Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao examines Ying Huiyan privately, reassuring her about her modesty and using sedation to conduct a thorough medical assessment.
• She explains that Ying’s condition can be treated surgically, with the option to become physically male or female. Ying chooses to become a woman, consistent with how she was raised and has lived.
• Song Yaoyao prepares for a week, then performs the operation in her private medical space. The surgery succeeds, and Ying wakes overjoyed to learn she is now physically a woman.
• Song Yaoyao gives the maid aftercare instructions. Chen Yixiao and the others, who had guarded the courtyard during surgery, learn that the operation went well.
• The group delays its return to Cold Pass City while Ying recovers. With little else to do in Yu City, Song Yaoyao decides to learn horseback riding.

Character developments

• Ying moves from nervousness and uncertainty to relief, makes her own informed choice, and expresses profound happiness after the successful surgery.
• Song Yaoyao demonstrates calm, respectful medical care and lets Ying decide what treatment is right for her. The demanding operation leaves her exhausted.
• Chen Yixiao and the Ning cousins show concern for Song and Ying by keeping others away from the courtyard; Ning Chaoyun admires Song’s skill, while Ning Chaorui notices her fatigue.

Significant themes

• Bodily autonomy and personal choice: Ying is offered alternatives and chooses the outcome that fits her identity and life.
• Dignity and compassion: Song protects Ying’s privacy and treats her without judgment.
• Hope and social acceptance: Ying sees the surgery as a chance to live openly and put rumors behind her.
• Care and responsibility: Song and her companions prioritize Ying’s safety and recovery, even postponing their travel.

Character interactions

• Song reassures Ying, explains her options, performs the surgery, and supports her afterward.
• Guagua jokes with Song about the men’s curiosity; Song rejects the idea that she is responsible for their gossip-loving nature.
• Chen Yixiao and the Ning cousins ask about the outcome and make space for Song to rest after the operation.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao decides to learn horseback riding so she can travel faster and more easily. Her grandfather approves, and cousins Ning Chaorui and Ning Chaoyun take her to the countryside to teach her.
• Ning Chaorui gives her a handsome white horse. Song Yaoyao names him White Dragon, joking with her system companion, Guagua, about the name and its imagined soundtrack.
• With Ning Chaorui’s instruction, Song Yaoyao quickly learns to mount and ride, progressing from a guided walk to riding at a trot and then speeding up on her own.
• During a ride farther from the group, Guagua detects a large coal deposit in a nearby mountain. Song Yaoyao confirms the black stones are coal and returns with samples.
• She explains coal’s nature, advantages over charcoal, uses, and safe handling to her cousins. Their growing interest suggests the discovery could lead to an important new resource for the community.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao is energetic and practical: she acts promptly on her wish to ride, learns quickly, and recognizes the significance of the coal discovery.
• Ning Chaorui supports her and patiently teaches her to ride, then gives her the horse as her own.
• Guagua remains a playful, teasing companion, providing jokes and songs while also alerting Song Yaoyao to the coal deposit.
• Ning Chaoyun shifts from concern over Song Yaoyao’s long absence to curiosity and excitement about her discovery.

Themes

• Resourcefulness and innovation: Song Yaoyao sees how coal and iron stoves could improve winter survival.
• Learning through initiative: Her decision to acquire a new skill leads unexpectedly to a valuable discovery.
• Cooperation and support: Family members help her pursue her goals, while Guagua contributes crucial information.
• Humor and companionship: Song Yaoyao’s banter with Guagua lightens the practical events.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua trade playful remarks about the horse’s name and Guagua’s songs.
• Ning Chaorui guides Song Yaoyao through mounting and riding, encouraging her confidence.
• When she returns, Ning Chaoyun asks why she was gone so long; Song Yaoyao answers by showing the coal and explaining its potential.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao reports finding a coal deposit. The group gathers coal and tests it at the General’s Residence; it heats a room effectively, raising hopes that it will ease the army’s winter fuel shortage.
• Maternal Grandfather Ning orders the area around the deposit sealed and plans to begin mining. He assigns Ning Chaoyun to protect Song Yaoyao.
• Song Yaoyao gives him plans for an iron stove, explaining that a properly installed stove and chimney can make coal safer to use. He is pleased and intends to report the stove to the emperor.
• While searching the countryside for other minerals, Song Yaoyao finds none. She continues visiting the injured Ying Huiyan.
• When Ying Huiyan’s brother, Ying Mingkang, arrives, Huiyan admits she fears he will reject her if he learns what happened to her. Song Yaoyao advises her to conceal the truth and instead say she was attacked and nearly framed as a monster.
• Huiyan agrees to follow the plan. In front of Mingkang, she claims she was beaten in the street and is recovering. Song Yaoyao supports her account.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao shows practical ingenuity by finding coal and designing a safer way to use it. She also acts protectively toward Huiyan, coaching her through a difficult family reunion.
• Maternal Grandfather Ning responds enthusiastically to the coal discovery, treating it as a major military and humanitarian resource.
• Ying Huiyan is recovering physically but remains afraid of losing her brother’s affection. She accepts Song Yaoyao’s advice and begins concealing the real circumstances of her injury.
• Ying Mingkang arrives anxious about his sister’s limp and immediately offers to take her for treatment. Huiyan reassures him, with Song Yaoyao present to reinforce the cover story.

Significant themes

• Resourcefulness and public welfare: Coal and the iron stove promise warmth and relief for the army during a harsh winter.
• Safety and responsibility: Song Yaoyao emphasizes that coal can be dangerous unless used with proper equipment and precautions.
• Protection through deception: To spare Huiyan further shame or rejection, Song Yaoyao encourages her to control the story she tells about her assault.
• Family and trust: Huiyan’s fear of losing the one relative who treated her kindly contrasts with Mingkang’s immediate concern for her wellbeing.

Key plot points

• Ying Mingkang returns and immediately pledges to protect Ying Huiyan, regardless of the rumors about her.
• Huiyan tells him the rumors are false and repeats the cover story Song Yaoyao taught her, still concealing the full truth to spare her brother worry. Mingkang believes her and blames their stepmother for plotting against them.
• He asks Song Yaoyao to keep Huiyan at the General’s Residence while he handles matters at home. Song agrees so Huiyan can heal and avoid a premature examination.
• After about twenty days, Huiyan’s wounds have healed without scars. Mingkang comes to take her home, and Song Yaoyao accompanies them, with Ning Chaoyun and Chen Yixiao providing protection.
• The townspeople, now aware Huiyan was falsely accused, follow the party to the Ying Residence. Its gates are deliberately shut against her and her companions. Mingkang forces the gates open, and Song and the others witness Ying Xuejie’s attempts to cover for the household’s insult. Song takes Huiyan inside as a crowd gathers outside.

Character developments

• Ying Mingkang proves loyal and protective, standing by his sister and confronting the household’s servants and father.
• Ying Huiyan gains confidence and looks forward to returning home, though she continues to hide the full truth from her brother.
• Song Yaoyao remains supportive and cautious, ensuring Huiyan is healed and accompanying her home to protect and back her up.
• Ying Xuejie appears concerned mainly with appeasing the powerful visitors, rather than genuinely welcoming his daughter.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty: Mingkang’s devotion contrasts with the danger Huiyan faces within her own household.
• Rumor and reputation: Public opinion has shifted after the false accusations are exposed, but Huiyan’s return remains tense.
• Power and hypocrisy: Ying Xuejie’s deference to the General’s Residence exposes how quickly he changes his manner to avoid offending influential guests.
• Protection and recovery: Huiyan’s physical healing and supported return home suggest a new beginning, though the family conflict remains unresolved.

Character interactions

• Mingkang reassures Huiyan and promises to protect her; she comforts him by insisting she is safe.
• Song agrees to care for Huiyan and later accompanies her home, joined by Ning Chaoyun and Chen Yixiao.
• At the Ying Residence, Mingkang confronts the servant barring entry, while Song and Ning challenge the household’s disrespect. Ying Xuejie responds with flattery and blames the servant, but the visitors see through his performance.

Key plot points and events

• Ying Huiyan arrives at the Ying household looking shaken after the trouble at the gates. Song Yaoyao reassures her and agrees to help clear her name.
• Ying Mingkang asks their father, Ying Xuejie, to let Huiyan come home. Xuejie initially dismisses him because guests are present, but allows the matter to be heard after Song speaks up.
• A gambler, Wang Er, confesses that he was paid 100 taels to drug and assault Huiyan, then marry into the Ying family. He says he fled without harming her.
• Wang Er identifies the woman who paid him as having a red mole near her left ear. Mingkang recognizes this as a feature of Guiyu, Jiang Ruoshui’s head maid.
• Liu Wu, Guiyu’s cousin, is brought in as the masked man who connected Wang Er to Guiyu. He blames Guiyu, and she ultimately admits to arranging the plot out of jealousy.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao takes an active, protective role, reassuring Huiyan and insisting that the accusation be investigated publicly.
• Ying Huiyan remains visibly distressed but is supported by Song and her brother.
• Ying Mingkang vigorously defends his sister, directs the questioning, and presents witnesses to expose the conspiracy.
• Ying Xuejie begins by prioritizing the guests and household appearances, but allows the inquiry to proceed; he reacts angrily when he learns Huiyan was targeted.
• Jiang Ruoshui denies responsibility and challenges the evidence, while her maid’s involvement points suspicion toward her.
• Guiyu first denies the accusation, then realizes Jiang will not protect her and confesses, claiming jealousy as her motive.
• Wang Er and Liu Wu provide testimony that reveals how the scheme was organized.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and protection: Mingkang and Song stand up for Huiyan when her reputation is threatened.
• Power, jealousy, and household rivalry: The large, conflict-ridden Ying household provides the backdrop for a plot driven by resentment.
• Truth and accountability: Witnesses and questioning turn a vague accusation into a concrete chain of evidence.
• Status and vulnerability: Huiyan’s position and reputation make her a target, while the household’s hierarchies shape who can command—and who can be sacrificed.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Ruoshui blames Guiyu for attacking Ying Huiyan and orders her beaten, while Ying Xuejie tries to end the matter by offering to make amends.
• Song Yaoyao rejects this as a scapegoating tactic, arguing that Guiyu was only a pawn and that the real mastermind remains unpunished. She also condemns the Ying family for believing rumors about Huiyan without checking the facts.
• Ying Xuejie orders his wet nurse to examine Huiyan. The examination confirms that Huiyan is female, disproving the rumor that she is a “monster.” Huiyan is vindicated, and her brother, Ying Mingkang, angrily attacks Wang Er for continuing to slander her.
• Song Yaoyao presses Ying Xuejie to address the person behind the rumors. He becomes convinced Jiang Ruoshui is responsible and divorces her, citing the damage to the Ying family’s reputation.
• As Jiang leaves, Mingkang considers reclaiming his late mother’s dowry, which Ying Xuejie has kept under his control.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao acts as Huiyan’s advocate, challenging the family’s assumptions and pushing for both proof and accountability.
• Ying Huiyan accepts the examination to stop the rumors from spreading, and is visibly relieved when her innocence is confirmed.
• Ying Xuejie shifts from minimizing the incident to acting against Jiang, but his motives are self-interested: he is more angered by public humiliation than concerned for Huiyan.
• Ying Mingkang openly defends his sister and, after Jiang’s divorce, becomes more willing to confront his father and pursue his mother’s dowry.
• Jiang Ruoshui loses her position in the household after Ying Xuejie turns against her, though the chapter does not conclusively establish her responsibility for the rumors.

Significant themes

• Rumor and reputation: Unverified gossip threatens Huiyan’s dignity and damages the whole Ying family.
• Family loyalty and betrayal: Huiyan’s relatives initially trust outsiders’ claims over her, while Song Yaoyao and Mingkang stand up for her.
• Power and scapegoating: Guiyu is punished as a convenient culprit, while the question of who orchestrated the scheme remains unresolved.
• Self-interest and justice: Ying Xuejie’s actions may appear to protect the family, but they are driven chiefly by concern for his own status and reputation.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao confronts Ying Xuejie and Jiang Ruoshui, forcing them to acknowledge the weakness of their assumptions and the need to investigate further.
• Huiyan reassures Mingkang that she is willing to be examined; he responds with tenderness and later anger on her behalf.
• The wet nurse’s examination settles the immediate rumor, while Jiang’s maid confirms the result.
• Ying Xuejie’s hostility toward Jiang culminates in divorce, and Mingkang sees Jiang’s departure as an opportunity to challenge his father over his mother’s property.

Key plot points and events

• Ying Mingkang confronts his father, Ying Xuejie, and asks him to return the dowry belonging to his late mother, which by law should pass to her children.
• Song Yaoyao backs the siblings, reminding Ying Xuejie that keeping or profiting from the dowry violates the law. She insists on an immediate inventory and the return of both the property and any earnings. After several hours, Ying Mingkang and Ying Huiyan receive it.
• The next day, Ying Huiyan arrives at Song Yaoyao’s residence with her belongings, asking to serve her. Song initially urges her to return home, but accepts after Huiyan insists she has her brother’s permission and can support herself.
• Song decides it is time to leave Yu City, but first wants to visit Ji Chengyuan. The following day, she goes to his courtyard and asks whether he expected her visit.

Character developments and interactions

• Ying Mingkang shows growing confidence and independence by publicly challenging his father and reclaiming his mother’s estate.
• Ying Xuejie is exposed as greedy and self-serving; under Song Yaoyao’s scrutiny, he has little choice but to comply.
• Ying Huiyan expresses deep gratitude and loyalty to Song Yaoyao, choosing service over her comfortable life as a young lady. Her tearful determination and oath persuade Song to accept her.
• Song Yaoyao uses her influence to protect the siblings, though she comically mistakes Huiyan’s arrival for a sign that she has been thrown out. She then privately congratulates herself on her charm.
• Ji Chengyuan greets Song without surprise, while the chapter notes that Lin Xiqian has only recently learned Song’s true identity and her agreement with Ji.

Significant themes

• Women’s rights and inheritance: The chapter emphasizes that a wife’s dowry belongs to her and, after her death, to her children—not her husband.
• Justice and accountability: Song Yaoyao ensures Ying Xuejie returns not only the property but also the profits he gained from it.
• Loyalty and gratitude: Huiyan’s choice to serve Song reflects her desire to repay a kindness she feels she cannot otherwise repay.
• Independence and agency: The siblings assert control over their inheritance and their own choices, even when those choices surprise Song.

Key events

• Song Yaoyao confirms that General Ji Chengyuan will honor his promise to serve her grandfather, Maternal Grandfather Ning, in return for Yaoyao bringing his wife and children home safely.
• Yaoyao tells Maternal Grandfather Ning she is leaving Yu City and gives him a supply of medicines, carefully sorted with instructions. He thanks her and praises their effectiveness.
• The next morning, Yaoyao’s party sets out for Cold Pass City. Ying Huiyan chooses to travel with Yaoyao rather than stay near her brother, who has already been sent a message.
• On the road, Ying Huiyan learns that Yaoyao is a rare female official and Chen Yixiao is the Sixth Prince. She wrongly concludes he must be romantically interested in Yaoyao and begins watching him suspiciously.
• During a rest stop, Guagua explains Ying Huiyan’s suspicions to the group. Yaoyao dismisses the idea of marriage and jokes that, if forced to wed, she would marry a very old or incapacitated man to preserve her freedom.

Character developments and interactions

• Yaoyao leaves Yu City after securing General Ji’s allegiance and caring for her grandfather’s medical needs. She remains practical and independent, though her joking plans reveal her anxiety about having little control over marriage customs.
• General Ji shows himself to be honorable and cautious: he is impressed by Yaoyao’s abilities and intends to keep his word.
• Maternal Grandfather Ning is grateful for Yaoyao’s medicines and arranges for Chao Yun to escort her, though he cannot see her off.
• Ying Huiyan commits herself to Yaoyao, then becomes fiercely protective after misunderstanding Chen Yixiao’s motives. Her loyalty is clear, even if her suspicions are misplaced.
• Chen Yixiao is bewildered by Ying Huiyan’s distrust; he has done nothing to provoke it. Guagua’s teasing commentary brings the misunderstanding to everyone’s attention.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and promises: General Ji’s pledge and Ying Huiyan’s decision to follow Yaoyao both emphasize personal allegiance.
• Independence and gender expectations: Yaoyao resists the prospect of an arranged marriage, while Guagua points out how limited women’s choices are in the setting.
• Misunderstanding and humor: Ying Huiyan’s mistaken romantic theory contrasts with Yaoyao’s indifference to marriage, creating comic tension.
• Care and responsibility: Yaoyao’s medicine preparations and concern for her grandfather show her practical devotion to family and allies.

Key plot points

• Song Yaoyao, Chen Yixiao, and their companions reach Cold Pass City, where Song decides to stay a few days to visit her maternal grandmother before returning to the Capital.
• Maternal Grandmother Ning welcomes her warmly and is delighted to have more time with her. The next day, the extended Ning family reunites for a meal.
• The group receives an invitation to a charity sale at Ruyi Tower, with proceeds supposedly intended for Maternal Grandfather Ning’s army. Chen recognizes that the event is aimed at him but is willing to accept funds that could benefit the soldiers.
• Through her conversation with Guagua, Song learns the real motive: merchants in cities conquered by the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom hope the sale will win Chen’s favor and protect them from scrutiny or punishment.
• Guagua explains that Ruyi Tower is a mysterious, continent-wide auction-house chain, and begins to reveal that its master is connected to the Witch Tribe. Chen interrupts and suggests a food outing, avoiding further discussion of a dangerous subject.

Character developments and interactions

• Song shows affection for her grandmother and chooses family time over rushing back to the Capital. She remains curious and candid, asking Guagua for details about both the charity sale and Ruyi Tower.
• Maternal Grandmother Ning’s concern and joy reveal how deeply she has missed Song; Song accepts her care without arguing.
• Chen is pragmatic about the charity sale and attentive to danger: he cuts off Song’s thoughts about the Witch Tribe before they attract trouble. He invites the group to try Cold Pass’s famous roasted meat.
• Ning Chaoyun gives Chen an introduction to the city, while the family reunion emphasizes Song’s close ties to the Ning household.

Significant themes

• Family and belonging: Song’s visit underscores the comfort and importance of family amid political travel.
• Power, fear, and survival: The merchants’ donation is less generosity than a bid for protection under a new regime.
• Hidden influence and danger: Ruyi Tower’s mysterious reach—and its link to the Witch Tribe—suggests powerful forces operating beyond ordinary kingdoms.
• Practicality and restraint: Chen balances political realities with caution, steering the conversation away from a potentially perilous topic.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao and her companions spend hours shopping in Cold Pass City, then go to a famous roast-meat restaurant.
• They notice a striking couple: Bai Zhuojun, dressed as a man, and her pregnant wife, Fan Wenshan. Their apparent devotion makes diners envy Fan.
• Guagua reveals that Bai Zhuojun is a merchant involved in the charity sale and heir to the powerful Bai family, whose fortunes were built through trade and aided by a political connection.
• Bai Zhuojun was born a girl. Her mother, Xue Qiong, feared that having no son would leave her powerless, so she announced the baby was a boy and raised Bai Zhuojun as one.
• Bai Zhuojun grew into a capable scholar and merchant, won her father’s favor, and became the expected successor to the family business.
• Fan Wenshan knew Bai Zhuojun was a woman before they married. Guagua hints that the identity of Fan’s child’s father is another piece of gossip, but the chapter ends before revealing it.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is curious and quick to jump to conclusions, reacting with comic disbelief to the revelation that Bai Zhuojun and Fan Wenshan are two women married to each other. She presses Guagua for the rest of the story.
• Guagua acts as the source of the backstory, carefully unfolding the information and teasing an additional reveal.
• Bai Zhuojun is introduced as a poised, attentive spouse and revealed to be a woman who has lived publicly as a man. Her intelligence and business ability have made her the Bai family’s favored heir.
• Xue Qiong is shown as a mother who disguises her daughter’s sex to protect her own standing and give Bai Zhuojun a chance to inherit.
• Fan Wenshan appears to be Bai Zhuojun’s loving, pregnant wife and knowingly married her despite knowing her sex.

Significant themes

• Gender and inheritance: A woman’s exclusion from succession drives Xue Qiong to conceal Bai Zhuojun’s sex.
• Power and survival: Xue Qiong’s deception is a response to her vulnerability within a household dominated by a husband and concubines.
• Family and ambition: Bai Zhuojun’s competence earns her a place in the business, even while her identity remains concealed.
• Appearance and gossip: The couple’s public presentation contrasts with what Song Yaoyao learns privately, while the unresolved pregnancy mystery sets up further intrigue.

Key events

• Fan Wenshan, the pampered daughter of a wealthy merchant family, spends her days reading romances and watching opera. She becomes captivated by performer Pan Yuesheng, visits him backstage, and falls in love.
• Pan persuades her that her family would never accept their relationship and urges her to elope with him. Believing they can build a life together, Fan takes her valuables and runs away.
• They travel to the border. Pan initially treats her well for the sake of her money, but soon grows irritated by her complaints and luxurious expectations. He begins staying away and meets a wealthy woman who offers him a large sum to become her lover.
• Pan steals Fan’s remaining money and abandons her. Ashamed to return home, Fan attempts to drown herself but is rescued by Bai Zhuojun.
• Fan discovers she is pregnant and learns that, because of her fragile health and injuries from the river, this may be her only chance to have a child. Though she hates Pan, she cannot bring herself to give up the baby. With no money or clear way to support herself and the child, she faces a desperate choice.
• Bai Zhuojun, who is under pressure to marry and worries that her identity as a woman may be discovered after marriage, sees Fan and her unborn child as a possible solution to her predicament. Her plan remains to be revealed.

Character developments and interactions

• Fan Wenshan shifts from sheltered, romantic daydreamer to a woman facing the consequences of trusting Pan and rejecting her family’s protection. Her attachment to the unborn child complicates her desperate situation.
• Pan Yuesheng exploits Fan’s infatuation, then turns against her once her money and company become burdensome. He steals from her and leaves her for a wealthy patron.
• Bai Zhuojun rescues Fan and views her pregnancy as an opportunity to satisfy her household’s demand that she marry, while potentially protecting her own secret.
• Song Yaoyao and the observers condemn Fan’s impulsive elopement and criticize her sheltered outlook; Guagua corrects Song’s initial assumptions about a conventional doomed-love story.

Significant themes

• Shelter and privilege: Fan’s comfortable upbringing leaves her unprepared for hardship and practical consequences.
• Romantic idealization and exploitation: Fan mistakes Pan’s persuasive promises for true love, while he treats the relationship as a means to gain money.
• Family, shame, and social pressure: Fear of disgrace keeps Fan from returning to the family that once cared for her.
• Women’s constrained choices: Fan’s pregnancy and poverty narrow her options, while Bai Zhuojun faces pressure to marry and conceal her identity.

Key events

• Bai Zhuojun and Fan Wenshan agree to pose as a married couple. Bai brings Fan back to the capital and tells the Fan Family that she rescued Fan from villains, shielding her from the scandal of her earlier elopement.
• The Fan Family welcomes Bai, impressed by her generosity and her efforts to restore their reputation. The marriage arrangement also brings the Fan and Bai families into business agreements.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss Bai’s long-term plan: once she controls the Bai family estate, Bai intends to reveal she is a woman, marry a man who joins her household, and pass her inheritance to her own children.
• Guagua reveals that Pan Yuesheng, hoping to live off wealthy women, is instead exploited by them and eventually dies. Song is relieved he got what he deserved, though Guagua censors the details.
• At a meal, Song uses modern barbecue seasoning to improve the grilled meat. She then drinks fruit wine, underestimates its strength, and gets tipsy. She sings enthusiastically, and Ning Chaoyun tries to stop her from drinking more.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai proves resourceful and considerate, giving Fan dignity and protection while pursuing her own carefully laid plans. Fan, having suffered through her past choices, is said to have become more sensible.
• The Fan Family’s attitude shifts from shame and resentment to approval, as Bai’s cover story restores their standing and her connections offer practical benefits.
• Song’s curiosity and impulsiveness lead her to experiment with alcohol; her drunken confidence contrasts with Ning’s anxious efforts to manage the consequences. Song promises to protect her cousin if the family gets angry.

Significant themes

• Reputation and social survival: Bai’s story allows Fan and her family to recover their public standing.
• Agency and planning: Bai navigates the limits placed on her identity while safeguarding her future control of the family estate.
• Consequences and justice: Pan’s fate satisfies Song’s desire for the manipulative man to face consequences.
• Humor and cultural contrast: Song’s modern supplies and poor tolerance for ancient fruit wine create a lighthearted shift from the earlier family drama.

Key plot points

• After drinking too much, Song Yaoyao is coaxed into eating and later drinks sobering soup. Once recovered, the group goes for a walk.
• Passersby keep giving Ning Chaoyun and Chen Yixiao strange looks. A woman eventually explains that Cold Pass City has had a “Midnight Fiend” for several months.
• The title is misleading: the culprit is not a murderer but a flower-plucking bandit who targets handsome men. The victims survive, but accounts of the culprit’s appearance vary wildly, and the authorities have made no progress.
• Concerned for her companions, Song Yaoyao discusses the case with them. She then asks Guagua about it, but Guagua has no information yet and suggests visiting the County Office.
• Chen Yixiao proposes going there, and the group arrives. The County Magistrate hurries out to greet the Sixth Prince; his investigation has only just begun in the chapter.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is playful and irreverent while drunk, then quickly regains her composure and takes the new mystery seriously. She uses silver to persuade the reluctant woman to talk, while tactfully letting the woman believe her generosity is appreciated.
• Guagua remains unable to help until Song Yaoyao encounters someone connected to the case.
• Ning Chaoyun is comically anxious about becoming a victim, insisting that he must protect his chastity until marriage; Chen Yixiao responds more practically, agreeing with Song Yaoyao’s suspicion that the culprit uses disguises.
• The woman shares what she knows after Song Yaoyao draws her aside. The group then agrees to investigate through the County Office.

Significant themes

• The contrast between appearances and truth: the culprit’s identity and appearance are unknown, and even the name “Midnight Fiend” initially suggests the wrong kind of danger.
• Humor undercuts the suspense, especially through Song Yaoyao’s banter and Ning Chaoyun’s exaggerated worry.
• The chapter shifts from lighthearted travel to a mystery that exposes the limits of local law enforcement and sets up the group’s investigation.

Key plot points

• County Magistrate Liu Qiantai explains that a masked or disguised predator—nicknamed the Midnight Fiend—has been drugging and sexually assaulting handsome men during the midnight watch. Most victims stayed silent out of shame.
• Scholar Wan Ziqian reported the crimes after waking to find a dirty sock stuffed in his mouth, which he considered an additional humiliation. His complaint revealed that several others had been victimized.
• The authorities’ attempt to catch the predator with a handsome decoy failed: the attacker defeated the bailiffs, abducted the bait, and left him severely injured. Fearing he might kill another decoy, Liu stopped the tactic.
• Song Yaoyao and her companions decide to investigate near Wan Ziqian’s home, hoping to use Guagua’s ability to uncover the relevant story. They postpone until morning, then head to his neighborhood.
• At a nearby wonton stall, Song invites Chen Yixiao and Ning Chaoyun to eat. Chen reveals he enjoys ordinary street food, and Song also invites her guards to sit. Chen then tells his own guards to join them.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Qiantai is candid about the investigation’s failures and explains why the authorities abandoned the bait strategy.
• Song Yaoyao takes the initiative in planning the next step and shows an easygoing, considerate manner by choosing a street stall and inviting the guards.
• Chen Yixiao is surprised by Song’s willingness to eat at a humble stall, while revealing that he, too, appreciates common food. He also ensures his guards are included.
• Ning Chaoyun points out that it is too late to visit Wan Ziqian that night, so the group delays the investigation.

Significant themes

• Shame and silence: Victims’ fear of humiliation allowed the predator to offend repeatedly without detection.
• Abuse of power and risk in investigation: The failed decoy operation shows the danger of pursuing the culprit without protecting vulnerable people.
• Social expectations and equality: Song and Chen’s shared enjoyment of street food contrasts with the class assumptions surrounding elite families and offers a moment of common ground.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao, Chen Yixiao, Ning Chaorui, and their guards stop at a wonton stall in Cold Pass City. While chatting, the friendly owner repeats rumors about a young man who was sexually assaulted and nearly took his own life.
• Song asks Guagua to reveal the identity of the “Midnight Fiend.” Guagua names Gong Fanyu, and a magical display reveals that the notorious offender is a strikingly beautiful woman—contrary to everyone’s assumption that the culprit would be a man.
• Guagua explains Gong Fanyu’s family background. Her father, Master Gong, was a womanizer who was permanently injured in a brothel fight and became unable to have more children. Gong Fanyu was therefore his only child and heir.
• Determined to preserve the Gong family line, Master Gong planned for Gong Fanyu to marry a man into her household, with their children taking the Gong surname. He raised her as a business successor, teaching her literacy, accounting, and commerce. He also hired a skilled martial artist to train her so she could defend herself amid the dangers of business.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is curious and quick to seek information, but she is genuinely stunned that a woman could be the sexual predator. Her disbelief becomes comic inner commentary as she struggles to reconcile Gong Fanyu’s appearance with the crimes.
• Chen Yixiao and Ning Chaorui share Song’s shock; they had assumed the perpetrator was a sleazy older man. Ning Chaoyun, meanwhile, contrasts the Gong household with his own family’s strict rules against brothels and concubinage.
• The wonton-stall owner is warm and talkative, proud of her cooking, and serves as the group’s local source of gossip.
• Master Gong emerges as both an indulgent father and a man whose reckless womanizing had lasting consequences. His injury shapes how he raises Gong Fanyu: he wants her to inherit his business and protect herself.

Significant themes

• Gender and violated expectations: Gong Fanyu’s identity challenges the group’s assumptions about who can be a sexual predator.
• Family legacy and gender roles: Gong Fanyu is trained to inherit a merchant empire, while the planned marriage reverses the usual expectation that a woman joins her husband’s family.
• Consequences of recklessness: Master Gong’s past behavior leaves him unable to produce an heir and profoundly influences his daughter’s upbringing.
• Power and vulnerability: The chapter hints at how wealth, connections, and physical strength shape people’s safety, while Master Gong’s own vulnerability leads him to equip Gong Fanyu with both commercial skill and martial training.

Key plot points and events

• Gong Fanyu grows into a gifted martial artist and businesswoman. At sixteen, she becomes head of the Gong family, despite society’s belief that women are unsuited to lead.
• The Gong family seeks a live-in husband for her, requiring a respectable, healthy, unmarried young man with no concubines, bedchamber maids, or sexual experience. After a lengthy search, they choose Bian Qingwen, whose small family seems uncomplicated.
• Gong Fanyu and Bian marry. She welcomes Bian’s widowed mother and younger sister into the Gong residence, and the couple initially appear happy.
• When Gong Fanyu becomes pregnant, she suffers severe morning sickness while continuing to manage the family business. Bian offers to help, but she refuses because she doubts his business ability and can rely on her father instead.
• Bian’s brief expression of malice goes unnoticed. Later, Gong Fanyu discovers that he and his younger sister, Bian Wenwen, are having sex in his mother’s courtyard. She has the door forced open and orders them to dress while she waits in the main hall. Bian’s mother, who knew and had allowed the affair, is caught off guard.

Character developments

• Gong Fanyu is portrayed as capable, disciplined, and self-reliant: she excels in martial arts and business, and approaches marriage with clear standards. Her trust in Bian begins to look misplaced.
• Bian Qingwen’s agreeable façade cracks after Gong Fanyu rejects his offer to manage the business; his affair with his sister reveals serious betrayal.
• Bian Wenwen and Mother Bian are implicated in the household’s deception: Wenwen is involved with Bian, while their mother has tacitly permitted it.
• Song Yaoyao condemns the idea that women are less suited than men to lead or continue a family line.

Significant themes

• Women’s capability and social restriction: Gong Fanyu’s achievements challenge traditional assumptions, while limits on women’s rights remain entrenched.
• Marriage, power, and trust: The apparently suitable match conceals betrayal within the household.
• Family lineage and gender: Song Yaoyao argues that women can carry on a family through a live-in husband and children bearing their surname.
• Appearance versus reality: Bian’s early attentiveness and the family’s simple structure conceal a disturbing secret.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss Gong Fanyu’s abilities and critique the gendered customs of the era; Chen Yixiao and Ning Chaoyun are struck by Song’s blunt argument about sons.
• Gong Fanyu initially treats Bian’s relatives generously, welcoming them into her home.
• Bian offers to take on business responsibilities, but Gong Fanyu refuses, exposing a gap in their trust and expectations.
• Gong Fanyu confronts Bian and Wenwen after discovering their affair, while Mother Bian’s reaction reveals that she was complicit.

Key plot points and events

• Gong Fanyu has Bian Qingwen and Bian Wenwen seized and beaten. Bian Wenwen reveals that they are cousins, not siblings: she was raised as the dead child of Bian Qingwen’s mother, and the pair planned to marry once Bian Qingwen had gained control of the Gong family.
• Discovering their scheme, Gong Fanyu orders Bian Qingwen made a eunuch and confines him, Bian Wenwen, and his mother in a neglected courtyard. She keeps them alive because she still needs a husband in name and fears that his sudden death would damage her reputation and the family’s business.
• Gong Fanyu miscarries. Bian Qingwen and his mother grieve, while his mother blames Bian Wenwen, and the two women fight.
• Guagua explains that Gong Fanyu later sought a child without wanting another husband. She abducted men at night, hoping to conceive, and resumed the abductions whenever she found she was not pregnant.
• Song Yaoyao concludes that Gong Fanyu is the Midnight Fiend. Since Gong Fanyu has just confirmed she is not pregnant, Song expects another abduction soon and plans to catch her.
• Song’s group returns to their residence and agrees to lure the culprit out. They do not share Song’s discovery with the others. The Sixth Prince’s guard pays for the meal Song had bought for the guards.

Character developments and interactions

• Gong Fanyu is revealed as calculating and politically cautious: she punishes the conspirators but preserves their lives to protect her position and the Gong family’s reputation. After losing her pregnancy, she pursues an heir on her own terms.
• Bian Qingwen and Bian Wenwen are exposed as greedy conspirators whose plan to seize the Gong family’s wealth collapses. Their relationship deteriorates under confinement and blame.
• Bian Qingwen’s mother turns on Bian Wenwen, whom she sees as responsible for the family’s ruin; Bian Wenwen rejects the blame, and they brawl.
• Song Yaoyao uses Guagua’s account to identify the Midnight Fiend and starts preparing a trap. Guagua supplies the crucial information about Gong Fanyu’s likely next move.
• Song and the guards share a meal, while the Sixth Prince quietly ensures the bill is paid.

Significant themes

• Greed and hubris: The Bians’ plan to take the Gong family’s fortune destroys the security they already had.
• Power, reputation, and survival: Gong Fanyu’s decisions are shaped by the need to maintain authority and protect her family’s standing.
• Gender and inheritance: The pressure to produce an heir drives Gong Fanyu’s unusual and troubling scheme.
• Blame and regret: The Bian household turns on itself after its ambitions fail, but too late to undo the damage.

Key events

• Song Yaoyao’s group plans to catch Gong Fanyu by using Listening Thunder, whose appearance suits the kind of scholars she targets.
• On the third night, Gong Fanyu approaches Listening Thunder, but he is prepared. Song Yaoyao, the Imperial Shadow Guards, and Chen Yixiao’s men spring the trap and overpower her.
• Unmasked, Gong Fanyu admits she is the Midnight Fiend. Taken to the County Office, she explains that she abducted men because she wanted a child and intended to get rid of the father. She also blames the victims for being out late.
• The next morning, the victims are brought to see her. On discovering that the culprit is a beautiful woman, they withdraw their complaints and instead demand to marry her. Their antics turn the proceedings into chaos, leaving County Magistrate Liu unsure what to do.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao coordinates the sting and responds to Gong Fanyu’s bold excuses with amused disbelief.
• Listening Thunder serves as bait and holds his own long enough for the others to intervene.
• Gong Fanyu is exposed as both the Midnight Fiend and the head of the Gong family. Even after capture, she remains defiant and insists she should simply be sentenced.
• The victims, especially Wan Ziqian, abandon their outrage when they see Gong Fanyu and compete to become her live-in husband. Gong Fanyu rejects them all.
• County Magistrate Liu is caught between the law and a spectacle in which the complainants no longer want to press charges.

Significant themes

• The chapter uses farce and irony: a serious capture and trial plan collapses into a chaotic marriage proposal.
• It satirizes shallow attraction and fickle principles, as the victims’ demand for justice vanishes at the sight of beauty.
• Power, desire, and accountability remain in tension: Gong Fanyu gives an outrageous justification for her crimes, while the chapter ends with the unresolved question of how the law can proceed.

• After Gong Fanyu and the victims leave the County Office, County Magistrate Liu warns Gong Fanyu not to repeat her crimes. The victims withdraw their complaints, so the case is dropped; the authorities announce that the Midnight Fiend will stop offending, and the puzzled townspeople disperse. Gong Fanyu regrets her earlier scheme, while the scholars now trail after her, leaving her to deal with them herself.
• Song Yaoyao and her companions head home to rest, then attend a charity auction at Ruyi Tower the following day. County Magistrate Liu welcomes them and explains that officials and wealthy merchants have come to raise money for the army. Gong Fanyu is there too, accompanied by the scholars.
• Manager Tong opens the auction with a Jade Spring Vase. Bidding rises from 100 taels to 3,000, which a merchant wins. After a few more lots, Song Yaoyao loses interest and asks Guagua for gossip.
• Guagua introduces Zhang Xinwan, a blind woman attending the auction. Her story begins with her loving parents and a sheltered childhood. A childhood betrothal was once proposed between her and Huai Yunzhi, the son of her father’s friend, but Zhang’s father deferred the decision. The chapter ends before revealing how she lost her sight.
  Character developments and interactions: Gong Fanyu shifts from confidence to regret, while the scholars’ continued closeness becomes an unwelcome consequence of her actions. Song Yaoyao is curious about the auction at first but soon becomes bored. Zhang Xinwan is introduced as an innocent, much-loved only child; her blindness and past are set up as the next mystery.
  Themes: The abandoned case highlights how justice can depend on whether victims press charges. The auction presents collective support for the army, while Zhang Xinwan’s introduction emphasizes family devotion, childhood innocence, and the uncertainty of what may disrupt a sheltered life.

Chapter summary

At age ten, Zhang Xinwan lost her sight when the carriage carrying her and her mother, Madam Zhang, slid down a mountainside in a storm. Madam Zhang recovered from her injuries, but Zhang Xinwan woke blind and became withdrawn. Her parents blamed themselves and spent years taking her to physicians, refusing to give up hope of a cure.
Three years later, with Zhang Xinwan still blind and her parents worried about her future, Huai Yueshan brought his son Huai Yunzhi to propose again. Master Zhang first asked his daughter what she wanted; remembering Huai Yunzhi from childhood and not disliking him, Zhang Xinwan agreed, and they became engaged.
Six months later, Master Zhang died while traveling on business. Madam Zhang fell ill after hearing the news and died a few months afterward, leaving Zhang Xinwan alone. A trusted steward took charge of the household’s businesses. Meanwhile, Huai Yunzhi stayed close to Zhang Xinwan and comforted her, winning her affection.
Before his death, Master Zhang had found a healer who believed Zhang Xinwan’s blindness could be cured by treating a clot in her brain. The treatment required two rare ingredients, which were eventually bought with the proceeds from Master Zhang’s final business deal. Zhang’s sight began to return. As she planned to surprise Huai Yunzhi once fully recovered, she started seeing more clearly—and the chapter ends just before revealing what she witnesses.
Song Yaoyao and the others learn these events through Guagua’s account. They sympathize with Zhang Xinwan and admire her parents’ devotion, but become suspicious of their sudden deaths.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Xinwan goes from a sociable child to a blind, isolated young woman, then faces the loss of both parents. Huai Yunzhi’s attention gives her comfort, while the prospect of regaining her sight brings renewed hope.
• Master and Madam Zhang are devoted parents, burdened by guilt after the accident and relentless in seeking a cure. Master Zhang respects his daughter’s wishes before agreeing to the engagement.
• Huai Yunzhi appears attentive and supportive after Zhang Xinwan is orphaned, and she comes to believe she has found love.
• Song Yaoyao, Chen Yixiao, and the others react with sympathy, praise the Zhang parents’ care, and question whether the parents’ deaths were natural.

Significant themes

The chapter explores parental love and sacrifice, guilt and grief, hope in the face of disability, and the importance of personal choice in marriage. It also builds suspense around the possibility that the Zhang parents’ deaths were part of a conspiracy—and around what Zhang Xinwan discovers as her vision returns.