inner voice exposed Shi Fan’s scheme to secure clan support and his habit of sleeping with young concubines, prompting Madam Zhang to attack him again.
• Wei Liren reported to Emperor Deyuan that Hang Zhenghe’s hidden fortune and stolen tax silver had been uncovered, along with two pandas and the arrest of Qin Taigui.
• Emperor Deyuan learned that Jian Ruonan was watching the fight at Shi Fan’s residence, wondered how to employ her, and asked Cao Degui how many of his sons were unmarried.

Jian Ruonan was brought before Emperor Deyuan and the court, where her upgraded system revealed scandalous secrets about the officials around her. Her thoughts exposed the gossip to everyone present, leaving the emperor stunned by his ministers’ behavior.

• Madam Zhang took her five sons back to the Zhang Family after fighting Shi Fan’s family, and memorials impeaching Shi Fan soon appeared at court.
• Jian Zhang was named the rightful heir to the Jinyang Marquis's Residence, while Min discovered that maids could hear Jian Ruonan’s thoughts only when they were close to her.
• Consort Xian objected to the possibility of the Third Prince, Dantai Huai, marrying Jian Ruonan, but he insisted he was willing to wait for her.
• Emperor Deyuan summoned Jian Ruonan to the imperial study, where her upgraded system revealed lurid secrets about several officials.
• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts described the scandals aloud to the assembled court, and Emperor Deyuan realized his ministers had behaved outrageously behind his back.

Jian Ruonan’s thoughts about the ministers’ embarrassing habits disrupted Emperor Deyuan’s court meeting, so he sent her to the imperial gardens with the princes. There, she met Commandery Princess Jiarou, whom the system identified as a villainous supporting character, but Jiarou’s attempt to drive her away with two Gold Sycee delighted Jian Ruonan instead.

• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts about sheep urine and dog’s milk unsettled the ministers, and Pang Lianggong injured his back while straightening up.
• Emperor Deyuan sent the princes to escort Jian Ruonan through the imperial gardens, while the Second Prince stayed behind.
• Jian Ruonan learned from the Big System that the Enhanced Gossip Button helped fill its energy bar and that her system interface showed more than twenty zha.
• The Third Prince attentively showed Jian Ruonan around, but the Fourth Prince realized she had switched off the Enhanced Gossip Button and could no longer be heard thinking.
• Commandery Princess Jiarou confronted Jian Ruonan and tossed two Gold Sycee at her, so Jian Ruonan picked them up, scooped up the Ninth Prince, and ran off happily.

Jian Ruonan left the palace with the Ninth Prince after accepting Gold Sycee from Commandery Princess Jiarou, then made an ineffectual attempt to win over the Fourth Prince during the carriage ride. At her estate, she introduced him to potatoes, whose enormous yield astonished him.

• Jian Ruonan accepted two Gold Sycee from Commandery Princess Jiarou and hurried away with the Ninth Prince, leaving the Fourth Prince behind.
• Jian Ruonan explained to the Ninth Prince that Commandery Princess Jiarou was not trying to humiliate her, then persuaded him to visit her estate.
• The Third Prince discovered Jian Ruonan had left the palace and complained that the paralyzed Fourth Prince was still competing with him.
• Jian Ruonan tried to win over the Fourth Prince by smiling at him, but he did not notice and she returned to eating pastries.
• At the estate, Jian Ruonan fried potatoes for the Fourth Prince and told him they could yield five or six thousand jin per mu, astonishing him.

Jian Ruonan discovered that Dantai Mo’s positive reactions to high-yield crops earned her points, but her system revealed that his corruption value had risen from 90 to 95. The chapter ended with Big System realizing that someone was stealing its energy.

• Dantai Mo watched Jian Ruonan harvest potatoes and confirmed that they yielded 5,500 jin per mu.
• Jian Ruonan described the benefits of potatoes, corn, and her secret cow-breeding formula, earning 100 points from Dantai Mo’s reactions.
• Jian Ruonan sent carts of corn and potatoes to Dantai Mo and the Ninth Prince and arranged to buy cows for breeding.
• Jian Ruonan’s Big System displayed Dantai Mo’s corruption value, which had risen from 90 to 95.
• Big System checked its energy and exclaimed that someone was stealing it.

Jian Ruonan used fertility pills and an aphrodisiac to breed the estate’s cattle, but the bulls fought and one died, providing beef for a feast. On the ride home, she learned the Old Madam had bribed Taoist priests to subdue her and decided to prepare magical treasures and investigate them.

• Jian Ruonan fed the estate’s cows Multiple-Birth Pills and gave all five cattle an aphrodisiac, causing the bulls to fight over the cows.
• The black bull defeated the yellow bull, which suffered a fatal neck injury, and Jian Ruonan reassured the farmers she would replace it if needed.
• Jian Ruonan had the farmers cook the dead yellow bull with potatoes and ate the beef with the Ninth Prince, while Dantai Mo worried about the drug’s effects.
• Jian Ruonan learned from the Big System that the Old Madam had bribed Taoist priests to subdue her as a demon.
• Jian Ruonan told the Big System to open the Points Mall so she could draw magical treasures and asked for gossip about the priests.

Shi Fan resolved to arrange Jian Ruonan’s marriage into the Shi family, while Madam Shi resisted and then took the household women to Clear Void Abbey. There, Jian Ruonan exposed the story behind a black dog’s daily attacks on Daoist Zhang, but stopped short of revealing the final piece of gossip.

• Shi Fan told Madam Shi he wanted Jian Ruonan to marry into the Shi family and urged his sister to treat her well.
• Madam Shi took the family women to Clear Void Abbey, while Jian Ruonan spent points and borrowed more to draw cards, winning hybrid rice and increasing Dantai Mo’s darkness by one.
• At the abbey, worshippers heard a young Daoist claim that a black dog chased Daoist Zhang because they had been enemies in past lives.
• Jian Ruonan used her super-gossip button to reveal that Daoist Zhang had lured the dog with pork and cut off its balls, and that the dog had returned to curse him daily for five years.
• Jian Ruonan checked the reason Daoist Zhang had castrated the dog, then left the worshippers waiting as she struggled to finish her reaction.

Jian Ruonan’s thoughts exposed Daoist Zhang’s history of castrating a dog and himself, and the worshippers turned on him after a child tore off his fake beard. Later, Jian Ruonan followed Min to meet Old Madam Shi and used quick-witted pleading to fend off Jian Chuyun’s criticism over the fruit.

• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts revealed that Daoist Zhang had castrated a dog with a dead rat, castrated himself when he failed to enter the palace, and disguised his lack of a beard with a fake one made from cat fur and worshippers’ hair.
• A child grabbed Daoist Zhang’s beard and tore it off, prompting the worshippers to call him a fraud and urge the black dog to bite him.
• After enjoying the gossip, Jian Ruonan went with Min to the side room where Old Madam Shi was waiting.
• Jian Ruonan took the largest apples and shared two with Jian Xilu and Little Teng, leaving only small fruit for the others.
• Jian Chuyun accused Jian Ruonan of greed, but Jian Ruonan said she had left the small apples for her and asked Old Madam Shi to scold her for picking a fight.

Jian Ruonan exposed Clear Void Abbey’s fraudulent Daoist Zhang, then watched Abbey Master Li climb a blade pole during a ritual. As Li impressed the worshippers, Ruonan revealed that he had once been a kept man and male prostitute, leaving the crowd eager to hear what else she knew.

• Jian Ruonan and Teng told Old Madam Shi that Daoist Zhang had abused a black dog and deceived worshippers, prompting Abbey Master Li to explain that Zhang was an itinerant practitioner.
• Jian Ruonan calculated how much money Clear Void Abbey earned from its rituals and decided to expose its swindlers, while Min warned Zang Chun to watch her.
• Jian Ruonan joined Min and the others in the rear courtyard to watch Abbey Master Li perform a ritual and climb a pole lined with sharp blades.
• The worshippers marveled at Abbey Master Li’s feat until Jian Ruonan revealed that he had once lived off brothel women and worked as a male prostitute.

Jian Ruonan exposed abbot Li’s past as a male courtesan by disrupting his oath with firecrackers, then spent time enjoying the worshippers’ gossip. On her way back, Dongshuang summoned her to the back courtyard, where Taoists were waiting to splash her with black dog blood.

• The worshippers learned how abbot Li’s blade-walking and oil-cauldron tricks worked, then accused him of being a male courtesan.
• Abbot Li tried to swear he had never been one, but Jian Ruonan had Granny Chen set off firecrackers whenever he began his oath.
• Abbot Li admitted he had been a male courtesan and retorted that the mighty grand general had once been a household slave.
• Jian Ruonan lingered at the abbey, listening to the worshippers gossip about abbot Li, Taoist Zhang, and the other Taoist masters.
• Dongshuang told Jian Ruonan that Dowager Shi had fallen, while the Big System warned that Taoists were waiting to splash Jian Ruonan with black dog blood.
• Jian Ruonan pretended to take Dongshuang’s summons seriously and agreed to go to the back courtyard.

Jian Ruonan confronted the Daoists hired by Madam Shi to harm her and used a firearm to terrify them into surrendering. She spared them after they blamed Madam Shi, then announced herself as the Primordial Heavenly Venerable and demanded money.

• Madam Shi kept Min occupied while Jian Ruonan went to the rear courtyard, then suddenly struggled to breathe.
• Abbot Li, Daoist Zhang, and Daoist Xu prepared to ambush Jian Ruonan with dog's blood and ritual implements.
• Granny Chen shoved the young Daoist's face into the basin of dog's blood as Jian Ruonan approached.
• Jian Ruonan fired twice, damaging Abbot Li's Command Banner and Daoist Zhang's bell, and frightened the Daoists into kneeling.
• The Daoists blamed Madam Shi for the plot, and Jian Ruonan spared them before demanding money as the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

Jian Ruonan took control of Clear Void Abbey, forced its Daoists to return their ill-gotten gains, and enlisted them in a scheme to frighten Old Madam Shi. The plan left Old Madam Shi fainting after Jian Ruonan appeared beside her bed covered in talismans.

• Jian Ruonan convinced Abbey Master Li, Daoist Zhang, and Daoist Xu that she was the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, while Dantai Mo learned how dangerous her flintlock was.
• Jian Ruonan introduced Granny Chen as Cihang Daoist and warned the Clear Void Abbey Daoists to stop exploiting ordinary people, exposing Daoist Xu’s secret and making Abbey Master Li confess.
• Jian Ruonan ordered the Daoists to hand over their ill-gotten gains and told them to claim she had been a spirit rod beaten back into its original form.
• Abbey Master Li convinced Old Madam Shi that Jian Ruonan had been subdued, and she donated two hundred taels before praying for the Heavenly Venerable to keep the spirit destroyed.
• Jian Ruonan appeared beside Old Madam Shi’s bed covered in talismans and accused her of harming her, causing Old Madam Shi to faint.

Jian Ruonan persuaded Min and the Daoist masters to help her hide from Old Madam Shi, then returned to the estate and staged a ghostly scare in the ancestral hall. The old madam fainted again as Jian Ruonan wrote the character for “misery” on her clothes.

• Jian Ruonan slipped away while Old Madam Shi was being treated, then told Min that her grandmother had called her a monster and had a Daoist splash her with dog’s blood.
• Daoist Masters Xu, Zhang, and Li switched their support to Jian Ruonan and advised Min to have her hide for a few days.
• Min agreed to announce that Jian Ruonan had gone missing, while Little Teng persuaded Min to let him stay home from school to accompany his sister.
• Jian Ruonan took the three Daoist masters’ money and became the power behind the scenes at Clear Void Abbey.
• Old Madam Shi returned to the estate believing Jian Ruonan had been eliminated and went to pray in the ancestral hall.
• Jian Ruonan sneaked into the ancestral hall, pretended to be a ghost, and made Old Madam Shi faint again.

Jian Ruonan kept Old Madam waiting for a ghostly attack until the household’s preparations grew weak, then used firecrackers to cause chaos in the Joy and Longevity Court. Old Madam was drenched in dog blood and struck with a club as Jian Ruonan escaped.

• Jian Ruonan frightened Old Madam in the ancestral hall, and Old Madam fainted after seeing the character for “misery” on her clothes.
• Jian Lang suspected Jian Ruonan had worked with the Daoists, and Wen Xue’s report confirmed that Jian Ruonan had hidden rather than gone missing.
• Jian Ruonan learned that Old Madam knew the ghostly performances were staged, but she delayed acting while Old Madam’s household prepared basins of dog blood and weapons.
• For five days, Jian Ruonan pretended she might attack while the people in the Joy and Longevity Court grew tired of waiting.
• Jian Ruonan and Zang Chun sneaked to the Joy and Longevity Court, where Jian Ruonan shouted that a ghost was coming and threw firecrackers into the courtyard.
• The household rushed into confusion, splashing dog blood and striking one another; Old Madam was drenched and hit with a club as Jian Ruonan slipped away.

After the old madam was beaten and Jian Ruonan sold Wen Xue, Emperor Deyuan summoned Jian Ruonan to the palace again, partly to observe his ministers while she exposed their secrets. The chapter ended with the officials bracing themselves after she silently wished the emperor would not live until noon.

• The old madam recovered from being beaten with a net and dog blood, then resolved to marry the fifth young lady into the Shi Family and send Jian Ruonan away.
• Jian Ruonan sold Wen Xue, and the maids in the Deer Song Courtyard became more cautious around their young mistress.
• Dantai Mo told Emperor Deyuan that corn and potatoes yielded over a thousand jin per mu, while the search for the Previous Dynasty Treasure had made no progress.
• Emperor Deyuan ordered Jian Ruonan summoned, and she privately cursed him while Min warned her to behave.
• Jian Ruonan's thoughts about Eunuch Cao made him return Min's red envelope and escort her politely to the Imperial Study.
• Emperor Deyuan seated Jian Ruonan among his ministers to expose their secrets, and her first thought insulted him for summoning her at Mao Hour.