Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Song Yaoyao asks the Fifth Prince to say a few auspicious words at the opening of Mr. Qian’s hot pot restaurant. His presence gives the business visible royal backing, and the restaurant opens smoothly.
• During the group’s meal, Guagua reveals private details about Wu Jinlin, the old Grand Tutor’s gifted and much-loved youngest son.
• Guagua recounts how Wu rescued Mao Jingyi from thugs, helped her find housing, and later accepted her offer to serve as his maid. Song Yaoyao predicts that Mao used the offer to become Wu’s mistress, and Guagua’s vision confirms it.
• Wu, humiliated by the revelations, tries to stop them, but a guard paralyzes him. The chapter ends as Guagua is about to expose Mao Jingyi’s true character.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao uses the Fifth Prince’s influence to protect Mr. Qian’s new restaurant. She also confidently interprets Wu’s relationship with Mao, treating the scandal as a familiar storybook pattern.
• The Fifth Prince cooperates willingly, hoping to build a useful relationship with Song Yaoyao.
• Wu Jinlin is introduced as a brilliant scholar and devoted son, but the gossip portrays him as naïve and secretly involved with Mao before marriage. He is shocked that Guagua knows intimate details of his past and becomes furious and embarrassed.
• Mao Jingyi is initially presented as a vulnerable woman rescued by Wu, but Song suspects her offer of service was a pretext for seducing him. Guagua’s next revelation is set to clarify her nature.
• The other diners react with astonishment to Guagua’s display and curiosity about Wu’s scandal; a guard prevents Wu from interrupting.

Significant themes

• Influence and protection: Royal presence can shield a new business from trouble.
• Appearance versus reality: Mao’s apparent gratitude may conceal self-interest, while Wu’s generosity leaves him vulnerable.
• Public exposure and reputation: Private conduct becomes a spectacle, emphasizing the social consequences of scandal.
• Storybook expectations: Song assumes familiar romantic patterns explain people’s behavior, though the full truth about Mao remains unrevealed.

Key plot points and events

• Guagua reveals that Mao Jingyi is actually Gu Xiaoxiao, a former famous courtesan from Jiangnan who bought her freedom and came to the capital seeking a secure future.
• She deliberately staged a rescue so Wu Jinlin would meet her. After they slept together, she used hidden chicken blood to make him believe he had taken her virginity, prompting him to feel responsible for her.
• Though Wu Jinlin became her lover, Mao Jingyi feared he might abandon her after marriage. She sought additional protectors and approached a wealthy man whose carriage had once struck her.
• That man turns out to be Grand Tutor Wu—Wu Jinlin’s father. Mao Jingyi had not sought him out deliberately; she learned who he was only after becoming involved with him.
• Frightened by the dangerous coincidence, Mao Jingyi tried to escape but felt trapped. She began carefully scheduling her meetings so father and son would not discover that they shared the same mistress.

Character developments

• Mao Jingyi/Gu Xiaoxiao is revealed as strategic and calculating, using staged circumstances and deception to secure her position. Her confidence grows over time, even as she initially fears discovery.
• Wu Jinlin is portrayed as naïve and inexperienced: he believes the staged evidence and feels obligated to marry or support Mao Jingyi. He reacts with fury and disbelief when the truth about his father emerges.
• Grand Tutor Wu is exposed as Mao Jingyi’s second lover, creating a scandalous link between father and son.
• Song Yaoyao remains curious and sharp-tongued, piecing together the revelations and voicing the group’s astonishment.

Significant themes

• Deception and manipulation: Mao Jingyi constructs encounters and fabricates evidence to influence Wu Jinlin.
• Security and survival: Her pursuit of multiple powerful men stems from fear of being left without support.
• Coincidence and entanglement: An accidental meeting creates a perilous situation that becomes harder to escape.
• Appearance versus reality: Wu Jinlin’s assumptions about Mao Jingyi and their relationship conceal her past and intentions.

Character interactions

• Mao Jingyi manipulates Wu Jinlin into believing he is her first lover and that he must take responsibility for her.
• She later approaches Grand Tutor Wu under the guise of repaying his kindness, unaware at first that he is Wu Jinlin’s father.
• Once she discovers their relationship, she tries to keep the two men apart by staggering her visits.
• Song Yaoyao questions Guagua about the revelations, while the onlookers react with shock and turn their attention to Wu Jinlin.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss Mao Jingyi’s pregnancy: she does not know whether Grand Tutor Wu or his son, Wu Jinlin, is the father.
• Mao Jingyi has learned she is pregnant and plans to conceal it and abort the child. She intends to meet Grand Tutor Wu that afternoon and make him believe the miscarriage was his fault, hoping he will become more devoted to her.
• Song Yaoyao and her companions finish their hot pot and plan to go watch the confrontation.
• Wu Jinlin, who has been restrained at the table, learns of Mao Jingyi’s deception and rushes out in fury. The Fifth Prince’s guards catch and subdue him before he can reach her.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao is shocked by the tangled scandal but quickly turns it into gossip, joking about Grand Tutor Wu’s age and reputation. She remains curious and treats the unfolding drama as entertainment.
• Mao Jingyi is shown as calculating and desperate: she has carefully planned how to hide the pregnancy and manipulate Grand Tutor Wu, while fearing the consequences if her affairs are exposed.
• Grand Tutor Wu is portrayed as a vain, careless womanizer who never investigated Mao Jingyi because he viewed her as a plaything.
• Wu Jinlin shifts from silent, motionless restraint to explosive anger once he learns he has been deceived.
• The Fifth Prince and his men act cautiously, restraining Wu Jinlin to prevent him from killing Mao Jingyi and ruining his own future.

Significant themes

• Deception and consequences: Mao Jingyi’s attempts to manipulate both men risk exposing everyone involved.
• Hypocrisy and status: Song Yaoyao mocks how society gives elegant names to powerful men’s affairs while condemning similar behavior among commoners.
• Recklessness versus restraint: Wu Jinlin’s rage threatens to turn the scandal into violence, while the Fifth Prince’s guards intervene to control the situation.
• Gossip as spectacle: Song Yaoyao and her companions approach the unfolding crisis as a show to watch.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua exchange sarcastic commentary, with Guagua supplying details and Song Yaoyao riffing on them.
• Song Yaoyao’s remarks leave the surrounding listeners stunned and amused.
• The Fifth Prince and his companions keep Wu Jinlin restrained while Song Yaoyao eats, then pursue and subdue him when he bolts.
• Song Yaoyao remains focused on the gossip and hot pot, largely unaware of the tension around Wu Jinlin until he rushes away.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao tries to calm the enraged Wu Jinlin with a string of grim, insulting-sounding rhymes. Her words only seem to make him more agitated, so the Fifth Prince’s guards restrain him and take him to Mao Jingyi’s courtyard.
• Guagua reveals that Mao Jingyi has prepared a meal for Grand Tutor Wu and secretly drugged the wine. The group arrives just as Wu Jinlin is released from restraint.
• Wu Jinlin forces his way past the guards at the gate and storms in, finding Mao Jingyi and Grand Tutor Wu drinking together with their clothes disordered.
• He accuses Mao Jingyi of deceiving both him and his father, then beats her. The Fifth Prince’s men hold Grand Tutor Wu back and explain the situation to him; Grand Tutor Wu is horrified to learn that the woman he was seeing had also been involved with his son.
• Since the drugged wine has taken effect, the Fifth Prince orders Grand Tutor Wu escorted home to his concubines. Song Yaoyao and Guagua’s comments reveal that Grand Tutor Wu is unusually vigorous and enjoys potent remedies.
• Wu Jinlin’s anger turns into an absurd, escalating argument about whether he or his father is better in bed. Mao Jingyi’s attempts to answer only provoke him further, and he resumes beating her.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao means to calm Wu Jinlin but repeatedly makes matters worse; her candid inner commentary adds comic relief and exposes private details.
• Wu Jinlin is consumed by jealousy and humiliation. His rage becomes erratic and obsessive, especially when he demands comparisons between himself and his father.
• Grand Tutor Wu goes from bewilderment to fury upon learning of Mao Jingyi’s deception, while his private appetites become a source of surprise and humor.
• Mao Jingyi is exposed as having deceived both father and son and drugged Grand Tutor Wu’s wine. She is frightened and beaten, and cannot find an answer that satisfies Wu Jinlin.
• The Fifth Prince manages the crisis by restraining the attendants, holding Grand Tutor Wu back, and arranging his return home.

Significant themes

• Deception and betrayal: Mao Jingyi’s double involvement with father and son shatters both men’s trust.
• Jealousy and wounded pride: Wu Jinlin’s humiliation drives him into a bizarre contest with his father.
• Comic miscommunication: Song Yaoyao’s supposed reassurance and Mao Jingyi’s desperate answers both backfire.
• Public exposure of private behavior: The screen and Guagua’s revelations turn intimate secrets into a spectacle for the assembled onlookers.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao’s ill-judged encouragement clashes with Guagua’s criticism, while the watching group reacts to her increasingly revealing commentary.
• Wu Jinlin confronts Mao Jingyi, accusing and assaulting her; she alternates between fear and attempts to placate him.
• Grand Tutor Wu tries to intervene before learning the truth, then is restrained by the Fifth Prince’s guards.
• The Fifth Prince directs his men throughout, controlling the confrontation and separating the participants when Wu Jinlin’s violence escalates.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Jinlin reveals that Mao Jingyi had once willingly signed herself into his service. He decides to punish her by sending her to a brothel rather than letting her go.
• Already beaten and affected by aphrodisiac wine, Mao Jingyi loses her pregnancy. Wu Jinlin sends her to the brothel without taking her to the Medical Hall.
• As Song Yaoyao prepares to head home, the Fifth Prince insists on escorting her and his companions.
• A group of masked men in black ambushes them. Guagua identifies them as spies from the Heavenly Mystic Kingdom, who want to abduct Song Yaoyao and force her to reveal her refined-salt method before killing her.
• Song Yaoyao sees the ambush as a chance to locate and rob the spies’ hideout. The Fifth Prince realizes she may have a plan and tells his companions to hold back, hoping to turn the enemy’s scheme against them.
• Song misreads their deliberate restraint as incompetence and insults them. She then pretends to panic and allows the men to abduct her. One seals her acupoints and carries her off; the rough journey soon makes her vomit.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao remains irreverent and fearless. Instead of panicking, she treats the abduction as an opportunity and willingly plays along, though she suffers from the bumpy ride.
• The Fifth Prince shifts from escorting Song out of courtesy to trusting her judgment and cooperating with her apparent plan.
• The Fifth Prince’s companions endure Song’s private insults, unaware that she mistakes their intentional restraint for weakness.
• Wu Jinlin acts with cruel, possessive vindictiveness toward Mao Jingyi, while Mao Jingyi is left gravely harmed and sent away.
• Guagua supplies intelligence and supports Song’s plan, while also pointing out the complications posed by her escorts.

Significant themes

• Reversal and misdirection: The attackers expect to control Song, but she intends to use the abduction to pursue them.
• Appearance versus reality: The spies’ conspicuous disguises and the Fifth Prince’s group’s staged weakness both lead Song to draw misleading conclusions.
• Agency and power: Song turns a dangerous situation into a possible advantage, while Mao Jingyi has little power to escape Wu Jinlin’s abuse.
• Cruelty and consequence: Wu Jinlin’s violence results in the loss of Mao Jingyi’s pregnancy, underscoring the human cost of his revenge.

Character interactions

• Song and Guagua exchange sarcastic internal commentary, with Guagua explaining the spies’ motives and helping Song plan.
• The Fifth Prince offers Song protection; after hearing her intentions, he and his companions deliberately avoid fighting at full strength.
• Song’s insults create comic tension because the escorts believe they are cooperating with her, while she thinks they are useless.
• The men in black seize Song as planned, and her physical discomfort turns her calculated performance into an unpleasant ride.

Key events

• After being kidnapped by a black-clad man, Song Yaoyao is left in a room at the Fortune Casino, the Heavenly Mystic Kingdom’s covert base in the capital. Her pressure points are sealed, but a guard sent by the Fifth Prince frees her.
• Rather than leave with the guard, Song Yaoyao stays to loot the base. She uses knockout powder and a silenced pistol to get into a storeroom, where she finds ten chests of silver and discovers a hidden passage to a vast underground treasure chamber. She takes its accumulated gold and other valuables into her spatial storage.
• Guagua warns that government troops have surrounded the casino. On her way out, Song Yaoyao is stopped by a member of the base and compelled to follow the group to the front courtyard.
• The Heavenly Mystic men have taken the casino’s gamblers—many of them powerful young nobles—hostage. Their captors intend to kill them and provoke conflict within the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom. The nobles’ tearful pleading turns to arrogant threats when told to appeal to the officials outside.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao’s irreverent, acquisitive side remains on display: even while kidnapped and nauseated, she complains about wasted hot pot, then eagerly pursues the casino’s hidden wealth. She is resourceful, uses her unusual equipment effectively, and chooses to stay despite the Fifth Prince’s attempt to extract her.
• The Fifth Prince’s guard obeys orders but ultimately leaves Song Yaoyao behind when she insists.
• Guagua serves as Song Yaoyao’s guide, supplying information about the casino, directing her to its treasure, and warning her of the encirclement.
• The hostage-takers intimidate the gamblers, while the young nobles first beg desperately and then fall back on family rank and political threats.

Significant themes

• The contrast between Song Yaoyao’s comic priorities and the danger around her creates much of the chapter’s humor.
• Resourcefulness and self-interest drive Song Yaoyao’s actions, but her looting unfolds amid a larger political crisis.
• The casino’s hidden underground network and the captors’ plan reveal the depth of the Heavenly Mystic Kingdom’s covert operations and their willingness to exploit hostages to destabilize their rival.

• Plot and events: After escaping the casino where she was abducted, Song Yaoyao knocks out everyone inside with her potent knockout drug. The Fifth Prince’s forces use it to capture the Heavenly Mystic Kingdom’s spies, then escort her home. The next morning, court learns that the raid uncovered a large spy network. Guagua reveals that two captured spies are especially important: Fan Muqing, son of the Heavenly Mystic Kingdom’s Grand Preceptor, and its favored Tenth Prince, Teng Lingfeng. They had investigated Heavenly Phoenix’s new refined-salt method, which threatened their interests, and were behind Song Yaoyao’s abduction and attempted murder. Song proposes using them as bargaining chips rather than executing them. She then asks the Fifth Prince to take her to the prison so she can confront the spies; he refuses but offers to help her another way.
• Character developments and interactions: Song Yaoyao proves resourceful under pressure, using her drug to help secure the raid’s success. At home, her family’s fear turns into a lengthy scolding for sneaking out, though they ultimately let her go. She quickly recovers her good humor when she sees the treasure she took from the casino, including valuables and account books. The Fifth Prince supports her but is wary of her plans; their conversation shows his practical caution against her determination to get revenge. Guagua supplies the intelligence that clarifies why she was targeted.
• Themes: The chapter emphasizes ingenuity and resourcefulness, the consequences of economic rivalry, and the contrast between family concern and Song Yaoyao’s reckless independence. It also favors strategic statecraft over vengeance: the captured princes may be more valuable as leverage than as casualties.

Key plot points

• Song Yaoyao gives the Fifth Prince itching powder to use on the imprisoned Fan Muqing and Teng Lingfeng. He bribes a jailer to administer it, and their cries make clear how agonizing the nonfatal poison is.
• Yaoyao leaves information about the prisoners’ real identities and a proposal to exchange them for money from the Heavenly Mystic Kingdom outside her father’s study.
• Confined at home after her abduction, Yaoyao turns to adapting Journey to the West. Her eldest brother, Song Qingyu, arranges a publishing deal; the story becomes popular across the capital, earning her money.
• An invitation arrives to Qin Youyou’s family recognition banquet at the Grand Tutor’s residence. Yaoyao is eager to attend, and she, her mother, and Song Qingling are seated prominently when they arrive.

Character developments and interactions

• Yaoyao remains resourceful and mischievous, using her knowledge and Guagua’s help to influence events—even while confined. She also finds a profitable outlet for her boredom.
• The Fifth Prince keeps his promise to help Yaoyao, though the effect of the powder unsettles him.
• Song Qingyu supports his sister’s writing venture, negotiates the book deal, and accepts payment only after Yaoyao insists.
• Guagua teases Yaoyao for being stingy, while Yaoyao pushes back; their playful banter continues throughout.
• At the banquet, Madam Song and Song Qingling notice the conspicuous seating arrangement, while Yaoyao wonders whether the family has become unusually popular.

Significant themes

• Resourcefulness and agency: Yaoyao turns confinement into an opportunity to publish a successful book and continues acting behind the scenes.
• Family support: Qingyu helps Yaoyao pursue her venture, while her mother’s restrictions reflect concern for her safety after the abduction.
• Power and public reputation: The banquet is intended to signal the Grand Tutor’s support for Qin Youyou, and the prominent seating suggests that the hosts expect social attention and gossip.

Key plot points

• Song Yaoyao notices Qu Yunshang’s frail appearance and asks Guagua who she is. Guagua reveals that Qu is the wife of General Zhang Yunji and has damaged her health by taking dubious fertility remedies.
• Guagua recounts Zhang Yunji’s history with Gong Xinyue, his childhood sweetheart. While Zhang is away serving in the army, Gong’s family forces her to marry someone else. Zhang returns years later, heartbroken.
• Zhang’s parents arrange his marriage to Qu, who has long loved him. Zhang initially refuses, but gives in after his mother pressures him.
• Before the wedding, Gong meets Zhang and makes him promise never to love Qu or father children. Zhang keeps that promise by secretly taking a sterilizing drug.
• When Qu remains childless, Zhang’s mother blames and humiliates her. Zhang knows the real cause but stays silent. Qu, believing herself at fault, takes harmful remedies that leave her seriously ill.
• As Guagua’s account plays on a screen visible to everyone, Qu watches in disbelief.

Character developments

• Qu Yunshang is revealed as a devoted but mistreated wife whose poor health stems from years of trying to conceive. She has endured blame without knowing Zhang made conception impossible.
• Zhang Yunji emerges as emotionally bound to Gong and cruelly indifferent to Qu. He secretly prevents her from having children, then allows her to be blamed for it.
• Gong Xinyue is portrayed as unwilling to let Zhang move on, despite being married herself; she secures his promise through an emotional appeal.
• Song Yaoyao reacts with blunt moral condemnation of Gong and Zhang, especially after learning how Zhang’s choices have harmed Qu.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and misplaced blame: Qu suffers for a problem Zhang caused and concealed.
• The costs of obsession and loyalty: Zhang’s devotion to an old promise ruins his marriage, while Gong’s attachment interferes with both households.
• Women’s constrained choices: Qu is pressured into marriage and then judged by her ability to bear children.
• Silence and complicity: Zhang’s refusal to defend Qu allows his family’s cruelty to continue.

Character interactions

• Song questions Guagua, whose revelations expose the hidden history to the gathered crowd.
• Gong appeals to Zhang before his wedding and extracts his promise; Zhang accepts and later acts on it in secret.
• Zhang’s parents arrange his marriage to Qu, while his mother subsequently berates her for childlessness.
• Qu endures the family’s hostility without knowing that Zhang is responsible for her inability to conceive.

Key plot points and events

• At a banquet, Song Yaoyao’s inner thoughts expose the truth behind Qu Yunshang’s unhappy marriage: Zhang Yunji secretly loves Gong Xinyue and has maintained an affair with her.
• Zhang deliberately made himself infertile so he could keep his promise to Gong, while allowing his family to blame Qu for failing to conceive. Qu endured humiliation and harmful fertility treatments, which damaged her health.
• Overwhelmed by the revelations, Qu faints. Song uses acupuncture to revive her, drawing on her medical knowledge from a previous life.
• Zhang arrives and acts as though he cares, but his dismissive manner and Song’s further revelations deepen the guests’ contempt for him. Qu rejects his attempt to take her away.
• Gong is absent, but her mother-in-law learns of the affair and resolves to discuss divorcing her. The other guests sympathize with her and condemn Zhang.
• Song advises Qu to stop taking fertility medicine and reminds her that infertility may be caused by the man, not the woman. Qu thanks her and says she understands.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao moves from furious condemnation of Zhang to practical action, treating Qu and offering her advice. She also imagines legal routes Qu could use to seek justice.
• Qu Yunshang shifts from a long-suffering, publicly blamed wife to someone beginning to recognize the truth and resist Zhang. She pushes him away and accepts Song’s warning.
• Zhang Yunji is exposed as calculating and cowardly: he sacrificed his own fertility for Gong while letting Qu suffer the consequences. His attempt to perform concern only worsens others’ opinion of him.
• Gong Xinyue is implicated in the continuing affair; her mother-in-law turns against her after learning what happened.
• The banquet guests hear Song’s thoughts, investigate the claims, and respond with shock, sympathy for Qu, and contempt for Zhang.

Significant themes

• Gendered blame and injustice: Qu is punished and mocked for infertility caused by her husband.
• Betrayal and responsibility: Zhang’s devotion to Gong does not excuse his deception or the harm he inflicts on Qu.
• Truth and public accountability: Song’s revelations strip away the couple’s reputations and prompt others to consider consequences.
• Compassion through action: Song’s medical intervention and counsel offer Qu immediate help and a possible path toward reclaiming agency.

Key plot points and events

• Qu Yunshang and Zhang Yunji leave after Qu Yunshang resolves to divorce and distance herself from him and his partner.
• Song Yaoyao’s family-recognition banquet concludes its lengthy formalities, and the guests begin eating.
• At the central table, Ge Caiyi repeatedly looks at Song Yaoyao. Song asks her about it, joking that Ge must be captivated by her charm.
• Ge explains that she is curious why Song is named Yaoyao rather than Qingyao, like her siblings’ names.
• Song gives an elaborate explanation of the name’s poetic meanings, then privately reveals that it was the name she had in her previous life and that she chose to keep it in this one.
• Guagua recounts how baby Song cried whenever her family tried other names and giggled when they called her Yaoyao, prompting her father to settle on it. The story breaks the banquet’s emotional mood, and Song ends by cheerfully singing in her thoughts.

Character developments

• Song’s playful vanity and confidence show in her teasing exchange with Guagua, but her explanation reveals a more vulnerable side: she treasures her name because hearing it from her family makes her feel loved, safe, and at home.
• Madam Song and Song Qingling realize why Song was so attached to the name and feel renewed compassion for what she experienced in her previous life. They resolve to give her the affection she needs.
• Ge Caiyi is initially curious and shy, but readily accepts Song’s polished explanation.
• Guagua acts as Song’s teasing foil, puncturing her self-importance while also revealing the history behind her name.

Significant themes

• Belonging and family affection: Song’s name links her past as an orphan to the security she finds with her present family.
• Identity and continuity: She keeps the name that has been hers for decades, even though her father initially chose another.
• Humor alongside emotion: Song’s banter and Guagua’s comic narration interrupt a deeply moving revelation, keeping the scene warm and lighthearted.

Character interactions

• Song and Ge’s conversation turns a casual question into a disclosure about Song’s past and her need for reassurance.
• Song and Guagua trade affectionate, sarcastic remarks throughout, with Guagua exposing the childhood story Song does not tell aloud.
• Song’s mother and sister respond to the revelation with sympathy and a desire to strengthen their bond with her.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Yunji is impeached at court for his conduct with Gong Xinyue. He remains outwardly calm as the court learns what happened after the previous day’s revelations.
• Qu Yunshang discovers that Zhang Yunji took a sterilizing drug before their marriage for Gong Xinyue’s sake. A physician confirms the damage is permanent, devastating Zhang’s mother because Zhang is the family’s sole male heir.
• Qu returns to her parents’ home. Her father and brothers confront Zhang, who accepts responsibility and signs a divorce agreement.
• Zhang’s mother blames Gong Xinyue, has the Gong residence wrecked, and spreads the scandal. She then seeks folk remedies to restore Zhang’s fertility, including a revolting concoction involving cockroach droppings.
• Gong Xinyue is repudiated by her husband and cast out by her family after her actions come to light. Her child remains with the former husband’s family; the child is confirmed to be his.
• The emperor formally demotes Zhang Yunji to a subordinate fifth-rank General of Eternal Peace and orders him to stay home and reflect.

Character developments and interactions

• Qu Yunshang shifts from a controlled, meek wife to someone who insists on leaving; her family firmly supports her.
• Zhang Yunji faces the consequences of his choices but offers no defense at court.
• Zhang’s mother turns her anger on Gong Xinyue, while still trying to preserve the Zhang family line through dubious remedies.
• Gong Xinyue loses her marriage, family support, and standing. Her former in-laws are relieved to learn the child is biologically theirs.
• Song Yaoyao comments sharply on the scandal and imagines revenge for Qu; Guagua plays along, while the Fifth Prince is unnerved by her suggestion.
• The emperor condemns Zhang’s failure to consider Qu or his parents and imposes his punishment.

Significant themes

• Accountability for betrayal and abuse of trust.
• Women supporting one another—and the harm caused when women are made to bear the consequences of men’s choices.
• Family reputation, lineage, and the pressure to produce heirs.
• Public scandal and legal authority as forces that expose wrongdoing and impose consequences.

Plot points and events

• After Morning Court, Song Yaoyao learns that the emperor has demoted Zhang Yunji to a rank beneath Qu Hongwei. She and Guagua enjoy the irony of Zhang having to serve under Qu, though the emperor insists to himself that it was a coincidence.
• Duan Chenxin visits with his wife and daughter, Duan Sangyu. Guagua tells Song Yaoyao that Gao Muran’s crimes—including arranging the murder of Nan Xing—have been exposed and that he is in prison. The Duan family is seeking a suitable husband for Sangyu.
• The Duans give Song Yaoyao gifts and a thousand taels, apparently in gratitude for her help, though she doesn’t realize why. She shares a thousand taels with her parents and plans to divide the rest among her siblings.
• Song Yaoyao gives her eldest sister, Song Qingling, two hundred taels and explains that she wants her siblings to have money for their needs. Qingling accepts after being urged.
• That evening, Song Yaoyao’s eldest brother, Song Qingyu, returns with their second brother, Song Qinghui, who is unconscious and covered in blood. Madam Song faints, and the family sends for an Imperial Physician.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is increasingly generous and considerate toward her family, explaining that newfound wealth has freed her from her earlier need to fight her mother over money. Guagua teases her for quickly becoming proud of her riches.
• Madam Song is startled by Yaoyao’s unexpected filial generosity, while Assistant Minister Song encourages her to accept it as a sign that their daughter has grown up.
• Qingling recognizes that the Duan family’s gifts likely came because Yaoyao’s thoughts helped them, but Yaoyao herself remains unaware of the effect she has on others. Families are beginning to treat her as a reliable judge of potential spouses.

Significant themes

• Family affection and generosity: Yaoyao uses her new wealth to support her parents and siblings.
• Unintended influence: Her private thoughts have consequences for others, making her an unwitting “detector” of unsuitable people.
• A sudden shift in fortune: The lighthearted family visit and money-sharing give way to alarm when Qinghui returns gravely injured.

Key plot points

• Song Yaoyao examines her injured second brother, Song Qinghui, and finds that his hand and foot tendons have been severed and three ribs broken. The injuries appear intended to cripple him, not kill him.
• Director Li of the Imperial Medical Academy is summoned. He treats Qinghui’s external wounds but says he cannot repair the tendons, warning that Qinghui may never walk or use his hands normally again.
• Song Yaoyao privately reassures her father, Assistant Minister Song, that she can heal Qinghui. After Director Li finishes, she locks the room and takes Qinghui into her hidden surgical space.
• Yaoyao performs a nine-hour operation, reconnecting the tendons, resetting the ribs, and giving Qinghui penicillin to prevent infection.
• She reports that the surgery succeeded and expects Qinghui to recover normal use of his limbs within two to three months. Her father has already taken leave from Morning Court.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao moves decisively from examining Qinghui to taking charge of his treatment. She trusts her own modern medical skills, while still acknowledging Director Li’s competent care of the external wounds.
• Assistant Minister Song is devastated by the prospect of his son’s permanent disability. Yaoyao calms him, and he places his trust in her; afterward, he stays guard while she operates.
• Song Qingyu is shocked by the diagnosis and struggles to accept what has happened to his younger brother.
• Director Li honestly admits the limits of his abilities, but treats Qinghui’s wounds and ribs with skill before leaving Yaoyao to perform the specialized surgery.

Significant themes

• Family devotion: Yaoyao and her family rally around Qinghui in a crisis.
• Hope against apparent fate: A diagnosis that seems to condemn Qinghui to disability is overturned by Yaoyao’s intervention.
• The value of specialized knowledge: Yaoyao’s medical expertise allows her to achieve what conventional treatment in this setting cannot.
• Determination under pressure: Yaoyao acts quickly and bears the demanding operation alone, focused on her brother’s recovery.

Key plot points and events

• After performing surgery on Song Qinghui, Song Yaoyao explains his aftercare and returns to rest, exhausted. She resolves to improve her fitness—and wonders whether she can still learn martial arts.
• The next day, she checks Qinghui’s injuries and reassures him that he should recover fully in two to three months if he follows her instructions.
• Qinghui recounts that, after winning first place in his military camp’s martial arts tournament, he was ambushed by more than twenty masked men. They cut the tendons in his wrists and ankles, apparently intending to cripple him rather than kill him. He was later found near the city gates and brought home.
• With Song Yaoyao’s system companion Guagua identifying the culprit, the family learns that Lou Shuyu, who placed second in the tournament, hired the assassins out of jealousy.
• Guagua begins revealing Lou Shuyu’s family history: his mother, Bai Xiangxiang, was mistreated by her stepfamily and forced into marriage with his dissolute father, Lou Chengkun. She secured her late mother’s dowry before agreeing to the marriage.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao shows confidence in her medical skills and deep concern for Qinghui. Her exhaustion makes her recognize her poor physical condition and consider training.
• Song Qinghui is grateful and determined to cooperate with treatment, but is shocked when Lou Shuyu is named as his attacker.
• Lou Shuyu is revealed as resentful and cruel: losing the tournament was enough to prompt him to arrange an attempt to cripple his rival.
• Bai Xiangxiang is introduced as a victim of family cruelty who fought to retain her inheritance and some control over her fate.

Character interactions

• Guagua teases Song Yaoyao about her laziness, then encourages her to exercise and learn martial arts.
• Song Yaoyao reassures Qinghui and questions him about the attack; Qinghui and his family try to understand who would target him.
• Guagua privately provides Song Yaoyao with the answer and explains Lou Shuyu’s motive and background, while Qinghui overhears the revelation.

Significant themes

• Medical care and family support: Yaoyao’s skill and the family’s concern help Qinghui face recovery.
• Jealousy and retaliation: Lou Shuyu turns a sporting defeat into a vicious attack.
• Resilience amid injustice: Bai Xiangxiang’s past shows how vulnerable women could be within their own households, but also her determination to defend her rights.
• Self-improvement: Yaoyao’s decision to build her strength marks a willingness to change after confronting her limitations.

Plot points and events

• Guagua recounts Lou Shuyu’s childhood: his mother, Bai Xiangxiang, demanded perfection in both scholarship and martial arts, punishing every failure. When he placed second in an exam, she beat him so severely that he was bedridden for a week.
• Lou Shuyu excelled enough to avoid punishment after age ten. At thirteen, his father, Lou Chengkun, died in a brothel fight, leaving Lou Shuyu the Marquis of Anning. Because the title would be downgraded unless he earned merit, Bai Xiangxiang pushed him toward military service.
• In the army, Lou Shuyu was outperformed by Song Qinghui and lost to him in a martial contest. Bai Xiangxiang whipped him brutally for the defeat. Lou Shuyu blamed Song Qinghui and arranged for assassins from the Nether Abyss Pavilion to attack him. The prefect’s investigation found no evidence.
• Song Yaoyao learns who was responsible and vows to remember both Lou Shuyu and the assassin organization, planning to retaliate when she has the opportunity.
• At morning court the next day, officials question Assistant Minister Song about Song Qinghui’s injuries and rumors that he has been crippled. He declines to provide details. Yu Zezhong, an enemy of Song Yaoyao’s father, makes a pointed remark implying the family has brought misfortune on itself.

Character developments and interactions

• Lou Shuyu is revealed as capable and disciplined, but shaped by abuse and perfectionism. Rather than accept his loss, he turns his resentment toward Song Qinghui and resorts to violence.
• Bai Xiangxiang is portrayed as cruelly controlling: she treats punishment as a tool for producing achievement and shows no compassion when Lou Shuyu fails.
• Song Yaoyao is protective of her brother and condemns Lou Shuyu’s reasoning. Her anger extends to the Nether Abyss Pavilion, though she lacks evidence for an open accusation.
• Assistant Minister Song remains guarded about his son’s condition but silently shares the family’s resolve to remember the attack.
• Yu Zezhong’s hostile comment reveals a long-standing grudge against Assistant Minister Song, rooted in his wife’s past interest in him.

Significant themes

• The damaging effects of abusive parenting and relentless pressure to succeed.
• Resentment and violence as misguided responses to failure.
• The limits of justice when the perpetrators leave no evidence, and the temptation to seek revenge.
• Family loyalty, reflected in Song Yaoyao’s defense of her brother and her father’s quiet solidarity.

Key plot points and events

• Yu Zezhong insults Song Yaoyao’s second brother, prompting Yaoyao to curse him bluntly. Assistant Minister Song covers her mouth and pulls her away before she can continue.
• The other officials keep their distance from Yu, knowing Yaoyao is feared for exposing people’s secrets. They recall that a previous attempt to kill her failed disastrously for the conspirator.
• The emperor arrives and overhears Yaoyao’s private thoughts, taking an amused interest in the trouble she is stirring up.
• Guagua reveals that Yu’s thick-looking hair is a wig: Yu forced two household servants to cut their hair for it, exploiting their indenture contracts. A magically displayed illustration makes the officials realize what “Mediterranean hair” means, and they inspect Yu’s head.
• Yaoyao dubs Yu “Braised Egg,” dismisses the wig story as boring, and asks for more gossip. Guagua begins revealing information about Yu’s younger sister, Yu Tianrong, whose image appears above Yaoyao.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao is fiercely protective of her family and unafraid to confront Yu, though her father has to restrain her. She treats scandal as entertainment and eagerly seeks more.
• Yu Zezhong is shown to be impulsive: he speaks against Yaoyao’s brother despite knowing her reputation, then regrets it. His concealed baldness and mistreatment of servants further damage his standing.
• Assistant Minister Song tries to keep Yaoyao’s crude outburst from escalating, while still removing her from the confrontation.
• The emperor is entertained by Yaoyao’s private commentary and anticipates more court gossip.
• Guagua supplies Yaoyao with information and visual aids, turning Yu’s secrets into public spectacle.

Significant themes

• Reputation and power: Officials fear Yaoyao not because of rank alone, but because she can expose their hidden wrongdoing.
• Public humiliation and gossip: Yu’s insult leads to his appearance and household conduct becoming the court’s entertainment.
• Abuse of power: Yu’s coercion of the servants highlights how authority and indenture can be used to exploit vulnerable people.
• Family loyalty: Yaoyao’s immediate anger stems from Yu’s slander of her brother.

Character interactions

• Yaoyao and Yu clash directly; she insults him, and he calls her vulgar after failing to respond at first.
• Assistant Minister Song physically restrains and removes his daughter.
• The officials silently distance themselves from Yu, while privately enjoying his embarrassment.
• Yaoyao and Guagua trade jokes and gossip in her thoughts, unaware that the court can see the illustrations and react to them.
• The emperor listens in, amused, while the court tries to conceal its laughter.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua learn that Yu Tianrong, Yu Zezhong’s beautiful older sister, married the young general Shi Yongchao at sixteen. She discovers that Shi married her to exploit the Yu family, secretly gave her contraceptive brews, and kept a mistress with a young son.
• Fearing Shi’s family might silence her, Yu Tianrong returns to her family and tells them what she heard. The Yu family forces a divorce.
• Although her family urges her to abort the child, a doctor warns that the contraceptives have badly harmed her fertility. Yu Tianrong chooses to keep the baby, Yu Qingliu, and later raises her independently in a house from her dowry.
• Yu Tianrong refuses to remarry but later takes several lovers for pleasure, living by her own rules.
• Years later, Yu Qingliu becomes engaged to Tian Yicong, a talented young man whose hostile stepmother has repeatedly threatened him. Yu Qingliu admires him—until she discovers him leaving her mother’s room after they have slept together. Tian Yicong protects Yu Tianrong when Qingliu rushes in, leaving the court officials, Yu Zezhong, Song Yaoyao, and Guagua stunned.

Character developments and interactions

• Yu Tianrong is revealed as resourceful and self-protective: she escapes a dangerous marriage, keeps her child despite pressure, and later pursues relationships on her own terms.
• Yu Qingliu shifts from admiration and engagement to shock and betrayal when she finds Tian Yicong with her mother.
• Tian Yicong is introduced as a capable young man who survives his stepmother’s schemes with his grandmother’s protection; his involvement with Yu Tianrong—and his defense of her against Qingliu—creates the chapter’s startling conflict.
• Song Yaoyao condemns Shi’s exploitation of Yu Tianrong and admires her independence, but is incredulous at the mother-in-law/son-in-law affair. Guagua supplies the backstory and teases Song when she imagines living as freely as Yu Tianrong.
• The Yu family supports Yu Tianrong’s departure from Shi’s household, though they initially want her to abort the pregnancy so she can remarry.

Significant themes

• Exploitation and power: Shi uses marriage and contraception to benefit from Yu Tianrong’s family while concealing his true intentions.
• Female autonomy and resilience: Yu Tianrong takes control of her safety, motherhood, and romantic life.
• Family loyalty and social expectations: Yu Tianrong’s family protects her, yet also pressures her over remarriage and childbirth.
• Betrayal and scandal: Yu Qingliu’s engagement collapses into an extraordinary personal and family conflict, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Plot and key events

• A video shows the aftermath of Tian Yicong and Yu Tianrong spending the night together. Yu Qingliu walks in, sees her mother and fiancé in bed, and runs away in tears after accusing them of adultery.
• Yu Tianrong demands that Tian Yicong leave so she can dress. He protests that they have already been intimate and pleads that she not abandon him, but she throws a cushion at him and orders him out.
• Song Yaoyao and the onlookers are shocked by Tian Yicong’s behavior and the unexpected direction of the scandal.
• Guagua reveals that Tian Yicong’s feelings began twelve years earlier. As a young child, he was abandoned outside town by his stepmother and rescued by Yu Tianrong, who cared for him for a month. He left quietly to keep his stepmother from discovering Yu Tianrong’s role and retaliating.
• Yu Tianrong remained a source of comfort to him. He later watched her from afar, then became engaged to Yu Qingliu as a way to get close to her. Yu Tianrong had rejected younger suitors, so Tian Yicong thought he had no chance of pursuing her directly.
• He initially intended to remain near Yu Tianrong without demanding more, but when she got drunk and clung to him, he gave in after only a token resistance.

Character developments and interactions

• Tian Yicong is revealed as devoted to Yu Tianrong, but also as calculating and selfish: he used Yu Qingliu to gain access to her, despite Qingliu’s innocence. His pleading after the affair makes his attachment unmistakable.
• Yu Tianrong is startled and angry at the discovery, insisting on privacy and a later explanation. Her feelings about Tian Yicong remain unclear.
• Yu Qingliu feels betrayed by both her mother and fiancé and leaves in tears, unwilling to hear an explanation.
• Song Yaoyao questions Tian Yicong’s motives and condemns the harm done to Yu Qingliu, while eagerly seeking the backstory. Guagua supplies the history that reframes the apparent scandal.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts romantic devotion with ethical responsibility: Tian Yicong’s long-standing love does not excuse deceiving Yu Qingliu.
• It explores gratitude, childhood attachment, and the lasting effect of being rescued and cared for.
• The dramatic, almost comic mismatch between Tian Yicong’s lovesick pleading and Yu Tianrong’s anger underscores the uncertainty of their relationship and the pain their choices cause.

Key plot points and events

• Yu Tianrong, drunk, mistakes Tian Yicong for a lover. He encourages her drinking and is pleased when she clings to him.
• Guagua reveals that afterward Tian Yicong repeatedly pressures Yu Tianrong to take responsibility for their relationship, even threatening suicide. Yu Qingliu is furious: her fiancé has become her mother’s partner.
• Song Yaoyao considers telling Yu Zezhong about the scandal but decides to watch events unfold instead. She worries that Yu Qingliu will suffer socially despite being innocent.
• At court, officials pull off Yu Zezhong’s wig after Song Yaoyao’s teasing sparks their curiosity. They admire its craftsmanship and ask him for the maker’s details, revealing that several share his hair-loss concerns.
• Yu Zezhong leaves to address the family scandal. At home, Song Yaoyao checks on Song Qinghui, who is enjoying the popular Journey to the West storybook.
• The emperor announces that the King of Miaojiang will arrive in about half a month regarding Kang Peiyi’s case.
• After several days confined at home, Song Yaoyao persuades Madam Song to let her go out, accompanied by her eldest sister, Song Qingling.
• In the shopping district, Song Yaoyao learns that the Yu family has disowned Yu Tianrong. Yu Qingliu has also cut ties with her mother and ended her engagement to Tian Yicong. Yu Zezhong brings her into the Yu family and recognizes her as a young lady of the household.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains mischievous and outspoken, privately treating the scandal as entertainment, but also shows concern for Yu Qingliu’s unfair predicament. She recognizes Yu Zezhong’s decision as a way to protect her.
• Tian Yicong appears delighted by Yu Tianrong’s drunken attention, then uses emotional pressure and threats to demand commitment.
• Yu Qingliu responds decisively by severing ties with her mother and former fiancé. Her new place in the Yu family restores her status and prospects.
• Yu Zezhong is embarrassed when his wig is exposed, but later acts to support Yu Qingliu and contain the family damage.
• Song Qingling accompanies Song Yaoyao as a chaperone, while Song Qinghui is recovering and spending time with stories.

Significant themes

• Scandal and family reputation: The Yu family’s private turmoil becomes a threat to its standing.
• Innocence and social consequences: Yu Qingliu bears the risk of gossip despite not causing the betrayal.
• Agency and protection: Yu Qingliu’s choices and Yu Zezhong’s recognition give her a path forward.
• Comic exposure and shared vulnerability: The wig episode turns public embarrassment into unexpected camaraderie among the officials.