Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• The Grand Princess had An Fu, a palace servant who coveted her husband, beaten and expelled after catching him in a compromising act. An Fu survived, became disabled, and plotted revenge.
• The system reveals that An Fu arranged for the Grand Princess’s baby to be switched at birth. Her biological son was sent to him, while the Grand Princess raised the abandoned child as Commandery Princess Nanyi.
• An Fu later blackmailed Nanyi, who learned the truth at five. Nanyi killed him and had the Grand Princess’s real son burned with his corpse.
• The Grand Princess overhears these revelations, first collapsing to her knees and then coughing blood. The emperor orders her carried away.
• Wenren Luoshui, distracted by her private exchange with the system, mistakenly wonders whether the emperor threatened to make Guan Xiyuan a eunuch. The onlookers blame her for the Grand Princess’s collapse.

Character developments and interactions

• The Grand Princess’s calm façade crumbles as she learns that her beloved daughter was not hers by blood, knew the truth, and had helped destroy her biological son. Her grief and shock overwhelm her.
• The emperor’s anger toward Guan Xiyuan fades as he focuses on the Grand Princess’s painful revelations. He rushes to help her and later arranges for her to be taken away.
• The system exposes Nanyi’s ruthless actions and reflects on how privilege and poor guidance may have shaped her.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian react with horror and curiosity, while the Prince of Beiping, his consort, and the Seventh Princess watch the drama from the sidelines, snacking on sunflower seeds.
• Wenren’s oblivious comment earns the emperor’s reproachful glance and the crowd’s shared verdict: “If not you, then who?”

Significant themes

• Betrayal and revenge: An Fu’s resentment leads to a decades-long chain of cruelty.
• Blood ties, love, and deception: The Grand Princess’s maternal devotion is built on a lie, while her biological child is denied any chance at safety.
• Privilege and moral responsibility: Nanyi’s upbringing and status help explain her power, but do not excuse her ruthlessness.
• The hidden cost of secrets: The attempt to conceal a scandal ultimately leaves the Grand Princess facing devastating truths.

Key events

• Wenren Qiao presents the emperor with gold earned by his daughter, Wenren Luoshui, from her business, Begonia Garden.
• Luoshui pledges the gold to the Ministries of Revenue and War to support agriculture and military strength, and promises to donate half the garden’s monthly earnings.
• Impressed, the emperor names Begonia Garden an Imperial Merchant, giving it official backing and making it harder for rivals to target.
• In a parallel storyline, Xia Shuang is seized and beaten to death on the orders of Commandery Princess Nanyi, Guan Xiyuan’s mother.
• Xia Shuang’s system explains that Guan Xiyuan demanded that his supposed fiancée, the emperor’s Seventh Princess, accept Xia Shuang as an equal wife. Nanyi blamed Xia Shuang for the scandal and ordered her killed.
• The system says Xia Shuang has failed all three of her rebirth attempts, has only two remaining, and faces a 99% failure chance. It offers to apply for a different mission mode.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Luoshui demonstrates generosity and political savvy: her donation supports the state while securing valuable imperial protection for her business.
• Wenren Qiao proudly champions his daughter, though his conspicuous display of gold and eagerness to approach the emperor are played for comedy.
• The emperor shifts from hopeful anticipation of receiving the gold to genuine praise and a concrete reward: Imperial Merchant status.
• Yunjian objects that Luoshui receives only verbal praise, jokingly considers raiding the emperor’s treasury, and prompts Luoshui to agree.
• Xia Shuang remains defiant and resentful, blaming unfair expectations rather than her own choices. Her system is increasingly blunt about her failures and offers her a last chance to change course.

Significant themes

• Generosity as statecraft: Luoshui’s philanthropy strengthens the kingdom while also protecting her enterprise.
• Power and security: Official recognition can shield merchants from those who might exploit or attack them.
• Entitlement and consequences: Xia Shuang’s insistence on special treatment helps trigger the events leading to her death.
• Comic contrast: The court’s gold and praise provide light humor, sharply contrasting with Xia Shuang’s violent downfall.

Plot points and events

• Xia Shuang angrily accepts a new mission called Life Plunder, which lets her take another person’s place and enjoy that person’s life. She cannot target Wenren Luoshui, and her level is too low to target the Eldest Princess, so the system offers her the Seventh Princess instead.
• Commandery Princess Nanyi’s fortunes collapse: a blood test confirms she is not the Grand Princess’s biological daughter, and a complaint leads investigators to uncover her connection to An Fu’s death. The emperor strips her title, Marquis Xuanwen’s household is demoted, and the Grand Princess formally cuts ties with Nanyi.
• Wenren Luoshui receives one opportunity to change the plot, plus an extra system perk: when she shares gossip, even without evidence, her claims will sound reasonable to those around her. She wonders if this is a system bug, but learns the feature is standard in some worlds.
• After staying up late to finish a novel, Wenren is dragged out of bed by her maid for morning court. Her mother scolds her for dawdling and sends her off with flatbreads, while Wenren protests that she should be allowed to skip work.

Character developments

• Xia Shuang is furious, impulsive, and entitled; after two failed choices, she settles for targeting the Seventh Princess.
• Wenren Luoshui remains irreverent and pleasure-seeking. She is pleased by the practical gossip perk, but too tired to argue with her system about it—or about getting up early.
• The Salty Fish System shows a teasing, familiar rapport with Wenren, boasting about its extra perk and mocking her late-night habits.
• Wenren’s mother is affectionate but firm, using force and food to get her daughter moving.

Significant themes

• Consequences and justice: Nanyi faces legal and social repercussions for her past actions, while her former family ties are severed.
• Power, privilege, and envy: Xia Shuang’s choices are driven by resentment toward people with status and valued connections.
• Systems and loopholes: The chapter plays with the idea of “bugs” and special abilities, revealing that what seems extraordinary may be routine system functionality.
• Duty versus laziness: Wenren’s comedic resistance to court contrasts with the obligations imposed by her position.

Character interactions

• Xia Shuang berates the system, which answers coldly and limits her options.
• Nanyi’s case involves the Grand Princess, the Court of Judicial Review, An Fu’s widow, and the emperor, each contributing to her downfall.
• Wenren and her system trade jokes and complaints, while her mother briskly overrules her attempts to avoid court and sends her on her way.

Key plot points and events

• The emperor is celebrating the excellent early harvest of the newly introduced potatoes, believing the crop may secure food for the people. Wenren Luoshui and her system joke privately about his happiness.
• The system warns that trouble is coming: Wenren Shuang has taken over the emperor’s youngest daughter, the Seventh Princess. Her own system has changed her mission, consuming the rest of her lifespan: she must convince everyone she is the real princess, or lose any chance of rebirth.
• The system reveals Wenren Shuang’s likely future plans. She falls for Mao Shaoqin, an Imperial Academy student and fellow transmigrator who poses as disdainful of wealth while enjoying the princess’s money and status. He condemns her use of privilege but uses it himself when convenient.
• The emperor and his other children are furious that Wenren Shuang has taken the Seventh Princess’s identity. The court, able to hear the discussion, recognizes the danger of her drastic change in temperament.
• In the Azure Profound Palace, Wenren Shuang immediately mistreats the Senior Palace Maid, slapping her over her hairstyle and ordering her beaten to death when she tries to explain. The palace staff see the change and become fearful and cautious.

Character developments

• The emperor moves from contentment over the potato harvest to alarm and anger at the threat to his youngest daughter, though he outwardly remains composed.
• Wenren Luoshui reacts with disbelief and sharp humor, questioning Wenren Shuang’s motives and her plan to chase a hypocritical man despite being a princess.
• Wenren Shuang is portrayed as entitled and vindictive, relishing the authority and luxuries of her stolen identity.
• Mao Shaoqin is introduced as a hypocritical opportunist who claims to reject privilege while benefiting from it.
• The royal family and palace servants respond protectively toward the real Seventh Princess and increasingly warily toward her impostor.

Significant themes

• Power and entitlement: Wenren Shuang’s sudden authority brings out her cruelty.
• Identity and deception: She must persuade others that she is the real princess while her changed behavior risks exposing her.
• Hypocrisy and privilege: Mao Shaoqin condemns abuses of status yet exploits the same status for himself.
• Fate and manipulation: Wenren Shuang’s system gives her a seemingly impossible mission at the cost of her remaining lifespan.

Character interactions

• The emperor, court, and royal children silently react to the system’s revelations, uniting in anger over the Seventh Princess’s usurpation.
• Wenren Luoshui and her system exchange jokes and commentary, while the system withholds and then reveals the gossip for a point.
• Wenren Shuang clashes with the Senior Palace Maid, turning a minor disagreement over her appearance into a display of lethal authority.

Plot points

• After court, the Second, Third, and Fifth Princes report events to the Empress and her consorts. Wenren Shuang arrives dressed in an absurd amount of jewelry, further highlighting how unlike the real Seventh Princess she seems.
• She claims that, as the Empress’s legitimate daughter, she outranks the consorts and demands that they kneel. When Consort Chun points out that the Emperor himself was born to a concubine, Wenren Shuang turns to attacking the consorts’ status and even calls for Consort Yun to be punished.
• The Empress stops her and sends her to learn etiquette from Aunt Fang. She then orders the household to be stricter with Wenren Shuang, who must also attend lessons, study conduct manuals, write reflections, and copy Buddhist scriptures.
• Aunt Fang’s demanding instruction and the Empress’s refusal to indulge her gradually wear Wenren Shuang down. After a week, she becomes outwardly obedient.
• When the Empress Dowager catches a chill, the Empress sends Wenren Shuang to Wuwei Temple to pray for her recovery. The temple is also a place of confinement for disgraced imperial women. The Empress has learned that Wenren Shuang secretly sticks needles into dolls of the palace maids, and sends her away rather than continue dealing with her.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Shuang is arrogant, tactless, and convinced that noble birth entitles her to dominate others. Her behavior repeatedly exposes her ignorance of court politics and the consequences of her words. Discipline suppresses her tantrums, though not necessarily her resentment.
• The Empress protects her absent daughter’s reputation and authority, but shows no maternal indulgence toward the impostor occupying her body. She uses etiquette lessons and finally exile to control Wenren Shuang.
• Consorts Yun, Jin, and Chun share the Empress’s view that the real Seventh Princess has been replaced. They mock Wenren Shuang’s behavior and cooperate in her punishment; Consort Jin is especially blunt, while Consort Chun exposes the inconsistency in Wenren Shuang’s argument about legitimacy.
• Aunt Fang enforces discipline without being intimidated by Wenren Shuang’s outbursts. The palace maids, meanwhile, report her secret acts of revenge to the Empress.

Significant themes

• Legitimacy and hypocrisy: Wenren Shuang uses legitimate birth to claim superiority, but her argument collapses when it implicates the Emperor.
• Identity and absence: The court measures Wenren Shuang against the missing Seventh Princess, whose character they believe would never match the newcomer’s.
• Power and discipline: Status alone does not protect Wenren Shuang from the Empress’s authority or the palace’s social rules.
• Gendered instruction and control: Etiquette, moral texts, religious practice, and confinement are used to discipline women within the imperial household.

Key plot points and events

• Yunjian harvests a basket of unusually productive, improved vegetables she developed using the system. Sui Yun arrives at the Prince of Beiping’s Residence and carries the heavy basket for her.
• As they walk together, Yunjian’s lotus-leaf sunshade slips over her eyes. Sui Yun catches her before she hits a pillar and gently fixes it.
• Wenren Luoshui interrupts their flirtatious moment, teasing them because she has been waiting for the tomatoes. The princes join them, try tomatoes for the first time, and enjoy them. Xia Yangyang takes charge of cooking while Yunjian and Wenren Luoshui prepare a cold tomato salad.
• Meanwhile, Wenren Shuang does not go to Wuwei Temple as ordered. Following the system’s arranged scenario, she runs off and collides with Mao Shaoqin.
• Mao Shaoqin had deliberately engineered the collision after spotting Wenren Shuang’s valuable jewelry. She quickly becomes infatuated with him, buys him expensive clothes and a mansion, and interprets his scolding her for extravagant spending as evidence of affection.

Character developments and interactions

• Yunjian is cheerful and talkative around Sui Yun, openly confident that he will look after her. Her closeness to him prompts playful friction with Wenren Luoshui.
• Sui Yun shows a gentle, attentive side around Yunjian that contrasts sharply with his normally stern manner toward his subordinates.
• Wenren Luoshui banters with Yunjian and punctures the pair’s romantic moment, then joins in the household’s excitement over the unfamiliar tomatoes.
• Mao Shaoqin reveals himself as calculating and opportunistic: he stages a meeting to exploit Wenren Shuang’s wealth and accepts her gifts without guilt.
• Wenren Shuang embraces the encounter as the romantic turning point she has been hoping for. Her infatuation makes her lavish spending—and Mao Shaoqin’s harsh lectures—seem like signs of love to her.

Significant themes

• Romance versus reality: Yunjian and Sui Yun share genuine warmth, while Wenren Shuang mistakes manipulation for affection.
• Abundance and novelty: Yunjian’s improved crops introduce foods unfamiliar in the kingdom and bring the group together.
• Self-deception and exploitation: Wenren Shuang’s romantic fantasy blinds her to Mao Shaoqin’s calculated motives.

Plot points and events

• Wenren Shuang returns from shopping with many purchases. Her husband, Mao Shaoqin, scolds her for spending money and dressing too showily, insisting that he controls the household. She interprets his harshness as affection and happily agrees to give him her valuables to manage.
• After Mao Shaoqin criticizes her appearance, Wenren Shuang changes her clothes and begins dressing plainly.
• Later, Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian spot Wenren Shuang in the street. The system reveals that, under the plot’s influence, she has moved in with Mao Shaoqin.
• Concerned that Wenren Shuang’s actions may create problems for the Seventh Princess, whose body she occupies, Wenren Luoshui decides to intervene. With the system’s permission to freely alter the plot, she changes Mao Shaoqin’s character so that he loves applying feces as a face mask.
• Mao Shaoqin takes control of Wenren Shuang’s valuables, gives her only twenty copper coins a day for both personal expenses and groceries, sells her servants, and leaves her to manage all the household work.
• When Wenren Shuang returns home, she finds Mao Shaoqin lying in bed with a thick layer of feces on his face. As it slides into his mouth, she vomits.

Character developments

• Wenren Shuang remains devoted to Mao Shaoqin despite his insults and controlling behavior, mistaking submission for marital affection. Her comfortable life rapidly becomes exhausting and restrictive.
• Mao Shaoqin is portrayed as manipulative and domineering, asserting authority over Wenren Shuang’s money, clothing, and labor. The plot alteration adds an absurd, grotesque habit to his character.
• Wenren Luoshui moves from observing Wenren Shuang’s choices to actively changing the plot to disrupt her attachment to Mao Shaoqin.
• Yunjian questions why Wenren Shuang is so compliant with a man who belittles her.

Significant themes

• The chapter satirizes controlling relationships, especially the way affection can be confused with obedience and mistreatment.
• It contrasts financial privilege and independence with the vulnerability created when Wenren Shuang surrenders her money and household support.
• Plot manipulation becomes a means of intervening in another character’s fate, played for comic and deliberately disgusting effect.

Character interactions

• Mao Shaoqin scolds Wenren Shuang about her spending and appearance; she responds with affectionate submission rather than anger.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian discuss Wenren Shuang’s choices, with Luoshui ultimately deciding to intervene through the system.
• The chapter ends with Wenren Shuang confronting Mao Shaoqin’s revolting new habit and recoiling in disgust.

Key plot points and events

• Wenren Luoshui, Yunjian, and the Three Princes secretly watch Wenren Shuang and Mao Shaoqin after dinner, expecting a confrontation over Mao’s habit of smearing feces on his face.
• Mao keeps the “face mask” on through dinner and later invites Wenren Shuang to use it. She refuses, still nauseated and bewildered by his behavior.
• A neighbor’s pug, Pearl, smells the feces and rushes into the Mao Residence. Mao is frightened and falls from his stool; Pearl enthusiastically licks his face.
• Pearl’s owner, Zheng Qiaoniang, is horrified and cries. Her steward accuses the Maos of trying to claim the dog and demands compensation. After bargaining, Wenren Shuang agrees to pay five hundred taels of silver.
• Mao initially refuses to pay, but Pearl’s bark sends him hurrying inside for the money. Afterward, he records the payment as Wenren Shuang’s debt in his ledger.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Shuang remains trapped between disgust at Mao’s conduct and her inability to break free of the relationship. She is forced to handle the neighbor’s complaint, though she refuses to accept blame without protest.
• Mao Shaoqin is selfish and hypocritical: he guards his prized “mask” from Wenren Shuang, refuses to spend his money, and then charges her for the compensation he pays.
• Zheng Qiaoniang is distraught that Pearl has been contaminated; her steward steps in to defend her and negotiate compensation.
• The watchers react with mounting disbelief. Yunjian concludes that the story’s hold over Wenren Shuang is powerful, while the princes are left deeply disturbed by the spectacle.

Significant themes

• The chapter uses grotesque comedy to expose Mao’s selfishness and absurdity.
• Wenren Shuang’s continued attachment to him highlights how difficult it is for her to escape the relationship, even when his behavior is repulsive.
• Mao’s ledger embodies his financial control: he treats shared resources as his alone while turning his own expenses into Wenren Shuang’s debts.

Key plot points and events

• Emperor Wenren Yucheng visits Begonia Garden with the Empress and three consorts, where they watch a performance of Journey to the West.
• Waitress An Qiuyue “accidentally” spills a drink on the emperor, then offers to accept any punishment or compensation—an obvious attempt to attract his attention.
• Wenren Luoshui’s thoughts reveal that An is a transmigrator and a “conquest player” whose target is the emperor.
• The emperor immediately seeks refuge with the Empress, pretending to be hurt by her teasing. The Empress and consorts play along, jokingly rejecting him and leaving An bewildered.
• An eventually steps in to defend the emperor, scolding the women for mistreating their husband and declaring that a wife should treat her husband as her “heaven.”
• Luoshui asks her system why the other transmigrators she has encountered seem so old-fashioned. The system reveals that An died in her previous life after holding her pee for hours while reading a novel. The absurd revelation leaves everyone stunned.

Character developments and interactions

• The emperor is alert to An’s intentions once Luoshui’s thoughts expose her, and shows his playful, dependent side by appealing to the Empress.
• The Empress and consorts share an easy, teasing closeness with the emperor. They recognize his performance and treat An’s attempted seduction as entertainment.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian watch and comment on the situation; Luoshui’s thoughts inadvertently expose An’s identity and motive.
• An Qiuyue is confident that her mission will be easy, but becomes confused by the women’s bluntness. Immersed in her conquest role, she adopts a deeply patriarchal view of marriage.
• The system’s explanation of An’s death punctures the dramatic tension with an absurd punchline.

Significant themes

• Comedy through dramatic irony: Everyone except An understands the scene is partly a performance, while she takes it seriously.
• Subverting seduction tropes: The emperor is not won over by An’s calculated vulnerability; instead, he turns to his wives.
• Gender and power: The women’s solidarity and irreverent treatment of the emperor contrast sharply with An’s belief that wives must defer to husbands.
• Transmigration and satire: The chapter mocks familiar romance and historical-drama conventions through An’s mismatched behavior—and her ridiculous former-life death.

Key plot points and events

• An Qiuyue insults the Empress, boasting about her youth and fertility. The Empress and the consorts respond with teasing confidence, making clear that their bond with the emperor is affectionate and unconventional.
• Consort Yun, Chun, and Jin playfully dote on the emperor in front of An Qiuyue. The emperor willingly goes along with them, shocking An Qiuyue.
• An Qiuyue condemns the women and boasts that she could modernize the country with knowledge of reforms and advanced technology. The emperor briefly considers exploiting her knowledge.
• Wenren Luoshui’s system reveals that An Qiuyue has little real expertise: she studied preschool education, and her failing conquest system cannot provide weapon blueprints. It may even consume her life force.
• The emperor orders Wenren Luoshui to deal with An Qiuyue. When guards move to remove her, An Qiuyue begs, clings to the emperor, and recites poetry to prove her worth.
• Yunjian challenges her to draw the technology she claimed to know. Unable to provide usable designs, An Qiuyue is taken away and imprisoned until she can produce them.

Character developments

• An Qiuyue shifts from arrogant and provocative to panicked and desperate once her claims are tested. Her supposed technological knowledge proves shallow.
• The Empress and the consorts show confidence, solidarity, and playful affection, refusing to be intimidated by An Qiuyue’s insults.
• The emperor appears indulgent toward his consorts and briefly tempted by An Qiuyue’s claims, but abandons that interest once he learns she has no useful knowledge.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian help expose An Qiuyue’s deception and ensure she faces consequences.

Significant themes

• Appearances versus genuine ability: An Qiuyue’s grand claims collapse when she is asked for practical proof.
• Female solidarity and power: The Empress and consorts support one another and define their own relationship with the emperor.
• The danger of manipulation: An Qiuyue tries to use promises of modernization and literary performance to secure influence and survival.
• Humor through role reversal: The emperor, despite his authority, is helplessly indulged—and later left to deal with An Qiuyue’s clingy desperation.

Character interactions

• An Qiuyue clashes verbally with the Empress and consorts, especially Consort Jin, whose dismissive remark provokes her outburst.
• The consorts tease and physically dote on the emperor, while he responds with willing affection.
• An Qiuyue appeals to the emperor first with promises of technology, then with pleas and poetry; the Empress and consorts refuse to rescue him from her.
• Yunjian tests An Qiuyue’s claims, and Wenren Luoshui ultimately has her taken away and imprisoned.

Plot points and events

• Wenren Shuang’s husband, Mao Shaoqin, keeps making and promoting his foul-smelling “golden juice” face masks. After the Imperial Academy suspends him, he opens a shop on Vermilion Bird Street.
• The odor drives away customers and harms neighboring businesses. Their owners hire thugs to wreck the shop and demand compensation. Mao is beaten and then pressures Wenren to pay.
• Having already given Mao her jewelry, Wenren has little money. She goes to the palace, expecting her royal status to help, but the guards have been told that the Seventh Princess is at Wuwei Temple.
• When the emperor and Empress arrive, Wenren appeals to them as her parents. The Empress refuses to acknowledge her as her daughter, and the emperor orders her jailed. Wenren spends two days in prison; afterward, she learns Mao has lost the use of an arm and a leg.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Shuang remains devoted to Mao despite his exploitation of her. She sees the dispute as unfair to him, fails to recognize the harm his shop caused, and tries to use her supposed princess status to secure money.
• Mao Shaoqin is reckless and self-absorbed: he ignores others’ complaints, spends Wenren’s jewelry to fund his scheme, and leaves her to handle the consequences.
• The Empress maintains a firm distinction between Wenren and her absent daughter, treating Wenren as an impostor rather than indulging her claims.
• The emperor rejects Wenren’s request for money and has her arrested. The guards first restrain her when she rushes the imperial carriage, then follow the emperor’s order to imprison her.
• The neighboring shopkeepers respond to Mao’s disruption with violence, while Wenren’s loyalty to him keeps her from turning against him.

Significant themes

• Identity and legitimacy: Wenren’s claim to royal status no longer carries weight; public belief and the Empress’s recognition define who can act as the princess.
• Obsession and self-deception: Wenren’s devotion to Mao and Mao’s belief in his grotesque product make both ignore obvious consequences.
• Accountability and consequences: Mao’s business harms others, and his refusal to take responsibility leads to retaliation and injury.
• Satire: The “golden juice” masks and Wenren’s defense of Mao provide dark comedy, underscoring the absurdity of their choices.

Plot points and events

• Wenren Luoshui rides to morning court after a late night of reading, still half-asleep until her system promises gossip.
• The court has recently been told that Wenren Shuang is an impostor, leaving her with no realistic path back to her former status.
• The system reveals that Minister Wang’s adopted daughter, Wang Weiwei, has secretly been poisoning his youngest daughter, Wang Jiuzhao, and arranged for her to be sent away from the capital under false pretenses.
• Weiwei’s goal is to eliminate both of Minister Wang’s biological daughters so she can become the household’s sole young lady and receive priority in marriage arrangements.

Character developments and interactions

• Luoshui’s curiosity and playful irreverence come through in her eagerness for gossip and her joking speculation that Minister Wang might be seriously ill when he coughs.
• Minister Wang, initially pleased by a successful potato harvest, becomes anxious when the gossip turns to his family. Though he cannot believe Weiwei would harm his daughter, the system’s revelation gives him cause for suspicion.
• The emperor quietly enjoys the spectacle while keeping his dignified appearance.
• Luoshui sympathizes with Minister Wang, recognizing that he and his wife have cared generously for Jiuzhao. She condemns Weiwei’s betrayal and jokes that Weiwei should learn not to destroy the family that took her in.
• The system tries to keep Luoshui focused, but her comic asides repeatedly derail its explanation.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and gratitude: Weiwei’s plot contrasts sharply with the kindness shown to her by her adoptive family.
• Parental care and responsibility: Minister Wang and his wife demonstrate concern for Jiuzhao by arranging for her familiar attendants to accompany her.
• Rumor, truth, and public belief: The court’s dismissal of Wenren Shuang shows how official narratives can determine someone’s standing.
• Comedy through private thoughts: Luoshui’s irreverent inner commentary turns serious revelations into courtly entertainment.

Key plot points and events

• At morning court, the system reveals that Wang Jiangwei—Minister Wang’s adopted niece—is plotting to kill his younger daughter, Wang Jiuzhao.
• After Zhaozhao is sent to the family’s ancestral home, Wang Jiangwei’s bribed nanny plans to lure the three-year-old into a boiling iron bathing pot, disguising the danger as the child’s own wish. The system says Zhaozhao will die from her burns.
• Minister Wang is horrified and resolves that Wang Jiangwei cannot remain in his household. Because the attack is still months away, he has time to protect Zhaozhao.
• Wenren Luoshui gives Minister Wang a Peace Amulet for Zhaozhao, while concealing that she knows the full danger.
• After court, Luoshui returns to the prince’s residence, where she finds Yunjian sleeping in after receiving the emperor’s permission to skip court and work on crop research. Luoshui teases and shakes her; their reunion is interrupted by an announcement that Yun Fei has arrived.

Character developments and interactions

• Minister Wang shifts from outrage and regret to determined protectiveness, recognizing that his trust in Wang Jiangwei has endangered his child. He accepts Luoshui’s amulet gratefully.
• Wenren Luoshui responds to the tragedy with practical help, but also wanders into a humorous aside with the system about acting and the Oscars. She later playfully confronts Yunjian.
• Yunjian takes advantage of the emperor’s permission to sleep late, trading banter with Luoshui when she returns.
• The emperor sympathizes with Minister Wang and imagines how violently he would react if his own daughter were threatened. He also brings the distracted court back to order before dismissing it.

Significant themes

• Betrayal within a family: Minister Wang’s attempt at kindness in adopting Wang Jiangwei has left his family vulnerable to her malice.
• Protecting the powerless: Zhaozhao’s age and trust make her easy to manipulate, while adults around her must act before the danger comes.
• Foreknowledge and prevention: The system’s revelation gives Minister Wang and Luoshui a chance to change a seemingly fatal future.
• Tonal contrast: A grim conspiracy is repeatedly undercut by Luoshui’s irreverent humor and her easy, teasing friendship with Yunjian.

Key plot points and events

• Yun Fei has grown healthier and more confident thanks to Wenren Luoshui’s nutritional pills. Though she initially doubts she can study, Yunjian encourages her, and the family enrolls her at Ten Thousand Pines Academy. With support from her aunts and a kind teacher, she makes rapid progress.
• Yun Fei visits Yunjian and Wenren Luoshui while studying with Wenren Qingluo. Luoshui keeps Qingluo focused by threatening to confiscate his secret candy stash.
• Prince Qi’s heir suffers an unexplained, worsening chill despite the summer heat. Several imperial physicians can find no cause, and he eventually goes out to walk in the blazing weather.
• Qingluo insists on going out too. After he appeals to his parents, they send him and Luoshui outside together. Yunjian and Yun Fei accompany them.
• On Vermilion Bird Street, the group overhears that the Golden Juice Face Mask Shop has been wrecked again—and that Prince Qi’s heir may be responsible. Intrigued, Luoshui and Yunjian hurry toward the shop to investigate.

Character developments

• Yun Fei begins to believe she can learn and build a different life, responding deeply to Yunjian’s wholehearted support.
• Yunjian acts as a steady, encouraging guardian, helping Yun Fei pursue education and including her in family outings.
• Wenren Luoshui is affectionate but strict with Qingluo, and remains playful and curious about the street gossip.
• Wenren Qingluo is energetic and mischievous, easily distracted from his lessons but readily persuaded by the threat of losing candy.
• Prince Qi’s heir is introduced as an odd, apparently unwell figure whose unexplained coldness contrasts sharply with the summer heat.

Significant themes

• Support and second chances: Yun Fei’s education becomes possible because her family values her desire to learn over her lack of preparation.
• Recovery and belonging: Improved health and loving relationships help Yun Fei regain hope.
• Family affection and discipline: The adults care for the children while setting limits, often through teasing or threats.
• Humor and curiosity: The candy episode and the group’s eagerness to investigate gossip keep the tone light.

Character interactions

Yunjian reassures Yun Fei and helps her enter school; Luoshui and Yunjian tutor her alongside Qingluo. Luoshui jokes with and disciplines her younger brother, while the system comments on his candy stash. During the outing, Yunjian buys hair ornaments for the girls, and the adults’ shared curiosity about the Golden Juice shop draws the group toward the next incident.

Plot points and events

• The Heir of Prince Qi visits Vermilion Bird Street and is overwhelmed by the foul smell coming from Mao Shaoqin’s Golden Juice Face Mask Shop, next to the Thousand Flavors Tower.
• Believing the heir to be a potential wealthy backer, Mao Shaoqin acts arrogantly toward his attendants. The heir orders them to smash the shop.
• Mao Shaoqin rushes toward the heir with bottles of Golden Slurry. The heir vomits over him, but Mao Shaoqin treats the incident as an opportunity to pitch his product.
• To prove the mask is harmless, Mao Shaoqin drinks an entire bottle. His demonstration makes the surrounding shoppers vomit as well, turning the street into a scene of chaos.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian arrive amid the spectacle. Luoshui privately rejects the system’s attempt to blame her, while Yunjian backs her up.
• Wenren Qingluo asks to go home. Luoshui lifts him onto her shoulders, giving him a clearer view of the chaos—and a new reason not to provoke his sister.
• The heir briefly faints, then revives and orders his attendants to force Mao Shaoqin to drink Golden Slurry, offering ten taels of silver for every bottle.

Character developments and interactions

• Mao Shaoqin remains convinced of his protagonist status and imagines the heir will become his benefactor. His confidence and salesmanship persist even after he is covered in vomit and causes widespread sickness.
• The Heir of Prince Qi shifts from disgust and humiliation to anger, determined to punish Mao Shaoqin.
• Wenren Luoshui stays amused and unapologetic about the chaos, while Yunjian loyally supports and defends her.
• Wenren Qingluo is frightened by the spectacle and learns to be more cautious around his sister.
• The Salty Fish System gloats over the mess but is rebuffed by both Luoshui and Yunjian.

Significant themes

• Absurdity and comic escalation: Mao Shaoqin’s bizarre product demonstration turns one man’s disgust into a street-wide disaster.
• Delusion and misplaced confidence: Mao Shaoqin mistakes hostility for a business opportunity and clings to his imagined role as a successful protagonist.
• Blame and responsibility: Luoshui and Yunjian argue that Mao Shaoqin’s actions—not Luoshui’s adjustment to his character setting—caused the chaos.
• Power and humiliation: The heir’s status cannot protect him from the public embarrassment or the foul product.

Key plot points and events

• After Mao Shaoqin is caught selling and enjoying “golden slurry,” the Heir of Prince Qi orders his servants to force-feed it to him. Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian stay to watch and privately joke about even more ways Mao could use it in food and drinks.
• The Heir approaches the pair, but Wenren Luoshui notices a ghost possessing him. She expels the spirit into the sunlight, where it weakens and begs to be allowed back inside.
• Recognizing the ghost as a harmless, merit-protected Lang family ancestor, Wenren lets him return briefly. He identifies himself as Lang Liuliu, the family’s Sixth Ancestor, and explains that he possessed the Heir because he was bored in his spirit tablet and wanted to see the world.
• Wenren warns that continued possession could harm the Heir’s health. She gives Lang Liuliu a purple sandalwood bracelet to inhabit instead.
• The Heir regains control and learns the ghost is his ancestor. Lang Liuliu emerges to knock him on the head, and the Heir immediately cowers and apologizes. Wenren, who had meant to give him the bracelet, reconsiders after seeing how easily his ancestor intimidates him.

Character developments

• Wenren Luoshui is direct and confident in handling spirits, but also practical: she protects the Heir from the physical effects of possession while accommodating Lang Liuliu.
• Yunjian remains playful and quick-witted, casually accepting the supernatural situation and contributing to the pair’s comic commentary.
• Lang Liuliu is revealed as a mischievous but harmless ancestor, driven by boredom rather than malice. He is affectionate toward his descendants yet enjoys asserting his seniority.
• The Heir of Prince Qi shifts from authority figure to bewildered descendant, then meekly submits to Lang Liuliu’s “bloodline authority.”
• Mao Shaoqin suffers public humiliation as punishment for his obsession with golden slurry.

Significant themes

• Comedy through reversal: Mao’s private indulgence becomes public punishment, while the powerful Heir is reduced to a frightened junior before his ancestor.
• Family bonds across generations: The Lang family’s ancestral protection allows deceased relatives to remain connected to their descendants.
• Responsibility and limits: Wenren respects Lang Liuliu’s harmless motives but insists that his freedom should not endanger the living.
• Playfulness and irreverence: The characters’ jokes and casual reactions contrast with the chapter’s supernatural events.

Character interactions

• Wenren and Yunjian share a conspiratorial, humorous exchange while watching Mao’s punishment.
• Wenren confronts and expels Lang Liuliu, then negotiates a safer arrangement for him in the bracelet.
• Lang Liuliu warmly responds to Yunjian’s accurate guess about his motives and treats the Heir with teasing authority.
• The Heir’s respectful panic before Lang Liuliu amuses the others and changes Wenren’s mind about giving him the bracelet.

Plot points and events

• After Lang Liuliu leaves Prince Qi’s heir’s body, the young man remains unusually sensitive to cold. Wenren Luoshui gives him a talisman that eases the lingering chill.
• The heir’s servants remove Mao Shaoqin’s golden-juice face masks for disposal. At court the next morning, officials condemn the shop for damaging the capital’s reputation. The emperor bans selling golden juice except for approved medicinal uses, with confiscation and forced consumption as penalties.
• Wenren visits the emperor and gives him a red sandalwood bracelet. It releases Lang Liuliu, who introduces himself as the emperor’s sixth-generation ancestor.
• Lang explains that he could possess the heir because the young man had weak yang energy. Wenren warns that dragon qi makes the palace unsafe for spirits to stay long, so the emperor cannot simply bring all the ancestors’ spirit tablets there.
• Lang asks the emperor to bring a list of food, games, books, and tools as offerings at the next ancestral rites. The emperor agrees and stores the list carefully. Wenren says the bracelet will let Lang remain in the palace for three days, after which he must return to his spirit tablet.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren is playful and mischievous, but also practical: she helps the heir recover and cautions the emperor about the risks to the ancestors.
• The emperor is startled to meet a real ancestor, yet quickly becomes deferential and eager to please him. Lang even raps him on the head and jokingly bites at him, while the emperor restrains his irritation.
• Lang is curious and irreverent, delighted to explore the palace and touch the emperor’s robe; his request for offerings reveals the ancestors’ varied, down-to-earth interests.
• Wenren and her system trade playful barbs while the system photographs Lang’s comic pose with the emperor, adding another layer of humor.

Significant themes

• Comedy through the supernatural: Ghostly ancestors and imperial authority collide in ridiculous, informal ways.
• Family duty and reciprocal care: The emperor’s reverence for his ancestors turns into a promise to provide for their wishes.
• Limits of power: Even the palace’s dragon qi and the emperor’s status cannot override spiritual rules.
• Consequences of greed and folly: Mao Shaoqin’s venture brings him no profit and instead prompts public ridicule and a harsh decree.

Key plot points

• During Morning Court, ministers debate how to receive the approaching Dongchang Kingdom envoys, who are bringing an unidentified national treasure. The Li Kingdom must show respect without seeming to lower its status.
• The emperor assigns the task to his Second, Third, and Fifth Princes. They are dismayed, especially when he threatens to make any one of them help review memorials if they mishandle it.
• Wenren Luoshui and the system speculate about the treasure. The system cannot investigate while the envoys are still too far away; Luoshui guesses it might be an immortality elixir, and the system dismisses the idea.
• After court, Luoshui teases the exhausted princes. The chapter then shifts to Wenren Shuang, who returns from prison to find Mao Shaoqin in a wretched state.

Character developments and interactions

• The emperor tries to manage his sons by giving them a diplomatic assignment, but he is privately frustrated by their laziness and by the court’s amusement at his expense.
• The three princes react with theatrical despair to their new responsibility and the threat of reviewing memorials. Their shared misfortune briefly brings them together in silent laughter.
• Wenren Luoshui and the system trade teasing remarks and argue over the possible treasure. The system’s limited reach frustrates Luoshui, while its own request that she seek gossip is quickly met with a warning.
• The ministers can hear Luoshui’s thoughts and enjoy the resulting gossip, though they struggle to keep straight faces. The Eldest Princess also laments that her younger brothers are unreliable.
• Lang Liuliu, the emperor’s visible ancestor, laughs at the princes and mocks the solemnity of the imperial family, further aggravating the emperor.
• The final scene introduces a worrying change of focus: Wenren Shuang returns from prison and is alarmed by Mao Shaoqin’s condition.

Significant themes

• Court politics and diplomacy: Choosing envoys to receive a foreign delegation is a matter of status as well as courtesy.
• Family and authority: The emperor’s attempts to discipline his sons reveal a comic, strained father–son dynamic.
• Gossip and hidden thoughts: Luoshui’s private commentary becomes a source of information and entertainment for the court.
• Uncertainty and foreshadowing: The Dongchang Kingdom’s treasure remains a mystery, while Mao Shaoqin’s condition hints at trouble ahead.

Plot points

• Mao Shaoqin returns home badly injured: debt collectors have hacked off one arm and one leg after he failed to pay his debts. Wenren Shuang finds him and rushes to get him medical care.
• After several clinics turn them away, she brings him to Begonia Garden, where doctors are holding a free clinic. Wen Xiaogu examines him and explains that his wounds are infected and his limbs cannot be restored.
• Wenren Shuang attacks the doctor, but guards restrain her. Mao Shaoqin then scolds her and claims to trust the doctor, framing her outburst as a threat to his life.
• Trying to defend herself, Wenren Shuang insists she is the Seventh Princess. The crowd dismisses her as delusional, since the real princess is known to be at Wuwei Temple.
• Mao Shaoqin leads her to the palace gates, hoping her supposed royal status will help them. Instead, both are arrested for causing trouble while claiming to be princess and her husband.
• In prison, Mao’s wounds worsen and he develops a fever. Wenren Shuang cannot reach her system for help. The Empress orders them held separately and has Wenren Shuang bound, fearing she may endanger her daughter.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Shuang remains devoted to Mao Shaoqin, apologizing and defending him despite his accusations and harsh treatment. Her belief that she can obtain a palace physician and her claim to be a princess expose her desperation and detachment from reality.
• Mao Shaoqin is weak and dependent after his injuries, yet continues to blame and manipulate Wenren Shuang. He uses her supposed status for his own benefit, then presents himself as considerate while taking her away.
• Wen Xiaogu delivers a direct, medically grounded diagnosis, while the clinic’s guards protect her when Wenren Shuang turns violent.
• The Empress acts cautiously to protect her daughter, separating and restraining the couple rather than trusting them to escape or behave safely.

Significant themes

• Delusion and unreliable identity: Wenren Shuang’s conviction that she is a princess clashes with how others see her.
• Abusive devotion and manipulation: Her loyalty to Mao Shaoqin persists even as he mistreats and exploits her.
• Consequences and powerlessness: Debt, infection, and false claims of status leave the couple increasingly trapped.
• Compassion versus entitlement: Begonia Garden offers free care to the poor, while Wenren Shuang’s insistence on special treatment is met with public ridicule.

Key plot points and events

• In July, the emperor leaves the Eldest Princess to govern in his absence and takes Wenren Luoshui, Yunjian, and Sui Yun on an incognito tour. Their purpose is to see how the realm is doing and inspect the successful potato cultivation near the capital before promoting it nationwide.
• After three days of travel, they reach Hongshan County. A rushing crowd draws them to the county office, where a hearing is underway. Wenren Luoshui hands out talisman papers to work the group through the spectators and secure a good view.
• The case concerns Wang Xiaohong and her older brother, Wang Zimian. Though Zimian presents himself as a respectable scholar, the system provides Wenren Luoshui with a record of their family’s history, leaving her immediately suspicious of him.
• The chapter recounts how Wang Xiaohong’s father died, her uncles took most of the family property, and her mother struggled to support the children through tofu-pudding sales. Before dying, their mother charged Zimian with caring for his sister. Afterward, he used his authority as the family’s male heir to make ten-year-old Xiaohong leave school and took two-thirds of the money their mother had left, supposedly for tuition.
• The account begins to explain Xiaohong’s inheritance of embroidery skills through her paternal grandmother, but the chapter ends before the full case or the history is resolved.

Character developments and interactions

• The emperor shows interest in personally seeing the people and their living conditions, but readily leaves the Eldest Princess to handle state business.
• Wenren Luoshui is energetic and curious: she chases the crowd, manipulates her way to the front, and eagerly enjoys the unfolding “spectacle.” She also pays the system for information after its melodramatic plea.
• The system acts as an investigator, condemning Zimian and supplying the siblings’ backstory, while also comically complaining about being unpaid.
• Yunjian and Sui Yun accompany Wenren Luoshui and the emperor; Yunjian shares sunflower seeds as they watch the hearing.
• Xiaohong is portrayed as upright and resilient, while Zimian’s polished courtroom manner contrasts with the selfish conduct described in his history.

Significant themes

• Public duty and governance: The emperor’s tour reflects a desire to understand the realm firsthand, while the potato initiative suggests practical concern for agriculture and food supply.
• Gender and family authority: Xiaohong’s education, inheritance, and security are undermined because she is a girl, while her brother exploits his status as the family’s male heir.
• Appearance versus reality: Zimian’s formal, scholarly presentation masks a troubling history.
• Resilience and women’s labor: Xiaohong’s mother supports the family through small-scale work, and the family’s embroidery tradition offers Xiaohong a possible source of skill and independence.