Chapter Summaries

Jian Ruonan visited Dantai Mo’s pandas with the Eldest Princess, charmed them with Sichuanese, and revealed her exuberant affection for them once she was alone. Dantai Mo later tested saddles and stirrups, saw their impact on his soldiers, and ordered over ten thousand sets for an elite Cavalry Camp.

• Dantai Mo showed Jian Ruonan and the Eldest Princess Plum Blossom and Tangyuan, but the pandas only came over when Jian Ruonan called them in Sichuanese.
• Jian Ruonan fed and petted both pandas, then smothered Plum Blossom with hugs and kisses while Tangyuan fled up a tree.
• After the Eldest Princess left, Dantai Mo returned and found Jian Ruonan frightening the pandas with wild threats and promises in Sichuanese.
• Dantai Mo had craftsmen make saddles and stirrups, then tested them with three groups of soldiers and horses.
• Dantai Mo saw that the equipment greatly improved the soldiers’ riding and combat abilities, so he ordered over ten thousand sets for an elite Cavalry Camp.

As Jian Ruonan prepared to join the Ministry of Revenue, her schemes for developing weapons continued while the Top Scholar’s family endured the consequences of their misfortunes. Meanwhile, the Black Tortoise System tried to obtain energy from the Big System, which remembered its earlier loss and stayed silent.

• The butcher forced the Top Scholar and Madam Fu to help castrate adult pigs, while Wu Yehe recovered at the Farm Estate and Madam Fu was turned away when she begged her to return.
• Jian Ruonan earned more money from her story and visited the Farm Estate as Wu Yehe and Abbot Li celebrated developing a land mine.
• Jian Ruonan considered asking the Fourth Prince for iron to develop agricultural tools and weapons, as the Fourth Prince’s carriage stopped outside the Jinyang Marquis's Residence.
• The Black Tortoise System questioned the Big System about Jian Ruonan’s plans, and the Big System mentioned farmland irrigation technology, land mines, and iron ore deposits.
• The Black Tortoise System asked the Big System for energy, but the Big System remembered its previous energy loss and said nothing.

Big System and Jian Ruonan suspected that the Black Tortoise System was scamming them for energy, but they gave it a small amount in exchange for instructions about the Enhanced Gossip Button. Afterward, the Black Tortoise System used the energy to help Dantai Mo stand and take two steps.

• The Black Tortoise System pressured Big System to hand over energy, and Big System secretly asked Jian Ruonan for advice.
• Jian Ruonan warned Big System that the Black Tortoise System might be a scammer and told it to give only a little energy while reporting their conversation.
• Big System transferred one-fifth of its energy, and the Black Tortoise System explained the Enhanced Gossip Button's three options.
• The Black Tortoise System used the energy to strengthen Dantai Mo's legs, and Dantai Mo stood from his wheelchair and took two steps.

Jian Ruonan learned that her eldest brother, Jian Huayuan, had brought home his pregnant mistress and intended to break his engagement to Imperial Physician Yin’s daughter to marry her. She and Jian Xilu and Teng hurried to the study, where Huayuan was discussing the matter with their parents.

• Teng persuaded Jian Ruonan to take him along when she dug up the Previous Dynasty’s treasure.
• Big System told Jian Ruonan that the Black Tortoise System had taken its energy and seemed to be a scammer, and she asked it to report any further contact.
• Jian Huayuan returned to the Jinyang Marquis’s Residence with a pregnant woman and introduced her to the household.
• Jian Ruonan’s gossip revealed that the woman was Huayuan’s mistress and that he planned to break off his engagement to Imperial Physician Yin’s daughter to marry her.
• Teng urged Jian Ruonan to follow Huayuan to the study, and she, Jian Xilu, and Teng rushed there.

Jian Ruonan and her siblings listened as Jian Huayuan demanded permission to marry pregnant Luo Shuirong and break his engagement to the Yin Family. Jian Ruonan exposed that Huayuan was not the child’s father and predicted Luo Shuirong’s next words, leaving the family stunned by her uncanny insight.

• Jian Ruonan, Teng, and Jian Xilu sneaked into Jian Zhang’s study and overheard Jian Huayuan insisting that he could not abandon pregnant Luo Shuirong.
• Jian Ruonan’s thoughts revealed that Jian Huayuan had never touched Luo Shuirong, and Jian Zhang and Min realized the baby was not his.
• Jian Zhang invited the children inside to warm themselves, while Jian Huayuan demanded that his parents let him break off his engagement to the Yin Family.
• Jian Huayuan threatened to return to Sea City with Luo Shuirong if his parents refused, and Jian Ruonan predicted that Luo Shuirong would ask to leave.
• Luo Shuirong tearfully blamed herself and asked to leave, matching Jian Ruonan’s prediction almost word for word.

Jian Ruonan exposed the gaps in Jian Huayuan’s story about Luo Shuirong, while her family learned that he believed he had made her pregnant despite never crossing proper bounds with her. The chapter ended with Jian Zhang and Min doubting Jian Huayuan, who was left holding Teng’s turtle as the family mocked his gullibility.

• Jian Huayuan defended Luo Shuirong against Jian Ruonan’s thoughts, and Jian Zhang threatened to disown him if he left with her.
• Luo Shuirong tried to leave, then fainted into Jian Huayuan’s arms just as Jian Ruonan predicted she would.
• Min settled Luo Shuirong in a guest room, and Jian Zhang asked Jian Huayuan how they had met.
• Jian Huayuan explained that he had met Luo Shuirong in Sea City and believed their relationship had remained proper, though she later woke beside him in disheveled clothes.
• Jian Ruonan revealed that Jian Huayuan had never kissed Luo Shuirong and had only touched her hand, prompting the family to doubt his claim that he had made her pregnant.
• Teng handed Jian Huayuan a turtle and said he did not believe him, while Jian Ruonan teased him for being a gullible cuckold.

Jian Huayuan told his family about the night he believed he had slept with Luo Shuirong, but Jian Ruonan revealed that he had only experienced a wet dream and that the unborn child belonged to the First Imperial Prince. The family learned the prince had manipulated Jian Huayuan into helping him, and Jian Huayuan collapsed after hearing the grim fate awaiting him.

• Jian Huayuan explained that he had drunk heavily three months earlier and believed stains on his sheets proved he had slept with Luo Shuirong.
• Jian Ruonan said Jian Huayuan had only had a wet dream, and Jian Huayuan admitted he had never touched Luo Shuirong afterward.
• Jian Ruonan revealed that the First Imperial Prince had fathered Luo Shuirong's child and pushed her toward Jian Huayuan while using him to build ships for maritime trade.
• Jian Ruonan said the First Imperial Prince would later frame Jian Huayuan in a Spring Examination cheating scandal, leaving him imprisoned and exiled while Luo Shuirong reunited with the prince.
• Jian Huayuan collapsed as Jian Ruonan recounted his future misfortune.

Jian Huayuan learned that Luo Shuirong’s unborn child belonged to the First Imperial Prince and that he had been used as a scapegoat. After Jian Ruonan exposed Luo Shuirong’s contagious nail fungus, Jian Huayuan resolved not to swallow the insult, and Ruonan prepared to visit the Fourth Prince.

• The Imperial Physician confirmed that Luo Shuirong was more than five months pregnant, while Jian Huayuan had fainted from shock and agitation.
• Jian Zhang and Min told Jian Huayuan that Luo Shuirong’s pregnancy could not be his, and Jian Zhang planned to have Jian Huayuan leave the estate with her while he visited the Yin family.
• Jian Huayuan visited Jian Ruonan, who discovered through her gossip that Luo Shuirong had contagious nail fungus, prompting him to rush off to wash his hands.
• Min told Jian Ruonan and Jian Huayuan that their father had confirmed the child belonged to the First Imperial Prince and wanted Jian Huayuan to leave the estate to avoid alerting him.
• Jian Ruonan asked whether Jian Huayuan would accept the insult, then instructed Big System to bring out her Farmland Irrigation Method so she could visit the Fourth Prince.

Jian Ruonan visited the Fourth Prince's Residence to ask Dantai Mo for help avoiding her eldest brother's tragic fate, but she detoured to the Bamboo Garden to dote on Plum Blossom and Tangyuan. Dantai Mo found her there pursuing Tangyuan, while the panda tried to escape her affections.

• Jian Ruonan reflected that the story's plot had changed and decided to help her eldest brother avoid a tragic ending.
• Dantai Mo learned Jian Ruonan had arrived and ordered servants to prepare for her, though the Black Tortoise System guessed she wanted points or the pandas.
• Jian Ruonan stopped at the Bamboo Garden, where Tangyuan climbed a tree and knocked Plum Blossom into her arms.
• Jian Ruonan cuddled and kissed Plum Blossom while Tangyuan stayed in the tree.
• Dantai Mo went to the Bamboo Garden and saw Jian Ruonan preparing to climb after Tangyuan, prompting concern about her mental state.

Jian Ruonan visited Dantai Mo and presented him with Farmland Irrigation Technology, then proposed an overseas trading venture with his support. Before leaving, she told him that Pu Jingyi had mistaken Shu Zijing for his nephew and actually had a niece named Luo Shuirong.

• Jian Ruonan reluctantly left the panda enclosure after Dantai Mo invited her to visit again, and an Embroidered Uniform Guard brought Tangyuan down from a tree so she could pet it.
• Jian Ruonan presented Dantai Mo with Farmland Irrigation Technology, which explained how canals and embankments could store water for irrigation and help prevent floods and droughts.
• Jian Ruonan refused a gold reward and proposed starting an overseas silk and pottery business with Dantai Mo's support, with her eldest brother handling ships and crews.
• Dantai Mo agreed to discuss dividing the business's shares after Jian Ruonan hinted that the First Prince was using his wealth to recruit troops.
• Jian Ruonan told Dantai Mo that Pu Jingyi had mistaken Shu Zijing for his nephew and actually had a niece named Luo Shuirong.

Jian Ruonan used treasures and misleading clues to draw Dantai Mo and Pu Jingyi toward conflicts involving the First Imperial Prince, then returned to the Jinyang Marquis's Residence hoping to stay out of the fallout. Wang Defa arrived unexpectedly, noticed the household's troubles, and offered to help, but Jian Ruonan kept quiet.

• Jian Ruonan asked Dantai Mo not to reveal that she had supplied information about Pu Jingyi, then claimed her master had given her the treasures and a map to Farmland Irrigation Technology.
• After Jian Ruonan left, Dantai Mo investigated Jian Huayuan and Luo Shuirong, then arranged for Pu Jingyi to uncover that Shu Zijing was not his biological nephew.
• Dantai Mo suspected Luo Shuirong's unborn child belonged to the First Imperial Prince and believed Jian Ruonan was trying to use him against his eldest brother.
• Jian Ruonan returned home, worrying that Dantai Mo might see through her plan and hoping the Jinyang Marquis's Residence could stay uninvolved.
• Wang Defa stopped Jian Ruonan's carriage and accompanied her home, where he noticed the household's worry and asked what was wrong.
• Jian Ruonan denied that anything was troubling her, and Wang Defa offered to help before turning to Teng and offering to explain his lessons.

Luo Shuirong received a secret letter and went out under the pretense of buying medicine, while Jian Ruonan set off to watch what happened. Pu Jingyi learned that the pregnant young woman at the Jinyang Marquis's Residence was his lost niece and rode out to bring her back.

• Luo Shuirong read a letter marked with the First Imperial Prince's sign, burned it, and arranged to leave the Jinyang Marquis's Residence.
• Jian Ruonan heard Luo Shuirong was going out, put on her battle robes, and left while Teng went to visit Wang Defa.
• Pu Jingyi ordered Shu Zijing dragged away after learning Shu Zijing was not his sister's son.
• Pu Jingyi learned his missing niece was pregnant and staying at the Jinyang Marquis's Residence with Jian Huayuan's child.
• Pu Jingyi set out to fetch the young woman as Eastern Depot officials cleared the marketplace.

Jian Ruonan, Jian Huayuan, Teng, and Wang Defa hid beside the courtyard where Luo Shuirong had gone, only to discover that Wang Defa had lured her there under false pretenses. When Luo Shuirong cried for help and Pu Jingyi arrived with his men, their gossip expedition turned dangerous.

• Luo Shuirong traveled through an apothecary to a courtyard in Sparrow Alley while Jian Ruonan and Jian Huayuan followed her.
• Teng and Wang Defa joined them, and Jian Ruonan learned that Wang Defa had impersonated Tantai Ji to lure Luo Shuirong to the courtyard.
• Wang Defa revealed that he had arranged the meeting at a residence he believed was connected to the First Imperial Prince, while Teng helped Jian Huayuan watch through holes in the wall.
• Jian Ruonan told Wang Defa that Luo Shuirong was Pu Jingyi's niece and warned that the Eastern Depot director had arrived with his men.
• Luo Shuirong and Cui'er cried for help after falling among feces-smeared objects, as Pu Jingyi entered the area with eighteen subordinates.

Jian Ruonan watched Luo Shuirong get drenched in a bucket trap, then the Eastern Depot agents who came to rescue her suffered the same fate. She left with her companions and brought the Eldest Princess to Princess Qile’s painted boat to persuade its male performers to leave the pleasure trade.

• Jian Ruonan, Wang Defa, Teng, and Jian Huayuan watched Luo Shuirong and Cui’er get drenched by a trap of excrement buckets.
• Pu Jingyi led Eastern Depot agents into the courtyard to rescue Luo Shuirong, but the agents crashed into the main room and were drenched by the trap.
• Jian Ruonan and her companions fled and arranged alibis to avoid being caught by the Eastern Depot.
• Jian Ruonan met the Eldest Princess and took her in disguise to Princess Qile’s painted boat.
• Jian Ruonan told the Eldest Princess they would try to rescue men working aboard the boat and help them lead respectable lives.

Jian Ruonan and the Eldest Princess visited a pleasure boat to find men they could rescue, then intervened when its staff accused Yan Yichun of stealing. Yan Yichun revealed that he had signed a contract after seeking ginseng and money for his sick mother, and the two women decided he deserved to be saved.

• Jian Ruonan persuaded the Eldest Princess to visit the pleasure boat and rescue men they judged worthy of saving.
• Steward Huang welcomed them and presented several young men, but neither woman found the flutist compelling enough to rescue.
• Jian Ruonan and the Eldest Princess went upstairs after hearing a disturbance and found Yan Yichun bound and accused of stealing.
• Jian Ruonan ordered the staff to untie Yan Yichun and cover him, then questioned him about how he came to the boat.
• The staff said Yan Yichun had signed a contract in exchange for ginseng and silver for his sick mother, while Yan Yichun explained that he had been deceived and wanted to repay the debt.
• Jian Ruonan and the Eldest Princess praised Yan Yichun's filial devotion and resolve, and decided to save him.

Jian Ruonan and the Eldest Princess rescued Yan Yichun from a false theft accusation and offered to restore his eligibility for the Spring Examination. Meanwhile, Dantai Mo planned to expand his forces and discuss maritime trade with the Fifth Miss, then learned that she and the Eldest Princess were aboard a pleasure boat.

• Jian Ruonan and the Eldest Princess cleared Yan Yichun of theft, but Steward Huang struck him before they stopped the attack.
• A male entertainer claimed Yan Yichun had not written his poem, but Jian Ruonan and the Eldest Princess still favored Yan Yichun.
• Jian Ruonan told Yan Yichun that the Eldest Princess could seek justice for him, and he agreed to explain how he had been framed after hearing she could restore his examination eligibility.
• Dantai Mo planned to expand his guard battalions and split maritime trade shares nine to one in favor of the Fifth Miss.
• Dantai Mo learned that the Fifth Miss and the Eldest Princess were aboard the pleasure boat, and Black Tortoise prepared to confront them.

Jian Ruonan helped Yan Yichun find comfort in the Eldest Princess’s company, then realized a rival system might be nearby and instructed Big System to conceal their suspicions. Dantai Mo and Black Tortoise System avoided exposing themselves, but Black Tortoise System agreed to link with Big System so it could receive energy later.

• Yan Yichun confided his hardships to the Eldest Princess, and Jian Ruonan clarified that they had persuaded him to reform rather than take him away.
• Jian Ruonan realized Big System’s signal might mean its rival was nearby and suspected Jian Chuxue or the Third Prince.
• Jian Ruonan searched the shore, while Dantai Mo hid in a thatched hut and narrowly avoided being discovered.
• Jian Ruonan coached Big System to claim it lacked energy and to gather clues about the rival system’s location.
• Dantai Mo stopped Black Tortoise System from requesting energy, but Black Tortoise System resumed contact with Big System and agreed to establish an energy link.

Jian Ruonan returned home and used the family banquet to check whether anyone in the Marquis’s Estate was connected to the scumbag system. She found no sign of it, then exposed the family’s attempts to avoid sitting near the Old Madam and left the second and third branches with little room to make excuses.

• Jian Ruonan and the Black Tortoise System reported their newly established link to their hosts, and Jian Ruonan decided to check her family for system users.
• Dantai Mo learned that Jian Ruonan would visit his residence again to see Panda and quietly left after the Black Tortoise System mocked his hopes.
• Min asked Jian Ruonan about Luo Shuirong’s disappearance, and Jian Ruonan explained Teng and Wang Defa’s prank and Luo Shuirong’s connection to Pu Jingyi.
• Teng begged Jian Ruonan for forgiveness with a calculated display of cuteness, but she pinched his cheeks and then beat him anyway.
• At the family banquet, Jian Ruonan found no system user, while Teng explained that the family avoided the Old Madam because of her athlete’s foot.
• Jian Ruonan checked Jian Chuyun’s pulse and tongue, declared her recovered, and challenged the other relatives to say who else was ill.

Jian Ruonan silenced the Younger and Third Branches at the family banquet by flipping a table, while Teng enthusiastically praised her. Later, Jian Chuxue secretly returned from the Farm Estate and claimed she and Jian Ruonan shared a hometown, proposing they work together.

• Jian Huayuan pretended his injuries were severe, and the branches questioned the Elder Branch about the pregnant woman he had brought home.
• When Jian Lang tried to expose Jian Huayuan's scandal, Jian Ruonan flipped the table before him and threatened to fetch her Imperial Sword.
• Teng praised Jian Ruonan and suggested she become the founding ancestor of a separate family genealogy, prompting the Younger and Third Branches to back down.
• Min asked Jian Xilu whether she liked Top Graduate Hou, and Jian Ruonan and Teng offered to approach him about a match before Min sent them away.
• Jian Ruonan went into the courtyard to search for a meowing kitten and encountered Jian Chuxue, who had returned secretly and claimed they shared a hometown.

Jian Ruonan learned that Jian Chuxue was a transmigrator with grand ambitions, but her sister left to pursue a career with the Third Prince while Jian Ruonan chose to stay out of her way. On New Year’s Eve, Jian Ruonan headed to the palace banquet as officials Bian Yingyi and An Honghui discussed the dangers of remonstrating with the emperor.

• Jian Chuxue urged Jian Ruonan to join her in building a golden age, but Jian Ruonan insisted she only wanted money, leisure, and no interference with her slacker lifestyle.
• Jian Chuxue left the Marquis’s Estate to pursue her ambitions, and Big System told Jian Ruonan that she had become an adviser to the Third Prince and given him Fire Crossbow blueprints.
• Big System revealed that the Third Prince was plotting to seize the throne, and Jian Ruonan learned that his biological father belonged to the Japanese imperial family.
• Min coached Jian Ruonan on palace banquet etiquette, but Jian Ruonan focused on the rule that guests could take only two bites of each dish.
• At the palace gates, Bian Yingyi planned to remonstrate over disaster relief and military funds, while An Honghui warned him to speak as little as possible.