Chapter Summaries

Plot and events

• After Yu Qingliu breaks off her engagement to Tian Yicong, he grows bolder. Though he pressures Yu Tianrong into marrying him and uses force when she refuses, she eventually agrees. The Tian family had already cast him out after his grandmother died, leaving him without family restraints.
• Song Yaoyao notices a sinister-looking man watching her, but ignores him. The Fifth and Sixth Princes approach her and invite her party to Mist-Dawn Garden, a teahouse known for its pastries.
• There, Guagua identifies the watcher as Luo Qihong, secretly the master of the Nether Abyss Pavilion, an assassin organization. The princes and others are shocked to learn that the Capital’s notorious wastrel has been concealing his true identity.
• Song learns that Luo’s organization accepted Lou Shuyu’s commission to cripple her Second Brother by severing the tendons in his wrists and ankles. She asks Guagua to reveal Luo’s background.
• Guagua recounts how Luo’s mother, Shi Chunxiu, was poisoned to death by her husband’s second wife, Qi Shanshan. As a child, Luo hid his martial-arts training behind a wastrel’s façade, then later abducted Qi and tortured her to death in revenge.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains candid and sharp-minded. Her immediate dislike of Luo proves justified, and she sees his revenge as understandable despite its brutality.
• Luo Qihong is revealed as calculating and formidable: his apparent decadence conceals years of preparation and leadership of the Nether Abyss Pavilion. His actions are shaped by his mother’s murder and his father’s inability to protect her.
• The Fifth and Sixth Princes approach Song together, though they are mutually uncomfortable; they explain that they merely happened to meet. The Fifth Prince also thanks Song for her earlier help and hosts the outing.
• Tian Yicong and Yu Tianrong’s relationship is presented as coercive: her eventual agreement follows his persistent pressure and violence.

Significant themes

• Hidden identities and appearances: Luo’s wastrel persona masks an assassin master, while the princes’ thoughts and discomfort contrast with their polite explanations.
• Revenge and justice: Luo’s vengeance is extreme, and Song distinguishes between understanding his motive and recognizing the cruelty of his methods.
• Power and vulnerability: Shi Chunxiu’s influential rival is protected by her family’s power, while Luo’s childhood helplessness drives him to seek his own means of justice.
• Coercion and autonomy: Tian Yicong’s pursuit of Yu Tianrong shows how marriage and consent can be compromised by force.

Key plot points

• After Qi Shanshan’s death, her family demanded that Luo Fusheng surrender his son, Luo Qihong. Fusheng secretly sent Qihong away, and Qihong spent ten years training before founding the Nether Abyss Pavilion, an organization that deals in assassinations and intelligence.
• When Qihong returned to the Capital, his half-brother Luo Qiming informed the Qi Residence. Surrounded by their surveillance and facing a seven-day deadline, Qihong assured his father he had a plan.
• Qihong secretly sent more than a hundred assassins to wipe out the Qi household and burn down its residence. He denied responsibility convincingly, and Fusheng lacked the evidence—and the imagination—to suspect that his apparently carefree son had done it.
• Later, Qiming was attacked and left mentally incapacitated. Qihong arranged for servants to abuse him, while stopping short of harming Fusheng. He remained in the Capital, using his wastrel reputation as cover.
• Song Yaoyao learns that Qihong was also behind an attack on her second brother. She vows to take revenge and leaves Mist-Dawn Garden to prepare. The Fifth and Sixth Princes, meanwhile, become wary of Qihong and his powerful organization.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qihong is revealed as a calculating, ruthless man who hides his coldness behind a playful, idle persona. His desire for revenge extends from Qi Shanshan and the Qi family to Qiming, and he also blames his father for the family’s past. Yet Fusheng’s genuine care keeps Qihong from attacking him.
• Luo Fusheng regrets the past and tries to protect Qihong, but their ten years apart leave him unable to recognize what his son has become.
• Luo Qiming betrays Qihong’s return to the Qi Residence and is later left helpless after Qihong’s retaliation.
• Song Yaoyao responds to Qihong’s past with some understanding, but draws a firm line at his attack on her brother. Her resolve to settle the score unsettles the princes, who fear the Nether Abyss Pavilion.
• The dialogue between Song Yaoyao and Guagua frames Qihong’s history as both a tale of revenge and a warning about his concealed power.

Significant themes

• Revenge and its cost: Qihong’s childhood suffering fuels a sweeping, violent reprisal.
• Deception and appearances: His wastrel act conceals a disciplined, dangerous leader, while his father mistakes performance for innocence.
• Family loyalty and responsibility: Qihong resents Fusheng as the source of his suffering, yet spares him because his concern is sincere.
• Justice versus retaliation: Song Yaoyao’s planned revenge reflects her belief that wrongs must be answered, while Qihong’s methods show how vengeance can become cruelty.

Key plot points and events

• After overhearing that Luo Qihong controls the Nether Abyss Pavilion, the Fifth and Sixth Princes leave Mist-Dawn Garden, as do the other gossip-seekers, wary of the dangerous secret.
• Song Yaoyao asks Guagua for the location of the Nether Abyss Pavilion. She learns it lies beneath Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Luo Qihong’s brothel and intelligence hub, with an entrance in its rear courtyard.
• Determined to avenge her second brother, Yaoyao asks her eldest brother, Song Qingyu, to take her there. He hesitates, but agrees when he realizes she may go alone if he refuses. He has her disguise herself in men’s clothing.
• At Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Yaoyao is distracted by the dancers but insists she has not forgotten her purpose. The Sixth Prince, drinking there, recognizes her voice and spots her with Song Qingyu. He has them brought up to his private floor.
• On the way, Yaoyao notices a monk embracing two women and jokes about his irreverent lifestyle. Her comments—and her confidence discussing explicit entertainment from her past life—embarrass Song Qingyu and surprise the Sixth Prince.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao remains determined to pursue revenge, even if her brother refuses to help. Her bold curiosity and irreverent humor are also on full display.
• Song Qingyu initially wants to protect Yaoyao from the risks of the brothel, but agrees to accompany her so she will not go alone. He is protective and increasingly awkward about her lack of embarrassment.
• The Sixth Prince unexpectedly encounters Yaoyao and Qingyu at Xiaoxiang Pavilion and arranges to bring them to his room.
• Guagua continues to guide Yaoyao and chide her when she gets distracted.

Significant themes

• Revenge and risk: Yaoyao’s resolve to avenge her brother drives her into a dangerous place, despite her family’s concern.
• Protection versus independence: Qingyu must choose between preventing Yaoyao from going and accompanying her to keep her safer.
• Public respectability and private behavior: The brothel’s respectable role as an intelligence center contrasts with its debauchery, while the monk’s conduct adds comic irony.
• Humor through contrast: Yaoyao’s modern outlook and blunt internal commentary clash with the setting and the others’ sense of propriety.

Character interactions

• Yaoyao negotiates with Qingyu, whose protective instincts conflict with her determination.
• Guagua alternately provides practical information and tries to keep Yaoyao focused.
• The Sixth Prince recognizes Yaoyao by her voice, then has her and Qingyu invited upstairs.
• Yaoyao’s comments about the dancers, the monk, and her past-life viewing habits leave Qingyu embarrassed and the Sixth Prince astonished.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao’s comments about “action movies” leave the Sixth Prince amused and her elder brother, Song Qingyu, mortified and irritated.
• In a private room at the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, the madam introduces a group of women. Yaoyao chooses Suyi, playfully flirts with her, then turns the conversation toward skincare after Qingyu sharply stops her from kissing Suyi.
• After spending some time in the room, Yaoyao, Qingyu, the Sixth Prince, and the guard Lightning head toward the rear courtyard, pretending to use the privy.
• With Guagua’s moving 3D map, Yaoyao avoids the courtyard guards and finds a concealed passage. She gives the others antidote before they enter.
• Inside the tunnel, Yaoyao repeatedly incapacitates groups of guards with poison. One man manages to sound an alarm, and the four are soon surrounded by assassins.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains bold, mischievous, and resourceful. Her teasing of Suyi contrasts with her practical focus on reaching the hidden passage; she relies on Guagua’s map and her own poison to lead the group.
• Song Qingyu is protective and easily exasperated by Yaoyao’s flirtatious remarks, though he follows her plan into the tunnel.
• The Sixth Prince is entertained by the siblings’ banter and increasingly impressed by Yaoyao’s unusual tools. He quietly recognizes how valuable her map could be in warfare.
• Suyi responds warmly to Yaoyao’s compliments and shares her interest in skincare.
• The Sixth Prince and Qingyu largely watch Yaoyao’s antics in silence, while all three men ultimately cooperate with her escape from the guards.

Significant themes

• Comedy and contrast: Yaoyao’s playful, unconventional behavior clashes with Qingyu’s propriety and protective instincts.
• Ingenuity and hidden technology: Guagua’s real-time map gives the group a decisive advantage, and the Sixth Prince considers its wider military potential.
• Trust under pressure: The group follows Yaoyao into a secret passage and depends on her antidote, navigation, and poison as danger escalates.

Key plot points and events

• Facing roughly a thousand assassins, Song Yaoyao and her three companions use poison to kill hundreds and drive the rest back.
• The assassins’ hidden weapons are mysteriously deflected and sent back at them by the system’s barrier. When they try to lasso Song Yaoyao, she retaliates with a transforming weapon that becomes an RPG, then a submachine gun, wiping out the remaining attackers.
• Guagua warns that the explosion has thrown Xiaoxiang Pavilion into chaos and that help may arrive soon. Song Yaoyao urges the others to escape—but first persuades them to raid the pavilion’s storeroom.
• With Guagua’s map, the group reaches the guarded storeroom. Song Yaoyao uses poison and a silenced weapon to get inside; they take some valuables, then Song Yaoyao secretly returns and empties the rest into her storage space.
• She also raids Luo Qihong’s and Ning Sanniang’s rooms, taking their valuable furnishings and possessions.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao proves far more dangerous than the assassins expect, combining poison, the system’s protection, and powerful transforming weapons. She is furious at their attempt to capture her but quickly returns to her opportunistic, playful focus on wealth.
• Song Qingyu, the Sixth Prince, and their other companion are stunned by Song Yaoyao’s abilities. Although they hesitate and the Sixth Prince suggests taking only a few things, they follow her lead.
• Guagua actively supports Song Yaoyao with warnings and a detailed map, even approving her plan to exploit the chaos. The others are dismayed at how readily the system encourages her.
• Song Yaoyao’s companions are repeatedly left speechless by her priorities: even after a massacre, she is eager to loot.

Significant themes

• Power and survival: The four overcome overwhelming numbers through unconventional abilities and tactics.
• Hidden capabilities: The assassins misjudge Song Yaoyao, assuming she is the weakest, while her system-enabled weapons and barrier make her formidable.
• Greed and comic relief: Song Yaoyao’s relentless treasure-hunting contrasts sharply with the deadly violence around her, creating humor amid the action.
• Loyalty and reluctant cooperation: Despite their shock and reservations, Song Qingyu and the Sixth Prince stay with Song Yaoyao and follow her plans.

Key plot points and events

• After the violence at the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Song Qingyu drags Song Yaoyao home before they can join the crowd watching the aftermath. The Sixth Prince and his guard, Lightning, leave too, and the prince warns Lightning to keep quiet about Yaoyao’s extraordinary transforming weapon.
• That night, Qingyu visits Yaoyao to ask where the weapon came from and who knows about it. She avoids explaining its origin but says their father, the emperor’s people, and likely the emperor have seen it. Qingyu accepts this and warns her to use the dangerous weapon carefully.
• At morning court, the Capital Prefect reports that more than a thousand suspicious people died at the brothel. Guagua reveals that the dead were assassins belonging to the Nether Abyss Pavilion, a powerful criminal organization.
• Yaoyao’s thoughts expose Luo Qihong as the Pavilion’s secret master. His notorious wastrel image is a carefully maintained disguise; the Xiaoxiang Pavilion is also a front for an intelligence network.
• A vision shows Luo Qihong’s double life, shocking the court—and especially his father, Luo Fusheng, who cannot believe what he is seeing.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Qingyu shows concern for Yaoyao by taking her away from danger, questioning her about the weapon, and urging caution. Yaoyao responds playfully at first, then understands his concern.
• Song Yaoyao remains impulsive and curious, eager to watch the commotion, but is relieved that Qingyu took her away before authorities arrived. Her unfiltered thoughts inadvertently reveal both her visit to a brothel and the Pavilion’s secrets.
• The Sixth Prince is curious about Yaoyao’s weapon and recognizes the threat it poses, choosing to keep the incident secret.
• Luo Qihong is revealed as a skilled deceiver whose public reputation bears no resemblance to his hidden power and criminal activity. Luo Fusheng is left stunned by this revelation.

Significant themes

• Appearances can be deceptive: Luo Qihong’s “wastrel” persona conceals a ruthless, capable mastermind.
• Power and secrecy: Yaoyao’s weapon and Luo Qihong’s organization both show how hidden capabilities can alter the balance of power.
• Family concern: Qingyu’s strictness reflects his desire to protect Yaoyao, even as she takes risks.
• Unintended consequences: Yaoyao’s private thoughts become public revelations, exposing secrets and embarrassing her before the court.

Plot points and events

• Guagua reveals that the Nether Abyss Pavilion was behind several unsolved assassinations of officials investigating corruption. Though its Capital headquarters has been destroyed, its other branches remain active.
• Luo Qihong escaped the raid on the pavilion and is hiding at the Luo Residence. Song Yaoyao urges her father to tell the emperor so Qihong can be arrested before he reaches another branch.
• After court, Assistant Minister Song confronts Yaoyao about visiting Xiaoxiang Pavilion. She admits her eldest brother, Song Qingyu, took her there, and her father orders both siblings to kneel in the ancestral hall.
• The emperor sends palace experts after Qihong. After a difficult fight, they capture him, cripple him by severing the tendons in his wrists and ankles, and imprison him in the Celestial Prison.
• Yaoyao notices Luo Fusheng glaring at her but dismisses him, unaware that he resents her. She turns her attention to Lou Shuyu, the remaining mastermind, who is recovering from a beating by his mother.
• The War King attends court after learning that his wife is the eldest young lady of the Imperial Sword Manor; he has requested leave to pursue her.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains blunt, mischievous, and focused on protecting her family. Even while punished, she lounges on cushions and offers her brother pastries, prompting their father to regret—then reaffirm—the punishment.
• Song Qingyu shares Yaoyao’s punishment and kneels properly, contrasting with her irreverent behavior. Their teasing shows their close sibling bond.
• Assistant Minister Song initially feels guilty for punishing Yaoyao without hearing the full story, but her shameless conduct quickly changes his mind.
• Luo Qihong is finally captured and suffers the same kind of disabling injury inflicted on Yaoyao’s second brother.
• Luo Fusheng silently vows revenge after Yaoyao unknowingly provokes him.

Significant themes

• Retribution: Qihong suffers the injury once inflicted on Yaoyao’s brother, reinforcing the idea that wrongdoers eventually face consequences.
• Justice and accountability: The chapter stresses the danger posed by the Nether Abyss Pavilion and the need to stop both its leaders and its surviving branches.
• Family loyalty and affection: Yaoyao acts to protect her brother, while the siblings’ playful exchanges soften the severity of their punishment.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao and Guagua reveal that the War King went to the Imperial Sword Manor to ask Bai Yinyin to marry him, bringing his entire fortune.
• Bai Zhanpeng refuses to see him and keeps the visit from Bai Yinyin. The War King responds by camping outside the gates and kneeling for days until he faints.
• Bai Yinyin hears about his vigil and goes to him. The War King embraces her, professes his love, and pleads that he cannot live without her; moved, she decides she wants to marry him.
• Furious that the War King has won his daughter over through what he sees as manipulative theatrics, Bai Zhanpeng confronts him. During their fight, the War King deliberately takes a blow in front of Bai Yinyin and pretends to be badly hurt. She rushes to protect him and threatens to die if her father kills him.
• Bai Zhanpeng ultimately accepts that they love each other, but fears the Imperial Sword Manor could be endangered if its connection to the imperial court becomes known. He expels the couple and declares Bai Yinyin no longer part of the manor, while still giving her a substantial dowry.
• Bai Yinyin returns to the Capital with the War King. She is living in a residence included in her dowry and is due to marry him in a month.

Character developments and interactions

• The War King reveals a shameless, theatrical side, using persistence and appeals to Bai Yinyin’s sympathy to win her back. He even exploits Bai Zhanpeng’s attack to strengthen her resolve.
• Bai Yinyin’s love for the War King leads her to defy her father and accept estrangement from the manor, though she remains deeply hurt by the break.
• Bai Zhanpeng shifts from anger to reluctant acceptance, balancing concern for his daughter against his duty to protect the Imperial Sword Manor. His dowry shows that, despite disowning her publicly, he still cares for her.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua act as amused commentators, while the gathered officials react with disbelief at the War King’s uncharacteristic conduct.

Significant themes

• Love can inspire extreme persistence and personal sacrifice, but outsiders may not be able to judge a couple’s choices.
• Family loyalty conflicts with institutional duty: Bai Zhanpeng’s decision reflects the danger his daughter’s marriage could bring to the manor.
• Public appearances and emotional tactics shape events, as the War King’s “wounded victim” act helps sway both Bai Yinyin and her father.

Plot points and events

• The court learns that the Heavenly Mystic Kingdom plans to charge the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom five times more for white sugar, while keeping prices unchanged for its other two trading partners.
• Officials see this as retaliation for Heavenly Phoenix’s successful refined-salt trade and its capture and ransom of several important Heavenly Mystic figures.
• Song Yaoyao learns that all four kingdoms can make brown sugar, but only Heavenly Mystic can refine it into a yellowish, low-quality white sugar. The product is scarce and mainly bought by wealthy households.
• Song reveals that she knows how to make genuinely snowy-white sugar. She plans to prepare instructions after court so her father can deliver them to the emperor.
• Her proposed response is to stop importing Heavenly Mystic sugar and produce and sell Heavenly Phoenix’s superior sugar to the other kingdoms, taking away Heavenly Mystic’s trade advantage.
• The emperor postpones a decision, giving Song time to provide the instructions.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is indignant at Heavenly Mystic’s attempt to exploit Heavenly Phoenix and shifts quickly from anger to a practical economic counterattack. Her urgent concern that the emperor not accept the price increase shows her patriotism and confidence in her knowledge.
• Guagua explains the sugar trade and backs Song’s plan, reinforcing her resolve.
• The ministers initially debate whether to reduce purchases or pay more, but become hopeful once Song offers a way to produce sugar independently. They conceal their attention while listening to her inner thoughts.
• The emperor remains cautious and delays his decision rather than immediately accepting Heavenly Mystic’s terms.

Significant themes

• Economic independence and retaliation: Heavenly Phoenix can answer coercive pricing by developing its own supply and competing for export markets.
• Knowledge as power: Song’s modern expertise offers the kingdom a way to break another nation’s monopoly.
• Patriotism and collective confidence: The court’s trust in Song reflects the importance of her previous contributions and the kingdom’s desire to stand on equal footing.

Key plot points and events

• After delivering the white-sugar method requested by the Emperor, Song Yaoyao finally enjoys a day off—but wakes at her usual court-hour and cannot get back to sleep.
• She spots her eldest brother, Song Qingyu, preparing to attend a poetry gathering. When he refuses to take her, she blackmails him by threatening to tell Sister Ji that he recently went to a brothel. He gives in, and she hurries to get ready.
• They arrive at the Rain-Listening Pavilion, a teahouse known for its poetry gatherings. Song Yaoyao learns that visitors display poems under pen names, and that the gathering’s seventh competition is underway.
• The event has four rounds: painting, musical instruments, mathematics, and finally poetry. Song Yaoyao says she is only there to watch and has no wish to compete.
• Guagua spots Lou Shuyu nearby, and Song Yaoyao immediately becomes interested in finding him.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao remains curious, bold, and mischievous. She uses her knowledge of her brother’s embarrassing visit to a brothel to get her way, then eagerly explores the lively gathering. Though she claims not to be suited to poetry, her attention shifts as soon as she hears Lou Shuyu is there.
• Song Qingyu is protective of his sister and wary of the trouble she might cause, but ultimately gives in to her pressure and brings her along.
• Gao Jiayou is still mortified that Song Yaoyao’s earlier observation about his composing poetry in a privy became academy-wide teasing material.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao and Song Qingyu bicker over her joining the outing; his reluctance gives way to reluctant cooperation.
• Song Yaoyao chats with Guagua, who explains how the pavilion works and outlines the competition rounds.
• She recognizes her brother’s friends Xiao Minglang and Gao Jiayou. Gao silently suffers when she recalls his notorious privy-poem incident.
• Song Yaoyao’s curiosity about Lou Shuyu signals that his presence may draw her into the gathering’s events.

Significant themes

• Sibling affection mixed with rivalry: Song Qingyu’s protectiveness and Song Yaoyao’s teasing coexist beneath their argument.
• Curiosity and participation: The gathering opens up a world of scholarly contests, even as Song Yaoyao initially insists she is only an observer.
• Reputation and embarrassment: Gao Jiayou’s private moment has become public gossip, showing how quickly a social mistake can define someone.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao spots Lou Shuyu at the Rain-Listening Pavilion’s seventh Poetry Gathering. Convinced he is the chief culprit behind past harm, she decides to enter the competition to defeat him.
• The Fourth Prince, Chen Yucheng, opens the gathering and announces four rounds: painting, zither, mathematics, and poetry. The judges include prominent officials and academy heads.
• Nervous about competing against accomplished scholars, Yaoyao considers her strengths. She chooses sketching, a modern technique she learned in her previous life.
• For the painting round, Yaoyao asks for a charcoal pencil and draws her older brother, Song Qingyu. Her portrait is strikingly lifelike, astonishing the judges and nearby contestants.
• After Yaoyao finishes, Grand Tutor Xiao praises the work.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao is driven by her determination to confront Lou Shuyu, and gains confidence as she realizes she can contribute a distinctive skill to the contest. Her artistic ability surprises even her brother.
• Song Qingyu understands Yaoyao’s hostility toward Lou Shuyu and stays focused on protecting her. He is also amazed to discover how talented his sister is.
• Lou Shuyu, newly recovered from illness, attends to improve his prospects for a government career. He feels uneasy about the destruction of the Nether Abyss Pavilion but does not know who was responsible.
• Guagua encourages Yaoyao and supports her confidence, though it lets her draw without interruption.

Significant themes

• Revenge and justice: Yaoyao enters the competition with Lou Shuyu as her target.
• Hidden talents and self-belief: Yaoyao’s sketching ability proves useful in a setting where conventional accomplishments dominate.
• Family loyalty: Qingyu’s priority is protecting his sister, while Yaoyao’s portrait reflects their close bond.
• Ambition and status: Lou Shuyu and other participants see the gathering as a route to recognition and advancement.

Character interactions

• Yaoyao confides her intentions to Guagua, who urges her not to back down.
• Qingyu silently watches Lou Shuyu and remains alert to Yaoyao’s safety.
• Yaoyao draws Qingyu, astonishing him with the accuracy of the portrait.
• The judges gather around Yaoyao’s work, and Lord Xiao openly praises it.

Key events and plot

• Song Yaoyao wins first place in the painting contest with a strikingly lifelike portrait of Song Qingyu. Song Qingyu places second, while Lou Shuyu comes fifth.
• After the rankings, Song Yaoyao taunts Lou Shuyu with a gesture and calls him “trash.” Lou suspects the Song family knows what he did to Song Qinghui, but assumes they have no proof and cannot act against him.
• The second contest, zither playing, begins. Song Yaoyao chooses an unfamiliar modern song, “Blue and White Porcelain,” rather than a standard classical piece.
• Her performance captivates the audience and earns thunderous applause. Gao Jiayou and Xiao Minglang ask for the score, and she readily agrees to share it.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao proves that her apparent laziness masks considerable skill and intense focus when she chooses to apply herself.
• Song Qingyu is surprised and proud of his sister’s hidden talents, having underestimated her before.
• Lou Shuyu’s confidence rests on the belief that the Song family is too upright to act without evidence; he does not realize how far Song Yaoyao may go to pursue someone she believes guilty.
• Gao Jiayou and Xiao Minglang become openly admiring of Song Yaoyao.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao deliberately provokes Lou Shuyu, while he responds with fury and suspicion.
• Her zither performance impresses the judges and audience, and sparks praise from Song Qingyu and requests for the score from Gao Jiayou and Xiao Minglang.
• Song Qingyu jealously tries to keep his friends away from his sister. They jokingly insist that she is “their sister” too, prompting him to call them shameless.

Significant themes

• Hidden ability and recognition: Song Yaoyao repeatedly surprises others by revealing talents they did not know she possessed.
• Innovation and tradition: Her fresh musical choice stands out among familiar classical pieces.
• Rivalry and revenge: Her taunting of Lou Shuyu keeps their conflict simmering.
• Generosity and admiration: Song Yaoyao’s willingness to share her score contrasts with the competitive atmosphere of the contests.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao wins the zither round, while Lou Shuyu places fourth. She taunts him again, deliberately provoking him because she expects him to retaliate and wants an opportunity to strike back.
• In the mathematics round, the forty remaining contestants receive a twenty-question test. Song Yaoyao quickly solves every problem using methods unfamiliar to the people around her and hands in her paper early.
• The judges discover that all her answers are correct. At the end of the round, Song Yaoyao takes first place; Song Qingyu places second, and Lou Shuyu third.
• Academy Head Zhang asks Song Yaoyao to explain her technique. When she says it would take time to explain, he and the other teachers arrange to visit her daily for lessons. Xiao Minglang and Gao Jiayou ask to join, promising she will be rewarded. Song Yaoyao reluctantly agrees.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains confident and mischievous, using public humiliation rather than physical force to unsettle Lou Shuyu. Her unexpected mathematical brilliance earns her the respect and attention of the judges—but also creates an unwanted teaching obligation.
• Lou Shuyu continues to glare at Song Yaoyao and clench his fists as her taunts and victories undermine him. He still places well in mathematics, but finishes behind both Song Yaoyao and Song Qingyu.
• Song Qingyu performs strongly in the math round, coming second, and intervenes to remind Xiao Minglang and Gao Jiayou that Song Yaoyao should be compensated for teaching.
• Academy Head Zhang and the other teachers move from disbelief to admiration after checking Song Yaoyao’s flawless paper. Their eagerness to learn leaves little room for her to refuse.
• Xiao Minglang and Gao Jiayou enthusiastically join the teachers’ request for lessons and promise a reward.

Significant themes

• Mental victory over physical violence: Song Yaoyao believes psychological pressure can hurt more than bodily injury and uses her taunts to provoke Lou Shuyu.
• Talent and recognition: Her unfamiliar mathematical methods reveal knowledge beyond what the judges expect and transform her from contestant into sought-after teacher.
• Unintended consequences: Song Yaoyao’s success brings admiration, but also a new responsibility she never planned to take on.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao advances to the poetry round after again taking first place, this time by answering all twenty difficult mathematics problems correctly. Lou Shuyu is stunned and resentful that she keeps outperforming him.
• Only fifteen contestants remain. The poetry round has two parts: a prepared-topic poem and a second poem written to an unexpected prompt.
• Asked to write about chrysanthemums, Song Yaoyao adapts Huang Chao’s famous poem, replacing Chang’an with the Capital. The judges praise it, and she places first again.
• For the surprise prompt, contestants must write a quatrain containing the numbers one through ten. Song Yaoyao chooses Zheng Banqiao’s “Ode to Snow,” reasoning that a poem about familiar snowfall is less likely to expose that she is borrowing a work from her previous life.
• Her second poem is also acclaimed, giving her another first place. Though she feels guilty about passing off familiar poems as her own, she accepts the praise because she wants to defeat Lou Shuyu.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao’s determination to beat Lou Shuyu overcomes her panic about poetry. Guagua encourages and teases her, reminding her that she can draw on the classical poetry she learned in her previous life.
• Song Qingyu is impressed by Yaoyao’s performance and assumes her usual behavior is an act of deliberately hiding her abilities. Yaoyao internally denies this but cannot bring herself to correct him.
• Lou Shuyu remains the target of Yaoyao’s competitive resolve, while the judges and other contestants are astonished by her unexpected poetic talent.

Significant themes

• Ambition and rivalry: Yaoyao’s desire to outdo Lou Shuyu pushes her through a challenge she initially fears.
• Talent, performance, and appearances: Her success leads others to reinterpret her personality as a calculated disguise.
• Ethics versus victory: Yaoyao recognizes that presenting borrowed poems as her own is dishonest, but chooses to do so to win.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao wins all four rounds and is crowned champion of the Rain-Listening Pavilion Poetry Gathering. Song Qingyu places second, while Lou Shuyu finishes third.
• Lou Shuyu is furious at losing to the Song siblings and privately fixates on the family as enemies. Guagua warns that he is close to making a move.
• Song Yaoyao receives valuable prizes, including a fine writing set and the master-crafted guzheng Green Lean. She refuses autograph requests, warning Song Qingyu not to sign either, since forged signatures could cause political trouble.
• Outside the pavilion, Song Yaoyao spots Wang Xixi and asks Guagua for an update. The others overhear her interest in the gossip and stay to listen.
• Guagua reveals that Wang Xixi has married Liu Changsheng. She repeatedly torments Wang Fugui and exploits her new status as Liu Qingqing’s stepmother to bully Liu Qingqing. When Wang Fugui protects his daughter, Wang Xixi uses claims of illness and public accusations of filial impiety to force Liu Qingqing to return to her.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is triumphant, delighted by her prizes, and alert to the risks of public attention. Her curiosity about Wang Xixi’s household drama also shows her playful, gossip-loving side.
• Lou Shuyu becomes increasingly resentful and hostile after losing, regarding the Song siblings as obstacles to be eliminated.
• Song Qingyu supports Yaoyao’s caution about signatures and is bemused by her sudden interest in gossip. Xiao Minglang and Gao Jiayou join him in listening, stunned by the outrageous family dynamics.
• Wang Xixi is portrayed as vindictive and increasingly calculating: she uses marriage, social status, and public shame to target Liu Qingqing.
• Liu Changsheng backs Wang Xixi, even insulting and striking Wang Fugui while claiming to defend his wife. Wang Fugui, meanwhile, tries to protect Liu Qingqing but is repeatedly outmaneuvered.

Significant themes

• Rivalry and resentment: Lou Shuyu’s response to defeat turns competition into personal hostility.
• Reputation and political risk: Song Yaoyao recognizes that even a seemingly harmless autograph could be misused.
• Manipulation of family roles: Wang Xixi weaponizes the titles of wife, mother-in-law, and stepmother to justify abuse and control.
• Gossip and spectacle: The household’s chaotic feuds become entertainment for Song Yaoyao and the men listening in.

Key plot points and events

• At the Liu Residence, Wang Xixi has control over Liu Qingqing and can torment her. Song Yaoyao and Guagua observe that Liu Qingqing avoids acting like an overbearing stepmother because her carefully cultivated “delicate” image keeps Wang Fugui devoted to her.
• Back home, Song Yaoyao tries to slip away, but her family confronts her after learning she won first place at the Rain-Listening Pavilion Poetry Gathering. Assistant Minister Song is annoyed that she hid her talent and embarrassed him by letting him mistakenly credit her eldest sister.
• Song Yaoyao placates him by handing over her prizes, then escapes before he can question her further. Song Qingyu explains how she came to enter the contest and reports that several academy heads and students will visit the next day to seek her guidance.
• Song Yaoyao agrees to prepare a teaching plan, but after writing late into the evening, she is interrupted by fighting outside. Guagua reveals that Lou Shuyu has hired assassins from the Blood Shadow Pavilion and has come after her himself.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao continues to hide her abilities and deflect uncomfortable attention with humor, gifts, and escape. Despite her apparent nonchalance, she prepares seriously for the scholars’ visit—and reacts to Lou Shuyu’s arrival with excitement rather than fear.
• Assistant Minister Song is proud of his daughter but frustrated by her secrecy and worried about the attention she will face. His stern scolding quickly gives way to fussing over her valuable prizes.
• Song Qingyu supports Yaoyao, recounts her unexpected triumph, and helps the family prepare for the scholars’ visit.
• Wang Xixi and Liu Qingqing illustrate a tense stepmother–stepdaughter dynamic: Xixi can act freely, while Qingqing’s dependence on Wang Fugui forces her to preserve her victim-like image.
• Lou Shuyu escalates his hostility by hiring a new assassin group and appearing in person.

Significant themes

• Hidden talent and recognition: Yaoyao’s deliberate low profile can no longer keep her accomplishments secret.
• Family pride and frustration: Her family celebrates her success while resenting that she kept them uninformed.
• Image as power: Liu Qingqing’s perceived fragility protects her relationship with Wang Fugui, but also limits how she can respond to Wang Xixi.
• Humor amid danger: Yaoyao treats both family scolding and an apparent assassination threat with striking levity.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao recognizes Lou Shuyu among the Blood Shadow Pavilion assassins and shoots both his knees, then uses a transformed submachine gun to defeat the rest. Lou is the only enemy left alive.
• She reveals his identity and taunts him about his abusive mother and his resentment toward people more successful than him. When he keeps shouting, she cuts out his tongue, then severs the tendons in his wrists and ankles.
• Song has the Shadow Guards leave Lou at the Marquis of Anning’s residence. She spares his life, partly to leave him with a fate worse than death and partly to prevent him from revealing her unusual weapons. The guards also find and divide more than ten thousand taels among themselves.
• Lou’s mother, Bai Xiangxiang, panics at the severity of his injuries, summons a doctor, and reports the attack to the authorities, demanding retribution.
• At court the next morning, the Capital Prefect reports the case. Through Guagua, the ministers learn that Lou had hired assassins to attack Song Yaoyao and her second brother—and had targeted other people who outperformed him.

Character developments

• Song Yaoyao acts decisively and ruthlessly, turning the ambush against Lou and ensuring he cannot speak about her weapons. Her revenge is personal, but she frames Lou’s injuries as punishment for his past crimes.
• Lou Shuyu is exposed as a habitual, jealous attacker who tries to eliminate anyone he considers superior. His capture and injuries bring his cruelty back on him.
• Bai Xiangxiang shifts from privately beating Lou to publicly demanding justice once he is badly injured, despite not knowing the full circumstances.

Character interactions

• Guagua alerts Song to Lou’s presence and later reveals his history to the court.
• Song confronts Lou, provoking him by suggesting he is used by his mother and household. He becomes enraged, but she silences him and orders his removal.
• The Shadow Guards follow Song’s orders, clean up the scene, take Lou to his residence, and share the recovered money.
• The ministers listen closely as the court’s discussion reveals Lou’s hidden crimes.

Significant themes

• Retribution: Lou suffers the kind of harm he arranged for others.
• Jealousy and cruelty: His envy drives a pattern of attacks against talented rivals.
• Power and accountability: Bai Xiangxiang’s demand for vengeance contrasts with the crimes Lou committed.
• Silencing and secrecy: Song’s mutilation of Lou serves both as punishment and as a way to protect her secrets.

Key plot points and events

• Guagua reveals that Marquis of Anning Lou Shuyu began sabotaging rivals at age nine. After placing second to Peng Xinlei, he was brutally beaten by his mother, Bai Xiangxiang, and blamed Peng for costing him first place. He later had an attendant ambush Peng and sever the tendons in his wrists and ankles, ending Peng’s academic career.
• Minister Peng had investigated the attack for years, wrongly focusing on political enemies. The court learns that Lou was responsible.
• Lou repeatedly maimed anyone who surpassed him in scholarship or martial arts. Guagua names more than a dozen victims, including sons of senior officials. As Lou grew older and his victims gained protection, he hired killers—often from the Nether Abyss Pavilion—to carry out the same attacks.
• The officials whose sons were harmed react with shock and restrained fury. Song Yaoyao resolves to find a way to expose Lou’s crimes publicly and hopes he and his mother will lose their honors and noble title.
• After court, the emperor summons several officials, including Assistant Minister Song, to the Imperial Study. Song Yaoyao heads home and speculates that their private discussion may concern a military secret.

Character developments and interactions

• Lou Shuyu is revealed as a long-term, calculating abuser whose jealousy and desire for praise began in childhood. His mother’s brutal treatment helps explain his original motive, but he continues harming rivals for the pleasure of watching them suffer.
• Minister Peng discovers the truth behind his son’s maiming after years of fruitless investigation; the revelation leaves him enraged.
• Song Yaoyao recognizes Lou’s cruelty, condemns him, and shifts from anger to planning how to reveal the full extent of his crimes.
• Guagua supplies the history and pledges to support Song Yaoyao.
• Assistant Minister Song sends his daughter home while he attends the emperor’s private meeting.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and ruthless ambition: Lou treats rivals’ success as something to eliminate rather than accept.
• Abuse and responsibility: His mother’s violence shapes his early motives, but does not excuse his repeated, deliberate cruelty.
• Hidden injustice: Powerful families spent years searching for political conspirators because no one imagined a child could be responsible.
• Public accountability: Song Yaoyao wants the truth exposed so Lou and his mother can face consequences.

Key plot points and events

• Academy Head Zhang and his associates arrive at the Song residence expecting a small gathering, but bring more than thirty people, including ministers, academy heads’ sons, and favored pupils. Assistant Minister Song arranges additional seating, and Song Yaoyao reluctantly begins teaching.
• Over the afternoon, she introduces Arabic numerals, arithmetic, word problems, and eventually linear equations. The large class leaves her exhausted and with a painfully strained throat.
• The next morning, the emperor announces Lou Shuyu’s crimes and orders his execution by a thousand cuts. The Marquis of Anning’s title is revoked, and the Lou family’s wider kin are barred from the imperial examinations for thirty years. Song Yaoyao is surprised the authorities uncovered everything so quickly; Guagua explains that Bai Xiangxiang’s report prompted an official investigation.
• Another fifteen students arrive for the next lesson, bringing the class to fifty-five. Assistant Minister Song prevents further growth by telling people the residence cannot hold more students and that the academy heads will pass on what they learn.
• Song Yaoyao continues teaching, now covering quadratic equations. She also introduces punctuation and modern pinyin, hoping these foundations will make learning easier and that the academy heads will share them with their schools.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao discovers that she enjoys teaching, despite joking that it would be better if she could teach lying down. Her sense of duty wins out over her irritation at the growing crowd, though the work takes a physical toll.
• Assistant Minister Song supports her by organizing the classroom and, later, limiting attendance through a tactful explanation that the lessons will spread through the academies.
• Academy Head Zhang and the other educators are initially embarrassed by the unexpectedly large turnout. They become increasingly astonished by Song Yaoyao’s teaching, especially her introduction of punctuation and pinyin.
• Guagua teases Song Yaoyao about teaching a “flock” of students, then explains how Lou Shuyu’s crimes were exposed and why the class stopped growing.
• The Song family helps accommodate the students and care for Song Yaoyao, including providing medicine for her sore throat.

Significant themes

• Education and knowledge-sharing: Song Yaoyao brings new mathematical and linguistic tools to the group, with the academy heads positioned to spread them further.
• Duty and unintended influence: A lesson that begins as an obligation becomes an opportunity to shape learning well beyond the Song residence.
• Justice and accountability: Lou Shuyu faces severe punishment after an official investigation, while his family suffers political and educational consequences.
• Community and networks: The students’ many connections explain the sudden crowd—and also make the potential reach of Song Yaoyao’s teachings much larger.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao finishes teaching the Academy Heads most of the mathematics known in their time, ending their temporary classroom.
• With the War King’s wedding approaching, Song receives a separate invitation. The others understand it as his thanks for her role in bringing him and his future consort together.
• Song uses choosing a wedding gift as an excuse to go shopping. Accompanied by her future sister-in-law Ji Minyue and Ji Linlang, she is joined by a growing crowd of acquaintances—many have deliberately arranged to meet her, hoping to hear fresh gossip.
• At a teahouse, Guagua draws Song’s attention to a young tofu seller, Guan Qiaoqiao, and begins revealing her story.

Character developments and interactions

• Song remains curious, sociable, and eager for gossip; her unusual inner conversations with Guagua continue to attract the attention of those around her.
• Guan Qiaoqiao is introduced as a beautiful, capable, and devoted young woman. After her mother died, she and her father relied on their tofu business. When he was permanently injured, thirteen-year-old Qiaoqiao took over the work and became the family’s provider.
• Though many suitors have approached her—some hoping to gain the family’s tofu-making craft—Qiaoqiao refuses marriage because she does not want to leave her disabled father alone. Her father wants her to find a good husband, while she is content to remain unmarried. The chapter ends before revealing whether she will meet a suitable partner.

Significant themes

• Family devotion and responsibility: Qiaoqiao’s choices are shaped by her care for her father.
• Women’s capability and independence: She supports her household from a young age and manages both work and domestic responsibilities.
• Marriage and self-determination: Her father hopes she will marry, but Qiaoqiao resists pressure and prioritizes her own values.
• Community and gossip: The crowd’s eagerness to hear Song’s “gossip” provides a light, humorous frame for introducing Qiaoqiao’s story.