Chapter Summaries

Key events

• At the teahouse, Tian Shuyan sends Liu Zheheng and Song Yaoyao a fruit platter. Yaoyao refuses it, reasoning that accepting would signal willingness to get acquainted. Though Tian remains watching from upstairs, Yaoyao and her companions leave early to avoid encouraging her.
• Song Qinghui privately envies Liu Zheheng for attracting Tian’s attention and suspects his disguise is why no young woman has noticed him. He blames Yaoyao for making it unattractive, but denies it when she confronts him; Guagua’s blunt explanation embarrasses him.
• After leaving, Yaoyao, Qinghui, and Liu wander Illusion City. Drawn by a commotion, Yaoyao rushes ahead to investigate.
• At the scene, Old Madam Gao is pulling Dai Xiangwei’s hair and cursing her as a “jinx,” blaming her for the deaths of the Gao family. Bystanders spread rumors that the Dai family knowingly married Xiangwei into the household, then retreat for fear of catching her misfortune.
• Yaoyao stays to watch until a concerned older woman pulls her away. Yaoyao thanks her and shares sunflower seeds, then asks what happened.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is socially perceptive and cautious with Tian Shuyan, but her curiosity about public drama quickly overcomes her caution. She also responds warmly to the woman who protects her.
• Song Qinghui reveals insecurity and a desire for romance, expressed through comic envy of Liu Zheheng. Guagua exposes his thoughts, leaving him flustered.
• Liu Zheheng recognizes it is time to leave the teahouse and helps guide the group away.
• Tian Shuyan appears disappointed by Yaoyao’s clear refusal but continues observing them.
• Dai Xiangwei is shown silently enduring the old woman’s attack, while the crowd treats her as dangerous based on rumor. The older woman’s concern contrasts with the crowd’s fearful withdrawal.

Significant themes

• Clear boundaries and unwanted expectations: Yaoyao refuses a seemingly small gift because of the relationship it might imply.
• Appearance, desirability, and insecurity: Qinghui’s disguise fuels his anxiety about being overlooked.
• Rumor and scapegoating: Xiangwei is blamed for the Gao family’s deaths, and fear of the supposed “jinx” turns the crowd against her.
• Curiosity and compassion: Yaoyao seeks out spectacle, yet accepts help and responds generously to kindness.

Key plot points and events

• In public, Song Yaoyao overhears people blaming Dai Xiangwei for the Gao family’s tragedies. Old Madam Gao is attacking Dai, while bystanders excuse the assault as an outlet for her grief.
• Song feels Dai’s pain but does not intervene, reasoning that she is physically weak, could become a target, and does not yet understand the situation. She asks Guagua to explain Dai’s past.
• Guagua reveals that Dai Xiangwei was born into a prosperous merchant family. Her parents, Dai Chunbai and Madam Dai, loved one another, and she was their first child.
• Dai’s birth coincided with violent, eerie weather. Her father feared her birth chart—she was born in a yin year, month, day, and hour—and ordered the household to keep it secret.
• A Daoist priest named Guang Chengzi visited the next day. After examining Dai and learning her birth details, he claimed she was fated to bring calamity upon her relatives. He advised Dai Chunbai to send her away to protect the family.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is cautious but empathetic. Though she initially avoids intervening, she is troubled by Dai’s suffering and wants to understand how she came to be blamed.
• Dai Xiangwei is introduced in the present as a battered woman and in Guagua’s account as a once-privileged infant whose fate was judged ominously from birth.
• Dai Chunbai is shown as a loving, protective father who is alarmed by the strange circumstances of his daughter’s birth. He nevertheless listens to the priest’s dire warning.
• Guagua provides Song with the backstory, while Guang Chengzi presents Dai’s birth chart as a threat to the entire household.
• The crowd’s treatment of Dai reflects how grief and suspicion have turned her into a scapegoat; Old Madam Gao’s violence is tacitly tolerated.

Significant themes

• Fate versus evidence: The chapter raises questions about whether birth charts and supernatural signs truly determine a person’s life.
• Scapegoating and superstition: Dai is blamed for misfortune, with the priest’s prediction seemingly laying the groundwork for her rejection.
• Parental love under pressure: Dai Chunbai wants to protect his daughter, but fear for the family may force him to consider separating from her.
• Compassion and self-preservation: Song sympathizes with Dai yet hesitates to act because of her own vulnerability and uncertain position.

Summary

Plot points and events

• Daoist Guang Chengzi tells Dai Chunbai that his newborn daughter, Dai Xiangwei, has the ominous “Heavenly Calamity Lone Star” fate. Dai Chunbai dismisses the warning and refuses to send her away.
• After Xiangwei’s birth, misfortunes accumulate: her wet nurse breaks a leg, her grandmother nearly chokes, and the Dai family’s biggest business partner appears ready to abandon them.
• Old Master Dai blames the family’s troubles on Xiangwei’s fate and urges that she be sent to the countryside. Dai Chunbai’s four brothers agree, arguing that the family’s safety must come first.
• Dai Chunbai eventually gives in. Xiangwei is sent to the Dai ancestral home with a wet nurse, while her mother, Madam Dai, grieves intensely.
• Soon afterward, the business partner renews the contract for ten years, and the family’s fortunes improve. The Dais take this as confirmation that Xiangwei had caused their troubles. Madam Dai later has three more children, while Xiangwei grows up in hardship and narrowly escapes death several times.

Character developments

• Dai Chunbai shifts from skepticism and protectiveness toward reluctant compliance under pressure from his father and brothers.
• Madam Dai is devastated by her daughter’s removal and falls into prolonged grief.
• The other Dai men become increasingly convinced that Xiangwei threatens the family and unite against keeping her at home.
• Song Yaoyao questions whether the family’s sudden recovery really proves the Daoist’s claim.

Character interactions

• Guang Chengzi warns Dai Chunbai but leaves the choice to him.
• Old Master Dai confronts his son with the family’s misfortunes, and Dai Chunbai’s brothers reinforce the demand that Xiangwei be sent away.
• Dai Chunbai obeys the family decision despite his wife’s sorrow; afterward, the business partner warmly restores their agreement.

Significant themes

• Fate and superstition: The family interprets coincidental misfortunes as proof of Xiangwei’s cursed destiny.
• Family loyalty versus self-preservation: The Dais sacrifice a newborn to protect the wider household.
• Unfair blame and abandonment: Xiangwei suffers for a fate others believe she carries, while the adults treat later events as confirmation rather than questioning their assumptions.

Plot points and events

• Dai Xiangwei initially lives comfortably in the countryside: her father, Dai Chunbai, sends regular money, and the wet nurse and servants care for her because the job is well paid.
• After Dai Chunbai’s eldest son is born, the money arrives less often and is eventually delivered by a low-ranking servant. The household workers take this as a sign that the family has lost interest in Xiangwei. They pocket the money, reduce her food to scraps, and neglect her.
• The wet nurse cruelly tells the little girl that her parents abandoned her because she is a “jinx.” Xiangwei insists they still love her, but is left to cry alone.
• Village children who play with Xiangwei repeatedly become ill. The villagers blame her, forbid their children from seeing her, and avoid her themselves. Xiangwei, not wanting to harm anyone, stops seeking their company.
• Left to fend for herself, she gathers wild food in the mountains. The servants become even more neglectful, and she grows up hungry, isolated, and dressed in rags.

Character development and relationships

• Dai Xiangwei begins as a child who trusts that her parents love her. Despite years of abandonment and cruelty, she remains compassionate and does not blame them; she believes they sent her away to protect the family. Still, she longs for parental and family affection.
• The wet nurse and servants shift from attentive caretakers to exploitative abusers once they conclude the Dai Family no longer cares about Xiangwei. They use her continued presence to keep receiving money while denying her basic care.
• Dai Chunbai and the Dai Family are absent from Xiangwei’s life. Their dwindling support signals that her welfare has become a low priority.
• Song Yaoyao reacts with anger and sympathy, condemning the servants and questioning why Xiangwei was not protected. Guagua confirms how painful Xiangwei’s life was and explains her lack of resentment toward her parents.

Significant themes

• Parental abandonment and neglect: Xiangwei’s isolation deepens as the family’s attention shifts elsewhere.
• Cruelty enabled by power and money: The servants exploit their position and the child’s vulnerability for personal comfort.
• Scapegoating and superstition: The village labels Xiangwei a jinx based on illness and fear, further isolating her.
• Resilience and compassion: Despite deprivation, Xiangwei avoids blaming others and keeps her concern for the people around her.
• A child’s longing for love: Her acceptance of her parents’ decision does not erase her desire to be cared for.

Key plot points and events

• Dai Xiangwei grew up isolated in the countryside, longing as a child for parents she had never met. When she learned she had been sent away, she stopped expecting them to come.
• Nearly fifteen, she is finally sought out by the Dai household. Nanny Liu arrives with servants and asks for the young miss, but the wet nurse and other staff hide the truth and cannot account for Dai’s whereabouts.
• Villagers reveal that Dai Xiangwei is treated as a “jinx” and has to forage for wild greens to survive. Nanny Liu realizes the household’s money, supposedly sent every year to support Dai, has not been used for her.
• Dai returns from the mountain, visibly malnourished and dressed in patched rags. Nanny Liu identifies her, explains who she is, and says she has come to take her home.
• Dai shows little emotion at the news and simply asks when they will leave. Before she can go, Nanny Liu confronts the kneeling wet nurse and servants about the money and Dai’s neglect.

Character developments

• Dai Xiangwei has endured years of deprivation and rejection. Her childhood hope has hardened into emotional restraint: even the long-awaited chance to return home brings no visible excitement.
• Nanny Liu shifts from formal inquiry to anger and concern as she discovers how badly Dai has been treated. She recognizes that the servants’ account cannot be trusted.
• The wet nurse and household servants are exposed as fearful and likely responsible for misusing the support money and concealing Dai’s condition.

Significant themes

• Childhood neglect and longing: Dai’s early desire for parental love gives way to resignation after years without contact.
• Betrayal and abuse of power: Money meant to support a child appears to have been diverted, leaving her to starve.
• Social stigma and cruelty: The villagers’ “jinx” label isolates Dai and makes her suffering seem acceptable to those around her.
• Delayed compassion: Nanny Liu’s arrival offers a path home, but it cannot erase the years of hardship.

Character interactions

• Nanny Liu presses the wet nurse for Dai’s location; the wet nurse’s evasions raise suspicion.
• The villagers’ children bluntly expose Dai’s poverty, prompting Nanny Liu to demand an explanation.
• Nanny Liu greets Dai respectfully and offers to take her home, while Dai responds with guarded practicality.
• Nanny Liu confronts the servants in front of Dai, making the mistreatment—and the question of where the money went—impossible to hide.

Key plot points and events

• Nanny Liu confronts Dai Xiangwei’s wet nurse and reveals that Dai’s parents had sent money every year to support her. This contradicts the wet nurse’s claim that Dai’s family abandoned her and that she should be grateful to the household.
• Nanny Liu has the wet nurse beaten, then orders the servants’ rooms searched. Guards find money, jewelry, and other valuables the servants had taken.
• Under threat of punishment, the servants confess that they stole the support money and sent some to their own families. They also implicate the woman who had delivered the money each year.
• Nanny Liu orders the offenders taken to the authorities despite their confession. When the wet nurse begs for mercy by invoking her son and grandson—and then tries to guilt Dai by reminding her that she nursed and raised her—Nanny Liu rejects her pleas and has her gagged and dragged away.
• The villagers, who had seen the servants behave arrogantly, are shocked by how decisively Nanny Liu handles them.

Character developments and interactions

• Dai Xiangwei learns that her parents had been providing for her all along, and that the people entrusted with her care hid this from her. Her brief, bewildered questions show how thoroughly she had been misled.
• Nanny Liu emerges as fiercely loyal and protective. Having watched Dai’s mother grow up and regarding both mother and daughter as family, she acts without hesitation to punish those who harmed them.
• The wet nurse shifts from denial to pleading and manipulation, first claiming innocence, then appealing to family ties and her supposed debt of care to Dai. Nanny Liu sees through these tactics and refuses to let the wet nurse place responsibility on the child.
• The servants are exposed as exploitative and frightened once their theft is uncovered. Their confession also reveals that the corruption extended beyond the household.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and exploitation: The people charged with caring for Dai stole the money meant for her and kept her in poverty.
• Truth and manipulation: The wet nurse’s false story isolated Dai from her parents, while Nanny Liu uses the evidence and confessions to expose the truth.
• Loyalty and family: Nanny Liu’s devotion to Dai and her mother drives her uncompromising response.
• Justice and accountability: The chapter emphasizes that confession does not automatically erase wrongdoing, and that those who benefit from stolen wealth may also bear responsibility.

Key plot points

• Dai Xiangwei returns to the Dai family after years of neglect and hardship, leaving behind the filthy, makeshift storeroom where she had been living. Nanny Liu helps her prepare for the move and shows genuine concern for her.
• The Dai parents learn how badly Xiangwei was treated. Dai Chunbai punishes the woman responsible for misusing the money meant for Xiangwei and turns her over to the authorities.
• Xiangwei meets her younger siblings and cousins for the first time. Her siblings refuse to acknowledge her, while her cousins offer only a formal greeting.
• Though the family provides money, jewelry, and fabric for new clothes, Xiangwei is sent to live alone in a separate residence outside the Dai household. She accepts the arrangement without protest.
• Madam Dai says the residence’s feng shui may help change Xiangwei’s ill fate. Xiangwei eagerly hopes this might allow her to make friends and escape loneliness, but Song Yaoyao and Guagua question whether destiny can truly be changed that way.

Character developments and interactions

• Dai Xiangwei is quiet and resigned, with little sense of belonging among her family. She recognizes her mother’s affection but also understands the family’s fear of her supposed bad luck. Despite years of deprivation, she is cautious around the lavish food and gifts. The possibility of a better future gives her a rare moment of hope.
• Nanny Liu acts as a compassionate advocate, disturbed by Xiangwei’s former living conditions and attentive to her comfort.
• Madam Dai feels deep guilt and tenderness toward her daughter, yet remains wary of the family’s supposed misfortune. She tries to provide materially and visits regularly.
• Dai Chunbai responds to Xiangwei’s mistreatment with anger and punishment, though the family still keeps her apart.
• Xiangwei’s siblings show no emotional connection to her and judge her by her appearance.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua comment on the events, with Guagua casting doubt on the claim that feng shui can alter a person’s destiny.

Significant themes

• Neglect and the limits of family duty: Xiangwei is welcomed back in name but remains excluded from family life.
• Class and appearance: Her siblings’ rejection highlights how her deprivation has shaped their view of her.
• Guilt versus fear: The parents regret their failure to protect Xiangwei, but fear of her supposed ill fate still influences their choices.
• Loneliness and hope: Xiangwei longs for friendship and believes a change in fortune could give her a chance at connection.
• Superstition and fate: The chapter questions whether destiny can truly be changed through feng shui.

Key plot points and events

• Madam Dai had invented a “master” to reassure Dai Xiangwei that she could safely live in the Dai residence. The family believed that occasional contact with her would not harm them, so they brought her back.
• Over three years, Dai Xiangwei grew into a graceful, educated young woman. Although her parents proposed several matches, she refused them because she feared her unusual fate might bring harm to a husband and his family.
• Gao Ying, the Gao Family’s gifted eldest son, had once hoped to succeed in the imperial examinations. After mountain bandits robbed him, he escaped but fell from a cliff and was left with a permanent limp. Because disabled people could not sit the examinations, he abandoned that ambition and learned the family business instead, which prospered under his guidance.
• Gao Ying and Dai Xiangwei met when his carriage was involved in an accident and he fell near her. She insisted he receive medical care, and they later became friends, meeting for outings and developing feelings for each other.
• When Gao Ying finally confessed, Dai Xiangwei rejected him—not because she did not love him, but because she feared her fate could endanger him and the Gao Family. She explained her concern, while Gao Ying questioned whether living in the Dai residence might truly alter her fate. He ultimately recognized that he could not risk the rest of his family.

Character developments

• Dai Xiangwei becomes accomplished and self-possessed, but remains cautious and self-sacrificing about marriage. Her affection for Gao Ying conflicts with her fear of harming others.
• Gao Ying moves from despair over losing his scholarly future to finding purpose and success in commerce. His admiration for Dai Xiangwei deepens into love, and he must weigh that love against responsibility to his family.
• Madam Dai supports her daughter’s return by offering a comforting explanation, while continuing to care for and educate her.

Significant themes

• Fate versus choice: Dai Xiangwei’s uncertain destiny shapes her decisions, even though it is unclear whether fate can be changed.
• Self-sacrifice and responsibility: Both lovers consider the welfare of their families rather than pursuing their feelings without concern.
• Resilience after loss: Gao Ying adapts to a future he never wanted and discovers a different way to contribute.
• Acceptance beyond appearances: Dai Xiangwei does not treat Gao Ying differently because of his disability.

Character interactions

• Dai Xiangwei’s kindness after the carriage accident begins her connection with Gao Ying; her continued acceptance of his limp earns his admiration.
• Their friendship grows through conversation and shared outings, but their mutual feelings remain unspoken until Gao Ying’s confession.
• Dai Xiangwei’s warning forces Gao Ying to confront the possibility that pursuing their relationship could place his family at risk.

• After Gao Ying confessed his love, Dai Xiangwei rejected him because she feared her fate would bring him harm. They remained close but never raised marriage again, and neither entered another relationship.
• Dai Chunbai eventually learned that Xiangwei loved Gao Ying. He encouraged her to reconsider, arguing that living in her separate residence might have changed her fate and that she deserved a companion. Xiangwei agreed to think about it.
• Under pressure from his family to meet other women, Gao Ying asked Xiangwei to be with him. She accepted, and then told him she was Dai Chunbai’s daughter. The couple had known each other for years, though their meetings were brief.
• Gao Ying’s parents were wary because the Dai and Gao families were business rivals. His mother met Xiangwei and was impressed by her manners, but Xiangwei concealed the truth about her fate. Gao Ying backed her up, explaining that she lived separately because she was unaccustomed to family life.
• Three months later, Xiangwei and Gao Ying married. Four months after that, she became pregnant, delighting the Gao family. Gao Ying’s parents never learned about her fate; he feared they would interpret the marriage as a Dai Family scheme and forbid it.
• In hindsight, Song Yaoyao predicts that disasters followed Xiangwei into the Gao household, killing Gao Ying, his father, and their child. Gao Ying’s mother then learned the truth and concluded the Dai Family had knowingly sent Xiangwei to destroy the Gao family—explaining her later hostility toward Xiangwei.
  Character developments and interactions: Xiangwei moves from refusing love out of fear to accepting Gao Ying after her father’s encouragement. Gao Ying remains devoted and protects her secret, while Dai Chunbai supports her choice. Gao Ying’s mother warms to Xiangwei personally but remains suspicious of her family.
  Themes: Love and sacrifice are shaped by fear of a supposedly dangerous fate; secrecy and rivalry undermine trust; and the chapter foreshadows grief and blame, as tragedy turns private concealment into family accusation.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao asks Guagua whether Dai Chunbai urged Dai Xiangwei to marry Gao Ying out of concern for her happiness. Guagua reveals that he arranged it to destroy the Gao Family.
• The Dai and Gao families were rivals in business. After the Gao Family won a highly profitable deal that Dai Chunbai believed could have elevated his own family, he became resentful.
• Dai Chunbai learned that Dai Xiangwei had known Gao Ying for years. Seeing a chance to hurt his rival, he persuaded his daughter to accept Gao Ying, concealing his motives and the family feud from her.
• Song Yaoyao realizes Dai Xiangwei was deceived and rushes to intervene as Dai Xiangwei and the Gao Matriarch fight. Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng help separate them.
• The Gao Matriarch faints, then wakes and curses Dai Xiangwei. Believing herself responsible for the Gao family’s deaths, Dai Xiangwei tries to run into a wall.
• Song Yaoyao stops her by revealing that Dai Xiangwei was manipulated and was not the mastermind. Dai Xiangwei agrees to hear the evidence, and the grieving Gao Matriarch also wants to learn who plotted against her family. Song Yaoyao offers to help her.

Character developments

• Dai Xiangwei shifts from numb despair to focused attention when told she was not solely responsible. Her wish to die is interrupted by the possibility of learning the truth.
• Song Yaoyao moves from investigating the past to taking direct action to protect Dai Xiangwei and seek justice.
• Dai Chunbai is exposed as vindictive: he used his daughter’s marriage as an instrument of revenge rather than considering her feelings.
• The Gao Matriarch remains devastated and hostile toward Dai Xiangwei, but her desire for answers gives her a reason to listen.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and culpability: Dai Xiangwei was used by her father, complicating the blame she has placed on herself.
• Revenge and its collateral damage: Dai Chunbai’s business resentment leads him to endanger both his daughter and the Gao Family.
• Grief, despair, and the possibility of truth: Dai Xiangwei’s suicidal impulse is halted by the chance to understand what happened.
• Justice and responsibility: The chapter redirects attention from blaming Dai Xiangwei alone toward identifying the person who orchestrated the tragedy.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua piece together Dai Chunbai’s motive through their discussion.
• Song Yaoyao, Song Qinghui, and Liu Zheheng intervene in the fight; Song Yaoyao then physically restrains Dai Xiangwei and persuades her to stop.
• Dai Xiangwei tries to comfort the Gao Matriarch, but the older woman rejects her.
• Song Yaoyao offers to assist the Gao Matriarch, who accepts, while both women prepare to hear who was responsible.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao gives the Gao Matriarch and Dai Xiangwei evidence proving that Dai Chunbai engineered the Gao Family’s downfall out of revenge for losing a business rivalry.
• Dai Xiangwei realizes her father knowingly used her and helped bring about the deaths of her father-in-law, husband, and child. She vows to return to the Dai Family and take revenge.
• The Gao Matriarch’s anger toward Dai Xiangwei softens when she learns she was manipulated, though she remains determined to outlive her enemies and see them ruined.
• Song Yaoyao and her companions leave the Gao residence. Guagua reveals that Madam Dai knew about her husband’s scheme and allowed it to continue, valuing family wealth and standing above Dai Xiangwei’s happiness.
• Dai Xiangwei returns to the Dai residence. After a gatekeeper tries to make her wait for permission to enter, she slaps him and walks in.
• She tells Madam Dai that she has been divorced and wants to live with her parents, not return to her separate residence. When Madam Dai raises concerns about her ill fate, Dai Xiangwei points out that her parents themselves had claimed her fate had changed.

Character developments and interactions

• Dai Xiangwei shifts from grief and betrayal to determined revenge. She confronts the family that exploited her, asserting her right to return home.
• The Gao Matriarch begins to recognize Dai Xiangwei as another victim of Dai Chunbai’s plot, though her desire for vengeance remains.
• Madam Dai pretends surprise at Dai Xiangwei’s return and suggests she live apart, revealing her continued reluctance to accept her daughter into the household.
• Song Yaoyao is angered by the parents’ cruelty and comforts the Gao Matriarch before leaving.
• The gatekeeper’s fear and disrespect reflect Dai Xiangwei’s long exclusion from the Dai household and the rumors surrounding her.

Significant themes

• Betrayal by family: Dai Chunbai and Madam Dai put business interests and family status ahead of their daughter’s well-being.
• Grief and revenge: Dai Xiangwei’s losses leave revenge as her immediate purpose.
• Agency and reclaiming dignity: She stops accepting the treatment imposed on her and asserts her place in the Dai residence.
• Truth and accountability: Evidence exposes the hidden cause of the Gao Family’s tragedy and turns Dai Xiangwei toward confronting those responsible.

Plot points

• Dai Xiangwei uses her parents’ old excuses against them, insisting that she wants to stay in the Dai Residence and fulfill her filial duties. When Madam Dai hesitates, Xiangwei threatens to kill herself at the residence’s entrance, fearing the scandal, Madam Dai agrees.
• Xiangwei secures a room in Xinya Courtyard beside her parents. Dai Chunbai is furious, but he and his wife decide to tolerate her temporarily and wait for a chance to send her to the separate estate.
• For six months, Xiangwei performs her duties flawlessly—paying respects, serving her parents, and attending to their needs—leaving them no grounds to criticize her.
• When Madam Dai becomes ill, she tries to use her health as a reason to remove Xiangwei. Xiangwei rejects the excuse and again threatens to harm herself. Madam Dai relents and promises not to send her away.

Character developments

• Dai Xiangwei presents herself as a dutiful, devoted daughter, but her filial behavior is strategic. She recognizes that her parents’ concern for reputation makes them vulnerable to public scandal, and she intends to use her position to avenge the Gao Family.
• Madam Dai is repeatedly pressured into accepting Xiangwei’s demands, increasingly weary and powerless.
• Dai Chunbai resents Xiangwei’s return and shares his wife’s hope of finding a way to remove her, but their plans fail.

Character interactions

• Xiangwei confronts Madam Dai with the couple’s past words, then uses emotional appeals and threats of public disgrace to win permission to stay.
• Dai Chunbai blames his wife for allowing Xiangwei into the residence; they privately agree to seek a pretext to send her away.
• Xiangwei’s immaculate service prevents her parents from criticizing her, while her repeated threats force Madam Dai to back down.

Significant themes

• Filial duty as performance and leverage: Xiangwei turns a traditional virtue into a means of securing power and pursuing revenge.
• Appearance and reputation: The Dai parents’ fear of public judgment constrains their choices.
• Reversal and retribution: Xiangwei uses the same language and tactics her parents once used against her, shifting the balance of power in the household.

Plot points and events

• Over two years, Dai Xiangwei remains at the Dai residence, determined to avenge the Dai family for its role in destroying the Gao family and her own family. Her continued presence, along with the family’s declining fortunes, frustrates Dai Chunbai.
• After Madam Dai dies, Dai Chunbai fears for his own life and secretly obtains an undetectable poison to kill Xiangwei. A servant Xiangwei has bribed warns her that Chunbai met with a foreigner, making her suspicious.
• At dinner, Xiangwei sees Chunbai poison her soup. When a child chokes and the room is distracted, she switches their bowls. Chunbai drinks the poisoned soup and dies in his sleep; the coroner finds no evidence of poisoning.
• Xiangwei’s younger siblings, who never harmed her, let her leave the residence with a separate courtyard. She visits Old Madam Gao and tells her that their enemies are dead. Old Madam Gao dies a month later, and Xiangwei buries her with the other Gao family members.
• Xiangwei resolves to rebuild the Gao family business. Disguised as a man under the name Dai Gao, she succeeds in business and eventually finds Gao Ying’s surviving half-brother and his family. She arranges for his clever teenage son to learn business, then hands over her enterprises to him while keeping her distance out of fear that she may bring them misfortune.
• In the present, Song Yaoyao, Song Qinghui, and Liu Zheheng leave the Gao residence. A maid sent by Tian Shuyan again tries to summon Liu, despite his engagement. Yaoyao bluntly rebukes the maid, and the three leave; Liu warns her not to approach him again.

Character developments and interactions

• Dai Xiangwei transforms from a woman sustained by revenge into a determined restorer of the Gao family’s legacy. She shows vigilance and quick thinking when she reverses Chunbai’s murder attempt, but her fear of bringing harm to others keeps her emotionally distant from her surviving relatives.
• Dai Chunbai grows fearful and desperate after his wife’s death and his own failing health. His attempt to murder Xiangwei instead kills him.
• Old Madam Gao finds relief in learning that the Gao family’s enemies are gone, though she dies shortly afterward.
• Song Yaoyao is saddened by Xiangwei’s story and forcefully defends Liu Zheheng’s engagement. Liu firmly rejects Tian Shuyan’s pursuit, while Song Qinghui supports the group by leaving with them.

Significant themes

• Revenge and its consequences: Xiangwei’s desire for vengeance keeps her alive, but ultimately she turns toward rebuilding rather than simply destroying.
• Family legacy and survival: The Gao bloodline and business endure through Xiangwei’s efforts to find and prepare an heir.
• Betrayal and self-preservation: Chunbai’s secret plot reflects the family’s hostility, while Xiangwei’s caution protects her from it.
• Loyalty and boundaries: The younger siblings are spared Xiangwei’s revenge, and the later encounter emphasizes respect for an existing engagement.

Plot points and events

• Tian Shuyan gives up pursuing a match with the young man after learning he is engaged, and returns to her manor.
• Song Yaoyao, now in better spirits, receives a signal from the Imperial Shadow Guards. Disguised as a man, she meets them and tells them to remain in Flowing Moon City until she needs them.
• More than half a month passes without Prince Cheng acting. Guagua explains that he has been smuggling successive waves of troops into Illusion City and waited for his final group—over a thousand elite fighters—to arrive.
• Song Yaoyao warns Sister Cui that rebellion is imminent. Sister Cui says the troops training with fire lances are nearly ready.
• Three days later, Prince Cheng launches his rebellion. His forces seize the city gates, let in troops waiting outside, take control of officials’ families, and move toward the palace.
• Prince Cheng confronts Qi Yanzhen at the palace gates, accusing him of murdering his father and denying his right to rule. Song Yaoyao and Guagua judge Qi’s defenses inadequate and expect him to be in serious danger.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao shifts from impatient waiting to active preparation, coordinating with the Shadow Guards and Sister Cui while relying on Guagua’s intelligence.
• Her brothers, Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng, accompany her and accept her explanation that she is meeting the Shadow Guards. They later watch the rebellion unfold with her.
• Sister Cui confirms that his men are nearly prepared, and agrees to ready them for the coming crisis.
• Prince Cheng reveals his boldness and readiness to challenge Qi openly; Qi responds angrily, while denying the accusation.

Significant themes

• Preparation and patience: Prince Cheng’s delay reflects the planning required for a dangerous rebellion.
• Power and legitimacy: The confrontation centers on whether Qi Yanzhen deserves the throne, amid accusations of patricide.
• Uncertainty and impending conflict: Even with Song Yaoyao’s information and preparations, the outcome remains unsettled as the rebellion begins.

Key plot points and events

• While Prince Cheng and Emperor Qi Yanzhen battle inside the palace, Song Yaoyao prepares to intervene. She gives Gatling guns to Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng and teaches them to use the weapons.
• Song Yaoyao’s group waits for the two rival forces to weaken each other. The emperor deploys the elite Night Feather Guard, but Prince Cheng’s larger army overwhelms them.
• After receiving a signal that the palace battle is decided, Song Yaoyao, Sister Cui, and several hundred followers march toward the palace, meeting little resistance.
• In the main hall, Qi Yanzhen and Prince Cheng accuse each other of ambition and hypocrisy. Rather than be captured, Qi Yanzhen kills himself with a dagger.
• Prince Cheng celebrates the death of the man he has opposed for more than twenty years. An explosion then alerts him that Song Yaoyao’s group has reached the palace.
• Prince Cheng refuses to flee and heads toward the attackers. Song Yaoyao’s powerful weapons have already killed many of his soldiers. Liu Zheheng offers the survivors a chance to surrender, but Prince Cheng confronts the group, trading insults with Song Yaoyao.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao is strategic and composed, timing her arrival to take advantage of the weakened palace forces. She also remains boldly irreverent when facing Prince Cheng.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng eagerly learn to operate Gatlings, gaining a new role in the coming confrontation.
• Prince Cheng reveals both his long-standing ambition and his determination not to be seen as a coward; even amid defeat, he refuses to retreat.
• Qi Yanzhen, having lost the battle and the throne, chooses suicide rather than face his rival’s judgment.

Significant themes

• Power and ambition: Both brothers accuse the other of pursuing the throne, and the chapter suggests their rivalry has been shaped by decades of competing ambitions.
• The cost of civil conflict: The Night Feather Guard and Prince Cheng’s soldiers suffer heavy losses as the struggle for power escalates.
• Modern force against traditional warfare: Song Yaoyao’s firearms decisively change the balance of power.
• Defiance and pride: Qi Yanzhen dies on his own terms, while Prince Cheng refuses to flee even when his position is threatened.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao coordinates closely with Sister Cui and equips Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng for battle.
• Qi Yanzhen and Prince Cheng exchange accusations over their motives and their father’s death before Qi Yanzhen takes his own life.
• Prince Cheng’s subordinates urge him to escape, but he angrily rejects their advice.
• Song Yaoyao and Prince Cheng begin their confrontation with taunts, ending the chapter as his fury rises and the standoff remains unresolved.

Plot and events

• Prince Cheng rejects surrender and clashes with Song Yaoyao’s forces. When he recognizes their unfamiliar firearms as Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom “fire lances,” he suspects one of his own men betrayed him.
• Prince Cheng attempts to flee, but Song Yaoyao secretly transforms her Gatling into a sniper rifle and kills him. His remaining troops surrender.
• Song Yaoyao and the others clear the Imperial Palace, using Corpse Dissolving Powder to dispose of the many bodies and prevent disease. Cleanup takes two exhausting days.
• Sister Cui sends a secret report to the Heavenly Phoenix emperor. Delighted by the news, he announces that Heavenly Phoenix forces have taken the Night Central Kingdom’s capital after Prince Cheng’s rebellion and the ensuing battle weakened both sides. News of the kingdom’s fall sparks celebration at home.
• Half a month later, Second Prince Chen Jingxuan arrives. In the meantime, Song Yaoyao and her companions have been managing the occupied city, handling divided ministers, and patrolling against possible resistance. When Chen reaches the palace, Song Yaoyao is visibly eager to hand over the burden of governing.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao stays quick-witted and decisive, provoking Prince Cheng to keep him from acting rashly, then killing him when he tries to escape. She also works hard after the battle, despite Sister Cui and Song Qinghui urging her to rest.
• Prince Cheng swings from anger to suspicion and then desperation as his forces are overwhelmed; his flight ends in his death.
• Song Qinghui appreciates Yaoyao’s practical help with the bodies, though he teases her about refusing to rest.
• Sister Cui leads the operation, orders the attack, and reports the victory to the emperor.
• Chen Jingxuan, the Second Prince, arrives to take charge of the newly occupied territory. Song Yaoyao’s eager gaze makes him feel like a puppy being eyed by someone hungry.

Significant themes

• Strategy and timing: Heavenly Phoenix succeeds by striking after Prince Cheng’s forces and Qi Yanzhen’s side have exhausted one another.
• Loyalty and suspicion: Prince Cheng’s belief that he has been betrayed underscores the instability of his rebellion.
• Duty and teamwork: Song Yaoyao joins the unpleasant cleanup rather than leaving the work to others.
• The burden of conquest: Taking the capital is only the start; governing, securing the city, and persuading or confronting local ministers remain difficult tasks.

Key plot points and events

• The Second Prince arrives in Illusion City, exhausted, and Princess Jiahe (Song Yaoyao) eagerly welcomes him. She agrees to hold things for only half a day before he takes over.
• He gives Song Yaoyao a secret imperial edict ordering her to help stabilize the Night Central Kingdom and guard against the former royal family’s remnants. She accepts, pleased that she can return to patrol duties.
• The next morning, Song Yaoyao immediately hands the Second Prince the stack of unopened memorials and leaves. He takes charge of administration while she, Song Qinghui, and Liu Zheheng go on patrol.
• Guagua tells Song Yaoyao about Niuniu, a clever talking parrot trained to recognize valuables. Since her former owner died, Niuniu has been gathering dropped gold, silver, jewelry, and other valuable objects for her nest.
• Intrigued by the prospect of a bird that can “support” her, Song Yaoyao follows Guagua’s directions to an abandoned residence. She finds Niuniu’s glittering nest. The parrot tries to flee when the group arrives, and Song Yaoyao draws her pistol.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is delighted to surrender administrative work, carefully respects the limits of her authority, and eagerly embraces the idea of acquiring a treasure-finding bird—especially one she imagines might provide for her.
• The Second Prince is grateful for Song Yaoyao’s temporary help and accepts the transfer of responsibility with good humor, despite the mountain of memorials awaiting him.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng accompany Song Yaoyao on patrol and react with amused disbelief to her unusual schemes and the strange things she encounters.
• Guagua explains Niuniu’s history and abilities, while teasing Song Yaoyao for her shameless plan to live off the bird.
• Niuniu, a resourceful parrot with an attachment to shiny valuables, is introduced as Song Yaoyao’s next target.

Significant themes

• Duty and boundaries: Song Yaoyao helps stabilize the city but refuses to take over responsibilities that belong to the Second Prince.
• Relief from power and labor: Unlike those who covet authority, she is eager to relinquish it and return to less demanding work.
• Resourcefulness and comic opportunism: Niuniu’s scavenging skills inspire Song Yaoyao to imagine an absurdly effortless source of income.
• Loyalty and loss: Niuniu’s valuable-collecting habits continue after the death of the merchant who cared for her.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao catches Niuniu with a net gun after the parrot curses at her. Rather than keep the bird by force, she persuades Niuniu to collect silver for her in exchange for food and treats.
• Niuniu agrees—but demands to be called “Boss.” Song Yaoyao accepts the title, joking that she’ll call the bird “Ancestor” as long as she brings home silver.
• Niuniu reveals she can speak and greets Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng with a theatrical “young masters” address. Later, she insults Seventh, amusing him and drawing a curious crowd.
• The next day, Song Yaoyao urges Niuniu to start working. Niuniu returns with a small piece of silver, and Song Yaoyao rewards her with nuts and promises more treats for continued earnings.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao shows herself to be resourceful and shamelessly persuasive, treating the arrangement with Niuniu as a practical “art of survival.” She is determined to make the bird earn her keep.
• Niuniu is revealed as a clever, outspoken female parrot with a dramatic personality, a taste for handsome men, and an appetite for nuts. Though initially resistant, she proves willing to collect silver for rewards.
• Guagua mocks Song Yaoyao’s tactics but is privately entertained by Niuniu and expects her antics to cause future excitement.
• Song Qinghui, Liu Zheheng, and Seventh react with surprise and amusement at the talking bird.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao bargains with Niuniu, then alternates between indulging and ordering her; Niuniu counters by insisting on being called “Boss.”
• Niuniu’s formal greeting to Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng embarrasses Song Yaoyao, who hastily explains she did not teach it.
• Seventh laughs at Niuniu’s ability to talk and curse, while Niuniu promptly calls him an idiot.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua trade teasing insults, with Guagua backing down when Song Yaoyao presses it.

Significant themes

• Survival and pragmatism: Song Yaoyao frames manipulation and deal-making as necessary practical skills.
• Mutual benefit and reward: The arrangement with Niuniu is presented as a win-win—silver for Song Yaoyao, food and treats for the bird.
• Humor and lively companionship: Niuniu’s sass, the group’s reactions, and Song Yaoyao’s banter with Guagua create a playful tone.

Key plot points and events

• Guagua is relieved that Song Yaoyao has spared him from her displeasure; without her spending money, he fears he won’t gain energy or win Lingling’s affection.
• In the palace, the Second Prince struggles to manage all state affairs while his imperial father is away. Exhausted and short on time, he gains new sympathy for his father’s demanding workload.
• While patrolling Illusion City, Song Yaoyao and her companions meet a shopkeeper reporting a food thief. The thief’s letter admits stealing two sausages, condemns the shop’s cooking in cutting terms, and provides a recipe for making better sausages.
• Song Yaoyao laughs at the letter, then argues that the recipe is worth far more than the sausages. Convinced she may profit by improving her food and selling it, the shopkeeper drops the complaint.
• The shopkeeper offers the officers a meal, but they politely refuse and hurry away. She praises the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom’s soldiers for not exploiting local residents, unlike the former Night Central Kingdom troops.

Character developments and interactions

• The Second Prince’s hands-on experience with governing deepens his respect for his father’s endurance and helps him understand why Princess Jiahe left.
• Song Yaoyao is candid and amused, but her blunt remarks nearly offend the shopkeeper. She turns the dispute into a practical bargain, persuading the woman to let the matter go.
• Song Qinghui quietly nudges Song Yaoyao when she laughs in front of the complainant; Liu Zheheng also struggles to contain his amusement.
• The shopkeeper shifts from anger to optimism after considering the recipe’s potential value, then develops a favorable view of the new rulers’ soldiers.

Significant themes

• Humor through insult: The thief’s letter pairs theft with an elaborate critique, making the insult more memorable than the crime.
• Practical fairness: Song Yaoyao weighs the sausages against the recipe’s value rather than treating the complaint as a simple matter of punishment.
• Good governance and public trust: The shopkeeper contrasts the new soldiers’ restraint with the former regime’s abuses, suggesting that small acts of integrity can improve people’s view of a government.
• The burden of leadership: The Second Prince’s exhaustion underscores the personal cost of governing and his growing empathy for his father.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao and her group leave a restaurant after its shopkeeper offers them free food. Yaoyao explains that they ran off rather than bluntly insult the food, which would have offended the shopkeeper.
• During their patrol, Guagua tells Yaoyao a comic online retelling of Journey to the West: Tang Sanzang supposedly wanted to marry the Queen of the Kingdom of Women, but the White Dragon Horse misheard his “Marry!” as a command to run and carried him away.
• Guagua then points out Matchmaker Liu, whose flamboyant clothes are as striking as her sales pitch. She reassures a man who has divorced eight times that his history makes him a desirable “Eight-Divorce Family,” comparing him to a successful fruit shop. Yaoyao and Guagua joke about the matchmaker’s ability to persuade anyone—and imagine her using modern brands to reassure a person supposedly fated to bring misfortune.

Character developments and interactions

• Yaoyao shows social tact and tries to teach her blunt second brother, Song Qinghui, to consider other people’s feelings. Qinghui sees blunt honesty as a virtue and cannot understand why it matters to finding a wife, leaving Yaoyao worried about his romantic prospects.
• Yaoyao and Guagua share a playful, imaginative rapport, trading jokes and reacting together to the stories they encounter.
• Matchmaker Liu confidently flatters and misleads her client, who becomes increasingly convinced that his repeated divorces make him attractive.

Significant themes

• Tact versus bluntness: Yaoyao argues that honesty should be tempered by consideration for others.
• Humor through reinterpretation and exaggeration: The chapter turns familiar stories, social anxieties, and matchmaking into absurd comedy.
• Persuasion and self-deception: Matchmaker Liu’s flattery reveals how readily confidence can be manufactured when someone wants to believe it.