Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Deng Qizhi seriously injures another student, prompting his expulsion from school. His father, Master Deng, pays the boy’s family 50,000 taels in compensation, but other schools refuse to admit Qizhi.
• Qizhi dismisses academic study and chooses martial arts instead. Master Deng hires the renowned Master Fan, who trains him strictly and punishes him when he fails.
• After several days of training and repeated beatings, Qizhi complains to his father about his bruises and begs to quit. Master Deng refuses, arguing that hardship is necessary for success.
• Qizhi turns to his mother, who is distressed by his injuries and asks her husband to let him stop. Master Deng rebukes her, then explains that he deliberately wants to toughen their son—and reveals that Qizhi has been cruelly mistreating the household servants.

Character developments and interactions

• Deng Qizhi remains entitled and unwilling to endure consequences: he first treats his expulsion lightly, then quickly loses interest in martial arts once training becomes painful. His complaints to both parents contrast with his own harsh treatment of servants.
• Master Deng shows concern for his son but prioritizes discipline over comfort. He believes strict training may correct Qizhi’s growing cruelty and lack of self-control.
• Madam Deng is protective and shocked by both Qizhi’s injuries and the revelation of his behavior. She initially assumes he is simply a cherished, harmless child.
• Master Fan is portrayed as a demanding instructor who supervises Qizhi closely and enforces training through punishment. The servants, afraid of Fan and unable to challenge him, do not intervene when Qizhi calls for help.
• The parents’ conversation reveals a divide: Madam Deng responds emotionally to their son’s suffering, while Master Deng sees hardship as necessary correction.

Significant themes

• Spoiling versus discipline: The chapter’s title states its central warning: excessive indulgence may harm a child by allowing bad behavior to grow unchecked.
• Effort and resilience: Master Deng insists that achievement requires enduring hardship, though the severity of Fan’s methods raises questions about the difference between discipline and harm.
• Status and consequences: The family’s wealth cannot erase its lower social standing; Master Deng must pay heavily to settle the school incident.
• The gap between appearance and character: Qizhi’s parents’ image of him as their “precious boy” clashes with his cruelty toward servants.

Plot and events

• Master Deng persuades Madam Deng to stop rescuing their son, Deng Qizhi, from martial-arts training, explaining that discipline is necessary to correct his spoiled behavior.
• When pleading and tantrums fail, Qizhi stages a hanging to pressure his parents. He nearly dies, but recovers—and is still made to train. Master Fan responds by intensifying the regimen, making him hold horse stance and endure daily beatings.
• After Qizhi tries to harm himself again, Master Deng hires a guard to watch him. Seeing that resistance only worsens matters, Master Deng stages the family’s bankruptcy, with help from his business partners.
• The family moves from a luxurious home to two bare rooms in the slums. Qizhi loses his fine clothes, food, servants, and wealthy companions, who now mock and reject him. He must do household chores and confront the discomfort of their impoverished life.
• Master Fan remains loyal to Qizhi as his disciple and argues that martial arts could help him enlist in the army and rebuild his prospects. Qizhi asks to attend school instead, but his parents say they can no longer afford it and insist that he continue training.

Character developments and interactions

• Qizhi’s spoiled entitlement and resistance deepen into desperation: he uses emotional manipulation and self-harm to avoid training, then struggles to accept the sudden loss of privilege.
• Master Deng shifts from trying to control Qizhi’s behavior to using a drastic deception—the false bankruptcy—to force him to face life without inherited wealth.
• Madam Deng initially yields to her husband’s plan, though her instinct is to comfort Qizhi remains clear.
• Master Fan is harsh and punitive, but also steadfast: he frames training as both discipline and Qizhi’s best chance for a future. His blunt warning about the risks of further self-harm briefly silences Qizhi.

Significant themes

• Discipline versus indulgence: The adults believe Qizhi’s privilege has spoiled him and that hardship is needed to change him.
• Wealth and identity: Losing his apparent wealth reveals how conditional Qizhi’s social acceptance was and confronts him with the fragility of his status.
• Consequences and resilience: His schemes backfire, while training and poverty force him toward responsibilities he has never faced.
• Parental control and harsh methods: The family’s deception and Master Fan’s brutality raise the question of whether severe discipline can truly reform Qizhi.

Plot points and events

• Three years after Madam Deng’s warning, Deng Qizhi is nine, stronger and more disciplined, rising before dawn to practice martial arts. His parents have kept up their appearance of poverty to motivate him, secretly enjoying better food themselves. They plan to tell him the truth when he is older and more secure in his progress. The family has since welcomed a daughter and is now genuinely happy.
• Song Yaoyao and her companions finish hearing the gossip over their meal and prepare to leave.
• Elsewhere, Second Prince Nian Feiyue and his party are ambushed in a forest. They defeat the assassins, but the two captured survivors kill themselves with poison rather than reveal who sent them. Feiyue suspects his younger brother, Nian Fengyuan.
• The princes returning to the capital are also attacked. Eighth Prince Nian Zhengxin dies after being poisoned; the others survive and hurry onward, though their brief grief is tempered by thoughts of the succession.
• Feiyue reaches Suyu City first. Because Nian Fengyuan controls the Forbidden Army and is arresting or killing anyone deemed suspicious, Feiyue investigates the gates before deciding how to enter. He learns that inspections have become extremely severe—an overreaction to the disturbance Song Yaoyao’s group caused, even though they are already inside the city.

Character developments

• Deng Qizhi has become hardworking, physically stronger, and more mature, though he still believes his family is poor.
• Madam Deng and Master Deng are devoted and resourceful parents, sustaining a long deception because they fear the truth could undo their son’s progress.
• Nian Feiyue is cautious and strategic, choosing to gather intelligence before approaching a dangerous city.
• Nian Fengyuan is portrayed as increasingly paranoid and ruthless, ordering harsh searches to catch those he blames for the mysterious disturbance.

Significant themes

• Parental sacrifice and deception: The Dengs’ lie is meant to help their child, raising the question of whether a well-intentioned deception can remain harmless.
• Ambition and political rivalry: The princes’ danger comes from competition for power, and even grief over a brother’s death is clouded by succession politics.
• Fear and overreach: Nian Fengyuan’s suspicion leads to brutal security measures that may punish innocents without fixing the real problem.

Character interactions

• Madam Deng urges Qizhi to study and not disappoint his parents; his obedient response marks the start of his disciplined routine.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua react to the Dengs’ scheme with sympathy for Qizhi and admiration for his parents’ devotion.
• Feiyue questions the captured assassins, then discusses their likely employer and next steps with his followers.
• The surviving princes respond to Zhengxin’s death with mixed sadness and self-interest, while Feiyue’s scouts report the danger at Suyu City’s gates.

Plot points and events

• Nian Feiyue decides to wait outside Suyu City rather than attack Nian Fengyuan first, hoping another prince will take the risk. He soon learns the princes have already begun fighting among themselves on the road to the Capital.
• Sixth Prince Nian Tongyi defeats Eleventh Prince Nian Zhiyun, who falls from a cliff and is presumed missing. Tongyi then turns against his other brothers.
• Ninth Prince Nian Jingyun and Tenth Prince Nian Yuzhou form an alliance for protection. Seventh Prince Han, Nian Xiaoqing, travels with a powerful army and chooses to let his brothers weaken one another.
• Assassins attack Feiyue’s party and falsely claim to serve Nian Fengyuan. Feiyue recognizes the attempt to frame Fengyuan, defeats them with his men, and is wounded.
• The real culprit is Tongyi, who has sent assassins after the princes to eliminate rivals while disguising his role.
• Jingyun and Yuzhou also survive an assassination attempt. Yuzhou tells Jingyun he has no intention of competing for the throne and plans to say so openly once they return safely.

Character developments and interactions

• Nian Feiyue shifts from focusing on Fengyuan to recognizing that his brothers are equally dangerous. His caution helps him see through the false accusation against Fengyuan.
• Nian Tongyi emerges as an aggressive, calculating contender, willing to attack his brothers while concealing his responsibility.
• Nian Xiaoqing remains confident in his military and martial superiority and prefers to wait rather than intervene.
• Nian Yuzhou presents himself as a reluctant, politically weak prince who wants to withdraw from the succession struggle. Nian Jingyun hears him out but doubts that the other princes will let him remain uninvolved.
• The brothers’ alliances and rivalries sharpen: Jingyun and Yuzhou rely on one another, while Feiyue and Xiaoqing each weigh how best to survive the widening conflict.

Significant themes

• Power breeds mistrust: Even princes who claim not to want the throne may be treated as threats because of their birth.
• Deception and blame-shifting: Tongyi’s assassins falsely implicate Fengyuan, showing how political violence is paired with schemes to evade responsibility.
• Survival through alliances and restraint: Some princes join forces or wait strategically, while others use force to eliminate rivals.
• The collapse of authority: With their father dead, the princes’ private rivalries escalate into open violence.

Plot points and events

• The Dragon Abyss princes’ return becomes increasingly dangerous as their rivalries intensify. Tenth Prince Nian Yuzhou insists he wants no part in the succession struggle, while Fifth Prince Nian Fengyuan hopes the others will weaken one another before reaching the capital.
• In Suyu City, Song Yaoyao continues her relaxed routine of exploring, collecting gossip, and occasionally using her drone to provoke Nian Fengyuan.
• A crowd gathers outside the home of Wang Laowu, who has apparently murdered his wife and another man. Neighbors speculate that his wife was having an affair, and condemn her without knowing the full facts.
• Inside the courtyard, Wang Laowu declares that he regrets marrying his wife but not killing her. When constables try to seize his knife, he breaks free and cuts his own throat.
• Song Yaoyao is startled by the suicide. Song Qinghui shields her eyes and leads her to a teahouse across the street, where they can keep watching from a safer distance.

Character developments

• Nian Yuzhou presents himself as a reluctant, realistic prince who would rather remain carefree than compete for the throne.
• Nian Fengyuan is shown as calculating and ruthless, hoping the other princes will destroy or cripple one another.
• Song Yaoyao remains curious and drawn to public drama, but is careful not to attract suspicion by reacting unlike an ordinary onlooker.
• Song Qinghui acts protectively toward Yaoyao, moving her away from the bloody scene.

Significant themes

• Power struggles and self-preservation: The princes’ competition grows more dangerous, while some seek to avoid it and others benefit from the chaos.
• Gossip versus truth: The crowd quickly accepts rumors of infidelity and treats them as justification for murder, though the actual events remain unverified.
• Public spectacle and violence: The townspeople gather eagerly for a scandal, only to be confronted with sudden, horrifying violence.
• Appearances and suspicion: Yaoyao moderates her behavior to avoid revealing that she is less disturbed than an ordinary observer might be.

Character interactions

• Yuzhou makes clear to his brothers that he intends to stay out of the succession contest.
• Fengyuan privately welcomes the princes’ infighting.
• Neighbors trade increasingly confident theories about the Wangs, reinforcing one another’s assumptions.
• Wang Laowu defies the constables, then kills himself before they can disarm him.
• Qinghui shields Yaoyao and guides her away, while she agrees to watch from the teahouse rather than stand near the officers.

Plot and events

Song Yaoyao and her companions watch a courtyard across the street while Guagua recounts the story of Wang Laowu, a successful candy-shop owner, and his wife, Jiang Xiaotian. After years of marriage without a child, Jiang suggests that Wang see a doctor. Afraid of what he might learn, he delays—but eventually learns from several doctors that he cannot father children. Jiang secretly obtains the same diagnosis from a dispensary assistant.
Neither spouse confronts the other, and they continue to act affectionate. Guagua explains that Wang’s condition is an undiscoverable intersex variation: although he appears male, he has internal female anatomy. Song remarks that, in modern times, surgery might have offered him another path, but says it is too late to help him now.
Because childlessness is commonly blamed on women, Jiang considers conceiving with another man so Wang can present the child as his own. Her first attempt does not result in pregnancy, and she turns to other men. Over time, she stops pursuing motherhood and becomes attached to the excitement of changing partners. The chapter ends with Guagua revealing that Wang eventually discovers her affairs.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Laowu: A capable, apparently straightforward man, he is deeply shaken by the diagnosis and keeps it from Jiang. He is unknowingly placed in a humiliating position as his wife seeks a child elsewhere.
• Jiang Xiaotian: Initially still cares for Wang and considers an affair as a practical solution to their childlessness. Her motive shifts toward pleasure and novelty, changing the nature of her relationship with him.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua: Song presses Guagua for the story and reacts with surprise and pity; Guagua supplies the medical explanation and gradually reveals the events.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng: They overhear Song’s discussion and are bewildered by the unfamiliar anatomical terms. Song Qinghui is additionally startled by Guagua’s reference to Ying Huiyan, a maid in Song Yaoyao’s household.

Significant themes

The chapter highlights the stigma and secrecy surrounding infertility, especially the assumption that women are responsible. It also explores how concealment and social pressure can distort a marriage, and how Wang’s unrecognized bodily condition leaves him vulnerable to shame and betrayal.

Chapter summary

• Key events: Wang Laowu returns home unexpectedly and catches Jiang Xiaotian with another man. He strikes and accuses her of infidelity, but she reveals that she knows he is infertile—a fact he concealed while allowing her to bear the blame for their childlessness. She recounts years of gossip, humiliation, and abuse from his family, especially his mother. Jiang argues that having a child with another man could protect them both from scrutiny. Though furious, Wang reluctantly accepts her reasoning and lets the arrangement continue.
• Escalation: Jiang begins bringing different men home. Wang initially suffers in silence, listening from outside and drinking in despair, but keeps quiet to protect his pride and hide his infertility. Jiang’s motive shifts from conceiving a child to taking revenge on him. She deliberately makes their encounters more humiliating, eventually insisting Wang come inside and watch.
• Character developments and interactions: Jiang moves from a seemingly composed explanation of her past suffering to calculated retaliation. Wang is exposed as both the source of the infertility and someone who let his wife endure the social consequences; guilt and shame leave him unable to challenge her proposed solution. Their exchange shows how resentment and secrecy have corroded their marriage. Song Yaoyao reacts with disbelief and discomfort as Guagua recounts the events.
• Significant themes: The chapter explores gendered blame and pressure to produce heirs, the damage caused by secrecy and public shame, and how unresolved suffering can turn into revenge. Wang and Jiang’s tacit arrangement offers a practical cover for infertility but deepens their humiliation and estrangement.

Plot points

• A video shows Jiang Xiaotian bringing a lover home and, during their affair, both repeatedly humiliating her husband, Wang Laowu.
• Unable to endure their taunts, Wang Laowu fetches a cleaver and kills them. After the authorities arrive, he takes his own life, knowing he will face punishment.
• Song Yaoyao reflects that Wang’s concern with pride, infertility, and appearances trapped him in a destructive marriage. She believes he could have left, focused on his shop, or adopted a child instead.
• Wang’s elderly mother arrives and collapses at the sight of his body. Initially believing Jiang and her lover murdered him, she attacks Jiang’s corpse.
• A constable explains that Wang killed the pair and then died by suicide; witnesses confirm it. His mother cannot accept the truth and repeatedly asks her son why, before fainting again.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Laowu moves from silent, tearful humiliation to a violent breaking point, then suicide.
• Jiang Xiaotian and her lover openly mock Wang and are killed by him.
• Wang’s mother is devastated by her son’s death. Her grief shifts into anger at Jiang, then disbelief and helpless questioning once she learns what happened.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss how multiple choices and family pressures contributed to the tragedy. Song also blames the mother’s mistreatment of Jiang as an important cause; Guagua notes the mother’s favoritism toward her youngest son.

Significant themes

• A chain of mistakes: The title frames the tragedy as the result of escalating choices and harm.
• Pride and social expectations: Wang’s fixation on dignity and having an heir keeps him from seeking other paths.
• Cruelty and resentment: The mother-in-law’s mistreatment of Jiang and the couple’s humiliation of Wang help deepen the conflict.
• Grief and denial: Wang’s mother cannot reconcile her image of her “honest” son with the violence and suicide she has witnessed.

Key plot points and events

• After Wang Laowu’s death, his mother’s other children arrive; some take her to the Medical Hall while the rest arrange the funeral.
• Song Yaoyao asks Guagua about the Dragon Abyss princes. Guagua cannot access information from far away, so they plan to visit the princes’ residences later, where their consorts are staying—though Nian Fengyuan has people watching them.
• While Song Yaoyao and her companions rest at a teahouse, Guagua spots an ordinary-looking carriage escorted by four elite guards. Its passengers are Sima Yifeng, master of Divine Healer Valley, and his eldest disciple, Lu Xuangu Gui.
• Sima Yifeng has been brought to Suyu City by Nian Fengyuan—not to treat the prince, but to perform minor cosmetic surgery on Qin Luou, a favored consort of the late emperor, Nian Cenyi.
• The surgery is meant to change Qin’s appearance so she can be with Nian Fengyuan without being recognized. Qin knows the plan and agrees to it.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao shifts from the recent tragedy to her curiosity about the princes, then reacts with surprise and excitement as Guagua reveals the scandal.
• Nian Fengyuan is shown to be willing to take extreme risks to pursue Qin Luou, using Sima Yifeng’s rare skills to conceal their relationship.
• Qin Luou is not merely being acted upon: she reciprocates Nian Fengyuan’s feelings and willingly accepts the surgery.
• Sima Yifeng is established as a highly capable physician whose unusual expertise makes him valuable to powerful people, though he has been summoned against his will.

Significant themes

• Power, secrecy, and political danger: Nian Fengyuan’s plan could become devastating leverage against his ambitions to rule.
• Desire versus social hierarchy: The relationship crosses a taboo boundary because Qin was the late emperor’s consort.
• Appearance and identity: Cosmetic surgery offers a way to conceal the past and reshape how society sees someone.
• Gossip as a source of insight: Guagua’s revelations uncover private motives hidden beneath public appearances.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao consults Guagua about the princes and reacts to the information Guagua uncovers.
• Guagua points out the guarded carriage and explains why Sima Yifeng has come to Suyu City.
• Nian Fengyuan has arranged for Sima Yifeng to alter Qin Luou’s appearance; Qin shares his feelings and cooperates.
• Nian Fengyuan and Qin Luou’s mutual love, formerly restrained while Nian Cenyi lived, is now driving their plans.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Luou grows up watching the jealousy and rivalry among her father’s principal wife, six concubines, and two bedchamber maids. She becomes determined to marry a man with few or no other women.
• When she is forced to enter the grand consort selection, she is distraught and tries to get rejected by disguising her beauty and acting timid and foolish.
• Her disguise works until another candidate’s failed attempt to trap a rival sends Qin Luou into the Lotus Pond. The water washes away her makeup, revealing her true beauty before the emperor and several princes.
• Nian Cenyi punishes the candidate responsible and, despite the selection not yet being officially complete, immediately names Qin Luou a Beauty—an unusually high rank for a new consort.
• Nian Fengyuan is also struck by Qin Luou at first sight. He hopes to secure her for himself later, but his father’s decree leaves him unable to act.
• Nian Cenyi summons Qin Luou on her first night in the harem and visits her every night for a month. She is soon promoted to Jieyu, provoking the other consorts’ jealousy.

Character developments

• Qin Luou remains unwilling to become a consort and is acutely aware that the emperor’s favor may expose her to retaliation. Though clear-eyed about the dangers, she has little power to avoid them.
• Nian Cenyi is captivated by Qin Luou’s beauty and grants her favor and rank unusually quickly.
• Nian Fengyuan moves from astonishment to hope and then despair as he realizes he cannot challenge his father.
• Song Yaoyao follows the revelations with curiosity, recognizing the irony of Qin Luou’s predicament.

Character interactions

• Qin Luou’s early life with her father’s household shapes her fear of the harem and its rivalries.
• The other candidates initially dismiss her, then resent her when her beauty is revealed and the emperor favors her.
• Nian Cenyi’s decree places Qin Luou above ordinary newcomers and intensifies hostility within the palace.
• Her maid Suyi celebrates the emperor’s attention, but Qin Luou privately questions how long it will last.

Significant themes

• Fate and powerlessness: Qin Luou tries to avoid the palace but is drawn into it by circumstance and decisions made by others.
• The instability of favor: Her rapid rise brings danger as well as privilege; she expects the emperor’s attention to fade.
• Jealousy and competition: The household rivalries she witnessed as a child recur on a larger scale in the imperial harem.
• Appearance and deception: Qin Luou’s disguise briefly protects her, but its accidental collapse changes her life.

Key plot points and events

• After Emperor Nian Cenyi’s interest in Qin Luou fades, the other consorts target her. She suffers poor, sometimes contaminated food, harassment of her servants, and physical abuse ordered by a jealous consort.
• When a palace maid deliberately knocks Qin Luou into a pond, Prince Nian Fengyuan rescues her and stops the maid from escaping.
• Nian Fengyuan repeatedly protects Qin Luou and secretly provides her with two female Shadow Guards as personal attendants. Their help makes her life safer.
• Qin Luou and Nian Fengyuan fall in love, though both initially restrain their feelings because of their positions.
• Nian Fengyuan tells Qin Luou he plans to rebel against his father. She supports him and does not inform Nian Cenyi. Guagua explains that her suffering is a major reason for Nian Fengyuan’s decision.
• After the rebellion, Nian Fengyuan confines Nian Cenyi’s consorts together rather than disposing of them, since their powerful families are politically important.

Character developments

• Qin Luou moves from enduring palace abuse to trusting and loving Nian Fengyuan. Despite her past, she chooses to believe in his promises rather than leave and start over.
• Nian Fengyuan becomes Qin Luou’s protector and commits himself to gaining power so she can escape her mistreatment. He promises to make her empress and love only her.
• Song Yaoyao sympathizes with Qin Luou but questions her choice. She distrusts romantic promises and argues that Qin Luou would be safer relying on herself and escaping.
• Nian Cenyi is depicted as having brought Qin Luou into the palace without caring what happened to her afterward.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Qin Luou’s safety depends on influence and protection in a court where powerful people can abuse those with little support.
• Love amid adversity: Repeated rescues create intimacy between Qin Luou and Nian Fengyuan, though their feelings develop within a dangerous, unequal setting.
• Trust versus independence: Qin Luou believes Nian Fengyuan’s promises, while Song Yaoyao warns that love and vows can change and advocates self-reliance.
• Politics and compromise: Even after rebellion, Nian Fengyuan must preserve ties with influential families, limiting how freely he can act.

Character interactions

• A jealous consort humiliates Qin Luou over her salute and has attendants beat her.
• Nian Fengyuan repeatedly intervenes to protect Qin Luou, eventually placing Shadow Guards at her side.
• Qin Luou supports Nian Fengyuan’s rebellion, while Song Yaoyao criticizes her decision to trust him and remain in the palace.
• Nian Fengyuan’s treatment of the imprisoned consorts reflects the political constraints imposed by their families’ influence.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss why the renowned healer Sima Yifeng has agreed to help Nian Fengyuan. Nian once saved Sima’s son, who promised to repay him; Sima must honor that promise because he alone can perform the face-changing surgery Nian needs.
• Nian wants Qin Luou—his late father’s consort, whom he has secretly kept by his side after faking her death—to live openly with him. Their relationship is politically dangerous, and Sima is uneasy about being drawn into the imperial family’s affairs, especially amid rumors of Nian’s rebellion. He brings his senior disciple with him.
• Song Yaoyao decides to visit the princes’ manors after finishing the pastries. She and her companions leave the teahouse and head out to investigate.
• Yaoyao chooses to start in East City, expecting fewer watchers there. Guagua explains that the influential princes mostly live in West City; only the Ninth and Tenth Princes, whose families are comparatively weak, reside in East City.

Character developments and interactions

• Nian Fengyuan is portrayed as reckless and deeply entangled in political danger: he has killed his father, is allegedly rebelling, and is hiding a relationship with Qin Luou.
• Sima Yifeng is principled but reluctant. His obligation to repay his son’s debt leaves him little choice but to help Nian.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua continue their teasing, familiar banter. Guagua mocks Yaoyao for rapidly devouring the pastries without properly tasting them, while Yaoyao threatens to stop spending money through him—an effective threat that makes him back down.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng overhear Yaoyao and Guagua’s discussion. They are stunned by the face-changing procedure and by Nian’s involvement with his adoptive father’s consort, but are accustomed to Yaoyao and Guagua’s bickering.

Significant themes

• Duty versus personal reluctance: Sima acts because his family’s honor requires him to fulfill a promise.
• Secrecy and political risk: Nian and Qin’s hidden relationship could cost them their lives and undermine his bid for power.
• Humor and companionship: Yaoyao and Guagua’s playful quarrels lighten the chapter’s serious political revelations.
• Power and social hierarchy: The princes’ residences reflect their status and family influence, shaping Yaoyao’s investigative route.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao approaches the Ninth and Tenth Princes’ manors, but Guagua detects numerous Shadow Guards watching them. She quietly changes course and takes her companions, Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng, to a nearby restaurant.
• The restaurant is also monitored by Nian Fengyuan’s agents, including the waiter. Guagua warns the group to speak carefully and avoid openly watching the manors.
• From their private room, Song Yaoyao asks Guagua to investigate the manors remotely. Guagua returns embarrassed, having witnessed the Tenth Prince’s consort in a secret encounter with a man.
• The consort’s lover is Chu Rongguan, a senior general and her cousin. Guagua suspects Nian Fengyuan’s spies know about the affair and may use it to provoke conflict between the Tenth Prince, Nian Yuzhou, and the Sixth Prince, Nian Tongyi.
• Guagua reveals Cai Jingwen and Chu Rongguan’s shared history: they were childhood companions who fell in love and expected to marry, until an imperial decree forced Cai to marry Nian Yuzhou. The chapter ends as this history is introduced.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao shows quick judgment and composure, following Guagua’s warning without revealing that she knows they are being watched. She relies on Guagua rather than risking a closer look at the manors.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng recognize the danger but stay silent to avoid alerting the hidden guards; they trust Song Yaoyao and Guagua to handle it.
• Guagua acts as both lookout and informant, but its humorous, scandalized reaction to the affair briefly disrupts the group’s focus.
• Cai Jingwen and Chu Rongguan’s present affair is framed by their former love and the marriage imposed on Cai. Their past affection contrasts with her current marriage, while Nian Fengyuan may exploit the situation for political gain.

Significant themes

• Surveillance and caution: The princes’ manors and even the restaurant are watched, making discretion essential.
• Love constrained by power: An imperial marriage decree separates Cai and Chu despite their mutual love.
• Political manipulation: A private affair could be turned into a weapon against rival princes.
• Gossip and humor: Guagua’s comic embarrassment provides levity amid the intrigue.

Key plot points and events

• In response to a marriage proposal for the Tenth Prince, Cai Wuxi turns his rival Liu Qin’s tactic back on him by suggesting Liu’s daughter marry the Ninth Prince. The emperor approves both matches: Cai Jingwen to Nian Yuzhou, the Tenth Prince, and Liu Linfei to Nian Jingyun, the Ninth.
• Cai Jingwen is devastated by the imperial edict because she had expected to marry her cousin, Chu Rongguan. She considers suicide, but her mother warns that her death would bring scrutiny and endanger both families. Six months later, she marries Nian Yuzhou.
• The marriage is loveless and distant. Heartbroken, Chu Rongguan becomes gravely ill, then resolves to gain power. He secretly joins the army and stays at the border for eight years, returning as the accomplished General Xingde.
• Chu pledges his allegiance to the Sixth Prince, Nian Tongyi, after failing to attract the interest of his preferred ally, the Seventh Prince.
• At a banquet, Chu sees Cai Jingwen beside her husband and is overwhelmed by jealousy and grief. Cai later meets him in secret; they rekindle their relationship and begin having clandestine trysts.
• Determined to be together openly, they plan to kill Nian Yuzhou with a colorless, odorless poison that takes three days to work. Cai has taken the antidote and poisons the wine at her birthday feast. Nian Yuzhou eats and drinks a little despite feeling unwell.

Character developments and interactions

• Cai Wuxi and Liu Qin use their daughters’ marriages to retaliate against each other, but both are forced to accept matches they would rather avoid. The narration notes that marrying daughters to poorly backed princes risks tying a family’s fortunes to a difficult political cause.
• Cai Jingwen moves from shock and despair at her arranged marriage to a secret reunion with Chu, ultimately conspiring to murder her husband.
• Chu Rongguan transforms his grief and resentment into ambition, spending years building military power. His reunion with Cai revives their mutual affection and leads them into a dangerous plot.
• Nian Yuzhou and Cai Jingwen remain courteous but emotionally distant. At the chapter’s end, he unknowingly consumes some of the poisoned food and wine.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua criticize Liu Qin’s maneuver as foolish: in trying to trap Cai Wuxi, he exposes his own daughter to the same unwanted political arrangement.

Significant themes

• Political power and marriage: Imperial marriages serve political interests, overriding personal choice and binding families to princes’ fortunes.
• Ambition born of heartbreak: Chu turns helplessness into a pursuit of strength, but his regained power does not resolve his longing.
• Love, jealousy, and betrayal: The lovers’ reunion leads from concealed affection to a plot against the husband who stands between them.
• Consequences of retaliation: Cai Wuxi’s counterattack succeeds, but the marriage arrangements set in motion years of grief and, ultimately, a murder attempt.

Plot points and events

• Nian Yuzhou survives the first poisoning attempt after vomiting and then recovering from several days of illness.
• Angry that the poison failed, Chu Rongguan beats the Northern Tribesman, who escapes further punishment by claiming to have a deadlier poison. The “poison” is actually a harmless mixture of health tonics.
• Chu Rongguan gives the powder to Cai Jingwen. She adds it to nourishing soup for Nian Yuzhou, but the harmless ingredients only benefit his health. Nian drinks the soup after having it tested, leaving Cai and Chu convinced the poison has failed again.
• The Northern Tribesman flees Suyu City, so Chu cannot confront him.
• Still determined to kill Nian, Chu decides against hiring an assassin, fearing the Shadow Pavilion might expose him. Instead, he takes a large force and ambushes Nian’s party on the road back from an official assignment. Chu’s men greatly outnumber Nian’s attendants, and the two groups clash.

Character developments

• Nian Yuzhou remains unsuspecting enough to drink the tested soup, but his repeated survival makes him seem remarkably lucky and difficult to kill.
• Chu Rongguan grows increasingly furious and reckless, shifting from poison to a personally organized ambush when his first plans fail.
• Cai Jingwen is eager for Nian’s death because she despises him and resents the prospect of living with him, though she is uneasy about the assassination plan.
• The Northern Tribesman proves resourceful: he bluffs his way out of a beating and escapes before Chu can discover the truth.

Character interactions

• Chu Rongguan threatens and beats the Northern Tribesman, then trusts his false claim of possessing a stronger poison.
• Cai brings Nian the soup at Chu’s direction; Nian has it tested, then drinks it, unknowingly foiling their plan.
• Chu and Cai discuss abandoning poison in favor of assassination; Chu chooses to lead the attack himself.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua comment humorously on the failed poisoning and criticize Chu and Cai for repeatedly targeting Nian, who is caught up in the marriage because of an imperial decree.

Significant themes

• Chance and survival: Nian repeatedly escapes danger through circumstances rather than deliberate countermeasures.
• Deception and miscalculation: The Northern Tribesman’s bluff turns the conspirators’ plan against them, while their assumptions about the powder prove false.
• Obsession and injustice: Chu and Cai’s hatred drives them to escalate their efforts against Nian, despite his apparent lack of wrongdoing.
• Power and risk: Chu’s fear that hired assassins could expose him leads him to take matters into his own hands.

Key plot points and events

• After a brutal fight, Nian Yuzhou survives Chu Rongguan’s assassination attempt. A lasso nearly strangles him, but the rope inexplicably snaps; reinforcements arrive, forcing Chu Rongguan to retreat.
• Chu Rongguan and Cai Jingwen lie low, then resume plotting when they learn the princes are fighting for power. Nian Yuzhou has allied with the Ninth Prince, and they decide the chaos offers a chance to kill him.
• Unable to reach Nian Yuzhou while he is away, the conspirators target Liu Qin instead. Their first attempt fails because two powerful Shadow Guards protect him.
• Chu Rongguan investigates Liu Qin and uncovers a secret: though Liu Qin once promised his wife she would be his only partner, he later took a mistress and fathered a son, Liu Qiwang. The boy is four, clever, and treasured by Liu Qin.

Character developments and interactions

• Nian Yuzhou proves far more formidable than Chu Rongguan expected, surviving repeated attacks and showing exceptional martial skill. Song Yaoyao jokes that he seems to have a “protagonist’s halo.”
• Chu Rongguan and Cai Jingwen remain determined to kill Nian Yuzhou, whom they blame despite his having married Cai Jingwen by imperial order. They also redirect their vengeance toward Liu Qin, whom they regard as an enemy.
• Liu Qin is revealed as a devoted husband in the early years of his marriage, but later breaks his promise of fidelity because he wants a biological son. His affection for Liu Qiwang contrasts with the trust he has kept from his wife.
• Chu Rongguan and Cai Jingwen discuss their plans as lovers and collaborators; after the failed attack on Liu Qin, they agree that a more careful approach is needed.

Significant themes

• Fate and survival: Nian Yuzhou’s repeated escapes seem almost miraculous.
• Revenge and misplaced blame: The conspirators direct their hatred at Nian Yuzhou and Liu Qin, even when their grievances originate elsewhere.
• Secrecy and betrayal: Liu Qin’s hidden son undermines his promise to his wife, while the conspirators conduct their schemes in secret.

Key plot points and events

• Chu Rongguan uses his discovery of Liu Qin’s secret family to inform Madam Liu that Liu Qin has a mistress and a four-year-old son.
• Madam Liu confirms the news through a trusted servant. Though devastated, she initially keeps the marriage outwardly intact, partly for the sake of her four daughters.
• Nanny Xu urges her to avoid a public break with Liu Qin, reminding her that their daughters’ futures could be affected.
• Madam Liu revisits memories of her courtship and marriage, especially Liu Qin’s past promises that he would never make her suffer to bear a son. His secret son makes those assurances feel like a cruel deception.
• Unable to accept the uncertainty, Madam Liu secretly watches the mistress and boy from a teahouse. She sees Liu Qin visit them regularly and witnesses his apparent affection for both.
• Later, Madam Liu unexpectedly encounters Liu Qin with the mistress and child on the street. Liu Qin panics, hands the boy to the mistress, and follows his wife into the teahouse, where she takes her usual seat by the window.

Character developments

• Madam Liu moves from shock and grief toward a painful determination to face the truth. She tries to preserve her family’s public appearance but repeatedly seeks evidence, even though watching Liu Qin’s other household deepens her hurt.
• Liu Qin is revealed as having maintained a secret family while presenting himself publicly as a devoted husband. His startled reaction when caught suggests fear of exposure rather than readiness to explain.
• Nanny Xu acts as Madam Liu’s practical confidante, prioritizing the daughters’ welfare and urging restraint.
• Chu Rongguan treats the discovery as leverage, setting the revelation in motion.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and shattered trust: Liu Qin’s secret son contradicts the promises that once defined his marriage.
• Appearance versus reality: His reputation as a loving husband conceals a second family.
• Sacrifice and family duty: Madam Liu weighs her own pain against the consequences a marital rupture might have for her daughters.
• Self-inflicted grief: Her repeated visits to watch the other household show how the need to know can intensify emotional suffering.

Character interactions

• Madam Liu and Nanny Xu discuss whether to confront Liu Qin, with Nanny Xu urging caution and Madam Liu insisting she must see the mistress and child.
• Madam Liu’s memories of Liu Qin’s earlier tenderness sharpen the contrast with his present deception.
• When Madam Liu catches Liu Qin with the other family, he tries to reassure her that she has misunderstood, but she gives no answer and walks away; he abandons the pair to follow her.

Key plot points and events

• Madam Liu meets her husband, Liu Qin, at a teahouse and confronts him about his affair with Lian Niang and his visits to the courtyard where Lian Niang and her young son live.
• Liu Qin admits he wanted a son and promises to keep his mistress and child out of Madam Liu’s way. She remains silent and refuses to accept his excuses.
• Lian Niang later frames Madam Liu, first claiming that Madam Liu hired thugs to assault her, then accusing her of having Wang’er thrown into a river. The thugs die before Madam Liu can question them, and Liu Qin—who ordered their deaths—leaves his wife to bear the blame.
• Although Wang’er survives the river incident, Liu Qin again accuses Madam Liu without evidence. She rejects his assumptions and vows to investigate.
• Convinced that Lian Niang and her son are deliberately provoking and framing her, Madam Liu summons the Shadow Guards her father gave her. They abduct Lian Niang and Wang’er; when Liu Qin tries to stop them, they knock him unconscious. Madam Liu orders her attendant to wake Lian Niang.

Character developments

• Madam Liu (Li Jinrong) shifts from silently enduring her husband’s affair and the accusations against her to taking decisive action. Her patience has limits, especially when she is repeatedly blamed without proof.
• Liu Qin reveals himself as unfaithful and biased: he favors his mistress and son, assumes his wife’s guilt, and uses his authority to destroy evidence rather than seek the truth. His brief doubt does not stop him from issuing threats.
• Lian Niang is portrayed as calculating, staging incidents to turn Liu Qin against Madam Liu.
• Madam Liu’s Shadow Guards become active after years of remaining unused, showing that she has powerful support and is willing to call on it.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and marital breakdown: Liu Qin’s affair and his preference for his other household have undermined his marriage.
• Power and injustice: Madam Liu is blamed on suspicion, while Liu Qin’s actions prevent her from clearing her name.
• Manipulation and false accusations: Lian Niang exploits Liu Qin’s assumptions to isolate Madam Liu.
• The limits of endurance: Madam Liu’s restraint gives way when repeated provocations threaten her and her family’s dignity.

Character interactions

• At the teahouse, Madam Liu’s silence and direct questions force Liu Qin to confront that she knows about his affair.
• Liu Qin repeatedly accuses Madam Liu, while she challenges him to provide evidence and condemns his unprofessional judgment.
• The Shadow Guards obey Madam Liu even when Liu Qin intervenes, and her trusted attendant follows her order to revive Lian Niang.

Key plot points and events

• Madam Liu confronts Lian Niang and Wang’er, accusing them of repeatedly framing her. She orders her servants to separate mother and son, slap Lian Niang, and then prepare to paddle her.
• Liu Qin arrives and tries to stop the punishment, but Madam Liu’s loyal household servants ignore him and restrain Lian Niang.
• Liu Qin summons his Shadow Guards; Madam Liu reveals that she has guards of her own. The two groups fight, leaving Liu Qin unable to intervene.
• Lian Niang is beaten severely, even after fainting and being revived. Wang’er pleads for the beating to stop and admits that he and his mother falsely accused Madam Liu.
• Wang’er reveals that he jumped into the river himself because his mother told him it would make Liu Qin stay with them and visit every day. The chapter ends as this confession comes to light.

Character developments

• Madam Liu: Moves from defending herself against accusations to retaliating violently. Her control over her own servants and guards shows her power and determination.
• Liu Qin: Tries to protect Lian Niang, but his authority is undermined by Madam Liu’s household. Wang’er’s confession forces him to reconsider what he believed about the earlier incidents.
• Lian Niang: Presents herself as a helpless victim, but Wang’er’s account implicates her in deliberately manipulating Liu Qin.
• Wang’er: Initially cries for his mother, then confesses the truth when he fears she may be badly hurt.

Significant themes

• Deception and manipulation: The apparent accident in the river was staged to influence Liu Qin.
• Power and loyalty: Liu Qin’s command is powerless against Madam Liu’s servants, whose allegiance is to her.
• Family and responsibility: Wang’er’s desire to see his father leads him to take part in a dangerous plan.
• Justice versus revenge: Madam Liu seeks to expose the false accusations, but her violent response raises questions about whether punishment has become retaliation.

Character interactions

• Madam Liu and Lian Niang clash over the alleged framing, with Madam Liu ordering the assault and Lian Niang appealing to Liu Qin.
• Liu Qin confronts Madam Liu and tries to shield Lian Niang, while Madam Liu accuses the mother and son of conspiring against her.
• Wang’er’s confession changes the confrontation: Liu Qin questions his son directly, and Wang’er reveals that Lian Niang prompted the staged river incident.

Key plot points and events

• Wang’er reveals that Lian Niang staged both incidents: she arranged for him to be thrown into the river, then coached him to accuse Madam Liu, and paid men to surround her in a separate scheme.
• Liu Qin realizes he wrongly accused his wife and apologizes. Madam Liu stops the beating of Lian Niang, but remains deeply hurt by Liu Qin’s persistent concern for his mistress.
• Liu Qin leaves to arrange medical care for Lian Niang. Madam Liu tells Nanny Xu she has given up hope of restoring her marriage and will tolerate Lian Niang and Wang’er so long as they stay out of her way.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua suspect Lian Niang has another plan. At the courtyard house, Lian Niang argues that she framed Madam Liu to secure a respectable future for Wang’er, then asks Liu Qin to bring her into the household as a concubine so their son can gain legitimate status.
• Liu Qin does not decide immediately, saying he must discuss it with Madam Liu. He goes to check on Wang’er, who is asleep but still sobbing from the day’s events.

Character developments and interactions

• Madam Liu is vindicated, but Liu Qin’s continued attachment to Lian Niang confirms her loss of trust and hope in him. She chooses to end the confrontation rather than prolong the punishment.
• Liu Qin admits his mistake but remains emotionally divided: he apologizes to his wife, yet rushes to care for Lian Niang and is persuaded by her appeal to Wang’er’s future.
• Lian Niang is exposed as manipulative, but reframes her schemes as maternal sacrifice and presses for formal status in the household.
• Wang’er, coached to lie by his mother, unintentionally exposes her schemes. His distress shows the harm the adults’ conflict has caused him.
• Nanny Xu questions Madam Liu’s decision to let Liu Qin go, while Madam Liu explains that keeping him near her is meaningless when his heart is elsewhere.

Significant themes

• Trust and betrayal: Liu Qin’s readiness to believe accusations has damaged his marriage.
• Manipulation and accountability: Lian Niang uses her child and claims of necessity to excuse deliberate deception.
• Status and family legitimacy: Wang’er’s prospects become the justification for Lian Niang’s demand to enter the household.
• The cost of conflict on children: Wang’er is drawn into adult schemes and left frightened and emotionally shaken.