Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• The emperor receives news of the campaign’s success: the Night Central Kingdom has been defeated without casualties, and the Dragon Abyss Kingdom may soon be absorbed into the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom. He orders further rewards for the Marquis of Eternal Peace’s household.
• Song Yaoyao shops with Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng, buying fabric for two new sets of men’s clothes because she has outgrown her old ones. The group later sends their companions back with their purchases and goes to a restaurant.
• While they wait for food, Guagua reveals the story of Xiao Nanzhi and Nie Suhe. Xiao Nanzhi, a young general, married Nie Suhe after their families arranged the match. While away at the frontier, he was rescued by Fu Shutong and fell in love with her.
• When Xiao Nanzhi returned with Fu Shutong, he repeatedly favored and protected her, while Nie Suhe endured mistreatment and false accusations. After losing her unborn child, Nie Suhe asked for a divorce, and Xiao Qi agreed.
• Xiao Nanzhi expected to marry Fu Shutong as his principal wife, but his parents refused to accept her as the General’s Residence’s mistress. As the family argued, Fu Shutong suddenly disappeared.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains practical and lively, though her stated reason for choosing black fabric—so it shows less dirt—conceals that she simply likes the color. She enjoys Guagua’s gossip and quickly predicts the familiar melodramatic course of Nie Suhe’s marriage.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng look after Song Yaoyao and help carry her purchases; they decline to have clothes made for themselves.
• Nie Suhe’s devotion to Xiao Nanzhi gives way to grief and disillusionment after his betrayal and her loss. Her decision to divorce marks her reclaiming control of her life.
• Xiao Nanzhi’s parents condemn his treatment of Nie Suhe and oppose his plan to elevate Fu Shutong, creating a conflict between his romantic attachment and family expectations.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and the cost of misplaced loyalty: Nie Suhe’s care for her husband is repaid with neglect and humiliation.
• Agency and release: Divorce becomes Nie Suhe’s way to escape an unjust marriage.
• Family duty versus personal desire: Xiao Nanzhi’s wishes clash with his parents’ sense of obligation and propriety.
• Gossip and genre awareness: Song Yaoyao recognizes the familiar tropes in Nie Suhe’s story, adding a light, knowing tone to the otherwise tragic events.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao learns through Guagua that Fu Shutong was neither kidnapped nor taken by General Xiao and his wife: she left voluntarily.
• After Xiao Qi releases Xiao Nanzhi from confinement, Nanzhi goes to see Shutong but discovers she has vanished. Her maid explains that Shutong disappeared while she was away, and the Xiaos’ search found no trace of her.
• Nanzhi confronts Madam Xiao, accusing her of driving Shutong away and demanding to know where she is. Madam Xiao denies it and says Shutong left on her own.
• When Nanzhi keeps challenging his mother, Madam Xiao slaps him—her first physical punishment of him—and rebukes him for his disrespect.
• Xiao Qi arrives, confirms that Shutong left voluntarily, and suggests she feared Nanzhi would eventually betray or mistreat her as he did Nie Suhe. Nanzhi is devastated but struggles to accept that Shutong chose to leave.

Character developments

• Xiao Nanzhi is shaken by Shutong’s disappearance, but his concern initially manifests as suspicion and entitlement. He remains unable to understand why she might leave him, despite his history of breaking promises.
• Madam Xiao firmly defends herself and finally confronts her son’s spoiled, unruly behavior, even striking him.
• Xiao Qi is direct and unsparing, using Nanzhi’s treatment of Nie Suhe to force him to consider why Shutong might no longer trust him.
• Fu Shutong, though absent, makes a decisive choice to leave and apparently ensures she cannot be found.

Significant themes

• Consequences of betrayal: Nanzhi’s treatment of Nie Suhe undermines his claim that he would never hurt Shutong.
• Trust and accountability: His parents challenge him to recognize that promises mean little without consistent action.
• Autonomy and escape: Shutong’s departure suggests she has chosen to reclaim control over her life.
• Family respect and privilege: Madam Xiao’s slap marks a turning point in her refusal to excuse Nanzhi’s behavior.

Character interactions

• Nanzhi’s accusatory confrontation with Madam Xiao exposes how little he trusts her; she responds with anger and a sharp reprimand.
• Xiao Qi comforts his wife before confronting his son, then bluntly connects Nanzhi’s past conduct to Shutong’s decision to leave.
• Both parents insist that Nanzhi reflect on his actions, while he remains focused on finding Shutong rather than fully accepting their criticism.

Key plot points

• Guagua reveals that Fu Shutong left not to torment Nie Suhe, but because she had succeeded in driving a wedge between Nie and Xiao Nanzhi—and hoped to win Nie’s affection.
• A flashback shows Fu Shutong arguing with her mother, Fu Hui, the formidable master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Fu Hui refuses to let her join a mission to find a rare herb needed to treat Fu Hui’s lingering poison.
• Determined to prove herself, Fu Shutong secretly leaves the sect. She encounters her eldest senior brother, Fang Weishang, and later escapes him while he is trying to bring her home.
• Fu Shutong finds the wounded Xiao Nanzhi after he falls from a cliff and saves him. She travels with him toward the capital, eager to see a place she has never visited.
• In the capital, Fu Shutong meets Nie Suhe and becomes fascinated by her gentle, proper nature. Xiao Nanzhi’s attention toward Fu Shutong, however, leads Nie to believe there is something between them.
• Fu Shutong has no romantic interest in Xiao Nanzhi. His behavior disgusts her, particularly because he is married.

Character developments

• Fu Shutong is revealed as the only daughter and heir of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion’s master. Though sheltered and treated like a child, she is bold and independent, sneaking away to prove herself. Her attraction is toward Nie Suhe, not Xiao Nanzhi.
• Fu Hui is a powerful, protective leader whose past betrayal by a married man shaped her distrust of men and her determination to raise Fu Shutong herself. She suffers from poison that periodically causes severe pain.
• Fang Weishang, Fu Hui’s senior disciple, is responsible and protective of Fu Shutong, but cannot stop her escape.
• Nie Suhe is portrayed as gentle and conventional; Fu Shutong is drawn to her, while Nie seems distressed by Fu Shutong’s closeness to Xiao Nanzhi.
• Xiao Nanzhi appears attentive to Fu Shutong despite being married, reinforcing Song Yaoyao’s and Fu Shutong’s view of him as a scoundrel.
• Song Yaoyao reacts with surprise to Fu Shutong’s feelings and learns the hidden history behind her departure.

Significant themes

• Misunderstanding and appearances: Nie mistakes Fu Shutong’s association with Xiao Nanzhi for romance, while Fu Shutong’s true interest is in Nie.
• Independence versus protection: Fu Shutong resents being sheltered and takes risks to prove her maturity.
• Betrayal and distrust: Fu Hui’s past deception by a married man informs Fu Shutong’s resistance to heterosexual romance and shapes her judgment of Xiao Nanzhi.
• Power, duty, and family: Fu Hui’s leadership and illness, the search for a healing herb, and Fu Shutong’s status as heir frame her personal rebellion within the obligations of the sect.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao discusses the revelations with Guagua, condemning Xiao Nanzhi and questioning Fu Shutong’s motives.
• Fu Hui refuses Fu Shutong’s request to join the herb mission; Fang Weishang defends the younger disciple and later tries to bring her back.
• Fu Shutong saves Xiao Nanzhi, then accepts his invitation to travel to the capital.
• Fu Shutong’s growing interest in Nie Suhe clashes with Nie’s apparent jealousy and Xiao Nanzhi’s misleading attentions.

Plot points and events

• Fu Shutong accepts Xiao Nanzhi’s love so she can undermine his marriage to Nie Suhe from within. Though Xiao believes she is devoted to him, Fu drugs him whenever he tries to share her bed and secretly punishes him.
• She becomes his co-wife, using her position to drive Xiao and Nie farther apart. As Nie suffers, Fu’s sympathy deepens into affection; she also makes Xiao infertile.
• Xiao and Nie eventually divorce. Fu celebrates, imagining she has helped Nie escape him. Nie uses her dowry to buy a home and lives independently rather than risk harming her unmarried sisters’ reputations.
• Fu goes to Nie’s new home and confesses that she framed her to force the divorce. Nie is angry and wants Fu to leave her alone, suspecting she has some hidden motive.
• Unwilling to leave, Fu changes the subject and reveals that she drugged and secretly beat Xiao whenever he mistreated Nie.

Character developments and interactions

• Fu Shutong begins with the goal of rescuing Nie but gradually realizes she loves her. She remains willing to be seen as Nie’s enemy if it helps her, though she cannot yet confess her feelings directly.
• Nie Suhe is hurt and distrustful after the divorce. She wants peace and distance from Fu, rejecting the closeness Fu tries to claim.
• Xiao Nanzhi is vain and oblivious: he mistakes Fu’s celebration of Nie’s freedom for happiness on his behalf, and accepts her explanations rather than question her.
• Fu and Nie’s reunion is tense: Fu explains her actions as protective, while Nie sees only the harm and asks her to stop interfering.

Significant themes

• Protection through deception: Fu harms Nie’s trust to help her escape Xiao.
• Love and self-sacrifice: Fu accepts a role she does not want and endures Nie’s anger for her sake.
• Freedom and autonomy: Nie chooses an independent life after divorce, while Fu struggles to respect her request for distance.
• Appearance versus reality: Xiao mistakes Fu’s motives and remains unaware of her secret resistance.

Key plot points and events

• Fu Shutong reveals to Nie Suhe that she secretly drugged Xiao Nanzhi to make him infertile, asking whether Nie would expose her. Nie promises she will not.
• Fu refuses to return to the General’s Residence and insists on staying with Nie. Though Nie initially rejects her, she eventually lets Fu move in.
• Fu encourages Nie to leave the Capital and see the wider world, promising to protect her with her martial arts and poisons. After repeated persuasion, Nie agrees.
• Three days later, the two women leave Suyu City together.
• Song Yaoyao learns that Xiao Nanzhi had been confined by his mother after making a fuss about Fu’s disappearance. Once released, he gathers acquaintances to organize a discreet search, concerned that a public search would fuel damaging rumors.

Character developments

• Fu Shutong is now openly bold and mischievous, rather than the tearful, scheming persona Nie remembers. Her insistence on staying with Nie—and on traveling together—reveals her growing attachment and hopes for a closer relationship.
• Nie Suhe remains wary of Fu’s sudden familiarity, but gradually trusts her enough to shelter her and leave the familiar Capital with her.
• Xiao Nanzhi is shown to be distressed by Fu’s disappearance and determined to find her, while his mother treats Fu as disposable.
• Song Yaoyao recognizes that Nie does not understand Fu’s romantic feelings and sees the journey as Fu’s attempt to draw them closer.

Significant themes

• Freedom and new beginnings: Nie’s departure from the Capital represents a chance to choose a life beyond her sheltered courtyard.
• Deception and changing identities: Fu’s past manipulations contrast with her present candor and vulnerability.
• Unspoken affection: Fu hopes travel will deepen their bond, but Nie interprets her actions as friendship and help.
• Reputation and social control: The men’s decision to search quietly reflects the fear that public gossip could ruin a woman’s standing.

Character interactions

• Fu teases and pressures Nie, while Nie responds with skepticism and repeated attempts to send her away; their banter gradually gives way to trust.
• Fu offers Nie companionship and protection, and Nie ultimately accepts her invitation to travel.
• Xiao Nanzhi’s acquaintances agree to help search discreetly, while Madam Xiao’s earlier refusal to search—and decision to confine her son—underscores her hostility toward Fu.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Nanzhi thanks his companions over wine, unaware that Fu Shutong has already left Suyu City and their search is bound to fail. Song Yaoyao and Guagua privately joke that his troubles are deserved: his wife divorced him, and his co-wife ran off with her.
• During the meal, Song Yaoyao hears that two women are arguing downstairs. Eager to see the commotion, she rushes out; Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng accompany her.
• The dispute involves a woman in orange accusing a younger woman in pale yellow of trying to seduce her husband. The husband is conspicuously ordinary-looking, prompting the bystanders to mock the orange-clad woman’s insistence that he is handsome.
• The younger woman explains she merely glanced around the restaurant, and may have looked at the man by accident. The crowd finds the accusation absurd.
• A bystander identifies the accuser as Young Madam Hu, daughter of a shopkeeper. She reportedly made the same accusation two days earlier, even hitting another woman; her father paid to keep that incident out of court.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is curious and impulsive, abandoning her meal to watch the argument. Guagua encourages her enthusiasm for gossip.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng respond supportively, warning her not to choke and joining her to investigate.
• Young Madam Hu appears possessive and insecure, treating a casual glance as proof of seduction and fiercely defending her husband’s looks.
• The woman in pale yellow firmly rejects the accusation and appeals to the crowd’s judgment. Her maid offers the possibility that she glanced at the husband unintentionally.
• The bystanders turn the confrontation into public ridicule, joking about the husband’s appearance and questioning Hu’s behavior.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and insecurity: Young Madam Hu interprets ordinary attention as romantic pursuit.
• Public gossip and humiliation: The crowd’s commentary overwhelms the original dispute and exposes Hu’s repeated behavior.
• Appearance and perception: Hu’s exaggerated praise of her husband clashes with the crowd’s assessment, creating the scene’s comedy.
• Irony and misfortune: The opening exchange highlights Xiao Nanzhi’s ignorance of the events that have already undermined his plans.

Key plot points and events

• At a restaurant, Young Madam Hu accuses a woman in pale yellow of trying to seduce her husband, Qin Fangming. Bystanders condemn Hu’s jealousy and Qin’s silence.
• When Qin tries to calm her, Hu interprets his words as proof of infidelity. The woman’s maid slaps Hu for insulting her mistress, and Hu tries to attack the maid.
• A guard restrains Hu and throws her to the ground. Qin approaches but backs down when challenged, then pretends to be unconscious rather than help his wife. The crowd mocks him.
• The woman orders her guards to take both Hu and Qin to the Government Office. Hu protests, but the guard says she has slandered an official’s daughter and gags her.
• Back in their private room, Song Yaoyao and Guagua explain that Hu had previously made similar accusations against people without influence, while Shopkeeper Hu paid them off. This time, Hu targeted someone with powerful connections.

Character developments and interactions

• Young Madam Hu is portrayed as possessive, impulsive, and accustomed to getting away with public accusations. Her confidence collapses when she realizes she faces formal consequences.
• Qin Fangming avoids speaking to prevent provoking his jealous wife, but his cowardice becomes unmistakable when he abandons her during the confrontation.
• The woman in pale yellow and her maid respond decisively to Hu’s insults: the maid defends her mistress, while the woman uses her guards and official standing to pursue the matter.
• The crowd shifts from watching the dispute to ridiculing both Hu and Qin, especially after Qin refuses to help.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua provide context for the woman’s background and the likely legal penalties.

Significant themes

• Consequences and unequal power: Hu’s usual tactic of slandering people without recourse fails against an official’s daughter.
• Jealousy and insecurity: Hu treats a glance as seduction and interprets even her husband’s attempt to de-escalate as evidence of betrayal.
• Cowardice and responsibility: Qin’s silence and feigned collapse leave Hu alone and expose the weakness in their relationship.
• Public reputation and justice: The crowd’s reaction and the threat of punishment show how quickly a public accusation can damage someone—and how status affects whether it is challenged.

Key plot points

• After witnessing the absurd dispute between Shopkeeper Hu’s daughter and her husband, Song Yaoyao and her group continue shopping. The men let Yaoyao choose what to buy and help carry the purchases.
• Hearing a commotion at the Yun residence, Yaoyao hurries over, hoping for more gossip. There she finds Yun Zhiyou being thrown out by the Yun family.
• Yun Zhiyou’s two supposed brothers say she was switched at birth with their biological sister, Yun Zhizhi, and insist that Zhiyou leave after years of being raised in comfort while the “real” daughter suffered in the countryside.
• Yun Zhizhi performs kindness publicly, saying she does not blame Zhiyou and would even ask the family to let her stay. The onlookers praise her as generous and gracious.
• Yaoyao suspects Zhizhi’s sweetness is an act, and Guagua confirms that she is manipulative and that most of the Yun family are corrupt.
• Zhiyou challenges the family to swear that the babies were truly switched. The brothers hesitate, suggesting the accusation may be false. Zhiyou mocks their silence, but Zhizhi quickly redirects attention by portraying Zhiyou as unwilling to accept the truth and making a scene.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains eager for gossip, but she is also perceptive: she sees through Zhizhi’s public performance and recognizes how her words subtly cast Zhiyou as a usurper.
• Song Qinghui and the others enjoy the spectacle too, following Yaoyao and continuing to indulge her shopping choices.
• Yun Zhiyou appears battered but not defeated. Rather than pleading to stay, she faces the family with scorn and challenges the truth of their story.
• Yun Zhizhi presents herself as forgiving and selfless, yet uses that performance to reinforce the claim that Zhiyou took her place and to undermine Zhiyou when challenged.
• The Yun brothers act confidently while accusing Zhiyou, but their hesitation under her oath challenge exposes their uncertainty or guilt.

Significant themes

• Appearances versus truth: Public praise for Zhizhi contrasts with Yaoyao’s recognition of her hidden malice.
• Manipulation through victimhood: Zhizhi’s seemingly generous words subtly frame Zhiyou as guilty and ungrateful.
• Family loyalty and injustice: The Yun family invokes blood ties to reject someone they raised, while the truth of the supposed baby-switch remains in doubt.
• Crowd judgment and gossip: Bystanders quickly accept the Yun family’s version, showing how easily appearances shape public opinion.

Plot points and events

• Yun Zhiyou confronts Yun Zhizhi, accusing her of using a pitiful expression to make the Yun brothers assume Zhiyou has bullied her. Zhiyou says the family has punished her severely—beating, starving, and confining her—and begs Zhizhi to stop provoking further abuse.
• Zhizhi immediately adopts an aggrieved look. The Yun brothers, who missed the exchange, accuse Zhiyou of bullying her and threaten more punishment. Onlookers recognize this as evidence of the brothers’ reflexive favoritism.
• Zhiyou demands that the brothers swear an oath that she and Zhizhi were switched at birth, as they claim. They refuse, insisting Zhiyou should feel guilty because Zhizhi supposedly suffered in her place.
• Zhiyou says the Yun family’s account is false and that they know why she was really brought into the family. She begins to reveal that she and Zhizhi were never switched, but Yun Zhiye interrupts her.
• Zhiyou declares she will prove her innocence publicly, fearing the family may harm her once she is alone. She rejects Zhiye’s appeal to gratitude, pointing out that the family formally severed ties with her.
• The crowd grows increasingly suspicious of the Yun family, especially because the brothers repeatedly prevent Zhiyou from explaining her origins.

Character developments and interactions

• Yun Zhiyou is defiant and determined to expose the family’s story. She names the abuse she endured, rejects guilt and filial obligation, and uses the signed severance document to deny the Yun family any claim over her.
• Yun Zhizhi continues to present herself as the wronged sister, but Zhiyou’s accusation and the brothers’ immediate response make the act look calculated to the crowd.
• Yun Zhiye and Yun Zhijie reveal their favoritism by condemning Zhiyou without knowing what was said. When she challenges their story, they evade swearing an oath; Zhiye then cuts her off to prevent a fuller disclosure.
• The onlookers shift from accepting the brothers’ version to questioning the family’s motives and treatment of Zhiyou.

Significant themes

• Favoritism and manipulation: The brothers treat Zhizhi’s apparent distress as proof of wrongdoing, reinforcing Zhiyou’s claim that Zhizhi can turn them against her.
• Abuse and false narratives: Zhiyou alleges that the family mistreated her while publicly portraying themselves as justified and benevolent.
• Truth versus reputation: The brothers try to protect the Yun family’s standing, while Zhiyou risks speaking publicly to expose what happened.
• Rejecting coercive obligation: Zhiyou refuses to let “we raised you” excuse cruelty, particularly after the family has legally severed ties with her.

Plot points and events

• Yun Zhiyou prepares to expose the truth about why the Yun Family took her in. The crowd suspects the family has mistreated her, especially because Yun Zhiye repeatedly tries to silence her.
• When Yun Zhiye orders servants to seize Yun Zhiyou, several influential young men—known as Suyu City’s wastrels—intervene and protect her. Their attendants prevent the Yun Family’s servants from acting.
• Yun Zhiyou begins explaining that she and Yun Zhizhi were not switched at birth, contradicting the Yun Family’s account. Before she can continue, an archer attempts to kill her. An unseen ally knocks down the arrow and kills the attacker, and the crowd turns against the Yun Family.
• With the authorities about to be summoned, Yun Zhiye sends for the Yun Family’s elders. Yun Zhiyou insists she will speak even if it costs her life.
• She reveals that Yun Zhizhi was born with the fate of a “heavenly murder lone star,” and claims that calamities followed her birth: the family business collapsed, Old Master Yun broke his leg, and Old Madam Yun became gravely ill. Yun Zhizhi angrily denies the accusation, but Yun Zhiyou presses on.

Character developments and interactions

• Yun Zhiyou shifts from threatened victim to determined accuser. She accepts help but is resolved to reveal the Yun Family’s actions publicly.
• Yun Zhiye grows increasingly desperate: first trying to interrupt and restrain Yun Zhiyou, then apparently arranging a covert assassination when open force fails.
• Yun Zhizhi reacts with anger and fear as her birth secret and alleged ill fortune are exposed.
• The young men and their attendants use their powerful family connections to shield Yun Zhiyou and challenge the Yun Family.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng secretly save Yun Zhiyou—Qinghui knocks aside the arrow, while Liu kills the assassin. Song Yaoyao notices but pretends otherwise.

Significant themes

• Truth versus suppression: The Yun Family’s attempts to stop Yun Zhiyou only heighten the crowd’s suspicion.
• Power, justice, and public scrutiny: The family’s social influence proves less effective against the crowd and the young men’s protection.
• Superstition and stigma: Yun Zhizhi’s supposed fate as a “lone star” threatens her social standing, especially her prospects for marriage.
• Courage and hidden intervention: Yun Zhiyou risks her life to speak, while unnamed or concealed allies act to protect her.

Plot points and events

• Yun Zhiyou explains why the Yun Family took her in: after a run of misfortunes, a fortune-teller declared Yun Zhizhi a “heavenly calamity lone star” whose fate would ruin her family. He advised the Yuns to send her away and adopt a girl destined for wealth and prosperity to counteract her.
• The Yuns secretly took newborn Yun Zhiyou from her weakened mother and raised her as their daughter, while sending Yun Zhizhi to a remote village. The family’s fortunes improved, and its business prospered.
• Over time, the Yuns doubted the fortune-teller’s claims and considered sending Yun Zhiyou away. Old Master Yun stopped them, but Madam Yun banished the six-year-old to a neglected courtyard, where she had to work for food and endured beatings and hunger.
• Yun Zhiyou says she learned of the family’s origins by overhearing Old Master Yun. When Yun Zhiye calls her story nonsense, she produces patched servants’ clothes and shows her heavily callused hands as evidence of years of hard labor.
• The witnesses react with shock and condemn the Yun Family. Yun Zhiye tries to dismiss the clothes as fabricated, but Yun Zhiyou insists she has further proof.

Character developments and interactions

• Yun Zhiyou publicly recounts her history, revealing both the circumstances of her adoption and the abuse she suffered. She remains defiant when challenged and backs her account with physical evidence.
• Yun Zhiye rejects her accusations and tries to protect the family’s reputation, but the evidence catches him off guard.
• Old Master Yun is portrayed as fearful of the prophecy and unwilling to risk sending Yun Zhiyou away; Madam Yun is responsible for her harsh treatment after the family’s fortunes improve.
• The gathered onlookers shift from curiosity to outrage, questioning Yun Zhiyou and then condemning the Yuns when they see her clothes and hands.

Significant themes

• Superstition and fear: The family’s decisions are driven by a fortune-teller’s prediction.
• Exploitation and hypocrisy: The Yuns take Yun Zhiyou as a supposed source of good fortune, then mistreat her when they doubt her value.
• Truth versus reputation: Yun Zhiyou confronts the family publicly, while Yun Zhiye focuses on preventing scandal.
• Survival and resilience: Despite neglect and abuse, Yun Zhiyou supports herself and survives.

Key plot points and events

• Yun Zhiyou argues that her callused hands prove she worked hard in the countryside, while Yun Zhizhi’s smooth hands reveal that she did not. Yun Zhizhi hides her hands, convincing the onlookers that Yun Zhiyou is telling the truth.
• Yun Zhiyou explains that the Yun Family once treated her as a bad-luck child, yet their business prospered. Now that Yun Zhizhi is old enough to marry, they want her back in the family and Yun Zhiyou gone—while falsely claiming the girls were switched at birth and that Yun Zhizhi suffered in Yun Zhiyou’s place.
• Yun Zhiyou says she does not insist on staying with the family, but refuses to accept the disgraceful “impostor” accusation. The crowd supports her and condemns the Yuns.
• Old Master and Old Madam Yun arrive, unaware of the public’s reaction. They immediately accuse Yun Zhiyou of ingratitude, stealing Yun Zhizhi’s place, and causing her suffering.
• The young wastrels publicly challenge the Yuns, ridicule their claims, and even suggest reporting them as child traffickers. The elders attempt to invite the young men inside, but the group jokingly suspects they plan to drug or abduct them.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua enjoy watching the young wastrels defend Yun Zhiyou.

Character developments and interactions

• Yun Zhiyou firmly presents evidence and clarifies that her objection is not to leaving the Yun Family, but to being blamed and disgraced. Her composure earns the crowd’s sympathy.
• Yun Zhizhi reacts with curses and hides her hands, inadvertently strengthening Yun Zhiyou’s case.
• The Yun elders reveal their hostility and entitlement by condemning Yun Zhiyou before hearing her out. Their attempt to manage the situation politely fails once they notice the crowd’s contempt.
• The young wastrels shift from spectators to outspoken defenders, using mockery to undermine the Yun Family’s authority.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua share amused approval of the young men’s unexpected usefulness.

Significant themes

• Public image versus truth: The Yun Family relies on a fabricated story, while Yun Zhiyou points to visible evidence.
• Injustice and scapegoating: The family claims credit for Yun Zhiyou’s upbringing while blaming her for circumstances beyond her control.
• Dignity and reputation: Yun Zhiyou is willing to leave but refuses to accept a false and degrading identity.
• Collective accountability: The crowd’s support challenges the Yun Family’s ability to control the narrative.

Key plot points and events

• The crowd condemns the Yun Family, accusing them of stealing Yun Zhiyou as a child, mistreating her, and discarding her once she was no longer useful. They also warn that the family may retaliate against her.
• Yun Ling and Bu Nanxue abruptly invite Zhiyou to stay, claiming they will punish the servants who mistreated her and make amends.
• Zhiyou distrusts their sudden kindness, while Yun Xian and Old Master Yun quietly wonder what Yun Ling is planning.
• Guagua reveals Yun Ling’s motive: he assumes the young officials’ sons defended Zhiyou because they are interested in her, and plans to send her to one of them as a concubine to secure the Yun Family’s political connections.
• Song Yaoyao publicly voices this suspicion. Yun Ling denies it but cannot explain his sudden change of heart, and the crowd concludes she has exposed his scheme.

Character developments and interactions

• Yun Zhiyou remains wary of the Yun parents and recognizes their generosity as a likely trap. Learning the real plan confirms her view that they want to exploit her.
• Yun Ling and Bu Nanxue shift from rejecting Zhiyou to feigning remorse, but their apparent concern is revealed as self-serving.
• Song Yaoyao acts to protect Zhiyou indirectly, turning the crowd’s suspicions into public pressure against the Yun Family.
• Guagua informs Song of Yun Ling’s intentions, and the two coordinate how to intervene.
• The crowd and young wastrels challenge the Yun Family and support Zhiyou, making it difficult for Yun Ling to deny the accusation.

Significant themes

• The chapter highlights hypocrisy and exploitation, as the Yun parents disguise a plan to trade Zhiyou’s future for status as parental concern.
• It emphasizes public accountability: witnesses’ scrutiny and Song’s accusation prevent the family from controlling the narrative.
• The crowd’s sympathy also underscores Zhiyou’s mistreatment and vulnerability, while her distrust reflects how deeply the Yun Family has damaged her.

Key plot points and events

• Townspeople reject the Yun Family’s excuses for Yun Zhiyou’s years of mistreatment and vow to boycott its businesses.
• A group of young men from official families accuse Yun Ling of trying to manipulate them by offering Yun Zhiyou as a concubine. They order their servants to beat him.
• Old Master Yun tries to intervene but backs down when threatened with consequences for the family’s business. The Yun servants withdraw.
• Bu Nanxue keeps her distance rather than help her husband, and Yun Zhiyou publicly mocks her for it.
• Yun Zhiyou calls out Yun Zhiye and the other siblings for failing to protect their father. Yun Zhizhi then pretends to faint, apparently giving the family an excuse to avoid the confrontation.
• When Yun Zhiyou exposes the ploy, the young men test Yun Zhizhi’s act by stamping on her hand. She immediately cries out and jumps up, revealing she was faking. The crowd laughs at her.

Character developments

• Yun Zhiyou remains sharp and confrontational, exposing the family’s hypocrisy and refusing to let them use familiar excuses to escape blame.
• Yun Ling and Old Master Yun lose control of the situation: Yun Ling is beaten, while Old Master Yun prioritizes the family business over defending him.
• Bu Nanxue and the siblings appear self-protective and unwilling to face the consequences of their family’s behavior.
• Yun Zhizhi repeats her familiar fainting act, but it fails once Yun Zhiyou and the young men expose it.

Significant themes

• Public accountability: The townspeople judge the Yun Family’s actions and respond by boycotting its goods.
• Hypocrisy and self-interest: The family claims ignorance of Yun Zhiyou’s abuse, while its behavior suggests neglect and favoritism.
• Family loyalty and filial duty: Bu Nanxue and the siblings’ refusal to help Yun Ling is contrasted with their earlier willingness to protect themselves.
• Manipulation exposed: Yun Zhizhi’s feigned illness, once an effective way to redirect blame, no longer works.

Character interactions

• Yun Zhiyou challenges the Yun Family’s explanations directly and mocks Bu Nanxue and the siblings for abandoning Yun Ling.
• The young men defend Yun Zhiyou, reject Yun Ling’s attempted matchmaking scheme, and turn against him.
• Old Master Yun orders his servants to intervene, but the threat to the family’s business makes him retreat.
• The young men expose Yun Zhizhi’s pretended fainting, prompting laughter from the townspeople.

Key plot points and events

• Old Master Yun berates Yun Zhizhi and has servants take her back inside, then accuses Yun Zhiyou of bringing disgrace on the family.
• Yun Zhiyou rejects his guilt-tripping. She says she only wanted to leave peacefully, but Yun Zhiye and his siblings kept slandering and threatening her. She insists that exposing the truth was necessary to protect her reputation and possibly her life.
• Yun Zhiyou reminds Old Master Yun that the Yun family stole her from her birth parents and made her work miserably for years; she owes them no gratitude.
• Song Yaoyao asks Guagua about Yun Zhiyou’s origins. Guagua reveals that her biological father is An Wenci, a senior official in the Dragon Abyss Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice.
• Years earlier, An Wenci had to return to the capital while his heavily pregnant wife traveled behind him. After a storm and an accident forced Madam An to give birth in a ruined temple, Old Master Yun’s men bribed the midwife to exchange the newborn for a stillborn baby.
• Guagua explains that the plot was arranged with the help of Master Wu Jin, who owed the Yun family a favor. He disclosed where the child could be found, then died after Old Master Yun left.
• Song Yaoyao condemns Wu Jin for repaying a debt by sacrificing an innocent child’s life and suffering.

Character developments

• Yun Zhiyou stands firm in defending her dignity and rejecting the Yun family’s claim that they raised her. She sees herself as a victim of their theft and cruelty, not someone indebted to them.
• Old Master Yun tries to shift blame onto Yun Zhiyou rather than acknowledge the family’s wrongdoing.
• Song Yaoyao responds with outrage and sympathy for Yun Zhiyou, especially after learning the deliberate circumstances of her abduction.
• Madam An, though not present, is revealed to have carried lasting guilt over the presumed loss of her baby, unaware that the child was stolen.

Significant themes

• Truth and reputation: Yun Zhiyou refuses to let false accusations define her, even if exposing the truth humiliates the Yun family.
• Family and obligation: The chapter challenges the idea that raising a child creates a debt when the family obtained her through theft and treated her cruelly.
• Power and moral responsibility: The Yun family and Wu Jin use influence and money to manipulate others, while an innocent child bears the consequences.
• Guilt and justice: Madam An’s misplaced self-blame contrasts with the actual culpability of those who arranged the switch.

Character interactions

• Old Master Yun confronts Yun Zhiyou with accusations of ingratitude; she answers by recounting the family’s wrongdoing and refusing to yield.
• Yun Zhiyou’s conflict with Yun Zhiye and his siblings is presented as the immediate cause of her public exposure of the family’s secrets.
• Song Yaoyao questions Guagua about Yun Zhiyou’s birth; Guagua supplies the background and shows her the events surrounding the baby switch.
• In the flashback, Old Master Yun’s men threaten and bribe the midwife, who agrees to replace the newborn with a stillborn infant.

Chapter Summary

• Song Yaoyao learns that the Yun Family stole Yun Zhiyou as a child without initially knowing her birth parents’ identity. After discovering she was the daughter of a high-ranking official, they concealed the crime and continued abusing her. Song Yaoyao asks Guagua to print evidence of Yun Zhiyou’s origins.
• Song Yaoyao quietly tells Song Qinghui and the others what she knows and makes a plan with Qinghui. Meanwhile, Old Master Yun continues pressuring Yun Zhiyou to submit.
• Lord Yang of the Capital Prefecture arrives after the young gentlemen report the incident. Yun Zhiyou tells him that the Yun Family stole her, but Old Master Yun denies it and claims she has no proof.
• Just as Yun Zhiyou is left unable to support her accusation, Guagua’s drone scatters printed evidence among the crowd. The documents show that Yun Zhiyou was the child born to Attendant An and his wife, whom everyone had believed had died in infancy.
• The revelation shocks Lord Yang and the onlookers. Yun Zhiyou weeps over the life the Yun Family took from her, while Old Master Yun realizes the family may face ruin and insists the evidence is fabricated.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Yun Zhiyou moves from being pressured and silenced to openly confronting the Yun Family before the authorities. Though she initially lacks evidence, the documents validate her claim and reveal the depth of her loss.
• Song Yaoyao decides to help Yun Zhiyou by arranging for evidence to be distributed, working discreetly with Song Qinghui.
• Old Master Yun shifts from guilt-tripping Yun Zhiyou to attacking her credibility, then panics when the evidence appears and tries to dismiss it as a plot.
• Lord Yang gives Yun Zhiyou the chance to explain and restrains Old Master Yun from interrupting. He is visibly stunned by the proof.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng support Song Yaoyao’s plan; Qinghui goes with her, while Liu and the others remain behind.

Significant Themes

• Abuse of power and impunity: The Yun Family’s wealth and secrecy allowed them to steal and mistreat a child they believed no one would ever claim.
• Truth and evidence: Yun Zhiyou’s testimony is dismissed until documentary proof makes the hidden crime public.
• Consequences of wrongdoing: Old Master Yun’s confidence collapses when the family’s actions threaten to bring severe punishment.
• Lost identity and stolen future: Yun Zhiyou’s tears underscore that the crime cost her not only her family but also the life and prospects she should have had.

Key plot points and events

• Lord Yang confronts Old Master Yun with evidence linking the suspicious object to a spy from the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom. He argues that the spy had no reason to frame the Yun family for its wealth, since any seized property would go to the state.
• Old Master Yun cannot explain the evidence, but continues offering vague excuses. Lord Yang orders the Yun family taken to the Capital Prefecture and asks Yun Zhiyou to come as well.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua speculate about Yun Zhiyou’s return to her birth family. Guagua clarifies that the An family has no adopted daughter who might rival her, though Yun Zhiyou will still need time to adjust to her siblings.
• An Wenci and Madam An arrive. Madam An rushes to Yun Zhiyou and embraces her, overcome with relief that her daughter is alive. Yun Zhiyou is initially unsure how to respond, but is deeply moved and gently comforts her.
• An Wenci recalls the family’s long grief after believing their first child had died. He is heartbroken by Yun Zhiyou’s suffering and angry at the Yun family for separating them.
• Lord Yang begins the hearing. The evidence is strong, and after being beaten, He Xiwu agrees to confess. Yun Xian tries to silence her, but she argues that her branch should not bear the consequences of another branch’s wrongdoing. The chapter ends as their dispute begins.

Character developments and interactions

• Yun Zhiyou experiences a mother’s embrace and the warmth of being wanted by a family for the first time. Her cautious response gives way to tenderness and emotional relief.
• Madam An is overwhelmed with joy and immediately embraces her recovered daughter; she promises that Yun Zhiyou’s suffering will not go unanswered.
• An Wenci reveals the depth of his family’s grief and vows, through his anger, not to let the Yun family escape responsibility.
• Old Master Yun loses ground as he fails to account for the evidence, while He Xiwu turns against the family’s denial and Yun Xian attempts to stop her.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua provide a lighter, speculative perspective on Yun Zhiyou’s future with the An family.

Significant themes

• Family and belonging: Yun Zhiyou discovers the comfort of parental love and the possibility of a home with her birth family.
• Justice and accountability: Lord Yang rejects unsupported excuses when evidence points to the Yun family’s wrongdoing.
• Long-term grief and reunion: The An parents’ years of sorrow make the reunion especially poignant.
• Self-preservation and family conflict: He Xiwu’s decision to confess exposes divisions within the Yun family as its members face punishment.

Key plot points and events

• He Xiwu confesses that the Yun family deliberately stole Yun Zhiyou from her official-family birth parents. She learned the truth by overhearing her husband and his elder brother, then kept silent after they threatened her.
• She knew Yun Zhiyou was being mistreated. Though her husband and sister-in-law refused to intervene, He Xiwu secretly sent food and supplies to the girl. Her cautious deliveries helped Yun Zhiyou survive, despite one early delivery being discovered and leading to a beating.
• He Xiwu asks Lord Yang for leniency. Her husband, Yun Xian, admits he helped steal the child but argues that their branch deserves consideration because He Xiwu aided Yun Zhiyou.
• Lord Yang rejects the claim that Yun Xian is innocent: he participated in the kidnapping and later stood by while Yun Zhiyou suffered. The second branch’s children deny abusing her; an investigation confirms they neither harmed nor helped her.
• With the evidence established, Yun Ling confesses the full story, matching the evidence already found. The Yun family’s old master realizes the family is facing the ruin he had once been warned would follow the kidnapping.

Character developments and interactions

• He Xiwu emerges as the only Yun family member who consistently showed Yun Zhiyou compassion. Yun Zhiyou is astonished to learn that He Xiwu was behind the supplies that kept her alive.
• Yun Xian admits his guilt but tries to use his wife’s good deeds to secure leniency; Lord Yang distinguishes He Xiwu’s help from Yun Xian’s complicity and indifference.
• He Xiwu rebukes Yun Ling for ignoring earlier warnings. Yun Ling ultimately stops concealing the crime and confesses.
• The second-branch children are cleared of direct abuse but are shown to have remained passive when their cousins mistreated Yun Zhiyou.

Significant themes

• Complicity and responsibility: Keeping quiet and looking away do not erase participation in wrongdoing.
• Compassion under pressure: He Xiwu helps Yun Zhiyou despite threats and the risk of family conflict.
• Consequences and regret: The old master’s belief that he could avoid the warned-of fallout proves futile; the family’s past crime brings its downfall.
• Truth and accountability: Testimony, investigation, and evidence expose the kidnapping and clarify each person’s role.

Key plot points and events

• Yun Xian divorces He Xiwu, and they and their children formally sever ties with the Yun Family. Because they benefited from Yun Zhiyou’s mistreatment, they must still pay her 50,000 taels in compensation.
• The court sentences the Yun Family’s principal offenders to death by a thousand cuts; the other members are to be beheaded and publicly displayed, and the family’s property is confiscated. Old Master Yun collapses upon hearing the verdict.
• Yun Xian blames Yun Zhizhi for the family’s downfall, while the Yun brothers’ wives turn on her and accuse her of manipulating the family into mistreating Yun Zhiyou. Lord Yang lets them vent, but refuses Hu’s attempt to escape punishment by divorcing Yun Zhiye: she had bullied Yun Zhiyou and benefited from the abuse.
• The wives’ natal families send Kinship Severance Deeds to protect themselves from the scandal and its consequences. Hu and the other women sign, though Hu is devastated.
• He Xiwu confirms that he will deliver the compensation. Yun Zhiyou then leaves with her birth parents, An Wenci and Madam An. Three days later, Guagua reports that she is settling in well with her parents and younger siblings.

Character developments and interactions

• He Xiwu accepts divorce and severance to protect his children, and agrees to compensate Yun Zhiyou.
• Yun Xian shows bitterness and shifts blame onto Yun Zhizhi rather than taking responsibility for the family’s choices.
• Hu and her sisters-in-law turn against Yun Zhizhi, then face rejection by their own natal families. Hu’s attempt to distance herself from the Yun Family fails legally.
• Lord Yang enforces the judgment and rejects attempts to evade responsibility through divorce.
• Yun Zhiyou leaves the hostile Yun household and is welcomed by An Wenci and Madam An. Her birth mother feels guilty and wants to make up for the years of harm.

Significant themes

• Accountability: The Yun Family and those who benefited from Yun Zhiyou’s suffering face legal consequences.
• Self-preservation and betrayal: Both the Yun wives and their natal families sever relationships to protect themselves.
• Blame versus responsibility: Yun Xian scapegoats Yun Zhizhi, while the court’s judgment focuses on actions and complicity.
• Reunion and healing: Yun Zhiyou’s return to a loving family offers hope for a happier future.

Plot points and events

• After joining the An Family and taking the name An Shinian, Yun Zhiyou receives jewelry and money from Madam An and is entered into the family genealogy. Guagua confirms that Shinian’s good fortune had protected the Yun Family for years and will now benefit the An Family.
• Guagua tells Song Yaoyao that Nian Siting’s gu poison has flared up. The poison was planted by one of his own people, suggesting internal betrayal. Guagua sends Song a video of Nian Siting’s past.
• As a teenager, Nian Siting secretly leaves the Manor where he is staying under the guise of illness. Wearing a half-face silver mask, he meets Wan Rong, a young woman who uses a snake named Cuihua to kill the thugs threatening her.
• Nian Siting later saves Wan Rong from pursuers. They meet repeatedly, become friends, and investigate why people from the Miao Frontier are trying to kill her. Nian Siting helps her uncover the truth. Though reluctant to part, they promise to meet again.
• A year later, Wan Rong visits the Dragon Abyss Kingdom with the King of Miaojiang. She and Nian Siting reunite at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, where she is searching for rare warm jade. Nian Siting quietly asks whether she is looking for it.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is pleased by An Shinian’s happy outcome and curious about the effects of good fortune, but becomes alarmed when she learns of Nian Siting’s poisoning.
• Nian Siting is initially portrayed as someone who usually avoids involvement, yet he repeatedly risks helping Wan Rong. He conceals his identity, calling himself “Young Master Ting.”
• Wan Rong is capable and cautious: she can defend herself with her snake, but is also pursued because of her investigation. She is grateful to Nian Siting and grows close to him through their repeated encounters.
• Their relationship develops from chance meetings and rescues into friendship, with a sense that fate keeps bringing them together.

Significant themes

• Fortune and its consequences: An Shinian’s protective influence benefits those around her, though the Yun Family fails to value it.
• Loyalty and betrayal: Nian Siting’s poisoning comes from within his own circle.
• Fate, gratitude, and connection: Repeated encounters bring Nian Siting and Wan Rong together, and each rescue deepens their bond.