Chapter Summaries

• Key events: Song Yaoyao teases Guagua about his growing romance with Lingling. Guagua enthusiastically describes their movie date and urges Song to find love; she insists she prefers admiring handsome men and finally silences him by threatening to stop buying from him. After several uneventful patrols, a woman named He Xiaohui reports that her husband, Liu Nianming, has been missing for seven days. Her evasive answers prompt Song Yaoyao to suspect she is hiding something. Guagua reveals that He Xiaohui’s family drove Liu away. The chapter begins explaining the family’s history: He Xiaohui’s parents doted on their only child and feared losing her after marriage, so they decided to keep her close by arranging for a man to marry into their family. They chose Liu Nianming and intended to shape him into a dependable son-in-law. The excerpt ends before the full story is revealed.
• Character developments: Guagua is lovestruck and proud of his relationship with Lingling, while Song Yaoyao remains firmly uninterested in romance and enjoys teasing him. He Xiaohui appears anxious and dishonest, suggesting her missing-husband report conceals a complicated family dispute. Her parents are portrayed as deeply attached to her, but their protectiveness has led them to control her future and their son-in-law’s role.
• Character interactions: Song and Guagua trade playful, sarcastic banter, with Song repeatedly mocking his chatter and romantic enthusiasm. At the yamen, Song Qinghui questions He Xiaohui about her husband and disappearance; Song Yaoyao notices her evasiveness and turns to Guagua for information.
• Significant themes: The excerpt contrasts carefree romantic comedy with a more serious case involving family control, marriage, and independence. It also highlights how affection and fear of separation can become possessive, and how appearances may conceal the truth.

Plot points and events

• He Dagui buys eleven-year-old Liu Nianming for five taels of silver, choosing him because Liu is willing to sell himself to feed his younger siblings. Liu becomes the He family’s hardworking odd-job worker, grateful simply to have enough to eat.
• A fire destroys the He family’s general store. He Dagui uses his bank savings to rebuild their home and replace necessities, but little money remains. Smoke inhalation leaves him chronically ill and unable to work.
• Fearing Liu will leave, He Dagui pressures him to marry He Xiaohui and become the family’s live-in son-in-law. Liu agrees out of gratitude. With He Dagui unable to earn, Liu becomes the household’s sole provider.
• Liu takes any work he can find, gives his wages to He Dagui, and keeps laboring after he and Xiaohui have a daughter.
• After years of overwork and inadequate food, Liu nearly faints at work. A foreman buys him two steamed buns, and their cost is deducted from his wages.
• He Dagui berates Liu for spending the money on food. Xiaohui joins in, and the two beat him. Liu eventually pushes them away, is accused of attacking his father-in-law, and is driven from the household. He leaves and never returns.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Nianming is hardworking, grateful, and self-sacrificing, but his endurance has limits. He initially accepts the He family’s demands and abuse, then finally leaves after being attacked and humiliated.
• He Dagui shifts from the man who took Liu in to a controlling, exploitative father-in-law. Though dependent on Liu’s labor, he shows no concern when Liu is exhausted and treats his modest need for food as disloyalty.
• He Xiaohui learns the family business from her father but later sides with him against Liu, helping beat her husband rather than recognizing his sacrifices.
• The family’s relationship with Liu is deeply unequal: he supports them, while they respond to his hardship with suspicion, insults, and violence. Song Yaoyao and Guagua condemn the He family’s treatment of him.

Significant themes

• Exploitation disguised as gratitude: Liu’s gratitude for being rescued is used to justify demands that grow increasingly unfair.
• Class and power imbalance: As a dependent live-in son-in-law with little authority, Liu bears the family’s financial burdens without receiving respect or care.
• Self-sacrifice and its limits: Liu works relentlessly for others, but mistreatment eventually drives him to leave.
• Injustice and hypocrisy: The family accuses Liu of being ungrateful even as they ignore their own dependence on him.

Key plot points and events

• He Xiaohui initially lies about why her husband, Liu Nianming, disappeared. When Song Yaoyao and the others challenge her, she admits what happened.
• The He Family’s motive for finding Liu is not concern for him: they want the money he earned and expect him to return to supporting them.
• Guagua reveals that Liu’s indenture was destroyed in the He Family’s fire—and, because He Dagui never paid to register it, the Government Office has no record of Liu being a slave. He is legally free to leave.
• Song Yaoyao’s group finds Liu at the Bai Family’s estate, where he has been carrying goods. They explain his status and leave the decision to him.
• Liu chooses to leave the He Family, saying years of exploitation have exhausted his loyalty.
• As Song Yaoyao’s party prepares to depart, Guagua warns that something is wrong with the Bai Family’s youngest son. Song orders surveillance, assigning Seventh and two others to watch him.

Character developments

• Liu Nianming moves from uncertainty to a firm decision to claim his freedom. He recognizes that the He Family has treated his kindness as something to exploit.
• Song Yaoyao remains practical and respectful of Liu’s choice, while acting quickly when Guagua raises a new concern.
• He Xiaohui loses her composure under questioning and reveals the truth, exposing her family’s selfish motives.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng become openly disgusted with the He Family and support Song Yaoyao’s confrontation.

Significant themes

• Exploitation and ingratitude: The He Family values Liu for his labor and earnings, not as a husband or relative.
• Freedom and agency: Liu’s unregistered status gives him a legal path out, but the final decision remains his.
• Trust and truth: He Xiaohui’s lies obstruct help until the group insists on honesty.
• New dangers beneath ordinary business: The warning about the Bai Family’s youngest son shifts the chapter toward a larger, unresolved threat.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao confronts He Xiaohui and makes clear that the group cannot help while she lies.
• Guagua supplies crucial information to Song Yaoyao, including the He Family’s motives, Liu’s legal status, and his location.
• Song Yaoyao and her companions explain Liu’s freedom without pressuring him; Liu thanks them and chooses to leave.
• Guagua’s alarm prompts Song Yaoyao to enlist Song Qinghui and the others in watching the Bai Family’s youngest son.

Key plot points and events

• Guagua reveals that Qi Yanzhen survived death by transferring his soul into Bai Jue, the Bai family’s youngest son.
• While still emperor, Qi Yanzhen used a secret Witch Tribe ritual, guided by Feiye, to prepare Bai Jue as a compatible host. Bai Jue was drugged and secretly brought to the palace nightly for forty-nine days while Qi Yanzhen performed incantations. Both took a rare-herb medicine that enabled the transfer after Qi’s death.
• Bai Jue never knew about the ritual. He is a scholar preparing for the provincial examination and assumed his morning headaches and grogginess came from studying and the knockout incense.
• The two souls currently alternate control: Bai Jue uses the body by day and attends the academy; Qi Yanzhen takes over at night to direct hidden forces and plan to retake Illusion City before General Han’s army arrives. Qi returns to bed before Bai Jue awakens, so Bai Jue has noticed nothing.
• Song Yaoyao is alarmed but learns that Qi’s soul is unstable and his power is limited for now. She asks whether the souls will remain in one body and whether they will eventually clash; the chapter ends before Guagua answers.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao moves from confusion to fear and anger as she learns Qi’s survival scheme. She questions Guagua closely, worries whether the same ritual could threaten her, and recognizes Qi’s continued ambitions as a danger.
• Guagua acts as the source of crucial intelligence, explaining the ritual and reassuring Song that it is rare, difficult, and would not escape its notice if she were targeted.
• Qi Yanzhen is portrayed as calculating and determined, having prepared a posthumous escape and continued political-military plans.
• Bai Jue is an unwitting victim, unaware that his body is shared and that Qi controls it at night.

Significant themes

• Immortality and its cost: Qi’s bid to evade death depends on exploiting another person without consent.
• Bodily autonomy and hidden harm: Bai Jue’s life is secretly commandeered while he remains unaware.
• Deception and divided identity: One body conceals two souls and two sharply different lives.
• Lingering ambition: Even after death, Qi continues pursuing power and the recovery of Illusion City.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua learn that Qi Yanzhen’s weak soul has secretly entered Bai Jue’s body. If it survives for three months, it may grow strong enough to consume Bai Jue’s soul—or be consumed by it—leaving only one soul in the body.
• Qi Yanzhen still commands 20,000 elite troops hidden in the mountains. Revealing that his scheme has been discovered could provoke an attack, endanger civilians, or let him escape and threaten the kingdom later.
• Guagua advises Song Yaoyao to keep the discovery secret, summon Master Liaoran to resolve the two-souls-in-one-body problem, and urgently call General Han’s forces to Illusion City. Song also assigns Imperial Shadow Guards to monitor Bai Jue.
• Song Yaoyao informs Song Qinghui, Liu Zheheng, Sister Cui, and the Second Prince’s party. She gives the Second Prince’s group Gatling guns and ammunition, then teaches them how to use the weapons so they can defend themselves.
• General Han sends Han Chuyu and Yu Youqian ahead with 10,000 soldiers, while his main army speeds up. The emperor summons Master Liaoran, who sets out for Illusion City.
• Han Chuyu and Yu Youqian arrive five days later, strengthening the city’s defenses. Until Master Liaoran arrives, the group must keep close watch over Bai Jue.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao responds cautiously and decisively, balancing the need to stop Qi Yanzhen against the danger of provoking him. She coordinates with her allies and prepares the Second Prince’s group to defend themselves.
• Guagua serves as a strategic adviser, emphasizing the risks posed by Qi Yanzhen’s hidden army and recommending the practical next steps.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng are shocked by the revelation but quickly accept Song Yaoyao’s plan.
• Sister Cui is impressed by the Gatlings and eager to use them; the Second Prince and his companions are astonished by both the supernatural threat and the modern weapons.
• General Han, Han Chuyu, and Yu Youqian react urgently to the news. Yu Youqian remains focused on returning to marry Ou Ruoxuan once the crisis is resolved.
• The emperor and Master Liaoran recognize the seriousness of the situation and act promptly.

Significant themes

• Hidden threats and vigilance: Qi Yanzhen remains dangerous even after death, making constant surveillance essential.
• Strategic restraint: The heroes avoid alerting him because rash action could trigger violence, endanger civilians, or allow his escape.
• Cooperation and preparation: The crisis prompts rapid coordination among Song Yaoyao, military leaders, the emperor, and Master Liaoran.
• Supernatural danger and mortal stakes: The struggle for control of Bai Jue’s body threatens both individuals and the wider kingdom.

Key plot points and events

• Seventh reports that Bai Jue uses a hidden passage beneath his bed to leave the city at night and reach Fallen Phoenix Mountain. His team followed him partway, saw him meet others, then wisely hid rather than risk being outnumbered.
• Song Yaoyao praises the team’s caution and joins her brothers and companions that night to observe Bai Jue.
• After Bai Jue appears to go to sleep, his body wakes and enters the passage. Seventh suspects that Qi Yanzhen has taken control, confirming the two share one body.
• Guagua reveals that Qi Yanzhen secretly had the passage and mechanism built over a month, keeping Bai Jue unconscious with drugs during the work.
• Song Yaoyao’s group disables the estate’s hidden expert guards with her Anesthetic Gun, enters the passage, and follows Qi Yanzhen through the hour-long tunnel.
• Outside the city, they overhear Qi Yanzhen meeting two subordinates. He asks after his people, rebukes their low morale, then urges them to endure setbacks and remain hopeful.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao shows sound judgment: she commends Seventh’s team for prioritizing safety and carefully prepares before following Qi Yanzhen. She is also increasingly alert to the danger surrounding Bai Jue.
• Qi Yanzhen appears disciplined and resilient, speaking with the authority of a former emperor. His elaborate preparations reveal long-term planning, though they came at Bai Jue’s expense.
• Seventh and his team demonstrate restraint and reliability by avoiding a dangerous confrontation when they lack numbers.
• Guagua provides crucial intelligence but slips into extended poetic reflections, prompting Song Yaoyao to rein him back to the mission.

Significant themes

• Caution and responsibility: The group treats survival and careful reconnaissance as more important than reckless pursuit.
• Preparation and hidden power: Qi Yanzhen’s tunnel and secret meetings show how much can be concealed beneath ordinary appearances.
• Resilience amid setbacks: Qi Yanzhen urges his subordinates not to lose heart, presenting hardship as part of life.
• The cost of ambition: His plans required drugging Bai Jue and leaving him to sleep on the floor, highlighting the harm hidden behind Qi Yanzhen’s schemes.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao praises Seventh’s team and reinforces her expectation that they protect themselves.
• Song Yaoyao, her brothers, Seventh, and Liu Zheheng work together to enter the passage and follow Qi Yanzhen.
• Qi Yanzhen alternates between harshly criticizing his subordinates and reassuring them.
• Song Yaoyao teases and redirects Guagua when his philosophical and romantic poetry distracts from the surveillance task.

Plot points and events

• Guagua gives Song Yaoyao a detailed map of Qi Yanzhen’s forces on Fallen Phoenix Mountain, revealing the locations of his twenty thousand soldiers, sentries, and traps. Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng see the map too.
• Song follows Qi Yanzhen to a cave that conceals a large plateau and settlement. She learns he has divided his army into twenty squads of a thousand, each led by one of the captains summoned to hear his plans.
• Qi Yanzhen urges his commanders to prepare for a counterattack on Illusion City. He promises his men they will soon be able to leave hiding and live openly. He also orders them to withdraw if anything happens to him.
• Song refuses to capture Qi immediately, reasoning that his disappearance would prompt the army to scatter and make it difficult to locate. She plans to wait for General Han’s forces and capture the soldiers alive, potentially recruiting them into the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom.
• After watching Qi leave until dawn, Song and her companions return to rest. Ginkgo wakes her with an urgent message; Guagua adds that someone has come to provoke a confrontation involving Niuniu.

Character development

• Song Yaoyao demonstrates strategic patience: she prioritizes locating and capturing Qi’s entire force over a quick arrest, and sees the soldiers as a potential resource rather than enemies to kill.
• Qi Yanzhen is shown as a careful, persuasive commander. He maintains several scattered hiding places and uses promises of a return to public life to keep his long-suffering troops loyal.
• Guagua supports Song with intelligence and strategic advice, though Song makes the final decisions.

Significant themes

• Leadership and loyalty: Qi holds his men together by appealing to their longing for freedom and belonging.
• Strategy over force: Knowing the enemy’s layout and anticipating their reactions matters more than attacking impulsively.
• The value of people and resources: Song wants to spare trained soldiers and bring them into her kingdom’s service.
• Hidden threats: Capturing Qi alone could leave a dispersed army as a continuing danger.

Character interactions

• Qi motivates Qing Ye and the other squad leaders with promises of victory and an end to their hidden existence.
• The captains report to Qi before hearing his counterattack plan, showing the army’s organized chain of command.
• Song and Guagua discuss whether to seize Qi or wait; Song persuades Guagua that capturing the whole force is safer and more useful.
• Ginkgo tries to wake the exhausted Song, but Guagua’s news about Niuniu immediately gets her attention.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao rushes to the front hall after Guagua warns that Niuniu has caused trouble.
• A woman reports that Niuniu stole three of her embroidered dudou (traditional undergarments), taking them because it thought they were pretty.
• Song Yaoyao apologizes and offers the woman a valuable bolt of fabric as compensation. The woman is surprised by Yaoyao’s kindness and accepts it.
• A bashful scholar says Niuniu carried off his sash, then asks whether Song Yaoyao has feelings for him.
• Guagua explains that, in this kingdom, a woman may give or secretly take a man’s sash as a sign of affection. The scholar therefore assumes Yaoyao sent Niuniu to steal his.
• Yaoyao denies any involvement and jokingly says Niuniu must be the one who likes him. Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng arrive and glare at the scholar protectively.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao responds responsibly to Niuniu’s mischief: she listens to the complaints, apologizes publicly, and compensates the woman generously. The scholar’s misunderstanding leaves her exasperated and embarrassed.
• Niuniu is revealed as a mischievous parrot with a penchant for attractive objects; it has also memorized a poem it heard from a heartbroken, drunken scholar.
• The woman arrives angry but is impressed by Yaoyao’s humility and generosity, revising her assumptions about nobles.
• The scholar is shy and misreads the stolen sash as a romantic gesture from Yaoyao.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng both act as protective older-brother figures, bristling at the scholar’s implication that Yaoyao is romantically interested in him.
• The scene’s humor comes from Niuniu’s innocent thefts, the local custom surrounding sashes, and Yaoyao’s bewildered attempts to distance herself from the misunderstanding.

Significant themes

• Responsibility and kindness: Yaoyao takes accountability for her pet’s actions and makes amends rather than dismissing the complaints.
• Appearance versus reality: The woman’s expectations of a spoiled, arrogant princess are overturned by Yaoyao’s considerate behavior.
• Cultural misunderstanding and comedy: A custom unknown to Yaoyao turns Niuniu’s theft into an unintended romantic declaration.

Key plot points and events

• Niuniu’s habit of bringing home attractive objects causes another misunderstanding when it takes a man’s embroidered sash. Song Yaoyao and her brother Song Qinghui explain the parrot’s behavior, and Qinghui compensates the man despite his refusal.
• Qinghui and Liu Zheheng urge Song Yaoyao to discipline Niuniu. Back in her courtyard, she strips the bird of its “Boss” title, threatens it, catches it in a net when it tries to flee, and withholds its favorite nuts.
• Guagua points out that Niuniu learned to collect pretty objects from its former owner, so punishment alone may not solve the habit. Guagua suggests showing it fine embroidery instead.
• Song Yaoyao obtains embroidered handkerchiefs from palace embroiderers. Niuniu loves them—but mistakenly decides it should fetch things from the Imperial Palace. Song Yaoyao firmly forbids that, clarifying that finding silver is acceptable but stealing is not.
• Niuniu understands and agrees to change its behavior gradually.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao takes responsibility for Niuniu’s misbehavior, using both stern discipline and a more thoughtful approach. She is protective of the bird but worries about the trouble its habit could cause.
• Niuniu is cheeky and defiant, yet knows when to yield. Its behavior is revealed to stem from having to fend for itself after its previous owner died, rather than simple greed or malice.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng show concern for Song Yaoyao and help ensure the incident with the man is resolved.

Significant themes

• Responsibility and consequences: Song Yaoyao insists that wrongdoing must be corrected, even when committed by a beloved pet.
• Understanding behavior at its source: Guagua’s advice shifts the response from punishment alone toward addressing how Niuniu acquired the habit.
• Finding versus stealing: Niuniu must learn that collecting objects is not acceptable when they belong to someone else.
• Care expressed through boundaries: Song Yaoyao’s threats and restrictions are harshly comic, but intended to keep Niuniu—and others—out of trouble.

Character interactions

• Song Qinghui calmly reassures the man and compensates him, then warns Song Yaoyao to control Niuniu.
• Song Yaoyao and Niuniu trade playful insults and threats, with the bird repeatedly protesting its treatment and testing the possibility of escape.
• Guagua advises Song Yaoyao on how to address the habit more effectively.
• Song Yaoyao explains the distinction between finding and stealing; Niuniu listens and agrees to reform little by little.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao learns that Qi Yanzhen’s men are infiltrating Illusion City. With Han Chuyu’s help, she has them watched and avoids acting too early, expecting Qi Yanzhen to strike before General Han’s arrival.
• Around 5,000 of Qi Yanzhen’s troops enter the city. Song worries that her forces cannot capture them all without alerting the larger army outside.
• Yu Youqian reveals that General Yu has secretly brought 30,000 reinforcements. Song sends him a map of Fallen Phoenix Mountain and orders him to offer surrender where possible, while dealing firmly with those who resist.
• General Yu seals the mountain’s secret-passage exit and begins the operation. At Song’s signal, Han Chuyu moves to capture the 5,000 troops in the city.
• Song leads soldiers to the Bai residence, where she reveals a hidden passage in Bai Jue’s room. She explains that Qi Yanzhen takes control of Bai Jue’s body at night and uses the passage to leave the city.

Character developments and interactions

• Song remains cautious and strategic, coordinating separate operations with Seventh, Yu Youqian, Han Chuyu, and General Yu. Her careful planning turns a manpower shortage into an opportunity once reinforcements arrive.
• Seventh is relieved that the added troops make it possible to confront Qi Yanzhen directly.
• The Bai family, especially Bai Leng’an, is confused and frightened: they believe Bai Jue is an ordinary, law-abiding scholar. Bai Jue himself is pale and bewildered, insisting he knew nothing of the passage.
• Song treats the family’s confusion seriously and promises an explanation, then reveals the truth rather than accusing them without evidence.
• The opening lightheartedly shows Niuniu beginning to expect Song to provide whatever she wants, while Song remains unaware that the bird has reversed their hoped-for relationship.

Significant themes

• Strategy and coordination: Success depends on patience, surveillance, secrecy, and cooperation across multiple forces.
• Deception and hidden truths: Qi Yanzhen’s control of Bai Jue and the concealed passage show how appearances conceal danger.
• Power and vulnerability: Bai Jue may be implicated in events he cannot remember or control, while his family is caught off guard by the truth.
• Comic reversal: Niuniu’s growing demands playfully overturn Song’s expectation that the bird would support her.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao reveals that Qi Yanzhen’s soul has been inhabiting Bai Jue’s body at night. It is still weak, but if it grows stronger, either soul could destroy the other.
• The Bai family learns they have roughly two months to deal with the possession before Qi Yanzhen’s soul stabilizes. Song has already summoned an eminent monk to help.
• To keep Bai Jue safe, the family agrees he will remain at home under guard rather than attend the academy.
• That night, the family stays up to witness the change. When Bai Jue falls asleep, Qi Yanzhen takes control.
• Qi Yanzhen tries to deny his identity, but Song exposes him by describing how they followed him to Fallen Phoenix Mountain and heard him speaking with his subordinates. His claim that he does not recognize Song—whom Bai Jue met earlier that day—convinces the family that he is no longer himself.
• Once exposed, Qi Yanzhen boasts that Bai Jue should consider it an honor to serve as his vessel. Song orders him gagged.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Jue is frightened by the possibility of losing his body and initially agrees to stay home for safety. Seeing the possession firsthand makes the danger impossible to dismiss.
• Bai Leng’an shifts from disbelief to urgent concern for his youngest son, pleading with Song to save him. He ultimately rejects Qi Yanzhen as his son and condemns his ambitions.
• Song Yaoyao demonstrates that she has been monitoring the situation and has a plan. She reassures the Bai family, exposes Qi Yanzhen’s deception, and remains blunt and decisive.
• Qi Yanzhen is exposed as arrogant and ruthless. He refuses to acknowledge Bai Jue’s right to his own body and regards the family’s lives as expendable.
• The Bai family moves from skepticism to unity in protecting Bai Jue, and their encounter confirms that Qi Yanzhen is a threat to them all.

Significant themes

• Identity and control: Bai Jue’s body has become the battleground for two souls.
• Family loyalty and protection: The Bai family acts together once they understand the danger to Bai Jue.
• Power and moral worth: Qi Yanzhen’s contempt for human life reinforces why he is unfit to rule.
• Deception and proof: Song counters Qi Yanzhen’s denials with evidence and a simple test based on what Bai Jue should know.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao confronts the captive Qi Yanzhen, who still believes his forces can retake Illusion City. She reveals that her side has secretly moved tens of thousands of soldiers into the city and has surrounded Qi’s forces.
• Reports confirm that Han has captured the five thousand infiltrators inside Illusion City and Yu has captured the fifteen thousand stationed on Fallen Phoenix Mountain. Qi’s remaining hopes collapse.
• Song reveals that she knows Qi plans to take full control of Bai Jue’s body after three months. She has arranged for Master Liaoran to destroy Qi’s soul and gags Qi to prevent him from harming Bai Jue in desperation.
• In the days before Liaoran arrives, Bai Jue remains in control by day and Qi by night, so Liu Zheheng and Song Qinghui take shifts guarding them.
• Ten days later, Master Liaoran arrives. After resting, he places a large Śarīra on Qi’s chest and chants sutras through the night. Song Yaoyao then asks whether Qi’s soul will return; the chapter ends before Liaoran answers.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao is strategic and confident: she anticipates Qi’s plans, reveals the full extent of his defeat, and takes precautions to protect Bai Jue.
• Qi Yanzhen moves from arrogant certainty to disbelief and despair as his armies are captured, though he remains defiant.
• Master Liaoran appears genial and humorous, especially when asking Song for more snacks, but carries out the serious spiritual task with patience and resolve.
• Bai Jue remains vulnerable to Qi’s alternating control, making his protection a priority.

Character interactions

• Song taunts Qi and dismantles his confidence with news of his military losses and her knowledge of his plan.
• Song arranges careful watch shifts with Liu Zheheng and Song Qinghui to guard Bai Jue and Qi.
• Liaoran teases Song about missing him—and quickly reveals he mainly wants her snacks. Song responds with affectionate exasperation before trusting him to help.

Significant themes

• Strategic foresight and control: Song’s preparations prevent Qi from exploiting either military or supernatural weaknesses.
• The collapse of arrogance: Qi’s confidence vanishes as reality catches up with him.
• Protection and responsibility: The group’s vigilance reflects their determination to preserve Bai Jue and prevent Qi from causing further harm.
• Humor alongside danger: Song and Liaoran’s banter provides comic relief amid a tense supernatural crisis.

Key plot points and events

• Master Liaoran explains that breaking the curse on Bai Jue requires the same forty-nine days of sutra chanting used to cast it. Song Yaoyao thanks him and promises him a steady supply of snacks. He continues reciting at the Bai residence each night while she accompanies him.
• During a patrol, a frightened woman falls before Song Yaoyao and begs for help. Servants claim she is their mistress and has gone mad, but their conduct—especially a male servant trying to silence and seize her—makes Song Yaoyao suspect they mean her harm.
• Song Qinghui kicks the lead servant away. Song Yaoyao challenges the servants, helps the woman up, and takes her to the Yamen for safety.
• The woman identifies herself as Xia Wanyun, daughter of former deputy minister of justice Xia Yihan. She begins explaining that her family was imprisoned after her father was accused of stealing something entrusted to him and conspiring with a wanted criminal. Her fiancé, Zuo Yanfeng, then produced their marriage contract and claimed she was no longer part of the Xia family, securing her release. Xia says she believed he had saved her.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao balances her patrol duties with protecting Bai Jue and helping Master Liaoran. She is perceptive and forceful, recognizing that the servants’ actions threaten Xia’s safety despite their claims.
• Master Liaoran is diligent about the curse-breaking ritual but comically preoccupied with snacks; Song indulges him as thanks for his effort.
• Song Qinghui reacts swiftly to the servants’ rough treatment, while Song Yaoyao takes over the questioning and ensures Xia is brought somewhere safe.
• Xia Wanyun moves from desperate fear to cautiously recounting her past. Her story introduces a possible betrayal or injustice involving her family and fiancé.

Significant themes

• Duty and sacrifice: Master Liaoran’s long ritual and Song’s support show the work required to undo the curse.
• Abuse of power and vulnerability: The servants use authority over Xia to intimidate and control her, while Song challenges their conduct.
• Appearance versus truth: The servants’ claim that Xia is “mad” conflicts with their threatening behavior, prompting Song to question their story.
• Trust and betrayal: Xia’s faith that Zuo Yanfeng rescued her is framed against the suspicious circumstances of her family’s imprisonment.

Key plot points and events

• Xia Wanyun explains that her family arranged a marriage with the Zuo Family before their downfall, trading half their wealth for the promise that she would be taken in and protected.
• After Xia’s family was executed, Zuo Yanfeng cared for her—but only to gain access to a fortune he believed her mother had hidden. When Wanyun insisted no such fortune existed, the Zuo family’s abuse began.
• Wanyun reveals that the family had secretly given her safflower to prevent her from becoming pregnant. They also isolated and mistreated her, refused to release her, and eventually planned to offer her to Park Zhiling in exchange for favor.
• She escaped while being taken to Park and appealed to Song Yaoyao for help. Song agrees to shelter her while investigating her claims.
• Zuo Yanfeng arrives at the yamen, claiming he has come to fetch his wife. Wanyun trembles, and Song tells her to hide while promising to protect her.

Character developments and interactions

• Xia Wanyun recounts her story with grief and shame but remains determined to survive and clear her family’s name. She trusts Song enough to plead for protection.
• Song Yaoyao listens without interruption, offers comfort, and sets a cautious course: she will investigate rather than accept the account unquestioningly. Nevertheless, the Zuo family’s alleged conduct has clearly angered her.
• Zuo Yanfeng, absent from the scene, is exposed through Wanyun’s account as calculating and abusive, using a false display of devotion to pursue her family’s supposed wealth.
• Song and Wanyun form a protective bond, with Song reassuring her and offering refuge as the immediate threat arrives.

Significant themes

• Deception and exploitation: The Zuo family’s apparent kindness concealed greed and coercion.
• Women’s vulnerability and autonomy: Wanyun is denied control over her property, marriage, fertility, and safety.
• Survival and justice: Despite despair and abuse, Wanyun lives on to vindicate her family.
• Reputation versus reality: The Zuo family’s public image of loyalty masks their private cruelty.

Plot and key events

• Zuo Yanfeng arrives at Song Yaoyao’s residence and politely asks to take his wife, Xia Wanyun, home. He immediately claims Xia has gone mad and urges Song not to believe her.
• Guagua confirms Xia’s account and identifies Zuo as an abusive, deceptive husband. Song trusts Guagua and decides to punish him.
• Song challenges Zuo’s composure and his decision to discredit his wife, then needles him over his lack of official rank and his family’s standing.
• When Zuo pleads that his father, Deputy Minister of War Lord Zuo, should be spared involvement, Song orders him punished for supposedly slandering a court official.
• Her guards tie him down and begin giving him thirty strokes. Zuo invokes his father’s power, but Song mocks his appeal to nepotism. She orders him gagged with Wang Er’s filthy sock when his screams annoy her.
• As the beating continues, Song’s comments hint that Zuo’s leg could be injured; Wang Er strikes it, and Zuo faints. Song orders him revived and insists the full punishment be completed.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is fiercely protective of Xia and uses her authority, sharp tongue, and theatrical accusations to intimidate Zuo. Her punishment is deliberately harsh and becomes increasingly cruel, played partly for comic effect.
• Zuo Yanfeng begins with a respectful, self-assured manner, but quickly becomes frightened and desperate when Song turns his request against him. He tries to rely on his father’s status but cannot stop the punishment.
• Xia Wanyun does not appear in the confrontation, but her account—validated by Guagua—drives Song’s actions.
• Guagua acts as Song’s trusted source of information and comments humorously on her references to a familiar “my dad is Li Gang” meme.
• Wang Er and the guards carry out Song’s orders, with Wang Er responding to her hints by striking Zuo’s leg.

Significant themes

• Protecting the vulnerable: Song takes Xia’s side against a husband who tries to silence and discredit her.
• Abuse of power and status: Zuo expects his family connections to protect him; Song turns that privilege into a source of ridicule.
• Justice versus vengeance: The chapter presents Song’s intervention as retaliation for Zuo’s wrongdoing, while the extreme beating blurs the line between justice and personal revenge.
• Public humiliation and comic retribution: Sharp insults, the filthy sock, and the meme reference give the violent punishment a farcical tone.

Key plot points

• Song Yaoyao orders Wang Er to punish Zuo Yanfeng for abusing his power over Xia Wanyun and trying to hand her over to Park Zhiling. Wang Er gives him thirty brutal strokes, leaving him unconscious.
• Song explains that she fears Zuo would exploit Xia again if allowed to take her away, and believes he deserves severe punishment.
• Through Guagua, Song learns that Xia Wanyun’s father, Xia Yihan, was framed for the escape of Prince Ming, one of Emperor Qi Yanzhen’s brothers. The Minister of Justice—secretly Prince Ming’s ally—arranged the escape and made Xia the scapegoat.
• Wang Er delivers Zuo Yanfeng to the Zuo residence, publicly explaining that he was punished for insulting and slandering a superior. A crowd gathers. Lord Zuo restrains his wife’s outrage and sends the injured young man inside; the exchange ends with the Zuo couple humiliated before onlookers.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao shows fierce protectiveness toward Xia Wanyun and a willingness to use harsh punishment to prevent further abuse. She also pieces together the political framing of Xia Yihan.
• Xia Wanyun is revealed to have once been a celebrated, accomplished young woman. Her family’s fall has left her vulnerable, and her father’s imprisonment was the result of a political conspiracy.
• Zuo Yanfeng is portrayed as cruel and exploitative; his beating is the immediate consequence of his treatment of Xia.
• Wang Er carries out Song’s order without restraint and confidently confronts the Zuo family in public.
• Madam Zuo demands revenge before asking what happened, while Lord Zuo responds cautiously and prioritizes avoiding a public scene. Wang Er’s taunts and the crowd’s laughter further embarrass them.

Significant themes

• Protecting the vulnerable: Song acts to stop Xia from being handed over and potentially abused again.
• Abuse and exploitation: Song treats Zuo’s behavior as a pattern likely to recur unless forcefully interrupted.
• Political corruption and scapegoating: A powerful official conceals his treachery by framing Xia Yihan, illustrating how lower-ranking families can be sacrificed to protect influential conspirators.
• Public reputation and power: The confrontation at the Zuo gate turns private punishment into public humiliation, while Lord Zuo’s restraint reflects the political risks of challenging Song’s side.

Plot points

• After Zuo Yanfeng is brought home badly beaten, a doctor recommends calling an Imperial Physician. The Second Prince approves the request, unaware of Zuo Yanfeng’s conduct or Song Yaoyao’s involvement.
• Once awake, Zuo Yanfeng lies to his parents, omitting his treatment of Xia Wanyun and claiming that an unnamed young woman at the Yamen attacked him without cause.
• The Imperial Physician privately tells Lord Zuo that most of Zuo Yanfeng’s injuries will heal, but his legs are badly damaged and he will likely limp permanently. Lord Zuo vows revenge on the woman at the Yamen.
• Xia Wanyun, having learned that Song Yaoyao is a Commandery Princess, thanks her and warns that the Zuo family may retaliate. Song reassures her and says she has a plan.
• Song asks Guagua to investigate Lord Zuo. Guagua explains that Zuo Shangtong rose from a declining family through academic success, marriage into the powerful Wen family, and a network of gifts and influence that helped restore his clan.

Character developments and interactions

• Zuo Yanfeng protects himself with a self-serving lie, presenting himself as the victim and concealing his role in Xia Wanyun’s predicament.
• Lord Zuo reacts with fury to his son’s injuries and becomes determined to identify and punish Song, without knowing what his son has hidden.
• Xia Wanyun is grateful to Song but remains wary of the Zuo family’s power. Song responds with kindness and confidence, taking responsibility for protecting her.
• Song Yaoyao suspects Lord Zuo’s influence may conceal wrongdoing, but says she wants evidence before judging him. Her exchange with Guagua also shows her practical, probing approach.
• Guagua supplies the background that Song needs: Zuo Shangtong benefited from Wen Yiling’s powerful family and from gifts sent to the Zuo clan by people seeking connections or favors.

Significant themes

• Truth versus self-interest: Zuo Yanfeng’s lie contrasts with Song’s insistence on confirming suspicions before making accusations.
• Power, patronage, and corruption: Zuo Shangtong’s advancement and the clan’s revival are tied not only to talent and marriage, but also to influential connections and carefully managed gifts.
• Justice and retaliation: Song’s punishment of Zuo Yanfeng prompts a likely clash with a powerful family, while Xia Wanyun’s safety remains a concern.

Key plot points

• Guagua reveals that Deputy Minister of War Zuo Shangtong is involved in weapons trafficking and selling official posts, with corruption spread throughout the Ministry of War.
• Song Yaoyao obtains evidence and reports the crimes to the Second Prince, warning that stolen weapons could threaten the kingdom’s security.
• Before the Zuo family is punished, Yaoyao secures a decree divorcing Xia Wanyun from Zuo Yanfeng so Xia will not be implicated.
• Yaoyao also reports that the Minister of Justice may be allied with the missing Prince Ming. The Second Prince decides to investigate quietly and invites Yaoyao to observe the next morning court session.
• Xia Wanyun’s divorce is officially registered, and she is established as the sole head of a women’s household. Soon afterward, the Ministry of War’s officials and their families are imprisoned.
• Yaoyao tells Xia that investigators have identified who harmed her father, Xia Yihan, but must wait before acting because others may be involved.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao acts decisively to expose corruption while protecting Xia Wanyun from the consequences of her husband’s family’s crimes. She also shows caution by accepting the need for a discreet investigation into the Minister of Justice.
• Xia Wanyun moves from dependence on the Zuo family to legal freedom and a household of her own. She is overwhelmed with relief and gratitude, and becomes hopeful about learning the truth behind her father’s case.
• The Second Prince takes Yaoyao’s evidence seriously, orders the arrest of the Ministry of War’s officials, grants the divorce, and chooses a cautious approach to uncovering possible court conspirators.
• Song Qinghui shares Yaoyao’s alarm, recognizing the danger that weapons trafficking poses to the kingdom.
• Yaoyao repeatedly reassures Xia, while gently discouraging her from kneeling to express gratitude.

Significant themes

• Justice and accountability: Corrupt officials face severe consequences for betraying their country.
• Protection and compassion: Yaoyao uses her influence to shield Xia from collective punishment and help her regain independence.
• National security: The trafficking of advanced weapons is presented as an existential danger.
• Caution amid political intrigue: The suspected Prince Ming network must be investigated without alerting its members.

Key plot points and events

• After spending the night assisting Master Liaoran, Song Yaoyao changes into her Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom court robes and attends her first public meeting in the Night Central Kingdom.
• The Second Prince introduces her as Princess Jiahe and seats her beside him. The court is startled that a foreign commandery princess is present while officials discuss sensitive plans to absorb the conquered kingdom’s army.
• When a minister objects, the Second Prince explains that Song Yaoyao is uniquely permitted to attend court in the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom and that its emperor trusts her with state matters.
• Song Yaoyao silently consults Guagua, who identifies three senior officials as agents planted by Prince Ming and names five more officials connected to other countries. The Second Prince memorizes the names.
• The meeting ends without Song Yaoyao speaking aloud, leaving the ministers puzzled about why she was invited.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains focused and discreet, using Guagua to investigate the officials while ignoring their scrutiny. She also scolds Guagua for getting distracted by gossip.
• The Second Prince demonstrates confidence in Song Yaoyao by openly including her in court proceedings. He is initially concerned that the ministers might hear her inner voice, but relaxes when they do not.
• Guagua supplies intelligence about the officials, including the motives of Prince Ming’s former informants, though it briefly gets sidetracked by scandalous gossip.
• The Minister of Justice, Censor Zhang, and the Counsellor Grandee are revealed as Prince Ming’s planted agents. The Minister of Justice now fears Prince Ming’s return and longs only for a peaceful retirement.

Significant themes

• Trust and women’s authority: Song Yaoyao’s presence challenges the ministers’ assumptions about women’s place in government, while the Second Prince backs her legitimacy.
• Loyalty and hidden allegiance: The new regime must identify foreign agents among officials who have surrendered.
• Public silence, private influence: Though Song Yaoyao says nothing at the meeting, her secret intelligence-gathering materially aids the Second Prince.

Key plot points and events

• After court, Song Yaoyao returns to her residence and goes straight to sleep, unconcerned by the ministers’ confusion over her behavior.
• A few days later, the Minister of Justice, Censor Zhang, and the Counsellor Grandee are arrested for conspiring with Prince Ming.
• The Second Prince takes Song Yaoyao to the prison because Prince Ming refuses to reveal where his forces are hidden. The authorities fear that further torture will kill him before they can learn what his followers are planning.
• Song Yaoyao discovers Prince Ming is thirty-five, though he looks much younger. Their private thoughts briefly wander into jokes about his appearance and skincare.
• Prince Ming mistakes Song Yaoyao for a honey-trap and insults her as a “bean sprout.” Angered but amused by his defiance, she threatens to break his resistance. Guagua privately tells her it already knows the location of Prince Ming’s forces, but Song Yaoyao wants to deal with him first.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao remains irreverent and easily distracted, but once challenged, she turns playful and intimidating. She is willing to confront Prince Ming rather than immediately use the information Guagua has found.
• The Second Prince is anxious about bringing Song Yaoyao to the prison, since he fears she may suspect he can hear her thoughts. He hides his nerves and maintains a calm appearance.
• Prince Ming is captured but remains defiant, refusing to disclose his forces’ location. His arrogance leads him to misjudge Song Yaoyao.
• Guagua provides intelligence while teasing Song Yaoyao, and also shares the Second Prince’s fear that their secret could be discovered.

Significant themes

• Hidden knowledge and secrecy: Guagua’s information gives the protagonists an advantage, while the Second Prince struggles to conceal that he can hear Song Yaoyao’s thoughts.
• Appearance versus reality: Prince Ming’s youthful looks contrast with his age and political threat; his assumptions about Song Yaoyao’s appearance also prove unwise.
• Humor amid danger: The characters’ absurd internal banter contrasts with the serious conspiracy and the urgent need to locate Prince Ming’s forces.

Character interactions

• The Second Prince brings Song Yaoyao to question Prince Ming, balancing the mission’s urgency against his fear of exposing his secret.
• Prince Ming insults Song Yaoyao, expecting her to be an ineffective seductress; she responds with a threat, setting up a clash of wills.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua trade jokes about Prince Ming’s looks, while Guagua’s gloating over his insult briefly irritates her.