Chapter Summaries

Plot points

• Song Yaoyao punishes the foul-mouthed Prince Ming by having salt and then ghost-pepper powder applied to his wounds and body. His cries make clear how agonizing the treatment is.
• Afterward, Song tells him she was not trying to extract information—she simply wanted to punish his insults. The Second Prince is shocked by the unusual torture.
• Song asks Guagua where Prince Ming’s troops are hiding. Guagua reveals that his 3,000 men are concealed in underground chambers and among customers at the Heavenly Fortune Restaurant and Spring Breeze Gambling House.
• Guagua explains that Prince Ming had been waiting in Illusion City, growing cautious as other forces arrived and were arrested, until the Second Prince’s men caught him.
• Song taunts Prince Ming with news that Qi Yanzhen’s schemes—including his two-souls-in-one-body contingency—have been uncovered and that a monk is being brought in to deal with his soul. She warns that his own men will soon be arrested.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is playful but vindictive when provoked, and confidently uses her knowledge—and Guagua’s intelligence—to unsettle Prince Ming. She also reveals how much the authorities know, presenting their discovery of his troops as “witchcraft.”
• Prince Ming shifts from defiant bravado to regret and horror. He realizes he underestimated Song and is especially shaken that she knows where his men are hidden.
• The Second Prince witnesses Song’s methods with visible discomfort and surprise, while still coordinating the interrogation.
• Guagua is frightened by Song’s cruelty, briefly falters when she questions him, then provides the information she requests.

Themes

• Retaliation and consequences: Prince Ming’s insults provoke a punishment designed not to extract information but to make him suffer.
• Intelligence and concealment: Prince Ming’s forces hide in plain sight, but secret arrangements can still be uncovered.
• Power through knowledge and intimidation: Song uses information—and the appearance of supernatural insight—to make Prince Ming feel powerless.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao reveals that Prince Ming’s schemes have been uncovered. The Second Prince orders the jailer to kill him to prevent a jailbreak, while Song advises searching restaurants, brothels, and gambling houses for hidden forces.
• The authorities shut down the Heavenly Fortune Restaurant and Spring Breeze Gambling House. The Minister of Justice and his associates, along with their families, are executed, bringing the conspiracy to an end.
• Song tells Xia Wanyun that the Minister of Justice caused her father’s death. Xia grieves, visits her parents’ graves, and receives an official order clearing her father’s name.
• Wanting to repay Song, Xia offers to serve as her maid. Song instead invites her to study medicine and become her disciple. Xia accepts.

Character developments

• The Second Prince is shown to be cautious and decisive, quickly acting on what he has learned and securing justice.
• Xia moves from grief and gratitude toward a new purpose: rather than remain a servant, she chooses to learn medicine and build a vocation.
• Song reveals her larger ambition: to train female doctors, especially in women’s medicine, so that patients who avoid male physicians can receive care.

Significant themes

• Justice and closure: The Xia family is vindicated, allowing Xia to mourn and begin moving forward.
• Women’s autonomy and opportunity: Song challenges the limits imposed on women and rejects confining a talented woman to domestic service.
• Compassion through education: Song sees medical knowledge as something to pass on so she can help more people than she could alone.

Character interactions

• Song works with the Second Prince to expose the conspiracy, then later shares Xia’s grief without pressing her to speak.
• Xia expresses deep gratitude and offers herself in service; Song responds by recognizing her potential and offering mentorship instead.
• Song’s account of her role as a court official and Imperial Physician amazes Xia, who begins to regard her not only as a benefactor but as an inspiring master.

Key plot points and events

• Xia Wanyun reflects that practical skills would have served her better than the arts, and admires Song Yaoyao’s medical knowledge. Song gives her two medical books to study while she stays at the residence.
• The Second Prince strips Duke Park of his title after more than twenty victims’ remains are found at his residence. Park Zhiling is executed; his father soon dies after falling ill.
• Song Yaoyao settles into a routine of scripture chanting and street patrols. Her lively, comic quarrels with Niuniu and Guagua provide a lighter interlude, and Xia Wanyun enjoys seeing her playful side.
• Master Liaoran’s chanting has continued for forty-three days; Qi Yanzhen is expected to disappear in six more. As his soul weakens, Qi struggles against his confinement.
• When Qi’s sealed acupoints unexpectedly release, he tries to kill himself by crashing into a wall, hoping to destroy Bai Jue’s body as well. Song Qinghui intercepts him and is hurt, but appears to be all right. Song Yaoyao rebukes Qi for causing trouble even at the end.

Character developments and interactions

• Xia Wanyun begins studying medicine under Song Yaoyao’s guidance, turning her past regrets into a practical new pursuit.
• Song Yaoyao remains compassionate and responsible, but is also shown as spirited and humorous through her arguments with Niuniu and Guagua.
• Qi Yanzhen grows increasingly desperate and hateful as his remaining time runs out, choosing a final destructive attempt rather than accepting defeat.
• Song Qinghui protects Qi’s body—and Bai Jue—by stepping into the path of Qi’s attempted suicide. Song Yaoyao checks on him and confronts Qi afterward.
• Niuniu and Guagua tease Song Yaoyao, while Xia Wanyun’s laughter reveals her growing comfort around her.

Significant themes

• Practical knowledge and self-improvement: Xia Wanyun seeks useful skills to regain agency after past suffering.
• Justice and accountability: Park Zhiling’s crimes are exposed, bringing consequences for him and his family.
• Defiance versus acceptance: Qi’s refusal to accept his impending end contrasts with the others’ efforts to resolve matters peacefully.
• Life’s lighter moments amid danger: The comic domestic exchanges balance the chapter’s grim revelations and Qi’s final struggle.

Plot points

• Qi Yanzhen, trapped in Bai Jue’s body, realizes Song Yaoyao is Princess Jiahe and blames her for the destruction of his plans and kingdom.
• On the forty-ninth and final day of Master Liaoran’s chanting, Qi Yanzhen grows increasingly weakened and bloodshot-eyed. Song Yaoyao and Guagua distract themselves with humorous speculation about demons, ghosts, and the afterlife, while those able to hear Song’s thoughts are bewildered.
• Liaoran completes the sutra, and Bai Jue loses consciousness. The master confirms that Qi Yanzhen has been eliminated and tells Bai Jue’s parents that he should sleep for three days, then recover naturally; they should feed him plain rice porridge.
• Liaoran immediately asks Song Yaoyao for the snacks she promised, jokingly bargaining for new treats as well. She agrees.
• On the way home, Sister Cui privately reacts to hearing Song Yaoyao’s thoughts. He decides not to reveal that he alone can hear them, though the others notice his unusual looks and worry he might expose the secret.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains bold and irreverent, venting anger at Qi Yanzhen but relying on Liaoran’s ritual to save Bai Jue. Her playful inner dialogue with Guagua provides comic relief.
• Qi Yanzhen is consumed by resentment and disbelief, but his resistance ends with the ritual.
• Master Liaoran is calm and focused throughout the chanting, then shows a humorous, persistent fondness for Song’s snacks.
• Sister Cui, newly appointed a fourth-rank general and assigned to protect the Second Prince, discovers he can hear Song’s unspoken thoughts. He chooses discretion.
• Song Qinghui and the others are unsettled by Song and Guagua’s fanciful conversation, while the group stays vigilant until the ritual succeeds.

Significant themes

• Closure and restoration: Qi Yanzhen’s removal frees Bai Jue’s body to recover.
• Secrecy and unusual perception: Sister Cui’s newfound ability to hear Song’s thoughts creates a secret he must keep.
• Humor amid danger: Song and Guagua’s banter, and Liaoran’s snack negotiations, lighten the tension of the final ritual.

Key plot points and events

• After the ordeal ends, Song Yaoyao is exhausted but jokes to herself about her “growing charm.” Her thoughts are overheard by Sister Cui and others, who realize they can hear her inner monologue. Her teasing remark about Sister Cui’s unusually good skin leaves him embarrassed.
• Song Yaoyao’s group returns to the Bai residence to check whether Qi Yanzhen will appear again. Bai Jue remains asleep, and after three days he wakes. Master Liaoran confirms that Bai Jue’s own soul is back in his body, reassuring everyone that the crisis is over.
• With the Night Central Kingdom situation resolved, Song Yaoyao receives permission from the emperor to prepare to return home. Master Liaoran visits and asks to travel with her. Guagua reveals that his main motive is to enjoy Song Yaoyao’s snacks along the way; she agrees despite pretending to grumble.
• After several days of shopping for local goods, Song Yaoyao receives General Han’s invitation to Yu Youqian and Ou Ruoxuan’s wedding, scheduled for ten days later. Happy for them—especially for Ou Ruoxuan’s chance to move on—she postpones her departure until after the wedding.
• On the third day after receiving the invitation, Song Yaoyao goes to visit Ou Ruoxuan alone.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains playful and self-confident, but her willingness to indulge Master Liaoran and her happiness for the engaged couple show her warmth beneath her teasing.
• Sister Cui learns that others can hear Song Yaoyao’s thoughts and becomes bashful when they all focus on his appearance.
• Master Liaoran is relieved by Bai Jue’s recovery and reveals a fondness for snacks; his request to travel with Song Yaoyao is lightheartedly exposed by Guagua.
• Ou Ruoxuan is beginning a new chapter with Yu Youqian, and Song Yaoyao is sincerely pleased that she has moved beyond her past.

Significant themes

• Recovery and reassurance: Bai Jue’s return to himself closes the immediate supernatural crisis.
• Humor and intimacy: Song Yaoyao’s unfiltered thoughts create comic misunderstandings and reveal how closely the group is connected.
• Moving forward: Ou Ruoxuan’s upcoming marriage represents renewal, prompting Song Yaoyao to delay her own journey so she can share in the celebration.

Key events

• Song Yaoyao visits Ou Ruoxuan and gives her a set of crystal teacups engraved with her and Yu Youqian’s names. The cups are rare and precious, but Ou Ruoxuan accepts them once she realizes they are made specifically for the couple.
• Song reveals a DSLR camera and offers to take wedding photographs for Ou Ruoxuan and Yu Youqian. She demonstrates how it works, astonishing Ou Ruoxuan, who initially mistakes photography for an extraordinary form of painting.
• The couple pose for photos on Yu’s day off. Song spends an exhausting day taking thousands of shots, then selects and has them printed into albums.
• Song brings Ou Ruoxuan an elaborate collection of wedding albums, framed portraits, crystal photo ornaments, and a wedding poster. Ou Ruoxuan and Yu are delighted and amazed by the unusual gifts.

Character developments and interactions

• Song’s affection and sympathy for Ou Ruoxuan motivate her to create personal, lasting wedding gifts. Her skill and enthusiasm for photography make her the couple’s photographer.
• Ou Ruoxuan moves from polite reluctance to openly accepting and cherishing Song’s gifts. Her curiosity and wonder at photography turn into excitement as she sees the finished images.
• Song and Ou Ruoxuan share a warm, grateful exchange; Ou Ruoxuan later shares the experience with Yu, who is equally impressed.

Significant themes

• Love and celebration: The gifts honor the couple’s happiness and marriage.
• Memory and legacy: The photographs preserve the wedding for the couple and their future descendants.
• Cultural wonder: Modern technology appears miraculous in this historical setting, creating surprise and delight.
• Personal generosity: Song’s gifts are meaningful not only because they are valuable, but because she invests time, skill, and care in them.

Key plot points and events

• Ou Ruoxuan and Yu Youqian’s wedding day arrives. Though Ou Ruoxuan wants a modest celebration because it is her second marriage, Yu Youqian arranges an elaborate one to make their union known to everyone.
• The streets are decorated with red carpets, lanterns, and silk flowers. A large wedding portrait is displayed prominently in the main hall; guests admire it, while Song Yaoyao quietly takes pride in having created the photograph behind it.
• Song Yaoyao is seated at the front of the banquet because of her high status in Illusion City. As she waits for the groom to fetch the bride, she asks Guagua for gossip.
• Guagua reveals that Lu Zhiyi, daughter of General Lu, is being targeted for a politically and financially advantageous marriage. Some people hope to arrange the match before her father returns, leaving him little choice but to accept it.

Character developments and interactions

• Yu Youqian shows his devotion to Ou Ruoxuan through the lavish preparations, openly claiming her as his wife.
• Ou Ruoxuan prefers a restrained wedding, but Yu Youqian’s plans demonstrate how important the marriage is to him.
• Song Yaoyao enjoys the praise for the wedding portrait and uses the waiting time to investigate the rumors surrounding Lu Zhiyi.
• Guagua acts as Song Yaoyao’s source of information, explaining that the stories about General Lu’s secret second family are false.
• General Lu, as described by Guagua, stayed away partly because grief over his wife made returning painful, and later because constant frontier wars kept him and his son from coming home. Though absent, he has sent gifts to his daughter.
• Song Yaoyao sympathizes with the pressures of war but criticizes General Lu for leaving his daughter and mother without his personal presence.

Significant themes

• Love expressed through public commitment: Yu Youqian’s grand wedding is his way of showing the world that Ou Ruoxuan is his wife.
• Rumor and reputation: False stories about General Lu spread easily, while Lu Zhiyi’s reputation may be used to pressure her into marriage.
• Duty versus family: General Lu’s military obligations and grief kept him from his family, illustrating the painful conflict between service and personal responsibilities.
• Power and manipulation: Those pursuing Lu Zhiyi’s marriage seek the General’s household’s wealth and influence, not her well-being.

Key plot points and events

• Guagua explains that several women schemed to control Lu Zhiyi’s marriage, but Marquis Pingyang’s Residence gained the advantage. Rather than using familiar tricks—such as drugging Lu Zhiyi or arranging a staged rescue—Madam Liang devised subtler tactics.
• Liang Feiyu’s first encounter with Lu Zhiyi occurs at an opera. He appears to accidentally spill tea toward her, then shields her from it. He apologizes and leaves without pursuing her, making the incident seem entirely incidental.
• At their second meeting, a chain of falls at a garden pond threatens to send Lu Zhiyi into the water. Liang Feiyu pulls her safely aside. She recognizes him from the opera, but they still do not exchange names.
• At a palace banquet, a maid tries to lead Lu Zhiyi to a room where aphrodisiac incense and a drugged man await. Liang Feiyu arrives in time to stop the maid and free Lu Zhiyi. His attendant then puts the unconscious maid into the prepared room, turning the scheme back on its perpetrators. Soon, news spreads that a couple has been caught in an illicit encounter, and the emperor has been informed.

Character developments

• Liang Feiyu repeatedly appears as Lu Zhiyi’s protector, but his interventions are part of a carefully planned courtship strategy rather than mere chance.
• Lu Zhiyi remains unaware of the larger scheme. Her gratitude and trust in Liang Feiyu grow as she comes to see him as someone who arrives whenever she is in danger.
• Madam Liang emerges as the strategist behind the plan, advising Liang Feiyu to avoid obvious matchmaking tricks and instead create plausible, understated encounters.
• Song Yaoyao recognizes and comments on the sophistication of Madam Liang and Liang Feiyu’s approach.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The encounters look accidental, but each is deliberately orchestrated.
• Turning schemes against their makers: The palace plot is redirected onto the people who set it in motion.
• Reputation and vulnerability: Lu Zhiyi’s fear of being rescued by a man after falling into water, or being trapped in a compromising situation, reflects the strict social consequences women face.
• Strategic courtship: Liang Feiyu wins Lu Zhiyi’s trust by helping her without openly pressuring or pursuing her.

Character interactions

• Liang Feiyu is consistently polite and restrained with Lu Zhiyi, which helps his interventions appear natural.
• Lu Zhiyi responds first with courtesy, then with growing gratitude and trust.
• Song Yaoyao discusses the events with Guagua, who reveals the hidden planning and confirms Madam Liang’s role.

Plot points and events

• At the palace, Liang Feiyu prevents Lu Zhiyi from being blamed for an illicit affair. The woman caught with Qu Jingming is identified as an unfamiliar palace maid, and Qi Yanzhen orders her to go with Qu.
• Lu Zhiyi thanks Liang and they introduce themselves: he is the heir to Marquis Pingyang, and she is the daughter of General Lu.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua reveal that Liang Feiyu and his mother, Madam Liang, deliberately engineered further encounters and schemes. Liang protects Lu, teaches her how to avoid traps, and stays close at banquets.
• Lu gradually falls in love with Liang, and the pair plan to arrange a marriage before her father returns.
• The narration exposes Madam Liang’s motive: Marquis Pingyang’s household is deep in financial trouble, and she wants Lu’s immense dowry and her powerful family’s influence to restore its wealth and status.
• Those present who can hear Song Yaoyao’s thoughts react with disgust. Military men in particular look down on Liang as a schemer who relies on his mother and targets an inexperienced girl. Madam Liang has arranged to sit at Lu Zhiyi’s table.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhiyi grows grateful to Liang, then increasingly trusts and depends on him, eventually mistaking his calculated attention for love.
• Liang Feiyu presents himself as Lu’s protector but is participating in his mother’s plan to secure a wealthy, influential bride.
• Madam Liang emerges as calculating and ambitious, having studied Lu’s family wealth and inheritance in detail.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua explain the manipulation to the audience, while the gathered guests’ contempt for Liang and Madam Liang builds.

Significant themes

• Deception disguised as protection: Liang’s help encourages Lu’s trust while serving his family’s interests.
• Greed and social ambition: The Liangs seek wealth and political advantage through Lu’s marriage and dowry.
• Power imbalance and exploitation: Lu’s youth and inexperience make her vulnerable to adults’ carefully planned schemes.
• Public judgment: Once the truth is revealed, the onlookers condemn the Liangs’ conduct.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao learns through Guagua that Madam Liang is trying to secure Lu Zhiyi’s marriage to Liang Feiyu before General Lu returns.
• The betrothal gifts are part of the scheme: the supposed two thousand taels of gold and sixty thousand taels of silver are hollow, counterfeit ingots filled with sand and gravel. Madam Liang plans to deny any fraud if the deception is uncovered.
• The military generals’ families sense that something is wrong and look sympathetically at Lu Zhiyi, though neither she nor Madam Liang understands why.
• Song Yaoyao decides that confronting Lu Zhiyi directly could backfire: Zhiyi trusts and loves Liang Feiyu and might dismiss the warning—or repeat it to him.
• Instead, Song proposes sending evidence to General Lu so he can return early and address the plot himself. Guagua agrees to prepare the evidence, and they plan to send it through one of the military personnel present.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is cautious and pragmatic. Though concerned for Lu Zhiyi, she recognizes that Zhiyi’s feelings make direct intervention risky, so she chooses a more reliable route through her family.
• Guagua helps uncover the scheme and initially wants to warn Lu Zhiyi. Song explains why that may fail, and Guagua accepts the plan to alert General Lu.
• Lu Zhiyi remains unaware that the marriage and gifts are being manipulated. Her deep trust in Liang Feiyu makes her vulnerable to the scheme.
• Madam Liang is revealed as calculating and shameless, planning both counterfeit gifts and a cover story to protect herself.
• The generals’ families silently register their disapproval of Madam Liang and pity Lu Zhiyi.

Significant themes

• Deception and exploitation: Madam Liang intends to use marriage, counterfeit wealth, and social pressure to benefit her household.
• Love and vulnerability: Lu Zhiyi’s affection for Liang Feiyu may prevent her from recognizing or believing evidence against him.
• Limits of helping others: Song reflects on the danger of forcing help on someone unwilling or unable to accept it.
• Legitimate intervention: Rather than acting impulsively, Song seeks to let General Lu handle the matter with authority and clear evidence.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao has evidence exposing Marquis Pingyang’s Residence’s scheme against Lu Zhiyi. She seals it in a letter for General Lu and asks Han Chuyu to deliver it after the wedding.
• Yu Youqian and Ou Ruoxuan marry. Song enjoys the feast while trading playful thoughts with Guagua about the couple and her intense dislike of fish mint.
• After the celebrations, Han Chuyu gives General Lu Song’s letter. It reveals that Marquis Pingyang’s Residence has manipulated Zhiyi into falling for Liang Feiyu and intends to offer counterfeit gold and silver as betrothal gifts.
• Furious, General Lu tells his son, Lu Zhihuan, what he has learned. They arrange an early handover of their border sector with General Han, who agrees to help, and rush back to Illusion City.
• They return just one day after the wedding, before Marquis Pingyang’s Residence has formally proposed. Lu Zhiyi still believes her father and brother are several days away.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao acts discreetly but decisively, gathering proof and protecting Lu Zhiyi without forcing the truth on her directly.
• General Lu shifts from receiving troubling news to taking immediate action to defend his daughter.
• Lu Zhihuan shares his father’s outrage and stands ready to act.
• General Han shows respect for General Lu despite their past opposition, helping him return home quickly.
• Yu Youqian and Ou Ruoxuan begin married life amid the guests’ warm wishes.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and protection: General Lu and Lu Zhihuan respond swiftly when they learn Zhiyi has been targeted.
• Deception and abuse of trust: Marquis Pingyang’s Residence’s romantic and financial schemes threaten Zhiyi’s future.
• Discretion and intervention: Song tries to help without making Zhiyi resent her for interfering.
• Respect across old rivalries: General Han’s willingness to assist General Lu highlights honor overcoming past conflict.

Character interactions

• Song and Guagua exchange teasing, affectionate banter during the wedding feast.
• Song asks Han Chuyu to deliver the evidence and instructs him to identify her as its source if questioned.
• Han Chuyu conveys the letter to General Lu, who shares it with Lu Zhihuan; both condemn the scheme.
• General Lu appeals to General Han for an early handover, and General Han agrees, enabling the father and son to return home.

Key plot points and events

• General Lu and his son, Lu Zhihuan, return home unexpectedly, reuniting with Lu Zhiyi after years apart. She greets them with tears and excitement, and the family shares a warm reunion.
• General Lu realizes Zhiyi is thinking about Liang Feiyu but decides not to confront her about the Liang family yet. He intends to expose their conduct if they try to arrange a marriage.
• The next day, Madam Liang and Liang Feiyu arrive to propose marriage, apparently hoping to secure Zhiyi’s hand before her father returned.
• General Lu challenges Liang Feiyu’s claim that he and Zhiyi are in love, questioning why Liang repeatedly appeared at the right moment to rescue her and suggesting he may have been watching her.
• Madam Liang and Liang Feiyu insist the rescues were coincidences, then claim Liang paid attention to Zhiyi because he fell for her at first sight.
• General Lu also condemns them for approaching without consulting him or following proper marriage customs. He argues that their attempt to proceed without the Lu family elders was improper and could have made Zhiyi and her family a laughingstock.

Character developments

• Lu Zhiyi is overjoyed to see her father and brother again, showing both her affection for them and lingering feelings for Liang Feiyu.
• General Lu is protective and perceptive. He welcomes his daughter warmly but quickly becomes suspicious of Liang Feiyu and firmly defends Zhiyi’s dignity and the family’s authority.
• Lu Zhihuan is affectionate toward his sister and understands his father’s concerns without needing them explained.
• Madam Liang and Liang Feiyu appear anxious when the Lu men return, but try to maintain composure and push ahead with their marriage plan.

Significant themes

• Family bonds and reunion: The emotional return of Zhiyi’s father and brother emphasizes how deeply they missed one another.
• Protection and parental authority: General Lu insists that Zhiyi’s marriage must be handled properly and refuses to let others make decisions for her through deception or pressure.
• Appearance versus truth: The Liang family presents the rescues as fate and romance, while General Lu suspects deliberate scheming.
• Marriage customs and propriety: The chapter stresses the expectation that families and elders should formally discuss a match before a proposal is made.

Character interactions

• Zhiyi and General Lu share an emotional reunion, while Zhihuan warmly reconnects with his sister.
• General Lu questions Liang Feiyu sharply about his repeated rescues and reprimands him for speaking of Zhiyi too familiarly.
• Madam Liang attempts to smooth things over by framing Liang’s actions as love and coincidence, but General Lu challenges both their motives and their breach of marriage protocol.

Key plot points and events

• Madam Liang and Liang Feiyu arrive to propose marriage to Lu Zhiyi without informing her father, General Lu, or Zhiyi herself.
• General Lu condemns their lack of propriety and suspects they are trying to pressure Zhiyi into accepting. Liang Feiyu claims their love is sincere and points to a lavish dowry: 2,000 taels of gold and 60,000 taels of silver.
• Zhiyi arrives after overhearing the dispute. She admits she knew nothing about the proposal, confirming the Liang family acted without consulting either her or her family.
• General Lu and Lu Zhihuan decide to inspect the gifts. A bank shopkeeper examines them and reports that the bars appear hollow and filled with sand and gravel.
• Madam Liang angrily denies the accusation and tries to leave, framing the inspection as an insult. General Lu stops her and orders the gifts tested publicly so the Liang family cannot later malign the General’s household.

Character developments and interactions

• General Lu is protective and increasingly suspicious; he insists on accountability rather than accepting the Liang family’s claims at face value.
• Lu Zhihuan recognizes the Liang family’s confidence as a performance and arranges for an expert to expose the apparent fraud.
• Lu Zhiyi still cares about Liang Feiyu and initially hopes the generous gifts will calm her family. But she is unsettled to discover she was excluded from the marriage plan and confirms this truth when questioned.
• Madam Liang and Liang Feiyu remain self-assured until the shopkeeper identifies the gifts as likely fake. Madam Liang then shifts to indignation and tries to evade scrutiny.
• The confrontation centers on the contrast between the Lu family’s insistence on honesty and the Liang family’s attempts to control the narrative.

Significant themes

• Deception and appearances: The impressive betrothal gifts may be hollow, matching the Liang family’s outward show of sincerity.
• Consent and family responsibility: Zhiyi’s lack of knowledge underscores that the proposal was arranged without the bride’s consent or her father’s involvement.
• Reputation and accountability: Both households fear public disgrace, but the Lu family insists the truth be established before the Liang family can spread accusations.

Key plot points and events

• General Lu’s servants cut open the Liang family’s gold and silver bars, revealing that they were hollow and filled with sand and gravel.
• Lu Zhihuan shows Lu Zhiyi evidence supplied by Princess Jiahe proving that Liang Feiyu and his family had schemed against her. Lu Zhiyi confronts Liang Feiyu, who cannot deny the plot.
• General Lu orders the Liang mother and son to leave with their betrothal gifts and warns Liang Feiyu never to approach Zhiyi again. The incident is witnessed by a crowd, and news of the Liang family’s deceit rapidly ruins their reputation.
• After the Liangs leave, Lu Zhiyi learns that Princess Jiahe uncovered the scheme and secretly sent evidence to her father, fearing Zhiyi would not believe a stranger.
• The next day, General Lu reports the family to the Second Prince. The investigation uncovers a counterfeiting operation. Though the Liangs confess and are spared execution, they are stripped of their noble title and expelled from their residence.
• The disgraced family falls into hardship: Madam Liang dies without money for treatment, while Liang Feiyu becomes a beggar and later dies after becoming involved with a wealthy man.

Character developments

• Lu Zhiyi discovers that her first love was built on deception. Though devastated, she accepts the truth and says she will recover with time.
• Lu Zhihuan protects and comforts his sister, encouraging her not to give up on finding someone worthy of her.
• General Lu acts decisively to defend Zhiyi and hold the Liang family accountable.
• Liang Feiyu and Madam Liang are exposed as schemers and lose their status, wealth, and standing.

Character interactions

• Zhiyi confronts Feiyu with the evidence; her brother shields and comforts her as she breaks down.
• General Lu directly warns Feiyu to stay away from Zhiyi and makes clear that the family’s wrongdoing will have further consequences.
• Jiahe’s indirect intervention—sending evidence through General Lu—proves crucial, despite her having little prior relationship with Zhiyi.

Significant themes

• Deception and betrayal: Zhiyi’s trust in Feiyu is revealed to have been exploited.
• Family loyalty and protection: Zhiyi’s father and brother rally around her when she is hurt.
• Justice and consequences: The Liang family’s schemes and counterfeiting bring public disgrace, loss of title, and eventual ruin.
• Reputation and social standing: Public exposure quickly turns the Liangs from a prestigious family into outcasts.

Key plot points and events

• After Ou Ruoxuan’s wedding, Song Yaoyao learns that Chen Yixiao is nearby, secretly watching the ceremony. She worries that he may try to interfere in Ou Ruoxuan’s new life, but he says he accepts her choice and will not disturb her.
• Chen Yixiao stops Song Yaoyao because he has urgent business with her. He takes her to the group’s lodgings, where she reunites with Zhang Zhixi.
• Chen explains that an imperial secret letter has redirected his party from assisting the Second Prince to investigating a coup in the Dragon Abyss Kingdom. Emperor Nian Cenyi has been imprisoned by his son, Fifth Prince Nian Fengyuan, who reportedly seized power with Heavenly Mystic Kingdom support.
• The capital, Suyu City, is sealed against entry, and the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom’s agents there have stopped reporting. Song Yaoyao agrees to join the mission; they plan to leave the morning after tomorrow.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is surprised to learn Chen Yixiao is present, then shifts quickly from wedding gossip to practical concern about the crisis. She reads the emperor’s letter and helps plan the response.
• Chen Yixiao shows lingering emotional conflict about Ou Ruoxuan but respects her remarriage and intends to leave her undisturbed. He seeks Song Yaoyao’s help on the Dragon Abyss mission.
• Zhang Zhixi is relieved and excited to see Song Yaoyao again. She had suspected Song’s claimed illness was a cover for official work and looks forward to reconnecting with her.
• The reunion is warm, but the group’s conversation soon turns to the danger facing Zhang Zhixi’s father and the uncertainty inside Suyu City.

Significant themes

• Respecting others’ choices and moving on: Chen Yixiao accepts that Ou Ruoxuan has begun a new life.
• Duty and loyalty: The characters put personal concerns aside to answer the emperor’s call and help a neighboring ruler.
• Uncertainty and hidden danger: The sealed capital, missing agents, and limited intelligence make the coming mission especially risky.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao tells Xia Wanyun she must travel to the Dragon Abyss Kingdom on urgent, dangerous business. She arranges for Master Liaoran to escort Xia home and sends a letter for Xia’s parents.
• Master Liaoran has already divined that Song Yaoyao will not return with him. He agrees to escort Xia in exchange for at least five kinds of new snacks.
• Song Yaoyao sets out with Song Qinghui, Liu Zheheng, Chen Yixiao, and the Imperial Shadow Guards. After seven days, they reach the Witch Tribe’s territory, beyond the Night Central Kingdom.
• Their intended route into the Dragon Abyss Kingdom requires passing through a border city where entry checks are strict. They lack both travel papers and a convincing reason to enter.
• A scouting report reveals that the city’s general is seeking a physician for his constantly crying young son. Several physicians have failed to diagnose the child and were executed.
• Song Yaoyao considers using the opportunity to enter the city. Despite her companions’ warnings, she decides to investigate first. At the gate, they learn the reward has risen from five thousand to twenty thousand taels, but locals remain too frightened to accept.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao shows resolve and resourcefulness, looking for a practical way past the border restrictions while remaining aware of the danger.
• Xia Wanyun is eager to accompany her master but accepts that the journey is too risky and prepares to go home.
• Master Liaoran’s insight and martial reputation make him a reassuring escort, though his fondness for snacks gives Song Yaoyao an amusing way to persuade him.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng demonstrate their concern for Song Yaoyao by urging her not to risk treating the child; Chen Yixiao also supports finding another route.

Significant themes

• Risk and responsibility: Song Yaoyao must balance the urgent mission against the danger to herself and those traveling with her.
• Trust and care: She takes responsibility for Xia’s safe return, while her companions try to protect her.
• Resourcefulness amid obstacles: The group searches for an opportunity when official entry requirements block their way.
• Fear and power: The general’s executions have frightened physicians and residents, turning a potentially generous reward into a deadly gamble.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao and Xia Wanyun discuss their separation, with Xia asking to travel alongside her and Song Yaoyao refusing for her safety.
• Song Yaoyao persuades Master Liaoran to escort Xia by appealing to his kindness and promising new snacks; he negotiates for five kinds.
• The traveling party discusses the border problem and debates whether Song Yaoyao should answer the physician notice. Her companions object, but she chooses to investigate before deciding.
• At Licheng’s gate, residents exchange fearful rumors about the child and the fate of the physicians who treated him.

Key plot points and events

• General Liu, Licheng’s commander, overhears people discussing his actions and regrets ordering physicians executed. His two-year-old son remains ill, and Liu’s desperate attempt to find a doctor has driven other physicians away.
• Song Yaoyao learns that the child’s constant crying is caused by numerous needles maliciously stuck in his body.
• Guagua reveals the culprit: the daughter of Liu Jinran’s wet nurse, whom Liu regards as his sworn younger sister.
• The chapter recounts Liu Jinran’s harsh childhood. His father, Duke Liu, favored a cousin who became his second wife, and she secretly abused Liu and neglected him. His wet nurse protected him, losing an eye in the process.
• At twelve, Liu escaped to join the army. After taking an arrow meant for a great general, he became that man’s disciple, excelled as a soldier, and eventually succeeded him as commander.
• Returning home years later, Liu found his wet nurse near death from years of torture. She died after seeing him again, deepening his hatred of his father’s household.
• When offered an imperial reward, Liu asked the emperor to permit his mother to divorce Duke Liu. The emperor knew the family’s history and despised the duke’s conduct.

Character developments and interactions

• General Liu/Liu Jinran is shown as both a powerful commander and a deeply wounded man shaped by childhood abuse and the loss of his only protector. His regret over executing physicians is sincere, but Song Yaoyao condemns the harm he caused.
• The wet nurse is Liu’s steadfast protector and surrogate family, enduring severe cruelty rather than betray his whereabouts.
• Duke Liu and his second wife are portrayed as selfish and abusive: the duke uses the wet nurse to control his son, while his wife directs her resentment toward Liu.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss Liu’s present crisis, then uncover his history through Guagua’s displayed account.

Significant themes

• Desperation can lead to choices that worsen suffering: Liu’s executions leave his son without care.
• Abuse and power imbalances shape family relationships across generations.
• Loyalty and sacrifice define Liu’s bond with his wet nurse, while betrayal and cruelty estrange him from his father.
• Regret cannot undo the harm already done.

Key plot points and events

• General Liu Jinran exchanges his military merits for the emperor’s permission to divorce his mother from Duke Liu, rejecting his father’s pleas. He takes his mother’s and wet nurse’s belongings and leaves the Duke’s Residence.
• Feeling responsible for his wet nurse’s death, Liu finds her daughter, Han Kexia, and brings her to his Border Pass residence as his sworn younger sister. He protects her from the harsh treatment she faced at her uncle’s home.
• Han initially behaves cautiously, then grows entitled, believing she deserves comfort because her mother died because of Liu. Liu tolerates her conduct out of guilt, provided she does not go too far.
• Han falls in love with Liu, but he repeatedly tells her he sees her only as a sister. She assumes persistence will eventually win him over.
• After Liu is wounded in an ambush and rescued by farmer’s daughter Lin Yourong, the two fall in love. Liu marries Lin, making Han deeply jealous.
• When Lin becomes pregnant, Liu assigns guards to protect her. Han makes several failed attempts to harm her, then coerces the midwife into attacking Lin during childbirth. The midwife takes the blame and kills herself, leaving Han’s involvement undiscovered.
• Lin survives the birth of her son but is left gravely ill and dies when the child is one. Liu devotes himself to their son, prompting Han to attack the child.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Jinran puts his mother’s freedom above the family’s status, but guilt over his wet nurse’s death leads him to indulge Han. He cares for her as a sister, while his love and loyalty belong to Lin and their son.
• Han Kexia shifts from a fearful, vulnerable girl into an entitled and increasingly cruel woman. Her unrequited love becomes jealousy, contempt for Lin, and violence against Lin and her child.
• Lin Yourong enters Liu’s life as a humble farmer’s daughter and becomes his loving wife and the mother of his son. Her kindness contrasts with Han’s hostility.
• Liu’s protection of Han clashes with her belief that she is owed his love; his marriage to Lin makes that conflict destructive.

Significant themes

• Love and jealousy can distort a person’s character, as Han’s affection turns into obsession and cruelty.
• Guilt and misplaced indulgence can enable harmful behavior.
• Social status and gratitude are unstable: Han forgets her own humble origins and looks down on someone like Lin.
• Sacrifice and family duty appear in Liu’s choice to secure his mother’s divorce, while Han’s actions show the consequences of putting desire above others’ lives.

Key events

• Song Yaoyao learns through Guagua that Han Kexia secretly stabbed Liu Jinran’s young son with needles, all in his thighs. The child’s loud crying stopped her from injuring his abdomen. The needles have not entered his blood vessels or damaged his organs, so Song believes they can be removed relatively easily after a thorough examination.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng overhear the revelations and are horrified by Han Kexia’s cruelty. Song Yaoyao decides to enter Licheng as a physician and treat the child.
• The group travels to Licheng the next day. Song takes down the reward notice, despite townspeople warning that previous physicians failed and were executed.
• Soldiers escort Song to the General’s Residence. Song Qinghui and the others are told to wait at an inn; Zhang Zhixi is allowed to accompany her as an assistant.
• Liu Jinran, relieved that a physician has come forward, is surprised by Song’s youth and questions her credentials. Song answers confidently, and he leads her and Zhang Zhixi to see his son. They arrive as the child cries in the wet nurse’s arms.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains practical and self-assured: she assesses the child’s likely condition, plans her approach, and accepts the risk of taking the notice.
• Han Kexia is revealed as a calculating abuser who conceals her actions behind a gentle, affectionate persona. Liu Jinran has trusted her and suspected nothing.
• Liu Jinran is desperate to save his son but initially doubts Song because of her age. He has also reconsidered executing further physicians, recognizing that doing so could deter anyone from helping.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng react with shock and disgust, while Zhang Zhixi supports Song by volunteering to accompany her.

Significant themes

• The contrast between a virtuous public appearance and hidden cruelty.
• The destructive effects of obsessive love and misplaced trust.
• Courage and competence being judged by age or appearance.
• The danger and moral cost of threatening those who might provide help.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao examines General Liu Jinran’s constantly crying infant after insisting on washing her hands first. Her system, Guagua, detects four needles lodged in the child’s right thigh and a severely inflamed throat from prolonged crying.
• Song demonstrates the cause by pressing a needle site, making the baby cry in pain. Liu Jinran realizes his son has been deliberately harmed and vows to investigate. The wet nurse fears she will be blamed, but Song clarifies that she has accused no one.
• Song explains that removing the needles requires surgery and an anesthetic. She plans to operate the following morning, after confirming there are no other problems.
• She clears the room to examine the child privately. Using equipment in her hidden space, she confirms the four needles are not deeply embedded and should be relatively easy to remove. She uses a recording of the baby crying to prevent those outside from noticing his absence.
• Song insists Liu personally guard the room during surgery and allow no interruptions. She is especially concerned that Han Kexia may arrive and cause trouble. Liu promises to protect the operation.
• Song and Zhang Zhixi are given lodging at the residence. Just as things seem settled, the woman Song fears—Han Kexia—arrives.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is methodical, confident, and protective of the child. She identifies the hidden injury, explains unfamiliar medical procedures to Liu, and takes precautions to keep the examination and forthcoming surgery undisturbed.
• Liu Jinran shifts from hopeful curiosity to shock and fury when he learns his son was attacked. He trusts Song’s diagnosis, agrees to her conditions, and commits to guarding the surgery himself.
• The wet nurse is visibly frightened when the needles are revealed, but Song’s reassurance and Liu’s order ease her immediate fear.
• Zhang Zhixi follows Song’s firm instruction to wait outside, showing deference to her judgment.
• Guagua supports Song by identifying the needles and standing watch while she examines the child.

Significant themes

• Hidden cruelty and vulnerability: The infant’s suffering conceals deliberate violence, emphasizing the danger faced by those unable to defend themselves.
• Trust in expertise: Liu must accept Song’s unconventional methods and unfamiliar medical concepts because she is the only one who has found the cause.
• Protection and responsibility: Song prioritizes the child’s safety, while Liu takes responsibility for discovering the culprit and safeguarding the operation.
• Suspense and anticipated conflict: The chapter ends with Han Kexia’s unexpected arrival, threatening the careful plan for the next day’s surgery.