Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Wan Rong and her maid leave the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion after a man claims he can show them valuable warm jade. He lures them into a secluded alley and reveals the story was a setup to rob them.
• The man summons seven or eight accomplices, who threaten Wan Rong and her maid. Wan Rong stays confident and tells her maid to let her snake, Cuihua, handle them. Cuihua attacks, and the gang members are killed.
• Nian Siting, who has been discreetly watching Wan Rong, appears after the fight. He arranges for his men to deal with the aftermath and takes Wan Rong and her maid to a teahouse.
• Wan Rong explains that she has come to the Dragon Abyss Kingdom for a political marriage alliance arranged by the Miao Frontier. Though she previously tried to escape, she now feels she must protect relations between the two regions.
• Learning that Nian Siting is the son of an official and has neither a wife nor a fiancée, Wan Rong proposes marriage to him. He agrees, recognizing that the alliance could strengthen his own political ambitions.
• Wan Rong then asks him to remove his mask so she can see his face.

Character developments and interactions

• Wan Rong displays confidence and quick judgment in the alley, then acts with striking directness in proposing to Nian Siting. She is willing to marry him so long as the match fulfills her diplomatic obligation.
• Nian Siting has been keeping watch over Wan Rong and follows her without intervening, trusting her ability to protect herself. He accepts her proposal partly for its political value, seeing the Miao Frontier’s support as useful to his ambitions.
• Wan Rong and her maid show trust and coordination: the maid warns her about the suspicious stranger and offers to fight, but Wan Rong chooses to use Cuihua instead.
• Wan Rong and Nian Siting move from a chance reunion to a potential marriage alliance, with Wan Rong’s candid proposal surprising him.

Significant themes

• Political marriage and diplomacy: Wan Rong’s marriage is presented as a duty tied to relations between the Miao Frontier and the Four Kingdoms.
• Personal choice versus obligation: Wan Rong has resisted the arrangement but now seeks a match on her own terms.
• Power and self-reliance: The attempted robbery underscores the danger of the city, while Wan Rong’s composure and use of Cuihua show she is far from helpless.
• Marriage as political strategy: Both characters see practical advantages in the proposed union, though Wan Rong’s approach is notably frank and personal.

Key plot points and events

• Wan Rong learns that her masked companion, Nian Siting, is actually the eldest prince of Dragon Abyss Kingdom, long dismissed as a fool. She promises to stand by him, and they pledge to share life’s hardships and joys; Nian Siting vows he will have no other woman.
• At the palace banquet, Wan Rong is asked to choose a husband. She publicly names Nian Siting, who is absent because the emperor bars him from such events.
• Her choice shocks the court. Wan Rong’s father, the King of Miaojiang, assumes she is protesting the marriage arrangement, while Wan Rong insists she is sincere. The emperor postpones the decision so father and daughter can discuss it.
• Back at the post station, Wan Rong privately explains her history with Nian Siting and his true identity to her father. The king meets Nian Siting, questions him, and is impressed by his endurance and sense of responsibility.
• The King of Miaojiang approves the match.

Character developments and interactions

• Wan Rong moves from attraction to firm commitment, openly choosing Nian Siting despite public ridicule and her father’s objections. She is candid, determined, and loyal.
• Nian Siting reveals his identity and circumstances to Wan Rong, trusting her with the truth. He pledges fidelity and accepts the prospect of facing life together.
• The King of Miaojiang initially rebukes Wan Rong, fearing her choice is an impulsive protest that will shame her and their kingdom. After hearing the truth and speaking with Nian Siting, he changes his mind and supports the marriage.
• The emperor and court are surprised by Wan Rong’s choice; courtiers mock Nian Siting’s reputation, while the emperor tries to defuse the dispute.

Significant themes

• Love and loyalty: Wan Rong chooses Nian Siting for who he is to her, not for his standing or reputation.
• Appearance versus reality: The court sees Nian Siting as a fool, but Wan Rong and her father recognize his resilience and responsibility.
• Endurance and perseverance: Nian Siting’s ability to bear hardship earns the King of Miaojiang’s respect.
• Personal choice versus duty: Wan Rong’s public decision challenges the political expectations surrounding her marriage.

Plot points and events

• The emperor approves the marriage between Wan Rong, princess of Miaojiang, and Nian Siting, the emperor’s eldest son, who is publicly known as an “idiot.” They marry a month later.
• Their marriage becomes the subject of crude public gossip. The emperor sends the Forbidden Army to suppress it, while Wan Rong’s father, the King of Miaojiang, is furious on her behalf.
• On their wedding night, Nian Siting apologizes for the humiliation she has faced. Wan Rong says she expected the rumors and remains committed to him. They drink their nuptial wine.
• After the wedding, Wan Rong and her Miaojiang followers help Nian Siting study Gu Worms and build his power, including a Shadow Guard Camp. Her Gu Worms help control the guards and army generals.
• Wan Rong becomes pregnant but, absorbed in developing a new Gu Worm, fails to notice. A newly cultivated worm bites her, its poison causes her to miscarry, and she is left devastated.
• Nian Siting comforts her and hides the physician’s finding that the poison has made her infertile. Years later, Wan Rong discovers the truth herself: the past poisoning caused her miscarriage and permanently damaged her health. The chapter ends with her returning home in shock and shutting herself away.

Character developments and interactions

• Wan Rong remains steadfast despite public scorn, choosing to support Nian Siting and helping him build his strength. Her devotion and ambition come at a terrible personal cost, and the revelation of her infertility leaves her overwhelmed.
• Nian Siting shows tenderness toward Wan Rong and relies heavily on her expertise and support. However, he conceals the truth about her condition, apparently to spare her pain, depriving her of the chance to know what happened.
• The King of Miaojiang is protective and angered by the insults directed at his daughter.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua comment on the events from outside the story, trading jokes about the wedding-night gossip and Guagua refusing to let Song watch behind the bed curtains.

Significant themes

• Love and public judgment: Wan Rong accepts the social humiliation of marrying Nian Siting, while outsiders reduce their relationship to gossip.
• Devotion and sacrifice: Wan Rong contributes greatly to Nian Siting’s rise, but her focus on their shared work helps her overlook her pregnancy.
• Secrecy and agency: Nian Siting’s concealment of the infertility diagnosis may be intended as protection, but it keeps Wan Rong from understanding her own loss.
• The cost of ambition: Their political and military progress unfolds alongside Wan Rong’s miscarriage and permanent infertility.

• Key plot points: Wan Rong learns from a doctor that she is infertile and breaks down. Nian Siting comforts her, claiming she will remain the only woman in his life. She believes him and vows to help him gain power. Song Yaoyao and Guagua reveal, however, that Nian Siting already has six concubines and ten children. He has kept the women outside his residence, using a narrow interpretation of his promise that Wan Rong would be the only woman in his “rear courtyard.”
  A flashback explains that Wan Rong spent years with Nian Siting’s army, secretly raising giant pythons for him. Feeding them her blood and following an extreme diet left her hair white, her skin pale, and her lips purple. After the army and pythons were destroyed, she returned and discovered Nian Siting’s concubines and children. She then used the Locking Love Gu on him. The excerpt ends with her reuniting with him, still expressing love and devotion.
• Character developments: Wan Rong is revealed as deeply devoted and self-sacrificing, but also deceived; her efforts to help Nian Siting have physically transformed her. Nian Siting’s tender assurances are exposed as manipulative: he has maintained a hidden family while claiming to honor his promise. After discovering the truth, Wan Rong takes action against him, though in the reunion scene she has not yet confronted him.
• Character interactions: Nian Siting comforts Wan Rong after she learns she cannot bear children, and she responds by promising to support his ambitions. Later, Wan Rong greets him affectionately after years away, unaware—or not yet revealing—that he dislikes her appearance. Song Yaoyao and Guagua supply the hidden context, with Song condemning Nian Siting’s wordplay and expressing sympathy for Wan Rong.
• Significant themes: Deception and self-serving interpretations of promises; the cost of devotion; the contrast between romantic assurances and concealed betrayal; and the damage caused by ambition and unequal power.

Key plot points and events

• Wan Rong returns to the Prince’s Manor after years away, physically transformed by her years of consuming substances of extreme yin. Nian Siting embraces her in public but privately feels repulsed and wants to avoid her.
• He tells Wan Rong he will have Shi Rui, the woman who had been living in her courtyard as her stand-in, move out. Wan Rong settles into the manor, where servants silently stare at her.
• After seven days without Nian Siting coming home, Wan Rong overhears maids gossiping in the garden. They mock her appearance and say Nian Siting is staying away because he cannot bear to see her.
• The maids also claim Nian Siting has several concubines and ten children, and recount Shi Rui confronting him about his other women and asking to become his concubine.
• Wan Rong is initially reassured when she hears Nian Siting say he had promised not to keep other women in the manor. But the gossip that follows—that he may take Shi Rui once Wan Rong returns and leaves the manor—shatters her confidence.

Character developments

• Wan Rong is accustomed to being judged for her appearance, yet the servants’ cruelty wounds her. Her trust in Nian Siting briefly holds, then falters as she hears claims of his infidelity.
• Nian Siting presents himself as a caring husband in public, while internally avoiding Wan Rong. His reported response to Shi Rui suggests he may have been willing to take her as a concubine later.
• Shi Rui emerges as an ambitious stand-in who openly challenges Nian Siting about his relationships and asks to be taken in as a concubine.

Significant themes

• The contrast between love remembered and love changed by time.
• Appearance-based prejudice and social cruelty.
• Deception, trust, and the uncertainty of hearsay.
• The vulnerability of a spouse whose partner’s private life may contradict his public promises.

Character interactions

• Nian Siting reassures Wan Rong and promises to remove Shi Rui from her courtyard, but his private feelings and absence undermine that reassurance.
• Wan Rong’s maid stays close as she overhears the servants, and tries to intervene before Wan Rong stops her.
• The two maids trade cruel judgments about Wan Rong and discuss Shi Rui’s confrontation with Nian Siting, unwittingly exposing Wan Rong to painful rumors.

Key plot points and events

• Wan Rong overhears two maids gossiping about Shi Rui’s claims that Nian Siting keeps concubines and children outside the manor. She has the maids beaten, interrogates them, then orders them killed despite their truthful answers.
• Left alone, Wan Rong reflects on her relationship with Nian Siting and realizes she may have overlooked signs that his promises and affection were false.
• Nian Siting privately plans to placate Wan Rong until his bid for the throne succeeds, then dispose of her. He intends to explain her death to the Miao Frontier as a fatal backlash from refining Gu Poison; he never meant to make her empress.
• Returning to the manor, Nian Siting learns of the maids’ deaths and visits Wan Rong, acting lovingly. She calmly asks whether he took other women while she was away. He denies it and repeats his promise of fidelity.
• Wan Rong pretends to accept his explanation and invites him to stay, but he claims political duties prevent it. After he leaves, she signals a Shadow Guard to follow him.

Character developments

• Wan Rong shifts from trusting her memories of Nian Siting to suspecting his betrayal. Though deeply shaken, she conceals her knowledge and begins taking action by having him followed.
• Nian Siting is revealed as calculating and ruthless: he plans to exploit Wan Rong’s condition, delay her removal for political convenience, and fabricate an explanation for her death.
• The two maids confirm what they heard but are killed anyway, showing the danger of speaking openly around Wan Rong.

Significant themes

• False affection and betrayal: Both Wan Rong and Nian Siting perform affection while concealing their true intentions.
• Power and manipulation: Nian Siting treats Wan Rong as a political obstacle, while Wan Rong uses deception to test him.
• Trust and self-deception: Wan Rong recognizes that love and “honeyed words” may have blinded her to warning signs.
• Violence and control: Wan Rong’s punishment of the maids demonstrates her authority, while their deaths underline the brutal consequences of court intrigue.

Character interactions

• Wan Rong interrogates the maids about Shi Rui’s statements, then dismisses their pleas for mercy.
• She and Nian Siting share a composed dinner in which she probes him about concubines; he answers with practiced reassurance, and she responds with equally practiced warmth.
• After Nian Siting leaves, Wan Rong quietly arranges surveillance, turning their mutual deception into an active contest.

Key plot points and events

• A Shadow Guard reports that Nian Siting secretly visited an out-of-city manor guarded by skilled fighters, where several women and many children were present. Wan Rong realizes he has built a hidden family and feels betrayed.
• She recalls that her father, the King of Miaojiang, urged her to use a love gu to ensure Nian Siting’s loyalty. She had refused because she trusted him, and now bitterly regrets it.
• Nian Siting returns after five days away and behaves affectionately. Wan Rong matches his performance, serves his favorite food, and calmly explains that she has it prepared daily.
• Suspicious, Nian Siting has a guard verify her story. The guard confirms it, and Nian Siting is reassured that she has not been following him—unaware that she has already investigated the manor.
• During dinner, Wan Rong secretly gives him a Locking Love Gu. Unlike a love gu, it does not make its victim love her; it makes him suffer agonizing pain whenever he sleeps with anyone but her. Repeated violations worsen the symptoms, eventually mirroring Wan Rong’s altered appearance.
• Nian Siting later visits a concubine, and the gu’s effect becomes clear when he screams in pain.

Character developments

• Wan Rong moves from hurt and regret to cold resolve. Nian Siting’s suspicion finally extinguishes her remaining attachment, and she decides to make him endure the suffering he caused her.
• Nian Siting continues concealing his affairs and trying to keep Wan Rong placated. His relief at passing her test reveals that he fears exposure more than he understands her feelings.
• The King of Miaojiang, through Wan Rong’s recollection, is shown as a worldly, suspicious advisor who warned her that a husband’s devotion might fade.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and disillusionment: Wan Rong’s trust in Nian Siting collapses when she discovers his secret household.
• Deception and performance: Both spouses conceal their intentions behind affectionate words and polite gestures.
• Revenge and control: Wan Rong uses the Locking Love Gu not to secure love, but to impose consequences and reclaim power.
• Appearance and shared suffering: Wan Rong intends for Nian Siting to experience physical changes resembling her own torment.

Character interactions

• Wan Rong’s exchange with the Shadow Guard provides evidence of Nian Siting’s secret life.
• Her remembered conversation with her father highlights the advice she once rejected.
• At dinner, Wan Rong acts caring while Nian Siting tests her honesty; both conceal what they know.
• Wan Rong secretly administers the gu while Nian Siting trusts the meal, and his later encounter with a concubine triggers its punishment.

Key plot points and events

• Nian Siting suffers a sudden, severe attack of unexplained pain. His doctors can find no cause, and his guards threaten them and detain the concubine present, suspecting she may be responsible.
• The pain fades after a day. Once recovered, Nian Siting has the concubine killed anyway, reasoning that he cannot risk keeping a possible threat near him.
• Wan Rong watches the Manor’s turmoil from outside and reveals that this is only the beginning. Her Miaojiang followers—who know Nian Siting betrayed her—have been cultivating gu and are helping her carry out her revenge.
• Two days later, Nian Siting suffers a worse attack while sleeping with another concubine. Doctors again find nothing; after the pain finally passes, he has that concubine executed as well.
• A subordinate urges Nian Siting to tell his princess consort, Wan Rong, about his condition. Nian Siting refuses, fearing she will discover that he has taken concubines and had children despite his promise to remain faithful.
• Convinced he has been poisoned, Nian Siting orders poison experts to investigate and tries to identify an enemy. He rules out Wan Rong, unaware that the attacks are connected to his intimacy with other women.
• In a brief exchange, Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss how Nian Siting has not yet recognized the trigger, and Song looks forward to his eventual realization.

Character developments and interactions

• Nian Siting is shown as selfish and ruthless: he prioritizes his survival, executes two long-standing concubines without regard for their children or past relationships, and protects his political ambitions by concealing his infidelity from Wan Rong.
• Wan Rong remains controlled and patient, choosing a targeted revenge rather than letting her followers destroy the Manor outright. Her Miaojiang supporters are fiercely loyal and resent Nian Siting’s betrayal.
• Nian Siting’s men respond to the crisis with intimidation and suspicion, pressuring doctors and detaining the women present. One subordinate raises the possibility of confiding in Wan Rong, but Nian Siting shuts it down.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua provide an outside, knowing perspective on the revenge scheme and Nian Siting’s ignorance.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and revenge: Nian Siting’s betrayal of Wan Rong fuels her deliberate retaliation.
• Power and self-preservation: Nian Siting treats women and even his children as expendable when his own safety or political position is at stake.
• Irony and dramatic suspense: He suspects poison and searches for an enemy, while overlooking the clear pattern linking his attacks to his affairs.

Plot points and events

• Guagua reports that Nian Siting is preparing to eliminate Nian Xiaoqing. His plan is ready, and he intends to use a potent poison that even the Antidote Pill cannot cure.
• Nian Siting has more than a hundred supporters inside the palace, with additional allies outside. He placed them there after Nian Xiaoqing’s forces cleared out Nian Fengyuan’s people, leaving vacancies.
• The conspirators plan to strike during the New Year’s Eve Palace Banquet, which Nian Xiaoqing has decided to hold despite the kingdom having no emperor.
• Song Yaoyao concludes that the remaining princes should settle matters themselves; she and her allies will stay out of the conflict and watch events unfold.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua bicker at length over Guagua’s teasing claims about her romantic and sexual behavior. Song Yaoyao angrily denies them, while Guagua insists it knows her well.
• The others, especially Song Qinghui, react with suspicion. Song Qinghui privately resolves to watch over his younger sister.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua quickly set their argument aside once the discussion turns to Nian Siting’s plot, showing how readily their banter gives way to serious planning.
• Song Yaoyao speculates that Nian Siting may discover what triggers his attacks and stop sleeping with women, potentially preventing the physical symptoms Guagua predicted. Guagua doubts this will end Wan Rong’s revenge.

Significant themes

• Intrigue and power struggles: Nian Siting’s patient infiltration and planned poisoning threaten the fragile political order.
• Revenge and consequences: Wan Rong’s vendetta may continue regardless of Nian Siting’s choices.
• Comedy amid danger: The chapter contrasts an imminent palace coup with playful, irreverent banter.
• Watching rather than intervening: Song Yaoyao chooses to let the princes compete and face the consequences of their own schemes.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao learns that Princes Nian Jingyun and Nian Yuzhou have been killed, and watches Guagua’s recording of the events leading up to their deaths.
• Over lunch, the brothers agree that neither can realistically win the succession struggle. Nian Jingyun says he has let go of his ambition and prefers a quieter life, though both worry that whoever becomes emperor might later threaten them.
• They spot Black Panther, former captain of the Eleventh Prince’s guards, and secretly have him followed. After learning that Nian Zhiyun’s elite men are gathered at a secluded residence, the brothers decide to approach them and try to recruit the force for their own protection.
• Nian Zhiyun’s guards discover that Black Panther was followed back to the hideout. Zhiyun reprimands him but spares his life, ordering him to accept a beating as punishment.
• Zhiyun and his advisers debate whether the Ninth and Tenth Princes have uncovered his survival and what they intend to do. Expecting them to come soon, Zhiyun orders his men to gather inside the residence and ambush them.
• Song Yaoyao recognizes that Zhiyun has laid a trap for the two brothers.

Character developments and interactions

• Nian Jingyun has abandoned his claim to the throne, but still seeks security and considers recruiting Zhiyun’s guards.
• Nian Yuzhou agrees with his brother’s practical approach, though he shares his suspicions about the danger they face.
• Nian Zhiyun is cautious and decisive. He punishes Black Panther while showing him mercy, then prepares to confront the brothers rather than risk moving his forces.
• Black Panther accepts responsibility for his mistake and is grateful that Zhiyun spares his life.
• Zhiyun consults his advisers, whose competing theories help him anticipate the brothers’ likely approach.

Significant themes

• The cost of ambition: Jingyun’s retreat from the succession struggle reflects the dangers and burdens of seeking power.
• Trust and loyalty: Black Panther’s mistake tests his service to Zhiyun, while Zhiyun’s mercy reinforces their bond.
• Suspicion and survival: Each prince interprets the others’ actions as potential threats and prepares for betrayal.
• Traps and miscalculation: Jingyun and Yuzhou believe they are pursuing a useful alliance, unaware that Zhiyun is preparing an ambush.

Plot points and events

• Princes Nian Jingyun and Nian Yuzhou arrive at night with armed men to recruit Nian Zhiyun’s soldiers, led by Black Panther. They plan to persuade the group first and use force if necessary.
• Jingyun argues that they have reached an understanding with their elder brother, the Seventh Prince, and offers the soldiers safety and a place in their faction. Black Panther questions their motives but ultimately refuses.
• As Yuzhou prepares to threaten the men, Nian Zhiyun appears, revealing that he has been alive and hidden all along. His soldiers’ loyalty explains their refusal to change masters.
• The two princes try to dismiss the incident as a misunderstanding and promise not to reveal Zhiyun’s survival. Zhiyun does not trust them and has his men surround them, declaring that only the dead can keep a secret.

Character developments

• Nian Zhiyun emerges from hiding as a cautious, decisive figure. Protecting his secret takes priority over preserving family ties.
• Black Panther proves loyal to Zhiyun and clear-eyed about the princes’ inconsistent assurances.
• Jingyun and Yuzhou try to present themselves as secure, cooperative potential patrons, but their impatience and threats undermine that image. Zhiyun’s survival leaves them suddenly vulnerable.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and allegiance: Zhiyun’s men refuse to abandon their master despite pressure and promised security.
• Political power and self-preservation: The princes maneuver to build influence amid the succession struggle, while Zhiyun hides to survive.
• Trust and secrecy: Promises cannot erase the danger posed by those who know Zhiyun is alive.
• Family rivalry: The princes’ encounter with their younger brother turns a recruitment attempt into a potentially deadly confrontation.

Character interactions

• Jingyun and Yuzhou jointly try to persuade Black Panther, then Yuzhou threatens force when rebuffed.
• Black Panther challenges the princes’ claims and remains loyal to Zhiyun.
• Zhiyun confronts his brothers after revealing himself; they attempt to explain their visit and negotiate their release, but he chooses intimidation over trust.

Key plot points and events

• Nian Zhiyun reveals that he anticipated Nian Jingyun and Nian Yuzhou’s arrival after his men followed their scout back to their hiding place.
• He has already dealt with the guards outside and ambushes the brothers inside the residence. Outnumbered, they are captured, and Nian Zhiyun kills them personally.
• That same night, Nian Zhiyun takes over the troops the two princes had left behind.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss the succession struggle. The Twelfth and Thirteenth Princes are already aligned with Song’s side, while Nian Siting, Nian Xiaoqing, and Nian Zhiyun remain in contention.
• Five days later, on New Year’s Eve, Song learns that Nian Siting’s faction has poisoned every wine pot prepared for the palace banquet, intending to ensure that either Nian Xiaoqing or the ministers are struck. The poison is said to be undetectable.
• Song asks Guagua to monitor the banquet. Before watching the footage, she is surprised when her usually reluctant Second Brother, Song Qinghui, brings her pastries from a shop she loves. Her companions have gathered too, using the holiday as an excuse to watch the impending palace drama together.

Character developments and interactions

• Nian Zhiyun proves decisive and ruthless: he anticipates danger, sets an effective trap, and eliminates his rivals rather than trusting their promises.
• Nian Jingyun and Nian Yuzhou realize too late that their visit has been anticipated and that they are badly outmatched.
• Song Yaoyao admires Nian Zhiyun’s swift, forceful approach, while remaining focused on the larger political contest and maintaining control of Suyu City.
• Song Qinghui’s unexpected gift shows a warmer, more considerate side; Song Yaoyao’s disbelief reflects their usual pattern of teasing and reluctance over such favors.
• Guagua keeps Song informed about events and agrees to alert her when the palace banquet begins. Song’s friends share her interest in seeing how the plot unfolds.

Significant themes

• Ruthlessness and trust: Nian Zhiyun rejects promises and treats killing his rivals as the surest way to keep secrets.
• Political maneuvering and anticipation: Surveillance, preparation, and control of troops shape the princes’ struggle.
• Suspense and spectacle: The mass poisoning sets up a dangerous palace banquet that Song and her companions eagerly await.
• Family affection beneath teasing: Song Qinghui’s small gesture offers a brief, warm contrast to the surrounding intrigue.

Key plot points and events

• Ministers arrive early at the Palace Banquet, viewing the Seventh Prince, Nian Xiaoqing, as the likely future emperor. Many bring marriageable daughters, hoping he will choose one.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua bicker over waking her too early, amusing the others. At the gathering, Yaoyao focuses on the pastries.
• Nian Xiaoqing arrives with his consort and gives his opening remarks. Yaoyao learns that the Twelfth and Thirteenth Princes stayed away after Chen Yixiao warned them about Nian Siting’s planned move; they feigned illness to avoid the danger.
• During the banquet, guests begin suffering severe stomach pain. Nian Xiaoqing orders physicians summoned and the guards strengthened, but he and his consort are also affected.
• Nian Siting storms in with armed men, whose poison overwhelms the palace guards. He reveals that he recovered from his former foolishness long ago and continued pretending to protect himself and his mother.
• Nian Siting admits poisoning all the banquet wine to ensure Nian Xiaoqing would be affected. He threatens the ministers: pledge allegiance and receive the antidote, or suffer a painful death within twenty-four hours.

Character developments and interactions

• Nian Siting reveals himself as a calculated, ruthless political threat, using poison and intimidation to seize control.
• Nian Xiaoqing responds quickly to the poisoning by ordering medical help and tighter security, but is incapacitated before he can stop the attack.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua continue their playful, petty bickering, contrasting with the banquet’s escalating crisis.
• The ministers move from hopeful social maneuvering to fear as they become hostages and are forced to choose sides.
• The Twelfth and Thirteenth Princes show caution and political awareness by avoiding the banquet after receiving a warning.

Significant themes

• Deception as survival: Nian Siting’s long-running disguise protected him and his mother.
• Power and coercion: He uses poison to force political loyalty.
• Political uncertainty: The ministers’ confidence in Nian Xiaoqing’s succession is abruptly shaken.
• Contrast in tone: Yaoyao and Guagua’s lighthearted quarrel sits alongside a coup attempt and mortal danger.

Plot points and events

• Nian Siting forces the court ministers to choose between supporting him and dying with their families. He then tells Nian Xiaoqing he intends to kill him, arguing that his younger brother’s abilities and popularity make him too dangerous to leave alive.
• Nian Xiaoqing’s Shadow Guards confront Nian Siting’s men. Both sides use poison, but Nian Xiaoqing had prepared for this and equipped his guards with poisons of their own. The attackers and defenders collapse, leaving Nian Siting shocked.
• Nian Siting reveals that he has additional men hidden in the palace and summons them with a bone whistle. When no one comes, he repeatedly calls for them in vain.
• Song Yaoyao learns from Guagua that Wan Rong has already killed those hidden forces. After discovering Nian Siting’s betrayal and his plan to dispose of her once he became emperor, she secretly investigated him and struck first.

Character developments and interactions

• Nian Siting shows his ruthlessness by poisoning the banquet drinks and threatening ministers’ families. His confidence falters when his forces fail and his reinforcements never arrive.
• Nian Xiaoqing remains composed and prepared, having anticipated Nian Siting’s reliance on poison. He challenges his brother’s assumptions but has not yet secured victory.
• Wan Rong transforms from someone devoted to Nian Siting into his determined enemy. Her covert attack on his palace forces proves she is both capable and willing to bring him down.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss the unexpected reason Nian Siting’s reinforcements are missing; Song Yaoyao admires Wan Rong’s decisive action.
• The brothers’ conflict places the ministers in immediate danger and exposes how little Nian Siting values the political support he will need to rule.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and its consequences: Nian Siting’s betrayal of Wan Rong turns her into a threat to his plans.
• Power and ruthlessness: He uses coercion and mass poisoning to seize the throne, while Nian Xiaoqing and Wan Rong counter him through preparation and strategy.
• Loyalty and political survival: The ministers are forced to choose between self-preservation and resistance, revealing the human cost of the succession struggle.

Key plot points and events

• Nian Siting waits for his palace allies to arrive, insisting they will turn the situation in his favor. Nian Xiaoqing points out that the delay means something has gone wrong.
• Wan Rong arrives with her own people, immobilizes Nian Siting with medicinal powder, and declares that she will take him home because he has supposedly gone mad.
• Her subordinate searches Nian Siting and finds the antidote. Wan Rong gives it to Nian Xiaoqing, relieving the immediate danger to him and the ministers.
• Nian Siting learns that Wan Rong has already neutralized all the men he planted in the palace. She then reveals why she has turned against him: he secretly kept six concubines and fathered ten children, despite promising she would be his only wife; after she sacrificed her ability to have children while making gu poison for him, he planned to dispose of her once he gained power.
• Wan Rong refuses Nian Siting’s excuses and takes him away, leaving him raging over the collapse of his ambitions.

Character developments and interactions

• Wan Rong shifts from loyal supporter to decisive opponent. Betrayed and armed with evidence of Nian Siting’s infidelity and plans against her, she acts strategically and shows him no further mercy.
• Nian Siting moves from confident expectation to immobilized fury and desperation. He tries to command, then placate Wan Rong, but she rejects his appeals.
• Nian Xiaoqing initially mocks Nian Siting’s misplaced confidence and is left puzzled by Wan Rong’s intervention. Once she explains the betrayal, he accepts her decision to take Nian Siting away.
• The ministers are bewildered by the couple’s conflict but relieved when Wan Rong supplies the antidote.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and broken promises: Nian Siting’s secret family and plan to kill Wan Rong destroy the trust underpinning their marriage.
• Sacrifice and exploitation: Wan Rong gave up her chance at motherhood and risked herself to support Nian Siting’s ambitions, only to be discarded.
• Power and its collapse: Nian Siting’s carefully planned coup fails because he underestimates both Wan Rong’s knowledge and her resolve.
• Revenge and agency: Wan Rong turns her knowledge into action, protecting Nian Xiaoqing while reclaiming control over her own fate.

Key plot points and events

• Wan Rong rejects Nian Siting’s offer to make her empress, saying she never helped him for power and no longer wants him. Her subordinate silences Nian Siting, and she takes him away.
• Nian Xiaoqing and his consort take the antidote. He feels better, though he remains too weak to recover fully. A masked man helps distribute the remaining antidotes to the ministers and their families.
• The Eleventh Prince, Nian Zhiyun, suddenly arrives, revealing he had returned long ago but stayed hidden while his brothers fought.
• Nian Zhiyun produces an imperial “Summons Edict,” expecting it to support his claim to the throne. Nian Xiaoqing points out that he has an edict with identical wording, except for the named heir.
• A minister adds that the edict once presented by the Fifth Prince was also identical in content. Nian Zhiyun’s retrieved copy confirms the documents are fake, and he furiously destroys them.

Character developments and interactions

• Wan Rong firmly severs her ties with Nian Siting. His promise of the empress’s position cannot sway her, and she has him taken away.
• Nian Siting loses control of the situation and is left at Wan Rong’s mercy.
• Nian Zhiyun is revealed as a calculating opportunist who waited for his brothers to weaken one another before appearing. The discovery that his edict is fake shatters his ambitions.
• Nian Xiaoqing challenges the edict’s authenticity and offers evidence, while the ministers help establish that multiple princes received matching documents.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua comment on the unfolding events, approving Wan Rong’s treatment of Nian Siting and recognizing Zhiyun’s anger at his failed plan.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and disillusionment: Wan Rong’s rejection reflects the collapse of trust in her marriage.
• Ambition and political opportunism: Zhiyun tries to benefit from his brothers’ conflict but is undone by the false edict.
• Uncertainty of legitimacy: The matching documents expose how unreliable the supposed imperial succession orders are.

Key plot points

• Nian Zhiyun, furious after the Summons Edict is exposed as fake, tells Nian Xiaoqing he will seize the throne regardless and orders an attack.
• Nian Xiaoqing’s few remaining shadow guards fight back with poison, but are outnumbered. They escort him and the Seventh Prince’s Consort to another hall.
• Nian Zhiyun surrounds the hall but refuses to storm it, suspecting a trap. He plans to starve the group into surrender.
• After learning the ministers are weak but recovering, Nian Zhiyun releases them, reasoning that he will need their support if he becomes ruler. He then settles in to wait, confident that his forces control the palace gates.
• Song Yaoyao learns through Guagua that Nian Xiaoqing and his companions escaped through a secret passage beneath his former residence long before Nian Zhiyun arrived. Nian Zhiyun’s siege is therefore futile.
• Song Yaoyao anticipates that Nian Zhiyun will next target the Twelfth and Thirteenth Princes. Since her allies are gathering in Suyu City, she considers striking first and agrees to discuss the plan with Chen Yixiao and the others.

Character developments and interactions

• Nian Zhiyun shows ruthless ambition and caution: he attacks Nian Xiaoqing, avoids risking his soldiers against a possible trap, and spares the ministers for political reasons. His confidence rests on his control of the palace gates.
• Nian Xiaoqing remains defiant but is physically weakened. His foresight in having a secret escape passage prepared allows him to evade capture.
• Song Yaoyao shifts from observing events to planning a preemptive move against Nian Zhiyun, with Guagua supplying intelligence and strategic advice.
• The shadow guards protect Nian Xiaoqing at great cost, while Nian Zhiyun’s subordinates carry out his orders and report on the palace’s situation.

Significant themes

• Ambition and power: Nian Zhiyun intends to claim the throne by force, treating rivals as threats.
• Caution versus miscalculation: Nian Zhiyun’s careful siege seems prudent, but his assumptions about the hall lead him to wait in vain.
• Foresight and survival: Nian Xiaoqing’s secret passage and Song Yaoyao’s intelligence give them options despite their apparent disadvantage.
• Political pragmatism: Nian Zhiyun spares the ministers because he expects to need their support later.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao tells her allies about the situation in the Imperial Palace and proposes acting that night. Chen Yixiao, Liu Zheheng, Song Qinghui, and the others agree.
• Song Yaoyao checks her weapons and ammunition, then gives firearms and explosives to Chen Yixiao and the other key fighters. She explains that only a few people will carry guns so their presence can be explained, but plans to train everyone in their use.
• In the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom, the New Year’s Palace Banquet prompts officials and noble families to ask after Princess Jiahe. They are disappointed she has not returned, and many offer tonics and other gifts for her.
• The Song family misses Yaoyao and Qinghui. Madam Song worries about them, while Assistant Minister Song assures her they will return soon.
• As night approaches, Chen Yixiao splits the forces: one group will accompany him to the palace, while another will surround the ministers’ residences.

Character developments and interactions

• Yaoyao shows herself as a careful strategist, balancing the advantage of firearms against the need to conceal their origin. She also personally trains her allies.
• Chen Yixiao takes charge of organizing the operation, with the group’s agreement and trust.
• Song Qinghui and the others are enthusiastic about the weapons; Qinghui is especially delighted to handle a Gatling gun.
• Yaoyao jokes with Guagua about its interest in selling weapons and encourages it to pursue Lingling.
• The Song family’s worry highlights their close bond with Yaoyao and Qinghui. Madam Song is frustrated by her husband’s repeated reassurances, even as he tries to comfort her.
• The banquet guests’ concern and eagerness to send gifts show Yaoyao’s popularity and the gossip-loving court’s strong attachment to her.

Significant themes

• Preparation and unity: Yaoyao’s allies coordinate their resources and roles before a high-stakes operation.
• Family and loyalty: Both her companions and her family remain deeply concerned for her.
• Affection mixed with humor: Banter between Yaoyao and Guagua, and between Madam Song and her husband, lightens the tension before the coming action.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao and Chen Yixiao lead a group—including the Twelfth and Thirteenth Princes—in a nighttime assault on the Imperial Palace. Song Yaoyao has armed the group with grenades and trained them to use them; the princes accept the weapons without asking how they were obtained.
• At the Palace Gate, Song Yaoyao kills the guards before they can raise an alarm. Chen Yixiao uses carefully measured explosives to destroy the gate without damaging the walls.
• The group enters and fights through repeated waves of palace guards with their modern weapons. Meanwhile, Nian Zhiyun realizes that the attackers are likely from the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom and orders a retreat.
• Guagua alerts Song Yaoyao that Nian Zhiyun is fleeing and supplies his location. Song Yaoyao pursues him, accompanied by her second brother, Song Qinghui. She shoots down several of his men; when they take cover, she throws a tear-gas grenade at them.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao takes command in combat, showing confidence, tactical foresight, and ruthlessness. She has anticipated the danger of damaging the palace walls and pursues Nian Zhiyun personally.
• Chen Yixiao acts decisively, while also thinking ahead about the cost and burden of repairing damage after the palace is taken.
• Song Qinghui follows Song Yaoyao and offers to use his Lightness Skill to help her catch up, showing his protectiveness and support.
• Nian Zhiyun shifts from confidence to alarm once he recognizes the attackers’ weapons, then chooses retreat when he sees his forces cannot hold them.
• Nian Hengzhi and Nian Qiyu insist on joining the assault but show restraint by not questioning the unfamiliar weapons.

Significant themes

• Technology and power: Modern weapons give the attackers a decisive advantage over palace forces.
• Pragmatism amid violence: Song Yaoyao and Chen Yixiao limit the blast to the gate, balancing immediate victory against the future cost to the people.
• Courage, loyalty, and resolve: The group enters the palace together, while Song Yaoyao’s family backs her even as the fighting intensifies.
• Hubris and reversal: Nian Zhiyun insults the attackers as spies, but his authority and defenses prove unable to stop them.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao and Chen Yixiao coordinate the gate assault, with Chen carrying out her plan.
• Song Yaoyao communicates with Guagua to track Nian Zhiyun, then directs Song Qinghui as they pursue him.
• Song Yaoyao and Nian Zhiyun exchange taunts: he calls her a “little runt,” provoking her before she attacks with tear gas.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao and her allies finish off Nian Zhiyun’s group. Although Nian Zhiyun survives the initial gunfire, Song Qinghui makes sure the attackers are dead.
• Chen Yixiao arrives, and Nian Hengzhi and Nian Qiyu see Nian Zhiyun’s body. They feel conflicted but are relieved they had already pledged allegiance to the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom.
• Explosions at the palace alarm Dragon Abyss officials. Heavenly Phoenix forces surround ministers’ residences and prevent anyone from leaving, using a grenade to deter one minister’s group. The two men caught in the blast survive.
• At dawn, Chen Yixiao announces that the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom has occupied the palace. Ministers must choose within a day whether to submit; those who refuse are threatened with execution alongside their families. The threat is intended to keep them from resisting before the main army arrives, not to carry out mass killings.
• Ministers react differently: some accept the takeover, while others are furious. One defiant elder refuses to submit, despite his sons’ pleas that he consider the danger to their household. The chapter ends as an unseen speaker challenges him for threatening his grandsons.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao remains decisive and ruthless in combat, relying on her weapons and acting quickly once the threat is contained.
• Song Qinghui takes responsibility for ensuring Nian Zhiyun cannot survive, reinforcing the group’s determination to eliminate lingering danger.
• Nian Hengzhi and Nian Qiyu confront the end of their struggle with Nian Zhiyun and recognize how their early allegiance spared them from a worse fate.
• Chen Yixiao shifts from battlefield victory to political control, using intimidation and a deadline to secure compliance.
• The defiant minister clings to loyalty to Dragon Abyss, while his sons prioritize protecting their family.

Significant themes

• The consequences of internal division: Dragon Abyss’s infighting is presented as a major reason for its fall.
• Power secured through force and intimidation: The Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom controls the palace and confines officials while awaiting reinforcements.
• Conflicting loyalties and survival: Officials must weigh allegiance to their kingdom against the safety of their families.
• The cost of prolonged conflict: Nian Zhiyun’s death closes one struggle, while the larger conquest creates new political tensions.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss Nian Zhiyun’s apparent resilience; Song Qinghui then acts on the warning and delivers the final blows.
• Chen Yixiao checks the outcome with Song Yaoyao, while Nian Hengzhi and Nian Qiyu reflect together on Nian Zhiyun’s death.
• Heavenly Phoenix guards confront Dragon Abyss ministers, enforcing confinement through threats and a grenade demonstration.
• The defiant minister argues with his kneeling sons over submission and family safety; the chapter closes with someone intervening on the sons’ behalf.