Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Lou Huaixin explains that Song Yaoyao threatened his men. Prince Nian Xiaoqing orders him to release her pressure points, then warns Song that she is useful only as long as she stays alive.
• Song initially stays quiet, knowing Nian is more dangerous than Lou. After Guagua confirms that her second brother and companions have reached the nearby residence, she regains confidence and openly insults Nian.
• Nian admits he captured Song to use her as leverage against the Sixth Prince, Chen Yixiao. He dismisses her as powerless, but when Lou moves to restrain her, Song produces a pistol and shoots him in the knee.
• Nian recognizes the weapon as a possible new Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom invention. He tries to seize it, but Song fires at him too; Nian dodges.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao shifts from cautious restraint to defiance once she knows help is nearby. She uses her wit to provoke Nian, then reveals that she has a weapon capable of changing the balance of power.
• Nian Xiaoqing appears composed and self-assured, but Song’s sudden boldness unsettles him. His fascination with her pistol quickly turns into a direct attempt to take it.
• Lou Huaixin remains loyal to Nian, but Song’s shot leaves him injured and temporarily removed from the confrontation.
• Guagua provides Song with crucial information about her allies’ arrival, enabling her change in approach.

Significant themes

• Power and leverage: Nian sees Song as a bargaining chip, while Song turns an assumed weakness into an advantage.
• Bluffing and timing: Song knows when to hold back and when to provoke, relying on information and preparation rather than brute strength.
• Status versus ability: Nian invokes rank and etiquette, but Song challenges his authority as a defeated prince; the pistol makes his assumptions about her helplessness untenable.

Character interactions

• Song and Nian trade sharp insults and arguments over names, rank, respect, and Nian’s plan to threaten Chen Yixiao.
• Song mocks Lou for nearly strangling her; Nian trusts Lou’s character and dismisses Song’s attempt to drive a wedge between them.
• The exchange turns physical when Song shoots Lou to stop him from restraining her, then fires at Nian when he tries to take her weapon.

Key plot points

• Song Yaoyao reveals that she let Nian Xiaoqing’s side capture her because she had prepared weapons in advance. After several shots, she wounds him and then kills the guards who rush into the room.
• Nian Xiaoqing expects reinforcements, but Song explains that her allies are fighting his men elsewhere. Hearing gunfire from the front courtyard, he tries to seize her before her side can reach them.
• Though wounded, Nian Xiaoqing dodges her shots. Just as he is about to grab her, Song disappears into her hidden space, leaving him bewildered.
• Guagua reminds Song that she can shoot from inside the space. She wounds Nian’s other knee, leaving him in severe pain. Guagua also explains that her voice can be projected from all directions, concealing her location.
• Song uses that ability to taunt Nian, pointing out that he had lured her through the Bride Snatching Festival and relied on his superior martial arts to overpower her.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao proves more prepared and resourceful than Nian expects. She stays playful under pressure, discovers new uses for her space, and turns his insults back on him.
• Nian Xiaoqing, despite his formidable martial arts and confidence, is increasingly shocked and frustrated by Song’s weapons, disappearance, and unseen attacks. He also blames Lou Huaixin for failing to notice the pursuit.
• Guagua guides Song through the hidden space’s abilities, helping her adapt and regain the upper hand.
• Their confrontation shifts from Nian’s apparent physical advantage to Song’s strategic and technological control.

Significant themes

• Preparation and resourcefulness: Song’s planning lets her counter Nian’s strength and numbers.
• Power and overconfidence: Nian’s martial skill cannot protect him from unfamiliar weapons and abilities, and his confidence leaves him unprepared.
• Deception and reversal: Nian’s own use of a festival custom to lure Song is turned against him as she exposes his hypocrisy.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao taunts Nian Xiaoqing after shooting both his legs, leaving the former god of war unable to pursue his plans to restore his kingdom.
• She intends to kill him before her allies arrive. When Guagua warns that Nian is preparing to escape through a hidden passage, Song shoots him in the head.
• Song Qinghui and the others reach the study and find Song Yaoyao unharmed and Nian dead. They agree to give Nian a proper burial, then search the residence and its occupants.
• Guagua reveals that Nian’s treasures are stored beneath the residence, with an entrance in his bedroom.
• Local constables arrive to verify the group’s identity. Song shows her Forbidden Army token, explains that they eliminated remnants of the Previous Dynasty, and lets the constables return to report.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is ruthless toward Nian once he threatens her, but still respects his past and regrets that they became enemies. She also insists he deserves a proper burial.
• Nian remains defiant, but his attempt to escape ends in his death.
• Song Qinghui’s relief at finding his sister safe shows his deep concern for her, even though he accepts that she acted confidently.
• Liu Zheheng and Song Qinghui agree with Song’s decision to bury Nian respectfully.
• Song treats the local constables fairly, recognizing that they were simply doing their duty.

Significant themes

• Rivalry and respect: Song and her allies acknowledge Nian’s abilities and former honor despite fighting against him.
• Pragmatism and mercy: Song kills a dangerous enemy but still grants him dignity in death.
• Duty and authority: The local constables’ verification and Song’s token highlight the importance of official procedure and rank.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao goes to Nian Xiaoqing’s bedroom and uses Guagua’s instructions to discover a hidden mechanism in a brush. It opens a secret chamber beneath the floor.
• The chamber is packed with antiques, paintings, and calligraphy, along with banknotes and two chests of gold. Guagua explains that Nian Xiaoqing amassed the treasures during his military campaigns and hid them while waiting to move them to Suyu City.
• Song Yaoyao stores the entire hoard in her space, then returns to the courtyard. She has the money found on the bodies divided among the search party.
• After returning to Suyu City, Song Yaoyao, Song Qinghui, and Liu Zheheng bring their recovered goods to the palace. Song Yaoyao tells Chen Yixiao how Nian Xiaoqing lured and abducted her during the Bride Snatching Festival, and how she deliberately went along with the plan before confronting and killing him.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains composed and resourceful, solving the secret-chamber puzzle and treating the treasure as a useful windfall. She also shares the money found by her group, reinforcing her generosity and leadership.
• Guagua guides Song Yaoyao through the mechanism and celebrates the discovery. Their playful exchange includes Guagua reminding her of her promise to spend some of her new wealth with it.
• Song Qinghui helps organize the search and distribute the money, following a routine the group already knows.
• Chen Yixiao welcomes the returning group, arranges food, and reacts with concern when he hears how Song Yaoyao was abducted. She reassures him that she was never truly caught off guard, though he warns her that she took a serious risk.

Significant themes

• Resourcefulness and trust: Song Yaoyao succeeds by combining her own judgment with Guagua’s guidance.
• Shared rewards and leadership: She ensures the search party benefits from the money recovered.
• Risk and confidence: Song Yaoyao’s deliberate choice to let herself be captured demonstrates her nerve, while Chen Yixiao’s concern highlights the danger involved.
• Wealth and opportunity: The hidden treasure promises considerable value, though Song Yaoyao plans to examine it later.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao tells Emperor Chen Yixiao about the harm caused by the Bride Snatching Festival. Chen agrees to abolish it, and the next morning an edict bans bride abduction, with beheading as the punishment.
• People across Suyu City and other regions celebrate and thank the court. The ban strengthens popular support for the new Imperial Court and its policies.
• Song continues her street patrols, but she is eager for her grandfather and parents to arrive so she can hand over the city’s defenses and reunite with her family. They are still about twenty days away.
• To lift Song’s spirits, Guagua points her toward a juicy piece of gossip. Song and her companions follow a commotion to a crowd outside a residence.
• There, a wet nurse announces that the Marquis’s heir’s wife is to be divorced after six years without children. She claims the madam arranged a concubine to secure the family line, though the heir refuses to accept her.
• The wet nurse has shoved the wife, leaving her facedown and unresponsive. The crowd condemns the servant, who becomes increasingly frightened and begs the woman to get up.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao remains committed to protecting ordinary people and is pleased that the bride-snatching ban has been enacted. She also shows how deeply she misses her family and how readily gossip can revive her spirits.
• Chen Yixiao acts decisively on Song’s report, using imperial authority to outlaw a harmful practice.
• The wet nurse shifts from bullying and self-righteousness to panic when the woman she shoved does not move.
• The crowd openly challenges the wet nurse’s abuse of power and condemns the household’s conduct.

Significant themes

• Justice and reform: The court’s ban responds to real suffering and demonstrates government action on behalf of commoners.
• Abuse of tradition and authority: The chapter questions customs and social rules that enable coercion or mistreatment.
• Public accountability: The crowd’s presence makes the wet nurse fear consequences for her actions.
• Family and longing: Song’s anticipation of reunion reveals the personal cost of her long service.

Character interactions

• Song persuades Chen to abolish bride snatching, and the resulting edict earns public gratitude.
• Guagua comforts Song about her family’s delayed arrival, then distracts her with gossip.
• Song, Song Qinghui, and their companions join the crowd and observe the confrontation.
• The crowd rebukes the wet nurse, while she tries to defend herself and then pleads with the motionless wife. The chapter ends before the woman’s condition is known.

Plot points

• Matron Cao tries to check whether the bloodied Heir’s Consort is dead, then discovers she is alive. She accuses her of pretending and gives her a divorce letter and money, ordering her to leave the Marquis’s household.
• The woman wakes confused and unsettled. She examines her clothes, shoes, face, and hair, reacting as though she has suddenly found herself in an unfamiliar body.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua realize a soul swap has occurred: the Heir’s Consort, Li Mo’er, is now in her husband Su Zhimin’s body, while Su Zhimin occupies Li Mo’er’s body.
• Su Zhimin, now in his wife’s body, tries to confirm who he is. Matron Cao dismisses him as mad and insists the divorce is final.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng overhear the revelation and, like Song Yaoyao, eagerly anticipate what will happen next.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Zhimin is forced to experience his wife’s position firsthand. He has habitually believed his mother’s kind public image, dismissed Li Mo’er’s complaints, and urged his wife to tolerate her. Now he is directly caught in the mistreatment he ignored.
• Li Mo’er, in Su Zhimin’s body, is not yet shown responding, but her changed appearance and disorientation establish the swap.
• Matron Cao remains contemptuous and hostile, publicly humiliating the supposed Heir’s Consort and refusing to believe Su Zhimin’s claims.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss the mystery with excitement, while the onlookers condemn Matron Cao and the household for its cruelty.

Significant themes

• Empathy through role reversal: Su Zhimin’s new predicament may make him confront the suffering he dismissed.
• Hypocrisy and abuse of power: The household’s respectable image contrasts with the marchioness’s private cruelty and Matron Cao’s behavior.
• Public judgment and spectacle: The crowd condemns the servant’s treatment of her mistress, while Song Yaoyao and her companions watch the unfolding scandal with fascination.

Key plot points and events

• Su Zhimin tries to learn why Nanny Cao and the Marquis’s household are treating him so harshly. Nanny Cao insists he has been divorced and should leave.
• Reading the divorce letter, Su Zhimin realizes his mother issued it while he was away. He refuses to accept it and tears it up.
• Nanny Cao says the divorce is justified because Su Zhimin has not borne a child, invoking the Seven Grounds for Divorce. She offers money and orders him to leave.
• When Su Zhimin demands to see his mother, Nanny Cao has servants and guards stop him. He defeats them all, first a small group and then more than twenty.
• Household attendants openly mock him, calling him out of favor and reminding him that he is already divorced. Their words reveal how badly his wife was treated when he was absent.
• Su Zhimin recognizes that his mother and the household acted kindly only in front of him. He regrets dismissing his wife’s complaints and blames himself for failing to investigate sooner.
• Nanny Cao threatens to report the fight to Madam. Su Zhimin lets the messenger go, still intent on confronting his mother, and advances toward Nanny Cao.

Character developments

• Su Zhimin shifts from confusion and disbelief to anger, then to painful understanding and guilt. His martial skill becomes clear, but he is fighting to reach his mother and uncover the truth, not simply to cause harm.
• Nanny Cao is revealed as openly hostile and contemptuous toward Su Zhimin. She wields the divorce and household authority to force him out, then escalates to violence when he refuses.
• The household attendants and guards display their disdain for Su Zhimin, exposing the household’s broader mistreatment of him and his wife.

Significant themes

• Hidden cruelty and hypocrisy: The residence behaves differently when Su Zhimin is present than when he is away.
• Regret and responsibility: Su Zhimin realizes that his disbelief and inaction helped leave his wife vulnerable.
• Power, status, and exclusion: Though technically a master of the household, Su Zhimin is treated as unwanted and powerless.
• Marriage and heirship: The stated reason for the divorce is his failure to produce a child, reflecting the pressure to continue the family line.

Character interactions

• Nanny Cao repeatedly insults and dismisses Su Zhimin, while he asks for an explanation and demands to see his mother.
• Guards and servants taunt Su Zhimin and attack him; he defeats them, despite initially warning that they should stand down.
• Their insults force him to confront the extent of his wife’s suffering, turning his anger inward as guilt.
• The chapter ends with Su Zhimin moving toward Nanny Cao as she backs away, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

Key plot points and events

• Su Zhimin attacks Nanny Cao at the Marquis’s Residence gates, slapping and beating her for mistreating Li Mo’er and acting above her station. The onlookers approve, and Song Yaoyao and Guagua privately enjoy seeing Nanny Cao’s arrogance punished.
• When Madam Hou arrives and orders Su Zhimin to stop, he releases Nanny Cao. Injured and missing a tooth, Nanny Cao rushes to Madam Hou and presents herself as an innocent victim, accusing Li Mo’er of causing trouble.
• Nanny Cao clings to Madam Hou’s leg while pleading for justice. Disgusted by the tears and snot on her clothing, Madam Hou kicks her free, then promises to hear her complaint.
• Su Zhimin stays quiet, watching how his mother and Nanny Cao treat his wife. Madam Hou turns on him and defends the household’s treatment of Li Mo’er: she claims Li Mo’er is childless after six years of marriage, says the family arranged concubines to secure an heir, and blames Li Mo’er for making a scene after being cast out.

Character developments

• Su Zhimin acts decisively against Nanny Cao, showing that he recognizes and resents her abuse of Li Mo’er. His silence after his mother arrives suggests he is observing the family’s conduct rather than immediately arguing.
• Nanny Cao shifts from arrogant servant to tearful victim, but her private hatred and determination to retaliate remain clear.
• Madam Hou presents herself as dignified and concerned with justice, yet her contempt for Li Mo’er and her belief in the household’s right to control her are evident. Her accidental kick also exposes her disgust toward Nanny Cao.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua continue to comment on events, framing Nanny Cao’s beating as deserved.

Significant themes

• Abuse of power and hierarchy: Nanny Cao has exploited her position, while Madam Hou invokes household authority to justify mistreating Li Mo’er.
• Appearance versus reality: Nanny Cao’s tearful performance conceals her vindictiveness, and Madam Hou’s talk of justice contrasts with her hostility toward Li Mo’er.
• Gender, marriage, and heirs: Madam Hou measures Li Mo’er’s worth by her ability to bear children and presents concubinage as necessary to preserve the family line.
• Reversal and retaliation: The person Nanny Cao expects to dominate turns out to be someone who can fight back, setting up a continuing conflict.

Character interactions

• Su Zhimin confronts and beats Nanny Cao while the crowd cheers him on.
• Nanny Cao appeals to Madam Hou, attempting to turn her against Li Mo’er; Madam Hou initially promises support but accidentally knocks Nanny Cao down while freeing herself.
• Madam Hou then confronts Su Zhimin and condemns Li Mo’er’s conduct and childlessness, while Su Zhimin watches her closely.

Plot points and events

• The marchioness rejects Su Zhimin’s appeal, insisting she has already divorced her from the Marquis’s heir and refusing to acknowledge her as family. When Su Zhimin recalls years of caring for her and helping the family, the marchioness denies it.
• The crowd remembers the lavish dowry Su Zhimin brought into the marriage and suspects the Marquis’s Residence is trying to keep it, offering her only five hundred taels in compensation.
• Rumors escalate: onlookers speculate that the household may have deliberately prevented Su Zhimin from having children and might even harm her to conceal its actions.
• The marchioness protests that the crowd is slandering the family, but witnesses challenge her with memories of the dowry’s public inventory. They promise to testify and report any threats.
• Song Yaoyao and her companions are revealed to be present. A bystander asks them to bear witness, and Song Yaoyao agrees.
• The marchioness realizes that the household may lose a complaint over the dowry: by law, it belongs to Su Zhimin and should be returned to her or her natal family. The family had relied on it for years, having agreed to the marriage largely because of its promised wealth.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Zhimin moves from pleading for recognition to confronting the marchioness with the help she gave the family. Her shock at the denial suggests she is beginning to understand how thoroughly she has been used.
• The marchioness is defensive and contemptuous toward both Su Zhimin and the crowd, but her confidence falters when the dowry’s legal ownership is raised.
• The crowd shifts from spectators to vocal defenders of Su Zhimin, publicly challenging the family and offering to serve as witnesses.
• Song Yaoyao remains composed and authoritative, reassuring the witness and strengthening the crowd’s confidence.
• The exchange exposes the marriage’s imbalance: the Marquis’s Residence accepted Su Zhimin for her wealth, benefited from her dowry, and now seeks to discard her without returning it.

Significant themes

• Greed and betrayal: The family’s treatment of Su Zhimin contrasts with the years of support they received from her.
• Women’s property rights: The dowry belongs to the woman, making the household’s attempt to retain it both unjust and legally vulnerable.
• Public judgment and accountability: Witnesses and officials turn a private family dispute into a matter the household cannot easily suppress.
• Rumor and suspicion: The crowd’s concerns about Su Zhimin’s childlessness and possible danger show how greed invites broader distrust.

Key plot points and events

• The Marquis’s Residence’s attempt to divorce Lady Li and keep her dowry has been exposed publicly, damaging the family’s reputation.
• The marchioness invites Lady Li inside to discuss matters privately, but the crowd suspects she intends to intimidate or silence her. They urge Lady Li not to enter.
• The crowd also wonders where the heir is and whether he will side with his mother or his wife.
• The heir appears—but his body is occupied by Li Mo’er’s soul, while Su Zhimin’s soul remains in Li Mo’er’s body. Li Mo’er, pretending to be the heir, asks what has happened.
• A bystander explains that the marchioness has divorced the heir’s consort, seized her dowry, and offered her only five hundred taels.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Zhimin recalls that he originally married Li Mo’er for love and once permitted his mother to borrow the dowry only after Li Mo’er agreed. He had trusted his mother’s promise to repay it, and feels ashamed that the debt grew and was never settled.
• He is horrified that his mother now intends to divorce Li Mo’er without returning her property. Unsure who inhabits his body, he fears Li Mo’er may retaliate against the whole household.
• Li Mo’er, in Su Zhimin’s body, takes control of the public encounter, steadies the marchioness, and asks for an explanation—while the crowd openly challenges the Marquis’s Residence.
• The marchioness tries to draw Lady Li into a private conversation, but public suspicion and the heir’s arrival prevent her from controlling the narrative.

Significant themes

• Public accountability: The crowd’s intervention turns a private family abuse into a public scandal.
• Trust and betrayal: Su Zhimin trusted both his wife and his mother, but his mother’s handling of the dowry has violated that trust.
• Power and reputation: The Marquis’s Residence’s status cannot shield it once ordinary people openly condemn its actions.
• Identity and role reversal: The soul exchange places Li Mo’er in the heir’s position, setting up a confrontation in which appearances may conceal who truly has power.

Key plot points and events

• Townspeople publicly condemn the Marquis’s household for divorcing Lady Li and taking her dowry, recalling that she brought a lavish ten-mile wedding procession and that her money helped cover the family’s debts.
• Li Mo’er, inhabiting Su Zhimin’s identity, deliberately fuels the scandal by questioning his mother, the marchioness, in front of everyone.
• The marchioness claims Lady Li’s inability to bear children and Su Zhimin’s refusal to visit his concubines threatened the family line. Li Mo’er presses her on the real issue: whether she took Lady Li’s dowry.
• Li Mo’er reveals that the marchioness had repeatedly called the money borrowed, promised to repay it, and never did. She warns that a lawsuit could expose the household’s accounts.
• When Nanny Cao tries to comfort the enraged marchioness and calls Su Zhimin confused, Li Mo’er slaps her several times for her past mistreatment.

Character developments

• Li Mo’er is no longer deferential to the marchioness. Having been divorced and stripped of her dowry, she has stopped trying to win the family’s affection and uses Su Zhimin’s position to publicly challenge their behavior.
• The marchioness shifts from public bluster to anxiety and rage as her son confronts her. She cannot convincingly deny the dowry accusations and feels her family’s reputation slipping.
• Nanny Cao reveals her loyalty to the marchioness and is reminded of her history of bullying Li Mo’er.

Significant themes

• Exploitation and hypocrisy: The household took advantage of Lady Li’s generosity, then discarded her.
• Reputation and public judgment: The crowd’s accusations turn private wrongdoing into a public crisis.
• Changing power and self-respect: Li Mo’er’s altered identity lets her challenge those who once mistreated her.
• Family loyalty versus justice: The marchioness expects obedience, while Li Mo’er insists that kinship does not excuse theft or cruelty.

Character interactions

• The townspeople reinforce one another’s condemnation of the household.
• Li Mo’er confronts the marchioness with pointed questions, exposing the gap between her excuses and the dowry’s misuse.
• The marchioness accuses Li Mo’er of being unfilial, while Li Mo’er answers that the marchioness herself has become unrecognizable.
• Nanny Cao attempts to defend the marchioness, prompting Li Mo’er to retaliate for her earlier abuse.

Key plot points and events

• Li Mo’er orders Nanny Cao to receive thirty strokes for interrupting him and behaving insolently. He declares that servants must respect their masters and the household’s rules.
• The marchioness tries to protect Nanny Cao, insisting that the servant is hers to discipline. Li Mo’er counters that his mother has also overstepped by interfering in Lady Li’s affairs.
• The household guards ultimately obey Li Mo’er, the heir, and drag Nanny Cao away despite the marchioness’s protests. Other guards refuse to intervene, unwilling to take sides in the family dispute.
• Onlookers condemn Nanny Cao’s earlier treatment of Lady Li and criticize the marchioness for favoring a servant over her son. Faced with public judgment, the marchioness does not stop the punishment.
• After ten strokes, Nanny Cao faints. Li Mo’er postpones the remaining twenty strokes until she recovers, but forbids anyone from calling a physician. The marchioness warns that Nanny Cao may die without medical care.

Character developments

• Li Mo’er asserts his authority as heir, presenting the punishment as a defense of household order and reputation. His taunting of his mother and refusal to provide a physician reveal a harsh, vindictive streak.
• The marchioness is enraged and humiliated as her influence over the guards weakens. Public criticism forces her to restrain her impulse to help Nanny Cao, though she remains concerned for the servant’s life.
• Nanny Cao shifts from an arrogant, influential servant to a powerless victim of the household’s conflict. Her earlier conduct has made her unpopular with the people present.

Significant themes

• Authority and household hierarchy: The conflict centers on who has the right to command servants and enforce rules.
• Power and succession: Li Mo’er uses his status as heir to establish himself as the residence’s future master.
• Public reputation and accountability: The crowd’s criticism pressures the marchioness to accept Nanny Cao’s punishment.
• Favoritism and family loyalty: The marchioness’s defense of her servant is portrayed as placing Nanny Cao above her own son, intensifying the family rift.

Character interactions

• Li Mo’er and the marchioness clash over Nanny Cao’s punishment, each accusing the other of overstepping.
• Nanny Cao pleads with the marchioness, but the guards carry out Li Mo’er’s order.
• The guards’ obedience to Li Mo’er—and their refusal to back the marchioness—signals a shift in practical authority.
• The onlookers side with Li Mo’er and condemn both Nanny Cao’s behavior and the marchioness’s favoritism.

Key plot points and events

• The marchioness agrees to have Nanny Cao beaten, persuaded by Li Mo’er’s argument that punishment—not medical care—is deserved.
• Li Mo’er refuses to let the marchioness move on. She insists the family must address the attempted divorce and the Marquis’s Residence’s seizure of Mrs. Li’s dowry.
• Warning that Mrs. Li could take the household to court and ruin its reputation, Li Mo’er proposes withdrawing the divorce letter, returning the remaining dowry, and documenting the money borrowed with an IOU and interest.
• The marchioness rejects this plan because she wants to keep the valuable dowry and believes Mrs. Li cannot provide an heir. Li Mo’er says there is no alternative to settling fairly or facing court.
• The assembled townspeople speculate about the dispute and largely hope Mrs. Li receives justice and her dowry back.
• Su Zhimin realizes that Li Mo’er’s soul is in his body, recognizing her through subtle mannerisms only the two of them would know. He resolves to accept whatever decision she makes, believing the Marquis’s Residence owes her justice.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Mo’er shows a forceful, politically astute side, confronting the marchioness and prioritizing justice for Mrs. Li over family convenience.
• The marchioness remains reluctant to surrender the dowry or accept Mrs. Li, despite the risk of public disgrace and legal action.
• Su Zhimin shifts from shock at seeing Li Mo’er act so boldly to trust in her judgment. He misreads her failure to look at him as uncertainty about whose soul is in his body, rather than anger.
• The townspeople act as a public audience and informal moral jury, criticizing the household’s treatment of Mrs. Li and calling for restitution.

Significant themes

• Justice versus family power: The chapter challenges the household’s assumption that it can control a wife and her property without consequences.
• Public reputation and accountability: The threat of court and community scrutiny pressures the marchioness to consider a fair settlement.
• Trust and recognition: Su Zhimin recognizes Li Mo’er through intimate, familiar details and is willing to let her decide what happens next.
• Gender and inheritance: The marchioness’s objection to Mrs. Li rests on her inability to bear children, revealing how a woman’s standing is tied to producing an heir.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao observes Su Zhimin’s changing expressions and asks Guagua what he is thinking. Guagua explains that Su has recognized Li Mo’er’s soul in the body she now occupies, but worries she is angry with him. Li Mo’er has also recognized Su’s soul in her body, yet deliberately refuses to acknowledge him.
• Yaoyao asks why their souls switched. Guagua reveals that the exchange was not a coincidence and traces its apparent origins to several years earlier, when Li Mo’er rescued an injured stranger, Fan Ya.
• A flashback shows Li Mo’er bringing the gravely wounded Fan Ya into the Li estate. Her father, Master Li, approves of helping her but orders his staff to conceal the rescue in case Fan Ya’s enemies come looking. Madam Li likewise takes charge, arranging care while restricting Mo’er’s movements for her safety.
• After three days unconscious, Fan Ya wakes. Li Mo’er identifies herself as the person who found and treated her. Fan Ya warns that her enemies are dangerous and tries to leave so she will not endanger the Li family, despite her serious injuries. The chapter ends before her warning is resolved.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is curious and amused by the couple’s unspoken feelings, using Guagua to uncover what each is thinking.
• Su Zhimin appears emotionally unsettled: he recognizes his wife but misreads her silence as possible anger, then reassures himself that she may not have recognized him.
• Li Mo’er knows Su Zhimin’s identity but chooses not to acknowledge him, suggesting hurt or resentment. In the flashback, her compassion and willingness to help strangers are emphasized.
• Master Li and Madam Li support Mo’er’s kindness while taking practical steps to protect their household. Master Li is especially portrayed as generous and principled.
• Fan Ya is grateful but guarded, concerned that her dangerous pursuers could harm her rescuers.

Significant themes

• Compassion and generosity: Li Mo’er’s instinct to save Fan Ya is reinforced by her parents’ decision to help rather than abandon her.
• Protection and responsibility: The Li family balances kindness with caution, concealing the rescue and limiting Mo’er’s exposure to danger.
• Hidden feelings and misunderstanding: Su and Li recognize one another’s souls but do not communicate openly, leaving each to interpret the other’s silence.
• Consequences of past choices: Guagua’s account links the unusual soul exchange to Mo’er’s earlier rescue, suggesting that this act set larger events in motion.

Plot points and events

• Wounded and hunted by the Witch Tribe’s traitors, Fan Ya worries that sheltering her will endanger the Li family. Li Mo’er reassures her that her father has concealed the evidence and that a trusted court physician is treating her.
• The Lis care for Fan Ya without pressing her for details. After a month of recovery, Fan Ya signals the High Priest’s people and prepares to leave.
• Before departing, Fan Ya reveals her identity and offers Li Mo’er a thousand-year ginseng root as thanks. She also gives her an identity jade pendant, which can secure the Witch Tribe’s help for the Li family three times. Li Mo’er initially refuses, but Madam Li accepts it on her behalf.
• Years later, Li Mo’er is married to Su Zhimin and suffers under the Marquis’s Residence. Her husband dismisses her complaints about his mother, Madam Hou, and tells her to be more forgiving.
• When word arrives that her mother is ill, Li Mo’er goes to seek permission to visit home. Outside Madam Hou’s room, she overhears Madam Hou and Nanny Cao plotting to divorce her while Su Zhimin is away. They plan to use Li Mo’er’s childlessness as grounds under the Seven Grounds for Divorce, believing the decision will be difficult for Su Zhimin to overturn.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Mo’er is compassionate and discreet: she protects Fan Ya without demanding explanations or expecting repayment. Years later, she is trapped in an unhappy marriage, and the overheard conversation deepens her resentment.
• Fan Ya grows close to Li Mo’er during her recovery and shows sincere gratitude through both a precious gift and a promise of protection.
• Madam Li recognizes the value of Fan Ya’s jade pendant and accepts it for the family’s future security.
• Madam Hou is revealed as calculating and hostile toward Li Mo’er, whom she refuses to recognize as a worthy wife for her son. She seeks to remove her while preserving her relationship with him.
• Nanny Cao assists Madam Hou and reinforces her plan.
• Su Zhimin is absent from the plotting but has previously failed to believe Li Mo’er’s account of his mother’s mistreatment, leaving her unsupported.

Significant themes

• Kindness and reciprocity: The Li family shelters Fan Ya without seeking reward; Fan Ya insists on repaying that generosity and provides lasting protection.
• Power and vulnerability: The wealthy Li family still lacks the standing of aristocrats, while Li Mo’er’s marriage leaves her exposed to the Marquis’s household’s authority.
• Betrayal and isolation: Su Zhimin’s disbelief and Madam Hou’s secret abuse leave Li Mo’er alone within her marriage.
• Manipulation through social rules: Madam Hou intends to use a formally recognized divorce ground to disguise a vindictive scheme as legitimate procedure.

• Li Mo’er overhears the plot against her: While at the Marquis’s Residence, she and her maid hear Madam Hou and Nanny Cao discuss how the heir dismisses Li Mo’er’s complaints and believes his mother. Madam Hou and Nanny Cao then hint that they prepared a pretext to divorce her. Li Mo’er also suspects Madam Hou engineered her childlessness. Nanny Cao admits they considered violating Li Mo’er’s chastity, but Madam Hou rejected the idea because it might expose their scheme.
• Li Mo’er takes action: Terrified but newly resolute, Li Mo’er returns to her courtyard and decides to go to her family home without seeking permission. She tells her maid to say that her mother is gravely ill, then leaves using the carriage sent from the Li Residence. Madam Hou is angry at the breach of etiquette, but Nanny Cao persuades her not to punish Li Mo’er, since doing so could harm the family’s reputation and Li Mo’er will soon be divorced anyway.
• Reunion with her mother: At the Li Residence, Li Mo’er finds her mother feverish and longing to see her. Nanny Qin explains that the illness is tied to her mother’s distress at missing her daughter. Li Mo’er realizes she has stayed away too long to avoid inconveniencing her husband and the Marquis’s family, and weeps over having neglected her parents. She comforts her sleeping mother, then asks to speak with her father.
• Character developments and interactions: Li Mo’er shifts from meek endurance toward decisive action, recognizing the danger she faces and her responsibility to her birth family. Her maid supports her escape, while Nanny Qin offers comfort. Madam Hou remains calculating and concerned with appearances; Nanny Cao both participates in the scheme and advises caution. Li Mo’er’s reunion with her mother highlights the emotional cost of her years of distance from her family.
• Themes: The chapter explores abuse of power within a household, the vulnerability of women facing divorce, filial duty, and the conflict between loyalty to a husband’s family and bonds with one’s birth family. It also marks Li Mo’er’s first clear move from submission toward self-protection.

Key plot points

• Li Mo’er returns to her family home and breaks down in her father’s arms. She tells Master Li about years of mistreatment at the Marquis’s Residence and the conversation she overheard that suggests her mother-in-law may have secretly caused her infertility.
• Master Li realizes the harm done to his daughter and decides to seek help from the Witch Tribe, using a jade pendant once given to Mo’er by Fan Ya. The pendant represents a valuable promise he has kept for years.
• Master Li urges Mo’er to divorce Su Zhimin, believing he has failed to protect her. Having reconsidered their marriage, Mo’er agrees.
• Su Zhimin visits the Li household, unaware of what Mo’er has disclosed or decided. She tells him she will stay to care for her mother, and he accepts.
• The next day, Mo’er and her father travel in disguise to the Great Fortune Gambling House, a Witch Tribe contact point. The pendant secures them an audience with Ji Sanniang and Lan Yu, who invite them to explain their request.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Mo’er moves from grief and years of endured suffering toward resolve: she confides in her father and agrees to leave Su Zhimin.
• Master Li responds with fierce protectiveness and regret, prioritizing Mo’er’s well-being over the precious Witch Tribe favor.
• Su Zhimin remains unaware of the crisis and treats Mo’er’s visit as an ordinary family stay, underscoring the distance between them.
• Lan Yu and Ji Sanniang welcome Mo’er and Master Li warmly, recognizing their past connection to Fan Ya and signaling that help may be available.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and protection: Master Li’s support contrasts with the neglect Mo’er has experienced in her marriage.
• Betrayal and hidden harm: Mo’er’s suspected infertility points to deliberate, concealed abuse.
• Reclaiming agency: Her decision to divorce marks a turning point after years of suffering.
• Trust and obligation: The jade pendant and the Witch Tribe’s promise connect past loyalty with the family’s present need.

Plot points and events

• Li Mo’er tells Ji Sanniang and Lan Yu what she has endured and what she overheard at the Marquis’s Residence. They suspect the household deliberately made her infertile.
• Lan Yu and Ji Sanniang examine Li Mo’er and identify an Infertility Gu. Li Mo’er is in its middle stage: the damage is serious but reversible, and either woman can remove it.
• Li Mo’er’s father, Master Li, asks Lan Yu to treat his daughter immediately. Lan Yu goes to prepare the procedure herself, mindful that Li Mo’er once saved her mistress’s life.
• Ji Sanniang asks whether Li Mo’er will return to the Marquis’s Residence. Li Mo’er begins to suspect her marriage was planned as a scheme: the household prevented her from having an heir and intended to divorce her.
• Ji Sanniang proposes that the real motive was Li Mo’er’s substantial dowry, which had helped cover the Marquis’s Residence’s worsening finances. Master Li recalls that Madam Hou eagerly accepted the marriage once she learned how large the dowry would be.
• The chapter ends with Ji Sanniang warning that Li Mo’er must not let the family force her out through divorce, which would damage her reputation.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Mo’er moves from shock and grief toward understanding that her marriage may have been a deliberate financial trap. She seeks advice about how to protect herself.
• Lan Yu and Ji Sanniang use their shared knowledge of witchcraft and gu art to diagnose Li Mo’er and offer a cure. They respond with anger and compassion.
• Master Li is distressed by his daughter’s suffering and increasingly convinced that the Marquis’s family targeted her dowry.
• The women support Li Mo’er by listening, examining her, and helping her interpret the household’s motives; Master Li adds a key memory that strengthens their suspicions.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and conspiracy: Li Mo’er’s marriage may have been engineered to exploit her rather than welcome her as family.
• Women’s vulnerability and reputation: Divorce and infertility are presented as sources of social harm, making Li Mo’er’s choices especially consequential.
• Greed and hypocrisy: The supposedly noble Marquis’s Residence may have sacrificed dignity and fairness to obtain her wealth.
• Solidarity and practical care: The women’s expertise and concern give Li Mo’er both medical hope and support as she considers her next steps.

Key plot points and events

• Ji Sanniang warns that the Marquis’s Residence may try to keep Li Mo’er’s dowry even if they divorce her. She and Lan Yu agree the family must reclaim every bit of it.
• Lan Yu removes the infertility Gu from Li Mo’er. The procedure leaves her weak and pale, so Lan Yu prescribes medicine and tells her to rebuild her strength.
• Lan Yu proposes using Soul Swap to exchange Li Mo’er’s soul with Su Zhimin’s. Li Mo’er and her father agree, hoping the plan will help her escape the marriage with her dowry intact.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua explain that Lan Yu needs hair from both people and must perform a complicated spell. Later, Su Zhimin is knocked unconscious and taken to the Great Fortune Gambling House, where the swap is performed.
• In the resulting confrontation at the Marquis’s Residence, Master Li challenges Madam Hou over her treatment of Li Mo’er. Madam Hou defends the repudiation by citing Li Mo’er’s childlessness. Master Li hints that the household knows the real cause.
• Su Zhimin, now in Li Mo’er’s body, appears. Master Li addresses him as “Mo’er,” says he should not have endured the injustice in silence, and steps forward to protect him and confront the Marquis’s household.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Mo’er accepts her father’s support and Lan Yu’s plan, showing that she is ready to leave the marriage and reclaim control of her life.
• Master Li moves from cautious concern to determined action, openly defending his daughter despite the family’s weaker social standing.
• Su Zhimin appears remorseful about Li Mo’er’s suffering and apologizes to Master Li; Master Li remains unimpressed but shields him.
• Lan Yu and Ji Sanniang work together to remove the Gu and devise the Soul Swap plan, while Song Yaoyao and Guagua provide commentary and explain how it works.
• Madam Hou tries to justify the divorce while privately worrying that the Li family may have discovered her secret.

Significant themes

• Justice and reclaiming agency: Li Mo’er’s allies help her challenge a powerful household and protect her property.
• Betrayal and accountability: The Marquis’s Residence is accused of exploiting Li Mo’er’s dowry and concealing the cause of her infertility.
• Loyalty and family protection: Master Li’s fierce defense contrasts with the Marquis household’s mistreatment.
• Reversal and poetic justice: The Soul Swap sets up a dramatic role reversal that may force Su Zhimin to experience life from Li Mo’er’s position.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Master Li publicly confronts Madam Hou, explaining that his daughter, Li Mo’er, was healthy before marriage but remained unable to conceive.
• He reveals that a friend from the Miao Frontier diagnosed her with an Infertility Gu, supposedly placed on her five years earlier—shortly after she married into the Marquis’s Residence.
• Madam Hou denies the accusation and claims the Li family has fabricated the story. Lan Yu secretly strikes her with a needle treated with a truth-inducing substance.
• Under its influence, Madam Hou confesses that she arranged the marriage to obtain Li Mo’er’s substantial dowry, then paid for the Gu to prevent her from bearing the Marquis’s heir.
• She admits that, when her son Ming’er refused to take a concubine because of his devotion to Li Mo’er, she forced the divorce, claiming she was protecting the family line.
• Master Li confirms that the Gu has been removed and that Li Mo’er should be able to have children after recovering.

Character developments

• Master Li shifts from accusation to a public, evidence-backed exposure of the Marquis’s household. He remains protective of his daughter and determined to clear her name.
• Madam Hou is revealed as calculating and ruthless: she valued Li Mo’er’s dowry, deliberately damaged her health, and later sought to discard her. Her forced confession exposes her motives and cruelty.
• Lan Yu intervenes decisively and discreetly, ensuring Madam Hou can no longer evade responsibility.
• Li Mo’er is shown to have endured years of blame and distress over infertility, though she is now freed from the Gu and has hope for the future. Ming’er’s devotion to her is also confirmed through Madam Hou’s account.

Character interactions

• Master Li and Madam Hou clash before witnesses: she interrupts and dismisses him, while he challenges her denials and presses her to explain.
• Lan Yu’s covert action changes the confrontation, turning Madam Hou’s denials into a confession.
• The crowd reacts with shock and sympathy, condemning Madam Hou and recognizing how easily Li Mo’er might have been blamed and left unable to remarry.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and exploitation: Li Mo’er was welcomed for her dowry, not accepted as family.
• Gendered blame and reproductive pressure: Her inability to conceive was used against her, despite being deliberately caused.
• Power, truth, and public accountability: Madam Hou’s status and denials initially shield her, but her confession exposes the harm she inflicted.
• Hope and recovery: With the Gu removed, Li Mo’er can begin healing and reclaim a future beyond the injustice done to her.