Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Xu Lingzhi’s husband, Zhu Jiangqu, blames her for refusing to cure his cousin’s untreatable heart ailment. Their children turn against her, and her mother-in-law strips her of household authority.
• Her maid Lianxin secretly helps Xu escape the estate at night. Xu is injured in a collision and wakes at the Prince of Beiping’s residence.
• When Xu leaves the residence, Zhu confronts her publicly and accuses her of staying away all night, while bystanders largely blame her.
• From a carriage nearby, Wenren Luoshui uses her system to uncover the truth: Zhu planned to send Xu to Prince Chen for his amusement. Lianxin overheard, helped Xu flee, and was then beaten to death by Zhu.
• Xu learns what happened, breaks free of Zhu’s grip by dislocating his hand, demands to know Lianxin’s whereabouts, and slaps him when he dismisses Lianxin as “just a servant.” The crowd begins to reconsider its judgment.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Lingzhi shifts from confusion and grief to righteous fury. Her medical knowledge and physical skill help her resist Zhu, and her deep bond with Lianxin becomes central to her response.
• Zhu Jiangqu is exposed as manipulative and cruel: his public display of wounded concern conceals his plan to exploit his wife and his murder of her loyal maid.
• Lianxin is revealed as Xu’s devoted friend and protector, risking—and ultimately losing—her life to save her.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian observe the confrontation; Luoshui’s system reveals the hidden events, while Yunjian worries she may intervene violently.
• Xu’s clash with Zhu changes the crowd’s attitude, shifting public sympathy as the truth emerges.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and abuse of power: Zhu abuses his position as husband and treats both Xu and Lianxin as disposable.
• Loyalty and sisterhood: Lianxin’s devotion contrasts sharply with the betrayal within Xu’s marriage and family.
• Public judgment and gendered double standards: Onlookers initially blame Xu based on appearances, illustrating how women are judged more harshly than men.
• Truth and justice: The revelation of Zhu’s actions challenges the crowd’s assumptions and gives Xu grounds to confront him.

Plot points and events

• Wenren Luoshui and the others learn more about how Zhu Jiangqu and his mother have exploited Xu Lingzhi. Zhu once surrendered his wife to another man for personal advancement, and now he is trying to make her treat his cousin for a deliberately faked heart condition—an illness no ordinary physician could cure.
• The crowd initially sees Zhu as a despicable husband; revelations that he secretly spent the night with his cousin and that her family was disgraced for embezzling disaster-relief funds deepen their contempt.
• Xu Lingzhi, who had loved Zhu for ten years, begins to see him clearly. Remembering that her friend Lianxin died because of him, she resists his attempt to take her away.
• The group discovers that Zhu’s mother has been raising Xu’s son and daughter to hate their birth mother, while presenting Zhu’s cousin as their “real” mother. The cousin’s feigned illness and the children’s hostility are part of the family’s campaign against Xu.
• Xu realizes the Zhu household has depended on the money she earned as a physician. Zhu’s mother took the children not to help her, but to undermine her relationship with them while ensuring Xu kept working.
• Zhu tries to placate Xu with a mild, patronizing claim that she is still his wife. The crowd, now aware of his conduct, finds his supposed concession revolting.

Character developments

• Xu Lingzhi shifts from heartbreak and lingering attachment toward anger, defiance, and a clearer understanding of how thoroughly she has been used. She also has the skills to support herself if she leaves.
• Zhu Jiangqu remains self-righteous and manipulative. He blames Xu for being angry, treats her as though she owes him gratitude, and attempts to control the situation through false humility.
• Zhu’s mother and cousin are revealed as active participants in the scheme to displace Xu and turn her children against her.
• The onlookers move from disapproval to open disgust as the extent of the family’s cruelty becomes clear.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and exploitation: Zhu profits from Xu’s work and sacrifices her dignity for his ambitions.
• Manipulation within families: The children are deliberately turned against their mother, and a fabricated illness is used to make Xu look inadequate.
• Self-worth and awakening: Xu begins to recognize that love and loyalty have been used to keep her trapped.
• Public exposure and judgment: The hidden truth changes how the crowd sees Zhu, stripping his words of their former power.

Character interactions

• Zhu confronts Xu, accusing her of being coarse and implying she should be grateful that he has not blamed her.
• Xu refuses to respond as the submissive, forgiving wife he expects and resists being taken away.
• The crowd silently compares Zhu’s claims with the revelations they hear, increasingly siding with Xu and recoiling from his behavior.

Key plot points and events

• Zhu Jiangqu tries to pressure Xu Lingzhi into returning home by invoking his mother and pretending to forgive her. He assumes she will submit as she has before.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian reveal that they brought Xu to the Prince of Beiping’s Residence, and that its senior residents are away. They kick Zhu Jiangqu and expose his helplessness before the nobles; he immediately begs and kowtows for mercy.
• Yunjian reminds Xu that Zhu ordered the death of Lianxin, the maid who had been like a sister to her, and warns that a man capable of killing her maid could threaten Xu herself.
• Xu kneels before Luoshui and asks for justice, declaring that she wants to dissolve her marriage.
• Zhu Jiangqu is enraged by the request and accuses Xu of disrespecting him, even as Luoshui and Yunjian watch and challenge his hypocrisy.
• Xu reflects on her marriage: Zhu once promised to let her practice medicine, but his warmth depended on the money she brought home, and even her children had become distant from her.

Character developments

• Xu Lingzhi sheds her lingering attachment to Zhu and chooses justice and separation, despite the social and personal consequences. She begins to recognize how little her family valued her.
• Zhu Jiangqu is exposed as controlling, self-serving, and cowardly: he tries to manipulate Xu, then grovels before powerful nobles, and finally turns his rage on his wife.
• Yunjian and Wenren Luoshui act as Xu’s protectors and outspoken allies, using their status to stop Zhu’s intimidation and support her decision.

Significant themes

• Abuse and control: Zhu uses filial duty, social expectations, and his authority as a husband to keep Xu compliant.
• Women’s independence: Xu’s medical work and request to end her marriage challenge expectations that wives should endure mistreatment.
• Awakening and self-worth: Xu’s grief over Lianxin helps her see that preserving the marriage would betray both her friend and herself.
• Power and hypocrisy: Zhu bullies those with less power but crumples before nobility, revealing that his bravado depends on whom he can intimidate.

Character interactions

• Zhu attempts to command Xu; she responds by appealing to Luoshui for justice instead.
• Yunjian confronts Zhu and reminds Xu of Lianxin’s fate, while Luoshui backs her with sharp criticism.
• Zhu cannot challenge the two noblewomen directly, so he begs them for mercy and vents his anger at Xu instead.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Lingzhi asks Wenren Luoshui to help her divorce Zhu Jiangqu. Luoshui defends her right to do so under a law established by the Founding Emperor, silencing the bystanders who had been shaming her.
• To reinforce the warning, Luoshui uses supernatural lightning to smash plaques outside several onlookers’ homes. Terrified, Zhu Jiangqu agrees to divorce rather than risk being struck.
• Yunjian ensures Zhu understands that it is a divorce—not an abandonment—and makes him swear he will not later claim otherwise.
• Luoshui’s servants retrieve Xu’s dowry, which she is entitled to keep. Zhu’s mother curses Xu, but Luoshui summons the ghosts of the children the older woman murdered, frightening her away.
• Zhu’s children insult Xu and demand she leave without her belongings. Xu severs ties with them, saying they must never seek her again.
• Xu leaves the Zhu household and accepts Luoshui and Yunjian’s invitation to work at their Begonia Garden, where she plans to open a medical clinic.

Character developments

• Xu Lingzhi moves from grief and regret toward independence and hope. Though she mourns the end of her ten-year love, she refuses to forgive Zhu or keep sacrificing herself, and chooses to continue practicing medicine.
• Wenren Luoshui uses her authority and supernatural power to protect Xu and enforce the law against public intimidation.
• Yunjian helps ensure Zhu cannot later twist the story of the divorce.
• Zhu Jiangqu gives in out of fear, while his children reveal their hostility and lack of gratitude toward Xu.

Significant themes

• Women’s legal rights can be undermined by social stigma and meddling, but laws can provide a path to freedom.
• Leaving an abusive or exploitative relationship requires rejecting both public judgment and misplaced hope.
• Justice and accountability—sometimes supernatural—can protect the vulnerable and punish cruelty.
• Family ties do not excuse mistreatment; Xu chooses self-respect over trying to reform her children.

Character interactions

• Luoshui confronts the gossips and supports Xu’s right to divorce.
• Yunjian questions Zhu and secures his oath against later misrepresenting the separation.
• Xu remains composed while Zhu’s mother and children attack her, then firmly cuts ties with the children.
• Luoshui and Yunjian welcome Xu into Begonia Garden, offering a practical beginning to her new life.

Key plot points

• During morning court, the two chancellors argue while Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian tease the Salty Fish System.
• The system reveals it is heartbroken after an unsuccessful confession. The pair offer their usual irreverent “comfort,” urging it to forget romance and resume finding gossip.
• Once recovered enough to search its database, the system shares a secret about Prince Chen: he admires himself naked in a mirror while bathing and commissions paintings of his favorite poses. His private chamber reportedly holds many nude portraits of himself.
• The revelation delights the emperor, who fantasizes about having the paintings stolen, and leaves the court stunned. Wenren and Yunjian joke about how future archaeologists might interpret the portraits.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian remain sharp-tongued, playful friends. Though initially useless at comforting the system, they cheer it up by redirecting it toward gossip.
• The Salty Fish System is unusually vulnerable over its failed romance, but recovers enough to return to its role as a source of rumors.
• The emperor is exhausted by court disputes and frustrated that Prince Chen and Prince Qi remain in the capital. The gossip lifts his mood and turns his irritation toward amused curiosity.
• Prince Chen is unaware of the mind-reading gossip, but senses that others are watching him strangely. His extreme vanity becomes the chapter’s central joke.
• The ministers, who can hear the others’ thoughts, silently react to the revelation and to Wenren and Yunjian’s mockery.

Significant themes

• Comedy through gossip: Private thoughts transform a dull court session into entertainment.
• Vanity and public embarrassment: Prince Chen’s self-portrait habit is framed as spectacular narcissism.
• Unconventional comfort and friendship: Wenren and Yunjian show affection through teasing rather than sincere consolation.
• Courtly absurdity: The emperor’s political frustrations coexist with the bizarre personalities and secrets of the imperial family.

Key plot points and events

• After court, Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian go shopping and run into the Second, Third, and Fifth Princes, the Young Marquis Sui Yun, and a young woman named Xia Shuang.
• Yunjian is immediately attracted to Sui Yun and makes little effort to hide it. Luoshui teases her about her new crush.
• The princes ask Luoshui about becoming a female official, a subject she would rather avoid.
• Xia Shuang repeatedly presents herself as a humble, hardworking victim, then acts frightened and tearful when Luoshui merely looks at her. Sui Yun tells her to behave with dignity.
• The men explain that they met Xia Shuang selling herself to pay for her father’s burial. Though they gave her money and checked her story, she refused to leave them and has now begun provoking Luoshui.
• When Xia Shuang again claims Luoshui mistreated her, Luoshui asks why the men brought back “trouble” instead of a beauty. The others privately agree they never wanted Xia Shuang to follow them.
• Unseen by Luoshui and Yunjian, Xia Shuang’s innocent expression gives way to open resentment.

Character developments

• Yunjian develops an immediate crush on Sui Yun and openly enjoys teasing and judging others with Luoshui.
• Luoshui remains blunt and humorous, showing little patience for Xia Shuang’s performative helplessness.
• Sui Yun appears cool and discerning: he does not sympathize with Xia Shuang’s tears and rebukes her behavior.
• Xia Shuang is introduced as seemingly meek and vulnerable, but her private expression hints at a resentful, possibly manipulative side.
• The three princes are shown as close, playful companions who are amused by Luoshui’s recent wit.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Xia Shuang’s innocent, tearful presentation contrasts with her private hostility.
• Female solidarity and candid humor: Luoshui and Yunjian share unspoken commentary and support one another.
• Freedom and responsibility: The princes’ year-long travels reflect their desire to escape the expectations and pressures of palace life.
• Romantic interest: Yunjian’s attraction to Sui Yun introduces a new potential relationship.

Character interactions

• Luoshui and Yunjian banter affectionately, with Luoshui teasing Yunjian about Sui Yun.
• Yunjian and Luoshui silently mock Xia Shuang’s behavior, while the men observe and privately recognize the accuracy of their judgments.
• Sui Yun firmly reprimands Xia Shuang, making clear he will not indulge her theatrics.
• Xia Shuang tries to cast Luoshui as her persecutor, but Luoshui’s direct response exposes the awkwardness of her claims.

Key plot points and events

• Yunjian becomes visibly flustered by Sui Yun’s handsome appearance and privately fantasizes about pursuing him. Wenren Luoshui encourages her, while Sui Yun overhears and seems amused.
• Xia Shuang, revealed to be Wenren Shuang, tries to win the men’s hospitality, but Sui Yun rejects her and the three princes follow suit. She suppresses her anger because her system requires her to earn fifty years of lifespan.
• An Embroidered Guard summons Sui Yun to investigate a missing child. The group follows him, leaving Xia Shuang behind.
• The Salty Fish System reveals that seven-year-old Zhao Junsheng abducted and buried a five-year-old girl alive after luring her with candied hawthorn. Having escalated from torturing animals, he is now searching for another victim.
• At the Embroidered Guards’ offices, Wenren Luoshui offers to use divination to help. After Sui Yun permits it, she identifies the girl’s body as being beneath the largest willow tree beside a small river in the city’s east.

Character developments and interactions

• Yunjian shifts from shyly admiring Sui Yun to eagerly focusing on the child-murder case.
• Sui Yun remains composed and authoritative, but his faint smile suggests he finds Yunjian’s fantasies entertaining. He accepts Wenren Luoshui’s offer to help the investigation.
• Wenren Luoshui acts as the group’s link to the system’s information and presents its discovery as a divination.
• Xia Shuang/Wenren Shuang is frustrated by the group’s rejection but restrains herself to protect her chance of gaining lifespan.
• The three princes silently distance themselves from Xia Shuang, while following Sui Yun to the investigation.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts light romantic comedy with the disturbing cruelty of a child murderer.
• It highlights the danger of ignoring warning signs: Zhao Junsheng’s violence toward animals escalated unchecked.
• The system’s influence shapes Xia Shuang’s behavior, while the characters’ need to conceal supernatural knowledge drives Wenren Luoshui’s “divination” explanation.

Plot points and events

• After the authorities discover a murdered girl, Wenren Luoshui raises her corpse with spiritual energy so it can lead them to her killer. Yunjian is furious, moved by the child’s loving parents and determined that the murderer be punished.
• The corpse leads the officials to Zhao Junsheng. At the Ministry of Punishments, the girl’s written account exposes his crime. The Zhao family denies responsibility and blames servants; when their excuses intensify the girl’s rage, she wounds Old Madam Zhao.
• Zhao Junsheng is sentenced to death after autumn. His family’s property is confiscated and they are exiled for shielding him and disrupting the proceedings. A false story about palace connections had helped Zhao Junsheng’s father indulge his son.
• Word of Luoshui’s apparent ability to command corpses spreads through the capital. Aristocratic families warn one another not to provoke her, while some parents use the rumors to scare their children.
• Later, Yunjian sneaks into the Anyi Marquis Residence carrying two huge watermelons for her crush, Sui Yun. She accidentally admits her feelings to him before realizing who she is speaking to, then panics and flees, leaving the watermelons behind.

Character developments and interactions

• Yunjian’s usually easygoing manner gives way to cold, fierce anger over the child’s death. Luoshui comforts her and helps bring the girl’s killer to justice.
• The murdered girl’s parents’ grief underscores their love for her; her corpse’s testimony gives her a voice when her family’s denial threatens to bury the truth.
• Zhao Junsheng’s arrogance collapses into terror when he sees the girl he killed. His family’s shameless defenses reveal their willingness to protect him rather than accept responsibility.
• Sui Yun, usually aloof, teases Yunjian after noticing her sneaking into his courtyard. Her embarrassed escape amuses him and hints at a warmer, playful connection between them.

Significant themes

• Justice and accountability: Wealth, family influence, and excuses cannot prevent punishment for a grave crime.
• Grief and protection: The girl’s parents’ love and Yunjian’s anger highlight the vulnerability of children and the need to defend them.
• Fear and reputation: Luoshui’s supernatural reputation grows beyond the facts, shaping how powerful families behave.
• Romance and comedy: The grim case gives way to a lighthearted scene of Yunjian’s clumsy, sincere attempt to impress her crush.

Key plot points and events

• After returning from a trip, the Second, Third, and Fifth Princes and the Young Marquis Sui Yun are summoned to court. Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian prompt the system to recount the group’s mishaps, and the ministers quietly listen in.
• The Second Prince, eager to meet a renowned Suzhou embroiderer and discuss technique, climbs over her wall despite her refusal to receive visitors. He slips onto cacti and fills his backside with spines. His companions struggle to remove them, poking him repeatedly with needles and muffling his cries.
• The Third Prince once spends an entire day walking alongside a little yellow dog, treating it as a rival and wearing through his shoes.
• The emperor calls on Luoshui after noticing her distraction. She reveals she has opened a shop and offers the emperor, empress, and others a 20% discount, while the Eldest Princess and the other royal children get 5% off. The emperor is pleased—until he later realizes he still has to pay.

Character developments and interactions

• The Second Prince’s innocent enthusiasm for embroidery is clear, but his humiliating accident leaves him mortified. He soon recovers and resumes court as usual, even grinning at his father.
• The Third Prince appears childishly competitive and unserious; he hopes his harmless dog-walking contest will spare him his father’s anger.
• The Third and Fifth Princes sympathize with their embarrassed older brother, though they find the memory amusing. Sui Yun distances himself from the embarrassing events.
• The emperor alternates between exasperation at his sons’ foolishness and fond resignation, consoling himself that his children at least stick together. He also enjoys being offered a discount, only belatedly recognizing that the princess’s shop is not free.
• Luoshui and Yunjian eagerly encourage the system’s gossip, while the system gleefully narrates the princes’ adventures. The court’s serious debate is briefly eclipsed by the story.

Significant themes

• Family affection beneath exasperation: The emperor complains about his children but accepts their antics as part of family life.
• Innocence and foolishness: The princes’ harmless, absurd behavior contrasts with the formality of court.
• Public embarrassment and teasing: Private mishaps become shared entertainment, though the Second Prince eventually bounces back.
• Commerce and irreverence: Luoshui treats even the emperor as a customer, humorously puncturing royal privilege.

Plot points and events

• After court, Wenren Luoshui, Yunjian, and the three princes visit the busy Begonia Garden, where Yunjian’s nieces are spending time with Li Huairou, the gentle daughter of Vice Director Li.
• They watch a popular play adapted from the “Miss Plain Porridge” story. Wenren and Yunjian changed its original happy ending into a tragedy, and the darker version has become a major hit.
• The princes order fries without realizing that each portion is enormous—enough to fill a washbasin. The Fifth Prince asks to return or exchange two portions, and Wenren agrees.
• Li Huairou’s maid reports that her brother wants money for a jade pendant. Li Huairou immediately agrees to give it to him, despite her maid’s frustration.
• The Salty Fish System reveals that Li’s relatives are exploiting her inheritance. It also exposes the Li family’s past: they allegedly caused Vice Director Li’s first wife to suffer a fatal childbirth and then took her dowry.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Huairou appears kind and trusting, repeatedly giving money to relatives and treating the family as a single household. She does not seem aware of how thoroughly they are taking advantage of her.
• Her maid is protective and exasperated, having tried to warn Li Huairou without success.
• Yunjian and Wenren Luoshui recognize the signs of exploitation and react with growing anger, especially when they learn what happened to Vice Director Li’s first wife.
• The princes provide comic relief: the Second Prince confidently offers to pay, the Third Prince is shocked by the fries’ size, and the Fifth Prince tries to undo their order.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty versus exploitation: Li Huairou’s belief in family unity makes her vulnerable to relatives who seek her money.
• The vulnerability of women: The account of Vice Director Li’s first wife highlights the dangers women faced in childbirth and their lack of protection from abusive families.
• Entertainment and audience taste: The play’s tragic ending gains popularity because it leaves a stronger impression, even as viewers debate the male lead’s choices.

Key plot points and events

• The system reveals that Li Huairou’s mother, a wealthy and capable woman, was poisoned by the Li family when Huairou was eight. Her mother had secretly moved her substantial dowry out of the family storeroom, leaving only empty chests.
• The Li family gave young Huairou the storeroom key to win her affection, knowing it gave her access to nothing. After her mother died, Huairou believed her father’s grief and the family’s kindness showed how much they cared for her.
• The system explains that Huairou’s grandmother’s supposed illness was fabricated to extract money from her. The traveling merchant who sold her medicine returned most of the payment to the Li household.
• Huairou’s generosity extended to her cousin’s wedding: when asked for thirty-two loads of dowry goods, she supplied sixty-four.
• After hearing these revelations, Huairou briefly feels shaken, then decides that managing her inherited wealth is her choice. She returns to her usual composure.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Huairou is revealed as trusting and deeply eager for family affection. Though the revelations unsettle her, she rationalizes her family’s conduct and remains willing to use her inheritance as she sees fit.
• Yunjian and Wenren Luoshui react with anger and scorn toward the Li family’s greed, while also criticizing Huairou for repeatedly giving them money.
• The system supplies the hidden history, prompting Huairou to revisit memories of her mother’s death and the family’s apparent kindness afterward.

Significant themes

• Greed and betrayal: The Li family repeatedly schemes to exploit the wealth of Huairou’s mother and, later, Huairou herself.
• Family affection and self-deception: Huairou interprets financial exploitation and calculated gestures as signs of love, underscoring how strongly she longs for family bonds.
• Agency and self-worth: The chapter leaves Huairou’s choices unresolved: she recognizes the truth but still believes she may spend her inheritance as she wishes.

Plot points and events

• At the theater, the Salty Fish System reveals the extent of Li Huairou’s relatives’ financial exploitation: her father, eldest brother, and eldest uncle use her businesses and money for their own expenses, while the family also owes the Imperial Treasury a large sum.
• Wenren Luoshui and her companions recognize that Li resembles the play’s mistreated heroine, but decide not to interfere. Li sincerely believes her family treats her well and sees their spending as a fair use of her inheritance.
• The Three Princes likewise avoid involvement, partly because they barely know Li and do not want their attention to be mistaken for political or romantic interest.
• Outside the Anyi Marquis Residence, Yunjian embarrasses herself by teasing Sui Yun before realizing who he is. She recovers by offering to send him watermelon regularly; he accepts, and their exchange leaves him unexpectedly warm and pleased.
• Back at the princely residence, Wenren Luoshui learns that the Princess Consort’s widowed cousin-aunt has arrived with her daughter, pleading poverty. The visitors have already demanded lavish treatment and now want to occupy Luoshui’s rooms.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Huairou remains content with her family, convinced their affection outweighs the money they take from her. Her friends understand that she does not see herself as mistreated and refrain from pressing her.
• Yunjian and Sui Yun share a playful, awkward encounter. Yunjian’s mortification turns into a cheerful offer, while Sui Yun’s easy acceptance hints at growing affection.
• Wenren Luoshui is more interested in her parents’ early return than in Yin Xing’s initial complaint, but the cousin-aunt’s audacity soon becomes the central problem.
• Yin Xing is furious on Luoshui’s behalf and reports how the visitors have behaved.

Significant themes

• Exploitation and denial: Li’s relatives take advantage of her wealth, yet her own interpretation of their relationship prevents outsiders from changing her mind.
• Respecting personal agency: Her friends choose not to force their judgment on her.
• Romantic comedy and embarrassment: Yunjian’s mistaken remark creates a lighthearted moment that brings her and Sui Yun closer.
• Entitlement and family boundaries: The cousin-aunt’s demands introduce a new conflict over hospitality, property, and Luoshui’s personal space.

Plot points

• Wenren Luoshui arrives at the main courtyard with Yin Xing and finds Xia Shuang, her mother Wang Miao, and another young woman seeking help from the Prince of Beiping’s household.
• Xia Shuang is the same woman who had earlier offered to sell herself to bury her father. She claims a newly discovered family connection to the Princess Consort, apparently hoping to secure support.
• When Wang Miao insults Wenren Luoshui, Tie Lihua slaps her and makes clear that the household will not tolerate their behavior. Xia Shuang tries to win sympathy with tears, but the family sees through her performance.
• Wang Miao orders the frail young woman, Xia Yangyang, to beg the household to let them stay—and pinches her to force compliance.
• Xia Yangyang, who has transmigrated from an apocalypse-ravaged world, fights back. She dislocates Wang Miao’s arm, verbally exposes Xia Shuang’s act, and throws Wang Miao to the ground. The Beiping family watches the sudden family conflict unfold.

Character developments

• Tie Lihua is shown as powerful, blunt, and fiercely protective of her daughter. Her unconventional marriage to Wenren Qiao reflects her independence and disregard for social status.
• Wenren Qiao and Wenren Luoshui are quick to reject the visitors’ claims and manipulation rather than submit to social expectations.
• Xia Shuang presents herself as gentle and remorseful, but her attempts to manipulate the household fail.
• Xia Yangyang reveals that she is not the meek girl her family expects: despite her difficult transmigration and abusive upbringing, she is capable, decisive, and unwilling to endure further mistreatment.
• Wang Miao, accustomed to controlling Xia Yangyang, loses that control and becomes the target of her daughter’s resistance.

Themes

• Resistance to abuse and exploitation: Xia Yangyang refuses to accept the treatment she suffered from her family.
• Social conventions versus personal boundaries: The prince’s household rejects the idea that status or public reputation obliges them to shelter distant, ill-behaved relatives.
• Appearances and manipulation: Xia Shuang’s tearful performance contrasts with the family’s clear-eyed skepticism.
• Unexpected strength and reversal: The supposedly frail Xia Yangyang turns the power dynamic around.

Character interactions

• Tie Lihua immediately defends Wenren Luoshui when Wang Miao insults her.
• Xia Shuang tries to apologize and appear sympathetic, while Wenren Qiao bluntly tells the visitors to leave.
• Wang Miao attempts to make Xia Yangyang plead on her behalf, but Xia Yangyang instead confronts and physically overpowers her.
• Wenren Luoshui and her family remain spectators, entertained by the escalating conflict.

Plot points and events

• Xia Yangyang tries to secure a place in the Prince of Beiping’s household by presenting herself as a talented cook, then singing to persuade Wenren Luoshui. Luoshui agrees to keep her; Wang Miao and Xia Shuang are expelled.
• That evening, Luoshui, Xia Yangyang, and Yunjian share how they came to this world, finding no common explanation for their transmigration.
• Yunjian produces bottles of modern Moutai from her Taobao Mall. The three drink, become rowdy, and climb onto the roof to sing and dance.
• The Prince of Beiping comes to investigate the noise. The girls’ dancing sends roof tiles flying, and they pull him into drinking, singing games, and a dance with two tiger cubs.
• Hidden guards report the chaotic scene to the emperor, whose laughter briefly relieves the strain of his work.

Character developments and interactions

• Xia Yangyang proves resourceful and determined, using both her cooking skills and playful singing to win a place in the household. Once accepted, she quickly joins the others’ irreverent fun.
• Wenren Luoshui confidently makes the decision to keep Xia Yangyang and treats her new companions with easy warmth. Her playful authority extends to dragging her father into the night’s games.
• Yunjian shares her unusual access to modern goods, supplying the Moutai that drives the evening’s revelry.
• The Prince of Beiping goes from concerned investigator to unwilling participant—and eventually enthusiastic dancer—despite being mocked and repeatedly outmaneuvered by the girls.
• The emperor remains offstage but is cheered by news of the family’s antics. The two tiger cubs, meanwhile, endure the humans’ exuberance with comic resignation.

Significant themes

• Found family and belonging: The three women from another world begin building a life together in their new home.
• Adaptability: Xia Yangyang relies on her talents and instincts to find safety and a place in an unfamiliar world.
• Comic reversal and generational affection: The prince, initially the responsible adult, becomes the butt of the jokes and joins the fun.
• Joy as relief: Their spontaneous celebration offers a welcome escape from household duties and the emperor’s burdensome affairs of state.

Key plot points and events

• Before dawn, the Princess Consort of Beiping forcibly wakes Wenren Luoshui, Yunjian, and Xia Yangyang for morning court, threatening them with a beating if they are late.
• At court, the emperor again demands that ministers repay money owed to the Imperial Treasury. The officials fall silent rather than answer.
• Luoshui asks her system for gossip about the debtors. It reveals that the Marquis of Righteous Valor’s second son once loved his intended bride but secretly helped her flee their wedding, believing he was setting her free.
• The system explains that the woman later eloped with another man, who took her dowry, sold her to a brothel, and left her to die by suicide. Her exploiter later drowned.
• The revelation reaches the assembled court through Luoshui’s thoughts. The marquis is horrified to learn of the woman’s fate and realizes that his son’s actions—and the family scandal—are now public.
• The marquis immediately promises to repay his debt. A dozen other ministers follow, prompting the emperor to secure repayment at last.

Character developments and interactions

• Luoshui uses her system’s gossip to satisfy her curiosity, unintentionally exposing a private tragedy before the court.
• Yunjian condemns the son’s misguided idea of love: secretly encouraging the bride to elope damaged her reputation and left her vulnerable.
• The Marquis of Righteous Valor shifts from ignorance to shock and regret, then acts to repay his debt once he realizes the scandal is public.
• The emperor enjoys the gossip and uses the public pressure it creates to get ministers to pay what they owe.
• The Princess Consort of Beiping is affectionate but firm, using threats and a smack to get the girls out of bed.

Significant themes

• Good intentions can cause harm: The son thought he was helping the woman, but his secrecy and poor judgment contributed to her ruin.
• Women’s vulnerability and social reputation: In this society, eloping could strip a woman of status and support, while men’s actions had devastating consequences for her.
• Public exposure as pressure: Gossip becomes an unexpected tool of accountability, pushing the marquis and other officials to repay their debts.
• Imperial authority: The ministers’ compliance reflects the power of the throne, reinforced by the emperor’s ability to turn their private behavior into public knowledge.

Key events

• The Salty Fish System shares gossip about the Left Chancellor’s family: his unmarried elder brother is attracted to men and is being exploited by a longtime friend, who sends handsome men to seduce him and pockets much of the money he spends on them.
• The Left Chancellor realizes his suspicions about the friend were justified. Though he had tried to protect his brother, he now sees how the deception continued. He is grateful to the Commandery Princess for revealing the truth and resolves to argue less with the Prince of Beiping.
• The system then reveals a scandal involving Compiler Xu’s family. Xu’s maternal grandfather’s younger brother wants to live as companions with Xu’s widowed maternal grandmother.
• The family clan head opposes the plan and threatens to remove the man from the genealogy if he persists, protecting both the grandmother’s reputation and Compiler Xu’s future.

Character developments and interactions

• The Left Chancellor moves from silent embarrassment to anger and gratitude as he learns his brother is being manipulated. The emperor, amused that the gossip concerns other families, feels reassured that even respected officials have troublesome relatives.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian speculate wildly about the Xu family’s secret, then condemn the younger brother’s proposal as selfish and harmful to the grandmother. Their back-and-forth fuels the chapter’s comic tone.
• The emperor and the gathered listeners react to the gossip with curiosity, shock, and concern that family misconduct could damage Compiler Xu’s career.
• The clan head emerges as the responsible voice in Xu’s family, willing to enforce a severe consequence to prevent the scandal.

Significant themes

• Gossip as entertainment and revelation: Comic family scandals expose problems that people otherwise might not know about.
• Manipulation and family loyalty: The Left Chancellor’s trust in his brother leaves him unaware of the friend’s exploitation.
• Reputation and social consequences: The Xu family’s conduct could harm the grandmother and tarnish a promising official’s standing.
• Responsible intervention: The clan head’s firm response underscores the importance of setting boundaries when private choices threaten others.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• After court, Wenren Luoshui takes fellow transmigrator Xia Yangyang to Begonia Garden, where Xia can open the Malatang shop she had long dreamed of. Yunjian supplies the ingredients.
• Xu Lingzhi treats patients at the Garden and learns modern medical knowledge from the future-transmigrated ghosts. Her life is now happier and easier than it was with her former abusive partner.
• The Seventh Princess visits, complaining that she is confined to the palace. Luoshui suggests asking permission to establish her own residence, but the princess doubts her family will agree.
• Xia serves a huge, delicious bowl of Malatang, which the girls devour before heading to the beauty department.
• In the lobby, Young Marquis Guan Xiyuan scolds the Seventh Princess for visiting freely. Luoshui and Yunjian mock his arrogance, including his controlling manner and strange temperament.
• When Guan insults Luoshui and threatens to reconsider his supposed betrothal to the princess, the Seventh Princess slaps him and forcefully denies ever agreeing to marry him.
• The Salty Fish System reveals that Guan’s mother falsely told him the emperor would arrange the match. He came intending to ask the princess to accept his beloved White Moonlight as an equal wife.

Character developments and interactions

• Xia Yangyang begins building an independent life by pursuing her Malatang business; her cooking brings the group together.
• Xu Lingzhi is growing more fulfilled through her medical work and the knowledge shared by the Garden’s ghosts.
• The Seventh Princess shifts from playful dependence and boredom to decisive anger. She stands up for herself when Guan presumes to control her and tarnishes her reputation.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian support the princess through sharp, mostly internal mockery of Guan, while Luoshui eventually confronts him openly.
• Guan Xiyuan is exposed as entitled and presumptuous: he treats the princess as though she is already his fiancée and expects her to tolerate his demands.

Significant themes

• Female autonomy: The princess rejects being controlled or treated as promised in marriage without her consent.
• Friendship and solidarity: Luoshui and Yunjian back the princess, while the Garden offers Xia and Xu opportunities to pursue their own interests.
• Healing and new beginnings: Xia’s shop and Xu’s medical work illustrate lives rebuilt after hardship.
• Arrogance and hypocrisy: Guan’s self-importance collapses when his assumed betrothal—and his plan to bring another woman into the marriage—is revealed.

Key plot points and events

• The Seventh Princess visits Begonia Garden, where Young Marquis Guan Xiyuan confronts her. He assumes she has already agreed to marry him and intends to demand that she let his favored woman, Shuang Niang, become his equal wife.
• Guan insults the princess and her friends, calling Begonia Garden a filthy place and insisting that she cut ties with them before joining his household.
• Yunjian slaps Guan and challenges his hypocrisy, while the crowd objects to his insult of the Garden—especially after learning that the emperor personally wrote its signboard.
• Wenren Luoshui strikes Guan with a Heavenly Thunder Talisman, first blackening him and then destroying his clothes, leaving him exposed and humiliated.
• Luoshui reveals her influential connections and confronts Guan with the danger of his claims: his family may not know about his plan to install Shuang Niang as an equal wife, and could punish the woman he is trying to protect.

Character developments and interactions

• Guan Xiyuan displays entitlement, arrogance, and a profound misreading of his social standing. He treats the princess as though she already belongs to him and assumes his family connections will shield him from consequences.
• The Seventh Princess shifts from her usual playful manner to assert her royal authority when Guan berates her, though she later watches Luoshui’s retaliation with amusement.
• Yunjian openly defends her friends and the Garden, turning Guan’s insult against him by pointing out that he has offended its patrons as well.
• Wenren Luoshui protects her friends with decisive, magical force, then calmly lays out the political stakes of Guan’s behavior.
• The crowd moves from silently observing the confrontation to speaking up once Guan’s contempt implicates them and insults a place bearing the emperor’s personal endorsement.

Significant themes

• Entitlement versus authority: Guan mistakes family privilege for permission to command a princess and insult others.
• Public reputation and accountability: His private schemes become public, and his humiliation exposes how little control he has over the consequences.
• Female solidarity and agency: The princess and her friends resist Guan’s attempts to dictate their behavior and relationships.
• The danger of arrogance: Guan’s confidence in his family’s protection blinds him to the political and personal risks he has created.

Key plot points and events

• The Seventh Princess returns to the palace in tears after Young Marquis Guan Xiyuan tells her he intends to make his concubine an equal wife when he marries her. He also insults the Begonia Garden and tells her not to visit.
• The emperor comforts his daughter, then turns furious at the insult and the presumption of the proposed marriage.
• Wenren Luoshui responds publicly: she converts sixty percent of the Begonia Garden’s recent profits into gold and leads a noisy procession carrying ten chests to the palace as a donation for farming.
• The Prince of Beiping, his wife Tie Lihua, and their son join the procession. Onlookers debate whether the spectacle is generous or merely attention-seeking, while supporters challenge the critics to contribute themselves.
• At the palace gates, they meet the Grand Princess, who has come to beg the emperor’s forgiveness. She has already reprimanded her daughter for arranging the match and ordered Guan Xiyuan beaten for his behavior.

Character developments and interactions

• The emperor shifts from gentle father to an outraged ruler when he learns his daughter was humiliated.
• The Seventh Princess is deeply hurt and angry, but trusts her father enough to bring her complaint directly to him.
• Wenren Luoshui channels her anger into a conspicuous, defiant display of generosity rather than quietly tolerating Guan’s insult.
• The Prince of Beiping and Tie Lihua enthusiastically support their daughter, joining her public procession without embarrassment.
• Wenren Qingluo sweetly asks to ride Big Yellow; Luoshui refuses, and the narrator’s teasing commentary highlights her playful habit of bullying her younger brother.
• The Grand Princess recognizes the political danger of her family’s conduct and acts quickly to protect her daughter and grandson from the emperor’s wrath.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and protection: The emperor and Luoshui’s family rally around the Seventh Princess.
• Power and accountability: Guan’s aristocratic status does not shield him from consequences for disrespecting an imperial princess.
• Public reputation and performative generosity: The donation is both materially substantial and deliberately theatrical, prompting debate about whether good deeds are diminished by public display.
• Marriage and women’s status: Guan’s expectation that the princess accept an equal-wife arrangement exposes the disrespect and unequal power underlying the proposed match.

Key plot points and events

• Prince of Beiping Wenren Qiao arrives at the palace gates with ten chests of gold for the Imperial Treasury and boldly demands that the emperor come meet him. His daughter, Wenren Luoshui, recognizes that his audacity far surpasses her own; the public donation also lets the family give the gold openly.
• The emperor comes to the gates with his daughter. He is displeased to find the Grand Princess there, since her family had allowed Guan Xiyuan to insult his daughter. The Grand Princess apologizes, aware that refusing to do so could make the emperor seem justified in holding a grudge.
• Luoshui’s Salty Fish System offers gossip about the Grand Princess’s household. Its story reveals that the Grand Princess’s manservant, An Fu, secretly moved objects from his master’s study to the Princess Consort’s study. The Grand Princess eventually learned the reason: An Fu had overheard the Princess Consort with the Grand Princess and become infatuated with her.
• The system reveals that An Fu returned the objects after secretly using them for his own gratification. Luoshui and Yunjian are shocked by the revelation.
• The system introduces a paid limit on gossip after a trial period. Luoshui reluctantly buys the rest of the story and learns she has also gained the ability to alter the plot.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Qiao displays striking confidence by summoning the emperor to the gates, while Luoshui compares her own boldness unfavorably with her father’s.
• The emperor shows protectiveness toward Luoshui and resentment toward the Grand Princess’s household. His curiosity about the system’s gossip briefly tempers his anger.
• The Grand Princess remains composed and apologizes strategically, balancing her status as the emperor’s aunt against the political risk of provoking him.
• Luoshui and Yunjian share the gossip through their thoughts. Yunjian eagerly follows the story, while Luoshui argues with the system over its surprise paywall and new powers.

Significant themes

• Power and family loyalty: The emperor’s authority does not erase his personal anger over his daughter’s humiliation.
• Public image and political tact: The Grand Princess’s apology is both a personal concession and a way to manage how others will judge the emperor.
• Gossip, technology, and control: The system turns private scandals into entertainment while imposing rules and costs on access.
• Comic contrast: The court’s tense political encounter is undercut by increasingly outrageous, embarrassing revelations.